ObjectivesAbnormal brain function in ASD patients changes dynamically across developmental stages. However, no one has studied the brain function of prepubertal children with ASD. Prepuberty is an important stage for children’s socialization. This study aimed to investigate alterations in local spontaneous brain activity in prepubertal boys with ASD.Materials and MethodsMeasures of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and regional homogeneity acquired from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging database, including 34 boys with ASD and 49 typically developing boys aged 7 to 10 (...) years, were used to detect regional brain activity. Pearson correlation analyses were conducted on the relationship between abnormal ALFF and ReHo values and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised scores.ResultsIn the ASD group, we found decreased ALFF in the left inferior parietal lobule and decreased ReHo in the left lingual gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle occipital gyrus, and right cuneus. There were negative correlations between ReHo values in the left LG and left STG and the ADOS social affect score and a negative correlation between ReHo values in the left STG and the calibrated severity total ADOS score.ConclusionBrain regions with functional abnormalities, including the left IPL, left LG, left STG, left MOG, and right cuneus may be crucial in the neuropathology of prepubertal boys with ASD. Furthermore, ReHo abnormalities in the left LG and left STG were correlated with sociality. These results will supplement the study of neural mechanisms in ASD at different developmental stages, and be helpful in exploring the neural mechanisms of prepubertal boys with ASD. (shrink)

To survive in a competitive environment, small and medium enterprises have had to adapt to the digital environment in order to adjust to customer needs globally, particularly in the post-COVID-19 world. The advantages of cloud computing provide opportunities for SMEs with a restricted budget and limited resources. To understand how SMEs adopt cloud computing in a complex digital environment, this study examines how antecedents combine with each other to explain the high adoption of cloud computing. From the perspectives of holism (...) and set theory, we draw on complexity and configuration theories, present a conceptual model including seven antecedents based on the technology-organization-environment framework, and conduct an asymmetric fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Through an empirical study with 123 Chinese companies, we identify nine combinations of determinant antecedents that lead to the high adoption of cloud computing. The results show that none of the factors are indispensable to explain a high adoption on their own; instead, they are insufficient but necessary parts of the causal combinations that explain a high adoption. This study contributes to the literature on cloud computing adoption by extending current knowledge on how antecedents combine to increase the adoption and identify specific patterns of SMEs for whom these factors are essential and greatly influence their adoption. (shrink)