Towards a universal sampling protocol for soil biotas in the humid tropics

This paper reviews the methods for the inventory of below-ground biotas in the humid tropics, to document the (hypothesized) loss of soil biodiversity associated with deforestation and agricultural intensification at forest margins. The biotas were grouped into eight categories, each of which corresponded to a major functional group considered important or essential to soil function. An accurate inventory of soil organisms can assist in ecosystem management and help sustain agricultural production. The advantages and disadvantages of transect-based and grid-based sampling methods are discussed, illustrated by published protocols ranging from the original "TSBF transect", through versions developed for the alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Project (ASB) to the final schemes (with variants) adopted by the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Below-ground Biodiversity Project (CSM-BGBD). Consideration is given to the place and importance of replication in below-ground biological sampling and it is argued that the new sampling protocols are inclusive, i.e. designed to sample all eight biotic groups in the same field exercise; spatially scaled, i.e. provide biodiversity data at site, locality, landscape and regional levels, and link the data to land use and land cover; and statistically robust, as shown by a partial randomization of plot locations for sampling.

Outcome of a Modified Broström-Gould Procedure for Lateral Ankle Instability

Introduction: Ankle sprains affect 200'000 persons/year in Switzerland. Most incidences are successfully treated by conservative measures but 20% require reconstruction for symptomatic chronic lateral ankle instability. This study evaluates the functional outcome after a modified Broström-Gould technique as measured by different clinical scores and compares the functional outcome of this technique with other surgical treatments of ankle instability. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluates 47 patients who underwent a modified Broström-Gould procedure using suture anchors to refix the lateral ankle capsuloligamentary structures at our institution from 2005 to 2009 with a minimum follow-up of one year (13-72 Mo). All patients were operated by one single surgeon and evaluated by an independent examiner. The function was assessed using 4 scores including: the AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society's Score) hindfoot score; the FAAM (Foot and Ankle Ability Measurement); the CAIT (Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool); the CAIS (Chronic Ankle Instability Scale). Results: Six patients were excluded leaving 41 patients for examination. 34 patients (83%) thought that their ankle was more stable after the surgery, 7 (17%) did not feel any difference. 27 patients were very satisfied, 11 satisfied and 3 not satisfied. Reasons for non satisfaction included persistent instability and pain. Ankle mobility returned to normal in 93% of patients. Five patients had transcient hypoesthesy in the area of the superficial peroneal nerve. One patient suffered from a superficial infection treated successfully by local measures. 80% had the perception of a normal ankle, 20% thought to be below normal. At follow-up the AOFAS was 89/100 (37-100), the FAAM 85/100% (35-100%), the CAIT 20/30 (5-30), and the CAIS 74/100% (27-100%). Conclusions: The modified Broström-Gould procedure, which belongs to the anatomic ankle stabilizations is relatively simple and offers good outcome that satisfied 93% of the patients in the present study. No active stabilisator is sacrificed. Preservation of the ankle mobility is better and the complication rate is lower than after non-anatomical procedures described in the literature. The CAIT appeared as the most severe score compared to the other scales used in our study.

Cannabis and tobacco co-consumptions: can cannabis consumers quit cigarette smoking?

Purpose: To assess the relation between cannabis and tobacco consumption among adolescents in Switzerland and whether cannabis and tobacco co-users can quit cigarette smoking. Methods: Based on individual interviews and focus groups, 22 youths aged 15-20 discussed cannabis consumption behaviours. Twenty (14 males) were cannabis consumers - of which 18 also smoked tobacco and 2 quit tobacco smoking - and 2 were former cannabis consumers (both females and daily smokers). Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Atlas.ti qualitative analysis software. Results: Among the co-consumers, 9 started with tobacco, 7 with cannabis, and 2 with both. The main consumption mode among all cannabis consumers is joints, while other ways of consuming such as food preparations and water pipes are rare and experimental. Joints always mix cannabis with tobacco for 3 reasons: to burn correctly, pure cannabis is too strong, and smoking cannabis alone is too expensive. Two cannabis consumers - one former tobacco smoker and one occasional tobacco smoker - consider rolling tobacco less addictive than cigarette tobacco alone, and hence use it in their joints. Overall cannabis is considered 'natural' and less harmful to health than tobacco. Thus, many users describe their wish, in the longer term, to quit tobacco consumption without excluding occasional cannabis consumption. Nonetheless, all coconsumers declare that they smoke cigarettes as a substitute for cannabis: For example, "If I don't have a joint, I need fags; if I don't have fags, I need joints; and if I don't have anything, I go crazy!" or "About 20 minutes after smoking a joint we feel like smoking something again, because in the joint there is pure tobacco without a filter as in cigarettes, and that creates a crazy dependency!". Finally, all co-consumers state that the consumption of one of the substances increases when trying to diminish the other: "A few months ago I stopped smoking joints for a month. Well I was smoking more than a pack [of cigarettes] a day." Similarly, the 2 former cannabis consumers increased their cigarette use since quitting cannabis. Conclusions: The majority of cannabis users co-consume tobacco as a way of compensating for one substance or the other. Using tobacco within joints implies that there is a risk that even occasional joints can revive nicotine addiction. Consequently, health professionals wishing to help adolescents in substance use cessation and prevention efforts should consider both substances in a global perspective. Sources of Support: Dept. of Public Health of the canton of Vaud.

Assessment of rubber tree panels under crowns resistant to South American leaf blight

The objective of this work was to assess the performance of panel clones under crowns resistant to South American leaf blight (Microcyclus ulei). The experiment was carried out with 18 panel clones crown-budded with Hevea pauciflora x H. guianensis, in a Xanthic Ferralsol (Oxisol) in Manaus, AM, Brazil. The following parameters were evaluated: dry rubber yield, plant nutritional status, and anatomical and physiological characteristics of the latex vessels. In the first three years of evaluation, the panel clones IAN 2878, IAN 2903, CNS AM 7905, CNS AM 7905 P1, and PB 28/59 showed the highest dry rubber yield potential, while the clones IAN 6158, IAN 6590, and IAN 6515 should not be recommended for crown budding. Higher potassium and copper foliar content in panel clones were associated to an increase in dry rubber yield. The simultaneous evaluation of anatomical and physiological characteristics of latex is fundamental for the selection of panel clones in the Amazon region. Crown budding is an efficient technology for South American leaf blight management in endemic regions.

Burnout en la profesión enfermera: una aproximación bibliométrica inicial

Objetivo: obtener datos del estado de la investigación sobre burnout en profesionales de la Enfennerfa desde 1952 hasta el año 2011. Método: búsqueda bibliográfica electrónica de la literatura relevante publicada sobre el burnout de las enfermeras hasta diciembre del 2011. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron: PubMed (Medline), BVSalud Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, Biblioteca Complutense de Madrid, Trip Database, DOAJ (Directory ofOpen Acces Journals), ENFlSPO, BioMed, Cochrane, Dialnet, Gopubmed, Psyke: catálogo de artículos sobre psicología en español, Highwire Standford University, Science Direct, SciELO, Cinahl, Cuiden, Cuidatge y Wylley-Blackwell. Resultados y conclusiones: se obtuvieron 4.506 artículos. La media de producción anual durante los 60 años analizados fue de 75,l, presentó unos niveles bajos durante los primeros años y no fue hasta 1981 cuando la producción aumentó de manera importante. El análisis de la productividad por autores revela que la mayor parte de los mismos solamente han publicado un artículo durante este periodo, y solo un 22% del total han producido más de diez artículos durante este periodo. El grupo de las diez revistas más productivas representa el 21,4% de la producción total de artículos incluidos en el estudio. El 68,l% proceden de revistas de Enfermería.

Burnout en la profesión enfermera: una aproximación bibliométrica inicial

Objetivo: obtener datos del estado de la investigación sobre burnout en profesionales de la Enfennerfa desde 1952 hasta el año 2011. Método: búsqueda bibliográfica electrónica de la literatura relevante publicada sobre el burnout de las enfermeras hasta diciembre del 2011. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron: PubMed (Medline), BVSalud Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, Biblioteca Complutense de Madrid, Trip Database, DOAJ (Directory ofOpen Acces Journals), ENFlSPO, BioMed, Cochrane, Dialnet, Gopubmed, Psyke: catálogo de artículos sobre psicología en español, Highwire Standford University, Science Direct, SciELO, Cinahl, Cuiden, Cuidatge y Wylley-Blackwell. Resultados y conclusiones: se obtuvieron 4.506 artículos. La media de producción anual durante los 60 años analizados fue de 75,l, presentó unos niveles bajos durante los primeros años y no fue hasta 1981 cuando la producción aumentó de manera importante. El análisis de la productividad por autores revela que la mayor parte de los mismos solamente han publicado un artículo durante este periodo, y solo un 22% del total han producido más de diez artículos durante este periodo. El grupo de las diez revistas más productivas representa el 21,4% de la producción total de artículos incluidos en el estudio. El 68,l% proceden de revistas de Enfermería.

Burnout en la profesión enfermera: una aproximación bibliométrica inicial

Objetivo: obtener datos del estado de la investigación sobre burnout en profesionales de la Enfennerfa desde 1952 hasta el año 2011. Método: búsqueda bibliográfica electrónica de la literatura relevante publicada sobre el burnout de las enfermeras hasta diciembre del 2011. Las bases de datos consultadas fueron: PubMed (Medline), BVSalud Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, Biblioteca Complutense de Madrid, Trip Database, DOAJ (Directory ofOpen Acces Journals), ENFlSPO, BioMed, Cochrane, Dialnet, Gopubmed, Psyke: catálogo de artículos sobre psicología en español, Highwire Standford University, Science Direct, SciELO, Cinahl, Cuiden, Cuidatge y Wylley-Blackwell. Resultados y conclusiones: se obtuvieron 4.506 artículos. La media de producción anual durante los 60 años analizados fue de 75,l, presentó unos niveles bajos durante los primeros años y no fue hasta 1981 cuando la producción aumentó de manera importante. El análisis de la productividad por autores revela que la mayor parte de los mismos solamente han publicado un artículo durante este periodo, y solo un 22% del total han producido más de diez artículos durante este periodo. El grupo de las diez revistas más productivas representa el 21,4% de la producción total de artículos incluidos en el estudio. El 68,l% proceden de revistas de Enfermería.

Producción y propiedades químicas del caucho en clones de Hevea según los estados fenológicos

El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el desempeño productivo y el contenido de macronutrientes del caucho extraído de cuatro clones de Hevea brasiliensis, en diferentes sistemas de sangría y estados fenológicos de las plantas. El experimento fue realizado en los años agrícolas de 2010 y 2011, en diseño experimental de bloques completos al azar, en parcelas subdivididas, con cuatro repeticiones. Los tratamientos principales - clones GT 1, PB 235, IAN 873 e RRIM 600 - fueron ubicados en las parcelas, y los subtratamientos, que fueron los sistemas de sangría ½S d/2, ½S d/4 ET 2,5% y ½S d/7 ET 2,5%, se ubicaron en las subparcelas. Las variables analizadas fueron producción y contenido de macronutrientes. Las muestras fueron obtenidas en los estados fenológicos de brotación foliar, hojas maduras y senescencia foliar. La producción y los contenidos de macronutrientes del caucho son más influenciados por la práctica de sangría que por el material genético en los estados fenológicos más restrictivos para el follaje de caucho.

Qualitative grading of severity of lumbar spinal stenosis based on the morphology of the dural sac on magnetic resonance images.

STUDY DESIGN.: Retrospective radiologic study on a prospective patient cohort. OBJECTIVE.: To devise a qualitative grading of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), study its reliability and clinical relevance. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Radiologic stenosis is assessed commonly by measuring dural sac cross-sectional area (DSCA). Great variation is observed though in surfaces recorded between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. METHODS.: We describe a 7-grade classification based on the morphology of the dural sac as observed on T2 axial magnetic resonance images based on the rootlet/cerebrospinal fluid ratio. Grades A and B show cerebrospinal fluid presence while grades C and D show none at all. The grading was applied to magnetic resonance images of 95 subjects divided in 3 groups as follows: 37 symptomatic LSS surgically treated patients; 31 symptomatic LSS conservatively treated patients (average follow-up, 2.5 and 3.1 years); and 27 low back pain (LBP) sufferers. DSCA was also digitally measured. We studied intra- and interobserver reliability, distribution of grades, relation between morphologic grading and DSCA, as well relation between grades, DSCA, and Oswestry Disability Index. RESULTS.: Average intra- and interobserver agreement was substantial and moderate, respectively (k = 0.65 and 0.44), whereas they were substantial for physicians working in the study originating unit. Surgical patients had the smallest DSCA. A larger proportion of C and D grades was observed in the surgical group. Surface measurementsresulted in overdiagnosis of stenosis in 35 patients and under diagnosis in 12. No relation could be found between stenosis grade or DSCA and baseline Oswestry Disability Index or surgical result. C and D grade patients were more likely to fail conservative treatment, whereas grades A and B were less likely to warrant surgery. CONCLUSION.: The grading defines stenosis in different subjects than surface measurements alone. Since it mainly considers impingement of neural tissue it might be a more appropriate clinical and research tool as well as carrying a prognostic value.

Desempenho de clones de copa e painel de seringueira no sudoeste do Estado do Mato Grosso

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de 12 combinações de três clones de painel (PB 311, PB 314 e RRIM 600) com quatro clones de copa (F 4512, MDF 180, IAN 6158 e IAN 6543) de seringueira cultivados no sudoeste do Estado do Mato Grosso. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições. Foram avaliados: produção de borracha seca, percentagem de plantas aptas à sangria, secamento de painel, estado nutricional, teor de borracha seca, plasticidade Wallace (P0 e P30), índice de retenção de plasticidade e viscosidade Mooney. As combinações das copas IAN 6543 e MDF 180 com os painéis PB 311, RRIM 600 e PB 314 apresentaram estado nutricional adequado, com produtividade de borracha seca acima de 1,41 Mg ha-1 por ano. O clone de copa IAN 6158 propiciou, em oito anos, as maiores quantidades de plantas aptas à sangria. As combinações painel/copa apresentaram baixa incidência de secamento de painel, exceto PB 311 x IAN 6158. As borrachas das 12 combinações painel/copa apresentam boa resistência à degradação térmica e alta retenção de plasticidade.

6.2

Airborne particles can come from a variety of sources and contain variable chemical constituents. Some particles are formed by natural processes, such as volcanoes, erosion, sea spray, and forest fires, while other are formed by anthropogenic processes, such as industrial- and motor vehicle-related combustion, road-related wear, and mining. In general, larger particles (those greater than 2.5 μm) are formed by mechanical processes, while those less than 2.5 μm are formed by combustion processes. The chemical composition of particles is highly influenced by the source: for combustion-related particles, factors such as temperature of combustion, fuel type, and presence of oxygen or other gases can also have a large impact on PM composition. These differences can often be observed at a regional level, such as the greater sulphate-composition of PM in regions that burn coal for electricity production (which contains sulphur) versus regions that do not. Most countries maintain air monitoring networks, and studies based on the resulting data are the most common basis for epidemiology studies on the health effects of PM. Data from these monitoring stations can be used to evaluate the relationship between community-level exposure to ambient particles and health outcomes (i.e., morbidity or mortality from various causes). Respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes are the most commonly assessed, although studies have also considered other related specific outcomes such as diabetes and congenital heart disease. The data on particle characteristics is usually not very detailed and most often includes some combination of PM2.5, PM10, sulphate, and NO2. Other descriptors that are less commonly found include particle number (ultrafine particles), metal components of PM, local traffic intensity, and EC/OC. Measures of association are usually reported per 10 μg/m3 or interquartile range increase in pollutant concentration. As the exposure data are taken from regional monitoring stations, the measurements are not representative of an individual's exposure. Particle size is an important descriptor for understanding where in the human respiratory system the particles will deposit: as a general rule, smaller particles penetrate to deeper regions of the lungs. Initial studies on the health effects of particulate matter focused on mass of the particles, including either all particles (often termed total suspended particulate or TSP) or PM10 (all particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm). More recently, studies have considered both PM10 and PM2.5, with the latter corresponding more directly to combustion-related processes. UFPs are a dominant source of particles in terms of PNC, yet are negligible in terms of mass. Very few epidemiology studies have measured the effect of UFPs on health; however, the numbers of studies on this topic are increasing. In addition to size, chemical composition is of importance when understanding the toxicity of particles. Some studies consider the composition of particles in addition to mass; however this is not common, in part due the cost and labour involved in such analyses.

Insurance coverage of pediatric burns: Switzerland versus USA.

Burn care and research have significantly improved over the past years. However, insurance coverage of such treatments does not reflect the improvements in this multi-disciplinary field. Government insurance policies in first world countries renown for burn care treatment, such as Switzerland and the United States, have not adapted to the complexity and longitudinal nature of burn care. Using case studies from both countries, we have analyzed both the institutional and policy approach to pediatric burn treatment coverage. Subsequently, by presenting the Shriners burn care model, we offer a policy recommendation to both the Swiss and the American governments to better their present legislation and infrastructure on pediatric burn coverage.

Medial migration of lag screw after gamma nailing.

Fractures of the proximal femur are common in the elderly population. Intramedullary nailing has become the standard treatment for intertrochanteric fractures although several extramedullary implants (e.g. dynamic hip screw (DHS), blade plate, locking compression plate (LCP), etc.) exist. However, despite this being a very common operation in traumatology, there are numerous associated complications. We report the rare complication of the migration of the medial lag screw into the pelvis at five and a half weeks postoperatively. The implant was removed and replaced by a total hip arthroplasty with simultaneous grafting of the acetabular defect and strapping of the greater trochanter. The evolution was favourable. We also present a review of the literature and analyze our case.