Homework, self-regulated learning and math achievement

Las tareas para casa es una estrategia instruccional de carácter universal. La literatura se ha centrado en el impacto del tiempo utilizado en las tareas en el rendimiento; no obstante investigaciones recientes sugieren la necesidad de estudiar otras variables de carácter más procesual. Centrados en el área de las matemáticas se analiza en alumnos portugueses de Primaria (10 y 11 años) el poder predictivo de variables motivacionales (ej., autoeficacia y autorregulación del aprendizaje) en el rendimiento escolar en esta asignatura. Posteriormente, se estudia el poder predictivo de variables de las tareas para casa (ej., esfuerzo, instrumentalidad percibida de las tareas) en las variables motivacionales mencionadas. Los datos indican que el rendimiento en matemáticas se explica por las variables motivacionales pero también que éstas son explicadas por variables de las tareas de casa, subrayando su importancia en la promoción del éxito escolar. Finalmente, se exponen y discuten las implicaciones educativas.Homework is a well known teaching strategy in schools all over the world. Although most studies privilege time spent on homework as a measure to evaluate homework effects on achievement new literature approach perspectives suggest the need to study other variables involved in the homework process. Focusing on Math’s domain, the present paper analyses the impact of motivational variables (e.g., self-efficacy and self-regulated learning) on Portuguese elementary school students’ (aged 10 and 11) achievement. The impact of some homework variables (e.g., effort on homework, perceived utility of homework tasks) on the taken motivational variables is also addressed and analyzed. Data confirm that students’ Math achievement is influenced by the motivational variables taken in the study and that these, on their turn, are influenced by the homework variables, thus stressing their important role in the promotion of students’ school success. Teaching implications are also discussed

Saude mental na estrategia saude da familia : revisao da literatura brasileira = Mental health in the Family Health Strategy : a review of Brazilian literature

The Family Health Strategy establishes the principles of the Brazilian Primary Health Care and shares important goals with the Psychiatric Reform. The principles of territory-centered care and longitudinal care should enhance innovative actions of mental health promotion, prevention and rehabilitation. The aim of this review was to analyze the main themes approached by the Brazilian scientific literature concerning mental health in the Family Health Strategy. We read the titles of 267 articles published between 1999 and 2009. We followed specific criteria to select 38 articles for thematic analysis. The main themes were the demands in mental health, the perceptions and practices of health personnel and the role of the psychologist in Primary Care. The publications identified several problems: stereotypical views about mental disorders, the dominance of the hospitalization rationale, and the absence of clinical reports, strategies, qualified support to families and integrated health actions. The qualitative meta-analysis indicated questions that may strengthen the debate on the topic, the reflection on further research and on professional practice in the interface between Mental Health and Family Health

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality