A synopsis of success: honey bees out of Africa

Fantástico como categoria estética: Diferenças entre os monstros de Ana Teresa Pereira e Lídia Jorg

Recovery for Loss of Chance in a Wrongful Death Action—Herskovits v. Group Health, 99 Wn. 2d 609, 664 P.2d 474 (1983)

In Herskovits v. Group Health, the Washington Supreme Court held that loss of a less-than-50% chance of survival is a compensable injury under the Washington wrongful death statute. The court did not agree, however, on the proper method for determining causation in a loss of chance case. Neither of the two methods of causation analysis proposed by the court is satisfactory. Recovery for loss of a less-than-50% chance of survival is not possible under traditional causation principles, and should be allowed only if a court is willing to adopt a possibility standard of proof and adjust damages to reflect the uncertainty of causation. This Note first outlines the policy justifications for allowing recovery for loss of a less-than-50% chance of survival. It then describes and evaluates the attempts by the Herskovits plurality and lead opinions to solve the causation problem. It concludes that neither approach is analytically successful, and that only a result-oriented approach can lead to recovery. Under this result-oriented approach, a court would adopt a possibility standard of proof for causation, and assess damages based on the statistical likelihood of causation

Odor Compound Detection in Male Euglossine Bees

Male euglossine bees collect fragrances from various sources, which they store and use for as yet unknown purposes. They are attracted, often specifically, to single odor compounds and blends thereof. We used gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and electroantennography (EAG) to investigate the response to 8 odor compounds by males of two euglossine species, Euglossa cybelia Moure and Eulaema polychroma (Mocsàry). In E. cybelia, we recorded EAD reactions in response to 1,8-cineole, methyl benzoate, benzyl actetate, methyl salicylate, eugenbl, and methyl cinnamate. E. polychroma responded to the same compounds in EAG experiments, while (ls)(-)α-pinene and β-pinene failed to trigger EAD or EAG responses in the bees. Blends of two compounds triggered larger responses than single compounds in EAG experiments with E. polychroma, however, when α-pinene was added, reactions decreased. In the light of existing data on the bees' behavior towards these odor compounds, our work indicates that both peripheral and central nervous processes influence the attraction of euglossine bees to odor

CROSSOVER FROM AUTOMATED TO MANUAL TITRATION OF FiO2 IN THE NICU: IS THERE A TRANSITION LAG?

Effective management of oxygenation of preterm infants in critical care profoundly impacts their outcome. Nurses are challenged to titrate the inspired oxygen in response to constant cardiopulmonary instability. Closed loop control of inspired oxygen based on continuous monitoring of oxygen saturation is just becoming available. Evaluating the relative effectiveness of closed loop control systems is complicated by the wide variability in manual control by nurses. This analysis explored the possibility of a lag in effective control associated with the transition from closed loop to manual control using data from a clinical crossover trial. A short but marked lag phase was detected. It is, however, unlikely to have impact on clinical care or crossover studies. Its presence highlights the anticipative nature of closed loop control as contrasted to the observative nature of manual control

PREVALENCE OF POTENTIALLY CLINICALLY RELEVANT COMPLEX EPISODES OF EXTREME SpO2 DURING MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF INSPIRED OXYGEN

Continuous monitoring with pulse oximetry is the standard of care for titrating inspired oxygen in the neonatal ICU. However titrating supplemental oxygen to address frequent desaturations is a challenging task for caregivers. Increasing exposure to SpO2 extremes is associated with increasingly poorer long-term outcomes. More recently the prevalence of prolonged episodes at extremes and cluster of short episodes have been reported to be also associated with bad outcomes. We speculated that more complex episodes might also have an impact on outcomes. We defined two sets of these: clusters and swings.  Automatic control of inspired oxygen based on continuous pulse oximetry, is available on many neonatal ventilators. Some have expressed concern that continuous adjustment of inspired oxygen, without observing the infant, might cause instability and thus increased prevalence of clusters and oscillations. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of these complex events and determine if they were more common during automated control. To accomplish this we analyzed data of 58 extremely preterm newborns that were ventilated at least 24 hours with manual inspiratory oxygen control and at least 24 hours with automated FiO2 control, in random order. We found that clusters and swings were quite prevalent, that is similar to the prevalence of prolonged episodes that have been shown to be associated with bad outcomes. We also found that these complex events were reduced during automated control, rather than increased. Finally, we suggest that additional research in this area is warranted.

EFFECT OF SAMPLING RATE ON THE ACCURACY OF MEASUREMENT OF NEONATAL OXYGEN SATURATION EXPOSURE

Patient data management systems are becoming commonplace in the ICU. While their intent is to automate patient charting, they provide a readily accessible, large database that would be potentially useful for clinical research and quality improvement projects. We sought to determine if patient data management information could be of value describing neonatal oxygenation saturation exposure (percent time in oxemic-ranges). Our primary measure was the accuracy of 60-second sampling over a 24-hour period, as compared to previously reported results in 23 infants. We found this to be highly accurate. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis using 3 other sampling rates (20, 30, 120 seconds) and 3 other time epochs (4, 12 and 48 hours). We found that sampling frequency and time epoch length impacted accuracy. Nevertheless these combinations could all be useful, if limitations are taken into account in the analysis design.

FREQUENCY AND DURATION OF OXIMETER DROP-OUTS IN THE NICU: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Oximeters used for continuous monitoring experience periods with no signal. This SpO2drop-out is widely acknowledged and its causes generally understood. This is a prospectively designed analysis of an existing database with the aim of characterizing drop-outs as experienced in the neonatal ICU. The data reflects 116 days of monitoring in seven tertiary care neonatal ICUs in 6 countries.  From the evaluation of 1,396 drop-outs we found that typically the time was minimal with missing SpO2 data, and the episodes were short (median 2.79 minutes per day IQR 0.17-76, median 22 seconds IQR: 15-37, respectively). During during about half of the days there were no prolonged dropouts (1 minute or longer), even so half of the total time spent with no SpO2data were in prolonged episodes (median length 110 seconds IQR 85-150). The predominate factor associated with excessive drop-out time was the number of prolonged episodes rather than their duration. We concluded that the impact of drop-outs during manual control of inspired oxygen primarily impact alarm fatigue, but that during automatic FiO2control they could have an important impact. The relative effectiveness of the fall-back strategies of these automatic control systems ought to be evaluated.

Use of Small-scale Disturbances to Establish Native Plants in an Abandoned Agricultural Field

Small-scale disturbances in plant communities create open patches that may allow new species to invade or suppressed species to become more abundant. We evaluated whether small-scale disturbances in an abandoned agricultural field dominated by exotic grasses could be used to increase abundance and diversity of native plants. Coverboards made of plywood (2 X 122 X 81cm) were laid out on a 15 meter by 15 meter grid in the South Hayfield at the Field Station in 2008 for a study of the Butler’s garter snake. The boards were kept in place until March 2010, creating many small-scale disturbances after removal of the boards. One of four treatments was applied to each of these experimental plots: 1) no seeding, or seeded with a mix of, 2) native forbs, 3) native grasses, or 4) both forbs and grasses. The plots were seeded in July 2010, and vegetation was sampled August - September 2011. Percent cover of each plant species was estimated in each disturbance plot. A paired undisturbed plot was sampled to describe the background vegetation of the field. Species richness and diversity were higher in disturbed plots than in the undisturbed community for both seeded and unseeded plots. Seeded plots had much greater abundance and diversity of native species than unseeded disturbances, particularly for plots seeded with forbs. The forb-only seed mix provided the highest establishment of seeded species after one full growing season, and suppressed exotic species more than the grass-only seed mix. However, only Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), and Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) established in more than half the plots in which they were seeded. Grasses established poorly compared to the most successful forb species. However, the grasses were very small plants after a single growing season; their frequency may have been underestimated and their cover may increase in subsequent seasons

Small-scale biogas plants in Vietnam: How are affected by policy issues?

Both developed and developing countries are working towards creating an emission free planet. Vietnam, as one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, has implemented several policies to curtail this phenomenon. Most of these policies are geared towards the development of renewable energy technologies such as biogas. The country’s policy on environmental protection, clean energy, climate change, and rural development has been based on small-scale biogas programs and projects. However, how are these small-scale biogas plants affected by arising policy issues? To answer this question, an intensive literature review was conducted and accompanied by a consultation with biogas experts with a focus on Vietnam. The data collected were analysed using the policy cycle analytical approach. The results showed that several policy instruments, such as the price of other conventional fuels and feed-in-tariffs, affect small-scale biogas plants. Furthermore, thousands of small-scale biogas plants have been installed due to good policies such as the Vietnam National Biogas Program. Finally, funding remains the biggest barrier to biogas policy amendments and implementation; the several biogas programs implemented over the decade could have yielded more positive impact if financial barriers like co-financing by the beneficiaries were set up more appropriately. In addition, new policies in the future will favour mid- to large-scale biogas plants rather than small-scale biogas plants. This policy implication threatens the sustainability of small-scale biogas plants; therefore, policy makers must be adroit in addressing policy issues that affect biogas production in Vietnam