Precision management of pollination services to blueberry crops.

While the cultivated area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing, pollinator availability is decreasing, leading to problems in many agroecosystems. For this reason, pollinator-dependent crop growers often rent beehives to support their pollination requirements to sustain fruit productivity. However, the efficiency of those pollination systems has not been extensively studied. Here, we compared the effect of "precision" pollination (i.e., application of pesticides coordinated with growers, audit of hives, dietary supplementation and individual distribution of hives) with conventional practices (i.e., pesticides applications without coordination with growers and no audit of hives, low maintenance of hives and hives distributed in large groups) on the mean level of pollination and fruit production and quality in blueberry crops. In nine blueberry fields, we measured bee visitation rate to flowers, fruit set, fruit firmness and fruit weight. On average, precision-pollinated plots had 70% more bee visits to flowers and produced 13% more fruits that were 12% heavier and 12% firmer than those obtained through conventional practices. These results showed that pollination efficiency could be improved if key management related to bee strength, distribution and health care are taken into account. Due to these results, we encourage growers and beekeepers to include precision pollination practices to both increase the productivity of blueberry fields and the wellbeing of honey bees within agroecosystems.

Acute kidney injury in children after cardiac surgery: Risk factors and outcomes. A retrospective, cohort study. / Lesión renal aguda en niños poscirugía cardíaca: factores de riesgo e impacto evolutivo. Estudio de cohorte retrospectiva.

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been described as a common complication of cardiac surgery in pediatric patients, whose impact on morbidity and mortality has been documented. Its incidence has been estimated to be approximately 40 % in this patient group. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of AKI in patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery and to define associated risk factors and the impact of AKI on the parameters of the postoperative course. POPULATION AND METHODS: This was a retrospective, observational study of pediatric patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery between January 2015 and December 2017 at Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires. The incidence of AKI was defined as per the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria, based on pre- and post-operative blood creatinine levels and urine output. RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were included. Of them, 35 % developed AKI. The analysis of risk factors showed a statistically significant difference for the administration of vancomycin and thiazide diuretics, red blood cell transfusion requirement, extracorporeal circulation pump time, clamp time, maximal intraoperative lactate level, minimum temperature, and delayed chest closure. In relation to the parameters of the post-operative course, we observed a longer hospital stay, higher inotropic requirement, more days of mechanical ventilation, bleeding, and neurological complications. CONCLUSION: In this study, the incidence of AKI was 35 %. Modifiable and non-modifiable associated risk factors were defined and a greater rate of complications was observed in patients who developed AKI.

Introducción. La lesión renal aguda (LRA) ha sido descrita como una complicación frecuente de las cirugías cardíacas en pacientes pediátricos, con impacto documentado en la morbimortalidad. Se estima una incidencia de alrededor del 40 % en este grupo de pacientes. El objetivo del trabajo fue calcular la incidencia de LRA en pacientes que tuvieron cirugía cardiovascular, definir los factores de riesgo asociados y el impacto de la LRA en los parámetros de evolución posquirúrgica. Población y métodos: Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo observacional sobre pacientes pediátricos con cirugías cardiovasculares, operados entre enero de 2015 y diciembre de 2017 en el Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires. Se definió la incidencia de LRA según los criterios de Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes, considerando los valores de creatininemia y ritmo diurético pre- y posquirúrgicos. Resultados. Se incluyeron un total de 125 pacientes. Un 35 % desarrolló LRA. Al analizar los factores de riesgo, se observó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa para administración de vancomicina, diuréticos tiazídicos, requerimiento transfusional de glóbulos rojos, tiempo de bomba de circulación extracorpórea, de clampeo, lactato máximo intraquirúrgico, temperatura mínima y cierre diferido del tórax. Entre los parámetros de evolución posquirúrgica, se observó un incremento en la duración de la internación, requerimiento de inotrópicos, días de asistencia respiratoria mecánica, sangrado y complicaciones neurológicas. Conclusión. La incidencia de LRA en este estudio fue del 35 %. Se pudieron definir factores de riesgo modificables y no modificables asociados, y se detectó una mayor incidencia de complicaciones en aquellos pacientes que desarrollaron LRA.