Theory of Mind and Executive Control Deficits in Typically Developing Adults and Adolescents with High Levels of Autism Traits

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by profound difficulties in empathic processing and executive control. Whilst the links between these processes have been frequently investigated in populations with autism, few studies have examined them at the subclinical level. In addition, the contribution of alexithymia, a trait characterised by impaired interoceptive awareness and empathy, and elevated in those with ASD, is currently unclear. The present two-part study employed a comprehensive battery of tasks to examine these processes. Findings support the notion that executive function and theory of mind are related abilities. They also suggest that individuals with elevated levels of autism-like traits experience a partially similar pattern of social and executive function difficulties to those diagnosed with ASD, and that these impairments are not explained by co-occurring alexithymia

Velocity Slip and Temperature Jump in Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76543/1/AIAA-2007-208-226.pd

Sub-threshold autism traits: The role of trait emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility.

Theory and research suggests that features of autism are not restricted to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and that autism-like traits vary throughout the general population at lower severities. The present research first investigated the relationship of autism traits with trait emotional intelligence and empathy in a sample of 163 adults aged between 18 and 51 years (44% male). It then examined performance on a set of tasks assessing social cognition and cognitive flexibility in 69 participants with either high or low scores on ASD traits. Results confirm that there is pronounced variation within the general population relating to ASD traits, which reflect similar (though less severe) social-cognitive and emotional features to those observed in ASDs

On the profile of frequency dependent dielectric properties of (Ni/Au)/GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N heterostructures

The voltage (V) and frequency (f) dependence of dielectric characteristics such as dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (ε″), dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) and real and imaginary part of electrical modulus (Μ′ and M″) of the (Ni/Au)/GaN/Al0.3Ga 0.7N heterostructures have been investigated by using experimental admittance spectroscopy (capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G/w-V)) measurements at room temperature. Experimental results show that the values of the ε′, ε″, tan δ and the real and imaginary parts of the electric modulus (M′ and M″) obtained from the C and G/w measurements were found to be strong function of frequency and applied bias voltage especially in depletion region at low frequencies. These changes in dielectric parameters can be attributed to the interfacial GaN cap layer, interface polarization and a continuous density distribution of interface states and their relaxation time at metal/semiconductor interface. While the values of the ε ′ decrease with increasing frequencies, tan δ,M′ and M″ increase with the increasing frequency. Also, the dielectric loss (ε″) have a local maximum at about frequency of 100 kHz. It can be concluded that the interface polarization can occur more easily at low frequencies with the number of interface states located at the metal/semiconductor interface. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The evaluation of morphology of renal pelvicalyceal system’s and infundibulopelvic anatomy of kidney’s lower pole in post-mortem series

Background: Urinary system stones are frequently encountered in the community. Together with technological developments, introduction of new treatment procedures such as extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and retrograde intrarenal surgery has furtherly reduced morbidity, mortality and hospitalization time of patients. In order to maximize success and to reduce complications of these procedures, it is necessary to evaluate anatomy and morphological differences of kidney collector system before the procedure. This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the morphology of the kidney collector system and the negative anatomic factors of the lower pole in autopsy cases performed in our institution. Materials and methods: 82 kidney units obtained from 41 autopsy cases conducted in Faculty of Medicine Department of Forensic Medicine, Sivas Cumhuriyet University between September 2017 and September 2018 were included in the study. Percentages were found as 78% for intrarenal pelvis, 13.4% for borderline pelvis, %6.1 for extrarenal pelvis and 2.4% for pelvic nonexistence. When pelvicalyceal anatomy was evaluated, percentages were found as 32.9% for bicalyceal, 26.8% for tricalyceal, 20.7% for multicalyceal and 19.5% for unclassified calyceality. When it is evaluated according to opening of calyces into the renal pelvis based on Sampaio classification, percentages were found as 30.5% for AI, 17.1% for Type II, 28% for BI, 18.3% for BII and 6.1% for unevaluated part. Infundibular lengths of kidney’s lower pole were detected as under 3 cm in 39% and over 3 cm in 61% of all cases. Infundibulopelvic angles of kidney’s lower pole were measured as under 700 in 42.7% and over 700 in 57.3% of all cases. Results: In our study, there was no statistically significant difference between the right and left kidneys in terms of collecting system morphology and lower pole’s negative anatomical factors. Only infindibular lengths which is one of the collecting system morphology and lower pole’s negative anatomical factors were statistically shorter in females than males. There was no difference in terms of other parameters. Conclusions: In conclusion, the findings of this study are largely consistent with the results of similar studies. This reveals that renal collecting system morphology and negative anatomic factors in the lower pole collecting system in human are roughly similar. In clinical practice, pre-treatment CT and, if necessary, MR urography evaluation of the lower pole negative anatomic factors may contribute to gain preliminary information about both the clearance of stone fragments especially after SWL and RIRS procedures and perioperative complications proactively

La conservazione preventiva del patrimonio librario come possibile alternativa al restauro tradizionale

The present paper focuses on the close relation between library collections and their preservation environment, aiming, in particular, at highlighting the importance of promoting and sustaining the monitoring. The paper proposes some simple and ready-to-use technologies – smart monitoring – to prevent future damages

Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk