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Predicted Direction (predicted + direction)
Selected AbstractsTEMPORAL VARIATION IN DIVERGENT SELECTION ON SPINE NUMBER IN THREESPINE STICKLEBACKEVOLUTION, Issue 12 2002T. E. Reimchen Abstract., Short-term temporal cycles in ecological pressures, such as shifts in predation regime, are widespread in nature yet estimates of temporal variation in the direction and intensity of natural selection are few. Previous work on threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) has revealed that dorsal and pelvic spines are a defense against gape-limited predators but may be detrimental against grappling insect predators. In this study, we examined a 15-year database from an endemic population of threespine stickleback to look for evidence of temporal shifts in exposure to these divergent predation regimes and correlated shifts in selection on spine number. For juveniles, we detected selection for increased spine number during winter when gape-limited avian piscivores were most common but selection for decreased spine number during summer when odonate predation was more common. For subadults and adults, which are taken primarily by avian piscivores, we predicted selection should generally be for increased spine number in all seasons. Among 59 comparisons, four selection differentials were significant (Bonferroni corrected) and in the predicted direction. However, there was also substantial variability in remaining differentials, including two examples with strong selection for spine reduction. These reversals were associated with increased tendency of the fish to shift to a benthic niche, as determined from examination of stomach contents. These dietary data suggest that increased encounter rates with odonate predation select for spine reduction. Strong selection on spine number was followed by changes in mean spine number during subsequent years and a standard quantitative genetic formula revealed that spine number has a heritable component. Our results provide evidence of rapid morphological responses to selection from predators and suggest that temporal variation in selection may help maintain variation within populations. Furthermore, our findings indicate that variable selection can be predicted if the agents of selection are known. [source] Attachment transfer among Swedish and German adolescents: A prospective longitudinal studyPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, Issue 3 2006WOLFGANG FRIEDLMEIER This prospective longitudinal study investigated whether and in what way different functions of attachment relationships are transferred from parents to reciprocal relationship partners in adolescence. Furthermore, the impact of nationality, romantic relationship status, and individual differences in perceived attachment history and current attachment orientation on the timing and extent of transfer was examined. Adolescents from Sweden and Germany were studied over a 12- to 15-month time span. As predicted, the transfer generally unfolded in a step-by-step process in cross-sectional analyses. However, the predicted direction of transfer from parents to peers could not be confirmed in the prospective analyses. Adolescents who had formed a romantic relationship between assessments showed a stronger transfer from parents to peers compared to those who had not. German adolescents had transferred to a larger extent at Time Point 1, but Swedish adolescents caught up by Time Point 2. Finally, the combination of an insecure history with mother and high current anxiety was linked to a particularly high degree of prospective attachment transfer, whereas an insecure history with mother combined with high current avoidance predicted a particularly low degree of prospective transfer. [source] Avoiding awareness of betrayal: Comment on Lindblom and Gray (2009)APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Jennifer J. Freyd Betrayal trauma theory (BTT) predicts that unawareness of abuse by someone on whom a victim is dependent may serve to protect a necessary relationship. Lindblom and Gray (2009) contribute to a growing line of BTT studies by measuring narrative detail in a sample of undergraduates who met Criterion A of the PTSD diagnosis and who rated the abuse as their most distressing trauma. Although many core betrayal traumas do not fit Criterion A, Lindblom and Gray found a small effect in the predicted direction. Having found an effect as predicted by BTT, curiously the authors then argue that PTSD Avoidance is a confound for forgetting the abuse to be statistically managed. This is particularly curious since symptom 3 of Criterion C is ,inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma'. Despite constraining participant selection and other methodological issues, Lindblom and Gray's results add support to BTT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in mothers of Swedish and of Somali origin who have children with and without autismACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 5 2010Elisabeth Fernell Abstract Aim:, To analyse serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in mothers of Somali origin and those of Swedish origin who have children with and without autism as there is a growing evidence that low vitamin D impacts adversely on brain development. Method:, Four groups of mothers were invited to participate; 20 with Somali origin with at least one child with autism, 20 with Somali origin without a child with autism, 20 of Swedish origin with at least one child with autism and 20 with Swedish origin without a child with autism. Two blood samples were collected from each individual; during autumn and spring. Results:, Between 12 and 17 mothers from the different groups accepted to participate, both groups of mothers of Somali origin had significantly lower values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D compared with Swedish mothers. The difference of 25-hydroxyvitamin D between mothers of Somali origin with and without a child with autism was not significant. Conclusion:, Our findings of low vitamin D levels in Somali women entail considerable consequences in a public health perspective. The observed tendency, i.e. the lowest values in mothers of Somali origin with a child with autism was in the predicted direction, supporting the need for further research of vitamin D levels in larger samples of Somali mothers of children with and without autism. [source] Hydrogen-Bonding Cooperativity: Using an Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond To Design a Carbohydrate Derivative with a Cooperative Hydrogen-Bond Donor CentreCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 17 2004Virginie Vicente Dr. Abstract Neighbouring groups can be strategically located to polarise HO,,,OH intramolecular hydrogen bonds in an intended direction. A group with a unique hydrogen-bond donor or acceptor character, located at hydrogen-bonding distance to a particular OH group, has been used to initiate the hydrogen-bond network and to polarise a HO,,,OH hydrogen bond in a predicted direction. This enhanced the donor character of a particular OH group and made it a cooperative hydrogen-bond centre. We have proved that a five-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond established between an amide NH group and a hydroxy group (1,2-e,a), which is additionally located in a 1,3 -cis- diaxial relationship to a second hydroxy group, can be used to select a unique direction on the six-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond between the two axial OH groups, so that one of them behaves as an efficient cooperative donor. Talose derivative 3 was designed and synthesised to prove this hydrogen-bonding network by NMR spectroscopy, and the mannopyranoside derivatives 1 and 2 were used as models to demonstrate the presence in solution of the 1,2-(e,a)/five-membered-ring intramolecular hydrogen bond. Once a well-defined hydrogen-bond is formed between the OH and the amido groups of a pyranose ring, these hydrogen-bonding groups no longer act as independent hydrogen-bonding centres, but as hydrogen-bonding arrays. This introduces a new perspective on the properties of carbohydrate OH groups and it is important for the de novo design of molecular recognition processes, at least in nonpolar media. Carbohydrates 1,3 have shown to be efficient phosphate binders in nonpolar solvents owing to the presence of cooperative hydroxy centres in the molecule. [source] Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MINI-MAC) scalePSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 6 2003Samuel M.Y. Ho The psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale (Mini-MAC) were examined among 115 Chinese cancer patients in Hong Kong. The five subscales from the original Mini-MAC (Anxious Preoccupation, Helpless,Hopeless, Fighting Spirit, Fatalism, Cognitive Avoidance) had acceptable internal reliabilities (Cronbach's , ranged from 0.65 to 0.88) and construct validities in our sample. Factor analysis suggested three factors: (1) Negative Emotion (,=0.91) contained items of the Anxious Preoccupation and the Helpless,Hopeless subscales of the original Mini-MAC, (2) Positive Attitude (,=0.77) combined the Fighting Spirit and the Fatalism subscales of the original version, and (3) Cognitive Avoidance (,=0.65) which was identical to the Cognitive Avoidance subscale of the original Mini-MAC. Construct validities of the novel factors were shown by their correlations with HADS Anxiety and Depression scores in the predicted directions. It was concluded that both the 5-factor model from the original Mini-MAC and the 3-factor model from the present study were valid in Hong Kong Chinese cancer patients. The results were discussed in terms of the meaning of the original Mini-MAC factors and cultural differences in coping functions between Chinese and UK cancer patients. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||