Geographical Patterns in Mortality Impacts Due To Heatwaves of Different Characteristics in Spanish Cities.

The impact of heatwaves (HWs) on human health is a topic of growing interest due to the global magnification of these phenomena and their substantial socio-economic impacts. As for other countries of Southern Europe, Spain is a region highly affected by heat and its increase under climate change. This is observed in the mean values and the increasing incidence of extreme weather events and associated mortality. Despite the vast knowledge on this topic, it remains unclear whether specific types and characteristics of HW are particularly harmful to the population and whether this shows a regional interdependency. The present study provides a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between HW characteristics and mortality in 12 Spanish cities. We used separated time series analysis in each city applying a quasi-Poisson regression model and distributed lag linear and non-linear models. Results show an increase in the mortality risk under HW conditions in the cities with a lower HW frequency. However, this increase exhibits remarkable differences across the cities under study not showing any general pattern in the HW characteristics-mortality association. This relationship is shown to be complex and strongly dependent on the local properties of each city pointing out the crucial need to examine and understand on a local scale the HW characteristics and the HW-mortality relationship for an efficient design and implementation of prevention measures.

Optimization and Characterization of Aspirin Encapsulated Nano-liposomes.

Resistance to aspirin and its cytotoxicity significantly limits its therapeutic applications. Nano-liposomal encapsulation of aspirin can reduce its cytotoxicity. In this study, aspirin encapsulating nano-liposomes (AS-NL) was prepared and its performance in drug delivery and also cytotoxicity was evaluated. The effects of two independent variables including number of freeze/thawing cycles and concentration of aspirin on encapsulation efficiency was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). A drug profile release was obtained by AS-NL. The concentration of cholesterol as effective for liposome stability and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a drug release facilitator was also optimized using RSM. The maximum aspirin encapsulation efficiency (41.44%) and drug release (33.92%) was obtained for 0.514 mg cholesterol and 0.007 mg SLS used for liposome formulation. The morphology and size of AS-NLs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The stability of AS-NL was evaluated by measuring the size change of nano-liposomes during 21 days using DLS analysis. The stability of AS-NL during this period was acceptable. The cytotoxicity test of AS-NL by MTT test reveals the cytotoxicity of aspirin can be reduced by using liposome encapsulation.