Background: Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been identified as a crucial public concern, causing interrup-tion in children’s cognitive development, sometimes resulting in permanent impairment or even death. Hence documen-tation in health and school records regarding their functioning or environmental restrictions post injury, seems vital for the facilitation of communication between a child’s systematic and ongoing environment. Especially since children’s health has been described as a holistic construct comprised of psycho, social and physical well-being. Requiring continual inter-disciplinary and collaborative efforts over their course of development. Aim: To explore literature related to cognitive functioning and recommended support for children who have experienced a TBI, and how professional’s document their associated problems within medical and school records regarding activities in or outside the classroom. Method: A sys-tematic review, strictly comprised of empirical studies. Selected due to its sequential structural design for attainment of literature relevant to the research topic of choice and quality assessment procedures which enable reduction of threats to bias findings. Results: A total of 9 articles were yielded after quality assessment and depicted that. Reduced processing speeds in cognitive ability domains can be regarded as the default or baseline outcomes after a childhood TBI. Predictors within these different domains impacted their adequate academic, social function and varied depending on age at injury (2-4yrs or 4-8yrs), Injury severity (mild, moderate/severe), family function and time points. Early and severe TBI showed significant residual impairments across all time points, whilst the mild to moderate groups showed low to average func-tioning, as with the typical sample groups after two-year time points. Executive, attention skills impairment and post injury support within home and school settings. Showed to have the highest impact on both behaviours in, outside the classroom and academic performance. Documentation: Mainly biological and admission details were documented in the medical records. Within school records, all except one most recent study used either parental, teacher reports or direct measures to assess functioning of TBI affected children within school. Hereby a need for documentation of environmental factors within medical records, high quality transition of their TBI information within their school settings and continual docu-mentation of their progress or supports in school is required.

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Offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) are at high risk for psychiatric disorders, but mechanisms conferring risk are not well understood. Identifying and understanding factors that increase offspring vulnerability may inform intervention efforts. Three studies examined the following risk factors: (1) obstetric complications (OCs); (2) family functioning; and (3) clinical characteristics of parental BD. Investigations included cross-sectional data from two Massachusetts General Hospital studies of 109 BD parents and 206 offspring. Study 1 examined associations between: (1) maternal lifetime comorbid anxiety and OCs in pregnancy/delivery; (2) OCs and development of offspring psychopathology. Associations emerged between maternal anxiety and OCs. OCs, particularly during delivery, also correlated with offspring anxiety disorders. Path analyses revealed that delivery complications mediated the relationship between maternal and offspring anxiety. Study 2 examined associations between family functioning (cohesion, expressiveness, conflict) and offspring psychopathology, and explored moderation by offspring age and sex. Higher conflict and lower cohesion correlated with offspring internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Lower cohesion correlated with offspring mood disorders. Moderation analyses indicated that the link between cohesion and internalizing symptoms was stronger for younger compared to older children. Also, conflict and mood disorder were associated in younger boys, but not in older boys or in girls. Study 3 classified parents according to BD course presentation using latent class analysis, and examined associations between parental class membership and offspring psychopathology. The best-fitting model yielded three parent groups that were based on 8 illness characteristics. Some notable patterns differentiated classes: Class 1 and 2 parents had earlier illness onset, whereas Class 3 parents had later onset; Class 2 consisted of parents with Bipolar-II Disorder, whereas Class 1 parents had Bipolar-I Disorder. Class differences emerged for offspring anxiety disorders, but only among females. Class 3 parents had girls with fewer anxiety disorders compared to the other classes, with girls of Class 2 parents at greatest risk. Altogether, these studies identify several specific environmental mechanisms that increase psychopathology risk in offspring of BD parents. Such findings have important implications for targeted prevention and intervention.

Research has shown that the increased use of computer-based testing has brought about new challenges. With the ease of online test administration, a large number of items are necessary to maintain the item bank and minimise the exposure rate. However, the traditional item development process is time-consuming and costly. Thus, alternative ways of creating items are necessary to improve the item development process. Automatic Item Generation (AIG) is an effective method in generating items rapidly and efficiently. AIG uses algorithms to create questions for testing purposes. However, many of these generators are in the closed form, available only to the selected few. There is a lack of open source, publicly available generators that researchers can utilise to study AIG in greater depth and to generate items for their research. Furthermore, research has indicated that AIG is far from being understood, and more research into its methodology and the psychometric properties of the items created by the generators are needed for it to be used effectively. The studies conducted in this thesis have achieved the following: 1) Five open source item generators were created, and the items were evaluated and validated. 2) Empirical evidence showed that using a weak theory approach to develop item generators was just as credible as using a strong theory approach, even though they are theoretically distinct. 3) The psychometric properties of the generated items were estimated using various IRT models to assess the impact of the template features used to create the items. 4) Joint responses and response time modelling was employed to provide new insights into cognitive processes that go beyond those obtained by typical IRT models. This thesis suggests that AIG provides a tangible solution for improving the item development process for content generation and reducing the procedural cost of generating a large number of items, with the possibility of a unified approach towards test administration (i.e. adaptive item generation). Nonetheless, this thesis focused on rule-based algorithms. The application of other forms of item generation methods and the potential for measuring the intelligence of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is discussed in the final chapter, proposing that the use of AIG techniques create new opportunities as well as challenges for researchers that will redefine the assessment of intelligence.

Magister Artium - MA (Psychology) / Families in South Africa are faced with manifold hardships that negatively impact the family as a unit. However, there are a variety of protective factors that have been identified as meaningful resources that facilitates healing and growth within a family unit. The study aims to investigate whether age, gender, employment status and level of education significantly predicts family resilience. The study utilised secondary data compromised of (N=656) participants from a low socio-economic rural community in South Africa. Family resilience views the family as a functional system of which provides positive adaption to family members who have experienced stressful events. Walsh's key processes in family resilience is outlined, highlighting a multi-level developmental systems orientation. The study utilised a multiple regression analysis consisting of four predictor variables namely, age, gender, employment status and level of education to assess whether these variables predict high levels of family resilience. The model found that amongst the four predictor variable, only employment status significantly predicted family resilience.

Orientador: Tatiane Maria Rodrigues / Resumo: Nectários extraflorais (NEFs) são comuns e morfologicamente diversos em Cactaceae, podendo se apresentar como espinhos altamente modificados ou não, folhas escamiformes e regiões epidérmicas e corticais especializadas na base ou ao redor das aréolas. Contudo, pouco é conhecido sobre a natureza dos NEFs em cactos e, mesmo, há dúvidas se o exsudato pode ser qualificado como néctar. Nosso objetivo foi analisar a morfologia, anatomia e ultraestrutura dos espinhos secretores em Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis e Nopalea cochenillifera e a composição química da secreção. Espinhos secretores foram processados para análises aos microscópios de luz (campo claro e confocal) e eletrônicos de varredura e transmissão (convencional e citoquímica). A composição dos açúcares e de aminoácidos foi analisada por cromatografia líquida de alta performance (HPLC). Observações de campo mostraram que o exsudato acumulado no ápice dos espinhos é removido por formigas. Os aspectos ontogenéticos, estruturais e funcionais dos espinhos secretores se mostraram semelhantes nas duas espécies estudadas. Os espinhos secretores se originam a partir do meristema areolar, tendo início como pequenas protuberâncias formadas por protoderme e meristema fundamental. Espinhos na fase secretora apresentaram a) base dilatada preenchida por células pequenas com paredes pecto-celulósicas delgadas, citoplasma denso e núcleo volumoso; b) região mediana alongada composta por células fibriformes com paredes não-lignificadas; e c) ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are common and morphologically diverse in Cactaceae, and may be highly modified spines or not, scamiform leaves and specialized epidermal and cortical regions located at the base or around the areoles. However, little is known about the nature of EFNs in cacti, and even if the exudate can be qualified as nectar. We aimed to analyze the morphology, anatomy and ultrastructure of the secretory spines in Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis and Nopalea cochenillifera and the chemical composition of the secretion. Secretory spines were processed for light (bright field and confocal) and scanning and transmission (conventional and cytochemical) electron microscopy. The composition of sugars and amino acids was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Field observations have shown that the exudate accumulated at the apex of the spines is removed by ants. The ontogenetic, structural and functional aspects of the secretory spines were similar in both species. Secretory spines originate from the areolar meristem, beginning as small protuberances formed by protoderm and fundamental meristem. Spines in the secretory phase presented a) dilated base filled by small cells with thin pecto-cellulosic walls, dense cytoplasm and voluminous nucleus; b) elongated median region composed of fibriform cells with non-lignified walls; and c) apical portion tapered with fusiform cells with non-lignified walls. Vascular tissues are present in the basal region of the... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Introdução: Verifica a utilização da CIF em Fisioterapia. Objetivo. Realizar uma revisão dos trabalhos publicados sobre as formas de uso da CIF em Fisioterapia. Método. Revisão sistemática de artigos publicados em revistas indexadas que tratam sobre o panorama atual da utilização da CIF na prática da Fisioterapia. Entre os artigos selecionados, a CIF é objeto de estudo e sua aplicabilidade em Fisioterapia é testada pelos pesquisadores. Resultados. 155 artigos foram levantados nas bases de dados pesquisadas. Destes, 13,5% preenchiam os critérios de inclusão. Dentre os excluídos, 80,6% eram artigos informativos sobre a CIF, 14,9% eram sobre aplicação em outras áreas e em 4,5%, a CIF não era objeto de estudo. 18 artigos foram selecionados, 1 estudo de corte seccional, 4 estudos de caso, 5 revisões bibliográficas e 8 consensos para criação de regras de relacionamento entre as medidas funcionais existentes e a CIF. Conclusões. A análise dos artigos permitiu mostrar a tendência de uso parcial da classificação. Apesar da dificuldade que os profissionais encontram em utilizá-la, a CIF é vista como uma saída para a resolução de um problema em Fisioterapia: a unificação da linguagem. A CIF, como classificação ou como modelo, tende a servir de base para a estruturação dos serviços de Fisioterapia tanto como guia para a prática do processo de reabilitação como para formação de um sistema de informação. / Introduction. Verify Physical Therapy uses of ICF. Objective. The main objective of this paper is to make a literature review about ICF use in Physical Therapy practice and to show how the ICF has been used by the physical therapists. Method. Literature review of published index journals papers about using of the ICF in Physical Therapy practice. Among the selected papers, ICF is the study object and its use is tested by researchers. Results. 155 papers were found at data basis. Among these, 13,5% got the inclusion criterious. Among the excluded, 80,6% were informative papers about ICF, 14,9% were about ICF applications in others professionals areas and at 4,5%, the ICF was not the studied object. 18 papers were selected, 1 seccional cut, 4 cases studies, 5 literatures reviews and 8 consensus to create linking rules for functioning measures to ICF. Conclusions. The selected group of papers shows there is a tendence for parcial use of ICF with summary lists of codes. Although ICF is complex and difficult to use, it is a useful tool for a common language to physical therapists. The ICF, as a classification or as a model, seems to become the base for Physical Therapy services like a way to indicate clinical decisions and to compose an information data system.

Transtornos mentais graves são doenças crônicas altamente incapacitantes que geram um alto custo para a sociedade. Indivíduos acometidos por essas doenças apresentam maior morbidade e mortalidade. Dentre elas, a esquizofrenia parece possuir os piores desfechos. Portanto, estudar a esquizofrenia pode trazer contribuições importantes para o entendimento e manejo de transtornos mentais graves como a depressão maior e o transtorno bipolar. Esse trabalho buscou compreender mecanismos fisiopatológicos da esquizofrenia ao longo de quatro artigos que exploram aspectos de funcionamento cognitivo, funcionamento intelectual, de biomarcadores e de estrutura cerebral. O primeiro artigo investigou as alterações de performance de memória em indivíduos com esquizofrenia em estágios iniciais e tardios da doença comparadas ao transtorno bipolar e a sujeitos saudáveis. Os resultados mostraram que indivíduos com esquizofrenia apresentaram precoces prejuízos cognitivos de memória, diferentemente de indivíduos com transtorno bipolar quando comparados a controles. O segundo artigo investigou as influências das performances cognitiva e intelectual em estruturas cerebrais de indivíduos com esquizofrenia comparados a controles saudáveis. Os resultados indicaram que o funcionamento intelectual pré-morbido estava relacionado ao volume de estruturas globais, enquanto o funcionamento cognitivo estava relacionado ao volume e espessura de massa cinzenta cortical, sugerindo influências diferentes e complementares relacionadas a neurodesenvolvimento e neurodegeneração. O terceiro artigo investigou um biomarcador de envelhecimento precoce, um possível mecanismo para a neuroprogressão na esquizofrenia. Os resultados monstraram que indivíduos com esquizofrenia apresentaram encurtamento de telômero quando comparados a controles, mas não houveram diferenças entre o tamanho de telômero de pacientes e seus irmãos não afetados pela doença. Por fim, o quarto artigo buscou investigar a teoria do envelhecimentoa patológico acelerado na esquizofrenia, integrando os achados dos artigos anteriores. Os resultados demonstraram correlações entre comprimento de telômero, níveis de CCL11, performance de memória, volume de massa cinzenta e tempo de doença em indivíduos com esquizofrenia. Esses achados sugerem que a esquizofrenia seria uma doença do neurodesenvolvimento associada a uma carga adicional ao longo do curso da doença que levaria a um envelhecimento patológico precoce. A partir dos achados em esquizofrenia, pode-se ampliar a compreensão de alterações percebidas nas trajetórias de outras psicopatologias. Com adequado entendimento desses mecanismos, será possível o desenvolvimento de novos tratamentos e intervenções mais efetivas e eficazes. / Severe mental disorders are debilitating chronic diseases that have a high cost to society. Individuals affected by these diseases have increased morbidity and mortality. Among them, schizophrenia seems to have the worst outcomes. Therefore, studying schizophrenia may provide important contributions to the understanding and management of severe mental disorders such as major depression and bipolar disorder. The present study aimed to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia over four articles that explore aspects of cognitive functioning, intellectual functioning, biomarkers and brain structure. The first article investigated changes in memory performance in individuals with schizophrenia in early and late stages of disease compared to bipolar disorder and healthy subjects. The results showed that subjects with schizophrenia had early cognitive deficits of memory, unlike individuals with bipolar disorder compared to controls. The second article investigated influences of cognitive and intellectual performances on brain structures of individuals with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. The results indicated that premorbid intellectual functioning was related to volume of global structures, while cognitive functioning was related to volume and thickness of cortical gray matter, suggesting different and complementary influences related to neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. The third article investigated an early aging biomarker, a possible mechanism of neuroprogression in schizophrenia. The results showed that individuals with schizophrenia had shortened telomeres when compared to controls, but there were no differences between the telometer length of patients and their siblings not affected by the disease. Finally, the fourth article sought to investigate the theory of pathological accelerated aging in schizophrenia, integrating the findings of the previous articles. The results demonstrated correlations between telometer length, CCL11 levels, memory performance, gray matter volume and illness duration in individuals with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with an additional burden over the course of the disease that leads to a pathological accelerated agig.

A Doença de Alzheimer (DA) é uma doença progressiva e irreversível, que causa perda de memória, comprometimento nas atividades motoras e consequentemente comprometimento da autonomia, levando a pessoa doente a necessitar de auxílio. A dinâmica de cuidado, do casamento e da família se modificam de acordo com a progressão da doença, verificando-se a necessidade de maior apoio aos cônjuges cuidadores. Este estudo objetivou analisar a conjugalidade e o funcionamento familiar na perspectiva de esposas cuidadoras brasileiras e portuguesas de idosos com DA. Participaram da pesquisa 12 mulheres, sendo a amostra obtida por conveniência. Foram utilizados um questionário com questões fechadas e entrevista com roteiro semiestruturado sendo os dados analisados pela técnica de análise de conteúdo de Bardin e análise estatística descritiva. Os resultados destacaram que apesar das diferenças culturais, alguns significados atribuídos ao conceito casamento e cuidado, no contexto da doença de Alzheimer, foram semelhantes para as esposas brasileiras e portuguesas. Verificou-se também, que com relação as mudanças conjugais relacionadas à demência, a maioria das esposas sentia- se bem executando seu papel de cuidadora, e que o impacto causado pela doença nem sempre é visto de forma negativa no casamento. E, por fim, os resultados também identificaram tipos de suporte diferentes recebidos pelas esposas brasileiras e portuguesas, podendo este dado ser ocasionado devido as diferenças culturais / Alzheimer\'s Disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible disease, which causes memory loss, impaired motor activity and consequently impairs autonomy, causing the sick person to need help. The dynamics of care, marriage and family change according to the progression of the disease, and there is a need for greater support to the caregiver spouses. This study aimed to analyze conjugality and family functioning in the perspective of Brazilian and Portuguese caregivers of elderly people with AD. Twelve women participated in the study, and the sample was obtained for convenience. We used a questionnaire with closed questions and interview with a semi-structured script, the data analyzed by the Bardin content analysis technique and descriptive statistical analysis. The results pointed out that despite the cultural differences, some meanings attributed to the concept of marriage and care in the context of Alzheimer\'s disease were similar for Brazilian and Portuguese wives. It was also found that in relation to marital changes related to dementia, most wives felt well performing their role of caregiver, and that the impact caused by the disease is not always seen negatively in marriage. And, finally, the results also identified different types of support received by the Brazilian and Portuguese wives, which may be due to cultural differences

O conhecimento das associações entre os microrganismos componentes da microbiota dos solos é de grande interesse no meio científico, principalmente relacionado aos microrganismos que se associam de forma benéfica com as plantas. Neste contexto, destaca-se a micorriza arbuscular, que é a associação entre os fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMAs) e uma amplitude de espécies vegetais. Além desta íntima interação entre estes organismos, torna-se necessário conhecer a importância dos demais componentes do sistema solo, como a microbiota formada por fungos e bactérias dos solos, para o estabelecimento desta interação. Os objetivos dos estudos componentes desta tese se concentraram na avaliação de FMAs (D. heterogama, R. clarus e Gi. rosea) inoculados em sistemas alterados quanto à composição das comunidades microbianas dos solos, promovidas pela metodologia de \'diluição para extinção\'. No primeiro estudo foram encontradas respostas diferenciais na capacidade de colonização micorrízica (%CM) de plantas de cana-de-açúcar pelos FMAs inoculados nos diferentes sistemas, além do efeito diferencial dos FMAs quanto às alterações nas comunidades de fungos e bactérias do solo. Num estudo mais detalhado, desenvolvido apenas com R. clarus em plantas de milho, foi verificado que a maiores diversidades microbianas do solo resultaram em maior colonização do hospedeiro, principalmente no período inicial de desenvolvimento das plantas. Neste experimento foi descrita a correlação direta da capacidade de colonização do FMA com a riqueza e a diversidade filogenética da microbiota dos solos. A descrição dos perfis metabólicos dos solos contendo diferentes comunidades microbianas revelou a capacidade diferencial destes solos em utilizar diferentes fontes de carbono, além de demonstrar um aumento no metabolismo (evidenciado pelo consumo total de fontes de carbono) devido à inoculação do FMA. Em conjunto, os dados obtidos nos dois estudos indicam que a micorrização das plantas depende da ação de outros microrganismos do sistema solo, que atuam como um terceiro fator nesta simbiose e que a microbiota do solo responde a inoculação de um organismo exógeno, primordialmente aumentando seu metabolismo. Deve-se, portanto, considerar que a degradação biológica dos solos, com perda de sua biodiversidade, pode ter papel determinante no funcionamento de interações específicas e benéficas às plantas. / Knowledge about the associations between microbial components of soil microbiota is of great interest in the scientific community, primarily related to microorganisms that are associated beneficially with plants. In this context, there is the arbuscular mycorrhiza, which is made of the association between mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and a range of plant species. In this close interaction between these organisms, it is necessary to describe the importance of other components of the soil system, such as the microbiota formed by fungi and bacteria from the soil, to establish this interaction. The objectives of the studied that compose this thesis focused on the evaluation of AMF (D. heterogama, R. clarus and Gi. rosea) fitness, when inoculated in modified systems on the composition of the microbial communities in the soil, with alterations promoted by the \'dilution to extinction\' methodology. In the first study, differential responses were found in root colonization capacity (% CM) of sugarcane by AMF inoculated in different systems, and the differential effect of AMFs, changing the communities of fungi and bacteria of soil. In a more detailed study, designed only to R. clarus in corn plants, it was found that higher microbial diversity of soil resulted in higher colonization of the host, especially in the initial period of plant development. In this experiment it was described the direct correlation of AMF colonization capacity with richness and phylogenetic diversity of soil microbiota. The description of the metabolic profiles of soil containing various microbial communities revealed the differential ability of these soils utilize different carbon sources, in addition to demonstrating an increase in metabolism (as evidenced by the total consumption of carbon sources) due to inoculation of the AMF. Together, the data from the two studies indicate that colonization of plants by AMF depends on the action of other microorganisms soil system, which act as a third factor in this symbiosis, and that the soil microbes respond to inoculation of an exogenous organism, primarily increasing its metabolism. One should therefore consider that the biological degradation of the soil, with loss of biodiversity, may have crucial role in the functioning of specific and beneficial interactions to plants.