Aspergillus detection in airways of ICU COVID-19 patients: To treat or not to treat?

It is now well known that patients with severe COVID-19 are at risk for developing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Nevertheless, the symptomatology of IPA is often atypical in mechanically ventilated patients and the radiological aspects of SARS CoV-2 pneumonia and IPA are difficult to differentiate. In this context, the significance of the presence of Aspergillus in respiratory tract samples (detected by culture, galactomannan antigen, or specific PCR) is not yet fully understood.

In-hospital cardiac arrests admitted alive in intensive care units: Insights from the CubRéa database.

Background: In-hospital cardiac arrest(IHCA) has received little attention compared with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim: To address the paucity of data on IHCA patients, we examined key features, variations in mortality and predictors of death among patients admitted in French intensive care units(ICUs) from 1997 to 2015.

Methods: Using the database of the Collège des Utilisateurs de Bases de données en Réanimation(CUB-Réa) that prospectively collects data from ICUs in the greater Paris area, we determined temporal trends in the incidence of IHCA, patients' outcomes, crude and Simplified Acute Physiology Score(SAPS)-II Standardized mortality and predictors of in-ICU mortality.

Fungal infections in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 during the first wave: the French multicentre MYCOVID study.

Background: Patients with severe COVID-19 have emerged as a population at high risk of invasive fungal infections (IFIs). However, to our knowledge, the prevalence of IFIs has not yet been assessed in large populations of mechanically ventilated patients. We aimed to identify the prevalence, risk factors, and mortality associated with IFIs in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 under intensive care.

The effects of offering immediate postpartum placement of IUDs and implants to pregnant patients with heart disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of offering immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception to pregnant patients with heart disease.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort of pregnant patients with cardiac disease managed by a Comprehensive Pregnancy & Heart Program. Patients were divided into 2 cohorts: pre-immediate postpartum LARC Program implementation (March 2015 to January 2017) and post-implementation (February 2017 to June 2019).

The role of soils in regulation and provision of blue and green water.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims for clean water and sanitation for all by 2030, through eight subgoals dealing with four themes: (i) water quantity and availability, (ii) water quality, (iii) finding sustainable solutions and (iv) policy and governance. In this opinion paper, we assess how soils and associated land and water management can help achieve this goal, considering soils at two scales: local soil health and healthy landscapes. The merging of these two viewpoints shows the interlinked importance of the two scales.

The role of plant species on runoff and soil erosion in a Mediterranean shrubland.

Shrubland is a Mediterranean biome characterized by densely growing evergreen shrubs adapted to fire events. To date, scientific research has focused on the impact of vegetation on soil erosion mainly through the control that plant biomass or plant cover exerts on sediment delivery and runoff discharge, being the individual plant species influence on hydrological and erosional processes not achieved in detail. The objective of this research is to determine: i) runoff and soil losses in a shrubland-covered rangeland at Sierra de Enguera, Spain; and ii) how four plant species affect soil and water losses.

A review of significance of Aspergillus detection in airways of ICU COVID-19 patients.

It is now well known that patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted in ICU and mechanically ventilated are at risk of developing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Nevertheless, symptomatology of IPA is often atypical in mechanically ventilated patients, and radiological aspects in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and IPA are difficult to differentiate. In this context, the significance of the presence of Aspergillus in airway specimens (detected by culture, galactomannan antigen or specific PCR) remains to be fully understood.

Long-term non-sustainable soil erosion rates and soil compaction in drip-irrigated citrus plantation in Eastern Iberian Peninsula.

Agriculture is known to commonly cause soil degradation. In the Mediterranean, soil erosion is widespread due to the millennia-old farming, and new drip-irrigated plantations on slopes, such as the citrus ones, accelerate the process of soil degradation. Until now, the published data about soil erosion in citrus orchards is based on short-term measurements.

Long-term monitoring of soil bulk density and erosion rates in two Prunus Persica (L) plantations under flood irrigation and glyphosate herbicide treatment in La Ribera district, Spain.

Early season fruit production for the northern European market is highly intensive in fertilization, machinery, irrigation and the use of herbicides. Those conditions increase the soil losses and soil compaction and threaten the Sustainable Goals for Development of the United Nations by 2030. Long-term soil erosion measurements are necessary to determine the sustainability of agriculture managements.

No till soil organic carbon sequestration could be overestimated when slope effect is not considered.

No tillage (NT) soil management has been considered a strategy for the implementation of environmental sustainability and a possible tool of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Considering the wide range of data on SOC change after NT application in relation to conventional tillage (CT) in different studies, further researches are needed over a diverse range of soil and climate before a proper estimation of the benefits can be provided by the NT. A data set composed of cereal cropping system studies, comparing the SOC content under CT and NT was compiled from the literature using the scientific repositories "Scopus" and "Science direct".

Respiratory mechanics and gas exchanges in the early course of COVID-19 ARDS: a hypothesis-generating study.

Rationale: COVID-19 ARDS could differ from typical forms of the syndrome.

Objective: Pulmonary microvascular injury and thrombosis are increasingly reported as constitutive features of COVID-19 respiratory failure. Our aim was to study pulmonary mechanics and gas exchanges in COVID-2019 ARDS patients studied early after initiating protective invasive mechanical ventilation, seeking after corresponding pathophysiological and biological characteristics.

Patient Preferences for Prenatal and Postpartum Care Delivery: A Survey of Postpartum Women.

Objective: To describe patients' preferences for prenatal and postpartum care delivery.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of postpartum patients admitted for childbirth and recovery at an academic institution. We assessed patient preferences for prenatal and postpartum care delivery, including visit number, between-visit contact (eg, phone and electronic medical record portal communication), acceptability of remote monitoring (eg, weight, blood pressure, fetal heart tones), and alternative care models (eg, telemedicine and home visits).

Carbon stock increases up to old growth forest along a secondary succession in Mediterranean island ecosystems.

The occurrence of old-growth forests is quite limited in Mediterranean islands, which have been subject to particularly pronounced human impacts. Little is known about the carbon stocks of such peculiar ecosystems compared with different stages of secondary succession. We investigated the carbon variation in aboveground woody biomass, in litter and soil, and the nitrogen variation in litter and soil, in a 100 years long secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems.

Real cover crops contribution to soil organic carbon sequestration in sloping vineyard.

The research focused on the evaluation of the effect of soil erosion processes on SOC sequestration rate after 5 years of cover crop soil management in Mediterranean vineyards (Sicily, Italy). Two paired sites, one in a sloping area and another one in a contiguous flat area, were chosen. The vineyard soils of the two plots of each paired site were managed with conventional soil tillage (CT) and Vicia faba cover crop (CC) the preceding 5 years.

The impact of soil erosion on soil fertility and vine vigor. A multidisciplinary approach based on field, laboratory and remote sensing approaches.

Soil erosion processes in vineyards, beyond surface runoff and sediment transport, have a strong effect on soil organic carbon (SOC) loss and redistribution along the slope. Variation in SOC across the landscape can determine differences in soil fertility and vine vigor. The goal of this research was to analyze the interactions among vines vigor, sediment delivery and SOC in a sloping vineyard located in Sicily.

The superior effect of nature based solutions in land management for enhancing ecosystem services.

The rehabilitation and restoration of land is a key strategy to recover services -goods and resources- ecosystems offer to the humankind. This paper reviews key examples to understand the superior effect of nature based solutions to enhance the sustainability of catchment systems by promoting desirable soil and landscape functions. The use of concepts such as connectivity and the theory of system thinking framework allowed to review coastal and river management as a guide to evaluate other strategies to achieve sustainability.

Runoff initiation, soil detachment and connectivity are enhanced as a consequence of vineyards plantations.

Rainfall-induced soil erosion is a major threat, especially in agricultural soils. In the Mediterranean belt, vineyards are affected by high soil loss rates, leading to land degradation. Plantation of new vines is carried out after deep ploughing, use of heavy machinery, wheel traffic, and trampling.

Short-term low-severity spring grassland fire impacts on soil extractable elements and soil ratios in Lithuania.

Spring grassland fires are common in boreal areas as a consequence of slash and burn agriculture used to remove dry grass to increase soil nutrient properties and crop production. However, few works have investigated fire impacts on these grassland ecosystems, especially in the immediate period after the fire. The objective of this work was to study the short-term impacts of a spring grassland fire in Lithuania.

Agricultural land abandonment in Mediterranean environment provides ecosystem services via soil carbon sequestration.

Abandonment of agricultural land leads to several consequences for ecosystem functions. Agricultural abandonment may be a significant and low cost strategy for carbon sequestration and mitigation of anthropogenic CO emissions due to the vegetation recovery and increase in soil organic matter. The aim of this study was to: (i) estimate the influence of different Soil Regions (areas characterized by a typical climate and parent material association) and Bioclimates (zones with homogeneous climatic regions and thermotype indices) on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics after agricultural land abandonment; and (ii) to analyse the efficiency of the agri-environment policy (agri-environment measures) suggested by the European Commission in relation to potential SOC stock ability in the Sicilian Region (Italy).

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards.

Soil erosion is extreme in Mediterranean orchards due to management impact, high rainfall intensities, steep slopes and erodible parent material. Vall d'Albaida is a traditional fruit production area which, due to the Mediterranean climate and marly soils, produces sweet fruits. However, these highly productive soils are left bare under the prevailing land management and marly soils are vulnerable to soil water erosion when left bare.

Understanding the role of soil erosion on co2-c loss using (13)c isotopic signatures in abandoned Mediterranean agricultural land.

Understanding soil water erosion processes is essential to evaluate the redistribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) within a landscape and is fundamental to assess the role of soil erosion in the global carbon (C) budget. The main aim of this study was to estimate the C redistribution and losses using (13)C natural abundance. Carbon losses in soil sediment, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and CO2 emission were determined.

The immediate effectiveness of barley straw mulch in reducing soil erodibility and surface runoff generation in Mediterranean vineyards.

Soil and water loss in agriculture is a major problem throughout the world, and especially in Mediterranean areas. Non-conservation agricultural practices have further aggravated the situation, especially in vineyards, which are affected by one of the highest rates of soil loss among cultivated lands. Therefore, it is necessary to find the right soil practices for more sustainable viticulture.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections are associated with a higher energy deficit than other ICU-acquired bacteremia.

Purpose: Caloric insufficiency during the first week of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was reported to be associated with increased infection rates, especially ICU-acquired bloodstream infection (ICU-BSI). However, the predisposition to ICU-BSI by a given pathogen remains not well known. We aimed to determine the impact of early energy-calorie deficit on the pathogens responsible for ICU-BSI.