Narrow band quantitative and multivariate electroencephalogram analysis of peri-adolescent period

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The peri-adolescent period is a crucial developmental moment of transition from childhood to emergent adulthood. The present report analyses the differences in Power Spectrum (PS) of the Electroencephalogram (EEG) between late childhood (24 children between 8 and 13 years old) and young adulthood (24 young adults between 18 and 23 years old). RESULTS: The narrow band analysis of the Electroencephalogram was computed in the frequency range of 0--20 Hz. The analysis of mean and variance suggested that six frequency ranges presented a different rate of maturation at these ages, namely: low delta, delta-theta, low alpha, high alpha, low beta and high beta. For most of these bands the maturation seems to occur later in anterior sites than posterior sites. Correlational analysis showed a lower pattern of correlation between different frequencies in children than in young adults, suggesting a certain asynchrony in the maturation of different rhythms. The topographical analysis revealed similar topographies of the different rhythms in children and young adults. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated the same internal structure for the Electroencephalogram of both age groups. Principal Component Analysis allowed to separate four subcomponents in the alpha range. All these subcomponents peaked at a lower frequency in children than in young adults. CONCLUSIONS: The present approaches complement and solve some of the incertitudes when the classical brain broad rhythm analysis is applied. Children have a higher absolute power than young adults for frequency ranges between 0-20 Hz, the correlation of Power Spectrum (PS) with age and the variance age comparison showed that there are six ranges of frequencies that can distinguish the level of EEG maturation in children and adults. The establishment of maturational order of different frequencies and its possible maturational interdependence would require a complete series including all the different ages.     

A Method of Orthogonal Oligosaccharide Synthesis Leading to a Combinatorial Library Based on Stationary Solid‐Phase Reaction

A new, efficient synthesis of oligosaccharides, which involves solid‐phase reactions without mixing in combination with an orthogonal‐glycosylation strategy, is described. Despite a great deal of biological interest, the combinatorial chemistry of oligosaccharides is an extremely difficult subject. The problems include 1) lengthy synthetic protocols required for the synthesis and 2) the variety of glycosylation conditions necessary for individual reactions. These issues were addressed and solved by using the orthogonal‐coupling protocol and the application of a temperature gradient to provide appropriate conditions for individual reactions. Furthermore, we succeeded in carrying out solid‐phase reactions with neither mechanical mixing nor flow. In this report, the synthesis of a series of trisaccharides, namely, α/β‐L ‐Fuc‐(1→6)‐α/β‐D ‐Gal‐(1→2/3/4/6)‐α/β‐D ‐Glc‐octyl, is reported to demonstrate the eligibility of the synthetic method in combinatorial chemistry.     

An efficient synthesis of a new class of spiroheterocycles: diastereoselective synthesis of dihydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines

Isoquinoline reacts with diaroylacetylenes in the presence of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in a one-pot reaction to afford functionalized spiropyrroloisoquinolines in 90-96% yields.     

Causal loop diagrams as a de-escalation technique

Escalation of commitment, the tendency of decision makers to keep on investing in losing courses of action, has been shown to be a costly decision bias that affects many areas of decision making. Even though escalation is a widely studied phenomenon, there has been comparatively little research on how to avoid this bias. The present study focuses on de-escalation of commitment and proposes that causal loop diagrams (CLDs) can help to decrease escalating commitment to a failing course of action. By means of an experiment, this study shows that using a CLD decreases escalation tendencies.