Personal characteristics and school contextual variables associated with student self-determination in Spanish context

Background: Most theoretical models of self-determination suggest that both environmental and personal factors influence the development of self-determination. The design and implementation of interventions must be conducted with foreknowledge of such mediating and moderating factors if the intervention is to be successful.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which several personal factors and school characteristics affect and explain students’ self-determination. A total of 232 students with intellectual disability from Spain participated. Their self-determination level was assessed by the ARC-INICO Scale.

Results: Students with moderate levels of intellectual disability obtained significantly lower scores on self-determination than their peers with mild intellectual disability. There were significant differences in relation to the level of support needs and their experience with transition programs. The level of support needs was a significant predictor.

Conclusion: These findings contribute to current research in this field and practical implications were discussed.     

Localized Kaposi''s sarcoma in a patient with pemphigus vulgaris

We report the case of a patient with a 13-year history of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) treated with immunosuppressive agents, prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil who had developed lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) on a sole plaque of PV that had been previously treated with intralesional injections of steroids. The lesions were surgically removed and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrated human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) DNA. There were neither recurrences nor later dissemination of KS following gradual decrease of the immunosuppressive therapy. We suggest that the treatment with intralesional steroids may have influenced the local reactivation of a latent infection of the virus, determining the appearance of this localized KS.     

Economic efficiency versus social equality? The U.S. liberal model versus the European social model.

This article begins by challenging the widely held view in neoliberal discourse that there is a necessary trade-off between higher efficiency and lower reduction of inequalities: the article empirically shows that the liberal, U.S. model has been less efficient economically (slower economic growth, higher unemployment) than the social model in existence in the European Union and in the majority of its member states. Based on the data presented, the authors criticize the adoption of features of the liberal model (such as deregulation of their labor markets, reduction of public social expenditures) by some European governments. The second section analyzes the causes for the slowdown of economic growth and the increase of unemployment in the European Union--that is, the application of monetarist and neoliberal policies in the institutional frame of the European Union, including the Stability Pact, the objectives and modus operandi of the European Central Bank, and the very limited resources available to the European Commission for stimulating and distributive functions. The third section details the reasons for these developments, including (besides historical considerations) the enormous influence of financial capital in the E.U. institutions and the very limited democracy. Proposals for change are included.     

Gerontology in the developing Brazil: Achievements and challenges in public policies

Aim:   In the last three decades, the segment of population aged 60 years and older has more than doubled in Brazil. People aged 80 years and older are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the near future. This aim of this study was to analyze the legal structures currently in place in Brazil and to provide a framework for care policies and practices towards older-adults.
Methods:   This article focuses on past and present major socioeconomic burdens on this segment of the Brazilian population as well as on public achievements to overcome inequities.
Results:   Both the public health and the social security systems have been directed to provide preferential assistance to the aged. Nonetheless, the elderly remain the most impoverished segment of Brazil and carry the burden of an overall lack of specialized services. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities and population diversity in Brazil affects elderly care, adding complexity to this unique scenario.
Conclusion:   Brazil has adopted legal hallmarks that substantially shifted public practices towards the elderly segment from a philanthropic status to a legitimate right for care and assistance. The demographic transition that took place provides an opportunity for innovative solutions in public policies for older adults in a developing economic environment.     

Flerobuterol: a potential antidepressant drug related to β-adrenergic agonists. Experimental profile in mice

The potential antidepressant effect of flerobuterol (dl-(fluoro-2 phenyl)-1 t-butylamino-2 ethanol), a new drug related to beta-adrenoceptor agonists, was evaluated and compared with imipramine and salbutamol using classical psychopharmacological tests in mice. Like imipramine and salbutamol, flerobuterol (0.5-32 mg kg-1, ip) fully prevented apomorphine (16 mg kg-1, sc)- and partly reversed reserpine- and oxotremorine-induced hypothermia. At higher doses (16-32 mg kg-1), flerobuterol enhanced the toxic effects of yohimbine. Unlike imipramine, flerobuterol and salbutamol did not reduce immobility duration in the behavioural despair test. Salbutamol and flerobuterol decreased locomotor activity. Flerobuterol did not induce mydriasis, did not prevent oxotremorine-induced tremors or salivary and lacrimal gland secretion and did not reduce reserpine-induced palpebral ptosis. Propranolol (8 mg kg-1, ip) but not alpha-methyl-paratyrosine (75 mg kg-1, ip) prevented the flerobuterol-induced antagonism of apomorphine-induced hypothermia. Our results suggest that flerobuterol demonstrates potential antidepressant activity, which could be related to beta-adrenoceptor activation in mice.