Underdiagnosis and referral bias of autism in ethnic minorities

This study examined (1) the distribution of ethnic minorities among children referred to autism institutions and (2) referral bias in pediatric assessment of autism in ethnic minorities. It showed that compared to the known community prevalence, ethnic minorities were under-represented among 712 children referred to autism institutions. In addition, pediatricians (n = 81) more often referred to autism when judging clinical vignettes of European majority cases (Dutch) than vignettes including non-European minority cases (Moroccan or Turkish). However, when asked explicitly for ratings of the probability of autism, the effect of ethnic background on autism diagnosis disappeared. We conclude that the use of structured ratings may decrease the likelihood of ethnic bias in diagnostic decisions of autis

Follow-up care for cancer survivors: views of the younger adult

BACKGROUND: Since the launch of the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative, there has been a surge of interest surrounding the value and organisation of long-term follow-up care after cancer treatment. We report the views of 309 adult cancer survivors (aged 18-45 years) on provision of follow-up and preferences for care. METHODS: A total of 207 survivors completed questionnaires before and after routine consultant-led follow-up appointments and 102 were recruited by post. Measures of health status (including late effects, perceived vulnerability to late effects and quality of life), reasons for attending follow-up (clinical and supportive), issues to be discussed at follow-up and preferences for different models of care were assessed. RESULTS: In all, 59% of the survivors reported experiencing one or more cancer-related health problems. Survivors rated clinical reasons for attending follow-up more highly than supportive reasons (P < 0.001), although nutritional advice and counselling were considered useful (60 and 47%, respectively). Those still receiving scheduled follow-up appointments did not discuss the range of issues intended with 'late effects' and 'fertility', which were particularly under-discussed. Hospital rather than GP follow-up was more highly rated. CONCLUSION: Survivors value the clinical reassurance currently provided by consultant-led care. However, supportive needs are not systematically addressed. Multi-disciplinary services are recommended to meet supportive needs in addition to clinical care

Over-expression of the IGI1 leading to altered shoot-branching development related to MAX pathway in Arabidopsis

Shoot branching and growth are controlled by phytohormones such as auxin and other components in Arabidopsis. We identified a mutant (igi1) showing decreased height and bunchy branching patterns. The phenotypes reverted to the wild type in response to RNA interference with the IGI1 gene. Histochemical analysis by GUS assay revealed tissue-specific gene expression in the anther and showed that the expression levels of the IGI1 gene in apical parts, including flowers, were higher than in other parts of the plants. The auxin biosynthesis component gene, CYP79B2, was up-regulated in igi1 mutants and the IGI1 gene was down-regulated by IAA treatment. These results indicated that there is an interplay regulation between IGI1 and phytohormone auxin. Moreover, the expression of the auxin-related shoot branching regulation genes, MAX3 and MAX4, was down-regulated in igi1 mutants. Taken together, these results indicate that the overexpression of the IGI1 influenced MAX pathway in the shoot branching regulation

The Impact of Local Genome Sequence on Defining Heterochromatin Domains

Characterizing how genomic sequence interacts with trans-acting regulatory factors to implement a program of gene expression in eukaryotic organisms is critical to understanding genome function. One means by which patterns of gene expression are achieved is through the differential packaging of DNA into distinct types of chromatin. While chromatin state exerts a major influence on gene expression, the extent to which cis-acting DNA sequences contribute to the specification of chromatin state remains incompletely understood. To address this, we have used a fission yeast sequence element (L5), known to be sufficient to nucleate heterochromatin, to establish de novo heterochromatin domains in the Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome. The resulting heterochromatin domains were queried for the presence of H3K9 di-methylation and Swi6p, both hallmarks of heterochromatin, and for levels of gene expression. We describe a major effect of genomic sequences in determining the size and extent of such de novo heterochromatin domains. Heterochromatin spreading is antagonized by the presence of genes, in a manner that can occur independent of strength of transcription. Increasing the dosage of Swi6p results in increased heterochromatin proximal to the L5 element, but does not result in an expansion of the heterochromatin domain, suggesting that in this context genomic effects are dominant over trans effects. Finally, we show that the ratio of Swi6p to H3K9 di-methylation is sequence-dependent and correlates with the extent of gene repression. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the sequence content of a genomic region plays a significant role in shaping its response to encroaching heterochromatin and suggest a role of DNA sequence in specifying chromatin state

Preoperative Behavioural Intervention versus standard care to Reduce Drinking before elective orthopaedic Surgery (PRE-OP BIRDS):Protocol for a multicentre pilot randomised controlled trial

Background Evidence suggests that increased preoperative alcohol consumption increases the risk of postoperative complications; therefore, a reduction or cessation in alcohol intake before surgery may reduce perioperative risk. Preoperative assessment presents an opportunity to intervene to optimise patients for surgery. This multicentre, two-arm, parallel group, individually randomised controlled trial will investigate whether a definitive trial of a brief behavioural intervention aimed at reducing preoperative alcohol consumption is feasible and acceptable to healthcare professionals responsible for its delivery and the preoperative elective orthopaedic patient population. Methods Screening will be conducted by trained healthcare professionals at three hospitals in the North East of England. Eligible patients (those aged 18 or over, listed for elective hip or knee arthroplasty surgery and scoring 5 or more or reporting consumption of six or more units on a single occasion at least weekly on the alcohol screening tool) who enrol in the trial will be randomised on a one-to-one non-blinded basis to either treatment as usual or brief behavioural intervention delivered in the pre-assessment clinic. Patients will be followed up 1–2 days pre-surgery, 1–5 days post-surgery (as an in-patient), 6 weeks post-surgery, and 6 months post intervention. Feasibility will be assessed through rates of screening, eligibility, recruitment, and retention to 6-month follow-up. An embedded qualitative study will explore the acceptability of study methods to patients and staff. Discussion This pilot randomised controlled trial will establish the feasibility and acceptability of trial procedures reducing uncertainties ahead of a definitive randomised controlled trial to establish the effectiveness of brief behavioural intervention to reduce alcohol consumption in the preoperative period and the potential impact on perioperative complications

Cross-tolerance to abiotic stresses in halophytes: Application for phytoremediation of organic pollutants

International audienceHalopytes are plants able to tolerate high salt concentrations but no clear definition was retained for them. In literature, there are more studies that showed salt-enhanced tolerance to other abiotic stresses compared to investigations that found enhanced salt tolerance by other abiotic stresses in halophytes. The phenomenon by which a plant resistance to a stress induces resistance to another is referred to as cross-tolerance. In this work, we reviewed cross-tolerance in halophytes at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. A special attention was accorded to the cross-tolerance between salinity and organic pollutants that could allow halophytes a higher potential of xenobiotic phytoremediation in comparison with glycophytes

Adaptation and visual search in mammographic images

Abstract Radiologists face the visually challenging task of detecting suspicious features within the complex and noisy backgrounds characteristic of medical images. We used a search task to examine whether the salience of target features in x-ray mammograms could be enhanced by prior adaptation to the spatial structure of the images. The observers were not radiologists, and thus had no diagnostic training with the im-ages. The stimuli were randomly selected sections from nor-mal mammograms previously classified with BIRADS Den-sity scores of Bfatty ^ versus Bdense, ^ corresponding to differ-ences in the relative quantities of fat versus fibroglandular tissue. These categories reflect conspicuous differences in vi-sual texture, with dense tissue being more likely to obscure lesion detection. The targets were simulated masses corre-sponding to bright Gaussian spots, superimposed by adding the luminance to the background. A single target was random-ly added to each image, with contrast varied over five levels so that they varied from difficult to easy to detect. Reaction times were measured for detecting the target location, before or after adapting to a gray field or to random sequences of a different set of dense or fatty images. Observers were faster at detecting the targets in either dense or fatty images after adapting to the specific background type (dense or fatty) that they were searching within. Thus, the adaptation led to a facilitation of search performance that was selective for the background tex-ture. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that adap-tation allows observers to more effectively suppress the spe-cific structure of the background, thereby heightening visual salience and search efficiency

The Great American Crime Decline : Possible Explanations

This chapter examines the most important features of the crime decline in the United States during the 1990s-2010s but also takes a broader look at the violence declines of the last three centuries. The author argues that violent and property crime trends might have diverged in the 1990s, with property crimes increasingly happening in the online sphere and thus traditional property crime statistics not being reflective of the full picture. An important distinction is made between ‘contact crimes’ and crimes that do not require a victim and offender to be present in the same physical space. Contrary to the uncertainties engendered by property crime, the declines in violent (‘contact’) crime are rather general, and have been happening not only across all demographic and geographic categories within the United States but also throughout the developed world. An analysis of research literature on crime trends has identified twenty-four different explanations for the crime drop. Each one of them is briefly outlined and examined in terms of conceptual clarity and empirical support. Nine crime decline explanations are highlighted as the most promising ones. The majority of these promising explanations, being relative newcomers in the crime trends literature, have not been subjected to sufficient empirical scrutiny yet, and thus require further research. One potentially fruitful avenue for future studies is to examine the association of the most promising crime decline explanations with improvements in self-control