Health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia : a systematic literature review of qualitative and quantitative data.

BACKGROUND: Unsafe abortions are a serious public health problem and a major human rights issue. In low-income countries, where restrictive abortion laws are common, safe abortion care is not always available to women in need. Health care providers have an important role in the provision of abortion services. However, the shortage of health care providers in low-income countries is critical and exacerbated by the unwillingness of some health care providers to provide abortion services. The aim of this study was to identify, summarise and synthesise available research addressing health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. METHODS: A systematic literature search of three databases was conducted in November 2014, as well as a manual search of reference lists. The selection criteria included quantitative and qualitative research studies written in English, regardless of the year of publication, exploring health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The quality of all articles that met the inclusion criteria was assessed. The studies were critically appraised, and thematic analysis was used to synthesise the data. RESULTS: Thirty-six studies, published during 1977 and 2014, including data from 15 different countries, met the inclusion criteria. Nine key themes were identified as influencing the health care providers' attitudes towards induced abortions: 1) human rights, 2) gender, 3) religion, 4) access, 5) unpreparedness, 6) quality of life, 7) ambivalence 8) quality of care and 9) stigma and victimisation. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia have moral-, social- and gender-based reservations about induced abortion. These reservations influence attitudes towards induced abortions and subsequently affect the relationship between the health care provider and the pregnant woman who wishes to have an abortion. A values clarification exercise among abortion care providers is needed.

English as a Second Language and Children’s literature : An empirical study on Swedish elementary school teachers’ methods and attitudes towards the use of children’s literature in the English classroom

Previous research has shown multiple benefits and challenges with the incorporation of children’s literature in the English as a Second language (ESL) classroom. In addition, the use of children’s literature in the lower elementary English classroom is recommended by the Swedish National Agency for Education. Consequently, the current study explores how teachers in Swedish elementary school teach ESL through children’s literature. This empirical study involves English teachers from seven schools in a small municipality in Sweden. The data has been collected through an Internet survey. The study also connects the results to previous international research, comparing Swedish and international research. The results suggest that even though there are many benefits of using children’s literature in the ESL classroom, the respondents seldom use these authentic texts, due to limited time and a narrow supply of literature, among other factors. However, despite these challenges, all of the teachers claim to use children’s literature by reading aloud in the classroom. Based on the results, further research exploring pupils’ thoughts in contrast to teachers would be beneficial. In addition, the majority of the participants expressed that they wanted more information on how to use children’s literature. Therefore, additional research relating to beneficial methods of teaching English through children’s literature, especially in Sweden, is recommended.

The experience of semi-formal infrastructure finance in developing countries: proposals for Brazil and Latin America

This paper has the purpose of analyzing the role of civil society in funding and providing nfrastructure projects in developing countries. Considering that local associations around the world have been directly engaged on some infrastructure projects – some scholars define it as “semi-formal finance” –, the intention is to demonstrate that the experiences on such arrangements in developing countries have been responsible for fostering infrastructure investments in the poorer regions where the government is more absent. Based upon legal, economic and social aspects, this paper aims to contribute to a broader debate for the development of infrastructure in emerging countries. The conclusion is that, under a more social approach, the legal and economic mechanisms in developing countries are able to consider such arrangements in the benefit of their development.

Metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: higher prevalence in the Northeastern Region of Brazil than in other Latin American countries and the influence of obesity and socioeconomic factors

SILVEIRA, Inavan Lopes da; MARANHÃO, T. M. O.; AZEVEDO, George Dantas. Metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: higher prevalence in the Northeastern Region of Brazil than in other Latin American countries and the influence of obesity and socioeconomic factors. Climacteric (Carnforth), v.10, p.438-439, 2007.

Insertion and follow-up of complete dentures: a literature review

Insertion and follow-up of complete dentures: a literature reviewObjective: The aim of this study was to present the importance of clinical procedures related to insertion and follow-up of complete dentures in elderly patients.Materials and Methods: The success of rehabilitation with complete dentures results from the accuracy of clinical and laboratorial procedures that makes the denture insertion an important step of treatment.Conclusion: The follow-up and professional maintenance of function and hygiene facilitates long-term efficiency.

Comparison of clinical features and drug therapies among European and Latin American patients with juvenile dermatomyositis

ObjectiveTo compare the demographic features, presenting manifestations, diagnostic investigations, disease course, and drug therapies of children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) followed in Europe and Latin America.MethodsPatients were inception cohorts seen between 1980 and 2004 in 27 paediatric rheumatology centres. The following information was collected through the review of patient charts: sex; age at disease onset; date of disease onset and diagnosis; onset type; presenting clinical features; diagnostic investigations; course type; and medications received during disease course.ResultsFour hundred and ninety patients (65.5% females, mean onset age 7.0 years, mean disease duration 7.7 years) were included. Disease presentation was acute or insidious in 57.1% and 42.9% of the patients, respectively. The course type was monophasic in 41.3% of patients and chronic polycyclic or continuous in 58.6% of patients. The more common presenting manifestations were muscle weakness (84.9%), Gottron's papules (72.9%), heliotrope rash (62%), and malar rash (56.7%). Overall, the demographic and clinical features of the 2 continental cohorts were comparable. European patients received more frequently high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone, cyclosporine, cyclophosphamide, and azathioprine, while methotrexate and antimalarials medications were used more commonly by Latin American physicians.ConclusionThe demographic and clinical characteristics of JDM are similar in European and Latin American patients. We found, however, several differences in the use of medications between European and Latin American paediatric rheumatologists.

Clinicopathological analysis of head and neck chondrosarcoma: three case reports and literature review

Chondrosarcoma (CHS) is a malignant neoplasm characterized by the formation of cartilaginous matrix by neoplastic cells, with a high propensity for local recurrences. Head and neck CHS is rare, accounting for less than 12% of all cases of CHS, usually affecting the maxilla. The majority of affected patients are in the fourth decade of life, with a slight predilection for male patients. A painless swelling is commonly the most frequent complaint. Surgery with wide en-bloc resection is the preferred treatment for CHS; radiotherapy and chemotherapy are usually palliative options. Owing to its rarity, there are few clinical series evaluating the biological behaviour of head and neck CHS. The aim of this study is to analyse the clinicopathological characteristics of head and neck CHS by reporting 3 new cases of this neoplasia affecting the jaw bones and reviewing the clinical series previously published in the English literature.

A GEP-ISFG collaborative study on the optimization of an X-STR decaplex: data on 15 Iberian and Latin American populations

In a collaborative work carried out by the Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group (GEP-ISFG), a polymerase chain reaction multiplex was optimized in order to type ten X-chromosome short tandem repeats (STRs) in a single reaction, including: DXS8378, DXS9902, DXS7132, DXS9898, DXS6809, DXS6789, DXS7133, GATA172D05, GATA31E08, and DXS7423. Using this X-decaplex, each 17 of the participating laboratories typed a population sample of approximately 200 unrelated individuals (100 males and 100 females). In this work, we report the allele frequencies for the ten X-STRs in 15 samples from Argentina (Buenos Aires, CA(3)rdoba, Rio Negro, Entre Rios, and Misiones), Brazil (SA o pound Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, and Mato Grosso do Sul), Colombia (Antioquia), Costa Rica, Portugal (Northern and Central regions), and Spain (Galicia and Cantabria). Gene diversities were calculated for the ten markers in each population and all values were above 56%. The average diversity per locus varied between 66%, for DXS7133, and 82%, for DXS6809. For this set of STRs, a high discrimination power was obtained in all populations, both in males (a parts per thousand yen1 in 5 A- 10(5)) and females (a parts per thousand yen1 in 3 A- 10(9)), as well as high mean exclusion chance in father/daughter duos (a parts per thousand yen99.953%) and in father/mother/daughter trios (a parts per thousand yen99.999%). Genetic distance analysis showed no significant differences between northern and central Portugal or between the two Spanish samples from Galicia and Cantabria. Inside Brazil, significant differences were found between Rio de Janeiro and the other three populations, as well as between SA o pound Paulo and Parana. For the five Argentinean samples, significant distances were only observed when comparing Misiones with Entre Rios and with Rio Negro, the only two samples that do not differ significantly from Costa Rica. Antioquia differed from all other samples, except the one from Rio Negro.

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2013: Three decades of uneven and unstable growth

Includes bibliography

Productividad de la mano de obra y de la tierra en la agricultura latinoamericana = Productivity of labour and land in Latin American agriculture

Incluye Bibliografía

Panorama de la Agricultura de América Latina y el Caribe en las últimas décadas: indicadores de comportamiento en cuadros y gráficos = Survey of agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean over recent decades: performance indicators in charts and tables

Incluye Bibliografía

Panorama de la agricultura de América Latina y el Caribe, 1990-2000 = Survey of agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1990-2000

Incluye Bibliografía

The sustainability of development in Latin America and the Caribbean: challenges and opportunities

Includes bibliography