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Abstract Background To mitigate the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, doctors training to become paediatricians should be equipped with concepts and knowledge regarding Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). Methods We assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of medical officers, resident physicians, as well as junior and senior residents practising in the paediatric department of a tertiary women’s and children’s hospital. This was done through a cross-sectional online survey, with questions developed after focused group discussions with domain experts, and responses based on a 5-point Likert scale. Results A total of 95 physicians met the inclusion criteria, grouped into Medical Officers (MOs) and Registrars (REGs), and we received a 100% response rate. Results showed that few physicians (n = 22, 23.2%) knew the term DOHaD, and majority rated their colleagues to be inadequately informed (n = 84, 88.4%). Among the physicians, one third (n = 32, 33.7%) were not confident in their ability to counsel patients about initiating healthy feeding practices to prevent future metabolic diseases in their children. However, there was a readiness to be better equipped with DOHaD principles and knowledge, and 95.8% (n = 91) strongly acknowledged the physician’s responsibility to optimise early life determinants of cardiometabolic health. Conclusion In conclusion, the findings suggest a poor translation of DOHaD concepts, indicating that bridging the gap between DOHaD research knowledge and clinical application represents an unmet need. These principles should be inculcated early in the professional training of all healthcare providers.

Research has documented inequities in geographic access to Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, research on their accessibility is outdated. Between July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2021 the number of BCBAs in the U.S. increased by 65%, from 27,320 to 45,103. In this study we examined trends in geographic access to BCBAs among children with ASD between 2018 and 2021. The sample included all U.S. counties in 50 states and D.C. (N = 3138). Using GIS software we examined change in county-level access to BCBAs between 2018 and 2021 and mapped ASD/BCBA ratios across all counties in both years. Study results indicate that despite modest improvements (e.g., 266 counties added BCBAs), inequitable access persists.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287101.].

To examine the relationship between geographic access to Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and county sociodemographic factors and state policy, we integrated publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection, Behavior Analyst Certification Board's certificant registry, and U.S. Census. The study sample included U.S. counties and county equivalents (e.g., parishes, independent cities) in 49 states and D.C. (N = 3040). Using GIS software, we assigned BCBAs to counties based on their residence, allocated children via school districts to counties, and generated per-capita children with ASD/BCBA ratios. We distributed counties into five categories based on these ratios: no BCBAs (reference), = 31, 21-30, 11-20, > 0-10. We used a generalized logit model to conduct analyses. Highly affluent and urban counties had the highest access to BCBAs with odds ratio estimates for affluence ranging from 2.26 to 5.26. County-level poverty was positively associated with access, yet this relationship was moderated by urbanicity. Race-ethnicity and healthcare insurance coverage were negatively related to access. Other variables were not significant. Targeting non-urban and less affluent counties for provider recruitment and maintenance could most improve access to BCBAs. In addition to strategies specific to BCBAs for improving geographic access, traditional strategies used for other healthcare providers could be useful.

This study examined variation in geographic access to Board Certified Behavior Analysts for children with autism spectrum disorder. Between March and May 2019, we integrated public data from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection, Behavior Analyst Certification Board's certificant registry, and U.S. Census. The study sample included all U.S. counties and county equivalents in 48 states and D.C. (N = 3108). Using geographic information systems software, we assigned Board Certified Behavior Analysts to counties based on their residence, allocated children via school districts to counties, and generated per capita autism spectrum disorder/Board Certified Behavior Analyst ratios. We calculated the Getis-Ord G* statistics for each county and each ratio and compared counties in high-ratio clusters with counties in low-ratio clusters by socioeconomic variables. More than half of all counties had no Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Counties in the highest accessibility category had [less than or equal to]17.1 children with autism spectrum disorder per Board Certified Behavior Analyst (n = 770), while counties in the lowest accessibility category had [greater than or equal to]137.1 children with autism spectrum disorder per Board Certified Behavior Analyst (n = 12). In all, 55 of the 129 counties with the highest autism spectrum disorder prevalence had no Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Higher accessibility counties were wealthier and had smaller uninsured populations. To improve geographic access, we must identify factors driving unequal distribution that can inform provider recruitment and retention efforts in underserved areas.

Emerging applications of optical technologies are driving the development of miniaturised light sources, which in turn require the fabrication of matching micro-optical elements with sub-1 mm cross-sections and high optical quality. This is particularly challenging for spatially constrained biomedical applications where reduced dimensionality is required, such as endoscopy, optogenetics, or optical implants. Planarisation of a lens by the Fresnel lens approach was adapted for a conical lens (axicon) and was made by direct femtosecond 780 nm/100 fs laser writing in the SZ2080™ polymer with a photo-initiator. Optical characterisation of the positive and negative fraxicons is presented. Numerical modelling of fraxicon optical performance under illumination by incoherent and spatially extended light sources is compared with the ideal case of plane-wave illumination. Considering the potential for rapid replication in soft polymers and resists, this approach holds great promise for the most demanding technological applications.

Researchers from Freiburg University developed an ultraflexible fiber-based 3D light delivery system for electrophysiology and optogenetic manipulation in freely moving animals. The system allows multiside modulation of neuronal activity combined with neuronal measurements.

How do we judge people wrong or right in their use of language? The words we use vary in how much their meanings de-pend on properties of the world we can all access (”wooden”), versus a speaker’s subjective construal (”pretty”). Previousstudies have obtained empirical estimates of phrases’ subjectivity by asking adults to rate how faultless a disagreementover that phrase would be (”Could both speakers be right?”). Where does this underlying dimension of subjectivity comefrom? We show that adults’ gradient judgments of faultless disagreement are systematically related to their estimates ofpopulation-level consensus (”Out of 100 people, how many would say this is a ’pretty shirt’?”) over utterance-referentpairs, but that the strength of that relation varies based on semantic class: estimated levels of consensus matter less forphrases with value adjectives, like ”pretty shirt.” Follow-ups will investigate simulating consensus as a potential develop-mental mechanism for inferring subjectivity.

Abstract concepts like valence and magnitude are represented through space in co-speech gestures and linguistic metaphors.Recent work has shown that such spatial mappings are also reflected in the motion patterns of signs in sign languages,suggesting that sign languages may reveal cross-linguistically shared ways of spatializing abstract concepts. We probedthis possibility further by testing whether non-signers are sensitive to vertical spatial mappings encoded in signs in Amer-ican Sign Language (ASL). Non-signers were presented with videos of ASL signs and asked to judge the likely valenceand magnitude of their meanings. Judgments were well predicted by the direction of hand movement along the verticalaxis but not other axes, implying that participants spontaneously relied on vertical mappings of valence and magnitude tomake semantic inferences. These findings suggest that sign languages encode spatial mappings of abstract concepts thatare readily accessible to non-signers, and potentially useful for language learning.

Virtual Exchange (VE) provides a strategic approach for higher education institutions to internationalize. This study investigated how a USA Community College (US-CC) system and their partners started and grew their internationalization program through VE with teacher training, assessment, and support from a nonprofit bridge organization. Data were collected on program growth over three years, 2017-20, totaling 13 modules, 29 faculty, and 14 campuses. Cumulatively, students completed 341 pre-module and 202 post-module surveys which assessed the community colleges’ student learning goals: intercultural competence and awareness of the wider world, confidence in finding success in the global workforce, and ability to deploy 21st century skills (e.g. technology and teamwork). Quantitative and qualitative results provided concrete and nuanced evidence of program effectiveness and suggested positive impact. Our findings have two main implications: (1) positive student impact can help grow and sustain VE and other international programming; and (2) teacher training informed by and adapted with student assessment can help institutionalize VE programs.

Freestanding nanofiber mat Li-ion battery anodes containing Si nanoparticles, carbon black, and poly(acrylic acid) (Si/C/PAA) are prepared using electrospinning. The mats are compacted to a high fiber volume fraction (≈0.85), and interfiber contacts are welded by exposing the mat to methanol vapor. A compacted+welded fiber mat anode containing 40 wt % Si exhibits high capacities of 1484 mA h g-1 (3500 mA h g-1Si ) at 0.1 C and 489 mA h g-1 at 1 C and good cycling stability (e.g., 73 % capacity retention over 50 cycles). Post-mortem analysis of the fiber mats shows that the overall electrode structure is preserved during cycling. Whereas many nanostructured Si anodes are hindered by their low active material loadings and densities, thick, densely packed Si/C/PAA fiber mat anodes reported here have high areal and volumetric capacities (e.g., 4.5 mA h cm-2 and 750 mA h cm-3 , respectively). A full cell containing an electrospun Si/C/PAA anode and electrospun LiCoO2 -based cathode has a high specific energy density of 270 Wh kg-1 . The excellent performance of the electrospun Si/C/PAA fiber mat anodes is attributed to the: i) PAA binder, which interacts with the SiOx surface of Si nanoparticles and ii) high material loading, high fiber volume fraction, and welded interfiber contacts of the electrospun mats.

Abstract Multisite, silicon-based probes are widely used tools to record the electrical activity of neuronal populations. Several physical features of these devices are designed to improve their recording performance. Here, our goal was to investigate whether the position of recording sites on the silicon shank might affect the quality of the recorded neural signal in acute experiments. Neural recordings obtained with five different types of high-density, single-shank, planar silicon probes from anesthetized rats were analyzed. Wideband data were filtered to extract spiking activity, then the amplitude distribution of samples and quantitative properties of the recorded brain activity (single unit yield, spike amplitude and isolation distance) were compared between sites located at different positions of the silicon shank, focusing particularly on edge and center sites. Edge sites outperformed center sites: for all five probe types there was a significant difference in the signal power computed from the amplitude distributions, and edge sites recorded significantly more large amplitude samples both in the positive and negative range. Although the single unit yield was similar between site positions, the difference in spike amplitudes was noticeable in the range corresponding to high-amplitude spikes. Furthermore, the advantage of edge sites slightly decreased with decreasing shank width. Our results might aid the design of novel neural implants in enhancing their recording performance by identifying more efficient recording site placements.

Background: While widely used for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain, limited data exists on efficacy of gabapentin, especially in the subgroup of women suffering from chronic pelvic pain without a known diagnosis, such as endometriosis. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of gabapentin when administered to women with chronic pelvic pain without another diagnosis. Study Design: We performed a Systematic Review and Meta Analysis including all controlled clinical trials addressing the use of gabapentin for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain without another diagnosis. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.Gov, MEDLINE, and The Cochrane Library from inception of each database to April 30, 2021. We included all the studies that fulfilled the following criteria: (1) population: women suffering from chronic pelvic pain without another identified diagnosis (such as endometriosis); (2) intervention: gabapentin (regardless of the dosage); (3) comparator:placebo; (4) outcomes: pain score (visual analog scale) after 3 months and pain score (visual analog scale) after 6 months as primary outcomes; and (5) study design: we only included randomized or controlled clinical trials. Our exclusion criteria included (1) uncontrolled clinical trials, (2) studies that did not report data or measures for any of our selected outcomes, (3) studies that included patients with surgically or clinically diagnosed endometriosis, or (4) studies with no full-text manuscript available. Risk of bias assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. We analyzed dichotomous outcomes as percentages and totals, whereas continuous outcomes were analyzed using mean difference, standard deviations, and relative 95% confidence intervals using the inverse variance method. Results: We included 4 placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials. Analysis was hindered because half of the studies (n=2) used the visual analog scale pain score and the other half (n=2) used the numerical rating scale. The analysis showed that when compared with the placebo, gabapentin significantly lowered the visual analog scale pain score at 3 months (mean difference, 0.79; 1.23 to 0.35; P=.005) and 6 months (mean difference, 1.68; 2.30 to 1.05; P=.001) and the numerical rating scale pain score at 3 months (mean difference, 0.20; 0.25 to 0.15; P=.001). However, in terms of the numerical rating scale pain score after 6 months, the 2 groups showed no significant difference (mean difference, 0.27; 0.80 to 0.26; P=.32). CONCLUSION: Gabapentin may hold benefit for the management of chronic pelvic pain, with significant improvement in pain seen in both scales at 3 months when compared with the placebo, but only in the visual analog scale group at 6 months of usage. Secondary to the differences in the nature of the 2 scales, a further weighted combined analysis was not possible.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 is a rapidly changing and developing emergency that requires constant re-evaluation of available data. We report a systematic review and meta-analysis based on all published high-quality data up to and including June 3, 2021 on the maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women infected with COVID-19. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, SCOPUS, MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Web of Science databases were queried from inception up to June 3, 2021. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included all clinical studies (prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case-control studies, case series, and rapid communications) that reported data on any maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnant women with COVID-19. METHODS: The data were analyzed as pooled proportions or odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in meta-analysis models. RESULTS: We included 111 studies enrolling 42,754 COVID-19-positive pregnant women. From COVID-19-positive pregnant women, the incidence rates were 53.2% (95% confidence interval, 48–58.4) for cesarean delivery, 41.5% (95% confidence interval, 36.3–46.8) for spontaneous vaginal delivery, and 6.4% (95% confidence interval, 4.5–9.2) for operative delivery. The rates of some adverse neonatal events, including premature delivery (16.7%; 95% confidence interval, 12.8–21.5) and low birthweight (16.7%; 95% confidence interval, 12.8–21.5) were relatively high in mothers infected with COVID-19. Vertical transmission (3.5%; 95% confidence interval, 2.7–4.7), neonatal death (3%; 95% confidence interval, 2–4), stillbirth (1.9%; 95% confidence interval, 1.5–2.4), and maternal mortality (0.012%; 95% confidence interval, 0.010–0.014) were rare adverse events. The mean birthweight was 3069.7 g (95% confidence interval, 3009.7–3129.8 g). In the comparative analysis, COVID-19 significantly increased the risk of premature delivery (odds ratio, 1. 48 [95% confidence interval, 1.22–1.8]), preeclampsia (odds ratio, 1.6 [95% confidence interval, 1.2–2.1]), stillbirth (odds ratio, 2.36 [95% confidence interval, 1.24–4.462]), neonatal mortality (odds ratio, 3.35 [95% confidence interval, 1.07–10.5]), and maternal mortality (odds ratio, 3.08 [95% confidence interval, 1.5–6.3]). The pooled analyses were homogenous, with mild heterogeneity in premature delivery and preeclampsia outcomes. CONCLUSION: The data must be interpreted with caution as limited data are available, and no complete assessment of bias is possible at this time. Our data suggest that pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 seem to be at a higher risk of lower birth weights and premature delivery. There is no evidence at this time of the sharply increased maternal mortality that was seen previously with both the 2003 SARS and 2012 MERS pandemics.

The early childhood program matrix in this article delineates the various requirements of nine publicly funded programs in Illinois that provide services to young children and families. The first section of the matrix addresses the design of each program and logistics, such as funding, payment, eligibility, and amount of services. The second section of the matrix addresses the ways in which the local community is involved with services and the extent to which the programs are required or encouraged to form collaborations or partnerships with other programs. The third section identifies human resource or personnel requirements. The final section addresses elements of quality assurance--expected program outcomes, assessment requirements, and child outcomes.

Objective To report a unique surgical procedure that was utilized to locate a missing vibrator in the pelvis of a patient. Emergency room admissions and surgery secondary to the malfunctioning of devices intended for sexual stimulation are extremely common. Emergency room staff of hospitals in the United States usually are skilled in the detection and removal of these devices. Occasionally, surgical intervention is warranted if the device enters a cavity that cannot safely be explored in the emergency room setting. We report a case of a vibrator that was lost during sexual activity. A flat plate X-ray showed it to be in the abdominal cavity. Careful questioning of the patient revealed that the device had an unusually small diameter. Surgical intervention showed that the device ultimately ended up in the bladder without causing traumatic injury. Methods We created a narrated video to demonstrate the surgical procedure (Canadian Task Force Classification III). Results Laparoscopy and cystoscopy were used to visualize and successfully remove the device. The patient recovered uneventfully. Conclusion Following laparoscopic confirmation of the location of the device, it was removed via cystoscopy. This case demonstrates how background information, such as the size of the missing device in this case, can be critical to providing high quality patient care.

In prior studies, aqueous Hf sulfate-peroxide solutions were spin-coated, dehydrated, patterned by electron-beam lithography, ion-exchanged (OH(-) for SO4(2-)), and finally converted to HfO2 hard masks via annealing. The atomic-level details of the underlying aqueous chemistries of these processes are complex and yet to be understood. Yet a thorough understanding of this specific chemical system will inspire development of design rules for other aqueous-precursor-to-solid-state metal oxide systems. Often-observed crystallization of the Hf18 polyoxometalate from aqueous Hf sulfate-peroxide precursor solutions has led us to believe that Hf18 may represent an important intermediate step in this process. However, via detailed solution studies described here (small-angle X-ray scattering, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy), we ascertained that Hf18 is in fact not a prenucleation cluster of Hf sulfate coatings. Rather, the Hf tetramers, pentamers, and hexamers that are the core building blocks of Hf18 are robustly persistent over variable compositions and aging time of precursor solutions, and therefore they are likely the rudimentary building blocks of the deposited thin-film materials. These Hf clusters are capped and linked by sulfate and peroxide anions in solution, which probably prevents crystallization of Hf18 during the rapid dehydration process of spin-coating. In fact, crystallization of Hf18 from the amorphous gel coating would be detrimental to formation of a high-density conformal coating that we obtain from precursor solutions. Therefore, this study revealed that the well-known Hf18 polyoxometalate is not likely to be an important intermediate in the thin-film process. However, its subunits are, confirming the universal importance of deriving information from the solid state, albeit judiciously and critically, to understand the solution state.

The exoskeletons of insects are covered by complex mixtures of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) which are involved in social and sexual communication. However, little is known about the relationship between the structures of CHCs and their behavioral activity. The key component of the contact sex pheromone of the parasitoid Lariophagus distinguendus is 3-methylheptacosane (3-MeC27), which is present in CHC profiles of both females and newly emerged males. The CHCs of females and young males elicit wing-fanning behavior in older males. However, as young males age, 3-MeC27 disappears from their CHC profiles and they no longer elicit wing-fanning responses from other males. We applied enantiopure 3-MeC27 and structurally related CHCs (with respect to chain length or methyl-branch position) to the cuticle of aged male dummies and recorded the wing-fanning behavior of responding males. Only the two enantiomers of 3-MeC27 restored the dummies attractiveness. The addition of structurally related CHCs or various n-alkanes to bioactive dummies of young males and females significantly decreased wing-fanning by test males. Hence, L. distinguendus males respond specifically but not enantioselectively to 3-MeC27, and perceive the CHC profiles as a whole. Both removal (as is the case with 3-MeC27 in aging males) and addition of individual compounds may disrupt the behavioral response.

The cuticle of virtually any insect is covered by a thin layer of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) typically consisting of a complex mixture of n-alkanes, methyl-branched alkanes, and unsaturated hydrocarbons. Apart from their putative primary function as a desiccation barrier, CHCs are used by insects for communication. In many species of parasitoid wasps, males use CHCs to recognize females, and thus the composition of CHC profiles is typically species- and sex-specific. Sometimes, the biological activity of CHCs is synergized by more polar lipids. In most species, however, the contribution of polar lipids and the role of individual CHCs or CHC classes is unclear. Here we report a CHC-based contact sex pheromone in the pteromalid wasp Urolepis rufipes. Males of U. rufipes were arrested on and showed courtship behavior (wing fanning) and copulation attempts toward cadavers of females, whereas male cadavers and solvent-washed cadavers of either sex elicited no responses. Whole body extracts from females and the non-polar CHC fraction thereof elicited arrestment, courtship, and copulation attempts by males, whereas the fractions containing polar lipids were behaviorally inactive. Analyses of male- and female-derived CHC profiles revealed that they consisted exclusively of n-alkanes and methyl-branched alkanes. Removal of n-alkanes from female-derived CHCs with molecular sieves rendered the remaining methyl-branched fraction inactive. Synthetic n-alkanes in female-specific ratios also did not elicit any responses by males. Two 7-methylalkanes (7-MeC31 and 7-MeC33) were the only two components with a higher relative abundance in females compared to males. However, supplementation of male-derived CHCs with synthetic racemic 7-MeC31 and 7-MeC33 to levels found in females was not sufficient to render male-derived CHCs attractive to males. Enantiopure synthetic 7-MeC31 and 7-MeC33 might have caused different effects but were not available. We conclude that female-derived CHCs function as a contact sex pheromone in U. rufipes. Our data suggest that methyl-branched and n-alkanes act synergistically and that the sex-specific relative composition of the whole profile, rather than the abundances of single components, underlies the elicitation of male courtship behavior.

Summary: Although stable intronic sequence RNAs (sisRNAs) are conserved in plants and animals, their functional significance is still unclear. We identify a pool of polyadenylated maternally deposited sisRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster. These sisRNAs can be generated by independent transcription from the cognate introns. The ovary-specific poly(A) polymerase Wispy mediates the polyadenylation of maternal sisRNAs and confers their stability as maternal transcripts. A developmentally regulated sisRNA sisR-3 represses the expression of a long noncoding RNA CR44148 and is required during development. Our results expand the pool of sisRNAs and suggest that sisRNAs perform regulatory functions during development in Drosophila. : Molecular Biology; Molecular Mechanism of Gene Regulation; Developmental Biology; Transcriptomics Subject Areas: Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanism of Gene Regulation, Developmental Biology, Transcriptomics