Does Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) positively increase socialization skills in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to no interaction with animals?

Objective- The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) positively increases socialization skills in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to no interaction with animals?” Study Design- Systematic review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English language peer reviewed journals between 2015 and 2016. Data sources- One single blinded RCT and two double blinded RCTs were found through PubMed. Outcome(s) Measured- All three studies measured change in social communication in children with ASD using a Social Responsiveness Scale, Pedagogical Analysis and Curriculum Test, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. Results- All three RCTs support how AAT positively improves socialization in children with ASD. Gabriels et al. with a p-value of 0.003 was able to support a significant improvement in social communication skills in children with ASD participating in AAT compared to children with ASD not receiving AAT using t-score and chi square analyses as well as change in mean from baseline, SD, and effect size. Borgi et al. with a p-value of 0.034 supported increased socialization in children with ASD compared to a control group using ANOVA F-score analysis and change from baseline mean scores. Steiner and Kertesz with a p-value\u3c0.000 did support an increase in socialization in children with ASD participating in AAT compared to a control group. However, only a PAC score was recorded and no further analyses were discussed, so the study is not reliable. Conclusions- AAT seems to be an effective therapy to positively change socialization skills in children with ASD based on these three RCTs. However, more reliable studies including larger sample sizes over longer periods of time with more detailed analyses should be performed to support the long term effects of AAT on socialization specifically in children with ASD

Agitators in the Land of Zion: The Anti-Vietnam War Movements at Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and Utah State University

Through the vantage point of institutions of higher learning, Utah\u27s distinction as a politically conservative state dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is examined during the Vietnam War era. The three universities in the study-Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and Utah State University- are the three oldest and most populous universities in the state. This thesis concentrates on these three institutions and less on the politics of the state at the time. Studies showed that the universities, to varying degrees, exhibited antiwar sentiment Still, the campuses were less active in opposing the war, drawing only a very small percentage of students to demonstrations. Brigham Young University\u27s President, Ernest L. Wilkinson (1951-1971), vigorously guarded against signs of antiwar activity. He was involved in the 1966 spy ring, which organized students for surveillance of supposedly liberal faculty. Students who appeared to be antiwar were also scrutinized. Despite the negative sanctions on such students, a minority of pupils did oppose the war and Wilkinson\u27s tactics. The University of Utah produced the highest number of protesters, largely because of its more diverse and urban population. Many of the demonstrators at the U of U continued as activists in the Salt Lake Valley into the 1990s. Utah State University echoed the U of U, but to a lesser extent. Still, underground newspapers and an organized antiwar political party showed that USU also had a movement against the war. The administrations of the two schools figure into the text less powerfully than BYU\u27s Wilkinson because they failed to become as involved in the debate. Oral interviews dominate this thesis. Subjects were chosen according to their involvement in particular events or movements. Student newspapers and underground newspapers were also utilized. This thesis attempted to recreate a tumultuous and turbulent time in American history. Utah\u27s unique cultural slant showed that the Beehive State could not isolate itself from international events but also responded in its own way

Geophysical Investigation of Subsurface Three-Dimensional Architecture of Icy Debris Fans With Ground Penetrating Radar in the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska

Icy debris fans have are newly-described landforms (Kochel and Trop, 2008 and 2012) as landforms developed immediately after deglaciation on Earth and similar features have been observed on Mars. Subsurface characteristics of Icy debris fans have not been previously investigated. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to non-invasively investigate the subsurface characteristics of icy debris fans near McCarthy, Alaska, USA. The three fans investigated in Alaska are the East, West, and Middle fans (Kochel and Trop, 2008 and 2012) which below the Nabesna ice cap and on top of the McCarthy Creek Glacier. Icy debris fans in general are a largely unexplored suite of paraglacial landforms and processes in alpine regions. Recent field studies focused on direct observations and depositional processes. Their results showed that the fan\u27s composition is primarily influenced by the type and frequency of depositional processes that supply the fan. Photographic studies show that the East Fan receives far more ice and snow avalanches whereas the Middle and West Fans receive fewer mass wasting events but more clastic debris is deposited on the Middle and West fan from rock falls and icy debris flows. GPR profiles and Wide-angle reflection and refraction (WARR) surveys consisting of both, common mid-point (CMP), and common shot-point (CSP) surveys investigated the subsurface geometry of the fans and the McCarthy Creek Glacier. All GPR surveys were collected in July of 2013 with 100MHz bi-static antennas. Four axial profiles and three cross-fan profiles were done on the West and Middle fans as well as the McCarthy Creek Glacier in order to investigate the relationship between the three features. GPR profiles yielded reflectors that were continuous for 10+ m and hyperbolic reflections in the subsurface. The depth to these reflections in the subsurface requires knowledge of the velocity of the subsurface. To find the velocity of the subsurface eight WARR surveys collected on the fans and on the McCarthy Creek glacier to provide information on variability of subsurface velocities. The profiles of the Middle and West fan have more reflections in their profiles compared to profiles done on the McCarthy Creek Glacier. Based on the WARR surveys, we interpret the lower energy return in the glacier to be caused by two reasons. 1) The increased attenuation due to wet ice versus drier ice and on the fan with GPR velocities \u3e0.15m/ns. 2) Lack of interfaces in the glacier compared to those in the fans which are inferred to be produced by the alternating layers of stratified ice and lithic-rich layers. The GPR profiles on the West and Middle Fans show the shallow subsurface being dominated by lenticular reflections interpreted to be consistent with the shape of surficial deposits. The West Fan is distinguished from the Middle Fan by the nature of its reflections patterns and thicknesses of reflection packages that clearly shows the Middle fan with a greater thickness. The changes in subsurface reflections between the Middle and West Fans as well as the McCarthy Creek Glacier are thought to reflect the type and frequency of depositional processes and surrounding bedrock and talus slopes

MicroRNAs influence reproductive responses by females to male sex peptide in Drosophila melanogaster

Across taxa, female behavior and physiology changes significantly following the receipt of ejaculate molecules during mating. For example, receipt of sex peptide (SP) in female Drosophila melanogaster significantly alters female receptivity, egg production, lifespan, hormone levels, immunity, sleep and feeding patterns. These changes are underpinned by distinct tissue- and time-specific changes in diverse sets of mRNAs. However, little is yet known about the regulation of these gene expression changes, and hence the potential role of microRNAs (miRNAs), in female post-mating responses. A preliminary screen of genomic responses in females to receipt of SP suggested that there were changes in the expression of several miRNAs. Here we tested directly whether females lacking four of the candidate miRNAs highlighted (miR-279, miR-317, miR-278 and miR-184) showed altered fecundity, receptivity and lifespan responses to receipt of SP, when mated once or continually to SP null or control males. The results showed that miRNA-lacking females mated to SP null males exhibited altered receptivity, but not reproductive output, in comparison to controls. However, these effects interacted significantly with the genetic background of the miRNA-lacking females. No significant survival effects were observed in miRNA-lacking females housed continually with SP null or control males. However, continual exposure to control males that transferred SP resulted in significantly higher variation in miRNA-lacking female lifespan than did continual exposure to SP null males. The results provide the first insight into the effects and importance of miRNAs in regulating post-mating responses in females

Institutional complexity and paradox theory: complementarities of competing demands

Organizational success increasingly depends on leaders’ abilities to address competing demands simultaneously. Scholars have applied both institutional theory and paradox theory to better understand the nature and responses to these competing demands. These two lenses diverge in their understanding and responses to tensions. Institutional theory depicts competing demands emerging from divergent field-level pressures and stresses their contradictory and oppositional nature. Organizational responses vary from making tradeoffs and choosing pressures with which to conform to seeking strategies for engaging both and managing conflict. Paradox theory locates competing demands as inherent with organizational systems, surfaced through environmental conditions, individual sensemaking, or relational dialogue. According to these scholars, paradoxes are contradictory, interdependent, and persist over time, demanding strategies for engaging and accommodating tensions but not resolving them. In this essay, we highlight these distinctions and argue that drawing from both of these lenses will results in rich, generative theorizing to better address key challenges in the world. We identify specific areas where future research can benefit from such integration

Capacity building efforts and perceptions for wildlife surveillance to detect zoonotic pathogens: comparing stakeholder perspectives.

BackgroundThe capacity to conduct zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife is critical for the recognition and identification of emerging health threats. The PREDICT project, a component of United States Agency for International Development's Emerging Pandemic Threats program, has introduced capacity building efforts to increase zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife in global 'hot spot' regions where zoonotic disease emergence is likely to occur. Understanding priorities, challenges, and opportunities from the perspectives of the stakeholders is a key component of any successful capacity building program.MethodsA survey was administered to wildlife officials and to PREDICT-implementing in-country project scientists in 16 participating countries in order to identify similarities and differences in perspectives between the groups regarding capacity needs for zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife.ResultsBoth stakeholder groups identified some human-animal interfaces (i.e. areas of high contact between wildlife and humans with the potential risk for disease transmission), such as hunting and markets, as important for ongoing targeting of wildlife surveillance. Similarly, findings regarding challenges across stakeholder groups showed some agreement in that a lack of sustainable funding across regions was the greatest challenge for conducting wildlife surveillance for zoonotic pathogens (wildlife officials: 96% and project scientists: 81%). However, the opportunity for improving zoonotic pathogen surveillance capacity identified most frequently by wildlife officials as important was increasing communication or coordination among agencies, sectors, or regions (100% of wildlife officials), whereas the most frequent opportunities identified as important by project scientists were increasing human capacity, increasing laboratory capacity, and the growing interest or awareness regarding wildlife disease or surveillance programs (all identified by 69% of project scientists).ConclusionsA One Health approach to capacity building applied at local and global scales will have the greatest impact on improving zoonotic pathogen surveillance in wildlife. This approach will involve increasing communication and cooperation across ministries and sectors so that experts and stakeholders work together to identify and mitigate surveillance gaps. Over time, this transdisciplinary approach to capacity building will help overcome existing challenges and promote efficient targeting of high risk interfaces for zoonotic pathogen transmission

The Three-Dimensional Structure of Interior Ejecta in Cassiopeia A at High Spectral Resolution

We used the Spitzer Space Telescope's Infrared Spectrograph to create a high resolution spectral map of the central region of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, allowing us to make a Doppler reconstruction of its 3D structure. The ejecta responsible for this emission have not yet encountered the remnant's reverse shock or the circumstellar medium, making it an ideal laboratory for exploring the dynamics of the supernova explosion itself. We observe that the O, Si, and S ejecta can form both sheet-like structures as well as filaments. Si and O, which come from different nucleosynthetic layers of the star, are observed to be coincident in velocity space in some regions, and separated by 500 km/s or more in others. Ejecta traveling toward us are, on average, ~900 km/s slower than the material traveling away from us. We compare our observations to recent supernova explosion models and find that no single model can simultaneously reproduce all the observed features. However, models of different supernova explosions can collectively produce the observed geometries and structures of the interior emission. We use the results from the models to address the conditions during the supernova explosion, concentrating on asymmetries in the shock structure. We also predict that the back surface of Cassiopeia A will begin brightening in ~30 years, and the front surface in ~100 years.Comment: 35 pages, 16 figures, accepted to Ap