Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. Delays in cognitive development are found in the first years of life. As years pass, it may turn into intellectual deficiencies that unfold into several aspects, including difficulty recognizing emotional facial expressions. The present study investigated the recognition of six universal facial emotional expressions in a population of children aged 6-11 years who were divided into two groups: DS group and typically developing children (TDC) group. We used the Perception Test of Facial Emotional Expressions (Teste de Percepção de Emoções Faciais; TEPEF) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) and found that children with DS presented alterations in the recognition of expressions of disgust, surprise, and fear, whereas the recognition of happiness, sadness, and anger was maintained at a level comparable to the TDC group. Participants with DS presented significant positive correlations between sadness and Picture completion, Mazes, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Digits, Verbal IQ, Verbal Comprehension Index, and Working Memory Index. All other facial expressions showed significant negative correlations with the Intelligence Quotient and WISC-III factorial index subtests. Absence of correlations was found among the TEPEF's six facial expressions and Information, Coding, Symbols, and Working Memory Index. The contribution of this study is related to understanding the characteristics of the recognition of facial emotions in children with DS, an important component of social relationships with their peers, schools, and families.

No presente trabalho descreve-se a composição química dos óleos essenciais de Rollinia leptopetala R.E. Fries (Annonaceae) e as atividades larvicidas dos óleos essenciais, do extrato metanólico das raízes desta espécie e do alcalóide oxoaporfinico, liriodenina (1), frente às larvas no terceiro estágio do mosquito Aedes aegypti. O extrato metanólico mostrou-se ativo com CL50 64,6 ± 1,5 ppm e uma forte atividade foi exibida para o composto (1), CL50 3,6 ± 0,4 ppm. Os óleos essenciais das folhas e galhos também mostraram atividade com CL50 104,7 ± 0,2 and 34,7 ± 0,3 ppm, respectivamente. Estes dados sugerem que R. leptopetala é fonte potencial de larvicidas naturais. A composição química do óleo essencial e as atividades descritas são comunicadas pela primeira vez.

The aim of present study was to describe the chemical composition of the essential oils from the leaf and stem of Rollinia leptopetala R. E. Fries (Annonaceae) and to evaluate the larvicidal activities of these essential oils, of the methanol extract from roots of this plant and of the oxoaporphine alkaloid, liriodenine (1) against the third-instar of Aedes aegypti larvae. The methanol extract from the roots showed larvicidal activity with LC50 64.6 ± 1.5 ppm. Higher activity was observed for the isolated alkaloid liriodenine (1), LC50 3.6 ± 0.4 ppm. The essential oils from the leaves and stems, also exhibited larvicidal activity with LC50 104.7 ± 0.2 and 34.7 ± 0.3 ppm, respectively. These results suggest R. leptopetala as a source of natural larvicidal compounds. This is the first report about the chemical composition and larvicidal activity of the leaf and stem essential oils of R. leptopetala.

O presente artigo faz uma revisão breve da literatura sobre envelhecimento auditivo, abordando especificamente o envelhecimento do processamento temporal auditivo. São descritos os procedimentos experimentais para estudo de processamento temporal auditivo. São discutidos estudos sobre os efeitos do envelhecimento na detecção de interrupções em ruídos e tons puros, bem como estudos sobre a relação entre o processamento temporal auditivo e o reconhecimento de fala, entre sujeitos jovens e idosos. São descritas algumas das principais controvérsias sobre a relação entre processamento auditivo temporal e reconhecimento de fala. As diferenças entre os resultados encontrados nos estudos desta área são interpretadas em termos da complexidade dos procedimentos de avaliação de processamento temporal auditivo adotados. Finalmente, são apresentadas sugestões sobre direções futuras para pesquisa.

The present article contains a brief review of the literature concerning auditory aging, describing specifical studies on aging of temporal auditory processing. Experimental procedures for research on temporal auditory processing are described. Studies about the effects of aging on the detection of gaps in noises and pure tones, as well as studies on the relationship between temporal auditory processing and speech recognition, among young and aged subjects, are discussed. Some of the main controversies about the relationship between temporal auditory processing and speech recognition are described. The differences found among the results of the studies in this area are interpreted in terms of the complexity of the procedures of assessment of temporal auditory processing adopted. Finally, suggestions about future directions of research are presented.