Disruption to control network function correlates with altered dynamic connectivity in the wider autism spectrum.

Autism is a common developmental condition with a wide, variable range of co-occurring neuropsychiatric symptoms. Contrasting with most extant studies, we explored whole-brain functional organization at multiple levels simultaneously in a large subject group reflecting autism's clinical diversity, and present the first network-based analysis of transient brain states, or dynamic connectivity, in autism. Disruption to inter-network and inter-system connectivity, rather than within individual networks, predominated. We identified coupling disruption in the anterior-posterior default mode axis, and among specific control networks specialized for task start cues and the maintenance of domain-independent task positive status, specifically between the right fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks and default mode network subsystems. These appear to propagate downstream in autism, with significantly dampened subject oscillations between brain states, and dynamic connectivity configuration differences. Our account proposes specific motifs that may provide candidates for neuroimaging biomarkers within heterogeneous clinical populations in this diverse condition

Choice of Measurement Sets in Qubit Tomography

Optimal generalized measurements for state estimation are well understood. However, practical quantum state tomography is typically performed using a fixed set of projective measurements and the question of how to choose these measurements has been largely unexplored in the literature. In this work we develop theoretical asymptotic bounds for the average fidelity of pure qubit tomography using measurement sets whose axes correspond to vertices of Platonic solids. We also present complete simulations of maximum likelihood tomography for mixed qubit states using the Platonic solid measurements. We show that overcomplete measurement sets can be used to improve the accuracy of tomographic reconstructions.Comment: 13 Pages, 6 figure

The uncertain representation ranking framework for concept-based video retrieval

Concept based video retrieval often relies on imperfect and uncertain concept detectors. We propose a general ranking framework to define effective and robust ranking functions, through explicitly addressing detector uncertainty. It can cope with multiple concept-based representations per video segment and it allows the re-use of effective text retrieval functions which are defined on similar representations. The final ranking status value is a weighted combination of two components: the expected score of the possible scores, which represents the risk-neutral choice, and the scores’ standard deviation, which represents the risk or opportunity that the score for the actual representation is higher. The framework consistently improves the search performance in the shot retrieval task and the segment retrieval task over several baselines in five TRECVid collections and two collections which use simulated detectors of varying performance

Has gene duplication impacted the evolution of Eutherian longevity?

One of the greatest unresolved questions in aging biology is determining the genetic basis of interspecies longevity variation. Gene duplication is often the key to understanding the origin and evolution of important Eutherian phenotypes. We systematically identified longevity‐associated genes in model organisms that duplicated throughout Eutherian evolution. Longevity‐associated gene families have a marginally significantly higher rate of duplication compared to non‐longevity‐associated gene families. Anti‐longevity‐associated gene families have significantly increased rate of duplication compared to pro‐longevity gene families and are enriched in neurodegenerative disease categories. Conversely, duplicated pro‐longevity‐associated gene families are enriched in cell cycle genes. There is a cluster of longevity‐associated gene families that expanded solely in long‐lived species that is significantly enriched in pathways relating to 3‐UTR‐mediated translational regulation, metabolism of proteins and gene expression, pathways that have the potential to affect longevity. The identification of a gene cluster that duplicated solely in long‐lived species involved in such fundamental processes provides a promising avenue for further exploration of Eutherian longevity evolution

Nematode control in suckler beef cattle over their first two grazing seasons using a targeted selective treatment approach

peer-reviewedBackground With concerns over the development of anthelmintic resistance in cattle nematode populations, we must re-examine our approach to nematode control in cattle. Targeted selective treatments (TST), whereby individual animals are treated instead of entire groups, are being investigated as an alternative. The study objective was to determine if anthelmintic usage could be reduced using a TST-based approach to nematode control in spring-born suckler beef cattle over their first and second grazing seasons (SGS) without affecting performance. In the first grazing season (FGS), 99 calves with an initial mean (s.d.) calf age and live weight on day 0 (June 28th 2012) of 107 (23.1) days and 160 (32.5) kg, respectively, were used. The study commenced on day 0 when calves were randomised and allocated to one of two treatments; 1), standard treatment (control) and 2), TST. Control calves were treated subcutaneously with ivermectin on days 0, 41 and 82 in the FGS. All calves were treated with ivermectin on day 124 and housed on day 133. In the SGS, only heifer calves from the FGS were used and control heifers were treated with ivermectin on day 393. Animals were weighed, blood and faecal sampled every three weeks. The TST animals were treated with ivermectin if thresholds based on a combination of plasma pepsinogen concentrations, faecal egg count and/or the presence of Dictyocaulus viviparus larvae in faeces (FGS only) were reached. Results No TST calves reached the treatment threshold criteria in the FGS. The FGS average daily live weight gain (ADG ± s.e.m.) for control and TST group calves was 0.89 ± 0.02 kg and 0.94 ± 0.02 kg day−1, respectively (P = 0.17). In the SGS, all heifers were treated with ivermectin on day 431 due to clinical signs of respiratory disease. The ADG for control and TST heifers from turnout on day 321 to day 431 was 0.90 ± 0.04 and 0.80 ± 0.04 kg day−1, respectively (P = 0.03). Conclusions Spring-born FGS suckler beef calves require minimal anthelmintic treatment to maintain performance. In contrast, clinical parasitic disease may develop in the SGS unless appropriate anthelmintic treatment is provided

‘Capturing the magic': grassroots perspectives on evaluating open youth work

Youth work’s informal and youth-centred nature raises challenges for evaluation, challenges that are intensified by the growing dominance of measurement, market values and surveillance in the context of the neoliberal restructuring of youth services. This article builds on Griffiths’ (2012, Why Joy in Education Is an Issue for Socially Just Policies. Journal of Education Policy 27 (5): 655–670) philosophical argument for valuing the intrinsic contribution of education, thus conceptualising evaluation as encompassing more than measuring outcomes. It reports the findings of a three-year qualitative study in eight open youth work settings in England that investigated the perspectives of 143 young people, youth workers and policy makers on evaluation in youth work. While young people and youth workers had often participated in evaluations they found meaningful, some approaches to impact measurement were experienced as too formal, intrusive, insensitive and burdensome. The article argues that evaluation and accountability processes must be practice-informed, youth-centred, and anti-oppressive. It recommends the participatory and collaborative development of diverse methods and approaches to evaluation that ‘capture the magic’ of youth work while enabling further reflection and development of practice

There's a cupboard full of pasta! Beyond sustenance: reflections on youth work and commensality

Commensality is an area of inquiry concerned with practices of eating and, in particular, eating at a shared table, often explored through ethnographic studies of ritual and culture (Fischler, 2011). This article seeks to reflect on youth work in relation to commensality. Youth work is a practice of open access, informal education with young people that generally takes place in youth clubs or in detached or street-based settings, where young people interact with youth workers by choice. We consider practices of food sharing observed in youth work settings, their meaning, and their value beyond sustenance. When viewed through the lens of commensality, practices of food sharing in youth work settings can be articulated as a conscious method of practice, we argue, in need of further discussion. We explore this aspect of practice in youth work settings based on informal learning, social development, and abundance; considering the tensions youth workers face against a backdrop of austerity, child poverty and the neoliberal impact of the reduction of youth services. Despite this we contend that there is value in identifying, locating, and articulating the relationship between commensality and youth work. Drawing on research across eight different youth work settings in England, this article positions youth work as a site of commensal experience for young people and youth workers, extending the discourse around youth work and creating links with other areas of inquiry such as anthropology, sociology, informal education, and community development

There's a cupboard full of pasta! Beyond sustenance: reflections on youth work and commensality

Commensality is an area of inquiry concerned with practices of eating and, in particular, eating at a shared table, often explored through ethnographic studies of ritual and culture (Fischler, 2011). This article seeks to reflect on youth work in relation to commensality. Youth work is a practice of open access, informal education with young people that generally takes place in youth clubs or in detached or street-based settings, where young people interact with youth workers by choice. We consider practices of food sharing observed in youth work settings, their meaning, and their value beyond sustenance. When viewed through the lens of commensality, practices of food sharing in youth work settings can be articulated as a conscious method of practice, we argue, in need of further discussion. We explore this aspect of practice in youth work settings based on informal learning, social development, and abundance; considering the tensions youth workers face against a backdrop of austerity, child poverty and the neoliberal impact of the reduction of youth services. Despite this we contend that there is value in identifying, locating, and articulating the relationship between commensality and youth work. Drawing on research across eight different youth work settings in England, this article positions youth work as a site of commensal experience for young people and youth workers, extending the discourse around youth work and creating links with other areas of inquiry such as anthropology, sociology, informal education, and community development

‘It’s a great place to find where you belong’: creating, curating and valuing place and space in open youth work

Open youth work is a practice of informal education that operates in a variety of spaces, from youth clubs and community centres to street corners. This article highlights the distinctive spatiality of these settings, their valuable contribution to young people’s lives, and how they are actively created and curated by those involved. Rooted in the perspectives of young people and youth workers who took part in a three-year qualitative study in eight youth work settings in England, it proposes that open youth work can provide a relational, educational, and potentially liberatory ‘third place’ beyond home, school and work. The research found that youth work provides young people with spatially and temporally fluid places for belonging, association, and understanding and acting on the unequal contexts in which they live. We argue for more critical reflection on the distinctively spatial aspects of youth work, including more engagement between youth work and the geographies of childhood and youth. As well as having implications for youth work practice and training, this engagement could support the (re-)imagining of a wide range of ‘third places’ of refuge and critical democracy for children and young people, in a context of oppression and inequalities