No abstract

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place, families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face a unique set of challenges related to a diverse set of issues. A qualitative study was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews from fifteen parents of children and adolescents from a non-public school for children with ASD. Questions covered the following topic areas: general COVID-19 experiences and concerns, changes in the child’s mood and behavior, changes in parent mood and behavior, and coping/advice. Quotes and descriptions from the participants were reviewed and grouped into thematic areas. Findings showed that parents of children with ASD are facing a wide range of challenges, including explaining COVID-19 and safety precautions to their child in a comprehensible way, assisting with e-learning, and guiding their child back into social situations and the community. As children with ASD have difficulties with transitions, parents stated the importance of creating structure in the home by creating schedules and boundaries, while allowing for flexibility as to not over enforce the rigidity children with autism often face. Advice on coping with the additional stressors were also shared. Parents recommended finding time for themselves to reset, utilizing support systems, and reflecting on daily pleasures as positive coping mechanisms. This study aimed to both develop an initial guide for families, teachers and clinicians caring for children with ASD and to create awareness in the community about the challenges presented by COVID-19 and shelter-in-place.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are a group of rare and heterogeneous cancers. While large-scale genomic and epigenomic profiling of STS have been undertaken, proteomic analysis has thus far been limited. Here we utilise sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS) for proteomic profiling of formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) specimens from a cohort of STS patients ( n = 36) across four histological subtypes (leiomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma). We quantified 2951 proteins across all cases and show that there is a significant enrichment of gene sets associated with smooth muscle contraction in leiomyosarcoma, RNA splicing regulation in synovial sarcoma and leukocyte activation in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. We further identified a subgroup of STS cases that have a distinct expression profile in a panel of proteins, with worse survival outcomes when compared to the rest of the cohort. Our study highlights the value of comprehensive proteomic characterisation as a means to identify histotype-specific STS profiles that describe key biological pathways of clinical and therapeutic relevance; as well as for discovering new prognostic biomarkers in this group of rare and difficult-to-treat diseases.

In this study, maize kernels and starch with different amylose contents at the same concentration were added to coconut milk. The nonionic composite surfactants were used to prepare various types of coconut milk beverages with optimal stability, and their fluid properties were studied. The steady and dynamic rheological property tests show that the loss modulus (G'') of coconut milk is larger than the storage modulus (G'), which is suitable for the pseudoplastic fluid model and has a shear thinning effect. As the droplet size of the coconut milk fluid changed by the addition of maize kernels and starch, the color intensity, ζ-potential, interfacial tension and stability of the sample significantly improved. The addition of the maize kernels significantly reduced the size of the droplets (p<0.05). The potential values of zeta (ζ) and the surface tension of the coconut milk increased. Based on the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement, the addition of maize kernels leads to an increase in the transition temperature, especially in samples with a high amylose content. The higher transition temperature can be attributed to the formation of some starches and lipids and the partial denaturation of proteins in coconut milk, but phase separation occurs. These results may be helpful for determining the properties of maize kernels in food-containing emulsions (such as sauces, condiments, and beverages) that achieve the goal of physical stability.

Families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face a unique set of challenges with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place related to a diverse set of issues, including explaining COVID-19 and safety precautions in a comprehensible way, building structure in home for e-learning to take place, and guiding children back into social situations and the community. We sought to obtain direct feedback through semi-structured interviews from fifteen parents of children and adolescents from a non-public school for children with level 2 and 3 ASD to both develop an initial guide for families, teachers and clinicians caring for children with ASD and to create awareness in the community about the challenges presented by COVID-19 and shelter-in-place.