Deep incision in an Aptian carbonate succession indicates major sea-level fall in the Cretaceous

Long-term relative sea-level cycles (0 5 to 6 Myr) have yet to be fully understood for the Cretaceous. During the Aptian, in the northern Maestrat Basin (Eastern Iberian Peninsula), fault-controlled subsidence created depositional space, but eustasy governed changes in depositional trends. Relative sea-level history was reconstructed by sequence stratigraphic analysis. Two forced regressive stages of relative sea-level were recognized within three depositional sequences. The first stage is late Early Aptian age (intra Dufrenoyia furcata Zone) and is characterized by foreshore to upper shoreface sedimentary wedges, which occur detached from a highstand carbonate platform, and were deposited above basin marls. The amplitude of relative sea-level drop was in the order of tens of metres, with a duration of 2 km wide and cut 115 m down into the underlying Aptian succession. With the subsequent transgression, the incision was back-filled with peritidal to shallow subtidal deposits. The changes in depositional trends, lithofacies evolution and geometric relation of the stratigraphic units characterized are similar to those observed in coeval rocks within the Maestrat Basin, as well as in other correlative basins elsewhere. The pace and magnitude of the two relative sea-level drops identified fall within the glacio-eustatic domain. In the Maestrat Basin, terrestrial palynological studies provide evidence that the late Early and Late Aptian climate was cooler than the earliest part of the Early Aptian and the Albian Stage, which were characterized by warmer environmental conditions. The outcrops documented here are significant because they preserve the results of Aptian long-term sea-level trends that are often only recognizable on larger scales (i.e. seismic) such as for the Arabian Plate

Desarrollo e implantación de un protocolo perioperatorio de enfermería en cirugía plástica mamaria ambulatoria

Los cuidados perioperatorios de enfermería sitúan al paciente en las mejores condiciones posibles para su recuperación en el domicilio. Junto a la aplicación de los bloqueos paravertebral torácico y de nervios pectorales y una depurada técnica quirúrgica, hacen que sea posible la implantación de un programa de cirugía plástica mamaria en régimen ambulatorio. Nos planteamos como objetivo estandarizar la práctica asistencial de enfermería en este tipo de cirugía, garantizar la seguridad domiciliaria de las pacientes mediante el seguimiento telefónico y evaluar el grado de satisfacción utilizando una encuesta anónima. Elaboramos un protocolo de cuidados perioperatorios desarrollando los documentos de: entrevista preoperatoria de enfermería, listado de verificación prequirúrgica, cuidados preoperatorios, intraoperatorios y postoperatorios, hoja de cuidados y recomendaciones de enfermería, hoja protocolizada de tratamiento médico, hoja de seguimiento telefónico para evaluar el cumplimiento del tratamiento, dolor, control del drenaje, fiebre y tensión mamaria. Posteriormente realizamos una encuesta anónima entre las pacientes para evaluar su grado de satisfacción. Recogimos 35 intervenciones por diferentes patologías mamarias llevadas a cabo entre abril del 2012 y diciembre del 2013 de forma ambulatoria y bajo anestesia paravertebral torácica: 5 pacientes (14%) precisaron ingreso hospitalario, 2 por dolor, 2 por sangrado y 1 por vómitos y sangrado. Todas cumplieron el tratamiento prescrito; a las 24 horas, 28 pacientes (93,3%) presentaron una puntuación de dolor = 3 en una escala numérica de 0 a 10 y a las 48 horas todas presentaron una puntuación de dolor < 3. Veintisiete pacientes (90%) manifestaron que el grado de satisfacción respecto al proceso fue muy bueno. Creemos que el disponer de un protocolo de cuidados perioperatorios de enfermería en cirugía plástica mamaria ambulatoria con anestesia paravertebral torácica asegura la estandarización de la práctica enfermera incrementando la seguridad de las pacientes en su domicilio y mejorando su grado de satisfacción respecto a todo el proceso cuya evaluación resulta ser muy buena

Growth, optical characterization, and laser operation of a stoichiometric crystal KYb(WO4)(2)

We present our recent achievements in the growing and optical characterization of KYb(WO4)2 (hereafter KYbW) crystals and demonstrate laser operation in this stoichiometric material. Single crystals of KYbW with optimal crystalline quality have been grown by the top-seeded-solution growth slow-cooling method. The optical anisotropy of this monoclinic crystal has been characterized, locating the tensor of the optical indicatrix and measuring the dispersion of the principal values of the refractive indices as well as the thermo-optic coefficients. Sellmeier equations have been constructed valid in the visible and near-IR spectral range. Raman scattering has been used to determine the phonon energies of KYbW and a simple physical model is applied for classification of the lattice vibration modes. Spectroscopic studies (absorption and emission measurements at room and low temperature) have been carried out in the spectral region near 1 µm characteristic for the ytterbium transition. Energy positions of the Stark sublevels of the ground and the excited state manifolds have been determined and the vibronic substructure has been identified. The intrinsic lifetime of the upper laser level has been measured taking care to suppress the effect of reabsorption and the intrinsic quantum efficiency has been estimated. Lasing has been demonstrated near 1074 nm with 41% slope efficiency at room temperature using a 0.5 mm thin plate of KYbW. This laser material holds great promise for diode pumped high-power lasers, thin disk and waveguide designs as well as for ultrashort (ps/fs) pulse laser systems