Study of gender differences in VR response following cardiac surgery

Cardiac and other invasive surgical procedures cause significant anxiety and stress to patients and their family members. In this study Virtual Reality (VR) was used as a method to reduce stress, anxiety and pain in patients undergoing surgical procedures. This study compared a cohort of patients in the interval prior to and successive to the surgery, differentiating the responses achieved by males and females and comparing the effectiveness. The results are encouraging: they demonstrate the efficacy of VR treatment and the safety of the method and detection of differences in the responses based on gender

Experimental measurements and diffusion in Harbor and coastal zones

Experimental results of turbulent flows in the sea surface near the coastline have been performed using both Lagrangian and Eulerian methods, field tests are presented using video recordings and velocity sensors. The spatial and temporal resolution is limited by the measuring instruments, which results in “filtering” out the very small scales. The experimental field-results obtained during the large-scale surf zone experiments carried out in the Ebro Delta, (Spain), under spilling/plunging breaking waves are compared with experiments performed at the Barcelona harbour. The field-measurements include several tests across the surf zone with high vertical resolution. The measured turbulent properties are compared with macroturbulence characteristics and length parameterisations. Diffusion is measured and related to the local velocity spectra so that a generalized Richardson law may be used

El aire: hábitat y medio de transmisión de microorganismos

La atmósfera no tiene una microbiota autóctona pero es un medio para la dispersión de muchos tipos de microorganismos (esporas, bacterias, virus y hongos), procedentes de otros ambientes. Algunos han creado adaptaciones especializadas que favorecen su supervivencia y permanencia. Los microorganismos dispersados por el aire tiene una gran importancia biológica y económica. Producen enfermedades en plantas, animales y humanos, causan alteración de alimentos y materiales orgánicos y contribuyen al deterioro y corrosión de monumentos y metales. La Microbiología del aire comienza en el siglo XIX, con Pasteur y Miquel que diseñaron métodos para estudiar los microorganismos en el aire y descubrir la causa de algunas enfermedades. Desde entonces numerosos investigadores han trabajado en este campo tanto en el aire exterior como en recintos cerrados. Las enfermedades transmitidas por el aire, producidas por bacterias, virus y hongos, son las respiratorias (neumonía, tosferina, tuberculosis, legionelosis, resfriado, gripe), sistémicas (meningitis, sarampión, varicela, micosis) y alérgicas

Analysis of Devices for Thermal Energy Consumption Monitoring and Design of A Bench Test for their Characterization

Abstract The mandatory introduction in Italy of the accounting of consumption for heating and domestic hot water in centralized heating systems has determined the introduction on the market of many commercial solutions based on different measuring principles. In order to find a proper method for testing the solutions proposed by the vendors, in the present work the uncertainty of the results reachable with the different types of measuring devices has been evaluated. Based on the best theoretical results achievable with the different types of devices the scheme of a test bed for the characterization of commercial systems is proposed

Use of a commercial enzyme immunoassay to monitor dengue virus replication in cultured cells

Current methods for dengue virus quantitation are either time consuming, technically demanding or costly. As an alternative, the commercial enzyme immunoassay Platelia™ Dengue NS1 AG (Bio-Rad Laboratories) was used to monitor semiquantitatively dengue virus replication in cultured cells. The presence of NS1 protein was evaluated in supernatants from Vero and C6/36 HT cells infected with dengue virus. The amount of NS1 detected in the supernatants of infected cells was proportional to the initial MOI used and to the time of post infection harvest. This immunoassay was also able to detect the presence of NS1 in the supernatants of infected human macrophages. Inhibition of dengue virus replication in C6/36 HT cells treated with lysosomotropic drugs was readily monitored with the use of this assay. These results suggest that the Platelia™ Dengue NS1 AG kit can be used as a fast and reliable surrogate method for the relative quantitation of dengue virus replication in cultured cells

Economic profitability of agroforestry in nitrate vulnerable zones in Catalonia (NE Spain)

The impact of agricultural practices and the excess application of nitrogen can negatively impact the environment and cause human health problems. In Spain, the liquid manure applied in areas of intensive agriculture is creating groundwater nitrate pollution problems. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the economic profitability of agroforestry practices in North East Spain. Therefore, it deals with an alternative land use that has attracted attention in recent years, considering its potential to reduce the negative impact of modern agriculture that combines concurrent forestry and agricultural production in the same area. Specifically, silvoarable practices, such as alley cropping (AC), edge row planting and riparian buffer (RB) strips were compared to conventional agricultural land use. Considering the current agricultural policy framework in Spain, which does not favour these practices, our results showed the economic profitability of alley-cropping practices in comparison to conventional barley production of 25 to 64 € ha-1 yr-1. However, AC systems presented negative results compared to the traditional wheat crop (-122 to -63 € ha-1 yr-1). The results for RB strips were strongly influenced by the high initial costs, both in irrigated and non-irrigated scenarios. Economic results were negative (between -137 and -85 € ha-1 yr-1) compared to the conventional crops, barley and corn. These figures could be greatly increased with a policy framework that promotes these practices based on the fundamental ecosystem services they provide. Moreover, these practices allow an economic diversification that could prove to be beneficial for the majority of farmers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recent distribution of Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa in Piedmont (North Western Italy): signs of recent spreading.

The red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa in Piedmont (NW Italy) is historically limited to the hilly and low-mountain areas of the southern half of the region, in particular lying in the Langhe and the Apennines on the Ligurian border, in the districts of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria. In the Cuneo district, on the Maritime Alps, hybrid populations with Alectoris graeca were also known. The distribution of the species has been mapped in some occasions with the \u201cAtlases\u201d projects of the GPSO (Gruppo Piemontese Studi Ornitologici) and special enquiries. On this occasion we tried to update the geographical distribution of the species using data conferred by bird-watchers on www.regione.piemonte.it/aves/, managed by the GPSO, enquiries among hunters\u2019 organizations and specific field researches. The resulting distribution is shown on a 10 km square grid. The species shows signs of distribution dynamism, with the occupation of some lowland areas, where it was totally absent until the \u201890s. A little range expansion is noticeable also in the Western Monferrato. The situation seems to be more stable (or even declining) in the Langhe area and the species is now disappeared from the alpine border. In general we are seeing an areal contraction or density reduction on hills and mountains and an extension on lowlands. The observed changes seem to be attributable mainly to environmental and climate changes