The initial reliability and construct validity of the Autism Spectrum Disorder-Diagnostic (ASD-DC) in children

The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability and construct validity of a newly developed assessment scale designed to identify autism spectrum disorders in children: Autism Spectrum Disorder-Diagnostic for Children (ASD-DC). Participants were parents and caregivers of children between ages 2 and 16 years, who are typically developing or developmentally delayed. Participants were asked to complete several rating scales including the ASD-DC, a DSM-IV-TR/ICD-10 checklist, the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills in Youngsters (MESSY), and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Version 2 (BASC-2). In Study 1, the test-retest, inter-rater, and inter-item reliabilities of the ASD-DC was examined. After initial reliability analysis, the scale was reduced to 37 items. The ASD-DC was found to have good to excellent inter-rater reliability, and excellent test-retest reliability. The 37 item scale had excellent internal consistency (Ą = .99) and adequate item-scale correlations. In Study 2, the construct validity of the ASD-DC was investigated by evaluating the pattern of correlations (i.e., convergent and divergent validity) among the administered scales utilizing a correlation matrix. The ASD-DC converged with another measure of autism (i.e., DSM-IV-TR/ICD-10 checklist) and other associated symptoms of ASD. Further, divergence was observed when the ASD-DC was correlated with measures of social skills and functional communication. Based on the results of this initial study of the ASD-DC, the psychometric properties of this new scale are promising and warrant further investigation. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed

Mania and intellectual disability: the course of mania symptoms in persons with disability over three years

Although bipolar disorder was one of the earliest described mental illnesses, there is a dearth of research on bipolar disorder in individuals with intellectual deficits. The present study aimed to extend this literature by comparing the presence and variation of manic symptoms over time of persons with intellectual deficits with and without bipolar disorder. Three groups of individuals participated: a bipolar group, a psychopathology group (other than bipolar disorder) and a control group. Two dependent measures of mania were taken from retrospective data, Mania subscale of the DASH-II and a Criterion-referenced subscale. The presence and consistency of mania symptom endorsements were analyzed over time and across groups. Results indicated that the bipolar group had greater mean endorsements on the Criterion-referenced subscale than the psychopathology and control groups. Further, manic symptom endorsements were more stable over time in the bipolar group than the other two groups. This pattern of serial correlations was inconsistent with hypotheses. These findings are tempered by the fact that the patterns of serial correlations in comparative anchor subscales were also unanticipated. In order to clarify these unexpected findings, research is needed to examine the accuracy of staff to report the frequency of symptomology

Reproductive Biology of the Bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) from the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coast

Understanding the life history of marine wildlife is essential for the management of both commercial and recreational fisheries. Bonnetheads (Sphyrna tiburo) are a component of the small coastal shark (SCS) fishery complex, and are caught regularly in both types of fisheries. Despite being well studied in the Gulf of Mexico, little is known about bonnetheads from the U.S. Atlantic coast. The goal of the first component of this study was to provide new, key information on their life history to improve management of U.S. Atlantic populations, particularly by identifying reproductive seasonality, periodicity and fecundity. This was accomplished by examining sexually mature male and female bonnetheads, collected monthly (2012-2014) from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida waters, and monitoring changes in reproductive tract morphology. Changes reflected a seasonal reproductive cycle with an annual breeding periodicity. Histology was used to confirm events and identify other important periods in the reproductive cycle, such as sperm storage in females. Overall, Atlantic coast bonnetheads were found to exhibit reproductive patterns similar to those reported in the Gulf with slight temporal shifts in the time of mating and ovulation and slightly lower fecundity ranging between 1 and 12 with an average (±SE) of 7±3.8. Additionally, the second component of this study aimed to understand gonadal sex hormone regulation in S. tiburo reproduction with a particular focus on female sperm storage. Circulating plasma sex hormones increased in association with specific reproductive events. Plasma 17β-estradiol and testosterone concentrations increased during sperm storage, whereas progesterone levels increased near the end of this stage. Immunocytochemical analysis of androgen, estrogen, and progesterone receptors in the oviducal viii gland, the organ that stores sperm in female bonnetheads, demonstrated that epithelial cells of sperm storage tubules and spermatozoa itself are direct targets for these hormones, playing a role in regulating this poorly understood process

How Digital Leadership competences and IT Capabilities affect an organization\u27s ability to digitally transform and adopt new technologies

Although much research has been done into the importance of IT Capabilities (ITC), Digital Leadership (DL) and Digital Transformation (DT) with regard to organizations’ firm performance and ability to thrive in the current digital market, there is little research on qualifying which specific ITC and DL competences affect the success of an organization\u27s DT and ultimately impact their ability to adopt newly emerging technologies. This research aims to address the influence of DL and ITC on DT as well as which specific DL competences and ITC might ultimately affect an organization’s ability to successfully adopt newly emerging digital technologies. Quantitative data collected through a survey was used for this analysis. It was found that Architecture Design (DLA5) has the strongest positive affect on DT

Instituciones financieras: Marco legal tributario relativo a la declaración y pago anual del impuesto sobre la renta aplicado al Banco La Fise Bancentro en el periodo fiscal 2013

En el presente trabajo abordaremos aspectos relevantes dentro de las finanzas e instituciones financieras, dimos a conocer que dentro de las opciones de financiamiento a largo plazo se encuentran las deudas la cual tienden a tener un plazo de duración mayor a dos años, así mismo podemos encontrar las obligaciones con las que deben cumplir tales instituciones en las que podemos encontrar el pago de impuesto, en tanto las acciones además de proporcionarle recursos a la empresa con la emisión de esta ,la misma hacen que se disminuyan la participación de los socios en la utilidades de la empresa, los bonos son llamados título de deuda y finalmente los arrendamiento financiero que son créditos por el goce de un activos fijo. En el actual mundo de la banca, el cumplimiento de las obligaciones tributarias constituye un elemento fundamental derivado de las actividades propias de cada organización. Por ello, es necesario administrar las obligaciones impositivas de forma tal que dentro de un marco de legalidad se logre minimizar del costo tributario sobre el desempeño de los bancos. Sin dejar atrás la forma en que declaran el impuesto sobre la renta los bancos donde elaboraremos un caso práctico en el cual mostraremos las instrucciones para el llenado del formulario de pago, haciendo referencia a la declaración de este impuesto, así mismo hablaremos de las leyes que regulan este impuesto dentro de las instituciones financieras, en este caso enfocándonos en la declaración anual de LAFISE BANCENTRO

An Exploration of Art Therapy Services Offered to University Community Members During Transition

This qualitative case study examined art therapy services offered by Loyola Marymount University\u27s Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic to university students and staff amidst the transition back to in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of interventions and clinical themes that emerged as a result of the services offered to members of the university as they transitioned back to in-person services. Two focus groups were held to gather data from participants and facilitators of the workshops. The analysis of this data led researchers to find that the art therapy services resulted in decreased stress and created a sense of community support amongst both participants and facilitators. In addition, the researchers found other emergent clinical themes that were illuminated in the data collected from both focus groups. The findings from this study are supported by literature that aligns with the outcomes from the workshops: being effective in managing stress and building community support

Diseño de un sistema de control de gestión aplicando una reingeniería de procesos al área de abastecimiento (compras e importaciones) en una empresa que se dedica al desarrollo, producción y comercialización de vinos, licores y demás productos afines

Este proyecto fue aplicado a una compañía dedicada al desarrollo, producción y comercialización de vinos, licores y demás productos afines. En vista de su constante crecimiento, esta empresa decidió realizar un cambio sustancial en el sistema de compras que utilizaba para una mejora en el uso de los recursos materiales y financieros. Motivo por el cual optó valerse de un Sistema de Control de Gestión basado en indicadores de Gestión y desempeño para el proceso de compras, el mismo que básicamente constituye el corebusiness del negocio. A continuación se desarrollan 5 capítulos, los mismos que están definidos de la siguiente forma: En el capítulo I se describirán los conceptos que llevaron a la realización de este proyecto, sus objetivos y limitaciones. En el capítulo II se detallará información utilizada como referencia para el desarrollo de este proyecto. En el capítulo III se analizará la información propia del entorno de la compañía en estudio; como por ejemplo: estructura organizacional del departamento de compras, el proceso actual de compras de la compañía, flujogramas, fuentes de datos, etc. En el capítulo IV se realizara el análisis de los datos obtenidos, así como se planteará los flujogramas de las propuesta de mejora planteadas. En el Capitulo V se mencionarán las conclusiones y recomendaciones en base a los resultados obtenidos en este proyecto

Who Can Deviate from the Party Line? Political Ideology Moderates Evaluation of Incongruent Policy Positions in Insula and Anterior Cingulate Cortex

Political polarization at the elite level is a major concern in many contemporary democracies, which is argued to alienate large swaths of the electorate and prevent meaningful social change from occurring, yet little is known about how individuals respond to political candidates who deviate from the party line and express policy positions incongruent with their party affiliations. This experiment examines the neural underpinnings of such evaluations using functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants completed an experimental task where they evaluated policy positions attributed to hypothetical political candidates. Each block of trials focused on one candidate (Democrat or Republican), but all participants saw two candidates from each party in a randomized order. On each trial, participants received information about whether the candidate supported or opposed a specific policy issue. These issue positions varied in terms of congruence between issue position and candidate party affiliation. We modeled neural activity as a function of incongruence and whether participants were viewing ingroup or outgroup party candidates. Results suggest that neural activity in brain regions previously implicated in both evaluative processing and work on ideological differences (insula and anterior cingulate cortex) differed as a function of the interaction between incongruence, candidate type (ingroup versus outgroup), and political ideology. More liberal participants showed greater activation to incongruent versus congruent trials in insula and ACC, primarily when viewing ingroup candidates. Implications for the study of democratic representation and linkages between citizens’ calls for social change and policy implementation are discussed