Detecting management gaps for biodiversity conservation: An integrated assessment.

The latest report on the state of nature in Europe (2013-2018) shows that biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate, with most protected species and habitats in poor condition. Despite an increasing volume of collected biodiversity information, urgent action is needed to integrate biodiversity data and knowledge to improve conservation efforts. We conducted a study in Catalonia (NE Spain), where we collected management measures implemented between 2013 and 2018, including allocation, budget, pressures aimed, and habitats/species potentially benefiting.

Implementing a Rapid Response System in a tertiary-care hospital. A cost-effectiveness study.

Purpose: The occurrence of adverse events (AE) in hospitalized patients substancially increases the risk of disability or death, having a major negative clinical and economic impact on public health. For early identification of patients at risk and to establish preventive measures, different healthcare systems have implemented rapid response systems (RRS). The aim of this study was to carry out a cost-effectiveness analysis of implementing a RRS in a tertiary-care hospital.

[Management of elective surgical activity in a tertiary hospital during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic].

Introduction: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, elective surgical activity was reduced to a minimum. As both the number of cases and the hospitalization needs for this pathology decreased, we thought it appropriate to progressively recover scheduled surgical activity. This work describes how, even with the current alarm state, we were able to practically normalize this activity in a few weeks.

Water Flow and Light Availability Influence on Intracellular Geosmin Production in River Biofilms.

Hydro-morphological alterations in water bodies caused by climate change and human activities affects the ecosystem functioning and generate important water quality problems. Some of these alterations can generate an increase in cyanobacterial blooms, which are associated with the appearance of bad taste and odorous compounds such as geosmin. The factors that trigger their production are still unclear, and this inability to predict geosmin episodes provokes economic problems for water supply companies.

[Comparison of the post-surgical analgesic effectiveness of tibial (at internal malleolus level) and common peroneal nerve block with infiltration of the surgical wound in Outpatient Surgery of the hallux valgus].

Introduction: To compare the post-operative analgesic effectiveness of blocking the posterior tibial and the common peroneal nerves against that of wound infiltration using local anaesthesia, in ambulatory surgery of hallux valgus.

Material And Methods: A randomised clinical study was conducted on ambulatory patients subjected to Hallux valgus surgery, assigned into two groups: BNP: peripheral nerve blockage: posterior tibial and the common peroneal with 80mg of lidocaine, 100mg of mepivacaine and 25mg of levobupivacaine. INF: surgical wound infiltration with 50mg of levobupivacaine.

Quantification of lung microvascular injury with ultrasound.

Quantification of water and solute exchange rates across the lung microvascular barrier (LMB) may be an important early-warning indicator of pulmonary microvascular diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome. Our objective was to determine the degree to which osmotic water movement across the LMB induced by injection of hypertonic solutions of NaCl and glucose could be detected downstream from the lung with a specialized ultrasonic velocity (USV) transducer manufactured by Transonic Systems. We hypothesized that mathematical modeling of the osmotic transients (OT) would yield estimates of osmotic exchange parameters that were sensitive to microvascular injury.

Neutral and DEAE dextrans as tracers for assessing lung microvascular barrier permeability and integrity.

Steady-state lymph-to-plasma concentration ratios (L/Ps) of neutral dextrans, cationic DEAE dextrans, and endogenous proteins were determined under normal and increased permeability conditions in six unanesthetized yearling sheep prepared with chronic lung lymph fistulas. Fluorescent dextrans with radii ranging from 1 to 30 nm were intravenously infused, and after 24 h, perilla ketone (PK) was given to alter permeability while the dextran infusion was maintained. Plasma and lymph samples were collected before and after PK administration and analyzed for dextran and protein concentrations after high-performance liquid chromatography size separation.

Influence of the procedure used to prepare the calibration sample set on the performance of near infrared spectroscopy in quantitative pharmaceutical analyses.

Calibrating near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) methods usually involves preparing a set of samples with a view to expanding the analyte concentration range spanned by production samples. In this work, the performances of the two procedures most frequently used for this purpose in near infrared pharmaceutical analysis, viz., synthetic samples obtained by weighing of the pure constituents of the pharmaceutical and doped samples made by under- or overdosing previously powdered production samples, were compared.

Development and validation of a near infrared method for the analytical control of a pharmaceutical preparation in three steps of the manufacturing process.

A near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) procedure for the quantitative control analysis of the active compound (otilonium bromide) in a pharmaceutical preparation in three steps of the production process (blended product, cores and coated tablets) and a methodology for its validation are proposed. The analytical procedure is composed by two consecutive steps. First, the sample is identified by comparing its spectrum with a second derivative spectral library.

Regional measurements of pulmonary edema by using magnetic resonance imaging.

A three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method to measure pulmonary edema and lung microvascular barrier permeability was developed and compared with conventional methods in nine mongrel dogs. MRIs were obtained covering the entire lungs. Injury was induced by injection of oleic acid (0.

Optical measurement of isolated canine lung filtration coefficients after alloxan infusion.

In this study, lung filtration coefficient (Kfc) was measured in eight isolated canine lung preparations by using three methods: standard gravimetric (Std), blood-corrected gravimetric (BC), and optical. The lungs were held in zone III conditions and were subjected to an average venous pressure increase of 8.79 +/- 0.

Optical and radioisotope indicator dilution measurements in pulmonary edema.

The objective of this study was a validation of an optical multiple indicator dilution technique for measuring microvascular exchange parameters in edematous lungs by comparison to conventional radioisotope multiple indicator dilution methods. Six anesthetized dogs were studied at baseline and after alloxan infusion to increase capillary permeability. In addition, 11 isolated, perfused dog lungs were studied at baseline and after edema was created by increasing venous pressure or by infusing alloxan to increase vascular permeability.

Optical measurement of isolated canine lung filtration coefficients at normal hematocrits.

In this study, lung filtration coefficient (Kfc) values were measured in eight isolated canine lung preparations at normal hematocrit values using three methods: gravimetric, blood-corrected gravimetric, and optical. The lungs were kept in zone 3 conditions and subjected to an average venous pressure increase of 10.24 +/- 0.

Relative quantification of pulmonary edema with noncontrast-enhanced MRI.

Pulmonary edema is a debilitating effect of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The ability to measure it noninvasively with high sensitivity and in three dimensions could be useful in not only detection but also in assessment and guidance of treatment. To this end, a three-dimensional MRI pulse sequence to measure the formation of edema was developed and tested.

Laser system for measuring small changes in plasma tracer concentrations.

The authors developed a laser-diode system that can be used for on-line optical concentration measurements in physiologic systems. Previous optical systems applied to whole blood have been hampered by artifacts introduced by red blood cells (RBCs). The system introduced here uses a commercially available filter cartridge to separate RBCs from plasma before plasma concentration measurements are made at a single wavelength.

Effects of flow heterogeneity on the measurement of capillary exchange in the lung.

The effects of flow heterogeneity on the measurement of transcapillary escape of small molecules for perfused in situ sheep lungs were evaluated. Lungs were studied at five flows (1.5-5.

Comparison of the pulmonary dysfunction caused by cardiogenic and noncardiogenic pulmonary edema.

We designed a series of experiments to compare the pulmonary dysfunction observed in models of cardiogenic and noncardiogenic pulmonary edema in chronically instrumented awake sheep. Cardiogenic pulmonary edema was induced by inflating the balloon of a Foley catheter surgically positioned in the mitral valve orifice causing increased left atrial pressure (increases PLA). Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema was induced by intravenous infusion of Perilla ketone (PK).

Noninvasive measures of radiolabeled dextran transport in in situ rabbit lung.

Unlabelled: Dextrans are nontoxic and can be obtained in a wide variety of molecular weights. The purpose of this study was to label 6-kDa and 40-kDa dextrans with gamma- (99mTc) and positron- (18F) emitting radioisotopes and monitor their transport across the pulmonary microvascular barrier.

Methods: External scan measurements for radiolabeled uncharged dextrans, albumin and red blood cells were obtained in eight blood-perfused in situ rabbit lung preparations.

Noninvasive measurements of albumin flux into lung interstitium with increased microvascular pressure.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of increasing left atrial pressure on noninvasive measurements of radiolabeled albumin normalized slope index (NSI). Using portable gamma scintillation detectors, we monitored radioactivities of 131I-labeled albumin and 51Cr-labeled red blood cells in the blood and over the lung of six anesthetized sheep before and 2 h after a 9- to 14-Torr increase in left atrial pressure. Measurements of NSI for 131I-albumin decreased > 50% after a step increase in left atrial pressure.

Optical measurements of lung microvascular filtration coefficient using polysulfone fibers.

Lung fluid balance, which is governed by the product of net transvascular pressure difference and lung filtration coefficient, can be altered in pulmonary diseases. A simple measurement of the lung filtration coefficient (Kfc) would be clinically useful and has been examined by several researchers. Current methods of determining Kfc include gravimetric measurement in isolated lungs and lymph node cannulation, neither of which can be extended to human use.

Pulmonary vascular resistance distribution and recruitment of microvascular surface area.

To test the hypothesis that the distribution of hemodynamic resistance is involved in the control of pulmonary capillary surface area, we measured permeability-surface area product (PS) and longitudinal resistance distribution (LRD) as functions of perfusion rate in isolated rabbit lungs under zone II conditions (n = 10) and through the zone II-III transition (n = 4). PS, considered to be indicative of functioning capillary surface area, was measured with the aid of the diffusion-limited tracer [14C]propanediol, whereas LRD was determined using a viscous bolus technique. LRD was seen to change character with increasing flow and increasing PS/surface area, becoming bimodal with low central resistance as full capillary recruitment was approached in zone III.

Evaluation of perilla ketone-induced unilateral lung injury using external gamma scanning.

We used a modified external gamma scanning technique to quantitate right and left lung permeability changes to iodinated sheep albumin before and after perilla ketone (PK)-mediated unilateral lung injury in seven anesthetized sheep. Three portable gamma scintillation probes containing 2-in. NaI crystals detected radioactivities of 51Cr-labeled red blood cells and 125I-labeled albumin over the right and left lungs and blood, respectively.

Effects of air embolism on sheep lung fluid volumes.

Changes in lung fluid volumes and hyaluronan clearance were measured in six awake sheep during increased microvascular permeability induced by pulmonary air embolism (AE). After a 1- to 2-h baseline, filtered room air was infused through a proximal port of a Swan-Ganz catheter for 2 h at a rate sufficient to double pulmonary vascular resistance. The air infusion was discontinued, and the sheep were monitored for an additional 2 h (recovery).

Postischemic hypoperfusion during unilateral lung reperfusion in vivo.

The incomplete restoration of blood flow during reperfusion may amplify injury by prolonging ischemia; this "no-reflow" has been studied extensively in systemic organs. Our goal was to examine lung blood flow and microvascular function, specifically to determine whether blood flow is altered during lung reperfusion injury in vivo. In a unilateral lung model of ischemia-reperfusion in awake sheep, we measured pulmonary vascular resistance in each lung by radiolabeled microspheres.