4,964 research outputs found
The social experiences and sense of belonging in adolescent females with autism in mainstream school
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the British Psychological Society via the link in this recordAim(s)
This qualitative study explored the social experiences and sense of belonging of adolescent females with autism in mainstream schooling.
Method/Rationale
The research explored the views of eight adolescent females with autism. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the ways in which they experience a sense of belonging and exclusion in school, and what they feel would support them socially.
Findings
The findings suggest that key friendships, understanding and perceived social competence are important for adolescent females with autism in developing a sense of belonging in mainstream school. Adolescent females with autism are motivated to form a sense of belonging in school, but experience pressure to adapt their behaviour and minimise their differences in order to gain acceptance.
Limitations
This study represents a small sample of adolescent females with autism. Further replication is needed before the findings can be generalised to other females with autism in mainstream school.
Conclusions
The current study addressed an identified gap in the literature by seeking the first-hand views and experiences of adolescent females with autism in mainstream school. Consistent with prior research, the findings suggest that adolescent females with autism are motivated to seek social contact and form friendships in the same way as females without a diagnosis of autism. The findings also highlight the specific social difficulties experienced by females with autism and the way in which this can add to their feelings of exclusion in the school environment
Accommodation of lattice mismatch in Ge_(x)Si_(1âx)/Si superlattices
We present evidence that the critical thickness for the appearance of misfit defects in a given material and heteroepitaxial structure is not simply a function of lattice mismatch. We report substantial differences in the relaxation of mismatch stress in Ge_(0.5)Si_(0.5)/Si superlattices grown at different temperatures on (100) Si substrates. Samples have been analyzed by xâray diffraction, channeled Rutherford backscattering, and transmission electron microscopy. While a superlattice grown at 365â°C demonstrates a high degree of elastic strain, with a dislocation density <10^5 cm^(â2) , structures grown at higher temperatures show increasing numbers of structural defects, with densities reaching 2Ă10^(10) cm^(â2) at a growth temperature of 530â°C. Our results suggest that it is possible to freeze a latticeâmismatched structure in a highly strained metastable state. Thus it is not surprising that experimentally observed critical thicknesses are rarely in agreement with those predicted by equilibrium theories
Acquisition of antibody isotypes against Plasmodium falciparum blood stage antigens in a birth cohort
Information on the period during which infants lose their maternally derived antibodies to malaria and begin to acquire naturally their own immune responses against parasite antigens is crucial for understanding when malaria vaccines may be best administered. This study investigated the rates of decline and acquisition of serum antibody isotypes IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgM and IgA to Plasmodium falciparum antigens apical membrane antigen (AMA1), merozoite surface proteins (MSP1-19, MSP2 and MSP3) in a birth cohort of 53 children living in an urban area in the Gambia, followed over the first 3 years of life (sampled at birth, 4, 9, 18 and 36 months). Antigen-specific maternally transferred antibody isotypes of all IgG subclasses were detected at birth and were almost totally depleted by 4 months of age. Acquisition of specific antibody isotypes to the antigens began with IgM, followed by IgG1 and IgA. Against the MSP2 antigen, IgG1 but not IgG3 responses were observed in the children, in contrast with the maternally derived antibodies to this antigen that were mostly IgG3. This confirms that IgG subclass responses to MSP2 are strongly dependent on age or previous malaria experience, polarized towards IgG1 early in life and to IgG3 in older exposed individuals
Square Patterns and Quasi-patterns in Weakly Damped Faraday Waves
Pattern formation in parametric surface waves is studied in the limit of weak
viscous dissipation. A set of quasi-potential equations (QPEs) is introduced
that admits a closed representation in terms of surface variables alone. A
multiscale expansion of the QPEs reveals the importance of triad resonant
interactions, and the saturating effect of the driving force leading to a
gradient amplitude equation. Minimization of the associated Lyapunov function
yields standing wave patterns of square symmetry for capillary waves, and
hexagonal patterns and a sequence of quasi-patterns for mixed capillary-gravity
waves. Numerical integration of the QPEs reveals a quasi-pattern of eight-fold
symmetry in the range of parameters predicted by the multiscale expansion.Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, 8 figure
Assessment of Keratitis Damage in an Age Dependent Mouse Model Using Analytical Software
Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a grampositive bacterium that is responsible for diseases such as, otitis media, conjunctivitis, bacterial keratitis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Bacterial keratitis is one of the most common after-effects of trauma to the eye. Some reports have shown the S. pneumoniae spreads through enzymes that are produced to digest the cornea, which in turn can causes blindness. There is a need for more improved measures that can reverse the detrimental effects of the bacteria. The long-term goal of this research is to better understand the complete role of S. pneumoniae and its components in bacterial keratitis to develop next generation therapies to prevent blindness. The purpose of this study is to develop alternative measures to evaluate damage associated with keratitis infection by use of computer applications. Methods: This study analyzed images of the established Keratitis pneumococcal mouse model. The eye images of mice 7-8-week-old and 9-month-old were collected. Additional images were taken on post-infection days one, three, five, and nine, revealing the progression of the infection. Results: The ImageJ Application provided more in depth review to determine the detrimental effects of S. pneumoniae. Through the software, a âColor Thresholdâ was created on every image to emphasize the area of damage caused by the bacteria. A scatter plot of every image created a map of the particles, and the diameter created a scale demonstrating the impact of keratitis. Data revealed that the most significant increase in infection occurs between Day 1 and 3 post-infection. Conclusions: The study has created a computer model to establish a baseline for the infection process of S. pneumoniae in the traditional mouse model. ImageJ has proven to be a useful tool to analyze the impact of disease on the murine model. Results from this study also provide evidence of the importance of early intervention in ocular disease
Search for exchange-antisymmetric two-photon states
Atomic two-photon J=0 J'=1 transitions are forbidden for
photons of the same energy. This selection rule is related to the fact that
photons obey Bose-Einstein statistics. We have searched for small violations of
this selection rule by studying transitions in atomic Ba. We set a limit on the
probability that photons are in exchange-antisymmetric states:
.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, ReVTeX and .eps. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.
Revised version 9/25/9
Variational water-wave model with accurate dispersion and vertical vorticity
A new water-wave model has been derived which is based on variational techniques and combines a depth-averaged vertical (component of) vorticity with depth-dependent potential flow. The model facilitates the further restriction of the vertical profile of the velocity potential to n-th order polynomials or a finite-element profile with a small number of elements (say), leading to a framework for efficient modeling of the interaction of steepening and breaking waves near the shore with a large-scale horizontal flow. The equations are derived from a constrained variational formulation which leads to conservation laws for energy, mass, momentum and vertical vorticity. It is shown that the potential-flow water-wave equations and the shallow-water equations are recovered in the relevant limits. Approximate shock relations are provided, which can be used in numerical schemes to model breaking waves
Strain relaxation kinetics in Si1âxGex/Si heterostructures
Strain relaxation in Si1âxGex/Si superlattices and alloy films is studied as a function of ex situ anneal treatment with the use of x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Samples are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy at an unusually low temperature (â365 °C). This results in metastably strained alloy and superlattice films significantly in excess of critical thicknesses previously reported for such structures. Significant strain relaxation is observed upon anneal at temperatures as low as 390 °C. After a 700 °C, 2 h anneal, superlattices are observed to relax less fully (~43% of coherent strain) than corresponding alloys (~84% of coherent strain). Also, the strain relaxation kinetics of a Si1âxGex alloy layer is studied quantitatively. Alloy strain relaxation is approximately described by a single, thermally activated, first order kinetic process having activation energy Ea=2.0 eV. The relevance of our results to the microscopic mechanisms responsible for strain relaxation in lattice-mismatched semiconductor heterostructures is discussed
In situ phytoplankton distributions in the Amundsen Sea Polynya measured by autonomous gliders
The Amundsen Sea Polynya is characterized by large phytoplankton blooms, which makes this region disproportionately important relative to its size for the biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean. In situ data on phytoplankton are limited, which is problematic given recent reports of sustained change in the Amundsen Sea. During two field expeditions to the Amundsen Sea during austral summer 2010-2011 and 2014, we collected physical and bio-optical data from ships and autonomous underwater gliders. Gliders documented large phytoplankton blooms associated with Antarctic Surface Waters with low salinity surface water and shallow upper mixed layers (\u3c 50 m). High biomass was not always associated with a specific water mass, suggesting the importance of upper mixed depth and light in influencing phytoplankton biomass. Spectral optical backscatter and ship pigment data suggested that the composition of phytoplankton was spatially heterogeneous, with the large blooms dominated by Phaeocystis and non-bloom waters dominated by diatoms. Phytoplankton growth rates estimated from field data (\u3c = 0.10 day(-1)) were at the lower end of the range measured during ship-based incubations, reflecting both in situ nutrient and light limitations. In the bloom waters, phytoplankton biomass was high throughout the 50-m thick upper mixed layer. Those biomass levels, along with the presence of colored dissolved organic matter and detritus, resulted in a euphotic zone that was often \u3c 10 m deep. The net result was that the majority of phytoplankton were light-limited, suggesting that mixing rates within the upper mixed layer were critical to determining the overall productivity; however, regional productivity will ultimately be controlled by water column stability and the depth of the upper mixed layer, which may be enhanced with continued ice melt in the Amundsen Sea Polynya
Feature-based diversity optimization for problem instance classification
Parallel Problem Solving from Nature â PPSN XIVUnderstanding the behaviour of heuristic search methods is a challenge. This even holds for simple local search methods such as 2-OPT for the Traveling Salesperson problem. In this paper, we present a general framework that is able to construct a diverse set of instances that are hard or easy for a given search heuristic. Such a diverse set is obtained by using an evolutionary algorithm for constructing hard or easy instances that are diverse with respect to different features of the underlying problem. Examining the constructed instance sets, we show that many combinations of two or three features give a good classification of the TSP instances in terms of whether they are hard to be solved by 2-OPT.Wanru Gao, Samadhi Nallaperuma, and Frank Neuman
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