Knowing the enemy: ant behavior and control in a pediatric hospital of Buenos Aires

Ant control is difficult in systems even where a variety of control strategies and compounds are allowed; in sensitive places such as hospitals, where there are often restrictions on the methods and toxicants to be applied, the challenge is even greater. Here we report the methods and results of how we faced this challenge of controlling ants in a pediatric hospital using baits. Our strategy was based on identifying the species present and analyzing their behavior. On the one hand, we evaluated outdoors in the green areas of the hospital, the relative abundance of ant genera, their food preferences and the behavioral dominances. On the other hand, control treatments were performed using separately two boron compounds added to sucrose solution which was not highly concentrated to avoid constrains due to the viscosity. Most of the species in the food preference test accepted sugary food; only one species was recorded to visit it less than the protein foods. This result was consistent with the efficacy of control treatments by sugary baits within the rooms. For species that showed good acceptance of sugar solutions in the preference test outdoors, sugar bait control indoors was 100& effective. Conversely, for the only species that foraged significantly less on sugar food, the bait treatment was ineffective. This work reveals the importance of considering the behavior and feeding preferences of the species to be controlled by toxic baits.Fil: Josens, Roxana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Sola, Francisco Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Marchisio, Nahuel Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Di Renzo, María Agostina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental. Laboratorio del Grupo de Estudio de Insectos Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Giacometti, Alina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentin

Food Loss and Waste: Measurement, Drivers, and Solutions

It has been estimated that one-third of global food is lost or wasted, entailing significant environmental, economic, and social costs. The scale and impact of food loss and waste (FLW) has attracted significant interest across sectors, leading to a relatively recent proliferation of publications. This article synthesizes existing knowledge in the literature with a focus on FLW measurement, drivers, and solutions. We apply the widely adopted DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) framework to structure the review. Key takeaways include the following: Existing definitions of FLW are inconsistent and incomplete, significant data gaps remain (by food type, stage of supply chain, and region, especially for developing countries), FLW solutions focus more on proximate causes rather than larger systemic drivers, and effective responses to FLW will require complementary approaches and robust evaluation

Role of outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy in the treatment of community acquired skin and soft tissue infections in Singapore

Abstract Background Treatment of community acquired skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) is a common indication for outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) in USA, UK and Australasia, however data from Asia are lacking. OPAT is well established within the Singapore healthcare since 2002, however, systematic use of OPAT for the treatment of SSTIs remains infrequent. In this report, we describe the treatment and outcome of patients with SSTIs referred directly from Emergency Department (ED) to OPAT for continuation of intravenous (IV) antibiotics in Singapore, thus avoiding potential hospital admission. Method This is a single center university hospital retrospective study of patients with SSTIs presenting to ED who were assessed to require IV antibiotics and accepted to the OPAT clinic for continuation of IV treatment. Exclusion criteria were: haemodynamic instability, uncontrolled or serious underlying co-morbidities, necessity for inpatient surgical drainage, facial cellulitis and cephalosporin allergy. Patients returned daily to the hospital’s OPAT clinic for administration of IV antibiotics and review, then switched to oral antibiotics on improvement. Results From 7 February 2012 to 31 July 2015, 120 patients with SSTIs were treated in OPAT. Median age was 56 years and 63% were male. Lower limbs were affected in 91%. Diabetes was present in 20%. Sixty-seven (56%) had been treated with oral antibiotics for a median duration of 3 days prior to OPAT treatment. Common symptoms were erythema (100%), swelling (96%), pain (88%) and fever (55%). Antibiotics administered were IV cefazolin with oral probenecid (71%) or IV ceftriaxone (29%) for median 3 days then oral cloxacillin (85%) for median 7 days. Clinical improvement occurred in 90%. Twelve patients (10%) were hospitalized for worsening cellulitis, with 4 patients requiring surgical drainage of abscess. Microbiological cultures from 2 patients with drained abscess grew methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, both of which were susceptible to cefazolin and ceftriaxone. Hospital bed days saved was 318 days. Conclusion OPAT treatment of community acquired SSTIs in a selected patient population has good outcomes in Singapore. Treatment with IV cefazolin or IV ceftriaxone was successful in the majority with low hospital readmission rate