Objectif : Établir le profil psychosocial des femmes enceintes de l'Estrie et évaluer de façon préliminaire si ce profil diffère parmi les grossesses avec issues défavorables. Méthode. Cohorte prospective de 120 femmes enceintes, rencontrées à deux reprises (10-20 et 25-30 semaines), entre août 2004 et mars 2006. Il s'agit d'un questionnaire auto-administré des données démographiques, anthropométriques, des facteurs de risques biomédicaux, ainsi qu'un profil psychosocial comportant 6 dimensions: stress psychologique perçu, ennuis quotidiens, détresse psychologique, locus de contrôle, soutien social, traumatismes dans l'enfance. Les paramètres psychosociaux sont présentés en moyennes ou pourcentages. Le profil psychosocial est comparé entre les grossesses normales et anormales avec les tests t de Student ou le test de Mann Whitney, lorsque approprié. Résultats. Trente trois grossesses (27,5%) ont présenté des issues défavorables (prématurité, restriction de croissance intra-utérine, hypertension gestationnelle, diabète gestationnel). L'analyse du profil psychosocial révèle un score de stress psychologique perçu plus élevé entre 10-20 semaines chez les femmes avec issues défavorables de grossesse (score : 34,2 « 12,3 ; P < 0,01) et chez les femmes avec prématurité (score : 36,1 « 11,2 ; P < 0,02) comparativement à celui des femmes avec grossesses normales (score : 28,6 « 9,6). Par ailleurs, les 5 autres dimensions ne semblaient pas différentes selon les issues de grossesse. Conclusion. Ces résultats préliminaires suggèrent une piste possible reliant la perception de stress maternel durant la grossesse et certaines issues défavorables de grossesse, dont l'accouchement prématuré.

Reduced activity of Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) in brain neurons results in the most common form of heritable mental retardation in humans, Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). FMRP is a selective RNA-binding protein that is implicated in the translational regulation of specific mRNAs in neurons. Although very few direct targets of FMRP have been identified and verified in vivo, FXS is thought to result from the aberrant regulation of potentially hundreds of mRNAs causing defects in neuron morphology and synapse function. Identifying additional targets will be important for elucidating the mechanism of FMRP regulation as well as the etiology of FXS. Drosophila melanogaster offers a unique and powerful system for studying the function of FMRP. Flies with loss of FMRP activity have neuronal and behavioral defects similar to those observed in humans with FXS. Importantly, FMRP regulates common target mRNAs in neurons in both mice and flies. Here, I will describe our discovery of a previously unknown requirement for Drosophila FMRP (dFMRP) during the cleavage stage of early embryonic development. First, we identified a requirement for dFMRP for proper cleavage furrow formation and found that dFMRP functions to regulate the expression of specific target mRNAs during the cleavage stage. Among these is trailer hitch (tral) mRNA, which encodes a translational regulator as well, and represents a new in vivo target of dFMRP translational regulation. In addition, I have identified twenty-eight proteins that change in expression in the absence of dFMRP using a comparative proteomics based screen for dFMRP targets. One of these is the Chaperonin containing tcp-1 complex (CCT), a previously unidentified target, which I found is itself also required for cleavage furrow formation. Finally, we have identified a new dFMRP protein-binding partner, Caprin, and found that together dFMRP and Caprin are required for the proper timing of the MBT. This set of work has led to a better understanding of the mechanism of dFMRP-dependent regulation of cellular morphogenesis in early embryos and has the potential to lead to a better understanding of the etiology of FXS. / text

The purpose of this study is to investigate some teachers in special school´s perceptions of the meeting of compulsory school and special school. In this study, ethnocentrism is used as a theoretical framework, the theory which is built on the meeting between groups and how they interact. The study has a phenomenographic onset, which is a qualitative method. The gathering of data was made through interviews, one to one. Five interviews were made and analyzed by the use of phenomenographic analysis. Five categories were identified: Inclusion, commitment and interest, knowledge about special school, to be forgotten, and differences in cognitive approach. In the sample space the underlying structures was discussed by ethnocentrism, as well as previous literature and research. Some common points of contact between ethnocentrism and previous research on the meeting could be found. What the study also found was that four out of five respondents felt a sense of belonging in school, while one felt that the Special school was excluded from the regular school. The respondents could all agree on the fact that several factors affected the meeting. These five categories could be seen as areas of improvement in schools that want to work in an inclusive manner. These factors were also lifted in previous research on special school and inclusion.

The original purpose of this study was to determine if Tegretol has an effect on the impulsive behavior exhibited by people with mental retardation. This was to be accomplished through a replication of the self-control choice procedures used by Ragotzy, Blakely, and Poling (1988). The procedure involved three stages. First, subjects chose between stimuli that provided either one or three edibles. Then the stimuli associated with the smaller and larger edibles were reversed. Following this, the procedure required the implementation of successively longer delays to the larger reinforcer. However, none of the subjects who participated was able to make the discriminations necessary to proceed, i.e., the subjects did not systematically select the stimulus associated with the larger magnitude edible choice. The identification and rectification of these errors in discrimination became the focus of this study. Various procedures were used to enhance discrimination, including fading, adjusting the magnitude of the edibles, and stimulus changes. None of these changes was successful in teaching the subjects the necessary discriminations.

The primary purpose was to determine the relative effects of drive level, degree of mental retardation, and nature of reinforcer on effectiveness of operant conditioning of mentally retarded children. Embodied in the general purpose were the following sub-purposes: 1. To determine if mentally retarded subjects of differing induced drive levels (defined as satiated, nondeprived, and deprived) learn a simple discrimination problem at different rates. 2. To determine if the nature of the reinforcer (social versus material) produces different effects on performance of the task. 3. To determine the extent to which retardates of differing levels of intelligence learn the task. 4. To determine the degree of interaction among the three main treatment variables (drive level, degree of retardation, and nature of reinforcer) simultaneously.

The present sbudy is an effort to seek information from a type of organization rarely studied along the lines of employee satisfaction's correlation to job performance—a state institution for the mentally retarded—which will shed significant light on the dynamics of this question. It is unique in that it focuses closely on the specific job duties of both managerial and non-managerial employees as a basis for understanding the relationship between employee satisfaction and performance.

The major problem investigated was to ascertain the extent to which a training program designed specifically to increase frustration tolerance would reduce selected behavioral problems in institutionalized mentally retarded children. Of lesser importance was the problem of examining the extent to which the prescribed training program had differential effects on brain-injured and non-brain-injured retarded children.

The comparability of PPVT and PPVT-R scores among retarded adults were examined. The sample consisted of 96 clients, who had been previously diagnosed as mildly, moderately, or severely retarded. The PPVT (Form A) and PPVT-R (Form L) were administered to all participants in counter balanced order. Significant correlations were found between the two tests for the total sample as well as for females and males. Additionally, the PPVT-R was found to be capable of discriminating differing levels or retardation. However, with the exception of the severely retarded group, mean PPVT-R Standard Score Equivalent (SSE) scores tended to be approximately 20 points lower than PPVT IQ scores. Some clinical implications of these results were discussed.

The purpose of this study is to describe the extent to which a few upper secondary education students experience participation and influence in school on a daily basis. To be able to answer this, three question formulations have been used. How do the students describe their own influence and participation in their normal school days? What do the students want to influence? According to their own experiences, what can be seen as an obstacle or an opportunity for participation in school?   The study is based on semistructured private interviews with students from the Swedish national program in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities. To identify the students description of their own experiences, the transcribed material has been interpreted using Roger Hart's participation ladder.   The results of the study show that the amount of influence students believe they have in school is based on how much they have a say in deciding the setup of their school days. For the most part, the students do not believe that they have that much influence, rather it is the teachers who decide almost everything that happens in school. The students believe that they have the most influence during their recesses and their free time. The students show a desire to be more involved in their school days.   The results also show that students wish to be more involved in what is going to happen in the future after upper secondary education. Despite this finding the things students want to have an influence over are few based on their age and experiences.   The results also reveal that one obstacle for student participation is that they do not tell their teachers if they have any ideas for improvement, which in turn limits their involvement.

ABSTRACT Ethanol is a classic teratogen capable of inducing a wide range of developmental abnormalities that vary in severity, from the barely perceptible to spontaneous abortion. These defects are collectively referred to as foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) lies at the extreme end of this spectrum and is associated with three broad domains: prenatal and/or postnatal growth retardation, distinctive facial features and brain damage. Epidemiological and animal studies clearly indicate that the clinical variability of FASD is related to four distinct window periods: preconception, preimplantation, gastrulation and postorganogenesis. These developmental windows are correlated with peak periods of epigenetic reprogramming, suggesting a common mechanism of ethanol teratogenesis. Together with experimental evidence that ethanol inhibits DNA-methyltransferase, as well as folate metabolism, this suggests an ‘epigenetic model of FASD’. The aim of the present study was to explore the validity of this model by investigating the relationship between ethanol-induced growth retardation and imprinting, following ethanol exposure during the preimplantation period. Employing an experimental study design, together with a hybrid mouse model, embryos and placentae were harvested at 10.5 days post coitus (dpc). The weights of embryos and placentae, as well as methylation profiles at the H19 imprinting control region (ICR) – an important regulator of growth - were measured. It was found that ethanol-treated embryos and placentae were severely growth retarded in comparison to controls: r=-0.760 (p<0.01, one-tailed) and r=-0.816 (p<0.05, two-tailed), respectively. Bisulphite genomic sequencing revealed that the methylation profile at the H19 ICR was unaffected in ethanol-treated embryos, in comparison to saline-treated controls. Conversely, methylation at the paternal and maternal alleles in placentae was found to be reduced and increased, respectively, in comparison to embryos. These results imply that mechanisms for the maintenance of imprinting in the embryo are more robust than in the placenta. This is consistent with the relatively longlived nature of the embryo, which must maintain imprinting for a considerably longer period of time than the placenta. Bisulphite sequencing also revealed that the paternal allele of the H19 ICR had significantly decreased levels of methylation, while the maternal allele had increased levels of methylation, in ethanol treated-placentae, in comparison to saline controls. The changes observed at the paternal allele were localized to the CTCF1 DNA-binding site, while a trend for increased methylation at the maternal allele was observed at the CTCF2 site. A partial correlation further revealed that demethylation at the paternal allele in placentae partly mediated the effect of ethanol on placental weight. An ‘epigenetic switch model’, whereby paternal Igf2 is downregulated by the epigenetic switching of the paternal allele to the maternal epigenotype, is proposed to explain this relationship. However, partial correlations also indicated that demethylation at the paternal allele of the H19 ICR, as well as placental growth retardation, did not mediate the effect of ethanol on embryo growth. Collectively, these data suggest that imprinting at the H19 ICR is not a mechanism of embryo growth retardation prior to 10.5 dpc. In explaining these results, it is proposed that the growth retarded placenta was able to meet the nutritional demands of the similarly growth retarded embryo up until 10.5 dpc. However, an important question for future research would be to examine the relationship between ethanol-induced growth retardation and imprinting during late gestation. During the final growth spurt (>14.5 dpc) the growth retarded placenta may become unable to meet the increased demands for nutrition, which would exacerbate foetal growth restriction. In sum, the present study revealed a novel mechanism of ethanol-induced growth retardation in the placenta but indicated that imprinting at the H19 ICR does not mediate the effect of ethanol on the early embryo. Further research is required to resolve the relationship between imprinting and ethanol-induced growth retardation.