Do riparian forest fragments provide ecosystem services or disservices in surrounding oil palm plantations?

Agricultural expansion across tropical regions is causing declines in biodiversity and altering ecological processes. However, in some tropical agricultural systems, conserving natural habitat can simultaneously protect threatened species and support important ecosystem services. Oil palm cultivation is expanding rapidly throughout the tropics but the extent to which non-crop habitat supports biodiversity and ecosystem services in these landscapes is poorly documented. We investigated whether riparian forest fragments (riparian reserves) provide a pest control service or increase pest activity (disservice) within oil palm dominated landscapes in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We assessed the activity of potential predators of pest herbivores using plasticine caterpillar mimics and quantified herbivory rates on oil palm fronds in areas with and without riparian reserves. We also manipulated the shape and colour of the mimics to assess the extent to which artificial pest mimics reflect a predatory response. The presence of riparian reserves increased the attack rate on mimics by arthropods, but not by birds. Our methodological study suggested attacks on artificial pest mimics provide a better indication of predatory activity for birds than for arthropod predators. Herbivory rates were also not significantly affected by the presence of a riparian reserve, but we found some evidence that herbivory rates may decrease as the size of riparian reserves increases. Overall, we conclude that riparian forest fragments of 30 – 50 m width on each side of the river are unlikely to provide a pest control service. Nevertheless, our results provide evidence that these riparian buffer strips do not increase the density of defoliating pests, which should reassure managers concerned about possible negative consequences of preserving riparian buffers

Elective lung resection increases spatial QRS-T angle and QTc interval

Background: Lung resection changes intra-thoracic anatomy, which may affect electrocardiographic results. While postoperative cardiac arrhythmias have been recognized after lung resection, no study has documented changes in vectorcardiographic variables in patients undergoing this surgery. The purpose of this study was to analyse changes in spatial QRS-T angle (spQRS-T) and corrected QT interval (QTc) after lung resection.Methods: Adult patients undergoing elective lung resection under general anaesthesia were studied. The patients were allocated into four groups: those undergoing (1) left lobectomy (LL); (2) left pneumonectomy (LP); (3) right lobectomy (RL); and (4) right pneumonectomy (RP). The spQRS-T angle and QTc interval were measured one day before surgery (baseline) and 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery.Results: Seventy-one adult patients (47 men and 24 women) aged 47–80 (65 ± 7) years were studied. In the study group as a whole, lung resection was associated with significant increases in spQRS-T (p < 0.001) and QTc (p < 0.05 at 24 and 48 h and p < 0.01 at 72 h). The greatest changes were noted in patients undergoing LP. Postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) was noted in 6.4% of patients studied, in whom the widest spQRS-T angle and the most prolonged QTc intervals were also noted.Conclusions: Lung resection widens the spQRS-T angle and prolongs the QTc interval, especially in patients undergoing LP. While postoperative AF was a relatively rare complication after lung resection in this study, it was associated with the widest spQRS-T angles and most prolonged QTc intervals

New International Guidelines and Consensus on the Use of Lung Ultrasound

Following the innovations and new discoveries of the last 10 years in the field of lung ultrasound (LUS), a multidisciplinary panel of international LUS experts from six countries and from different fields (clinical and technical) reviewed and updated the original international consensus for point-of-care LUS, dated 2012. As a result, a total of 20 statements have been produced. Each statement is complemented by guidelines and future developments proposals. The statements are furthermore classified based on their nature as technical (5), clinical (11), educational (3), and safety (1) statements

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Determination of desorbable methane content in coal and effective coefficient of methane diffusion on coal by use of the analog method

Opracowana została koncepcja nowej metody oraz urządzenia pomiarowego generującego dodatkowe parametry opisu układu węgiel-gaz. Dzięki prezentowanej metodzie możliwe jest określenie wartości desorbowalnej zawartości metanu w węglu oraz efektywnego współczynnika dyfuzji. Konstrukcja urządzenia pomiarowego pozwala na pracę w warunkach kopalnianych. Diametralne zmniejszenie klasy ziarnowej próbki węgla skutkuje skróceniem czasu obserwacji procesu emisji gazu do jednej doby. Praca zawiera opis konstrukcji przyrządu, prezentację prototypu oraz przykładowe wyniki testów laboratoryjnych.This paper presents a concept of a new method and measurement device which generates additional parameters of coal-gas system description. Thanks to the presented method, it is possible to determine the desorbable value of methane content in coal and effective coefficient of diffusion. The construction of the measurement device allows to operate under mining conditions. Significant reduction of the size grade of a coal sample results in cutting the time of observation of the gas emission process down to twenty-four hours. This paper includes a description of the device, presentation of the prototype and examples of laboratory tests results

Analogue Methane Emission Recorder AMER - mining tests

Opracowany został Analogowy Rejestrator Emisji Metanu AREM. Przyrząd pozwala na wyznaczanie desorbowalnej zawartości metanu w węglu oraz współczynnika dyfuzji. Urządzenie zostało zoptymalizowane pod kątem pracy w warunkach kopalnianych. Wprowadzone zostały poprawki względem prototypu poprawiające niezawodność i łatwość użytkowania. Urządzenie wyposażone zostało w zestaw sit. Opracowana została metodyka pomiarowa. Przeprowadzono testy kopalniane. Wyniki pochodzące z prezentowanego urządzenia wskazują dużą zbieżność z pomiarami przeprowadzanymi metodami stosowanymi obecnie w górnictwie.Analogue Methane Emission Recorder (AMER) has been developed. The device allows to determine the desorbable methane content of coal and the diffusion coefficient. AREM has been optimized to work in coal mines. Adjustments have been made to improve the reliability and usability of this prototype. The device is equipped with a set of sieves. Measurement methodology has been developed. Mining tests were carried out. The results obtained from the presented device show high similarity to the measurements made by methods currently used in the mining industry