Comparison between the optical properties of aerosols in the fine and coarse fractions over Valladolid, Spain.

Continuous measurements of the optical properties of aerosol particles have been made at Valladolid, Spain, covering the period from June 2011 to July 2012. The measurements were made at two size cuts: sub-10 µm and sub-1 µm (PM10 and PM1). The data measured were the scattering and backscattering coefficients, σs and σbs, obtained from an integrating nephelometer, and the absorption coefficient, σa, obtained from a particle soot absorption photometer. Spectrally resolved data were obtained from both instruments at 3 wavelengths (blue/green/red) at low relative humidity (RH < 40%). The statistical data for the instruments were calculated based on the hourly averages. For the PM10 fraction, the hourly mean values of σs and σa at 550 nm were 33 Mm-1 (StD = 30 Mm-1) and 4 Mm-1 (StD = 3 Mm-1), respectively. For the PM1 fraction, σs and σa mean values were 16 Mm-1 (StD = 14 Mm-1) and 4 Mm-1 (StD = 3 Mm-1), also at 550 nm. The derived parameters analyzed were the single scattering albedo, ω0, the backscatter fraction, σbs/σs, and the Ångström exponents of scattering, absorption and single scattering albedo, αs, αa and αω0. The contribution of the PM10 and the PM1 fractions for all these parameters plays a central role throughout the paper, allowing an improved classification of aerosol types. Our data are dominated by elemental carbon (EC) and elemental carbon/organic carbon mixed (EC/OC). For the PM10 data, dust dominated aerosol is also observed. Although we found that fine particles contribute more than coarse particles for decreasing the ω0 values, results suggest that it is also necessary to quantify the effect of coarse particles. Fine particles were found to produce ω0 spectra that decrease with the wavelength, αω0 > 0, while PM10 fractions were found to produce spectra that can decrease or increase with the wavelength, 0 < αω0 < 0. Both daily cycle and monthly variations are analyzed and related to local features as well as the transport of particles from elsewhere. A diurnal pattern characteristic of urban areas is observed, but it is less evident on weekends. The main long range transport influences are Atlantic advection, anthropogenic events from Central Europe and dust events.

Fístula vésico-lumbar por migración de la instrumentación posterior. Complicación a largo plazo en la escoliosis neuromuscular / Vesico-lumbar fistula due to migration of posterior instrumentation. Long-term complication of neuromuscular scoliosis

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Aerosol properties of mineral dust and its mixtures in a regional background of north-central Iberian Peninsula.

To broaden the knowledge about desert dust (DD) aerosols in western Mediterranean Basin, their fingerprints on optical and microphysical properties are analyzed during DD episodes in the north-central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula between 2003 and 2014. Aerosol columnar properties obtained from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET), such as aerosol optical depth (AOD), Ångström exponent (AE), volume particle size distribution, volume concentration (VC), sphericity, single scattering albedo, among others, are analyzed in order to provide a general characterization, being some of them compared to particle mass surface concentrations PM10, PM2.5, and their ratio, data obtained from EMEP network. The mean intensity of DD episodes exhibits: AOD440nm=0.27±0.12, PM10=24±18µg/m3, AE=0.94±0.40 and PM2.5/PM10=0.54±0.16. The AOD and PM10 annual cycles show maximum intensity in March and summer and minima in winter. A customized threshold of AE=1 distinguishes two types of dusty days, those with a prevailing desert character and those of mixed type, which is corroborated by sphericity values. Three well established intervals are obtained with the fine mode volume fraction (VCF/VCT). Coarse-mode-dominated cases (VCF/VCT≤0.2) present a mineral dust character: e.g., particle maximum concentration about 2µm, non-sphericity, stronger absorption power at shorter wavelengths, among others. The relevance of the fine mode is noticeable in mixtures with a predominance of particles about 0.2-0.3µm radii. Conditions characterized by 0.2

Thoracolumbar fractures without neurological impairment: A review of diagnosis and treatment.

An appropriate protocol and unified management of thoracolumbar fractures without neurological impairment has not been well defined.This review attempts to elucidate some controversies regarding diagnostic tools, the ability to define the most appropriate treatment of classification systems and the evidence for conservative and surgical methods based on the recent literature. Cite this article: Vilà-Canet G, García de Frutos A, Covaro A, Ubierna MT, Caceres E. Thoracolumbar fractures without neurological impairment: a review of diagnosis and treatment. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:332-338. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000029.

Do surgical expectations change depending on first time surgery or reoperation? A prospective cohort study in lumbar spine surgery.

PURPOSE: To assess whether patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery for the first time (Group 1) had different expectations from those undergoing lumbar spine surgery for a failed previous procedure (Group 2). METHODS: A prospective study that included 77 patients. A set of self-reported questionnaires was pre-operatively administered including VAS, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Zung Depression Scale and the NASS lumbar spine questionnaire (expectations scale). RESULTS: Fifty-six patients in Group 1 and 21 patients in Group 2. Both groups had high expectations with regard to the surgical procedure (n.s.). Depressed patients, despite being more disabled than non-depressed according to ODI (p 0.001), had similar expectations than non-depressed patients (n.s.). CONCLUSION: Patients' expectations remained very high despite having had a failed previous surgery for the same procedure.

Comparison of total water vapor column from GOME-2 on MetOp-A against ground-based GPS measurements at the Iberian Peninsula.

Water vapor column (WVC) obtained by GOME-2 instrument (GDP-4.6 version) onboard MetOp-A satellite platform is compared against reference WVC values derived from GPS (Global Positioning System) instruments from 2007 to 2012 at 21 places located at Iberian Peninsula. The accuracy and precision of GOME-2 to estimate the WVC is studied for different Iberian Peninsula zones using the mean (MBE) and the standard deviation (SD) of the GOME-2 and GPS differences. A direct comparison of all available data shows an overestimation of GOME-2 compared to GPS with a MBE of 0.7 mm (10%) and a precision quantified by a SD equals to 4.4mm (31%). South-Western zone presents the highest overestimation with a MBE of 1.9 mm (17%), while Continental zone shows the lowest SD absolute value (3.3mm) due mainly to the low WVC values reached at this zone. The influence of solar zenith angle (SZA), cloud fraction (CF), and the type of surface and its albedo on the differences between GOME-2 and GPS is analyzed in detail. MBE and SD increase when SZA increases, but MBE decreases (taking negative values) when CF increases and SD shows no significant dependence on CF. Under cloud-free conditions, the differences between WVC from GOME-2 and GPS are within the WVC error given by GOME-2. The changes of MBE and SD on Surface Albedo are not so evident, but MBE slightly decreases when the Surface Albedo increases. WVC from GOME-2 is, in general, more precise for land than for sea pixels.

Columnar and surface aerosol load over the Iberian Peninsula establishing annual cycles, trends, and relationships in five geographical sectors.

The study of atmospheric aerosol load over the Iberian Peninsula (IP) under a climatological perspective is accomplished by means of PM10 and AOD440 nm measurements from EMEP and AERONET networks, respectively, in the period 2000-2013. The PM10 annual cycles in five Iberian sectors show a main maximum in summer and a secondary maximum in spring, which is only observed in the southern area for the AOD climatology. The characteristics of PM10-AOD annual cycles of each geographical sector are explained by the different climatology of the air mass origins and their apportioning. The two magnitudes are correlated with a factor ranging between 20 and 90 depending on the sector. The temporal evolution of the aerosol load has shown a notable decrease in the IP since the 1980s. Statistically significant trends are obtained in the Northeastern sector with a reduction of 26% (period 1985-2000) for the total suspended particles, which continues for the PM10 data with a value of 35% per decade (2001-2013), and also in the whole column, 61% per decade in the AOD440 nm (2004-2013).

Cervical spine epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: case report.

UNLABELLED: Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare aggressive vascular tumor and can occur in almost all locations. Spine location is rare. There are just a few cases published in the literature and the longer series included only five cases. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 58-year-old woman who presented with anemia and cervical pain without neurological deficit. Radiological diagnosis revealed a C2-C3 mass with vertebral artery involvement and liver metastases. Partial resection and arthrodesis followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy were performed. Local control of the diseases was achieved but distance metastasis appears two years after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: EHE of the spine is extremely rare in clinic as a primary aggressive vascular tumor. Metastatic disease is the most important factor to predict prognosis. It is not clear in the literature which is the best surgical approach in this patients and it mainly depends of the location and systemic illness. En bloc resection or expanded resection supported with adjunct radiation therapy may present with acceptable results of local control of the tumor. Systemic disease control must be achieved with chemotherapy.

Absorption Ångström exponents of aerosols and light absorbing carbon (LAC) obtained from in situ data in Covilhã, central Portugal.

A field campaign was conducted from October 2009 to July 2010 at Covilhã, a small town located in the region of Beira Interior (Portugal) in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. The ambient light-absorption coefficient, σ(a) (522 nm), obtained from a Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), presented a daily mean value of 12.1 Mm⁻¹ (StD = 7.3 Mm⁻¹). The wavelength dependence of aerosol light absorption is investigated through the Ångström parameter, α(a). The α(a) values for the pair of wavelengths 470-660 nm ranged from 0.86 to 1.47 during the period of measurements. The PSAP data were used to infer the mass of light absorbing carbon (LAC) and the daily mean varied from 0.1 to 6.8 µg m⁻³. A detailed study of special events with different aerosol characteristics is carried out and, to support data interpretation, air masses trajectory analysis is performed.

In situ UV-VIS-NIR absorbing properties of atmospheric aerosol particles: estimates of the imaginary refractive index and comparison with columnar values.

In this work, a novel technique is used to estimate the aerosol complex index of refraction of in situ collected samples. Samples of atmospheric particulate matter were collected in El Arenosillo, southern Spain, on polycarbonate filters during summer 2004 as part of an aerosol characterization campaign. These samples were analyzed for the volumetric absorption coefficient in the 320-800 nm spectral region and an estimation of the effective imaginary refractive index was made. The values of the imaginary part of the complex refractive index ranged between 0.0009-0.0215 at 800 nm and 0.0015-0.0114 at 320 nm. Little dependence on the wavelength was observed. Several intense and long lasting desert outbreaks were registered during the campaign and the complex refractive index almost doubles its value during these dust events. Finally, we present a comparison of data obtained in situ with columnar data obtained from the AERONET network. A correlation factor of 0.64 was obtained between both data, which gives an idea of how accurately the in situ ground data represent the total column.

Síndrome meníngeo y síndrome de cola de caballo tras cirugía de hernia discal lumbar L5-S1: evolución a los dos años / No disponible

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[Bilateral idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome in a child under 10 years of age]. / Síndrome del túnel carpiano idiopático bilateral en un niño menor de 10 años.

INTRODUCTION: The carpal tunnel syndrome is the most frequent compression neuropathy in the adult population, being very uncommon in children, particularly under the age of 10 years. The most frequent etiology is the lisosomal storage diseases, followed by anatomical disorders, trauma, intensive sports practice and some idiopathic cases among others. In this paper we are presenting a case of an idiopathic and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome in a 9 years old boy. CASE REPORT: A 9 year-old patient suffering daily paresthaesias in both hands for a year, producing limitations in hand mobility which disappear after physical movement of the hands. He played basketball at school, he was right handed and had no history of systemic family illnesses. After the exploration, he scored 4/5 in left thumb abductor strength and no thenar muscle hypotrophy. He achieved the criteria of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Electroneurography tests confirmed the diagnosis. The etiology study was normal after completed. After bilateral surgery, the patient achieved a complete recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of this clinical case lies in its rare manifestation in children under the age of 10, being bilateral and not being included in the most frequent etiology group. It has a late diagnosis because it has an etiology and clinical manifestation different from adults. The diagnosis is being done through electroneurography. Open surgical release is almost ever the treatment.

Síndrome del túnel carpiano idiopático bilateral en un niño menor de 10 años / Bilateral idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome in a child under 10 years of age

Introducción. El síndrome del túnel carpiano es la neuropatía por compresión más frecuente en el adulto. Sin embargo, es un cuadro raro en la edad pediátrica, sobre todo por debajo de los 10 años de edad. La etiología más frecuente son las enfermedades de depósito lisosomal, seguidas por las anomalías anatómicas, casos familiares, traumatismos, práctica intensiva de ciertos deportes y casos idiopáticos. Presentamos un caso de síndrome del túnel carpiano, bilateral e idiopático enun niño de 9 años. Caso clínico. Niño de 9 años que presentaba desde hacía un año parestesias diurnas en ambas manos, con dificultad en la manipulación y que desaparecían tras movilizarlas. Era un jugador de baloncesto escolar, diestro y sin enfermedadessistémicas familiares. Cumplía los criterios de trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad. La exploración mostró una fuerza de 4/5 en el músculo abductor del pulgar izquierdo. No había hipotrofia de la musculatura tenar. La electroneurografíaconfirmó el diagnóstico de síndrome del túnel carpiano. Se completó el estudio etiológico, que resultó normal. Tras realizar la cirugía bilateral, el paciente presentó una mejoría sintomática completa. Conclusiones. La importancia de este caso clínico es la rareza de su presentación en niños menores de 10 años, sobre todo con afectación bilateral y sin pertenecer al grupo etiológico más frecuente. La etiología y la sintomatología clínica distintas a las del adulto condicionan que el diagnóstico sea tardío. El diagnóstico de confirmación se realiza por electroneurografía y el tratamiento es casi siempre quirúrgico

Introduction. The carpal tunnel syndrome is the most frequent compression neuropathy in the adult population,being very uncommon in children, particularly under the age of 10 years. The most frequent etiology is the lisosomal storage diseases, followed by anatomical disorders, trauma, intensive sports practice and some idiopathic cases among others. In this paper we are presenting a case of an idiopathic and bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome in a 9 years old boy. Case report. A 9 year-old patient suffering daily paresthaesias in both hands for a year, producing limitations in hand mobility which disappearafter physical movement of the hands. He played basketball at school, he was right handed and had no history of systemic family illnesses. After the exploration, he scored 4/5 in left thumb abductor strength and no thenar muscle hypotrophy. Heachieved the criteria of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Electroneurography tests confirmed the diagnosis. The etiology study was normal after completed. After bilateral surgery, the patient achieved a complete recovery. Conclusions. The importance of this clinical case lies in its rare manifestation in children under the age of 10, being bilateral and not being included in the most frequent etiology group. It has a late diagnosis because it has an etiology and clinical manifestationdifferent from adults. The diagnosis is being done through electroneurography. Open surgical release is almost ever the treatment

[Streptokinase-induced jaundice]. / Ictericia inducida por estreptocinasa.

Streptokinase is a thrombolytic agent used very frequently for the early treatment of acute myocardial infarction. A 35-year-old male with inferior acute myocardial infarction was admitted to the Coronary Care Unit and treated with systemic streptokinase. At the time of admission, he was a healthy male and he was not receiving any hepatotoxic agent. Six hours after thrombolysis, he developed high fever, painful hepatomegaly, jaundice and coluric urine. Leucocytosis with left deviation was observed in the hemogram and the liver function tests showed slight enzymatic elevation and hyperbilirubinemia. This condition was progressively improving and the patient was free of symptoms on the eighth day of evolution. Jaundice as secondary effect of streptokinase has been previously communicated in very few medical reports.

[Conditions of intubation and neuromuscular block induced by mivacurium: comparison with succinylcholine]. / Condiciones de intubación y bloqueo neuromuscular inducidos por mivacurio: comparación con succinilcolina.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical conditions for intubation and neuromuscular parameters after a high dose of mivacurium (0.25 mg/kg; 3 x SD95) administered in 30 s to those obtained after use of the usual dose of succinylcholine (1 mg/kg). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-two patients, 37 in the succinylcholine group and 45 in the mivacurium group, were studied. Intubating conditions were assessed on a scale of 3 to 12 points analyzing ease of laryngoscopy, relaxation of vocal cords and presence of cough 60 seconds after administration of the drug. Neuromuscular parameters were acceleration of the thumb induced by supramaximal train-of-four stimulation of the cubital nerve. Heart rate and non-invasive mean blood pressure were recorded throughout surgery. Cutaneous flush was looked for after administration of the relaxant. RESULTS: Time to onset of effect (159 s versus 82 s) and times to recovery after mivacurium were significantly longer than with succinylcholine. Mivacurium afforded excellent/good conditions for intubation in 95.6% of cases, with a neuromuscular blockade at intubation of 52.68%. No significant hemodynamic changes or side effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Given the moderate conditions of intubation achieved at 60 s, mivacurium can not be recommended as a relaxant in situations that require a rapid induction sequence. In elective surgery, 0.25 mg/kg of mivacurium can, however, be considered an alternative to succinylcholine.

Treatment of posttraumatic midshaft clavicular pseudarthrosis with the Herbert cannulated bone screw and autologous bone grafting. A case report.

Pseudarthrosis of the midshaft of the clavicle can be treated successfully using the Herbert cannulated bone screw with no need for a second operation to remove the implant after bone union.

Determination of the Atmospheric-Water-Vapor Content in the 940-nm Absorption Band by Use of Moderate Spectral-Resolution Measurements of Direct Solar Irradiance.

We have analyzed three methods that can be used to determine the integrated water vapor of the atmosphere in the 940-nm band by means of modeled and measured direct solar spectral irradiance. The experimental irradiance data were obtained with a commercial LI-COR 1800 spectroradiometer, based on a monochromator system, of high to moderate spectral resolution (6 nm) in the 300-1100-nm range. The modeled data are based on monochromatic approaches to determine atmospheric transmittance constituents; for those of water vapor we used the lowtran7 model. The first method is a curve-fitting procedure that makes use of the entire shape band absorption information to retrieve a unique water-vapor value. The second method makes use of the monochromatic approach of the absorption transmittance formula to determine the amount of water vapor at each wavelength of the absorption band, and the third method is the classic differential absorption technique suitably applied to our data. Spectral analysis showed the advantages and disadvantages of each method, such as problems linked to the various spectral resolutions of the experimental and the modeled data, the width of the spectral range used to define the water-vapor absorption band, and the dependence of the retrieval on the choice of the two selected wavelengths in the last-named technique. All these problems were considered so they could be avoided or minimized and the associated errors estimated. We used the methods to determine water-vapor values for the period from March to November 1995 at a rural station in Vallodolid, Spain, allowing for the evaluation of the differences in real monitoring conditions. Finally, the contribution of continuum absorption was also evaluated, yielding lower water-vapor values between 13 and 30%. These differences were considerably greater than those that were due to the problems that we have just enumerated.

Design of aberration-balanced high-efficiency focusing holographic gratings.

A volume and phase focusing holographic grating to be used as the principal element of a high-resolution spectrometer has been designed with the aid of a computer. A two-step method was used; first designs were obtained with an aberration-balancing technique, and, in the second step, these early designs are optimized by a ray tracing procedure to obtain aberration-balanced high-efficiency holograms that can be used in highresolution spectroscopy.