Following decades of research on stress and its impact on behaviour, it is now widely accepted that selective psycho-pathologies, in particular clinical depression are more prevalent in humans with prior history of life-stress events. Interest in stress has led to questions about how it might affect the physiology and behaviour of animals exposed indirectly during gestational development. Not unexpectedly gestational stress has been shown to affect the offspring in several ways: endocrine responses to stress are elevated, fear, arousal and affective disturbances are all subject to vary if the pregnant animal is subjected to periods of aversive stimulation. Beginning in 1997, Michael Meaney of McGill University produced a series of publications suggesting that peri-natal events influence offspring and infant development, not via physical discomfort or physiological disturbance, but does so through modifications of maternal behaviour. Highly nurturant mothers (those who engage in active arched-back nursing (ABN), and spend more time licking and grooming (L/G) their pups), programme their offspring with improved cognitive abilities, decreased anxiety and fear, and reduced HPA axis hormone secretion. Low-nurturant mothers, who engage in less ABN and less L/G, tend to programme the opposite responses in their offspring. Our initial foray into this field was to investigate if gestational stress might also produce responses in the offspring via changes in maternal behaviour, and indeed ABN and L/G were reduced in dams which were subjected to gestational stress. We queried why stressed Dams would be less maternal towards their infants, and tested gestationally-stressed Dams in the Porsolt test for depressive-like behaviour. Our results suggested that these stressed Dams were actually depressed and this resulted in less maternal behaviour. Human mothers with depression are also less maternal and have been shown to divest themselves of infant care much like our prenatally-stressed Dams. On this basis we have proposed that gestational stress induced decrements in maternal behaviour represent a novel rat model for postnatal depression with face and construct validities. In the present work we have attempted to replicate the findings of Smythe's group (Smith et al., 2004), and have investigated the potential for antidepressants to alter the influence of gestational stress on maternal behaviours and depressive-like response, and whether or not the offspring are modified by maternal treatment with ant-depressants. Approximately 140 time-mated, lister hooded rats were generated in house, and subjected to gestational stress on days 10-20 (1hr restraint/day) or remained undisturbed in their home cages. Following birth, cohorts of control and stressed Dams were administered vehicle or an antidepressant (imipramine 15mg/kg; or sertraline 10mg/kg) once daily until postnatal day 10. We assessed maternal Porsolt activity, nurturance (ABN, L/G, nest building) and anxiety-like behaviour in the elevated plus maze (EPM). Representative offspring of each Dam's treatment conditions were maintained post weaning and assessed in the Porsolt and EPM to determine if any changes in maternal behaviour elicited by the antidepressants altered their behavioural programming. Our findings confirm that Dams show depressive-like symptoms following gestational stress, and that administration of antidepressants to the Dams reduces depressive-like behaviour and increased maternal care. We propose that rat gestational stress is a putative model for human postnatal depression. Prenatal stress effects on maternal behaviour in the rat Dam represent a novel, and innovative model for human postnatal depression.

<p>Understanding how genes affect behavior is critical to develop precise therapies for human behavioral disorders. The ability to investigate the relationship between genes and behavior has been greatly advanced over the last few decades due to progress in gene-targeting technology. Recently, the Tet gene family was discovered and implicated in epigenetic modification of DNA methylation by converting 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). 5hmC and its catalysts, the TET proteins, are highly abundant in the postnatal brain but with unclear functions. To investigate their neural functions, we generated new lines of Tet1 and Tet3 mutant mice using a gene targeting approach. We designed both mutations to cause a frameshift by deleting the largest coding exon of Tet1 (Tet1Δe4) and the catalytic domain of Tet3 (Tet3Δe7-9). As Tet1 is also highly expressed in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), we generated Tet1 homozygous deleted ESCs through sequential targeting to compare the function of Tet1 in the brain to its role in ESCs. To test our hypothesis that TET proteins epigenetically regulate transcription of key neural genes important for normal brain function, we examined transcriptional and epigenetic differences in the Tet1Δe4 mouse brain. The oxytocin receptor (OXTR), a neural gene implicated in social behaviors, is suggested to be epigenetically regulated by an unknown mechanism. Interestingly, several human studies have found associations between OXTR DNA hypermethylation and a wide spectrum of behavioral traits and neuropsychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorders. Here we report the first evidence for an epigenetic mechanism of Oxtr transcription as expression of Oxtr is reduced in the brains of Tet1Δe4-/- mice. Likewise, the CpG island overlapping the promoter of Oxtr is hypermethylated during early embryonic development and persists into adulthood. We also discovered altered histone modifications at the hypermethylated regions, indicating the loss of TET1 has broad effects on the chromatin structure at Oxtr. Unexpectedly, we discovered an array of novel mRNA isoforms of Oxtr that are selectively reduced in Tet1Δe4-/- mice. Additionally, Tet1Δe4-/- mice display increased agonistic behaviors and impaired maternal care and short-term memory. Our findings support a novel role for TET1 in regulating Oxtr expression by preventing DNA hypermethylation and implicate TET1 in social behaviors, offering novel insight into Oxtr epigenetic regulation and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders.</p> / Dissertation

O trabalho teve como objetivo compreender o relacionamento entre a égua e o potro e a influência deste sobre o comportamento social e temperamento do potro, a partir do décimo primeiro dia de vida até após o processo de desmama do potro. Oito díades de éguas e potros da raça Mangalarga Marchador provenientes de um criatório situado na cidade de Amparo/SP foram avaliadas durante três etapas distintas. A primeira foi realizada para caracterizar o comportamento social do grupo de equinos e o relacionamento entre égua e potro durante os três períodos de desenvolvimento do potro (dependência, socialização e independência). Nessa etapa foram registradas: as interações agonísticas das éguas; episódios de mamada dos potros (tentativas e mamadas) e para o par égua e potro foram anotados os comportamentos afiliativos e a relação espacial. Ao final dessa etapa os potros foram classificados em dependentes e independentes e as éguas foram divididas de acordo com sua hierarquia. A segunda etapa constitui-se da avaliação das atividades e relação espacial dos potros durante o processo de desmama, para a caracterização do estresse dos potros. Na terceira etapa a relação social dos potros foi observada na ausência de suas mães, através do registro das interações e da relação espacial dos potros. Durante as três etapas foram aplicados quatro testes de avaliação dos aspectos do temperamento dos animais: teste de reatividade durante o manejo de escovação para a avaliação da reatividade ao manejo; teste de arena para avaliar a emotividade ao isolamento; teste de reatividade perante humano desconhecido e ativo para avaliar a reatividade ao humano; e teste da presença de estímulo sonoro desconhecido para avaliação da emotividade ao estímulo desconhecido. A hierarquia e a experiência da mãe interferiam no cuidado materno de aleitamento (P&LT;0,05), entretanto, não influenciaram o cuidado de proteção (P&GT;0,05). A frequência de permanência dos potros com sua mãe na distância de até 1 metro diminuiu ao longo dos períodos (P&LT;0,05). As éguas não modificaram a frequência dos comportamentos afiliativos com seus potros ao longo dos períodos (P&GT;0,05). As maiores frequências de comportamentos afiliativos dos potros com suas mães foram durante os períodos iniciais do desenvolvimento do potro (dependência e socialização, P&LT;0,05). Potros dependentes apresentaram maior frequência e menor duração das mamadas quando comparado à frequência e duração dos potros independentes (P&LT;0,05). A reatividade ao manejo e a emotividade ao isolamento dos potros foram maiores nos períodos da dependência, da socialização e durante a desmama (P&LT;0,05). A reatividade ao humano e emotividade ao desconhecido apresentaram a tendência de diminuir ao longo dos períodos observados (P&LT;0,05). Os potros dependentes apresentaram maior emotividade ao desconhecido e ao isolamento (P&LT;0,05), além de maior estresse durante a desmama, quando comparado aos potros independentes. Todos os potros normalizaram suas atividades no decorrer do processo da desmama. Na ausência das mães os potros independentes foram os que iniciaram a maioria das interações entre os animais (P&LT;0,05). O relacionamento entre a égua e o potro foi modificado devido às características maternas de hierarquia e experiência, além do nível de independência do potro e do seu temperamento. / The study aimed to understand the relationship between the mare and the foal and the influence of this on the social behavior and foal\'s temperament from the eleventh day of life until after the foal weaning process. Eight dyads of mares and foals Mangalarga Marchador from a farm situated in the city of Amparo/Brazil were evaluated during three different stages. The first stage was performed to characterize the social behavior of horses group and the relationship between mare and foal during the three foal developmental periods (dependency, socialization and independence). At the first stage the aggressive interactions of the mares were registered; episodes of sucking of foals (attempt and bout of sucking); and the pair mare and foal were noted the affiliative behaviors and spatial relationship. At the end of this stage the foals were classified as dependent and independent and mares were divided according to their hierarchy. In the second step we evaluated the activities and spatial relationship of foals during the weaning process, to characterize the stress of foals during this process. In the third stage the social relationship of foals was observed in the absence of their mothers, through the recording of interactions and the spatial relationship of the foals. During the three stages were applied four tests for assessing aspects of animal temper: reactivity test during brushing for evaluation of reactivity handling; arena test to evaluate the emotionality isolation; human reactivity test unknown and active to assess the reactivity to human; and test for the presence of unknown sound stimulus to evaluate the emotionality of the unknown stimulus. The hierarchy and the mother\'s experience interferes with maternal care of lactation (P&LT;0.05), but did not influence the protective care (P&GT;0.05). The frequency of stay of foals with mother at a distance of up to 1 meter decreased over the period (P&LT;0.05). The mares do not change the frequency of affiliative behaviors with their foals (P&GT;0.05). The highest frequency of affiliative behaviors foals with their mothers were during the early periods foal development (dependency and socialization; P&LT;0.05). The dependent foals presented a higher frequency and shorter duration of sucking bouts when compared to the frequency and duration of foals independent (P&LT;0.05). The reactivity handling and emotionality isolation of foals were higher in dependency periods, socialization and during weaning (P&LT;0.05). The reactivity of human and emotionality of the unknown showed a tendency to decrease over the observed periods (P&LT;0.05). The dependent foals showed larger emotionality to the unknown and isolation (P&LT;0.05). The dependent foals showed greater emotionality to the unknown and isolation (P&LT;0.05) as well as increased stress during weaning when compared to independent foals. All foals normalized its activities during the weaning process. After separation independent foals were those who started most interactions between animals (P&LT;0.05). The relationship between the mare and the foal was modified due to maternal characteristics hierarchy and experience, beyond the temperament of foal and independence level of the foal.

The place of birth for First Nations is a contested issue in Canada today. For the past 30 years, the practice of removing women from communities to birth in urban centre hospitals, called maternal evacuation, has been a part of the dialogue between First Nation organisations, the Canadian state, policy makers, and Academics. Concurrent to the practice of evacuation, there is a movement to repatriate birth to First Nations through Aboriginal midwifery. This multi-sited ethnography is based on 15 months of fieldwork in Manitoba, Canada and follows the practice of evacuation and the establishment of an Aboriginal midwifery practice in one northern First Nation community. The ethnography reveals that both evacuation and returning birth is a complex, multi-layered negotiation of risk between various actors. From women and their families, doctors and nurses, midwives and other health professionals: the management of risk is at the forefront of this discussion. This study takes into account how risk is imagined, created and targeted in the practice of maternity care for First Nations in Manitoba. The concept of risk and risk management takes on multiple forms as the practice of evacuation moves from the community to the urban centre, from federal land to provincial land, from the hospital to the board room. Through participation observation in the places of birth and interviews with the range of actors involved in maternity care for First Nations, this ethnography reveals the messiness of the concept of risk, and identifies where these actors collude and conflict on the topic of evacuation and repatriation. The study also traces how the state has co-opted the language of risk on all sides of this debate and how the bodies of the First Nations mother and midwife becomes sites in which these contestations over risk, responsibility, knowledge and safety occur.

Domestication has resulted in animals with broad variations between as well as within breeds, which allows for the selection and breeding of animals for preferred traits. This selection has affected both the genotypes and phenotypes of animals. In dogs, it has allowed for breeding for different purposes, such as companionship or the performance of specific tasks, e.g., herding, hunting, searching and protecting. Each of these types of working dogs has specific traits that are, in part, controlled by genes; however, genes are not solely responsible for the variations in the traits of an individual. The environment also plays a role, which has been studied in rodents and primates in recent decades. For instance, it has been shown that the amount of maternal care that a rat receives as a pup affects its temperament later in life; the more maternal care, i.e., licking, grooming and arched-back nursing (LG-ABN), that a rat receives, the more stress resistant, less reactive and more explorative it will be as an adult. However, the question is whether this is also true for dogs, and the investigation of how temperament in dogs is affected by environmental factors early in life is the main objective of this thesis. Three of the studies presented in this thesis focused on investigating the general parameters, particularly maternal care, that influences offspring behaviour to contribute to the understanding of temperament development in military working dogs. One of these studies concentrated on the environmental factors that influence dogs early in life, and the results indicated that some factors, such as parity, litter size and birth season, affect temperament later in life. Another study investigated how females take care of their young, and the results demonstrated that females consistently vary in their maternal style during the first three weeks postpartum and that this variation affects the temperament of the offspring. The third study focused on factors in the home environment, and the results showed that dogs approved through the evaluative temperament test were significantly associated with being hyperactive or restless and having difficulty settling down in the home environment. However, those dogs were also left home alone for more hours in a day than non-approved dogs. To be able to operate functionally, a military working dog needs to possess certain traits, or a certain temperament, and a vital characteristic is the way it responds to and copes with stress. This was investigated during an evaluative temperament test used to select dogs suitable for further training. Surprisingly, the results showed that the dogs approved for further training had significantly higher levels of salivary cortisol both before and after the test compared with the non-approved dogs. These findings may be of profound importance for understanding individual variations in behaviour and improving breeding schemes for working dogs. / För över 15 000 år sedan började våra anfäder avla på vargar och lade då grunden för den uppsjö av olika hundraser vi ser idag. Exakt hur den här processen såg ut, när eller vart den startade vet vi faktiskt inte med säkerhet, men att vargen/hunden var det första djur att påbörja en sådan förändring, det vet vi. Att aktivt välja ut och avla på önskvärda egenskaper påverkar och förändrar gradvis djuret. Den här förändringen styrs i hög grad av gener, vilket medför att ett djurs s.k. genotyp förändras. Den här förändringsprocessen, där ett djur gradvis anpassas till ett liv som tamdjur, kallas för domesticering och innebär inte bara att djuret förändras genetiskt, utan också att den ändrar utseende och beteende, dvs. djurets fenotyp ändras också. Det är därför vi bl. a. ser så många olika hundraser som vi gör idag, allt från en liten hårlös Chihuahua till en stor raggig St. Bernard. Alla är de hundar, men de ser väldigt olika ut och har delvis olika egenskaper eller temperament. Det medför att de passar till att göra olika saker och därför också kan vara till stor nytta i samhället i allt från sällskapshunden som kan lära sig leta kantareller, till olika typer av tjänstehundar. Bra ledarhundar åt synskadade, polishundar som söker försvunna människor och narkotika, och försvarsmaktens tjänstehundar som kan förhindra angrepp eller terrorverksamhet genom att leta efter t ex. bomber och vapen - alla kan i förlängningen innebära ökad livskvalité och räddade människoliv. Men för det krävs att hunden passar för jobbet. Det är både generna, arvet och olika miljöfaktorer i den tidiga uppväxten som avgör egenskaperna hos en individ. Det är något som har visat sig gälla till exempel för råttor och primater. Studier på råttor har exempelvis pekat på att mängden omvårdnad en råtta får som liten (t ex hur mycket mamman slickar sina barn) påverkar dess egenskaper som vuxen. Och att ju mer omvårdnad de fått, desto mer stresståliga, mindre nervösa och mer nyfikna blev de. Även i studier på människor pekar resultaten i samma riktning. Men gäller detta även för våra hundar? För att öka kunskapen om och förståelsen för hur tidiga erfarenheter påverkar temperament, stress och arbetsförmåga hos våra blivande tjänstehundar i försvarsmakten har därför en rad olika studier på området genomförts. Den här avhandlingen fokuserar således på att undersöka vilka generella tidiga erfarenheter och faktorer i den tidiga uppväxtmiljön som tycks kunna vara med och påverka temperamentet hos våra tjänstehundar. Specifikt undersöker den hur tikens omvårdnad påverkar vissa egenskaper. Avhandlingen undersöker vidare hur stresståliga våra hundar är och hur detta yttrar sig i samband med de lämplighets test som hundarna genomgår i syfte att bedöma vilka individer som bör gå vidare till fortsatt träning efter ett och ett halvt års ålder. Resultaten i en studie visar att de hundar som bedömts som lämpliga vid lämplighetstestet något oväntat uppvisade ett högre påslag av stresshormonet kortisol, och i en annan studie att lämpliga hundar bedömts vara hyperaktiva/rastlösa och ha vissa svårigheter att ta det lugnt i hemmiljö. Detta samtidigt som de uppvisade en önskvärd temperamentsprofil vid uttagningsprovet, vilket kan antyda att dessa hundar är mer flexibla och motståndskraftiga mot stress, vilket skulle kunna vara resultatet av en lyckad avel. Vidare visade resultaten att det finns generella faktorer i den tidiga uppväxtmiljön, såsom tikens tidigare erfarenhet av att vara mamma, kullstorlek och när på året kullen föds, som är med och påverkar olika egenskaper. Den visar också att tikarnas sätt att ta hand om sina valpar varierade men var konsekvent under den första omvårdnadstiden på tre veckor och att det finns en koppling mellan mammans omvårdnads-stil och hur deras valpar blir som vuxna. Sammantaget visar avhandlingen att det finns faktorer i den tidiga uppväxtmiljön som påverkar temperamentet senare i livet på våra tjänstehundar. / <p>The ISBN <strong>987</strong>-91-7685-945-2 in the thesis is incorrect. Correct ISBN is <strong>978</strong>-91-7685-945-2.</p>

Between 1980 and 2000, mortality rates of children under the age of five and maternal mortality ratios declined across sub-Saharan Africa. During the same period, Kenya's mortality rates continued to rise until 2005 when the Kenyan Ministry of Health (MOH) introduced the Kenya Essential Package for Health (KEPH) in an effort to reverse its declining health indicators. The KEPH defined six service delivery levels which included the new community level, also known as level one. The Ministry of Health's plan for delivering services at the community level, known as the Community Health Strategy (CHS), called for the creation of Community Health Workers (CHWs) which the MOH hoped would produce the expected outcomes of the CHS. CHWs would be trained volunteers that were both members of the community they would serve, and selected by their community. Their training would allow them to recognize health problems, provide basic first aid, refer patients with serious problems to health facilities, conduct surveys, maintain records, provide education, and distribute supplies. In 2010, the Division of Community Health Services released an evaluation of the relevance, efficiency, and sustainability of the community health strategy. Their results showed that CHWs could produce many of the CHS's expected outcomes. In 2013, researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and Moi University resolved to conduct a cross-sectional study for the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to assess the effectiveness of the CHWs in Kajiado County. The county faced numerous health challenges and an overburdened health system. Data collection was completed over a seven-day period in June of 2013 by fourteen teams. Data was collected from 12 communities located in the areas of Rombo, Entonet, and Central Divisions of the Loitokitok sub-county within Kajiado County in rural South Kenya. Six of the selected communities had CHWs mobilized and were the intervention communities. Six communities had no registered CHWs and served as the controls. Eligibility to participate in the study was limited to permanent members of randomly selected households that housed at least one child less than five years of age and no active CHWs. Mothers of children less than five years of age were the preferred respondents. The primary and secondary outcomes were selected to address as many of the CHS's expected outcomes as possible. In an effort to compensate for the study's cross-sectional design, results were analyzed by stratifying them by each community's proximity to a hospital, the time since the CHW's last visit, and the respondent's knowledge of their CHW's name. Data was collected from 316 households, half of which were from intervention communities, and was entered into CSPro 5.0 before being exported to EpiInfo 7.1.1 for analysis. Analysis of the results suggests that the Community Health Strategy has been largely ineffective at producing its expected outcomes in Kajiado County as communities with active community health workers typically did not fare significantly better than non-CHW communities. The CHS was not entirely unsuccessful however, as mothers in CHW communities were significantly more likely to give birth at a health facility (PR: 1.41; CI: 1.15-1.72) than in non-CHW communities. Results also indicated that a community's proximity to a hospital could be a confounder in the relationship between a community's CHW status and health outcomes. The success of CHWs may have been masked by their tendency to visit households with worse health indicators more frequently.

Introdução: O ambiente fetal é atualmente bem reconhecido pela sua importante contribuição à saúde e influência na predisposição a doenças crônicas como obesidade, hipertensão e diabetes mellitus tipo 2, ao longo da vida. Indivíduos nascidos com restrição de crescimento intrauterino (RCIU), especialmente do sexo feminino, em geral, apresentam preferência por uma dieta menos saudável, o que pode contribuir para o maior risco de doenças crônicas nessa população. A relação maternal de baixa qualidade na infância está associada a maior risco de desenvolver distúrbios psiquiátricos, como ansiedade e depressão, assim como obesidade na adolescência. Além disso, a sobreingestão alimentar emocional (definida como comer em resposta ao estímulo emocional ao invés de sentimentos de fome) está relacionada com o excesso alimentar, aumento do consumo de doces e gorduras e sobrepeso. É possível que crianças nascidas com RCIU sejam mais sensíveis a variações ambientais como o cuidado materno, e que a interação entre estes fatores seja capaz de modular o comportamento alimentar nestes indivíduos. Objetivo: Avaliar a interação entre a RCIU e o cuidado materno na sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma análise preliminar de uma coorte canadense de nascimentos (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment – MAVAN). As avaliações do crescimento fetal foram baseadas na razão de peso ao nascer. Aos 48 meses de idade, foram aplicados o Questionário do Comportamento Alimentar Infantil (CEBQ) e filmada a interação mãe-criança durante uma tarefa estruturada (GESU), na qual as duplas são instruídas a reproduzir a imagem de uma casa, em conjunto, utilizando o brinquedo Etch-a-Sketch (Conhecido como Quadro Mágico, no Brasil). Utilizouse a escala “atmosphere” (ATM) da GESU, que avalia a atmosfera geral de toda a sessão por meio de uma escala que varia de 1, “muita discórdia e conflito, nenhuma expressão de sentimentos positivos” até 9 “Muito harmoniosa, agradável, pacífica, sem conflitos ou expressão de sentimento negativos”. Nessa fase, foram avaliadas 195 crianças. Um modelo de regressão linear, ajustado pelo IMC e separado por sexo, foi realizado para avaliar a correlação entre a RCIU e o escore de cuidado materno, aos 48 meses, no sobre-consumo emocional medido pelo CEBQ, considerando significativo um P <0,05. Resultados: Não havia diferenças entre RCIU e não RCIU na distribuição de sexos, educação e renda maternas, nem no escore “Atmosphere” do GESU. O modelo de regressão linear foi significativo para meninas (r2=0,204, p=0,012) com efeitos isolados do IMC (B=0,076, p=0,048) e da ATM (B=-0,229, p=0,019) na sobreingestão emocional. Além disso, vimos uma interação entre BWR e ATM (B=0,881, p=0,038), no qual meninas restritas e com pior escore ATM (pior qualidade de interação com a mãe) têm maior sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Nenhum efeito foi visto em meninos (r2 =0,012, p=0,331). Conclusão: A qualidade da interação mãe-filho parece ser um importante modulador da sobreingestão emocional em meninas, especialmente aquelas nascidas com baixo peso, aos 4 anos de idade. / Introduction: The fetal environment is nowadays well recognized for its important contribution to the long-term health and influence in the predisposition to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Individuals born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), especially females, demonstrate a general preference for a less healthy food choices during development, what could contribute for the increased risk for chronic disease in this population. Low maternal care in childhood is associated with increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as obesity in adolescence. In addition, emotional overeating (defined as eating in response to the emotional stimulus rather than feelings of hunger) is related to excessive food consumption, an increased sweets and fats intake and overweight. It is possible that children born with intrauterine growth restriction are more sensitive to environmental changes such as maternal care, and the interaction between these factors are able to modulate feeding behavior in these individuals. Objective: Investigate the interaction between intrauterine growth restriction and maternal care on emotional overeating at 4 years old children. Methods: This is a preliminary analysis of a Canadian Birth Cohort (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment - MAVAN). The study sample included 195 children from the city of Montreal, Quebec, and Hamilton, Ontario. The IUGR assessment was based on fetal growth ratio of birth weight. At 48 months of age, mothers complete the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and the mother-child interaction was filmed during a structured task (“Etch a sketch”) for posterior scoring of the maternal behavior, in which the pairs are instructed to reproduce a house image together using the Etch-a-Sketch toy. We used the scale "atmosphere" (ATM) of GESU, that characterizes the general atmosphere during the play activity through a scale ranging from 1, "a lot of disagreement and conflict, no expression of positive feelings" to 9 "Very harmonious, pleasant, peaceful, without conflict or negative feelings expressed". A linear regression model adjusted for BMI and split by sex was built to analyze the interaction between the ATM score and the birth weight status (IUGR or not) on the emotional overeating domain of the CEBQ. Results: There were no differences between IUGR and non-IUGR in the distribution of gender, maternal education and income, or the ATM score of GESU. The model was significant for girls (r2=0.204, p=0.012) with isolated effects of BMI (B=0.076, p=0.048) and ATM score (B=-0.229, p=0.019) on emotional overeating. Moreover, there was an interaction between IUGR and ATM (B=0.881, p=0.038), in which IUGR girls with worse ATM scores have increased emotional overeating at 4 years of age. No effects were seen in boys (r2=0.012, p=0.331). Conclusion: The quality of mother-child interaction seems to be important to prevent emotional overeating and overweight in girls, especially those born IUGR, at 4 years of age.

Introdução: O ambiente fetal é atualmente bem reconhecido pela sua importante contribuição à saúde e influência na predisposição a doenças crônicas como obesidade, hipertensão e diabetes mellitus tipo 2, ao longo da vida. Indivíduos nascidos com restrição de crescimento intrauterino (RCIU), especialmente do sexo feminino, em geral, apresentam preferência por uma dieta menos saudável, o que pode contribuir para o maior risco de doenças crônicas nessa população. A relação maternal de baixa qualidade na infância está associada a maior risco de desenvolver distúrbios psiquiátricos, como ansiedade e depressão, assim como obesidade na adolescência. Além disso, a sobreingestão alimentar emocional (definida como comer em resposta ao estímulo emocional ao invés de sentimentos de fome) está relacionada com o excesso alimentar, aumento do consumo de doces e gorduras e sobrepeso. É possível que crianças nascidas com RCIU sejam mais sensíveis a variações ambientais como o cuidado materno, e que a interação entre estes fatores seja capaz de modular o comportamento alimentar nestes indivíduos. Objetivo: Avaliar a interação entre a RCIU e o cuidado materno na sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma análise preliminar de uma coorte canadense de nascimentos (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment – MAVAN). As avaliações do crescimento fetal foram baseadas na razão de peso ao nascer. Aos 48 meses de idade, foram aplicados o Questionário do Comportamento Alimentar Infantil (CEBQ) e filmada a interação mãe-criança durante uma tarefa estruturada (GESU), na qual as duplas são instruídas a reproduzir a imagem de uma casa, em conjunto, utilizando o brinquedo Etch-a-Sketch (Conhecido como Quadro Mágico, no Brasil). Utilizouse a escala “atmosphere” (ATM) da GESU, que avalia a atmosfera geral de toda a sessão por meio de uma escala que varia de 1, “muita discórdia e conflito, nenhuma expressão de sentimentos positivos” até 9 “Muito harmoniosa, agradável, pacífica, sem conflitos ou expressão de sentimento negativos”. Nessa fase, foram avaliadas 195 crianças. Um modelo de regressão linear, ajustado pelo IMC e separado por sexo, foi realizado para avaliar a correlação entre a RCIU e o escore de cuidado materno, aos 48 meses, no sobre-consumo emocional medido pelo CEBQ, considerando significativo um P <0,05. Resultados: Não havia diferenças entre RCIU e não RCIU na distribuição de sexos, educação e renda maternas, nem no escore “Atmosphere” do GESU. O modelo de regressão linear foi significativo para meninas (r2=0,204, p=0,012) com efeitos isolados do IMC (B=0,076, p=0,048) e da ATM (B=-0,229, p=0,019) na sobreingestão emocional. Além disso, vimos uma interação entre BWR e ATM (B=0,881, p=0,038), no qual meninas restritas e com pior escore ATM (pior qualidade de interação com a mãe) têm maior sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Nenhum efeito foi visto em meninos (r2 =0,012, p=0,331). Conclusão: A qualidade da interação mãe-filho parece ser um importante modulador da sobreingestão emocional em meninas, especialmente aquelas nascidas com baixo peso, aos 4 anos de idade. / Introduction: The fetal environment is nowadays well recognized for its important contribution to the long-term health and influence in the predisposition to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Individuals born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), especially females, demonstrate a general preference for a less healthy food choices during development, what could contribute for the increased risk for chronic disease in this population. Low maternal care in childhood is associated with increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as obesity in adolescence. In addition, emotional overeating (defined as eating in response to the emotional stimulus rather than feelings of hunger) is related to excessive food consumption, an increased sweets and fats intake and overweight. It is possible that children born with intrauterine growth restriction are more sensitive to environmental changes such as maternal care, and the interaction between these factors are able to modulate feeding behavior in these individuals. Objective: Investigate the interaction between intrauterine growth restriction and maternal care on emotional overeating at 4 years old children. Methods: This is a preliminary analysis of a Canadian Birth Cohort (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment - MAVAN). The study sample included 195 children from the city of Montreal, Quebec, and Hamilton, Ontario. The IUGR assessment was based on fetal growth ratio of birth weight. At 48 months of age, mothers complete the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and the mother-child interaction was filmed during a structured task (“Etch a sketch”) for posterior scoring of the maternal behavior, in which the pairs are instructed to reproduce a house image together using the Etch-a-Sketch toy. We used the scale "atmosphere" (ATM) of GESU, that characterizes the general atmosphere during the play activity through a scale ranging from 1, "a lot of disagreement and conflict, no expression of positive feelings" to 9 "Very harmonious, pleasant, peaceful, without conflict or negative feelings expressed". A linear regression model adjusted for BMI and split by sex was built to analyze the interaction between the ATM score and the birth weight status (IUGR or not) on the emotional overeating domain of the CEBQ. Results: There were no differences between IUGR and non-IUGR in the distribution of gender, maternal education and income, or the ATM score of GESU. The model was significant for girls (r2=0.204, p=0.012) with isolated effects of BMI (B=0.076, p=0.048) and ATM score (B=-0.229, p=0.019) on emotional overeating. Moreover, there was an interaction between IUGR and ATM (B=0.881, p=0.038), in which IUGR girls with worse ATM scores have increased emotional overeating at 4 years of age. No effects were seen in boys (r2=0.012, p=0.331). Conclusion: The quality of mother-child interaction seems to be important to prevent emotional overeating and overweight in girls, especially those born IUGR, at 4 years of age.

Introdução: O ambiente fetal é atualmente bem reconhecido pela sua importante contribuição à saúde e influência na predisposição a doenças crônicas como obesidade, hipertensão e diabetes mellitus tipo 2, ao longo da vida. Indivíduos nascidos com restrição de crescimento intrauterino (RCIU), especialmente do sexo feminino, em geral, apresentam preferência por uma dieta menos saudável, o que pode contribuir para o maior risco de doenças crônicas nessa população. A relação maternal de baixa qualidade na infância está associada a maior risco de desenvolver distúrbios psiquiátricos, como ansiedade e depressão, assim como obesidade na adolescência. Além disso, a sobreingestão alimentar emocional (definida como comer em resposta ao estímulo emocional ao invés de sentimentos de fome) está relacionada com o excesso alimentar, aumento do consumo de doces e gorduras e sobrepeso. É possível que crianças nascidas com RCIU sejam mais sensíveis a variações ambientais como o cuidado materno, e que a interação entre estes fatores seja capaz de modular o comportamento alimentar nestes indivíduos. Objetivo: Avaliar a interação entre a RCIU e o cuidado materno na sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma análise preliminar de uma coorte canadense de nascimentos (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment – MAVAN). As avaliações do crescimento fetal foram baseadas na razão de peso ao nascer. Aos 48 meses de idade, foram aplicados o Questionário do Comportamento Alimentar Infantil (CEBQ) e filmada a interação mãe-criança durante uma tarefa estruturada (GESU), na qual as duplas são instruídas a reproduzir a imagem de uma casa, em conjunto, utilizando o brinquedo Etch-a-Sketch (Conhecido como Quadro Mágico, no Brasil). Utilizouse a escala “atmosphere” (ATM) da GESU, que avalia a atmosfera geral de toda a sessão por meio de uma escala que varia de 1, “muita discórdia e conflito, nenhuma expressão de sentimentos positivos” até 9 “Muito harmoniosa, agradável, pacífica, sem conflitos ou expressão de sentimento negativos”. Nessa fase, foram avaliadas 195 crianças. Um modelo de regressão linear, ajustado pelo IMC e separado por sexo, foi realizado para avaliar a correlação entre a RCIU e o escore de cuidado materno, aos 48 meses, no sobre-consumo emocional medido pelo CEBQ, considerando significativo um P <0,05. Resultados: Não havia diferenças entre RCIU e não RCIU na distribuição de sexos, educação e renda maternas, nem no escore “Atmosphere” do GESU. O modelo de regressão linear foi significativo para meninas (r2=0,204, p=0,012) com efeitos isolados do IMC (B=0,076, p=0,048) e da ATM (B=-0,229, p=0,019) na sobreingestão emocional. Além disso, vimos uma interação entre BWR e ATM (B=0,881, p=0,038), no qual meninas restritas e com pior escore ATM (pior qualidade de interação com a mãe) têm maior sobreingestão emocional aos 4 anos de idade. Nenhum efeito foi visto em meninos (r2 =0,012, p=0,331). Conclusão: A qualidade da interação mãe-filho parece ser um importante modulador da sobreingestão emocional em meninas, especialmente aquelas nascidas com baixo peso, aos 4 anos de idade. / Introduction: The fetal environment is nowadays well recognized for its important contribution to the long-term health and influence in the predisposition to chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Individuals born with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), especially females, demonstrate a general preference for a less healthy food choices during development, what could contribute for the increased risk for chronic disease in this population. Low maternal care in childhood is associated with increased risk for developing psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as obesity in adolescence. In addition, emotional overeating (defined as eating in response to the emotional stimulus rather than feelings of hunger) is related to excessive food consumption, an increased sweets and fats intake and overweight. It is possible that children born with intrauterine growth restriction are more sensitive to environmental changes such as maternal care, and the interaction between these factors are able to modulate feeding behavior in these individuals. Objective: Investigate the interaction between intrauterine growth restriction and maternal care on emotional overeating at 4 years old children. Methods: This is a preliminary analysis of a Canadian Birth Cohort (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment - MAVAN). The study sample included 195 children from the city of Montreal, Quebec, and Hamilton, Ontario. The IUGR assessment was based on fetal growth ratio of birth weight. At 48 months of age, mothers complete the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and the mother-child interaction was filmed during a structured task (“Etch a sketch”) for posterior scoring of the maternal behavior, in which the pairs are instructed to reproduce a house image together using the Etch-a-Sketch toy. We used the scale "atmosphere" (ATM) of GESU, that characterizes the general atmosphere during the play activity through a scale ranging from 1, "a lot of disagreement and conflict, no expression of positive feelings" to 9 "Very harmonious, pleasant, peaceful, without conflict or negative feelings expressed". A linear regression model adjusted for BMI and split by sex was built to analyze the interaction between the ATM score and the birth weight status (IUGR or not) on the emotional overeating domain of the CEBQ. Results: There were no differences between IUGR and non-IUGR in the distribution of gender, maternal education and income, or the ATM score of GESU. The model was significant for girls (r2=0.204, p=0.012) with isolated effects of BMI (B=0.076, p=0.048) and ATM score (B=-0.229, p=0.019) on emotional overeating. Moreover, there was an interaction between IUGR and ATM (B=0.881, p=0.038), in which IUGR girls with worse ATM scores have increased emotional overeating at 4 years of age. No effects were seen in boys (r2=0.012, p=0.331). Conclusion: The quality of mother-child interaction seems to be important to prevent emotional overeating and overweight in girls, especially those born IUGR, at 4 years of age.

Orientador: João Vasconcellos Neto / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T20:53:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Postali_ThaisCifuentes_M.pdf: 11739055 bytes, checksum: d5ba942354b8834502b7ac687bb07238 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Phloeophana longirostris e uma especie de percevejo pertencente aos Phloeidae, uma pequena familia de insetos tropicais. Sao organismos de habito fitofago, que vivem camuflados sobre o tronco de suas plantas hospedeiras, se assemelhando a liquens. Esse trabalho reune, com base em dezoito meses de estudo na Serra do Japi, observacoes naturalisticas da historia natural e biologia da especie. Tambem foram investigadas a estrutura e a biologia populacional de P. longirostris, e se ha correlacao dos parametros populacionais com os fatores climáticos precipitação e temperatura. Os individuos de P. longirostris foram encontrados em areas de mata, somente sobre arvores de Croton floribundus Spreng (Euphorbiaceae), em locais com ocorrencia de liquens. Sua defesa e primariamente baseada em sua camuflagem nas arvores hospedeiras, e formigas Crematogaster spp. foram os principais predadores de P. longirostris ao longo do estudo. A especie apresenta cuidado maternal, com a protecao dos ovos e das ninfas, que ficam sob o abdomen materno ate pouco depois da primeira ecdise. O crescimento das ninfas e lento, e estas apresentam cinco instares ate atingirem a fase adulta. Na fase adulta ha dimorfismo entre machos e femeas, e as femeas sao maiores que os machos. A estrutura da populacao de P. longirostris variou ao longo do estudo, e a especie apresentou um padrão sazonal, com o periodo reprodutivo ocorrendo na estacao quente e chuvosa. A abundancia de individuos nao foi correlacionada a precipitacao total mensal e a temperatura media mensal. Houve somente correlacao entre a abundancia de individuos e o instar de desenvolvimento em todos os meses. A distribuicao vertical de ninfas e adultos tambem nao foram relacionados a precipitacao total mensal e a temperatura media mensal. Os adultos apresentaram distribuição vertical superior a das ninfas. Esse foi o primeiro estudo sobre a historia natural e ecologia de P. longirostris. / Abstract: Phloeophana longirostris is a true-bug species which belongs to the Phloeidae, a small family of tropical insects. It is a lichen-like phytophagous species which lives camouflaged on its host plants' trunk. This study presents information on this species biology, natural history and naturalistic observations gathered during an eighteen-month study in Serra do Japi. P. longirostris population biology was also investigated specially regarding the correlation between population parameters with climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall. The P. longirostris individuals were found only in forest areas, exclusively on Croton floribundus Spreng (Euphorbiaceae) trees, in sites where lichens also occurred. This species main defense is the camouflage on its host tree. Crematogaster spp. (Formicidae) were P. longirostris' main predators during the study. This species presents maternal care with the protection of eggs and nymphs, which remain under the female's abdomen a bit after the first molt. The nymphs' growth is slow and presents five instars before the adult stage. In the adult stage there is sexual dimorphism between male and female individuals, and females are bigger than males. P. longirostris' population structure was variable throughout the study and presented a seasonal pattern, with the reproductive period in Serra do Japi's rainy season. The individuals' abundance was not correlated with the total monthly precipitation and with the average temperature. There was only a correlation between the individuals' abundance and the development instar in all of the months considered. The vertical distribution of nymphs and adults was not related too with the total monthly precipitation and with the average temperature. The adult individuals presented a superior vertical distribution in relation to the nymphs. This was the first study on P. longirostris' ecology and natural history. / Mestrado / Mestre em Ecologia