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Advancing interventions and supports for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires understanding that ASD is a lifelong developmental difference. However, little is known about the unique experiences of autistic young adults, parents, and community providers in the Latino community. The purpose of this study was to improve access to inclusive community based setting by identifying and learning about barriers and needs experienced by young adults, parents, and community providers of autistic individuals across the lifespan, but particularly during the transition to adulthood. Ten community providers, eighteen parents of autistic children, and five young adult self-advocates participated in focus groups. Parents discussed difficulties in accessing services throughout their child's life that made the transition to adulthood difficult. Themes highlighted important cultural values that can influence the transition to adulthood for Latinos and the difficulty in accessing bilingual service providers and services. Parents displayed significant advocacy skills and resourcefulness. We present recommendations shared by young adults, parents, and providers on ways to improve access to services and develop interventions for autistic young adults and parents. The present study has important implications regarding advancing interventions and supports for autistic young adults and their parents in the Latino community by developing culturally adapted services.

Societal Impact Statement Grapevine leaves are emblematic of the strong visual associations people make with plants. Leaf shape is immediately recognizable at a glance, and therefore, this is used to distinguish grape varieties. In an era of computationally enabled machine learning‐derived representations of reality, we can revisit how we view and use the shapes and forms that plants display to understand our relationship with them. Using computational approaches combined with time‐honored methods, we can predict theoretical leaves that are possible, enabling us to understand the genetics, development, and environmental responses of plants in new ways. Summary Grapevine leaves are a model morphometric system. Sampling over 10,000 leaves using dozens of landmarks, the genetic, developmental, and environmental basis of leaf shape has been studied and a morphospace for the genus Vitis predicted. Yet, these representations of leaf shape fail to capture the exquisite features of leaves at high resolution. We measure the shapes of 139 grapevine leaves using 1672 pseudo‐landmarks derived from 90 homologous landmarks with Procrustean approaches. From hand traces of the vasculature and blade, we have derived a method to automatically detect landmarks and place pseudo‐landmarks that results in a high‐resolution representation of grapevine leaf shape. Using polynomial models, we create continuous representations of leaf development in 10 Vitis spp. We visualize a high‐resolution morphospace in which genetic and developmental sources of leaf shape variance are orthogonal to each other. Using classifiers, Vitis vinifera, Vitis spp., rootstock and dissected leaf varieties as well as developmental stages are accurately predicted. Theoretical eigenleaf representations sampled from across the morphospace that we call synthetic leaves can be classified using models. By predicting a high‐resolution morphospace and delimiting the boundaries of leaf shapes that can plausibly be produced within the genus Vitis, we can sample synthetic leaves with realistic qualities. From an ampelographic perspective, larger numbers of leaves sampled at lower resolution can be projected onto this high‐resolution space, or, synthetic leaves can be used to increase the robustness and accuracy of machine learning classifiers.

Background: Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder (PCBD) comprises a set of grief symptoms that are often linked to other psychological conditions such as PTSD and depression, may be prevalent in Veterans with combat experience, and may also impact general health.Objective: This study investigated the association between grief and sleep, pain, PTSD, and depression, among Veterans participating in a clinical trial for PCBD treatment.Method: Data from 155 Veterans receiving treatments for PCBD were analysed to explore the association between PCBD and symptoms of sleep pain, PTSD, and depression. Veterans experiencing grief reported symptoms related to physical health, emotional problems, energy, and fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning, presence of pain, and general health. PCBD appeared to have a specific association with pain and physical functioning, independent of other variables.Conclusions: This study examined the potential independent association of PCBD on physical and mental health in Veterans with PTSD. PCBD appeared to have a very specific and significant association with pain and physical functioning. In other words, the pain of grief was related to ratings of physical pain. Future research on PCBD should address the potentially bidirectional association with bodily pain, particularly chronic pain, in relation to loss, with specific attention to potential mechanisms underlying this relationship.

Trauma-informed beliefs often decrease during posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. This may also extend to anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as a fear of anxiety-related sensations and beliefs that anxiety is dangerous and/or intolerable. However, little is known about how AS changes during exposure-based and psychopharmacological PTSD treatments. Further, high AS may be a risk factor for diminished PTSD symptom improvement and increased treatment dropout. To better understand how AS impacts and is impacted by PTSD treatment, we conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial with a sample of 223 veterans (87.0% male, 57.5% White) with PTSD from four U.S. sites. Veterans were randomized to receive prolonged exposure (PE) plus placebo (n = 74), sertraline plus enhanced medication management (n = 74), or PE plus sertraline (n = 75). Veterans answered questions about PTSD symptoms and AS at baseline and 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, and 52-week follow-ups. High baseline AS was related to high levels of PTSD severity at 24 weeks across all conditions, β = .244, p = .013, but did not predict dropout from exposure-based, β = .077, p = .374, or psychopharmacological therapy, β = .009, p = .893. AS also significantly decreased across all three treatment arms, with no between-group differences; these reductions were maintained at the 52-week follow-up. These findings suggest that high AS is a risk factor for attenuated PTSD treatment response but also provide evidence that AS can be improved by both PE and an enhanced psychopharmacological intervention for PTSD.

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a valuable ingredient in plant-based foods such as meat and dairy analogues. However, its typical taste and aroma are considered off-flavours in these food applications, representing a bottleneck during processing. Breeding is needed to develop varieties with minimal off-flavours and high protein content. The genetic regulation of these traits is underexplored. To dissect their genetic architecture, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS). A total of 245 faba bean accessions (the CGN population) were genotyped using the 90K-SPET targeted assay. These accessions were phenotyped in 2021 and 2022 in the Netherlands for protein, oil, fatty acids, lipid-derived products, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins. The CGN population showed large phenotypic variation and moderate-to-high narrow-sense heritability for most traits. The growing environment significantly affected all traits, with trait-specific genotype-by-year (GxY) interactions. Condensed tannins and fatty acids were the most stable across the two years and had the highest heritability estimates (h2 > 0.6). GWAS identified a total of 148 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) loci in 2021 and 167 in 2022. Key candidate regulators included genes involved in lipid biosynthesis (ATS2, KAS, LPP), amino acid transport (CAT4) for protein storage, zero tannins locus-1 (zt-1), and regulators of the phenylpropanoid pathway, such as a shikimate kinase gene and transcription factors bHLH137-like and MYB. These results pave the way for validation studies and biotechnological applications to improve the quality of faba bean-based foods.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients. A central pathophysiological mechanism linking T2DM to cardiovascular complications is oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the body’s antioxidant defenses. Hyperglycemia in T2DM promotes oxidative stress through various pathways, including the formation of advanced glycation end products, the activation of protein kinase C, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the polyol pathway. These processes enhance ROS generation, leading to endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation, and the exacerbation of cardiovascular damage. Additionally, oxidative stress disrupts nitric oxide signaling, impairing vasodilation and promoting vasoconstriction, which contributes to vascular complications. This review explores the molecular mechanisms by which oxidative stress contributes to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in T2DM. It also examines the potential of lifestyle modifications, such as dietary changes and physical activity, in reducing oxidative stress and mitigating cardiovascular risks in this high-risk population. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for developing targeted therapeutic strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic patients.

Posttraumatic negative thoughts about one's self and the world are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and change in cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), but little is known about this association when CBT is delivered with medication. The current study presents a planned comparison of changes in negative posttraumatic thoughts during (a) prolonged exposure (PE) plus pill placebo (PE+PLB), (b) sertraline plus enhanced medication management (SERT+EMM), and (c) PE plus sertraline (PE+SERT) as part of a randomized clinical trial in a sample of 176 veterans. Lagged regression modeling revealed that change in posttraumatic negative thoughts was associated with PTSD symptom change in the conditions in which participants received sertraline, ds = 0.14-0.25, ps = 0.04-.001). However, contrary to previous research, the models that started with symptom change were also statistically significant, d = 0.23, p

Military sexual trauma-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent and costly among women veterans, making the need for effective and accessible treatment of critical importance. Access to care is a key mechanism of mental health disparities and might affect differential response to treatment. The goal of this study was to estimate an individualized treatment rule based on readily available individual characteristics related to access to care to optimize allocation to in-person vs. telehealth delivery of prolonged exposure for PTSD in military sexual trauma survivors. The following variables were used as prescriptive factors: age, race, disability status, socioeconomic status, rural vs. urban status, and baseline PTSD level. The rule was estimated using a machine-learning approach, Outcome Weighted Learning. The estimated optimal rule outperformed a one-size-fits-all rule where everyone is universally assigned to telehealth; it led to markedly lower mean PTSD levels following 6 months from treatment (Vdopt − VTelehealth = −14.55, 95% CI: −27.24, −1.86). However, the rule did not significantly discriminate for in-person therapy (Vdopt − VIn-person = −11.86, 95% CI: −25.83, 2.12). Upon further validation with larger and more diverse samples, such a rule may be applied in practice settings to aid clinical decision-making and personalization of treatment assignment.

Our work investigated the antimicrobial and prebiotic properties of basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme honey. The potential antimicrobial action, assessed against the pathogens Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, evidenced the capacity of the honey to influence the pathogenic hydrophobicity and hemolytic activities. Honey inhibited pathogen biofilms, acting especially on the mature biofilms, with inhibition rates of up to 81.62% (caused by the presence of mint honey on L. monocytogenes). S. aureus biofilms were the most susceptible to the presence of honey, with inhibition rates up of to 67.38% in the immature form (caused by basil honey) and up to 80.32% in the mature form (caused by mint honey). In some cases, the amount of nuclear and proteic material, evaluated by spectrophotometric readings, if also related to the honey’s biofilm inhibitory activity, let us hypothesize a defective capacity of building the biofilm scaffold or bacterial membrane damage or an incapability of producing them for the biofilm scaffold. The prebiotic potentiality of the honey was assessed on Lacticaseibacillus casei Shirota, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei, and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus and indicated their capacity to affect the whole probiotic growth and in vitro adhesive capacity, as well as the antioxidant and cytotoxic abilities, and to inhibit, mainly in the test performed with the L. casei Shirota, L. gasseri, and L. paracasei supernatants, the immature biofilm of the pathogens mentioned above.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of daily life and required a rapid and unprecedented shift in psychotherapy delivery from in-person to telemental health. In the present study, we explored the impact of the pandemic on individuals' ability to participate in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) psychotherapy and the association between the impact of COVID-19 impact on health and financial well-being and psychotherapy participation. Participants (N = 161, 63.2% male, Mage = 42.7 years) were United States military veterans (n = 108), active duty military personnel (n = 12), and civilians (n = 6), who were participating in one of nine PTSD treatment trials. The results indicate a predominately negative COVID-19 impact on therapy participation, although some participants (26.1%) found attending therapy sessions through telehealth to be easier than in-person therapy. Most participants (66.7%) reported that completing in vivo exposure homework became harder during the pandemic. Moreover, the impact of the pandemic on PTSD symptom severity and daily stress were each associated with increased difficulty with aspects of therapy participation. The findings highlight the unique challenges to engaging in PTSD treatment during the pandemic as well as a negative impact on daily stress and PTSD severity, both of which were related to treatment engagement difficulties.

There has been a small but now growing interest in studying decision making in real-world contexts where part of the problem faced by decision makers is to generate candidate options they will actually decide between. While some of this work has employed large decision spaces where options are discrete and valuation is computationally tractable (e.g., chess), very little work has focused on genuinely open-ended decision contexts that more closely mirror mundane real-world decisions. This paper leverages large language models to investigate how people generate options when facing genuinely open-ended problems. Across three experiments, we apply semantic similarity and sentiment analyses to the options that participants sequentially generate for real-world decision problems. We find that the first options generated tend to be sampled from a relatively local region of semantic space and are typically of high value. As additional options are generated, they become increasingly dissimilar and are of lower value. These patterns held both at the level of individual option generation trajectories within a given participant and at the level of individual differences across participants.

Fabrics have been recognized as a necessary component of daily life due to their involvement in garments, home textiles, and industrial textiles. The mechanical performance of textiles was considered essential to meet the end-user requirements for strength and durability. The purpose of this work was to provide an overview of the textile structures and tensile strengths of woven textiles. Different types of textile structures, depending on the weaving methods (woven, braided, knitted, non-woven) and the most common architectures of woven fabrics (plain weave, twill and sateen), were presented. Common materials constituting the textiles’ structures and a comparison in terms of the density, Young’s modulus and tensile strength between natural (plant-based, animal-based, and mineral-based) and synthetic fibers were reported. The mechanical properties of woven textiles were presented for neat and coated textiles, primarily in terms of the tensile strength. Depending on the cases, typical regions in the load–displacement curve (i.e., crimp, elastic, non-linear failure, thread fracture) were highlighted. The impact of the architecture, yarn distance and size, and yarn twisting on the tensile strength of woven fabrics was then illustrated.

The unprecedented effects and duration of the COVID-19 crisis are likely to elevate the population's level of anxiety due to psychological stress, economic hardship, and social isolation. This effect may be especially potent for individuals with preexisting mental health conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy is a highly effective treatment for PTSD across trauma-exposed populations, and has been implemented effectively via telehealth. Nevertheless, PE implementation via telehealth may require specific adaptations during the COVID-19 crisis due to public health mandates calling for sheltering in place and physical distancing. This paper discusses strategies for implementing PE for PTSD during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may also be applied to other situations in which physical distancing must be considered.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of daily life and required a rapid and unprecedented shift in psychotherapy delivery from in-person to telemental health. In the present study, we explored the impact of the pandemic on individuals' ability to participate in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) psychotherapy and the association between the impact of COVID-19 impact on health and financial well-being and psychotherapy participation. Participants (N = 161, 63.2% male, Mage = 42.7 years) were United States military veterans (n = 108), active duty military personnel (n = 12), and civilians (n = 6), who were participating in one of nine PTSD treatment trials. The results indicate a predominately negative COVID-19 impact on therapy participation, although some participants (26.1%) found attending therapy sessions through telehealth to be easier than in-person therapy. Most participants (66.7%) reported that completing in vivo exposure homework became harder during the pandemic. Moreover, the impact of the pandemic on PTSD symptom severity and daily stress were each associated with increased difficulty with aspects of therapy participation. The findings highlight the unique challenges to engaging in PTSD treatment during the pandemic as well as a negative impact on daily stress and PTSD severity, both of which were related to treatment engagement difficulties.

This study looked at effective energy usage and renewable resources to make 3D printing more environmentally friendly. The use of bio-based materials and the investigation of technological aspects that maximized the mechanical properties of 3D-printed products and assured energy cost savings were the adopted strategies. Two bio-based thermoplastics made from pure and filled polylactide acid (PLA) with wood were examined. These filaments were printed by changing the extruder temperature (from 190 to 220°C, respectively) and the printing speed (from -30% to +30% of default value) to verify the actual process conditions that allow the material to be extruded for a given printer apparatus. A dynamic mechanical analysis was performed on developed specimens. The energy consumption, to heat and melt the thermoplastics, for every combination of processing variables, was calculated. Results allowed to attest that storage modulus of printed parts and the amount of energy spent during printing were more affected by printing speed than by extruder temperatures. Particularly in the case of PLA+WOOD, by doubling the printing speed, the productivity increased by 37% despite a 30% rise in energy usage. The mechanical properties and printing accuracy did not appear to be severely impacted by an increase in printing speed from 70 to 130 mm/s at least for simple geometries and small sample sizes.

Fluorescence has been identified as an advantageous feature in smart fabrics, notably for the protection of humans during outdoor athletic activities, as well as for preventing counterfeiting and determining authenticity. Fluorescence in smart fabrics is achieved using dendrimers, rare earth metal compounds, and fluorescent dye. The principal method for producing fluorescent fabrics is to immerse the sample in a solution containing fluorescent agents. However, covalent connections between fluorophores and textile substates should be established to improve the stability and intensity of the fluorescent characteristics. Fabric can be fluorescent throughout, or fluorescent fibers can be woven directly into the textile structures, made of natural (cotton, silk) or synthetic (polyamide- and polyester-based) fibers, into a precise pathway that becomes visible under ultraviolet irradiation.

The purpose of this research was to better understand the potential degradation effects of bioderived thermoplastic polymers during fused deposition modeling (FDM). Commercially available filaments made from virgin and recycled polylactic acid (PLA) (named PLA-1 and PLA-2, respectively), as well as a wood flour/PLA composite (PLA-3), were considered. Pre-optimized conditions, satisfying the printing quality of 3D final products, at an extruder temperature of 210 °C, were used to realize samples. The main characterization techniques, were dynamic rotational rheology (in time sweep mode) and infrared spectroscopy (in attenuated total reflectance mode). These methods allowed to verify molecular modifications, occurring in the polymer structure during the 3D printing process. The storage and loss modulus, and complex viscosity over time were presented for both neat and printed specimens. A comparison between the properties of printed and unprocessed materials revealed a decrease in rheological parameters over time as well as a loss in absorbance intensity for typical absorption bands. The viscosity values of PLA-1 and PLA-2 were found to be strongly unstable, with a significant decreasing trend over time. The experimental data were modeled using an exponential decay law, and the original decline was attributed primarily to the interaction of high temperatures and shear stress. Despite the fact that degradation effects were visible in wood/PLA composite materials, such systems remained thermally more stable than pure polymers.

In this work, the effect of thermal ageing on printed parts, produced using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology, was investigated. The constituting material was made from a common bio-based thermoplastic (polylactide acid, PLA) derived from waste recycling of separate collection bio-bags. The filament was extruded in a 3D printing machine using optimized processing conditions and different extruder temperatures (190°C and 210°C). Specimens were aged for various days (up to 175) in a vacuum oven at 70°C and characterized using dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA) and infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflection (ATR) modality. The findings were presented in terms of storage modulus (E') at 30°C and glass transition temperature (Tg) evaluated at various heat treatment periods (50, 70, 130, 175 days). Although samples printed at 190 and 210 °C had a different initial average storage modulus (about 20%), they came to be almost the same value after 175 days of heat treatment. However, in both cases, the storage modulus (E’) at 30°C showed a non-monotonous trend as a function of ageing period, reaching a maximum in correspondence of around 80-90 days. On the contrary, an increasing trend of glass transition temperature from 65 to 70°C was confirmed in two sample series by increasing the ageing time. These outcomes were attributed to changes in physical and chemical arrangements of polymer macromolecules that occurred during the thermal treatment. The remarkable differences in absorbance peaks in ATR spectra of aged specimens were interpreted as confirmation of chemical changes induced in the polymer chain structure by heat at different treatment times.