Insight for Today and Tomorrow: The World of Special Education

These pages address the origin of disabilities and technologies impact on special education. The future of technology in special education, specific learning disabilities, common disorders, recommended computer software, and a directory of professional job opportunities related to special education will be addressed. With all these things in mind, this will be a guide to shape our perceptions and insights, regarding the world of special education and the exceptional child

Autism and Williams syndrome: Dissimilar socio-cognitive profiles with similar patterns of abnormal gene expression in the blood

Autism spectrum disorders and Williams syndrome exhibit quite opposite features in the social domain, but also share some common underlying behavioral and cognitive deficits. It is not clear, however, which genes account for the attested differences (and similarities) in the socio-cognitive domain. In this article, we adopted a comparative molecular approach and looked for genes that might be differentially (or similarly) regulated in the blood of subjects with these two conditions. We found a significant overlap between differentially expressed genes compared to neurotypical controls, with most of them exhibiting a similar trend in both conditions, but with genes being more dysregulated in Williams syndrome than in autism spectrum disorders. These genes are involved in aspects of brain development and function (particularly dendritogenesis) and are expressed in brain areas (particularly the cerebellum, the thalamus, and the striatum) of relevance for the autism spectrum disorder and the Williams syndrome etiopathogenesi

Sexual dysfunctions and sexology: social constructions, personal meanings and medicalization of sexuality

In contemporary constructions of sexuality, the discourses and practices of medicine and clinical psychology occupy a primary role. They contribute to the origin of new normative approaches to sexuality, focused on the issue of good sexual functioning. However, despite the growing attention that sexuality is receiving, the study of the social construction of sexual dysfunction remains incipient, especially in a national context. Overall, the results of this thesis, which integrates two studies with mixed methodologies, are presented in the form of four scientific publications. The first article aims to contribute to the discussion of how beliefs regarding sexuality and gender affect the categorization of sexual function as either natural or pathological. The second article provides a view of the dynamics of changing sexual behavior, showing a “model of human sexuality” consisting of four types: rigid conservative, attenuated traditional, adaptive progressive, and confluent transformative. The third article seeks to explore how the growing plurality of sexual scripts affects gender order through the meanings created from personal experiences in everyday life, focusing on representations of sexual problems. Finally, the fourth article analyzes how Portuguese sexologists integrate their professional role in the vast multidisciplinary field of sexual health, providing an overview of the emergence of sexology as scientia sexualis in Portugal. Preceding the four articles, there is an introduction that frames sexuality in the light of two fundamental debates: the medicalization of sexuality and growing individualization in contemporary Western societies.Nas construções contemporâneas da sexualidade, os discursos e as práticas da medicina e da psicologia clínica ocupam um papel principal. Estão na origem das novas abordagens normativas à sexualidade, centradas na questão do bom funcionamento sexual. Porém, apesar da crescente atenção que a sexualidade tem merecido, o estudo da construção social das disfunções sexuais mantem-se incipiente, sobretudo no contexto nacional. Globalmente, os resultados desta tese, que integra dois estudos com metodologias mistas, são apresentados sob a forma de quatro publicações científicas. O primeiro artigo visou contribuir para a discussão acerca da forma como as crenças relativas à sexualidade e género condicionam a categorização da função sexual em natural ou patológica. O segundo artigo forneceu um olhar sobre as dinâmicas de mudança dos comportamentos sexuais, apresentando um “modelo da sexualidade humana” composto por quatro tipos: rígido conservador, tradicional atenuado, progressivo adaptativo, e confluente transformativo. O terceiro artigo procurou explorar como é que a crescente pluralidade de scripts sexuais afeta a ordem de género, através dos sentidos que se tecem a partir das experiências pessoais no quotidiano, com enfoque nas representações sobre os problemas sexuais. Por fim, o quarto artigo analisou como é que os sexólogos portugueses integram o seu papel profissional no vasto campo multidisciplinar da saúde sexual, fornecendo uma visão global da emergência da sexologia enquanto scientia sexualis em Portugal. A preceder os quatro artigos há uma introdução que enquadra a sexualidade à luz de dois debates fundamentais: a medicalização da sexualidade e a individualização crescente nas sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas

La viuda del hombre dorado

No presenta resumen

Dietary Factors, Body Weight, and Screen Time in U.S. Children with and without Asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease increasing in prevalence in Western cultures. Sedentary behaviors, such as television viewing, video game and computer use, have been associated with poor diet and being overweight. The extent to which these factors were associated with asthma was investigated in a representative sample of U.S. children ages 2–11 years (N = 4133). Results showed low dietary fiber, reported being told your child was overweight by a healthcare provider, and race/ethnicity were associated with asthma; whereas, screen time, fat intake, and meals out were not associated with asthma. Implications for clinical practice and research were discussed

Development of an Instrument to Identify Depression in College Freshman

The incidence of depression in college students is increasing at an alarming rate. Unidentified and untreated depression can lead to significant difficulties adjusting to college life. The goal of this research project is to develop an instrument to identify depression in college freshmen. The development of this instrument is still in the working phase. Qualitative data, collected through interviews with students who experienced depression as college freshmen, provided the basis for the initial draft of items for the instrument. These items reflect the unique experience of depression as experienced by college freshmen. The initial draft of items was reviewed during four focus groups composed of current university students for clarity. These items were revised based upon the valuable feedback received from the focus groups. We are currently recruiting individuals who experienced depression during their freshman year in college to review the instrument draft during one-to-one interviews with the lead investigator. The goal of these interviews is to ensure the items on the instrument are representative of their experience with depression during this time of transition. We plan to continue our work next fall and hope to begin initial screening of freshmen students within the next year

El concepto de mensaje enigmático y el modelo traductivo de la constitución del aparato psíquico en la teoría de la seducción generalizada propuesta por Jean Laplanche

Tesis doctoral inédita leida en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología. Departamento Interfacultativo- Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación. Fecha de lectura: 27 de abril de 2011.La hipótesis de esta tesis es que la histpria del concepto de mensaje enigmático se desarrolla paralelamente al proceso de gestación de la teoría de la seducción generalizada. De modo que la teoría de la seducción generalizada y el concepto de mensaje enigmático se suponen y sostienen mutuamente

Mechanistic Studies of the Carbon Monoxide Sensor CooA

CooA is a protein found in Rhodospirillum rubrum (Rr) and Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans (Ch) and is both a carbon monoxide (CO) sensor and transcription factor. When CO binds to a CooA iron group (called heme), the CooA protein undergoes a shape change that enables it to bind to DNA. The broader goal of this research is to obtain a mechanistic understanding of how the CooA heme iron, along with amino acids that are attached to that iron, enable CooA to act as a CO-specific sensor. In this project, experiments that vary both the identity of the gas and the chemicals used to reduce the iron have been performed for both Rr and Ch CooA to study how differences between the amino acids bonded to iron in these two proteins affect gas sensing. Using UV-Visible spectroscopy to study the CooA iron bonding environment and fluorescence spectroscopy to study CooA DNA bonding, preliminary data suggest that the order in which heme iron, reducing agent, and CO are added to CooA is significant to the effectiveness of DNA binding. Additionally, reaction kinetics appear to play a crucial role in the binding of gases, DNA, and amino acid side chains to the protein. Current investigations to quantify the impact of the order of chemical addition and reaction kinetics are ongoing. Ultimately, results from these studies may contribute to the development of future therapeutics for iron proteins related to CooA that are found in the human body. Keywords: CooA, heme protein, CO sensor, DNA binding, transcription facto

Muerte, mujer y barbarie en la narrativa amorosa de Horacio Quiroga

La presente tesis tiene como objeto de estudio las tensiones entre la represión sexual, psicológica y afectiva, y la muerte real o simbólica en la narrativa amorosa de Horacio Quiroga (Salto, Uruguay 1878 – Buenos Aires, Argentina 1937). Sostenemos que estas tensiones responden a dos aspectos determinantes: el primero, un contexto histórico, cultural, político y literario que determinó a la sociedad como una suerte de máquina en la que cada persona debía representar de manera integral a un actor social, al cual le correspondía un rol que cumplir, y donde a su vez había conductas vinculadas a actores sobrantes que debían ser eliminados. El segundo aspecto, a factores biográficos. Sostenemos que la narrativa de Quiroga reproduce acciones y eventos vinculados muy estrechamente a su propia experiencia vital y que las corrientes ideológicas y literarias a las que la voz narrativa se circunscribe o proyecta –el modernismo, romanticismo, cientificismo, psicoanálisis, etc…- son vehículos que le permiten expresar e una sensibilidad particular frente l a la muerte, caracterizada por una actitud trágica, reactiva e incluso virulenta ante la vida.Tesi

Gestión ambiental municipal y su rol en el distrito de Bellavista

En nuestro país, los recursos naturales y el ambiente en generar continuamente vienen siendo víctimas de las diversas actividades del hombre, puesto que provoca una serie de impactos que conlleva a la degradación, agotamiento o desaparición de dichos recursos. No obstante, hoy en día el esfuerzo de las autoridades para contrarrestar la problemática ha sido de gran aporte, es por ello que es muy usual poder escuchar sobre la gestión del medio ambiente, en la cual se incluye un conjunto de acciones para la lucha contra la contaminación y alteración de los recursos. Ahora bien, el presente trabajo de suficiencia profesional, plantea como objetivo, analizar el rol que cumple la Municipalidad Distrital de Bellavista, en el ámbito ambiental e identificar un aporte esencial de como dicho distrito está tomando acciones de gestión ambiental para contrarrestar las problemáticas ambientales que se generan continuamente, es por ello que mediante mi persona, quien fue miembro importante en las acciones realizadas, describirá, analizara y expondrá los argumentos esenciales sobre de las actividades y planes que se realizaron en dicha municipalidad, siendo mi testimonio una de las fuentes básicas. Finalmente, con el presente trabajo se dará a conocer el modo de operación que ejerce la SGGA en utilización de las ocupaciones de supervisión ambiental en cumplimiento de los múltiples planes de trabajo y operativos propuestos, así mismo el desarrollado de acciones de sensibilización en materia ambiental (residuos sólidos, contaminación acústica, buenas prácticas ambientales, calendario ambiental, etc.) con la finalidad de educar ambientalmente a la población y a los administrados