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This paper estimates a theoreticallymotivated gravity model to examine the effect of the European Union (EU) on trade and whet her the order of entry has affected the trade performance of member countries. Additionally, we analyse the impact of the diffe rent phases of EU integration on trade. The results show that both original countries and successive enlargements boost intra-b loc trade. Moreover, the results suggest that the deepening in the integration process has led to more trade creation among members. Finally, only the latter ph ase of the European integration process (the single currency) has increased trade with non-members.

To assess the utility of blood cultures in the management of uncomplicated pyelonephritis in women, we prospectively collected data from 583 cases. Discordant cases were defined as those for which the pathogens isolated from urine and from blood were different. We found that 97.6% of cases were nondiscordant. Clinical and microbiological evolution of infection did not differ between the 2 groups, and no changes of antibiotic therapy were required on the basis of blood culture results. Blood culture may not be routinely required for the evaluation of uncomplicated pyelonephritis in women.

Resumen Objetivo Evaluar si se modifica la satisfaccion de los pacientes que acuden al Servicio de Urgencias de un hospital de agudos, al cambiar su emplazamiento y su estructura fisica. Metodologia Dos encuestas telefonicas a usuarios del Servicio de Urgencias. La primera en 1997 y la segunda en 1998. Entre ambos periodos se estrena un nuevo Servicio de Urgencias. Se obtienen datos de opinion en relacion a tiempos de espera, trato, informacion recibida, organizacion y estructura del servicio. Se comparan las proporciones o medias de estas variables entre las dos encuestas. Resultados Se realizaron 135 y 143 encuestas. Las variables que muestran diferencias estadisticamente significativas son el tiempo medio hasta el “triage”, el tiempo medio hasta que llega el resultado de las pruebas, asi como las que hacen referencia a la estructura fisica del servicio. El resto de las variables, relacionadas con el trato y la informacion que recibe el enfermo o la organizacion del servicio no muestran diferencias significativas. La calidad global media del servicio se puntua de forma muy similar (8,15 frente a 8,45), asi como el porcentaje que considera que se resolvio su problema o que volveria a usar el mismo servicio en caso necesario. Conclusiones La reestructuracion efectuada en el Servicio de Urgencias si ha influido de manera positiva en el grado de satisfaccion, mejorando la opinion de los pacientes sobre la estructura fisica y disminuyendo algunos tiempos de espera. No han variado las opiniones sobre el resto de las variables, lo que apunta a la busqueda de nuevas estrategias para mejorar la calidad del servicio prestado.

Two different genetic types of tilapia, Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (MT), and Pargo-UNAM (PU; a synthetic hybrid whose genetic composition is 50% Florida red tilapia, 25% Rocky Mountain tilapia, and 25% red variant Oreochromis niloticus), were acclimatized to salinity and exposed to seawater from the Gulf of Mexico off the port of Veracruz, Mexico. Both fish types were infected by the monogenean ectoparasite Neobenedenia sp. and were killed within 2 to 3 wk. A crude worm extract was prepared from whole specimens collected during the original out- break and used to immunize naive hosts of the same 2 types of tilapia. Immunized fish were then exposed to seawater, which resulted in Neobenedenia sp. infection. Immunization did not confer any protection against Neobenedenia sp. infection. However, the experiment enabled detailed analysis of the dynamics of infection and comparison of the effects of the parasite on the 2 host types. Although both tilapia types exhibited similar resistance to infection (as they harbored similar parasite burdens in the early phase of infection), PU is less tolerant to Neobenedenia sp., as a mean parasite abun- dance of ca. 50 worms fish -1 killed all hosts within a fortnight, while 22% of MT survived up to 3 wk, harboring a mean parasite abundance of ca. 900 worms fish -1 . Our results suggest that, as reported elsewhere, Neobenedenia sp. could negatively affect mariculture off the Mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico.