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Objectives: We compared the physical activity of nine students participating in an anthropological field school to their activity expenditures in traditional classrooms. We predicted that the students would exhibit higher physical activity during the field school due to the substantial physical requirements associated with the program compared to traditional classroom environments which are frequently more sedentary. Methods: Participants (n = 9) wore wrist accelerometers for ~23 h each day for 6 days during an anthropological field school and also in a traditional classroom environment. Accelerometers were programed with participant height, weight, age, and sex. Each accelerometer recorded total energy expenditure in kilocalories (kcal), step counts, and time in four physical activity levels (vigorous, moderate, easy, and very easy) between the field school and traditional classroom settings. Results: During the field school portion of the study, participants burned more calories (p <.01), took more steps (p <.0001), and engaged in more moderate and easy exercise (p <.0001). Conclusions: This study provides insights into the physical benefits of study abroad programs and field schools. Our multi‐day accelerometer data revealed significant differences in even relatively low intensities of physical activity. This is particularly pertinent in the United States where sedentary lifestyles are increasing among college students. Taken together, the results underscore the importance of study abroad programs, field schools, and other applied learning opportunities beyond the educational, professional, and social benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Determine if the language in which brief intervention (BI) is delivered influences drinking outcomes among Mexican-origin young adults in the emergency department when controlling for ethnic matching. Short Summary Aim of study was to determine if a patient's preferred language of intervention influences drinking outcomes among Mexican-origin young adults in the emergency department. Results indicate no significant differences in drinking outcomes among those who received BI in Spanish and BI in English. Methods This is a secondary data analysis on data from 310 patients randomized to receive a BI completed in Spanish (BI-S) or English (BI-E), with 3- and 12-month follow-up. Outcome measures of interest were drinking days per week, drinks per drinking day, maximum drinks in a day and negative consequences of drinking. Results There were no significant differences in drinking outcomes among those who received BI in Spanish and BI in English. Conclusions Reduced drinking outcomes following BI among Mexican-origin young adults in the emergency department may not have been due to the language used to deliver intervention. Thus, our results provide evidence that language of intervention is not a crucial factor to achieve cultural congruence. In addition, our findings suggest that receiving the intervention is beneficial regardless of language, thus, facilitating real-world implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a community-based sanction, juvenile probation exemplifies the potential of both communities and families to make significant contributions in promoting positive changes among offending youth. Yet, surprisingly little research has explored the nature of these relationships and its association with offending. This study (1) examined the associations between youth-officer relationships, youth perceptions of parental support and knowledge, and probation non-compliance and (2) explored the role of parental support and knowledge as moderators of the association between youth-officer relationships and probation non-compliance among 110 youth supervised on probation (23 % females; 60 % African American). The findings showed that tough or punitive youth-officer relationships were associated with greater counts of technical violations, but fewer counts of delinquent offenses. Parental support was associated with fewer counts of delinquent offenses and parental knowledge was associated with fewer counts of both delinquent offenses and technical violations. These findings provide evidence to the important role of both parents and probation officers and underscore the potential benefits of parent-officer collaboration in facilitating successful interventions among offending youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: A randomized controlled trial of brief intervention (BI), for drinking and related problems, using peer health promotion advocates (promotores), was conducted among at-risk and alcoholdependent Mexican-origin young adult emergency department (ED) patients, aged 18-30. Methods: Six hundred and ninety-eight patients were randomized to: screened only (n = 78), assessed (n = 310) and intervention (n = 310). Primary outcomes were at-risk drinking and Rapid Alcohol Problems Screen (RAPS4) scores. Secondary outcomes were drinking days per week, drinks per drinking day, maximum drinks in a day and negative consequences of drinking. Results: At 3- and 12-month follow-up the intervention condition showed significantly lower values or trends on all outcome variables compared to the assessed condition, with the exception of the RAPS4 score; e.g. at-risk drinking days dropped from2.9 to 1.7 at 3 months for the assessed condition and from 3.2 to 1.2 for the intervention condition. Using random effects modeling controlling for demographics and baseline values, the intervention condition showed significantly greater improvement in all consumption measures at 12 months, but not in the RAPS4 or negative consequences of drinking. Improvements in outcomes were significantly more evident for non-injured patients, those reporting drinking prior to the event, and those lower on risk taking disposition. Conclusions: At 12-month follow-up this study demonstrated significantly improved drinking outcomes for Mexican-origin young adults in the ED who received a BI delivered by promotores compared to those who did not. Trial Register: ClinicalTrials.gov. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT02056535. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article reviews the literature describing the rise of mass incarceration and its effects on individuals, families, and communities. The Article then describes the Just Beginning "Baby Elmo" Program, a cost-effective, sustainable parental instruction and child visitation intervention created for use with incarcerated teen parents. This intervention is designed to increase the quality of interaction between parent and child, increasing the likelihood that the teen father and child will form a positive relationship and maintain that relationship after release from detention--thereby increasing the child's resilience and reducing the risk of recidivism for the teen father. The "Baby Elmo" Program is one of a number of intervention programs that attempt to address the significant and debilitating effects of mass incarceration by improving family relationships, school performance, and in-detention compliance, hopefully reducing recidivism and facilitating reentry of incarcerated youth into their families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of agreement between three methods of assessing appropriateness of emergency department (ED) visits. In particular, we tested the agreement between internists and emergency physicians reviewing the ED nurses' triage notes, containing information that might be available by telephone to an internist. For 892 adult patient ED visits reviewed, we found only moderate agreement (kappa = 0.47) between these groups. In cases of disagreement, emergency physicians were 10.3 times more likely than internists to classify those with minor discharge diagnoses as appropriate for ED care. As managed care grows, the determination of ED appropriateness may depend on open discussions between physician groups, as well as on access to timely care in office settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As states struggle with the notion of international competitiveness, the quality and rigor of academic content standards has come into question. While Ohio’s content standards are well regarded, the state initiated a process to revise the standards and eventually joined with the majority of states in adopting a voluntary set of national standards—the Common Core. This study uses the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) methodology to examine Ohio’s current math content standards in comparison to TIMSS, PISA, high performing international counterparts, and the recently released Common Core. Specifically, it examines whether the state’s standards are “a mile wide and inch deep.” Second, this study analyzes whether high performing countries’ standards are more aligned to Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) through the SEC lens of topic and cognitive expectations. Ohio’s standards generally are less focused than the international comparisons, not very aligned to TIMSS and PISA, and have lower cognitive expectations. The CCSS have greatly increased that focus by reducing the number of topics in the analyzed grade levels while increasing the levels of cognitive expectations. These results provide a baseline for comparison to the full implementation of the Common Core. Once fully implemented, policy makers will have a reference point for evaluation of policy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shares an oral reading practice that develops children's fluency skills, with a particular emphasis on performance reading and prosody. The authors share their experiences with Fluency Idol! as a way to engage young children by tapping into pop culture. The practice emphasizes repeated readings, feedback, practice, and performance while encouraging children to read aloud to one another. Applications to a second grade classroom as well as in a college reading clinic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reveals that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received reports that some laboratory workers in Virginia were infected with the Vaccinia virus (VACV). It discusses the symptoms and stages of infection which the patients undergo and it also presents the safety measures that must be taken to prevent infection. This includes receiving smallpox vaccination as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for laboratory workers who handle non-highly attenuated VACV strains or other orthopoxviruses.

Aim To establish the efficacy of a brief motivational intervention compared to feedback only when delivered in an emergency department for reducing alcohol use and problems among young adults. Design Two-group randomized controlled trial with follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months. Setting Level I Trauma Center. Participants A total of 198 18–24-year-old patients who were either alcohol positive upon hospital admission or met screening criteria for alcohol problems. Intervention Participants were assigned randomly to receive a one-session motivational intervention (MI) that included personalized feedback, or the personalized feedback report only (FO). All participants received additional telephone contact 1 month and 3 months after baseline. Measurements Demographic information, alcohol use, alcohol problems and treatment seeking. Findings Six months after the intervention MI participants drank on fewer days, had fewer heavy drinking days and drank fewer drinks per week in the past month than did FO patients. These effects were maintained at 12 months. Clinical significance evaluation indicated that twice as many MI participants as FO participants reliably reduced their volume of alcohol consumption from baseline to 12 months. Reductions in alcohol-related injuries and moving violations, and increases in alcohol treatment-seeking were observed across both conditions at both follow-ups with no differences between conditions. Conclusions This study provides new data supporting the potential of the motivational intervention tested to reduce alcohol consumption among high-risk youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates services available at health centers at four rural colleges in the United States. Use and cost of on-campus health services; Student health centers as sources of primary healthcare; Importance of including student health centers at rural colleges in the national healthcare reform agenda.

The objective of this study is to compare the ability of Medicare and cancer registry data to identify incident cancer cases and initial surgical therapy both singly and in combination. Data from the Virginia Cancer Registry (VCR) were linked to Medicare claims files (Medical Provider Analysis and Review File (MEDPAR)) for Virginia residents aged 65 years and over with breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer diagnosed between 1986 and 1989 MEDPAR found 73–83% of cancer cases identified by VCR. Factors significantly associated with MEDPAR missing a case that was reported to VCR included younger age, male gender, living in an urban area, higher social class, in situ disease, and lack of cancer treatment. A total of 70–82% of cancer cases identified through Medicare claims were reported to the VCR Older age, female gender, nonwhite race, comorbid conditions, no surgical procedures, multiple cancer admissions, and the position of the cancer diagnostic code on the MEDPAR record were factors significantly related to being missed by the VCR. The rate of capturing initial surgical therapies was similar to that of identifying cases. Combining information from VCR and MEDPAR resulted in increasing sensitivity for identifying incident cases to 92–97% Using combined data from independent sources may improve reporting, increase the accuracy of cancer incidence estimates, and provide an opportunity to identify reasons for missing data. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 145 227-33. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comments on a study which examined the issue of an official language for the U.S., the history of not having one, and the reasons it does not, as well as the wording and the ramifications of the Constitutional amendments proposed in Congress as of July 1986. While recent efforts to establish an official language in the U.S. through an English Language Amendment have excited the interest of the press, little systematic scholarly attention has yet been given to this topic. The comprehensive research therefore is a welcome contribution. The study has brought to bear on this emotion-laden issue the pertinent information about language practices and policy known by researchers but seldom used to inform policy decisions. Such a responsive, integrated effort on the part of academics is a necessary step in moving this debate forward; whether and how this information can affect policymakers and the interested public remains to be seen. The study's agenda is not simply to understand or explain the official language movement but to evaluate and ultimately to argue against an English Language Amendment. Scholarly explanations of cause and effect are important to his argument, but they are secondary to it and in service of it.

The article presents a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on an outbreak of histoplasmosis among U.S. travelers returning from El Salvador. The authors explain that histoplasmosis is a fungal disease acquired from soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings. Nine members of a Pennsylvania-based mission group who had been renovating a church in Nueva San Salvador, El Salvador, in January of 2008 acquired respiratory illness. Statistics generated from information obtained from members of other mission groups that had traveled to the area are presented. The authors believe that the outbreak may have been caused by not using personal protective equipment or decreasing dust generation.

Presents information about female circumcision (clitoridectomy). Incidence and prevalence of female circumcision; Cultural background of female circumsicion; Its status in the United States; Female circumsicion's significant medical implications; How care givers approach the patients who undergone the surgery.

Summarizes influenza surveillance in the United States from September 28, 1997 through March 7, 1998, and presents reports of outbreaks in long-term care facilities in three states and at a military base. Indications of influenza A(H3N2) viruses dominating the season; Elevation in pneumonia and influenza-related deaths.

Abstract: The aging of the U.S population will have impact on hospital Emergency Departments (ED) nationwide. To date, ED research has focused on utilization rates and acuity without considering issues of burden and stress that emergency physicians may experience caring for the increasing numbers of older adult patients. Results of a survey of Emergency Medicine residents and their attendings indicates that physicians overestimate the percentage of their patient load aged 65 years and older, have less confidence managing older patients, and desire more geriatric Emergency Medicine training. Based on regression analysis, several factors predict higher levels of emergency physician burden including training level, experiences, patient census estimate gaps, and relational issues with patients. Findings suggest the need to systematically address how the profession of Emergency Medicine is responding to its growing older adult patient population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The fundamental conservation focus for Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge (HSNWR), Florida is to provide protected nesting habitat for three threatened or endangered marine turtle species. Turtle nesting and hatching spans from early spring to fall each year. Left unchecked, nest predation by raccoons and armadillos would destroy most turtle nests. Predators are removed to protect nests, primarily with a one person-month contract using control specialists. We maximized the efficiency of predator removal by using a passive tracking index to: (1) optimize the timing and strategy for predator removal, (2) minimize labor by identifying areas where predator removal would have maximal effect, (3) examine beach invasion patterns of predators, (4) assess efficacy of removal efforts, (5) provide anticipatory information for future turtle nesting seasons, and (6) serve as a detection method for invasion by additional species known to depredate turtle nests. An overall nest predation rate of 28% resulted, whereas the rate for the previous year was 42% when the same level of contracted predator removal was applied, but without monitoring predators. One year before that, predator removal was done without contracts with specialists and predation was 48%. Up to 95% of the nests were destroyed in the years prior to predator removal. Using 2000 data on numbers of nests, clutch sizes, and emergence rates, we estimated the number of hatchlings that would have been lost assuming that the predation rates observed from four predator removal scenarios at HSNWR would have occurred in 2000. Historical predation of 95% would have resulted in 120,597 hatchlings lost in 2000. Predator removal as part of regular refuge operations would have reduced this number to 62,481. Addition of a contract with control specialists would have further reduced the number lost to 53,778. Addition of temporal and spatial monitoring for predator removal reduced losses to 36,637. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]