The lower quality of preventive care among forced migrants in a country with universal healthcare coverage.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between socio-demographic factors and the quality of preventive care and chronic care of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in a country with universal health care coverage. METHODS: Our retrospective cohort assessed a random sample of 966 patients aged 50-80years followed over 2years (2005-2006) in 4 Swiss university primary care settings (Basel/Geneva/Lausanne/Zürich). We used RAND's Quality Assessment Tools indicators and examined recommended preventive care among different socio-demographic subgroups. RESULTS: Overall patients received 69.6% of recommended preventive care. Preventive care indicators were more likely to be met among men (72.8% vs. 65.4%; p<0.001), younger patients (from 71.0% at 50-59years to 66.7% at 70-80years, p for trend=0.03) and Swiss patients (71.1% vs. 62.7% in forced migrants; p=0.001). This latter difference remained in multivariate analysis adjusted for gender, age, civil status and occupation (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.54-0.86). Forced migrants had lower scores for physical examination and breast and colon cancer screening (all p≤0.02). No major differences were seen for chronic care of CV risk factors. CONCLUSION: Despite universal healthcare coverage, forced migrants receive less preventive care than Swiss patients in university primary care settings. Greater attention should be paid to forced migrants for preventive care.

Pheomelanin-based coloration and the ability to cope with variation in food supply and parasitism.

Although gene by environment interactions may play a key role in the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms, little is known about the ecological factors involved in these interactions. We investigated whether food supply and parasites can mediate covariation between the degree of adult pheomelanin-based coloration, a heritable trait, and offspring body mass in the tawny owl (Strix aluco). We swapped clutches between nests to allocate genotypes randomly among environments. Three weeks after hatching, we challenged the immune system of 80 unrelated nestlings with either a phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or a lipopolysaccharide, surrogates of alternative parasites, and then fed them ad lib. or food-restricted them during the following 6 days in the laboratory. Whatever the immune challenge, nestlings fed ad lib. converted food more efficiently into body mass when their biological mother was dark pheomelanic. In contrast, food-restricted nestlings challenged with PHA lost less body mass when their biological mother was pale pheomelanic. Nestling tawny owls born from differently melanic mothers thus show differing reaction norms relative to food availability and parasitism. This suggests that dark and pale pheomelanic owls reflect alternative adaptations to food availability and parasites, factors known to vary in space and time.

Melanin-based colour polymorphism signals aggressive personality in nest and territory defence in the tawny owl (Strix aluco)

Nest and territory defence are risky and potentially dangerous behaviours. If the resolution of life history trade-offs differs between individuals, the level of defence may also vary among individuals. Because melanin-based colour traits can be associated with life history strategies, differently coloured individuals may display different nest and territory defence strategies. We investigated this issue in the colour polymorphic tawny owl (Strix aluco) for which plumage varies from dark to light reddish melanic. Accordingly, we found that (1) our presence induced a greater response (flying around) from dark-coloured than light-coloured females and (2) dark reddish males suffered lower nest predation rates than light-coloured males. In experimentally enlarged broods, the probability that females reacted after we played back the hoot calls of a stranger male was higher if these females were lighter reddish; the opposite pattern was found in experimentally reduced broods with dark parents being more reactive than light parents. Finally, darker females alarmed more frequently when paired with a light than with a dark male, suggesting that partners adjust their behaviour to each other. We also tested whether colouration is used as a signal by conspecifics to adjust the level of their defensive behaviour. Accordingly, breeding females responded more vigorously to a dark than a light reddish stuffed tawny owl placed beside their nest. We conclude that melanin-based colouration is a signal of alternative nest and territory defence behaviour that depends on ecological factors.

Sex ratio and Wolbachia infection in the ant Formica exsecta.

Sex allocation data in social Hymenoptera provide some of the best tests of kin selection, parent-offspring conflict and sex ratio theories. However, these studies critically depend on controlling for confounding ecological factors and on identifying all parties that potentially manipulate colony sex ratio. It has been suggested that maternally inherited parasites may influence sex allocation in social Hymenoptera. If the parasites can influence sex allocation, infected colonies are predicted to invest more resources in females than non-infected colonies, because the parasites are transmitted through females but not males. Prime candidates for such sex ratio manipulation are Wolbachia, because these cytoplasmically transmitted bacteria have been shown to affect the sex ratio of host arthropods by cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, male-killing and feminization. In this study, we tested whether Wolbachia infection is associated with colony sex ratio in two populations of the ant Formica exsecta that have been the subject of extensive sex ratio studies. In these populations colonies specialize in the production of one sex or the other. We found that almost all F. exsecta colonies in both populations are infected with Wolbachia. However, in neither population did we find a significant association in the predicted direction between the prevalence of Wolbachia and colony sex ratio. In particular, colonies with a higher proportion of infected workers did not produce more females. Hence, we conclude that Wolbachia does not seem to alter the sex ratio of its hosts as a means to increase transmission rate in these two populations of ants.

Alcohol consumption and binge drinking in young adult childhood cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: This study compared frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking between young adult childhood cancer survivors and the general population in Switzerland, and assessed its socio-demographic and clinical determinants. PROCEDURE: Childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed 1976-2003, who had survived >5 years and were currently aged 20-40 years received a postal questionnaire. Reported frequency of alcohol use and of binge drinking were compared to the Swiss Health Survey, a representative general population survey. Determinants of frequent alcohol consumption and binge drinking were assessed in a multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 1,697 eligible survivors, 1,447 could be contacted and 1,049 (73%) responded. Survivors reported more often than controls to consume alcohol frequently (OR = 1.7; 95%CI = 1.3-2.1) and to engage in binge drinking (OR = 2.9; 95%CI = 2.3-3.8). Peak frequency of binge drinking in males occurred at age 24-26 years in survivors, compared to age 18-20 in the general population. Socio-demographic factors (male gender, high educational attainment, French and Italian speaking, and migration background from Northern European countries) were most strongly associated with alcohol consumption patterns among both survivors and controls. CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of alcohol consumption found in this study is a matter of concern. Our data suggest that survivors should be better informed on the health effects of alcohol consumption during routine follow-up, and that such counseling should be included in clinical guidelines. Future research should study motives of alcohol consumption among survivors to allow development of targeted health interventions for this vulnerable group.

Usages de l'eau à Gaya (Niger) : entre fortes potentialités et contraintes majeures

Résumé: Le département de Gaya, cadre de notre étude, est situé au sud-ouest de la république du Niger. Il dispose d'un important potentiel hydrique composé des eaux de surface (une centaine de mares permanentes, le fleuve Niger sur 106 km) et de sept aquifères superposés comprenant des nappes de subsurface (affleurantes par endroit) et des nappes artésiennes. L'étude sur les usages de l'eau à Gaya a été menée à travers plusieurs axes centrés sur l'estimation et la répartition spatiale des ressources en eau, le cadre juridique et institutionnel régulant leur mise en valeur, les différents secteurs d'utilisation de l'eau ainsi que les contraintes affectant cette utilisation. L'usage de la cartographie à travers les SIG dans le traitement et l'analyse des données, couplée à notre expérience d'une dizaine d'année de travaux dans la région, a permis de dresser des synthèses richement illustrées permettant de mieux comprendre tous les enjeux liés à la problématique des usages de l'eau dans cette partie du Niger. Contrairement à la vision que l'on a traditionnellement du Sahel où le manque d'eau constitue une des contraintes majeures au développement, ici des conditions locales particulières contredisent ce cliché et transposent le débat sur un autre plan. Il s'agit de la maîtrise de l'eau au niveau local à travers l'élaboration d'une politique appropriée qui tienne compte non seulement des spécificités locales de la ressource, mais aussi des différents types d'usages. La politique de l'eau au Niger, définie selon le Schéma directeur de mise en valeur et de gestion des ressources en eau, à travers la mise en place d'un important arsenal juridique et institutionnel, a eu le mérite de tracer un canevas sur la question, mais a montré ses limites au niveau pratique après dix ans d'essai. En effet au niveau de Gaya, ni l'Etat ni les partenaires au développement (bailleurs de fonds extérieurs) n'ont tenu compte des caractéristiques locales de la ressource ou du contexte socioéconomique particulier de la région. Ce qui a entraîné la réalisation d'infrastructures inadaptées aux réalités hydrogéologiques locales ainsi que des choix inappropriés au niveau de certains aménagements. En dépit de l'abondance de la ressource, son accès tant au niveau quantitatif que qualitatif, reste difficile pour une grande partie des acteurs ruraux. Les différents handicaps rencontrés dans la mise en valeur des ressources en eau résultent de cette incohérence de la politique nationale de l'eau, mais aussi de la difficulté de son application sur le terrain où persiste un pluralisme juridique caractérisé par la cohabitation de deux systèmes de régulation à savoir les droits coutumiers et la législation moderne. Ces différents éléments mis en évidence dans cette étude sur la zone de Gaya pourraient servir de base pour un meilleur aménagement des ressources en eau dans le cadre plus large d'une politique d'aménagement du territoire prenant en compte tous les facteurs tant physiques que socioéconomiques de la région. Abstract: The department of Gaya, in which this study was done, is located in the SW area of the Republic of Niger. It has an important hydrological potential composed of surface water (approximately 100 permanent ponds, 106 km of the Niger River) and 7 bodies of underground water sources including sub-surface and artresan wells. This study of the exploitation of wtaer in Gaya has been carried out employing several parameters based on: the estimation and spacial distribution of water ressources, the juridic and institutional rules governing their utilisation and the various constraints affecting this exploitation. The use of mapping when treating and analysing data, coupled with ten years personel field experience, resulted in a richly illustrated synthesis of this data. This, in turn, led to a better comprehension of all the factors related to problems of water utilisation in this particular region of Niger. Contrary to the generally accepted view that the lack of water ressources is a major contributing factor to the lack of development in the Sahel, in Gaya the local conditions contradict this statement. In this region, and at the local level, the proper use of water is based on the elaboration of an appropriate policy which takes into account not only the local specifics of water ressources but the various types of water utilsation as well. Local use of water and water ressources are dependant on established rules. Water policy in Niger is defined by the General Schema based on an important institutional and judicary arsenal of rules and regulations. However, after a ten-year trial period, this system was shown to have its limitations. In Gaya, neither the State nor the development agencies took into consideration local characteristics nor the socio-economic context of the region. This, in turn, resulted in putting in place infrastructures that were not adapted to local hydrogeological realities as well as inappropriate choices in land planning and development. In spite of the abundance of water ressources, access to them remains difficult for most of the rural population. The various difficulties encountered are the result of incoherent water policies on a national level as well as the lack of practical application in this area. This is due to a double judicary system where two regulatory systems co-exist:traditional laws and modern legislation. the different elements brought out by this study could serve as a basis for a better utilisation of water ressources on a larger scale in which land planning and development policies would take into consideration all the physcial as well as the socio-economical factors of this region.

Biological evidence supports an early and complex emergence of the Isthmus of Panama.

The linking of North and South America by the Isthmus of Panama had major impacts on global climate, oceanic and atmospheric currents, and biodiversity, yet the timing of this critical event remains contentious. The Isthmus is traditionally understood to have fully closed by ca. 3.5 million years ago (Ma), and this date has been used as a benchmark for oceanographic, climatic, and evolutionary research, but recent evidence suggests a more complex geological formation. Here, we analyze both molecular and fossil data to evaluate the tempo of biotic exchange across the Americas in light of geological evidence. We demonstrate significant waves of dispersal of terrestrial organisms at approximately ca. 20 and 6 Ma and corresponding events separating marine organisms in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at ca. 23 and 7 Ma. The direction of dispersal and their rates were symmetrical until the last ca. 6 Ma, when northern migration of South American lineages increased significantly. Variability among taxa in their timing of dispersal or vicariance across the Isthmus is not explained by the ecological factors tested in these analyses, including biome type, dispersal ability, and elevation preference. Migration was therefore not generally regulated by intrinsic traits but more likely reflects the presence of emergent terrain several millions of years earlier than commonly assumed. These results indicate that the dramatic biotic turnover associated with the Great American Biotic Interchange was a long and complex process that began as early as the Oligocene-Miocene transition.

Quantification of environment-driven changes in epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities associated to Phragmites australis

The epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities associated with the Common Reed, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel, were examined seasonally from summer 2004 to spring 2005 in eleven coastal lagoons of the Llobregat Delta (NE Spain) following the method proposed by Kornijów & Kairesalo (1994). The aims of the study were to: 1) characterise and quantify changes in epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities along environmental gradients; 2) assess the contribution of elements of the epiphytic compartment to structuring the community; 3) define the optima and tolerances of selected epiphytic macroinvertebrate taxa for the most relevant ecological factors responsible for assemblage composition; and 4) identify possible epiphytic species assemblages that would allow a lagoon"s typology to be established, as well as their representative indicator species. Communities showed statistically significant seasonal variation, with two faunal peaks: one in summer, with high chironomid densities, and the other in winter, with high naidid densities. These peaks showed a clear response to the influence of environmental factors. Salinity explained the highest percentage of total variance (36%), while trophic variables (nutrients, phytoplanktonic chlorophyll-a, and total organic carbon) and epiphyton biomass (19.2 and 4% of total variance explained, respectively) were secondary. Three different epiphytic macroinvertebrate species assemblages could be defined. These assemblages were directly linked to conductivity conditions, which determined the rate of survival of certain taxa, and to the existence of a direct connection with the sea, which permitted the establishment of 'brackish-water' species. In spite of the existence of these species assemblages, the species composition and biomass of epiphytic macroinvertebrates and epiphyton differed substantially between lagoons; both elements were subject to changes in the environment, which finally determined the site-to-site variation in the density and composition of the macroinvertebrate population

Divergence with gene flow and fine-scale phylogeographical structure in the wedge-billed woodcreeper, Glyphorynchus spirurus, a Neotropical rainforest bird.

Determining the relative roles of vicariance and selection in restricting gene flow between populations is of central importance to the evolutionary process of population divergence and speciation. Here we use molecular and morphological data to contrast the effect of isolation (by mountains and geographical distance) with that of ecological factors (altitudinal gradients) in promoting differentiation in the wedge-billed woodcreeper, Glyphorynchus spirurus, a tropical forest bird, in Ecuador. Tarsus length and beak size increased relative to body size with altitude on both sides of the Andes, and were correlated with the amount of moss on tree trunks, suggesting the role of selection in driving adaptive divergence. In contrast, molecular data revealed a considerable degree of admixture along these altitudinal gradients, suggesting that adaptive divergence in morphological traits has occurred in the presence of gene flow. As suggested by mitochondrial DNA sequence data, the Andes act as a barrier to gene flow between ancient subspecific lineages. Genome-wide amplified fragment length polymorphism markers reflected more recent patterns of gene flow and revealed fine-scale patterns of population differentiation that were not detectable with mitochondrial DNA, including the differentiation of isolated coastal populations west of the Andes. Our results support the predominant role of geographical isolation in driving genetic differentiation in G. spirurus, yet suggest the role of selection in driving parallel morphological divergence along ecological gradients.

Life span and reproductive cost explain interspecific variation in the optimal onset of reproduction.

Fitness can be profoundly influenced by the age at first reproduction (AFR), but to date the AFR-fitness relationship only has been investigated intraspecifically. Here, we investigated the relationship between AFR and average lifetime reproductive success (LRS) across 34 bird species. We assessed differences in the deviation of the Optimal AFR (i.e., the species-specific AFR associated with the highest LRS) from the age at sexual maturity, considering potential effects of life history as well as social and ecological factors. Most individuals adopted the species-specific Optimal AFR and both the mean and Optimal AFR of species correlated positively with life span. Interspecific deviations of the Optimal AFR were associated with indices reflecting a change in LRS or survival as a function of AFR: a delayed AFR was beneficial in species where early AFR was associated with a decrease in subsequent survival or reproductive output. Overall, our results suggest that a delayed onset of reproduction beyond maturity is an optimal strategy explained by a long life span and costs of early reproduction. By providing the first empirical confirmations of key predictions of life-history theory across species, this study contributes to a better understanding of life-history evolution.

Age-Related Tooth Wear Differs between Forest and Savanna Primates

Tooth wear in primates is caused by aging and ecological factors. However, comparative data that would allow us to delineate the contribution of each of these factors are lacking. Here, we contrast age-dependent molar tooth wear by scoring percent of dentine exposure (PDE) in two wild African primate populations from Gabonese forest and Kenyan savanna habitats. We found that forest-dwelling mandrills exhibited significantly higher PDE with age than savanna yellow baboons. Mandrills mainly feed on large tough food items, such as hard-shell fruits, and inhabit an ecosystem with a high presence of mineral quartz. By contrast, baboons consume large amounts of exogenous grit that adheres to underground storage organs but the proportion of quartz in the soils where baboons live is low. Our results support the hypothesis that not only age but also physical food properties and soil composition, particularly quartz richness, are factors that significantly impact tooth wear. We further propose that the accelerated dental wear in mandrills resulting in flatter molars with old age may represent an adaptation to process hard food items present in their environment.

Individual Differences in Music Reward Experiences

Music is one of the most pleasant human experiences, even though it has no direct biological advantage. However little is known about individual differences in how people experience reward in music-related activities. The goal of the present study was to describe the main facets of music experience that could explain the variance observed in how people experience reward associated with music. To this end we developed the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ), which was administrated to three large samples. Our results showed that the musical reward experience can be decomposed into five reliable factors: Musical Seeking, Emotion Evocation, Mood Regulation, Social Reward, and Sensory-Motor. These factors were correlated with socio-demographic factors and measures of general sensitivity to reward and hedonic experience. We propose that the five-factor structure of musical reward experience might be very relevant in the study of psychological and neural bases of emotion and pleasure associated to music.

Lapsen sosiaalisen kompetenssin tukeminen – vanhempien epäsuorat ja suorat vaikutustavat

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan vanhempien havaintoja ja käsityksiä lapsen sosiaalisesta kompetenssista. Lapsen sosiaalisesta kompetenssista tarkastelun kohteena ovat erityisesti vertaissuhteet, sosiaaliset taidot ja sosiaalinen käyttäytyminen. Tarkoituksena on selvittää vanhempien näkemyksiä lapsen sosiaalisesta verkostosta ja lapsesta sosiaalisena toimijana. Kiinnostuksen kohteena on myös, miten vanhemmat vaikuttamaan lapsen sosiaaliseen kompetenssiin. Vanhempien vaikutuksessa voidaan erottaa epäsuora ja suora vaikutus. Vanhempien epäsuoraan vaikutukseen kuuluvat perheen sosioekonomiset tekijät, vanhemmuuteen ja lastenkasvatukseen liittyvät käytännöt sekä lapsen ja vanhemman välinen vuorovaikutus. Suora vaikutus sisältää vanhempien eri roolit ja tehtävät sosiaalisen kompetenssin edistämiseksi. Vanhempien epäsuorilla ja suorilla vaikutustavoilla on havaittu olevan merkittävää vaikutusta lapsen sosiaalisen kompetenssiin muotoutumiseen ja sen laatuun. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään vertaissuhdeongelmaisten ja ei-ongelmaisten lasten vanhempien välisiä eroja näissä vaikutustavoissa. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnetään kyselylomake- ja haastatteluaineistoja. Kyselylomakeaineisto (N=156) kerättiin ”Origins of Exclusion in Early Childhood”-tutkimusprojektissa, jossa tutkittiin lasten vertaissuhteita, sosiaalisia taitoja sekä sosiaalista käyttäytymistä kolmen vuoden seurantatutkimuksena päiväkodista kouluun. Perhekysely toteutettiin lasten ollessa kuusivuotiaita. Vanhempien haastatteluaineisto (N=55) koostuu projektissa mukana olleiden lasten vanhempien teemahaastatteluista. Perhekyselyä analysoidaan tilastollisin analyysimenetelmin. Laadullisen aineiston analyysimenetelmänä käytetään sisällönanalyysia. Vanhempien käsityksissä lasten sosiaalinen verkosto rakentui kotiympäristössä, koulussa, päiväkodissa sekä suvun ja harrastusten parissa muodostuneista suhteista. Tutkimustulosten perusteella on havaittavissa, että vertaissuhdeongelmaisten ja ei-ongelmaisten lasten sosiaaliset verkostot ovat osin erilaiset. Vanhempien arviointien mukaan myös lasten sosiaalisissa taidoissa, käyttäytymisessä, asennoitumisessa sosiaaliseen kanssakäymiseen sekä ryhmään ja leikkeihin liittyvissä strategioissa on eroavaisuuksia. Tutkimuksen pohjalta voidaan todeta, että vanhemmat pystyvät arvioimaan hyvin yksityiskohtaisesti lapsensa sosiaalisia taitoja ja käyttäytymistä. Kaikilla vanhemmilla ei kuitenkaan ollut riittävästi tietoa lasten kaveripiiristä tai sen laadusta eikä lasten sosiaalisesta orientaatiosta. Vanhempien epäsuorissa vaikutustavoissa oli eroja, mutta myös yhtäläisyyksiä. Sosioekonomisia tekijöitä koskevan tarkastelun perusteella vertaissuhdeongelmaisten lasten perheiden taloudelliset ongelmat, isien työttömyys ja lapsen erityisen tuen tarve olivat yhteydessä lapsen sosiaalisten suhteiden ongelmiin. Lähes kaikki tutkimukseen osallistuneet vanhemmat kokivat vanhemmuuden ja kasvatustehtävän kuitenkin hyvin myönteisenä ja tyytyväisyyttä tuottavana asiana elämässä. Valtaosa vanhemmista piti lapsen ja aikuisen välistä vuorovaikutusta positiivisena, vaikka lapsen kanssa ei aina ollutkaan helppoa tulla toimeen. Tyytyväisyydestä huolimatta äidit näkivät itsessään enemmän kehittymisen tarpeita vanhempana kuin isät. Vanhemmuudessa korostuivat ohjaaminen ja kontrolli, mutta myös hoiva, lämpö ja vastavuoroisuus. Hoiva ja lämpö sekä rajojen asettaminen askarruttivat vanhempia suuresti. Vertaissuhdeongelmaisten lasten vanhemmat tarvitsisivat opastusta ohjaavan vanhemmuuden löytämiseksi. Vertaissuhdeongelmaisten lasten vanhemmat kuvasivat kasvatuksen kuormittavuutta, ajan puutetta sekä muuntuvaa isyyttä ja äitiyttä ei-ongelmaisten lasten vanhempia enemmän. Työn ja perheen yhteensovittamisen vaikeus tuli myös esille vanhempien kuvauksissa. Kyvykkään vanhemmuuden kannalta epävirallinen läheisistä muodostunut tukiverkosto on tärkeä vanhemman apu ja kasvatuksen turva. Ensisijaisena tukitahona on epävirallinen verkosto, joka koostuu ystävistä, tuttavista, työtovereista, puolisosta ja omista vanhemmista. Vertaissuhdeongelmaisten lasten vanhempien mukaan arjen tukea ei kuitenkaan ole aina saatavilla, eikä tukiverkosto tyydyttänyt vanhempia. Vanhempien käsityksissä perheen vuorovaikutus sujui hyvin ja vastuu kodista ja kasvatustehtävästä oli molemmilla vanhemmilla tasavertaisesti. Käytännön vastuu kasvatuksesta sekä erilaisten taitojen opettamisesta lapsille kuului äitien tehtäviin. Vanhempien näkemyksissä lapsen sosiaalinen maailma rakentui lähiympäristön tarjoamista mahdollisuuksista. Vanhempien suoriin vaikutustapoihin liittyvien tulosten mukaan vanhemmat pitävät harrastuksia merkittävänä sosiaalista kompetenssia edistävänä tekijänä. Ei-ongelmaisilla lapsilla oli enemmän ja monipuolisempia harrastuksia kuin ongelmaisilla lapsilla. Vaikka vanhemmat eivät mieltäneetkään omaa toimintaansa kaveripiiriin ohjaamiseksi, heillä useinkin oli runsaasti erilaisia rooleja ja tehtäviä sosiaalisten suhteiden ja sosiaalisten taitojen opettamisessa. Lapsen sosiaalisten suhteiden organisoinnissa, ohjaamisessa, valvonnassa ja neuvonnassa oli vanhempiryhmien välillä eroja. Vertaissuhdeongelmaisten lasten vanhemmat eivät olleet riittävän hyvin perillä lapsen taidoista ja kyvykkyydestä tuottaakseen oikea-aikaista ohjausta ja tukeakseen lasta riittävästi sopivilla tavoilla. Vanhempien toimintaa näyttää ohjaavan vakaasti se uskomus, että lapsen kaverisuhteet ovat pelkästään hänen oma asiansa. Vanhemmat arvostivat paljon sosiaalisia taitoja ja pyrkivät opettamaan niitä lapsilleen systemaattisesti. Ohjaamisen tavoissa vanhemmat poikkesivat toisistaan. Tutkimus antaa viitteitä, että eiongelmaisten lasten vanhemmat ovat sensitiivisempiä, vastavuoroisempia ja lapsen näkökulmaa ja tarpeita lähtökohtanaan pitäviä sekä tunnetaitoihin ja tunnetilan käsittelyyn keskittyvämpiä kuin ongelmaisten lasten vanhemmat. Vanhempien ja lasten vuorovaikutuksen vaikeudet, ylimalkainen ja epäjohdonmukainen sosiaalisten taitojen, käyttäytymisen sekä suhteiden ohjaus sekä monet perheen voimavarojen puutteet voivat haitata vakavasti lapsen sosiaalisen kompetenssin kehittymistä. Vanhemmilla on kuitenkin taitoa arvioida lapsensa sosiaalista kyvykkyyttä ja halua toimia hyvin kasvatustehtävässään. Vanhemmuuden tukemisessa olisivatkin tärkeitä epävirallisen tukiverkoston lisäksi lähiympäristön perheille ja lapsille suunnatut palvelut, monitahoinen yhteistyö perheiden, lasten ja heidän kanssaan työskentelevien ammattilaisten kesken sekä yhteiskunnan perheitä koskevat säädökset ja tukitoimet.

Germination ecology of Rhynchosia capitata: an emerging summer weed in Asia

Rhynchosia capitata is becoming an increasing problem in summer crops, such as cotton, soybean, pearl millet and mungbean in many Asian countries. Laboratory and greenhouse studies have been conducted to determine the effects of several environmental factors on seed germination patterns and seedling emergence of R. capitata. We investigated whether the diverse ecological factors such as temperature, light, salinity, moisture stress, pH, and soil depth affected germination and seedling emergence of R. capitata. Germination increased as temperature increased from 25ºC and significantly reduced at 45ºC. Presence or absence of light did not influence germination. Germination of R. capitata was sensitive to increased salt and moisture stress, as well as to seed burial depth. Only 48% of seeds germinated at 150 mM salt concentration compared to 100% in control (distilled water). Similarly, 15% of seeds germinated at an osmotic potential of ‑0.8 MPa compared to 88% at ‑0.2 MPa. The optimum pH for seed germination of R. capitata was 7 (98% germination), but the seeds also germinated at lower level of pH 5 (85%) and at higher level of pH 10 (75%). In seed burial trial, maximum seedling emergence of 93% occurred at 2 cm depth, and seedling did not emerge from a depth of 12 cm. The high germination ability of R. capitata under a wide range of ecological factors suggests that this species is likely to be the one to cause more problems in a near future, if not managed appropriately.