Reduced social preferences in autism: evidence from charitable donations

Background: People with autism have abnormal preferences, ranging from an apparent lack of preference for social stimuli to unusually strong preferences for restricted sets of highly idiosyncratic stimuli. Yet the profile of preferences across social and nonsocial domains has not been mapped out in detail, and the processes responsible remain poorly understood. Methods: To assess preferences across a range of stimuli, we measured real monetary donations to 50 charities spanning categories pertaining to people, mental health, animals, or the environment. We compared the donations made by 16 high-functioning adults with autism to those made by neurotypical controls matched on age, gender and education. We additionally collected ratings of how people evaluated the different charities. Results: Compared with controls, high-functioning adults with autism donated less overall and also showed a significantly disproportionate reduction in donations to people charities compared with donations to the other charities. Furthermore, whereas controls discriminated strongly between different people charities, choosing to donate a lot of money to some and very little to others, much less discrimination was seen in the autism group. Ratings that probed how participants constructed their preferences did not differ between groups, except for a difference in the perceived impact of pictures and text information about people charities. Strikingly, there were some charities related to mental health, and autism in particular, to which the autism group donated considerably more than did the controls. Conclusions: People with autism were found to have reduced preference and sensitivity towards charities benefiting other people. The findings provide evidence for a domain-specific impairment in social cognition in autism spectrum disorder, and in particular in linking otherwise intact social knowledge to the construction of value signals on which preferences regarding other people are based

Population dynamics in cloned CHO cell lines

The inherent nature of cloned CHO cell lines includes the presence of genetic and phenotypic drift that leads to heterogeneous populations. The genetic heterogeneity exhibited by these cells can be exploited to understand the population dynamics of cloned cell lines. One way to track heterogeneity within populations is by utilizing genetic sequence variants (SVs) as biomarkers for distinct populations. In the experiments described here, cell lines with varying levels of sequence variants resulting from a single nucleotide change in the gene of interest were used to study population dynamics in cloned CHO cell lines. Analysis of four different monoclonal antibody-expressing cell lines with known sequence variants under varying continuous culture conditions provided insight into transcription and translation rates of SV-containing cell lines and allowed us to generate population dynamic models leading to better understanding of SVs and the genetic heterogeneity of clonal cell lines. Early time points of these cell lines were further subcloned and analyzed to gain further understanding of subpopulation dynamics in cloned cell lines and the results of these experiments will be presented. Subclones of these four clonal cell lines proved varying degrees of heterogeneity while falling into distinct population dynamics models. Additionally, mixing of subclones expressing the same mAb, with and without SVs at similar growth rates allowed us to evaluate how populations shift over time. A range of expected and unexpected outcomes was observed with these intentionally mixed populations demonstrating the complexity of clonal cell line heterogeneity. This study will further our understanding on the interplay between clonality, heterogeneity and population dynamics of “clonal” cell lines and will allow for critical assessment of overarching cell line development methods and strategies

Ralaxation of deformed drops, vesicles, and cells

The deformation of drops, vesicles, and cells constitutes an important class of problems in chemical and biomedical engineering and is often explored as a means to study interfacial dynamics and mechanical properties of the lipid membrane. Less attention has been paid to the relaxation process after the deforming mechanism is removed. In this study, analyses of such process are presented. A drop, vesicle, or cell of spherical shape at rest is initially deformed into a spheroid. The relaxation process is then solved within the same theoretical framework in both small- and moderate-deformation limits. Different regimes are discovered. For sufficiently small initial deformations, the change in the membrane tension is a negligible higher-order effect for both vesicles and cells, and they behave identically to drops in the relaxation process. For moderate initial deformations, vesicle and cell relaxation is dominantly governed by the folding of undulations on the lipid membrane which differs from the behavior of a drop. Membrane properties, namely, membrane tension and bending rigidity, are the key parameters governing this dynamic process. A detailed comparison with experimental data for vesicles/cells is performed, and the results are presented and discussed

3-Cyclo­propyl-1-(4-methyl­phenyl­sulfon­yl)piperidine-3,5-diol

In the title compound, C15H21NO4S, both hy­droxy groups on the piperidine ring are located in axial positions, whereas the tosyl group and the cyclo­propane ring are in equatorial positions. An intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, mol­ecules form inversion dimers via pairs of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating cyclic R 4 4(8) motifs, as noted previously in related diols

Location, seasonal, and functional characteristics of water holding containers with juvenile and pupal Aedes aegypti in Southern Taiwan:A cross-sectional study using hurdle model analyses

BackgroundAedes aegypti carries several viruses of public health importance, including the dengue virus. Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. Prevention and control of dengue mainly rely on mosquito control as there is no antiviral treatment or a WHO-approved vaccine. To reduce the Ae. aegypti population, studying the characteristics of their habitats is necessary. Aedes aegypti prefer breeding in artificial water holding containers in peridomestic or domestic settings. Their juveniles (1st - 4th instar larvae and pupae) have a tendency to cluster in certain types of containers. To inform control strategies, it is important to assess whether the pupae subgroup has a distinct distribution by container type as compared to the overall group of juveniles. The objective of this study was to assess for distinct predictors (location, season, and function) of Ae. aegypti juveniles and pupae numbers in water holding containers by applying hurdle model analyses.MethodologyThe field component of this study was carried out from November 2013 to July 2015 in Southern Taiwan where annual autochthonous dengue has been reported for decades. Water holding containers with stagnant water were identified in a predefined urban area in Kaohsiung City (KH) and a rural area in Pingtung County. Given that mosquito survey data often include many containers with zero Ae. aegypti, a negative binomial hurdle model was applied to model the association between location, seasonal and functional characteristics of the water holding containers and the number of Ae. aegypti in each container.ResultsThe results showed that Ae. aegypti were almost exclusively present in the urban area. In this area, the negative binomial hurdle model predicted significantly more juveniles as well as pupae Ae. aegypti in water holding containers during the wet season when compared to the dry season. Notably, the model predicted more juveniles in containers located on private property compared to those on government property, irrespective of season. As for pupae, the model predicted higher amounts in indoor containers used for water storage compared to outdoor water storage containers, irrespective of season. However, for the specific category ‘other water receptacle’, higher amounts of pupae were predicted in outdoor compared to indoor in water receptacles, such as flower pot saucers and water catchment buckets.ConclusionsThe difference in predictors for juveniles and the pupae subgroup was identified and it may be of importance to the control strategies of the authorities in KH. At present the authorities focus control activities on all water holding containers found on government property. To improve the ongoing control efforts in KH, the focus of control activities maintained by the KH authorities should be expanded to indoor water storage containers and outdoor water receptacles on both private and government properties to adequately address habitats harboring greater numbers of pupae. In addition, it is proposed to increase community engagement in managing water in all types of water holding containers located on privately owned properties (indoor and outdoor), especially during wet season.</div

Matriptase regulates c-Met mediated proliferation and invasion in inflammatory breast cancer.

The poor prognosis for patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) compared to patients with other types of breast cancers emphasizes the need to better understand the molecular underpinnings of this disease with the goal of developing effective targeted therapeutics. Dysregulation of matriptase expression, an epithelial-specific member of the type II transmembrane serine protease family, has been demonstrated in many different cancer types. To date, no studies have assessed the expression and potential pro-oncogenic role of matriptase in IBC. We examined the functional relationship between matriptase and the HGF/c-MET signaling pathway in the IBC cell lines SUM149 and SUM190, and in IBC patient samples. Matriptase and c-Met proteins are localized on the surface membrane of IBC cells and their expression is strongly correlated in infiltrating cancer cells and in the cancer cells of lymphatic emboli in patient samples. Abrogation of matriptase expression by silencing with RNAi or inhibition of matriptase proteolytic activity with a synthetic inhibitor impairs the conversion of inactive pro-HGF to active HGF and subsequent c-Met-mediated signaling, leading to efficient impairment of proliferation and invasion of IBC cells. These data show the potential of matriptase inhibitors as a novel targeted therapy for IBC, and lay the groundwork for the development and testing of such drugs

Factors that influence women’s engagement with breastfeeding support:a qualitative evidence synthesis

Breastfeeding is an integral part of early childhood interventions as it can prevent serious childhood and maternal illnesses. For breastfeeding support programmes to be effective, a better understanding of contextual factors that influence women's engagement and satisfaction with these programmes is needed. The aim of this synthesis is to suggest strategies to increase the level of satisfaction with support programmes and to better match the expectations and needs of women. We systematically searched for studies that used qualitative methods for data collection and analysis and that focused on women's experiences and perceptions regarding breastfeeding support programmes. We applied a maximum variation purposive sampling strategy and used thematic analysis. We assessed the methodological quality of the studies using a modified version of the CASP tool and assessed our confidence in the findings using the GRADE‐CERQual approach. We included 51 studies of which we sampled 22 for in‐depth analysis. Our sampled studies described the experiences of women with formal breastfeeding support by health care professionals in a hospital setting and informal support as for instance from community support groups. Our findings illustrate that the current models of breastfeeding support are dependent on a variety of contextual factors encouraging and supporting women to initiate and continue breastfeeding. They further highlight the relevance of providing different forms of support based on socio‐cultural norms and personal backgrounds of women, especially if the support is one‐on‐one. Feeding decisions of women are situated within a woman's personal situation and may require diverse forms of support

Transport of free surface liquid films and drops by external ratchets and self-ratcheting mechanisms

We discuss the usage of ratchet mechanisms to transport a continuous phase in several micro-fluidic settings. In particular, we study the transport of a dielectric liquid in a heterogeneous ratchet capacitor that is periodically switched on and off. The second system consists of drops on a solid substrate that are transported by different types of harmonic substrate vibrations. We argue that the latter can be seen as a self-ratcheting process and discuss analogies between the employed class of thin film equations and Fokker-Planck equations for transport of discrete objects in a 'particle ratchet'.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure