Warning coloration provides a textbook example of natural selection, but the frequent observation of polymorphism in aposematic species presents an evolutionary puzzle. We investigated biogeography and polymorphism of warning patterns in the widespread butterfly Danaus chrysippus using records from citizen science ( n = 5467), museums ( n = 8864) and fieldwork ( n = 2586). We find that polymorphism in three traits controlled by known mendelian loci is extensive. Broad allele frequency clines, hundreds of kilometres wide, suggest a balance between long-range dispersal and predation of unfamiliar morphs. Mismatched clines for the white hindwing and forewing tip in East Africa are consistent with a previous finding that the black wingtip allele has spread recently in the region through hitchhiking with a heritable endosymbiont. Light/dark background coloration shows more extensive polymorphism. The darker genotype is more common in cooler regions, possibly reflecting a trade-off between thermoregulation and predator warning. Overall, our findings show how studying local adaptation at the global scale provides a more complete picture of the evolutionary forces involved.

Background and Objectives: The present study was planned and executed with the aim to investigate the effect of parental acceptance-rejection (both mother and father) as perceived by adolescents on their anxiety level. The sample comprised of 300 students studying in ninth and tenth standard in private schools in Delhi. Methods: In order to study parental acceptance-rejection, Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) which consists of four dimensions (coldness, aggression, neglect and rejection) developed by Rohner was used separately for mother and father and for measuring anxiety, Mental Healthy Inventory (MHI-38) by Davies, Sherbourne, Peterson and Ware (1998) was administered. Correlation analysis and step wise regression analysis were carried out in order to study the effect of parental acceptance-rejection (both mother and father) on anxiety among adolescents. Results: The results revealed that: as adolescent's perception of maternal and paternal coldness, aggression, neglect and rejection increases, adolescents become more anxious in nature and that mother's aggression emerged as significant predictor variables for anxiety among adolescents. Conclusion: Parental warmth and nurturance acts as a buffer against the anxiety level of these adolescents. It may thus also be concluded that adolescents in metropolitan cities who do not perceive their parents as caring, affectionate or nurturing will experience higher level of anxiety.

The paper examined the impact of stated son preference on the intelligence of boys and girls from a developing country. It was hypothesized that preference for sons enhances the intelligence among boys whereas it hampers the intelligence of girls. The sample comprised of 204 boys and 213 girls studying in grade 6 to 8 in an urban centre of the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. A detailed questionnaire was administered to mothers which elicited information on the socio-economic characteristics of the household. The Coombs IS Index was used to measure son preference. Intelligence of the children was measured by the Standard Progressive Matrices and the z-scores were used as the dependent measure. Multiple regression analysis indicated that household income and son preference were positively correlated with the intelligence of boys and explained 14 percent of the variance in intelligence. In contrast, son preference was negatively correlated with the intelligence of girls and along with education of mother explained 17.8 percent of variance in the intelligence of girls, It was concluded that son preference has a differential impact on the intelligence of boys and girls which appears to be mediated through several social, cultural, and economic pathways.

Depression during pregnancy and postpartum period affect women drastically. The present work evaluated depression during pregnancy and postpartum period among women of Shimla town, Himachal Pradesh. Eighty women were contacted during their third trimester of pregnancy and again during their one month postpartum period. Depression was assessed with Zung Self- Rating Depression Scale. t-Test was applied to see the difference between the level of depression during third trimester of pregnancy and postpartum period. The result revealed that depression was higher during third trimester of pregnancy as compared to postpartum period among women although the difference failed to reach the level of significance.

The present study was planned and executed with the aim to investigate general health during pregnancy and postpartum period among women. The sample comprised of 80 women who were selected from Indira Gandhi State Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and were observed during first trimester and third trimester of pregnancy and one month postpartum. In order to study general health among women, General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used. Three sub-scales of GHQ-28: somatic symptoms, anxiety, and social dysfunction scores were taken to measure general health of the selected sample of women. One way repeated analysis of variance was carried out to investigate general health among these women for the three time periods, i.e., first trimester, third trimester of pregnancy and one month postdelivery. The results revealed that (i) Women experienced significantly more somatic symptoms during first trimester as compared to third trimester of pregnancy and postpartum period. (ii) Women experienced significantly higher level of anxiety during first trimester as compared to third trimester of pregnancy and postpartum period. (iii) Women were significantly more socially dysfunctional during postpartum period as compared to first and third trimester of pregnancy.