An evaluation of the Cygnet parenting support programme for parents of children with autism spectrum conditions

Parents of children on the autistic spectrum often struggle to understand the condition and, related to this, manage their child’s behaviour. Cygnet is a parenting intervention which aims to help parents address these difficulties, consequently improving parenting confidence. It is widely used in the United Kingdom (UK). Despite this, there have been few evaluations. This paper reports a small-scale pragmatic evaluation of Cygnet as it was routinely delivered in two English cities. A non-randomised controlled study of outcomes for parents (and their children) was conducted. Data regarding intervention fidelity and delivery costs were also collected. Parents either attending, or waiting to attend, Cygnet were recruited (intervention group: IG, n=35; comparator group: CG, n=32). Parents completed standardised measures of child behaviour and parenting sense of competence pre- and post-intervention, and at three-month follow-up (matched time points for CG). Longer-term outcomes were measured for the IG. IG parents also set specific child behaviour goals. Typically, the programme was delivered as specified by the manual. Attending Cygnet was associated with significant improvements in parenting satisfaction and the specific child behaviour goals. Findings regarding other outcomes were equivocal and further evaluation is required. We conclude that Cygnet is a promising intervention for parents of children with autism in terms of, at least, some outcomes

Effects of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Sleep-related Breathing in Epilepsy Patients

Purpose: To describe the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on sleep-related breathing in a sample of 16 epilepsy patients. Methods: Sixteen adults with medically refractory epilepsy (nine men, seven women, ages 21–58 years) underwent baseline polysomnograms (PSGs). Three months after VNS therapy was initiated, PSGs were repeated. In addition, patient 7 had a study with esophageal pressure monitoring, and patient 1 had a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) trial. Results: Baseline PSGs: One of 16 patients had an apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) >5 (6.8). Treatment PSGs: Five of 16 patients had treatment AHIs >5. Respiratory events were more frequent during periods with VNS activation (on-time) than without VNS activation (off-time; p = 0.016 ). Follow-up studies: Esophageal pressure monitoring in patient 7 showed crescendos in esophageal pressure during VNS activation, supporting an obstructive pattern. The CPAP trial of patient 1 showed that all respiratory events were associated with VNS stimulation at low CPAP levels. They were resolved at higher CPAP levels. Conclusions: Treatment with VNS affects respiration during sleep and should be used with care, particularly in patients with preexisting obstructive sleep apnea. The AHI after VNS treatment remained <5 in the majority of patients and was only mildly elevated (<12) in five patients. In one patient, CPAP resolved VNS-related respiratory events.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66447/1/j.1528-1157.2003.56202.x.pd

Three-Component Glycolate Michael Reactions of Enolates, Silyl Glyoxylates, and α,β-Enones

Silyl glyoxylates react with enolates and enones to afford either glycolate aldol or Michael adducts. Product identity is controlled by the countercation associated with the enolate. Reformatsky nucleophiles in the presence of additional Zn(OTf)2 result in aldol coupling (A), while lithium enolates provide the Michael coupling (B). Deprotonation of the aldol product A with LDA induces equilibration to form the minor diastereomer of Michael product B. This observation suggests that formation of the major diastereomer of Michael product B does not occur via an aldol/retro-aldol/Michael sequence

Atomic-scale modeling of the deformation of nanocrystalline metals

Nanocrystalline metals, i.e. metals with grain sizes from 5 to 50 nm, display technologically interesting properties, such as dramatically increased hardness, increasing with decreasing grain size. Due to the small grain size, direct atomic-scale simulations of plastic deformation of these materials are possible, as such a polycrystalline system can be modeled with the computational resources available today. We present molecular dynamics simulations of nanocrystalline copper with grain sizes up to 13 nm. Two different deformation mechanisms are active, one is deformation through the motion of dislocations, the other is sliding in the grain boundaries. At the grain sizes studied here the latter dominates, leading to a softening as the grain size is reduced. This implies that there is an ``optimal'' grain size, where the hardness is maximal. Since the grain boundaries participate actively in the deformation, it is interesting to study the effects of introducing impurity atoms in the grain boundaries. We study how silver atoms in the grain boundaries influence the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline copper.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX2e, PS figures and sty files included. To appear in Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. vol 538 (invited paper). For related papers, see http://www.fysik.dtu.dk/~schiotz/publist.htm

Learning and consolidation of new spoken words in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by rich heterogeneity in vocabulary knowledge and word knowledge that is not well accounted for by current cognitive theories. This study examines whether individual differences in vocabulary knowledge in ASD might be partly explained by a difficulty with consolidating newly learned spoken words and/or integrating them with existing knowledge. Nineteen boys with ASD and 19 typically developing (TD) boys matched on age and vocabulary knowledge showed similar improvements in recognition and recall of novel words (e.g. 'biscal') 24 hours after training, suggesting an intact ability to consolidate explicit knowledge of new spoken word forms. TD children showed competition effects for existing neighbors (e.g. 'biscuit') after 24 hours, suggesting that the new words had been integrated with existing knowledge over time. In contrast, children with ASD showed immediate competition effects that were not significant after 24 hours, suggesting a qualitative difference in the time course of lexical integration. These results are considered from the perspective of the dual-memory systems framework

Development of a 3D water flow modelling based on scarce data for arid land water resources management: Case study of Ambouli and Kourtimalei Watersheds in Djibouti

2017東京農業大

Das Deformationsbild der Baum-Connes-Vermutung für fast zusammenhängende Lie-Gruppen

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das Deformationsbild der Baum-Connes-Vermutung auf den Fall fast zusammenhängender Lie-Gruppen und beliebiger Koeffizientenalgebren erweitert. Die Deformation einer solchen Gruppe G ist gegeben durch ein stetiges Gruppenbündel über [0,1], welches trivial außerhalb Null und dessen Nullfaser das semidirekte Produkt der maximal kompakten Untergruppe K mit dem Tangentialraum der Quotientenmannigfaltigkeit G/K ist. Das faserweise verschränkte Produkt mit einer G-C*-Algebra liefert ein oberhalb stetiges Feld von C*-Algebren, und durch Auswertung in Null und Eins wird das Deformationsbild definiert. Die Identifikation der Deformations- mit der Assembly-Abbildung erfolgt dann mithilfe eines Dirac-Elements der Deformation in LeGalls Gruppoid-äquivarianter KK-Theorie. Zusätzlich wird gezeigt, daß für jede fast zusammenhängende Gruppe die K-Theorie der reduzierten Gruppen-C*-Algebra eine freie Gruppe in höchstens abzählbar vielen Erzeugern ist

School Administrators’ Perceptions of Critical Teacher Skills

Forty school administrators in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York State were surveyed about the characteristics of preservice and novice teachers believed most critical. These administrators represented a broad and socio-demographically diverse cross-section of rural, suburban and urban school districts. The administrators collectively rated establishing rapport with students and behavior management as the most critical skills for preservice and new teachers to possess. Examining roles separately, assistant principals valued rapport with students and creating effective lessons as most important, whereas principals rated effectively communicating with parents and guardians, and reflecting on teaching performance as being most important. The most frequently cited reason for not hiring or reappointing a candidate was lack of engagement with students. An ability to collaborate with colleagues as well as competence in working with students with disabilities and ELLS represent skills administrators also valued in teacher candidates. Furthermore, administrators identified authentic classroom experiences prior to student teaching as invaluable preparation for the classroom and a “difference-maker” in the quality and effectiveness of preservice teacher candidates. Finally, administrators noted areas of current and future job demand; need and growth areas for teachers were reported to be STEM and STEAM, Special Education, Bilingual/Language Education, and Dual Certification

Bidirectional links between HIV and intimate partner violence in pregnancy: implications for prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

INTRODUCTION: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) has the potential to eliminate new HIV infections among infants. Yet in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, PMTCT coverage remains low, leading to unacceptably high rates of morbidity among mothers and new infections among infants. Intimate partner violence (IPV) may be a structural driver of poor PMTCT uptake, but has received little attention in the literature to date. METHODS: We conducted qualitative research in three Johannesburg antenatal clinics to understand the links between IPV and HIV-related health of pregnant women. We held focus group discussions with pregnant women (n=13) alongside qualitative interviews with health care providers (n=10), district health managers (n=10) and pregnant abused women (n=5). Data were analysed in Nvivo10 using a team-based approach to thematic coding. FINDINGS: We found qualitative evidence of strong bidirectional links between IPV and HIV among pregnant women. HIV diagnosis during pregnancy, and subsequent partner disclosure, were noted as a common trigger of IPV. Disclosure leads to violence because it causes relationship conflict, usually related to perceived infidelity and the notion that women are "bringing" the disease into the relationship. IPV worsened HIV-related health through poor PMTCT adherence, since taking medication or accessing health services might unintentionally alert male partners of the women's HIV status. IPV also impacted on HIV-related health via mental health, as women described feeling depressed and anxious due to the violence. IPV led to secondary HIV risk as women experienced forced sex, often with little power to negotiate condom use. Pregnant women described staying silent about condom negotiation in order to stay physically safe during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: IPV is a crucial issue in the lives of pregnant women and has bidirectional links with HIV-related health. IPV may worsen access to PMTCT and secondary prevention behaviours, thereby posing a risk of secondary transmission. IPV should be urgently addressed in antenatal care settings to improve uptake of PMTCT and ensure that goals of maternal and child health are met in sub-Saharan African settings

Sleep staging and respiratory events in refractory epilepsy patients: Is there a first night effect?

Purpose:   We performed this analysis of possible first night effects (FNEs) on sleep and respiratory parameters in order to evaluate the need for two serial night polysomnograms (PSGs) to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in epilepsy patients. Methods:   As part of a pilot multicenter clinical trial investigating the effects of treating sleep apnea in epilepsy, two nights of PSG recording were performed for 40 patients with refractory epilepsy and OSA symptoms. Sleep architecture was examined in detail, along with respiratory parameters including apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) and minimum oxygen saturation. Analysis included two-tailed t -tests, Wilcox sign rank analysis, and Bland Altman measures of agreement. Results:   Total sleep time differed between the two nights (night 1,363.8 min + 59.4 vs. 386.3 min + 68.6, p = 0.05). Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and percentage of REM sleep were increased during night two (night 1: 12.3% + 5.9 vs. night 2: 15.5% + 6.2, p = 0.007), and the total minutes of slow-wave sleep (SWS) were increased (night 1: 35.6 + 60.7 vs. night 2: 46.4 + 68.1, p = 0.01). No other sleep or respiratory variables differed between the two nights. Given an AHI inclusion criterion of five apneas per hour, the first PSG identified all but one patient with OSA. Discussion:   Respiratory parameters showed little variability between the first and second nights. Sleep architecture was mildly different between the first and second PSG night. Performing two consecutive baseline PSGs to diagnose OSA may not be routinely necessary in this population.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65717/1/j.1528-1167.2008.01681.x.pd