Parents In Group Research Articles

Associations between parent and adolescent weight outcomes within two parent approaches to family-based adolescent obesity treatment: Secondary analyses from the TEENS+ pilot trial.

To examine associations between parent and adolescent weight change within two parent approaches to adolescent obesity treatment. Adolescent (Mage = 13.7 ± 1.2 years; MBMI = 34.9 ± 7.0 kg/m2) and parent (MBMI = 36.4 ± 7.3 kg/m2) dyads (N = 82) were randomized to TEENS+Parents as Coaches (PAC) or TEENS+parent weight loss (PWL). Anthropometrics were assessed at baseline (0-month), 4 months (post) and 7 months (after 3-month maintenance period). Regression analyses examined associations between parent and adolescent ΔBMI0-4m and ΔBMI4-7m, with parent group as a moderator. Post-treatment, parent and adolescent ∆BMI0-4m were positively related (β = 0.68, p < 0.001), with no group interaction. Parent and adolescent ΔBMI4-7m were related (β = 0.48, p = 0.012) during maintenance, moderated by parent group (β = -0.49, p = 0.010): positive relationships persisted in PAC (β = 0.39, p = 0.011), but not PWL (β = -0.19, p = 0.211). Parent and adolescent weight changes were positively related during treatment in both parent groups. During maintenance, weight change associations persisted only in PAC. These patterns prompt further exploration of parent factors driving weight change relationships.

All-breed single-step genomic best linear unbiased predictor evaluations for fertility traits in US dairy cattle.

The US dairy cattle genetic evaluation is currently a multistep process, including multibreed traditional BLUP estimations followed by single-breed SNP effects estimation. Single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) combines pedigree and genomic data for all breeds in one analysis. Unknown parent groups (UPG) or metafounders (MF) can be used to address missing pedigree information. Fertility traits are notably difficult to evaluate due to low heritabilities, changing management, and a higher recent emphasis on selection to move in a favorable direction. We assessed bias, dispersion, and accuracy of fertility traits in all-breed US dairy cattle using pedigree-based BLUP (PBLUP) and ssGBLUP with UPG or MF; with 5% or 10% residual polygenic effect. Validation methods included the linear regression method and comparison of early and late deregressed proofs for Holstein and Jersey breeds. By comparing MF or UPG in PBLUP, we observed similar results in terms of bias, dispersion, and correlations between early and recent predictions. When genomics was used, ssGBLUP with MF and 10% residual polygenic effect consistently outperformed other models regarding bias, dispersion, and correlations. Compared with multistep results, ssGBLUP with MF and 10% residual polygenic effect showed less bias and increased correlations but slightly overdispersed estimates. Overall, genomic prediction of fertility traits using ssGBLUP was accurate and unbiased, more so with MF than with UPG.

The Well-Being of Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. The Role of Positive and Negative Emotions and Coping Styles

Introduction: The United Nations has officially recognized autism spectrum disorders as one of the most serious health problems in the world, next to cancer, diabetes and AIDS. In the light of constantly increasing epidemiological data, larger groups of parents are facing a particularly difficult situation. Numerous studies show that they experience high stress and their well-being is reduced. Research Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between coping styles, emotions and well-being, perceived both from a hedonistic (life satisfaction) and eudaimonistic (psychological well-being) perspective. 184 parents of children with autism spectrum disorders participated in the study. Research Method: Path analysis was used to examine the relationship between variables. The following measures were used: the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), the Positive and Negative Emotions Scale (SUPIN), The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and a short version of the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB). Results: It was found that the psychological well-being of parents of children with autism is positively associated with a task-focused coping style and negatively with a focus on emotions. Positive emotions were positively associated with both life satisfaction and psychological well-being. A negative relationship between negative emotions and life satisfaction was also confirmed. Conclusion: The presented results may be helpful in supporting parents of children with autism. Appropriate support strategies can help them use more adaptive coping, increase positive emotions and well-being.

Toward Equitable Access to Psychosocial Screening in Canada: Validation of the French–Canadian Psychosocial Assessment Tool

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) is a brief caregiver report, family‐centered, psychosocial risk screening tool widely used in pediatrics and available in many languages. Although French is an official language of Canada, a French–Canadian version of the PAT has not yet been validated, which impedes access to this tool for family psychosocial screening. This study aimed to translate, adapt as necessary, and validate the French–Canadian version of the PAT.MethodsThe PAT 3.0 was translated into French using the forward–backwards method. Interviews with healthcare workers (n = 5) and a focus group of parents of children newly diagnosed with cancer (n = 4) led to minor modifications to improve cultural adaptation and comprehensibility. Subsequently, 66 French‐speaking parents of children newly diagnosed with cancer participated in a quantitative validation study; completing the French–Canadian PAT and related caregiver measures.ResultsThe French–Canadian PAT has an overall internal consistency of KR‐20 = 0.64, with subscales ranging from 0.57 to 0.86. The total PAT score significantly correlated with the Distress Thermometer (r = 0.54). Congruent validity was demonstrated for most PAT subscales, except for Family Beliefs and Family Problems. The sample followed this distribution on the Pediatric Psychosocial Preventative Health Model: 21.2% universal, 53% targeted, and 25.8% clinical.ConclusionThe French–Canadian PAT provides insight into family psychosocial risk. This study is a step toward equitable access to care by providing French‐speaking families with access to a tool aligned with the psychosocial standards of care in pediatric oncology. Future research should focus on implementing the PAT in Canadian clinical settings.

Virtual Support for Bereaved Parents: Acceptability, Feasibility, and Preliminary Efficacy of HOPE Group.

Introduction: Hospital-based supports for families following the death of a child are rare. Virtual interventions may address key barriers to providing bereavement care, but little is known about their acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy. Methods: Our hospital's palliative care program offered a six-week closed virtual support group for bereaved parents five times between 2021 and 2024. Measures were administered pre- and post-intervention to assess changes in meaning making and quality of life. A feedback survey and recruitment, attendance, and retention rates evaluated acceptability and feasibility. Results: In total, 36 parents (76% women) attended at least one group session and provided data. On average, participants attended 4.53 of 6 sessions. Participants endorsed high satisfaction with the intervention. There were no significant changes in meaning making or quality of life. Conclusion: This virtual support group was acceptable and feasible for bereaved parents. Additional research with larger, more diverse samples and more robust designs is needed.

An individualised mobile app was beneficial for the mothers of infants with severe congenital heart defects.

This national study focused on the individualised Heart Observation (HOBS) mobile phone app, which helps the parents of infants with severe congenital heart disease (CHD) with discharge preparations and decision making at home. We enrolled two groups of parents from 2021 to 2023, during their child's initial hospitalisation at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. Measurements were carried out at baseline and one and four months after discharge. The study examined 73 mothers, who assessed the usefulness and stress-related impact of either printed materials or the HOBS app, as the fathers' responses were insufficient. The HOBS app was significantly more useful than the printed information, with regard to discharge preparations, follow up at home and ongoing decision making, particularly if the infants had sustained cardiac impairment. The average total usefulness scores were 23.9/35 (95% CI 21.6-26.1) versus 17.0/35 (95% CI 14.1-20.0), respectively. Initial stress significantly decreased from baseline in both groups and elevated awareness of deterioration did not increase stress in the HOBS group. Mothers who used the HOBS app found it significantly more useful than the controls who received printed information, particularly if their infant had sustained cardiac impairment. Elevated awareness of deterioration did not increase stress.

Personalized interactive urban maps for autism: an innovative approach involving persons with Level 1 autism spectrum disorder to user-centered design

PurposeBecause of social interaction difficulties, cognitive characteristics and sensory sensitivity, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may struggle with independence and active participation in urban contexts. Through understanding how people with ASDs experience and perceive urban spaces, the Personalized Interactive Urban Maps for Autism (PIUMA) project’s purpose is to create a useful platform to support persons with ASD in their movements in the city, helping them in managing their daily lives, promoting their autonomy and active participation in urban contexts, taking in to account their direct point of view. This paper aim to present a user-centered approach involving autistic people.Design/methodology/approachThe authors involved researchers with different backgrounds applying mixed research techniques such as semi-structured qualitative interviews, participatory design, exploiting user-adapted systems techniques, human–computer interaction techniques and interviews. The authors involved people with autism (PWA) from the beginning of the project to gain user requirements, as well as to assess the acceptability and effectiveness of our solution in the final stage. In specific phases of the project, the authors involved a group of parents of PWA and a group of neurotypical individuals as a control group.FindingsThe authors collected various data and created an App taking into account PWA needs, suggestions and points of view.Research limitations/implicationsChoosing different methodologies to allow participants to express their point of view, their needs and suggestions, the authors limited the quantitative data collected. The male-to-female ratio in the study, along with the sample size and participants’ age, can also be considered limitations.Practical implicationsThe authors collected information about how autistic people move in urban contexts, represent the space of their cities, move independently and use technological devices. The data the author collected also provides suggestions about how to improve computer systems designed for them.Social implicationsThe results suggest how to improve computer systems designed for autistic people and how to encourage their full participation in community life according to their cognitive and sensory characteristics.Originality/valueThe PIUMA project takes into account the direct input of PWA in all the different stages from conception and design to deployment of the device in a human-centered design approach.

Does dose matter? Parental attendance in a preventive intervention for anxious and sad children

BackgroundInternational studies show increasing prevalence of anxiety and depression among children. Parents are vital for children in all aspects of life, also in supporting their offspring in promoting better mental health, life skills and reducing emotional difficulties. Therefore, involving parents in interventions aimed at preventing development of anxiety and depression is natural. In treatment studies, targeted parental involvement has been difficult to prove effective. However, few existing studies investigate the effect of parental involvement in preventive interventions.ObjectiveWe aimed to explore whether attendance influenced the change in child’s emotional symptoms post intervention and one-year later reported by parents.MethodParents of children attending an indicated preventive intervention named EMOTION, who took part in a high parental involvement condition were included in this study (n = 385). High involvement entailed 5 parent group sessions. Using linear mixed models, we investigated whether attendance in the parent groups influenced the parent-reported levels of children’s emotional symptoms post-intervention and at one-year follow-up.ResultsParents who did not attend parent sessions reported significantly larger reductions in child anxiety symptoms over time than attending parents. There was no such effect on child depression. However, parents who attended sessions reported significantly higher depression symptoms than non-attendees at baseline. Further, attending more parent sessions did not significantly impact either symptom measure.DiscussionGiven the non-significant differences of parental attendance in this study, future studies could examine less resource demanding interventions for children with emotional difficulties. When the child is struggling with anxiety and depression, the parent’s role in child’s life could be vital for symptom amelioration. The challenge is finding effective, evidence-based methods to involve parents, to reduce child emotional difficulties and improve their quality of life.ConclusionsIn this preventive study, attendance in parent sessions has limited effect on parent-reported symptoms of child emotional difficulties.

Parental Perceptions of Early Childhood In-Home Research with Monitoring: A Qualitative Study.

To explore perceptions, concerns, and enthusiasm from a diverse group of parents regarding early childhood research that involves home monitoring technologies for collecting environmental exposure data. A diverse group of new and expecting parents participated in semi-structured interviews. A single interviewer conducted all sessions and introduced a hypothetical longitudinal early childhood research study, which included novel home monitoring approaches: 1) wearable devices, 2) audio monitoring, and 3) environmental sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded. Qualitative description guided the study, and a constant comparative approach was used to identify themes from transcripts. Twenty-four interviews were completed. Emerging themes included 1) Ready and Willing to Participate; 2) Helping Others, Helping Ourselves: Motivation for Participation; 3) Trust and Transparency: Understanding the "What?" and the "Why?"; 4) Data Privacy and Security: "What If It Gets into the Wrong Hands?"; 5) It's a Lot to Juggle: Logistical Realities. Perceptions were similar across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Perceptions were positive, and participants desired additional information about study feasibility and purpose. Many had concerns related to wearable device safety and data privacy; a trusting relationship with the research team was a priority. Participants had positive sentiments regarding longitudinal observational studies involving pregnancy and infancy yet expressed concerns about safety, privacy, feasibility, and transparency. These findings can inform future early childhood research study design to ensure protocols are transparent, inclusive, and appealing to parents.

Improvement of silage characteristics of Lactobacillus salivarius HMC4 and improvement of silage quality of king grass.

The effect of HMC4 produced by protoplast fusion on silage was studied. The silage formula was composed of heterozygote HMC4 (Group C), parent Lactobacillus (Group A) and a combination of two parents (Group B). The fermentation quality and microbial composition of each batch of silage were evaluated. The results showed that the propionic acid concentration in group C was the lowest, but the organic acid content in feed was significantly increased. Groups B and C had slightly lower crude fiber levels than group A, while groups A and C had higher levels of soluble sugars. The dynamic observation of C group showed that the nutrient composition of feed changed gradually with the extension of silage period. High-throughput sequencing revealed fluctuations in microbial composition before and after silage. Over time, Lactobacillus became the dominant strain and its numbers steadily increased.

The last generation: F3 of Echinometra sea urchins under experimental climate change

Ocean warming and acidification are a threat to calcifying marine invertebrates such as Echinoderms. Transgenerational plasticity may allow animals to respond to these conditions, but few studies exposing marine invertebrates to climate stressors over multiple generations exist. Here, data from the final (F2 post-settlement, F3 larvae and juveniles) generations in a long-term (> 6 yrs) experiment on the tropical sea urchin Echinometra sp. A. This commenced with exposing wild collected animals (F0 generation) and subsequent generations (larvae and adults both for F1 and F2) to control (present-day ambient) and climate change (CC) conditions (2 °C above ambient temperatures, 940 ppm pCO2). Survivorship in all F2 treatments (ranging from all generations being held at ambient conditions to all at elevated conditions) was high (> 50%). Some significant differences in survivorship existed among treatments, although there was no apparent relationship to CC conditions exposure time. There was also no difference in size among treatment groups in the F2 sea urchins up to 720d post-settlement. As in previous generations, the largest effect on adults was that males exposed to CC conditions have reduced reproductive potential, and there was a significant negative relationship with the number of generations exposed to future ocean conditions and spawning performance. Effects were extreme, in that we could only raise larvae from the control treatment, or those individuals kept for 0.5 generations (only F2 adults under climate change conditions). Larvae from both parental groups only reached settlement when raised under control conditions. Larval morphology also responded to treatment (reduced arm length under CC conditions) and exhibited negative parental effects (smaller arm and body lengths from parents under CC conditions). Thus, negative parental effects observed in earlier publications did not diminish over the following generations but, in some traits, increased. We therefore detected no evidence of transgenerational acclimation to future ocean conditions.

Current state of neurodevelopmental and psychosocial care practices for paediatric patients with ventricular assist devices: an Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network and Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative collaborative survey.

Paediatric patients with heart failure requiring ventricular assist devices are at heightened risk of neurologic injury and psychosocial adjustment challenges, resulting in a need for neurodevelopmental and psychosocial support following device placement. Through a descriptive survey developed in collaboration by the Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network and the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative, the present study aimed to characterise current neurodevelopmental and psychosocial care practices for paediatric patients with ventricular assist devices. Members of both learning networks developed a 25-item electronic survey assessing neurodevelopmental and psychosocial care practices specific to paediatric ventricular assist device patients. The survey was sent to Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network site primary investigators and co-primary investigators via email. Of the 63 eligible sites contacted, responses were received from 24 unique North and South American cardiology centres. Access to neurodevelopmental providers, referral practices, and family neurodevelopmental education varied across sites. Inpatient neurodevelopmental care consults were available at many centres, as were inpatient family support services. Over half of heart centres had outpatient neurodevelopmental testing and individual psychotherapy services available to patients with ventricular assist devices, though few centres had outpatient group psychotherapy (12.5%) or parent support groups (16.7%) available. Barriers to inpatient and outpatient neurodevelopmental care included limited access to neurodevelopmental providers and parent/provider focus on the child's medical status. Paediatric patients with ventricular assist devices often have access to neurodevelopmental providers in the inpatient setting, though supports vary by centre. Strengthening family neurodevelopmental education, referral processes, and family-centred psychosocial services may improve current neurodevelopmental/psychosocial care for paediatric ventricular assist device patients.

Video and booklet discharge instructions for mothers for childhood fever in pediatric emergency department: A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDue to lack of knowledge and misunderstanding, parents may mismanage a fever and seek unnecessary medical attention. AimThe study aimed to determine the effectiveness of video and booklet discharge instructions for childhood fever in the pediatric emergency department. MethodsThis randomized controlled trial (NCT05929131) consisted of three groups: video (n = 48), booklet (n = 48), and verbal (n = 48) discharge instructions. Data were collected using the Introductory Information Form, Parent’s Childhood Fever Management, Post-Discharge Coping Difficulties Scale for Parents, and Post-Discharge Information Form. ResultsWithin the first 3 days after receiving discharge instructions, parents in the video group had lower scores on the Parents’ Fever Management Scale (video: 20.29 ± 1.99, booklet: 20.65 ± 2.07, verbal: 28.41 ± 1.51; p < 0.05) and the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulties Scale for Parents (video: 39.44 ± 3.91, verbal: 54.03 ± 9.12; p = 0.019) compared to the verbal group. After discharge, the number of hospital readmissions was lower in the video group of parents compared to the verbal group (video: 1.12 ± 0.44, verbal: 1.54 ± 0.96, p = 0.015). ConclusionVisual discharge instructions, such as booklets and videos to support discharge instructions, have been shown to be effective in improving mothers’ fever management skills and reducing their return to the emergency department.

Flexible working and well-being: evidence from the UK

Abstract Recent technological advancements have facilitated alternative work arrangements. This paper investigates how flextime and working from home (WfH) relate to workers’ well-being using longitudinal data drawn from the Understanding Society study for the UK. It accounts for individual, job, and family characteristics while controlling for individual fixed effects. Additionally, it employs the Oster test to examine the potential influence of unobserved variables. Results show that men experience improved job satisfaction and mental health with flextime arrangements, while women predominantly benefit in terms of job satisfaction. Additionally, women adopting remote work report heightened satisfaction with job and life, and better mental health, whereas men primarily report greater job satisfaction. Interestingly, flextime effects are stronger for men, while WfH is more beneficial for women. Some heterogeneous effects are also found by parental status, age, and income groups.

Exploring Attachment Differences Across the Contexts of Sports and Academics: A Qualitative Exploration of Child and Parent Experiences.

This study aimed to explore the nature of contextual differences in child-parent attachment relationships and examine how these experiences relate to children's psychological outcomes. A theoretically informed qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 15 participants across four groups of Taiwanese youths and parents, representing different contextual attachment combinations. Data were analyzed using a hybrid thematic analysis approach, integrating both inductive and deductive methods. The findings revealed two key characteristics of secure attachment across contexts: (1) parental timely and sensitive responsiveness enhances children's openness to share personal thoughts, and (2) parental empathic and genuine concern fosters children's empathy. Conversely, insecure attachment across contexts was marked by (1) inappropriate parental responses reducing children's willingness to share their inner feelings, and (2) parental lack of empathy frustrating children and discouraging communication. In addition, parental beliefs about children's achievement behaviors (e.g., expectation primarily centered on academic achievement and viewing athletic achievement as an alternative pathway to higher education) and parenting practices (e.g., performance- vs. mastery-oriented achievement goals, conditional negative regard, and psychological control through invalidating feelings and demeaning the child) significantly influenced children's psychological outcomes, particularly in terms of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration (autonomy and competence) across academic and sports domains. These findings advance our theoretical understanding of contextual attachment dynamics and provide practical insights for fostering optimal parenting strategies, particularly in academic and sport-related contexts.

A024: Adverse Childhood Experiences on Social Participation and Informal Social Support in Adulthood in China

Background/Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a significant impact on the developmental trajectory of healthy aging. The profound impact of ACEs on individuals may spill over to influence the informal social support and social participation (SP) of middle-aged and older adults. However, the precise influence of ACEs on SP and informal social support is not yet clear. Therefore, to fill the research gap, we examined the characteristics of different subgroups of ACEs and analyzed the effects of ACEs on SP and informal social support among middle-aged and older adults. Method: Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011 - 2018) and the 2014 Life History Survey (N=11070). Diverse aspects of SP frequency, informal social support, and ACEs were identified based on the CHARLS questionnaire items and ACEs were categorized using latent profile models. The fixed effects model was used to understand the impact of ACEs on SP and informal social support and to explore differences in ACE subgroups. Results: Three distinct subgroups of ACE were determined. It was found that in the group with excellent and good parental mental group, older adults with poorer parental mental health, lower quality family relationships, and better socioeconomic conditions were more likely to engage in SP with higher frequency (p &lt; 0.05). There was a clear correlation between ACEs and informal support (p &lt; 0.05), but no significant differences were found in the poor parental mental group. Conclusion/Discussion: In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that ACEs have an impact on SP and informal social support. To mitigate the adverse effects of ACEs, middle-aged and elderly individuals engage in SP and seek social support. As parents, it is crucial to take preventive measures during the child's formative years and particularly focus on mental health. Moreover, it is essential to pay attention to childhood SES and provide equal opportunities and resources to promote SP and development. This will ultimately improve mental and physical health in later life and foster healthy aging.

Tools to refine unknown parent groups definition.

Unknown Parent Groups model missing parentships according to breed, year, and pathway of selection. Genetic evaluations need a sensible definition of rules to form Unknown Parent Groups to ensure its accurate estimation. With more complex evaluations, there is a need for systematic rules to form Unknown Parent Groups. We propose several methods to ascertain the informativity and to join consecutive Unknown Parent Groups within breed and pathway. First, a pseudo-count of records based on descendants with record can be easily computed from a pedigree and a list of animals in records, by propagating fractions of one from the flagged animals to ancestors through the pedigree, from youngest to oldest. Then 2 rules are proposed, one joins Unknown Parent Groups forward in time until records appear, the second joins consecutive Unknown Parent Groups backward in time to achieve a minimum pseudo-count. Finally, a simplified model estimates the precision of contrasts of Unknown Parent Groups. Computations are feasible even for very large data sets. We illustrate with 2 examples from all-breed US traditional BLUP evaluation for yield and health traits. For yield traits, the number of pseudo-records is very high and joining Unknown Parent Groups occurs mainly in small breeds. Joining or not results in very similar estimated breeding values and genetic trends has no consequences. For health traits, joining Unknown Parent Groups occurs for all breeds, and more intensely for small breeds. Joining or not joining UPGs resulted, for some trait-breed combinations, in quite different genetic trends and estimated breeding values. The approximated contrasts across all pairwise Unknown Parent Groups show that the joining strategies achieve more precision, in form of lower standard errors.

Public common-sense assumptions about mathematics

Circulating public discourses about mathematics and mathematics learning shape how families and students make sense of their experiences with schooling. In the United States, these discourses can play a large role in how public education policy is developed due to the commitment of public school boards to hearing community voices as well as a recent (but not new) increase in the organization of well-funded conservative parent groups working to maintain–and exacerbate–the inequitable educational opportunities that persist in this country. In this paper we analyze public discourse around mathematics learning in one New York City local school board meeting. Using tools from interaction analysis, we examined the discourse surrounding a proposal to reinstate test-based screening for middle school admissions. We delineated two key features of “common-sense” assumptions around mathematics learning that circulated in this meeting–math learners stay on a one-dimensional learning trajectory, and with varying rates of advancement–and investigated how these assumptions played out in the construction of a figured world of “schooled mathematics.” We argue that the consequences that necessarily follow from these common-sense assumptions construct mathematics as hierarchical and fixed, placing learners on a one-dimensional learning trajectory. Finally, we locate this set of emergent assumptions in the neoliberal racial project and consider the ways in which they shape a particular imagination of schooling and mathematics under neoliberalism.

Parent’s acceptance of advanced behavior management techniques on children during dental treatment

AimThis study explores the acceptance of Advanced Behavior Management Techniques (ABMTs) by parents during their children’s dental treatments, comparing the opinion of parents of neurotypical children with that of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).MethodsAn observational cross-sectional study was conducted involving 440 parents, divided into two groups: 236 parents of neurotypical children and 204 parents of children with ASDs, recruited from pediatricians’ centers and centers for ASDs children in Northern and Southern Italy. A survey assessed their familiarity and acceptance of ABMTs, including protective stabilization, conscious sedation, and deep sedation/general anesthesia. Discrete variables were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies (%) and compared with Pearson’s chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test. Continue variables were expressed as mean ± SD and compared with the one-way ANOVA test. Heatmap and PCA analysis were used to determine possible correlations between items.ResultsParents of children with ASDs showed a higher acceptance rate of ABMTs compared to parents of neurotypical children. Overall, only 30.68% of parents knew ABMTs before the survey. Differences between the two groups of parents in acceptance of Active Stabilization in emergency settings, Passive Stabilization in routine settings, and Deep sedation/general anesthesia in both settings were observed (p < 0.01). Only 6.82% of parents ever used at least one ABMT on their children. Heatmap analysis revealed that parents who have accepted one of the ABMTs tend to accept the others as well.ConclusionDifferences in parental acceptance of different ABMTs was noted among the two groups of parents, with greater acceptance of ABMTs observed in the group of parents of children with ASDs. Parents of both groups have significant gaps in their knowledge of ABMTs. Therefore, increased awareness and personalized communication strategies are needed to increase acceptance of the studied techniques and, thus, facilitate access to dental care for uncooperative pediatric patients. Patient-centered behavior management strategies that meet children’s needs and parents’ preferences can contribute to the achievement of good oral health.

A combination of upstream alleles involved in rice heading hastens natural long-day responses.

The female parental line Jinbuol (JBO, early heading) and two recombinant isogenic lines, JSRIL1 and JSRIL2, have been shown to flower 44, 34 and 16 days earlier, respectively, than the male parental line Samgwang (SG, late heading) in paddy fields. To explore how photoperiodicity-related genes are involved in differential heading among these lines. Deep sequencing was conducted for these lines, photoperiodicity-related genes (71) were categorized, and qRT-PCR was performed for some key genes. Deep sequencing revealed a nearly even contribution of parental groups, with 48.5% and 45% of the chromosomes in JSRIL1 and JSRIL2, respectively, inherited from the female parent JBO; however, Chr6 contained the most biased parental contribution, with 99.4% inherited from the female parent. The variation in single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among many known flower-inducing genes, including riceGIGANTEA (OsGI);grain number, plant heightandheading date 7 (Ghd7); andEARLY HEADING DATE 1(Ehd1),was minimal. In the JSRILs, HEADING DATE 1 (Hd1) and VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3-LIKE 1 (OsVIL2)originated from JBO, whereasFLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F BOX 1(OsFKF1)originated from SG. Interestingly,HEN1 suppressor 1 (OsHESO1)originated from SG in JSRIL1 and JBO in JSRIL2. RNA sequencing and qRT‒PCR analyses of plants at the floral meristem stage revealed that transcriptional regulation through chromosomal restructuring and posttranscriptional regulation might control minute gene regulation,resulting in delayed heading in JSRILs. Our gene expression and SNP analyses of elite recombinant isogenic lines could be helpful in understanding how photoperiodicity-related genes in rice are modulated.