China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Fetal programming
Published in Hung N. Winn, Frank A. Chervenak, Roberto Romero, Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine Online, 2021
Katherine E. Pelch, Jana L. Allison, Susan C. Nagel
The prenatal period requires vigilance to insure a safe environment for the fetus to grow and develop appropriately. Great lengths are taken during prenatal care to avoid exposures known to have teratogenic potential. Fetal programming is the theory that environmental events in utero during sensitive windows of development can have permanent and long-lasting effects. The fetus has the capacity for developmental plasticity. That is, one genotype can lead to different phenotypes depending on environmental factors (1). In other words, the environment interacts with genes in the developing organism to permanently program gene expression in adulthood. Changes in the fetal environment can program childhood and adult response pathways. Therefore, the developmental period represents a critical opportunity for irreversible effects from the fetal environment, whether these are from pharmaceuticals, nutrition, microorganisms, the maternal hormonal milieu, and/or environmental chemicals.
A mindfulness relationship-based model to support maternal mental health and the mother-baby relationship in pregnancy and beyond birth
Published in Antonella Sansone, Cultivating Mindfulness to Raise Children Who Thrive, 2020
Developmental plasticity and the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis (Barker, 2004), as well as the latest data on susceptibility to transmission of disease. The DOHaD hypothesis is that health/disease is likely to have originated during prenatal development as the result of environmental influences: altered nutrition, stress, maternal and paternal mental disorders, drugs, infections or exposure to environmental chemicals.
Disability
Published in Laeth Sari Nasir, Arwa K Abdul-Haq, Caring for Arab Patients, 2018
Disability is considered one of the most important causes of vulnerability among children, especially in developing countries. Disability in children is particularly devastating because it has the potential to interfere with developmental processes and impede the acquisition of critical developmental tasks such as education, self-esteem and emotional and social development. On the other hand, this developmental plasticity may work to the individual’s advantage if treatment and rehabilitation are provided in a prompt and timely manner; many potential causes of childhood disability are curable, or can be significantly ameliorated with appropriate intervention.15,16
Nonpregnant and pregnant adult female rats affected by maternal diabetes environment
Published in Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, 2022
Verônyca Gonçalves Paula, Maysa Rocha de Souza, Yuri Karen Sinzato, Ana Izabel Silva Balbin Villaverde, José Eduardo Corrente, Gustavo Tadeu Volpato, Débora Cristina Damasceno
The structural and functional growth of specific tissues or organs can be stimulated or inhibited by the maternal condition and, ultimately, result in disability and illness in adult life. This effect has been termed the ‘fetal origins of adult disease’ (Hales and Barker 1992) and later, the ‘developmental origin of health and disease’ (DOHaD) (Bateson et al. 2004; Calkins and Devaskar 2011; Navarro et al. 2017). Developmental plasticity occurs during sensitive periods (i.e., when a system is moldable) and acts by altering tissue morphology (e.g., anatomy and/or microanatomy) or cellular activity within the tissues from the conceptus. Therefore, developmental plasticity encompasses processes that generate alternative phenotypes from a single genotype through environmental stimuli that act during development (Gluckman and Hanson 2007). Despite DOHaD being considered a normal biological phenomenon and a part of developmental plasticity, it can be maladaptive and lead to a higher risk of disease in some circumstances.
Neurogenetics of nictation, a dispersal strategy in nematodes
Published in Journal of Neurogenetics, 2020
Heeseung Yang, Bo Yun Lee, Hyunsoo Yim, Junho Lee
Recent studies have led to increased understanding of nictation from a variety of viewpoints, including the cellular basis, signalling pathways and natural variation involved in nictation. Also, studies on IL2 neurons revealed neuroplasticity and behavioural differentiation. However, many questions about nictation remain. Nictation occurs in dauers, with the exception of adult females in Mermis nigrescens (Gans & Burr, 1994). Future studies with focus on developmental plasticity are needed to investigate why this behaviour is restricted. Dauer-specific muscle arm extensions or gap junction plasticity may be possible reasons (Bhattacharya et al., 2019; Dixon et al., 2008). Future studies may lead to a circuit-level understanding of the nictation behaviour, including neurons downstream from IL2, as IL2 neurons are responsible for nictation. Studies on the environmental and host cues affecting nictation can increase understanding of nematode ecology in nature. The study of the conservation and diversification of nictation regulatory mechanisms in nematode species may be of interest, including tube-waving nematodes and jumping nematodes. Elucidation of nictation regulatory mechanisms will contribute to a deeper understanding of dispersal strategies in animals.
“Male Hair Cannot Extend Below Plane of the Shoulder” and “No Cross Dressing”: Critical Queer Analysis of High School Dress Codes in the United States
Published in Journal of Homosexuality, 2020
Kelly L. Reddy-Best, Eunji Choi
Schools that do not provide an open and affirming space and infrastructure are actively marginalizing adolescents as they move through the different stages of development. In D’Augelli’s (1994) life span approach, he emphasized the importance of “developmental plasticity…[where] human functioning is highly responsive to environmental circumstances and to changes induced by physical and other biological factors” (p. 320). Stages in his model included “exiting heterosexuality, developing a personal LGB identity, developing an LGB social identity, becoming an LGB off spring, developing an LGB intimacy status, and entering an LGB community” (p. 319). Dress and appearance is an essential component of developing both a personal and social identity (Blumer, 1969; Kaiser, 2012). For heterosexual, gender-conforming adolescents, the school environment allows for some of this plasticity. LGBTQ+ adolescents may not be afforded this “developmental plasticity” (D’Augelli, 1994, p. 320) if their dress codes and school infrastructures do not allow for these types of flexibilities in how they engage in minding their appearances (Kaiser, 2001).