Comparative study of family environment characteristics of children with high and low academic performance

The purpose of this study was to identify different aspects of family context, ranging from the socioeconomic level (SEL) up to the expectations regarding the future of the children, which might be influencing their academic performance. For such purpose, the studied population consisted of two groups of 20 children each: a low academic performance (LAP) group and a high academic performance (HAP) group. A questionnaire was used to assess the SEL, parents' schooling and family structure, and an interview form investigated the child's developmental history. The results show that, overall, the family environment of children from the LAP group tend to exhibit a greater number of misfortunes ever since their conception and their families present lower SEL and schooling. On the other hand, families of the children from the HAP group provide more material support and stimulation for development of the children. In addition, their mothers have greater participation in the parents-teachers meetings.O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar diferentes aspectos do contexto familiar, desde nível sócio-econômico (NSE) até as expectativas com relação ao futuro das crianças, que possam influenciar o rendimento acadêmico das mesmas. Para isto, a amostra foi composta por dois grupos com 20 crianças cada: um grupo com baixo rendimento acadêmico (BRA) e outro com alto rendimento (ARA). Utilizou-se um formulário para investigar o NSE, escolaridade dos pais e estrutura familiar e um roteiro de entrevista para investigar a história de desenvolvimento da criança. Os resultados mostram que, de modo geral, o ambiente familiar das crianças do grupo BRA tende a apresentar um número maior de adversidades desde a concepção dessas crianças e essas famílias apresentam NSE e escolaridade mais baixos. Em contrapartida, as famílias do grupo ARA oferecem mais materiais e estímulos para o desenvolvimento das crianças e as mães participam mais das reuniões escolares

Análise do relatório de avaliação psicológica da clientela de classe especial para deficiente mental

The data contained in the Psychological Evaluation Reports from the special classes for mental deficient children were analyzed in this work according the schedule proposed in the Intrução DAE\SE, published in the Diário Oficial do Estado de São Paulo (1986). Others analyses were added considering the researchers' interest. It was possible verify that the Reports were available in 79% of the students. The analyse of the data demonstrated that there was no agreement pattern between the psychologists in performing the evaluation as were as in presenting the results. Different kinds of techniques and tests were used and most of them were related to intellectual level evaluation. Among the Reports analyzed some of them presents the IQ values (25%), and most of them do not mention the kind of class to be attended by the child (38%) neither contain any orientation in order to help the teacher towards his work with the child (47%).Os dados contidos nos Relatórios de Avaliação Psicológica dos alunos que freqüentam classe especial para deficiente mental foram analisados neste trabalho, tomando-se por base o modelo proposto na Instrução DAE\SE, publicada no Diário Oficial do Estado de São Paulo (1986), sendo acrescentadas outras análises do interesse dos pesquisadores. Verificou-se a existência de Relatório para cerca de 79% dos alunos e a análise dos dados mostrou a ausência de um padrão consensual entre os psicólogos para a realização da avaliação e apresentação dos resultados e o uso de técnicas e testes variados com emprego mais freqüente dos testes de nível intelectual. Dentre os Relatórios analisados, alguns apresentam valores de QI (25%) e grande parte deles não contém qualquer indicação quanto ao tipo de classe que a criança deverá freqüentar (38%) e nem qualquer orientação ao professor visando auxiliá-lo no seu trabalho junto à criança (47%)

Adverse conditions in the life of children with developmental retardation

O objetivo deste estudo foi o de identificar os fatores de risco a que foram expostas as crianças portadoras de atraso no desenvolvimento, encaminhadas ao Centro de Psicologia Aplicada da FFCLRP-USP, nos últimos cinco anos. O grupo ficou constituído por doze meninos e dez meninas, cujas idades variavam de um mês a oito anos. Os dados foram extraídos das entrevistas realizadas com as mães, no momento da inscrição da criança junto ao serviço. Os problemas referidos pelas mães, na queixa, bem como os eventos e as circunstâncias adversas relatados, na história de vida da criança, foram classificados de acordo com os Sistemas de Categorias elaborados pelas autoras desse estudo. Os resultados mostram que, além do atraso, aparecem referidos na queixa, com maior freqüência, os problemas de fala, coordenação motora, aprendizagem e agitação/inquietude. A análise das circunstâncias adversas, presentes na história de vida desse grupo de crianças, evidenciou que todas elas foram expostas a uma ou mais das condições de risco biológico, sendo as mais freqüentes: problemas congênitos, problemas de saúde física da mãe durante a gestação, problemas de saúde física da criança, crises convulsivas, complicações no parto e hospitalização. Além disso, observou-se que 36% das crianças havia sido exposta a fatores de risco ambiental, especialmente aqueles ligados a atitudes e práticas de cuidado e educação inadequadas. Com base nos resultados, discutem-se as implicações da presença do risco biológico como condição importante para o acesso da criança e da família a serviços especializados.The objective of the present study was to identify the risk factors to which children with delayed development referred to the Center of Applied Psychology of FFCLRP-USP over the last five years had been exposed. The group consisted of 12 boys and 10 girls ranging in age from 1 month to 8 years. The data were extracted from the interviews held with the mothers as the time of child enrollment in the service. The problems reported by de mothers on the occasion of the complaint and the adverse events and circumstances that ocurred in the child’s life were classified according to the Category System elaborated by the authors of the present study. The results showed that, in addition to retardation, the most frequent problems reported on the occasion of the complaint were speech, motor coordination, learning and agitation/restlessness problems. Analysis of the adverse circumstances in the life history of this group of children demonstrated that all of them had been exposed to one or more biological risk conditions, the most frequent being congenital problems, mother’s physical health problems during pregnancy, child’s physical health problems, convulsive seizures, complications of delivery, and hospitalization. Furthermore, 36% of the children had been exposed to environmental risk factors, especially those linked to inadequate attitudes and practices of care and education. On the basis of the results obtained, we discuss the implications of the presence of biological risks as an important condition for access to specialized services on the part of the children and their families

Weak C-H...Cl-Pd interactions toward conformational polymorphism in trans-dichloridobis (triphenylphosphane) palladium (II)

A new triclinic polymorph of the title compound, [PdCl2(C18H15P)2], has two independent mol­ecules in the unit cell, with the Pd atoms located on inversion centres. One mol­ecule has an eclipsed conformation, whereas the second mol­ecule adopts a gauche conformation. The mol­ecules with a gauche conformation are involved in weak inter­molecular C-H...Cl-Pd inter­actions with symmetry-related mol­ecules. It is suggested that C-H...Cl-Pd inter­actions are mainly responsible for the existence of conformational differences, which contribute to the polymorph formation. In the crystal, there are layers of eclipsed and gauche mol­ecules separated by normal van der Waals inter­actions.FAPESP (09/08131-1)CNPqCAPESPROE

Topical and Intradermal Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy with Methylene Blue and Light-Emitting Diode in the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania braziliensis

 Introduction: The topical and intradermal photodynamic therapy (PDT) effect of methylene blue (MB) using light-emitting diode (LED) as light source (MB/LED-PDT) in the treatment of lesions of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) caused by Leishmania braziliensis in hamsters were investigated.Methods: Hamsters were infected in the footpad with 4×107 promastigotes of L. braziliensis and divided in 4 groups: Control group was not treated, AmB group was treated with amphotericin B, MB-Id group received intradermal MB at the edge of the lesion and MB-Tp group received MB topic. After treatment with MB, the animals were illuminated using red LEDs at the 655 nm wavelength for 1 hour. The MB/LED-PDT was carried out three times a week for 12 weeks.Results: Animals of MB-Tp group presented lesion healing with significant diminution in extent of the lesion, and reduced parasite burden compared to control group; however, no significant difference was seen compared to the AmB group. MB-Tp group also showed reconstitution of the epithelium, the formation of collagen fibers, organization in the epidermis, a little disorganization and inflammation in the dermis. MB-Id was ineffective in all parameters evaluated, and it was comparable to the control group results.Conclusion: These data show that PDT with the use of MB-Tp and LED may be an alternative for the treatment of ACL. However, additional studies are being conducted to assess the potential of MB/LED-PDT, alone or in combination with conventional therapy, for the treatment of ACL

Antiprotozoal activity of the cyclopalladated complexes against leishmania amazonensis and trypanosoma cruzi

The present study describes the antiprotozoal activities of four cyclopalladated compounds, [Pd(dmba)(μ-Cl)]2, [Pd(dmba)(NCO)(isn)], [Pd(dmba)(N3)(isn)] and [Pd(dmba)(μ-NCO)]2, (dmba: N,N'-dimethylbenzylamine and isn: isonicotinamide), against the diseases leishmaniasis (Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania infantum), Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi) and human African trypanosomiasis (Trypanosoma brucei). [Pd(dmba)(μ-NCO)]2 exhibited good leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities against L. amazonensis and T. cruzi intracellular amastigote forms, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of less than 9 µM and selectivity indexes of 14.47 and 28.42, respectively. Stability essays were conducted in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) pH 7.0 and showed that [Pd(dmba)(μ-NCO)]2 is the most stable molecule. These findings indicate that this compound presented higher selectivity for these parasites than the other tested compounds. The data presented here suggest that this compound should be considered in the development of new and more potent drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis and Chagas disease27610321039COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informação201308248-

Control of gastrintestinal parasitic nematodes by Arthrobotrys musiformis in naturally infested sheep maintained on pastures

Este trabalho objetivou avaliar, in vitro e in vivo, o fungo predador Arthrobotrys musiformis, administrado via oral na forma de conídios microencapsulados em alginato ou in natura em meio líquido, após passagem pelo trato gastrintestinal de ovinos. No teste in vitro, avaliou-se a manutenção da atividade predatória, e no teste in vivo, a capacidade de controlar nematóides parasitos de ovinos naturalmente infectados, mantidos em pastagens. O resultado do teste in vitro confirmou a viabilidade de A. musiformis (95,5%), mesmo após a passagem pelo trato gastrintestinal. Na avaliação in vivo, não houve diferença estatística entre o número de ovos por grama de fezes dos grupos tratados e controle, provavelmente em razão da baixa lotação dos piquetes, da quantidade e periodicidade insuficientes de oferecimento de conídios aos ovinos, o que teria proporcionado dispersão e migração das larvas na pastagem. Contudo, os helmintos recuperados na necropsia dos animais traçadores mostraram que A. musiformis reduziu em 50,9% e 57,6% o número de Trichostrongylus colubriformis dos grupos tratados com conídios microencapsulados e in natura, respectivamente, e em 95% o número de L4 de Haemonchus do grupo tratado com conídios in natura. Embora os resultados não sejam conclusivos, A. musiformis mostrou-se promissor agente no biocontrole de nematóides parasitos gastrintestinais.The objective of the present study was to assess in vitro and in vivo the predatory fungus Arthrobotrys musiformis administered orally, in the form of alginate-microencapsulated conidia, or in natura in liquid medium after passage through the gastrointestinal tract of sheep. Maintenance of the predatory activity of the fungus was evaluated in the in vitro test, and its ability to control parasitic nematodes in naturally infested sheep maintained on pastures was analyzed in the in vivo test. The result of the in vitro test confirmed the viability of A. musiformis (95.5%) even after passage through the gastrointestinal tract. In vivo analysis revealed no difference in the number of eggs per gram between treated and control groups, probably because of the low crowding of the corrals, the insufficient amount and interval time of conidial supplying, permitting dispersal and migration of the larvae in the pasture. However, helminths recovered at autopsy from the tracer animals showed that A. musiformis reduced 50.9% and 57.6% the number of Trichostrongylus colubriformis in the groups treated with microencapsulated conidia and conidia in natura, respectively, and 95% the number of L4 larvae of Haemonchus in the group treated with conidia in natura. Despite the inconclusiveness of the results, A. musiformis was considered a promising agent in the biocontrol of gastrintestinal parasitic nematodes