Records of peregrine falcon (Falco Peregrinus) preying on two species of petrels from fishing vessels in the Argentina sea

Se presentan registros de un individuo de Halcón Peregrino (Falco peregrinus) cazando varios individuos de Paiño Común (Oceanites oceanicus) y de Petrel Damero (Daption capense) desde un buque pesquero en aguas del Mar Argentino. A pesar de estar ampliamente distribuido en la Patagonia argentina, no hay evidencias previas de la presencia de esta especie en el Mar Argentino cazando aves marinas pelágicas. Se discute el uso de los buques pesqueros como plataformas por parte de individuos de esta especie.We present records of an individual of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) preying on several individuals of the Wilson’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) and the Pintado Petrel (Daption capense) from a fishing vessel in the Argentine Sea. Although this species is widely distributed over Argentine Patagonia, there is no previous evidence of the presence of this species hunting pelagic seabirds in the Argentine Sea. The use of fishing vessels as platform for individuals of this species is discussed

Spectacled Petrel (Procellaria conspicillata) attending on fishing vessels in the Argentina Sea

Se reportan observaciones de individuos de Petrel de Anteojos (Procellaria conspicillata) asociados a buques pesqueros en el Mar Argentino. Entre 2008 y 2014, 18 individuos fueron observados en la Zona Común de Pesca Argentina-Uruguaya y en la zona adyacente a la veda permanente para la pesca de merluza común (Merluccius hubbsi). El 75% de las observaciones se realizaron durante el arrastre del arte de pesca y con la presencia de descarte. A pesar de no registrarse mortalidad, la especie podría ser vulnerable a su captura incidental.We report new sightings of Spectacled Petrel (Procellaria conspicillata) attending on fishing vessels in the Argentina Sea. Between 2008 and 2014, 18 individuals were observed in the Argentine-Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone and near the permanent closure zone to fishing common hake (Merluccius hubbsi). Most observations (75%) were made in the trawl operations with discards. We did not observe mortality; however, the species could be vulnerable to its incidental capture

Multidisciplinary Integrated Metabolic Rehabilitation in Elderly Obese Patients: Effects on Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Fatigue and Muscle Performance

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a widespread problem in the elderly, being associated with severe comorbidities negatively influencing life expectancy. Integrated multidisciplinary metabolic rehabilitation aimed to reduce body weight (BW) and fatigue, increase physical autonomy and introduce healthy life style changes has been proposed as a useful intervention to improve the general health status and quality of life of the obese geriatric population. METHODS: Six hundred-eighty four severely obese subjects (F/M = 592/92; age range: 61-83 years; mean body mass index, BMI \ub1 SD: 42.6 \ub1 5.6 kg/m2) were admitted to take part in a three-week in-hospital BW reduction program (BWRP), entailing energy restricted diet, psychological counselling, physical rehabilitation and nutritional education. Biochemical parameters, cardiovascular risk factors (throughout the Coronary Heart Disease Risk, CHD-R), fatigue (throughout the Fatigue Severity Scale, FSS) and lower limb muscle performance (throughout the Stair Climbing Test, SCT) were evaluated before and at the end of the BWRP. RESULTS: A 4% BW reduction was achieved at the end of the BWRP. This finding was associated with a significant improvement of the metabolic homeostasis (i.e., decrease in total cholesterol and glucose) and a reduction of systolic blood pressure in both females and males, thus resulting in a reduction of CHD-R in the male group. Total FSS score and SCT time decreased in female and male obese patients. The effects of BWPR were comparable among all age-related subgroups (>60, 60-69 and >70 years), apart from \u394CHD-R, which was higher in male subgroups. Finally, age was negatively correlated with \u394BMI and \u394FSS. CONCLUSIONS: Though only a relatively limited number of outcomes were investigated, the present study shows that a 4% BW reduction in severely elderly obese patients is associated with positive multisystemic effects, particularly, muscle-skeletal and cardiometabolic benefits, which can favorably influence their general well-being and improve the autonomy level in performing more common daily activities. The maintenance of a healthy life style, including controlled food intake and regular physical activity, after a BWRP is obviously recommended in all elderly obese patients to further improve their clinical condition

Oral health knowledge and behavior among male health sciences college students in Kuwait

BACKGROUND: Health auxiliary personnel have an important role in oral health promotion when they graduate and start working in the health care system. This study aims to find out oral health knowledge and oral health behavior of male Health Sciences College students. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to all students at the male Health Sciences College in Kuwait (N = 153) during the academic year 2001/2002. The students filled the anonymous questionnaire in the class after the lecture. The response rate was 84% (n = 128). The questions consisted information on the general background, oral health behavior and oral health knowledge. RESULTS: Oral health knowledge seemed to be limited and very few background factors were associated with it. More than half of the students had visited a dentist during the previous 12 months, but only one third of students were brushing twice a day or more often. CONCLUSIONS: It may be concluded that the male Health Sciences College students seemed to have appropriate knowledge on some oral health topics, but limited knowledge on the others. Their toothbrushing practices are still far behind the international recommendation (twice a day) and also the knowledge, why it should be done so frequently also very limited

Pediatric trauma and emergency surgery: an international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: In contrast to adults, the situation for pediatric trauma care from an international point of view and the global management of severely injured children remain rather unclear. The current study investigates structural management of pediatric trauma in centers of different trauma levels as well as experiences with pediatric trauma management around the world. Methods: A web-survey had been distributed to the global mailing list of the World Society of Emergency Surgery from 10/2021-03/2022, investigating characteristics of respondents and affiliated hospitals, case-load of pediatric trauma patients, capacities and infrastructure for critical care in children, trauma team composition, clinical work-up and individual experiences with pediatric trauma management in response to patients´ age. The collaboration group was subdivided regarding sizes of affiliated hospitals to allow comparisons concerning hospital volumes. Comparable results were conducted to statistical analysis. Results: A total of 133 participants from 34 countries, i.e. 5 continents responded to the survey. They were most commonly affiliated with larger hospitals (> 500 beds in 72.9%) and with level I or II trauma centers (82.0%), respectively. 74.4% of hospitals offer unrestricted pediatric medical care, but only 63.2% and 42.9% of the participants had sufficient experiences with trauma care in children ≤ 10 and ≤ 5 years of age (p = 0.0014). This situation is aggravated in participants from smaller hospitals (p < 0.01). With regard to hospital size (≤ 500 versus > 500 in-hospital beds), larger hospitals were more likely affiliated with advanced trauma centers, more elaborated pediatric intensive care infrastructure (p < 0.0001), treated children at all ages more frequently (p = 0.0938) and have higher case-loads of severely injured children < 12 years of age (p = 0.0009). Therefore, the majority of larger hospitals reserve either pediatric surgery departments or board-certified pediatric surgeons (p < 0.0001) and in-hospital trauma management is conducted more multi-disciplinarily. However, the majority of respondents does not feel prepared for treatment of severe pediatric trauma and call for special educational and practical training courses (overall: 80.2% and 64.3%, respectively). Conclusions: Multi-professional management of pediatric trauma and individual experiences with severely injured children depend on volumes, level of trauma centers and infrastructure of the hospital. However, respondents from hospitals at all levels of trauma care complain about an alarming lack of knowledge on pediatric trauma management

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Three-row versus two-row circular staplers for left-sided colorectal anastomosis: a propensity score-matched analysis of the iCral 2 and 3 prospective cohorts

Background: Since most anastomoses after left-sided colorectal resections are performed with a circular stapler, any technological change in stapling devices may influence the incidence of anastomotic adverse events. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a three-row circular stapler on anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resections. Materials and methods: A circular stapled anastomosis was performed in 4255 (50.9%) out of 8359 patients enrolled in two prospective multicenter studies in Italy, and, after exclusion criteria to reduce heterogeneity, 2799 (65.8%) cases were retrospectively analyzed through a 1:1 propensity score-matching model including 20 covariates relative to patient characteristics, to surgery and to perioperative management. Two well-balanced groups of 425 patients each were obtained: group (A) – true population of interest, anastomosis performed with a three-row circular stapler; group (B) – control population, anastomosis performed with a two-row circular stapler. The target of inferences was the average treatment effect in the treated (ATT). The primary endpoints were overall and major anastomotic leakage and overall anastomotic bleeding; the secondary endpoints were overall and major morbidity and mortality rates. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses for the outcomes, including the 20 covariates selected for matching, were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Group A versus group B showed a significantly lower risk of overall anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 6.1%; OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.15–0.73; P = 0.006), major anastomotic leakage (2.1 vs. 5.2%; OR 0.39; 95% CI 0.17–0.87; P = 0.022), and major morbidity (3.5 vs. 6.6% events; OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.24–0.91; P = 0.026). Conclusion: The use of three-row circular staplers independently reduced the risk of anastomotic leakage and related morbidity after left-sided colorectal resection. Twenty-five patients were required to avoid one leakage