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The article invites submission of papers for presentation during the 21st Annual Western Hemispheric Trade Conference to be held on April 5-7, 2017 in Laredo, Texas.

In this paper, the bilingualism of local communities and the way that a group of high school teachers discuss and understand bilingualism and biliteracy of two kinds of bilingual youth are examined from a place-based, place-conscious perspective. The high school teacherswant to create a new dual language program for local students from Laredo and students from across the Rio Grande River, Nuevo Laredo. The paper shows how the teachers' language orientations and ideologies informthe ways they view the language capabilities differently for each group of students, favoring academic Spanish and lamenting the language deficits of local Laredo bilingual youth. The paper endswith a recommendation forways to trouble language orientations and ideologies with an eye toward gaining a deeper, more place-conscious understanding of youth bilingualism and how schools and teachers bear responsible for improving conditions for expanding bilingualism of local youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper performs a detailed ordinal logistic regression study in an evaluation of a survey at a university in South Texas, USA. We show that, for categorical data in our case, ordinal logistic regression works well. Methods: The survey was designed according to the guidelines in diet and lifestyle from the American Heart Association and the United States Department of Agriculture and was sent out to all registered students at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas. Data analysis included 601 students' results from the survey. Data analysis was conducted in Rstudio. Results: The results showed that, compared with students who do not have enough whole grain food and exercise, those who have enough in both tend to have normal BMIs. As age increases, BMI tends to be out of the normal range. Conclusions: Because BMI in this research has three categories, applying an ordinal logistic regression model to describe the relationship between an ordered categorical response variable and more explanatory variables has several advantages compared with other models, such as the linear regression model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Stop the Bleed (STB) is a national initiative that provides lifesaving hemorrhagic control education. In 2019, pharmacists were added as health-care personnel eligible to become STB instructors. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacist-led STB trainings for school employees in South Texas. Methods: Pharmacist-led STB trainings were provided to teachers and staff in Laredo, Texas. The 60-min trainings included a presentation followed by hands-on practice of tourniquet application, wound-packing, and direct pressure application. Training efficacy was assessed through anonymous pre- and postevent surveys, which evaluated changes in knowledge, comfort level, and willingness to assist in hemorrhage control interventions. Student volunteers (predominantly pharmacy and medical students) assisted in leading the hands-on portion, providing a unique interprofessional learning opportunity. Results: Participants with previous training (N = 98) were excluded, resulting in a final cohort of 437 (response rate 87.4%). Compared with baseline, comfort level using tourniquets (mean, 3.17/5 vs 4.20/5; P < 0.0001), opinion regarding tourniquet safety (2.59/3 vs 2.94/3; P < 0.0001), and knowledge regarding tourniquets (70.86/100 vs 75.84/100; P < 0.0001) and proper tourniquet placement (2.40/4 vs 3.15/4; P < 0.0001) significantly improved. Conclusions: Pharmacist-led STB trainings are efficacious in increasing school worker knowledge and willingness to respond in an emergency hemorrhagic situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the festivities and the political and social intricacies surrounding the celebration of George Washington's birth anniversary at Port of Laredo Mexico–United States border between Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. The role social environment play in framing and activating social dramas is discussed. The background and development of Port of Laredo and the International Bridge Closure Crisis and the crisis resolution is mentioned.