Total mercury concentrations in fish from Urrá reservoir (Sinú river, Colombia). Six years of monitoring

ABSTRACTObjective. The aim of this study was to monitor the total mercury (T-Hg) concentrations in fish from the Urrá reservoir, after impoundment. Materials and methods. Five fish species at different trophic levels were sampled from 2004 to 2009 and analyzed by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy for T-Hg concentrations in muscle tissue. Water quality parameters were evaluated. Results. The highest (1.39±0.69 μg/g ww) and lowest (0.15±0.02 μg/g ww) T-Hg concentrations were detected in Hoplias malabaricus (piscivorous) and Cyphocharax magdalenae (iliophagous/detritivorous) respectively, whereas Leporinus muyscorum (omnivorous) had an intermediate level (0.40±0.11 μg/g ww). The organic matter content in the water increased with time and depth, whereas dissolved oxygen and pH decreased. A covariance analysis (with fish length as a covariate) shows a steady increase of T-Hg levels in all the studied species after impoundment. Conclusions. The T-Hg concentrations in the evaluated fish species, increased after impoundment. The water quality variables showed conditions favoring Hg methylation and its biomagnification, this last was evident in the fish food chain of the reservoir

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Construcción y análisis funcional de un horno de tipología romana del ámbito de la Bahía de Cádiz

In this article, we present the results of the work realized in the Laboratory Experimental Archaeology ERA. There surrendered to systematical experimentation, diverse aspects about constructive technologies applicable to the Roman Empire and to the manufactures of “alphar” from bahía de Cádiz.En este trabajo presentamos los primeros resultados del trabajo realizado en el Laboratorio de Arqueología Experimental ERA. Se sometieron a experimentación sistemática diversos aspectos de las técnicas constructivas aplicables al Imperio Romano y la fabricación de alfares en el ámbito de la bahía de Cádiz

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially