Highly Porous Carbon Materials Derived from Silicon Oxycarbides and Effect of the Pyrolysis Temperature on Their Electrochemical Response.

The design of a material porous microstructure with interconnected micro-meso-macropores is a key issue for the successful development of carbon-derived materials for supercapacitor applications. Another important issue is the nature of these carbon materials. For those reasons, in this study, novel hierarchical micro-meso-macroporous silicon oxycarbide-derived carbon (SiOC-DC) was obtained via chlorine etching of carbon-enriched SiOC prepared via pyrolysis (1100-1400 °C) of sol-gel triethoxysilane/dimethyldiphenysiloxane hybrids. In addition, and for the first time, non-conventional Raman parameters combined with the analysis of their microstructural characteristics were considered to establish their relationships with their electrochemical response. The sample pyrolyzed at 1100 °C showed planar and less-defective carbon domains together with the largest specific surface area (SSA) and the highest volume of micro-meso-macropores, which upgraded their electrochemical response. This sample has the highest specific capacitance (Cs = 101 Fg-1 (0.2 Ag-1)), energy (Ed = 12-7 Wh-1 kg-1), and power densities (Pd = 0.32-35 kw kg-1), showing a good capacitance retention ratio up to 98% after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles at 0.5 Ag-1. At a pyrolysis temperature ≥ 1200 °C, the carbon domains were highly ordered and tortuous with a high degree of interconnection. However, SSA and pore volumes (micro-meso-macropores) were significantly reduced and downgraded the Cs, Ed, and Pd values.

The First Latin American Consensus on Superficial and Perforating Venous Mapping.

With the aim of obtaining a map which is useful as a diagnostic tool and therapeutical orientation, complementing the written report of duplex ultrasound venous study, Latin-American Scientific Societies of Phlebology, Vascular Surgery and Vascular Imaging were invited to participate, through their regional representatives, to the First Consensus of Superficial and Perforating Venous Mapping. A consensus process using a modified Delphi method was carried out. An International Working Group was formed, which developed a Prototype of the Venous Mapping that worked as a starting point for consensus, and was presented in a first virtual meeting of 54 experts (societies' representatives) when the methodology was explained. For the consensus process, two rounds of self-administrated questionnaires with feedback were used. In the first questionnaire a 100% consensus was obtained in the 15 statements (an agreement range of 85.2% to 100%) In the analysis of qualitative data, three categories according to the actions to implement were identified - actions which involved no action, minor changes and major changes. This analysis was used to build the second questionnaire, which reached a consensus in its six statements (agreement range of 87.1% to 98.1%). A final consensus on every field proposed was established with the approval of all the experts consulted and it was presented at a third online meeting. The document of the superficial and perforating venous mapping reached by consensus is presented hereafter.

Speech treatment in nemaline myopathy: A single-subject experimental study.

PURPOSE: The objective of this work was to verify the efficacy of a treatment based on myofunctional therapy techniques which aimed to improve the tongue strength, precision, and speed of a ten-year-old girl with nemaline myopathy (NM) and the repercussions of this therapy on her speech intelligibility. NM is a rare congenital muscle disorder that causes extreme muscle weakness, especially in the face and neck, as well as severe dysarthria and dysphagia, although this does not affect the nervous system or cognitive development. METHOD: This was a single-subject experimental study which used an interrupted pre- and post-treatment time-series design, and which applied autoregressive integrated moving-average predictive models and Holt exponential smoothing. During the treatment phases, the participant's tongue strength and the rate of speech diadochokinesia and voluntary lingual movements were estimated and the repercussions of the intervention in terms of speech intelligibility were ascertained via an experiment with 'naïve' judges. RESULTS: The treatment produced a sustained and significant increase in the maximum strength of the patient's tongue, which increased from an initial 4 kPa to 11 kPa at the end of the treatment phase. However, this was far from the average 58 kPa for age- and sex-matched normative data. There were no significant changes either in the rates of voluntary lingual mobility or speech diadochokinesia. Speech intelligibility, as assessed by naïve judges, improved from 40 % in the pre-treatment phase to 67 % in the post-treatment phase. CONCLUSIONS: NM and other rare primary muscle disorders allow us to estimate the effects of severe muscle weakness in people with dysarthria without cognitive impairment or alterations in central nervous system, peripheral nervous system or in gap junction. In this case, the treatment did not increase the patient's lingual and articulatory movement speed but did increase her tongue strength from 5 % to 10 % of the levels otherwise expected for her age and significantly improved the intelligibility of her speech and communication.

Correction: Deciphering the role of nuclear and cytoplasmic IKKα in skin cancer.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.8792.].

Dificultades de comunicación y lenguaje en niños con miopatía nemalínica / Communication and language problems in children with nemaline myopathy

Introducción. La miopatía nemalínica es una enfermedad rara con incidencia de 1 de cada 50.000 nacimientos vivos. Es la más prevalente de las miopatías congénitas, un conjunto heterogéneo de trastornos neuromusculares presentes en el nacimiento o de muy temprana manifestación, que afectan a la musculatura esquelética, y que provocan debilidad, hipotonía y retraso psicomotor, pero con desarrollo cognitivo normal. Objetivo. Revisar los estudios sobre los problemas de comunicación y disfagia de niños con miopatía nemalínica y los posibles abordajes desde la logopedia. Desarrollo. Todos los niños presentan disfagia, con graves problemas para la alimentación durante los tres primeros años que se mitigan con el tiempo. El 50% usará gastrostomía, aunque muchos de ellos mantengan alguna ingesta oral. La miopatía nemalínica provoca un patrón de habla claramente disártrico. La debilidad de la musculatura de la ventilación y de la cara, con limitación para cerrar la boca, conlleva hipofonía, nasalidad y acusada ininteligibilidad. Los estudios sobre tratamientos logopédicos sugieren que, ante la disartria más incapacitante, deberían usar sistemas alternativos de comunicación, en los primeros años de vida, para eliminar la frustración de la falta de expresión útil, y beneficiarse de comunicadores basados en el lenguaje escrito más adelante. En el resto, el objetivo debe ser mejorar la inteligibilidad del habla. Conclusiones. La logopedia puede aportar dos tipos de tratamientos para mejorar la calidad de vida de estos niños: el abordaje de la disfagia y la mejora de las dificultades de expresión a través del habla o de ayudas técnicas. No hay suficiente evidencia científica de la eficacia de estos tratamientos (AU)

Introduction. Nemaline myopathy is a rare disease with an incidence of 1 in every 50,000 live births. It is the most prevalent of the congenital myopathies, a heterogeneous set of neuromuscular disorders present at birth or manifesting at a very early age, which affect the skeletal muscles and give rise to weakness, hypotonia and psychomotor retardation, although cognitive development remains normal. Aim. To review the studies conducted to date on the communication difficulties and dysphagia of children with nemaline myopathy and their possible management based on speech therapy. Development. All the children presented dysphagia, with severe feeding problems during the first three years of life that nevertheless are somewhat mitigated as time goes by. In 50% of cases a gastrostomy will be used, although some oral ingestion is maintained in many of them. Nemaline myopathy gives rise to a clearly dysarthric pattern. The weakness of the muscles involved in ventilation and of the face, with a limited ability to close the mouth, leads to hypophonia, nasality and marked unintelligibility. Studies conducted on treatments based on speech therapy suggest that, in the most disabling cases of dysarthria, alternative systems of communication should be used in the first years of life so as to eliminate the frustration caused by the lack of meaningful expression. Later, communicators based on written language can be used. In the remaining cases, the aim must be to improve speech intelligibility. Conclusions. Speech therapy can contribute to improve the quality of life of these children with two types of treatment: management of their dysphagia and improvement of their communication problems through speech or technical aids. These is insufficient scientific evidence of the effectiveness of these treatments (AU)

Deciphering the role of nuclear and cytoplasmic IKKα in skin cancer.

Nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common human malignancies. IKKα is an essential protein for skin development and is also involved in the genesis and progression of NMSC, through mechanisms not fully understood. While different studies show that IKKα protects against skin cancer, others indicate that it promotes NMSC. To resolve this controversy we have generated two models of transgenic mice expressing the IKKα protein in the nucleus (N-IKKα mice) or the cytoplasm (C-IKKα mice) of keratinocytes. Chemical skin carcinogenesis experiments show that tumors developed by both types of transgenic mice exhibit histological and molecular characteristics that make them more prone to progression and invasion than those developed by Control mice. However, the mechanisms through which IKKα promotes skin tumors are different depending on its subcellular localization; while IKKα of cytoplasmic localization increases EGFR, MMP-9 and VEGF-A activities in tumors, nuclear IKKα causes tumor progression through regulation of c-Myc, Maspin and Integrin-α6 expression. Additionally, we have found that N-IKKα skin tumors mimic the characteristics associated to aggressive human skin tumors with high risk to metastasize. Our results show that IKKα has different non-overlapping roles in the nucleus or cytoplasm of keratinocytes, and provide new targets for intervention in human NMSC progression.

How does a cadaver model work for testing ultrasound diagnostic capability for rheumatic-like tendon damage?

To establish whether a cadaver model can serve as an effective surrogate for the detection of tendon damage characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, we evaluated intraobserver and interobserver agreement in the grading of RA-like tendon tears shown by US, as well as the concordance between the US findings and the surgically induced lesions in the cadaver model. RA-like tendon damage was surgically induced in the tibialis anterior tendon (TAT) and tibialis posterior tendon (TPT) of ten ankle/foot fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens. Of the 20 tendons examined, six were randomly assigned a surgically induced partial tear; six a complete tear; and eight left undamaged. Three rheumatologists, experts in musculoskeletal US, assessed from 1 to 5 the quality of US imaging of the cadaveric models on a Likert scale. Tendons were then categorized as having either no damage, (0); partial tear, (1); or complete tear (2). All 20 tendons were blindly and independently evaluated twice, over two rounds, by each of the three observers. Overall, technical performance was satisfactory for all items in the two rounds (all values over 2.9 in a Likert scale 1-5). Intraobserver and interobserver agreement for US grading of tendon damage was good (mean κ values 0.62 and 0.71, respectively), with greater reliability found in the TAT than the TPT. Concordance between US findings and experimental tendon lesions was acceptable (70-100 %), again greater for the TAT than for the TPT. A cadaver model with surgically created tendon damage can be useful in evaluating US metric properties of RA tendon lesions.

Eficacia de los programas de ejercicios de motricidad oral para el tratamiento logopédico de las dificultades de habla / Non-speech oral motor treatment efficacy for children with developmental speech sound disorders

Introducción. En el tratamiento logopédico de las dificultades de habla se practican dos enfoques metodológicos antagó-nicos: los no verbales, basados en ejercicios de motricidad oral (EMO), y los verbales, que se basan en tareas de procesamiento de habla con sílabas, fonemas y palabras. En España, los programas de EMO se llaman ‘programas de praxias’, están muy difundidos y son apreciados por los logopedas. Objetivo. Revisar los estudios sobre la eficacia de los tratamientos basados en EMO aplicados a niños con trastornos de habla y los argumentos teóricos que podrían justificar o no su utilidad. Desarrollo. Durante las últimas décadas se han acumulado pruebas sobre la falta de eficacia de este enfoque en el tratamiento de los trastornos evolutivos del habla y en las dificultades de pronunciación de poblaciones sin alteración neurológica de la función motriz. La American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ha desaconsejado su uso atendiendo a los principios de práctica basada en la evidencia. Los conocimientos acumulados sobre el control motor demuestran que el patrón de movilidad y su correspondiente organización cerebral son diferentes en el habla y en otras funciones no verbales ligadas a la alimentación y la respiración. Conclusiones. Ni los estudios sobre su eficacia ni los argumentos a partir de estudios del control motor aconsejan el uso de los programas basados en EMO para el tratamiento de las dificultades de pronunciación en niños con trastornos evolutivos del lenguaje (AU)

Introduction. In the treatment of speech disorders by means of speech therapy two antagonistic methodological approaches are applied: non-verbal ones, based on oral motor exercises (OME), and verbal ones, which are based on speech processing tasks with syllables, phonemes and words. In Spain, OME programmes are called ‘programas de praxias’, and are widely used and valued by speech therapists. Aim. To review the studies conducted on the effectiveness of OME-based treatments applied to children with speech disorders and the theoretical arguments that could justify, or not, their usefulness. Development. Over the last few decades evidence has been gathered about the lack of efficacy of this approach to treat developmental speech disorders and pronunciation problems in populations without any neurological alteration of motor functioning. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has advised against its use taking into account the principles of evidence-based practice. The knowledge gathered to date on motor control shows that the pattern of mobility and its corresponding organisation in the brain are different in speech and other non-verbal functions linked to nutrition and breathing. Conclusions. Neither the studies on their effectiveness nor the arguments based on motor control studies recommend the use of OME-based programmes for the treatment of pronunciation problems in children with developmental language disorders (AU)

Evaluación de la discriminación de habla en preescolares: comparación de las pruebas ABX y AX / Assessment of speech discrimination in preschool children: comparison of AX and ABX tasks

El objetivo del presente estudio fue averiguar si la información que proporcionan las pruebas ABX y AX sobre la percepción de sonidos del habla en una muestra de niños con trastornos del habla es la misma o no. Participaron 86 niños de edades comprendidas entre los 3 años y 2 meses y los 5 años y 11 meses, siendo la media de 4 años y 7 meses. Fueron seleccionados de entre una muestra de 1.283 niños procedentes de 11 colegios diferentes de la Comunitat Valenciana cuya lengua materna era el español. En primer lugar se evaluó la producción del habla. En función de los errores cometidos por cada niño, se construyeron y aplicaron las pruebas ABX y AX, utilizando los criterios de Locke para la evaluación de la percepción del habla de niños con trastornos del desarrollo del lenguaje. Se analizó si los resultados entre ambas pruebas estaban relacionados o no y se determinó la fuerza de la concordancia entre los resultados de las 2 pruebas. Los resultados avalan la hipótesis de que ambas pruebas están relacionadas en las mediciones realizadas en la muestra, aunque el grado de concordancia solo se sitúa en un nivel aceptable. Es posible que las 2 pruebas midan aspectos distintos de la percepción de habla. La alternativa de aplicar ambas pruebas, teniendo en cuenta la escasa inversión de tiempo, puede ser un criterio de prudencia en la práctica clínica (AU)

The aim of this study was to determine whether the AX and ABX tasks provide the same or different information on perception of speech sounds in a sample of children with speech sound disorders. The participants consisted of 86 children with an age range of 3 to 5 years (mean, 4 years and 7 months). The children had speech sound disorders and were selected from a sample of 1283 children from 11 different schools in Valencia (Spain) whose first language was Spanish. First, we assessed speech production. Depending on the errors made by each child, ABX and AX tasks were constructed and applied, using Locke criteria for assessing speech perception in children with developmental language disorders. We analyzed whether the results of the two tasks were related and we determined the strength of the agreement between the results of the two tasks. The results support the hypothesis that both tasks are related when they measure speech perception in children. However, the degree of agreement was only acceptable, perhaps because the two tasks evaluate different aspects of speech perception. Given the low time investment, application of both tasks may be a prudent approach in clinical practice (AU)

[Perception-production relations in substitution phonological processes in children with language disorders]. / Relacion entre la percepcion y la articulacion en procesos fonologicos sustitutorios de ninos con trastornos del lenguaje.

It is generally agreed that the auditory perception skills of children with developmental language disorders are more limited than those of typically developing children. It is not easy to determine exactly how the capacity to discriminate and the capacity to pronounce phonemes influence each other in children with language disorders. For most authors, the inability to discriminate certain phonemes accurately causes a developmental delay in pronunciation, whereas others claim the influence is mutual. The aim of this study is to determine in which consonants perceptive difficulty is more likely to occur and in which cases there is a greater probability of difficulty when it comes to articulating them. The sample used in the study consisted of 86 children with a mean age of 4 years and 7 months. The phonological processes involved in simplifying speech were identified. Their errors were used as the basis on which to construct and apply a specific speech perception test. The relationship between the articulatory and perceptive skills of children with substitutive processes were analysed by means of two comparisons: first, in all the processes detected taken as a whole and, second, in the three most frequent substitutive processes. These analyses were carried out to determine whether the nature of the consonant implied a greater probability of perceptive difficulty. The findings provide information about a relation between the articulatory and perceptive skills, and about whether the nature of the consonant determines a higher probability of perceptive or articulatory difficulties. These results can be of value in the assessment, design and effectiveness of speech therapy programmes.

Relación entre la percepción y la articulación en procesos fonológicos sustitutorios de niños con trastornos del lenguaje / Perception-production relations in substitution phonological processes in children with language disorders

Existe un consenso acerca de que las habilidades de percepción auditiva de los niños con trastornos del desarrollo del lenguaje son más limitadas que las de los niños con desarrollo típico. No es fácil determinar cómo se influyen entre sí la capacidad para discriminar y la capacidad para pronunciar los fonemas en niños con trastornos del lenguaje. Para la mayoría de autores, no poder discriminar con precisión determinados fonemas es la causa de un retraso evolutivo en la pronunciación, mientras que para otros hay una influencia mutua. El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar en qué consonantes hay mayor probabilidad de que se produzca dificultad perceptiva y en cuáles es más probable la dificultad articulatoria. Participaron 86 niños con una edad media de 4 años y 7 meses. Se identificaron los procesos fonológicos de simplificación del habla. En función de sus errores, se construyó y aplicó una prueba específica de percepción de habla. Se analizó la relación entre las habilidades articulatorias y perceptivas de los niños con procesos sustitutorios mediante dos comparaciones: en el conjunto de todos los procesos detectados y en los tres procesos sustitutorios más frecuentes para determinar si la naturaleza de la consonante implicaba mayor probabilidad de dificultad perceptiva. Los resultados informan sobre una relación entre las habilidades articulatorias y perceptivas y sobre que la naturaleza de la consonante determina mayor probabilidad de dificultades perceptivas o articulatorias. Estos resultados tienen relevancia para la evaluación, el diseño y la eficacia de los programas de intervención logopédica (AU)

It is generally agreed that the auditory perception skills of children with developmental language disorders are more limited than those of typically developing children. It is not easy to determine exactly how the capacity to discriminate and the capacity to pronounce phonemes influence each other in children with language disorders. For most authors, the inability to discriminate certain phonemes accurately causes a developmental delay in pronunciation,whereas others claim the influence is mutual. The aim of this study is to determine in which consonants perceptive difficulty is more likely to occur and in which cases there is a greater probability of difficulty when it comes to articulating them. The sample used in the study consisted of 86 children with a mean age of 4 years and 7 months. The phonological processes involved in simplifying speech were identified. Their errors were used as the basis on which to construct and apply a specific speech perception test. The relationship between the articulatory and perceptive skills of children with substitutive processes were analysed by means of two comparisons: first, in all the processes detected taken as a whole and, second, in the three most frequent substitutive processes. These analyses were carried out to determine whether the nature of the consonant implied a greater probability of perceptive difficulty. The findings provide information about a relation between the articulatory and perceptive skills, and about whether the nature of the consonant determines a higher probability of perceptive or articulatory difficulties. These results can be of value in the assessment, design and effectiveness of speech therapy programmes (AU)

Desempenho ortográfico de escolares do 2º ao 5º ano do ensino particular / Spelling performance of students of 2nd to 5th grade from private teaching

OBJETIVOS: caracterizar, comparar e classificar o desempenho dos escolares do 2º ao 5º ano do ensino particular segundo a semiologia dos erros. MÉTODO: foram avaliados 115 escolares do 2º ao 5º ano, sendo 27 do 2°ano, 30 do 3° e 4° ano e 28 do 5° ano escolar, divididos em quatro grupos, respectivamente GI, GII, GIII e GIV. As provas do protocolo de avaliação da ortografia - Pró-Ortografia foram divididas em: versão coletiva (escrita de letras do alfabeto, ditado randomizado das letras do alfabeto, ditado de palavras, ditado de pseudopalavras, ditado com figuras, escrita temática induzida por figura) e versão individual (ditado de frases, erro proposital, ditado soletrado, memória lexical ortográfica). RESULTADOS: houve diferença estatisticamente significante na comparação intergrupos, indicando que com o aumento da média de acertos em todas as provas da versão coletiva e individual e com o aumento da seriação escolar, os grupos diminuíram a média de erros na escrita com base na semiologia do erro. A maior freqüência de erros encontrada foi de ortografia natural. CONCLUSÃO: os dados deste estudo evidenciaram que o aumento da média de acertos de acordo com a seriação escolar pode ser indicativo do funcionamento normal de desenvolvimento da escrita infantil nesta população. A maior frequência de erros de ortografia natural encontrada indica que pode não estar ocorrendo instrução formal sobre a correspondência fonema-grafema, uma vez que os mesmos estão na dependência direta da aprendizagem da regra de correspondência direta fonema-grafema.

PURPOSE: to characterize, compare and classify the performance of students from 2nd to 5th grades of private teaching according to the semiology of errors. METHOD: 115 students from the 2nd to 5th grades, 27 from the 2nd grade, 30 students from the 3rd and 4th grades, and 28 from the 5th grade divided into four groups, respectively, GI, GII, GIII and GIV, were evaluated. The tests of Spelling Evaluation Protocol - Pro-Orthography were divided into: collective version (writing letters of the alphabet, randomized dictation of letters, word dictation, non-word dictation, dictation with pictures, thematic writing induced by picture) and individual version (dictation of sentences, purposeful error, spelled dictation, spelling lexical memory). RESULTS: there was a statistically significant difference in inter-group comparison indicating that there was an increase in average accuracy for all tests as for the individual and collective version. With the increase in grade level, the groups decreased the average of writing errors based on the semiology of errors. We found a higher frequency of natural spelling errors. CONCLUSION: data from this study showed that the increase in average accuracy according to grade level may be an indicative for normal development of student's writing in this population. The higher frequency of natural spelling errors found indicates that formal instruction on phoneme-grapheme correspondence may not be occurring, since that they are directly dependent on the learning of the rule of direct phoneme-grapheme correspondence.

Intervención logopédica en un caso de dispraxia verbal y trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad / Speech therapy intervention in a case of verbal dyspraxia and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder

En este artículo se expone el proceso de evaluación e intervención realizado en un caso clínico de dispraxia verbal asociada a trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH), subtipo combinado. En el TDAH se producen déficit en el control inhibitorio comportamental que inciden en el control, la fluencia y la sintaxis de la ejecución de secuencias motoras complejas, como las de la articulación del habla. Durante el desarrollo del lenguaje es probable que las características del TDAH no favorezcan el control propioceptivo articulatorio y, en ocasiones, contribuyen a perfilar un cuadro sintomatológico de dispraxia verbal. La dispraxia verbal comporta una dificultad para crear automática e inconscientemente programas motores para fonemas, sílabas y palabras, durante el periodo de adquisición de la lengua materna. En el texto se presentan estrategias de evaluación de la dispraxia, así como la justificación del diagnóstico, según los criterios considerados en la literatura especializada. La intervención se fundamentó en tres elementos clave: selección cuidadosa y secuenciación de objetivos lingüísticos, potenciación de los mecanismos de feedback e introducción de un sistema aumentativo —gestos de apoyo al fonema—, para conseguir la automatización lenta y progresiva de programas motores o automatismos verbales. Además, la condición de TDAH supuso adaptaciones instruccionales y metodológicas, con el fin de conseguir los objetivos del tratamiento. En la medida en que el habla del niño se convirtió en fluida, se manifestaron dificultades lingüísticas en el nivel morfosintáctico, previsibles en estos casos, que apuntan a una semiología más amplia del trastorno, no limitada al componente práxico (AU)

This article describes the assessment and intervention process carried out in a case of verbal dyspraxia associated with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), combined subtype. In ADHD, deficits occur in behavioral inhibitory control, affecting the control, flow and syntax of the performance of complex motor sequences, such as speech articulation. During language development, the characteristics of ADHD probably hamper articulatory control, sometimes contributing to aggravating a core symptom of verbal dyspraxia. Verbal dyspraxia involves difficulty in automatically and unconsciously creating motor programs for phonemes, syllables and words during first language acquisition. The present article discusses strategies for assessing dyspraxia, as well as diagnosis of this order based on the criteria included in the specialized literature. The intervention was based on three key elements: careful selection and sequencing of linguistic objectives, enhancement of feedback mechanisms and introduction of an augmentative system (gestures to support the phoneme) to achieve slow and progressive automation of motor programs or verbal automatisms. In addition, to achieve treatment goals, the instruction and methodology were adapted to the child's ADHD status. As the child's speech became fluent, language difficulties were manifested in morphology and syntax, predictable in these cases, pointing to a broader symptomatology of the disorder, not limited to the praxis component (AU)

Hallazgos de neuroimagen y desempeño ortográfico de estudiantes con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad según la semiología de los errores / Neuroimaging findings and spelling performance in students with attention deficithyperactivity disorder according to the semiology of errors

Objetivos: Caracterizar, comparar y clasificar el desempeño ortográfico de los estudiantes con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad (TDAH) según la semiología de los errores y describir los hallazgos de neuroimagen en estos estudiantes. Método: Se evaluó a 36 estudiantes de tercero hasta quinto grado de la escuela primaria, con edad entre 8 y 11 años de edad, de ambos sexos, divididos en dos grupos: GI, compuesto por 18 estudiantes con diagnóstico interdisciplinario de TDAH, el 60% era del sexo masculino y el 40% del sexo femenino, y GII, compuesto por 18 estudiantes con buen rendimiento académico, agrupados por sexo, edad y grado escolar según el GI. Se aplicaron las pruebas del Pro-Ortografía en la versión colectiva e individual. Resultados: Se observó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en casi todas las pruebas de las versiones individual y colectiva de la evaluación de la ortografía, lo que indica que los niños con TDAH tuvieron mayor promedio de errores. El 81% de los estudiantes del GI presentaron hipoperfusión en el lóbulo frontal izquierdo; el 7%, hipoperfusión de los ganglios basales y el tálamo; el 6% solamente presentó hipoperfusión en los ganglios basales, y el 6%, en el lóbulo frontal izquierdo y el derecho y regiones parietales. Conclusiones: Los estudiantes con TDAH tienen un mayor desconocimiento sobre el uso de las reglas de ortografía del portugués de Brasil y esto podría estar relacionado con alteraciones del flujo sanguíneo en la región del lóbulo frontal, parietal, tálamo y núcleos de base, que ocasionan falta de atención que altera la memoria de trabajo fonológica y la planificación de la escritura (AU)

Aim: To characterize, compare and classify the performance of students with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to the semiology of errors and to describe the neuroimaging findings in these students. Methods: We evaluated 36 primary school boys and girls aged between 8 and 11 years old in the 3rd to 5th grades. The children were divided in two groups. Group I consisted of 18 students with an interdisciplinary diagnosis of ADHD (60% boys and 40% girls). Group II consisted of 18 children with good academic performance, paired by gender, age and grade with children in group I. The collective and individual versions of the Pro-ortografia spelling tests were applied. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in almost all the tests of the individual and collective versions of the spelling evaluation, with children with ADHD showing a higher average number of errors. Neuroimaging examinations indicated that 81% of the students in GI showed hypoperfusion in the frontal lobe, 7% had hypoperfusion of the thalamus and basal ganglia, 6% showed hypoperfusion in the basal ganglia only and 6% showed hypoperfusion in the left and right frontal lobes. Conclusions: Children with ADHD demonstrated poorer knowledge of the use of spelling rules in Brazilian Portuguese, which could be related to changes in blood flow in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, thalamus and basal ganglia. These changes could cause a lack of attention, affecting phonological working memory and the planning of writing (AU)

Spelling performance of 2nd to 5th grade students from public school.

PURPOSE: To characterize, compare and classify the performance of 2nd to 5th grade students from public schools according to the semiology of spelling errors. METHODS: Participants were 120 students from 2nd to 5th grades of a public school in Marília (SP), Brazil, 30 students from each grade, who were divided into four groups: GI (2nd grade), GII (3rd grade), GIII (4th grade), and GIV (5th grade). The tasks of the Pro-Ortografia test were applied: collective version (writing of alphabet letters, randomized dictation of letters, words dictation, nonwords dictation, dictation with pictures, thematic writing induced by picture) and individual version (dictation of sentences, purposeful error, spelled dictation, orthographic lexical memory). RESULTS: Significant difference was found in the between-group comparison indicating better performance of students in every subsequent grade in most of the individual and collective version tasks. With the increase of grade level, the groups decreased the average of writing errors. CONCLUSION: The profile of spelling acquisition of the Portuguese writing system found in these public school students indicates normal writing development in this population.

Desempenho ortográfico de escolares do 2º ao 5º ano do ensino público / Spelling performance of 2nd to 5th grade students from public school

OBJETIVOS: Caracterizar, comparar e classificar o desempenho de escolares do 2º ao 5º ano do ensino público segundo a semiologia dos erros. MÉTODOS: Participaram deste estudo 120 escolares do 2º ao 5º ano de escola pública municipal de Marília-SP, sendo 30 de cada série, divididos em quatro grupos: GI (2º ano); GII (3º ano); GIII (4º ano); e GIV (5º ano). Como procedimento foram aplicadas as provas do Pro-Ortografia: versão coletiva (escrita de letras do alfabeto, ditado randomizado das letras do alfabeto, ditado de palavras, ditado de pseudopalavras, ditado com figuras, escrita temática induzida por figura) e versão individual (ditado de frases, erro proposital, ditado soletrado, memória lexical ortográfica). RESULTADOS: Houve diferença na comparação intergrupos, indicando melhor desempenho dos escolares a cada série subsequente, na maior parte das provas da versão coletiva e individual. Com o avanço da seriação escolar, os grupos apresentaram menor média de erros na escrita. CONCLUSÃO: O perfil de aquisição da ortografia do sistema de escrita do Português observado em escolares do ensino público é indicativo do funcionamento normal de desenvolvimento da escrita infantil.

PURPOSE: To characterize, compare and classify the performance of 2nd to 5th grade students from public schools according to the semiology of spelling errors. METHODS: Participants were 120 students from 2nd to 5th grades of a public school in Marília (SP), Brazil, 30 students from each grade, who were divided into four groups: GI (2nd grade), GII (3rd grade), GIII (4th grade), and GIV (5th grade). The tasks of the Pro-Ortografia test were applied: collective version (writing of alphabet letters, randomized dictation of letters, words dictation, nonwords dictation, dictation with pictures, thematic writing induced by picture) and individual version (dictation of sentences, purposeful error, spelled dictation, orthographic lexical memory). RESULTS: Significant difference was found in the between-group comparison indicating better performance of students in every subsequent grade in most of the individual and collective version tasks. With the increase of grade level, the groups decreased the average of writing errors. CONCLUSION: The profile of spelling acquisition of the Portuguese writing system found in these public school students indicates normal writing development in this population.

[Language observation protocol for teachers in pre-school education. Effectiveness in the detection of semantic and morphosyntactic difficulties]. / Protocolo de observacion del lenguaje para maestros de educacion infantil. Eficacia en la deteccion de dificultades semanticas y morfosintacticas.

INTRODUCTION: A number of studies have shown that teachers are capable of recognising pupils with language difficulties if they have suitable guidelines or guidance. AIMS: To determine the effectiveness of an observation-based protocol for pre-school education teachers in the detection of phonetic-phonological, semantic and morphosyntactic difficulties. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 175 children from public and state-subsidised schools in Valencia and its surrounding province, together with their teachers. The children were aged between 3 years and 6 months and 5 years and 11 months. The protocol that was used asks for information about pronunciation skills (intelligibility, articulation), conversational skills (with adults, with peers), literal understanding of sentences, grammatical precision, expression through discourse, lexical knowledge and semantics. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant correlation between the teachers' observations and the criterion scores on intelligibility, literal understanding of sentences, grammatical expression and lexical richness, but not in the observations concerning articulation and verbal reasoning, which were more difficult for the teachers to judge. In general, the observation protocol proved to be effective, it guided the teachers in their observations and it asked them suitable questions about linguistic data that were relevant to the determination of difficulties in language development. The use of this protocol can be an effective strategy for collecting information for use by speech therapists and school psychologists in the early detection of children with language development problems.

Protocolo de observación del lenguaje para maestros de educación infantil. Eficacia en la detección de dificultades semánticas y morfosintácticas / Language observation protocol for teachers in pre-school education. Effectiveness in the detection of semantic and morphosyntactic difficulties

Introducción. Diversos estudios demuestran que los profesores pueden reconocer con suficiente sensibilidad a los alumnos con dificultades del lenguaje si disponen de una guía u orientación adecuada. Objetivo. Comprobar la eficacia en la detección de dificultades fonético-fonológicas, semánticas y morfosintácticas de un protocolo de observación del lenguaje para maestros de educación infantil. Sujetos y métodos. Han participado 175 niños de colegios públicos y concertados de Valencia y su provincia con sus correspondientes maestros. Los niños tenían edades que iban desde los 3 años y 6 meses hasta los 5 años y 11 meses. El protocolo utilizado solicita información sobre habilidades de pronunciación (inteligibilidad, articulación), habilidades de conversación (con los adultos, con sus iguales), comprensión literal de oraciones, precisión gramatical, expresión mediante el discurso, conocimiento léxico y semántica. Resultados y conclusiones. Hubo correlación significativa entre las observaciones de los maestros y las puntuaciones de criterio de inteligibilidad, de comprensión literal de oraciones, de expresión gramatical y de riqueza léxica, pero no en las observaciones sobre articulación y razonamiento verbal, que fueron más difíciles de juzgar por los maestros. En general, el protocolo de observación se mostró eficaz, guió a los maestros en sus observaciones y les preguntó convenientemente sobre datos lingüísticos relevantes en la determinación de dificultades en el desarrollo del lenguaje. El empleo de este protocolo puede ser una estrategia eficaz de recogida de información al servicio de los logopedas y psicólogos escolares para la detección rápida de niños con dificultades en el desarrollo del lenguaje (AU)

ntroduction. A number of studies have shown that teachers are capable of recognising pupils with language difficulties if they have suitable guidelines or guidance. Aims. To determine the effectiveness of an observation-based protocol for pre-school education teachers in the detection of phonetic-phonological, semantic and morphosyntactic difficulties. Subjects and methods. The sample consisted of 175 children from public and state-subsidised schools in Valencia and its surrounding province, together with their teachers. The children were aged between 3 years and 6 months and 5 years and 11 months. The protocol that was used asks for information about pronunciation skills (intelligibility, articulation), conversational skills (with adults, with peers), literal understanding of sentences, grammatical precision, expression through discourse, lexical knowledge and semantics. Results and conclusions. There was a significant correlation between the teachers’ observations and the criterion scores on intelligibility, literal understanding of sentences, grammatical expression and lexical richness, but not in the observations concerning articulation and verbal reasoning, which were more difficult for the teachers to judge. In general, the observation protocol proved to be effective, it guided the teachers in their observations and it asked them suitable questions about linguistic data that were relevant to the determination of difficulties in language development. The use of this protocol can be an effective strategy for collecting information for use by speech therapists and school psychologists in the early detection of children with language development problems (AU)

Avaliação e intervenção da disortografia baseada na semiologia dos erros: revisão da literatura / Evaluation and intervention of dysortographia based on error semiology: literature review

TEMA: avaliação e intervenção na disortografia. OBJETIVO: descrever e discutir os achados encontrados na literatura sobre a disortografia segundo a sua definição, etiologia, classificação da semiologia dos erros, quadro clínico, avaliação e intervenção. CONCLUSÃO: a avaliação e a intervenção fonoaudiológica com a disortografia devem estar baseadas na classificação semiológica dos erros, pois desta forma, pode-se compreender cada tipo de erro e os fatores cognitivos ou linguísticos implicados. Isso se associa às orientações aos pais e professores de como enfocar o trabalho com a ortografia, seja em casa ou na escola sem gerar angústia e ansiedade na criança.

BACKGROUND: evaluation and intervention in dysortographia. PURPOSE: to describe and discuss findings from researches concerning dysortographia according to its definition, etiology, errors semiology classification, clinical findings, evaluation, and intervention. CONCLUSION: speech language evaluation and intervention should be based on error semiology classification because in this way it is possible to understand each type of error and the linguistic and cognitive factors related to them. This is associated with the orientations to parents and teachers on how to work with orthography at home or at the classroom without causing distress and anxiety to the children.

Prevención de la infección de herida operatoria de apendicectomía con la utilización de infiltración local pre-operatoria de metronidazole / Prevention of wound infection after appendectomy, using local infiltration of metronidazole preoperatively

Con el propósito de demostrar la utilidad de la infiltración local de metronidazole en la prevención de heridas operatorias de apendicectomía, se realizó un estudio prospectivo de pacientes con apendicitis aguda, que fueron operados en dos hospitales del Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social entre los meses de marzo a agosto de 1993. Se encontró una diferencia estadísticamente significativa en la incidencia de infección de herida operatoria entre el grupo control (11 pacientes para un 22 y el grupo experimental, con infiltración preoperatoria de metronidazole en el sitio de la incisión (2 pacientes para un 4.34). Se concluyó que este tipo de práctica podría utilizarse como rutina para disminuir la incidencia de infección de herida operatoria en apendicitis aguda