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Cultural diversity continues to increase in many countries around the world. In the United States this diversity has increased significantly over the past decade. It is essential that healthcare professionals provide genomic-focused care in a culturally sensitive manner, recognizing and respecting the cultural values and beliefs of each and every patient. The purpose of this article is to increase healthcare providers' awareness of basic cultural values that can influence the decisions made by members of diverse patient populations. This article will describe the concepts of culture, race, ethnicity, ethno-culture, and genetic diseases in specific populations. In addition, it will discuss ethno-cultural values of Hispanics, African Americans/Blacks, Native American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders that may influence patient and family responses to genomic healthcare, noting the need to incorporate an ethno-cultural lens in assessing patients and providing genomic interventions for them. The article will conclude with recommendations for providing care to diverse populations.

AbstractAdoption breakdown has attracted an increasing amount of attention over recent years, and studies coincide in stating that the mean age at which this phenomenon occurs is early adolescence. Nevertheless, the specific factors which influence adoption breakdown, have never been empirically explored. The aim of this article is therefore to analyse these factors by comparing cases of adoption breakdown which occurred prior to the onset of adolescence with those occurring after the beginning of this developmental stage. The study explores 69 cases of adoption breakdown occurring over the course of a decade in one Spanish region, taking into consideration variables related to the adopted children, the adoptive parents, the parent–child relationship, and the professional support services provided to these families. The results reveal a clear difference in the profile of breakdowns occurring before and after the onset of adolescence and identify a series of factors which seem to have a stronger influence in each group, such as violence, timing of problems, and unrealistic expectations regarding the child. These findings have important implications for professional adoption services, such us the importance of early identification of difficulties and the provision of support during adolescence.

Increases in school stress among adolescents are a growing concern. Although perfectionism and parental expectations have an important role in school stress, their joint influence has not been evaluated nor have analyses taken a multidimensional perspective of school stress into consideration. The aims of this study were to analyze the role of self-oriented perfectionism and parental expectations in school stress, and to explore their potential moderation effect in the associations between school stress and health complaints in adolescence. Sample consisted of 4,768 secondary-school students (52.1% girls; M = 13.74) aged 11 to 17 years ( M = 13.74) from 54 high schools in Andalusia (Spain), and school stress was measured using ASQ-S questionnaire. Results show that high self-oriented perfectionism and parental expectations were significantly associated with higher levels of school stress. In addition, the three variables school stress, self-oriented perfectionism and parental expectations were significantly associated with health complaints, and self-oriented perfectionism moderated the relationship between stress of school-leisure conflict and health complaints. These findings should be taken into consideration for future research and the development of interventions aimed at reducing school stress among adolescent students.

Purpose: The two goals of this article are the analysis of the duration of adoptive placements ending in breakdown and the role of age at placement in the breakdown experience. Method: All known cases of adoption breakdown during a whole decade in Andalusia, a Spanish region, were studied. Preadoption and formalized adoptions, domestic and intercountry adoptions were included. Data were analyzed using survival analysis, Cox regression, χ2, and rate ratio analyses. Results: The duration of adoptive placements ending in breakdown, significantly shorter in intercountry adoptions, is associated with a configuration of characteristics in the child, the adoptive parents and adoptive family life, and professional intervention. Among child-related factors, age at placement is of special relevance for the breakdown experience. Conclusions: Placements involving older children last less and break down more frequently, but are not condemned to failure. They need to be better supported with protective factors compensating the risks.

Mediterranean temporary ponds are a priority habitat under the European Union Habitats Directive, but those of natural origin are scarce, as many of them have been destroyed or transformed into permanent waters. The aim of this study is to highlight the conservation value of the system of temporary ponds in Doñana National Park, where more than 3000 water bodies may be filled during wet years. They are located on soils of aeolian origin where water persistence is favoured by the presence of an argilic semi permeable horizon and by a relic clay-rich sandy layer. Temporary ponds can be classified across a wide hydroperiod gradient. Most ponds fill with autumnal or winter rains and persist up to late spring or summer, and only a few may persist through summer. Eight of the 11 amphibian species of this area require temporary ponds for breeding. More than 124 taxa of macroinvertebrates have been recorded, coleopterans (56 taxa) and heteropterans (19 taxa) being the richest taxonomic groups. Several zooplankton species are endemic to this kind of habitats, such as the copepod Dussartius baeticus and the rotifer Lecane donyanensis. Regarding vegetation, at least 55 hydrophytes species were identified in the ponds sampled, and also some species endemic to SW Iberian Peninsula (Callitriche regis-jubae, Scorzonera fistulosa, Callitriche lusitanica) and others are in relic situation (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Thorella verticillato-inundata, Lemna trisulca). The conservation value of these ponds is highlighted by the large variety of protected and/or rare species of flora and fauna, which are favoured by a high pond abundance and connectivity. © Asociación Ibérica de Limnología, Madrid. Spain. ; This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and EU FEDER funds (CGL2006-04458/BOS) and Junta de Andaluc ́Æa (Excellence Research Project RNM 932) and Fel- lowship grants CSIC-I3P (European Union So- cial Funds) to M.F. and AP-2001-3475 to C.G.-R. and JA-2003 to R.F.-Z., and JA-2005 to A.P. ; Peer Reviewed

Mediterranean temporary ponds are a priority habitat under the European Union Habitats Directive, but those of natural origin are scarce, as many of them have been destroyed or transformed into permanent waters. The aim of this study is to highlight the conservation value of the system of temporary ponds in Doñana National Park, where more than 3000 water bodies may be filled during wet years. They are located on soils of aeolian origin where water persistence is favoured by the presence of an argilic semi permeable horizon and by a relic clay-rich sandy layer. Temporary ponds can be classified across a wide hydroperiod gradient. Most ponds fill with autumnal or winter rains and persist up to late spring or summer, and only a few may persist through summer. Eight of the 11 amphibian species of this area require temporary ponds for breeding. More than 124 taxa ofmacroinvertebrates have been recorded, coleopterans (56 taxa) and heteropterans (19 taxa) being the richest taxonomic groups. Several zoop1ankton species are endemic to this kind of habitats, such as the copepod Dussartius baeticus and the rotifer Lecane donyanensis. Regarding vegetation, at least 55 hydrophytes species were identified in the ponds sampled, and also some species endemic to SW Iberian Peninsula (Callitriche regis-jubae. Scorzonerajistulosa, Callitriche lusitanica) and others are in relic situation (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Thorella verticillato-inundata, Lemna trisulca). The conservation value of these ponds is highlighted by the large variety of protected ancl!or rare species of fiora and fauna, which are favoured by a high pond abundance and connectivity. ; Las lagunas temporales mediterráneas son hábitats prioritarios incluidos en la Directiva de Hábitats de la Unión Europea. que han sido frecuentemente destruídos o transformados en medios permanentes. siendo actualmente escasos los de origen natural. Este estudio pretende resaltar la importancia que tiene el sistema de charcas temporales del Parque Nacional de Doñana en la conservación de flora y fauna acuáticas. Este sistema comprende más de 3000 cuerpos de agua en años lluviosos, localizándose en las zonas de origen eólico, donde la permanencia del agua se ve favorecida por la presencia en sus suelos de un horizonte argz1ico y semipermeable y por una capa arenosa relicta rica en arcillas. Las lagunas temporales se pueden clasificar en función de su amplio gradiente de hidroperiodo. La mayoría de ellas se llenan con las lluvias de otoño o invierno y pueden permanecer hasta el final de la primavera o principios del verano y sólo algunas pueden mantener agua en verano. Las lagunas temporales son los hábitats de reproducción de ocho de las 11 especies de anfibios que se encuentran en Doñana. Se registraron más de 124 taxa de maeroinvertebrados, entre los que los coleópteros (56 taxa) y heterópteros (19 taxa) fueron los grupos taxonómicos con mayor número de especies. En el zooplancton. destacan especies endémicas de este área, como el copépodo Dussartius baeticus y el rotífero Lecane donyanensis. Entre las especies vegetales características de las lagunas temporales se han identificado más de 55 hidrójitos, encontrándose además algunos endemismos del suroeste ibérico (Callitriche regis-jubae, Scorzonera fistulosa, Callitriehe lusitanica) , así como especies amenazadas (Hydroeharis morsus-ranae, Thorella verticillato-inundata, Lemna trisulca). Las lagunas temporales de Doñana son de gran importancia para la conservación de un amplio número de especies protegidas y singulares de su flora y fauna acuática, que se ven favorecidas por la gran abundancia y conectividad de medios acuáticos.

Mediterranean temporary ponds are a priority habitat under the European Union Habitats Directive, but those of natural origin are scarce, as many of them have been destroyed or transformed into permanent waters. The aim of this study is to highlight the conservation value of the system of temporary ponds in Do˜nana National Park, where more than 3000 water bodies may be lled during wet years. They are located on soils of aeolian origin where water persistence is favoured by the presence of an argilic semi permeable horizon and by a relic clay-rich sandy layer. Temporary ponds can be classi ed across a wide hydroperiod gradient. Most ponds ll with autumnal or winter rains and persist up to late spring or summer, and only a few may persist through summer. Eight of the 11 amphibian species of this area require temporary ponds for breeding. More than 124 taxa of macroinvertebrates have been recorded, coleopterans (56 taxa) and heteropterans (19 taxa) being the richest taxonomic groups. Several zooplankton species are endemic to this kind of habitats, such as the copepod Dussartius baeticus and the rotifer Lecane donyanensis. Regarding vegetation, at least 55 hydrophytes species were identi ed in the ponds sampled, and also some species endemic to SW Iberian Peninsula (Callitriche regis-jubae, Scorzonera stulosa, Callitriche lusitanica) and others are in relic situation (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Thorella verticillato-inundata, Lemna trisulca). The conservation value of these ponds is highlighted by the large variety of protected and/or rare species of ora and fauna, which are favoured by a high pond abundance and connectivity.