Darbe atlikta teorinė sutrikusio intelekto vaikų vystymosi ypatumų, buitinių įgūdžių apibrėžties analizė bei tėvų ir ugdymo įstaigos pedagogų vykdomo buitinių įgūdžių formavimo kryptingumo siekiant vaikų, turinčių vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą, autonomiškumo analizė. Iškelta hipotezė, kad vaikų, turinčių vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą, buitinių įgūdžių formavimas vyksta kryptingai. Taikant anketinės apklausos metodą, buvo atliktas tyrimas, kurio tikslas - įvertinti buitinių įgūdžių formavimo kryptingumą, siekiant vaikų, turinčių vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą, autonomiškumo. Atlikta anketinės apklausos duomenų analizė. Tyrime dalyvavo 118 Vilniaus miesto specialiųjų ugdymo įstaigų pedagogų ir 100 tėvų, auginančių vaikus, turinčius vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą. Empirinėje dalyje aptariamos asmens, turinčio vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą, galimybės atlikti buitinius darbus; nagrinėjamas sutrikusio intelekto vaikų buitinių įgūdžių formavimo kryptingumas namuose ir ugdymo įstaigoje. Svarbiausios empirinio tyrimo išvados: 1. Hipotezė, kad vaikų, turinčių vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą, buitinių įgūdžių formavimas vyksta kryptingai, pasitvirtino iš dalies. 2. Daugumos respondentų nuomone, vaikų, turinčių vidutinį intelekto sutrikimą galimybės atlikti buitinius darbus yra ribotos, minimalios. Tik 36 proc. tėvų ir 25 proc. pedagogų nurodė normalias galimybes, 10 proc. pedagogų pabrėžė, kad galimybės atlikti buitiniuis darbus priklauso nuo individualių vaiko sugebėjimų. 3. ... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There was made theoretical analysis about development peculiarities of children with mental retardation, daily skills were defined and also there was made an analysis about singleness of daily skills formation with purpose to make children with moderate mental retardation self–sufficient, which parents and educators implement. It was hypothesized that formation of daily skills for children with moderate mental retardation is going purposefully. By employing method of questionnaires the research was made which purpose is to evaluate singleness of daily skills formation with purpose to make children with moderate mental retardation self–sufficient. The analysis of questionnaires data was made. 118 Vilnius city special educational institutions educators and 100 parents who have children with moderate mental retardation participated in the research. In the empirical part the possibilities of a person with moderate mental retardation to make daily activities are discussed; the singleness of daily skills formation of children with mental retardation at home and at the educational institution is examined. The most important conclusions of empirical research: 1. Hypothesis that formation of daily skills for children with moderate mental retardation is going purposefully was proved partially. 2. Many respondents take the view that possibilities for children with moderate mental retardation to make daily activities are limited, minimal. Only 36 percent of parents and 25 percent... [to full text]

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is one of the most common amino acids metabolisms disorders. Even though such disorders are rather scarce, it was the first case of all metabolism disorders. Phenylketonuria was first described by A. Fioling in 1934. PKU is an autosomic recessive hereditary metabolism disease that is followed by disorders in amino acids metabolism, which disorders the development of the nervous system. The earlier the treatment begins, the better prognosis of the disease is. If the baby is not being treated, his health gets worse already during the first 6 months of his life. During the first months he often does not eat well, sucks wanly, vomits. After some time after birth there appear the jumps. The baby is lacking vitality, sleepy or too much irritable. In many cases the muscular tonicity might be varied (either higher or lower). A specific smell or color of the body or urine of babies who have phenylketonuria may be common. Over time, growth, physical and mental development of the baby is out of order. Children, who have phenylketonuria, have emotional and action problems Moreover, just after birth phenylketonuria causes serious and incurable mental disorders The intelligence quotient of the majority of patients is lower than 60 points. There is a general babies’ check in order to diagnose phenylketonuria on time. The researches are being held in the Medical Genetics Centre of Vilnius Santariskes Clinic since 1975. The average of babies who have phenylketonuria is... [to full text]

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduces bone mass by 10-30% and impairs arachidonic (AA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid status in infants. Because AA and DHA enhance neonatal bone mass, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of dietary 0.5% AA and 0.2% DHA (w/w) prior to weaning on bone and growth. 40 guinea pigs were randomized to either a control (C) or low-protein diet (LP) during pregnancy and the C diet or the C diet with AA+DHA during lactation. Measurements included bone mass, metabolism, and strength, and erythrocyte lipid of sows and offspring from birth to 16 wk post-partum. The LP diet induced IUGR, while the AA+DHA increased bone mass by 5-20% in sows and offspring and corrected growth and bone mass in IUGR pups. Thus, AA+DHA provided in lactation rescues the growth trajectory in an IUGR state and is beneficial to maternal and neonatal bone mass.

No description available.

Disertacijoje sprendžiama spiralinių ir meandrinių lėtinimo sistemų su periodiniais netolygumais modeliavimo metodų tobulinimo ir jų tobulesnių konstrukcijų paieškos problema. Pagrindiniai tyrimo objektai – nevienalytės periodinės lėtinimo sistemos ir jų modeliai bei analizės metodai. Darbo tikslas yra tobulinti sudėtingas turinčias periodinių netolygumų spiralines ir meandrines lėtinimo sistemas ir ištirti jų analizės metodus, siekiant atskleisti nevienalyčių lėtinimo sistemų savybes ir jų automatizuoto projektavimo galimybes. / There are investigated issues of modeling techniques improvement and investigation of improved design of helical and meander slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities in the dissertation. Objects of research – models of slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities and their methods of investigation. Aim of the work – improvement of sophisticated helical and meander slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities and investigation of their methods of analysis, in order to reveal general characteristics of inhomogeneous slow-wave systems and capabilities of using computer-aided design.

There are investigated issues of modeling techniques improvement and investigation of improved design of helical and meander slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities in the dissertation. Objects of research – models of slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities and their methods of investigation. Aim of the work – improvement of sophisticated helical and meander slow-wave systems with periodical inhomogeneities and investigation of their methods of analysis, in order to reveal general characteristics of inhomogeneous slow-wave systems and capabilities of using computer-aided design. / Disertacijoje sprendžiama spiralinių ir meandrinių lėtinimo sistemų su periodiniais netolygumais modeliavimo metodų tobulinimo ir jų tobulesnių konstrukcijų paieškos problema. Pagrindiniai tyrimo objektai – nevienalytės periodinės lėtinimo sistemos ir jų modeliai bei analizės metodai. Darbo tikslas yra tobulinti sudėtingas turinčias periodinių netolygumų spiralines ir meandrines lėtinimo sistemas ir ištirti jų analizės metodus, siekiant atskleisti nevienalyčių lėtinimo sistemų savybes ir jų automatizuoto projektavimo galimybes.

This study examined the relative risk of perinatal complications in common childhood disorders. Specifically, the ability of perinatal complications to predict membership into children's disorders was studied. The sample consisted of 634 normal children and children with mental retardation, learning disabilities, and emotional handicaps, whose mothers completed the Maternal Perinatal Scale (WS). Seven MPS items significantly contributed to the prediction of the mentally retarded, learning disabled, emotionally handicapped, and regular education groups. The two significant discriminant functions correctly classified about 46% of the students, with the greatest misclassification occuring for those with emotional handicaps. When the separate disorders were collapsed to form a single group, eleven MPS items significantly contributed to the prediction of the special education and regular education groups. The linear composite from discriminant function analysis correctly classified about 74% of the students. Some 89% of the special education students were correctly classified. When MPS factors were used as predictors, 90% of the special education students were correctly classified. Seven MPS factors comprised the discriminant function. Relative risk ratios were computed for each perinatal item. Significant relative risk ratios included maternal weight over 151 pounds, saddle block anesthesia, no anesthesia, stress during pregnancy, prenatal care, medically induced labor, unplanned pregnancy, medication use during pregnancy, hypoxia, and cigarette use during pregnancy. An overall relative risk of 6.35 was computed based on the linear composite of perinatal variables defined by the discriminant function, suggesting that a suggesting that a synergism of perinatal complications makes a child over 6 times more likely to be placed in special education. A second overall relative risk of 3.83 was derived from the linear composite of MPS factor scores. This indicated that children with a perinatal history marked by this particular combination of perinatal complications were nearly 4 times as likely to require special educational services. Results were discussed in terms of comorbidity among special education categories. The potential use of the MPS as a screener for early intervention was also discussed. / Department of Educational Psychology

The mechanisms that govern the repression of 5-HT1A receptor gene expression mediated by a novel mental retardation gene, Freud-1, were examined in HEK293 and SKNSH cells. This study provides a possible mechanism of 5-HT1A receptor gene regulation by Freud-1, which, to mediate its action, recruits Swi/Snf and Sin3A/histone deacetylase (HDAC) complexes in non-neuronal HEK293 cells and Swi/Snf only in neuronal, 5-HT1A receptor-expressing SKNSH cells. Thus, Freud-1 has a dual mechanism of repression depending on cell type: HDAC dependent in HEK293 cells and HDAC independent in SKNSH cells. In addition, I present evidence that Freud-1 is not sumoylated at its consensus sumoylation sites and I present the lipid binding properties of Freud-1 and Freud-1 mutants.

The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate postural balance, physical activity, physical capacity and their associations in young people (16-20 years) with intellectual disability (ID), mild to moderate. The aim was also to study the reliability and concurrent validity of postural balance tests. To evaluate postural balance, one assessor used five common postural balance tests and one new test. The tests were performed twice for 89 young people with ID (one to twelve days apart). Intraclass correlation coefficients greater than 0.80 were achieved for four of the common balance tests: Extended Timed Up and Go Test (ETUGT), Modified Forward Reach Test (MFRT), One-Leg Stance Test (OLS), and a Force Platform Test (FPT). The smallest real difference ranged from 12% to 40%; less than 20% is considered to be low. For the six balance tests, the concurrent validity varied between none to low. Falls are more common for young people with ID compared to young people without ID. One reason could be impaired postural balance. The postural balance for young people with ID has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, five balance tests and three muscle strength tests were used to compare young people with ID with an age-matched control group without ID (n=255). The young people with ID had significantly lower scores on most of the postural balance tests and muscle strength tests of the trunk and lower limbs. Muscle strength, height, and body mass index had no strong association with postural balance. The results also illustrated that young people with ID did not rely more on vision for their balance ability compared to peers without ID. It seems that postural balance is impaired for young people with ID when evaluated with common tests. An everyday situation is to react to unexpected balance disturbances to avoid falls by using different postural responses. Since young people with ID seem to fall more often than peers without ID, it is valuable to investigate if those postural responses are different between the groups. Therefore, young people with and without ID (n=99) were exposed to six backward surface translations and several postural muscle responses were evaluated: muscle synergies and strategies, muscle onset latency, time-to-peak amplitude, and adaptation. The responses of the investigated muscles – the gastrocnemius, the biceps femoris, and the erector spinae L4 level – were measured using electromyography. The results showed that there were no differences between the two groups with respect to synergies or strategies, muscle onset latency, and time-to-peak amplitude. An overall pattern was seen, that young people with ID adapted their muscle response slower in all three muscles than peers without ID, but this pattern was not statistically significant. Studies have shown that people with ID have impaired postural balance, a lower level of physical activity, and lower aerobic capacity compared to people without ID. The association is however not investigated. Therefore, postural balance (postural sway indirectly measured with the subjects standing on a force platform), physical activity (measured with a pedometer), and aerobic capacity (measured with a sub-maximal ergometer cycle test) were used to assess young people with and without ID (n=106). To investigate the subjects’ view of their own health, the subjects completed an adapted questionnaire that addressed their perceived health. The analysis showed no significant associations between postural balance, level of physical activity, and aerobic capacity. The subjects in the ID group, both men and women, had significantly lower aerobic capacity compared to subjects without ID. The answers from the health questionnaire did not correspond to the measured outcomes from the physical tests for young people with ID. In conclusion, ETUGT and MFRT can be used to evaluate change in postural balance over time in young people with mild to moderate ID. The low concurrent validity suggests that the postural balance tests probably challenge various subsystems. Young people with ID have impaired postural balance and perform lower on muscle strength tests than age-matched controls. Postural muscle responses after external perturbations seem to be similar for young people with and without ID, but the ability to adapt muscle responses after repeated perturbations appears to be slower for young people with ID. The studies in the thesis also indicate that young people with ID have reduced level of physical activity and lower aerobic capacity. The lack of association between the different physical functions indicates that they should be evaluated and exercised separately. Young persons with ID might have more difficulty realising the health advantage of being physically active, as they do not seem to make this connection. Because of this, it is important that parents/guardians, school staff, physiotherapists, and others encourage them to participate in physical activity.

In an attempt to find a way of improving the damage tolerance of composite bonded repairs to metallic aircraft structures, the effect of using conventional crack growth retardation techniques in conjunction with bonded repairs was experimentally investigated. Hence, an experimental test program was set up to determine whether fatigue crack growth under bonded repairs is retarded further by giving the crack to be repaired a crack growth retardation treatment prior to repair patch application. In addition, it was set up to determine the influence of a bonded repair on the effectiveness of a crack growth retardation method. Centrally cracked aluminium plates were used. Stop drilling followed by cold hole expansion and the application of single overloads were selected as retardation treatments. Two patch materials were considered; boron/epoxy and Glare 2. Further test variables were the aluminium alloy and the plate thickness. Fatigue testing was carried out under constant amplitude loading and baseline results were determined first. In addition to optically monitoring the crack growth, local and global out-of-plane deformations were visualised with holographic interferometry and shadow moire??. Furthermore, the stress intensity factors under the repair patch were examined with strain gauges and measurement of the central crack opening displacement. Disbonds and fracture surfaces were studied after residual strength tests. The crack growth results obtained showed that retardation treatments decrease crack growth rates under a repair patch and that the effectiveness of a retardation treatment is increased by the patch. Although identical crack growth rates were observed under boron/epoxy and Glare 2 patches, the reinitiation period after the retardation treatment lasted longer when Glare 2 patches were applied. Analytical predictions of the extent of retardation based on existing models showed that the conjunctive effect of retardation treatments and bonded repairs was underestimated. A sustained reduction in crack growth rates was observed under bonded repairs with a prior overload retardation treatment. It was concluded that the damage tolerance of bonded repairs is increased by the application of a crack growth retardation treatment because the crack growth is retarded further. These findings indicate that the range of cracks in aircraft for which bonded repairs can be considered is expanded and that economic benefits can be obtained.