Raptors avoid the confusion effect by targeting fixed points in dense aerial prey aggregations.

Collective behaviours are widely assumed to confuse predators, but empirical support for a confusion effect is often lacking, and its importance must depend on the predator's targeting mechanism. Here we show that Swainson's Hawks Buteo swainsoni and other raptors attacking swarming Mexican Free-tailed Bats Tadarida brasiliensis steer by turning towards a fixed point in space within the swarm, rather than by using closed-loop pursuit of any one individual. Any prey with which the predator is on a collision course will appear to remain on a constant bearing, so target selection emerges naturally from the geometry of a collision.

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).

Parental report of health-related quality of life in children with sickle cell disease.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of youths with sickle cell disease (SCD) has not been described, despite the psychosocial and physical consequences associated with the disease. We compared the HRQOL of 58 children with SCD to a demographically similar sample of 120 healthy children and examined predictors of HRQOL. Child HRQOL was assessed using the Child Health Questionnaire--Parent Report Form.

The importance of investigating for uniparental disomy in prenatally identified balanced acrocentric rearrangements.

We report the finding of paternal isodisomy for chromosome 14 in a fetus found to have a der(14;14)(q10;q10) by amniocentesis. The pregnancy was complicated by severe polyhydramnios and elevated amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The infant showed features consistent with paternal uniparental disomy (UPD) including postnatal growth retardation, poor respiratory function, feeding difficulties, and evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.