Premature Birth as a Factor in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by pervasive delays in socialization, communication, and repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. While there is a growing body of evidence on the etiology of ASD, there are a limited number of studies examining factors which may impact the differentiation of ASD compared to other developmental disabilities. Additionally, few studies have examined factors which may predict level of ASD symptom severity. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether premature birth occurs more commonly in infants and toddlers (17-37 months) with ASD than those with atypical development. A secondary aim of this study was to investigate whether length of gestation predicts scores on the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT), Part 1, a measure of overall impairment, in participants with ASD. Participants were separated into two groups (i.e., ASD, atypical development), and compared on the basis of parent/caregiver reported incidence of premature birth and average weeks of gestation. Additional analyses included within group comparisons for the ASD diagnostic group by separating individuals who were born prematurely and full term and analyzing their total scores on the BISCUIT-Part 1 were. Differences in overall level of functioning were assessed. Results of the current study indicate that infants and toddlers with atypical development are more likely to be born prematurely; however, average weeks of gestation did not significantly differ between the groups. Follow up analyses of participants with ASD revealed that premature birth was not a predictor of level of severity. Implications of these findings are discussed

Effects of Sudden Removal of High Social Enrichment upon Monoamine Levels in Cortical and Subcortical Structures of the Rat Brain

The goal of this study was to evaluate a novel stress-induced animal model in both male (n=28) and female (n=28) Sprague-Dawley rats. Stress was induced during adolescence by exposing the rats to standard social enrichment following a period of high* social enrichment (*frequent handling and playdates with 12 same sex non-cagemates). High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used to evaluate monoamine levels in post-mortem tissue from cortical structures (prefrontal cortex, motor cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex) and from subcortical structures (amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, lateral thalamus, medial thalamus, dorsal striatum, ventral striatum). Overall, results showed that monoamine levels were lower in the rats that experienced a transition from high to standard social enrichment. Better understanding of the neurophysiological consequences of a sudden removal of social enrichment (such as experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic) has important translational value for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1051/thumbnail.jp

Deep dive report: testing model concepts in Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe 2022-2023

The Deep Dive programme was a project of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage and involved developing different types of activities and events in each of the selected cemeteries, in 7 different European countries, exploring the potential of these sites for interpretation, local community engagement, for developing heritage skills, and for educational, cultural, artistic and touristic purposes, including potential inclusion in municipal development strategies, benefiting from what has already been achieved in other major cities, and trialling the application of new types of activity including the use of digital technologies

The Lost Synagogue of Speightstown: New Findings in the Light of Recent Investigations

A small but influential community of Sephardi Jews settled in the port-town of ‘Speights’ (Speightstown) in the seventeenth century and established a synagogue. Congregants from Speightstown subsequently became founding members of the Rhode Island Synagogue (Newport) and the Bevis Marks Synagogue (London). This paper explores for the first time the historical details of the beginnings of this community and posits a new theory as to the possible survival of the synagogue after its alleged destruction in 1739. This preliminary research highlights the urgent need to conduct a major study into this fascinating –and almost forgotten—episode of the Caribbean Jewish presence

Beattie Orwell: The Battle of Cable Street

An essay for the Royal Literary Fund's Writers Mosaic project, "Jewish Multiculturalism' edition

Contemporary British Place Writing: Origins, Definitions, New directions

This PhD by Publication (Route 2) brings together a trilogy of books of which I am the sole author, which share common ground in terms of theme and preoccupation. I seek to demonstrate how these publications have contributed to, and helped to define, the existing body of work that has come to be included within the genre of contemporary place writing. For the purposes of this commentary I am considering my work within a British context and focusing solely on works of creative nonfiction. The submission includes my publications: On Brick Lane (2007), Diamond Street: the Hidden World of Hatton Garden (2012) and Estuary: Out from London to the Sea (2016), all of which are focused on a deep examination of place including urban, edgeland and estuarine landscapes. These books have achieved wide international readership, been highly acclaimed in the national press and media, and recognized by critics and other writers in the field as key examples of literary nonfiction creative writing on place. Two of these books have been listed for major place writing prizes in the U.K. On Brick Lane was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize, and Estuary was longlisted for the Gordon Burns Prize. In addition to demonstrating where my practice overlaps with the work of other authors, my aim in this thesis is to articulate the unique ways in which my working practices contribute to the development and definitions of place writing. Specifically, I will argue that my work has made a unique contribution though a multi-modal community-engaged site-specific creative praxis that focuses on the geographical, cultural and social history of these urban and peri-urban spaces, paying particular attention to describing these locations through the oral testimonies of people who have lived and worked there over time, in order to reveal new and previously hidden histories

‘A free prospect to the sea:’ Framing an urban archaeological biography of Speightstown (St Peter Parish)

In comparison with research on plantation sites related in the foregoing chapters, archaeological projects within urban environments in the Caribbean have tended to be more limited and for the most part have mainly taken the form of rescue excava- tions. In this chapter three writers from very different intellectual and methodological backgrounds bring together the work they have been undertaking at Speightstown (St Peter Parish) over the last ten years. Drawing together oral and documentary history, archaeological excavation, maritime archaeology and survey and buildings recording we present a biography of social and cultural change in a small Barbadian urban setting over a three-hundred-year period

Severity Index for Suspected Arbovirus (SISA) : machine learning for accurate prediction of hospitalization in subjects suspected of arboviral infection

Funding: This study was supported, in part, by the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infection Surveillance (https://health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Combat-Support/Armed-Forces-Health-Surveillance-Branch/Global-Emerging-Infections-Surveillance-and-Response) grant (P0220_13_OT) and the Department of Medicine of SUNY Upstate Medical University (http://www.upstate.edu/medicine/). D.F., M.H. and P.H. were supported by the Ben Kean Fellowship from the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygeine (https://www.astmh.org/awards-fellowships-medals/benjamin-h-keen-travel-fellowship-in-tropical-medi). S.J.R and A.M.S-I were supported by NSF DEB EEID 1518681, NSF DEB RAPID 1641145 (https://www.nsf.gov/), A.M.S-I was additionally supported by the Prometeo program of the National Secretary of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation of Ecuador (http://prometeo.educacionsuperior.gob.ec/).Background: Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are arboviruses of major global health concern. Decisions regarding the clinical management of suspected arboviral infection are challenging in resource-limited settings, particularly when deciding on patient hospitalization. The objective of this study was to determine if hospitalization of individuals with suspected arboviral infections could be predicted using subject intake data. Methodology/Principal findings: Two prediction models were developed using data from a surveillance study in Machala, a city in southern coastal Ecuador with a high burden of arboviral infections. Data were obtained from subjects who presented at sentinel medical centers with suspected arboviral infection (November 2013 to September 2017). The first prediction model-called the Severity Index for Suspected Arbovirus (SISA)-used only demographic and symptom data. The second prediction model-called the Severity Index for Suspected Arbovirus with Laboratory (SISAL)-incorporated laboratory data. These models were selected by comparing the prediction ability of seven machine learning algorithms; the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from the prediction of a test dataset was used to select the final algorithm for each model. After eliminating those with missing data, the SISA dataset had 534 subjects, and the SISAL dataset had 98 subjects. For SISA, the best prediction algorithm was the generalized boosting model, with an AUC of 0.91. For SISAL, the best prediction algorithm was the elastic net with an AUC of 0.94. A sensitivity analysis revealed that SISA and SISAL are not directly comparable to one another. Conclusions/Significance: Both SISA and SISAL were able to predict arbovirus hospitalization with a high degree of accuracy in our dataset. These algorithms will need to be tested and validated on new data from future patients. Machine learning is a powerful prediction tool and provides an excellent option for new management tools and clinical assessment of arboviral infection.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe