The "droso4schools" project aims to introduce the fruit fly "Drosophila" as a powerful modern teaching tool to convey curriculum-relevant specifications in biology lessons. Flies are easy and cheap to breed and have been at the forefront of biology research for a century, providing unique conceptual understanding of biology and…

The benefits of physical activities are universal for all, including those with intellectual disability. Individuals with intellectual disability are mostly neglected and hardly exercised. Hence, the opportunities for improved health and wellness are limited. Paucity of data that could guide ameliorative measures also presents another challenge.…

A common source of variance (i.e., "general intelligence") underlies an individual's performance across diverse tests of cognitive ability, and evidence indicates that the processing efficacy of working memory may serve as one such source of common variance. One component of working memory, selective attention, has been reported to…

Anxiety is among the most impairing conditions associated with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and is putatively linked to atypical physiological arousal. However, few studies have examined this association in young children with FXS. The authors examined whether patterns of arousal and behavior during an experimental stranger approach paradigm differ…

Few studies have examined the relationship between heart rate and self-injurious behavior (SIB) shown by individuals with IDD (intellectual and developmental disabilities). In this single-case study, we simultaneously monitored heart rate and activity levels during a functional analysis of severe skin picking behavior exhibited by a young man with…

Relations between marital conflict, children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and fluid cognitive performance were examined over 3 years to assess allostatic processes. Participants were 251 children reporting on marital conflict, baseline RSA, and RSA reactivity (RSA-R) to a lab challenge were recorded, and fluid cognitive performance…

It has been recently shown that dysregulation of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), IL-23 and IL-17 has been identified as a major factor involved in autoimmune disorders. Based on the increasing evidence of immune dysfunction in autism the aim of this study was to measure serum levels of TGF-beta1, IL-23 and IL-17 in relation to the…

Relations between maternal sensitivity and physiological reactivity to infant crying were examined using measures of heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in 49 mothers of second-born infants. Using the Ainsworth Sensitivity Scale, an independent assessment of maternal sensitivity was made during maternal free play and bathing of…

This study aims to assess the impact of a brief patient group education intervention in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The sample, 193 people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were patients at the diabetic clinic of a primary health care setting in Attica, was assigned to two groups, intervention (138 individuals) and control group (55…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 16-week yoga program on blood pressure (BP) in healthy college students. Twenty-five students (Mage = 28.24, SD = 10.64) participated in yoga class twice per week for 16 weeks. Thirty-one students (Mage = 28.77, SD = 7.23) attended a lecture (control condition) at approximately the same time…

Objective: To evaluate cardiometabolic risk of students longitudinally and compare them with age-matched national samples. Participants: Participants are 134 graduate students enrolled between August 2005 and May 2010. Methods: Students were assessed at the beginning and end of their 3-year curriculum. Comparative samples included 966 National…

The Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most frequent form of inherited mental disability and is considered a monogenic cause of autism spectrum disorder. FXS is caused by a triplet expansion that inhibits the expression of the "FMR1" gene. The gene product, the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP), regulates mRNA metabolism in brain…

A large cumulative dose of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A), frequent injections, a short interval between treatment cycles, and a long duration of treatment have all been suggested, but not confirmed, to be associated with a high incidence of neutralizing antibodies to the neurotoxin. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these…

This study examined the effect of attention in young infants on the saccadic localization of dynamic peripheral stimuli presented on complex and interesting backgrounds. Infants at 14, 20, and 26 weeks of age were presented with scenes from a Sesame Street movie until fixation on a moving character occurred and then presented with a second segment…

Objective: Efforts to improve cardiovascular health among adult African American populations, particularly through organised physical activity, have met with limited success. This study pilot-tested a novel soul line dancing and nutrition education programme ("Nice to Your Heart") that was designed and implemented as part of an academic…