Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tertiary-preventive interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children and adults: An evaluative synthesis of two TEACCH based outcome studies

Results from the recent research literature indicate the urgent need for more intervention outcome studies for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) worldwide, with available interventions commonly being considered a form of “tertiary prevention”. This paper presents a synthesis of two TEACCH-based intervention studies for children and adults with ASD, carried out in Germany: (1) The concept of the “Double ABCX Caregiver Stress-Coping model” (adapted from Pakenham, Samios, & Sofronoff, 2005) having guided our research is outlined and related to tertiary-preventive interventions; (2) based on a broad-category taxonomy adapted from the research literature, and considering recent systematic reviews, three comprehensive intervention approaches are outlined and discussed concerning construct, internal and external validity: (a) “traditional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)”, (b) “TEACCH” and (c) “contemporary ABA”; (3) the concept of “structured teaching” being a key component of TEACCH (Schopler, 1997) is outlined briefly. The present synthesis aims at examining the effectiveness of TEACCH based interventions within various social settings. The first study, using a controlled individual-subject design, reports on a social communication training with a 7-year-old girl with autism and intellectual disability living in a residential home. In the second, a small group study, the long-term outcomes of a
The Role of Cropping Systems in Nematode Population Management

Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most important approaches to the con­ trol of nematodes that feed on the roots of annual crop plants. The value of rotations often was recognized long before their effects upon the dynamics of nematode populations and communities were considered. As specific nema­ tode problems were identified and their economic importance demonstrated, attention usually was given to crop rotations as a means of either preventing or rcducing crop losses attributed to these pests. In many cases, crop rotation became the conventional method for nematode control and was readily ac­ cepted by growers because they previously had been introduced to such man­ agement practices as a means of improving soil fertility and crop productiv­ ity. Early rotation schemes were aimed at the control of a single nematode species on a susceptible main crop. They were developed empirically on the basis of knowledge of nematode life histories and host ranges. Field experi­ ments involved the selection of suitable alternate crops and determination of the number of seasons between main crops needed to obtain the desired de­ gree of control. Evaluation of cropping systems was based mainly upon mea­ surements of root disease severity in, and performance of, the main crop at the end of its growth season. Little, if any, attention was given either to the performance of rotation crops or to effects upon nematode populations. Bes­ sey (5) found certain cropping systems to be effective in controlling root knot in susceptible vegetable crops. He concluded that success depended upon how well the rotation crops met these requirements: (a) prevent devel­ opment and reproduction of the parasite; (b) at least pay the expense of working the land, as well as rent, taxes, etc.; (c) enrich the land or at least not impoverish it; and (d) make such vigorous, dense growth as to choke out
Efficacy of the resilience and adjustment intervention after traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Objective: Examine a psychoeducational and skill-building intervention’s effectiveness for individuals after traumatic brain injury (TBI), using a two-arm, parallel, randomized, controlled trial with wait-listed control. Methods: The Resilience and Adjustment Intervention (RAI) targets adjustment challenges and emphasizes education, skill-building and psychological support. Overall, 160 outpatients were randomly assigned to a treatment or wait-list control (WLC) group. The manualized treatment was delivered in seven 1-h sessions. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was the primary outcome measure. Secondary measures included the Mayo Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4), Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) and 13-Item Stress Test. Results: After adjusting for injury severity, education and time postinjury, the RAI group (N = 75) demonstrated a significantly greater increase in resilience (effect size = 1.03) compared to the WLC group (N = 73). Participants in the RAI group demonstrated more favourable scores on the MPAI-4 Adjustment and Ability Indices, BSI-18 and the 13-item Stress Test. However, only the CD-RISC and BSI-18 demonstrated a clinically significant difference. In addition, RAI participants demonstrated maintenance of gains from pre-treatment to 3-month follow-up; however, only the BSI-18 maintained a clinically significant difference. Conclusions: Investigation provided evidence that a resilience-focused intervention can improve psychological health and adjustment after TBI. Additional research is needed to ascertain the longer term benefits of intervention and the efficacy of alternative delivery methods (e.g., via telephone, Internet).
Depression , anxiety and their comorbidity in the Swedish general population : point prevalence and the e V ect on health-related quality of life

Background. Depression and anxiety disorders are major world-wide problems. There are no or few epidemiological studies investigating the prevalence of depression, generalized anxiety disorder and anxiety disorders in general in the Swedish population. Methods. Data were obtained by means of a postal survey administered to 3001 randomly selected adults. After two reminders response rate was 44.3%. Measures of depression and general anxiety were the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). The PHQ-9 identified participants who had experienced clinically significant depression (PHQ-9 10), and who had a diagnosis of major depression (defined by using a PHQ-9 scoring algorithm). Clinically significant anxiety was defined as having a GAD-7 score 8. To specifically measure generalized anxiety disorder, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV (GAD-Q-IV) was used with an established cut-oV. Health-related quality of life was measured using the EuroQol (EQ-5D). Experiences of treatments for psychiatric disorders were also assessed. Results. Around 17.2% (95% CI: 15.1–19.4) of the participants were experiencing clinically significant depression (10.8%; 95% CI: 9.1–12.5) and clinically significant anxiety (14.7%; 95% CI: 12.7–16.6). Among participants with either clinically significant depression or anxiety, nearly 50% had comorbid disorders. The point prevalence of major depression was 5.2% (95% CI: 4.0–6.5), and 8.8% (95% CI: 7.3–10.4) had GAD. Among those with either of these disorders, 28.2% had comorbid depression and GAD. There were, generally, significant gender diVerences, with more women having a disorder compared to men. Among those with depression or anxiety, only between half and two thirds had any treatment experience. Comorbidity was associated with higher symptom severity and lower health-related quality of life. Conclusions. Epidemiological data from the Swedish community collected in this study provide point prevalence rates of depression, anxiety disorders and their comorbidity. These conditions were shown in this study to be undertreated and How to cite this article Johansson et al. (2013), Depression, anxiety and their comorbidity in the Swedish general population: point prevalence and the eVect on health-related quality of life. PeerJ 1:e98; DOI 10.7717/peerj.98 associated with lower quality of life, that need further eVorts regarding preventive and treatment interventions. Subjects Epidemiology, Psychiatry and Psychology, Public Health
The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Perceived Organizational Support on the Imposter Phenomenon

An individual’s perceptions concerning their validity in the workplace, whether realistic or not, become the reality for the individual, and can have important consequences on the resulting organizational behavior of that individual. This paper examines the self-perceptions of an individual and analyzes the relationship of self-efficacy and perceived organizational support with the impostor phenomenon in the workplace. The results of the study of 588 employees at a southeastern university indicated an inverse relationship that does exist between the impostor phenomenon and self-efficacy as well as the impostor phenomenon and perceived organizational support. Implications and future research suggestions are also recommended.
Predicting elections from social media: a three-country, three-method comparative study

ABSTRACT This study introduces and evaluates the robustness of different volumetric, sentiment, and social network approaches to predict the elections in three Asian countries – Malaysia, India, and Pakistan from Twitter posts. We find that predictive power of social media performs well for India and Pakistan but is not effective for Malaysia. Overall, we find that it is useful to consider the recency of Twitter posts while using it to predict a real outcome, such as an election result. Sentiment information mined using machine learning models was the most accurate predictor of election outcomes. Social network information is stable despite sudden surges in political discussions, for e.g. around elections-related news events. Methods combining sentiment and volume information, or sentiment and social network information, are effective at predicting smaller vote shares, for e.g. vote shares in the case of independent candidates and regional parties. We conclude with a detailed discussion on the caveats of social media analysis for predicting real-world outcomes and recommendations for future work.
Reasons to Stay in Club Sport According to 19-Year-Old Swedish Participants: A Salutogenic Approach

Abstract A vital part of many teenagers’ lives is participation in club sports. Despite this, many adolescents drop out of club sports. Since physical inactivity is increasing among young people, this is of great political concern. One aim of this study is to explore why young people in their late teens continue to participate in organized club sports. Another aim is to examine the perceived levels and intensity of physical activity among participants and non-participants (n = 377). The results show that primary reasons to continue participating in club sports are having fun and the sense of enjoyment, the sense of belonging, and the sense of improving sport skills. Of lesser importance, however, is the desire to compete. A large amount of club sports participants (74%) report that they are regularly physically active in an intense form of exercise compared to a significantly smaller amount (12%) of non-participants. The findings are discussed in relation to Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenic approach and his concepts of sense of coherence (SOC).
Flood Trauma Survival and Recovery Using MNRI Reflex Neuro-Integration Therapy

This study presents the results of trauma therapy with 79 Louisiana flood survivors in August 2016 when their state was impacted by a catastrophic flooding. There were over 30,000 people evacuated, 13 deaths, and over 146,000 homes, schools, and businesses damaged. A team of fifteen MNRI specialists set up Trauma Recovery clinics in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, LA for children and adults. The purpose was to work with the innate reflex patterns activated negatively by stress and trauma that aid in protection and survival and to reduce the reactive work of the HPA stress axis and overloading stress hormones in the body, allowing the neurological system to self-organize and increased resilience. The work was non-verbal and targeted sub-cortical areas of the brain and peripheral nervous system to avoid “re-victimization” (via building a negative narrative) and release trauma through the extrapyramidal nervous system. The survivors of the flood demonstrated dysfunctional reflex patterns in: Core Tendon Guard (trigger for HPAstress- axis), Moro (fight or flight), and Fear Paralysis (freezing), ATNR (auditory reactivity), and Hands Supporting (personal space and physical body protection) indicating that these children and adults were experiencing traumatic stress, lowered resilience, and an impaired ability to protect themselves. The use of the MNRI method demonstrated improvements in the reflex functions in children from 7.58 ± 0.59 points (dysfunctional level) to 14.86 ± 0.64 points (p<0.05) and in adults from 8.78 ± 1.21 points to 15.91 ± 0.82 (p<0.05). Comparisons were made with a similar study done with survivors of the Newtown, CT school shooting in 2013.
Spatial Attention Enhances the Neural Representation of Invisible Signals Embedded in Noise

Recent evidence suggests that voluntary spatial attention can modulate neural representations of visual stimuli that do not enter conscious awareness (i.e. invisible stimuli), supporting the notion that attention and awareness are dissociable processes (Watanabe et al., 2011; Wyart et al., 2012a). It remains unclear, however, whether spatial attention can modulate neural representations of invisible stimuli that are in direct competition with highly salient and visible stimuli. Here we developed a novel electroencephalography (EEG) frequency-tagging paradigm to obtain a continuous readout of neural activity associated with visible and invisible signals embedded in dynamic noise. Participants (N = 23) detected occasional contrast changes in one of two flickering image streams on either side of fixation. Each image stream contained a visible or invisible signal embedded in every second noise image, the visibility of which was titrated and checked using a two-interval forced-choice detection task. Steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were computed from EEG data at the signal and noise frequencies of interest. Cluster-based permutation analyses revealed significant neural responses to both visible and invisible signals across posterior scalp electrodes. In line with previous findings, spatial attention increased the neural representation of visible signals. Crucially, spatial attention also increased the neural representation of invisible signals. As such, the present results replicate and extend previous studies by demonstrating that attention can modulate the neural representation of invisible signals that are in direct competition with highly salient masking stimuli. Significance Statement There has been much debate about the extent to which attention can effect neural representations of stimuli that do not enter conscious awareness. It remains unclear, however, whether spatial attention can modulate representations of invisible stimuli that are in direct spatial and temporal competition with salient masking stimuli. We developed a novel paradigm that for the first time allowed us to measure weak neural representations of invisible stimuli embedded in spatially coincident noise, and tested the effect of spatial attention on these representations. We found that spatial attention enhanced the neural representation of invisible stimuli, demonstrating that competition with highly salient stimuli does not suppress the effects of spatial attention on weak neural representations of invisible stimuli.
Chapter 1 Cytogenetic Mapping and Contribution to the Knowledge of Animal Genomes

Decades before the recent advances in molecular biology and the knowledge of the complete nucleotide sequence of several genomes, cytogenetic analysis provided the first information concerning the genome organization. Since the beginning of cytogenetics, great effort has been applied for understanding the chromosome evolution in a wide range of taxonomic groups. The exploration of molecular biology techniques in the cytogenetic area represents a powerful tool for advancement in the construction of physical chromosome maps of the genomes. The most important contribution of cytogenetics is related to the physical anchorage of genetic linkage maps in the chromosomes through the hybridization of DNA markers onto chromosomes. Several technologies, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enzymatic restriction, flow sorting, chromosome microdissection and BAC library construction, associated with distinct labeling methods and fluorescent detection systems have allowed for the generation of a range of useful DNA probes applied in chromosome physical mapping. Concerning the probes used for molecular cytogenetics, the repetitive DNA is amongst the most explored nucleotide sequences. The recent development of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) as vectors for carrying large genome fragments has allowed for the utilization of BACs as probes for the purpose of chromosome mapping. BACs have narrowed the gap between cytogenetic and molecular genetics and have become important tools for visualizing the organization of genomes and chromosome mapping. Furthermore, the use of chromosome probes has permitted the development of chromosome painting technologies, allowing an understanding of particular chromosomal areas, whole chromosomes or even whole karyotypes. Moreover, chromosomal analysis using these specific probes has contributed to the knowledge of supernumerary chromosomes, sex chromosomes, species evolution, and the identification of C Martins, DC Cabral-de-Mello, GT Valente, J Mazzuchelli, SG Oliveira 2 chromosomal rearrangements. Finally, the synergy between chromosomal and molecular biology analysis makes cytogenetics a powerful area in the integration of knowledge in genetics, genomics, taxonomy and evolution. Chromosomes as a Tool for Understanding
Adversarial Collaboration: Joint Unsupervised Learning of Depth, Camera Motion, Optical Flow and Motion Segmentation

We address the unsupervised learning of several interconnected problems in lowlevel vision: single view depth prediction, camera motion estimation, optical flow and segmentation of a video into the static scene and moving regions. Our key insight is that these four fundamental vision problems are coupled and, consequently, learning to solve them together simplifies the problem because the solutions can reinforce each other by exploiting known geometric constraints. In order to model geometric constraints, we introduce Adversarial Collaboration, a framework that facilitates competition and collaboration between neural networks. We go beyond previous work by exploiting geometry more explicitly and segmenting the scene into static and moving regions. Adversarial Collaboration works much like expectation-maximization but with neural networks that act as adversaries, competing to explain pixels that correspond to static or moving regions, and as collaborators through a moderator that assigns pixels to be either static or independently moving. Our novel method integrates all these problems in a common framework and simultaneously reasons about the segmentation of the scene into moving objects and the static background, the camera motion, depth of the static scene structure, and the optical flow of moving objects. Our model is trained without any supervision and achieves state of the art results amongst unsupervised methods.
Company BIOMECHANICAL MECHANISMS FOR DAMAGE : RETRIEVAL ANALYSIS AND COMPUTATIONAL WEAR PREDICTIONS IN TOTAL KNEE

Damage patterns on the articular surface of the proximal tibia, including cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritic knees and damage of polyethylene knee prostheses after total knee replacement, provide information related to knee joint biomechanics and damage mechanisms at the articular surface. This study reports articular damage patterns and knee kinematics assessed in the knees of older subjects, before and after total knee replacement. The damage patterns are used to evaluate computational dynamic contact and tribological models that predict polyethylene damage in a patient-specific total knee replacement model.
Spectroscopy of Molecular Hydrogen Emission from KH 15D

We report infrared spectroscopy of the unusual eclipsing pre-main-sequence object KH 15D, obtained using NIRSPEC on Keck II. During eclipse, observations using low spectral resolution (λ/δλ ~ 1000) reveal the presence of prominent molecular hydrogen emission in five lines near 2 μm. The relative line strengths are consistent with thermal excitation at T ~ 2800 ± 300 K. Observations out of eclipse, at both low and high spectral resolution (λ/δλ ~ 2 × 104), show reduced contrast with the stellar continuum. The change in contrast for the strongest line, 1-0 S(1), is consistent with an approximately constant emission line superposed on a variable stellar continuum. Emission in the 1-0 S(1) line is observed to extend by ≳4'' both east and west of the stellar point-spread function (PSF; ≳3000 AU). Observed at high spectral resolution, the velocity and the intensity structure of the 1-0 S(1) profile are both asymmetric. East of the stellar PSF (by 1.″1-2.″3) the emission is blueshifted (-63 km s-1) and has significantly greater intensity than the marginally redshifted component (+2 km s-1, approximately consistent with zero) that dominates west of the stellar PSF. The spatial extent of the emission and the excitation temperature suggest shock excitation of ambient gas by a bipolar outflow from the star and/or the disk. However, it is difficult to account for the observed radial velocity unless the outflow axis is inclined significantly to the plane of the sky.
Contact creep compliance of viscoelastic materials via nanoindentation

The creep compliance of viscoelastic materials such as synthetic polymers is an established metric of the rate at which strain increases for a constant applied stress and can, in principle, be implemented at the nanoscale to compare quantitatively bulk or thin film polymers of different structures or processing histories. Here, we outline the evolution of contact creep compliance analysis and application for both conical and spherical indenter geometries. Through systematic experiments on four amorphous (glassy) polymers, two semi-crystalline polymers and two epoxies, we show that assumptions of linear viscoelasticity are not maintained for any of these polymers when creep compliance is measured via conical indentation at the nanoscale, regardless of the rate of stress application (step or ramp). Further, we show that these assumptions can be maintained to evaluate the contact creep compliance J _c( t ) of these bulk polymers, regardless of the rate of stress application, provided that the contact strains are reduced sufficiently through spherical indentation. Finally, we consider the structural and physical properties of these polymers in relation to J _c( t ), and demonstrate that J _c( t ) correlates positively with molecular weight between entanglements or crosslinks of bulk, glassy polymers.
Design and control of a high torque density and high field-weakening performance permanent magnet vernier machine

The technology using the permanent-magnet vernier machine (PMVM) in electric vehicle (EV) to improve torque density and field-weakening performance is presented. The gap flux density analysis indicates that the torque is was produced both by fundamental and harmonic component of the field. Based on the analysis of the relationship investigations between the torque and structure parameters, the structure parameters are determined. The high torque/volume ratio and torque/mass ratio of the new design shows the high torque density characteristics of PMVM. The optimum current control strategy is presented for PMVM and compared with the sample permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) in the end. The comparisons indicate that PMVM has well field-weakening ability while holding high torque density and is another good choice for the EV drive.