Resumo Comportamentos externalizantes freqüentemente se desenvolvem em contextos de adversidade ambiental. O objetivo do estudo foi documentar essa associação em crianças com desempenho escolar pobre. Participaram meninos e meninas, com idade entre sete e 11 anos, referidos para atendimento por dificuldades escolares. De um universo de 141 crianças, formaram-se dois grupos com base na pontuação da Escala Comportamental Infantil: G1 (crianças sem problema de comportamento, n= 30) e G2 (crianças com problema de comportamento, n= 37). As mães foram entrevistadas, obtendo-se informações sobre recursos e adversidades do ambiente familiar. Os resultados indicaram que o ambiente familiar de G2 apresenta menos recursos e maior adversidade, incluindo problemas nas relações interpessoais, falhas parentais quanto a supervisão, monitoramento e suporte, indícios de menor investimento dos pais no desenvolvimento da criança, práticas punitivas e modelos adultos agressivos. As dificuldades escolares aumentam a vulnerabilidade da criança para inadaptação psicossocial. Enfatiza-se a importância de incluir a família em intervenções preventivas voltadas para essa clientela. Palavras-chave: Ambiente familiar; comportamentos externalizantes; desempenho escolar; criança.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to obtain pertinent information pertaining to benefits accomplished, main difficulties felt, and key lessons learned in the implementation of lean Six Sigma (LSS), which are likely to be helpful to financial services organizations wanting to implement the same tool.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the results of a case study from a financial services organization which has begun the implementation of LSS methodologies ten years ago, in the pursuit of service excellence.FindingsThe benefits derived from LSS implementation, such as lowering the operational costs, improving processes and product quality, increased efficiency, which leads to the increase of productivity, the agility and versatility obtained by the organization, vastly outweigh the costs. At an international level, there are cultural differences pertaining mainly to internal resistance and openness to change.Research limitations/implicationsThis work focuses on a specific case study.Practical implicationsThe authors compiled the lessons learned and recommendations for future implementations of this methodology. The paper, therefore, will be of interest to managers of similar companies.Originality/valueThe paper presents a successful application of LSS for a financial services company.

This study describes the development of the Home Environment Resources Scale, a Brazilian measure for families with children ages 6 to 12 years. The scale measures aspects of support for school achievement, made available to the child at home. A first version of the measure with 11 subscales was administered to 100 mothers or guardians of children with poor school achievement in a clinical setting. Analysis of the items in the first version resulted in a final version comprising 8 subscales with acceptable indices of internal consistency. Two validity studies were conducted. One aimed at verifying to what extent the Home Environment Resources Scale could discriminate the home environment of students referred to a mental health clinic on account of poor school performance. The sample included mothers of 53 referred and 23 nonreferred children. The two groups differed significantly in home resources and on four subscales. The other study assessed the validity, i.e., prediction of the academic outcome of children entering Grade 1. 70 children and their mothers participated. Results indicate that school achievement and social competence at school are mediated by family support.

It has been suggested that there is a link between epinephrine synthesis and the development of b 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated effects, but it remains to be determined whether this development is triggered by epinephrine. The aim of this study was to characterize b-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation and facilitation of norepinephrine release in the aorta of phenylethanolamine-Nmethyltransferase-knockout (Pnmt-KO) mice. Catecholamines were quantified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection. Aortic rings were mounted in a myograph to determine concentration-response curves to selective b 1 -or b 2 -adrenoceptor agonists in the absence or presence of selective b 1 -or b 2 -adrenoceptor antagonists. Aortic rings were also preincubated with [ Isoproterenol and terbutaline induced concentration-dependent increases in tritium overflow in WT mice only. b 2 -Adrenoceptor protein density was decreased in membrane aorta homogenates of Pnmt-KO mice, and this finding was supported by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. In conclusion, epinephrine is crucial for b 2 -adrenoceptor-mediated vasodilation and facilitation of norepinephrine release. In the absence of epinephrine, b 2 -adrenoceptor protein density was decreased in aorta cell membranes, thus potentially hindering its functional activity.