ABSTRACT
The effects of drying and pelletizing on the properties of broiler chicken litter, obtained from a farm in northwest Spain, were investigated. The drying and pelletizing process reduced among-batch variability in dry matter content, electrical conductivity, urea N, and K, S, Na, Fe, Cu and Cd contents, but increased among-batch variability in total N, ammonium N, nitrate N, total P and pH. N form contents in the pelletized product could be estimated with reasonable accuracy on the basis of dry matter content. Cr, Cu and Cd contents were all significantly lower in the dried pelletized product than in fresh litter, whereas Pb content was significantly higher. The dried pelletized product is of course clearly preferable to the fresh product as regards storage and handling, however, our results suggest a need to optimize the production process with the aim of reducing possible contamination during manufacture, and of minimizing variability in N form contents, P content and pH.
Subject(s)
Chickens , Fertilizers , Manure , Animals , Desiccation , Housing, AnimalABSTRACT
OBJETIVO: Valorar el efecto de la presencia de incontinencia urinaria (IU) y dependencia para la alimentación (DA) en la institucionalización de pacientes ancianos atendidos por una unidad de valoración geriátrica en un hospital de agudos. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Estudio prospectivo observacional donde se analiza en 302 pacientes geriátricos consecutivos ingresados por patología aguda médica y quirúrgica, la presencia de IU y DA, así como la patología al ingreso, la comorbilidad existente, el estado cognitivo, la funcionalidad, el soporte social y el destino hacia instituciones geriátricas al alta hospitalaria. RESULTADOS: El 51,9 per cent de los pacientes presentaban IU y el 39,7 per cent DA. En general los pacientes con IU y DA, mostraron peores puntuaciones en los tests de Barthel y Pfeiffer, 33,8 (DE 18,4) vs 60,1 (DE 17,0) y 2,91 (DE 3,5) vs 0,27 (DE 1,0) (p< 0,0001) respectivamente, a la vez que un mayor índice de comorbilidad de Charlson, 1,95 (DE 1,7) vs 1,23 (DE 1,59) (p< 0,01). La institucionalización se observó en 46 pacientes (15,23 per cent) con IU y DA vs 5 pacientes (1,56 per cent) sin IU ni DA (p< 0,0001). CONCLUSIONES: La IU y la DA son frecuentes en nuestro medio hospitalario y aisladas o asociadas se constituyen como factores de riesgo para la institucionalización de pacientes geriátricos atendidos por patología aguda (AU)
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Institutionalization , Homes for the Aged , Feeding Behavior/psychology , Urinary Incontinence/psychology , Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Prospective Studies , Geriatric Assessment , Acute Disease , Urinary Incontinence/epidemiology , Spain/epidemiology , ComorbidityABSTRACT
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common pathogen in children that in recent years has shown a progressive rise in resistance to the usual antibiotics and also to the new third generation cephalosporins. We report a review of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains isolated at our hospital from pediatrics patients in whom we observed an increased incidence of resistance to cefotaxime significantly related with the rise in resistance to penicillin. The resistance of penicillin-resistant strains to various antibiotics was analyzed and the following results were obtained: cefotaxime, 0% susceptible, 83% intermediate and 17% resistant; erythromycin, 16,7% susceptible, 8,3& intermediate and 75% resistant; vancomycin, 100% susceptible; chloramfenicol, 16,7% susceptible and 83,3% resistant; and cotrimoxazole, 100% resistant.
Subject(s)
Streptococcus pneumoniae/drug effects , Child , Drug Resistance, Microbial , Humans , Microbial Sensitivity Tests/statistics & numerical data , Respiratory System/microbiology , Streptococcus pneumoniae/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
DecomposingRumex obtusifolius L. leaves and their extracts were most toxic for germination and root growth of meadow speciesLolium perenne, Trifolium repens, Poa pratensis, andDactylis glomerata after seven days' decomposition, although the toxicity level was, in some cases, still high after 21 days. The hypothesis thatR. obtusifolius exerts allelopathic control over meadow species is supported by small-scale distribution of meadow species in the neighborhood ofR. obtusifolius plants. The area affected and the intensity of the effect both increase with the size of the individualR. obtusifolius plant.
ABSTRACT
Analysis of small-scale distribution may allow allelopathic interaction among plant species to be distinguished from competitive interaction. If all environmental factors except slope are uniform, allelopathy produces spatial asymmetry in the association with a hypothetical receptor species and the corresponding hypothetical emitter species in the neighborhood of the latter. The interaction betweenRumex obtusifolius and the meadow speciesLolium perenne, Poa pratensis, Dactylis glomerata, andTrifolium repens is analyzed by way of example.
