"Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging." Insights from a series of special interest group meetings held at the International Society for Autism Research 2016-2017

A special interest group (SIG) entitled "Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging" was held at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) annual meetings in 2016 and 2017. The SIG and subsequent meetings brought together, for the first time, international delegates who were members of the autistic community, researchers, practitioners and service providers. Based on aging autism research that is already underway in UK, Europe, Australia and North America, discussions focussed on conceptualising the parameters of aging when referring to autism, and the measures that are appropriate to use with older adults when considering diagnostic assessment, cognitive factors and quality of life in older age. Thus, the aim of this SIG was to progress the research agenda on current and future directions for autism research in the context of aging. A global issue on how to define 'aging' when referring to ASD was at the forefront of discussions. The ‘aging’ concept can in principle refer to all developmental transitions. However, in this paper we focus on the cognitive and physical changes that take place from mid-life onwards. Accordingly, it was agreed that aging and ASD research should focus on adults over the age of 50 years, given the high rates of co-occurring physical and mental health concerns and increased risk of premature death in some individuals. Moreover, very little is known about the cognitive change, care needs and outcomes of autistic adults beyond this age. Discussions on the topics of diagnostic and cognitive assessments, and of quality of life and well-being were explored through shared knowledge about which measures are currently being used and which background questions should be asked to obtain comprehensive and informative developmental and medical histories. Accordingly, a survey was completed by SIG delegates who were representatives of international research groups across four continents, and who are currently conducting studies with older autistic adults. Considerable overlap was identified across different research groups in measures of both autism and quality of life, which pointed to combining data and shared learnings as the logical next step. Regarding the background questions that were asked, the different research groups covered similar topics but the groups differed in the way these questions were formulated when working with autistic adults across a range of cognitive abilities. It became clear that continued input from individuals on the autism spectrum is important to ensure that questionnaires used in ongoing and future are accessible and understandable for people across the whole autistic spectrum, including those with limited verbal abilities

Organic nitrate aerosol formation via NO³ + biogenic volatile organic compounds in the southeastern United States

Gas- and aerosol-phase measurements of oxidants, biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and organic nitrates made during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS campaign, Summer 2013) in central Alabama show that a nitrate radical (NO₃) reaction with monoterpenes leads to significant secondary aerosol formation. Cumulative losses of NO₃ to terpenes are correlated with increase in gasand aerosol-organic nitrate concentrations made during the campaign. Correlation of NO₃ radical consumption to organic nitrate aerosol formation as measured by aerosol mass spectrometry and thermal dissociation laser-induced fluorescence suggests a molar yield of aerosol-phase monoterpene nitrates of 23–44 %. Compounds observed via chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) are correlated to predicted nitrate loss to BVOCs and show C₁₀H₁₇NO₅, likely a hydroperoxy nitrate, is a major nitrate-oxidized terpene product being incorporated into aerosols. The comparable isoprene product C₅H₉NO₅ was observed to contribute less than 1% of the total organic nitrate in the aerosol phase and correlations show that it is principally a gas-phase product from nitrate oxidation of isoprene. Organic nitrates comprise between 30 and 45% of the NOy budget during SOAS. Inorganic nitrates were also monitored and showed that during incidents of increased coarse-mode mineral dust, HNO₃ uptake produced nitrate aerosol mass loading at a rate comparable to that of organic nitrate produced via NO₃ CBVOCs

Perspectives in Global Helioseismology, and the Road Ahead

We review the impact of global helioseismology on key questions concerning the internal structure and dynamics of the Sun, and consider the exciting challenges the field faces as it enters a fourth decade of science exploitation. We do so with an eye on the past, looking at the perspectives global helioseismology offered in its earlier phases, in particular the mid-to-late 1970s and the 1980s. We look at how modern, higher-quality, longer datasets coupled with new developments in analysis, have altered, refined, and changed some of those perspectives, and opened others that were not previously available for study. We finish by discussing outstanding challenges and questions for the field.Comment: Invited review; to appear in Solar Physics (24 pages, 6 figures

Helioseismology and Solar Abundances

Helioseismology has allowed us to study the structure of the Sun in unprecedented detail. One of the triumphs of the theory of stellar evolution was that helioseismic studies had shown that the structure of solar models is very similar to that of the Sun. However, this agreement has been spoiled by recent revisions of the solar heavy-element abundances. Heavy element abundances determine the opacity of the stellar material and hence, are an important input to stellar model calculations. The models with the new, low abundances do not satisfy helioseismic constraints. We review here how heavy-element abundances affect solar models, how these models are tested with helioseismology, and the impact of the new abundances on standard solar models. We also discuss the attempts made to improve the agreement of the low-abundance models with the Sun and discuss how helioseismology is being used to determine the solar heavy-element abundance. A review of current literature shows that attempts to improve agreement between solar models with low heavy-element abundances and seismic inference have been unsuccessful so far. The low-metallicity models that have the least disagreement with seismic data require changing all input physics to stellar models beyond their acceptable ranges. Seismic determinations of the solar heavy-element abundance yield results that are consistent with the older, higher values of the solar abundance, and hence, no major changes to the inputs to solar models are required to make higher-metallicity solar models consistent with helioseismic data.Comment: To appear in Physics Reports. Large file (1.6M PDF, 3.4M PS), 27 figure

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

The Influence Of The Mode Of Operation Of The Static Synchronous Series Compensator (sssc) In The Establishment Of The Angle Of Electric Power Systems [a Influência Do Modo De Operação Do Sssc Na Estabilidade De ângulo De Sistemas Elétricos De Potência]

In order to accomplish specific compensation objectives, a Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) can be controlled according different methods. In the literature, the most discussed control modes of the SSSC are 1) constant voltage mode, 2) constant impedance emulation mode, and 3) constant power control mode. The first two modes above cited are used when purely series reactive compensation is required, whereas the third one also enables to control the power flow in the transmission network. Since these modes can have different impacts on system angle stability, this paper aims to assess the influence of SSSC operation mode on both small-signal and transient stability of power systems. The study is based on modal analysis and time domain simulations which are carried out by using the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT). The results obtained allow to conclude that, when performing purely series reactive compensation, the SSSC usage in the constant impedance emulation mode is the most beneficial strategy to improve both smallsignal and transient stability.183347360Del Rosso, A.D., Cañizares, C.A., Doña, V.M., A study of TCSC controller design for power system stability improvement (2003) IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 18 (4), pp. 1487-1496Duangkamol, K., Mitani, Y., Tsuji, K., Hojo, M., Fault current limiting and power system stabilization by static synchronous series compensator, IEEE Power System Technology (2000) Proceedings. PowerCon, 3 (8), pp. 1581-1586Elices, A., Rouco, L., Bourles, H., Margotin, T., Physical interpretation of state feedback controllers to damp power system oscillations (2004) IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 19 (1), pp. 436-443Gama, C., Brazilian north-south interconnection - control application and operating experience with a TCSC (1999) IEEE PES Summer Meeting, 2, pp. 1103-1108Hingorani, N.G., Gyugyi, L., (2000) Concepts and Technology of Flexible AC Transmission Systems, , IEEE Press, Wiley & SonsKumkratug, P., Haque, M.H., Improvement of stability region and damping of a power system by using (2003) SSSC, IEEE PESKundur, P., (1994) Power System Control and Stability, , Editora Mc Graw-HillMartins, N., Lima, L., Eigenvalue and frequency domain fo small-signal electromechanical stability problems (1990) IEEE Symposium on Application of Eigenanalysis and Frequency Domain Methods for System Dynamic Performance Special Publication 90TH0292-3 PWR: 17-33Martins, N., Pinto, H.J.C.P., Paserba, J.J., TCSC controls for line scheduling and system oscillation dam ping - results for a small example system (1999) Proceedings of 13th Power System Computation Conference (PSCC), pp. 1244-1251. , Trondheim, Norway ppMehraban, A., Edris, A., Schauder, C., Provanzana, J.H., Installation, commissioning, and operation of the world's firt UPFC on the AEP system (1998) Proceedings of International Conference on Power System Technology (POWERCON), 1, pp. 323-327Milano, F., An open source power system analysis toolbox (2005) IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 20 (3), pp. 1199-1206http://www.power.uwaterloo.ca/-fmilano/downloads.htm, Milano, F, 2006, Power System Analysis Toolbox, Documentation for PSAT version 2.0.0 beta;Song, Y.H., Johns, A.T., (1999) Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS), , The Institute of Electrical EngineersWatanabe, E.H., Barbosa, P.G., Almeida, K.C., Taranto, G.N., Tecnologia FACTS - tutorial (1998) SBA Controle & Automação, 9 (1), pp. 39-55Zhang, X.-P., Advanced modeling of the multicontrol functional static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) in newton power flow (2003) IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 18 (4), pp. 1410-141