Insect Mortality In Spathodea Campanulata Beauv. (bignoniaceae) Flowers.

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The ERP System for an Effective Management of a Small Software Company – Requirements Analysis

As found out by a questionnaire survey a significant part of small software companies is not satisfied with the way their company processes are supported by software systems. To change this situation it is necessary first to specify requirements for such software systems in small software companies. Based on the analysis of the literature and the market and own experience the first version of the ERP system requirements specification for small software companies was framed and subsequently validated by interviewing the executives of the target group companies

Variation in Antibiotic Prescription in High-Risk Febrile Neutropenia in Portuguese Hospitals

Introduction: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a potentially severe entity, particularly in hemato-oncologic patients who have higher incidence of colonization with multidrug-resistant bacteria. Discrepancies among guidelines contribute to divergence in antimicrobial practices. Our objective was to assess the variation of practices in antimicrobial therapy in high-risk FN among Portuguese hematologists. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study through the implementation of an online survey, open to all clinical hematologists in the country. To characterize practice patterns regarding critical elements in FN management, three clinical vignettes were designed to describe typical situations where narrow-spectrum empiric antibiotics (vignette 1), short-course therapy (vignette 2) and de-escalation (vignette 3) could be performed. The remaining questions characterized clinical experience, department size, and differentiation and decision-making process regarding FN antibiotic therapy. Results: The survey yielded 31 responses from 11 hospitals across four regions. All respondents opted for empiric narrow-spectrum antibiotics, 22.6% opted for short-course therapy (mostly senior specialists from larger settings) and 35.5% for de-escalation (mostly young specialists). Availability of an FN protocol seemed to favor both approaches. These findings should be complemented by qualitative assessments of barriers to best practices and should support the need for interventions to improve antibiotic use in febrile neutropenia

Biological actions and determinant factors of the circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor type 1, IGF-1, in the horse

El eje somatotrópico es esencial para el desarrollo somático del organismo, determinando el metabolismo celular. Aunque está constituido por diversas hormonas, los componentes esenciales son tres: la insulina, la hormona de crecimiento o GH y los factores de crecimiento similares a la insulina, tipos 1 y 2 (IGF-1 e IGF-2). La cuantificación de la GH es complicada debido, en primer lugar, a su liberación episódica hacia la circulación sistémica y en segundo lugar, a su corta vida media en sangre, unos 20 min. Uno de los lugares de actuación de la GH es el hígado, donde induce la síntesis de IGF-1 e IGF-2. La cuantificación de estos factores, por tanto, se considera un marcador fiable de la función hipofisaria y de la actividad del eje somatotrópico. En la presente revisión bibliográfica, en primer lugar, se describen las principales acciones biológicas del IGF-1. En segundo lugar, se presentan los factores principales que afectan significativamente a sus concentraciones circulantes. Entre estos factores, destacan el tamaño corporal, raza, edad, sexo, momento de la extracción de la muestra, ritmos circadianos, dieta, privación de comida, ejercicio y entrenamiento. El efecto de estos factores debe ser conocido antes de llevar a cabo una aplicación clínica e investigadora del IGF-1 en el caballoThe somatotropic axis is pivotal for somatic development and cell metabolism. Although it is composed by several hormones, the most important components are three: insulin, growth hormone or GH and insulin-like growth factors type 1 and 2 (IGF- 1 and IGF-2). The measurement of GH is difficult and inaccurate, because two main reasons: firstly, the GH hormone is released in an episodic way and secondly, its blood half-life is short, about 20 min. The GH hormone has significant actions on the liver, inducing the synthesis of IGF-1 and IGF-2. The measurement of these factors, therefore, is considered a reliable marker of the activity of the hypophysis and the somatotropic axis. In the present review, firstly, we will describe the main biological actions of the IGF-1 and secondly, we will define the main factors that could significantly influence the circulating concentrations of IGF-1. Among these factors, the most important are body size, breed, age, gender, time of blood extraction, circadian rhythms, diet, food privation, exercise and training. The effect of these factors should be assessed prior to extended clinical and research use of IGF-1 in horse

Octreotide - Additional Conservative Therapy for Postoperative Chylothorax in Congenital Heart Disease

INTRODUCTION: Chylothorax is a rare but serious postoperative condition in children with congenital heart disease. Conventional medical treatment consists of specific long-term dietary modification, and surgical reintervention, such as lymphatic duct ligation, may be indicated in refractory cases. In recent years, an additional conservative treatment, octreotide, a synthetic analog of somatostatin, has been used in management of congenital and postoperative chylothorax. METHODS: The objective of this work was to analyze the efficacy and safety of this treatment for chylothorax after congenital heart surgery. We reviewed the records of sixteen patients with chylothorax after surgery for congenital heart disease between January 1999 and December 2007, and collected the following data: demographic information; type of surgical procedure; onset, duration and management of chylothorax and treatment; and duration of hospital stay. To analyze efficacy we compared these parameters in children receiving conventional treatment only with those receiving octreotide. To analyze safety we compared the adverse effects of both treatments. Octreotide was administered at a dose of 4 to 10 microg/kg/hour, with monitoring of side effects. RESULTS: The incidence of chylothorax in our population was 1.6%. It occurred more often after Glenn and Fontan procedures (8 patients). Octreotide was begun three days after diagnosis of chylothorax and continued for a median of seventeen days (ranging from 4 to 26 days), until complete resolution. Side effects were frequent (in 3 of the 8 patients) but of no clinical relevance. All patients responded to the therapy and there was no indication for further surgical intervention. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Octreotide is safe and effective in the treatment of postoperative chylothorax in children with congenital heart disease. It is a useful adjunctive therapy to the conventional treatment of this complication

Explosive development of winter storm Xynthia over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

In winter of 2009–2010 south-western Europe was hit by several destructive windstorms. The most important was Xynthia (26–28 February 2010), which caused 64 reported casualties and was classified as the 2nd most expensive natural hazard event for 2010 in terms of economic losses. In this work we assess the synoptic evolution, dynamical characteristics and the main impacts of storm Xynthia, whose genesis, development and path were very uncommon. Wind speed gusts observed at more than 500 stations across Europe are evaluated as well as the wind gust field obtained with a regional climate model simulation for the entire North Atlantic and European area. Storm Xynthia was first identified on 25 February around 30° N, 50° W over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. Its genesis occurred on a region characterized by warm and moist air under the influence of a strong upper level wave embedded in the westerlies. Xynthia followed an unusual SW–NE path towards Iberia, France and central Europe. The role of moist air masses on the explosive development of Xynthia is analysed by considering the evaporative sources. A lagrangian model is used to identify the moisture sources, sinks and moisture transport associated with the cyclone during its development phase. The main supply of moisture is located over an elongated region of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean with anomalously high SST, confirming that the explosive development of storm Xynthia had a significant contribution from the subtropics