Using an Inclusive Restricted Interest Group to Improve Social Skill Accuracy in Children with An Autism Spectrum Disorder

There are a number of evidenced-based practices which aim to improve the social skills of children with high functioning autism (HFA). An emerging field of study is to develop social skills interventions that incorporate restricted and repetitive interests to increase social skills. Their results are promising and suggest improved social skills in students with HFA. The current study has aimed to incorporate a common interest among elementary age children with HFA in social skill instruction within a structured setting. A multiple baseline across behaviors single subject design was used to collect data on the accuracy with which two young males applied social skills within the structured “club” setting. Data were collected by determining whether the students had an opportunity to use the social skill, and whether they used the skill correctly. While the results do not suggest a functional relationships between the participants’ social skill accuracy and the intervention, the data show a positive trend which indicates an overall increase in their social skill accuracy

Sound Over Troubled Waters: Noise Pollution in Prek Toal, Cambodia

Environmental noise pollution, or excessive noise related to machinery operation and vehicular transportation, is a common problem in urban environments. Less understood is the effect that chronic environmental noise can have in rural environments, where there is greater potential for disruption of native ecosystems and the quality of life in small villages. Chronic exposure to noises above 85 decibels causes noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) in humans, which has irreversible effects. But even less understood is the effect that chronic noise can have on animals that thrive in less urbanized environments. Here, I examine the effect of noise pollution caused by motor boats in the floating village of Prek Toal, Cambodia. I identify the types of motorboats used along the Sangker river, the river that runs through the village, and experimentally measure their maximum sound intensities across a various distances from 0-100m from the motor. The effect of the noise on the boat is examined to address the occupational hazard to the driver. The observational data is also used to derive an empirical equation for sound decay that is specific to this rural environment. This equation is used to map the spatial distribution of environmental noise pollution within the village and identify zones of noise induced hearing loss along the Sangker river. A total of sixty villagers were surveyed to identify the types of motors present in Prek Toal. The two major motor companies, Yokohama and Hinota, offer motors with a wide range of horsepower. Sound intensity measurements revealed the mean range of sound that drivers are exposed to is 93 dB(A) to 112 dB(A), with the majority of motors above 100 dB(A)s. This exceeds the minimum for NIHL, demonstrating that drivers in Prek Toal are exposed to hearing-related occupational hazards while driving. The empirically derived sound decay equation reveals an exponential relationship between sound and distance in Prek Toal. This relationship matches what has been found in other studies. A spatial analysis of the observational data reveal that each boat has a minimum NIHL radius of 45 meters

The Braincase of Eocaecilia micropodia (Lissamphibia, Gymnophiona) and the Origin of Caecilians

The scant fossil record of caecilians has obscured the origin and evolution of this lissamphibian group. Eocaecilia micropodia from the Lower Jurassic of North America remains the only stem-group caecilian with an almost complete skull preserved. However, this taxon has been controversial, engendering re-evaluation of traits considered to be plesiomorphic for extant caecilians. Both the validity of the placement of E. micropodia as a stem caecilian and estimates of the plesiomorphic condition of extant caecilians have been questioned. In order to address these issues, the braincase of E. micropodia was examined via micro-computed tomography. The braincase is considered to be a more reliable phylogenetic indicator than peripheral regions of the skull. These data reveal significant new information, including the possession of an ossified nasal septum, ossified anterior wall of the sphenethmoid, long anterolateral processes on the sphenethmoid, and paired olfactory nerve foramina, which are known only to occur in extant caecilians; the latter are possibly related to the evolution of the tentacle, a caecilian autapomorphy. A phylogenetic analysis that included 64 non-amniote taxa and 308 characters represents the first extensive test of the phylogenetic affinities of E. micropodia. The results place E. micropodia securely on the stem of extant caecilians, representing a clade within Temnospondyli that is the sister taxon to batrachians plus Gerobatrachus. Ancestral character state reconstruction confirms the braincase of E. micropodia to be largely representative of the plesiomorphic condition of extant caecilians. Additionally, the results refine the context within which the evolution of the caecilian form can be evaluated. The robust construction and pattern of the dermal skull of E. micropodia is interpreted as symplesiomorphic with advanced dissorophoid temnospondyls, rather than being autapomorphic in its robust construction. Together these data increase confidence in incorporating E. micropodia into discussions of caecilian evolution.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Assessing Earthquake-Induced Tree Mortality in Temperate Forest Ecosystems: A Case Study from Wenchuan, China

Earthquakes can produce significant tree mortality, and consequently affect regional carbon dynamics. Unfortunately, detailed studies quantifying the influence of earthquake on forest mortality are currently rare. The committed forest biomass carbon loss associated with the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China is assessed by a synthetic approach in this study that integrated field investigation, remote sensing analysis, empirical models and Monte Carlo simulation. The newly developed approach significantly improved the forest disturbance evaluation by quantitatively defining the earthquake impact boundary and detailed field survey to validate the mortality models. Based on our approach, a total biomass carbon of 10.9 Tg∙C was lost in Wenchuan earthquake, which offset 0.23% of the living biomass carbon stock in Chinese forests. Tree mortality was highly clustered at epicenter, and declined rapidly with distance away from the fault zone. It is suggested that earthquakes represent a significant driver to forest carbon dynamics, and the earthquake-induced biomass carbon loss should be included in estimating forest carbon budgets

Corporate Social Responsibility in Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises. Evidence from Europe and Latin America

While there is a growing literature related with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in hospitality and tourism large firms, much remains to be done in the case of CSR in tourism small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this paper we provide three studies regarding this particular aspect through the evidence present in different destinations: Catalonia, European natural parks and Chile. Among the conclusions that can be highlighted is the prevalence of altruism in the reasons for being responsible, the introduction of increasingly advanced measures or their impact on different business variables, and the link to financial performance

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Amazon Climate Reconstruction Using Growth Rates and Stable Isotopes of Tree Ring Cellulose from the Madre De Dios Basin, Peru

<p>The Amazon basin is a center of deep atmospheric convection and thus acts as a major engine for global atmospheric circulation. From this basin, one fifth of the world's freshwater flux is discharged into the Atlantic and nearly two-thirds of the global rain forest resides herein. Yet despite its significance, little is known about past Amazon climate variability and the response of the forest ecosystem to climate. </p><p>Here, I attempt to reconstruct the paleoclimate history of a portion of the Amazon basin using both tree ring growth and the carbon and oxygen isotopes of tree ring cellulose from the Madre de Dios department of Southeastern Peru. Bomb <super>14</super>C dating identifies annual rings in tropical species <italic>Cedrela odorata</italic> and <italic>Dipteryx micrantha</italic>. A ring width chronology spanning 189 years (1817-2006) is developed for <italic>Cedrela odorata</italic> and 5 trees of <italic>Dipteryx micrantha</italic> are utilized for isotope reconstruction. The oldest tree used in the isotope reconstructions has an error-adjusted age of about 473 years (1533-2006). Using the species <italic>Cedrela odorata</italic>, <italic>Ceiba pentandra</italic>, <italic>Hymenaea courbaril</italic>, <italic>Myroxylon balsamum</italic>, and <italic>Tabebuia serratifolia</italic>, I develop 5 tree ring chronologies using relative ring width measurements and chart the growth behaviors of over 40 trees. Ring width chronologies from tree species <italic>Cedrela odorata</italic> and <italic>Ceiba pentandra</italic> show a significant correlation with wet season precipitation (r = 0.42, and 0.37, respectively, p<0.05). The ring width chronology developed from the species <italic>Hymenaea courbaril</italic> is significantly correlated (r = 0.68, p<0.05) with January river discharge. Correlations between wet season precipitation and ring growth in <italic>Cedrela odorata</italic> are used to identify extreme wet and dry events. Nine historic droughts of the 20th century are identified in the <italic>C. odorata</italic> record. An increase in the frequency of extreme events (mean recurrence interval = 5-6 years) is observed in the 20th century and both Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) forcing mechanisms are implicated. The chronology shows a moderate correlation with both ENSO and tropical North Atlantic SST anomalies, suggesting that both basins play a role in precipitation variability over tropical South America. </p><p>Carbon and oxygen isotopic measurements (proxies of moisture stress and precipitation amount, respectively), in tree ring cellulose from 5 <italic>Dipteryx micrantha</italic> trees are used to reconstruct an error adjusted 473 year long record of precipitation variability. Because an error correction factor is applied to the chronologies of the trees of this species, assessment of annual-scale variability is precluded. Instead lower frequency trends are examined. No long term trends are identified in the oxygen isotopic records from individual trees. The carbon isotopic records of all five individual trees track the depletion of atmospheric δ<super>13</super>C during the 20th century due to the anthropogenic input of fossil fuel CO₂ (The Suess effect). Relatively large variability in the oxygen isotopic records between trees suggests that site-specific and tree-specific conditions dominate this signal. Carbon isotopic records reveal a better correlation between records from multiple trees (r = 0.47, p<0.01) suggesting that a common climate signal is more robustly recorded by the δ<super>13</super>C of these trees. At interannual frequencies (5 year), both carbon and oxygen isotopic records correlate significantly with wet season precipitation (r = -0.50, and -0.55 respectively, p<0.05). Spectral analysis reveals dominant 8-10 year and 3-5 year periodicities in both the carbon and oxygen isotopic records of individual trees. The oldest tree examined reveals a shift from this 8-10 year periodicity during the early part of the record to a lower frequency (20-24 year) variability during the last century. The lower frequency variability identified in the records is associated with both the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the decadal and multidecadal variability observed in the tropical North Atlantic. </p><p>Collectively, these data show that tropical tree ring growth and isotopic composition in the southwestern Amazon basin are precipitation dependent and these measures can be exploited to reconstruct a hydrologic history for this region.</p>Dissertatio