Evaluation of the Insecticidal Activities of α-Pinene and 3-Carene on Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Pest management in most sub-Saharan subsistence agriculture involves mainly the use of botanicals that are either applied as powders, solvent extracts, ash or essential oils. Two hydrogenated monoterpenes (α-pinene and 3-carene) from Cupressus sempervirens were tested against Sitophilus zeamais in the laboratory to evaluate the contact and fumigation effects on the mortality of adult and immature weevils, progeny production, and grain damage. Contact toxicity of the terpenes was investigated at these concentrations: 0.08, 4, 8 and 12 ppm (terpene/maize), while fumigant action was studied at the following doses: 1, 2, 3, and 4 ppm. The results indicate that insecticidal effects were concentration-dependent since mortality increased with dosage and exposure periods. After a 14-day exposure period at the concentration of 12 ppm of α-pinene and 3-carene/grain, more than 98% mortality of the mature weevils was observed at concentrations of 4.1333 and 1.642 ppm respectively and progeny production was reduced by 98% and 100%, respectively. When α-pinene and 3-carene were applied as fumigants, LC50s (lethal concentrations that generate 50% mortality) of 1.402 and 0.610 ppm were obtained after 24 h of exposure, respectively. At concentrations above 3 ppm, both monoterpenes acted as repellents to weevils and reduced grain damage by 80%. Both monoterpenes inhibited the development of immature stages of the weevil and reduced progeny by up to 94%. These compounds are very promising and effective and could be exploited as novel phytoinsecticides against the maize weevil.

Unsuitability of the epidemiological approach to bicycle transportation injuries and traffic engineering problems.

Bicyclists and transportation professionals would do better to decline advice drawn from characteristically epidemiological studies. The faults of epidemiology are both accidental (unpreparedness for the task) and essential (unsuitability of the methods). Characteristically epidemiological methods are known to be error-prone, and when applied to bicycle transportation suffer from diversion bias, inappropriately broad-brush categorisations, a focus on undifferentiated risk rather than on danger, a bias towards unsafe behaviour, and an overly narrow perspective. To the extent that there is a role for characteristically epidemiological methods, it should be the same as anywhere else: as a preliminary or adjunct to the scientific method, for which there is no substitute.

Improvement in knowledge of nursing staff after an educational intervention about control of newborn temperature.

UNLABELLED: Newborn infants are at risk for hypothermia. Providing an adequate thermal environment is fundamental OBJECTIVE: To assess nurses knowledge about temperature control in newborns before and after an educational intervention and its effect in the prevalence of hypothermia. METHODS: Registered nurses working in a NICU received an educational intervention. They answered a pretest and posttest. Prevalence of hypothermia was recorded. RESULTS: Subjects included 55 nurses (89% females, 11% males). The subjects showed improvement in knowledge (81% correct answers before. 88% after, p < 0.01) Prevalence of hypothermia was similar before and after the intervention. CONCLUSION: An educational intervention in small group format was successful in improving nurse knowledge about temperature control in newborns. There was no effect in the prevalence of hypothermia. The intervention was aimed to registered nurses but neonatal hypothermia prevention requires interactions by all caregivers, thus educational interventions should be aimed to all personnel involved in neonatal care.

Loss of parental role as a cause of stress in the neonatal intensive care unit.

UNLABELLED: Having a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a major source of stress for parents. The barriers to parenting and reactions to the environment may negatively influence the parent-infant relationship. OBJECTIVE: To identify NICU-related parental stress and associated factors. METHODS: Parents (N = 156) of newborns admitted to NICU completed the Parental Stressor Scale. RESULTS: Most of the parents (46%) rated the experience to be extremely stressful. The principal cause of stress was the alteration in parental role and being separated from their baby. Stress was not associated to education, marital status, infants' birth weight, gestational age, congenital anomalies or if the parents expected the baby to be in the NICU. CONCLUSION: Identification of areas associated to higher levels of stress in parents may help the NICU staff to establish strategies to help parents cope with the stress caused by being unable to start their parenting role immediately after their babies' birth.

What exactly are genomes, genotypes and phenotypes? And what about phenomes?

The fundamental concepts of genome, genotype and phenotype are not defined in a satisfactory manner within the biological literature. Not only are there inconsistencies in usage between various authors, but even individual authors do not use these concepts in a consistent manner within their own writings. We have found at least five different notions of genome, seven of genotype, and five of phenotype current in the literature. Our goal is to clarify this situation by (a) defining clearly and precisely the notions of genetic complement, genome, genotype, phenetic complement, and phenotype; (b) examining that of phenome; and (c) analysing the logical structure of this family of concepts.

Analysis of spinal and muscular activity during flexion/extension and free lifts.

Detailed measurements of the relative contributions of spine motion and pelvic motion during flexion-extension and free lifts (squat-type) are examined. The results are consistent with the conclusion that passive stretching of the ligamentous tissues transmits significant extensor moment in these activities, the power being supplied by the hip extensor complex acting on the pelvis. In addition, certain injuries result in measurable changes in the kinematic parameters that determine the ligamentous involvement, and these changes can be used to help evaluate spinal condition.

The importance of pelvic tilt in reducing compressive stress in the spine during flexion-extension exercises.

An explanation for the importance of pelvic tilt exercises is proposed. This explanation derives from a mathematical model that predicts the existence of a relationship between lordosis (pelvic tilt) and the distribution of stresses within the spine. The model predicts that, for every angle of forward flexion, there is a unique degree of lordosis that will minimize and equalize the compressive stress within the spine. This stress-minimizing posture also is associated with the minimum muscular activity; the balance of the moment is supported by passive stretching of the connective tissues. These predictions were tested by comparing them with empirical values of spinal geometry and muscular activity, as measured simultaneously by an opto-electronic motion analysis and electromyographic (EMG) data collection system.