Surgimiento de actividades de exportación exitosas en Uruguay: cuatro casos específicos

En este trabajo se presenta el análisis de cuatro casos específicos de surgimiento de cuatro actividades de exportación exitosas de Uruguay: software de computación, productos madereros, caviar y carne de esturión, y vacunas para animales. En cada uno de esos casos específicos se trata cómo empresas, asociaciones y varios gobiernos a varios niveles han manejado crisis de mercado y facilitado el suministro de los bienes públicos necesarios para cada actividad. El análisis de estos casos específicos presenta además una descripción de las características de los actores principales en cada ramo de actividad así como las externalidades positivas que brindan a los emuladores, especialmente la difusión de conocimientos sobre exportación. También se presenta en cada área un caso opuesto de actividad menos exitosa (electrónica, vino, carne de rana y biotecnología, respectivamente) así como una sección sobre implicaciones de políticas.Agriculture, Exports, Manufacturing, Services, Uruguay

Case Report: Severe Rhabdomyolysis and Multiorgan Failure After ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccination

Background: Severe skeletal muscle damage has been recently reported in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and as a rare vaccination complication. Case summary: On Apr 28, 2021 a 68-year-old man who was previously healthy presented with an extremely severe rhabdomyolysis that occurred nine days following the first dose of SARS-CoV-2 ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination. He had no risk factors, and denied any further assumption of drugs except for fermented red rice, and berberine supplement. The clinical scenario was complicated by a multi organ failure involving bone marrow, liver, lung, and kidney. For the rapid increase of the inflammatory markers, a cytokine storm was suspected and multi-target biologic immunosuppressive therapy was started, consisting of steroids, anakinra, and eculizumab, which was initially successful resulting in close to normal values of creatine phosphokinase after 17 days of treatment. Unfortunately, 48 days after the vaccination an accelerated phase of deterioration, characterized by severe multi-lineage cytopenia, untreatable hypotensive shock, hypoglycemia, and dramatic increase of procalcitonin (PCT), led to patient death. Conclusion: Physicians should be aware that severe and fatal rhabdomyolysis may occur after SARS-CoV2 vaccine administration

Adding functions to marine infrastructure: Pollutant accumulation, physiological and microbiome changes in sponges attached to floating pontoons inside marinas

The rate of introduction of man-made habitats in coastal environments is growing at an unprecedented pace, as a consequence of the expansion of urban areas. Floating installations, due to their unique hydrodynamic features, are able to provide great opportunities for enhancing water detoxification through the use of sessile, filtering organisms. We assessed whether the application of sponges to floating pontoons could function as a tool for biomonitoring organic and inorganic pollutants and for improving water quality inside a moderately contaminated marina in the NW Mediterranean. Fragments of two common Mediterranean sponges (Petrosia (Petrosia) ficiformis and Ircinia oros) were fixed to either suspended natural fibre nets beneath a floating pontoon or to metal frames deployed on the sea bottom. We assessed the accumulation of organic and inorganic contaminants in sponge fragments and, in order to provide an insight into their health status, we examined changes in their metabolic and oxidative stress responses and associated microbiomes. Fragments of both sponge species filtered out pollutants from seawater on both support types, but generally showed a better physiological and metabolic status when fixed to nets underneath the pontoon than to bottom frames. P. (P) ficiformis maintained a more efficient metabolism and exhibited a lower physiological stress levels and higher stability of the associated microbiome in comparison with I. oros. Our study suggests that the application of sponges to floating pontoon represents a promising nature-based solution to improve the ecological value of urban environments