Behavioural problems assessment

Jarnstrom, R. T. Corrosion product behaviour in Loviisa NPP primary coolant and measures taken to lower the radiation levels by modified startup and shutdown procedures. IAEA Internat. Symp. Water Chemistry and Corrosion Problems of Nuclear Reactor Systems and Components, Vienna 1982, Paper IAEA-SM-264/8 James, D. W. Problem assessment of discrete radioactive particles. Report EPRI NP-5969... 

Measures chosen were comparable with those used in the other longitudinal studies being conducted The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (1969) were used to measure mental and psychomotor development at 6 months, 12 months and 24 months the Bayley Infant Behaviour Record and the Toddler Temperament Questionnaire (Fullard et al, 1978) to monitor behavioural problems. At 3 years the McCarthy Scales of Children s Abilities (1972) replaced the Bayley Scales, and this test was employed also at 4 years and, currently, at 5 years. At 5 years a special computer vigilance task is being employed to assess attention span and attain reaction time measures. (This task was written by Jacobson and Jacobson at Wayne State University, Detroit, USA.)... 

The problems associated with the measurement and control of the flowrate of solids are much more complicated than those in the corresponding situation with liquids. The flow characteristics will depend, not only on particle size, size range and shape, but also on how densely the particles are packed. In addition, surface and electrical properties and moisture content all exert a strong influence on flow behaviour, and the combined effect of these factors is almost impossible to predict in advance. It is therefore desirable to carry out a preliminary qualitative assessment before making a selection of the, most appropriate technique for controlling and measuring flowrate for any particular application. 

A major reason for this lies in methodological problems connected with the observation and description and the nature of human behaviour itself. In order to asses causation and function of behaviour we rely on an observational device. The process of information reduction which is applied to the study of behaviour results in highly variable observations. The assessment of meaning and function rarely produces reproducible results, and different signals especially in human communication seem to take many meanings which are context-specific. Partially this might be due to the observational approaches used for coding behaviour. 

The response of vertebrates to olfactory stimulation is affected by previous experience but behaviour can be specifically affected by odours (pheromones) (4). The olfactory system has been shown to detect specific components within complex mixtures and analytical chemistry techniques have been used to identify these active components (5). We have assessed the application of these methods to the problems of agricultural odours in an attempt to develop techniques applicable to both slurries and air samples. The identification of the odorous components might allow specific treatment methods to be developed. In addition, the designation of a range of indicator compounds might be useful in practice for monitoring abatement of odour nuisances. 

For an assessment of environmental indicators, the biological or health-related aspects of animal welfare will be taken into consideration. Most indicators of animal welfare reflect relatively specific problems, measuring different components of welfare rather than welfare per se. Some of the parameters that may serve to describe the indicator animal welfare are immune problems, occurrence of disease, reduced productivity, mortality, physiological stress and behavioural deprivation. These parameters are influenced by animal husbandry issues such as housing conditions, breeding goals, and health measures, i.e. veterinary medicine. These factors are the subject of the following sections. 

Small-scale in vitro test systems may now be employed to assess biopharmaceutical properties or the drug s potential behaviour after in vivo administration. For example, drug penetration through monolayers of epithelial cells in tissue culture can be used to examine bioavailability. The drug s metabolism can be studied in vitro using hepatic microsomes and potentially toxic metabolites identified before problems arise in vivo Although not absolute, these tests... 

A considerable problem for both the food industry and sensory scientists is the degree of individual variation in texture perceptions. The differences in breakdown pathways in the mouth for standard samples may underlie some of the variability. Indeed Brown et al31 have demonstrated an influence of chewing behaviour on texture perceptions in a model food system. Even if all individuals shared a common system for assessing a particular textural characteristic, the differences in the way they masticate a sample may cause them to come to different conclusions regarding its texture. However, there is also the real possibility that subjects may use different measuring systems for assessment of a textural characteristic they... 

One remaining problem with tissue-specific null mutants that exploit the Cre/ lox-P system is that early excision at the time of birth of sensory neurons may allow developmental compensatory mechanisms to occur, again complicating phenotypic analysis, particularly in terms of behaviour. It would thus be ideal to be able to delete genes in adult animals, whose behaviour under control conditions has already been assessed. Recent advances in gene dehvery suggest that this approach may be feasible. 

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