Studies on mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and anthropic environment: 7- Behaviour of adults Nyssorhynchus anophelines with special reference to Anopheles albitarsis s.l. in South-Eastern Brazil

Results obtained with catches performed at several sites of the Ribeira Valley, SP (Brazil) are reported. Collections with Shannon type traps showed a concentration of An.albitarsis s.l. in the Experimental Farm of Pariquera-Açu County, associated with the development of irrigated rice cultivation. Two species of the complex, named A and B, were recognized. Species B predominated in the samples. Indoor and outdoor crepuscular human bait captures were performed a the domiciliary environment. The two species showed a generally low William's media valve of 0.2, the highest value obtained was 1.6. No differences were found between indoor and outdoor behaviours between the two species of the complex.

Inclusão e práticas de diferenciação curricular nos cursos de educação e formação

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Ciências da Educação, especialidade em Educação Especial, ramo de Problemas de Cognição e Multideficiência

A inclusão de alunos com problemáticas graves: revisão de dissertações e projetos de investigação realizados no âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Especial da ESELx.

Este artigo pretende passar em revista de um conjunto de trabalhos, Dissertações e Projetos de Intervenção, realizados no âmbito do Mestrado em Educação Especial da Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa, relacionados com a inclusão de alunos com problemáticas graves. O nosso propósito foi dar conta da investigação que se tem produzido no âmbito do curso, focando a emergência de temáticas relacionadas com a inclusão, de estudos iniciais de carácter descritivo e exploratório (ex: descrição de contextos e práticas educativas, percepções dos docentes sobre a inclusão) a, mais recentemente, estudos com objectivos mais precisos (ex: estudos sobre as interacções entre pares, a utilização de tecnologias de apoio à comunicação e aprendizagem) e projectos de intervenção (ex: inclusão de alunos com problemas graves em actividades com alunos com desenvolvimento típico, formação de Assistentes Operacionais). A nossa revisão foca-se também na evolução das metodologias adotadas (progressivo recurso a fontes diversificadas de informação e a dados de observação direta). Estes trabalhos, finalizados entre 2010 e 2012, são aqui revistos organizados em função de linhas de investigação. Nas notas finais apresentam-se sugestões de possíveis estudos futuros.

O processo de reconhecimento, validação e certificação de competências em adultos com deficiências e incapacidades

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Ciências da Educação - Especialidade Educação Especial

O currículo específico individual práticas de construção e Implementação: um estudo exploratório no segundo ciclo

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação - Especialização em Educação Especial

Reading performance in children with visual function anomalies

Aims - To compare reading performance in children with and without visual function anomalies and identify the influence of abnormal visual function and other variables in reading ability. Methods - A cross-sectional study was carried in 110 children of school age (6-11 years) with Abnormal Visual Function (AVF) and 562 children with Normal Visual Function (NVF). An orthoptic assessment (visual acuity, ocular alignment, near point of convergence and accommodation, stereopsis and vergences) and autorefraction was carried out. Oral reading was analyzed (list of 34 words). Number of errors, accuracy (percentage of success) and reading speed (words per minute - wpm) were used as reading indicators. Sociodemographic information from parents (n=670) and teachers (n=34) was obtained. Results - Children with AVF had a higher number of errors (AVF=3.00 errors; NVF=1.00 errors; p<0.001), a lower accuracy (AVF=91.18%; NVF=97.06%; p<0.001) and reading speed (AVF=24.71 wpm; NVF=27.39 wpm; p=0.007). Reading speed in the 3rd school grade was not statistically different between the two groups (AVF=31.41 wpm; NVF=32.54 wpm; p=0.113). Children with uncorrected hyperopia (p=0.003) and astigmatism (p=0.019) had worst reading performance. Children in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th grades presented a lower risk of having reading impairment when compared with the 1st grade. Conclusion - Children with AVF had reading impairment in the first school grade. It seems that reading abilities have a wide variation and this disparity lessens in older children. The slow reading characteristics of the children with AVF are similar to dyslexic children, which suggest the need for an eye evaluation before classifying the children as dyslexic.

Phonological and articulation treatment approaches in Portuguese children with speech and language impairments: a randomized controlled intervention study

Background: In Portugal, the routine clinical practice of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in treating children with all types of speech sound disorder (SSD) continues to be articulation therapy (AT). There is limited use of phonological therapy (PT) or phonological awareness training in Portugal. Additionally, at an international level there is a focus on collecting information on and differentiating between the effectiveness of PT and AT for children with different types of phonologically based SSD, as well as on the role of phonological awareness in remediating SSD. It is important to collect more evidence for the most effective and efficient type of intervention approach for different SSDs and for these data to be collected from diverse linguistic and cultural perspectives. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of a PT and AT approach for treatment of 14 Portuguese children, aged 4.0–6.7 years, with a phonologically based SSD. Methods & Procedures: The children were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment approaches (seven children in each group). All children were treated by the same SLT, blind to the aims of the study, over three blocks of a total of 25 weekly sessions of intervention. Outcome measures of phonological ability (percentage of consonants correct (PCC), percentage occurrence of different phonological processes and phonetic inventory) were taken before and after intervention. A qualitative assessment of intervention effectiveness from the perspective of the parents of participants was included. Outcomes & Results: Both treatments were effective in improving the participants’ speech, with the children receiving PT showing a more significant improvement in PCC score than those receiving the AT. Children in the PT group also showed greater generalization to untreated words than those receiving AT. Parents reported both intervention approaches to be as effective in improving their children’s speech. Conclusions & Implications: The PT (combination of expressive phonological tasks, phonological awareness, listening and discrimination activities) proved to be an effective integrated method of improving phonological SSD in children. These findings provide some evidence for Portuguese SLTs to employ PT with children with phonologically based SSD

Qualidade de vida, necessidades terapêuticas e preocupações de pais de crianças com necessidades especiais: abordagem centrada na família

Mestrado em Fisioterapia

Relatório de estágio em reabilitação neurológica: intervenção da fisioterapia em crianças com necessidades especiais

Mestrado em Fisioterapia

Methylphenidate use in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A Brazilian Health Technology Assessment Bulletin (BRATS) article regarding scientific evidence of the efficacy and safety of methylphenidate for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has caused much controversy about its methods. Considering the relevance of BRATS for public health in Brazil, we critically reviewed this article by remaking the BRATS search and discussing its methods and results. Two questions were answered: did BRATS include all references available in the literature? Do the conclusions reflect the reviewed articles? The results indicate that BRATS did not include all the references from the literature on this subject and also that the proposed conclusions are different from the results of the articles chosen by the BRATS authors themselves. The articles selected by the BRATS authors showed that using methylphenidate is safe and effective. However, the BRATS final conclusion does not reflect the aforementioned and should not be used to support decisions on the use of methylphenidate.

Desenho universal para a aprendizagem: construindo práticas pedagógicas inclusivas

O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma grelha de planificação da intervenção facilitadora do desenvolvimento de práticas pedagógicas inclusivas. Para o efeito, procedeu-se a uma revisão da literatura centrada nos conceitos de Educação Inclusiva e de Desenho Universal para a Aprendizagem (Universal Design for Learning), a qual permitiu identificar e fundamentar a pertinência das dimensões a considerar na planificação da intervenção pedagógica, de modo a assegurar o acesso, a participação e o sucesso de todos os alunos. Com a apresentação da grelha de planificação da intervenção pedagógica pretende-se, em última análise, sublinhar a necessidade e a importância de desenvolver processos de planificação que disponibilizem formas diversificadas de motivação e envolvimento dos alunos, que equacionem múltiplos processos de apresentação dos conteúdos a aprender e, por último, que possibilitem a utilização de diversas formas de ação e expressão por parte dos alunos.

Paracoccidioidomycosis in children with different skeletal involvement

The rarity of paracoccidioidomycosis in childhood prompted us to report two cases with different clinical and radiological skeletal involvement. The number of osteolytic lesions, the presence of periosteal reaction and the finding of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in biopsy specimens, were distinctive features in both cases.

Evolution of Iberia during the Cenozoic with special emphasis on the formation of the Betic Cordillera and its relation with the western Mediterranean

The extensional process affecting Iberia during the Triassic and Jurassic times change from the end of the Cretaceous and, throughout the Palaeocene, the displacement between the African and European plates was clearly convergent and part of the future Internal Zone of the Betic Cordillera was affected. To the west, the Atlantic continued to open as a passive margin and, to the north, no significant deformation occurred. During the Eocene, the entire Iberian plate was subjected to compression. which caused major deformations in the Pyrenees and also in the Alpujarride and Nevado-Filabride, Internal Betic, complexes. In the Oligocene continued this situation, but in addition, the new extensional process ocurring in the western Mediterranean area, together with the constant eastward drift of Iberia due to Atlantic opening, compressed the eastern sector of Iberia, giving rise to the structuring of the Iberian Cordillera. The Neogene was the time when the Betic Cordillera reached its fundamental features with the westward displacement of the Betic-Rif Internal Zone, expelled by the progressive opening of the Algerian Basin, opening prolonged till the Alboran Sea. From the late Miocene onwards, all Iberia was affected by a N-S to NNW-SSE compression, combined in many points by a near perpendicular extension. Specially in eastern and southern Iberia a radial extension superposed these compression and extension.

Auditory event-related potentials in children with benign epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes

Benign focal epilepsy in childhood with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS) is one of the most common forms of idiopathic epilepsy, with onset from age 3 to 14 years. Although the prognosis for children with BECTS is excellent, some studies have revealed neuropsychological deficits in many domains, including language. Auditory event-related potentials (AERPs) reflect activation of different neuronal populations and are suggested to contribute to the evaluation of auditory discrimination (N1), attention allocation and phonological categorization (N2), and echoic memory (mismatch negativity – MMN). The scarce existing literature about this theme motivated the present study, which aims to investigate and document the existing AERP changes in a group of children with BECTS. AERPs were recorded, during the day, to pure and vocal tones and in a conventional auditory oddball paradigm in five children with BECTS (aged 8–12; mean = 10 years; male = 5) and in six gender and age-matched controls. Results revealed high amplitude of AERPs for the group of children with BECTS with a slight latency delay more pronounced in fronto-central electrodes. Children with BECTS may have abnormal central auditory processing, reflected by electrophysiological measures such as AERPs. In advance, AERPs seem a good tool to detect and reliably reveal cortical excitability in children with typical BECTS.

Chronic disease prevention and health promotion. Public policies and social network analysis of the hospitals services and oyhers health and social organizations to support joint action for children with diabetes

Comunicação apresentada na 18th Conference International of Health Promotion Hospitals & Health Services "Tackling causes and consequences of inequalities in health: contributions of health services and the HPH network", em Manchester de 14-16 de april de 2010