Sports practice is related to parasympathetic activity in adolescents

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Correlates of sports practice, occupational and leisure-time physical activity in Brazilian adolescents

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A relação entre a álgebra acadêmica e a álgebra escolar em um curso de licenciatura em matemática: concepções de alunos e professores

Pós-graduação em Educação - FCT

Family Management Style Framework and Its Use With Families Who Have a Child Undergoing Palliative Care at Home

Palliative care settings in many countries acknowledge families as their prime focus of care, but in Brazil, to date, researchers have devoted scant attention to that practice setting. In this article, we report the findings of a study that explored how families define and manage their lives when they have a child or adolescent undergoing palliative care at home. Data included individual semistructured interviews with 14 family members of 11 different families. Interviews were transcribed and the coding procedure featured qualitative content analysis methods. The deductive coding was based on the major components of the Family Management Style Framework and the eight dimensions comprising these components. The analysis provides insight into families' daily practices and problems inherent in managing their everyday lives that are encountered when they have a child in palliative care. The article features discussion of implications for the palliative care related development of family nursing practice.

Differential effects of task-specific practice on performance in a simulated penalty kick under high-pressure

Objectives The current study investigated to what extent task-specific practice can help reduce the adverse effects of high-pressure on performance in a simulated penalty kick task. Based on the assumption that practice attenuates the required attentional resources, it was hypothesized that task-specific practice would enhance resilience against high-pressure. Method Participants practiced a simulated penalty kick in which they had to move a lever to the side opposite to the goalkeeper's dive. The goalkeeper moved at different times before ball-contact. Design Before and after task-specific practice, participants were tested on the same task both under low- and high-pressure conditions. Results Before practice, performance of all participants worsened under high-pressure; however, whereas one group of participants merely required more time to correctly respond to the goalkeeper movement and showed a typical logistic relation between the percentage of correct responses and the time available to respond, a second group of participants showed a linear relationship between the percentage of correct responses and the time available to respond. This implies that they tended to make systematic errors for the shortest times available. Practice eliminated the debilitating effects of high-pressure in the former group, whereas in the latter group high-pressure continued to negatively affect performance. Conclusions Task-specific practice increased resilience to high-pressure. However, the effect was a function of how participants responded initially to high-pressure, that is, prior to practice. The results are discussed within the framework of attentional control theory (ACT).

Concessioni di servizio in ambito interportuale, portuale e demaniale marittimo ed esercizio delle relative attività: l'impatto della disciplina comunitaria in materia di libera prestazioni di servizi.

Come si evince dal titolo della tesi, la ricerca effettuata dal presente candidato nel corso del dottorato di ricerca ha avuto ad oggetto l’analisi delle competenze che, a diverso livello, comunitario, nazionale e regionale, sono attribuite agli enti in materia di rilascio di concessioni di servizi in abito interportuale, portuale e demaniale marittimo. L’attenzione, pertanto, ha dovuto innanzitutto essere rivolta ai compiti ed alle facoltà che, in forza del trattato che istituisce la Comunità Europea, sono attribuite alla Comunità stessa. Si è provveduto, pertanto, ad analizzare l’evoluzione della normativa per giungere all’attuale sistema giuridico. Gli aspetti della disciplina delle concessioni, oggetto di ricerca, hanno dovuto ripercorrere i vari procedimenti di infrazione comminati dalla Corte Europea, per i quali il sistema giuridico nazionale si è dovuto adattare con non poche difficoltà, soprattutto per la presenza di posizioni e prassi, negli anni, divenute consolidate.

Multilevel Domain Decomposition Algorithms for Monolithic Fluid-Structure Interaction Problems with Application to Haemodynamics

Finite element techniques for solving the problem of fluid-structure interaction of an elastic solid material in a laminar incompressible viscous flow are described. The mathematical problem consists of the Navier-Stokes equations in the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation coupled with a non-linear structure model, considering the problem as one continuum. The coupling between the structure and the fluid is enforced inside a monolithic framework which computes simultaneously for the fluid and the structure unknowns within a unique solver. We used the well-known Crouzeix-Raviart finite element pair for discretization in space and the method of lines for discretization in time. A stability result using the Backward-Euler time-stepping scheme for both fluid and solid part and the finite element method for the space discretization has been proved. The resulting linear system has been solved by multilevel domain decomposition techniques. Our strategy is to solve several local subproblems over subdomain patches using the Schur-complement or GMRES smoother within a multigrid iterative solver. For validation and evaluation of the accuracy of the proposed methodology, we present corresponding results for a set of two FSI benchmark configurations which describe the self-induced elastic deformation of a beam attached to a cylinder in a laminar channel flow, allowing stationary as well as periodically oscillating deformations, and for a benchmark proposed by COMSOL multiphysics where a narrow vertical structure attached to the bottom wall of a channel bends under the force due to both viscous drag and pressure. Then, as an example of fluid-structure interaction in biomedical problems, we considered the academic numerical test which consists in simulating the pressure wave propagation through a straight compliant vessel. All the tests show the applicability and the numerical efficiency of our approach to both two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems.

Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Mutations Scanning Strategy of the BCR-ABL Kinase Domain in Patients with PhiladelPhia-Chromosome Positive Leukemias Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

In chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), BCR-ABL kinase domain mutation status is an essential component of the therapeutic decision algorithm. The recent development of Ultra-Deep Sequencing approach (UDS) has opened the way to a more accurate characterization of the mutant clones surviving TKIs conjugating assay sensitivity and throughput. We decided to set-up and validated an UDS-based for BCR-ABL KD mutation screening in order to i) resolve qualitatively and quantitatively the complexity and the clonal structure of mutated populations surviving TKIs, ii) study the dynamic of expansion of mutated clones in relation to TKIs therapy, iii) assess whether UDS may allow more sensitive detection of emerging clones, harboring critical 2GTKIs-resistant mutations predicting for an impending relapse, earlier than SS. UDS was performed on a Roche GS Junior instrument, according to an amplicon sequencing design and protocol set up and validated in the framework of the IRON-II (Interlaboratory Robustness of Next-Generation Sequencing) International consortium.Samples from CML and Ph+ ALL patients who had developed resistance to one or multiple TKIs and collected at regular time-points during treatment were selected for this study. Our results indicate the technical feasibility, accuracy and robustness of our UDS-based BCR-ABL KD mutation screening approach. UDS was found to provide a more accurate picture of BCR-ABL KD mutation status, both in terms of presence/absence of mutations and in terms of clonal complexity and showed that BCR-ABL KD mutations detected by SS are only the “tip of iceberg”. In addition UDS may reliably pick 2GTKIs-resistant mutations earlier than SS in a significantly greater proportion of patients.The enhanced sensitivity as well as the possibility to identify low level mutations point the UDS-based approach as an ideal alternative to conventional sequencing for BCR-ABL KD mutation screening in TKIs-resistant Ph+ leukemia patients

Study design, baseline patient characteristics and intervention in a cross-cultural framework: results from the ADORE study

OBJECTIVE : To describe the methodology and to present the baseline findings of the Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Observational Research in Europe (ADORE) study, the primary objective of which is to describe the relationship between treatment regimen prescribed and quality of life of children with ADHD in actual practice. METHODS : In this 2-year prospective observational study, data on diagnosis, prescribed treatment and outcomes of ADHD were collected at seven time points by paediatricians and child psychiatrists on 1,573 children recruited in 10 European countries. The data presented here from the 1,478 patients included in the analyses describe the baseline condition, initial treatment regimen prescribed and quality of life of families with children with ADHD. RESULTS : Patients had a mean age of 9.0 years (SD 2.5) and 84% were male. Physicians diagnoses were made using DSM-IV (43 %), ICD-10 (32%) and both DSM-IV and ICD-10 (12 %). Mean age of awareness of a problem was 5.1 years, suggesting an average delay of approximately 4 years between awareness and diagnosis of ADHD. Baseline ADHD rating scale scores (physicianrated) indicated moderate to severe ADHD. Parent-rated SDQ scores were in agreement and suggested significant levels of co-existing problems. CGI-S, CGAS and CHIPCE scores also indicated significant impairment. Patients were offered the following treatments after the initial assessment: pharmacotherapy (25 %), psychotherapy (19 %), combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy (25 %), other therapy (10 %) and no treatment (21 %). CONCLUSION : The ADORE study shows that ADHD is similarly recognised across 10 European countries and that the children are significantly impaired across a wide range of domains. In this respect, they resemble children described in previous ADHD samples.

A BAYESIAN HIERARCHICAL FRAMEWORK FOR SPATIAL MODELING OF fMRI DATA

Functional neuroimaging techniques enable investigations into the neural basis of human cognition, emotions, and behaviors. In practice, applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided novel insights into the neuropathophysiology of major psychiatric,neurological, and substance abuse disorders, as well as into the neural responses to their treatments. Modern activation studies often compare localized task-induced changes in brain activity between experimental groups. One may also extend voxel-level analyses by simultaneously considering the ensemble of voxels constituting an anatomically defined region of interest (ROI) or by considering means or quantiles of the ROI. In this work we present a Bayesian extension of voxel-level analyses that offers several notable benefits. First, it combines whole-brain voxel-by-voxel modeling and ROI analyses within a unified framework. Secondly, an unstructured variance/covariance for regional mean parameters allows for the study of inter-regional functional connectivity, provided enough subjects are available to allow for accurate estimation. Finally, an exchangeable correlation structure within regions allows for the consideration of intra-regional functional connectivity. We perform estimation for our model using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques implemented via Gibbs sampling which, despite the high throughput nature of the data, can be executed quickly (less than 30 minutes). We apply our Bayesian hierarchical model to two novel fMRI data sets: one considering inhibitory control in cocaine-dependent men and the second considering verbal memory in subjects at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The unifying hierarchical model presented in this manuscript is shown to enhance the interpretation content of these data sets.

EC Electronic Communications and Competition Law

Telecommunications have developed at an incredible speed over the last couple of decades. The decreasing size of our phones and the increasing number of ways in which we can communicate are barely the only result of this (r)evolutionary development. The latter has indeed multiple implications. The change of paradigm for telecommunications regulation, epitomised by the processes of liberalisation and reregulation, was not sufficient to answer all regulatory questions pertinent to communications. Today, after the transition from monopoly to competition, we are faced perhaps with an even harder regulatory puzzle, since we must figure out how to regulate a sector that is as dynamic and as unpredictable as electronic communications have proven to be, and as vital and fundamental to the economy and to society at large. The present book addresses the regulatory puzzle of contemporary electronic communications and suggests the outlines of a coherent model for their regulation. The search for such a model involves essentially deliberations on the question "Can competition law do it all?", since generic competition rules are largely seen as the appropriate regulatory tool for the communications domain. The latter perception has been the gist of the 2002 reform of the European Community (EC) telecommunications regime, which envisages a withdrawal of sectoral regulation, as communications markets become effectively competitive and ultimately bestows the regulation of the sector upon competition law only. The book argues that the question of whether competition law is the appropriate tool needs to be examined not in the conventional contexts of sector specific rules versus competition rules or deregulation versus regulation but in a broader governance context. Consequently, the reader is provided with an insight into the workings and specific characteristics of the communications sector as network-bound, converging, dynamic and endowed with a special societal role and function. A thorough evaluation of the regulatory objectives in the communications environment contributes further to the comprehensive picture of the communications industry. Upon this carefully prepared basis, the book analyses the communications regulatory toolkit. It explores the interplay between sectoral communications regulation, competition rules (in particular Article 82 of the EC Treaty) and the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) relevant to telecommunications services. The in-depth analysis of multilevel construct of EC communications law is up-to-date and takes into account important recent developments in the EC competition law in practice, in particular in the field of refusal to supply and tying, of the reform of the EC electronic communications framework and new decisions of the WTO dispute settlement body, such as notably the Mexico-Telecommunications Services Panel Report. Upon these building elements, an assessment of the regulatory potential of the EC competition rules is made. The conclusions drawn are beyond the scope of the current situation of EC electronic communications and the applicable law and explore the possible contours of an optimal regulatory framework for modern communications. The book is of particular interest to communications and antitrust law experts, as well as policy makers, government agencies, consultancies and think-tanks active in the field. Experts on other network industries (such as electricity or postal communications) can also profit from the substantial experience gathered in the communications sector as the most advanced one in terms of liberalisation and reregulation.

Towards an Open Source Framework for Collaborative Problem-Based Learning Environments

This paper presents our research works in the domain of Collaborative Environments centred on Problem Based Learning (PBL) and taking advantage of existing Electronic Documents. We first present the modelling and engineering problems that we want to address; then we discuss technological issues of such a research particularly the use of OpenUSS and of the Enterprise Java Open Source Architecture (EJOSA) to implement such collaborative PBL environments.

Everyday Sexuality and Social Work: Locating Sexuality in Professional Practice and Education

Social work has seen increased intellectual interest in sexuality. However, little attention has been paid to the relevance of everyday sexuality for professional practice or how this might be integrated within existing social work curricula. This paper proposes that knowledge about everyday sexuality is vital to social workers as they deal with a variety of clients faced with the increasing complexities brought about by late-modernity. Additionally, it is argued that this knowledge base is congruent with the ethical and political dimensions of the profession. The PLISSIT model is presented as a possible pedagogical framework for social work education in this area.

Tackling Youth Exclusion in the UK: Challenges for Current Policy and Practice

Addressing the situation of marginalised youth has been central to policy initiatives directed at tackling poverty and social exclusion in the UK in recent years. The period since 1997 has therefore witnessed a renewed emphasis upon the development of a coherent framework for youth policy in the UK with the goal of promoting youth inclusion and participation. Nevertheless, understanding the nature and prospects for policies designed to tackle youth exclusion involves a deeper interrogation of the concept of ‘social exclusion’ and its applications within UK policy debates. Here, it is argued that whilst considerable progress has been made in the promotion of a coherent and integrated strategy for youth inclusion in the UK such policies are unlikely to be effective without a re-conceptualisation of the nature of social exclusion, its causes and consequences. In particular, a more holistic understanding is called for which extends beyond an emphasis on labour market activation policies as a response to the circumstances facing marginalised youth in the UK and elsewhere, and one which interrogates exclusionary processes and institutional practices rather than addressing only the symptoms of disadvantage.

Intensive Family Reunification Services: A Conceptual Framework and Case Example

Recent federal mandates require child welfare agencies to make reasonable efforts to reunify families after out-of-home placement. Consistent with those mandates, agencies are increasingly employing techniques from family preservation services intended initially to prevent out-of-home placement. The purpose of this article is to articulate a conceptual framework and practice guidelines for family reunification services and to describe an experimental reunification program based on a family preservation model. A case example illustrates the way in which the services affected one family that participated in the experiment.