Baud sampling bit synchroniser for channels with data dependent noise

A bit synchronisation algorithm for channels with data dependent noise which operates with one sample per symbol is presented. The algorithm uses the same information as the Mueller and Muller (M&M) algorithm, and is optimised for operation with data dependent noise. The performance is derived and it is shown that signfkant improvements over the M&M algorithm can be obtained in practical optical channels

Attribution style of adolescents with school-reported social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between attribution style and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBDs), and to explore differences in attribution tendencies between adolescents with and without SEBDs. In total, 72 adolescents attending a school in London were recruited; 27 were receiving support for SEBDs from the behaviour and education support team at their school and 45 were recruited from the main school population. Participants completed the Children’s Attribution Style Questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that adolescents with SEBDs had a more negative attribution style, made more stable attributions of negative events and reported fewer internal attributions of positive events than students without SEBDs. The findings highlight the importance of cognitive factors in providing a basis for interventions intending to address young people’s behaviour and cater for the heterogeneous nature of SEBDs

Children’s friendships in middle childhood: how number of friends, reciprocity and friendship quality relate to peer and school identification, and general self-worth

Children’s friendships are important for well-being and school adjustment, but few studies have examined multiple indices of friendships together in middle childhood. The current study surveyed 7 to 11-year olds (n = 314) about their friendships, best friendships, friendship quality and indices of self-worth, identification with peers and identification with school. Peer relationships were positively related to self-worth, but not identification with peers or school. Best friendship quality moderated the relationship between number of reciprocated friendship nominations and self-worth. Children with a reciprocated best friend had higher friendship quality and peer identification than others. Where best friendship was reciprocated, the relationship with identification with peers was mediated via positive friendship quality. The results suggest that friendship reciprocity is particularly relevant for children’s self-worth and identification with peers. The findings are discussed in relation to the importance of fostering the development of reciprocated friendships

Crystal structure of afghanite, the eight-layer member of the cancrinite-group: Evidence for long-range Si,Al ordering

Afghanite, ideally [(Na,K)(22)Ca-10][Si24Al24O96](SO4)(6)Cl-6, is the eight-layer member of the cancrinite-group (ABABACAC stacking sequence). Its structure was refined in the P31c space group to R = 4.5% by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The cell parameters are a = 12.8013(7) Angstrom, c = 21.4119(18) Angstrom. The P6(3)mc space group proposed in a previous structure refinement is not consistent with the ordered Si,AI pattern suggested by an Si/Al ratio equal to 1 shown by afghanite and other members of the cancrinite-group. The Si-O and Al-O bond distances, 1.61(2) Angstrom and 1.72(2) Angstrom respectively, found in the structure refinement, are in accordance with an ordered Si,AI distribution which is allowed by the P31c space group, a maximal non isomorphic subgroup of P6(3)mc. Afghanite contains six 11-hedra (cancrinite) cages and two 23-hedra (liottite) cages. Four cancrinite cages are stacked along [0 0 z]. They contain a regular....Ca-Cl-Ca-Cl.... chain similar to that observed in davyne and related phases: in particular Ca is located near the center of the bases whereas Cl is near the center of the cage. A liottite cage with a base-sharing cancrinite cage is stacked along [2/3 1/3 z] and [1/3 2/3 z]. The liottite cage hosts a maximum of three sulphate groups which alternate regularly with cation-containing planes. The cancrinite cage, that shares the bases with the liottite cages, presents a disordered distribution of Cl and F reading to two possible configurations similar to those observed in liottite

The Witness-Aimed First Account (WAFA): a new technique for interviewing autistic witnesses and victims

Autistic people experience social communication difficulties alongside specific memory difficulties that can impact their ability to recall episodic events. Police interviewing techniques do not take account of these differences, and so are often ineffective. Here we introduce a novel Witness-Aimed First Account (WAFA) interview technique, designed to better support autistic witnesses by diminishing socio-cognitive and executive demands through encouraging participants to generate and direct their own discrete, parameter-bound event topics, before freely recalling information within each parameter-bound topic. Since witnessed events are rarely cohesive stories with a logical chain of events, we also explored witnesses’ recall when the narrative structure of the to-be-remembered event was lost. Thirty-three autistic and 30 typically developing (TD) participants were interviewed about their memory for two videos depicting criminal events. Clip segments of one video were ‘scrambled’, disrupting the event’s narrative structure; the other video was watched intact. Although both autistic and TD witnesses recalled fewer details with less accuracy from the scrambled video, WAFA interviews resulted in more detailed and accurate recall from autistic and TD witnesses, for both scrambled and unscrambled videos. The WAFA technique may be a useful tool to improve autistic and TD witnesses’ accounts within a legally appropriate, non-leading framework

A chromophore in glutamate decar☐ylase has been wrongly identified as PQQ

AbstractPyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) has been claimed to be a component of glutamate decar☐ylase fromEscherichia coli on the basis of a frequently used procedure in which the protein is extracted with hexanol. We demonstrate that if pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) is not added during the preparation, the apoenzyme prepared from glutamate decar☐ylase contains no chromophore absorbing above 280 nm. Full enzyme activity and the original holoenzyme spectrum are restored by the addition of PLP alone, A 340 nm-absorbing band, similar to that which prompted analysis for PQQ, is produced by exposure of the enzyme to solutions of PLP

Self-reported motivations for engaging or declining to engage in cyber-dependent offending and the role of autistic traits

Cyber-dependent offending, i.e. criminal behaviour reliant on computing and the online domain, has been reportedly associated with particular characteristics and motivations such as being young, male, autistic and motivated by challenge. These associations are anecdotal however and empirical evidence is limited. The present study investigated reasons for engaging or declining to commit cyber-dependent offending in cyber-skilled non-offenders (n = 175) and offenders (n = 7) via an online survey measuring cyber-dependent criminality. The potential role of autism and autistic traits was also considered. Qualitative interviews about motivations for offending were carried out with the offenders. The cyber-dependent offenders reported seven main reasons for engaging in cyber-dependent offending: (1) lack of understanding; (2) entertainment; (3) peer influence; (4) experience and career; (5) anonymity and risk perception; (6) life events; and (7) morals. Twenty-nine (approximately 17 %) of the non-offenders had been asked to engage in cyber-dependent offending but had declined. Their reasons and motivations for declining to commit cyber-dependent offences were compared with the cyber-dependent offenders reasons and motivations for engaging in cybercrime. Seven main reasons for declining to offend were identified: (1) moral principles; (2) perception of risk; (3) fear of consequences; (4) not wanting to; (5) wanting to adhere to the law; (6) behaviour being too complicated; and (7) price being too low. Implications for practise are discussed.</p

Mock juror perceptions of child witnesses on the autism spectrum: the impact of providing diagnostic labels and information about autism

Research suggests that autistic children can provide accurate and forensically useful eyewitness evidence. However, members of a jury also rely on non-verbal behaviours when judging the credibility of a witness, and this could determine the verdict of a case. We presented mock jurors with videos (from an experimental study) of one of two child witnesses on the autism spectrum being interviewed about a mock minor crime. Results demonstrated that providing jurors with generic information about autism and/or informing them of the child’s diagnostic label differentially affected credibility ratings, but not for both children. Implications for how to present information about child witnesses with autism to a jury – highlighting the need for approaches tailored to individual children – are discussed