A study of the impact of the Picture Exchange Communication System on verbal language and stereotypic behavior in preschool children with autism

The Picture Exchange Communication System was designed to give children with autism, developmental disorders, and social-communication disorders a way to communicate with the world around them. It is a picture based communication device that puts emphasis on the child initiating interactions. PECS utilizes many behavioral teaching techniques such as shaping, fading, backward chaining, and delayed prompting to teach children to make requests and communicate with others. Even with the emphasis on spontaneous interactions without the use of speech, verbal language is likely to develop as a secondary outcome for those children who have the ability to develop and use speech. Studies at the Delaware Autistic Program in Newark, Delaware have found that high percentages of preschool children who receive PECS intervention will develop verbal language, whether it be independent of PECS or in combination with it. Those children in the study that failed to develop speech fall within the severely to profoundly mentally retarded range of intellectual functioning. This study was conducted to measure the impact of PECS on verbal language and stereotypical behaviors in preschool children with autism and developmental disorders. Two preschool classrooms at Gloucester County Special Services School District\u27s Child Development Center were used for the study. A total of twelve children were observed to collect data on verbal language and stereotypic behavior. The study found no consistent evidence that children who use PECS will experience an increase in verbal language or a decrease in stereotypic behavior. Although there is some evidence of an increase in verbal language over time, there are inconsistencies both between the subjects and the period of time that they were observed. Similar evidence and inconsistencies were found with decreases in stereotypic behavior. This is in part due to the nature of autism and inconsistencies in speech and behavior on a day to day basis

Characterization of regulatory T cells in atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases with increasing incidence. It has been suggested that Tregs play a role in the pathogenesis of AD, as Tregs regulate immune homeostasis by modulating the immune system response. Even though the role of Tregs in this disease has been studied for several years, their part in it is still not clear. The objective of this study was to characterize the phenotype, the induction and function of Tregs in patients with AD compare with healthy controls. Therefore, circulating Tregs and T cell subsets of AD patients and healthy individuals were quantified by flow cytometry. Interestingly, only CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Tregs were found to be expanded in the blood of AD patients. Quantification of the TSDR, a specific region in the Foxp3 locus, affirmed that the frequency of nTregs was increased in AD. This was in line with several preceding studies. In contrast, the TGF-β-dependent conversion of CD4+ CD25- Foxp3- into CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ iTregs was impaired in AD patients, which supported the evidence that TGF-β signaling might be malfunctioning in AD. Indeed, reduced expression of Smad 3 mRNA was revealed in CD4+ CD25- T cells, which was accompanied by a tendency of less p Smad 2/3. This might have a direct effect on TGF-β signaling driven gene expression, such as Foxp3. Interestingly, Smad 3 has already been associated with AD as Smad 3/4 mRNA was down-regulated in human skin lesions of AD patients. Additionally, Smad 3 deficiency in an AD mouse model led to allergen-induced skin inflammation. Alterations observed in TGF β R and Smad 7 expression might display a secondary effect as a result of impaired signaling. Besides the expressional characterization of Tregs, their suppressive function was tested in an in vitro co-cultured with assay autologous T responder cells. iTregs derived from AD patients inhibited proliferation similar to those from healthy donors. Hence, their suppressive function was not impaired in vitro. Furthermore, the role of the transmembrane protein GARP was investigated in Tregs in the context of AD. It was shown that the missense mutation A407T in the LRRC32 gene led to a reduced surface expression of GARP together with a malfunction of AD-T cells conversion into iTregs. In conclusion, this study supplied strong indication for an important involvement of Tregs in AD pathology. Evidence was provided for malfunction in TGF-β signaling leading to impaired iTreg generation which could explain why inflammatory immune response is not down regulated properly in the skin of AD patients

The use of technology supporting sharing economy business models: the european interest in operations of investment crowdfunding

Desde hace algunos años, en el escenario internacional han nacido nuevos modelos de empresas, conectados al uso de la web y a relaciones que se basan en lo digital, en consecuencia del bien conocido fenómeno de crisis que se está progresivamente difundiendo. Estas nuevas empresas desarrollan actividades que son muy diferentes entre ellas, pero tienen principios comunes que les agrupa en ese gran movimento identificado como Sharing Economy. Unas de las aplicaciones más relevantes de las innovaciones tecnológicas que apoyan los principios de collaboración y sharing, son las plataformas de financiación, que apuntan a juntar empresas e individuos en busca de capitales y emparejarle con otros dispuestos a invertir, prestar o donar su propria disponibilidad de dinero. Aprovechando del potencial ofrecido por internet, crowdfunding está al centro del escenario moderno, en un contexto general donde la reducción de recursos disponibles obliga a cambios radicales en las decisiones de los ciudadanos, en sus hábitos de consumo e inversión, y también en la manera de hacer negocios

La testologia delle lettere di M. Gor'kij

Traduzione italiana di un articolo di L. Spiridonova sulla testologia delle lettere di M. Gor'ki

Model Design of Wind/PV/Fossil-Fuel Hybrid Systems

This paper presents the analysis and design of a mathematical model for a hybrid-power generation system consisting of a photovoltaic array, wind-turbines, a batterybank and a backup fossil-fuel generator. The static mathematical models of each element are validated by comparing them with field-data obtained in an experimental hybrid generation system in Pachuca, Mexico. Two different state-of-charge models were simulated and compared. The results are presented in this paper. The main purpose of this work is the development of a fuzzy-supervisory-controller for small hybrid-systems

L. Piccolo, Ugo Ojetti e la Russia: incontri, itinerari, corrispondenze, Altralinea, Firenze 2021, pp. 242.

Book Revie

Exploring engineering skills development through a comparison of institutional practices in Mexico and Scotland

The future of engineering education does not depend only on the curricula designed by universities, but increasingly on the needs of society and the complex requirements of Industry 4.0. Now there is an urgent need to work on an educational approach based on the close collaboration of three stakeholders: the university, which facilitates authentic learning opportunities for students and professionals and ensures the quality of learning outcomes; the industry, which establishes the skill sets and competencies it requires of its workforce; and finally, governments and professional associations, which can influence, provide global collaboration frameworks to support transformation and funding for reskilling, upskilling, as well as institutional responses. This study presents an analysis and comparison of the engineering skills "eco-system" that considers not only the technical education in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but also the problem-solving needs of society and the human factors that shape the transition to the labour market in global contexts

Fab-Four cosmography to tackle the Hubble tension

In the context of the Fab-Four theory of gravity in a Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker background, in this work we use the cosmography approach to study a particular self-tuning filter solution focused on a zero-curvature fixed point to study the $H_0$ tension. In this scheme, the equations restrict the universe's evolution to certain scenarios, including radiation-like expansion, matter-like expansion, and late-time acceleration. Furthermore, we build the cosmographic series of the Fab-Four theory to obtain the kinematic parameters as the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the deceleration parameter $q_0$ for all the scenarios mentioned. Finally, we compare our results to find that it is possible to alleviate the current discrepancy on $H_0$ by considering specific requirements on the free parameters of the Fab-Four theory through a self-tuning filter.Comment: 12 pages, 1 table. Version accepted in Univers

Bile Duct Cancer: Preoperative Evaluation and Management

Cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) are malignant tumors that can develop anywhere along the biliary tree. Almost 10% of cholangiocarcinomas arise from the intra-hepatic bile ducts (iCCA); 50–60% from the bifurcation of the hepatic duct (perhilar cholangiocarcinoma, pCCA); and 20–30% from the distal bile duct (dCCA). The 7th edition of the AJCC staging system, released in 2010, divides the tumors into two major categories: perihilar (pCCA) and distal (dCCA) cholangiocarcinoma, given the differences in anatomy of the bile duct and consideration of local factors related to resectability. There are separate histological classifications for intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. The majority of CCAs (90%) are well or moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas. Other features include invasiveness with early neural, perineural, periductal and lymphatic infiltration (more than 50% of cases at diagnosis) and longitudinal subepithelial infiltration along the wall of the bile duct up to 2 cm proximally and 1 cm distally. In this chapter the extrhepatic bile duct cancers are analyzed