Agro-industrial wastes revalorization as feedstock: production of lignin-modifying enzymes extracts by solid-state fermentation using white rot fungi.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the production of lignin-modifying enzyme extracts and delignified biomass from agro-industrial wastes using white rot fungi ( sp. Sp2, Ru-104, sp. BOS55 IJFM 169 and BKM-F-1767).

Prolonged Auditory Brainstem Response in Universal Hearing Screening of Newborns with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Previous studies report prolonged auditory brainstem response (ABR) in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite its promise as a biomarker, it is unclear whether healthy newborns who later develop ASD also show ABR abnormalities. In the current study, we extracted ABR data on 139,154 newborns from their Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, including 321 newborns who were later diagnosed with ASD.

An Assessment and Instructional Guide for Motor and Vocal Imitation.

The Motor and Vocal Imitation Assessment (MVIA) was developed to evaluate a proposed hierarchy of imitation skills that could be used to formulate an experimentally-validated instructional guide for intervention. Imitation performance was assessed via the MVIA in 30 typically developing (TD) children and 30 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Children with ASD and TD demonstrated similar patterns of imitation.

Efficacy of the ASAP Intervention for Preschoolers with ASD: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

The advancing social-communication and play (ASAP) intervention was designed as a classroom-based intervention, in which the educational teams serving preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder are trained to implement the intervention in order to improve these children's social-communication and play skills. In this 4-year, multi-site efficacy trial, classrooms were randomly assigned to ASAP or a business-as-usual control condition. A total of 78 classrooms, including 161 children, enrolled in this study.

Objective measurement of head movement differences in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Deficits in motor movement in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have typically been characterized qualitatively by human observers. Although clinicians have noted the importance of atypical head positioning (e.g.

Validation of the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale for preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.

Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these measures are designed to assess a wide range of behaviors. Targeted assessment of joint attention and related skills is primarily limited to semi-structured, examiner-led interactions, which are time-consuming and laborious to score.

A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity.

Feeding difficulties and feeding disorders are a commonly occurring problem for young children, particularly children with developmental delays including autism. Behavior analytic interventions for the treatment of feeding difficulties oftentimes include escape extinction as a primary component of treatment. The use of escape extinction, while effective, may be problematic as it is also associated with the emergence of challenging behavior (e.

Comparative efficacy of LEAP, TEACCH and non-model-specific special education programs for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders.

LEAP and TEACCH represent two comprehensive treatment models (CTMs) that have been widely used across several decades to educate young children with autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare high fidelity LEAP (n = 22) and TEACCH (n = 25) classrooms to each other and a control condition (n = 28), in which teachers in high quality special education programs used non-model-specific practices. A total of 198 children were included in data analysis.

Commitment to classroom model philosophy and burnout symptoms among high fidelity teachers implementing preschool programs for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Teacher commitment to classroom model philosophy and burnout were explored in a sample of 53 teachers implementing three preschool models at high levels of fidelity for students with autism: Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH); Learning Experiences and Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Their Parents (LEAP); and high quality special education programs (HQSEP's). Relative to the other groups, LEAP teachers reported significantly higher levels of commitment to LEAP philosophy while TEACCH teachers did not report significantly higher commitment levels to TEACCH philosophy. Teachers in HQSEP's reported similar levels of commitment to TEACCH and LEAP.

Manipulating establishing operations to verify and establish stimulus control during mand training.

Acquisition of verbal behavior is a major goal of interventions for children with developmental disabilities. We evaluated the effectiveness of manipulation of an establishing operation for functional discriminated mands. Four individuals with developmental disabilities participated in a training procedure designed to teach two separate mands for two separate preferred items.