Autism and the U.K. secondary school experience

This research investigated the self-reported mainstream school experiences of those diagnosed on the autistic spectrum compared with the typically developing school population. Existing literature identifies four key areas that affect the quality of the school experience for students with autism: social skills, perceived relationships with teaching staff, general school functioning, and interpersonal strengths of the young person. These areas were explored in a mainstream U.K. secondary school with 14 students with autism and 14 age and gender matched students without autism, using self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative analyses showed consistent school experiences for both groups, although content analysis of interview data highlighted some differences in the ways in which the groups perceive group work, peers, and teaching staff within school. Implications for school inclusion are discussed, drawing attention to how staff awareness of autism could improve school experience and success for students with autism attending mainstream schools

Nursing with Eating, Activity, and Supportive Environment (EASE) : Effects of an Eight-week Mentoring Program

Each year, approximately 2.8 million adults die from complications related to obesity (World Health Organization, 2011). One in three adults aged 20 years or older is obese, and 6% are morbidly obese. This problem is increasing at an alarming rate in young adults, and 20.5% of college students are classified as being overweight based upon their body mass index (BMI) (Adderley-Kelly, 2007). The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge about evidence-based, effective interventions that will enable college-aged, pre-nursing students to attain physical and mental well-being. The participants (N=24) were freshman and sophomore pre-nursing majors who were randomized into two groups (control and intervention). The intervention group met once a week for an eight-week nutrition and physical activity mentoring program at Texas Woman’s University. The participants were educated about proper diet and exercise recommendations and kept physical activity, nutrition, and stress management logs. Measured outcomes, mean changes and standard deviations over the eight week period included body weight (-0.3 kg + 1.7), BMI (-0.12 kg/m2 + 0.68), waist circumference (-2.5 cm + 1.9), and perceived stress scale (0.0 + 3.6). One-way ANOVAs with a p value of 0.05 were used for statistical analysis. There were no significant differences in weight, BMI, waist circumference or stress between the groups. Body composition and mental stress are difficult to change in an eight-week mentoring program, although improved knowledge may set the stage for future behavior change. A longer term program may need to be used to observe changes in weight, BMI, waist circumference, and stress

Efimov three-body states on top of a Fermi sea

The stabilization of Cooper pairs of bound electrons in the background of a Fermi sea is the origin of superconductivity and the paradigmatic example of the striking influence of many-body physics on few-body properties. In the quantum-mechanical three-body problem the famous Efimov effect yields unexpected scaling relations among a tower of universal states. These seemingly unrelated problems can now be studied in the same setup thanks to the success of ultracold atomic gas experiments. In light of the tremendous effect of a background Fermi sea on two-body properties, a natural question is whether a background can modify or even destroy the Efimov effect. Here we demonstrate how the generic problem of three interacting particles changes when one particle is embedded in a background Fermi sea, and show that Efimov scaling persists. It is found in a scaling that relates the three-body physics to the background density of fermionic particles.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, 2 appendices, revised and updated version, in pres

"Am iz kwiin" (I'm his queen): Combining interpretative phenomenological analysis with a feminist approach to work with gems in a resource-constrained setting

This article focuses on working with gems using a feminist approach to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in a resource-constrained setting. The research explores the experiences of maternal disclosure of HIV to children of HIV positive mothers in Kingston, Jamaica. A feminist approach helps recognise power imbalances within research relationships and the women’s lived experiences. We present three “gems” which illuminate women’s lived experiences and explore how popularised representations of women’s sexuality and mothering influence disclosure discourses. We use emotion work as a conceptual resource to structure the women’s narratives and challenge existing policy discourses, which arguably represent disclosure within a binary, rationalist, decision-making framework. This article adds to global literature on maternal HIV disclosure and problematises policy discourses by bringing into relief the emotion work women engage in when deciding if and how to communicate their HIV status to their children. It adds to the body of research using IPA, particularly in resource-constrained settings where IPA has thus far had little application

Disposable Patterned Electroceutical Dressing (PED-10) Is Safe for Treatment of Open Clinical Chronic Wounds

Objective: To evaluate if patterned electroceutical dressing (PED) is safe for human chronic wounds treatment as reported by wound care providers. Approach: This work reports a pilot feasibility study with the primary objective to determine physically observable effects of PED application on host tissue response from a safety evaluation point of view. For this pilot study, patients receiving a lower extremity amputation with at least one open wound on the part to be amputated were enrolled. Patients were identified through the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) based on inclusion and exclusion criteria through prescreening through the Comprehensive Wound Center's (CWC) Limb Preservation Program and wound physicians and/or providers at OSUWMC. Wounds were treated with the PED before amputation surgery. Results: The intent of the study was to identify if PED was safe for clinical application based on visual observations of adverse or lack of adverse events on skin and wound tissue. The pilot testing performed on a small cohort (N = 8) of patients showed that with engineered voltage regulation of current flow to the open wound, the PED can be used with little to no visually observable adverse effects on chronic human skin wounds. Innovation: The PED was developed as a second-generation tunable electroceutical wound care dressing, which could potentially be used to treat wounds with deeper infections compared with current state of the art that treats wounds with treatment zone limited to the surface near topical application. Conclusion: Technology advances in design and fabrication of electroceutical dressings were leveraged to develop a tunable laboratory prototype that could be used as a disposable low-cost electroceutical wound care dressing on chronic wounds. Design revisions of PED-1 (1 kΩ ballast resistor) circumvented previously observed adverse effects on the skin in the vicinity of an open wound. PED-10 (including a 10 kΩ ballast resistor) was well tolerated in the small cohort of patients (N = 8) on whom it was tested, and the observations reported here warrant a larger study to determine the clinical impact on human wound healing and infection control

African horse sickness virus NS4 protein is an important virulence factor and interferes with JAK-STAT signaling during viral infection

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) non-structural protein NS4 is a nucleocytoplasmic protein that is expressed in the heart, lung, and spleen of infected horses, binds dsDNA, and colocalizes with promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of AHSV NS4 in viral replication, virulence and the host immune response. Using a reverse genetics-derived virulent strain of AHSV-5 and NS4 deletion mutants, we showed that knockdown of NS4 expression has no impact in cell culture, but results in virus attenuation in infected horses. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to investigate the transcriptional response in these horses, to see how the lack of NS4 mediates the transition of the virus from virulent to attenuated. The presence of NS4 was shown to result in a 24 hour (h) delay in the transcriptional activation of several immune system processes compared to when the protein was absent. Included in these processes were the RIG-I-like, Toll-like receptor, and JAK-STAT signaling pathways, which are key pathways involved in innate immunity and the antiviral response. Thus, it was shown that AHSV NS4 suppresses the host innate immune transcriptional response in the early stages of the infection cycle. We investigated whether AHSV NS4 affects the innate immune response by impacting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway specifically. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) we showed that AHSV NS4 disrupts JAK-STAT signaling by interfering with the phosphorylation and/or translocation of STAT1 and pSTAT1 into the nucleus. Overall, these results showed that AHSV NS4 is a key virulence factor in horses and allows AHSV to overcome host antiviral responses in order to promote viral replication and spread.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary table 1: Full list of differentially expressed genes in the transcriptome analysis. The genes were sorted according to log2Fold change values and then grouped according to up- or down-regulated genes. Days 1, 2 and 4 are presented for the horse inoculated with rAHSV-5 (NS4) and days 1 and 2 for the horses inoculated with rAHSV-5minNS4 (minNS4). The log2FC is indicated in bold for genes differentially expressed on the same day in both NS4 and minNS4. aRanks of up- or down-regulated genes in each comparison. *Involved in innate immunity according to InnateDB.Supplementary table 2: Full list of KEGG pathways enriched by the differentially expressed genes in the transcriptome analysis. The data is displayed per day and includes the up- and down- regulated genes enriching each pathway. Pathways were sorted based on corrected P-value. Days 1, 2 and 4 are presented for the horse inoculated with rAHSV-5 (NS4) and days 1 and 2 for the horses inoculated with rAHSV-5minNS4 (minNS4).Supplementary Figure 1: Images obtained from post-mortem examination of horses inoculated with rAHSV-5. Classical lesions of disease such as frothing from the nostrils (a), interstitial and subpleural lung edema (b, e), alveolar edema (c, f) and hydropericardium (d, g) were observed.Deltamune (Pty) Ltd, the University of Pretoria Institutional Research Themes, the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, South Africa and the Genomics Research Institute, University of Pretoria. Postgraduate support was received from the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, South Africa, the National Research Foundation, South Africa and the University of Pretoria, South Africa.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/virusreshj2022BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Understanding Society Innovation Panel Wave 11: Results from Methodological Experiments

This is the final version. Available from the University of Essex via the link in this recordThis paper presents some preliminary findings from Wave 11 of the Innovation Panel (IP11) of Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study. Understanding Society is a major panel survey in the UK. In May 2018, the eleventh wave of the Innovation Panel went into the field. IP11 used a mixed-mode design, using on-line interviews and face-to-face interviews. This paper describes the design of IP11, the experiments carried and the preliminary findings from early analysis of the data

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Tissue Signatures Associated With White Matter Changes Due to Sporadic Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Indicate That White Matter Hyperintensities Can Regress

Background White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) might regress and progress contemporaneously, but we know little about underlying mechanisms. We examined WMH change and underlying quantitative magnetic resonance imaging tissue measures over 1 year in patients with minor ischemic stroke with sporadic cerebral small vessel disease. Methods and Results We defined areas of stable normal‐appearing white matter, stable WMHs, progressing and regressing WMHs based on baseline and 1‐year brain magnetic resonance imaging. In these areas we assessed tissue characteristics with quantitative T1, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (baseline only). We compared tissue signatures cross‐sectionally between areas, and longitudinally within each area. WMH change masks were available for N=197. Participants' mean age was 65.61 years (SD, 11.10), 59% had a lacunar infarct, and 68% were men. FA and MD were available for N=195, quantitative T1 for N=182, and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging for N=174. Cross‐sectionally, all 4 tissue classes differed for FA, MD, T1, and Neurite Density Index. Longitudinally, in regressing WMHs, FA increased with little change in MD and T1 (difference estimate, 0.011 [95% CI, 0.006–0.017]; −0.002 [95% CI, −0.008 to 0.003] and −0.003 [95% CI, −0.009 to 0.004]); in progressing and stable WMHs, FA decreased (−0.022 [95% CI, −0.027 to −0.017] and −0.009 [95% CI, −0.011 to −0.006]), whereas MD and T1 increased (progressing WMHs, 0.057 [95% CI, 0.050–0.063], 0.058 [95% CI, 0.050 –0.066]; stable WMHs, 0.054 [95% CI, 0.045–0.063], 0.049 [95% CI, 0.039–0.058]); and in stable normal‐appearing white matter, MD increased (0.004 [95% CI, 0.003–0.005]), whereas FA and T1 slightly decreased and increased (−0.002 [95% CI, −0.004 to −0.000] and 0.005 [95% CI, 0.001–0.009]). Conclusions Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging shows that WMHs that regress have less abnormal microstructure at baseline than stable WMHs and follow trajectories indicating tissue improvement compared with stable and progressing WMHs

Does respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory illness in early life cause recurrent wheeze of early childhood and asthma?:Critical review of the evidence and guidance for future studies from a World Health Organization-sponsored meeting

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and hospitalization in infants and children globally. Many observational studies have found an association between RSV LRTI in early life and subsequent respiratory morbidity, including recurrent wheeze of early childhood (RWEC) and asthma. Conversely, two randomized placebo-controlled trials of efficacious anti-RSV monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in heterogenous infant populations found no difference in physician-diagnosed RWEC or asthma by treatment group. If a causal association exists and RSV vaccines and mAbs can prevent a substantial fraction of RWEC/asthma, the full public health value of these interventions would markedly increase. The primary alternative interpretation of the observational data is that RSV LRTI in early life is a marker of an underlying predisposition for the development of RWEC and asthma. If this is the case, RSV vaccines and mAbs would not necessarily be expected to impact these outcomes. To evaluate whether the available evidence supports a causal association between RSV LRTI and RWEC/asthma and to provide guidance for future studies, the World Health Organization convened a meeting of subject matter experts on February 12-13, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. After discussing relevant background information and reviewing the current epidemiologic evidence, the group determined that: (i) the evidence is inconclusive in establishing a causal association between RSV LRTI and RWEC/asthma, (ii) the evidence does not establish that RSV mAbs (and, by extension, future vaccines) will have a substantial effect on these outcomes and (iii) regardless of the association with long-term childhood respiratory morbidity, severe acute RSV disease in young children poses a substantial public health burden and should continue to be the primary consideration for policy-setting bodies deliberating on RSV vaccine and mAb recommendations. Nonetheless, the group recognized the public health importance of resolving this question and suggested good practice guidelines for future studies

Nucleic acid extraction from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cancer cell line samples: a trade off between quantity and quality?

Background: Advanced genomic techniques such as Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) and gene expression profiling, including NanoString, are vital for the development of personalised medicines, as they enable molecular disease classification. This has become increasingly important in the treatment of cancer, aiding patient selection. However, it requires efficient nucleic acid extraction often from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE). Methods: Here we provide a comparison of several commercially available manual and automated methods for DNA and/or RNA extraction from FFPE cancer cell line samples from Qiagen, life Technologies and Promega. Differing extraction geometric mean yields were evaluated across each of the kits tested, assessing dual DNA/RNA extraction vs. specialised single extraction, manual silica column based extraction techniques vs. automated magnetic bead based methods along with a comparison of subsequent nucleic acid purity methods, providing a full evaluation of nucleic acids isolated. Results: Out of the four RNA extraction kits evaluated the RNeasy FFPE kit, from Qiagen, gave superior geometric mean yields, whilst the Maxwell 16 automated method, from Promega, yielded the highest quality RNA by quantitative real time RT-PCR. Of the DNA extraction kits evaluated the PicoPure DNA kit, from Life Technologies, isolated 2–14× more DNA. A miniaturised qPCR assay was developed for DNA quantification and quality assessment. Conclusions: Careful consideration of an extraction kit is necessary dependent on quality or quantity of material required. Here we provide a flow diagram on the factors to consider when choosing an extraction kit as well as how to accurately quantify and QC the extracted material