Face engagement during infancy predicts later face recognition ability in younger siblings of children with autism

Face recognition difficulties are frequently documented in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that these difficulties result from a reduced interest in faces early in life, leading to decreased cortical specialization and atypical development of the neural circuitry for face processing. However, a recent study by our lab demonstrated that infants at increased familial risk for ASD, irrespective of their diagnostic status at 3 years, exhibit a clear orienting response to faces. The present study was conducted as a follow-up on the same cohort to investigate how measures of early engagement with faces relate to face-processing abilities later in life. We also investigated whether face recognition difficulties are specifically related to an ASD diagnosis, or whether they are present at a higher rate in all those at familial risk. At 3 years we found a reduced ability to recognize unfamiliar faces in the high-risk group that was not specific to those children who received an ASD diagnosis, consistent with face recognition difficulties being an endophenotype of the disorder. Furthermore, we found that longer looking at faces at 7 months was associated with poorer performance on the face recognition task at 3 years in the high- risk group. These findings suggest that longer looking at faces in infants at risk for ASD might reflect early face-processing difficulties and predicts difficulties with recognizing faces later in life

Face engagement during infancy predicts later face recognition ability in younger siblings of children with autism

Face recognition difficulties are frequently documented in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It has been hypothesized that these difficulties result from a reduced interest in faces early in life, leading to decreased cortical specialization and atypical development of the neural circuitry for face processing. However, a recent study by our lab demonstrated that infants at increased familial risk for ASD, irrespective of their diagnostic status at 3 years, exhibit a clear orienting response to faces. The present study was conducted as a follow-up on the same cohort to investigate how measures of early engagement with faces relate to face-processing abilities later in life. We also investigated whether face recognition difficulties are specifically related to an ASD diagnosis, or whether they are present at a higher rate in all those at familial risk. At 3 years we found a reduced ability to recognize unfamiliar faces in the high-risk group that was not specific to those children who received an ASD diagnosis, consistent with face recognition difficulties being an endophenotype of the disorder. Furthermore, we found that longer looking at faces at 7 months was associated with poorer performance on the face recognition task at 3 years in the high- risk group. These findings suggest that longer looking at faces in infants at risk for ASD might reflect early face-processing difficulties and predicts difficulties with recognizing faces later in life

Digital play and the actualisation of the consumer imagination

In this article, the authors consider emerging consumer practices in digital virtual spaces. Building on constructions of consumer behavior as both a sense-making activity and a resource for the construction of daydreams, as well as anthropological readings of performance, the authors speculate that many performances during digital play are products of consumer fantasy. The authors develop an interpretation of the relationship between the real and the virtual that is better equipped to understand the movement between consumer daydreams and those practices actualized in the material and now also in digital virtual reality. The authors argue that digital virtual performances present opportunities for liminoid transformations through inversions, speculations, and playfulness acted out in aesthetic dramas. To illustrate, the authors consider specific examples of the theatrical productions available to consumers in digital spaces, highlighting the consumer imagination that feeds them, the performances they produce, and the potential for transformation in consumer-players

Mapping the disease-specific LupusQoL to the SF-6D

Purpose To derive a mapping algorithm to predict SF-6D utility scores from the non-preference-based LupusQoL and test the performance of the developed algorithm on a separate independent validation data set. Method LupusQoL and SF-6D data were collected from 320 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) attending routine rheumatology outpatient appointments at seven centres in the UK. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to estimate models of increasing complexity in order to predict individuals’ SF-6D utility scores from their responses to the LupusQoL questionnaire. Model performance was judged on predictive ability through the size and pattern of prediction errors generated. The performance of the selected model was externally validated on an independent data set containing 113 female SLE patients who had again completed both the LupusQoL and SF-36 questionnaires. Results Four of the eight LupusQoL domains (physical health, pain, emotional health, and fatigue) were selected as dependent variables in the final model. Overall model fit was good, with R2 0.7219, MAE 0.0557, and RMSE 0.0706 when applied to the estimation data set, and R2 0.7431, MAE 0.0528, and RMSE 0.0663 when applied to the validation sample. Conclusion This study provides a method by which health state utility values can be estimated from patient responses to the non-preference-based LupusQoL, generalisable beyond the data set upon which it was estimated. Despite concerns over the use of OLS to develop mapping algorithms, we find this method to be suitable in this case due to the normality of the SF-6D data

Integrating whole-genome sequencing within the National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program in the Philippines

Funding: This work was funded by the Newton Fund, Medical Research Council (UK) grant MR/N019296/1, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development project number FP160007. J.S. was partially supported by research grants RR025040 and U01CA207167 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). S.A. and D.M.A. were additionally supported by the National Institute for Health Research (UK) Global Health Research Unit on genomic Surveillance of AMR(16_136_111) and by the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (http://pathogensurveillance.net).National networks of laboratory-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitor resistance trends and disseminate these data to AMR stakeholders. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) can support surveillance by pinpointing resistance mechanisms and uncovering transmission patterns. However, genomic surveillance is rare in low- and middle-income countries. Here, we implement WGS within the established Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program of the Philippines via a binational collaboration. In parallel, we characterize bacterial populations of key bug-drug combinations via a retrospective sequencing survey. By linking the resistance phenotypes to genomic data, we reveal the interplay of genetic lineages (strains), AMR mechanisms, and AMR vehicles underlying the expansion of specific resistance phenotypes that coincide with the growing carbapenem resistance rates observed since 2010. Our results enhance our understanding of the drivers of carbapenem resistance in the Philippines, while also serving as the genetic background to contextualize ongoing local prospective surveillance.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Population Pharmacokinetics of Piperacillin Using Scavenged Samples From Preterm Infants

Piperacillin is often used in preterm infants for intra-abdominal infections; however, dosing has been derived from small single-center studies excluding extremely preterm infants at highest risk for these infections. We evaluated the population pharmacokinetics (PK) of piperacillin using targeted sparse sampling and scavenged samples obtained from preterm infants ≤32 weeks gestational age at birth and <120 postnatal days

Population Pharmacokinetics of Metronidazole Evaluated Using Scavenged Samples from Preterm Infants

ABSTRACT Pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in preterm infants are rarely conducted due to the research challenges posed by this population. To overcome these challenges, minimal-risk methods such as scavenged sampling can be used to evaluate the PK of commonly used drugs in this population. We evaluated the population PK of metronidazole using targeted sparse sampling and scavenged samples from infants that were ≤32 weeks of gestational age at birth and 8 mg/liter was calculated. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to evaluate the adequacy of different dosing recommendations per gestational age group. Thirty-two preterm infants were enrolled: the median (range) gestational age at birth was 27 (22 to 32) weeks, postnatal age was 41 (0 to 97) days, postmenstrual age (PMA) was 32 (24 to 43) weeks, and weight was 1,495 (678 to 3,850) g. The final PK data set contained 116 samples; 104/116 (90%) were scavenged from discarded clinical specimens. Metronidazole population PK was best described by a 1-compartment model. The population mean clearance (CL; liter/h) was determined as 0.0397 × (weight/1.5) × (PMA/32) 2.49 using a volume of distribution ( V ) (liter) of 1.07 × (weight/1.5). The relative standard errors around parameter estimates ranged between 11% and 30%. On average, metronidazole concentrations in scavenged samples were 30% lower than those measured in scheduled blood draws. The majority of infants (>70%) met predefined pharmacodynamic efficacy targets. A new, simplified, postmenstrual-age-based dosing regimen is recommended for this population. Minimal-risk methods such as scavenged PK sampling provided meaningful information related to development of metronidazole PK models and dosing recommendations

Consistency of Financial Interest Disclosures in the Biomedical Literature: The Case of Coronary Stents

Background Disclosure of authors' financial interests has been proposed as a strategy for protecting the integrity of the biomedical literature. We examined whether authors' financial interests were disclosed consistently in articles on coronary stents published in 2006. Methodology/Principal Findings We searched PubMed for English-language articles published in 2006 that provided evidence or guidance regarding the use of coronary artery stents. We recorded article characteristics, including information about authors' financial disclosures. The main outcome measures were the prevalence, nature, and consistency of financial disclosures. There were 746 articles, 2985 authors, and 135 journals in the database. Eighty-three percent of the articles did not contain disclosure statements for any author (including declarations of no interests). Only 6% of authors had an article with a disclosure statement. In comparisons between articles by the same author, the types of disagreement were as follows: no disclosure statements vs declarations of no interests (64%); specific disclosures vs no disclosure statements (34%); and specific disclosures vs declarations of no interests (2%). Among the 75 authors who disclosed at least 1 relationship with an organization, there were 2 cases (3%) in which the organization was disclosed in every article the author wrote. Conclusions/Significance In the rare instances when financial interests were disclosed, they were not disclosed consistently, suggesting that there are problems with transparency in an area of the literature that has important implications for patient care. Our findings suggest that the inconsistencies we observed are due to both the policies of journals and the behavior of some authors

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with cystic fibrosis and parent caregivers: results of The International Depression Epidemiological Study across nine countries

Background Individuals with chronic diseases and parent caregivers are at increased risk for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Prevalence of psychological symptoms was evaluated in adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and parent caregivers across nine countries. Methods Patients with CF, ages 12 years and older, and caregivers of children with CF, birth to18 years of age, completed measures of depression and anxiety across 154 CF centres in Europe and the USA. Psychological symptoms were compared across countries using χ2. Logistic regression examined extent of comorbid symptoms, predictors of depression and anxiety, and concordance between parent and adolescent symptomatology. Results Psychological symptoms were reported by 6088 patients with CF and 4102 parents. Elevated symptoms of depression were found in 10% of adolescents, 19% of adults, 37% of mothers and 31% of fathers. Elevations in anxiety were found in 22% of adolescents, 32% of adults, 48% of mothers and 36% of fathers. Overall, elevations were 2–3 times those of community samples. Participants reporting elevated anxiety were more likely to report depression (ORs: adolescents=14.97, adults=13.64, mothers=15.52, fathers=9.20). Significant differences in reports of depression and anxiety were found by patient age and parent respondent. Concordance between 1122 parent–teen dyads indicated that adolescents whose parents reported depression were more likely to be elevated on depression (OR=2.32). Similarly, adolescents whose parents reported anxiety were more likely to score in the elevated range on the anxiety measure (OR=2.22). Conclusions Symptoms of depression and anxiety were elevated in both patients with CF and parents across several European countries and the USA. Annual screening of psychological symptoms is recommended for both patients and parents

The Wyoming Survey for H-alpha. III. A Multi-wavelength Look at Attenuation by Dust in Galaxies out to z~0.4

We report results from the Wyoming Survey for H-alpha (WySH), a comprehensive four-square degree survey to probe the evolution of star-forming galaxies over the latter half of the age of the Universe. We have supplemented the H-alpha data from WySH with infrared data from the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) Survey and ultraviolet data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Deep Imaging Survey. This dataset provides a multi-wavelength look at the evolution of the attenuation by dust, and here we compare a traditional measure of dust attenuation (L(TIR)/L(FUV)) to a diagnostic based on a recently-developed robust star formation rate (SFR) indicator, [H-alpha_obs+24-micron]/H-alpha_obs. With such data over multiple epochs, the evolution in the attenuation by dust with redshift can be assessed. We present results from the ELAIS-N1 and Lockman Hole regions at z~0.16, 0.24, 0.32 and 0.40. While the ensemble averages of both diagnostics are relatively constant from epoch to epoch, each epoch individually exhibits a larger attenuation by dust for higher star formation rates. Hence, an epoch to epoch comparison at a fixed star formation rate suggests a mild decrease in dust attenuation with redshift.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figure