Sensitizing a Gifted Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder towards Social Cognition: From Assessment to Treatment

Social cognition difficulties are well documented in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This clinical case study reports on social cognition assessment and treatment of a gifted child, SC (9 years), with ASD and an extraordinarily high verbal IQ (146). The assessment of theory of mind, emotion recognition and pragmatic abilities showed some weaknesses in these areas. The 4- month treatment was divided into 14 sessions and was aimed at helping SC to improve his abilities to recognize emotions and comprehend mental states. The main technique used in the intervention was “social reading” with video clips. The initial assessment was repeated after the treatment and in a follow up session. The results of this case study suggest that “social reading” can be considered as a beneficial technique for children with high-functioning ASD, and especially in giftedness conditions

The Role of Predisposition to Hallucinations on Non-Clinical Paranoid vs. Socially Anxious Individuals after Hearing Negative Affective-Laden Sounds: An Experimental Investigation

Background: Research suggested that negative affective-laden sounds act as environmental stressors that elicit negative affect (Bradley and Lang, 2000a). Aims: We tried to test for the role of an interaction between predisposition to hallucinatory experiences and exposure to negative affective laden sounds for the presence of paranoid ideation. Method: We used an experimental design that followed the vulnerability × stress model. We defined three groups from a sample of students: paranoia group vs. social anxiety group vs. control group. Their psychological characteristics were measured through self-reports of paranoia, anxiety, predisposition to hallucinations and depressive symptoms at Time 1 (before the experiment). Participants had to listen to either negative affective laden sounds (e.g. screaming) or positive affective laden sounds (e.g. sound of ocean waves). Their paranoid ideation and positive vs. negative emotional reactions to sounds were measured through self-reports at Time 2 (after the experiment). Results: Data showed that the paranoia group presented more serious psychological vulnerabilities than the social anxiety group. A MANCOVA also showed that the independent variables (“group” and “experimental sound conditions”) had statistically significant main effects on general paranoia ideation at Time 2. Furthermore, there was a significant three-way interaction between group x predisposition to hallucinatory experiences × experimental condition of sounds for the presence of general paranoid ideation at Time 2. Limitations included the small sample size and the effects of parasite variables, e.g. noise. Conclusions: Individuals’ predisposition for hallucinatory experiences increases the probability of possessing paranoid ideation. This tendency is a characteristic of paranoid nonclinical individuals

The Relationship between Childhood Experiences of Submissiveness, External shame and Paranoia in a Portuguese Student Sample

Paranoia has been conceptualised as a form of defence against perceived threat that is associated to internal shame, issues of rank and history of trauma in clinical populations. We aimed to explore whether a student sample would show external and internal shame with paranoid ideation and if this is related to childhood experiences of threat. A total of 165 college students were given a battery of scales measuring non-clinical paranoid ideation and experiences of paranoia, submission, external and internal shame, forms of self-blame vs. blame others and childhood memories of a threatening family environment. Results supported our hypotheses. Portuguese students acknowledge experiences of paranoia and those that acknowledged paranoid experiences presented statistically significantly more shame and childhood experiences of threat and submissiveness towards significant others than the ones that do not acknowledge having paranoia. A linear regression with a LASSO model also showed that external shame was the only significant predictor of paranoia which supports new literature about the importance of shame memories in shaping paranoia. Clinical implications are inferred suggesting the importance of teaching students to manage feelings of shame as a way of preventing the onset of paranoid ideation

Obstructive sleep apnea associated with Diabetes mellitus Type 2: a proteomic study

Background: We previously showed that Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common public health concern causing deleterious cardiometabolic dysfunction, induced proteomic alterations in red blood cells (RBC) such as changes in the redox-oligomeric state of peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2)1-2. Herein, we aimed to investigate whether OSA patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus before and after positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment present similar changes in the RBC antioxidant protein PRDX2 to better understand the molecular basic mechanisms associated with OSA and OSA outcomes. Methods: RBC samples from control snorers (n=22 being 3 diabetics) and OSA patients before and after six month of PAP-treatment (n=29 being 8 diabetics) were analysed by non-reducing western blot using antibody against PRDX2 or PRDXSO2/3 to measure the total and overoxidized levels of monomeric/dimeric/multimeric forms of PRDX2. Results: We confirmed previously data by showing that in OSA RBC the overoxidation on the monomeric forms of PRDX2 was higher compared to controls. After PAP treatment, this overoxidation decreased followed by an increase of multimeric-overoxidized forms of PRDX2 described to be associated with chaperone protective function. In contrast, the level of PRDX2 monomers in RBC diabetic OSA, although higher abundant its overoxidation level was much lower than those observed in OSA without comorbidity and did not significant change after treatment. Moreover, the level of PAP-induced PRDX2-overoxidized-multimers was also lower in these diabetic OSA patients. The level of overoxidized monomeric/dimeric forms of PRDX2 correlated negatively with levels of insulin / triglycerides and HbA1C, respectively. After PAP, the level of (overoxidized) PRDX2SO2/3 multimers correlated positively with adrenaline levels. Conclusions: The redox/oligomeric state of RBC PRDX2 that is regulated by overoxidation of the active cysteines was differentially modulated in diabetic OSA patients compared to OSA without this comorbidity. PAP-induced overoxidized oligo forms of PRDX2 that is associated with chaperone protective function showed decreased in OSA patients with diabetes. The clinical impact of these findings needs further investigation and validation.Project partially supported by Harvard Medical School-Portugal Program (HMSP-ICJ/0022/2011), ToxOmics - Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health (FCT-UID/BIM/00009/2013).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Low Anisakis-specific IgE prevalence in dyspeptic patients in Italy – a retrospective study

Abstract The aims of this case-control study were to determine the prevalence of Anisakis-specific IgE in patients reporting chronic or acute gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and to investigate the correlation with raw fish ingestion habits. A group of patients undergoing gastric endoscopy and a control group of healty subjects answered a self-administered questionnaire on their food habits, presence of symptoms (both allergic and not allergic), and general life style. The presence of anti-Anisakis IgE has been evaluated using a serum immunoCAP assay. Our data show a low prevalence of IgE directed against Anisakis allergens in Italy in dyspeptic patients, despite the high consumption of poorly cooked fish. These findings does not correlate with the results of studies from other Mediterranean countries, such as Spain, for example.The general prevalence of Anisakis allergens sensitization in Italy could be further investigated through screenings in the allergic population, especially on those patients who claim to have developed a fish allergy and with history of raw fish consumption. Moreover, the attention should be moved on recent allergic reactions associated with fishing ingestion. This could in fact indicate a recent encounter with the parasite. Finally, we must underline that the evaluation of Anisakis-specific IgG would have probably shown a difference in terms of exposure between the two groups; thus, it might be useful to detect also this antibody class in future population-based studies

Interventions infirmières soutenant les proches aidants d'adultes atteints d'un cancer en phase de traitement curatif: revue de littérature étoffée

Le cancer est l’une des principales causes de décès dans le monde. En Suisse, le taux de mortalité chez les hommes s’élève à 30% et 23% chez les femmes. En raison du vieillissement de la population, des nouveaux cas de cancer sont en évolution selon les statistiques de 2015. Les traitements ambulatoires sont beaucoup plus présents, ainsi les prestations de soins prodigués par les proches aidants seront plus importantes à l’avenir. Les traitements administrés auront non seulement un impact pour les patients mais également sur les proches aidants

Papel do ómega-3 marinho nas Perturbações do Espectro do Autismo e Perturbações de Hiperatividade e Défice de Atenção - uma revisão focada na dieta das mães

As Perturbações do Espectro do Autismo (PEA) e Perturbações de Hiperatividade e Défice de Atenção (PHDA) são duas doenças do neurodesenvolvimento cada vez mais prevalentes. Este aumento parece estar associado a uma maior ingestão dietética de ácidos gordos polinsaturados n-6 (AGPI) e menor ingestão de AGPI n-3. O ácido docosahexaenóico (DHA), um AGPI n-3 nutricionalmente essencial, é crucial para um ótimo desenvolvimento neurológico durante o último trimestre da gravidez. Recentemente, menores níveis de DHA foram observados em crianças com PEA e PHDA. A presente revisão resume os principais achados investigacionais acerca do efeito da ingestão materna de DHA no desenvolvimento neurológico das crianças, com o objetivo de conhecer o seu papel na prevenção e melhoria sintomática das PEA e PHDA. Como principal resultado surge que uma baixa ingestão materna de DHA marinho afeta negativamente o desenvolvimento neurológico dos filhos. Embora maiores níveis de DHA ao nascimento tenham sido associados a um melhor desenvolvimento neurológico na infância, os resultados controversos encontrados para a suplementação pré-natal levantam a hipótese de que os efeitos benéficos do DHA podem ser influenciados por outros fatores, como o nível socioeconômico e o estilo de vida. Uma baixa ingestão materna de DHA, inversamente, parece aumentar o risco e a gravidade das PEA ou PHDA. Em conclusão, um consumo materno ótimo de produtos marinhos e ser amamentado pode promover alguma proteção neuronal nos filhos, confirmando o papel essencial do DHA como um fator de risco modificável para as PEA e PHDA.Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are two increasingly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders. This rise appears to be associated with a higher dietary intake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and lower of n-3 PUFAs. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a key nutritional n-3 PUFA, is crucial for an optimal offspring's neurodevelopment through the last trimester of pregnancy. Recently, lower DHA levels have been reported in children with ASD and ADHD. The present review summarizes the main research achievements concerning the effect of maternal DHA intake in children neurodevelopment, in order to elicit its role in the prevention and mitigation of ASD and ADHD. As main finding, a low maternal marine DHA intake seems negatively affect childhood neurodevelopment. Although higher DHA status at delivery were associated with better childhood neurodevelopmental, controversial results found in prenatal supplementation raised the hypothesis that the benefits of DHA may be influenced by other factors as socio-economic background and life-style. Low maternal DHA intake, conversely appears to raise the risk and the severity of ASD or ADHD. In conclusion, an optimal maternal consumption of marine products and being breastfeed may promote some neuronal protection in offspring, confirming the essential role of DHA as a modifiable risk factor for ASD and ADHD

Crimes de ódio “racismo e injuria racial” cometidos pela internet : suas diferenças e consequências penais

Diante do crescente aumento da utilização da internet como ferramenta de disseminação de crimes de ódio, como ênfase nesse trabalho, o racismo e injuria racial, é importante deixar salientar que além de ferir a honra subjetiva do indivíduo também fere a coletividade, dependendo do seu contexto. Contudo, a falta de clareza do termo racismo, expressado na lei, deixa o seu sentido uma interpretação ampla, como será visto, divergências na doutrina e jurisprudência, deixando assim esses crimes mais parecidos (racismo e injuria racial) podendo ser confundidos ou até mesmo ser julgados como iguais fossem. Há correntes que entendem essa posição. É importante salientar sobre a precária legislação pertinente que trata do tema, se tratando de delitos rotineiros que acontecem no mundo virtual. Foram feitas pesquisas legislativas, doutrinárias e jurisprudenciais e pôde-se concluir que os crimes de ódio devem ser entendidos como crimes politicamente motivados, intrinsecamente conectados ao contexto político-social em que tipificados e perpetrados. Ainda, por meio de análise comparada dos crimes de racismo e de injúria qualificada pelo preconceito racial, percebeu-se que o ordenamento jurídico pátrio abarca, em certa medida, tal compreensão dos crimes de ódio, atribuindo sanções mais gravosas ao crime de racismo

Female Athletes And Performance-Enhancer Usage

The purpose of this study was to develop a knowledge base on factors associated with performance-enhancer usage among female athletes at the high school level in order to identify markers for a future prevention-education program.  The study used a pretest-only, between-subjects Likert Scale survey to rank the importance of internal and external pressures that may lead to performance-enhancer usage among this population.  Subjects included 122 female athletes from top-ranked sport programs at 7 New Jersey high schools.  Descriptive and quantitative statistics were used to analyze the data at a p<.05 significance level.  The Chi Square Test of Homogeneity, Spearman Correlation Coefficient, Kruskal-Wallis One-Way ANOVA, and Scheffé Post-Hoc Test were used to analyze associations between the nine survey issues and five levels of importance.  Results indicated that subjects rated the pressure to win and self-induced competitive pressures as the two most important factors in leading to performance-enhancer usage.  Chi-Square results showed significant differences in the level of importance for each of the nine issues presented, while the Spearman Correlation revealed several correlations among certain issues.  The Kruskal-Wallis One-Way ANOVA showed significant differences in ranks when data were grouped by school and sport.  Post-Hoc analysis supported findings of the Kruskal-Wallis One-Way ANOVA.  This study provided descriptive and quantitative data that added to the existing research.  The findings may be used by health educators and athletic coaches for performance-enhancer prevention-education programs