Aerial attack strategies of hawks hunting bats, and the adaptive benefits of swarming.

Aggregation can reduce an individual's predation risk, by decreasing predator hunting efficiency or displacing predation onto others. Here, we explore how the behaviors of predator and prey influence catch success and predation risk in Swainson's hawks attacking swarming Brazilian free-tailed bats on emergence. Lone bats including stragglers have a high relative risk of predation, representing ~5% of the catch but ~0.

Working to improve care of hospital hyperglycemia through statewide collaboration: the Georgia Hospital Association Diabetes Special Interest Group.

Objective: To review the efforts of the Georgia Hospital Association Diabetes Special Interest Group (DSIG) to develop and disseminate sample clinical guidelines on management of inpatient hyperglycemia.

Methods: Beginning in February 2003, a consortium of physicians and allied health professionals from throughout the state of Georgia began meeting on a frequent basis to formulate a plan to enhance the care of hospitalized patients with hyperglycemia. The immediate goals of the DSIG were the identification and organization of interested stakeholders, the development of consensus sample clinical guidelines, and the dissemination of information.

Improving hyperglycemia management in the intensive care unit: preliminary report of a nurse-driven quality improvement project using a redesigned insulin infusion algorithm.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a nurse-driven effort to improve hyperglycemia management in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting.

Methods: The setting was the ICU of a large urban hospital. The program was composed of 3 components: nurses as leaders, a clinical pathway to identify patients in need of hyperglycemia therapy, and implementation of a redesigned insulin infusion algorithm (the Columnar Insulin Dosing Chart).