Whiting Farm Renewable Energy Report

This report provides an analysis of the current electrical and heating usage at Whiting Farm. The data gathered from the analysis is used to evaluate the efficacy of alternative energy sources to offset or completely replace Whiting Farm’s dependence on grid-drawn electricity and propane. We found that solar power is the most cost-effective source of alternative electricity production so we recommend the installation of a 15 kilowatt (kW) array from ReVision Energy. A wind turbine produces far less electricity, but serves as a powerful educational tool, so we recommend a Pika T701 1.5 kW turbine from Pika Energy. Geothermal heating systems are 300-400% more efficient than conventional propane-powered heating systems, Thus we recommend a mixture of air and ground source heat pumps be installed to heat the various buildings

Incorporating Ethics in Computing Courses: Perspectives from Educators

Incorporating ethics into computing education has become a priority for the SIGCSE community. Many computing departments and educators have contributed to this endeavor by creating standalone computing ethics courses or integrating ethics modules and discussions into preexisting curricula. In this study, we hope to support this effort by reporting on computing educators' attitudes toward including ethics in their computing classroom, with a special focus on the structures that hinder or help this endeavor. We surveyed 138 higher education computing instructors to understand their attitudes toward including ethics in their classes, what barriers might be preventing them from doing so, and which structures best support them. We found that even though instructors were generally positive about ethics as a component of computing education, there are specific barriers preventing ethics from being included in some computing courses. In this work, we explore how to alleviate these barriers and outline support structures that could encourage further integration of ethics and computing in higher education

Environmental Fit: A Model for Assessing and Treating Problem Behavior Associated with Curricular Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Theoretical considerations suggest that problem behavior should increase when a child’s competency does not match the curricular demands of the environment (i.e., when there is poor environmental fit). In the present study, environmental fit was examined for six children with autism spectrum disorders. Results indicated that the children exhibited high rates of problem behavior associated with poor motor or academic competency. Curricular modifications resulted in (a) a decrease in the level of problem behavior, (b) an increase in the percentage of task steps completed correctly, and (c) improved affect. Adults who worked with the children reported ease of intervention techniques. The concept of environmental fit and its usefulness in guiding both assessment of and intervention for problem behavior are discussed

A Nexus Model of Restricted Interests in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Restricted interests (RIs) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are clinically impairing interests of unusual focus or intensity. They are a subtype of restricted and repetitive behaviors which are one of two diagnostic criteria for the disorder. Despite the near ubiquity of RIs in ASD, the neural basis for their development is not well understood. However, recent cognitive neuroscience findings from nonclinical samples and from individuals with ASD shed light on neural mechanisms that may explain the emergence of RIs. We propose the nexus model of RIs in ASD, a novel conceptualization of this symptom domain that suggests that RIs may reflect a co-opting of brain systems that typically serve to integrate complex attention, memory, semantic, and social communication functions during development. The nexus model of RIs hypothesizes that when social communicative development is compromised, brain functions typically located within the lateral surface of cortex may expand into social processing brain systems and alter cortical representations of various cognitive functions during development. These changes, in turn, promote the development of RIs as an alternative process mediated by these brain networks. The nexus model of RIs makes testable predictions about reciprocal relations between the impaired development of social communication and the emergence of RIs in ASD and suggests novel avenues for treatment development.</p

Conceptualizing and Treating Social Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Focus Group Study with Multidisciplinary Professionals.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly experience social anxiety (SA). Disentangling SA symptoms from core ASD characteristics is complex, partly due to diagnostic overshadowing and co-occurring alexithymia. Causal and maintaining mechanisms for SA in ASD are underexplored, but it is feasible that there is an ASD specificity to the clinical presentation, with implications for the development of targeted treatments. METHODS: Five focus groups were conducted with multidisciplinary professionals to investigate their perspectives about, and approaches to, working with individuals with ASD and SA. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed two overarching themes: conceptualizing SA in ASD and service provision. Our results suggest that adaptations to service provision are pertinent, so as to accommodate inherent impairments that can mediate assessment and intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should establish how aspects of the care pathway can be improved for individuals with ASD and SA

Longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in 288 patients with Neurofibromatosis 2

Advances in molecular biology have resulted in novel therapy for neurofibromatosis 2-related (NF2) tumours, highlighting the need for robust outcome measures. The disease-focused NF2 impact on quality of life (NFTI-QOL) patient questionnaire was assessed as an outcome measure for treatment in a multi-centre study. NFTI-QOL was related to clinician-rated severity (ClinSev) and genetic severity (GenSev) over repeated visits. Data were evaluated for 288 NF2 patients (n = 464 visits) attending the English national NF2 clinics from 2010 to 2012. The male-to-female ratio was equal and the mean age was 42.2 (SD 17.8) years. The analysis included NFTI-QOL eight-item score, ClinSev graded as mild, moderate, or severe, and GenSev as a rank order of the number of NF2 mutations (graded as mild, moderate, severe). The mean (SD) 8.7 (5.4) score for NFTI-QOL for either a first visit or all visits 9.2 (5.4) was similar to the published norm of 9.4 (5.5), with no significant relationships with age or gender. NFTI-QOL internal reliability was good, with a Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.85 and test re-test reliability r = 0.84. NFTI related to ClinSev (r = 0.41, p < 0.001; r = 0.46 for all visits), but weakly to GenSev (r = 0.16, p < 0.05; r = 0.15 for all visits). ClinSev related to GenSev (r = 0.41, p < 0.001; r = 0.42 for all visits). NFTI-QOL showed a good reliability and ability to detect significant longitudinal changes in the QOL of individuals. The moderate relationships of NFTI-QOL with clinician- and genetic-rated severity suggest that NFTI-QOL taps into NF2 patient experiences that are not encompassed by ClinSev rating or genotype

Identifying Human Naïve Pluripotent Stem Cells - Evaluating State-Specific Reporter Lines and Cell-Surface Markers.

Recent reports that human pluripotent stem cells can be captured in a spectrum of states with variable properties has prompted a re-evaluation of how pluripotency is acquired and stabilised. The latest additions to the stem cell hierarchy open up opportunities for understanding human development, reprogramming, and cell state transitions more generally. Many of the new cell lines have been collectively termed 'naïve' human pluripotent stem cells to distinguish them from the conventional 'primed' cells. Here, several transcriptional and epigenetic hallmarks of human pluripotent states in the recently described cell lines are reviewed and evaluated. Methods to derive and identify human naïve pluripotent stem cells are also discussed, with a focus on the uses and future developments of state-specific reporter cell lines and cell-surface proteins. Finally, opportunities and uncertainties in naïve stem cell biology are highlighted, and the current limitations of human naïve pluripotent stem cells considered, particularly in the context of differentiation.Our research is funded by the BBSRC (BB/P013406/1, BB/M022285/1) and MRC (MR/J003808/1)