Equivalence of two Fixed-Point Semantics for Definitional Higher-Order Logic Programs

Two distinct research approaches have been proposed for assigning a purely extensional semantics to higher-order logic programming. The former approach uses classical domain theoretic tools while the latter builds on a fixed-point construction defined on a syntactic instantiation of the source program. The relationships between these two approaches had not been investigated until now. In this paper we demonstrate that for a very broad class of programs, namely the class of definitional programs introduced by W. W. Wadge, the two approaches coincide (with respect to ground atoms that involve symbols of the program). On the other hand, we argue that if existential higher-order variables are allowed to appear in the bodies of program rules, the two approaches are in general different. The results of the paper contribute to a better understanding of the semantics of higher-order logic programming.Comment: In Proceedings FICS 2015, arXiv:1509.0282

Parental involvement in education politics : the case of disabled children

This paper explores Greek-Cypriot parents’ role in influencing developments regarding the education of disabled children in Cyprus. It mainly comments upon parents’ conceptualisations of disabled children’s rights which guided their responses to educational, social and political issues related to disability. The historical and interpretative nature of this paper is achieved by building arguments through interpreting qualitative data covering the period 1970-2007. Four periods associated with important developments were identified to facilitate understanding of parental involvement in politics: (i) early forms of parental mobilisation; (ii) parent groups acting as ‘non-pressure’ groups; (iii) parental power through networking; and (iv) resolving issues of identity and power between parent pressure groups. The paper ends with a critical discussion of parental involvement in education politics in relation to the nature of parent associations which constitute this evolving pressure group.peer-reviewe

Resource orchestration in startups : synchronizing human capital investment, leveraging strategy and founder startup experience

Research Summary: We examine the performance effects of resource orchestration in start-ups by investigating three key contingencies of resource orchestration: human capital (HC) investment relative to rivals, leveraging strategy, and founder start-up experience. We find that deviating from rivals' resource investments (either above or below the industry mean) negatively affects performance, while conforming to the norms set by rivals positively affects performance. However, we also find that a higher investment in HC relative to rivals is less detrimental when aligned with a leveraging strategy focused on innovation. In addition, we find evidence that this relationship is conditioned by the entrepreneurial experience of the founders themselves. Managerial Summary: To create value, entrepreneurs need to assemble and manage various resources and capabilities. We explain how entrepreneurs can manage their resources to achieve higher performance. Using a sample of U.S. start-ups, we find that deviations in human capital (HC) investments relative to rivals (either below or above) harm the performance of start-ups. However, we also find that a higher investment in HC relative to rivals is less detrimental when the start-up is focused on innovation. In addition, we find that experienced founders benefit from actively orchestrating HC investments relative to rivals with a strategy focused on innovation

Scottish teachers' experiences of the effectiveness of nurture groups in supporting autistic children

Nurture groups (NGs) are recognised as an effective early practice for the development of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). Early educators outline enhanced social and emotional development, academic attainment and secure attachments with peers and adults. Nevertheless, there is limited data reporting on the efficacy of this approach for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This small-scale phenomenological study reports Scottish primary teachers’ experiences of NGs in promoting wellbeing in autistic pupils. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire. Results were mixed in that they suggest some significant progress in academic attainment, with slight improvements in emotional and social functioning. After the inclusion of pupils in NGs, continued positive impact appeared to persist with both difficulties in emotional expression and in forming secure attachments with peers and adults. This indicates that for good NG practice for autistic pupils there is a need for structural modifications and curriculum adaptations to create an ‘autismfriendly’ environment

Defining and exploiting the developmental origin of MLL-AF4-driven infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Infant MLL-AF4-driven pro-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) is the most common leukaemia in infants. This devastating disease, which arises in utero, renders the infant patients with an aggressive disease and with a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. It has long been speculated that along with the fusion protein, the foetal origin of the disease is one of the main contributing factors to its aggressive nature. The first aim of this work was to identify if and how this was the case. Towards this end, multiple RNA sequencing experiments were performed comparing foetal and neonatal/adult populations in both humans and mice. This allowed for the identification of the transcriptional differences between foetal and neonatal/adult cells. The results showed that the foetal derived cells were characterised by a proliferative and oncogenic nature whereas neonatal/adult cells had a mature and immune celllike profile. From this it can be concluded that the foetal nature of the leukaemia-initiating cell could support the aggressive nature of the infant disease. To address the question of whether the foetal characteristics were maintained in the transcriptome of the blasts, the transcriptional profile of the foetal cells was compared to that of blasts derived from infant patients. Interestingly, there was a large commonality between the two. To further investigate whether the common genes were critical for the disease, 21 were selected and functional assays performed using the SEM cell line. With this approach, several genes were identified deletion of which had a tremendous impact on the survival of the SEM cells. The genes that were shown to be critical for the SEM cells included PLK1, BUB1B, HSPD1, ELOVL1, CCNB1, NUTF2 and TPX2. Of particular interest was PLK1 because there is an inhibitor (Volasertib) available that is currently in phase III clinical trials. Inhibition of PLK1 using Volasertib in the SEM cells resulted in cell cycle arrest, which led to apoptosis. Another gene of interest was ELOVL1, because its knockout effect appears to be unique to the infant disease. Knockout of ELOVL1 in SEM resulted in apoptosis and investigation into the lipidome of the knockout cells identified a dramatic decrease in lipids that contain very long fatty acid chains. Additionally, using overexpression assays, DACH1 was shown to decrease the proliferation potential of the SEM cells. From this data it can be concluded that the foetal origin of the disease could be used as a means to identify novel therapeutic targets. A further aim of this work was to investigate and understand the early disease stages. For this, an additional RNA sequencing experiment was performed. This experiment used an Mll-AF4 expressing mouse model to characterise the transcriptional profile of a pre-leukemic population. Of particular interest was Skida1 which was shown to be upregulated in the Mll-AF4 expressing cells. Intriguingly, SKIDA1 was also upregulated in the blasts of infants with MLLAF4 driven ALL compared to blasts derived from paediatric patients with the same disease and healthy controls. Interestingly, Skida1 belongs to the same family of proteins as DACH1. Intriguingly, while SKIDA1 was upregulated in the infant patients, DACH1 was not expressed at all. These findings suggest that this family of proteins could play an important role for the infant disease. This has been a proof of concept study where it was shown that by defining the transcriptome of the cell of origin of the disease and by identifying early molecular aberration caused by MLL-AF4 it was possible to identify novel disease targets

The Development of Theory of Mind and Pragmatics in Adolescents

Theory of Mind (ToM) or ‘mentalising’ is our human ability to attribute the beliefs, thoughts, desires, intentions and feelings to others, and predict or explain behaviour in terms of these mental states. In the last couple of decades research has shown that brain areas involved in ToM (the ‘Social Brain’), undergo changes not only during childhood, but also during adolescence. Numerous studies have provided evidence for structural and functional changes in the Social Brain during childhood and adolescence. Recent findings from behavioural studies suggest a protracted development of ToM through middle childhood and adolescence. However, what factors constrain performance during middle childhood and adolescence are yet to be determined. The current thesis investigates the development of ToM in adolescence and explores what cognitive processes might be developing in parallel to the brain changes that are occurring in the ToM network, through four online ToM tasks. Chapter 2 examines how children, adolescents and adults apply ToM in real time while performing a variant of the Director task, and the role of inhibitory control in that process. Chapter 3 uses a false-belief task to examine whether adolescents can reliably infer others’ (false) beliefs as spontaneously and early as adults. Chapter 4 investigates whether adolescents can use knowledge about a character’s basic preferences and higher order desires, even when they are in conflict, to make complex ToM inferences and predict that character’s subsequent behaviours as quickly as adults. Chapter 5 examines how adolescents’ brain process irony comprehension in real time in comparison to adults’ using an ERP paradigm. Additionally, the study explores whether individual differences in empathy are associated with irony processing. Overall, the findings show that ToM is further developing during adolescence and make a theoretical advance as to what specific cognitive processes are still maturing as these brain changes are occurring