OBJETIVO: Avaliar a percepção da qualidade de vida, com relação à asma, pelas crianças, adolescentes e seus pais, verificando as concordâncias existentes em cada domínio do questionário Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire Adaptado (PAQLQ-A). MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado em dois ambulatórios universitários de referência para seguimento de crianças e adolescentes asmáticos em Recife (PE). Após o cumprimento das exigências éticas, os dados sobre a qualidade de vida foram obtidos por aplicação do PAQLQ, em sua versão traduzida adaptada e validada para a língua portuguesa. O questionário foi respondido por 126 pacientes (70 crianças e 56 adolescentes) e seus respectivos pais. Um banco de dados criado no programa SPSS, versão 13.0, foi analisado com o teste de concordância Kappa. RESULTADOS: A concordância das respostas entre crianças e pais variou de ruim a sofrível, observando-se as piores concordâncias no domínio sintomas para o item "chiado no peito" e, no domínio emoções, para o item "sentiu-se irritado". As respostas dos adolescentes e seus pais tiveram a concordância avaliada entre ruim e regular; sendo a pior concordância observada no domínio atividades, no item "incomodado por não poder estar com os outros" e a melhor concordância notada no domínio emoções, no item "desconfortável". CONCLUSÕES: O PALQ-A não foi bem compreendido pela população estudada e não houve concordância na percepção sobre qualidade de vida das crianças e adolescentes asmáticos e seus pais. Recomenda-se a elaboração de instrumentos adequados às especificidades regionais ou ainda a revalidação de instrumentos internacionais, de forma que atendam à diversidade regional.

The study presents the Brazilian experience of the Talento Metrópole program, linked to the Digital Metropolis Institute of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, located in Brazil's Northeast. The Talento Metrópole program aims to develop the interest of young people with high abilities/intellectual giftedness in scientific research, expand skills and abilities, and get creative in the fields of information technology and its interfaces, always seeking innovation and entrepreneurship. It also aims to create opportunities for the dissemination of new knowledge and to explore career opportunities related to this area, with the purpose of creatively inserting young people into the labor market and into solidary social participation. The participants are students from public and private schools, colleges and universities, aged between 13 and 21 years. The steps that comprise the structure of the program are described and characterized. In addition, the selection process for admission to the program is described, with emphasis on the stage which illustrates the development and characterization of the instrument which investigate the sources of skills and expertise subjacent to the field of information technology.

The objective of the present study was to discuss the theoretical and methodological principles recommended by Alexsander Romanovich Luria and their application to neuropsychological and educational assessment in infants. We present a case study of a male child, 11 years of age, diagnosed with generalized idiopathic epilepsy absence with a history of school in mathematics. The neuropsychological evaluation followed four steps proposed by Luria: (1) qualitative analysis of the symptoms, (2) quantitative evaluation of activity, (3) qualitative evaluation of activity, and (4) the proposition of a rehabilitation program. These steps were contemplated based on a neuropsychological protocol composed of nomothetic and idiographic tasks. We found deficits in manipulation activities, especially ones that demand visuospatial and visuoconstructive skills, associated with school difficulties in mathematics. The Lurian method allowed us to identify preserved and compromised cognitive functions, allowing interventions that minimized the identified deficits. Keywords: Neuropsychological Assessment. Mathematical Activity. Luria. Epilepsy Absence. Childhood.ResumoO objetivo do presente estudo foi discutir acerca dos princípios teórico-metodológicos recomendados por Alexsander Luria e sua aplicação para a avaliação neuropsicológica e educacional infantil. Apresenta-se um estudo de caso de uma criança do sexo masculino, 11 anos de idade, diagnosticado com epilepsia idiopática generalizada do tipo ausência com histórico de dificuldades escolares em matemática. A avaliação neuropsicológica realizada seguiu os quatro passos propostos por Luria: (1) análise qualitativa do sintoma, (2) avaliação quantitativa da atividade, (3) avaliação qualitativa da atividade, e (4) a proposição de um programa de reabilitação. As etapas aludidas foram realizadas a partir da utilização de protocolo composto por tarefas nomotéticas e idiográficas. Foram identificados déficits em atividades manipulativas, notadamente aqueles que demandaram habilidades visoespaciais e visoconstrutivas, associadas com dificuldades em matemática. O modelo luriano possibilitou a identificação de funções cognitivas deficitárias e preservadas, além de proposição de intervenções que minimizaram os déficits identificados.Palavras-chave: Avaliação Neuropsicológica. Atividade Matemática. Luria. Epilepsia de Ausência. Infância.

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This study investigated the performance of children from the Brazilian Northeast region, from 7 to 10 years in phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks. The participants were 102 subjects (62 girls and 40 boys) who performed three phonemic and three semantic fluency tasks. The results were submitted to correlational and variance analysis to investigate the influence of the variables age and gender on the subjects performance. There was no effect of gender on the results. Significant contrasts between age groups were found, and better performance was observed on phonemic tasks. Also, the performance in this task changed along development, in contrast to what happened with the semantic fluency. The findings seem to be in accordance to neurodevelopmental aspects, taken into account that explicit memory systems show more precocious maturational course, with earlier consolidation, in comparison to the executive functions and frontal lobes, which go on developing until adult ages.

INTRODUCTION: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a DNA virus of the Herpesviridae family, which exists in the latent form in 95% of the world population. This virus infects the B lymphocytes, which promotes a persistent infection with periodic reactivations. EBV is probably a strong environmental factor in etiology of autoimmune diseases, once its viral proteins are involved in altering the host’s immune system, causing loss of self-tolerance and development of neoplasms. OBJECTIVE: To report a case of a patient with EBV associated with the development of dermatopolymyositis. CASE REPORT: Girl, 5 years, presenting erythematous-scaly lesions in extending region in upper and lower limbs. During follow-up, the patient’s mother returns referring worsening of the child, complaining of periodic fever, infection of upper airways and worsening of the lesions associated with difficulty of ambulation as well as difficulty of sitting in the past three weeks. Physical examination showed pharyngotonsillitis, cervical, axillary and inguinal adenomegalies and hepatomegaly. The limbs skin presented scaly and pruritic erythematous macules as well as on the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints, weakness of the pelvic muscles and arthralgia in the knees and ankles. After undergoing muscle biopsy, it presented a pattern for dermatopolymyositis, and imunosupression was initiated with methotrexate. Therefore, the patient improved clinically and laboratory regarding mononucleosis and the symptoms of dermatopolymyositis. The patient continues in specialized treatment and motor physiotherapy. CONCLUSION: Attention should be payed to the influence of viral component, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, on the pathogenesis of dermatopolymyositis in individuals genetically predisposed to autoimmune diseases.

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