Exploration of substrate vibrations as communication signals in a webspinner from Ecuador (Embioptera: Clothodidae).

Embiopterans are among the least known of all insect orders, and yet their behavior is worthy of investigation for many reasons. They spin silk produced in glands in their front tarsi and live in groups, usually mothers with their young and sometimes in large colonies with many reproductive females sharing the silk. We discovered a large embiid (Clothodidae) in an Ecuadorian rain forest living under camouflaged silk sheets spun onto the bark of trees. Observations in previous studies of a related Trinidadian clothodid revealed that individuals shake and lunge their bodies in response to intruders of their silk domicile. We took the opportunity afforded by the discovery of the large clothodids to rear them in the laboratory and to investigate their communication behavior. We used piezoelectric film to detect substrate vibrations generated by adult females as elicited by a variety of intruders (an artificial stimulus, conspecific female or male, or a female of different species of webspinners). The residents produced three signals distinguishable by behavioral action, frequency (hertz), pulses per bout, and amplitude at peak frequency. We designated these as lift silk, shake, and snapback. Shakes varied the most in amplitude and frequency in response to the different intruders, and therefore, we propose that shakes may transmit the most information as individuals contact each other. This is the first report to characterize spectral qualities and contexts of substrate vibrations in an embiopteran.

Evaluation of the ordering of serum theophylline concentrations.

The ordering of serum theophylline concentrations in a 900-bed university hospital was evaluated. Data were collected during the first week of three consecutive months from the records of adult inpatients who had serum theophylline assays performed. The appropriateness of ordering the serum theophylline determinations was evaluated on the basis of criteria including sampling at steady-state concentrations and sampling in proper relationship to the dosage schedule to represent a peak or trough concentration. A total of 113 determinations in 79 patients were reviewed. Pulmonary service patients accounted for 54 (48%) of the determinations. For the 56 concentrations ordered for patients receiving aminophylline continuous infusions, 25 (45%) of the determinations did not meet the criteria for appropriateness. For the 57 other determinations (oral theophylline products and intermittent bolus injections of aminophylline), 42 (74%) were not ordered according to the established criteria. Overall, 67 (59%) of 113 serum theophylline determinations were found to be ordered inappropriately. Corrective educational programs based on standard guidelines for ordering serum theophylline concentrations were established.

Clinical training of hospital pharmacy residents.

An 18-week clinical educational training segment of a hospital pharmacy residency is described. The segment begins with a one-week orientation series to clinical services. This is followed by a four-week block in the drug information center, where the resident participates in all areas of the center. Following this block, the resident begins a planned series of elective clinical rotations (two four-week and one three-week elective rotations and a required two-week anesthesiology rotation). The clinical rotations are designed to provide training in all facets of the pharmaceutical care of hospitalized patients, with major emphasis on therapeutic management. The program's major objectives, instructional methods, activities and responsibilities, learning objectives, and evaluation methods are discussed. This training segment teaches residents how to integrate their knowledge of disease states and therapeutics into the provision of comprehensive pharmaceutical services.