The Evolution of ADHD: A Disorder of Communication?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric condition. Many believe that the central disability is impaired inhibition, which leads to reduced abilities in social skills, self-control, organization and time management. The behaviors identified by clinicians as problematic-inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity-have been incorporated into several evolutionary models as selectively adaptive cognitive skills for surviving the challenges of a variable Pleistocene environment. We propose that the disabilities exhibited by individuals with ADHD are maladaptive, and we concur with Barkley that there is a central impairment in the behavioral inhibition system. The underlying neural anatomy and physiology support the possibility that neurotransmitter pathology may have an impact on other interlinked systems (including language), and may also account for the frequent comorbidity of aggression, anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities (many of which are language-related). Language skills compete with other cognitive activities for the attentional system, and thus the evolution of language could not in fact be independent of the evolution of attention. If language represents the ultimate expression of the attentional system, and some individuals with ADHD are seriously impaired in the coordination of interlinked neural systems (including language), then ADHD fits Jerome Wakefield\u27s definition of harmful dysfunction, and communication impairments should be investigated more thoroughly by clinicians

Teaching Human Evolution

As science educators, we have two goals in writing this paper. The first is to show the importance of teaching human evolution to all students. The second is to provide up-to-date resources for classroom teachers to use in teaching the subject. Secondary biology textbooks suffer from the inherent limitations of mass produced books making it difficult for them to stay current with rapidly changing scientific fields such as paleoanthropology. One of our motives for writing this paper is to compensate for this inherent limitation of textbooks. The most important resource we provide is a review of current scientific research on human evolution that stresses the broad framework of what is reliably known about our origins. To this we have included a list of recommended books taken from our research that we feel are the most useful and accessible. In addition to text resources, we have added a list of web sites on human evolution that provide an increasingly sophisticated source of information. Together, this material should provide teachers with a variety of up-to-date resources for teaching human evolution

Mortality in a Migrating Mennonite Church Congregation

Preston\u27s two-census method of demographic estimation is applied to three pairs of reconstructed censuses from the records of a migrating Mennonite church congregation covering the period 1780-1890, The three pairs of censuses correspond to three periods (1780-1790, 1850-1860, and 1880-1890) and to stays in three settings (Prussia, Russia, and Kansas, respectively). The Mennonites\u27 stay in Prussia was a period of hardship. In Russia they expanded their economic base and developed new farming methods, dramatically increasing their productivity. The Mennonites took these skills to Kansas, where they continued to be successful. The increase in life expectancy at age 5 corroborates this picture. The Prussian period exhibits the shortest life expectancy for both sexes. After the move to Russia, life expectancy increased for both sexes and continued to increase with the move to Kansas. The model also provides limited evidence for fertility depression following the move to Kansas

Changes in Completed Family Size and Reproductive Span in Anabaptist Populations

The Anabaptist Amish, Hutterite and Mennonite peoples trace their origins to the Reformation. Although they share certain beliefs, such as adult baptism and the separation of church and state, each group is culturally unique. The Hutterite and Amish are highly fertile and their populations exhibit stable rates of growth. These demographic characteristics reflect communal living among the Hutterites and labor intensive farming practices among the Amish. The Mennonites are the most receptive Anabaptist group to outside socioeconomic influences and provide a demographic contrast to the more conservative Amish and Hutterites. Demographic data collected during a study of aging in Mennonite population samples from Goessel and Meridian, Kansas, 1980, and Henderson, Nebraska, 1981, formed the basis of a cohort analysis in order to assess fertility change over time. Completed family size has decreased significantly in all three communities since 1870. Since the early 1900\u27s the mean age of the mother at first birth has fluctuated but the mean age of mother at the birth of the last child is decreasing significantly for the communities of Goessel and Henderson, thus effectively shortening the reproductive span. The pattern is somewhat different for Meridian, the most conservative of the three communities

Immunoglobulin Haplotypes – Markers of Reproductive Success

Immunoglobulin haplotypes are highly polymorphic and are useful for analyses of both macro- and microdifferentiation of populations. The origins of this diversity are not known, but recent reports suggest strong selection at this locus. Increased rates of first-trimester spontaneous abortions have been reported when parents share GM phenotypes. Reduced fertility has been observed in mixed European descent white and Hutterite populations when both parents share immunoglobulin haplotypes. Population samples with completed family information and GM haplotype data are rare; the objective here is to provide this information on another sample. A sample of 242 Mennonite couples with mothers older than 40 years was divided into 3 groups of matings based on how many haplotypes were shared: 0, 1, or 2. The distribution of mean completed family sizes for the three groups were 3.35 ± 1.85 ( n = 23), 3.47 ± 1.69 ( n = 128), and 3.37 ± 1.60 ( n = 91), respectively; these values were not significantly different (F = 0.145, p = 0.865). The log-rank test was used to compare the time-to-next-birth curves. The intervals between first and later births (2-4 births) were not significantly different for the three subgroups either. There is also only limited evidence for segregation distortion in another sample of 923 offspring (in which at least one parent is heterozygous)

Community Based Pilot Study of Diagnostic Paths to the Gluten Free Diet

Wheat consumption is increasing worldwide and also increasing is the frequency of celiac disease (CeD), a pathological response to wheat protein (gluten) in genetically susceptible individuals. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is another, less studied wheat-induced pathology. The treatment for both is a gluten-free diet (GFD). More individuals choose the diet than predicted by the epidemiological 1-2% prevalence. A preliminary survey by questionnaire asked members and attendees of the local gluten information group (GIG) meetings and functions about their diagnostic experiences and symptom levels in order understand the increased demand for gluten-free foods. Same-aged and -sex friends participated as a comparative “control”. Mixed methods were used including content analyses of prose narratives and independent and paired t tests of symptom levels measured with Likert scales. This convenience sample, surveyed in 2011-2012, is mostly female (54 F, 5 M) with an average age of 54.6 ± 2.0 years. Most participants consulted medical professionals with mean time to diagnosis of 7 years determined mostly from “classic” presenting symptoms. Negative biopsies or blood tests and atypical symptoms that overlap other conditions delayed diagnosis. There were 43 and 16 participants with CeD and NCGS, respectively differing little in symptom levels. Self-diagnosis and use of naturopaths account for some of the “excess” individuals. General practitioners should be encouraged to get additional nutrition training and to discuss with patients dietary choices that support wellness and minimize the risk for pathological immune responses. Patients with CeD particularly need support and follow-up in the transition to a GFD

Reproductive Measures, Fitness, and Migrating Mennonites: An Evolutionary Analysis

Given the same reproductive span, more children with shorter interbirth intervals and less parental attention per child should not do as well. There should be intermediate optima in family sizes. but only two studies have demonstrated optima. The goal here is to determine whether the relationship between fitness and fertility is linear and whether this relationship masks underlying variation in reproductive behaviors in a Mennonite congregation that lived in two disease settings. Prussia/Russia Vs. Kansas. The relationships between children born and fitness were determined by calculating linear and quadratic regressions for total. Prussia/Russia vs. Kansas. and families with deaths vs. families with no deaths for total. Prussia/Russia. and Kansas. Variation was examined in terms of measures of reproductive success and reproductive span. Comparisons were made by t tests with Bonferroni correction. Regressions demonstrate equally well that the more children women bear, the higher the reproductive success. whether in the harsher disease ecology of rural Prussia/Russia or in less challenging rural Kansas and whether the women experience deaths or not. Prussian/Russian mothers bore significantly more children (6.5 +/- 0.3) than Kansan mothers (5.6 divided by- 0.2) over longer reproductive spans but did not significantly increase the number of surviving children (4.9 +/- 0.2 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.2, respectively). Families experiencing deaths vs. no deaths exhibit significantly longer reproductive spans. reflecting a significantly earlier start at childbearing and a later finish, and produce significantly more children (5.4 +/- 0.2 vs. 4.2 divided by- 0.2). Cox regressions were run. and the most significant covariates to negatively affect survivorship to 15 years were death in the family and length of the previous interbirth intervals. There was variation in families. but perhaps most had adequate nutrition, which may explain the lack of optima in fitness

Immunoglobulin Haplotype Frequencies in Anabaptist Population Samples: Kansas and Nebraska Mennonites and Indiana Amish

Anabaptist history is a chronicle of repeated migrations, fissions, and fusions of various subgroups. The effects of these events should be evident in the population biology of the Anabaptist groups. No prior genetic studies have included the polymorphic and highly informative immunoglobulin markers. Here, 685 serum samples representing 1 Amish and 3 Mennonite community samples (7 congregations) were studied for immunoglobulin allotypes. The haplotypes IGHG*F B, IGHG*A,Z G, and IGHG*A,X,Z G range in frequency from 0.542 to 0.765, 0.123 to 0.290, and 0.075 to 0.170, respectively. IGK*1 frequencies range from 0.035 to 0.077, All frequencies are within expected ranges for central and western European population samples, There was considerable intergroup variability among the Anabaptist samples that was statistically significant x29 = 22.63, 0.005 \u3c p \u3c 0.01), Principal component analyses, including the immunoglobulin allotype frequencies and published data on ABO, MN, and Rhesus (Dd) markers, demonstrate that the Mennonite congregation samples with close historical ties group together acid are distinct from the Amish and Meridian congregation samples

Have genetic targets for faecal pollution diagnostics and source tracking revolutionised water quality analysis yet?

The impacts on faecal pollution analysis using nucleic acid-based methods, such as PCR and sequencing, in health-related water quality research were assessed by rigorous literature analysis. A wide range of application areas and study designs has been identified since the first application more than 30 years ago (>1,100 publications). Given the consistency of methods and assessment types, we suggest defining this emerging part of science as a new discipline: genetic faecal pollution diagnostics (GFPD) in health-related microbial water quality analysis. Undoubtedly, GFPD has already revolutionised faecal pollution detection and microbial source tracking, the current core applications. GFPD is also expanding to many other research areas, including infection and health risk assessment, evaluation of microbial water treatment, and support of wastewater surveillance. In addition, storage of DNA extracts allows for biobanking, which opens up new perspectives. The tools of GFPD can be combined with cultivation-based standardised faecal indicator enumeration, pathogen detection, and various environmental data types, in an integrated data analysis approach. This comprehensive meta-analysis provides the scientific status quo of this field, including trend analyses and literature statistics, outlining identified application areas, and discussing the benefits and challenges of nucleic acid-based analysis in GFPD

The scene of the crime: inventing the serial killer

This article examines the meanings of the crime scene in serial killings, and the tensions between the real and the imagined in the circulation of those meanings. Starting with the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 it argues that they, as well as forming an origin for the construction of the identity of 'the serial killer', initiate certain ideas about the relationship of subjects to spaces and the existence of the self in the modern urban landscape. It suggests that these ideas come to play an integral part in the contemporary discourse of serial killing, both in the popular imagination and in professional analysis. Examining the Whitechapel Murders, more recent cases and modern profiling techniques, it argues that popular and professional representations of crime scenes reveal more of social anxieties about the nature of the public and the private than they do about serial killers. It suggests that 'the serial killer' is not a coherent type, but an invention produced from the confusions of persons and places. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution