Effectiveness and Feasibility of the Early Start Denver Model Implemented in a Group-Based Community Childcare Setting

A recent study documented the efficacy of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) delivered in a 1:1 fashion. In the current study we investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of the ESDM in the context of a long-day care community service, with a child-staff ratio of 1:3. Outcomes of 27 preschoolers with ASD undergoing 15–25 h per week of ESDM over 12 months were compared to those of 30 peers with ASD undergoing a different intervention program delivered in a similar community long-day care service. Children in both groups made gains in cognitive, adaptive and social skills. Participants in the ESDM group showed significantly higher gains in developmental rate and receptive language.No Full Tex

Do adults with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome differ in empathy and emotion recognition?

The present study examined whether adults with high functioning autism (HFA) showed greater difficulties in (i) their self-reported ability to empathise with others and/or (ii) their ability to read mental states in others’ eyes than adults with Asperger syndrome (AS). The Empathy Quotient (EQ) and ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test (Eyes Test) were compared in 43 adults with AS and 43 adults with HFA. No significant difference was observed on EQ score between groups, while adults with AS performed significantly better on the Eyes Test than those with HFA. This suggests that adults with HFA may need more support, particularly in mentalizing and complex emotion recognition, and raises questions about the existence of subgroups within autism spectrum conditions

Haplotypes of DNA repair and cell cycle control genes, X-ray exposure, and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

[[abstract]]Background: Acute leukemias of childhood are a heterogeneous group of malignancies characterized by cytogenetic abnormalities, such as translocations and changes in ploidy. These abnormalities may be influenced by altered DNA repair and cell cycle control processes. Methods: We examined the association between childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 32 genes in DNA repair and cell cycle pathways using a haplotype-based approach, among 377 childhood ALL cases and 448 controls enrolled during 1995-2002. Results: We found that haplotypes in APEX1, BRCA2, ERCC2, and RAD51 were significantly associated with total ALL, while haplotypes in NBN and XRCC4, and CDKN2A were associated with structural and numerical change subtypes, respectively. In addition, we observed statistically significant interaction between exposure to 3 or more diagnostic X-rays and haplotypes of XRCC4 on risk of structural abnormality-positive childhood ALL. Conclusions: These results support a role of altered DNA repair and cell cycle processes in the risk of childhood ALL, and show that this genetic susceptibility can differ by cytogenetic subtype and may be modified by exposure to ionizing radiation. To our knowledge, our study is the first to broadly examine the DNA repair and cell cycle pathways using a haplotype approach in conjunction with X-ray exposures in childhood ALL risk. If confirmed, future studies are needed to identify specific functional SNPs in the regions of interest identified in this analysis

Genetic selection of activatory mutations in KcsA.

The KcsA potassium channel from Streptomyces lividans is one of the most actively studied ion channels. However, there are still unresolved issues about its gating mechanism in vivo because the channel is only activated by highly acidic intracellular pH, meaning that it will be mostly inactive in its host environment. In this study we have used a genetic complementation assay of K+-auxotrophic E. coli (TK2420) and S. cerevisiae (SGY1528) to identify activatory or 'gain-of-function' mutations which allow functional activity of KcsA in the physiological environment of two markedly different expression systems. These mutations clustered at the helix-bundle-crossing in both TM1 and TM2 (residues H25, L105, A108, T112, W113, F114, E118 and Q119), and include residues previously implicated in the pH-gating mechanism. We discuss how these gain-of-function mutations may result in their activatory phenotype, the relative merits of the E. coli and S. cerevisiae genetic complementation approaches for the identification of gating mutations in prokaryotic K+ channels, and ways in which this assay may be improved for future use in screening protocols

Comparison of multiaxial fatigue parameters using biaxial tests of Waspaloy

In laboratories most fatigue testing is uniaxial as many aeronautical components such as wing spars are uniaxially loaded. However important components, such as aero engine disks, operate under multiaxial loading conditions. Hence multiaxial data is desirable to safely design them. This paper describes biaxial fatigue tests carried out under a range of loading conditions with cruciform specimens made of Waspaloy, a nickel based superalloy widely used in the fabrication of aero engine disks. Finite Element modelling of the specimen was performed to set the test conditions and to predict stress-strain fields and failure location. In order to investigate the effect of strain biaxiality, different biaxiality ratios with the same maximum principal stress were considered. Results demonstrate a variation in total life to failure and failure location, confirming the FE predictions. Then the experimental results obtained were used with three groups of multiaxial criteria. Initially, von Mises and elastic strain energy density yield theories were extended to the multiaxial fatigue context. Secondly, the stress invariant based criterion proposed by Crossland was considered, where the maximum shear stress amplitude was calculated through the Minimum Circumscribed Circle and the Maximum Prismatic Hull methods. Lastly, the critical plane approach was investigated by considering the propositions made by Findley and Matake. In general all the criteria probed here gave good predictions. As for the first group, better correlation was obtained with the energy parameter. For the last two groups, Crosslands formulation performed the best, with close agreement with experimental observations. The critical plane criteria gave conservative predictions for uniaxial stress cases and non-conservative for the other assessed conditions. In addition, both criteria misbehaved outside their calibration region, i.e. outside the tension-torsion region, and were unable to properly describe equi-biaxial conditions

Comparison of multiaxial fatigue parameters using biaxial tests of Waspaloy

In laboratories most fatigue testing is uniaxial as many aeronautical components such as wing spars are uniaxially loaded. However important components, such as aero engine disks, operate under multiaxial loading conditions. Hence multiaxial data is desirable to safely design them. This paper describes biaxial fatigue tests carried out under a range of loading conditions with cruciform specimens made of Waspaloy, a nickel based superalloy widely used in the fabrication of aero engine disks. Finite Element modelling of the specimen was performed to set the test conditions and to predict stress-strain fields and failure location. In order to investigate the effect of strain biaxiality, different biaxiality ratios with the same maximum principal stress were considered. Results demonstrate a variation in total life to failure and failure location, confirming the FE predictions. Then the experimental results obtained were used with three groups of multiaxial criteria. Initially, von Mises and elastic strain energy density yield theories were extended to the multiaxial fatigue context. Secondly, the stress invariant based criterion proposed by Crossland was considered, where the maximum shear stress amplitude was calculated through the Minimum Circumscribed Circle and the Maximum Prismatic Hull methods. Lastly, the critical plane approach was investigated by considering the propositions made by Findley and Matake. In general all the criteria probed here gave good predictions. As for the first group, better correlation was obtained with the energy parameter. For the last two groups, Crosslands formulation performed the best, with close agreement with experimental observations. The critical plane criteria gave conservative predictions for uniaxial stress cases and non-conservative for the other assessed conditions. In addition, both criteria misbehaved outside their calibration region, i.e. outside the tension-torsion region, and were unable to properly describe equi-biaxial conditions