Prospeccion del mercado estadunidense de semillas de hortalizas organicas

120 p.En el presente estudio se analizaron las posibilidades presentes y futuras que poseen los productores nacionales de semillas de hortalizas orgánicas a la hora de ingresar al mercado de Estados Unidos. Debido a la gran extensión territorial y a lo heterogénea de su población, nos enfocamos a los cinco principales estados productores agrícolas, ya que poseen ventajas en la producción agropecuaria, y un ingreso per capita atractivo con respecto al resto del país. Los principales estados son Iowa, California, Florida, Carolina del Norte y Carolina del Sur. La producción orgánica de semillas en Chile se encuentra poco desarrollada, pero nuestro país posee ventajas tales Como: Ser un multiplicador de semillas por excelencia, tener una geografía fitosanitaria y niveles de control sanitario de primer orden, junto con ser un país estable política, económica y socialmente. Esto nos hace pensar que este, es un mercado floreciente, con tasas de crecimiento por sobre e120%. Además hay que tener en cuenta que Chile es el sexto productor de semillas convencionales a nivel mundial (exports alrededor de 15 millones de kilos solo hacia Estados Unidos), siendo uno de los principales proveedores de este producto que posee esta nación de Norteamérica. La metodología desarrollada en la presente obra, se formulo por medio de una investigación exploratoria, debido a la inexistencia de estudios en esta área, aprovechando además, la flexibilidad que nos entrega este tipo de estudio, junto con lograr situarnos en una etapa inicial en el desarrollo de esta industria. La recolección de datos se desarrollo por medio de datos primarios y secundarios. Con respecto a los primeros, fue de gran ayuda las entrevistas en profundidad desarrolladas a académicos, productores y personas ligadas al quehacer semillero y hortícola nacional. Los datos secundarios fueron recopilados principalmente de la información obtenida de Internet. Junto a esto, se desarrollo una serie de objetivos con el fin de lograr caracterizar y determinar las reales posibilidades de los productores chilenos de ingresar a este importante mercado. Para ello, se analizaron los principales índices macroeconómicos de Estados Unidos, caracterizando su economía, la evolución tenida en los últimos años junto con analizar la situación actual de la producción orgánica, legislación y perspectiva futura. Además se realizó una investigación para determinar el perfil del consumidor americano, y sus principales atributos. Dentro de las conclusiones obtenidas a partir de este estudio, es que los exportadores nacionales deben aprovechar la visión que poseen los mercados internacionales sobre la producción de semillas nacional, por lo cual se debería desarrollar una política para aumentar la dotación de terrenos certificados. Teniendo en cuenta, el aumento en la demanda mundial que sobrepasara la oferta mundial, luego de la promulgación de obligatoriedad europea (norma 2092/91), la cual establece que los cultivos orgánicos deben provenir de semillas originadas orgánicamente, asumiendo que gran parte de la dotación agrícola de Estados Unidos es exportada al mercado europeo. Estados Unidos ha logrado importantes avances, dentro de los cuales cabe destacar la promulgación y entrada en vigencia del National Organic Program. Junto a esto, los sobreprecios obtenidos por las semillas organicas de hortalizas, llega en ocasiones a diferencias del 300% con respecto a los convencionales, lo cual lo hace un mercado sumamente atractivo. En la actualidad el medio de transporte mas requerido para la exportación de la producción nacional de semillas orgánicas se realiza por vía aérea, debido a los bajos volúmenes exportados, lo cual debería cambiar (luego de la entrada en vigencia de la norma europea), dándole mayor relevancia al transporte marítimo. Los principales destinos de nuestra producción actualmente es el mercado Californiano, siendo la puerta de entrada el aeropuerto internacional de Los Ángeles en la costa oeste y Miami por la costa este. Se recomienda a los productores nacionales, aprovechar las posibilidades actuales para la conversión orgánica, tomando en cuenta que es un proceso largo que dura entre 24 y 36 meses, ya que es de gran relevancia aprovechar las ventajas que se lograran en el mediano plazo, junto con la ventaja que nos entrega el poseer un Tratado de Libre Comercio con Estados Unidos. Junto a esto, se debe tener en cuenta la demanda actual por lechugas, main, brócoli, tomates, zanahorias, coliflor, cebollas, ajos zapallos, sandias, melones, principalmente. La producción de este tipo de bienes nos favorece ampliamente, debido a las ventajas señaladas con anterioridad. Para finalizar, es de gran importancia que los exportadores se reúnan en sistemas de producción conjuntas, cooperativas como se realiza en Argentina, con el fin de crear volúmenes de producción y comercialización que les permitan tener un mayor poder de negociación e influencia en los precios de sus productos y poder desarrollar proyectos conjuntos en investigación y desarrollo de mejoras en las técnicas productivas

Mathematical modeling of gallic acid release from chitosan films with grape seed extract and carvacrol

Controlled release of antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds from packaging films is of utmost importance for extending the shelf-life of perishable foods. This study focused on the mathematical modeling of gallic acid release into an aqueous medium from three chitosan films, formulated with grape seed extract (GSE) and carvacrol. We quantified the release by HPLC technique during 30days at three temperatures (5, 25 and 45°C). The diffusion coefficients, varying with temperature according to an Arrhenius-type relationship, and the respective activation energies for Film-1 and Film-2 were, respectively [Formula: see text] m2s-1 and [Formula: see text] m2s-1, Ea1=58kJmol-1 and Ea2=60kJmol-1 as obtained from the Fickian fit. The low concentrations of gallic acid released by Film-3 could not be detected by HPLC, therefore the respective diffusion coefficient was not estimated. This study will help with the development and optimization of active packaging (AP) films aiming at improved food preservation and shelf-life extension.Javiera F. Rubilar gratefully acknowledges her Ph.D. grant from ErasmusMundus 2008-1022/001 Frame ECW/17, EACEA(European Union), financial support of the Fondecyt-Postdoctoral #3140349 project from CONICYT, and also “Dirección de Investigación e Innovación Escuela de Ingeniería” at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Rui M. S. Cruz acknowledges grant SFRH/BPD/70036/2010 from Fundac¸ ão para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Updating Fearful Memories with Extinction Training during Reconsolidation: A Human Study Using Auditory Aversive Stimuli

Learning to fear danger in the environment is essential to survival, but dysregulation of the fear system is at the core of many anxiety disorders. As a consequence, a great interest has emerged in developing strategies for suppressing fear memories in maladaptive cases. Recent research has focused in the process of reconsolidation where memories become labile after being retrieved. In a behavioral manipulation, Schiller et al., (2010) reported that extinction training, administrated during memory reconsolidation, could erase fear responses. The implications of this study are crucial for the possible treatment of anxiety disorders without the administration of drugs. However, attempts to replicate this effect by other groups have been so far unsuccessful. We sought out to reproduce Schiller et al., (2010) findings in a different fear conditioning paradigm based on auditory aversive stimuli instead of electric shock. Following a within-subject design, participants were conditioned to two different sounds and skin conductance response (SCR) was recorded as a measure of fear. Our results demonstrated that only the conditioned stimulus that was reminded 10 minutes before extinction training did not reinstate a fear response after a reminder trial consisting of the presentation of the unconditioned stimuli. For the first time, we replicated Schiller et al., (2010) behavioral manipulation and extended it to an auditory fear conditioning paradigm

Maternal outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 severity among pregnant women.

Pregnant women may be at higher risk of severe complications associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which may lead to obstetrical complications. We performed a case control study comparing pregnant women with severe coronavirus disease 19 (cases) to pregnant women with a milder form (controls) enrolled in the COVI-Preg international registry cohort between March 24 and July 26, 2020. Risk factors for severity, obstetrical and immediate neonatal outcomes were assessed. A total of 926 pregnant women with a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 were included, among which 92 (9.9%) presented with severe COVID-19 disease. Risk factors for severe maternal outcomes were pulmonary comorbidities [aOR 4.3, 95% CI 1.9-9.5], hypertensive disorders [aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.0] and diabetes [aOR2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.5]. Pregnant women with severe maternal outcomes were at higher risk of caesarean section [70.7% (n = 53/75)], preterm delivery [62.7% (n = 32/51)] and newborns requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit [41.3% (n = 31/75)]. In this study, several risk factors for developing severe complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pregnant women were identified including pulmonary comorbidities, hypertensive disorders and diabetes. Obstetrical and neonatal outcomes appear to be influenced by the severity of maternal disease

Protective intraoperative ventilation with higher versus lower levels of positive end-expiratory pressure in obese patients (PROBESE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) increase the morbidity and mortality of surgery in obese patients. High levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) with lung recruitment maneuvers may improve intraoperative respiratory function, but they can also compromise hemodynamics, and the effects on PPCs are uncertain. We hypothesized that intraoperative mechanical ventilation using high PEEP with periodic recruitment maneuvers, as compared with low PEEP without recruitment maneuvers, prevents PPCs in obese patients. Methods/design The PRotective Ventilation with Higher versus Lower PEEP during General Anesthesia for Surgery in OBESE Patients (PROBESE) study is a multicenter, two-arm, international randomized controlled trial. In total, 2013 obese patients with body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 scheduled for at least 2 h of surgery under general anesthesia and at intermediate to high risk for PPCs will be included. Patients are ventilated intraoperatively with a low tidal volume of 7 ml/kg (predicted body weight) and randomly assigned to PEEP of 12 cmH2O with lung recruitment maneuvers (high PEEP) or PEEP of 4 cmH2O without recruitment maneuvers (low PEEP). The occurrence of PPCs will be recorded as collapsed composite of single adverse pulmonary events and represents the primary endpoint. Discussion To our knowledge, the PROBESE trial is the first multicenter, international randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of two different levels of intraoperative PEEP during protective low tidal volume ventilation on PPCs in obese patients. The results of the PROBESE trial will support anesthesiologists in their decision to choose a certain PEEP level during general anesthesia for surgery in obese patients in an attempt to prevent PPCs. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02148692. Registered on 23 May 2014; last updated 7 June 2016. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-017-1929-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat