Lung function outcome at school age in very low birth weight children

Objective The aim of this study was to assess pulmonary function and its predictors in very low birth weight (birth weight ≤1,500 g) children (VLBWc) with or without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), born at gestational age ≤32 weeks at a single tertiary center during 1996–1999, after the introduction of surfactant therapy. Methods Of the 120 surviving VLBW children, 48 (40%) VLBWc (22 with prior‐BPD) at age 8.5 ± 1.0 years and 46 age‐matched controls (8.8 ± 1.4 years) born at term, underwent lung function study. Results Adjusted values ( z ‐score) of forced vital capacity (z‐FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (z‐FEV1), forced expiratory flow 25–75% (z‐FEF25–75), carbon monoxide lung diffusion capacity (z‐DLCO), and DLCO/alveolar volume (z‐DLCO/VA) were significantly lower than controls (mean difference, 95% CI: −1.35, −1.81 to −0.90, P  < 0.001; −1.31, −1.73 to −0.90, P  < 0.001; −0.87, −1.29 to −0.46, P  < 0.001; −0.98, −1.72 to −0.23, P  < 0.001; −0.70, −1.22 to −0.18, P  < 0.05; respectively). Residual volume (z‐RV) and RV/total lung capacity (RV/TLC) ratio (%) were significantly higher in VLBWc than controls (mean difference, 95% CI: 1.06, 0.44 to 1.68, P  < 0.001; 9.54%, 5.73 to 13.3%, P  < 0.001; respectively). No differences were found in lung function between VLBWc (no‐BPD vs. BPD) with the exception of a significant higher RV/TLC ratio in the BPD‐subgroup (mean difference, 95% CI: 7.0%, 0.4 to 13%, P  = 0.03). Lung function abnormalities were found in 30 (63%) VLBWc with evidence of airway obstruction and diffusing capacity impairment. A weak relationship was observed between gestational age with z‐FVC (r = 0.30, P  = 0.04), birth weight with z‐FEV1 (r = 0.30, P  = 0.04) and RV/TLC ratio (r = −0.49, P  = 0.001). The duration of oxygen treatment correlated negatively with the z‐DLCO/Va (r = −0.5, P  = 0.02). No differences were found in FeNO levels between VLBWc and controls. Conclusion VLBWc at school age showed lung function abnormalities characterized by airway obstruction, hyperinflation, and diffusion impairment. Neonatal lung damage together with preterm birth may play a role in worsening the functional respiratory outcome. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2013; 48:830–837. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of azadirachtin on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and its compatibility with predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on strawberry

BACKGROUND: The spider mite, Tetranychus urticae , is the major strawberry pest in Brazil. The main strategies for its control comprise synthetic acaricides and predatory mites. The recent register of a commercial formula of azadirachtin (Azamax ® 12 g L −1 ) can be viable for control of T. urticae . In this work, the effects of azadirachtin on T. urticae and its compatibility with predatory mites Neoseiulus californicus and Phytoseiulus macropilis in the strawberry crop were evaluated. RESULTS: Azadirachtin was efficient against T. urticae , with a mortality rate similar to that of abamectin. In addition, the azadirachtin showed lower biological persistence (7 days) than abamectin (21 days). Azadirachtin did not cause significant mortality of adult predatory mites ( N. californicus and P. macropilis ), but it did reduce fecundity by 50%. However, egg viability of the azadirachtin treatments was similar to that of the control (>80% viability). The use of azadirachtin and predatory mites is a valuable tool for controlling T. urticae in strawberry crop. CONCLUSIONS: Azadirachtin provided effective control of T. urticae and is compatible with the predatory mites N. californicus and P. macropilis . It is an excellent tool to be incorporated into integrated pest management for strawberry crop in Brazil. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

Web applications design recovery and evolution with RE‐UWA

SUMMARY This paper presents a semi‐automatic approach for the recovery and evolution of the design of existing Web applications. The proposed approach is structured in two main phases and is based on the Ubiquitous Web Applications (UWA) design framework, a methodology and a set of models and tools for the user‐centered design of multichannel context‐aware Web applications. In the first phase a representative set of the application's front‐end Web pages are analyzed to abstract the ‘as‐is’ design model of the application according to the UWA methodology. In the second phase, the recovered design model is evolved to define the ‘to be’ version of it. This evolution activity considers the up‐to‐date requirements available for the application and UWA design guidelines to identify shortcomings and opportunities of improvement in the ‘as‐is’ design. The reverse modeling phase exploits clustering and clone detection techniques and is supported by the RE‐UWA tool, an Eclipse IDE customized to implement the reverse engineering process defined to extract formal UWA models expressed as instances of a MOF metamodel. The forward design phase is supported by a set of UWA modeling tools that are built on top of the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) and the Eclipse Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF). The proposed design recovery and evolution approach is applied to four real‐world Web applications and the obtained results are also presented in the paper. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

OP20 .07: Obstetrical ultrasound simulator as a tool for auditing routine practice of experienced sonographers

OP20 .08: Obstetrical ultrasound simulator as a tool for improving teaching strategies for beginners

Experimental study of the efficiency of a SDD X‐ray detector by means of PIXE spectra

The efficiency of a silicon drift detector with ultrathin window was studied for energies between 0.27 and 25 keV. Experimental values of the X‐ray yields from samples of known stoichiometry were obtained by impact of 2 MeV protons. By using theoretical calculations of these yields the relative efficiency of the detector was evaluated. The results are compared with efficiency values obtained from the window transmission and the detector quantum efficiency. A quantitative analysis of a particle induced X‐ray emission spectrum for a reference sample was performed in order to evaluate the consistency of the data presented in this work. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

CHARM Pad: Ontology-Based Tool for Learning Systematic Knowledge about Nursing

Japan is no exception among developed countries facing healthcare system problems due to aging and low birthrate as the number of patient increases and health care worker numbers shrink. The introduction of high tech medicine has increased the amount of knowledge to be learned by novice nurses. Although vast amounts of implicit knowledge have accumulated among nursing practitioners, this knowledge needs to be communicated when hospitals train younger generations of nurses. In this paper, the authors have proposed an activity model called CHARM (the Convincing Human Action Rationalized Model) and CHARM Pad, tablet PC with browsing software for CHARM models. CHARM explicates multidimensional purpose-oriented procedure relations often existing as implicit knowledge. For this reason, CHARM supports the training and education of novice nurses. We developed CHARM models according to nursing guidelines of hospitals and applied them to training of the nurses in two hospitals. CHARM and CHARM Pad are being evaluated at these hospitals and positive responses are coming from nurses.

Mutually Testing Processes

In the standard testing theory of DeNicola-Hennessy one process is considered to be a refinement of another if every test guaranteed by the former is also guaranteed by the latter. In the domain of web services this has been recast, with processes viewed as servers and tests as clients. In this way the standard refinement preorder between servers is determined by their ability to satisfy clients. But in this setting there is also a natural refinement preorder between clients, determined by their ability to be satisfied by servers. In more general settings where there is no distinction between clients and servers, but all processes are peers, there is a further refinement preorder based on the mutual satisfaction of peers. We give a uniform account of these three preorders. In particular we give two characterisations. The first is behavioural, in terms of traces and ready sets. The second, for finite processes, is equational.

Political Will and Strategic Use of YouTube to Advancing Government Transparency: An Analysis of Jakarta Government-Generated YouTube Videos

Part 2: Open Government Data and TransparencyInternational audienceGovernment transparency is critical to cut government bureaucracy and corruption, which diminish political accountability and legitimacy, erode trust in government, and hinder citizen engagement and government performance. Previously, Jakarta’s local governments lacked government transparency, holding high-level meetings under a close-door policy, sustaining a critical and fundamental flaw in policy-making and fueling government inefficiency and corruption. Social media radically increased the speed, reach and transparency of information. Yet, social media-enabled government transparency has not been sufficiently investigated. This research presents strategic use of YouTube by Jakarta’s new local government to “open doors” to high-level political meetings and other reform-oriented government activities for greater local government transparency. We conducted an analysis of 250 government-generated videos on YouTube viewed and liked by Jakarta’s 7.8-million net-savvy citizens. We conclude transformational leadership’s political will and strategic use of YouTube are the keys to advancing local government transparency and facilitating citizen engagement with government’s reform initiatives

Erratum to: Mather Measures Associated with a Class of Bloch Wave Functions