Executive functions (EF) in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been often investigated, although results seem to be rather inconsistent. The first aim of this study was to detect which EF components are common to the ASD continuum (from high- to low-functioning ASD) and identify a possible EF profile for ASD people. Planning, mental flexibility, inhibition of response, generativity, and ecolo...

A brief review is given of data analysis methods for the identification and quantification of associations between environmental exposures and health events of interest. Data analysis methods are outlined for each of the study designs mentioned, with an emphasis on topics in need of further research. Particularly noted are the need for improved methods for accommodating exposure assessment meas...

1. Dromer F, Mathoulin S, Dupont B, Letenneur L, Ronin 0, the French Cryptococcus Study Group. Individual and environmental factors associated with infection due to Cryptococcus neoformans serotype D. Clin Infect Dis 1996; 23:91-6. 2. Singh N, Gayowski T, Wagener MM, Marino IR. Clinical spectrum of invasive cryptococcosis in liver transplant recipients receiving tacrolimus: pathogenic and ecolo...

OBJECTIVE On August 31, 1998, the rhesus-human reassortant rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV) was licensed for use in the U.S. During the next nine months, 15 cases of intussusception were reported among infants who received the vaccine. Case-control and cohort studies showed a significantly increased risk of developing intussusception within one week of receiving the vaccine; subsequent ecologic studi...

BACKGROUND There is little information regarding the impact of diet on disease incidence and mortality in Switzerland. We assessed ecologic correlations between food availability and disease. METHODS In this ecologic study for the period 1970-2009, food availability was measured using the food balance sheets of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Standardized mortalit...

A conversation with Aldous Huxley not infrequently put one at the receiving end of an unforgettable monologue. About a year before his lamented death he was discoursing on a favorite topic: Man's unnatural treatment of nature and its sad results. To illustrate his point he told how, during the previous summer, he had returned to a little valley in England where he had spent many happy months as...

[1] Shallow landslides are a significant hazard in steep, soil-mantled landscapes. During intense rainfall events, the distribution of shallow landslides is controlled by variations in landscape gradient, the frictional and cohesive properties of soil and roots, and the subsurface hydrologic response. While gradients can be estimated from digital elevation models, information on soil and root p...

Nonchemical methods and strategies for nematode management including cultural methods and engineered measures have been recommended as an alternative to methyl bromide (a major soil fumigant), due to its role in the depletion of the ozone layer. Hence, an international agreement has recently been reached calling for its reduced consumption and complete phasing out. This present research evaluat...