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Autistic women are overrepresented among people in treatment for Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The current study aimed to: (1) better understand how AN develops and persists in autistic individuals from the perspective of autistic women, parents and healthcare professionals; (2) derive a theoretical model of restrictive eating difficulties in autism. We conducted 44 semi-structured interviews and used Thematic Analysis to identify patterns of meaning across the data. Themes related to sensory sensitivities, social interaction and relationships, sense of self and identity, difficulties with emotions, thinking styles, and a need for control and predictability. We developed a model of potential autism-specific mechanisms underlying restrictive eating difficulties. This study generated novel insights, which have the potential to inform treatment adaptations following empirical testing. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10803-020-04479-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bioactive glasses (BG) are used clinically because they can both bond to hard tissue and release therapeutic ions that can stimulate nearby cells. Lithium has been shown to regulate the Wnt/β-catenin cell signalling pathway, which plays important roles in the formation and repair of bone and teeth. Lithium-releasing BG, therefore, have the potential to locally regulate hard tissue formation; however, their design must be tailored to induce an appropriate biological response. Here, we optimised the release of lithium from lithium-substituted BG by varying BG composition, particle size and concentration to minimise toxicity and maximise upregulation of the Wnt target gene Axin2 in in vitro cell cultures. Our results show that we can tailor lithium release from BG over a wide therapeutic and non-toxic range. Increasing the concentration of BG in cell culture medium can induce toxicity, likely due to modulations in pH. Nevertheless, at sub-toxic concentrations, lithium released from BG can upregulate the Wnt pathway in 17IA4 cells, similarly to treatment with LiCl. Taken together, these data demonstrate that ion release from lithium-substituted BG can be tailored to maximise biological response. These data may be important in the design of BG that can regulate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway to promote hard tissue repair or regeneration.

The Aquanaut Program (AP) began in 1988 as an educational initiative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Undersea Research Center at The University of Connecticut at Avery Point (NURC-UCAP). At its inception, the AP was a purely experiential program with students and teachers spending one day on board a ship observing scientists and diving in an occupied submersible. In response to feedback of participating teachers the AP evolved into a more rigorous, yearlong project that includes introduction to a research topic, interactions with a research mentor, hands-on field research during the summer months, and subsequent data analysis and presentation during the fall semester. The AP is open to all secondary schools in the Northeast Region served by NURC-UCAP and typically supports about 100 students and 20 teachers per year. During its history, the AP has enrolled 885 students and 128 teachers from schools throughout the regions served by NURC-UCAP. This includes 28 students from high schools in Michigan who have been involved with a similar program in the Great Lakes and 19 students from Israel.

The finding of cerebellar influences on forebrain electrical activity was established very early by experiments demonstrating changes in the EEG after cerebellar stimulation (Walker, 1938). That such influences may be largely inhibitory was indicated later by findings that cerebellar stimulation suppressed electrically-induced cortical seizures (Snider & Cooke, 1953), chemically-induced motor cortex epilepsy (Dow, Fernandez- Guardiola, & Manni, 1962; Hutton, Frost, & Foster, 1972), or limbic seizures (Iwata & Snider, 1959; Mutani, Bergamini, & Doriguzzi, 1969; Zaitsev, 1969). Recent findings have indicated a cerebellar site of action for certain anti-convulsants (Julien & Halpern, 1972).

The current level of theoretical understanding of transport phenomena in dense media in terms of predictive ability is not clearly defined. This paper presents a partial evaluation of one type of such theory, that due to Prigogine and Nicolis and Misguich. The representation of the potential terms is qualitatively correct, but the neglect of the kinetic terms makes a precise comparison impossible. The Enskog hard sphere representation does as well or better than the more sophisticated version.

A major problem that has received considerable attention concerns a method for effectively stimulating a selective IgA-associ-ated immune response on mucous surfaces. Earlier immunization attempts indicated that an antigen applied to the mucous membrane penetrates these membranes and encounters B-lymphocytes that have the potential of differentiating into IgA-producing plasma cells of a given specificity. The IgA produced is then actively transported through epithelial cells on the surface of the membrane where the original antigen stimulation occurred. Numerous examples clearly demonstrate the efficiency of this pathway of immunization. For example, the stimulation through the conjunctival sac of one eye led to the appearance of antibodies in tears from the immunized site but not in secretions from the other eye (1). Similarly, the application of viral antigen into the large intestine of individuals who have had double-barrelled colostomies induced s-IgA antibodies restricted to the site of antigen application but failed to induce antibodies in other parts of the intestine, in glandular secretions or in nasal secretions (2). These are only two examples of experiments that are suggestive of an IgA-associated immune response that results from topical antigen application.

The cariogenic potential of the oral bacteria collectively called Streptococcus mutans has been shown by various types of investigations to be directly related to the production of extracellular enzyme activities capable of converting the glucosyl moiety of sucrose into polysaccharide. Variant isolates which produce elevated or diminished levels of dextransucrase (EC 2.4.1.5) have been shown to have correspondingly increased or decreased cariogenicity when tested in animal models (1–3). This direct relationship between enzyme activity and cariogenicity makes dextransucrase a good candidate antigen for a vaccine against dental caries.

The gas exchange properties of the lung depend on the relative uniformity of the matching of ventilation and perfusion in the individual acinar units. The exchange of inert gases in a homogeneous acinar unit is dependent on the physical properties of those inert gases. This presentation deals with three aspects of the inert gas physical properties governing their exchange. The primary determinant of inert gas exchange is the solubility of the gas in blood. Second, gas exchange is weakly dependent on the molecular weight of the gas. Finally, the exchange of the very soluble inert gases depends on interaction of gas with the airways as air passes through the airways during inspiration and expiration.

In attempting to understand the relationship between brain damage and recurrent seizures, Hughlings Jackson, as early as 1872, pioneered the concept of hyperexcitable tissue adjacent to frontal cortex tumors or infarcts (Jackson, 1931a). He adopted the same explanation to partial complex seizures in which there was an intellectual aura, only slight movements and a ‘dreamy state’ defect in consciousness (Jackson, 1931b). These partial seizures were localized to the temporal lobe when the necropsy reports identified a temporo-sphenoidal tumor in one epileptic (Jackson and Beevor, 1890) and a softening of the uncinate gyrus in another (Jackson and Coleman, 1898). These cases confirmed earlier correlations of partial seizures and temporal lobe pathologies (Sanders, 1874; Hamilton, 1882; Anderson, 1887). Hence, the Jacksonian concept of hyperexcitable tissue adjacent to neocortical damage was accepted; however, that concept was not extended to the mesial temporal lobe (archicortex), where damage was well -established in epileptics.

In the presence of sucrose, Streptococcus mutans displays certain unique metabolic activities which are believed to be important factors in determining its virulence. Of the various carbohydrates metabolized by S. mutans, only sucrose is utilized for the production of acid, fructans and glucans (1,2). The adhesive water-insoluble glucans have been shown to be most important for the attachment of cells of S. mutans to smooth surfaces (1,3,5); probably both the water-insoluble and water-soluble glucans are required for the cell to cell aggregation which results in plaque production (6,7). Several laboratories have employed bacterial mutants and model systems of cell adherence and aggregation to study the cariogenic nature of S. mutans (5,8–13). We present results of certain biochemical activities of mutants of S. mutans strain 6715 and attempt to relate these findings to the cariogenic and immunogenic nature of these organisms.

The finding that ingestion of bacterial antigen in animals and in man induces the appearance of s-IgA antibodies in colostrum and milk (1–5) strongly suggests that local stimulation of secretory glands is not required for this induction. This conclusion is reinforced by the observation of naturally-occurring antibody to such bacteria as Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae and S. mutans in saliva, colostrum and milk. This study offers data which suggests that ingestion of S. mutans antigen by human volunteers induces the selective appearance of s-IgA antibody in salivary and lacrimal secretions in the absence of a detectable serum response.