The Economics of Climate Change in Central America: Summary 2012

This report was published with the goal of discussing, disseminating and using the results of this initiative in the formulation of national and regional strategies and have been presented at national and regional events with civil servants, representatives of non-governmental organizations, trade unions, the private sector, universities and research centers. The results have served as inputs in the training of national committees on climate change and negotiating teams, as well as in the preparation of the Regional Climate Change Strategy, several international financing projects and various national policies. The results have been presented in coordination with the Ministries of Environment at the last three Conferences of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Horizons 2030: Equality at the centre of sustainable development. Summary

The world is living a change of era. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals represent the international community’s response to the economic, distributive and environmental imbalances built up under the prevailing development pattern. This document, presented by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to its member States at its thirty-sixth session, provides an analytical complement to the 2030 Agenda from a structuralist perspective and from the point of view of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. The proposals made here stem from the need to achieve progressive structural change in order to incorporate more knowledge into production, ensure social inclusion and combat the negative impacts of climate change. The reflections and proposals for advancing towards a new development pattern are geared to achieving equality and environmental sustainability. In these proposals, the creation of global and regional public goods and the corresponding domestic policies form the core for expanding the structuralist tradition towards a global Keynesianism and a development strategy centred around an environmental big push.

NIL_004 Summary of session C6: Q&A-everything you wanted to know about gravitational waves but were afraid to ask

The paper summarizes the parallel session C6 Q&A-everything you wanted to know about gravitational waves but were afraid to ask of the joint 10th Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves and 20th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation.

2006 Michigan Dairy Farm Business Analysis Summary

This report summarizes the financial and production records of 139 dairy farms from throughout Michigan in 2006. To be included, the farms must have produced at least 50 percent of gross cash farm income from milk and dairy animal sales. The records came from Michigan State University’s TelFarm project and the Farm Credit Service system in Michigan. The values were pooled into averages for reporting purposes. The farms are larger than would be the average of all dairy farms in Michigan. While considerable variation in the data exists, average values are reported in the summary tables and discussion that follows.

EPOS 2012: European position paper on rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps 2012. A summary for otorhinolaryngologists

The European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps 2012 is the update of similar evidence based position papers published in 2005 and 2007. The document contains chapters on definitions and classification, we now also propose definitions for 'difficult to treat' rhinosinusitis, control of disease and better definitions for rhinosinusitis in children. More emphasis is placed on the diagnosis and treatment of acute rhinosinusitis. Throughout the document the terms chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) are used to further point out differences in pathophysiology and treatment of these two entities. There are extensive chapters on epidemiology and predisposing factors, inflammatory mechanisms, (differential) diagnosis of facial pain, genetics, cystic fibrosis, aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease, immunodeficiencies, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis and the relationship between the upper and lower airways. The chapters on paediatric acute and chronic rhinosinusitis are totally rewritten. Last but not least all available evidence for management of acute rhinosinusitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps in adults and children is analyzed and presented and management schemes based on the evidence are proposed. This executive summary for otorhinolaryngologists focuses on the most important changes and issues for otorhinolaryngologists.

Air pollution and health: bridging the gap from sources to health outcomes: conference summary

Air Pollution and Health: Bridging the Gap from Sources to Health Outcomes, an international specialty conference sponsored by the American Association for Aerosol Research, was held to address key uncertainties in our understanding of adverse health effects related to air pollution and to integrate and disseminate results from recent scientific studies that cut across a range of air pollution-related disciplines. The Conference addressed the science of air pollution and health within a multipollutant framework (herein "multipollutant" refers to gases and particulate matter mass, components, and physical properties), focusing on five key science areas: sources, atmospheric sciences, exposure, dose, and health effects. Eight key policy-relevant science questions integrated across various parts of the five science areas and a ninth question regarding findings that provide policy-relevant insights served as the framework for the meeting. Results synthesized from this Conference provide new evidence, reaffirm past findings, and offer guidance for future research efforts that will continue to incrementally advance the science required for reducing uncertainties in linking sources, air pollutants, human exposure, and health effects. This paper summarizes the Conference findings organized around the science questions. A number of key points emerged from the Conference findings. First, there is a need for greater focus on multipollutant science and management approaches that include more direct studies of the mixture of pollutants from sources with an emphasis on health studies at ambient concentrations. Further, a number of research groups reaffirmed a need for better understanding of biological mechanisms and apparent associations of various health effects with components of particulate matter (PM), such as elemental carbon, certain organic species, ultrafine particles, and certain trace elements such as Ni, V, and Fe(II), as well as some gaseous pollutants. Although much debate continues in this area, generation of reactive oxygen species induced by these and other species present in air pollution and the resulting oxidative stress and inflammation were reiterated as key pathways leading to respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes. The Conference also underscored significant advances in understanding the susceptibility of populations, including the role of genetics and epigenetics and the influence of socioeconomic and other confounding factors and their synergistic interactions with air pollutants. Participants also pointed out that short-and long-term intervention episodes that reduce pollution from sources and improve air quality continue to indicate that when pollution decreases so do reported adverse health effects. In the limited number of cases where specific sources or PM2.5 species were included in investigations, specific species are often associated with the decrease in effects. Other recent advances for improved exposure estimates for epidemiological studies included using new technologies such as microsensors combined with cell phone and integrated into real-time communications, hybrid air quality modeling such as combined receptor-and emission-based models, and surface observations used with remote sensing such as satellite data.

Summary of the II Brazilian Guideline Update on Acute Heart Failure 2009/2011

In the past two years we observed several changes in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of patients with acute heart failure (acute HF), which led us to the need of performing a summary update of the II Brazilian Guidelines on Acute Heart Failure 2009. In the diagnostic evaluation, the diagnostic flowchart was simplified and the role of clinical assessment and echocardiography was enhanced. In the clinical-hemodynamic evaluation on admission, the hemodynamic echocardiography gained prominence as an aid to define this condition in patients with acute HF in the emergency room. In the prognostic evaluation, the role of biomarkers was better established and the criteria and prognostic value of the cardiorenal syndrome was better defined. The therapeutic approach flowcharts were revised, and are now simpler and more objective. Among the advances in drug therapy, the safety and importance of the maintenance or introduction of beta-blockers in the admission treatment are highlighted. Anticoagulation, according to new evidence, gained a wider range of indications. The presentation hemodynamic models of acute pulmonary edema were well established, with their different therapeutic approaches, as well as new levels of indication and evidence. In the surgical treatment of acute HF, CABG, the approach to mechanical lesions and heart transplantation were reviewed and updated. This update strengthens the II Brazilian Guidelines on Acute Heart Failure to keep it updated and refreshed. All clinical cardiologists who deal with patients with acute HF will find, in the guidelines and its summary, important tools to help them with the clinical practice for better diagnosis and treatment of their patients.

Canadian Cardiovascular Society 2009 Consensus Conference on the management of adults with congenital heart disease: executive summary

With advances in pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery, the population of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) has increased. In the current era, there are more adults with CHD than children. This population has many unique issues and needs. They have distinctive forms of heart failure, and their cardiac disease can be associated with pulmonary hypertension, thromboemboli, complex arrhythmias and sudden death.Medical aspects that need to be considered relate to the long-term and multisystemic effects of single-ventricle physiology, cyanosis, systemic right ventricles, complex intracardiac baffles and failing subpulmonary right ventricles. Since the 2001 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Consensus Conference report on the management of adults with CHD, there have been significant advances in the understanding of the late outcomes, genetics, medical therapy and interventional approaches in the field of adult CHD. Therefore, new clinical guidelines have been written by Canadian adult CHD physicians in collaboration with an international panel of experts in the field. The present executive summary is a brief overview of the new guidelines and includes the recommendations for interventions. The complete document consists of four manuscripts that are published online in the present issue of The Canadian Journal of Cardiology, including sections on genetics, clinical outcomes, recommended diagnostic workup, surgical and interventional options, treatment of arrhythmias, assessment of pregnancy and contraception risks, and follow-up requirements. The complete document and references can also be found at www.ccs.ca or www.cachnet.org.