Employment needs of and barriers for Chinese youth and young adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions in Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Cultural-based literature focusing on Asian autistic immigrants living in Western countries is very limited. AIMS: The present study is a quality improvement exercise aiming to fill the gap by investigating the employment needs of and barriers for Chinese autistic youth and young adults in Ontario, Canada. METHODS & PROCEDURES: 71 individuals diagnosed with autism and 24 diagnosed with other mental illnesses, aged 12-29, participated in an online survey regarding their work readiness, work skills, interests, health and cultural concerns. Analyses were conducted to compare the autistic group and the mental health group. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Results show that the autistic sample has inferior (1) work habits related skills, (2) work style related skills, (3) level of independence, (4) skills to perform routine daily activities, (5) interpersonal skills at work, and (6) ability to tolerate visual and moving stimuli in the work environment. It is also found that the autistic group has more symptoms of depression, anxiety, and autism than that of the non-autistic group. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The study shed light into the unique needs and barriers of Chinese autistic young adults and the service gap in supporting their transition to employment.

Inhibition of microbial sulfate reduction in a flow-through column system by (per)chlorate treatment.

Microbial sulfate reduction is a primary cause of oil reservoir souring. Here we show that amendment with chlorate or perchlorate [collectively (per)chlorate] potentially resolves this issue. Triplicate packed columns inoculated with marine sediment were flushed with coastal water amended with yeast extract and one of nitrate, chlorate, or perchlorate. Results showed that although sulfide production was dramatically reduced by all treatments, effluent sulfide was observed in the nitrate (10 mM) treatment after an initial inhibition period. In contrast, no effluent sulfide was observed with (per)chlorate (10 mM). Microbial community analyses indicated temporal community shifts and phylogenetic clustering by treatment. Nitrate addition stimulated Xanthomonadaceae and Rhizobiaceae growth, supporting their role in nitrate metabolism. (Per)chlorate showed distinct effects on microbial community structure compared with nitrate and resulted in a general suppression of the community relative to the untreated control combined with a significant decrease in sulfate reducing species abundance indicating specific toxicity. Furthermore, chlorate stimulated Pseudomonadaceae and Pseudoalteromonadaceae, members of which are known chlorate respirers, suggesting that chlorate may also control sulfidogenesis by biocompetitive exclusion of sulfate-reduction. Perchlorate addition stimulated Desulfobulbaceae and Desulfomonadaceae, which contain sulfide oxidizing and elemental sulfur-reducing species respectively, suggesting that effluent sulfide concentrations may be controlled through sulfur redox cycling in addition to toxicity and biocompetitive exclusion. Sulfur isotope analyses further support sulfur cycling in the columns, even when sulfide is not detected. This study indicates that (per)chlorate show great promise as inhibitors of sulfidogenesis in natural communities and provides insight into which organisms and respiratory processes are involved.