Does it pay to pay? A comparison of the benefits of open-access publishing across various sub-fields in biology.

Authors are often faced with the decision of whether to maximize traditional impact metrics or minimize costs when choosing where to publish the results of their research. Many subscription-based journals now offer the option of paying an article processing charge (APC) to make their work open. Though such "hybrid" journals make research more accessible to readers, their APCs often come with high price tags and can exclude authors who lack the capacity to pay to make their research accessible. Here, we tested if paying to publish open access in a subscription-based journal benefited authors by conferring more citations relative to closed access articles. We identified 146,415 articles published in 152 hybrid journals in the field of biology from 2013-2018 to compare the number of citations between various types of open access and closed access articles. In a simple generalized linear model analysis of our full dataset, we found that publishing open access in hybrid journals that offer the option confers an average citation advantage to authors of 17.8 citations compared to closed access articles in similar journals. After taking into account the number of authors, Journal Citation Reports 2020 Quartile, year of publication, and Web of Science category, we still found that open access generated significantly more citations than closed access (p < 0.0001). However, results were complex, with exact differences in citation rates among access types impacted by these other variables. This citation advantage based on access type was even similar when comparing open and closed access articles published in the same issue of a journal (p < 0.0001). However, by examining articles where the authors paid an article processing charge, we found that cost itself was not predictive of citation rates (p = 0.14). Based on our findings of access type and other model parameters, we suggest that, in the case of the 152 journals we analyzed, paying for open access does confer a citation advantage. For authors with limited budgets, we recommend pursuing open access alternatives that do not require paying a fee as they still yielded more citations than closed access. For authors who are considering where to submit their next article, we offer additional suggestions on how to balance exposure via citations with publishing costs.

De-implementation of Low-Value Practices for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Due to a variety of factors, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has long been tethered to use of low-value practice (LVP), arguably moreso than any other psychiatric or neurodevelopmental condition. Although dissemination of empirically supported treatments (EST) for autistic individuals has expanded markedly over the past decade, there has not been concomitant reduction in the use of LVP. It is critical that clinicians and scientists not only promote the implementation of EST, but also facilitate the de-implementation (abandonment and/or divestment) of ineffective or harmful practices. In this review, we describe a data-driven approach that can be used to identify LVP, drawing from established criteria for identification of evidence-based treatments (e.g., APA Division 12, National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice; SAMHSA), as well as broader considerations such as social validity, cost, and parsimony. Herein, a data-based approach to LVP identification is proposed with a goal of improving quality of service access. Within an implementation science framework, we identify specific facilitators that sustain LVP use, and recommendations for subsequent de-implementation strategies are offered.

Feasibility of delivering parent-implemented NDBI interventions in low-resource regions: a pilot randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: This implementation feasibility study was conducted to determine whether an evidence-based parent-implemented distance-learning intervention model for young children at high likelihood of having ASD could be implemented at fidelity by Part C community providers and by parents in low-resource communities. METHODS: The study used a community-academic partnership model to adapt an evidence-based intervention tested in the current pilot trial involving randomization by agency in four states and enrollment of 35 coaches and 34 parent-family dyads. After baseline data were gathered, providers in the experimental group received 12-15 h of training while control providers received six webinars on early development. Providers delivered 6 months of intervention with children-families, concluding with data collection. Regression analyses were used to model outcomes of the coach behaviors, the parent fidelity ratings, and child outcomes. RESULTS: A block design model-building approach was used to test the null model followed by the inclusion of group as a predictor, and finally the inclusion of the planned covariates. Model fit was examined using changes in R2 and F-statistic. As hypothesized, results demonstrated significant gains in (1) experimental provider fidelity of coaching implementation compared to the control group; and (2) experimental parent fidelity of implementation compared to the control group. There were no significant differences between groups on child developmental scores. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the experimental parent group averaged less than 30 min of intervention weekly with providers in the 6 months, both providers and parents demonstrated statistically significant gains on the fidelity of implementation scores with moderate effect sizes compared to control groups. Since child changes in parent-mediated models are dependent upon the parents' ability to deliver the intervention, and since parent delivery is dependent upon providers who are coaching the parents, these results demonstrated that two of these three links of the chain were positively affected by the experimental implementation model. However, a lack of significant differences in child group gains suggests that further work is needed on this model. Factors to consider include the amount of contact with the provider, the amount of practice children experience, the amount of contact both providers and parents spend on training materials, and motivational strategies for parents, among others. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registry of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies: #4360, registered 1xx, October, 2020 - Retrospectively registered, https://sreereg.icpsr.umich.edu/sreereg/.

Examining US Public Early Intervention for Toddlers With Autism: Characterizing Services and Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation.

As the rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) increase and early screening efforts intensify, more toddlers with high likelihood of ASD are entering the United States' (US') publicly funded early intervention system. Early intervention service delivery for toddlers with ASD varies greatly based on state resources and regulations. Research recommends beginning ASD-specific evidence-based practices (EBP), especially caregiver-implemented intervention, as early as possible to facilitate the development of social-communication skills and general learning. Translating EBP into practice has been challenging, especially in low-resourced areas. The main goal of this study was to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of public early intervention system structure, service delivery practices, and factors influencing EBP use for children with ASD in the US. Participants (N = 133) included 8 early intervention state coordinators in 7 states, 29 agency administrators in those states, 57 early intervention providers from those agencies, and 39 caregivers of children with ASD receiving services from those providers. Online surveys gathered stakeholder and caregiver perspectives on early intervention services as well as organizational factors related to EBP implementation climate and culture. Stakeholders identified key intervention needs for young children with ASD. In general, both agency administrators and direct providers reported feeling somewhat effective or very effective in addressing most needs of children with ASD. They reported the most difficulty addressing eating, sleeping, family stress, and stereotyped behaviors. Data indicate that children from families with higher income received significantly higher service intensity. While administrators and providers reported high rates of high-quality caregiver coaching (>60%), caregivers reported low rates (23%). Direct providers with more favorable attitudes toward EBP had greater EBP use. In turn, provider attitudes toward EBP were significantly associated with implementation leadership and culture at their agency. Results suggest that publicly funded early intervention programs in the US require additional resources and training for providers and leaders to support improved implementation climate and attitudes toward ASD EBPs. Results also suggest that more state system support is needed to increase use of ASD-specific EBP use, including high-quality caregiver coaching, to better serve toddlers with ASD. Recommendations for implementation strategies are addressed.

Measurement of the Density of Engineered Silver Nanoparticles Using Centrifugal FFF-TEM and Single Particle ICP-MS.

A methodology has been developed to measure nanoparticle mass and density, by combining centrifugal field-flow fractionation (CeFFF; more commonly called sedimentation FFF or SdFFF) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particle effective mass obtained from CeFFF retention data and particle size obtained from the TEM images were used to calculate the nanoparticle density. The method was initially applied to measure the density of monodispersed polystyrene latex nanoparticles. Measured densities for latex nanoparticles of 160-300 nm in diameter were in the range of 1041-1063 kg m-3 with standard deviations of 0.6-1.1%. Densities of engineered silver nanoparticles with nominal diameters of 30, 60, 75, and 100 nm were measured using this methodology. For all four silver nanoparticle samples, the measured densities were 18-24% lower than the nominal density of metallic silver, with an overall mean value of 7900 ± 675 kg m-3. Density values calculated using nanoparticle mass values obtained from single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) measurements, corroborated the CeFFF-TEM results. The difference in the density of the silver nanoparticles compared to that of bulk silver suggests that the synthesis process could impart 20-37% porosity in silver nanoparticles. The data has important implications in the fields of nanomaterial, nanomedicine and nanotoxicology, where assumption of the bulk density for nanoparticles can result in erroneous estimation of parameters such as mass, size, porosity, and dosage. The presented methodology provides a straightforward and reproducible means for measurement of the density and porosity of engineered nanoparticles with a wide range of density and size.

Single Particle ICP-MS: Advances toward routine analysis of nanomaterials.

From its early beginnings in characterizing aerosol particles to its recent applications for investigating natural waters and waste streams, single particle inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (spICP-MS) has proven to be a powerful technique for the detection and characterization of aqueous dispersions of metal-containing nanomaterials. Combining the high-throughput of an ensemble technique with the specificity of a single particle counting technique and the elemental specificity of ICP-MS, spICP-MS is capable of rapidly providing researchers with information pertaining to size, size distribution, particle number concentration, and major elemental composition with minimal sample perturbation. Recently, advances in data acquisition, signal processing, and the implementation of alternative mass analyzers (e.g., time-of-flight) has resulted in a wider breadth of particle analyses and made significant progress toward overcoming many of the challenges in the quantitative analysis of nanoparticles. This review provides an overview of spICP-MS development from a niche technique to application for routine analysis, a discussion of the key issues for quantitative analysis, and examples of its further advancement for analysis of increasingly complex environmental and biological samples. Graphical Abstract Single particle ICP-MS workflow for the analysis of suspended nanoparticles.

Addressing phonological memory in language therapy with clients who have Down syndrome: Perspectives of speech-language pathologists.

BACKGROUND: Phonological memory (PM) plays a significant role in language development but is impaired in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Without formal recommendations on how to address PM limitations in clients with DS, it is possible speech-language pathologists (SLPs) find ways to do so in their practices. AIMS: This study asked if and how SLPs address PM in language therapy with clients who have DS. It also asked about SLPs' opinions of the importance, practicality and difficulty of addressing PM in clients with DS. METHODS & PROCEDURES: SLPs participated in an online survey that asked if they address PM in clients with DS and, if so, how often and with which techniques. The survey also asked SLPs to rate their opinions of addressing PM in clients with DS with Likert scales. To contrast clients with DS, SLPs were asked about their practices and opinions with clients who have specific language impairment (SLI) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). SLPs were recruited through e-mails sent from state organizations and researchers. To compare SLPs' practices and opinions across client types, frequency analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were run. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: In all, 290 SLPs from 28 states completed the survey. Nearly all SLPs were currently practising at the time data were collected, and all worked with at least one of the three client types. Findings indicated SLPs less often addressed PM and used less variety when addressing PM with clients who have DS compared with clients who have SLI or ASD. Further, SLPs considered it less important, less practical and more difficult to address PM in clients who have DS when compared with clients who have SLI, whereas a similar pattern was found with clients who have ASD. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: SLPs' opinions could be one reason they under-address PM with clients who have DS. Other reasons include there are no evidence-based practice (EBP) guidelines on this topic, and there is not enough familiarity with the DS phenotype among SLPs. Future research on ways to address PM in clients with DS successfully are essential so that EBP guidelines can be established and language therapy can be made more effective.

Potential Environmental Impacts and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Silver- and Nanosilver-Containing Textiles.

For textiles containing nanosilver, we assessed benefit (antimicrobial efficacy) in parallel with potential to release nanosilver (impact) during multiple life cycle stages. The silver loading and method of silver attachment to the textile highly influenced the silver release during washing. Multiple sequential simulated household washing experiments for fabric swatches in deionized water with or without detergent showed a range of silver release. The toxicity of washing experiment supernatants to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos was negligible, with the exception of the very highest Ag releases (∼1 mg/L Ag). In fact, toxicity tests indicated that residual detergent exhibited greater adverse response than the released silver. Although washing the fabrics did release silver, it did not affect their antimicrobial efficacy, as demonstrated by >99.9% inhibition of E. coli growth on the textiles, even for textiles that retained as little as 2 µg/g Ag after washing. This suggests that very little nanosilver is required to control bacterial growth in textiles. Visible light irradiation of the fabrics reduced the extent of Ag release for textiles during subsequent washings. End-of-life experiments using simulated landfill conditions showed that silver remaining on the textile is likely to continue leaching from textiles after disposal in a landfill.

Peers as clinicians: Examining the impact of Stay Play Talk on social communication in young preschoolers with autism.

BACKGROUND: Peer Mediated Interventions (PMIs) can be incorporated into integrated early childhood and preschool settings to address socialization impairments observed in children with ASD (Katz & Girolametto, 2013). However, research examining specific PMI strategies with young preschoolers remains limited. OBJECTIVE: The current study examines the efficacy of the Stay, Play, Talk PMI (English, Shafer, Goldstein, & Kaczmerek, 1997) on the social communication skills of young preschool children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). METHOD: Each of 3 typically developing children (ages 3-5 years) was paired with a child with an ASD (ages 3-4 years). Typically developing peers were taught to Stay with their friend, Play with their friend, and Talk to their friend. The child dyads played together during two, 20-min weekly sessions for 6-8 weeks. A multiple baseline design across participants was implemented to measure the impact of the Stay Play Talk strategies on social initiations and responses characterized by non-coordinated gestures, gestures, and words. Simulation Modeling Analysis was also conducted to confirm visual analysis. RESULTS: All 3 typical peer buddies and all 3 target children with ASD demonstrated increases in the frequency of their responses, reaching levels that greatly exceeded baseline levels. Further, social reciprocations increased among each dyad above baseline. Social initiations remained variable across dyads. Gains were not maintained two months post intervention. CONCLUSION: Results of this study corroborated previous findings that support the usefulness of PMIs to improve social communication of young children with ASD (Chan et al., 2009) and suggest an economical, naturally occurring approach to improve social communication during early childhood. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Readers will gain knowledge regarding the social communication profile of children with ASD and how this profile can negatively impact language development and peer relationships. In addition, readers will be able to identify the basic components of the Stay Play Talk intervention. Finally, this paper will explain the impacts of the Stay Play Talk intervention on the social communication skills of young children with ASD.

Brief report: repetitive behaviors in young children with autism spectrum disorder and developmentally similar peers: a follow up to Watt et al. (2008).

The present study extended the findings of Watt et al. (J Autism Dev Disord 38:1518-1533, 2008) by investigating repetitive and stereotyped behaviors (RSB) demonstrated by children (n = 50) and typical development (TD; n = 50) matched on developmental age, gender, and parents' education level. RSB were coded from videotaped Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Behavior Samples (Wetherby and Prizant 2002) using the Noldus Pro Observer© video software. Children with ASD demonstrated significantly higher frequencies of RSB with body objects excluding categories involving banging or tapping objects or surfaces. Behaviors demonstrated by both groups indicated overlapping RSB profiles at this age. These findings highlight the significance of RSB in the early identification and support the need for future research to further determine ASD-specific RSB.