A Pilot Study on Patterns of Skill Development of Neurotypical Children as Measured by the ABLLS-R: Implications for Educational Programming for Children With Autism

Many assessments used to measure the skills of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis lack data that delineates patterns of skill development by neurotypical children. In the current pilot study, we administered the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R) to neurotypical children (N = 53) between the ages of six and 72 months to examine typical skill development across the major skill sets and repertoires of the ABLLS-R. We found that skills from the Basic Learner skills section emerged and developed earlier (i.e., by age five) than those from the other skills sections. By age six, children mastered their motor skills and 90% of the self-help skills. Academic skills took the longest to emerge and develop with children mastering only 51% of the related skills by age six. Implications of these findings, as they relate to skill development and identifying developmentally appropriate teaching objectives for individuals with ASD, are discussed

Determining the fate of selenium in wheat biofortification: an isotopically labelled field trial study

Aims The principal aim of this research was to quantify retention of a single, realistic Se biofortification application (10 g ha-1) in contrasting soils over two growing seasons utilizing an enriched stable Se isotope (77Se) to discriminate between applied Se and native soil Se. Methods Isotopically enriched 77Se (Na2SeO4) was applied (10 g ha-1) to four replicate plots (2 m x 2 m) of winter wheat, on three contrasting soils on the University of Nottingham farm (UK), at early stem extension in May 2012. Labelled 77Se was assayed in soil and crop fractions by ICP-MS. Results Topsoil retained a proportion of applied Se at harvest (c. 15 – 31 %) with only minor retention in subsoil (2-4 %), although losses were 37 – 43 %. Further analysis of topsoil 77Se, the following spring, and at second harvest, suggested that labelled Se retained in soil was25 fixed and uptake by a following crop was negligible. Conclusions Prolonged biofortification leads to accumulation of Se in soil but the retained Se has very low bioavailability and mobility. The time required to double the soil Se content would be about 500 years. However, reincorporation of cereal straw could provide a residual source of Se for a following crop, depending on timing and management

Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin Antibody Escape Promotes Neuraminidase Antigenic Variation and Drug Resistance

Drugs inhibiting the influenza A virus (IAV) neuraminidase (NA) are the cornerstone of anti-IAV chemotherapy and prophylaxis in man. Drug-resistant mutations in NA arise frequently in human isolates, limiting the therapeutic application of NA inhibitors. Here, we show that antibody-driven antigenic variation in one domain of the H1 hemagglutinin Sa site leads to compensatory mutations in NA, resulting in NA antigenic variation and acquisition of drug resistance. These findings indicate that influenza A virus resistance to NA inhibitors can potentially arise from antibody driven HA escape, confounding analysis of influenza NA evolution in nature

Spatial patterns of soil nitrification and nitrate export from forested headwaters in the northeastern United States

Nitrogen export from small forested watersheds is known to be affected by N deposition but with high regional variability. We studied 10 headwater catchments in the northeastern United States across a gradient of N deposition (5.4 - 9.4 kg ha-1 yr-1) to determine if soil nitrification rates could explain differences in stream water NO 3- export. Average annual export of two years (October 2002 through September 2004) varied from 0.1 kg NO3--N ha-1 yr-1 at Cone Pond watershed in New Hampshire to 5.1 kg ha-1 yr-1 at Buck Creek South in the western Adirondack Mountains of New York. Potential net nitrification rates and relative nitrification (fraction of inorganic N as NO3-) were measured in Oa or A soil horizons at 21-130 sampling points throughout each watershed. Stream NO3- export was positively related to nitrification rates (r2 = 0.34, p = 0.04) and the relative nitrification (r2 = 0.37, p = 0.04). These relationships were much improved by restricting consideration to the 6 watersheds with a higher number of rate measurements (59-130) taken in transects parallel to the streams (r 2 of 0.84 and 0.70 for the nitrification rate and relative nitrification, respectively). Potential nitrification rates were also a better predictor of NO3- export when data were limited to either the 6 sampling points closest to the watershed outlet (r2 = 0.75) or sampling points \u3c250 m from the watershed outlet (r2 = 0.68). The basal area of conifer species at the sampling plots was negatively related to NO3- export. These spatial relationships found here suggest a strong influence of near-stream and near-watershed-outlet soils on measured stream NO3- export. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union

Exploiting new forms of data to study the private rented sector: strengths and limitations of a database of rental listings

Reviews of official statistics for UK housing have noted that developments have not kept pace with real‐world change, particularly the rapid growth of private renting. This paper examines the potential value of big data in this context. We report on the construction of a dataset from the on‐line adverts of one national lettings agency, describing the content of the dataset and efforts to validate it against external sources. The paper specifically examines what these data might add to our understanding of changing volumes and rents in the private rented sector. Fluctuations in market share across advertising platforms make assessment of volume problematic, while rental prices appear more robust through comparison with other reference information. Focussing on one urban area, we illustrate how the dataset can shed new light on local changes. Lastly, we discuss the issues involved in making more routine use of this kind of data

Prediction of the in situ coronal mass ejection rate for solar cycle 25: Implications for Parker Solar Probe in situ observations

The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Solar Orbiter missions are designed to make groundbreaking observations of the Sun and interplanetary space within this decade. We show that a particularly interesting in situ observation of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) by PSP may arise during close solar flybys ($< 0.1$~AU). During these times, the same magnetic flux rope inside an ICME could be observed in situ by PSP twice, by impacting its frontal part as well as its leg. Investigating the odds of this situation, we forecast the ICME rate in solar cycle 25 based on 2 models for the sunspot number (SSN): (1) the forecast of an expert panel in 2019 (maximum SSN = 115), and (2) a prediction by McIntosh et al. (2020, maximum SSN = 232). We link the SSN to the observed ICME rates in solar cycles 23 and 24 with the Richardson and Cane list and our own ICME catalog, and calculate that between 1 and 7 ICMEs will be observed by PSP at heliocentric distances $< 0.1$ AU until 2025, including 1$\sigma$ uncertainties. We then model the potential flux rope signatures of such a double-crossing event with the semi-empirical 3DCORE flux rope model, showing a telltale elevation of the radial magnetic field component $B_R$, and a sign reversal in the component $B_N$ normal to the solar equator compared to field rotation in the first encounter. This holds considerable promise to determine the structure of CMEs close to their origin in the solar corona.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal on 2020 September 1

Eddy current studies from the undulator-based positron source target wheel prototype

The ef­fi­cien­cy of fu­ture positron sources for the next gen­er­a­tion of high-en­er­gy par­ti­cle col­lid­ers (e.g. ILC, CLIC, LHeC) can be im­proved if the positron-pro­duc­tion tar­get is im­mersed in the mag­net­ic field of ad­ja­cent cap­ture op­tics. If the tar­get is also ro­tat­ing due to heat de­po­si­tion con­sid­er­a­tions then eddy cur­rents may be in­duced and lead to ad­di­tion­al heat­ing and stress­es. In this paper we pre­sent data from a ro­tat­ing tar­get wheel pro­to­type for the base­line ILC positron source. The wheel has been op­er­at­ed at rev­o­lu­tion rates up to 1800rpm in fields of the order of 1 Tesla. Com­par­isons are made be­tween torque data ob­tained from a trans­duc­er on the tar­get drive shaft and the re­sults of fi­nite-el­e­ment sim­u­la­tions. Ro­tor­dy­nam­ics is­sues are pre­sent­ed and fu­ture ex­per­i­ments on other as­pects of the positron source tar­get sta­tion are con­sid­ered

Early mortality among Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal women who had a preterm birth in Western Australia: A population-based cohort study

Background: Having a preterm ( \u3c 37 weeks\u27 gestation) birth may increase a woman\u27s risk of early mortality. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter Aboriginal) women have higher preterm birth and mortality rates compared with other Australian women. Objectives: We investigated whether a history of having a preterm birth was associated with early mortality in women and whether these associations differed by Aboriginal status. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used population-based perinatal records of women who had a singleton birth between 1980 and 2015 in Western Australia linked to Death Registry data until June 2018. The primary and secondary outcomes were all-cause and cause-specific mortality respectively. After stratification by Aboriginal status, rate differences were calculated, and Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Results: There were 20,244 Aboriginal mothers (1349 deaths) and 457,357 non-Aboriginal mothers (7646 deaths) with 8.6 million person-years of follow-up. The all-cause mortality rates for Aboriginal mothers who had preterm births and term births were 529.5 and 344.0 (rate difference 185.5, 95 % CI 135.5, 238.5) per 100,000 person-years respectively. Among non-Aboriginal mothers, the corresponding figures were 125.5 and 88.6 (rate difference 37.0, 95 % CI 29.4, 44.9) per 100,000 person-years. The HR for all-cause mortality for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal mothers associated with preterm birth were 1.48 (95 % CI 1.32, 1.66) and 1.35 (95 % CI 1.26, 1.44), respectively, compared with term birth. Compared with mothers who had term births, mothers of preterm births had higher relative risks of mortality from diabetes, cardiovascular, digestive and external causes. Conclusions: Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women who had a preterm birth had a moderately increased risk of mortality up to 38 years after the birth, reinforcing the importance of primary prevention and ongoing screening