558 research outputs found
Prevalence and correlates of use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with autism spectrum disorder in Europe
This study examined the prevalence and correlates of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) < 7 years in 18 European countries (N = 1,680). Forty-seven percent of parents reported having tried any CAM approach in the past 6 months. Diets and supplements were used by 25 % of the sample and mind-body practices by 24 %; other unconventional approaches were used by 25 % of the families, and a minority of parents reported having tried any invasive or potentially harmful approach (2 %). Parents in Eastern Europe reported significantly higher rates of CAM use. In the total sample, children with lower verbal ability and children using prescribed medications were more likely to be receiving diets or supplements. Concurrent use of high levels of conventional psychosocial intervention was significantly associated with use of mind-body practices. Higher parental educational level also increased the likelihood of both use of diets and supplements and use of mind-body practices.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of CAM use among a sample of young children with ASD is an indication that parents need to be supported in the choice of treatments early on in the assessment process, particularly in some parts of Europe
Building capacity for rigorous controlled trials in autism: the importance of measuring treatment adherence
Research groups across Europe have been networking to share information and ideas about research on preschool children with autism. The paper describes preliminary work to develop capacity for future multi-site randomized controlled trials of early intervention, with a specific focus on the need to measure treatment adherence where parents deliver therapy. The paper includes a review of randomized and controlled studies of parent-mediated early intervention from two sources, a recent Cochrane Collaboration review and a mapping of European early intervention studies in autism published since 2002. The data extracted focused on methods for describing parent adherence, that is, how and to what extent parents carry out the strategies taught them by therapists. Less than half of the 32 studies reviewed included any measure of parent adherence. Only seven included a direct assessment method. The challenges of developing pan-European early intervention evaluation studies are discussed, including choice of intervention model and of important outcomes, the need for translation of measurement tools and achievement of joint training to reliability of assessors. Measurement of parent-child interaction style and of adherence to strategies taught need further study
Comparing a multivariate response Bayesian random effects logistic regression model with a latent variable item response theory model for provider profiling on multiple binary indicators simultaneously
Manifesto for a European research network into Problematic Usage of the Internet
Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The Internet is now all-pervasive across much of the globe. While it has positive uses (e.g. prompt access to information, rapid news dissemination), many individuals develop Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI), an umbrella term incorporating a range of repetitive impairing behaviours. The Internet can act as a conduit for, and may contribute to, functionally impairing behaviours including excessive and compulsive video gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour, buying, gambling, streaming or social networks use. There is growing public and National health authority concern about the health and societal costs of PUI across the lifespan. Gaming Disorder is being considered for inclusion as a mental disorder in diagnostic classification systems, and was listed in the ICD-11 version released for consideration by Member States (http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/revision/timeline/en/). More research is needed into disorder definitions, validation of clinical tools, prevalence, clinical parameters, brain-based biology, socio-health-economic impact, and empirically validated intervention and policy approaches. Potential cultural differences in the magnitudes and natures of types and patterns of PUI need to be better understood, to inform optimal health policy and service development. To this end, the EU under Horizon 2020 has launched a new four-year European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Programme (CA 16207), bringing together scientists and clinicians from across the fields of impulsive, compulsive, and addictive disorders, to advance networked interdisciplinary research into PUI across Europe and beyond, ultimately seeking to inform regulatory policies and clinical practice. This paper describes nine critical and achievable research priorities identified by the Network, needed in order to advance understanding of PUI, with a view towards identifying vulnerable individuals for early intervention. The network shall enable collaborative research networks, shared multinational databases, multicentre studies and joint publications.Peer reviewe
Recommendations for Urine and Urinary Bladder Collection in Chemical Carcinogenesis Assays with Rodents
This review describes the technical procedures to collect and process urine and urinary bladder samples, during and at the end of urinary bladder carcinogenesis assays with small rodents. The applications, advantages and disadvantages of each method are also mentioned and discussed
How Many Lymph Nodes Are Enough? Assessing the Adequacy of Lymph Node Yield for Staging in Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Purpose: Current investigational priorities in the treatment of favorable histology Wilms tumor (FHWT) center on accurate staging and risk-stratification. The extent of lymph node (LN) sampling has not been clearly defined; its importance cannot be overstated as it guides adjuvant therapy. The identification of a minimum LN yield to minimize the risk of harboring occult metastatic disease could help development of surgical guidelines. This study focuses on using the beta-binomial distribution to estimate the risk of occult metastatic disease in patients with FHWT. Materials & methods: The National Cancer Database was queried for patients with unilateral FHWT from 2004 to 2013. Data were used to characterize nodal positivity for patients who underwent surgery and had ℠1 positive LN and ℠2 LNs examined. The probability of missing a positive LN (i.e., false negative) for a given LN yield was calculated using an empirical estimation and the beta-binomial model. Patients were then stratified by tumor size. Results: 422 patients met study criteria. To limit the chance of missing a positive LN to †10%, the empirical estimation and beta-binomial model estimated that 6 and 10 LNs needed to be sampled, respectively. Tumor size did not influence the result. Internal validation showed little variation to maintain a false negative rate †10%. Conclusions: Using mathematical modeling, it appears that the desired LN yield in FHWT to reduce the risk of false-negative LN sampling to †10% is between 6 and 10. The current analysis represents an objective attempt to determine the desired surgical approach to LN sampling to accurately stage patients with FHWT. Level of evidence: I
Resolution of hepatic fibrosis after ZFN-mediated gene editing in the PiZ mouse model of human α1-antitrypsin deficiency
BACKGROUND: α1-antitrypsin deficiency is most commonly caused by a mutation in exon-7 of SERPINA1 (SA1-ATZ), resulting in hepatocellular accumulation of a misfolded variant (ATZ). Human SA1-ATZ-transgenic (PiZ) mice exhibit hepatocellular ATZ accumulation and liver fibrosis. We hypothesized that disrupting the SA1-ATZ transgene in PiZ mice by in vivo genome editing would confer a proliferative advantage to the genome-edited hepatocytes, enabling them to repopulate the liver.
METHODS: To create a targeted DNA break in exon-7 of the SA1-ATZ transgene, we generated 2 recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAV) expressing a zinc-finger nuclease pair (rAAV-ZFN), and another rAAV for gene correction by targeted insertion (rAAV-TI). PiZ mice were injected i.v. with rAAV-TI alone or the rAAV-ZFNs at a low (7.5Ă1010vg/mouse, LD) or a high dose (1.5Ă1011vg/mouse, HD), with or without rAAV-TI. Two weeks and 6 months after treatment, livers were harvested for molecular, histological, and biochemical analyses.
RESULTS: Two weeks after treatment, deep sequencing of the hepatic SA1-ATZ transgene pool showed 6%±3% or 15%±4% nonhomologous end joining in mice receiving LD or HD rAAV-ZFN, respectively, which increased to 36%±12% and 36%±12%, respectively, 6 months after treatment. Two weeks postinjection of rAAV-TI with LD or HD of rAAV-ZFN, repair by targeted insertion occurred in 0.10%±0.09% and 0.25%±0.14% of SA1-ATZ transgenes, respectively, which increased to 5.2%±5.0% and 33%±13%, respectively, 6 months after treatment. Six months after rAAV-ZFN administration, there was a marked clearance of ATZ globules from hepatocytes, and resolution of liver fibrosis, along with reduction of hepatic TAZ/WWTR1, hedgehog ligands, Gli2, a TIMP, and collagen content.
CONCLUSIONS: ZFN-mediated SA1-ATZ transgene disruption provides a proliferative advantage to ATZ-depleted hepatocytes, enabling them to repopulate the liver and reverse hepatic fibrosis
Smc5/6: a link between DNA repair and unidirectional replication?
Of the three structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) complexes, two directly regulate chromosome dynamics. The third, Smc5/6, functions mainly in homologous recombination and in completing DNA replication. The literature suggests that Smc5/6 coordinates DNA repair, in part through post-translational modification of uncharacterized target proteins that can dictate their subcellular localization, and that Smc5/6 also functions to establish DNA-damage-dependent cohesion. A nucleolar-specific Smc5/6 function has been proposed because Smc5/6 yeast mutants display penetrant phenotypes of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) instability. rDNA repeats are replicated unidirectionally. Here, we propose that unidirectional replication, combined with global Smc5/6 functions, can explain the apparent rDNA specificity
Chemical pavement modifications to reduce ice adhesion
The formation of ice and snow on road pavement surfaces is a recurring problem, creating hazardous driving conditions, restricting public mobility as well as having adverse economic effects. It would be desirable to develop new and improved ways of modifying the pavement surface, to prevent or at least delay the build-up of ice and to weaken the pavementâice bond, and making the ice which forms easier to remove. This development could lead to economic, environmental and safety benefits for winter service providers and road users. This paper describes how environmental scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the mechanism by which de-icing chemicals, added as a filler replacement to bituminous materials, can be transferred to the pavement surface. The paper assesses the potential for chemical modifications to reduce the adhesion between ice and the pavement surface by means of work of adhesion calculations, based on surface energy parameters and a new physical ice bond test. The paper also examines the influence that the chemical modifications have on the durability of the pavement surface course
The quality of different types of child care at 10 and 18 months. A comparison between types and factors related to quality.
The quality of care offered in four different types of non-parental child care to 307 infants at 10 months old and 331 infants at 18 months old was compared and factors associated with higher quality were identified. Observed quality was lowest in nurseries at each age point, except that at 18 months they offered more learning activities. There were few differences in the observed quality of care by child-minders, grandparents and nannies, although grandparents had somewhat lower safety and health scores and offered children fewer activities. Cost was largely unrelated to quality of care except in child-minding, where higher cost was associated with higher quality. Observed ratios of children to adults had a significant impact on quality of nursery care; the more infants or toddlers each adult had to care for, the lower the quality of the care she gave them. Mothers' overall satisfaction with their child's care was positively associated with its quality for home-based care but not for nursery settings
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