Brief Report: Sensorimotor Gating in Idiopathic Autism and Autism Associated with Fragile X Syndrome

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) may useful for exploring the proposed shared neurobiology between idiopathic autism and autism caused by FXS. We compared PPI in four groups: typically developing controls (n = 18), FXS and autism (FXS+A; n = 15), FXS without autism spectrum disorder (FXS−A; n = 17), and idiopathic autism (IA; n = 15). Relative to controls, the FXS+A (p < 0.002) and FXS−A (p < 0.003) groups had impaired PPI. The FXS+A (p < 0.01) and FXS−A (p < 0.03) groups had lower PPI than the IA group. Prolonged startle latency was seen in the IA group. The differing PPI profiles seen in the FXS+A and IA indicates these groups may not share a common neurobiological abnormality of sensorimotor gating

Scaling Up Sustainable Land Management and Restoration of Degraded Land

With current rates of land degradation reaching ten to twelve million ha per year, there is an urgent need to scale up and out successful, profitable and resource-efficient sustainable land management practices to maintain the health and resilience of the land that humans depend on. As much as 500 million out of two billion ha of degraded land, mainly in developing countries, have restoration potential, offering an immediate target for restoration and rehabilitation initiatives.1 In the past, piecemeal approaches to achieving sustainable land management have had limited impact. To achieve the ambitious goals of alleviating poverty, securing food and water supplies, and protecting the natural resource base, we need to recognize the inter-connectedness of the factors driving land degradation, so that solutions can be taken to scale, transforming management practices for millions of land users. An analysis of the critical barriers and incentives to achieve scaling up suggests that the most appropriate options should be selected through the involvement of stakeholders at all levels, from local to national and international. New incentives for land managers as well as the public and private sectors are required to achieve a land degradation-neutral world

Late exudative retinopathy after laser treatment for retinopathy of prematurity in a child with dyskeratosis congenita

© 2018 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Exudative retinopathy may be a manifestation of a variety of isolated ocular or systemic diseases in children. We report the case of a teenager with dyskeratosis congenita who developed a unilateral late exudative retinopathy after having previous laser treatment for threshold retinopathy of prematurity as an infant