Complex agricultural landscapes host more biodiversity than simple ones: A global meta-analysis.

Managing agricultural landscapes to support biodiversity conservation requires profound structural changes worldwide. Often, discussions are centered on management at the field level. However, a wide and growing body of evidence calls for zooming out and targeting agricultural policies, research, and interventions at the landscape level to halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity, increase biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, and improve the resilience and adaptability of these ecosystems. We conducted the most comprehensive assessment to date on landscape complexity effects on nondomesticated terrestrial biodiversity through a meta-analysis of 1,134 effect sizes from 157 peer-reviewed articles. Increasing landscape complexity through changes in composition, configuration, or heterogeneity significatively and positively affects biodiversity. More complex landscapes host more biodiversity (richness, abundance, and evenness) with potential benefits to sustainable agricultural production and conservation, and effects are likely underestimated. The few articles that assessed the combined contribution of linear (e.g., hedgerows) and areal (e.g., woodlots) elements resulted in a near-doubling of the effect sizes (i.e., biodiversity level) compared to the dominant number of studies measuring these elements separately. Similarly, positive effects on biodiversity are stronger in articles monitoring biodiversity for at least 2 y compared to the dominant 1-y monitoring efforts. Besides, positive and stronger effects exist when monitoring occurs in nonoverlapping landscapes, highlighting the need for long-term and robustly designed monitoring efforts. Living in harmony with nature will require shifting paradigms toward valuing and promoting multifunctional agriculture at the farm and landscape levels with a research agenda that untangles complex agricultural landscapes' contributions to people and nature under current and future conditions.

A total analytical system featuring a novel solid-liquid extraction chamber for solid sample flow analysis.

In this work, a total flow analysis system based on a novel solid-liquid extraction chamber is presented. This strategy enables all the main experimental procedures for the analysis of a solid sample to be performed automatically: enrichment of the liquid extract, sample treatment, filtration of the liquid extract from the solid sample, directing the extract towards detection, and finally cleansing of the chamber for the following solid sample to be analyzed. The chamber designed to be incorporated in the flow manifold presents two main features: it accommodates stirring bars for enhancing the extraction process, and it presents replaceable solid sample containers (a spare part of the solid-liquid extraction chamber) to easily replace the solid sample and therefore enhance sample analysis throughput. The chamber performance was assessed using two different solid samples, an ion exchanger resin and vegetable samples, focussing on proton and nitrate ion extraction, respectively. The main figures of merit achieved were relative standard deviation (RSD) and relative error values below 7 % for all determinations. The determination rate for vegetable samples was ca. 12 samples h-1. The proposed strategy may be exploited to perform automatically the analysis of solid samples as it embodies a simple automatic strategy of a very important but time-consuming and laborious analytical operation. Graphical abstract TAS for solid liquid extraction and nitrate potentiometric determination of vegetable samples.

A global database of diversified farming effects on biodiversity and yield.

With the Convention on Biological Diversity conference (COP15), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and United Nations Food Systems Summit, 2021 is a pivotal year for transitioning towards sustainable food systems. Diversified farming systems are key to more sustainable food production. Here we present a global dataset documenting outcomes of diversified farming practices for biodiversity and yields compiled following best standards for systematic review of primary studies and specifically designed for use in meta-analysis. The dataset includes 4076 comparisons of biodiversity outcomes and 1214 of yield in diversified farming systems compared to one of two reference systems. It contains evidence from 48 countries of effects on species from 33 taxonomic orders (spanning insects, plants, birds, mammals, eukaryotes, annelids, fungi, and bacteria) of diversified farming systems producing annual or perennial crops across 12 commodity groups. The dataset presented provides a resource for researchers and practitioners to easily access information on where diversified farming systems effectively contribute to biodiversity and food production outcomes.

The Impact of Diversified Farming Practices on Terrestrial Biodiversity Outcomes and Agricultural Yield Worldwide: A Systematic Review Protocol.

The expansion and intensification of agriculture have led to global declines in biodiversity. This paper presents a systematic review protocol to clarify under what management and landscape contexts diversified farming practices are effective at improving outcomes for terrestrial biodiversity, and potential trade-offs or synergies with agricultural yields. The systematic review will be developed following the Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES). The review will include articles that compare levels of diversity (e.g., abundance, richness, Shannon's diversity index) of any terrestrial taxon (e.g., arthropods, mammals) in diversified farming systems to levels in simplified farming systems and/or natural habitats, prioritising articles that also report agricultural yields. We will search for relevant peer-reviewed primary studies in two global repositories: Scopus and Web of Science, and among primary studies included in previous meta-analyses that are retrieved from the search. Full-texts of identified articles will be screened using a clear inclusion/exclusion eligibility criteria. All included articles will be assessed to determine their internal validity. A narrative synthesis will be performed to summarize, describe and present the results, and where the articles provide sufficient and appropriate data, we will conduct a quantitative meta-analysis.

Transvaginal evisceration of the small bowel a rare and potentially lethal event, a case report.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Evisceration of the small bowel through the vagina is an extremely rare condition and a life-threatening surgical emergency. Complications associated with this condition include bowel ischemia, abdominal sepsis, and deep vein thrombosis. Therefore, prompt surgical consultation and treatment are crucial as delay in treatment can lead to a grim outcome. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 50-year-old female obese patient with a past medical history of uterine surgery. During a cough episode, she experienced sudden transvaginal evisceration that required emergent surgery. Thankfully she fully recovered and is doing well. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal evisceration is a life-threatening and extremely rare pathology; it requires urgent diagnosis and surgical intervention since bowel viability can be compromised. During these rare events, interdisciplinary surgical cooperation is vital to obtain the best possible outcome for patients.

Standard addition flow method for potentiometric measurements at low concentration levels: application to the determination of fluoride in food samples.

A standard addition method was implemented by using a flow manifold able to perform automatically multiple standard additions and in-line sample treatment. This analytical strategy was based on the in-line mixing of sample and standard addition solutions, using a merging zone approach. The flow system aimed to exploit the standard addition method to quantify the target analyte particularly in cases where the analyte concentration in the matrix is below the lower limit of linear response of the detector. The feasibility of the proposed flow configuration was assessed through the potentiometric determination of fluoride in sea salts of different origins and different types of coffee infusions. The limit of quantification of the proposed manifold was 5×10(-6) mol L(-1), 10-fold lower than the lower limit of linear response of the potentiometric detector used. A determination rate of 8 samples h(-1) was achieved considering an experimental procedure based on three standard additions per sample. The main advantage of the proposed strategy is the simple approach to perform multiple standard additions, which can be implemented with other ion selective electrodes, especially in cases when the primary ion is below the lower limit of linear response of the detector.

Caracterización de los pacientes con diagnóstico presuntivo de síndrome coronario agudo sin elevación del segmento ST que asisten a un servicio de urgencias / Profile of patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome that attend an Emergency Department

Resumen El dolor torácico es uno de los principales motivos de consulta al sistema de urgencias, y este es secundario a condiciones como el síndrome coronario agudo entre otras. Para su diagnóstico se requiere no sólo el resultado de la troponina, sino una evaluación clínica completa en la que se tengan en cuenta factores de riesgo cardiovascular, características del dolor y hallazgos electrocardiográficos. La interpretación inadecuada de las troponinas ultrasensibles lleva a que se someta al paciente a riesgos innecesarios a causa de estudios como el cateterismo cardiaco. Se llevó a cabo un estudio de corte trasversal en un hospital de Bogotá, en el que la causa principal de consulta en el servicio de urgencias fue el dolor torácico, y la primera causa de hospitalización en Cardiología el síndrome coronario agudo. Se recolectaron datos de 411 pacientes a quienes se les realizó arteriografía coronaria, la mayoría hombres con factores de riesgo como hipertensión arterial, tabaquismo y un evento coronario previo. Dentro de los estudios paraclínicos, la fracción de eyección promedio estuvo cercana al 50% y sólo en 201 pacientes se encontraron lesiones epicárdicas significativas.De la muestra analizada, el 13% tenía creatinina mayor de 1,5 mg/dl como causa alterna de elevación del biomarcador y 28% tenía disfunción ventricular izquierda de algún grado. La mayoría de los pacientes en quienes no se documentaron lesiones angiográficamente significativas en el cateterismo cardiaco, la troponina no cumplía criterios de positividad con base en el aumento del 20% respecto al valor inicial si este era positivo o de 50% en caso de que el primer valor fuese negativo. Adicionalmente, del grupo de pacientes con enfermedad coronaria angiográficamente significativa fue más frecuente la combinación de tres o más factores de riesgo cardiovascular en presencia de biomarcador positivo.

Abstract Chest pain is one of the main reasons for consulting the Emergency Department, and it is secondary to conditions, such as acute coronary syndrome. For its diagnosis, it not only requires a Troponin result, but also a full clinical evaluation, in which factors like cardiovascular risk have to be taken into account, as well as characteristics of the pain and the findings on the electrocardiogram. The poor interpretation of the ultrasensitive Troponins leads to the patient being subjected to unnecessary risks due to studies such as cardiac catheterisation. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a hospital in Bogota, in which chest pain was the main reason for consulting the Emergency Department, and acute coronary syndrome the first cause of admission to Cardiology. The study included a total of 411 patients on whom a coronary angiography was performed. The majority were males with risk factors such as arterial hypertension, smokers, and with a previous coronary event. Among the para-clinical studies, the mean ejection fraction was around 50%, and significant epicardial lesions were found in only 201 patients.Of the sample analysed, 13% had a creatinine greater than 1.5 mg/dl as an alternative cause of the elevation of the biomarker, and 28% had some degree of left ventricular function. the majority of patients that did not have significant angiographic lesions in the cardiac catheterisation documented, the Troponin did not meet the criteria for being positive, based on an increase of 20% as regards the initial value if this was positive or 50% in the case where the first value was negative. Furthermore, of the patient group with significant angiographic coronary disease, the combination of three or more cardiovascular risk factors was the most frequent in the presence of a positive biomarker.

Fourier transform near-infrared spectroscopy application for sea salt quality evaluation.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in diffuse reflectance mode was explored with the objective of discriminating sea salts according to their quality type (traditional salt vs "flower of salt") and geographical origin (Atlantic vs Mediterranean). Sea salts were also analyzed in terms of Ca(2+), Mg(2+), K(+), alkalinity, and sulfate concentrations to support spectroscopic results. High concentrations of Mg(2+) and K(+) characterized Atlantic samples, while a high Ca(2+) content was observed in traditional sea salts. A partial least-squares discriminant analysis model considering the 8500-7500 cm(-1) region permitted the discrimination of salts by quality types. The regions 4650-4350 and 5900-5500 cm(-1) allowed salts classification according to their geographical origin. It was possible to classify correctly 85.3 and 94.8% of the analyzed samples according to the salt type and to the geographical origin, respectively. These results demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy is a suitable and very efficient tool for sea salt quality evaluation.

Method for analysis dried vine fruits contaminated with ochratoxin A.

The EU maximum limit of 10 microg kg(-1) of OTA for dried vine fruits has been established since 2002 (European Commission, 2005). The presented work explore the capability of using Fourier infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) for the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA) in dried vine fruits in a range of concentration between 2 and 50 microg kg(-1) OTA. The method developed included a sample pretreatment using a C18 cartridge which was efficient for the isolation of the mycotoxin. The PLS1 analysis of the spectrum of sultanas spiked with different OTA concentrations showed a good correlation between the spectral data and reference concentration for OTA (R(2)=0.85).

FTIR-ATR infrared spectroscopy for the detection of ochratoxin A in dried vine fruit.

A method of screening sultanas for ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination, using mid-infrared spectroscopy/Golden Gate single-reflection ATR (attenuated total reflection), is described. The main spectral characteristics of sultanas from different sources were identified in a preliminary acquisition and spectral analysis study. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that samples of various origins had different spectral characteristics, especially in water content and the fingerprint region. A lack of reproducibility was observed in the spectra acquired on different days. However, spectral repeatability was greatly improved when water activity of the sample was set at 0.62. A calibration curve of OTA was constructed in the range 10-40 microg OTA kg(-1). Samples with OTA levels higher than 20 microg kg(-1) were separated from samples contaminated with a lower concentration (10 microg OTA kg(-1)) and from uncontaminated samples. The reported methodology is a reliable and simple technique for screening dried vine fruit for OTA.