Construction and validation of the brazilian questionário de respostas socialmente habilidosas segundo relato de professores (QRSH-PR)

Behavioral problems in preschool children are one of the most frequent motives for seeking psychological care by parents and caregivers. Instruments are considered necessary, created from a Social Skills Training theoretical-practical perspective, which may systematically assist the identification of social skills and behavioral deficits, helping professionals in the prevention and/or reduction of behavioral problems. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric validity and reliability of an instrument for evaluation of Socially Skilled Responses, from a teacher's perspective (QRSH-PR For this purpose, 260 preschool children were evaluated, differentiated in subgroups without and without behavioral difficulties, based on the Child Behavior Scale (Escala de Comportamento Infantil/ECI-Professor Studies were conducted for construct, discrimination, concurrent and predictive validity. The Cronbach Alpha was calculated to evaluate internal consistency. The obtained results pointed to positive indicators in reference to construct, discrimination, and predictive validity, and even for good internal consistency, indicating that the items consistently measure the construct of social skills, and differentiated children with and without behavioral problems. The questionnaire is considered to be gauged for evaluation of socially skilled responses from preschool children, and applicable in educational and clinical environments. Copyright 2009 by The Spanish Journal of Psychology.

Encontrabilidade da Informação: atributos e recomendações para ambientes informacionais digitais

At first, this paper presents the epistemological and theoretical bases that support the inclusion of an operational concept for the findability of information in the field of Information Science. In a second moment, it defines the key attributes and recommendations for the findability of information, with a view to their understanding in a practical perspective, from the epistemological and theoretical support presented. From a theoretical, exploratory, bibliographic and documentary study, the results reveal that epistemologically the findability of information fits in Information Science in post-custodial paradigm that focuses on access to information and is significantly influenced by Information and Communication Technologies. The theoretical conclusions of this concept focus on the evolution of the Web and from the perspective of the dimensions of language, where there is as pragmatic trend, as technological development that combines the actions taken by informational and institutional individuals in digital information environments. Given that these actions turn enable or not the findability of information, these individuals can be understood as mediators. Therefore, the concept of infocommunicational mediation is the basis for the findability of information. For its application in digital information environments, were defined attributes and guidelines which should be considered in the context of Information Architecture. The attributes characterizing the concept and guidelines point at practical actions for the design and for evaluation of the findability of information. Epistemological, theoretical and practical concepts addressed underpin the called operative concept in information science and should be further explored in this scientific field.

The immune system is limited by oxidative stress: dietary selenium promotes optimal antioxidative status and greatest immune defense in pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are reactive molecules containing oxygen, that form as byproducts of aerobic metabolism, including immune system processes. Too much ROS may cause oxidative stress. In this study, we examined whether it can also limit the production of immune system compounds. To assess the relationship between antioxidant status and immunity we evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation with organic selenium, given at various levels for 10 days, on the antioxidant and immune system of the pacu fish (Piaractus mesopotamicus). Fish fed a diet containing 0.6 mg Se-yeast kg(-1) showed significant improvement in antioxidant status, as well as in hematological and immunological profiles. Specifically, they had the highest counts for catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), red blood cells, and thrombocytes; the highest leukocyte count (particularly for monocytes); and the highest serum lysozyme activity. There was also a positive correlation between GPx and lysozyme in this group of fish. These findings indicate that short-term supplementation with 0.6 mg Se-yeast kg(-1) reestablished the antioxidative status, allowing the production of innate components which can boost immunity without the risk of oxidative stress. This study shows a relationship between oxidative stress and immunity, and, from a practical perspective, shows that improving immunity and health in pacu through the administration of selenium could improve their growth performance.