ABSTRACT
Objective:To develop the screening checklist of brief interview for autism disorder suitable for Chinese children and evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods:Based on existed research results and diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder of DSM-5, the screening checklist of brief interview for autism spectrum disorder(SCAD) was developed. A sample of 238 children were selected for investigation and 28 of them were retested for test-retest reliability with 2-4 weeks interval. Cronbach's α coefficient, split-half correlation coefficient, test-retest reliability, and evaluator consistency were used to test the reliability of the scale. Content validity, construct validity and empirical validity were used to test the validity of the scale.All statistical analysis were conducted by SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 17.0.Results:The SCAD contains two components and six dimensions, with a total of 25 items. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.936 for the total scale and were 0.938, 0.771 for the two components. The split-half coefficient for the total scale and the two components were 0.962, 0.938 and 0.794. The test-retest reliability for the total scale and the two components were 0.806, 0.795 and 0.766. The Kendall coefficient for the total scale and the two components were 0.968, 0.982 and 0.950. The SCAD item-level content validity index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.66 to 0.98 and the Kappa value ranged from 0.66 to 0.98. The scale-level content validity S-CVI/UA and S-CVI/Ave were 0.89 and 0.94. The correlations between SCAD and calibration tests such as ABC, CARS and M-CHAT were 0.54, 0.53 and 0.87, and the correlation coefficients with the M-CHAT-R/F between the two components were 0.87 and 0.76 respectively (both P<0.01). The result of CFA demonstrated that the model fitted the data with well construct validity(χ 2/ df=0.910, RMR=0.049, AGFI=0.974, RMSEA=0.010, PNFI=0.530, PCFI=0.533, NFI=0.994, RFI=0.988, CFI=1.000). The correlation coefficient of the two components was 0.88 and that with the total scale were 0.97 and 0.90, each dimensions with the total scale ranged from 0.72 to 0.93. Conclusion:The SCAD has a good reliability and validity, and it can be used as a clinical screening tool for children with autism spectrum disorder.
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Objective To study the influence of pregnant rats' prenatal chronic stress (PS) on learning and memory of their offspring rats and its possible molecular mechanisms.Methods Pregnant females were individually restrained for 45 min 3 times a day during pregnancy from day 14 to day 21.Control pregnant females were left undisturbed in their home cages.The rat offsprings were randomly assigned to PS group or control group.Males and females were kept for the study separately.The learning and memory of the developing rat offspring in the Morris water maze were examined.The basal levels of corticosterone (COR) and adreno-cortico-tropic-hormone (ACTH) were analyzed by using radioimmunoassay.The Golgi-Cox impregnation technique was used to compare density and morphology of the CA1 hippocampal dendritic spines.Results The escape latency (EL) to find the platform in the control group was significantly less than that in the PS group in female rat offspring (F =4.533,P ＜ 0.05),and the difference was statistically significant on the 5th day (t =2.788,P ＜ 0.01).EL to find the platform in the control group was significantly less than that in the PS group in male rat offspring (F =6.101,P ＜0.05),and the difference was statistically significant on the second day (t =3.051,P ＜ 0.01).In the space exploration experiments of the water maze,the retention time observed for the control group and the PS group in the goal quadrant was similar(P ＞ 0.05).The basal levels of the serum COR in the PS group were higher than those in the control group of female rat offspring(t =3.658,P ＜ 0.01) and the basal levels of the serum ACTH in the PS group were higher than those in the control group of male rat offsprings(t =2.319,P ＜ 0.05).A simplified pattern was observed in the CA1 hippocampal dendritic spines in the PS group,showing a less extent of dendritic arborization and the density was significantly lower than that in the control group(t =-3.072,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Altered function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the offspring mediates the cognitive alterations observed following prenatal stress should to be associated with the lower density and simplified pattern of CA1 dendritic spines.
ABSTRACT
With the rapid development of modern technology, some new ideas and equipments have been successfully used to resolve one of worldwide problem- rehabilitation of cerebral palsy. Adeli suit treat-ment,a new technological method,which selects spacesuit as the main equipment of intensive training,now has been tentatively used in the United States and Europe. This article focuses on the principles,methods and efficacy of Adeli suit treatment in order to provide a new rehabilitation method for cerebral palsy.