Líquenes epífitos: una herramienta para estudiar la continuidad ecológica en Isla Mocha, Chile

The purpose of this work was to study the ecological continuity Mocha Island National Reserve, through the knowledge of the richness and frequency of epiphytic lichens in 14 plots distributed at random within the reserve. The tree biomass and upper-stem volume were quantified for to establish correlations that may explain the distribution of epiphytic lichens. It proposes a new index of ecological continuity with cyanolichens (ICEC) for to establish the degree of alteration of this natural ecosystem. The total richness of lichenized fungi was 33 species, 3 of which are new records for Chile: Fissurina triticea; Pyrenula neglecta and Stick, subcaperata. A statistically significant relationship was founded between cyanolichens and upper-stem volume, which could indicate preference of this type of lichens by forest ecosystem with a large upper-stem volume. In basis of the ICEC proposed in this work, Mocha Island National Reserve is defined as an altered ecosystem

Non universality of entanglement convertibility

Recently, it has been suggested that operational properties connected to quantum computation can be alternative indicators of quantum phase transitions. In this work we systematically study these operational properties in 1D systems that present phase transitions of different orders. For this purpose, we evaluate the local convertibility between bipartite ground states. Our results suggest that the operational properties, related to non-analyticities of the entanglement spectrum, are good detectors of explicit symmetries of the model, but not necessarily of phase transitions. We also show that thermodynamically equivalent phases, such as Luttinger liquids, may display different convertibility properties depending on the underlying microscopic model.Comment: 5 pages + references, 4 figures - improved versio

Effect of Electrolyte Balance in Low-Protein Diets on Broiler Performance and Tibial Dyschondroplasia Incidence

A proper dietary electrolyte balance (DEB) is essential to ensure an optimum acid-base equilibrium and broiler performance. In low-CP diets, this balance can be affected by reduction of soybean meal and inclusion of high levels of synthetic amino acids. Although, some studies have related low-protein diets supplemented with amino acids and DEB, these relations are not well explained, because some research demonstrates confusion about the deficiency and balance of nutrients. The objective of these experiments was to evaluate the DEB effects of diets with low levels of protein supplemented with amino acids on broiler performance and bone development. Results indicated that DEB and CP content influenced broiler chick performance in the starter and growing periods. There was no significant effect due to the interaction between DEB and CP content for tibial dyschondroplasia incidence (TD) or in bone breaking resistance during the growing period of either experiment. The incidence of TD was reduced with 253 mEq/kg DEB in the starter period

Caracterização da variação da espessura dos anéis de crescimento em Pinheiro Bravo

Comunicação apresentada no 5.º Congresso Florestal Nacional que decorreu em Viseu em Maio de 2005.Com este trabalho pretende-se dar um contributo para o estudo dos factores de variação radial e axial da espessura dos anéis de crescimento de pinheiro bravo. O trabalho foi desenvolvido com base em técnicas de análise de imagem e tem como objectivo final incluir a variação dos anéis de crescimento na qualidade dos produtos finais serrados da madeira desta espécie. A informação para o estudo da variação das camadas de crescimento baseou-se numa amostra de tiras radiais e de discos nos níveis de altura 0, 5, 10, 15, 17 e 20 m de árvores de quatro estações em Portugal. A amostragem em discos permitiu a medição das camadas de crescimento em várias direcções e a posterior criação de um modelo tridimensional do tronco com base nos anéis de crescimento. A variação das camadas de crescimento foi analisada em sequência vertical, onde se analisam os anéis de crescimento em cada nível, obtendo-se assim o crescimento das árvores e quais as suas variação ao longo do tempo, e em sequência oblíqua onde se pode analisar o comportamento dos 13 anos terminais ao longo da árvore. Efectuou-se uma análise de variância para diferentes factores onde se contabilizou a percentagem de variação correspondente a cada um desses factores. Verificou-se que a maior parte da variação se deve à variação lenho juvenil/lenho adulto. O modelo tridimensional do tronco foi desenvolvido numa interface que permite observar a variação das camadas de crescimento nas diferentes secções transversais a níveis de altura especificados. De futuro este modelo será integrado na reconstrução tridimensional já desenvolvida para o Pinheiro bravo e que descreve a geometria do tronco e os anéis internos. O objectivo final será o uso da informação sobre as camadas de crescimento em programas de simulação de serração de forma a constituir mais um parâmetro de qualidade dos produtos finais

Stem and wood characterization of Acacia melanoxylon as an introduced species in Europe

Stem and wood characterization of Acacia melanoxylon as an introduced species in Europeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of healthcare-associated infection on mortality: failure in clinical recognition is related with inadequate antibiotic therapy

Purpose To understand if clinicians can tell apart patients with healthcare-associated infections (HCAI) from those with community-acquired infections (CAI) and to determine the impact of HCAI in the adequacy of initial antibiotic therapy and hospital mortality. Methods One-year prospective cohort study including all consecutive infected patients admitted to a large university tertiary care hospital. Results A total of 1035 patients were included in this study. There were 718 patients admitted from the community: 225 (31%) with HCAI and 493 (69%) with CAI. Total microbiologic documentation rate of infection was 68% (n = 703): 56% in CAI, 73% in HCAI and 83% in hospital-acquired infections (HAI). Antibiotic therapy was inadequate in 27% of patients with HCAI vs. 14% of patients with CAI (p<0.001). Among patients with HCAI, 47% received antibiotic therapy in accordance with international recommendations for treatment of CAI. Antibiotic therapy was inadequate in 36% of patients with HCAI whose treatment followed international recommendations for CAI vs. 19% in the group of HCAI patients whose treatment did not follow these guidelines (p = 0.014). Variables independently associated with inadequate antibiotic therapy were: decreased functional capacity (adjusted OR = 2.24), HCAI (adjusted OR = 2.09) and HAI (adjusted OR = 2.24). Variables independently associated with higher hospital mortality were: age (adjusted OR = 1.05, per year), severe sepsis (adjusted OR = 1.92), septic shock (adjusted OR = 8.13) and inadequate antibiotic therapy (adjusted OR = 1.99). Conclusions HCAI was associated with an increased rate of inadequate antibiotic therapy but not with a significant increase in hospital mortality. Clinicians need to be aware of healthcare-associated infections among the group of infected patients arriving from the community since the existing guidelines regarding antibiotic therapy do not apply to this group and they will otherwise receive inadequate antibiotic therapy which will have a negative impact on hospital outcome.Funding: Supported by an unrestricted grant from ASSUCIP (Associação de Apoio à Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos Polivalente, Hospital de Santo António, Porto, Portugal). Teresa Cardoso is partially funded by a PhD research grant from the Teaching and Research Department (Departamento de Formação, Ensino e Investigação) of Oporto Hospital Centre (reference number 069/07(051-DEFI/084-CES)). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Differences in compliance with Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommendations according to hospital entrance time: day versus night

Introduction Higher compliance with Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) recommendations has been associated with lower mortality. The authors evaluate differences in compliance with SSC 6-hour bundle according to hospital entrance time (day versus night) and its impact on hospital mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study of all patients with community-acquired severe sepsis admitted to the intensive care unit of a large university tertiary care hospital, over 3.5 years with a follow-up until hospital discharge. Time to compliance with each recommendation of the SSC 6-hour bundle was calculated according to hospital entrance period: day (08:30 to 20:30) versus night (20:30 to 08:30). For the same periods, clinical staff composition and the number of patients attending the emergency department (ED) was also recorded. Results In this period 300 consecutive patients were included. Compliance rate was (night vs. day): serum lactate measurement 57% vs. 49% (P = 0.171), blood cultures drawn 59% vs. 37% (P 8 mmHg 45% vs. 29% (P = 0.021), and central venous oxygen saturation (SvcO2) >70%, 7% vs. 2% (P = 0.082); fluids were administered in all patients with hypotension in both periods and vasopressors were administered in patients with hypotension not responsive to fluids in 100% vs. 99%. Time to get specific actions done was also different (night vs. day): serum lactate measurement (4.5 vs. 7 h, P = 0.018), blood cultures drawn (4 vs. 8 h, P < 0.001), antibiotic administration (5 vs. 8 h, P < 0.001), central venous pressure (8 vs. 11 h, P = 0.01), and SvcO2 monitoring (2.5 vs. 11 h, P = 0.222). The composition of the nursing team was the same around the clock; the medical team was reduced at night with a higher proportion of less differentiated doctors. The number of patients attending the Emergency Department was lower overnight. Hospital mortality rate was 34% in patients entering in the night period vs. 40% in those entering during the day (P = 0.281). Conclusion Compliance with SSC recommendations was higher at night. A possible explanation might be the increased nurse to patient ratio in that period. Adjustment of the clinical team composition to the patients' demand is needed to increase compliance and improve prognosis

Sound absorption coefficient of wet gap graded asphalt mixtures

Acoustic absorption properties of materials have often been used to reduce the generation and propagation of sound. The research carried out in this paper deals with sound absorption in relation to road surface layers. As the presence of water affects significantly the noise generated by the tyre-road contact, an evaluation of the sound absorption coefficient was made to several wet gap-graded mixtures with different levels of porosity and different contents of rubberized asphalt bitumen. A vacuum device was used to soak the interstices of the cores with water, which were then tested by means of an impedance tube, according with standard ISO 10534-2:1998. It was found that the values of the normal incidence sound absorption coefficient became smeared over the frequency spectrum in comparison with dry samples and that the quantity of rubber in the asphalt bitumen affected the way water fills the cores and, consequently, its sound absorption characteristics.(undefined