Effectiveness of heparin versus 0.9% saline solution in maintaining the permeability of central venous catheters: a systematic review

Abstract OBJECTIVE Determining which is the most effective solution (heparin flush compared to 0.9% saline flush) for reducing the risk of occlusions in central venous catheters (CVC) in adults. METHOD The systematic review followed the principles proposed by the Cochrane Handbook; critical analysis, extraction and synthesis of data were performed by two independent researchers; statistical analysis was performed using the RevMan program 5.2.8. RESULTS Eight randomized controlled trials and one cohort study were included and the results of the meta-analysis showed no difference (RR=0.68, 95% CI=0.41-1.10; p=0.12). Analysis by subgroups showed that there was no difference in fully deployed CVC (RR=1.09, CI 95%=0.53-2.22;p=0.82); Multi-Lumen CVC showed beneficial effects in the heparin group (RR=0.53, CI 95%=0.29-0.95; p=0.03); in Double-Lumen CVC for hemodialysis (RR=1.18, CI 95%=0.08-17.82;p=0.90) and Peripherally inserted CVC (RR=0.14, CI 95%=0.01-2.60; p=0.19) also showed no difference. CONCLUSION Saline solution is sufficient for maintaining patency of the central venous catheter, preventing the risks associated with heparin administration.

Seeing the Wood through the Trees: The Current State of Higher Systematics in the Strepsirhini.

Strepsirhines comprise 10 living or recently extinct families, ≥50% of extant primate families. Their phylogenetic relationships have been intensively studied, but common topologies have only recently emerged; e.g. all recent reconstructions link the Lepilemuridae and Cheirogaleidae. The position of the indriids, however, remains uncertain, and molecular studies have placed them as the sister to every clade except Daubentonia, the preferred sister group of morphologists. The node subtending Afro-Asian lorisids has been similarly elusive. We probed these phylogenetic inconsistencies using a test data set including 20 strepsirhine taxa and 2 outgroups represented by 3,543 mtDNA base pairs, and 43 selected morphological characters, subjecting the data to maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, and reconstructing topology and node ages jointly from the molecular data using relaxed molecular clock analyses. Our permutations yielded compatible but not identical evolutionary histories, and currently popular techniques seem unable to deal adequately with morphological data. We investigated the influence of morphological characters on tree topologies, and examined the effect of taxon sampling in two experiments: (1) we removed the molecular data only for 5 endangered Malagasy taxa to simulate 'extinction leaving a fossil record'; (2) we removed both the sequence and morphological data for these taxa. Topologies were affected more by the inclusion of morphological data only, indicating that palaeontological studies that involve inserting a partial morphological data set into a combined data matrix of extant species should be interpreted with caution. The gap of approximately 10 million years between the daubentoniid divergence and those of the other Malagasy families deserves more study. The apparently contemporaneous divergence of African and non-daubentoniid Malagasy families 40-30 million years ago may be related to regional plume-induced uplift followed by a global period of cooling and drying. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Tree-Trim Tips: Consumer Tips for Iowans with Storm-Damaged Trees, January 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: International Lottery Schemes: You're the Loser!

Rate of convergence of a particle method to the solution of the Mc Kean-Vlasov's equation

This paper studies the rate of convergence of an appropriatediscretization scheme of the solution of the Mc Kean-Vlasovequation introduced by Bossy and Talay. More specifically,we consider approximations of the distribution and of thedensity of the solution of the stochastic differentialequation associated to the Mc Kean - Vlasov equation. Thescheme adopted here is a mixed one: Euler/weakly interactingparticle system. If $n$ is the number of weakly interactingparticles and $h$ is the uniform step in the timediscretization, we prove that the rate of convergence of thedistribution functions of the approximating sequence in the $L^1(\Omega\times \Bbb R)$ norm and in the sup norm is of theorder of $\frac 1{\sqrt n} + h $, while for the densities is ofthe order $ h +\frac 1 {\sqrt {nh}}$. This result is obtainedby carefully employing techniques of Malliavin Calculus.

The struggle against creative accounting: Is "true and fair view" part of the problem or part of the solution?

Creative accounting is a growing issue of interest in Spain. In this article we argue that the concept true and fair view can limit or promote the use of creative accounting depending upon its interpretation. We review the range of meanings that true and fair view can take at an international level and compare the experience of the United Kingdom with the Australian one by analysing the use of true and fair view to limit creative accounting. Finally, we suggest lines of action to be considered by the Spanish accounting standards-setting institutions.

Direct visualization of supercoiled DNA molecules in solution.

The shape of supercoiled DNA molecules in solution is directly visualized by cryo-electron microscopy of vitrified samples. We observe that: (i) supercoiled DNA molecules in solution adopt an interwound rather than a toroidal form, (ii) the diameter of the interwound superhelix changes from about 12 nm to 4 nm upon addition of magnesium salt to the solution and (iii) the partition of the linking deficit between twist and writhe can be quantitatively determined for individual molecules.

Temporal variation in the composition of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on trees in the Pantanal floodplain, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Temporal variation in the composition of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on trees in the Pantanal floodplain, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. In this paper we investigate how seasonal flooding influences the composition of assemblages of ants foraging on trees in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul. During the flood in the Pantanal, a large area is covered by floods that are the main forces that regulate the pattern of diversity in these areas. However, the effects of such natural disturbances in the ant communities are poorly known. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of temporal variation in assemblages of ants foraging on trees in the Pantanal of Miranda. Samples were collected during a year in two adjacent areas, one who suffered flooding during the wet period and another that did not suffer flooding throughout the year. In 10 sites for each evaluated habitat, five pitfall traps were installed at random in trees 25 m apart from each other. In the habitat with flooding, the highest richness was observed during the flooding period, while there was no significant change in richness in the area that does not suffer flooding. The diversity of species between the two evaluated habitats varied significantly during the two seasons. Most ants sampled belong to species that forage and nest in soil. This suggests that during the flood in flooded habitats, ants that did not migrate to higher areas without flooding adopt the strategy to search for resources in the tree canopy.

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants. Members of the dipteran families Tephritidae and Cecidomyiidae are inducers of stem-galls in Eremanthus erythropappus (DC.) MacLeish (Asteraceae), a tree common in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. When senescent, these galls become available to other organisms, such as ants. The present study describes a community of ants having benefitted from this process of ecosystem-engineering. The colonies in question inhabit the senescent stem-galls of trees of E. erythropappus and were examined in view of answering the following questions: i) whether the presence of stem-galls had any bearing on the richness, composition, or size of the ant colonies therein; and ii) whether the ants displayed any preferences regarding the shape and/or size of the galls. The study was conducted in populations of E. erythropappus trees near the city of Ouro Preto, MG. A total of 227 galls were collected, 14% of which were occupied by ants, belonging to eight different species. Half of the species occupied galls of both morphotypes (fusiform and globular), although we observed a marked preference for larger, globular shapes. Overall, our results showed the galls to be an effective and abundant resource, helping to maintain the diversity of the ants in the canopy. We also observed the occurrence of outstations and polydomic nests, although an in-depth examination of the influence of galls on this type of structuring has not been investigated.

The development of a stable oral solution of captopril for paediatric patients

Study objectives: Many major drugs are not available in paediatric form. The aim of this study was to develop a stable liquid solution of captopril for oral paediatric use allowing individualised dosage and easy administration to newborn and young patients. Methods: A specific HPLC-UV method was developed. In a pilot study, a number of formulations described in the literature as affording one-month stability were examined. In the proper long-term study, the formulation that gave the best results was then prepared in large batches and its stability monitored for two years at 5°C and room temperature, and for one year at 40°C. Results: Most formulations described in the literature were found wanting in our pilot study. A simple solution of the drug (1 mg/mL) in purified water (European Pharmacopeia) containing 0.1% disodium edetate (EDTA-Na) as preservative proved chemically and microbiologically stable at 5°C and room temperature for two years. Conclusion: The proposed in-house formulation fulfils stringent criteria of purity and stability and is fully acceptable for oral administration to newborn and young patients.

Generalized Multiobjective Multitree model solution using MOEA

In a previous paper a novel Generalized Multiobjective Multitree model (GMM-model) was proposed. This model considers for the first time multitree-multicast load balancing with splitting in a multiobjective context, whose mathematical solution is a whole Pareto optimal set that can include several results than it has been possible to find in the publications surveyed. To solve the GMM-model, in this paper a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) inspired by the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA) is proposed. Experimental results considering up to 11 different objectives are presented for the well-known NSF network, with two simultaneous data flows