“I often have to explain to school staff what she needs”. School experiences of non-autistic siblings growing up with an autistic brother or sister

BACKGROUND: Recent autism research has evidenced a shift from psychological outcomes to contextualised approaches to understanding the varying needs of non autistic siblings of autistic children across different systems. Yet, there is limited research exploring the lived experiences of siblings in their school context. METHODS: First, a group of school aged sibling advisors worked with the first author to codesign research aims, methods and dissemination practices around the topic of the school experiences of siblings who grow up with an autistic brother or sister in the UK. Then, 28 school-aged siblings of autistic children completed adapted photo-elicitation interviews, to discuss their school experiences. A background questionnaire was also administered to their parents and carers. RESULTS: Thematic analysis was employed. The master themes included: (i) Impact of home experiences in schoolwork, including limited personal time and sleep disruptions (ii) Siblings’ school interactions impact on overall school experience, including a wide range of both typical and difficult experiences such as school day disruptions, (iii) Varied perceived levels of support and understanding, including emotional and/or educational support by family members and a sense of connectedness with peers and teachers who are autistic themselves or connected to someone with a diagnosis of autism. IMPLICATIONS: The results underline the ways home experiences can have an impact on school life of siblings, the positive contribution of the autistic school staff and/or staff who have an autistic family member and the need for an organisational culture of inclusivity and widespread acceptance and awareness around issues of neurodiversity. Our findings suggest several implications for school psychologists in core functions of the educational psychologists’ role including training, consultation, assessment, and whole school support. DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: The datasets generated for this study are not readily available because they include sensitive data (photos of siblings’ houses, family members, personal objects, and school timetables). Requests to access the datasets should be directed to corresponding author

Educating and Empowering Elders: Improving the Health of Senior Latino Diabetics through Community Collaboration

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death among Americans.1 As of 2005, estimates indicate 20.8 million people – 7 percent of the population – afflicted by diabetes, 6.2 million of which are undiagnosed. 1 While diabetes is a growing problem for the United States as a whole, older, poverty-stricken Latinos and other minority groups have felt the encumbrance of this trend most intensely.2 In Massachusetts, the burden of diabetes among Caribbean Latinos is 11.8 percent, which is 2.5 times greater than the prevalence for the majority of the population in the state (4.7 percent).3 The age-adjusted rate for Latinos with diabetes is 36.25 per 100,000—76 percent higher than the state rate of 20.56.4 If this trend continues, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes nationwide will skyrocket, as Hispanics constitute the largest and fastest-growing minority in the United States.

Ex vivo detection and characterization of early dental caries by optical coherence tomography and Raman spectroscopy.

Early dental caries detection will facilitate implementation of nonsurgical methods for arresting caries progression and promoting tooth remineralization. We present a method that combines optical coherence tomography (OCT) and Raman spectroscopy to provide morphological information and biochemical specificity for detecting and characterizing incipient carious lesions found in extracted human teeth. OCT imaging of tooth samples demonstrated increased light backscattering intensity at sites of carious lesions as compared to the sound enamel. The observed lesion depth on an OCT image was approximately 290 mm matching those previously documented for incipient caries. Using Raman microspectroscopy and fiber-optic- based Raman spectroscopy to characterize the caries further, spectral changes were observed in PO 42 vibrations arising from hydroxyapa- tite of mineralized tooth tissue. Examination of various ratios of PO 42 n 2 , n 3 , n 4 vibrations against the n 1 vibration showed consistent in- creases in carious lesions compared to sound enamel. The changes were attributed to demineralization-induced alterations of enamel crystallite morphology and/or orientation. OCT imaging is useful for screening carious sites and determining lesion depth, with Raman spectroscopy providing biochemical confirmation of caries. The com- bination has potential for development into a new fiber-optic diagnos- tic tool enabling dentists to identify early caries lesions with greater sensitivity and specificity. © 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engi

Growth of Indonesian infants compared with World Health Organization growth standards

OBJECTIVE: The ability of the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards to represent the growth of South East Asian infants has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide contemporary data on the growth of Indonesian breast-fed and formula-fed infants, compared with the WHO growth standards. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 160 normal healthy infants was undertaken in a suburban area of South Jakarta, Indonesia. Infants from 2-6 weeks of age were recruited, and consumed exclusively either breast milk or infant formula for at least 6 months, with follow-up until 12 months of age. RESULTS: Overall, the infants in this study were lighter (weight-for-age), were shorter (length-for-age) and had smaller head circumferences (head circumference-for-age) than the average WHO Growth Reference Study (WGRS) population but were of similar proportion (weight-for-length). Compared with the WGRS, the z-scores for weight-for-age, length-for-age and head circumference-for-age in the Indonesian children fell from birth to 6 weeks of age and then increased until 3 months of age in both the breast-fed infants and the formula-fed infants. At 6 weeks of age, the weight-for-age z-scores fell below -2 standard deviations (SD) for 16 (20.5%) breast-fed and 40 (51.3%) formula-fed infants, and the length-for-age z-scores fell below -2 SD for 31 (39.7%) breast-fed and 41 (52.6%) formula-fed infants. CONCLUSIONS: The WHO growth standards do not reflect the growth of this cohort of Indonesian infants and may overestimate the levels of underweight and stunted children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01721512This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 License, where it is permissible to download and share the work, provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.Pramita G. Dwipoerwantoro, Muchtaruddin Mansyur, Hanifah Oswari, Maria Makrides, Geoffrey Cleghorn, and Agus Firmansyah

HIV-1 Epidemic in the Caribbean Is Dominated by Subtype B

The molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in the Caribbean has been described using partial genome sequencing; subtype B is the most common subtype in multiple countries. To expand our knowledge of this, nearly full genome amplification, sequencing and analysis was conducted.Virion RNA from sera collected in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were reverse transcribed, PCR amplified, sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Nearly full genomes were completed for 15 strains; partial pol was done for 67 strains. All but one of the 67 strains analyzed in pol were subtype B; the exception was a unique recombinant of subtypes B and C collected in the Dominican Republic. Of the nearly full genomes of 14 strains that were subtype B in pol, all were subtype B from one end of the genome to the other and not inter-subtype recombinants. Surprisingly, the Caribbean subtype B strains clustered significantly with each other and separate from subtype B from other parts of the pandemic.The more complete analysis of HIV-1 from 4 Caribbean countries confirms previous research using partial genome analysis that the predominant subtype in circulation was subtype B. The Caribbean strains are phylogenetically distinct from other subtype B strains although the biological meaning of this finding is unclear

Root canal morphology of primary maxillary second molars:a micro-computed tomography analysis

Aim Successful endodontic treatment of primary teeth requires comprehensive knowledge and understanding of root canal morphology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the root canal configurations of primary maxillary second molars using micro-computed tomography. Methods Extracted human primary maxillary second molars (n = 57) were scanned using micro-computed tomography and reconstructed to produce three-dimensional models. Each root canal system was analysed qualitatively according to Vertucci's classification. Results 22.8% (n = 13) of the sample presented with the fusion of the disto-buccal and palatal roots; of these, Type V was the most prevalent classification. For teeth with three separate roots (n = 44), the most common root canal type was Type 1 for the palatal canal (100%) and disto-buccal canal (77.3%) and Type V for the mesio-buccal canal (36.4%). Overall, 7% (n = 4) of mesio-buccal canals were 'unclassifiable'. Conclusion The root canal systems of primary maxillary second molars were not only complex but had a range of configurations that may contribute to unfavourable clinical outcomes after endodontic treatment

An exploration of knowledge, attitudes and advice given by health professionals to parents in Ireland about the introduction of solid foods. A pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For the purposes of this paper "weaning is defined as the introduction of the first solid foods to infants". Global recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend that all infants be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of life. No global recommendations have been made for formula fed infants. In Europe it is recommended that weaning foods should be introduced between 18 weeks and 26 weeks regardless of whether infants are breast or formula fed. In the United Kingdom it is recommended that solids be introduced at around six-months for both breast and formula fed infants. In Ireland official guidelines recommend that breast fed infants should be introduced solids at 6 months of age while for formula fed infants the recommendation is for 4 months. The disparity between these global, European, UK and local recommendations may be a source of confusion for parents and health care professional based in Ireland. Emerging evidence suggests that babies in Ireland are given solid foods before the recommended age but there has been little investigation of the weaning advice provided by health professionals. Since community health professionals have routine parent interactions in the pre-weaning and early-weaning period and hence are in a unique position to positively influence parental weaning decisions, this study aimed to explore their knowledge, attitudes and advice practices about weaning.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A mixed-methods approach was used for the research, commencing with a multi-disciplinary focus group to guide and develop a questionnaire. Questionnaires were then distributed in a postal survey to General Practitioners (GPs) (<it>n </it>179), Practice Nurses (PNs) (<it>n </it>121), Public Health Nurses (PHNs) (<it>n </it>107) and Community Dieticians (CDs) (<it>n </it>8).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results indicate varying levels of knowledge of official weaning recommendations and a variety of advice practices. CDs and PHNs acknowledged a clear role in providing weaning advice while demonstrating high confidence levels in providing this advice. However, 19% of PNs and 7% of GP respondents did not acknowledge that they have a role in providing weaning advice to parents; even though Health Service Executive (HSE) written literature given to parents states that they should seek information from PNs and GPs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Small pockets of misinformation about the introduction of solid foods persist amongst health professionals which may lead to inconsistent advice for parents. Further research is needed.</p

Development of a 2,4-diaminothiazole series for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis highlights the importance of static-cidal screening of analogues

While treatment options for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) have improved significantly, there is still a need for new drugs with eradication now a realistic possibility. Here, we report the development of 2,4-diaminothiazoles that demonstrate significant potency against Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of HAT. Using phenotypic screening to guide structure-activity relationships, potent drug-like inhibitors were developed. Proof of concept was established in an animal model of the hemolymphatic stage of HAT. To treat the meningoencephalitic stage of infection, compounds were optimized for pharmacokinetic properties, including blood-brain barrier penetration. However, in vivo efficacy was not achieved, in part due to compounds evolving from a cytocidal to a cytostatic mechanism of action. Subsequent studies identified a nonessential kinase involved in the inositol biosynthesis pathway as the molecular target of these cytostatic compounds. These studies highlight the need for cytocidal drugs for the treatment of HAT and the importance of static-cidal screening of analogues