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Adaptive behavior rating scales are frequently used to gather information on the adaptive functioning of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs), yet little is known about the extent to which these measures yield comparable results. This study was conducted to (a) document the parent-rated VABS-II, BASC-2, and ABAS-II adaptive behavior profiles of 6- to 11-year-olds with HFASDs (including relative strengths and weaknesses); (b) examine the extent to which these measures yielded similar scores on comparable scales; and (c) assess potential discrepancies between cognitive ability and adaptive behavior across the measures. All three adaptive measures revealed significant deficits overall for the sample, with the VABS-II and ABAS-II indicating relative weaknesses in social skills and strengths in academic-related skills. Cross-measure comparisons indicated significant differences in the absolute magnitude of scores. In general, the VABS-II yielded significantly higher scores than the BASC-2 and ABAS-II. However, the VABS-II and ABAS-II yielded scores that did not significantly differ for adaptive social skills which is a critical area to assess for children with HFASDs. Results also indicated significant discrepancies between the children’s average IQ score and their scores on the adaptive domains and composites of the three adaptive measures.

Pollutant loads are widely used to set pollution reduction targets and assess regulatory compliance for the protection of receiving waterbodies. However, when a pollutant load consists of a mixture of chemicals, reducing the overall load (mass) will not necessarily reduce the toxicity by a similar amount. This can be overcome by setting targets based on toxicity-based loads (toxic loads, TLs), where the load is modified according to the relative toxicity (expressed as toxic equivalency factors [TEFs]) of each toxicant. Here, we present the second article of a 2-part series in which a case study is used to demonstrate the application of the toxic load method proposed in Part 1. The toxic load method converts a pollutant load, comprised of multiple chemicals, to a toxic load, using a modified TEF approach. The modified approach uses a cumulative distribution of relative potency (ReP) estimates of multiple species to determine a TEF. It further improves upon previously published methods by including two tests to select the optimal percentile of the ReP distribution to determine the TEF. The first test is a test for environmental relevance that compares results against an independent mixture method, identifying the percentile that produces the most environmentally relevant TEFs and TLs. The second is a test for robustness which ensures the results are independent of the ReP of the selected reference chemical. Here, the TL method is applied to mixtures of pesticides that are discharged from agricultural land to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) to test its utility. In this case study, the most environmentally relevant and robust TLs were generated using the 75th percentile of the ReP cumulative distribution. The results demonstrate that it is essential to develop pollution reduction targets based on toxic loads and making progress to meeting them will lead to a commensurate reduction in toxic effects caused by toxicants in waters of the GBR. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:754-764. © 2016 SETAC.

Pollutant loads are a means for assessing regulatory compliance and setting targets to reduce pollution entering receiving waterbodies. However, a pollutant load is often comprised of multiple chemicals, which may exert joint toxicity on biota. When the ultimate goal for assessing pollutant loads is to protect ecosystems from adverse effects of toxicants, then the total pollutant load needs to be calculated based on the principles of mixture toxicology. In this article, an improved method is proposed to convert a pollutant load to a toxicity-based load (toxic load) using a modified toxic equivalency factor (TEF) derivation method. The method uses the relative potencies (RePs) of multiple species to represent the response of the ecological community. The TEF is calculated from a percentile of a cumulative distribution function (CDF) fitted to the RePs. The improvements permit the determination of which percentile of the CDF generates the most environmentally relevant and robust toxic loads. That is, environmental relevance ensures that a reduction in the toxic load is likely to result in a corresponding improvement in ecosystem health and robustness ensures that the calculation of the toxic loads is not biased by the reference chemical used. The improved methodology will therefore ensure that correct management decisions will be made and ultimately, a reduction in the toxic load will lead to a commensurate improvement in water quality. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:746-753. © 2016 SETAC.

HIV-infected women may be particularly vulnerable to verbal learning and memory deficits. One factor contributing to these deficits is high perceived stress, which is associated with prefrontal cortical (PFC) atrophy and memory outcomes sensitive to PFC function, including retrieval and semantic clustering. We examined the association between stress and PFC activation during a verbal memory task in 36 HIV-infected women from the Chicago Consortium of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to better understand the role of the PFC in this stress-related impairment. Participants completed standardized measures of verbal learning and memory and stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess brain function while participants completed encoding and recognition phases of a verbal memory task. HIV-infected women with higher stress (scores in top tertile) performed worse on all verbal memory outcomes including strategic encoding (p’s

The Vulnerable Localities Index (VLI) emerged from the collaboration between Centrex and the JDI Centre (UCL) as a method of identifying vulnerable communities. This study analyses the effectiveness of the model in a strategic multi-agency project across the Merseyside area. The aim of the project was to prioritize the most vulnerable location in each of the six police divisions to deliver more effective partnership working, including the reduction of crime and disorder. The research shows practitioners found the model simple and accessible to use, requiring limited training. Further, the six multi-agency criteria used by the model appears accurate in highlighting areas that suffer from a disproportionate level of multifaceted problems. Although practitioner expertise is still necessary to prioritize the areas most in need of intervention, it was found the VLI creates a more partnership-oriented forum, to target resources effectively.

(2012). Peggy Valcke and Katrien Lefever, Media Law in the European Union. Journal of Media Law: Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 350-353.

This replication randomized clinical trial examined the efficacy of a comprehensive psychosocial intervention for children aged 7 to 12 years with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs). Participants were randomly assigned to treatment or wait-list conditions. Treatment included instruction and therapeutic activities targeting social skills, face-emotion recognition, interest expansion, and interpretation of non-literal language. A response-cost program was used to reduce problem behaviors and increase skills acquisition. Significant treatment effects were found for five of seven primary outcome measures (parent ratings and direct child measures). Secondary measures (i.e., staff ratings) corroborated gains reported by parents. Children maintained social gains 2 to 3 months post-treatment. High levels of parent, child, and staff satisfaction were found, along with high levels of treatment fidelity. Standardized effect size estimates were predominantly in the medium and large ranges for significant outcome variables.

This study examined the feasibility and initial efficacy of a comprehensive school-based intervention (CSBI) for 12 children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, aged 6 to 9 years. Treatment included a 3-week summer preparation program followed by a 10-month CSBI, comprising social skills groups, therapeutic activities, face and voice emotion recognition instruction, an individual daily note, and parent training. Feasibility was supported in high levels of treatment fidelity and teacher- and parent-reported acceptability and satisfaction. Pre–post comparisons suggested that children significantly improved their knowledge of target social skills, ability to identify emotions in facial and vocal expressions taught in the program, and broader emotion recognition skills in child faces. According to parent and teacher ratings, children displayed gains in their use of target social skills and broader social performance. Parents also reported a significant reduction in autism spectrum disorder-related features.

There is a notable lack of manualized comprehensive school-based interventions (CSBIs) for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs). This pilot study examined the feasibility and initial efficacy of a CSBI for 12 children with HFASDs, aged 6 to 9 years. Treatment included a 3-week summer preparation program followed by a 10-month CSBI, composed of social skills groups, therapeutic activities, face and voice emotion recognition instruction, an individual daily note, and parent training. Feasibility was supported in high levels of treatment fidelity and teacher- and parent-reported acceptability and satisfaction. Pre–post comparisons suggested that children significantly improved their knowledge of target social skills and ability to identify emotions in facial and vocal expressions. According to parent and teacher ratings, children displayed gains in their use of target social skills and broader social performance, as well as reductions in ASD-related features.

This brief report investigated coping strategies and their perceived effectiveness in response to a social stressor for 7–12 year olds with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs). Ninety-eight participants completed a self-report coping scale in response to a self-identified socially stressful situation. Responses yielded three categories of use and perceived effectiveness: (1) strategies used frequently and viewed as effective, (2) strategies not used frequently and not perceived as effective, and (3) strategies used frequently but not perceived as effective. Respondents reported high frequency use and high perceived effectiveness of six strategies that are generally considered as positive/engagement oriented coping. They also indicated low frequency use and low perceived effectiveness of five strategies broadly regarded as negative and avoidant/disengagement coping. The last cluster of four strategies, identified as frequently used but not effective, consisted of strategies less clearly categorised as positive/engaged vs. negative/disengaged. Implications for future research and clinical considerations are proposed.

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union.

This study was conducted to extend the research on adaptive functioning of children, ages 7–12, with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs; n = 41) using the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II. Specific purposes included examination of (1) the ABAS-II adaptive profile; (2) relative strengths and weaknesses; and (3) predictors (age, IQ, and ASD symptomatology) of adaptive functioning for children with HFASDs. Results indicated significant deficits on overall adaptive functioning and all three adaptive composites. Relative weaknesses were found in the skill areas of social, home living, and self-direction and relative strengths in academics and community use. Analyses indicated that age and IQ did not predict ABAS-II composites, whereas total ASD symptoms negatively predicted overall adaptive functioning. Significant inverse correlations were found between the ASD symptoms of restricted and repetitive behaviors and the ABAS-II social and practical daily living skills composites. No significant correlations were found between ASD social symptoms and adaptive social skills or between ASD communication symptoms and adaptive language/communication skills.

(2011). Determining Regulatory Competence for Audiovisual Media Services in the European Union. Journal of Media Law: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 263-285.

In this pilot study, the authors evaluated a manualized administration of the Mind Reading (MR) program with in vivo rehearsal to determine the effects on emotion recognition and autism features of eleven 7- to 12-year-old children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (HFASD), and to determine the overall feasibility of the intervention. Following 12 sessions of MR over 6 weeks ( M = 15.87 hr per child), emotion recognition and ability to display emotion were rated to be significantly higher than pretest. Significant reductions were found on ratings of autism-associated symptoms on a standardized rating scale completed by parents. Assessment of feasibility indicated high levels of treatment fidelity and high levels of parent- and child-reported satisfaction. Effect size estimates were medium to large for scales on which significant changes were observed. Implications for more controlled studies are proposed.

Objective: To test single cycle to failure tensile strength characteristics of 6 suture material-pattern combinations in equine superficial digital flexor (SDF) tenorrhaphy, specifically to compare a 10-strand modification of the Savage core suture technique with the 3-loop pulley technique. Study Design: Ex vivo mechanical experiment comparing 3 different suture patterns with 2 different materials. Sample Population: Forelimb and hindlimb SDF tendons (n = 48) harvested from adult Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses of mixed age and gender. Methods: Six suture material-pattern combinations were evaluated: (1) 10-strand Savage, size 2 polydioxanone (PDS); (2) 10-strand Savage, size 2 polyglactin 910 (PG910); (3) 10-strand Savage, size 2 PDS with Lin-locking epitenon suture, size 2-0 PDS; (4) 10-strand Savage size 2 PG910 with Lin-locking epitenon suture, size 2-0 PDS; (5) 3-loop pulley, size 2 PDS; and (6) 3-loop pulley, size 2 PG910. Maximum load at failure (N), gap at failure (mm), and mode of failure (suture breakage or pull through) were evaluated for each of the 6 suture material-pattern combinations and underwent statistical analysis to determine significance of differences and interactions of the measured data. Results: The 10-strand Savage technique failed at a mean load of 872N (804-939, 95% CI). The 10-strand Savage with Lin-locking failed at a significantly greater mean load of 998N (930-1065, 95% CI). The 3-loop pulley pattern failed with a mean load of 337N (270-405, 95% CI). There were significant interactions between the technique and suture material used. Conclusion: The 10-strand Savage technique for repair of transected cadaver SDF tendons has superior strength characteristics with or without the epitenon suture when compared to the 3-loop pulley. Suture material and pattern interactions were observed with PG 910 conferring higher strength for the 10-strand Savage whereas PDS did so for the 3-loop pulley.

(2011). Giles Crown, Oliver Bray and Rupert Earle, Advertising Law and Regulation. Journal of Media Law: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 162-167.

(2014). Kari Karppinen, Rethinking Media Pluralism. Journal of Media Law: Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 156-158.

Although the european Community Treaty does not contain a specific chapter or article dedicated to the audiovisual sector, European Community law has had a significant impact on the way in which Member States regulate their film and television industries. Given the commercial nature and international reach of many media goods and services this should not be surprising, but Community oversight has here been particularly controversial because of the importance ascribed to cultural and political considerations. This article examines how such considerations have been accommodated within the European Community legal system and the impact that Community law has had on domestic audiovisual policies in practice. It focuses on those measures introduced by states to support their domestic film and television industries and to ensure that domestic audiences have access to films and television programmes that are culturally relevant and meaningful.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of a computer software (i.e., Mind Reading) and in vivo rehearsal treatment on the emotion decoding and encoding skills, autism symptoms, and social skills of 43 children, ages 7–12 years with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD). Children in treatment (n = 22) received the manualized protocol over 12 weeks. Primary analyses indicated significantly better posttest performance for the treatment group (compared to controls) on 3 of the 4 measures of emotion decoding and encoding and these were maintained at 5-week follow-up. Analyses of secondary measures favored the treatment group for 1 of the 2 measures; specifically, ASD symptoms were significantly lower at posttest and follow-up.

Through the introduction of affordable technology that enables hobbyists and enthusiasts to print 3D products in their own homes, 3D printing holds the potential for radically changing the paradigm of trade mark protection. Some have argued that using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, an individual with quite limited manufacturing skills could be able to print a remarkable collection of branded products. This is expected to facilitate and accelerate the production of counterfeit products by hobbyists and enthusiasts. This paper examines the extent to which the concept of ‘use in the course of trade’ can accommodate the specificities of 3D printing. It also brings to light some particular challenges for the law relating to trademarks when applied to CAD files. Since the success of any infringement claim is based on the use of the mark in the course of trade, the answer to these questions is essential.

State intervention in support of media plurality has traditionally employed fixed ownership limits targeted either at holdings within a specific media sector, for instance, television, or across different sectors, such as television and the printed press. As technological developments have enhanced the range and diversity of media goods and services, so ‘bright-line’ regulation of this kind has come to appear unduly rigid and out of step with the converging media environment. Ten years ago the United Kingdom (UK) embarked on a novel experiment, replacing fixed limits with a flexible, multifaceted test for assessing media plurality. This framework for measuring ‘media plurality’ has, however, come under increasing scrutiny as both procedural and substantive problems have become evident. Sophistication can lead to better targeted and effective regulatory intervention, but it can also increase subjective discretion, obscure important value choices, impose considerable costs on industry, and reduce levels of public transparency and accountability.

The three initial European Communities were established to address the economic and technological challenges facing Europe after the devastation of the Second World War. But if the immediate goals were expressly economic and developmental, the long-term ones were also cultural and political. Economic integration was seen as the ‘leaven from which will grow a wider and deeper community between countries long opposed to one another by sanguinary divisions’ (Schuman, 1950). In this sense it was a direct response to, and rejection of, the nationalism, totalitarianism and theories of racial superiority that had characterised the recent Fascist regimes. As Ulrich Beck (2006: 163) has observed, ‘Europe’s collective memory of the Holocaust provides the basis for the European Union’.

For a contraction operator T with spectral radius less than one on a Banach space \( \user1{\mathcal{X}} \), it is shown that the factorization of certain L1 functions by vectors x in \( \user1{\mathcal{X}} \) and x*. in \( \user1{\mathcal{X}}* \), in the sense that \( \left\langle {T^n x,x* } \right\rangle = \widehat{f}( - n) \) for n ≧ 0, implies the existence of invariant subspaces for T. Explicit formulae for such factorizations are given in the case of weighted composition operators on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces. An interpolation result of McPhail is applied to show how this can be used to construct invariant subspaces of hyperbolic weighted composition operators on H2.

(2013). Hannibal Travis (ed), Cyberspace Law: Censorship and Regulation of the Internet. Journal of Media Law: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 355-357.

A number of variants of Hofstadter's original sequence have been investigated. Here we investigate a collection of similarly defined such sequences which give rise to intriguingly different results.

The freedom and independence of the press in democratic societies is both a ‘constitutional principle’ and a ‘constitutional necessity’ (Lord Judge, 2011). The media relay information needed by citizens to make informed political, social and personal choices and create fora in which opinions can be tested and exchanged (Barendt, 2005: 25–27; Hitchens, 2006: 49–60). But the media are not merely passive conduits of third-party content; they also seek out, select, contextualise and analyse information and ideas (McQuail, 2010: 380–382, 512–515). In particular, citizens look to the media to investigate and reveal potential abuses of power, corruption or hypocrisy by government or other influential bodies or individuals.

The purpose of this study was to examine quality of life in laryngectomees using different methods of communication. A survey was mailed to all the living laryngectomees in Nova Scotia. Patients were asked to rate their ability to communicate in a number of common situations, to rate their difficulty with several communication problems, and to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 quality-of-life assessment tool. Sixty-two patients responded (return rate of 84%); 57% were using electrolaryngeal speech, 19% esophageal speech, and 8.5% tracheoesophageal speech. These groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, first language, education level, and years since laryngectomy. There were very few differences between these groups in ability to communicate in social situations and no difference in overall quality of life as measured by these scales. The most commonly cited problem was difficulty being heard in a noisy environment. Despite the fact that tracheoesophageal speech is objectively most intelligible, there does not seem to be a measurable improvement in quality of life or ability to communicate in everyday situations over electrolaryngeal or esophageal speakers.