Exploring the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Clinical Impairment Assessment, and Autism Quotient to Identify Eating Disorder Vulnerability: A Cluster Analysis

Eating disorders are very complicated and many factors play a role in their manifestation. Furthermore, due to the variability in diagnosis and symptoms, treatment for an eating disorder is unique to the individual. As a result, there are numerous assessment tools available, which range from brief survey questionnaires to in-depth interviews conducted by a professional. One of the many benefits to using machine learning is that it offers new insight into datasets that researchers may not previously have, particularly when compared to traditional statistical methods. The aim of this paper was to employ k-means clustering to explore the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Clinical Impairment Assessment, and Autism Quotient scores. The goal is to identify prevalent cluster topologies in the data, using the truth data as a means to validate identified groupings. Our results show that a model with k = 2 performs the best and clustered the dataset in the most appropriate way. This matches our truth data group labels, and we calculated our model’s accuracy at 78.125%, so we know that our model is working well. We see that the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) scores are, in fact, important discriminators of eating disorder behavior

How institutional repositories are already working to solve the Open Access problem

Last week, Mike Taylor discussed his concerns on institutional repositories as an adequate solution to the open access problem and asked Green OA advocates to address these problems. In response, Natalia Madjarevic, Dave Puplett, and Neil Stewart clarify the existing capabilities of institutional repositories and highlight the powerful transitional role they can play in providing greater access and benefits for individuals, institutions and disciplines

Interpersonal Polyvictimization: Addressing the Care Planning Needs of Traumatized Children and Youth

Background: Exposure to maltreatment has a detrimental impact on both physical and mental health. However, research on the relationship between polyvictimization and care planning needs is scarce. Objectives: This study investigated the associations between interpersonal polyvictimization and care planning needs for children and youth, controlling for sex and age differences. Participants and Settings: The sample included 18,701 children and youth (Mage = 12.33, SDage = 3.53) between 4 and 18 years. Participants were recruited from over 58 mental health agencies, facilities, and schools in Ontario, Canada between November 2012 and February 2020. Methods: Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to investigate polyvictimization, sex and age groups, as predictors on care planning outcomes. Significant interaction effects were further examined using simple effects analyses. Results: Children and youth experiencing polyvictimization, compared to those who did not, were more likely to report attachment difficulties, lack of informal support, interpersonal conflict, substance use and harm to self or others. In addition, sex had a significant impact on attachment and interpersonal conflict. Conclusions: Findings emphasize the importance of focusing on interpersonal polyvictimization and sex differences when developing treatment plans for a variety of care planning needs. Mental health practitioners could utilize the study findings to guide their clinical practices and ensure effective services are provided to those seeking mental health care

Differentiable Logics for Neural Network Training and Verification

The rising popularity of neural networks (NNs) in recent years and their increasing prevalence in real-world applications have drawn attention to the importance of their verification. While verification is known to be computationally difficult theoretically, many techniques have been proposed for solving it in practice. It has been observed in the literature that by default neural networks rarely satisfy logical constraints that we want to verify. A good course of action is to train the given NN to satisfy said constraint prior to verifying them. This idea is sometimes referred to as continuous verification, referring to the loop between training and verification. Usually training with constraints is implemented by specifying a translation for a given formal logic language into loss functions. These loss functions are then used to train neural networks. Because for training purposes these functions need to be differentiable, these translations are called differentiable logics (DL). This raises several research questions. What kind of differentiable logics are possible? What difference does a specific choice of DL make in the context of continuous verification? What are the desirable criteria for a DL viewed from the point of view of the resulting loss function? In this extended abstract we will discuss and answer these questions.Comment: FOMLAS'22 pape

Leveling the Playing Field: Supporting Neurodiversity via Virtual Realities

Neurodiversity is a term that encapsulates the diverse expression of human neurology. By thinking in broad terms about neurological development, we can become focused on delivering a diverse set of design features to meet the needs of the human condition. In this work, we move toward developing virtual environments that support variations in sensory processing. If we understand that people have differences in sensory perception that result in their own unique sensory traits, many of which are clustered by diagnostic labels such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Rett syndrome, dyslexia, and so on, then we can leverage that knowledge to create new input modalities for accessible and assistive technologies. In an effort to translate differences in sensory perception into new variations of input modalities, we focus this work on ASD. ASD has been characterized by a complex sensory signature that can impact social, cognitive, and communication skills. By providing assistance for these diverse sensory perceptual abilities, we create an opportunity to improve the interactions people have with technology and the world. In this paper, we describe, through a variety of examples, the ways to address sensory differences to support neurologically diverse individuals by leveraging advances in virtual reality

A Virtual Reality System for Practicing Conversation Skills for Children with Autism

We describe a virtual reality environment, Bob’s Fish Shop, which provides a system where users diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can practice social interactions in a safe and controlled environment. A case study is presented which suggests such an environment can provide the opportunity for users to build the skills necessary to carry out a conversation without the fear of negative social consequences present in the physical world. Through the repetition and analysis of these virtual interactions, users can improve social and conversational understanding

Fin ray patterns at the fin-to-limb transition

The fin-to-limb transition was marked by the origin of digits and the loss of dermal fin rays. Paleontological research into this transformation has focused on the evolution of the endoskeleton, with little attention paid to fin ray structure and function. To address this knowledge gap, we study the dermal rays of the pectoral fins of 3 key tetrapodomorph taxa—Sauripterus taylori (Rhizodontida), Eusthenopteron foordi (Tristichopteridae), and Tiktaalik roseae (Elpistostegalia)—using computed tomography. These data show several trends in the lineage leading to digited forms, including the consolidation of fin rays (e.g., reduced segmentation and branching), reduction of the fin web, and unexpectedly, the evolution of asymmetry between dorsal and ventral hemitrichia. In Eusthenopteron, dorsal rays cover the preaxial endoskeleton slightly more than ventral rays. In Tiktaalik, dorsal rays fully cover the third and fourth mesomeres, while ventral rays are restricted distal to these elements, suggesting the presence of ventralized musculature at the fin tip analogous to a fleshy “palm.” Asymmetry is also observed in cross-sectional areas of dorsal and ventral rays. Eusthenopteron dorsal rays are slightly larger than ventral rays; by contrast, Tiktaalik dorsal rays can be several times larger than ventral rays, and degree of asymmetry appears to be greater at larger sizes. Analysis of extant osteichthyans suggests that cross-sectional asymmetry in the dermal rays of paired fins is plesiomorphic to crown group osteichthyans. The evolution of dermal rays in crownward stem tetrapods reflects adaptation for a fin-supported elevated posture and resistance to substrate-based loading prior to the origin of digits

Jurisprudential analysis on the custody of minor children in colombia from the principle of equality

En Colombia desde su Constitución Política contempla la importancia y garantía de los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes, en consecuencia, ha establecido un sistema normativo para su defensa en caso de presentarse vulneraciones para que sean restablecidos por parte de entidades del Estado, como lo es el Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar – ICBF (2016). En este orden de ideas, uno de los derechos fundamentales de los menores es a tener una familia, no obstante, cuando hay separación de los padres se inicia un proceso de custodia, el cual está relacionado con el cuidado personal, alimentos, educación, recreación, entre otros deberes y derechos. Apoyados en el Código de Infancia y Adolescencia en su artículo 23 sobre custodia y cuidado personal donde indica que es responsabilidad de los padres asumir la custodia que garantice su desarrollo integral, se realizó el presente artículo de investigación, partiendo de la decisión de la Corte Suprema de Justicia en cuatro procesos comprendidos entre los años 2017 a 2021, con el fin de analizar sin en Colombia se aplica el principio de igualdad de derechos de los padres en solicitud de custodia de los hijos menores de edad.In Colombia, from its Political Constitution, it contemplates the importance and guarantee of the rights of children and adolescents, consequently, it has established a normative system for their defense in case of violations so that they are restored by State entities, such as it is the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare – ICBF (2016). In this order of ideas, one of the fundamental rights of minors is to have a family member, however, when there is separation from the parents, a custody process is initiated, which is related to personal care, food, education, recreation, among others. Supported by what the Children and Adolescents Code indicates in its article 23 on custody and personal care "children and adolescents have the right that their parents in a permanent and solidary manner directly and timely assume their custody for their integral development" ( p. 6) this research article was carried out, based on the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice in four processes between the years 2017 to 2021, in order to analyze if in Colombia the principle of equal rights of parents applying for custody of minor children

Gene copy number variation throughout the Plasmodium falciparum genome

BACKGROUND: Gene copy number variation (CNV) is responsible for several important phenotypes of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, including drug resistance, loss of infected erythrocyte cytoadherence and alteration of receptor usage for erythrocyte invasion. Despite the known effects of CNV, little is known about its extent throughout the genome. RESULTS: We performed a whole-genome survey of CNV genes in P. falciparum using comparative genome hybridisation of a diverse set of 16 laboratory culture-adapted isolates to a custom designed high density Affymetrix GeneChip array. Overall, 186 genes showed hybridisation signals consistent with deletion or amplification in one or more isolate. There is a strong association of CNV with gene length, genomic location, and low orthology to genes in other Plasmodium species. Sub-telomeric regions of all chromosomes are strongly associated with CNV genes independent from members of previously described multigene families. However, approximately 40% of CNV genes were located in more central regions of the chromosomes. Among the previously undescribed CNV genes, several that are of potential phenotypic relevance are identified. CONCLUSION: CNV represents a major form of genetic variation within the P. falciparum genome; the distribution of gene features indicates the involvement of highly non-random mutational and selective processes. Additional studies should be directed at examining CNV in natural parasite populations to extend conclusions to clinical settings