12 research outputs found
The Way to a Man's Heart Is through His Stomach: What about Horses?
International audienceBACKGROUND: How do we bond to one another? While in some species, like humans, physical contact plays a role in the process of attachment, it has been suggested that tactile contact's value may greatly differ according to the species considered. Nevertheless, grooming is often considered as a pleasurable experience for domestic animals, even though scientific data is lacking. On another hand, food seems to be involved in the creation of most relationships in a variety of species. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we used the horse training context to test the effects of food versus grooming during repeated human-horse interactions. The results reveal that food certainly holds a key role in the attachment process, while tactile contact was here clearly insufficient for bonding to occur. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study raises important questions on the way tactile contact is perceived, and shows that large inter-species differences are to be expected
The conflict between least harm and no-use tobacco policy for youth: ethical and policy implications
Assessing adjustment to aging : A validation study for the Adjustment to Aging Scale (AtAS)
Adjustment to aging (AtA) is a multifactor adjustment process with implications
on aging well among older adults. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a
scale to assess the factors that older adults recognized as indicators of their AtA, with a
cross-national comparative perspective towards aging well. Convenience sampling was
used to gather questionnaire data, including demographics and the proposed scale. Complete
data was available for 1,291 older community-dwelling adults, aged between 75 and
102 years (M = 83.9; SD = 6.68), who represented four different nationalities. Exploratory
and confirmatory factor analyses were performed for dimension reduction and
exploration of the factorial structure. Data gathered with the 22-items AtA five-factor scale
showed overall good psychometric properties (in terms of distributional properties, statistical
significant factor weights, factorial, convergent, discriminant criterion and externalrelated
validities, as well as reliability). Five factors were selected for the Adjustment to
Aging Scale: (a) sense of purpose and ambitions (b) zest and spirituality; (c) body and
health; (d) aging in place and stability; and (e) social support. We present a 22-item scale
with five factors for AtA estimation in a cross-national elderly population which produced
valid and reliable data for elder persons from four different nationalities. Results showed
that this scale is an adequate cross-cultural instrument for research, clinical practice and
program development in the health care context. These may benefit from clearly understanding
AtA as an important component for reducing health disparities and for aging well,
across nationalities.Foundation for Science and Technolog
Insect juvenile hormone: from "status quo" to high society
Juvenile hormone (JH) exerts pleiotropic functions during insect life cycles. The regulation of JH biosynthesis by neuropeptides and biogenic amines, as well as the transport of JH by specific binding proteins is now well understood. In contrast, comprehending its mode of action on target organs is still hampered by the difficulties in isolating specific receptors. In concert with ecdysteroids, JH orchestrates molting and metamorphosis, and its modulatory function in molting processes has gained it the attribute "status quo" hormone. Whereas the metamorphic role of JH appears to have been widely conserved, its role in reproduction has been subject to many modifications. In many species, JH stimulates vitellogenin synthesis and uptake. In mosquitoes, however, this function has been transferred to ecdysteroids, and JH primes the ecdysteroid response of developing follicles. As reproduction includes a variety of specific behaviors, including migration and diapause, JH has come to function as a master regulator in insect reproduction. The peak of pleiotropy was definitely reached in insects exhibiting facultative polymorphisms. In wing-dimorphic crickets, differential activation of JH esterase determines wing length. The evolution of sociality in Isoptera and Hymenoptera has also extensively relied on JH. In primitively social wasps and bumble bees, JH integrates dominance position with reproductive status. In highly social insects, such as the honey bee, JH has lost its gonadotropic role and now regulates division of labor in the worker caste. Its metamorphic role has been extensively explored in the morphological differentiation of queens and workers, and in the generation of worker polymorphism, such as observed in ants