Because low rate, covert responses are hard to observe and measure (e.g., Azrin & Wesolowski, 1974; Henderson, 1981; Jeffery, 1969; Reid & Patterson, 1976; Seymour & Epston, 1989), well-controlled behavior analytic investigations of stealing have been rare. In fact, systematic investigations to experimentally determine stealing functions have been limited to two studies targeting food (Lambert et al., 2019; Simmons, Akers, & Fisher, 2019). The dearth of studies examining stealing functions, partly attributable to low rate and covertness, may be forestalling additional intervention studies. Given the likely futility of unsystematic attempts to observe naturally occurring instances of an infrequent, clandestine response, a possible role for indirect assessment emerges (Iwata & Dozier, 2008). This two-part study concerned an investigation into the reliability and predictive validity of the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (Iwata, DeLeon, & Roscoe, 2013) and a similarly constructed tool (The Stealing Inventory or TSI) with the latter having questions oriented towards likely stealing functions. In doing so, the comparative viability of two trial-based functional analysis (FA) models (Bloom, Iwata, Fritz, Roscoe, & Carreau, 2011; Lambert, Bloom, & Irvin, 2012) was also examined. Across 42 respondent pairs, overall tool reliability and outcome reliability for suggested functions favored the TSI (85% and 92.9%, respectively) over the FAST (80% and 73.8%, respectively). Three out of 6 participants stole during one of their two respective FAs, and the identified function matched the respective TSI outcomes for each case. FA model superiority was unclear.

No description available.

The avocado mesocarp contains up to 60-70% oil by dry weight where triacylglycerol (TAG) is the major constituent. This neutral lipid, TAG is utilized by plants for the carbon and energy source when stores in seed tissue. There is significant human nutritional demand for vegetable oil, but its use in production of renewable biomaterials and fuels has intensified the need to increase oil production. In plants, the final and committed step in TAG biosynthesis is catalyzed by diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGAT) and/or a phospholipid: diacylglycerol acyltransferases (PDAT). Both DGAT and PDAT contribute to seed TAG biosynthesis in an independent or overlapping manner, depending on the species. However, the regulation of TAG biosynthesis is not well-studied in nonseed tissues such as mesocarp of avocado. Based on the transcriptome data of Persea americana it is hypothesized that both DGAT and PDAT are likely to catalyze the conversion of diacylglycerol to TAG. In this study, putative DGAT1 and DGAT2 were identified and comprehensive in silico analyses were conducted to determine the respective start codons, full-length coding sequences, transmembrane domains, predicted protein structures and phylogenetic relationships with other known DGATs. These data reveal that the putative DGATs of a basal angiosperm species retain features that are conserved not only among angiosperms but also other eukaryotes. For further functional analysis, the avocado DGATs were expressed in H1246, a TAG-deficient yeast strain and lipotoxicity rescue assays were conducted. The complementation of this yeast strain confirmed enzyme activity and supported the possible role of both avocado DGATs in TAG biosynthesis. Future studies will be focused on determining the substrate specificity of DGAT and its role, relative to PDATs in TAG biosynthesis in avocado mesocarp.

Problem behavior can interfere with teaching and learning. Developing interventions for problem behavior may be more efficient when the function of problem behavior is known. A variety of functional analysis (FA) methods have been developed to provide information on the variables maintaining problem behavior. Unfortunately most of the current adaptations of the FA are not always feasible for classroom teachers, or suited to a typical school day. The trial-based FA is an adaptation that increases the accessibility of FA in educational settings, but typically relies on occurrence measures. The use of latency as a measure may improve the sensitivity of the trial-based FA. This study extends the literature on adaptations to the functional analysis, specifically for use in the classroom, by using latency as a measure of response strength in the trial-based FA.

Severe problem behavior may interfere with the education of children as well as cause serious injury to person and property. This study examined the correspondence of results obtained from trial-based and standard functional analyses for identifying function of problem behavior with high-school aged students. This study also examined the feasibility of school personnel conducting trial-based functional analyses within the classroom environment with procedural integrity. School personnel conducted four trial-based functional analyses with three high-school aged students referred for problem behavior. One student had two topographies of problem behavior assessed. The trials were interspersed throughout the school day. Results of the trial-based functional analyses were compared with results from standard functional analyses conducted by trained graduate students to show correspondence, or lack thereof between assessment results. Two cases showed correspondence between the two assessments. Two participants showed partial correspondence, which was attributed to limited exposure to contingencies during the brief trials in the trial-based functional analyses as well as differences in the analysts’ opinion of function depicted by the data. These results indicate that a trial-based functional analysis may be a viable assessment tool when school personnel lack the resources needed to complete a standard functional analysis. Two teachers and a paraprofessional were able to conduct trial-based functional analyses with high procedural integrity. Future direction of trial-based assessment research is discussed.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第20583号 / 工博第4363号 / 新制||工||1678(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科合成・生物化学専攻 / (主査)教授 浜地 格, 教授 森 泰生, 教授 白川 昌宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, August 2016. / There is a growing demand for small area estimates for policy and decision making, local planning and fund distribution. Surveys are generally designed to give representative estimates at national or regional level, but estimates of variables of interest are often also needed at the small area levels. These cannot be reliably obtained from the survey data as the sample sizes at these levels are too small. This problem is addressed by using small area estimation techniques. The main aim of this thesis is to develop confidence intervals (CIs) which are accurate to terms O(m–3/2 ) under the FH model using the Taylor series expansion. Rao (2003a), among others, notes that there is a situation in mixed model estimation that the estimates of the variance component of the random effect, A, can take negative values. In this case, Prasad and Rao (1990) consider ˆA = 0. Under this situation, the contribution of the mean squared error (MSE) estimate, assuming all parameters are known, becomes zero. As a solution, Rao (2003a) among others proposed a weighted estimator with fixed weights (i.e., wi = 12 ). In addition, if the MSE estimate is negative, we cannot construct CIs based on the empirical best linear unbiased predictor (EBLUP) estimates. Datta, Kubokawa, Molina and Rao (2011) derived the MSE estimator for the weighted estimator with fixed weights which is always positive. We use their MSE estimator to derive CIs based on this estimator to overcome the above difficulties. The other criticism of the MSE estimator is that it is not area-specific since it does not involve the direct estimator in its expression. Following Rao (2001), we propose area specific MSE estimators and use them to construct CIs. The performance of the proposed CIs are investigated via simulation studies and compared with the Cox (1975) and Prasad and Rao (1990) methods. Our simulation results show that the proposed CIs have higher coverage probabilities. These methods are applied to standard poverty and percentage of food expenditure measures estimated from the 2010/11 Household Consumption Expenditure survey and the 2007 census data sets. Keywords: Small area estimation, Weighted estimator with fixed weights, EBLUP, FH model, MSE, CI, Poverty, percentage of food expenditure / LG2017

Single-case experimental design (SCED) allows for the identification of a functional relationship between a dependent and independent variable. For individuals who work as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), it is crucial and part of the ethics code that they can interpret SCED graphed outcomes to make data-based decisions. Visual analysis is the primary method to detect outcomes of SCED; however, research suggests graph characteristics may impact the reliability and estimation of intervention effects, specifically the ratio of the x-to-y axes. This study examined how the alteration of the data-points-per-x-to-y-ratio (DPPXYR) influences BCBA’s ability to detect a function in functional analysis multielement graphs. A primary finding was the overall low agreement in BCBAs selecting function compared to the modified visual inspection (MVI). Descriptive results showed participants had highest accuracy in detecting the function when the DPPXYR was 0.09, although the difference across manipulation was minimal. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of 360 degree virtual reality training videos to teach pre-service teachers to implement a Trial-Based Functional Analysis (TBFA). Additionally, the current study sought to assess if following training, participants could generalize the assessment skills learned to a novel problem behavior. Three undergraduate education majors in their junior year of coursework participated in the study, and were exposed to 360 degree virtual reality training videos for each of the TBFA conditions (attention, demand, and tangible) in various orders in a multiple-probe design. Results from the study indicated that the videos were effective in teaching participants to conduct a TBFA, and none of the participants required performance feedback to reach mastery criteria. Additionally, all participants were able to successfully generalize the skills learned to a novel problem behavior. When asked about their perceptions of the virtual reality training methods through a social validity questionnaire, participants gave high ratings indicating that these training methods overall were useful, effective, and acceptable. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Literature assessing behavior among individuals with disabilities largely focuses on individuals with high incidence disabilities leaving a gap for those with rare, or low incidence, genetic syndromes. Specifically, individuals with CHARGE syndrome who exhibit a unique behavioral phenotype, as a result of numerous medical complexities, are absent in literature functionally assessing behavior. Because of this unique behavioral phenotype, caregivers of individuals with CHARGE Syndrome are likely to be most familiar and knowledgeable about their child’s behavior and should therefore be trained to be included in the functional assessment of behavior. Because CHARGE Syndrome is rare, families may have limited access to resources to adequately assess their child’s problem behavior, as well due to medical complexities, individuals with CHARGE may not be able to attend in-person assessment and ultimately treatment as a result of potential exposure to the novel COVID-19 virus. As a result, virtual training methods will allow more families to learn how to identify the cause of their child’s behavior and how to be involved in virtual behavioral assessments. This study evaluates virtual training methods focusing on training caregivers of individuals with CHARGE Syndrome to conduct brief functional analysis conditions.