Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 592.pdf: 666034 bytes, checksum: a7eb721ac07da78d431e418a8eeadcfc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-02-28 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The repertoire of social skills of blind and sighted children can be different from each other, inasmuch as the absence of the sense of sight prevents the blind children from using the same resources as those commonly used by the sighted ones, for example the visual imitation in the process of learning social skills and behaviors. The area of Social Skills Training (SST) was the theoretical and practical reference for this study, whose general aim was to describe and characterize the social performances of two identical twins aged ten years old: Célia, who is blind; and Virna, who is sighted. In addition, the beliefs and educational practices of their mother, who is their main caregiver, were identified. The data were obtained by conducting an interview with the mother as well as by filming the children during free situations. A transcript was made of the mother s answers to the questions from the interview script, and then the content was analyzed by theme. According to a protocol for observing the free situations, the films were assessed so that the children s performances enabled to infer the categories of social skills. The results showed that the mother considers that Virna is more independent to perform certain activities, while Célia requires more care and attention, besides being more subject to restrictions. The results also showed that the sighted child presented a wider and more refined repertoire of social skills in relation to her sister. From the data, it is possible to conclude that blind and sighted children have distinct social skills repertories, and the existing differences can be related to the blind variable as well as to the differences in the way the caretaker stimulates the children. Therefore, it is considered important to plan programs aiming to maximize the social development of visually impaired children, including social skills training and advices for the caregivers. / O repertório de habilidades sociais de crianças cegas e videntes pode ser diferente, uma vez que a ausência do sentido da visão impede que as crianças cegas utilizem recursos comumente utilizados pelas crianças videntes, como, por exemplo, a imitação visual durante o processo de aprendizagem de habilidades e comportamentos sociais. A área do Treinamento de Habilidades Sociais (THS) foi a referência teórica e prática do presente estudo, cujo objetivo geral foi o de descrever e caracterizar o desempenho social de duas crianças, gêmeas idênticas, com dez anos de idade: Célia, que é cega; e Virna, que é vidente. Além disso, foram identificadas as crenças e práticas educativas da mãe, principal cuidadora dessas crianças. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da realização de uma entrevista com a mãe, bem como por meio de filmagens das crianças em situações livres. As respostas da mãe referentes às questões do roteiro de entrevista foram transcritas, procedendo-se, então, uma análise de conteúdo por tema. A filmagem foi avaliada de acordo com um protocolo de observação das situações livres, de modo que os desempenhos das crianças possibilitaram inferir as classes de habilidades sociais. Os resultados mostraram que a mãe considera que Virna é mais independente ao desempenhar determinadas atividades, enquanto que Célia requer maior número de cuidados, além estar sujeita a um número maior de restrições. Os resultados mostraram, ainda, que a criança vidente apresentou repertório de habilidades sociais mais amplo e refinado do que o de sua irmã. Com base nos dados, é possível concluir que crianças cegas e videntes possuem repertórios de habilidades sociais distintos, sendo que as diferenças existentes podem estar relacionadas tanto à variável cegueira quanto às diferenças na maneira como a cuidadora estimula as crianças. Dessa forma, considera-se indicado o planejamento de programas que visem maximizar o desenvolvimento social de crianças deficientes visuais, incluindo os de treinamento das habilidades sociais e de orientação para pais.

L’esperienza di aspettare e di essere genitore di due gemelli è innegabilmente diversa rispetto alla gravidanza alla genitorialità nel caso di un singolo bambino. La nascita gemellare è associata a conseguenze mediche, sanitarie, socio-emotive, psicologiche e dello sviluppo. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di aggiungere conoscenze rispetto agli aspetti unici legati alla gravidanza gemellare e alla genitorialità. Ho esaminato il modo in cui le future mamme vivono la loro gravidanza e come le madri sperimentano l’essere genitori di due gemelli e come queste interagiscono con i loro bambini nel periodo post-partum. Per studiare meglio l'esperienza di aspettare e di essere madre di due gemelli, i risultati sono stati confrontati con la letteratura esistente e sono stati utilizzati diversi progetti di ricerca. È stata valutata la validità e le proprietà psicometriche della versione italiana del Baby Care Questionnaire; è stato valutato se l'esperienza unica di un gemello in attesa potesse influenzare negativamente l'attaccamento prenatale; è stato esplorato l'impatto della nascita gemellare sull'interazione madre-figlio nel primo periodo post-partum. Questa tesi ha stabilito che le madri di gemelli hanno esigenze particolari e affrontano sfide uniche. Le madri di gemelli sembrano essere meno adattate dal punto di vista psicologico alla loro gravidanza in termini di basso livello di attaccamento prenatale. Anche la costruzione di una relazione stretta e positiva potrebbe essere più difficile nel caso dei gemelli. / The experience of expecting and parenting twins is undeniably different from that of a singleton pregnancy and parenthood. Twin births are associated with medical, health care, socio-emotional, psychological and developmental consequences. The aim of this work was to add knowledge concerning the unique aspects of expecting and parenting twins. I examined the way the mothers-to-be live their pregnancy as well as how mothers experience parenting twins and interact with their babies in the post-partum period. To better investigate the unique experience of expecting and parenting twins, results were compared with the existing literature and different research design were used. It was evaluated the validity and the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Baby Care Questionnaire; it was investigated if the unique experience of expecting twin may adversely affect prenatal attachment; it was explored the impact of twin birth on mother-child interaction in the early post-partum period. This thesis established that mothers of twins have unique needs and face unique challenges. Mothers of twins seems to be less psychological adjusted to their pregnancy in terms of lower level of prenatal attachment. Also the building of a close and positive relationship could be more difficult in the case of twins.

This Master's thesis on 'Family policy towards multiple children' addresses the current issue of Czech family policy towards families with special needs using the example of family policy towards multiple children. The objective of the thesis is to identify the living conditions of families with multiple children in the Czech Republic and to find out how family policy and other related policies reflect the needs of such families, analyze state support for families and support structures involved in this area of family support, to identify possible defects and then propose possible changes in this area. This thesis works with theoretical concepts: the theory of poverty, the theory of social exclusion , the theory of the welfare state, the human capital theory and the concept of public interest. This thesis employs the following methods: semi-structured interviews with actors, analysis of secondary data or stakeholder's analysis, problem tree analysis and formulation of variants. The conclusion of the work is that, despite the existing measures in the field of family policy, the concept of family policy has not yet taken into account families with multiple children and the support structures examined in this thesis are not yet sufficient in the case of families with multiple children. This thesis...

<p>Functional impairment is increasingly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults, with 2 in 5 adults over the age of 65 having some form of disability, the majority being limitations on mobility. Many older adults are able to maintain functional capacity well into later life, but the factors that contribute to high levels of function and the mechanisms by which they operate are unclear, although prior work has demonstrated the importance of social relationships for health. Guided by principles from the life course perspective and perspectives on social connectedness, this dissertation examined the role of social connectedness across the life course as a predictor of functional capacity in adulthood. I used existing longitudinal data from the national Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study to pursue three central aims.</p> <p><br></p> <p>First, Paper 1 compared theoretical and data-driven approaches to classifying life course relationships, including multiple dimensions of social connectedness at different time points across the life course. Results showed that the data-driven approach (i.e., latent profile analysis) was a stronger predictor of functional limitations than the theoretical approach and revealed relationship trajectories consistent with life course cumulative processes. Second, using the profiles obtained from Paper 1, Paper 2 probed the association between life-course social connectedness and functional limitations by examining the potential mediating role of candidate biological and behavioral mechanisms, and moderation by socioeconomic status (SES). Paper 2 findings suggested that observed differences in later-life functional limitations based on life-course social connectedness can be at least partially explained by physical activity, but do not vary by SES. Contrary to hypotheses, inflammation was not a significant mediator. Third, Paper 3 used monozygotic twin data and within-family analyses to sharpen the focus on potential causal associations between life-course social connectedness and adult functional status. Results suggested that the association is likely driven by genetic and/or shared environmental influences. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Taken together, these results add to our understanding of social connectedness and health and address important gaps in the literature. These findings are used to generate theory- and intervention-relevant insights into the successful maintenance of health, independence, and function across the lifespan.</p>

On étudie la conjecture des graphes jumeaux dénombrables, cas spécifique d’une conjecture de Thomassé, qui dit que le nombre de jumeaux d’un graphe dénombrable ( ses sous-graphes propres desquels il est aussi un sous-graphe propre) est soit nul, soit infini. On commence par étudier les graphes auto-abrités, que nous définissons, et en utilisant notre classification de ces graphes nous prouvons la conjecture dans certains cas, en précisant la cardinalité exacte du nombre de jumeaux. Nous donnons également des contre-exemples à l’article de l’arXiv «Self-contained graphs». / We make progress on the Graph Alternative Conjecture, a special case of a conjecture of Thomassé which says that the number of twins of a countable graph (i.e. its proper subgraphs of which that graph is also a proper subgraph) is either null or infinite. We begin by studying self-embedded graphs, which we define, and using our classification of these graphs, we prove the conjecture in some cases while specifying the exact number of twins. We also give counter-examples to a paper on arXiv called "Self-contained graphs".

Målet med detta arbete var att utveckla min kreativitet som gitarrist och inspireras att utforska bortom mina stilistiska gränser. Dessutom ville jag öka min förståelse för olika ljudbilder. En annan tanke jag hade var att undersöka om de dreampop-inspirerade gitarrsounden och spelteknikerna jag använder kan tillämpas på olika låtar och ändå behålla autenticiteten emot dreampop-genren. För att uppnå detta har jag analyserat och plankat gitarrpartierna och gitarrsounden i tio dreampop-låtar. Eftersom gitarrsoundet utgör en betydande del av genrens karaktäristiska element har arbetet fokuserat mycket på ljud och praktisk användning av effektpedaler. Det har innefattat utforskning av olika modulerande effekter och signalkedjor för att förstå i vilken ordning effekterna placeras. För att visualisera signalkedjorna för gitarrstämmorna har jag använt ett tabellsystem. Jag har identifierat fyra gitarrspelstekniker med sina unika ljudattribut som återkommer i de analyserade låtarna. Dessa tekniker och ljud har jag sedan tillämpat på egna arrangemang av befintliga poplåtar. Jag har spelat in ljudexempel av gitarrspelet i de analyserade låtarna och även spelat in mina egna arrangemang där både hela låtarna och separata gitarrspår finns tillgängliga för lyssning.  Arbetet har gett mig en ny förståelse för genrerna dreampop och shoegaze samt en förståelse för gitarrens roll inom dessa genrer. Dessutom har jag fått nya insikter i hur man kan arrangera med stora ljudbilder.

<p dir="ltr">We present a systematic approach for integrating reduced-order models of tableting with upstream pharmaceutical unit operations. This method identifies critical material attributes (CMAs) and process parameters (CPPs) from upstream operations, describing their coupling to both first and second orders, while selecting the appropriate mathematical forms and estimating parameters. The coupling is modeled using normalized bivariate rational functions.</p><p dir="ltr">The approach is demonstrated for dry granulation, a process that enhances powder flowability but compromises tabletability by reducing particle porosity and increasing plastic work. Using a formulation of 10\% w/w acetaminophen and 90\% w/w microcrystalline cellulose, granules with varying densities and size distributions are produced, and tablets of different relative densities are fabricated. This work provides essential insights for end-to-end process integration, control, and optimization of dry granulation and tableting. It also identifies granule properties that predominantly influence the four stages of powder compaction: die filling, compaction, unloading, and ejection.</p><p dir="ltr">Furthermore, we examine the effects of excipients such as lubricants (magnesium stearate) and glidants (silica) on tablet critical quality attributes (CQAs) in continuous manufacturing. Lubricants were found to affect all compaction stages, with sensitivity to mixing time, while glidants influenced bulk density and tensile strength without significantly impacting tablet density or compaction force. Reduced-order models are developed to predict tablet weight, density, and tensile strength based on excipient concentration and mixing time. These models are integral to implementing real-time control under the quality-by-control paradigm.</p>

Events around conception such as maternal undernutrition and twinning may have effects on offspring physiology and disease risk in adulthood. Periconceptional undernutrition alters offspring physiology and adult pathology without affecting birth size, while twinning affects birth size and physiology but with inconsistent effects on adult pathology. We investigated the effects of these two periconceptional events and their interaction on maternal cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and fetal growth, physiology and endocrinology in late gestation in sheep. Pre and/or postconception undernutrition resulted in increased uterine blood flow in late gestation, but no change in maternal blood volume. Preconception undernutrition alone resulted in a relatively large placenta with a small, slow-growing fetus in late gestation. In contrast, postconception undernutrition alone resulted in a fetus with rapid late-gestation growth that was maintained through a maternal fast. Fetuses of ewes undernourished throughout both periods were similar in growth rate and size to controls. Maternal fasting also demonstrated that plasma levels of C-type natriuretic peptide are acutely and independently regulated by nutrient supply in mother and fetus. Fetuses of ewes undernourished both pre- and postconception had increased glucose disposal following a glucose challenge. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis tests in these fetuses showed decreased pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation but increased adrenal response to decreased cortisol negative feedback. Twin fetuses grew more slowly in late gestation than singletons. Twins also had a smaller insulin response to arginine and a greater insulin response to glucose, but periconceptional undernutrition abolished this difference. Twins had suppressed baseline hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and decreased adrenal sensitivity compared to singletons, but increased fetal pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation and decreased cortisol negative feedback. These studies suggest that firstly, fetal size is a poor reflection of fetal growth trajectory, physiology and endocrinology. Secondly, pre- and postconception undernutrition affect late-gestation fetal growth in different ways, while undernutrition in both periods alters fetal endocrine status in late gestation. Thirdly, the biology of twin fetal development is fundamentally different from that of singletons, which may explain the inconsistency of the relationship between birth weight and adult disease risk in twins. / Auckland Medical Research Foundation, Health Research Council of New Zealand

Events around conception such as maternal undernutrition and twinning may have effects on offspring physiology and disease risk in adulthood. Periconceptional undernutrition alters offspring physiology and adult pathology without affecting birth size, while twinning affects birth size and physiology but with inconsistent effects on adult pathology. We investigated the effects of these two periconceptional events and their interaction on maternal cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and fetal growth, physiology and endocrinology in late gestation in sheep. Pre and/or postconception undernutrition resulted in increased uterine blood flow in late gestation, but no change in maternal blood volume. Preconception undernutrition alone resulted in a relatively large placenta with a small, slow-growing fetus in late gestation. In contrast, postconception undernutrition alone resulted in a fetus with rapid late-gestation growth that was maintained through a maternal fast. Fetuses of ewes undernourished throughout both periods were similar in growth rate and size to controls. Maternal fasting also demonstrated that plasma levels of C-type natriuretic peptide are acutely and independently regulated by nutrient supply in mother and fetus. Fetuses of ewes undernourished both pre- and postconception had increased glucose disposal following a glucose challenge. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis tests in these fetuses showed decreased pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation but increased adrenal response to decreased cortisol negative feedback. Twin fetuses grew more slowly in late gestation than singletons. Twins also had a smaller insulin response to arginine and a greater insulin response to glucose, but periconceptional undernutrition abolished this difference. Twins had suppressed baseline hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and decreased adrenal sensitivity compared to singletons, but increased fetal pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation and decreased cortisol negative feedback. These studies suggest that firstly, fetal size is a poor reflection of fetal growth trajectory, physiology and endocrinology. Secondly, pre- and postconception undernutrition affect late-gestation fetal growth in different ways, while undernutrition in both periods alters fetal endocrine status in late gestation. Thirdly, the biology of twin fetal development is fundamentally different from that of singletons, which may explain the inconsistency of the relationship between birth weight and adult disease risk in twins. / Auckland Medical Research Foundation, Health Research Council of New Zealand

Events around conception such as maternal undernutrition and twinning may have effects on offspring physiology and disease risk in adulthood. Periconceptional undernutrition alters offspring physiology and adult pathology without affecting birth size, while twinning affects birth size and physiology but with inconsistent effects on adult pathology. We investigated the effects of these two periconceptional events and their interaction on maternal cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and fetal growth, physiology and endocrinology in late gestation in sheep. Pre and/or postconception undernutrition resulted in increased uterine blood flow in late gestation, but no change in maternal blood volume. Preconception undernutrition alone resulted in a relatively large placenta with a small, slow-growing fetus in late gestation. In contrast, postconception undernutrition alone resulted in a fetus with rapid late-gestation growth that was maintained through a maternal fast. Fetuses of ewes undernourished throughout both periods were similar in growth rate and size to controls. Maternal fasting also demonstrated that plasma levels of C-type natriuretic peptide are acutely and independently regulated by nutrient supply in mother and fetus. Fetuses of ewes undernourished both pre- and postconception had increased glucose disposal following a glucose challenge. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis tests in these fetuses showed decreased pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation but increased adrenal response to decreased cortisol negative feedback. Twin fetuses grew more slowly in late gestation than singletons. Twins also had a smaller insulin response to arginine and a greater insulin response to glucose, but periconceptional undernutrition abolished this difference. Twins had suppressed baseline hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and decreased adrenal sensitivity compared to singletons, but increased fetal pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone response to direct stimulation and decreased cortisol negative feedback. These studies suggest that firstly, fetal size is a poor reflection of fetal growth trajectory, physiology and endocrinology. Secondly, pre- and postconception undernutrition affect late-gestation fetal growth in different ways, while undernutrition in both periods alters fetal endocrine status in late gestation. Thirdly, the biology of twin fetal development is fundamentally different from that of singletons, which may explain the inconsistency of the relationship between birth weight and adult disease risk in twins. / Auckland Medical Research Foundation, Health Research Council of New Zealand