There has been an increase in utilization of the Emergency Department (ED) in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which may reflect a deficit of services (Green et al., Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 40(3):325-332, 2001; Gurney et al., Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 160:825-830, 2006; Leichtman et al., American Journal of Orthopsyhciatry 72(2):227-235, 2001). The current study examined the rates of ED utilization between 2005 and 2013 in ASD youth 12- to 21-years-old. Adolescents with ASD accessed ED services four times as often as adolescents without ASD. Older adolescents and those living in rural areas showed a significant increase in ED visits over time. Post hoc analysis revealed increased ED utilization for females and behavioral health ED services over time. Better access to and greater understanding of services for adolescents with ASD is a critical need.

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This study evaluated parental engagement in an 8-week parenting program offered through daycare centers that were randomly assigned to a monetary incentive or non-incentive condition. Of an initial sample of 1,050 parents who rated their intent to enroll in the program, 610 went on to enroll, 319 in the incentive and 291 in the non-incentive condition. Results showed that intent to enroll predicted enrollment irrespective of condition. Further, parents did not enroll in greater numbers, attend more sessions or participate more actively in the incentive condition. Incentives encouraged some parents, often younger and socioeconomically disadvantaged, to enroll but had no effect on their attendance. Importantly, these results could not be accounted for by between-condition differences in child and family or in daycare characteristics.Research has repeatedly shown that positive parent-child interactions promote the growth of child coping competence, especially in the early years. Children with adequate coping competence are able to deal with the daily challenges that arise throughout development by relying on effective social, affective, and achievement skills , thereby lowering the risk that they will develop behavioral or emotional disorders that could have life-long detrimental consequences for them and others (e.g., Eisenberg, Fabes, & Spinrad, 2006). Conversely, dysfunctional parent-child interactions increase the risk of child NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript disorders, particularly when they are prolonged and accompanied by other adverse factors, such as financial stress and neighborhood disadvantage (e.g., Dodge, Coie, & Lynam, 2006). It is not surprising, therefore, that family interactions have often been the focus of programmatic efforts to promote healthy child development. These efforts have led to the development and refinement of a sophisticated psychosocial approach, known generically as parent training. Applied successfully in diverse ethnocultural contexts, this approach offers a time-limited, cost-effective means of fostering positive parent-child interactions, especially in families in which the "fit" between parent, child, and environment is poor (Kazdin, 2005; Lundahl, Risser, & Lovejoy, 2006;Nixon, 2002;Serketich & Dumas, 1996). Parent training is widely used today to treat children with disorders of clinical intensity (e.g., Barkley et al., 2000;Brestan & Eyberg, 1998;Sanders, Markie-Dadds, Tully, & Bor, 2000) or, in a preventive perspective, to "nip early risk factors in the bud" (Webster-Stratton & Taylor, 2001) in order to lower the probability of disorders and other adverse outcomes (e.g., Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1999;Sanders, 2008;Zubrick et al., 2005).Researchers and interventionists seeking to promote parenting effectiveness and child coping competence through parent training must deal with the fact that many parents are difficult to engage in such training activities. Clinical studies and prevention trials report ...

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Peroxiredoxins are thiol-specific antioxidants that catalyze the reduction of cellular peroxides and protect cells from ROS-mediated damage and death. Peroxiredoxin gene expression is up-regulated in a number of cancers, suggesting a possible role in cancer cell maintenance. Prdx6, a cytoplasmic protein elevated in certain cancers, is highly expressed in liver and transcriptionally regulated by various oxidative stresses. In the present study, we found that the cancerous Hepa1-6 hepatoma cell line is significantly more resistant to peroxide-induced cytotoxicity than the non-cancerous H2.35 cell line. We also demonstrated that Hepa1-6 cells express approximately 3-fold more Prdx6 mRNA and 2.5-fold more Prdx6 protein than H2.35 cells. Treatment with mithramycin A resulted in a nearly 20% reduction in Prdx6 mRNA in Hepa1-6 cells, suggesting a possible role for Sp1 in Prdx6 up-regulation. We hypothesized that suppression of Prdx6 in Hepa1-6 cells would increase susceptibility to peroxide-induced cell death. Transient transfection of Hepa1-6 cells with Prdx6 siRNA led to a marked reduction in Prdx6 expression, and an increase in peroxide-induced cytotoxicity by apoptosis. Together, these data demonstrate an important anti-apoptotic function for Prdx6 in cancerous liver cells, and suggest that its up-regulation may be a tumor-supportive adaptation in cancerous states.

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The authors evaluate the relation of ethnic, socioeconomic status (SES), and belief match between parents and group leaders and engagement in a preventive intervention for parents of preschoolers. Engagement was assessed through attendance, retention, and quality of participation in sessions with 171 parents and 11 group leaders. SES match predicted attendance, retention, and quality of participation. Parents attended more sessions, remained longer in the program, and participated more actively when their group leader came from comparable SES backgrounds. Ethnic match predicted retention only, with parents attending longer when their ethnicity matched their group leader's. Engagement was unrelated to the extent of match across different characteristics, nor was the link between ethnic match and retention mediated by SES or belief match. Results suggest that social, cultural, and belief similarities between parents and group leaders may be less salient in preventive parenting interventions than is assumed. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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