Objective:
To report the results of a nationwide critical-care course for non-intensivists to increase staff capacity of intensive care units (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina.
Methods:
Three academic organizations, with special funding from 55 private companies, developed a short virtual course comprised of web-based videos, virtual tutorials, and a forum chat. Each state assigned scholarships to non-ICU staff from public hospitals. Students received active follow-up for the completion of the course and took a survey upon course completion.
Results:
After four months, there were 10,123 students registered from 661 hospitals in 328 cities. Of these, 67.8% passed the course, 29.1% were still ongoing and 3.1% were inactive. Most students were female (74.2%) with a median of 37 years old (IQR 31-44). The group was composed of 56.5% nurses, 36.2% physicians, and 7.4% physiotherapists, of whom 48.3% did not have any experience in critical care. Mean overall satisfaction was 4.4/5 (SD 0.9), and 90.7% considered they were able to apply the contents to their practice.
Conclusions:
This course was effective for rapid training of non-ICU personnel. The assignment strategy, the educational techniques, and the close follow-up led to low dropout and high success rates and satisfaction.
This study aimed to evaluate three methodologies for orifice-plate water-flow estimation by quantifying errors in the flow determinations to propose an appropriate measurement range for each evaluated condition. Two orifice-plate models (nominal diameters of 100 and 150 mm) with 50% restriction in the flow section were evaluated. In the theoretical equations, the discharge coefficient was obtained using the Reader-Harris/Gallagher equation (Method 1) and approximated from experimental data using the angular coefficient of a zero-intercept straight line (Method 2). The recommended measurement ranges for errors that were lower than 5% for the 100 and 150 mm plates were 30 to 65 m3 h-1 and 70 to 130 m3 h-1 using the theoretical equation and 20 to 65 m3 h-1 and 40 to 130 m3 h-1 using the empirical equation, respectively. The Reader-Harris/Gallagher equation (Method 1) adequately estimated the discharge coefficient of the orifice plates; however, the use of empirical equations (Method 3) demonstrated smaller measurement errors and greater rangeability of the evaluated flow meters.
In this study, we analyzed the hydrogeochemistry of 350 underground wells in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, for water-chemical parameters that may contribute to the chemical clogging of emitters in drip irrigation systems. Risk class maps were generated for each parameter, and the area was classified based on the water characteristics, considering the degree of water-use restriction in micro-irrigation (i.e., no, moderate, and severe restriction). Inverse distance-weighted, random forest, and ordinary kriging methods were used as interpolation methods. Moreover, a multivariate analysis was conducted to analyze the results. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a strong and significant correlation between pH and carbonates, hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) and between TDS and EC. Principal component analysis revealed that most of the variations in the water quality of the wells could be explained by water–rock interactions with the consequent dissolution of minerals. The principal components were natural sources of ionic salt groups, dissolution of minerals rich in alkaline cations, chemical weathering of iron–magnesium minerals, and increased pH with the conversion of bicarbonates into carbonates. In the parameter cluster analysis, three possible mechanisms that contribute to emitter clogging in the study area were identified: precipitation of calcium and magnesium salts; oxidation of iron and manganese ions forming oxides and insoluble hydroxides; an increase in pH, which converts bicarbonates into carbonates. Clustering analysis revealed the wells that are susceptible to clogging with the exact cause.
O presente projeto analisou a remoção de matéria orgânica em um biorreator anaeróbio de leito fixo ordenado (ABFSB) proposto por Mockaitis et al. (2014). Foram realizadas análises de DQO, alcalinidade, ácidos voláteis, sólidos totais e dissolvidos como medidas da eficiência e estabilidade do sistema. O afluente do ABFSB foi soro de queijo em pó reconstituido suplementado com o meio nutriente de Del Nery (1987). Após 77 dias de operação o reator alcançou uma eficiência máxima de 57,5%, e após 30 dias de partida, podemos verificar uma estabilidade de operação.
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