LCA Towards Sustainable Agriculture: The Case Study of Cupuaçu Jam from Agroforestry

Appropriate design of agricultural systems for the regeneration of deforested lands in critical areas, like the Amazon, may be an effective action to restore forest ecosystem functions and to mitigate biodiversity loss and climate change. Among the possible strategies, agroforestry may represent a viable trade-off between economic and environmental aspects. In this study, the production of a jam made of fruits from agroforestry was analysed from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) perspective. The agroforestry system investigated was implemented in a reforested area of the Peruvian Amazon. A cradle-to-grave approach, from the cultivation phase to the end-of-life of the jam, was adopted. Additionally to LCA, the focus is on the agricultural phase and, in particular, on the comparison of alternative agro-ecosystems from an environmental viewpoint. Therefore, LCA indicators are integrated with biodiversity indicators to account for the ecological dimension. Preliminary results highlight the benefits of producing jam from fruits harvested in an area of the Amazon reforested via agroforestry, as well as the high variability of environmental impacts due to the differences in the alternative agricultural systems considered

Measurement of Diaphragmatic Electrical Activity by Surface Electromyography in Intubated Subjects and Its Relationship With Inspiratory Effort

BACKGROUND: Quantification of patient effort during spontaneous breathing is important to tailor ventilatory assistance. Because a correlation between inspiratory muscle pressure (Pmus) and electrical activity of the diaphragm (EAdi) has been described, we aimed to assess the reliability of surface electromyography (EMG) of the respiratory muscles for monitoring diaphragm electrical activity and subject effort during assisted ventilation. METHODS: At a general ICU of a single university-affiliated hospital, we enrolled subjects who were intubated and on pressure support ventilation (PSV) and were on mechanical ventilation for > 48 h. The subjects were studied at 3 levels of pressure support. Airway flow and pressure; esophageal pressure; EAdi; and surface EMG of the diaphragm (surface EAdi), intercostal, and sternocleidomastoid muscles were recorded. Respiratory cycles were sampled for off-line analysis. The Pmus/EAdi index (PEI) was calculated by relying on EAdi and surface EAdi (surface PEI) from an airway pressure drop during end-expiratory occlusions performed every minute. RESULTS: surface EAdi well correlated with EAdi and Pmus, in particular, after averaging breaths into deciles (R = 0.92 and R = 0.84). When surface PEI was used with surface EAdi, it provided a reliable estimation of Pmus (R = 0.94 in comparison with measured Pmus). CONCLUSIONS: During assisted mechanical ventilation, EAdi can be reliably monitored by both EAdi and surface EMG. The measurement of Pmus based on the calibration of EAdi was also feasible by the use of surface EMG