Defensive Behavior Research Articles

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice.

The appropriate manifestation of defensive behavior in a threatening situation is critical for survival. The prevailing theory suggests that an active defensive behavior, such as jumping or rapid darting, is expressed under high threat imminence or actual threat, whereas passive defensive behavior, such as freezing, is expressed when the threat is predicted, but the threat imminence is relatively low. In classical fear conditioning, subjects typically exhibit freezing as a conditioned defensive response, with little expression of active defensive behavior in most cases. Here, we introduce a modified fear conditioning procedure for mice to observe the transition from freezing to flight and vice versa, involving five repetitive pairings of conditioned stimuli (CS; continuous tone, 8 kHz, 95 dB SPL (sound pressure levels)) and unconditioned stimuli (US; foot shock, 0.9 mA, 1.0 s) over two days. This modified fear conditioning procedure requires a relatively large number of conditioning sessions and conditioning days but does not necessitate a high-intensity foot shock for modest expression of flight behavior. Using the same context for conditioning and salient CS presentations is essential to elicit flight behaviors. This modified fear conditioning procedure is a reliable method for observing active defensive behaviors in mice, providing an opportunity to elucidate the fine mechanisms and characteristics of such behaviors in a fearful context.

Conspecific density and habitat quality drive the defence and vocal behaviour of a territorial passerine

Territorial defence depends on highly interrelated factors such as food abundance and conspecific density. We used Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti as a model species to evaluate the response of a territorial bird to a foreign male playback, examining how conspecific density, habitat quality and male body condition impact responses. The study was conducted in central Spain with variable male density. Response (yes/no), latency time, distance to the playback speaker, and the number of songs and other vocalizations were monitored for 5 min. Habitat quality was estimated using BlueNDVI vegetation index extracted from high‐resolution drone imagery, which is a proxy for arthropod prey biomass. Conspecific density (Kernel Density Estimator) and male body condition were calculated to assess their effect on response and intensity. We applied generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to determine which factors predicted the response and its intensity. There was a greater response probability in areas with a higher density of conspecifics and in areas of poorer habitat quality (i.e. lower BlueNDVI values). In contrast, latency time was longer in areas with lower conspecific density. Intrasexual communication (singing and calling rates) increased with habitat quality. Intraspecific communication (other vocalizations) increased in poorer quality habitats and at a higher density of conspecifics. Body condition was not related to any variables. Our results suggest that male density, sometimes used as an indicator of an area being well conserved for the species, may reflect areas of poorer habitat quality occupied by unpaired floater males, whereas paired territorial males would occupy and defend higher quality areas, leading to lower density.

The Defensive Behaviors and Milk Production of Pastured Dairy Cattle in Response to Stable Flies, Horn Flies, and Face Flies.

Thirty-four crossbred dairy cows were observed on pasture six times per week from June to August 2014 at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center grazing dairy in Morris, MN, for defensive behaviors in response to three species of muscid flies. Counts of stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)), horn flies (Haematobia irritans (L.)), and face flies (Musca autumnalis DeGeer) were recorded before and after pasture observation. Individual cows were monitored for 5 min intervals to observe the frequencies of five different defensive behaviors: front and back leg stomps, head tosses, skin twitches, and tail swishes. Fly numbers averaged 5 stable flies per leg, 37 horn flies per side, and 1 face fly per face during the study. The fly counts and behavior frequencies increased with ambient temperature. The results showed a very strong relationship between the numbers of flies and numbers of defensive behaviors, though correlations between specific flies and behaviors were low. Younger cows had fewer stable flies and horn flies than older cows. The thresholds of flies to lower production for pastured organic dairy cows may be greater than 5 for stable flies, 37 for horn flies, and 1 for face flies.

Acute restraint stress regulates brain DNMT3a and promotes defensive behaviors in male rats

Depending on its duration and severity, stress may contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases such as depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that stress impacts the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, but its downstream molecular, behavioral, and nociceptive effects remain unclear. We hypothesized that a 2-hour single exposure to acute restraint stress (ARS) activates the HPA axis and changes DNA methylation, a molecular mechanism involved in the machinery of stress regulation. We further hypothesized that ARS induces anxiety-like and risk assessment behavior and alters nociceptive responses in the rat. We employed biochemical (radioimmunoassay for corticosterone; global DNA methylation by enzyme immunoassay and western blot for DNMT3a expression in the amygdala, ventral hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex) and behavioral (elevated plus maze and dark-light box for anxiety and hot plate test for nociception) tests in adult male Wistar rats exposed to ARS or handling (control). All analyses were performed 24 h after ARS or handling. We found that ARS increased corticosterone levels in the blood, increased the expression of DNMT3a in the prefrontal cortex, promoted anxiety-like and risk assessment behaviors in the elevated plus maze, and increased the nociceptive threshold observed in the hot plate test. Our findings suggest that ARS might be a helpful rat model for studying acute stress and its effects on physiology, epigenetic machinery, and behavior.

Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A and/or diethylhexyl phthalate alters stress responses in rat offspring in a sex- and dose-dependent manner.

Background: Prenatal exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are correlated with adverse behavioral outcomes, but the effects of combinations of these chemicals are unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the dose-dependent effects of prenatal exposure to EDCs on male and female behavior. Methods: Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were orally dosed with vehicle, bisphenol A (BPA) (5μg/kg body weight (BW)/day), low-dose (LD) diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) (5μg/kg BW/day), high-dose (HD) DEHP (7.5mg/kg BW/day), a combination of BPA and LD-DEHP (B + D (LD)), or a combination of BPA and HD-DEHP (B + D (HD)) on gestational days 6-21. Adult offspring were subjected to the Open Field Test (OFT), Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), and Shock Probe Defensive Burying test (SPDB) in adulthood. Body, adrenal gland, and pituitary gland weights were collected at sacrifice. Corticosterone (CORT) was measured in the serum. Results: Female EDC-exposed offspring showed anxiolytic effects in the OFT, while male offspring were unaffected. DEHP (HD) male offspring demonstrated a feminization of behavior in the EPM. Most EDC-exposed male offspring buried less in the SPDB, while their female counterparts showed reduced shock reactivity, indicating sex-specific maladaptive alterations in defensive behaviors. Additionally, DEHP (LD) males and females and B + D (LD) females displayed increased immobility in this test. DEHP (LD) alone and in combination with BPA led to lower adrenal gland weights, but only in male offspring. Finally, females treated with a mixture of B + D (HD) had elevated CORT levels. Conclusion: Prenatal exposure to BPA, DEHP, or a mixture of the two, affects behavior, CORT levels, and adrenal gland weights in a sex- and dose-dependent manner.

The function of red and banded patterns in snakes: the ophiophagy hypothesis

Abstract The functions of bright bands in coral and other snakes have long been a puzzle. The most common opinion is that coral snakes display aposematic marks and that other red and black banded snakes in the Americas are mimics of coral snakes. I previously found that this prevailing opinion is weakly supported and unlikely, that red and bands had probably evolved independently or conjointly many times, and that a present selection for bands and red seems to exist in a significant fraction of the world. Here, I review the potential selective forces for red and bands in snakes. I find that snakes as predators are a priori plausible selective agents. I find that ophiophagy appears to be an exceptionally high risk in snakes that are themselves ophiophagous. Testing the working hypothesis that bands and red are protective against snake predators via their association with ophiophagy, as ophiophagous snakes are at higher risk, I find that the consumption of elongate vertebrates predicts band and red coloration with a very high level of confidence: red and bands are probably defensive against snake predators. Noting an apparent correlation of coloration with specific defensive behaviours and ontogenetic colour changes, I review both and find that ophiophagous snakes are remarkable for using stereotypical defences and not being aggressive, while ontogenetic colour changes seem to affect red and bands in snakes disproportionately. Defence against ophidian predators may be an unexpected natural selection shaping the appearance and behaviours of many snakes.

Competitive interactions between invasive fall armyworm and Asian corn borer at intraspecific and interspecific level on the same feeding guild.

Interspecific competition is an important factor in the population dynamics and geographical distribution of insect populations. Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, an invasive species, and the Asian corn borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis, a native pest species are major pests on maize in China, posing a threat to maize yield and grain quality. A series of laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments were conducted to elucidate the competitive interactions between FAW and ACB. In the laboratory experiments, FAW exhibited aggressive behaviors more frequently when compared with ACB, while the latter species exhibited defense behaviors more frequently. Higher intraspecific competition was recorded in the FAW conspecific rather than in ACB, particularly in the 6th larval stage. FAW had a higher interspecific competitive advantage through intraguild predation over ACB, resulting in partial or complete displacement ACB when initially the ratio of the 2 species was 1 : 1. The interspecific competition also had significantly influenced on the population parameters, defensive enzymes, and nutrient of these 2 species. Competitive interaction proved that the response of superoxide, catalase, and soluble protein in FAW were significantly increased, whereas the total sugar content in both species was substantially decreased. Survival rate, and the plant damage that co-infested by both species varied significantly among the sequential combinations under greenhouse and field conditions. FAW consistently exhibited stronger intraspecific aggression than ACB under laboratory and field conditions when co-existing on the same feeding guild. These findings contribute to efforts toward the improvement of integrated pest management programs for FAW, in decision making for invasive and native pests' management strategies to reduce the high risks of FAW and ACB outbreaks.

Cuttlefish-Inspired Photo-Responsive Antibacterial Microparticles with Natural Melanin Nanoparticles Spray.

Topical antibiotics can be utilized to treat periodontitis, while their delivery stratagems with controlled release and long-lasting bactericidal inhibition are yet challenging. Herein, inspired by the defensive behavior of cuttlefish expelling ink, this work develops innovative thermal-responsive melanin-integrated porous microparticles (MPs) through microfluidic synthesis for periodontitis treatment. These MPs are composed of melanin nanoparticles (NPs), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), and agarose. Benefiting from the excellent biocompatibility and large surface area ratio of MPs, they can deliver abundant melanin NPs. Under near-infrared irradiation, the melanin NPs can convert photo energy into thermal energy. This leads to agarose melting and subsequent shrinkage of the microspheres induced by pNIPAM, thereby facilitating the release of melanin NPs. In addition, the released melanin NPs can serve as a highly effective photothermal agent, displaying potent antibacterial activity against porphyromonas gingivalis and possessing natural anti-inflammatory properties. These unique characteristics are further demonstrated through in vivo experiments, showing the antibacterial effects in the treatment of infected wounds and periodontitis. Therefore, the catfish-inspired photo-responsive antibacterial MPs with controlled-release drug delivery hold tremendous potential in clinical antibacterial applications.

Exploring Territorial Elements in Servicescape: A Comprehensive Literature Review

This article aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review to delve into the territorial elements within servicescape. In the service industry, customer territoriality can reflect a customer’s identification with the business, enhance their purchasing inclination, or, conversely, lead to strong defensive or retaliatory behaviors towards other customers or employees, significantly affecting business operations. Understanding customer territoriality is crucial for comprehending customer behavior. The article begins by introducing the concepts of servicescape and territoriality, followed by the identification of territorial elements within servicescape. The literature review encompasses research on various aspects of servicescape, including physical factors and social factors, with the aim of revealing how territorial elements influence customer behavior and experiences. Through this literature review, we provide profound insights into territorial elements within servicescape, underscoring their importance for service quality and customer satisfaction. These research findings are expected to offer practical information to practitioners and researchers on optimizing servicescape to enhance customer experiences. Finally, we discuss future research directions to advance the understanding of territorial elements in various servicescape.

Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Michael S. Fanselow.

The APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions honors psychologists who have made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. "For his systematic and integrative research on the neural and behavioral mechanisms of Pavlovian fear learning. Guided by a functional behavior perspective, Michael S. Fanselow's pioneering studies of conditioned analgesia describe a fundamental biological mechanism for regulating associative learning through error correction. His analysis of the organization of defensive behavior in relation to predatory imminence has yielded a novel theoretical framework for understanding fear, anxiety, and panic. His research has revealed an essential neural architecture for fear conditioning that not only informs how we understand normal and pathological fear but also demonstrates how rigorous neural and behavioral approaches enrich and strengthen one another." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Conditioned flight response in female rats to naturalistic threat is estrous-cycle dependent

Despite the prevalent expression of freezing behavior following Pavlovian fear conditioning, a growing body of literature suggests potential sex differences in defensive responses. Our study investigated how female defensive behaviors are expressed in different threat situations and modulated by the estrous cycle. We aimed to compare freezing and flight-like responses during the acquisition and retrieval of fear conditioning using two distinct unconditioned stimuli (US) in two different spatial configurations: (1) electrical footshock (FUS) in a small, conventional enclosure with a grid floor, and (2) a predator-like robot (PUS) in a spacious, open arena. Fear conditioning with FUS showed no substantial differences between male and female rats of two different estrous cycles (proestrus and diestrus) in the levels of freezing and flight. However, when PUS was employed, proestrus female rats showed significantly more flight responses to the CS during both acquisition and the retrieval compared to the male and diestrus female rats. Taken together, our findings suggest that hormonal influences on the choice of defensive strategies in threat situations are significantly modulated by both the type of US and the spatial configuration of the environment.

Hippocampal Engrams Generate Variable Behavioral Responses and Brain-Wide Network States.

Freezing is a defensive behavior commonly examined during hippocampal-mediated fear engram reactivation. How these cellular populations engage the brain and modulate freezing across varying environmental demands is unclear. To address this, we optogenetically reactivated a fear engram in the dentate gyrus subregion of the hippocampus across three distinct contexts in male mice. We found that there were differential amounts of light-induced freezing depending on the size of the context in which reactivation occurred: mice demonstrated robust light-induced freezing in the most spatially restricted of the three contexts but not in the largest. We then utilized graph theoretical analyses to identify brain-wide alterations in cFos expression during engram reactivation across the smallest and largest contexts. Our manipulations induced positive interregional cFos correlations that were not observed in control conditions. Additionally, regions spanning putative "fear" and "defense" systems were recruited as hub regions in engram reactivation networks. Lastly, we compared the network generated from engram reactivation in the small context with a natural fear memory retrieval network. Here, we found shared characteristics such as modular composition and hub regions. By identifying and manipulating the circuits supporting memory function, as well as their corresponding brain-wide activity patterns, it is thereby possible to resolve systems-level biological mechanisms mediating memory's capacity to modulate behavioral states.

Effect of camel’s previous experience on behavioural response and milk production during training to machine milking

At the onset of lactation, dairy animals are exposed to novel stimuli within the mechanical milking environment, which can induce stress. This is particularly pronounced in camels due to their sensitive and potentially maternal aggressive nature. To propose strategies to reduce these stress, this study aimed to assess the behavioural and milking responses of dairy camels during their first milking sessions with a focus on the influence of dams’ experience. Eleven dairy camels were included in this study, with 5 undergoing their inaugural milking season (designated as the N_Exp group) and 6 camels having prior exposure to machine milking during previous lactations (designated as the Exp group). Camels were milked with an individual portable milking machine set to 48 kPa Vacuum and 60 pulsations/min. Throughout this trial, behavioural data, rumination occurrence, need of oxytocin injection to induce milk ejection, milk yield, time to milk ejection and milking duration were recorded during the 3 weeks training period of camels. A training index (T.I.) was calculated to quantify milking adaptation from behavioural responses. Stress-related behaviours were classified into fear-related behaviours such as jumping, decubitus, trembling, vocalization and escape attempts) as well as defensive behaviours including kicking, stepping, spitting, and biting. Results showed that N Exp camels expressed fear-related behaviours more frequently (P < 0.05) while displaying a lower training index (P < 0.0001) compared to Exp camels. All stress behaviours decreased significantly throughout the training period for both groups. The need for exogenous oxytocin decreased from 100% at the first day of machine milking to 35% for N_Exp group and from 27.8% to 8.3% for Exp group. The camel’s experience had no effect (p = 0.4200) on the rumination frequency. However, rumination occurred more and more frequently (P < 0.0001) during the camels’ training period. Time to milk ejection, total and effective milking durations were significantly shorter for experienced camels and reduced throughout the camels’ training period (P< 0.0001). Milk production increased gradually for both groups by 71.75% and 61.83% for Exp and N_Exp respectively during camels’ training period. In conclusion, acclimation of camels to machine milking was accompanied by a reduction of acute stress behaviours occurrences, an increase in milk production and a shortening and normalisation of milking sessions. Experienced camels were easier to train to machine milking. These results underscore the importance of improving procedures of milking habituation to mitigate stress of the first milking session and improve the welfare of dairy camels.

Defensive behavior is linked to altered surface chemistry following infection in a termite society

The care-kill response determines whether a sick individual will be treated or eliminated from an insect society, but little is known about the physiological underpinnings of this process. We exploited the stepwise infection dynamics of an entomopathogenic fungus in a termite to explore how care-kill transitions occur, and identify the chemical cues behind these shifts. We found collective responses towards pathogen-injected individuals to vary according to severity and timing of pathogen challenge, with elimination, via cannibalism, occurring sooner in response to a severe active infection. However, injection with inactivated fungal blastospores also resulted in increased albeit delayed cannibalism, even though it did not universally cause host death. This indicates that the decision to eliminate an individual is triggered before pathogen viability or terminal disease status has been established. We then compared the surface chemistry of differently challenged individuals, finding increased amounts of long-chained methyl-branched alkanes with similar branching patterns in individuals injected with both dead and viable fungal blastospores, with the latter showing the largest increase. This coincided with the highest amounts of observed cannibalism as well as signs of severe moribundity. Our study provides new mechanistic insight into the emergent collective behaviors involved in the disease defense of a termite society.

Conflicts and defensive communication: investigating the mature, neurotic and immature defences of service professionals

PurposeThis study aims to examine task and relationship conflict and their linkage with defensive communication strategies, i.e. mature, neurotic and immature defensive communication. Furthermore, Study 1 also investigated the mediating impact of relationship conflict and the moderating impact of a manager’s active-empathic listening in dealing with task conflicts and the defensive communication of the employees. Study 2 intended to assess the causal direction of task conflicts and defensive communication strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis research integrates the Job Demands–Resources framework, Conservation of Resources theory and Conflict Expression framework. Data from 124 professionals in India’s tertiary industry was gathered using a longitudinal approach. Study 1 analyses the dynamics between conflicts and defensive communication while considering managers’ active-empathic listening as a potential mitigating factor. Study 2 was conducted after a 10-month interim to delve into the intricate causal connections between defensive communication strategies and task conflicts. For analysing the data, SPSS was used for conducting confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, to analyse the conceptual framework and the hypothesised relationships in this study, partial least squares (PLS) modelling was performed using Smart-PLS 4.0.FindingsTask conflicts have a significant negative association with mature and neurotic defensive communication, whereas they have a strong positive relationship with immature defensive communication. Relationship conflict significantly mediates the association between task conflict and immature defensive communication. The moderating role of the manager’s active-empathic listening was not supported. In addition, the relationship between immature defensive communication and task conflict is significantly positive, outlining their bidirectional association. In contrast, the association between mature defensive communication is significantly negative. This highlights the potential of immature defensive communication to create escalatory conflict spirals and of mature defensive communication to de-escalate them.Research limitations/implicationsDefensive communication strategies, commonly explored in the psychological realm, particularly within family and romantic relationship contexts, have received limited attention in organisational behaviour. This longitudinal study offers a unique perspective on the evolution of defensive communication and its impact on task conflict over time, enhancing the understanding of how individuals adapt their communication strategies as conflicts persist or dissipate. The investigation also advances the understanding of conflict spirals, illustrating the potential of mature defensive communication to de-escalate conflicts while revealing a bidirectional connection between immature defensive communication and task conflicts.Practical implicationsLeaders need to prioritise addressing task conflicts, particularly those that might spiral into relationship conflicts. This would present managers with the ability to make task conflicts more functional in nature, which could help to enhance both team and organisational achievements. The bidirectional relationship between task conflict and immature defensive communication points towards the exigency for managerial and organisational initiatives to prevent the development of conflict spirals at the workplace.Originality/valueThis study offers crucial interdisciplinary perspectives into the body of literature with the longitudinal investigation of the connections between managers’ active-empathetic listening, task conflict, relationship conflict and the various defensive communication strategies. With the help of insights from this study, managers and leaders will be empowered to take the necessary actions to reduce employee defensive behaviours and foster a supportive culture for evoking positive and desirable performance.

A culture of aggression: the Gorongosa elephants' enduring legacy of war

Humans have hunted elephants since the Palaeolithic era and, as cunning predators, have likely helped shape the animals’ sophisticated defensive behaviour. In recent centuries, the use of modern weapons in targeted mass killings has resulted in signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in elephants, including heightened aggression and impaired decision- making. During Mozambique’s long civil war (1977–1992), 90% of the elephants of Gorongosa National Park were killed. More than a quarter of a century after the end of hostilities aggression towards vehicles by elephant families is an enduring legacy. This study found that females and entire families were more likely to charge when vehicles were in close proximity (&lt;~80 m) and on, rather than off, the roads. Although aggression was primarily initiated and led by older adult females, most charges involved mobbing by entire families, including calves. Some individuals engaged in idiosyncratic defensive behaviours, while some families exhibited distinctive group manoeuvres that appeared to form traditions, indicating that young elephants were acquiring their defensive responses within this social context. We argue that the aggressive behaviour of the Gorongosa elephants is a response to the traumatic events of the civil war and that the observed patterns of behaviour are transmitted within and across groups, giving rise to a culturally learned behavioural variant that has persisted over time and generations. Given rapid environmental change, increasing contact between elephants and people, and the extreme losses caused by poaching and armed conflict, a better understanding of the role that culture plays in the response of elephants to people is urgently needed. Conservation and management strategies may have to be adapted to meet the changing cultures of specific elephant populations.

A nigroincertal projection mediates aversion and enhances coping responses to potential threat.

Recent studies have shown that the non-DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) not only modulate motivational behaviors but also regulate defensive behaviors. While zona incerta (ZI) is a threat-responsive substrate and receives innervations from the ventral midbrain, the function of the ventral midbrain-to-ZI connection remains poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that the ZI receives heterogenous innervations from the ventral midbrain. By utilizing a retrograde AAV preferentially labeling non-DA neurons in the ventral midbrain, we found that ZI-projecting non-DA cells in the ventral midbrain are activated by restraint stress. We focused on the SN and found that SN-to-ZI GABAergic input is engaged by a predatory odor. Sustained pan-neuronal SN-to-ZI activation results in aversion and enhances defensive behaviors, likely through a disinhibition mechanism to recruit downstream brain regions that regulate defensive behaviors. Collectively, our results reveal a novel role of nigroincertal projection in mediating negative valence and regulating defensive behaviors.

Bleeding skin lesions in gestating sows of a piglet producing farm in Austria

BackgroundStomoxys calcitrans, the stable fly, occurs in pig producing countries worldwide. While in cattle the impact of this blood sucking insect is quite well described, its role in pig production is poorly investigated. Here we describe a case of a massive stable fly overpopulation in the gestation unit of a piglet producing farm in Austria that resulted in bleeding skin lesions in bitten sows.Case PresentationIn October 2021, the responsible herd veterinarian of the case farm reported of sows in the gestation area presenting with bloody crusts on the whole skin surface of the body and of bleeding skin lesions. 33/55 sows were affected by moderate to severe skin lesions. Reproductive performance decreased during the time of massive stable fly overpopulation. Sows in the gestation unit showed defensive behaviour and at a certain time point resigned and accepted being bitten by stable flies. After controlling the fly population, reproductive performance improved and even exceeded the performance before the massive overgrowth of the stable fly population.ConclusionsStable flies are a serious harm to pigs and should be kept in mind for improved animal health and welfare. Knowledge about the determination of Stomoxys calcitrans and early recognition of an increasing stable fly population in pig farming systems followed by proper insect control measures have to be performed to reduce losses caused by this harming insect.

The Events of Frustration on Josephine in Chritie;s Crooked House Novel

This study is aimed to find out the types of causes of frustration and defensive behaviours on Josephine’s character of Crooked House novel. There are two theories used to answer these questions such as frustrations and defensive behaviours by Krech et al. and characterization by Reaske. This study uses narrations and dialogues as the data which are taken from Crooked House novel by Agatha Christie. The results of this study find that Josephine experiences two types of causes of frustrations and conducts three types of defensive behaviours. The causes of frustrations are Josephine’s biological limitations as twelve years old girl and her social environment of living only in the Crooked House. In order to persist her existence after receiving the hard blows from her frustrations, Josephine conducts three forms of defensive behaviours which are aggression, autism, and identification. The conclusions show that Josephine’s desire to learn ballet plays the biggest role for her to experience frustrations events and due to this unfulfilled desire too that she performs the most extreme form of defensive behaviour of killing people in the Crooked House.

Age influences the specific force and fatigability of the external abdominal obliques but not pectoralis major muscles

In the elderly, airway infections are associated with impaired airway defense behaviors, leading to an increased risk of airway infection. The muscles of the chest and abdominal wall are essential for performing effective airway defense manoeuvres, however, very little is known about their function in aging. Here in the 6- and 24-months old Fischer 344 rat model of aging, we assess the contractility and fatigability of chest (the pectoralis major muscle) and abdominal wall (external abdominal oblique) muscles. We assessed muscle function using an ex vivo approach, measuring isometric specific forces normalised to muscle CSA, via a platinum plate field stimulations at a range of frequencies (5–150 Hz) for 1 s. Surprisingly, we did not observe any effect of age on the specific force and fatigue properties of the pectoral muscle. However, in 24-months old rats, EAO specific force was reduced by ∼32 %. These finding suggest that not all respiratory muscles are equally vulnerable to age-associated weakness.