Water Summary Update, August 4, 2016, No. 66

A snapshot of water resource trends prepared by the Iowa DNR in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the U.S. Geological Survey, and The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.

Branching dendrites with resonant membrane: a "sum-over-trips" approach

Dendrites form the major components of neurons. They are complex branching structures that receive and process thousands of synaptic inputs from other neurons. It is well known that dendritic morphology plays an important role in the function of dendrites. Another important contribution to the response characteristics of a single neuron comes from the intrinsic resonant properties of dendritic membrane. In this paper we combine the effects of dendritic branching and resonant membrane dynamics by generalising the "sum-over-trips" approach [Abbott, L.F., Fahri, E., Gutmann, S.: The path integral for dendritic trees. Biological Cybernetics 66, 49--60 (1991)]. To illustrate how this formalism can shed light on the role of architecture and resonances in determining neuronal output we consider dual recording and reconstruction data from a rat CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cell. Specifically we explore the way in which an $I_{h}$ current contributes to a voltage overshoot at the soma.

Aplicação do EMAR 66 a Sistemas de Aeronaves Não Tripuladas

Este trabalho de investigação tem como objetivo aferir quais as tarefas e valências específicas necessárias para a manutenção permanente de UAS, em contraste com os requisitos preconizados nos regulamentos de aeronavegabilidade permanente de aeronaves militares. A aeronavegabilidade consiste na avaliação e certificação de uma aeronave voar de acordo com os padrões de segurança estabelecidos. Esta é dividida em aeronavegabilidade continuada, que avalia a condição de uma aeronave após a sua construção, e a aeronavegabilidade permanente, que estabelece as ações de manutenção necessárias para manter os níveis de aeronavegabilidade pretendidos durante a sua operação. Para assegurar que os UAS atingem os padrões aeronáutica atuais, é importante perceber como os regulamentos podem ser adaptados para responder à sua especificidade. Para aferir quais as tarefas e valências de manutenção específicas para UAS, é desenvolvido um modelo qualitativo e indutivo fazendo uso da análise de literatura e dados recolhidos através de entrevistas estruturadas a pessoal de manutenção de UAS. As dimensões consideradas seguem o modelo SHELL preconizado pela ICAO para a análise de fatores humanos em sistemas aeronáuticos. A partir do modelo gerado, é sintetizado um conjunto de conteúdos curriculares como proposta para adequação a UAS dos conteúdos requeridos no EMAR 66. Abstract: This research work has the objective of assessing which specific tasks and skills are necessary for the continuous maintenance of UAS, in contrast with the requirements recommended in the rules and regulations for continuous airworthiness of militar aircrafts. Airworthiness consists on the evaluation and certification of the capability of an aircraft to fly in compliance with the established safety standards. It is divided in initial airworthiness, which evaluates the condition of na aircraft after its construction, and the continuous airworthiness, which establishes what are the necessary maintenance actions in order to keep the desired airworthiness levels during operation. In order to assure that UAS meet the current aeronautics standards, it is paramount to understand how the rules and regulations can be adapted to cope with its specific features. In order to understand which are the specific maintenance tasks and skills specific for UAS, it is developed a qualitative and inductive model taking into consideration a literature analysis and structured interviews to UAS maintenance personnel. The dimensions considered follow the SHELL model recommended by ICAO for the analysis of human factors in aviation. From the developed model, it is synthesized a set of learning topics that serves as a proposal for extending the basic skills required by the EMAR 66.

As versões portuguesas da GMFM-66 B&C e da GMFM-66 IS

A Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) é a medida de ouro para avaliar alterações na função motora ao longo do tempo ou em resposta a uma intervenção em crianças com Paralisia Cerebral (PC) (Russell D. , Rosenbaum, Avery, & Lane, 2002). Uma das barreiras à utilização mais frequente da GMFM é o seu tempo de administração, que dura entre 40 a 60 minutos. Para responder à necessidade de versões mais reduzidas da GMFM mas sem perder o seu carácter discriminativo e altamente sensível à mudança, foram publicadas as versões Gross Motor Function Measure- Item Sets (GMFM-66 IS) e a Gross Motor Function Measure Basal and Ceiling (GMFM-66-B&C), tornando a avaliação da função motora menos morosa, e assim melhorando a sua aplicabilidade. A GMFM-66 IS baseia-se num algoritmo para determinar quais os itens a serem avaliados e a GMFM-66 B&C tem como abordagem os efeitos de chão e teto de acordo com as idades e níveis do Sistema de Classificação da Função Motora Grosseira (SCFMG) (Brutton & Bartlett, 2011). O objetivo deste estudo foi criar as versões portuguesas da GMFM-IS e GMFM-B&C. Tratou-se de um estudo de natureza metodológica, descritivo, longitudinal em crianças com PC, dividido em duas fases: 1. Tradução e adaptação cultural e linguística da GMFM-66 IS e da GMFM-66 B&C; 2. Estudo de validação com análise da fiabilidade (coerência interna, reprodutibilidade e fiabilidade inter-observador), validade e poder de resposta. A amostra em estudo foi constituída por 100 crianças com PC com idades compreendidas entre os 2 e os 12 anos, representativa de todos os 5 níveis do Sistema de Classificação da Função Motora Global. As versões portuguesas da GMFM-66-IS e da GMFM-66-B&C apresentam equivalência conceptual e semântica com as versões originais revelando fácil aplicabilidade. Demonstrou-se que as versões reduzidas portuguesas da GMFM apresentam muito boa consistência interna, com valores globais do Alfa de Cronbach de 0,998, muito boa concordância entre os avaliadores (ICC de 0,998 para a GMFM-66-B&C e de 0,999 para a GMFM-66-IS), e com valores de fiabilidade intra-observador excelentes (ICC de 0,999 para a GMFM-66-B&C e de 1,000 para a GMFM-66-IS). Quanto ao poder de resposta os resultados não foram tão expressivos, provavelmente comprometidos por uma amostra demasiado pequena. As versões portuguesas da GMFM-66-IS e da GMFM-66-B&C revelaram ter características psicométricas adequadas à sua aplicação em PC, necessitando, no entanto, de mais investigação relativamente à sua capacidade de detetar mudança como resultado de intervenções.

Midazolam for sedation before procedures

BACKGROUND: Midazolam is used for sedation before diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures. It is an imidazole benzodiazepine that has depressant effects on the central nervous system (CNS) with rapid onset of action and few adverse effects. The drug can be administered by several routes including oral, intravenous, intranasal and intramuscular. OBJECTIVES: To determine the evidence on the effectiveness of midazolam for sedation when administered before a procedure (diagnostic or therapeutic). SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL to January 2016), MEDLINE in Ovid (1966 to January 2016) and Ovid EMBASE (1980 to January 2016). We imposed no language restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials in which midazolam, administered to participants of any age, by any route, at any dose or any time before any procedure (apart from dental procedures), was compared with placebo or other medications including sedatives and analgesics. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors extracted data and assessed risk of bias for each included study. We performed a separate analysis for each different drug comparison. MAIN RESULTS: We included 30 trials (2319 participants) of midazolam for gastrointestinal endoscopy (16 trials), bronchoscopy (3), diagnostic imaging (5), cardioversion (1), minor plastic surgery (1), lumbar puncture (1), suturing (2) and Kirschner wire removal (1). Comparisons were: intravenous diazepam (14), placebo (5) etomidate (1) fentanyl (1), flunitrazepam (1) and propofol (1); oral chloral hydrate (4), diazepam (2), diazepam and clonidine (1); ketamine (1) and placebo (3); and intranasal placebo (2). There was a high risk of bias due to inadequate reporting about randomization (75% of trials). Effect estimates were imprecise due to small sample sizes. None of the trials reported on allergic or anaphylactoid reactions. Intravenous midazolam versus diazepam (14 trials; 1069 participants)There was no difference in anxiety (risk ratio (RR) 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.39 to 1.62; 175 participants; 2 trials) or discomfort/pain (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.49; 415 participants; 5 trials; I² = 67%). Midazolam produced greater anterograde amnesia (RR 0.45; 95% CI 0.30 to 0.66; 587 participants; 9 trials; low-quality evidence). Intravenous midazolam versus placebo (5 trials; 493 participants)One trial reported that fewer participants who received midazolam were anxious (3/47 versus 15/35; low-quality evidence). There was no difference in discomfort/pain identified in a further trial (3/85 in midazolam group; 4/82 in placebo group; P = 0.876; very low-quality evidence). Oral midazolam versus chloral hydrate (4 trials; 268 participants)Midazolam increased the risk of incomplete procedures (RR 4.01; 95% CI 1.92 to 8.40; moderate-quality evidence). Oral midazolam versus placebo (3 trials; 176 participants)Midazolam reduced pain (midazolam mean 2.56 (standard deviation (SD) 0.49); placebo mean 4.62 (SD 1.49); P < 0.005) and anxiety (midazolam mean 1.52 (SD 0.3); placebo mean 3.97 (SD 0.44); P < 0.0001) in one trial with 99 participants. Two other trials did not find a difference in numerical rating of anxiety (mean 1.7 (SD 2.4) for 20 participants randomized to midazolam; mean 2.6 (SD 2.9) for 22 participants randomized to placebo; P = 0.216; mean Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Inventory score 47.56 (SD 11.68) in the midazolam group; mean 52.78 (SD 9.61) in placebo group; P > 0.05). Intranasal midazolam versus placebo (2 trials; 149 participants)Midazolam induced sedation (midazolam mean 3.15 (SD 0.36); placebo mean 2.56 (SD 0.64); P < 0.001) and reduced the numerical rating of anxiety in one trial with 54 participants (midazolam mean 17.3 (SD 18.58); placebo mean 49.3 (SD 29.46); P < 0.001). There was no difference in meta-analysis of results from both trials for risk of incomplete procedures (RR 0.14, 95% CI 0.02 to 1.12; downgraded to low-quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found no high-quality evidence to determine if midazolam, when administered as the sole sedative agent prior to a procedure, produces more or less effective sedation than placebo or other medications. There is low-quality evidence that intravenous midazolam reduced anxiety when compared with placebo. There is inconsistent evidence that oral midazolam decreased anxiety during procedures compared with placebo. Intranasal midazolam did not reduce the risk of incomplete procedures, although anxiolysis and sedation were observed. There is moderate-quality evidence suggesting that oral midazolam produces less effective sedation than chloral hydrate for completion of procedures for children undergoing non-invasive diagnostic procedures.

Bioinformatics based structural characterization of glucose dehydrogenase (gdh) gene and growth promoting activity of Leclercia sp. QAU-66

Glucose dehydrogenase (GDH; EC 1.1. 5.2) is the member of quinoproteins group that use the redox cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinoine, calcium ions and glucose as substrate for its activity. In present study, Leclercia sp. QAU-66, isolated from rhizosphere of Vigna mungo, was characterized for phosphate solubilization and the role of GDH in plant growth promotion of Phaseolus vulgaris. The strain QAU-66 had ability to solubilize phosphorus and significantly (p ≤ 0.05) promoted the shoot and root lengths of Phaseolus vulgaris. The structural determination of GDH protein was carried out using bioinformatics tools like Pfam, InterProScan, I-TASSER and COFACTOR. These tools predicted the structural based functional homology of pyrroloquinoline quinone domains in GDH. GDH of Leclercia sp. QAU-66 is one of the main factor that involved in plant growth promotion and provides a solid background for further research in plant growth promoting activities.

Practice links [Issue 66, February 2016]

Practice Links is a free e-publication for practitioners working in Irish social services, voluntary and nongovernmental sectors. Practice Links was created to enable practitioners to keep up-to-date with new publications, electronic resources and conference opportunities.

Study of KJ-66 micro gas turbine compressor: steady and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes approach

Numerical study on the compressor stage of a KJ-66 micro gas turbine was conducted in this paper through both steady and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes. The study was conducted for the numerical prediction of micro gas turbine compressor performance at various operation conditions, with special attention given to the transient flow behaviors during compressor operation. The numerical results showed reasonable agreements with experimental data while providing predictions for the charting of compressor performance map at various operation speeds. The simulation results indicated that the increase of operation speed from 80 k r/min to 117 k r/min would leads to an increased peak total pressure ratio from 1.54 to 1.96, while decreasing the peak adiabatic efficiency from 0.73 to 0.55. This paper also provided discussion on details of transient flow field within the compressor stage as well as demonstrated the smooth flow transition through rotor–stator interactions.

Experiencia y porcentaje de complicaciones de las derivaciones portosistémicas intrahepáticas transyugulares en la Fundación Cardioinfantil

La derivación portosistémica intrahepática transyugular (TIPS) es una técnica importante en el manejo de las complicaciones de la hipertensión portal, en especial en aquellos pacientes candidatos a trasplante hepático. Se trata de un estudio observacional analítico, sin riesgo, en el cual se emplearon técnicas y métodos de investigación documental retrospectivo, y no se realizó ningún tipo de intervención sobre las variables fisiológicas, psicológicas y sociales de la población incluida. Se realizó la descripción demográfica de los pacientes, características clínicas, hallazgos imageneológicos y aspectos técnicos asociados al procedimiento de los pacientes con hipertensión portal que han sido manejados con TIPS en la Fundación CardioInfantil desde Enero 1 de 2007 hasta Junio 30 de 2016. Se incluyeron 54 pacientes de los cuales el 66,7% no presentaron complicaciones inmediatas, tenidas en cuenta desde la terminación del procedimiento y hasta las siguientes 24 horas; sin embargo, 16,9% debutaron con encefalopatía durante este periodo. De las complicaciones tardías, la más frecuente fue la ascitis con un 66,7%, con una mortalidad de 20,4% de los cuales, el 45% de estos fue por shock séptico y falla orgánica secundaria. Aunque el porcentaje de complicaciones asociadas al procedimiento fue alto en nuestros pacientes, se encuentra dentro de los valores reportados en la literatura. Los resultados presentados son un punto de partida para la evaluación del procedimiento en nuestra población y permiten implementar estrategias de mejora que conlleven a incidir de manera positiva en el porcentaje de complicaciones y mortalidad derivadas del procedimiento.

Un aporte a la comprensión de las estrategias emergentes en las organizaciones a través del concepto de improvisación y la metáfora musical

Este trabajo se inscribe en uno de los grandes campos de los estudios organizacionales: la estrategia. La perspectiva clásica en este campo promovió la idea de que proyectarse hacia el futuro implica diseñar un plan (una serie de acciones deliberadas). Avances posteriores mostraron que la estrategia podía ser comprendida de otras formas. Sin embargo, la evolución del campo privilegió en alguna medida la mirada clásica estableciendo, por ejemplo, múltiples modelos para ‘formular’ una estrategia, pero dejando en segundo lugar la manera en la que esta puede ‘emerger’. El propósito de esta investigación es, entonces, aportar al actual nivel de comprensión respecto a las estrategias emergentes en las organizaciones. Para hacerlo, se consideró un concepto opuesto —aunque complementario— al de ‘planeación’ y, de hecho, muy cercano en su naturaleza a ese tipo de estrategias: la improvisación. Dado que este se ha nutrido de valiosos aportes del mundo de la música, se acudió al saber propio de este dominio, recurriendo al uso de ‘la metáfora’ como recurso teórico para entenderlo y alcanzar el objetivo propuesto. Los resultados muestran que 1) las estrategias deliberadas y las emergentes coexisten y se complementan, 2) la improvisación está siempre presente en el contexto organizacional, 3) existe una mayor intensidad de la improvisación en el ‘como’ de la estrategia que en el ‘qué’ y, en oposición a la idea convencional al respecto, 4) se requiere cierta preparación para poder improvisar de manera adecuada.

“The Landscape of wheat - A landscape of power” pp: 66-70

Portugal in the end of the 19 th century was characterized by a huge economic and political instability. This situation led to the publication of the Hunger Law (1899), which is identified as the critical breaking point since it imposed a political ideology over a vernacular landscape. The Alentejo (south of Portugal), between (1889-1929) emerges as a paradigmatic landscapes where an abrupt transformation take place: an ancient landscape with the loss of their ecological memory was lost and a false identities was created. The diversity and ecological richness of the vernacular landscape gave way to the monotony of the cereal and the ecological and social system that for centuries had built up and evolved was abruptly compromised. To analyze and understand the important transformation that happened in the ancestral countryside of Alentejo, the research was based on the concept of landscape as a system, and that the landscape represents the relationship between the natural system and the cultural.