Visual preference for social stimuli in individuals with autism or neurodevelopmental disorders : an eye-tracking study

Background Recent research has identified differences in relative attention to competing social versus non-social video stimuli in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Whether attentional allocation is influenced by the potential threat of stimuli has yet to be investigated. This is manipulated in the current study by the extent to which the stimuli are moving towards or moving past the viewer. Furthermore, little is known about whether such differences exist across other neurodevelopmental disorders. This study aims to determine if adolescents with ASD demonstrate differences in attentional allocation to competing pairs of social and non-social video stimuli, where the actor or object either moves towards or moves past the viewer, in comparison to individuals without ASD, and to determine if individuals with three genetic syndromes associated with differing social phenotypes demonstrate differences in attentional allocation to the same stimuli. Methods In study 1, adolescents with ASD and control participants were presented with social and non-social video stimuli in two formats (moving towards or moving past the viewer) whilst their eye movements were recorded. This paradigm was then employed with groups of individuals with fragile X, Cornelia de Lange, and Rubinstein-Taybi syndromes who were matched with one another on chronological age, global adaptive behaviour, and verbal adaptive behaviour (study 2). Results Adolescents with ASD demonstrated reduced looking-time to social versus non-social videos only when stimuli were moving towards them. Individuals in the three genetic syndrome groups showed similar looking-time but differences in fixation latency for social stimuli moving towards them. Across both studies, we observed within- and between-group differences in attention to social stimuli that were moving towards versus moving past the viewer. Conclusions Taken together, these results provide strong evidence to suggest differential visual attention to competing social versus non-social video stimuli in populations with clinically relevant, genetically mediated differences in socio-behavioural phenotypes

Does global progress on sanitation really lag behind water? An analysis of global progress on community- and household-level access to safe water and sanitation.

Safe drinking water and sanitation are important determinants of human health and wellbeing and have recently been declared human rights by the international community. Increased access to both were included in the Millennium Development Goals under a single dedicated target for 2015. This target was reached in 2010 for water but sanitation will fall short; however, there is an important difference in the benchmarks used for assessing global access. For drinking water the benchmark is community-level access whilst for sanitation it is household-level access, so a pit latrine shared between households does not count toward the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target. We estimated global progress for water and sanitation under two scenarios: with equivalent household- and community-level benchmarks. Our results demonstrate that the "sanitation deficit" is apparent only when household-level sanitation access is contrasted with community-level water access. When equivalent benchmarks are used for water and sanitation, the global deficit is as great for water as it is for sanitation, and sanitation progress in the MDG-period (1990-2015) outstrips that in water. As both drinking water and sanitation access yield greater benefits at the household-level than at the community-level, we conclude that any post-2015 goals should consider a household-level benchmark for both

The American press and the rise of authoritarianism in South Korea 1945-1954

This thesis looks at American press coverage of the rise of authoritarian rule in South Korea between 1945 and 1954, during the period of the American occupation government and the first six years of the Syngman Rhee regime. Making use of government, military and press archives, it is the first scholarly analysis of how the American press wrote about the early political development of South Korea and explores the question of why political repression under both the occupation and the Rhee regime did not receive greater attention from American journalists. This thesis focuses primarily on the production process of press coverage. Specifically, it shows how coverage of the authoritarianism issue was shaped by U.S. and South Korean political and military authorities, the professional working culture of the journalism profession and the worldviews and activism of individual journalists and lobbyists. It argues that coverage was sharply limited by five major factors. Firstly, the dominance of anti-Korean and Cold War press narratives ensured that relatively little attention was paid to the repression of the South Korean population. Secondly, most journalists working in the Far East were highly deferential to American authorities. Thirdly, American military authorities greatly constrained reporting during the occupation period. Fourthly, the Syngman Rhee regime became increasingly effective in its public relations activities. Fifthly, the low level of U.S. political interest in the political situation in South Korea greatly reduced the importance of the topic for the American press

Elevator Or Stairs? A Dive Into Patron Decision Making

When put in a situation to get to higher/lower floors of a building, there are many factors that go into play for whether an individual chooses to take the stairs (active) or ride the elevator (sedentary). Students were approached at waiting area for the four elevators in a University Library and were asked series of questions regarding their reasoning for taking the stair or elevator to ascend, as well as their thoughts on the stairwell appearance. Point of application #1: Stairwell appearance and aesthetics should be considered during the design process in order to increase use and physical activity amongst individuals. Point of application #2: Stairwell and elevator location, along with signage, should be considered during the design or remodeling process to create a more accessible stairwell. Point of application #3: The benefits of taking the stairs rather than using an elevator should be promoted to encourage using the stairs. Key Words: active lifestyle, active transport, point of decision prompt, physical activity, healt

Exploring concept representations for concept drift detection

We present an approach to estimating concept drift in online news. Our method is to construct temporal concept vectors from topicannotated news articles, and to correlate the distance between the temporal concept vectors with edits to the Wikipedia entries of the concepts. We find improvements in the correlation when we split the news articles based on the amount of articles mentioning a concept, instead of calendar-based units of time

LEC GaAs for integrated circuit applications

Recent developments in liquid encapsulated Czochralski techniques for the growth of semiinsulating GaAs for integrated circuit applications have resulted in significant improvements in the quality and quantity of GaAs material suitable for device processing. The emergence of high performance GaAs integrated circuit technologies has accelerated the demand for high quality, large diameter semiinsulating GaAs substrates. The new device technologies, including digital integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated circuits and charge coupled devices have largely adopted direct ion implantation for the formation of doped layers. Ion implantation lends itself to good uniformity and reproducibility, high yield and low cost; however, this technique also places stringent demands on the quality of the semiinsulating GaAs substrates. Although significant progress was made in developing a viable planar ion implantation technology, the variability and poor quality of GaAs substrates have hindered progress in process development

Predictive Biomarkers for Monoclonal Antibody Therapies Targeting EGFR (Cetuximab, Panitumumab) in the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

The treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer has progressively improved over the past few decades with the development of more effective anti-cancer drugs and multi-disciplinary management approaches that combine sequential lines of non-cross-resistant drugs and increased use of potentially curative surgery for metastases of the liver and lung. In this setting, the introduction of monoclonal antibody therapies that target the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) (cetuximab and panitumumab) has made an important contribution to improved patient outcomes. However, the efficacy of therapies is generally limited to a small proportion of patients and associated with toxicity and high cost. There is an urgent clinical need for robust predictive biomarkers to guide the effective use of therapy options. In this chapter we review clinical and molecular predictive markers of primary therapy response for metastatic colorectal cancer, focusing on anti-EGFR antibody therapies, discussing both currently approved and emerging biomarkers

Physical Activity is Related to Mental Health and Sexual Orientation Among Women in College

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(5): 1347-1356, 2022. Non-heterosexual women tend to report lower physical activity and poorer mental health than their heterosexual counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in mental health (stress and depression) and physical activity among female college students by sexual orientation. Students self-reported socio-demographic characteristics, physical activity, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms via an online survey. Correlations, independent samples t-tests, and multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships between perceived stress, depressive symptoms, physical activity, and sexual orientation. Most participants (n = 1072, 20.0 ± 1.5 years) identified as heterosexual (90.1%), non-Hispanic White (73%), and in their fourth semester or higher. Perceived stress and depressive symptoms differed significantly between heterosexual and non- heterosexual women, but physical activity participation did not. Higher participation in vigorous physical activity and strength training predicted both lower depressive symptoms and lower perceived stress while controlling for sexual orientation. For both heterosexual and non-heterosexual sexual women, depressive symptoms had a positive relationship with perceived stress, and a negative relationship to strength training. Depressive symptoms also had negative correlations with vigorous physical activity among heterosexual women. Findings indicate non-heterosexual women experience greater perceived stress and depressive symptoms, and these mental health issues can have multi-level implications. Greater vigorous physical activity and strength training were associated with lower perceived stress and depression regardless of sexual orientation. Administrators and health promoters should consider ways to promote these forms of physical activity among non-heterosexual women. Further research is needed on the potential barriers impacting engagement in physical activity