Wearable Light Loggers in Field Conditions: Corneal Light Characteristics, User Compliance, and Acceptance.

Understanding user challenges with light dosimeters is crucial for designing more acceptable devices and advancing light exposure research. We systematically evaluated the usability and acceptability of a light dosimeter (lido) with 29 participants who wore the dosimeter near the corneal plane of the eye for 5 days. Common reasons for not wearing the dosimeter included exercise, recharging, wet environments, public places, and discomfort.

Cultivating the imagination: Caregiver input during pretend play with toddlers at elevated likelihood for autism.

Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may exhibit less pretend play than their neurotypical counterparts. Previous research suggests that caregivers' input during play influences children's play behavior, and children's behavior may in turn prompt caregivers of differently developing children to talk about play in different ways. Caregiver input about pretend play during toy play at home was examined at 18- and 36-months in toddlers with an older sibling with ASD, who are at elevated likelihood (EL) for ASD (n = 40), and toddlers with typical likelihood (TL) for ASD (n = 12).

Reaching While Learning to Sit: Capturing the Kinematics of Co-Developing Skills at Home.

This study examined the co-development of infant reaching and postural control across the transition to arms-free sitting at home. We observed infants with typical likelihood (TL; n = 24) and elevated likelihood (EL; n = 20) for autism at four biweekly sessions spanning the transition to arms-free sitting (infant age = 4.5-8 months at first session).

Breakdowns and repairs: Communication initiation and effectiveness in infants with and without an older sibling with autism.

Infants initiate interactions to get their wants and needs met; but sometimes they are not effective in their communication and are misunderstood by caregivers. When this happens, they must recognize this breakdown in communication and attempt repairs. Experimental literature suggests that in neurotypically developing infants these skills develop during the first two years.

Early development in autism: How developmental cascades help us understand the emergence of developmental differences.

Many theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focus on a single system or factor as an explanatory mechanism for autism symptoms and behavior. However, there is growing recognition that ASD is a complex, multisystem neurodevelopmental condition with origins in prenatal life. Researchers therefore need a conceptual framework that allows examination of the interplay between multiple interacting domains and systems and the ways in which they extend their influence beyond the individual into the surrounding environment.

Infants later diagnosed with autism have lower canonical babbling ratios in the first year of life.

Background: Canonical babbling-producing syllables with a mature consonant, full vowel, and smooth transition-is an important developmental milestone that typically occurs in the first year of life. Some studies indicate delayed or reduced canonical babbling in infants at high familial likelihood for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or who later receive an ASD diagnosis, but evidence is mixed. More refined characterization of babbling in the first year of life in infants with high likelihood for ASD is needed.

Conversational adaptation in children and teens with autism: Differences in talkativeness across contexts.

Successful social communication is complex; it relies on effectively deploying and continuously revising one's behavior to fit the needs of a given conversation, partner, and context. For example, a skilled conversationalist may instinctively become less talkative with a quiet partner and more talkative with a chattier one. Prior research suggests that behavioral flexibility across social contexts can be a particular challenge for individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC), and that difficulty adapting to the changing needs of a conversation contributes to communicative breakdowns and poor social outcomes.

Friend matters: sex differences in social language during autism diagnostic interviews.

Background: Autistic individuals frequently experience social communication challenges. Girls are diagnosed with autism less often than boys even when their symptoms are equally severe, which may be due to insufficient understanding of the way autism manifests in girls. Differences in the behavioral presentation of autism, including how people talk about social topics, could contribute to these persistent problems with identification.

Infant vocalizing and phenotypic outcomes in autism: Evidence from the first 2 years.

Infant vocalizations are early-emerging communicative markers shown to be atypical in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but few longitudinal, prospective studies exist. In this study, 23,850 infant vocalizations from infants at low (LR)- and high (HR)-risk for ASD (HR-ASD = 23, female = 3; HR-Neg = 35, female = 13; LR = 32, female = 10; 80% White; collected from 2007 to 2017 near Philadelphia) were analyzed at 6, 12, and 24 months. At 12 months, HR-ASD infants produced fewer vocalizations than HR-Neg infants.

Natural language markers of social phenotype in girls with autism.

Background: Girls with autism spectrum condition (ASC) are chronically underdiagnosed compared to boys, which may be due to poorly understood sex differences in a variety of domains, including social interest and motivation. In this study, we use natural language processing to identify objective markers of social phenotype that are easily obtained from a brief conversation with a nonexpert.

Methods: 87 school-aged children and adolescents with ASC (17 girls, 33 boys) or typical development (TD; 15 girls, 22 boys) were matched on age (mean = 11.

Sex differences in the first impressions made by girls and boys with autism.

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by social communication challenges and repetitive behaviors that may be quickly detected by experts (Autism Res 10:653-62, 2017; American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 2013). Recent research suggests that even naïve non-experts judge a variety of human dimensions using narrow windows of experience called "first impressions." Growing recognition of sex differences in a variety of observable behaviors in ASD, combined with research showing that some autistic girls and women may "camouflage" outward symptoms, suggests it may be more difficult for naïve conversation partners to detect ASD symptoms in girls.

Linguistic markers of autism in girls: evidence of a "blended phenotype" during storytelling.

Background: Narrative abilities are linked to social impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such that reductions in words about cognitive processes (e.g., , ) are thought to reflect underlying deficits in social cognition, including Theory of Mind.

Oral-Motor and Lexical Diversity During Naturalistic Conversations in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors and interests. Prior research suggests that restricted patterns of behavior in ASD may be cross-domain phenomena that are evident in a variety of modalities. Computational studies of language in ASD provide support for the existence of an underlying dimension of restriction that emerges during a conversation.

High experienced continuity in breast cancer care is associated with high health related quality of life.

Background: High experienced continuity is known to be associated with lower needs for supportive care and most likely higher quality of life. On this background, the aim of this study was to investigate if patient-experienced continuity of care was associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer patients treated at two different-sized breast cancer units.

Methods: In 2016, two questionnaires, "Statements on experienced continuity of care" and "The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30)", were sent out to patients diagnosed between 2011 and 2014 at two different-sized breast cancer units in Sweden.

The Aachen Mobility and Balance Index to measure physiological falls risk: a comparison with the Tinetti POMA Scale.

Purpose: The most commonly used mobility assessments for screening risk of falls among older adults are rating scales such as the Tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (POMA). However, its correlation with falls is not always predictable and disadvantages of the scale include difficulty to assess many of the items on a 3-point scale and poor specificity. The purpose of this study was to describe the ability of the new Aachen Mobility and Balance Index (AMBI) to discriminate between subjects with a fall history and subjects without such events in comparison to the Tinetti POMA Scale.

FOLFOX4 plus cetuximab administered weekly or every second week in the first-line treatment of patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized phase II CECOG study.

Background: This randomized phase II study investigated first-line chemotherapy plus cetuximab administered every second week in KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients received FOLFOX4 plus either standard weekly cetuximab (arm 1) or cetuximab (500 mg/m(2)) every second week (arm 2), until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary end point was the objective response rate (ORR).

Treatment of avoidant personality traits in a German armed forces inpatient psychiatric setting.

Military duty places high demands on the soldiers' social adaptability and competences. Avoidant personality traits can lead to interpersonal conflicts and at least to mental disorders. 192 German Armed Forces soldiers were treated in a multimodal inpatient psychiatric treatment setting at a Bundeswehr hospital between 2007 and 2010.

Therapy of small cell lung cancer with emphasis on oral topotecan.

Systemic chemotherapy plays the major role in the management of patients with small cell lung cancer. Cisplatin plus etoposide is the most widely used regimen and is considered as standard in patients with limited disease. Cisplatin plus irinotecan improved survival compared to cisplatin plus etoposide in a Japanese trial but failed to do so in two trials in Caucasians.

Current standards in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer with focus on Lapatinib: a review by a Central European Consensus Panel.

In breast cancer, early detection as well as new developments in therapeutic options has resulted in less patients presenting with metastatic disease. However, about one-third of women with early stage breast cancer will eventually develop metastatic disease. Furthermore, approximately 20-30% of patients with breast cancer have tumors that overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER-2), which is associated with an aggressive tumor phenotype and poor prognosis.

A randomized phase II trial of irinotecan in combination with infusional or two different bolus 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid regimens as first-line therapy for advanced colorectal cancer.

Background: Three different therapeutic regimens of irinotecan (CPT-11) in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and folinic acid (FA) were evaluated for efficacy and safety in the first-line therapy of advanced colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to receive intravenously either: CPT-11 125 mg/m(2), FA 20 mg/m(2) followed by 5-FU 500 mg/m(2) bolus, weekly for 4 weeks (arm A, Saltz regimen); or CPT-11 180 mg/m(2) day 1 then FA 200 mg/m(2) over 2 h and 5-FU 400 mg/m(2) bolus and 5-FU 600 mg/m(2) 22-h infusion on days 1 and 2, every 2 weeks (arm B, Douillard regimen); or CPT-11 350 mg/m(2) (days 1 and 43) alternating with FA 20 mg/m(2)/day followed by 5-FU bolus 425 mg/m(2)/day during 5 days (days 22-26) (arm C, Mayo Clinic regimen).

Results: A total of 154 patients were included in the study (arm A, 51 patients; arm B, 53; arm C, 50).

Peptidergic and cholinergic neurons and mediators in peptone-induced gastroprotection: role of cyclooxygenase-2.

This study investigates the neural pathways, mediators, and cyclooxygenase isoenzymes involved in the gastroprotection conferred by peptone in rats. Intragastric perfusion with 8% peptone protected against gross and histological damage induced by subsequent perfusion with 50% ethanol. The gastroprotective effect of peptone was near maximally inhibited by gastrin immunoneutralization, inactivation of capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoneutralization, blockade of gastrin receptors, CGRP, bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), or somatostatin receptors, and by the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester and was partially (46%) counteracted by atropine.

[Total unilateral deafness in children. Etiologies and long-term consequences].

A retrospective study of 72 children with a profound (average hearing loss > 90 dB) unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (PUSNHL) was carried out in the ENT department at the Rouen hospital in 1988 and 1994. This study intended to investigate the etiologies, how it was recognized, the age of the onset and the results of the medical evaluation of these PUSNHL. We found, in 2 cases, that vestibular lesions of the healthy ear were present before the onset of a hearing loss on this side, turning the PUSNHL into a bilateral deafness.

Tachykinin-induced increase in gastric mucosal resistance: role of primary afferent neurons, CGRP, and NO.

The tachykinins [Ala5,beta-Ala8]neurokinin A-(4-10) {[Ala5,beta-Ala8]NKA-(4-10)} and NKA-(4-10) dose dependently protected against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage in rats (half-maximal inhibitory dose, 46 and 48 nmol/kg, respectively). These effects were abolished by primary afferent nerve denervation, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoneutralization, the CGRP receptor antagonist human (h) hCGRP-(8-37), and inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) biosynthesis by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. Tachykinin-induced protection occurred despite marked depression of gastric mucosal blood flow and was not associated with increased acid secretion.

Protection by gastrin in the rat stomach involves afferent neurons, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and nitric oxide.

Background & Aims: Certain gut peptides exert gastroprotective effects. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. This study examines the contribution of afferent neurons, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and nitric oxide to the protection conferred by gastrin 17 in the rat stomach.