Neurological determination of death in isolated brainstem lesions: A case report to highlight the issues involved

The neurological determination of death in patients with isolated brainstem lesions or by disruption of the posterior cerebral circulation is uncommon and many intensivists may never see such a case in their career. It is also the only major difference between the “whole brain” and “brain stem” formulations for the neurological determination of death. We present a case of a patient with infarction of the structures supplied by the posterior cerebral circulation in whom death was diagnosed using neurological criteria, to illustrate the issues involved. We also suggest that international consensus may be achieved if ancillary tests, such as CT angiography, are made mandatory in this situation o demonstrate loss of blood flow in the anterior cerebral circulation as well the posterior circulation

Content learning and identity construction (CLIC): a framework to strengthen African American students’ mathematics and science learning in urban elementary schools

We present a theoretical framework that views learning as a process involving content learning (CL) and identity construction (IC). We view identities as lenses through which people make sense of, and position themselves, through stories and actions, and as lenses for understanding how they are positioned by others. As people become more (or less) central members of a disciplinary community (e.g., a science or mathematics classroom) and engage (or not) in various cultural practices, changes in identity and knowledge accompany changes in position and status. Identity construction (IC) and content learning (CL) share an important characteristic: they both involve meaning making. For IC, it is the development of reasoned, coordinated, coherent, and meaningful ways of seeing one’s self in relation to communities, and for CL, it centers on the development of disciplinary concepts, processes, tools, language, discourse, and norms within practices. Focusing on Black students in mathematics and science classrooms, we claim that three intersecting identities are particularly important: disciplinary identity (as doers of the discipline, i.e., mathematics and science), racial identity (emerging understandings of what it means to be Black), and academic identity (as participants in academic tasks and classroom practices). In this paper, we elaborate on the CLIC framework as a useful tool for understanding how Black students negotiate participation in, and come to see themselves as doers of science and mathematics in their school classrooms. We synthesize empirical findings from our research with younger and older students, as well as with parents and community members, to illustrate dimensions of this framework

Validade estrutural do questionário de atitudes face à escola: Estudos com alunos do ensino básico português.

Enquadramento Conceptual: As atitudes face à escola constituem um constructo crucial para entender o rendimento escolar dos alunos, uma vez que determinam, em parte, o modo como os alunos participam nas actividades escolares e se relacionam com os outros nas diferentes situações que vivenciam. Objetivos: Neste estudo propomos ampliar o âmbito de aplicação do QAFE – Questionário de Atitudes Face à Escola a todo o Ensino Básico, procedendo-se para tal à sua adaptação e estudo psicométrico para o grupo-alvo. Metodologia: Este estudo incidiu sobre uma amostra de 1457 crianças e jovens (Mdn = 11 anos) dos três ciclos (primeiro ciclo = 28.8 %; segundo = 34.7%) do Ensino Básico Português (52.4% raparigas), a quem foi aplicado o QAFE. Este questionário compreende 24 itens (respostas de tipo Likert de 4-pontos) distribuídos por três fatores: Atitude face à Aprendizagem, Auto-perceção de Competência e Auto-perceção de Motivação. Tendo em vista o estudo da estrutura latente do QAFE, recorreu-se à análise fatorial confirmatória, através do LISREL 8. Analisou-se a validade estrutural do instrumento, ou seja, a validade fatorial, a validade convergente e discriminante e também a fiabilidade. Resultados: Verificámos que a estrutura fatorial do QAFE se alterou face à do instrumento original, ficando com uma estrutura unidimensional composta por 16 itens. Conclusão: Estes resultados mostram que a Atitude face à escola, tal como é operacionalizada pelo QAFE, apresenta uma estrutura unidimensional, permitindo caraterizar emoções, pensamento e comportamentos do aluno face às atividades escolares e à relação que estabelece com os outros nas diferentes situações que vivencia. O QAFE poderá, assim, constituir um instrumento de descrição da conduta e das interações do aluno na escola

Validade estrutural do questionário de inteligência emocional: Estudos com alunos do ensino básico português

Enquadramento Conceptual: Neste trabalho partimos do pressuposto que a Inteligência Emocional compreende habilidades e competências relacionadas com a compreensão de si próprio e dos outros, assim como o relacionamento com as pessoas, a adaptação às solicitações do meio e a gestão de emoções, tal como é proposto no modelo de Bar-On de Inteligência Emocional. Objetivos: Atendendo à necessidade de dispor de instrumentos validados para a população portuguesa, apresentamos um estudo de adaptação e validação do Inventário de Quociente Emocional (Bar-On EQ-i:YV) para crianças e jovens portugueses. Metodologia: Este estudo incidiu sobre uma amostra de 416 crianças e jovens (Mdn = 12 anos) dos três ciclos (terceiro ciclo = 61.5%) do Ensino Básico Português (52.6% raparigas), a quem foi aplicado o EQ-i:YV. Este questionário compreende 60 itens (respostas de tipo Likert de 4-pontos) divididos por cinco fatores: Interpessoal, Intrapessoal, Adaptabilidade, Gestão de Stress e Humor Geral. Tendo em vista o estudo da estrutura latente do EQ-i:YV, recorreu-se à análise fatorial confirmatória, através do LISREL 8. Analisou-se a validade estrutural do instrumento, ou seja, a validade fatorial, a validade convergente e discriminante e também a fiabilidade. Resultados: Verificámos que a estrutura fatorial do EQ-i:YV se manteve idêntica à do instrumento original, contudo uma grande parte dos itens foram excluídos da estrutura original, principalmente do fator Interpessoal. Conclusão: Os nossos resultados mostram que a versão obtida do EQ-i:YV tem características psicométricas aceitáveis para a utilização com alunos do Ensino Básico Português, devendo considerar-se o estudo deste instrumento com uma amostra de maior dimensão para observar se os resultados agora obtidos podem ser melhorados

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Developing a Culture of Assessment

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Initiative at Hostos Community College focuses on melding assessment and faculty development through a scholastic approach. In order to facilitate a campus-wide engagement in assessment, particularly related to the effectiveness of classroom instruction, the focus remains on individual expectations and talents, professional responsibilities, and using formative and summative assessment to improve student success and recidivism. This was initiated through open dialogue on the critical need for inquiry-based instruction, targeted presentations, and a sustainable network of support

Heavy Quark Production and PDF's Subgroup Report

We present a status report of a variety of projects related to heavy quark production and parton distributions for the Tevatron Run II.Comment: Latex. 8 pages, 7 eps figures. Contribution to the Physics at Run II Workshops: QCD and Weak Boson Physic

Validade estrutural do questionário de atitudes face às ciências da natureza: Estudo com alunos do 6º ano do ensino básico português

As Ciências da Natureza devem ajudar os alunos a adquirir um conjunto de conhecimentos e competências essenciais para iniciar o estudo das ciências. Pela necessidade de dispor de instrumentos validados para a população portuguesa, apresentamos um estudo de validação do Questionário de Atitudes Face às Ciências da Natureza (QAFCdN) para alunos portugueses. Neste estudo participaram 487 alunos do 2º ciclo do Ensino Básico Português, a quem foi aplicado o QAFCdN. Este é constituído por 23 itens divididos por 3 fatores: Motivacional, Comportamental e Afetiva. O aluno responde numa escala de respostas de tipo Likert de 4- pontos. Tendo em vista o estudo da estrutura latente do questionário, recorreu-se à análise fatorial exploratória, com o IBM SPSS Statistics 21. Analisou-se a validade fatorial do instrumento (rotação varimax dos fatores extraídos pelo método Generalized Least Squares), a validade convergente (VC) e discriminante dos fatores e, também, a sua fiabilidade compósita. Verificámos que a estrutura fatorial do QAFCdN se manteve, no entanto observámos alguns problemas na VC dos três fatores. Estes resultados mostram que as Atitudes Face às Ciências da Natureza, tal como são operacionalizadas pelo QAFCdN, apresentam uma estrutura tridimensional, permitindo caraterizar emoções, pensamento e comportamentos do aluno face à disciplina

Socio-emotional competences in Portuguese youngsters: Developing of assessment tools for parents

Social Competence (SC): ability to manage behavior, cognition and affection in order to achieve their social objectives (Waters & Sroufe, 1983). Is multifold and involve positive relationships with others; social cognition appropriate to age; deprivation of maladaptive behaviors and effective social skills (Candeias, 2001). Emotional Intelligence (EI): is a cross-section of interrelated emotional and social competencies, skills and facilitators that determine how effectively we understand and express ourselves, understand others and relate with them, and cope with daily demands. (Bar-On, 2006)

Self-perceived oral health assessment of institutionalized elderly of Viseu

Background: Self-perception of oral health is a multidimensional measure that, reflects the subjective experience of individuals about their physical and psychosocial well-being, determines the search for prevention and dental treatments.Objective: The assessment of the self-perception of oral health status of institutionalized elderly through the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the verification of the association between the GOHAI and the various socio-demographic variables and oral health behaviors analyzed. Participants and methods: With this study we intended to conduct a cross-sectional observational epidemiological study with institutionalized elderly. Data were collected from a sample of 56 institutionalized elderly of the Mariana Seixas Foundation and the Viscondessa São Caetano Nursing Home in Viseu, Portugal. For this we used a questionnaire that allows to evaluate the self-perception of oral health, the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). Results: It was found that the elderly generally favorably assessed their oral health, with 42.9% of the participants having a high self-perception of their oral health (values between 34-36); 28.6% have a moderate perception (values between 30-33) and the same percentage of individuals (28.6%) have a low perception (values below 30) of their oral health. The GOHAI scores obtained are associated with gender, educational level and oral health behaviors. Conclusion: Literacy can influence the level of self-perception of oral health. Therefore, the development of measures to assess oral health status is essential for the evolution of scientific knowledge based on geriatric dentistry in order to determine oral health promotion strategies among the institutionalized elderly.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Long-term seizure and psychosocial outcomes of vagus nerve stimulation for intractable epilepsy

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a widely used adjunctive treatment option for intractable epilepsy. Most studies have demonstrated short-term seizure outcomes, usually for up to 5 years, and thus far, none have reported psychosocial outcomes in adults. We aimed to assess long-term seizure and psychosocial outcomes in patients with intractable epilepsy on VNS therapy for more than 15 years. We identified patients who had VNS implantation for treatment of intractable epilepsy from 1997 to 2013 at our Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and gathered demographics including age at epilepsy onset and VNS implantation, epilepsy type, number of antiepilepsy drugs (AEDs) and seizure frequency before VNS implantation and at the last clinic visit, and the most recent stimulation parameters from electronic medical records (EMR). Phone surveys were conducted by research assistants from May to November 2014 to determine patients\u27 current seizure frequency and psychosocial metrics, including driving, employment status, and use of antidepressants. Seizure outcomes were based on modified Engel classification (I: seizure-free/rare simple partial seizures; II: \u3e90% seizure reduction (SR), III: 50-90% SR, IV:50% SR)=favorable outcome). A total of 207 patients underwent VNS implantation, 15 of whom were deceased at the time of the phone survey, and 40 had incomplete data for medical abstraction. Of the remaining 152, 90 (59%) were contacted and completed the survey. Of these, 51% were male, with the mean age at epilepsy onset of 9.4 years (range: birth to 60 years). There were 35 (39%) patients with extratemporal epilepsy, 19 (21%) with temporal, 18 (20%) with symptomatic generalized, 5 (6%) with idiopathic generalized, and 13 (14%) with multiple types. Final VNS settings showed 16 (18%) patients with an output current \u3e2 mA and 14 (16%) with rapid cycling. Of the 80 patients with seizure frequency information, 16 (20%) had a modified Engel class I outcome, 14 (18%) had class II, 24 (30%) had class III, and 26 (33%) had class IV. Eighty percent said having VNS was worthwhile. Among the 90 patients, 43 patients were ≥ 18 years old without developmental delay in whom psychosocial outcomes were further analyzed. There was a decrease in the number of patients driving (31% vs 14%, p=0.052) and working (44% vs 35%, p=0.285) and an increase in the number of patients using antidepressant medication (14% vs 28%, p=0.057) at the time of survey compared to before VNS. In this subset, patients with \u3e50% SR (60%) were taking significantly fewer AEDs at the time of survey compared to patients with unfavorable outcomes (median: 3 vs 4, p=0.045). The associations of \u3e50% SR with the psychosocial outcomes of driving, employment, and antidepressant use were not significant, although 77% of this subset said VNS was worthwhile. This is the first study that assesses both seizure and psychosocial outcomes, and demonstrates favorable seizure outcomes of \u3e50% SR in 68% of patients and seizure freedom in 20% of patients. A large majority of patients (80%) considered VNS therapy worthwhile regardless of epilepsy type and psychosocial outcomes