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Experienced Increases (experience + increase)
Selected AbstractsOlfactory learning in the rat immediately after birth: Unique salience of first odorsDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Stacie S. Miller Abstract An infant rat's chance of survival is increased when it remains close to the nest. Early olfactory learning supports such adaptive behavior. Previous experiments indicated that non-associative odor exposure immediately after birth promoted later attachment to a similarly scented artificial nipple. The goal of the current experiments was to extend these findings on olfactory learning in the hours after birth by: exposing pups to more than one odor exposure (Experiment 1), dissecting the role of timing versus order of odor exposure (Experiment 2), testing the odor specificity of these effects (Experiments 3 and 4), and evaluating associative odor conditioning soon after birth (Experiment 5). Without explicit prior odor experience, pups only hours old do not respond much to a novel odor. Prior non-associative odor experience increases later motor activity to that same odor and to novel odors. Furthermore, these findings may be specific to certain amodal dimensions of the (in our case) lemon odor exposure. Single odor non-associative and associative conditioning was equally effective immediately after birth and during the third postnatal hour. Nevertheless, pups given two mere odor exposures responded to the first one more than the second at test, regardless of whether the exposures began immediately or 2,hr after birth. Possible mechanisms for these findings concerning early olfactory learning are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 51: 488,504, 2009 [source] Recent developments in frameworks to consider human relevance of hypothesized modes of action for tumours in animals,ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 2 2008M.E. Bette Meek Abstract This paper summarizes recent developments in the continuing evolution of Human Relevance Frameworks to systematically consider the weight of evidence of hypothesized modes of action in animals and their potential human relevance for both cancer and non-cancer effects. These frameworks have been developed in initiatives of the International Life Sciences Institute Risk Sciences Institute and the International Programme on Chemical Safety engaging large numbers of scientists internationally. They are analytical tools designed to organize information in hazard characterization as a basis to clarify the extent of the weight of evidence for mode of action in animals and human relevance and subsequent implications for dose-response. They are also extremely helpful in identifying critical data gaps. These frameworks which are illustrated by an increasing number of case studies, have been widely adopted into international and national guidance and assessments and continue to evolve, as experience increases in their application. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2008. Published 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Harnessing experience: exploring the gap between evidence-based medicine and clinical practiceJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2008M. Cameron Hay PhD Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives, There is mounting evidence of a gap between Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) and physician clinical practice, in part because EBM is averaged global evidence gathered from exogenous populations which may not be relevant to local circumstances. Local endogenous evidence, collected in particular and ,real world' patient populations may be more relevant, convincing and timely for clinical practice. Evidence Farming (EF) is a concept to provide such local evidence through the systematic collection of clinical experience to guide more effective practice. Methods, We report on the findings of a pilot study of 29 individual and three focus group (n = 10) interviews exploring physicians' evaluations how they use multiple sources of information in clinical decision making and their thoughts on EF. Results, Physicians recognize a gap in translating EBM to practice. Physicians reported that when making clinical decisions, they more often rely on clinical experience, the opinions of colleagues and EBM summarizing electronic clinical resources rather than refer directly to EBM literature. Confidence in making decisions based on clinical experience increases over time, yet few physicians reported having systems for tracking their clinical experience in designing treatment plans and patient outcomes. Most physicians saw EF as a promising way to track experience, thereby making scientific evidence more relevant to their own clinical practices. Conclusion, Clinical experience is relatively neglected by the EBM movement, but if that experience were systematically gathered through an approach such as EF, it would meet a need left unfulfilled by EBM. [source] Asthma and allergy medication use and costs among pediatric primary care patients on asthma controller therapyPEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 8 2006Vasilisa Sazonov-Kocevar As observational studies in children initiating GINA-Step 3 therapies are scarce, we evaluated outcomes and costs in a primary care cohort. Two-yr retrospective cohort study included French children (age: 6,14) continuously followed in BKL-Thalès database who received ,2 consecutive prescriptions for GINA-Step 3 therapy (=addition of montelukast or other controllers (,other'), such as increasing inhaled-corticosteroid dose (hICS), adding long-acting , agonist (LABA), or ICS + LABA). After matching on gender and propensity score, medication use [rescue (short-acting , agonists), acute (antibiotics (AB), oral corticosteroids (OCS)), allergy (antihistamines, nasal steroids) and other respiratory] was estimated via mean number of prescriptions and mean cost (per child/per month), and cost trends. During 12-month follow-up, children adding montelukast (n = 71) vs. ,other' (n = 213) had similar asthma rescue/acute and allergy medication use. Subgroup with asthma and allergic rhinitis (A + AR) adding montelukast used less OCS and AB (p = 0.014). Two-yr cost trends suggest stable asthma/allergy medication use in montelukast group (,0.83) compared with increase in ,other' (,5.39), which was driven by nasal steroid use [,0.32 (,other') vs. ,,0.04 (montelukast), p = 0.0013]. In subgroup with A + AR decline in asthma/allergy medication use in montelukast group (,,0.47) vs. increase in ,other' (,11.05), p = 0.015, was driven by differences in AB and OCS (p = 0.04) and nasal steroid use (p = 0.001). Concomitant asthma/allergy medication use was similar in children adding montelukast or ,other' controllers (hICS, LABA, ICS + LABA), while children with allergic rhinitis on montelukast used less AB. Concomitant medication costs after addition of montelukast remained stable, while ,other' group experienced increase, especially in children with concomitant allergic rhinitis. [source] Hepatitis C virus infection and its clearance alter circulating lipids: Implications for long-term follow-up,HEPATOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Kathleen E. Corey Hepatitis C associated hypolipidemia has been demonstrated in studies from Europe and Africa. In two linked studies, we evaluated the relationship between hepatitis C infection and treatment with lipid levels in an American cohort and determined the frequency of clinically significant posttreatment hyperlipidemia. First, a case-control analysis of patients with and without hepatitis C was performed. The HCV Group consisted of 179 infected patients. The Uninfected Control Group consisted of 180 age-matched controls. Fasting cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein and triglycerides were compared. Next was a retrospective cohort study (Treated Hepatitis C Group) of 87 treated hepatitis C patients with lipid data before and after therapy was performed. In the case-control analysis, the HCV Group had significantly lower LDL and cholesterol than the Uninfected Control Group. In the retrospective cohort, patients in the Treated Hepatitis C Group who achieved viral clearance had increased LDL and cholesterol from baseline compared to patients without viral clearance. These results persisted when adjusted for age, sex, and genotype. 13% of patients with viral clearance had increased LDL and 33% experienced increases in cholesterol to levels warranting lipid lowering therapy. Conclusion: Hepatitis C is associated with decreased cholesterol and LDL levels. This hypolipidemia resolves with successful hepatitis C treatment but persists in nonresponders. A significant portion of successfully treated patients experience LDL and cholesterol rebound to levels associated with increased coronary disease risk. Lipids should be carefully monitored in persons receiving antiviral therapy. (HEPATOLOGY 2009;50:1030,1037.) [source] Reforms And Performance of the Medical Systems in the Transition States of the Former Soviet Union and Eastern EuropeINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 2-3 2001Christopher Davis The States of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe inherited acute health problems and introduced numerous reforms in their health sectors in the 1990s. In the initial years of transition most countries experienced increases in morbidity and mortality that were caused by deterioration in health conditions (demographic, consumption, social, environmental) and deficiencies in medical systems. The latter were the result of malfunctioning economies, continued low priority status of health, and ineffective health reforms. Although health trends in the East have become more positive in recent years, they are unlikely to converge rapidly with those in western Europe unless health sector institutions in transition countries are allocated more resources and improve their efficiency and effectiveness. [source] The affective shift hypothesis: The functions of emotional changes following sexual intercoursePERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 4 2001MARTIE G. HASELTONU This article develops the Affective Ship Hypothesis, which suggests that women experience positive affective shifts following first-time intercourse as a means to facilitate a longer-term, more committed relationship. The hypothesis predicts a negative affective shift in men who pursue a short-term mating strategy; this shift is hypothesized to function to curtail commitment by motivating the man to terminate the relationship. Study 1 (N= 177) documented sex differences predicted by the affective shift hypothesis. Study 2 (N= 203), using a somewhat different methodology involving reports of presex and postsex feelings, found that men with high numbers of sex partners, but not men with low numbers of partners, experienced a decrease in their partner's physical and sexual attractiveness following first-time sexual intercourse. In contrast, women, more than men, experienced increases in feelings of love and commitment following first-time sex. [source] Change in Family Income-to-Needs Matters More for Children with LessCHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2001Eric Dearing Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model the dynamics of family income-to-needs for participants of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N= 1,364) from the time that children were 1 through 36 months of age. Associations between change in income-to-needs and 36-month child outcomes (i.e., school readiness, receptive language, expressive language, positive social behavior, and behavior problems) were examined. Although change in income-to-needs proved to be of little importance for children from nonpoor families, it proved to be of great importance for children from poor families. For children in poverty, decreases in income-to-needs were associated with worse outcomes and increases were associated with better outcomes. In fact, when children from poor families experienced increases in income-to-needs that were at least 1 SD above the mean change for poor families, they displayed outcomes similar to their nonpoor peers. The practical importance and policy implications of these findings are discussed. [source] Modulation of aggressive behaviour by fighting experience: mechanisms and contest outcomesBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2006Yuying Hsu ABSTRACT Experience in aggressive contests often affects behaviour during, and the outcome of, later contests. This review discusses evidence for, variations in, and consequences of such effects. Generally, prior winning experiences increase, and prior losing experiences decrease, the probability of winning in later contests, reflecting modifications of expected fighting ability. We examine differences in the methodologies used to study experience effects, and the relative importance and persistence of winning and losing experiences within and across taxa. We review the voluminous, but somewhat disconnected, literature on the neuroendocrine mechanisms that mediate experience effects. Most studies focus on only one of a number of possible mechanisms without providing a comprehensive view of how these mechanisms are integrated into overt behaviour. More carefully controlled work on the mechanisms underlying experience effects is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. Behavioural changes during contests that relate to prior experience fall into two general categories. Losing experiences decrease willingness to engage in a contest while winning experiences increase willingness to escalate a contest. As expected from the sequential assessment model of contest behaviour, experiences become less important to outcomes of contests that escalate to physical fighting. A limited number of studies indicate that integration of multiple experiences can influence current contest behaviour. Details of multiple experience integration for any species are virtually unknown. We propose a simple additive model for this integration of multiple experiences into an individual's expected fighting ability. The model accounts for different magnitudes of experience effects and the possible decline in experience effects over time. Predicting contest outcomes based on prior experiences requires an algorithm that translates experience differences into contest outcomes. We propose two general types of model, one based solely on individual differences in integrated multiple experiences and the other based on the probability contests reach the escalated phase. The difference models include four algorithms reflecting possible decision rules that convert the perceived fighting abilities of two rivals into their probabilities of winning. The second type of algorithm focuses on how experience influences the probability that a subsequent contest will escalate and the fact that escalated contests may not be influenced by prior experience. Neither type of algorithm has been systematically investigated. Finally, we review models for the formation of dominance hierarchies that assume that prior experience influences contest outcome. Numerous models have reached varied conclusions depending on which factors examined in this review are included. We know relatively little about the importance of and variation in experience effects in nature and how they influence the dynamics of aggressive interactions in social groups and random assemblages of individuals. Researchers should be very active in this area in the next decade. The role of experience must be integrated with other influences on contest outcome, such as prior residency, to arrive at a more complete picture of variations in contest outcomes. We expect that this integrated view will be important in understanding other types of interactions between individuals, such as mating and predator-prey interactions, that also are affected significantly by prior experiences. 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