Thienoisoindigo (TII)-Based Quinoidal Small Molecules for High-Performance n-Type Organic Field Effect Transistors.

A novel quinoidal thienoisoindigo (TII)-containing small molecule family with dicyanomethylene end-capping units and various alkyl chains is synthesized as n-type organic small molecules for solution-processable organic field effect transistors (OFETs). The molecular structure of the 2-hexyldecyl substituted derivative, TIIQ-b16, is determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction and shows that the TIIQ core is planar and exhibits molecular layers stacked in a "face-to-face" arrangement with short core intermolecular distances of 3.28 Å. The very planar core structure, shortest intermolecular N···H distance (2.52 Å), existence of an intramolecular non-bonded contact between sulfur and oxygen atom (S···O) of 2.80 Å, and a very low-lying LUMO energy level of -4.16 eV suggest that TIIQ molecules should be electron transporting semiconductors. The physical, thermal, and electrochemical properties as well as OFET performance and thin film morphologies of these new TIIQs are systematically studied. Thus, air-processed TIIQ-b16 OFETs exhibit an electron mobility up to 2.54 cm2 V-1 s-1 with a current ON/OFF ratio of 105-106, which is the first demonstration of TII-based small molecules exhibiting unipolar electron transport characteristics and enhanced ambient stability. These results indicate that construction of quinoidal molecule from TII moiety is a successful approach to enhance n-type charge transport characteristics.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire: a global screening scale / Ages and Stages Questionnaire: una escala de evaluación global

Abstract: With standardized screening tools, research studies have shown that developmental disabilities can be detected reliably and with validity in children as young as 4 months of age by using the instruments such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. In this review, we will focus on one tool, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, to illustrate the usefulness of developmental screening across the globe.

Resumen: Mediante el uso de herramientas de evaluación estandarizada, algunos estudios de investigación han demostrado que discapacidades de desarrollo se pueden detectar con fiabilidad y validez en niños desde los 4 meses de edad mediante el uso de los instrumentos estandarizados como el Ages and Stages Questionnaire (Cuestionario de las Edades y Etapas). Para ilustrar la utilidad de la evaluación del desarrollo infantil a escala global, en este trabajo se revisará la herramienta Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire: a global screening scale.

With standardized screening tools, research studies have shown that developmental disabilities can be detected reliably and with validity in children as young as 4 months of age by using the instruments such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. In this review, we will focus on one tool, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, to illustrate the usefulness of developmental screening across the globe.

Validity and reliability of the developmental assessment screening scale.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate the 6-year Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) for school-age children. METHODS: Parents/caregivers of children 66-78 months were recruited from 6 countries and 15 states in the United States. Similar to other ASQ intervals, the 6-year ASQ has five developmental domains targeted for children from 66 months to 78 months of age. We assessed internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, the scale structure, validity (correlation coefficients), and utility of the 6-year ASQ. The 6-year ASQ screens development in five domains using 30 items. RESULTS: Coefficient alpha measuring internal consistency was 0.97. Test-retest reliability was estimated by having parents complete two ASQ's on the same child within a week interval. Correlations between scores of the two ASQ's reflected stability of scores. Test-retest reliability results were robust with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94. Factor analysis results resulted in a five factors structure. The Pearson correlations coefficients between the latent variables were moderate to large and statistically significant, P < 0.0001. The 6-year ASQ screens development in five domains using 30 items. The administration time varied from 10 to 60 min with a mean of 15.17 min. General utility result shows that the 6-year ASQ can be used with satisfaction by caregivers, pediatricians, professionals, and parents. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data on the 6-year ASQ reflected promising results. An easy-to-administer, accurate caregiver-completed screening tool may increase the frequency of screening for school-age children.

Overview of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Young Children.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex disorder, which can be seen as a disorder of life time, developing in preschool years and manifesting symptoms (full and/or partial) throughout the adulthood; therefore, it is not surprising that there are no simple solutions. The aim of this paper is to provide a short and concise review which can be used to inform affected children and adults; family members of affected children and adults, and other medical, paramedical, non-medical, and educational professionals about the disorder. This paper has also tried to look into the process of how ADHD develops; what are the associated problems; and how many other children and adults are affected by such problems all over the world basically to understand ADHD more precisely in order to develop a better medical and or non-medical multimodal intervention plan. If preschool teachers and clinicians are aware of what the research tells us about ADHD, the varying theories of its cause, and which areas need further research, the knowledge will assist them in supporting the families of children with ADHD. By including information in this review about the connection between biological behavior, it is hoped that preschool teachers and clinicians at all levels will feel more confident about explaining to parents of ADHD children, and older ADHD children themselves about the probable causes of ADHD.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging: the impact of regression analysis.

PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of regression methods on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). During rsfMRI preprocessing, regression analysis is considered effective for reducing the interference of physiological noise on the signal time course. However, it is unclear whether the regression method benefits rsfMRI analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty volunteers (10 men and 10 women; aged 23.4 ± 1.5 years) participated in the experiments. We used node analysis and functional connectivity mapping to assess the brain default mode network by using five combinations of regression methods. RESULTS: The results show that regressing the global mean plays a major role in the preprocessing steps. When a global regression method is applied, the values of functional connectivity are significantly lower (P ≤ .01) than those calculated without a global regression. This step increases inter-subject variation and produces anticorrelated brain areas. CONCLUSION: rsfMRI data processed using regression should be interpreted carefully. The significance of the anticorrelated brain areas produced by global signal removal is unclear.

The effect of CCND1 +870A>G and VEGF +936C>T polymorphisms on oral cancer development and disease-free survival in a Taiwan population.

The association between polymorphisms in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) +936C>T and cyclin D1 (CCND1) +870A>G genes, oral cancer risk, and disease-free survival remains controversial. We found no association between polymorphisms in the CCND1 and VEGF genes and oral cancer development using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Clinical data indicated that the VEGF +936C>T polymorphisms were associated with larger tumor size and advanced cancer stage, but the χ(2) test did not show that CCND1 polymorphisms were associated with larger tumor size and advanced cancer stage. However, Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed no correlation between the VEGF +936C>T polymorphisms and poor disease-free survival. The CCND1 +870A>G polymorphisms (hazard ratio (HR)=1.62, 95% CI=1.10-2.46; adjusted HR=1.63, 95% CI=1.08-2.54) and larger tumor size were associated with poor 5-year disease-free survival by the log rank test and multivariate Cox proportional hazards model analysis. We hypothesized that polymorphisms in CCND1 +870A>G and VEGF +936C>T genes are not correlated with the development of oral cancer. We found the CCND1 +870G allele to be an independent risk factor for poor 5-year disease-free survival in oral cancer patients. VEGF +936C>T polymorphisms were not directly correlated with poor survival, but they might be associated with increased tumor size, which affected our disease-free survival results.