Comprehensively Structured Teaching Method for an Adult Individual with Autism

In this study, the effectiveness of a comprehensively structured teaching method for an adult with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) (age 37) complicated with severe intellectual disability (ID) who had `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors during his tasks at the institution was discussed. The main components in this study were 1) physical structure, 2) structured work, 3) schedule systems, 4) positive behavior support (PBS), and 5) setting support guidance for staff. The number of `one-day tasks\u27 and `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors a day before and after intervention were compared. Prior to the intervention, the number of `one-day tasks\u27 was 3 to 7. After the intervention, 10 to 27 were observed (SD=5.96) and they were increasing. The number of `refusal\u27 and `deviate\u27 behaviors was 3 to 5 before intervention, and after it became 7.67 to 2 (SD=1.34) and they were decreasing. As a result, we clarified that a comprehensively structured teaching method was effective in increasing for an adult individual with ASD those task performances and reducing those inappropriate behaviors. In addition, it is assumed that these approaches to the comprehensively structured teaching method could be helpful for weak central coherence and executive dysfunction well known as ASD\u27s cognitive developmental disorder

Effect of soil components on adsorption of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus by Japanese soils

Poster Sessio

Interannual to Decadal Variations of Submesoscale Motions around the North Pacific Subtropical Countercurrent

The outputs from a submesoscale permitting hindcast simulation from 1990 to 2016 are used to investigate the interannual to decadal variations of submesoscale motions. The region we focus on is the subtropical Northwestern Pacific including the subtropical countercurrent. The submesoscale kinetic energy (KE) is characterized by strong interannual and decadal variability, displaying larger magnitudes in 1996, 2003, and 2015, and smaller magnitudes in 1999, 2009, 2010, and 2016. These variations are partially explained by those of the available potential energy (APE) release at submesoscale driven by mixed layer instability in winter. Indeed, this APE release depends on the mixed layer depth and horizontal buoyancy gradient, both of them modulated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). As a result of the inverse KE cascade, the submesoscale KE variability possibly leads to interannual to decadal variations of the mesoscale KE (eddy KE (EKE)). These results show that submesoscale motions are a possible pathway to explain the impact associated with the PDO on the decadal EKE variability. The winter APE release estimated from the Argo float observations varies synchronously with that in the simulation on the interannual time scales, which suggests the observation capability to diagnose the submesoscale KE variability

Risk factors for lens opacification in Icelanders 50 years and older. Reykjavík Eye Study

Neðst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinn View/OpenObjective: To examine risk factors for cortical and nuclear lens opacification in older citizens of Reykjavík. Material and methods: 1045 persons, 583 females and 462 males age 50 years and older were randomly sampled and underwent detailed eye examination including slit-lamp and Scheimpflug photography of the lens and answered a questionnaire. The photographs were used for the diagnosis of lens opacification. The data was analysed using a logistic regression model. Results: An increased risk was found with ageing for developing both nuclear (OR=1.23: 95% CI 1.19-1.26: p<.001) and severe cortical lens opacification (OR=1.19: 95% CI 1.16-1.22: p<.001). Cigarette-smoking for more than 20 pack-years increased risk for nuclear lens opacification (OR=2.52: 95% CI 1.52-4.13: p<.001) as well as pipe- or cigar-smoking (OR=2.48: 95% CI 1.20-5.12: p<.05). Those who spent more than 4 hours/day outside on weekdays in their 20's - 30's and 40's and 50's were found to have increased risk of severe cortical lens opacification (OR=2.80: 95% CI 1.01-7.80: p<.05 and OR=2.91: 95% CI 1.13-9.62: p<.05, respectively). Systemic corticosteroid use was also found to be a significant risk factor for cortical lens opacification (OR=3.70: 95% CI 1.43-9.56: p<.05). Conclusion: In our study, ageing is the main risk factor for both cortical and nuclear lens opacification. Important modifiable risk factors are smoking for nuclear lens opacification and systemic corticosteroid use and outdoor exposure for cortical lens opacification.Tilgangur: Í rannsókninni voru skoðaðir áhættuþættir fyrir skýmyndun í kjarna og berki augasteins meðal Reykvíkinga 50 ára og eldri. Efniviður og aðferðir: Þátt tóku 583 konur og 462 karlar sem öll voru 50 ára eða eldri og höfðu verið valin með slembiúrtaki úr Þjóðskrá. Þátttakendur svöruðu spurningalista um heilsufar og lífsvenjur. Þeir gengust undir augnskoðun, meðal annars á augasteinum sem voru skoðaðir í raufarsmásjá og myndaðir með Scheimpflug-tækni. Í þessari rannsókn var sérstaklega litið á þá hópa sem höfðu væga byrjandi skýmyndun einskorðaða við börk (stig I), þá sem höfðu svæsnari skýmyndun í berki einvörðungu (stig II-III) og loks alla þá sem höfðu ský í kjarna augasteins. Gögnin voru greind með lógistískri aðhvarfsgreiningu. Niðurstöður: Hærri aldur reyndist vera áhættuþáttur fyrir bæði skýmyndun í kjarna og berki. Reykingar juku hættuna á skýmyndun í kjarna. Þeir sem voru að meðaltali meira en fjórar klukkustundir á dag úti við á virkum dögum var hættara við svæsnari skýmyndun í berki, sem og þeim sem höfðu almennt notað barkstera. Lithimnur af blönduðum lit, fjarsýni, neysla síldar, sardína og rækja auk jurtaolíu, reyndust allt vera verndandi þættir gegn skýmyndun í berki. Ályktanir: Aldur er afgerandi áhættuþáttur fyrir skýmyndun bæði í kjarna og berki. Reykingar auka áhættu á skýmyndun í kjarna en hafa ekki áhrif á skýmyndun í berki. Þessu er öfugt farið með almenna notkun barkstera, mikla útiveru, fjarsýni og neyslu ýmissa fæðutegunda. Ólíkir áhættuþættir hafa áhrif á skýmyndun mismunandi hluta augasteinsins

CpG Methylation in the Hexamerin 110 Gene in the European Honeybee, Apis mellifera

The European honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), has a full set of machinery for functional CpG methylation of its genome. A recent study demonstrated that DNA methylation in the honeybee is involved in caste differentiation. In this study, the expression and methylation of the hexamerin 110 gene (Hex110), which encodes a storage protein, was analyzed. High levels of the Hex110 transcript were expressed in both worker and queen larvae. Low levels of this transcript were also detected in adult fat bodies, and the expression level was higher in the queen than in the worker. Bisulfite sequencing revealed that the Hex110 gene is overall methylated at a low level, with a limited number of CpG sites methylated at relatively high levels. These highly methylated sites were exclusively located in the exon regions. The average methylation rate of the Hex110 gene was higher in the adult stage than in the larval stage. Furthermore, several CpG sites were differentially methylated between the worker and queen larvae. These observations suggest that the methylation of the Hex110 gene is regulated at the developmental stage and in a caste-dependent manner

Effectiveness of the Physical Structure for an Individual with Autism

This study examined the effectiveness of physical structure for an individual with autism. Physical structure is one of the main components of Structured Teaching based on TEACCH approach. To evaluate the efficacy of the physical structure, we compared the individual\u27s "leaving" behavior between pre- and post intervention by using physical structure. The results demonstrated that the intervention was effective for the individual. A decreased average of "leaving" was noted in each task. This suggests that individuals with autism can be helped to make more sense of physical environment and develop their attention by addressing physical structure

Complete mitochondrial genome sequences for Crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci and Acanthaster brevispinus

BACKGROUND: The crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci (L.), has been blamed for coral mortality in a large number of coral reef systems situated in the Indo-Pacific region. Because of its high fecundity and the long duration of the pelagic larval stage, the mechanism of outbreaks may be related to its meta-population dynamics, which should be examined by larval sampling and population genetic analysis. However, A. planci larvae have undistinguished morphological features compared with other asteroid larvae, hence it has been difficult to discriminate A. planci larvae in plankton samples without species-specific markers. Also, no tools are available to reveal the dispersal pathway of A. planci larvae. Therefore the development of highly polymorphic genetic markers has the potential to overcome these difficulties. To obtain genomic information for these purposes, the complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial genome of A. planci and its putative sibling species, A. brevispinus were determined and their characteristics discussed. RESULTS: The complete mtDNA of A. planci and A. brevispinus are 16,234 bp and 16,254 bp in size, respectively. These values fall within the length variation range reported for other metazoan mitochondrial genomes. They contain 13 proteins, 2 rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes and the putative control region in the same order as the asteroid, Asterina pectinifera. The A + T contents of A. planci and A. brevispinus on their L strands that encode the majority of protein-coding genes are 56.3% and 56.4% respectively and are lower than that of A. pectinifera (61.2%). The percent similarity of nucleotide sequences between A. planci and A. brevispinus is found to be highest in the CO2 and CO3 regions (both 90.6%) and lowest in ND2 gene (84.2%) among the 13 protein-coding genes. In the deduced putative amino acid sequences, CO1 is highly conserved (99.2%), and ATP8 apparently evolves faster any of the other protein-coding gene (85.2%). CONCLUSION: The gene arrangement, base composition, codon usage and tRNA structure of A. planci are similar to those of A. brevispinus. However, there are significant variations between A. planci and A. brevispinus. Complete mtDNA sequences are useful for the study of phylogeny, larval detection and population genetics