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Scholars have argued that 21st century educators have the responsibility to incorporate global citizenship activities into academic curricula to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse world. Approaches to global citizenship education that have rendered positive results include service-learning, critical thinking activities, second language acquisition, and international exchanges. The current study explores a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project carried out between university students enrolled in universities located in the Arizona-Sonora Megaregión. The study found that before students participated in COIL they demonstrated a limited understanding of their neighboring country. At the conclusion of the COIL project students demonstrated global citizenship skills such as the ability to analyze international relationships, critically consume media, and make identify points of global interconnectedness.

A arte está presente na sociedade desde as primeiras civilizações. Dentre as diversas formas de expressões artísticas encontra-se a música, sendo uma das manifestações mais antigas e destacando-se por seu caráter subjetivo e abstrato. Ao longo do tempo percebe-se que a relação do homem com a música vem se tornando cada vez mais imprescindível e inevitável, à vista disso, salientamos a importância de compreender a influência da música no desenvolvimento humano e seus impactos na vida do sujeito, concebendo a música como fenômeno psicológico e cultural. Para tal compreensão tomaremos como método a revisão de literatura especializada, trazendo um histórico sobre a relação do homem com a música ao longo do tempo, em seguida, abordaremos a concepção da arte em Vigotski na perspectiva histórico-cultural, para então, apresentarmos os possíveis impactos que a música causa no sujeito, abrindo caminho para o trabalho em musicoterapia. Partindo deste olhar, consideramos que a música tem a capacidade de modificar o estado físico e psíquico do sujeito, levando-o a superar seus próprios sentimentos e a transformar o seu mundo.

International non-profit organizations (INGOs) were traditionally established to facilitate dialogue and bridge cultures. In order for INGOs to successfully carry out their objectives, global activists must work together in a culturally sensitive and responsible manner. The current article examines a volunteer training model that was designed to promote meaningful interactions between binational volunteers. The training, based on a Spanish-immersion and homestay experience, was piloted among volunteers at an INGO on the Mexico-US border. Results suggest that the immersion training model allowed volunteers to reassess and ultimately strengthen their relationships with their international counterparts while developing intercultural citizenship skills.

In order to prepare students to successfully engage with native speakers and members of heritage language communities both at home and abroad, educators must develop course curricula that emphasize cultural practices, products, perspectives, and comparisons as well as provide students with opportunities to directly apply the skills that they have acquired in the classroom across a range of other settings. This article describes a Culture for the Professions course whose curriculum was based on the four steps of the cultural intelligence model (Earley & Ang, 2003): drive, knowledge, strategy, and action. The study focuses in particular on how students implemented the last two components of the model (strategy and action) by collaborating with local organizations to design and present culture workshops that were specifically tailored to each organization's needs and mission. In addition to benefiting the organizations themselves, data obtained from evaluation rubrics and postworkshop reflections suggest that community culture workshops allow students to become more aware of how culture influences the work of an organization and to develop strategies to bridge cultural differences in the workplace.

Objetivou-se avaliar diferentes fontes energéticas em suplementos múltiplos no período da seca, sobre os ganhos de peso total (GPT), ganho médio diário (GMD), peso vivo final (PVF), consumo de suplemento e custos de produção. Avaliaram-se suplementos à base de farelo de soja + casca de soja (SCS); farelo de soja + grão de milho moído (SM); farelo de soja + grão de sorgo moído (SS); farelo de soja + grão de milheto moído (SMI). Foram utilizados 20 novilhos, com peso médio inicial de 160 kg. Os suplementos foram fornecidos diariamente na quantidade de 1 kg/animal/dia às 10h da manhã. No primeiro dia de cada período experimental, foram feitas coletas de forragem para estimar a disponibilidade de matéria seca/ha e determinar a composição químico-bromatológica da forragem ingerida pelos animais. As disponibilidades médias de matéria seca total (MST), matéria seca potencialmente digestível (MSpD), matéria seca de folhas verdes (MSFV), matéria seca de folhas secas (MSFS), matéria seca de colmo verde (MSCV) e matéria seca de colmo seco (MSCS) de pastagens Brachiaria brizantnha cv. Marandu foram de 5.718; 3.692; 588; 1.966; 1.788 e 1.375 kg/ha. Os consumos de suplemento foram de 0,951; 0,930; 0,976 e 0,886 kg/animal/dia, respectivamente, para os tratamentos SCS, SM, SS e SMI. Não se verificou diferença (P>0,05) entre os tratamentos para PVF, GPT e GMD. Os GMD, para os tratamentos SS, SMI, SM e SCS, foram, respectivamente, de 0,751; 0,713; 0,752 e 0,786 kg/animal/dia. O tratamento SCS proporcionou ganhos de peso com menor custo.

Scholars have argued that 21st century educators have the responsibility to incorporate global citizenship activities into academic curricula to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse world. Approaches to global citizenship education that have rendered positive results include service-learning, critical thinking activities, second language acquisition, and international exchanges. The current study explores a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project carried out between university students enrolled in universities located in the Arizona-Sonora Megaregión. The study found that before students participated in COIL they demonstrated a limited understanding of their neighboring country. At the conclusion of the COIL project students demonstrated global citizenship skills such as the ability to analyze international relationships, critically consume media, and make identify points of global interconnectedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International non-profit organizations (INGOs) were traditionally established to facilitate dialogue and bridge cultures. In order for INGOs to successfully carry out their objectives, global activists must work together in a culturally sensitive and responsible manner. The current article examines a volunteer training model that was designed to promote meaningful interactions between binational volunteers. The training, based on a Spanish-immersion and homestay experience, was piloted among volunteers at an INGO on the Mexico-US border. Results suggest that the immersion training model allowed volunteers to reassess and ultimately strengthen their relationships with their international counterparts while developing intercultural citizenship skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief description of learning disabilities in Colombia, South America, notes the lack of government recognition of learning disability as distinct from mental retardation, the lack of appropriate educational services, the recent formation of the Colombian Foundation for Learning Disabilities, and the establishment of a special school. (DB)

OBJECTIVE: Spiritual and religious factors may influence mental health in midlife women. The purpose of this study was to explore whether strength of religious beliefs or attendance at religious services helps to mitigate the stresses of life in mid-life women. METHODS: Data are from a sub-sample of 265 women, ages 40-70, who were participants in the REACH study, a longitudinal study investigating health parameters in a representative sample of households from rural communities in eastern North Carolina. Using t-tests and linear regression analyses, we analyzed the relationship between frequency of attendance at religious services and strength of religious beliefs in 1997 and subsequent mental health in 2003 as measured by the mental health component score (MCS) of the SF-12. RESULTS: The mean MCS in 2003 was significantly higher (better mental health) in women who reported attending religious services > or =1/week compared to those who reported attending <1/week (53.9 vs. 51.7; p < 0.05). In the linear regression model controlling for self-reported health status, baseline attendance at organized religious services remained a significant predictor of the MCS at six-year follow-up (standardized beta = -0.123, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Attendance at religious services is positively related to subsequent mental health in middle-aged women. The findings support the notion that religious commitment may help mitigate the stress of the midlife period. More research is needed to translate these findings into clinical interventions that can decrease the burden of anxiety and depression on midlife women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When no organic cause for dyspepsia is found, the condition generally is considered to be functional, or idiopathic. Nonulcer dyspepsia can cause a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting. Many patients with nonulcer dyspepsia have multiple somatic complaints, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Extensive diagnostic testing is not recommended, except in patients with serious risk factors such as dysphagia, protracted vomiting, anorexia, melena, anemia, or a palpable mass. In these patients, endoscopy should be considered to exclude gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic or duodenal ulcer, and gastric cancer. In patients without risk factors, consideration should be given to empiric therapy with a prokinetic agent (e.g., metoclopramide), an acid suppressant (histamine-H2 receptor antagonist), or an antimicrobial agent with activity against Helicobacter pylori. Treatment of patients with H. pylori infection and nonulcer dyspepsia (rather than peptic ulcer) is controversial and should be undertaken only when the pathogen has been identified. Psychotropic agents should be used in patients with comorbid anxiety or depression. Treatment of nonulcer dyspepsia can be challenging because of the need to balance medical management strategies with treatments for psychologic or functional disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The Association of American Medical Colleges has recommended addressing spirituality in the medical curriculum. DESCRIPTION: To evaluate the impact of a spiritual history-taking curriculum on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of 1st year medical students. The study implemented a spiritual history-taking curriculum in the 1st year of medical school that included reading assignments, practice history taking, and standardized patient (SP) scenarios with spiritual content. It assessed students' performance in three ways: (a) using a videotaped SP interview, (b) a survey of students' attitudes regarding incorporating patients' religious and cultural views into medical decision making, and (c) a written test question on their first examination. EVALUATION: Students (146) took part in the medical school's spirituality curriculum, which included participation in videotaped interviews; 98% completed the initial survey, and 75% completed the follow-up survey. On the final videotaped SP interview, 65% of students were able to recognize the patient's spiritual concern according to trained faculty observers. On the attitude survey, there was an increased desire to accommodate patients' beliefs, although the magnitude of the increase was generally quite small. Ninety-four percent of students answered the test question correctly. CONCLUSION: Spiritual history taking can be integrated effectively into the existing history-taking curriculum in 1st year medical training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between religious attendance and continuity of care. METHODS: We investigated this relationship in a large national database--the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III--which contains information on religious attendance, continuity of care, and potential confounders that might mediate the relationship such as health status and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: A total of 18,162 participants 17 years of age or older were included in the analysis. People who attended religious services were more likely to have continuity with a provider than people who did not attend such services (65% vs. 35%, p < .001). This association persisted after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables using regression analysis. CONCLUSION: This study documents a significant association between attendance at religious services and continuity with a usual provider. Continuity with a regular medical provider may influence the association of religious attendance and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between elevated inflammatory markers (CRP, fibrinogen, and white blood cell levels) and various forms of exercise for the adult U.S. population while controlling for factors that might influence the relationship. METHODS: An analysis of the adults age 17 and over who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III was conducted. The main goal of the analysis was to determine whether exercise type was associated with systemic markers of inflammation. Bivariate statistics using chi-square to evaluate different types of exercise according to the presence of elevated and nonelevated inflammatory markers was initially performed. In addition, multivariate models were constructed using each type of exercise activity as the predictor variable and each inflammatory marker as the dependent variable. RESULTS: A total of 4072 people were included in the analysis. In bivariate analyses, compared with nonexercisers in a specific exercise type, a significant lower likelihood of elevated inflammatory markers was found among regular participants in jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobic dancing, calisthenics, and weight lifting but not for gardening. After controlling for possible confounding factors including age, race, sex, body mass index, smoking, and health status in logistic regression analysis, only regular participants in jogging and aerobic dancing remained significantly less likely to have elevated cardiovascular markers. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that some forms of physical activity are associated with a lower likelihood of elevation of inflammatory markers, although we cannot exclude the possibility that differences may be due to exercise intensity or duration. Future research should be directed toward further exploration of the effects of different types of exercise activity on inflammatory markers and the role of exercise in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family physicians should be familiar with the acute management of atrial fibrillation and the initiation of chronic therapy for this common arrhythmia. Initial management should include hemodynamic stabilization, rate control, restoration of sinus rhythm, and initiation of antithrombotic therapy. Part II of this two-part article focuses on the prevention of thromboembolic complications using anticoagulation. Heparin is routinely administered before medical or electrical cardioversion. Warfarin is used in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation who are at higher risk for thromboembolic complications because of advanced age, history of coronary artery disease or stroke, or presence of left-sided heart failure. Aspirin is preferred in patients at low risk for thromboembolic complications and patients with a high risk for falls, a history of noncompliance, active bleeding, or poorly controlled hypertension. The recommendations provided in this article are consistent with guidelines published by the American Heart Association and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation is the arrhythmia most commonly encountered in family practice. Serious complications can include congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and thromboembolism. Initial treatment is directed at controlling the ventricular rate, most often with a calcium channel blocker, a beta blocker, or digoxin. Medical or electrical cardioversion to restore sinus rhythm is the next step in patients who remain in atrial fibrillation. Heparin should be administered to hospitalized patients undergoing medical or electrical cardioversion. Anticoagulation with warfarin should be used for three weeks before elective cardioversion and continued for four weeks after cardioversion. The recommendations provided in this two-part article are consistent with guidelines published by the American Heart Association and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are treated with oxygen (in hypoxemic patients), inhaled beta2 agonists, inhaled anticholinergics, antibiotics and systemic corticosteroids. Methylxanthine therapy may be considered in patients who do not respond to other bronchodilators. Antibiotic therapy is directed at the most common pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. Mild to moderate exacerbations of COPD are usually treated with older broad-spectrum antibiotics such as doxycycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin-clavulanate potassium. Treatment with augmented penicillins, fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins or aminoglycosides may be considered in patients with more severe exacerbations. The management of chronic stable COPD always includes smoking cessation and oxygen therapy. Inhaled beta2 agonists, inhaled anticholinergics and systemic corticosteroids provide short-term benefits in patients with chronic stable disease. Inhaled corticosteroids decrease airway reactivity and reduce the use of health care services for management of respiratory symptoms. Preventing acute exacerbations helps to reduce long-term complications. Long-term oxygen therapy, regular monitoring of pulmonary function and referral for pulmonary rehabilitation are often indicated. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccines should be given. Patients who do not respond to standard therapies may benefit from surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling diabetes requires patients to participate in a number of self-management tasks, many of which impose demands and restrictions. For better success, learn how to implement feasible programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-acquired pneumonia is a common infection encountered in clinical practice and is the leading cause of death due to infectious disease in the United States. To choose initial antimicrobial therapy appropriately, physicians must keep informed of recent developments in the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of atypical pathogens, antibiotic resistance and new antibiotics. Differentiating between 'typical' and 'atypical' pneumonia based on the initial clinical presentation is difficult. Primary treatment for community-acquired pneumonia in young adults without comorbidities is erythromycin. Older adults or those with comorbidities should be treated with erythromycin plus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, a second- or third-generation cephalosporin, or a new macrolide. Empiric therapy for moderately or severely ill hospitalized patients usually begins with erythromycin plus a second- or third-generation cephalosporin. Physicians should use initial antibiotic therapy for coverage of both typical and atypical pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]