Diagnosing/recognising high functioning autism in adult females : challenging stereotypes

The apparent global rise in Autism has led many to describe it as an epidemic and a major public health concern [1-4]. The extraordinary claim of an epidemic has, however, been widely refuted [5]. Most recently DSM-V unified the four DSM-IV diagnostic categories of Autistic Disorder (“previously referred to as “Autism”), Asperger’s Disorder, is Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, into the single category of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. This shift in diagnostic criteria will change the landscape of autism further, in terms of its presentation, prevalence, and treatment. However, in order to ensure appropriate diagnosis and treatment/intervention across the spectrum, it necessary to address some of the mis-understandings and stereotypes that plague diagnostic and research endeavours with regards autism.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Invariant manifolds and the geometry of front propagation in fluid flows

Recent theoretical and experimental work has demonstrated the existence of one-sided, invariant barriers to the propagation of reaction-diffusion fronts in quasi-two-dimensional periodically-driven fluid flows. These barriers were called burning invariant manifolds (BIMs). We provide a detailed theoretical analysis of BIMs, providing criteria for their existence, a classification of their stability, a formalization of their barrier property, and mechanisms by which the barriers can be circumvented. This analysis assumes the sharp front limit and negligible feedback of the front on the fluid velocity. A low-dimensional dynamical systems analysis provides the core of our results.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Chaos Focus Issue: Chemo-Hydrodynamic Patterns and Instabilities (2012

New Teacher Perceptions of Induction Programs: A Study of Open-Ended Commentary

The purpose of this study was to learn if teachers believe their experiences with the Ohio Resident Educator Program (OREP) improved their ability to meet the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession (OSTP). Two hundred forty-five teachers voluntarily participated in a thirty-three question Likert-based survey with seven open-ended comment sections. For this study, the researchers analyzed the Likert-based survey responses through basic descriptive analysis and ANOVAs and the 456 comments from the seven open-ended comment sections regarding the seven OSTP standards through grounded theory. The findings indicate that the beginning teachers do not believe the Ohio Resident Educator Program improved their ability to meet these standards. However, they reported their teacher preparation programs, classroom experiences, and mentors, colleagues, and administrators did improve their ability to meet the standards

Amtrak Office of Inspector General: Organizational Assessment

The Amtrak OIG office engaged the National Academy to conduct an organizational assessment that examines the current operations of the OIG office. The organizational assessment identified core organizational strengths and weaknesses, and recommended specific, prioritized actions to improve OIG processes, policies and management practices that will help the office achieve the goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan.Key FindingsThe observations and recommendations within this report that resulted from key stakeholder interviews, a staff survey and OIG benchmarking research address eight areas of importance to the Amtrak OIG. The report defines the desired future state, summarizes Amtrak OIG's strengths and weaknesses related to the future state, and recommends immediate "quick win" next steps as well as longer-term recommendations. Progress in these areas will significantly contribute to operational improvement. The eight areas address: - Internal Communication- External Communication- Work Planning and Prioritization- Quality and Timely Work Processes- Independence- Policy Management and Updates- Human Capital Management- Performance MeasuresFor each of these eight future states, the Panel identified both "quick win" opportunities as well as longer-term recommendations that the OIG should implement

Amtrak OIG Organizational Assessment, Phase II: Implementation Roadmap Development

In the spring of 2010, the Academy conducted an independent organizational assessment of the Amtrak OIG. The Phase I final report addressed eight critical areas of focus, and for each of the these focus areas, the Academy identified a desired future state, key observations, critical risks, "quick win" opportunities, and long-term recommendations. The Phase I results formed the basis for the Phase II of the organizational assessment.As part of the Phase II study, the Amtrak OIG engaged the Academy to assist the organization in developing Implementation Roadmaps addressing six areas with high levels of urgency. They included: - Internal Communications- Quality and Timely Work Processes- Work Planning and Prioritization- Performance Measures- External Communications- Management and Policy UpdatesThe OIG assembled Working Groups for each of the focus areas, and the Working Groups engaged in 24 thought-provoking discussions facilitated by the Academy's Study Team to develop Implementation Roadmaps. Each Implementation Roadmap consisted of a 12-18 month tactical plan to guide in the accomplishment of the most critical improvements identified in the organizational assessment and provided the information needed for OIG leadership to hold staff accountable for progress on key activites and milestones of the priority issues.In addition to yielding the Implementation Roadmaps, the Working Group sessions had broader impacts on the OIG-wide organization, including building a participative management approach, engaging and empowering staff members, and instituting a sustainable process to improve the organization's operations

Automated, high accuracy classification of Parkinsonian disorders: a pattern recognition approach

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) can be clinically indistinguishable, especially in the early stages, despite distinct patterns of molecular pathology. Structural neuroimaging holds promise for providing objective biomarkers for discriminating these diseases at the single subject level but all studies to date have reported incomplete separation of disease groups. In this study, we employed multi-class pattern recognition to assess the value of anatomical patterns derived from a widely available structural neuroimaging sequence for automated classification of these disorders. To achieve this, 17 patients with PSP, 14 with IPD and 19 with MSA were scanned using structural MRI along with 19 healthy controls (HCs). An advanced probabilistic pattern recognition approach was employed to evaluate the diagnostic value of several pre-defined anatomical patterns for discriminating the disorders, including: (i) a subcortical motor network; (ii) each of its component regions and (iii) the whole brain. All disease groups could be discriminated simultaneously with high accuracy using the subcortical motor network. The region providing the most accurate predictions overall was the midbrain/brainstem, which discriminated all disease groups from one another and from HCs. The subcortical network also produced more accurate predictions than the whole brain and all of its constituent regions. PSP was accurately predicted from the midbrain/brainstem, cerebellum and all basal ganglia compartments; MSA from the midbrain/brainstem and cerebellum and IPD from the midbrain/brainstem only. This study demonstrates that automated analysis of structural MRI can accurately predict diagnosis in individual patients with Parkinsonian disorders, and identifies distinct patterns of regional atrophy particularly useful for this process

A Comprehensive Study of the Alteration of Ignitable Liquids by Weathering and Microbial Degradation

The differing effects of weathering and microbial degradation are described here in a comprehensive study that involved 50 different ignitable liquids from the Ignitable Liquids Database and Reference Collection. Examples of ignitable liquid residues from each of the main classes established by the American Society of Testing and Materials are presented. Weathering was accomplished via evaporation, whereas microbial degradation was carried out on soil at room temperature for periods of up to 21 days. Major trends included the rapid degradation of long n-alkanes and monosubstituted alkyl benzenes (e.g., toluene, ethylbenzene, and propylbenzene). Surprisingly, some longer branched alkanes (e.g., trimethyloctanes) were also susceptible to microbial attack. Although all ignitable liquids examined suffered at least to some extent from microbial degradation, gasoline, petroleum distillates, and oxygenates were the most susceptible. Isoparaffinic and naphthenic–paraffinic products were the most resistant to microbial degradation