RMIT University

About: RMIT University is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 40468 authors who have published 82923 publications receiving 1729499 citations. The organization is also known as: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology & Melbourne Technical College.

Pinning Synchronization of Directed Networks With Switching Topologies: A Multiple Lyapunov Functions Approach

Abstract: This paper studies the global pinning synchronization problem for a class of complex networks with switching directed topologies. The common assumption in the existing related literature that each possible network topology contains a directed spanning tree is removed in this paper. Using tools from $M$ -matrix theory and stability analysis of the switched nonlinear systems, a new kind of network topology-dependent multiple Lyapunov functions is proposed for analyzing the synchronization behavior of the whole network. It is theoretically shown that the global pinning synchronization in switched complex networks can be ensured if some nodes are appropriately pinned and the coupling is carefully selected. Interesting issues of how many and which nodes should be pinned for possibly realizing global synchronization are further addressed. Finally, some numerical simulations on coupled neural networks are provided to verify the theoretical results.

A survey of sleep problems in autism, Asperger's disorder and typically developing children.

Abstract: BACKGROUND - Sleep problems are common in typically developing (TD) children and in children with autism, however, less is known about the sleep of children with Asperger's disorder (AD). The aim of this study was to compare sleep patterns of children with autism and AD to a TD group of children. METHODS - Sixty-six parents of TD children, 53 parents of children with autism, and.. parents of children with AD completed a survey on their child's sleep patterns, the nature and severity of any sleep problems and success of any treatment attempted. RESULTS - The results showed high prevalence of sleep problems with significantly more problems reported in the autism and AD groups (TD = .50%, autism = 73%, AD = 73%), with no significant differences between groups on severity or type of sleep problem. Children with AD were significantly more likely to be sluggish and disoriented after waking and had a higher Behavioral Evaluation of Disorders of Sleep (BEDS) total score compared to the other two groups. The autism and AD groups reported significantly better treatment success for medication compared to the TD group. The autism group reported significantly better success for behavioural treatment compared to the AD group. CONCLUSIONS - In conclusion, children with AD may have more symptoms of sleep disturbance, and different types of sleep problems than children with autism. As this is the first study to compare autism and AD and to survey treatment outcomes, further research is needed to validate these findings.