ObjectivesFrom the first description by Leo Kanner [1], autism has been an enigmatic neurobehavioral phenomenon. The new genetic/genomic technologies of the past decade have not been as productive as originally anticipated in unveiling the mysteries of autism. The specific etiology of the majority of cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unknown, although numerous genetic/genomic variants and alterations of diverse cellular functions have been reported. Prompted by this failure, we have investigated whether the metabolomics approach might yield results which could simultaneously lead to a blood-based screening/diagnostic test and to treatment options. Methods Plasma samples from a clinically well-defined cohort of 100 male individuals, ages 2-16+ years, with ASD and 32 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls were subjected to global metabolomic analysis. ResultsWe have identified more than 25 plasma metabolites among the approximately 650 metabolites analyzed, representing over 70 biochemical pathways, that can discriminate children with ASD as young as 2 years from children that are developing typically. The discriminating power was greatest in the 2-10 year age group and weaker in older age groups. The initial findings were validated in a second cohort of 83 children, males and females, ages 2-10 years, with ASD and 76 age and gender-matched TD children. The discriminant metabolites were associated with several key biochemical pathways suggestive of potential contributions of increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation and immune dysregulation in ASD. Further, targeted quantitative analysis of a subset of discriminating metabolites using tandem mass spectrometry provided a reliable laboratory method to detect children with ASD. Conclusion Metabolic profiling appears to be a robust technique to identify children with ASD ages 2-10 years and provides insights into the altered metabolic pathways in ASD, which could lead to treatment strategies. ObjectivesTo uncover novel traits associated with nicotine and alcohol use genetics, we performed a phenome-wide association study in a large multi-ethnic cohort. Methods We investigated 7,688 African-Americans (AFR), 1,133 Asian-Americans (ASN), 14,081 European-Americans (EUR), and 3,492 Hispanic-Americans (HISP) from the Women's Health Initiative, analyzing risk alleles located in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3 locus (rs8034191, rs1051730, rs12914385, rs2036527, and rs16969968) for nicotine-related traits and ADH1B (rs1229984 and rs2066702) and ALDH2 (rs671) for alcohol-related traits with respect to anthropometric characteristics, dietary habits, social status, psychological circumstances, reproductive history, health conditions, and nicotine-and alcohol-related traits. ResultsThe investigated loci resulted associated with novel traits: rs1229984 were associated with family income (p=4.1*10 −12 ), having a pet (p=6.5*10 −11 ), partner education (p=1.8*10 −10 ), "usually expect the best" (p=2.4*10 −7), "felt calm and peaceful" (p=2.6*10 ), and num...

Existing research indicates that self-efficacy, aspirations, skills, and an enabling environment are essential for the economic empowerment of adolescent girls. In India, due to deeply rooted patriarchal views and social norms, adolescent girls face a range of social restrictions on their ability to make any decisions about their education or life choices. Plan-It Girls, a multi-level, multi-stakeholder program seeks to build adolescent girls’ agency and promote gender equality to support their aspirations. It equips girls with a gender perspective, life skills, and employability skills to help them transition from school to work through a gender-integrated curriculum while also engaging with significant stakeholders to shift gender norms and create an enabling environment for girls to reach their potential. This evaluation employed a quasi-experimental longitudinal cohort design, with the objective of understanding the program’s impact on the empowerment and employability of adolescent girls. The findings indicate that self-esteem and self-efficacy can be bolstered, and gender attitudes can be shifted in the short run with such a program. Though there were differences by age and program site, overall, the program was found to be effective in equipping girls with employability skills and preparing them for school-to-work transition. The program was impactful in empowering girls during adolescence when they had early exposure to the program. Adolescence is also when gender attitudes are deepening. As such, the program is considering more intentional focus on this age range in future programming efforts.

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