Abstract. 22. In many cities of Argentina, equine-drawn carts represent an economic livelihood for low-income families. These equines are generally in inadequate physical condition, which results in a sub-optimal performance and a serious detriment to their welfare. The aim of the present work was to determine the animal welfare state of working equines in peripheral neighborhoods of the City of Corrientes Capital, Argentina, using direct and indirect indicators. The population (n=42) presented an average age of 6.8 years and within it a 60% were stallions. Forty five percent of the animals presented suboptimal nutritional status, 43% of the cases presented oral alterations, 67% had skin lesions and 74% had inadequate hoof conditions. Almost all of the animals were alert to the approach of the observer, some reacting aggressively and others expressing abnormal behaviors. Equines were usually used during the morning hours, with loads of brick and sand being the most frequently recorded. According to their caretakers, the animals receive veterinary care on a regular basis, registering an alarming tendency to release them in empty lots, public squares or roads during rest hours. The sources of water and food, constituted by river water, alfalfa and corn, added to grazing during the rest, are positioned as the main alternatives. Thus, it is observed that the welfare state of the equines sampled in the city was between regular and bad, being evident the need for training of caretakers on responsible ownership and joint work between veterinarians and public agencies to address the problem.

Resumen 18. En numerosas ciudades de la Argentina, la tracción animal o también conocida como tracción a sangre (TAS) representa un medio de sustento económico para familias de escasos recursos; los equinos de la actividad generalmente se hallan en condiciones físicas inadecuadas, lo que resulta en un sub-óptimo desempeño y en un serio detrimento de su bienestar. El presente trabajo busca determinar el bienestar animal de los equinos de trabajo en barrios periféricos de la Ciudad de Corrientes Capital, Argentina, utilizando indicadores directos e indirectos. Los primeros se obtuvieron a través del examen físico y comportamental, mientras que los segundos, mediante encuestas a los tutores. La población (n=42) presentó un promedio de edad de 6,8 años y dentro de ella se identificó una subpoblación compuesta por un 60% de machos enteros. Se registró un 45% de animales con estados nutricionales subóptimos, un 43% de pacientes con alteraciones bucales, 67% con lesiones cutáneas y un 74% con condiciones inadecuadas de cascos. Casi la totalidad de los animales se mostraron alerta al acercamiento humano, reaccionando algunos de forma agresiva y otros con conductas anormales. Los animales son usualmente utilizados en horas de la mañana, siendo las cargas de ladrillo y arena las más frecuentemente registradas. Las encuestas revelaron que los animales reciben atención veterinaria, registrándose una alarmante tendencia a la liberación en baldíos, plazas o en la vía pública durante las horas de descanso. Las fuentes de agua y alimentos, constituidas por el agua de río, alfalfa y maíz se posicionan como las principales alternativas. Se observa así que el estado de bienestar de los equinos muestreados en la ciudad es regular a malo, siendo evidente la necesidad de capacitación de los tutores sobre tenencia responsable y el trabajo conjunto entre médicos veterinarios y organismos públicos para abordar la problemática.

South Africa (SA) is in the process of amending its patent laws. Since its 2011 inception, Fix the Patent Laws, a coalition of 40 patient groups, has advocated for reform of SAs patent laws to improve affordability of medicines in the country. Building on two draft policies (2013, 2017) and a consultative framework (2016) for reform of SAs patent laws, Cabinet approved phase 1 of the Intellectual Property Policy of the Republic of South Africa on 23 May 2018. Fix the Patent Laws welcomed the policy, but highlighted concerns regarding the absence of important technical details, as well as the urgent need for government to develop bills, regulations and guidelines to provide technical detail and to codify and implement patent law reform in the country. In this article, we explore how reforms proposed in SAs new intellectual property policy could improve access to medicine through four medicine case studies.

Breast and cervical cancer are leading causes of cancer-related mortality in South African women. Early detection of breast cancer is imperative to improve survival rates. However, public awareness is lacking and healthcare facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, particularly in the public sector, are inadequate. A cancer alliance, Advocates for Breast Cancer (ABC), was formed in 2014 to campaign for a national breast healthcare policy for South Africa to prioritise the management of this disease.

Petra Müller's collection of narrative works, Desembers ("Decembers", 2007), allows for an investigation into the portrayal of identity aspects that occupy a central position in her oeuvre: the relationship between man and nature as well as the nature of authorship. These narratives reflect upon a human being's place in the wide community of earth's beings and forces, and elucidate the multiple levels of communication between man and other living creatures, which is possible by sensory awareness and by embracing the "voices of silence" beyond the range of human language. In this article Müller's narratives are explored within the framework of literature as cultural ecology, including their becoming part of a re-integrative interdiscourse by means of reintegrating in the realm of imaginative literature the excluded to the cultural reality system. Müller often links natural objects to the creation of stories/art, thus integrating the spheres of nature and culture. This is done by reconstructing objects from nature, by means of imagination and by transcending reality, into symbols of the author's/artist's activity.

Titrimetry offers the possibility of simultaneous measurement at low cost of several (buffering) components. A first step in the study towards practical application of the titrimetric technique was the titrimetric analysis by up- or down-titration of standard solutions, standard mixtures, solids digester samples and water samples coming from autotrophic nitrogen-removal reactors. The resulting raw data were further processed with an Excel-based program. This program first converts the raw data into a buffer curve upon which a linear buffer capacity model is fitted to the experimental data by estimating the (buffer) concentrations and corresponding pKa values. As such the type of component and the concentration can be determined. As a second step the resulting calculated concentrations were analysed statistically to assess the accuracy and precision of the titrimetric technique. For this purpose, the data were paired, i.e. the difference between the concentration obtained with titrimetry and the concentration obtained with another technique such as colorimetry or gas chromatography was calculated. First the normality of the paired data was assessed. Then, a paired t-test (normal data) or a paired Wilcoxon test (normal data) was used to statistically compare the results obtained with the titrimetric technique to either the stock solution concentration or measurements with another method (colorimetry or gas chromatography). The statistical tests showed that, depending on the titrant concentration, concentrations from 50 mg/ℓ to 3 000 mg/ℓ could adequately be measured with the titrimetric technique.

Purpose: Quantification of the impact of a PACS/RIS-integrated speech recognition system (SRS) on the time expenditure for radiology reporting and on hospital-wide report availability (RA) in a university institution. Material and methods: In a prospective pilot study, the following parameters were assessed for 669 radiographic examinations (CR): 1. time requirement per report dictation (TED: dictation time (s)/number of images (examination) x number of words (report)) with either a combination of PACS/ tape-based dictation (TD: analog dictation device/ minicassette/transcription) or PACS/RIS/speech recognition system(RR: remote recognition/transcription and OR: online recognition/self-correction by radiologist), respectively, and 2. the ReportTur-naround Time (RTT) as the time interval from the entryof the first image into the PACS to the available RIS/HIS report. Two equal time periods were chosen retrospectively from the RIS database: 11/2002-2/2003 (only TD) and 11/2003-2/2004 (only RR or OR with speech recognition system (SRS)). The midterm (> 24 h, 24 h intervals) and short-term (< 24 h, 1 h intervals) RA after examination completion were calculated for all modalities and for CR, CT, MR andXA/DS separately. The relative increase in the mid-term RA (RIMRA: related to total number of examinations in each time period) and increase in the short-term RA (ISRA: ratio of available reports during the 1st to 24th hour) were calculated. Results: Prospectively there was a significant difference between TD/RR/OR (n = 151/257/261) regarding mean TED (0.44/0.54/0.62 s (per word and image)) and mean RTT.

Objetivo: Cuantificar la repercusión de un sistema de reconocimiento del habla integrado en un PACS/RIS en el tiempo invertido en los informes radiológicos y su disponibilidad en una Clínica Universitaria. Material y métodos: Estudio piloto prospectivo; en 669 radiografías se registró el tiempo invertido por dictado con cinta y sistemas PACS/RIS de reconocimiento (dictado por lotes o dictado en línea) y el Report Turnaround Time, intervalo de tiempo desde la introducción de imagen en PACS hasta tener informe disponible en RIS/CIS. En análisis retrospectivo de base de datos de RIS se estudió 11/2002-02/2003 y 11/2003-02/2004. Se calculó la media y el aumento relativo de la disponibilidad de informes a mediano y corto plazo tras la finalización del estudio. Resultados: Se observaron importantes diferencias en el tiempo invertido para cada modalidad (0,44/0,54/0,62 s por palabra e imagen) y del RTT medio (10,47/6,65/1,27 h). Se evaluaron retrospectivamente 37.898/39.680 informes de los períodos mencionados. En CR/TC, se observó un aumento medio del 20% en la disponibilidad de informes a corto plazo y en todas las modalidades fue más del triple en las primeras 24 h. En el caso de CR/TC/RM, el primer día hubo un aumento máximo de la disponibilidad a mediano plazo (factor 3,1/5,8/4,0) y en el caso de XA/DS, en el segundo día (factor 2,0). Conclusión: Cuando se utiliza un sistema de reconocimiento del habla se modifica el flujo de trabajo y se invierte inicialmente más tiempo para la elaboración de informes. Los sistemas de reconocimiento integrados en PACS/RIS mejoran considerablemente la disponibilidad de los informes a corto y mediano plazo, redundando en la calidad de la atención de los pacientes.