In the present study, performance on a range of mathematical reasoning and number processing tasks was assessed across two syndrome groups for which numerical ability is under-researched: Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome. Given the paucity of current research, it was unknown whether all aspects of arithmetic and number processing would be globally affected across groups or whether there would be syndrome specific proficiencies and deficiencies. Statistical analysis revealed that males with fragile X syndrome performed significantly worse on all tasks even when performance was compared to typically developing children of a similar developmental level. However, when performance was compared to children with Down syndrome differing profiles emerged, with greater weaknesses by the fragile X syndrome males on specific tasks requiring mental arithmetic and basic numeracy skills. The importance of using syndrome specific information in the assessment of math disabilities and the design of early educational interventions are discussed.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication as well as ritualistic repetitive behaviors. Epidemiological studies suggest that maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy may be a risk factor for ASD. To study MIA in a laboratory setting, we injected mouse dams (C57BL/6) with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly IC) during mid-gestation to mimic a bacterial or viral infection, respectively. We also performed the same Poly IC treatment on a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome (i.e. Fmr1 knockout), a genetic disease with high incidences of ASD. We found modest female-specific impairments in social interaction and striking male-specific increases in repetitive behavior in adult MIA offspring. Moreover, prenatal Poly IC treatment caused genotype-specific deficits in sociability in addition to reduced body weight and rearing in Fmr1 knockout mice only. Therefore, ASD-related behaviors caused by MIA may be sex, treatment, and/or genotype-dependent.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Title from title screen (viewed July 8, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-75). Online version of the print original.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-75).

La rupture des matériaux quasi-fragiles, tels que les céramiques ou les bétons, peut être représentée schématiquement par la succession des étapes de nucléation et de coalescence de micro-fissures. Modéliser ce processus de rupture est un enjeu particulièrement important lorsque l'on s'intéresse à la résistance des structures en béton, en particulier à la prédiction de la perméabilité des structures endommagées. La démarche choisie est une vision multi-échelle où le comportement global est caractérisé par la mécanique de la rupture, et le comportement local représenté par la méthode des éléments discrets. Le modèle représente la fissuration par des grandeurs généralisées, qui seront définies dans le cadre de la mécanique de la rupture. Afin de prendre en compte l’aspect non linéaire de la fissuration dans les matériaux quasi-fragiles, la cinématique usuelle de la mécanique de la rupture est enrichie par l’ajout de degrés de libertés supplémentaires chargés de représenter la part non linéaire du champ de vitesse. L'évolution du comportement est alors condensé par l'évolution de facteurs d'intensité. Le modèle proposé permet de prédire le comportement lors de chargements de mode mixte I+II proportionnel et non-proportionnel. Enfin, une campagne d'essais visant à caractériser le comportement en fissuration du mortier à été réalisée. Les résultats obtenus montrent un rôle important de la fissuration par fatigue. La méthode de changement d'échelle a également été appliquée sur les champs de vitesse en pointe de fissure, confirmant la représentation du comportement en pointe de fissure par une cinématique enrichie. / Fracture in quasi-brittle materials, such as ceramics or concrete, can be represented schematically by series of events of nucleation and coalescence of micro-cracks. Modeling this process is an important challenge for the reliability and life prediction of concrete structures, in particular the prediction of the permeability of damaged structures. A multi-scale approach is proposed. The global behavior is modeled within the fracture mechanics framework and the local behavior is modeled by the discrete element method. An approach was developed to condense the non linear behavior of the mortar. A model reduction technic is used to extract the relevant information from the discrete elements method. To do so, the velocity field is partitioned into mode I, II, linear and non-linear components, each component being characterized by an intensity factor and a fixed spatial distribution. The response of the material is hence condensed in the evolution of the intensity factors, used as non-local variables. A model was also proposed to predict the behavior of the crack for proportional and non-proportional mixed mode I+II loadings. An experimental campaign was finally conducted to characterize the fatigue and fracture behavior of mortar. The results show that fatigue crack growth can be of significant  importance. The experimental velocity field determined, in the crack tip region, by DIC, were analyzed using the same technic as that used for analyzing the fields obtained by the discrete element method showing consistent results.

archives@tulane.edu / Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are commonly characterized by abnormal social behaviors. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited intellectual disability in humans and the most common single-gene cause of ASD symptoms. FXS is caused by the loss or malfunction of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an mRNA-binding protein that regulates numerous synaptic proteins, both translationally and through direct protein-protein interactions. One direct-binding target is the large-conductance potassium (BK) channel. BK channels have been shown to be hypoactive in FXS, and represent possible targets for treatment in both general ASD and in FXS specifically. Also, two members of the KCNQ class of voltage-activated potassium channels, KV7.2 and KV7.3, have been identified as FMRP translation targets. Finally, a commonly observed abnormality in the ASD brain is an imbalance in the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory signaling (E/I balance) causing general hyperexcitability in numerous brain areas. One area in which altered E/I balance is often observed is the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which is involved with the processing of social information. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to determine if stimulating potassium channel function in the mPFC of Fmr1 KO mice would correct abnormal social behavior. In addition, the possible mechanistic determinants and effects on E/I balance were investigated in WT and Fmr1 KO mice. Infusion of the potassium channel activator, BMS-204352, into the mPFC of KO mice had no effect on social approach behavior, but corrected social novelty impairments as measured by a 3-Chamber Test. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings of pyramidal neurons in layer V of the mPFC revealed no differences in mEPSCs between KO and WT mice, but did reveal higher frequency of mIPSCs in KO mice. Treatment with BMS-204352 resulted in a decrease in mEPSC amplitude in both genotypes, which was blocked by the BK channel antagonist, paxilline. Effects of BMS-204352 treatment on mIPSCs revealed two possible populations of cell types. One population of exhibited a decrease in frequency of mIPSCs, an effect seen in both genotypes. The other population exhibited a slight increase in frequency of mIPSCs, but this was seen only in KO cells. Treatment with paxilline caused a decrease in mIPSC frequency in both genotypes, which was not altered with subsequent BMS-204352 treatment. Pretreatment with the KV7 channel antagonist XE 991 prevented BMS-204352-induced cross-genotype decrease in mIPSC frequency, but did not prevent BMS-204352-induced frequency increase in KO cells. Western blot analyses revealed no changes between genotypes in BK channel expression, but a trend to increased KV7.3 expression in the PFC of KOs compared to WTs. With these data, it was concluded that aberrant activity of potassium channels in the mPFC of KOs mediates some of the social abnormalities observed in the phenotype, that KOs may exhibit increased KV7.3 expression as a potential compensatory mechanism for BK channel dysfunction, and that potassium channels are a promising potential target for future treatment of ASD symptoms / 1 / Ted Sawyer

This thesis presents a novel singular-value-based semi-fragile watermarking scheme for image content authentication with tampering localization. The proposed scheme first generates a secured watermark bit sequence by performing a logical "xor" operation on a content-based watermark and content-independent watermark, wherein the content-based watermark is generated by a singular-value-based watermark bit sequence that represents intrinsic algebraic image properties, and the content-independent watermark is generated by a private-key-based random watermark bit sequence. It next embeds the secure watermark in the approximation subband of each non-overlapping 4×4 block using the adaptive quantization method to generate the watermarked image. The image content authentication process starts with regenerating the secured watermark bit sequence following the same process mentioned in the secured watermark bit sequence generation. It then extracts a possibly embedded watermark using the parity of the quantization results from the probe image. Next, the authentication process constructs a binary error map, whose height and width are a quarter of those of the original image, using the absolute difference between the regenerated secured watermark and the extracted watermark. It finally computes two authentication measures (i.e., M1 and M2), with M1 measuring the overall similarity between the regenerated watermark and the extracted watermark, and M2 measuring the overall clustering level of the tampered error pixels. These two authentication measures are further seamlessly integrated in the authentication process to confirm the image content and localize any possible tampered areas. The extensive experimental results show that the proposed scheme outperforms four peer schemes and is capable of identifying intentional tampering, incidental modification, and localizing tampered regions.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Medicine. Johannesburg October, 1997 / Fragile X syndrome is, second to Down syndrome, the commonest form of genetic mental retardation. The aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of having a child with this syndrome on the family relationships. The subjects were 21 mothers and 9 fathers of affected children. The data were collected by means of specially constructed questionnaires in interviews with 19 mothers and 8 fathers and completed by post in three cases. A control group of parents with a normal child, matched for sex and age of the affected child, family size and ethnic groups, was interviewed. The data were computerised and analyzed. The results showed that more experimental parents than controls enjoyed their child’s nature, but disliked the behavioural problems. About half of the experimental parents tended not to reward good behaviour physically. However, although most of the affected children were accepted by their siblings, they had fewer friends and more problems with their peers. Some parents thought that their relationship with their spouse had improved and others thought that it had deteriorated after the affected child’s birth. Most parents in both study groups would request prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies and significantly more experimental parents than controls would request a termination of pregnancy for an affected fetus. Most parents were satisfied with the health service they received. These results show that family dynamics are disturbed by the presence of a child with FMR. Counsellors and therapists working with these families should be aware of the effects of the syndrome on the family / IT2017

With nearly 13% of maternal deaths being attributed to unsafe abortion there is a need to implement new strategies to improve access to safe services. As developing regions and legally restricted areas lead these numbers, further evidence must be presented demonstrating tailored and actionable strategies for these settings. In Pakistan abortion is legally restricted and the country continues to face a high burden of maternal death and disability, much of which is directly or indirectly attributable to unsafe abortion. The community-based distribution of misoprostol for early abortion has the potential to reduce harm from unsafe abortion in Pakistan and other low-resource settings where abortion is legally restricted. This study employed a multi-methods approach to evaluate this intervention in Sindh, Pakistan and consisted of a logbook review, interviews with lay providers, and in-depth interviews with program beneficiaries. Our results suggest that the community-based distribution of misoprostol is an effective and promising strategy for improving access to safe abortion care. Efforts to implement or strengthen similar programs appears warranted.

Cell cultures were examined for percentage of fragile sites seen in straight-stained, Q-stained and reverse fluorescent-stained preparations. In all cases, percentage of fragile site expression was decreased when compared to straight-stained preparations. However, fragile sites seen in Q- and RF-stain could be identified as on X chromosomes.