The group-based social skills training SOSTA-FRA in children and adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder - study protocol of the randomised, multi-centre controlled SOSTA - net trial

Background: Group-based social skills training (SST) has repeatedly been recommended as treatment of choice in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). To date, no sufficiently powered randomised controlled trial has been performed to establish efficacy and safety of SST in children and adolescents with HFASD. In this randomised, multi-centre, controlled trial with 220 children and adolescents with HFASD it is hypothesized, that add-on group-based SST using the 12 weeks manualised SOSTA–FRA program will result in improved social responsiveness (measured by the parent rated social responsiveness scale, SRS) compared to treatment as usual (TAU). It is further expected, that parent and self reported anxiety and depressive symptoms will decline and pro-social behaviour will increase in the treatment group. A neurophysiological study in the Frankfurt HFASD subgroup will be performed pre- and post treatment to assess changes in neural function induced by SST versus TAU. Methods/design: The SOSTA – net trial is designed as a prospective, randomised, multi-centre, controlled trial with two parallel groups. The primary outcome is change in SRS score directly after the intervention and at 3 months follow-up. Several secondary outcome measures are also obtained. The target sample consists of 220 individuals with ASD, included at the six study centres. Discussion: This study is currently one of the largest trials on SST in children and adolescents with HFASD worldwide. Compared to recent randomised controlled studies, our study shows several advantages with regard to in- and exclusion criteria, study methods, and the therapeutic approach chosen, which can be easily implemented in non-university-based clinical settings. Trial registration: ISRCTN94863788 – SOSTA – net: Group-based social skills training in children and adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder

Interferon-Induced Ifit2/ISG54 Protects Mice from Lethal VSV Neuropathogenesis

Interferon protects mice from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection and pathogenesis; however, it is not known which of the numerous interferon-stimulated genes (ISG) mediate the antiviral effect. A prominent family of ISGs is the interferon-induced with tetratricopeptide repeats (Ifit) genes comprising three members in mice, Ifit1/ISG56, Ifit2/ISG54 and Ifit3/ISG49. Intranasal infection with a low dose of VSV is not lethal to wild-type mice and all three Ifit genes are induced in the central nervous system of the infected mice. We tested their potential contributions to the observed protection of wild-type mice from VSV pathogenesis, by taking advantage of the newly generated knockout mice lacking either Ifit2 or Ifit1. We observed that in Ifit2 knockout (Ifit2−/−) mice, intranasal VSV infection was uniformly lethal and death was preceded by neurological signs, such as ataxia and hind limb paralysis. In contrast, wild-type and Ifit1−/− mice were highly protected and survived without developing such disease. However, when VSV was injected intracranially, virus replication and survival were not significantly different between wild-type and Ifit2−/− mice. When administered intranasally, VSV entered the central nervous system through the olfactory bulbs, where it replicated equivalently in wild-type and Ifit2−/− mice and induced interferon-β. However, as the infection spread to other regions of the brain, VSV titers rose several hundred folds higher in Ifit2−/− mice as compared to wild-type mice. This was not caused by a broadened cell tropism in the brains of Ifit2−/− mice, where VSV still replicated selectively in neurons. Surprisingly, this advantage for VSV replication in the brains of Ifit2−/− mice was not observed in other organs, such as lung and liver. Pathogenesis by another neurotropic RNA virus, encephalomyocarditis virus, was not enhanced in the brains of Ifit2−/− mice. Our study provides a clear demonstration of tissue-, virus- and ISG-specific antiviral action of interferon

Informing educational psychology training with students' community engagement experiences

The purpose of this article was to describe students’ experiences of community engagement in an Educational Psychology practicum in order to inform relevant educational psychology training literature with experiences of students’ community engagement. Experiential learning served as our theoretical framework and we employed an instrumental case study design, purposefully selecting eight students in the MEd Educational Psychology programme to participate in a focus group. Other data sources included reflective journals and visual data. The following themes emerged from the thematic analysis: students gained insight into themselves as prospective educational psychologists, the curricular community engagement benefited students’ professional development and the practicum supported students in integrating theory with practice

Assessing the Individual and Combined Effects of QTL for Adult Plant Stripe Rust Resistance Derived from Cappelle-Desprez

The release of commercial wheat cultivars resistant to stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), remains one of the primary objectives in many breeding programs. Previous studies of adult plant resistance derived from the winter wheat cultivar Cappelle-Desprez identified the quantitative trait loci (QTL) QYr.ufs-2A, QYr.ufs-2D, QYr.ufs-5B and QYr.ufs-6D to affect stripe rust under South African conditions. Phenotypic field assessment, fluorescence microscopy and molecular analysis were used to characterise recombinant inbred lines differing in number and combinations of these QTL. Besides the confirmation of enhanced resistance through co-occurring resistance loci, varying levels of defence, conditioned by different QTL combinations were observed. Carriers of QYr.ufs-2A or QYr.ufs-2D, accompanied by at least one other QTL, exhibited higher resistance levels than lines with a single QTL. The knowledge gained in this study will help wheat breeders to develop cultivars with more diverse combinations and potentially more durable sources of stripe rust resistance

T cell–dependent production of IFN-γ by NK cells in response to influenza A virus

The role of human NK cells in viral infections is poorly understood. We used a cytokine flow-cytometry assay to simultaneously investigate the IFN-γ response of NK and T lymphocytes to influenza A virus (fluA). When PBMCs from fluA-immune adult donors were incubated with fluA, IFN-γ was produced by both CD56(dim) and CD56(bright) subsets of NK cells, as well as by fluA-specific T cells. Purified NK cells did not produce IFN-γ in response to fluA, while depletion of T lymphocytes reduced to background levels the fluA-induced IFN-γ production by NK cells, which indicates that T cells are required for the IFN-γ response of NK cells. The fluA-induced IFN-γ production of NK cells was suppressed by anti–IL-2 Ab, while recombinant IL-2 replaced the helper function of T cells for IFN-γ production by NK cells. This indicates that IL-2 produced by fluA-specific T cells is involved in the T cell–dependent IFN-γ response of NK cells to fluA. Taken together, these results suggest that at an early stage of recurrent viral infection, NK-mediated innate immunity to the virus is enhanced by preexisting virus-specific T cells

Patterns of care and follow-up care of patients with uveal melanoma in German-speaking countries: a multinational survey of the German Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group (DeCOG)

Purpose Uveal melanoma (UM) is an orphan cancer of high unmet medical need. Current patterns of care and surveillance remain unclear as they are situated in an interdisciplinary setting. Methods A questionnaire addressing the patterns of care and surveillance in the management of patients with uveal melanoma was distributed to 70 skin cancer centers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Frequency distributions of responses for each item of the questionnaire were calculated. Results 44 of 70 (62.9%) skin cancer centers completed the questionnaire. Thirty-nine hospitals were located in Germany (88.6%), three in Switzerland (6.8%) and two in Austria (4.5%). The majority (68.2%) represented university hospitals. Most patients with metastatic disease were treated in certified skin cancer centers (70.7%, 29/41). Besides, the majority of patients with UM were referred to the respective skin cancer center by ophthalmologists (87.2%, 34/39). Treatment and organization of follow-up of patients varied across the different centers. 35.1% (14/37) of the centers stated to not perform any screening measures. Conclusion Treatment patterns of patients with uveal melanoma in Germany, Austria and Switzerland remain extremely heterogeneous. A guideline for the treatment and surveillance is urgently needed