Interplay between climate, pollution and COVID-19 on ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a large metropolitan region.

Background: Collective risk factors such as climate and pollution impact on the risk of acute cardiovascular events, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There is limited data however on the precise temporal and independent association between these factors and STEMI, and the potentially interacting role of government policies against Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially for Latin America.

Methods: We retrospectively collected aggregate data on daily STEMI admissions at 10 tertiary care centers in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Argentina, from January 1, 2017 to November 30, 2020.

Development and testing of a 3D-printable polylactic acid device to optimize a water bioremediation process.

In the present work, a remediation bioprocess based on the use of a native isolate of Chlorella vulgaris immobilized in an alginate matrix inside a polylactic acid (PLA) device is proposed. This microalga immobilized in alginate beads was previously shown to be useful for the reduction of several chemical and microbial contaminants present in the highly polluted water from the Matanza-Riachuelo watershed. However, these beads had a relatively short shelf life in the natural environment.