The tuna (Opuntia ficus indica) fulfills the requirements expected for crops that produce energy growing in arid and semiarid zones. Great part of its ability to grow in marginal habitats is due to it can complete its cycle in areas with a precipitation of 150 mm per year. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the agroclimatic aptitude of Argentina to plant Opuntia ficus indica in marginal areas for the double purpose to produce tuna as edible fruit and to use the cladodes to produce bioethanol. Taking on account the available climatic data, the bioclimatic necessities of the tuna and the resistance to frost in its different ontogenetic stages; optimal, appropriate and marginal areas could be delimited for its possible implantation in Argentina. It must be considered that the marginal areas delimited because of frost are not the same for young and adult plants but on the other hand, the marginal zoning because of moisture could be modified by irrigation, thus increasing the agroclimatic area for this specie. The agroclimatic zoning of tuna let us see the potentiality of this crop to produce energy growing in marginal areas in Argentina.

La tuna (Opuntia ficus indica) cumple con los requisitos que deben reunir los cultivos energéticos para zonas áridas y semiáridas. Gran parte de su habilidad para crecer en esos hábitats marginales se debe a que puede cumplir su ciclo con 150 mm anuales de precipitación. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar la aptitud agroclimática argentina para plantar Opuntia ficus índica en áreas marginales con el doble propósito de cosechar higos tuna y utilizar los cladodios para producir bioetanol. En base a datos climáticos, necesidades bioclimáticas y resistencia a las heladas en diferentes estados ontogénicos de la especie se delimitaron áreas óptimas, apropiadas y marginales de cultivo. Las áreas marginales por heladas delimitadas para plantaciones jóvenes no lo son para plantaciones adultas y las áreas marginales por humedad podrían modificarse mediante la aplicación de riego, ampliando la extensión del agroclima en Argentina. La zonificación agroclimática permitió ver la potencialidad de expansión del cultivo con fines energéticos en tierras marginales.

Bartonellae are fastidious Gram-negative bacteria that are widespread in nature with several animal reservoirs (mainly cats, dogs, and rodents) and insect vectors (mainly fleas, sandflies, and human lice). Thirteen species or subspecies of Bartonella have been recognized as agents causing human disease, including B. bacilliformis, B. quintana, B. vinsonii berkhoffii, B. henselae, B. elizabethae, B. grahamii, B. washoensis, B. koehlerae, B. rocha-limaea, and B. tamiae. The clinical spectrum of infection includes lymphadenopathy, fever of unknown origin, endocarditis, neurological and ophthalmological syndromes, Carrion's disease, and others. This review provides updated information on clinical manifestations and seroepidemiological studies with an emphasis on data available from Brazil.

Bartonella is an important cause of blood culture-negative endocarditis in recent studies. Seroprevalence studies in the States of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro have shown Bartonella IgG positivity around 14% in healthy adults and 40% in HIV seropositive adults, respectively. A case report of a 46-year-old white male with moderate aortic regurgitation (AR) due to rheumatic heart disease (RHD), admitted due to worsening heart failure, is presented. Clinical features were apyrexia, anemia, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, hematuria and splenomegaly. He was submitted to surgery due to worsening AR. Histopathology of the excised valve showed active bacterial endocarditis and underlying RHD. Routine blood cultures were negative. Indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) assays for Coxiella burnetii were non-reactive. Bartonella henselae IgG titer was 1:4096 prior to antibiotics and 1:512 14 months after treatment. History of close contact with a young cat during the months preceding his admission was elicited.