Cartas agroclimáticas de "horas de frío" de la región serrana de la provincia de Córdoba (Argentina)

Se determinó la cantidad media de "horas de frío" disponibles durante el período de descanso de los frutales criófilos en la región serrana de la provincia de Córdoba (Argentina) con altitudes mayores de 500 metros, para lo cual se utilizó una metodología original de análisis agroclimático. Como resultado, la distribución geográfica que manifiesta este importante elemento biometeorológico en el área serrana se presenta bajo la forma de dos cartas agroclimáticas: la de "horas de frío totales" y la de "horas de frío efectivas", estas últimas computadas considerando la posible influencia de temperaturas devernalizantes. La disponibilidad regional de "horas de frío efectivas" computada para las áreas con altitudes mayores de 500 m varía entre 500 y 1700

The <i>Castalia</i> mission to Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro

We describe Castalia, a proposed mission to rendezvous with a Main Belt Comet (MBC), 133P/Elst-Pizarro. MBCs are a recently discovered population of apparently icy bodies within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which may represent the remnants of the population which supplied the early Earth with water. Castalia will perform the first exploration of this population by characterising 133P in detail, solving the puzzle of the MBC’s activity, and making the first in situ measurements of water in the asteroid belt. In many ways a successor to ESA’s highly successful Rosetta mission, Castalia will allow direct comparison between very different classes of comet, including measuring critical isotope ratios, plasma and dust properties. It will also feature the first radar system to visit a minor body, mapping the ice in the interior. Castalia was proposed, in slightly different versions, to the ESA M4 and M5 calls within the Cosmic Vision programme. We describe the science motivation for the mission, the measurements required to achieve the scientific goals, and the proposed instrument payload and spacecraft to achieve these

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Influence of manufacturing parameters on the size characteristics and the release profiles of nifedipine from poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres

Empty or nifedipine-loaded biodegradable poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres were prepared by the solvent evaporation method. Spherical microparticles of different size distribution were thus obtained. The evolution of the mean diameter and the extent of size distribution as a function of different preparation parameters were studied. The mean particle diameter decreased when the stirring rate, the surface-active agent concentration and the internal phase volume were increased. Microspheres of 12, 18 and 83 μm, with different nifedipine payloads were obtained. The in vitro release of the drug was evaluated under sink and non-sink conditions: the 12 and 18 μm microspheres provide the same linear profile for approx. 400 h. Under non-sink conditions, the 83 μm microspheres exhibit an S-shape release pattern. © 1993.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: AF Termination is the End Point.

This article reviews the literature on various techniques in the ablation of persistent AF, with the aim of highlighting the role of intraprocedural arrhythmia termination, defined as conversion to sinus rhythm or intermediate atrial tachycardia, in the predictability of arrhythmia recurrence. Because arrhythmia termination is not observed universally as a procedural end point, only those studies wherein it has been specifically reported, and its predictive role in arrhythmia recurrence is considered, are described