Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Effect of soil storage at 4 °C on the calorespirometric measurements of soil microbial metabolism

Soil samples must usually be stored for a time between collection and measurements of microbial metabolic properties. However, little is known about the influence of storage conditions on microbial metabolism when studied by calorespirometry. Calorespirometry measures the heat rate and the CO2 rate of microbial metabolism, where the ratio of heat and CO2 released, the calorespirometric ratio, informs about the nature of substrates being used by microorganisms. Application to soil microbiology is very recent, and little is known about the influence of the common soil preparation practices between collection and analysis on the calorespirometric measurements. For these reasons, the effect of storage at 4 °C on the microbial metabolism was determined by calorespirometry. Results show CO2 production rate decreases with storage time while the evolution of metabolic heat rate is more stable. The calorespirometric ratio increases with storage time in soil samples with organic matter characterized by lower carbohydrate contribution to the total carbon and higher aromaticity and is unaffected in soil samples with lower carbohydrates in the organic matter and higher aromaticity. Therefore, the calorespirometric ratio values may vary for the same soil sample, such that the soil organic matter properties, as well as the time stored at 4 °C, must be considered in interpreting calorespirometric data on soils.This work was funded by the project of Xunta de Galicia (10PXIB291027PR). 13C CPMAS analysis were done in the NMR services of the University of Santiago de Compostela (RIAIDT). Thermal analysis and calorimetric measurements were performed in the Elemental Analytical Services (RIAIDT) of the University of Santiago de CompostelaS

Biomass production assessment from Populus spp. short-rotation irrigated crops in Spain

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biomass production potential for the Spanish Iberian Peninsula using the Populus spp. 'I-214' clone under several management regimes and land availability scenarios, and to determine its future contribution to Spanish energy demands. Empirical models were fitted to the data from a network of 144 plots located at 12 sites in the continental Mediterranean climatic regions of the Iberian Peninsula, in which yield was related to climate and soil, as well as to plantation management variables. Four models were developed considering average maximum temperature of the hottest month (TMAXH, °C), length of drought (A, months), intensity of drought (K, unitless) and soil pH. Predictions were made for the irrigated agricultural land (IAL), where the value of the independent variables were within the validity range, and for two management scenarios. Energy production capacity was evaluated by considering the alternatives for transforming poplar SRC biomass heat, bio-ethanol and electricity. The results indicated a mean productivity for the Spanish Iberian peninsula of between 15.3 and 10.9 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for the standard management scenario and the poorly irrigated and weeded management scenario respectively. Two IAL scenarios were considered for the calculation of biomass production potential all IAL for which it was possible to make predictions is made available for poplar SRC (TP, maximum hypothetical production capacity), and another in which only unproductive IAL is available for poplar SRC (RP, production capacity without constricting agricultural production). The TP scenario contributes up to 6.8-9.6% of total energy demands, and the RP scenario 0.7-0.9%, depending on plantation management. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Mixed short rotation plantations of Populus alba and Robinia pseudoacacia for biomass yield

The possibility of using mixtures of species in an attempt to increase biomass yield in plantations managed in short rotation coppice (SRC) has received little attention in scientific literature. The hypothesis is that mixtures of two complementary species under SRC are more productive than monocultures. The objective of this study was to compare the growth and yield of mixtures and monocultures at the tree and stand levels. A mixed plantation of Populus alba L. genotype ‘111’ (P) and the nitrogen-fixing species Robinia pseudoacacia L. genotype ‘Nyirsegi’ (R) was established in 2012 in the centre of Spain, at a density of 10,000 trees per hectare (spacing 0.4m×2.5 m). The experimental design included pure as well as mixtures with different proportions of the species (100P:0R; 75P:25R; 50P:50R; 25P:75R and 0P:100R) following a completely randomized block design with 64 trees per plot. There was a positive effect of the mixture 75P:25R in terms of biomass yield, achieving a total yield of 13.66 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (26.83% higher than that of the P. alba monoculture and 89.99% higher than the R. pseudoacacia monoculture), with both species achieving a greater biomass yield per tree. In the other mixture treatments there was no significant positive effect of the nitrogen (N) fixing species on the non-N-fixing species. Within-row interactions were more important than between row-interactions. There was a positive effect on the yield of R. pseudoacacia when the neighbouring trees (within a row) on both sides were P. alba, while P. alba responded better with a P. alba tree on one side and a R. pseudoacacia tree on the other. The results point to the presence of competitive reduction or facilitation as the mechanisms for increased biomass yield under certain mixture ratios, and indicates the importance of mixing within the same row rather than row-by-row, in this type of plantation

'Pre-prosthetic use of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) membranes treated with oxygen plasma and TiO2 nanocomposite particles for guided bone regeneration processes'

[Objectives] Guided bone regeneration (GBR) processes are frequently necessary to achieve appropriate substrates before the restoration of edentulous areas. This study aimed to evaluate the bone regeneration reliability of a new poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) membrane after treatment with oxygen plasma (PO) and titanium dioxide (TiO) composite nanoparticles.[Methods] Circumferential bone defects (diameter: 10 mm; depth: 3 mm) were created on the parietal bones of eight experimentation rabbits and were randomly covered with control membranes (Group 1: PLGA) or experimental membranes (Group 2: PLGA/PO/TiO). The animals were euthanized two months afterwards, and a morphologic study was then performed under microscope using ROI (region of interest) colour analysis. Percentage of new bone formation, length of mineralised bone formed in the grown defects, concentration of osteoclasts, and intensity of osteosynthetic activity were assessed. Comparisons among the groups and with the original bone tissue were made using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The level of significance was set in advance at a = 0.05.[Results] The experimental group recorded higher values for new bone formation, mineralised bone length, and osteoclast concentration; this group also registered the highest osteosynthetic activity. Bone layers in advanced formation stages and low proportions of immature tissue were observed in the study group.[Conclusions] The functionalised membranes showed the best efficacy for bone regeneration.[Clinical significance] The addition of TiO nanoparticles onto PLGA/PO membranes for GBR processes may be a promising technique to restore bone dimensions and anatomic contours as a prerequisite to well-supported and natural-appearing prosthetic rehabilitations.This study is supported by the research project P09CTS 5189

DNA Methylation and Stress-induced Reversions from Asexual to Sexual Seed Formation in Boechera (Brassicacea)

Apomixis is a form of asexual reproduction that occurs in many plants and animals. Eggs of apomictic plants and animals form by apomeiosis, which means they do not become genetically reduced. Furthermore, these eggs develop into embryos without fertilization. Apomictic plants and animals generally reproduce quickly by making genetic copies of themselves, a trait that would be economically beneficial for perpetuating hybrid vigor if introduced into major seed crops. Metabolic stress induces a reversion from apomixis to sex in many apomicts, and this was recently shown to occur in species of the plant genus Boechera. 1 Transcriptome studies strongly suggest that this switch involves epigenetic reprogramming of the genome. I have drought-stressed cultured buds of apomictic Boechera in vitro to varying levels to determine an optimum treatment for inducing the switch from apomeiosis to meiosis. I have also exposed clusters of very immature floral buds to a DNA analogue that prevents DNA methylation (Fig. 1). This research is designed to allow me to determine the extent to which genome reprogramming, which involves DNA methylation, is involved in the switch from apomeiosis to meiosis