Combative Behavior Research Articles

Usefulness of Homoeopathic Medicine in Oppositional Defiant Disorder(ODD):A Case Report

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a disruptive behavioural disorder in which a child displays a pattern of an angry mood, defiant or combative behaviour, and vindictiveness toward people in authority. The child's behaviour often disrupts their daily routine, including activities within the family and at school. An 18-year-old male reported in the Out Patient Department with symptoms of anger and vindictiveness. The consultant psychiatrist diagnosed it as a case of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Disruptive Behaviour Disorder Rating Scale (DBDRS) – ODD items was used to assess the severity of the disease. Modified Naranjo Criteria was used to assess whether the changes were likely to be associated with the homoeopathic intervention. Overall improvement was noticed clinically. DBDRS score was 22 at the time of admission. Sepia 200 was selected as the individualized homeopathic medicine. His symptoms got improved and he was discharged. DBDRS score was reduced to 0 at the end of 16 months. Individualized homoeopathic treatment has shown a positive role for the management and treatment of disruptive behavioural disorder.

Sexual selection promotes giraffoid head-neck evolution and ecological adaptation.

The long neck of the giraffe has been held as a classic example of adaptive evolution since Darwin's time. Here we report on an unusual fossil giraffoid, Discokeryx xiezhi, from the early Miocene, which has an unusual disk-shaped headgear and the most complicated head-neck joints in known mammals. The distinctive morphology and our finite element analyses indicate an adaptation for fierce head-butting behavior. Tooth enamel isotope data suggest that D. xiezhi occupied a niche different from that of other herbivores, comparable to the characteristic high-level browsing niche of modern giraffes. The study shows that giraffoids exhibit a higher headgear diversity than other ruminants and that living in specific ecological niches may have fostered various intraspecific combat behaviors that resulted in extreme head-neck morphologies in different giraffoid lineages.

A Survey of Dentist Anesthesiologists on Preoperative Intramuscular Sedation.

The induction of general anesthesia for children and patients with special needs frequently requires preinduction sedation, especially when anxiety and agitation lead to violent or combative behavior. In these situations, preoperative intramuscular (IM) sedation may facilitate patient transfer, intravenous cannulation, and/or mask induction. This survey aimed to capture data regarding the current preoperative IM sedation practices of dentist anesthesiologists. An electronic survey was distributed in 2020 to all members of the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists regarding the administration of preoperative IM sedation. It included questions about the demographics of respondents and their patients who require IM sedation, the most common drug regimens used, decision-making criteria regarding ketamine dosing, the intended level of sedation, sequence of anesthetic management following IM sedation, and observed outcomes. A total of 193 responses (43%) were received; of those, 162 reported using preoperative IM sedation. Ketamine was included in 98.7% of reported IM drug regimens. The most common IM sedation regimen was combined ketamine and midazolam (median 2.5 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively). Of the respondents who use preoperative IM sedation, 87% reported using the same drug regimen in at least 80% of cases. The most frequently reported drug regimen used by dentist anesthesiologists in North America for preoperative IM sedation was a combination of ketamine and midazolam.

Early social experience, rather than kinship affecting aggression in an egg parasitoid wasp, Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), that exhibits extreme male–male combat behaviour

Fighting behaviour is important for acquiring crucial resources and is widely observed in the animal kingdom. Based on the conflict consequence, fighting behaviour is usually classified into non-extreme and extreme fighting patterns. Numerous factors that influence aggression, such as resource value, resource-holding potential, kinship, and prior experience, have been extensively studied, resulting in the emergence of many important theories. To secure mating opportunities, males of the quasi-gregarious parasitoid, Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), exhibit extreme fighting behaviour. Inconsistent with the general kin selection theory prediction, there is no evidence that male A. disparis competitors alter their fighting behaviour in response to relatedness with resource presence or interacted with altering resource value. The results of our current study do not clearly indicate whether unchanged kin-based aggression is caused by a lack of kin recognition ability or overriding by competition for resources, which A. disparis males rarely exhibit fighting behaviour under condition of resource female absence in the environment. However, significant decreases in the fighting frequency and intensity in A. disparis were shown in males with early social experience, which was also not influenced by the kinship between the contestants. Our result suggests that in A. disparis, male aggression was likely mediated by early social experience rather than kinship.

Phylogeny of Courtship and Male-male Combat Behavior in Snakes: An Updated Analysis

To elucidate phylogenetic patterns in courtship and male-male combat (MMC) behaviors in snakes, I plotted behavioral characters (BCs) onto phylogenetic trees of snakes. For courtship, I plotted 33 BCs onto a phylogenetic tree of 155 snake species in 12 families. For MMC, I plotted 21 BCs onto a phylogenetic tree of 128 snake species in 11 families. For courtship, results suggest the following. Spur Contact and Spur Movement are ancestral for the clade Pythonidae+Boidae and were present as early as the Paleocene Epoch. The Jerk, Chin-Rub, and Dorsal Advance are ancestral for the clade Endoglyptodonta and were present by the late Oligocene. A coital Bite was added in the colubrid clade Zamenis+Lampropeltini by the early Miocene. For MMC, results suggest the following. The Coil, Hook, Type 2 Head Raise, and Downward Push are ancestral for the clade Afrophidia and were present by the early Paleocene. The Type 1 Head Raise replaced the Type 2 Head Raise in Micrurus by the mid-Miocene and in the Lampropeltini by the early Miocene. In the Lampropeltini, Body Bowing was added and Pinning the Head replaced the Type 2 Head Raise by the early Miocene. In addition to written literature, this study utilized a large amount of documentation in the form of video footage on YouTube. For many species, the footage documents behaviors that were unrecorded in the written literature. The results demonstrate that social media can be a highly useful data source in the scientific study of animal behavior.

The Metaphor of War in Political Discourse on COVID-19 in Uganda

The article examines the use of the metaphor of war in political communication on the novel COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda using two analytical tools of the social representation theory, anchoring and objectification. Drawing data for analysis from six widely televised presidential addresses to the nation on COVID-19 made by Uganda’s president, H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during the months of March 2020 to September 2020, the article argues that during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a persistent dominant use of the metaphor of war by government representatives as a rhetorical device to communicate about and to make intelligible an emerging unknown virus as a threat that should be managed through combat behavior. In so doing, the use of the war metaphor and its implied call for combat behavior to control, manage, and eradicate the virus spread engendered consequences such as standardizing hegemonic understanding of the nature and causes of the virus as well as normalizing and legitimizing interventions that the government adopted to manage it.

Agonistic and mating behaviour of the endemic lizard Trachylepis atlantica from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil

The skink Trachylepis atlantica is endemic to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. Although this species is abundant in the archipelago, it is increasingly threatened by invasive species, predation, and anthropic interference. However, little is known about its natural history. Here we report on territory use, male-male combat, and mating behaviour of freeranging T. atlantica. During the dry season, we observed two bouts of male combat and two copulations, which suggests some mating seasonality. In male combat, T. atlantica displays ritualised agonistic behaviour with escalated aggressiveness that include - i) visualisation, approaching or following, ii) visual display, iii) bite and body confrontation, and iv) dominance. Adult males were always alert to invaders within their territories. After combat, resident males showed scars on their heads resulting from agonistic encounters. During the two copulations, we observed courtship, immobilisation, and mating.

Lock them up! Punitive aggression and populism as political vigilantism

Populist leaders and movements are incredibly diverse, but one factor that most share is the tendency to pick fights. Populists often stir up conflict and use aggressive rhetoric that would destroy the reputation of mainstream politicos. Furthermore, many of these fights have little material benefit for base-level supporters, and often actively harm them. Yet populist militants generally reward combative behavior. Why is populism so conflict prone? And why do populists so often escape negative consequences for provoking damaging dustups? I argue that these sorts of conflict are driven by an emotional impulse that lies at the heart of populism: punitive aggression. Populists view political problems as the result of malign actions by hostile outgroups, and they perceive the state as either negligently allowing or actively abetting these actions. The failure of the state to punish the guilty breeds an intense and deep-seated desire to harm those seen as violating norms and values, regardless of the cost. Observational and experimental data are consistent with the hypothesis that, while the never-ending conflict typical of populism may harm its adherents’ interests, it continues because it satisfies much more basic emotional and psychological needs. This paper suggests that confronting and challenging populists may be difficult because forceful responses will reinforce the bond between the leader and his or her followers.

New Options to Simplify the Treatment of Severe Hypoglycemia in Long-Term Care

New Options to Simplify the Treatment of Severe Hypoglycemia in Long-Term Care

Adaptive Spatial Reasoning for Turn-Based Strategy Games

The quality of AI opponents often leaves a lot to be desired, which poses many attractive challenges for AI researchers. In this respect, Turn-based Strategy (TBS) games are of particular interest. These games are focussed on high-level decision making, rather than low-level behavioural actions. For efficiently designing a TBS AI, in this paper we propose a game AI architecture named ADAPTA (Allocation and Decomposition Architecture for Performing Tactical AI). It is based on task decomposition using asset allocation, and promotes the use of machine learning techniques. In our research we concentrated on one of the subtasks for the ADAPTA architecture, namely the Extermination module, which is responsible for combat behaviour. Our experiments show that ADAPTA can successfully learn to outperform static opponents. It is also capable of generating AIs which defeat a variety of static tactics simultaneously.

Pelvic congestion syndrome: historical aspects and a modern view on the problem (a literature review)

Pelvic congestion syndrome is a relatively recent, but actual and separate nosological form. Pelvic varicocele is a form of varicose disease, which is increasingly regarded as the main cause of chronic pelvic pain in women with various clinical manifestations. A woman with chronic pelvic pain is a difficult patient with combative behavior, who contacts with physicians in various specialties. There are many causes of chronic pelvic pain, but pelvic congestion syndrome has a special place. In recent years, in addition to widespread use of diagnostic radiology, the relevance of this pathology is beyond any doubt. The aim of the study was to summarize and present literature data on the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of pelvic congestion syndrome by analyzing the literature data. Materials and methods. A non-systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Google and Google Scholar databases. The review included free full-text articles published between 1974 and 2021 using key words: pelvic congestion syndrome, pelvic varices, pelvic venous disorders, pelvic varicocele, pelvic venous stasis, chronic pelvic pain, gonadal veins, ovarian veins, vena ovarica, Nutcracker syndrome, May–Thurner syndrome. Conclusions. Pelvic congestion syndrome is still a rarely diagnosed pathology in patients with chronic pelvic pain. Detailed medical history, physical examination as well as maintaining diagnostic algorithm would allow the disease to be diagnosed correctly and timely. The choice of method for surgical intervention is a key point in the treatment of patients with pelvic congestion syndrome, but today there are no criteria for the choice of one, so the problem is far from being resolved and requires further study and research.

Performance Appraisal: Appraiser’s Discomfort and Stress

Performance appraisal comprehensively evaluates employee performance with regard to his or her performance on the job and his/her potential for development. Providing someone a sincere candid evaluation based on the measurement is a taxing experience for most evaluators. Combative behaviour on the part of the person acting as an evaluator is frequent. Workplace stress then is the harmful physical and emotional response that can happen when there is a conflict between job demands and the amount of control an appraiser has on the employee. This study examines the correlation between discomfort and general work stress among managers and senior managers during the period of appraisal (N=76, Sample location: Delhi NCR, Experience: 8-10 years). The study follows a cross-sectional research design. For the purpose of this study the two statistical tools employed were Performance Appraisal Discomfort Scale and General Work Stress Scale. A moderate correlation was established between discomfort and stress, experienced by appraisers, which highlighted their substantial relationship. It preaches extensive knowledge and awareness of the discomfort experienced from the employers’ point of view when administering performance appraisal.

Patient, therapist, and relational antecedents of hostile resistance in cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder: A qualitative investigation.

Hostile resistance (clients' openly combative behavior directed at therapists) predicts poor outcomes in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder, but its origins are poorly understood. It is important to have a holistic understanding of the etiology of hostile resistance that incorporates the therapeutic context if these behaviors-and their negative consequences-are to be prevented and effectively addressed. Of the 71 adults who received CBT for panic disorder as part of larger trial, 8 exhibited hostile resistance. Grounded theory methodology was used to develop a theoretical framework to understand why these patients became hostile in session. The 10 minutes of session preceding instances of hostile resistance and matched portions of sessions from five never hostile controls were coded. Two pathways to hostile resistance emerged-one in which patient characteristics were primary and one wherein therapist failures (particularly of empathy) were primary. Being a challenging patient (i.e., narcissistic, obsessive, angry, resistant) moderated which pathway was followed. However, even among challenging patients, rarely was hostile resistance attributable to patients' dispositions alone. Most often, patient factors interacted with therapist (e.g., displays of frustration) and treatment (e.g., directiveness, degree of structure) factors to produce such resistance. Contrary to the view of hostile resistance as simply a product of a hostile patient, the picture is more complex. Findings indicate that greater attention to common factors in CBT and more flexible applications of treatment protocols is warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Is There a Characteristic Autonomic Response During Outbursts of Combative Behavior in Dementia Patients?

We sought to determine whether skin conductance level could warn of outbursts of combative behavior in dementia patients by using a wristband device. Two outbursts were captured and are reported here. Although no physiologic parameter measured by the wristband gave advance warning, there is a common pattern of parasympathetic withdrawal (increased heart rate) followed approximately 30 seconds later by sympathetic activation (increased skin conductance). In the literature, a similar pattern occurs in psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. We hypothesize that similar autonomic responses reflect similarities in pathophysiology and that physical activity may partially account for the time course of skin conductance.

Agitation Following Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Is a Clinical Sign of Recovery of Consciousness.

Objective: Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) often results in disorders of consciousness. Patients emerging from coma frequently exhibit aberrant behaviors such as agitation. These non-purposeful combative behaviors can interfere with medical care. Interestingly, agitation is associated with arousal and is often among the first signs of neurological recovery. A better understanding of these behaviors may shed light on the mechanisms driving the return of consciousness in sTBI patients. This study aims to investigate the association between posttraumatic agitation and the recovery of consciousness.Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in 530 adult patients (29.1% female) admitted to Stony Brook University Hospital between January 2011 and December 2019 with a diagnosis of sTBI and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤8. Agitation was defined as a Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS) > +1, or any documentation of equivalently combative and violent behaviors in daily clinical notes. The ability to follow verbal commands was used to define the recovery of consciousness and was assessed daily.Results: Of 530 total sTBI patients, 308 (58.1%) survived. Agitation was present in 169 of all patients and 162 (52.6%) of surviving patients. A total of 273 patients followed commands, and 159 of them developed agitation. Forty patients developed agitation on hospital arrival whereas 119 developed agitation later during their hospital course. Presence of in-hospital agitation positively correlated with command-following (r = 0.315, p < 0.001). The time to develop agitation and time to follow commands showed positive correlation (r = 0.485, p < 0.001). These two events occurred within 3 days in 54 (44.6%) patients, within 7 days in 81 (67.8%) patients, and within 14 days in 96 (80.2%) patients. In 71 (59.7%) patients, agitation developed before command-following; in 36 (30.2%) patients, agitation developed after command-following; in 12 (10.1%) patients, agitation developed on the same day as command-following.Conclusion: Posttraumatic agitation in comatose patients following sTBI is temporally associated with the recovery of consciousness. This behavior indicates the potential for recovery of higher neurological functioning. Further studies are required to identify neural correlates of posttraumatic agitation and recovery of consciousness after sTBI.

Modern methodology of correction and prevention of stress-related disorders in female-veterans

The study of stress-related disorders does not lose its relevance. This is due to the fact that the number of wars, catastrophes, various natural disasters occurring in the world is not decreasing, and the effects of traumatic stress on the human psych are still not up to end studied. The events taking place in Eastern Ukraine have given this issue special relevance and significance. To solve our goal, we conducted a comprehensive survey of 96 female veterans of the ATO/JFO zone. According to the results of clinical and psychopathological research, clinical structure of stress-related disorders is represented by emotional disorders: depression (68.2% of subjects), anxiety (89.2%), feelings of internal tension with inability to relax (88.9%), irritability (72.8%), anhedonia (49.2%), lack of hope (59.8%), guilt of the survivor (41.2%); mild cognitive disorders: difficulty concentrating (69.8% of patients), memory impairment (36.8%), difficulties making decisions (56.9%), difficulties in planning and organization (42.8%) and difficulties for finding necessary words to express opinion (33.8%); vegetative paroxysms (72.6%); asthenic syndrome (66.9%) and insomnia (66.2%). The basis of medical and psychological support for women veterans is the creation of a readaptation atmosphere aimed at public recognition of social significance of participation in hostilities; recognition of the high social status of female veterans; understanding the peculiarities of mental reactions and behavior of combatants; creating conditions for a favorable psychological situation in the family. In order to prevent development and decompensation of associated disorders, a comprehensive system of medical and psychological rehabilitation of combatants was developed. It consists of four successive stages. A comprehensive system of correction and prevention of stress-related disorders in female veterans should be aimed at reducing level of anxiety and depressive symptoms, excessive mental stress; affective reassessment of traumatic experience; formation of a positive attitude to the future and creation of a new cognitive model of life. Keywords: female-veterans, rehabilitation, prevention, stress-related disorders.

Octopaminergic system orchestrates combat and mating behaviors: A potential regulator of alternative male mating tactics in an armed beetle

Male-male combats over females and territories are widespread across animal taxa. The winner of a combat gains resources, while the loser suffers significant costs (e.g. time, energy and injury) without gaining resources. Many animals have evolved behavioral flexibility, depending on their nutritional condition and experience, to avoid combat in order to reduce such costs. In these cases, male aggression often correlates with mating behavior changes, that is, the deployment of alternative reproductive tactics. Therefore, uncovering the physiological mechanism that orchestrates combat and mating behaviors is essential to understand the evolution of alternative mating tactics. However, so far, our knowledge is limited to specific behaviors (i.e., fighting or mating) of specific model species. In this study, we used an armed beetle (Gnatocerus cornutus) and hypothesized that one of the key neuromodulators of invertebrate aggression, octopamine (OA), would control male combat and other mating behaviors. Using receptor agonists (chlordimeform and benzimidazole), we showed that the octopaminergic (OAergic) system down-regulated the combat and courtship behaviors, while it up-regulated locomotor activity and sperm size. This suggests that the OAergic system orchestrates a suite of fighting and mating behaviors, thereby implying that correlated behavioral responses to OAergic signaling may have driven the evolution of alternative mating tactics in this beetle.

Alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiothiophenone (α-PVT): A forensic case study including plasma concentrations

Alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiothiophenone (α-PVT) belongs to the drug class of pyrrolidinophenones, a subgroup of synthetic cathinones, which are among the most prevalent new psychoactive substances. The study describes a series of 44 authentic forensic cases with analytical confirmed intake of α-PVT. Plasma concentrations, determined by a validated LC-MS/MS method, ranged from ca. 0.9 to 306 µg/L (median 35.6; mean 66.6 µg/L). Comprehensive toxicological analysis proved excessive co-consumption in almost all cases, including other pyrovalerones and classic stimulants as well as central depressant drugs such as opiates/opioids, benzodiazepines, pregabalin and/or ethanol. Subjects were aged between 26 and 54 years (median 35 years, mean 36 years) and appeared to be mainly experienced intravenous drug consumers. A high incidence of aberrant behavior in terms of aggressive, combative behavior and psychotic changes could be observed, as also reflected in accused offences, which frequently presented violent crimes. In consideration of several confounding factors, the study suggests a relationship between frequency of such impairment and plasma concentrations of α-PVT, but individual cases without signs of behavioral changes and high plasma concentrations also occurred, which might be explained by developed tolerance and/or individual vulnerably for the psychotic effects of pyrovalerones.

Boy from Buchenwald: The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor by Robbie Waisman

Reviewed by: Boy from Buchenwald: The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor by Robbie Waisman Elizabeth Bush Waisman, Robbie Boy from Buchenwald: The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor; by Robbie Waisman with Susan McClelland. Bloomsbury, 2021 [288 p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 9781547606009 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781547606016 $13.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 6-10 "On April 11, 1945, the American Army came and set me free. I wasn't alone. At that camp, hidden among 21,000 surviving prisoners, were 1,000 boys just like me." So says Romek Waisman, fourteen years old when he was transferred into the protection of the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (OSE) in France, where their half-feral and combative behavior had some psychiatrists suspecting they might be too damaged to successfully reenter society. In this memoir Waisman revisits his three years spent with the OSE, relearning how to eat, reluctantly accepting the need for further education, reuniting briefly with his older sister before she moved to Palestine, learning how to talk to a girl, expanding his cultural horizons under the patronage of a wealthy family that offered to adopt him, and preparing to choose his own new home in Canada, where he emigrates at seventeen. The framing of this memoir invites readers to consider Romek as a near agemate, and although his [End Page 444] interspersed accounts of experience at work- and death camps are unquestionably grim, it's the total disorientation and alone-ness of his newly liberated period that provokes a chilling "What if it were me?" focus. End matter addresses Waisman's later involvement in humanitarian causes and Holocaust education, discusses the OSE organization, and offers a World War II/Holocaust timeline. This moving personal narrative will ably serve as a companion volume to Monica Hesse's They Went Left (BCCB 4/20) Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Layered Behavior Modeling via Combining Descriptive and Prescriptive Approaches: A Case Study of Infantry Company Engagement

Defense modeling and simulation (DMS and prescriptive modeling to discover best individual actions in the reduced space. For the generalization, the proposed method adapts both modeling methods being modularized, and then the proposed method suggested an interface between them that is based on their semantic analogies. Both modeling methods are modularized, so they are interacted through an interface defined in the proposed method. This paper presents a realization of the proposed method through a case study of infantry company-level operations. In the case study, the proposed method is implemented with discrete event system specification formalism as the descriptive part and Markov decision process as the prescriptive part. The experimental results illustrated that the combat effectiveness resulted from the proposed method is statistically better than that from the descriptive-only modeling, and the difference would be guided by the objective of the combat behavior. Through the presented experimental results and the discussion, this paper argues that future DM&S should consider a broad spectrum from the battlefield incorporating the rational behavior of military individuals.