Nursing Care in Peripheral Intravenous Catheter (PIVC): Protocol of a Best Practice Implementation Project.

Background: The use of a peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVC) is a common invasive practice in healthcare settings. It is estimated that about 70% of people with PIVCs will develop associated complications, such as infections. It is the consensus that best practices could reduce the appearance of such complications and reduce the length of stay in hospital.

Flavylium chromophores as species markers for dragon's blood resins from Dracaena and Daemonorops trees.

A simple and rapid liquid chromatographic method with diode-array UV-vis spectrophotometric detection has been developed for the authentication of dragon's blood resins from Dracaena and Daemonorops trees. Using this method it was discovered that the flavylium chromophores, which contribute to the red colour of these resins, differ among the species and could be used as markers to differentiate among species. A study of parameters, such as time of extraction, proportion of MeOH and pH, was undertaken to optimise the extraction of the flavyliums.

Interpreting the dioxin and furan profiles in the lichen Ramalina canariensis Steiner for monitoring air pollution.

The purpose of this study was to compare the dioxin and furan (PCDD/F) profiles in lichens with those of air and soil. Lichen samples of the species Ramalina canariensis Steiner were collected from 44 different sites and analysed. The results were compared to PCDD/F air and soil profiles from bibliographic data concerning several countries and locations.

Identification of 7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavylium in "Dragon's blood": to be or not to be an anthocyanin.

The compound 7,4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavylium (dracoflavylium) was identified as the major red colorant in samples of the resin "dragon's blood", extracted from the tree Dracaena draco. The complex network of reversible chemical reactions that dracoflavylium undergoes in aqueous solution is fully described; for the first time, all the equilibrium constants that enable a complete characterisation of the system have been obtained (K'(a)=1.6 x 10(-4), K(a1)=1.

Development and calibration of epiphytic lichens as saltfall biomonitors--dry-deposition modelling.

Lichen transplants (Ramalina calicaris and Usnea spp.) were investigated as biomonitors of the atmospheric deposition of marine salt, and a calibration model was set up to predict the dry deposition of saline elements from the concentration of salt tracers in lichens. The study was performed in the Portuguese Atlantic coast, where a monthly transplantation program was run in two stations that show clear differences in terms of precipitation regimes.