The multidimensional evaluation and treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents: rationale, design, methods and preliminary findings.

Objective: This study aims to describe the design, methods and sample characteristics of the Multidimensional Evaluation and Treatment of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents - the PROTAIA Project.

Method: Students between 10 and 17 years old from all six schools belonging to the catchment area of the Primary Care Unit of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre were included in the project. It comprises five phases: (1) a community screening phase; (2) a psychiatric diagnostic phase; (3) a multidimensional assessment phase evaluating environmental, neuropsychological, nutritional, and biological factors; (4) a treatment phase, and (5) a translational phase.

An Alternative Teaching Method for the Regulation of the Immune Response.

Purpose: Our teaching experience has shown that dealing with the molecular aspects of the immune response regulation poses several difficulties. Therefore, we developed a panel board to verify whether or not this active-learning exercise could enhance students' learning and arouse their interest in subjects that are basically theoretical and complex.

Methods: Twenty cardboard pieces labeled with the names of major regulators of the immune response and three panel boards with explanations on how major regulators work.