Going 'Above and Beyond': Are Those High in Autistic Traits Less Pro-social?

Few studies have explored how the cognitive differences associated with autistic spectrum disorder translate into everyday social behaviour. This study investigated pro-social behaviour in students scoring high and low on the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ), using a novel scenario task: 'Above and Beyond'. Each scenario involved an opportunity to behave pro-socially, and thus required balancing the needs of a character against participants' own interests. High AQ participants both generated responses and selected courses of action that were less pro-social than those of the low AQ group. For actions of low pro-social value they gave higher self-satisfaction ratings; conversely, they gave lower self-satisfaction ratings for high pro-social actions. The implications for everyday functioning are considered for those with high autistic traits

Effect of Thidiazuron and Benzylaminopurine on In Vitro Shoot Proliferation of Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) are among the most widely used cut flowers in the world. Tissue culture techniques offer an efficient method for the micropropagation of carnations. This study was conducted to test the effect of thidiazuron (TDZ) and benzylaminopurine (BAP), artificial cytokinins, on shoot multiplication of two carnation cultivars, Barlo II Nora and Raggio di Sole. Isolated axillary buds were cultured on Gamborg\u27s (B-5) basal medium supplemented with 30 g/L sucrose and 8 g/L agar. The cultures were maintained at a 10-h photoperiod (40 (mu-Em2s-1) and 23°C±2C°. Number of multiple shoots produced was dependent upon the genotype and was also influenced by the cytokinin type and concentration. Barlo II Nora produced the highest shoot number with 14 shoots per explant on a medium containing 20 mg/L BAP. The cultivar Raggio di Sole cultured on BAP-containing media produced a maximum of 4 shoots per explant. Barlo II Nora cultured on TDZ-containing media produced a maximum of 8 shoots per explant, however, large amounts of calli were associated with these shoots. Increasing the concentration of cytokinin was associated with an increase in shoot number and a decrease inshoot height. Shoots were rooted on Gamborg\u27s medium containing 2 mg/L of 3-indole-butyric acid (IBA) and then transferred to pots. Once acclimatized the carnations were transferred to a greenhouse where they exhibited normal growth. This method could be useful for the rapid propagation of carnations in commercial production

Using and reasoning about social strategies in autism spectrum disorder in everyday situations

Although a substantial amount of previous work has been dedicated to the study of the possible theoretical mechanisms underpinning autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little research has examined the types of difficulties experienced by individuals in their everyday social functioning. University students with ASD and matched control participants performed the Social Strategy task. In this, they read a range of descriptions of social interactions, all ending with an awkward question asked by the story main character. The types of strategies they used to answer the awkward questions were examined. Compared to control participants, those with ASD used a more negative emotional tone in responding, generated more simple strategies including acquiescence or refusal, and fewer sophisticated strategies that considered all parties' perspectives. In a novel task condition, participants rank-ordered simple and sophisticated strategies, and gave justifications for their use. Rank-ordering did not differentiate the groups. Justifications given by those with ASD for simple strategies were more practical and less often character-based than those given by control participants; the groups did not differ in the justifications given for sophisticated strategies. The possible explanations of these findings and implications for informing current intervention programmes are considered

Great Expectations: The Role of Rules in Guiding Pro-social Behaviour in Groups with High Versus Low Autistic Traits

Measuring autistic traits in the general population has proven sensitive for examining cognition. The present study extended this to pro-social behaviour, investigating the influence of expectations to help others. A novel task describing characters in need of help was administered to students scoring high versus low on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. Scenarios had two variants, describing either a 'clear-cut' or 'ambiguous' social rule. Participants with high versus low autistic traits were less pro-social and sympathetic overall towards the characters. The groups' ratings of characters' expectations were comparable, but those with high autistic traits provided more rule-based rationales in the clear-cut condition. This pattern of relatively intact knowledge in the context of reduced pro-social behaviour has implications for social skill training programmes

Proceedings of the Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC) 2011

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2011 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference(SPARC). It includes papers from PhD students in the arts and social sciences, business, computing, science and engineering, education, environment, built environment and health sciences. Contributions from Salford researchers are published here alongside papers from students at the Universities of Anglia Ruskin, Birmingham City, Chester,De Montfort, Exeter, Leeds, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Manchester

Stream Centric Methods for Determining Groundwater Contributions in Karst Mountain Watersheds

Climate change influences on mountain hydrology are uncertain but likely to be mediated by variability in subsurface hydrologic residence times and flow paths. The heterogeneity of karst aquifers adds complexity in assessing the resiliency of these water sources to perturbation, suggesting a clear need to quantify contributions from and losses to these aquifers. Here we develop a stream centric method that combines mass and flow balances to quantify net and gross gains and losses at different spatial scales. We then extend these methods to differentiate between karst conduit and matrix contributions from the aquifer. In the Logan River watershed in Northern Utah we found significant amounts of the river water repeatedly gained and then lost through a 35‐km study reach. Further, the direction and amount of water exchanged varied over space, time, and discharge. Streamflow was dominated by discharge of karst conduit groundwater after spring runoff with increasing, yet still small, fractions of matrix water later in the summer. These findings were combined with geologic information, prior subsurface dye tracing, and chemical sampling to provide additional lines of evidence that repeated groundwater exchanges are likely occurring and river flows are highly dependent on karst aquifer recharge and discharge. Given the large population dependent on karst aquifers throughout the world, there is a continued need to develop simple methods, like those presented here, for determining the resiliency of karst groundwater resources

rp-Process weak-interaction mediated rates of waiting-point nuclei

Electron capture and positron decay rates are calculated for neutron-deficient Kr and Sr waiting point nuclei in stellar matter. The calculation is performed within the framework of pn-QRPA model for rp-process conditions. Fine tuning of particle-particle, particle-hole interaction parameters and a proper choice of the deformation parameter resulted in an accurate reproduction of the measured half-lives. The same model parameters were used to calculate stellar rates. Inclusion of measured Gamow-Teller strength distributions finally led to a reliable calculation of weak rates that reproduced the measured half-lives well under limiting conditions. For the rp-process conditions, electron capture and positron decay rates on $^{72}$Kr and $^{76}$Sr are of comparable magnitude whereas electron capture rates on $^{78}$Sr and $^{74}$Kr are 1--2 orders of magnitude bigger than the corresponding positron decay rates. The pn-QRPA calculated electron capture rates on $^{74}$Kr are bigger than previously calculated. The present calculation strongly suggests that, under rp-process conditions, electron capture rates form an integral part of weak-interaction mediated rates and should not be neglected in nuclear reaction network calculations as done previously.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables; Astrophysics and Space Science (2012