Exploration of the DSM-5’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Severity Level Specifier and Prediction of Autism Severity

ABSTRACT

With the publication of DSM-5, clinical assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has begun to follow a new dimensional framework which includes new severity specifiers. Little research has explored these severity ratings in comparison to other previously established severity indicators (e.g. ADOS-2 calibrated severity score). The current study compared parent and teacher ratings using the BASC-2 for 43 children and adolescents diagnosed with DSM-5 ASD, to contribute novel information to the BASC literature and to explore the new DSM-5 severity ratings. Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which the DSM-5 Social Communication and Restrictive/Repetitive Behavior Severity Ratings (clinician-rated) predicted autism severity based on ADOS-2 calibrated severity scores. Furthermore, linear regressions were conducted to explore whether teacher ratings on the BASC-2 enhance parent ratings. Implications of these preliminary results for the assessment of children and adolescents with ASD are suggested.     

Integrierte Entwicklung von Automotive-Software mit AutoFocus

Zur Beherrschung der komplexen vernetzten und verteilten Funktionen von Automotive-Software ist eine Beschreibung des zu erstellenden Systems auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen notwendig. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Unterstützung echtzeitkritischer Systemanteile ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell, ebenenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken, sowie methodische Regeln für diese Abstraktionsebenen eingeführt und in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert.     

Dimensions of variability in embedded operating systems

Design, implementation, and re-engineering of operating systems are still an ambitious undertaking. Despite, or even because, of the long history of theory and practice in this field, adapting existing systems to environments of different conditions and requirements as originally specified or assumed, in terms of functional and/or non-functional respects, is anything but simple. Especially this is true for the embedded systems domain which, on the one hand, calls for highly specialized and application-aware system abstractions and, on the other hand, cares a great deal for easily reusable implementations of these abstractions. The latter aspect becomes more and more important as embedded systems technology is faced with an innovation cycle decreasing in length. Software for embedded systems needs to be designed for variability, and this is in particular true for the operating systems of this domain. The paper discusses dimensions of variability that need to be considered in the development of embedded operating systems and presents approaches that aid construction and maintenance of evolutionary operating systems. CR subject classification  C.3; D.2.11; D.2.13; D.4.7     

Efficient reverse k-nearest neighbor estimation

The reverse k-nearest neighbor (RkNN) problem, i.e. finding all objects in a data set the k-nearest neighbors of which include a specified query object, has received increasing attention recently. Many industrial and scientific applications call for solutions of the RkNN problem in arbitrary metric spaces where the data objects are not Euclidean and only a metric distance function is given for specifying object similarity. Usually, these applications need a solution for the generalized problem where the value of k is not known in advance and may change from query to query. In addition, many applications require a fast approximate answer of RkNN-queries. For these scenarios, it is important to generate a fast answer with high recall. In this paper, we propose the first approach for efficient approximative RkNN search in arbitrary metric spaces where the value of k is specified at query time. Our approach uses the advantages of existing metric index structures but proposes to use an approximation of the nearest-neighbor-distances in order to prune the search space. We show that our method scales significantly better than existing non-approximative approaches while producing an approximation of the true query result with a high recall.     

The Effects of User-fee Policy on Attendance Rates among Kenyan Elementary Schoolchildren

What happens when a government cannot meet its obligation to provide universal primary education and enhance the quality of education for all of its citizens? The present study examines the interactions among stakeholders in the user-fee policy in primary education in Kenya. It seeks to show how this policy has affected attendance rates and drop-out rates among elementary schoolchildren. It reveals that, in addition to limiting access and contributing to attrition, user-fees significantly contribute to absenteeism. The study also exposes the dire situation of economically vulnerable citizens who do not have the resources which they need to ensure private education for their children. It concludes that together the government and household-level economic weaknesses have made it virtually impossible to attain the goal of education for all in Kenya.