Adult female domesticated canaries can modify their song preferences

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1346-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Nagle ◽  
M. L. Kreutzer

Previous research has shown that acoustic experiences in early life influence song preferences in female domesticated canaries, Serinus canaria. We do not know, however, if they can modify song preferences in adulthood. In the experiments reported here, one group of young female domesticated canaries was reared in acoustic isolation in early life without song tutoring, while two groups were tutored with a playback song (one with wild canary song and one with domesticated canary song). We tested these three groups of females once they had reached adulthood, prior to breeding, using copulation-solicitation displays as an index of their song preferences. The females were then placed in an aviary with males during the breeding period, after which they were retested. We observed that the song preferences of females reared in acoustic isolation and those tutored with wild canary song had changed. These females were able to develop new song preferences in adult life. These results are discussed in relation to current views on song preferences and sexual imprinting.

1964 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 927-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. Solarz

250 adult female beagles were tested for emotional display late in adult life after having been exposed or sham exposed to X-irradiation at 10 to 12 mo. of age. The control dogs were interspersed in pens among experimentals. Emotional display was stimulated by the presentation of a person relatively strange to the kennel area. The dogs' responses were classified as “friendly,” “wary,” “aggressive” or “staying.” No significant differences were obtained in the comparison of experimental and control groups in regard to frequency of dogs falling within each of the behavioral categories.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 20140273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Clark ◽  
Joanna Murrell ◽  
Mia Fernyhough ◽  
Treasa O'Rourke ◽  
Michael Mendl

Early life experiences can have profound long-term, and sometimes trans-generational, effects on individual phenotypes. However, there is a relative paucity of knowledge about effects on pain sensitivity, even though these may impact on an individual's health and welfare, particularly in farm animals exposed to painful husbandry procedures. Here, we tested in sheep whether neonatal painful and non-painful challenges can alter pain sensitivity in adult life, and also in the next generation. Ewes exposed to tail-docking or a simulated mild infection (lipopolysaccharide (LPS)) on days 3–4 of life showed higher levels of pain-related behaviour when giving birth as adults compared with control animals. LPS-treated ewes also gave birth to lambs who showed decreased pain sensitivity in standardized tests during days 2–3 of life. Our results demonstrate long-term and trans-generational effects of neonatal experience on pain responses in a commercially important species and suggest that variations in early life management can have important implications for animal health and welfare.


Author(s):  
Caroline Fall ◽  
Kalyanaraman Kumaran

Sub-optimal nutrition during foetal and infant development is associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adult life. Animal experiments show that this results from permanent effects on the structure and function of tissues and hormone systems (‘metabolic programming’), probably mediated by epigenetic changes. NCD risk is increased further by adiposity and/or unhealthy lifestyles in childhood or adulthood. Apart from nutrition, other early life environmental influences can programme later disease, including foetal ‘over-nutrition’ (maternal diabetes or obesity) and exposure to maternal smoking, environmental pollutants, and pregnancy complications. The concept that improving the nutrition and health of mothers pre-conceptionally and during pregnancy could prevent common NCDs has huge public health implications. However, unlike the robust demonstration of programming in experimental animals, the evidence in humans rests mainly on observational research. Intervention studies are ongoing to strengthen the evidence and to identify ways to improve early development and prevent NCDs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyuan Zhou ◽  
Lin Kang ◽  
Xinhua Xiao ◽  
Lijing Jia ◽  
Qian Zhang ◽  
...  

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has been increasing dramatically worldwide, but the pathogenesis is still unknown. A growing amount of evidence suggests that an abnormal developmental environment in early life increases the risk of developing metabolic diseases in adult life, which is referred to as the “metabolic memory” and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. The mechanism of “metabolic memory” has become a hot topic in the field of DM worldwide and could be a key to understanding the pathogenesis of DM. In recent years, several large cohort studies have shown that shift workers have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and worse control of blood glucose levels. Furthermore, a maternal high-fat diet could lead to metabolic disorders and abnormal expression of clock genes and clock-controlled genes in offspring. Thus, disorders of circadian rhythm might play a pivotal role in glucose metabolic disturbances, especially in terms of early adverse nutritional environments and the development of metabolic diseases in later life. In addition, as a peripheral clock, the gut microbiota has its own circadian rhythm that fluctuates with periodic feeding and has been widely recognized for its significant role in metabolism. In light of the important roles of the gut microbiota and circadian clock in metabolic health and their interconnected regulatory relationship, we propose that the “gut microbiota-circadian clock axis” might be a novel and crucial mechanism to decipher “metabolic memory.” The “gut microbiota-circadian clock axis” is expected to facilitate the future development of a novel target for the prevention and intervention of diabetes during the early stage of life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1352-1366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Sieber ◽  
Boris Cheval ◽  
Dan Orsholits ◽  
Bernadette W Van der Linden ◽  
Idris Guessous ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Welfare regimes in Europe modify individuals’ socioeconomic trajectories over their life-course, and, ultimately, the link between socioeconomic circumstances (SECs) and health. This paper aimed to assess whether the associations between life-course SECs (early-life, young adult-life, middle-age and old-age) and risk of poor self-rated health (SRH) trajectories in old age are modified by welfare regimes (Scandinavian [SC], Bismarckian [BM], Southern European [SE], Eastern European [EE]). Methods We used data from the longitudinal SHARE survey. Early-life SECs consisted of four indicators of living conditions at age 10. Young adult-life, middle-age, and old-age SECs indicators were education, main occupation and satisfaction with household income, respectively. The association of life-course SECs with poor SRH trajectories was analysed by confounder-adjusted multilevel logistic regression models stratified by welfare regime. We included 24 011 participants (3626 in SC, 10 256 in BM, 6891 in SE, 3238 in EE) aged 50 to 96 years from 13 European countries. Results The risk of poor SRH increased gradually with early-life SECs from most advantaged to most disadvantaged. The addition of adult-life SECs differentially attenuated the association of early-life SECs and SRH at older age across regimes: education attenuated the association only in SC and SE regimes and occupation only in SC and BM regimes; satisfaction with household income attenuated the association across regimes. Conclusions Early-life SECs have a long-lasting effect on SRH in all welfare regimes. Adult-life SECs attenuated this influence differently across welfare regimes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Lanigan

Childhood obesity is a serious challenge for public health. The problem begins early with most excess childhood weight gained before starting school. In 2016, the WHO estimated that 41 million children under 5 were overweight or obese. Once established, obesity is difficult to reverse, likely to persist into adult life and is associated with increased risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Preventing obesity is therefore of high importance. However, its development is multi-factorial and prevention is a complex challenge. Modifiable lifestyle behaviours such as diet and physical activity are the most well-known determinants of obesity. More recently, early-life factors have emerged as key influencers of obesity in childhood. Understanding risk factors and how they interact is important to inform interventions that aim to prevent obesity in early childhood. Available evidence supports multi-component interventions as effective in obesity prevention. However, relatively few interventions are available in the UK and only one, TrimTots, has been evaluated in randomised controlled trials and shown to be effective at reducing obesity risk in preschool children (age 1–5 years). BMI was lower in children immediately after completing TrimTots compared with waiting list controls and this effect was sustained at long-term follow-up, 2 years after completion. Developing and evaluating complex interventions for obesity prevention is a challenge for clinicians and researchers. In addition, parents encounter barriers engaging with interventions. This review considers early-life risk factors for obesity, highlights evidence for preventative interventions and discusses barriers and facilitators to their success.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hashim Mohammed Alhassan ◽  
Nordiana Mashros

The aim of this study was to model pedestrian flow parameters needed in the design of pedestrian facilities. The study also characterized the flow with a view to understanding pedestrian interaction problems especially with regards to their congestion. Twenty-five locations across Kano metropolis were selected for study, thirteen locations from the city district while twelve sites were chosen from the Waje district. All the sites were high flow pedestrian locations that met the study objectives. The data was categorized into four; young male, adult male, young female and adult female. The results indicated that adult women walked faster than their male counterparts in the City district while young males were faster than the female. The adult female recorded an average speed of 73.90 m/min against the speed of 71.30 m/min for the adult male. The average characteristics of the pedestrian in the city district are speed 67.30 m/min; density 11.23 Ped/m2 and volume 33.60 Ped/m/min. In the Waje district, however, the male pedestrian whether adult or young walked faster than their corresponding female counterparts with speed of 71.45 m/min for the adult male and 59.90 m/min for the adult female. The young male was faster than the young female by 17.9%. The average pedestrian flow parameters for the Waje district indicated a combine speed of 60.21 m/min; density of 8.72 Ped/m2 and volume of 30.92 Ped/m/min. The pedestrians in the city district had a higher flow rate, higher density and higher speed than those of the Waje district. This means the city district is a little more concentrated than the Waje district in terms of pedestrian flow. The aggregate average flow parameters of pedestrians in the metropolitan area gave the following parameters: speed 68.92 m/min; density 10.03 Ped/m2 and volume 32.33 Ped/m/min. The predictive models for Kano showed a free flow speed of 59.55 m/min and a maximum flow rate of 73.0 Ped/m/min. Comparing the Kano pedestrian model with other countries it was found that the Kano pedestrian walked slower than pedestrians from Singapore and the United States


2001 ◽  
Vol 194 (8) ◽  
pp. 1141-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago L. Carvalho ◽  
Tomaz Mota-Santos ◽  
Ana Cumano ◽  
Jocelyne Demengeot ◽  
Paulo Vieira

Interleukin 7 is a crucial factor for the development of murine T and B lymphocytes. We now report that, in the absence of interleukin 7, B lymphocyte production takes place exclusively during fetal and perinatal life, ceasing after 7 wk of age. In peripheral organs, however, the pool of B lymphocytes is stable throughout adult life and consists only of cells that belong to the B1 and marginal zone (MZ) compartments. This is accompanied by a 50-fold increase in the frequency of immunoglobulin (Ig)M- and IgG-secreting cells, and the concentration of serum immunoglobulins is increased three- to fivefold. Both the MZ phenotype and the increase in serum IgM are T cell independent. These findings reveal a previously undescribed pathway of B lymphopoiesis that is active in early life and is interleukin 7 independent. This pathway generates B1 cells and a normal sized MZ B lymphocyte compartment.


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