An Assessment of IMPAC - Integrated Methodology for Propulsion and Airframe Controls

This report documents the work done under a NASA sponsored contract to transition to industry technologies developed under the NASA Lewis Research Center IMPAC (Integrated Methodology for Propulsion and Airframe Control) program. The critical steps in IMPAC are exercised on an example integrated flight/propulsion control design for linear airframe/engine models of a conceptual STOVL (Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing) aircraft, and MATRIXX (TM) executive files to implement each step are developed. The results from the example study are analyzed and lessons learned are listed along with recommendations that will improve the application of each design step. The end product of this research is a set of software requirements for developing a user-friendly control design tool which will automate the steps in the IMPAC methodology. Prototypes for a graphical user interface (GUI) are sketched to specify how the tool will interact with the user, and it is recommended to build the tool around existing computer aided control design software packages

Sindarin: A Versatile Scripting API for the Pharo Debugger

International audienceDebugging is one of the most important and time consuming activities in software maintenance, yet mainstream debuggers are not well-adapted to several debugging scenarios. This has led to the research of new techniques covering specific families of complex bugs. Notably, recent research proposes to empower developers with scripting DSLs, plugin-based and moldable debuggers. However, these solutions are tailored to specific use-cases, or too costly for one-time-use scenarios. In this paper we argue that exposing a debugging scripting interface in mainstream debuggers helps in solving many challenging debugging scenarios. For this purpose, we present Sindarin, a scripting API that eases the expression and automation of different strategies developers pursue during their debugging sessions. Sindarin provides a GDB-like API, augmented with AST-bytecode-source code mappings and object-centric capabilities. To demonstrate the versatility of Sindarin, we reproduce several advanced breakpoints and non-trivial debugging mechanisms from the literature

A randomised controlled trial of cognitive behavioural treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder in children and adolescents

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for young people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) has become the treatment of first choice. However, the literature is largely based on studies emphasising exposure and response prevention. In this study, we report on a randomised controlled trial of CBT for young people carried out in typical outpatient clinic conditions which focused on cognitions. A randomised controlled trial compares 10 sessions of manualised cognitive behavioural treatment with a 12-week waiting list for adolescents and children with OCD. Assessors were blind to treatment allocation. 21 consecutive patients with OCD aged between 9 and 18 years were recruited. The group who received treatment improved more than a comparison group who waited for 3 months. The second group was treated subsequently using the same protocol and made similar gains. In conclusion, CBT can be delivered effectively to young people with OCD in typical outpatient settings

Serotonin tranporter methylation and response to cognitive behaviour therapy in children with anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders that are the most commonly occurring psychiatric disorders in childhood, are associated with a range of social and educational impairments and often continue into adulthood. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment option for the majority of cases, although up to 35-45% of children do not achieve remission. Recent research suggests that some genetic variants may be associated with a more beneficial response to psychological therapy. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation work at the interface between genetic and environmental influences. Furthermore, epigenetic alterations at the serotonin transporter (SERT) promoter region have been associated with environmental influences such as stressful life experiences. In this study, we measured DNA methylation upstream of SERT in 116 children with an anxiety disorder, before and after receiving CBT. Change during treatment in percentage DNA methylation was significantly different in treatment responders vs nonresponders. This effect was driven by one CpG site in particular, at which responders increased in methylation, whereas nonresponders showed a decrease in DNA methylation. This is the first study to demonstrate differences in SERT methylation change in association with response to a purely psychological therapy. These findings confirm that biological changes occur alongside changes in symptomatology following a psychological therapy such as CBT

Development of atypical parental behavior during an inpatient family preservation intervention program

Since failed reunification is a detrimental outcome for children, particularly infants and toddlers, the aim of this study was to gain insight into support to families in multiple-problem situations to help them achieve sustainable good-enough parenting. Therefore, we examined outcomes of an assessment-based inpatient family preservation program. We prepared a thorough target-population description (n = 70) using file analysis. Next, we examined atypical parental behavior during the intervention using the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification with a repeated measures design (n = 30). The family files revealed a great number of issues at the family, parent, and child levels, such as practical matters, problems in parent functioning and between parents, and difficulties in the broader environment. We found a significant decline in three dimensions of atypical parental behavior over time. This program has great potential in supporting vulnerable families in their pursuit of family preservation

Societal Burden of Clinically Anxious Youth Referred for Treatment: A Cost-of-illness Study

A prevalence-based cost-of-illness study using a societal perspective was conducted to investigate the cost-of-illness in clinically anxious youth aged 8–18 in The Netherlands. Discriminant validity of the cost diary used was obtained by comparing costs of families with an anxious child (n = 118) to costs of families from the general population (n = 41). To examine the convergent validity, bottom-up acquired costs derived from cost diaries were compared to top-down acquired costs obtained from national registrations. Bottom-up acquired costs measured by means of cost diaries amounted to €2,748 per family of a clinically referred anxious child per annum. Societal costs of families with clinically anxious children were almost 21 times as high compared to families from the general population. With respect to convergent validity, total health care costs using the bottom-up approach from clinically anxious children were quite comparable to those of top-down data of anxious children, although costs within the subcategories differed considerably. Clinical anxiety disorders in childhood cost the Dutch society more than 20 million euros a year. Based on results of discriminate and convergent validity, the cost diary seems a valid method in establishing cost-of-illness in childhood anxiety disorders

Typechecking Java Protocols with [St]Mungo

This is a tutorial paper on [St]Mungo, a toolchain based on multiparty session types and their connection to typestates for safe distributed programming in Java language. The StMungo (“Scribble-to-Mungo”) tool is a bridge between multiparty session types and typestates. StMungo translates a communication protocol, namely a sequence of sends and receives of messages, given as a multiparty session type in the Scribble language, into a typestate specification and a Java API skeleton. The generated API skeleton is then further extended with the necessary logic, and finally typechecked by Mungo. The Mungo tool extends Java with (optional) typestate specifications. A typestate is a state machine specifying a Java object protocol, namely the permitted sequence of method calls of that object. Mungo statically typechecks that method calls follow the object’s protocol, as defined by its typestate specification. Finally, if no errors are reported, the code is compiled with javac and run as standard Java code. In this tutorial paper we give an overview of the stages of the [St]Mungo toolchain, starting from Scribble communication protocols, translating to Java classes with typestates, and finally to typechecking method calls with Mungo. We illustrate the [St]Mungo toolchain via a real-world case study, the HTTP client-server request-response protocol over TCP. During the tutorial session, we will apply [St]Mungo to a range of examples having increasing complexity, with HTTP being one of them

Clinical assessment of DSM-IV anxiety disorders in fragile X syndrome: prevalence and characterization

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability (ID). Anxiety and social withdrawal are considered core features of the FXS phenotype, yet there is limited diagnostic evidence of the prevalence of formal anxiety disorders in FXS. This study assessed the prevalence of anxiety disorders in a sample of 58 males and 39 females with FXS (ages 5.0–33.3 years). Participants’ parents completed the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS-IV), a clinical interview based on DSM-IV criteria, and the Anxiety Depression and Mood Scale (ADAMS), a psychiatric disorders screening instrument normed in ID. We conducted cognitive (IQ) and autism (AUT) assessments and surveyed medication use. Despite a high rate of psychopharmacological treatment, 86.2% of males and 76.9% of females met criteria for an anxiety disorder, with social phobia and specific phobia the most commonly diagnosed. Proband status, gender, and IQ were not significantly related to any anxiety disorders, however significantly higher rates of a few anxiety disorders were found in older age and AUT groups. Significant correlations between ADIS diagnoses and ADAMS scores provided cross-validation of instruments, indicating that the ADIS is suitable for use in FXS. A greater percentage of our sample met criteria for most anxiety disorders than has been reported in other ID groups or the general population. The rate of anxiety compared to general ID suggests that the FMR1 full mutation confers an especially high risk for these disorders, regardless of factors commonly associated with FXS clinical involvement. A thorough clinical assessment and treatment of anxiety should be included in the FXS standard of care

Brief Report: Testing the Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Anxiety is a prevalent and impairing co-morbidity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet assessment measures, including screening tools, are seldom validated with autism samples. We explored the psychometric properties of the child and parent reports of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and the Screen for Anxiety Related Disorder-71 (SCARED-71) with 49 males with ASD (10–16 years, 63% co-occurring anxiety). Both measures had excellent internal consistency and fair-good parent–child agreement. The SCAS has a higher proportion of items evaluating observable behaviors. Predictive power of the measures did not differ. Higher cut-points in the parent reports (SCARED only) and lower cut-points in the child reports may enhance prediction in this sample. Choice of measure and cut-points should be considered alongside intended purpose