An assessment of the thermal refurbishment of an outpatient medical center in a tropical location, such as the City of San Francisco de Campeche, was presented with the aim to diminish its energy ...consumption. A year-long energy audit of the facility was conducted to formulate and validate a numerical simulation model while scrutinizing enhancement strategies. The examined improvement alternatives encompass passive adjustments to the roof (utilizing insulating materials, applying reflective coatings, and installing a green roof), modifications to active systems incorporating inverter technology, and alterations to the walls via reflective paint. The outcomes of the simulated enhancement scenarios were assessed utilizing energy, environmental, and economic metrics: key performance index (KPI), equivalent CO2 emission index (CEI), and net savings (NS). These results were subsequently juxtaposed against TOPSIS decision-making algorithms to ascertain the alternative that optimally balances the three options. It was identified that using reflective paint on the roof provides the best energy benefits and contributes to mitigating emissions from electricity use. Furthermore, combining this passive technology with the integration of inverter air conditioning systems offers the best economic return at the end of 15 years. For its part, the TOPSIS method indicated that by prioritizing the financial aspect, the reflective coating on the roof combined with inverter air conditioning is enough. However, adding a wall with insulating paint brings environmental and energy benefits. The results of this work serve as a starting point for the analysis of other post-occupied buildings in the region and others under tropical climatic conditions.
Due to the inability to curb the excessive increase in the prevalence of obesity and overweight, it is necessary to comprehend in more detail the factors involved in the pathophysiology and to ...appreciate more clearly the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of obesity. Thus, understanding the biological regulation of adipose tissue is of fundamental relevance. Connexin, a protein that forms intercellular membrane channels of gap junctions and unopposed hemichannels, plays a key role in adipogenesis and in the maintenance of adipose tissue homeostasis. The expression and function of Connexin 43 (Cx43) during the different stages of the adipogenesis are differentially regulated. Moreover, it has been shown that cell-cell communication decreases dramatically upon differentiation into adipocytes. Furthermore, inhibition of Cx43 degradation or constitutive overexpression of Cx43 blocks adipocyte differentiation. In the first events of adipogenesis, the connexin is highly phosphorylated, which is likely associated with enhanced Gap Junction (GJ) communication. In an intermediate state of adipocyte differentiation, Cx43 phosphorylation decreases, as it is displaced from the membrane and degraded through the proteasome; thus, Cx43 total protein is reduced. Cx is involved in cardiac disease as well as in obesity-related cardiovascular diseases. Different studies suggest that obesity together with a high-fat diet are related to the production of remodeling factors associated with expression and distribution of Cx43 in the atrium.
Objective: To determine factors associated with mortality in tuberculosis/HIV co-infected patients in Cali, Colombia Methods: This retrospective cohort design included tuberculosis/HIV co-infected ...persons. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to estimate survival and risk factors associated with mortality. Results: Of the 279 tuberculosis/HIV co-infected participants, 27.2% died during the study. Participants mainly were adults and males. CD4 count information was available for 41.6% (the median count was 83 cells/mm3), and half were subject to tuberculosis susceptibility testing. The median time between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy initiation was 372 days. HIV was identified prior to tuberculosis in 53% and concurrent HIV-tuberculosis were diagnosed in 37% of patients. 44.8% had tuberculosis treatment success. Body mass index above 18 kg/m2, initiation of tuberculosis treatment within two weeks, having any health insurance coverage and CD4 count information conferred a survival advantage. Conclusions: Delays in treatment initiation and factors associated with limited health care access or utilization were associated with mortality. As HIV and tuberculosis are both reportable conditions in Colombia, strategies should be focused on optimizing treatment outcomes within both tuberculosis and HIV programs, particularly improving early HIV diagnosis, early antiretroviral therapy treatment initiation, and adherence to tuberculosis treatment.
With its emphasis on early identification, quality instruction, interventions for students at risk of educational failure, and use of data on student response to instruction, multitiered systems of ...support (MTSS) offer numerous advantages over a remedial approach. Leveraging the promise of MTSS will rely, however, on equitable distribution of the advantages of this approach, especially for culturally and linguistically diverse students (CLD). The articles in this special topic section address CLD student contexts and apply this knowledge to culturally responsive explorations of assessment and instruction with an emphasis on the role of English language proficiency and language of instruction. Recognizing the importance of early identification and progress monitoring, several studies focus on the adequacy of screeners and curriculum-based measurement (CBM) tools for CLD children within MTSS. Across the studies, several important themes emerge in unlocking the promise of MTSS for CLD students, including (a) the need for validated measures for use with CLD, especially those sensitive to levels of English proficiency; (b) the importance of English language proficiency (ELP) in understanding responsiveness to intervention; (c) the language of instruction holds important relationships to performance on screeners, CBM, and achievement outcomes; and (d) English language instruction did not appear to impede performance on outcomes. Implications for advancing practice are also discussed.
Impact Statement
This article provides a synthesis of articles in a special topic section focused on MTSS with CLD students. Key themes across articles highlight the challenges and opportunities to advance the science of MTSS and invite scholars to further examine challenges of MTSS with CLD, including implementation and policy implications.
There are currently about 415 million people with diabetes worldwide, a figure likely to increase to 642 million by 2040. In 2015, Mexico was the second Latin American country and sixth in the world ...in prevalence of this disorder with nearly 11.5 million of patients. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the main kind of diabetes and its etiology is complex with environmental and genetic factors involved. Indeed, polymorphisms in several genes have been associated with this disease worldwide. To estimate the genetic epidemiology of T2D in Mexican mestizos a systematic bibliographic search of published articles through PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science was conducted. Just case-control studies of candidate genes about T2D in Mexican mestizo inhabitants were included. Nineteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were found. In total, 68 polymorphisms of 41 genes were assessed; 26 of them were associated with T2D risk, which were located in ABCA1, ADRB3, CAPN10, CDC123/CAMK1D, CDKAL1, CDKN2A/2B, CRP, ELMO1, FTO, HHEX, IGF2BP2, IRS1, JAZF1, KCNQ1, LOC387761, LTA, NXPH1, SIRT1, SLC30A8, TCF7L2, and TNF-α genes. Overall, 21 of the 41 analyzed genes were associated with T2D in Mexican mestizos. Such a genetic heterogeneity compares with findings in other ethnic groups.
The serotonergic system has been hypothesized to contribute to the biological susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and body-mass index (BMI) categories. We investigate a possible ...association of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism (L and S alleles) in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) with the development of T2DM and/or higher BMI by analyzing a sample of 138 individuals diagnosed with T2DM and 172 unrelated controls from the Mexican general population. In the total sample genotypes were distributed according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and S allele frequency was 0.58. There was no statistical association between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and the development of T2DM in this Mexican population sample (p = 0.12). Nevertheless, logistic regression analysis of the L allele and increased BMI disclosed an association, after adjusting for age, sex and T2DM (p = 0.02, OR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.079-2.808).
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Its etiopathogenesis is complex, mainly influenced by genetic instability caused by the accumulation of mutations. The XRCC1 gene, ...which is involved in DNA repair, has been associated with CRC through the R194W (C194T) and R399Q (G399A) polymorphisms, but the results are inconsistent. Here, we analyzed the association of these polymorphisms with sporadic CRC in a northeastern Mexican population, including 155 male CRC patients and 155 male controls. Genotyping was performed using the RFLP method. An association with CRC was found for the 399A allele (G vs A; OR = 1.48 (1.03–2.13), P=0.034) and for the 399AA genotype in a codominant model (AA vs GG; OR = 3.11 (1.06–9.10), P=0.031). In contrast, there were no significant differences between CRC patients and controls for the C194T polymorphism (C vs T; OR = 0.82 (0.52–1.31), P=0.41). These results are consistent with many similar studies, but further research is needed to verify whether the XRCC1 R194W and R399Q polymorphisms play a role in CRC etiology. The functional significance of these polymorphisms is unclear, but some studies suggest that they influence DNA repair capacity and, thus, cancer risk.
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (
) gene polymorphisms have been associated with overweight people and obesity. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship of the
677C>T ...polymorphism with obesity and biochemical variables in young individuals of Mexico.
A total of 316 young individuals were included in the study, 172 with normal weight (NW) and 144 with over weight/obesity. Body mass index (BMI) was classified as NW, overweight, and obesity. Also, waist circumference was measured. Moreover, glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were determined. Genotyping for
677C>T polymorphism was performed by the PCR-RFLP method.
There was no difference in the distribution of the
677C>T polymorphism between individuals with NW and overweight/obesity; neither when they were divided by overweight vs NW, nor when we contrasted obese vs NW. However, an analysis stratified by gender showed a significant protector effect of the TT genotype against obesity in males and elevated waist circumference in females. Also, overweight/obese individuals with TT genotype had less risk of high cholesterol or triglycerides than overweight/obese subjects with the other genotypes.
These results suggest that the
677T polymorphism might not be a risk factor for being overweight/obesity. Rather, on the basis of our results, this variant could be a protector effect. However, further large-scale population-based studies are still necessary to clarify the role of the
677C>T polymorphism in overweight, obesity, and lipid profile level.
The C677T polymorphism of the MTHFR gene has been frequently associated with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) around the world. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether the ...MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with ALL in Mexican children and adults. A case-control study was conducted on 243 patients with ALL (136 children and 107 adults) and 379 healthy controls. Genotyping of the C677T polymorphism was performed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The frequency of the T allele was forty-three percent, fifty-two percent, and forty-six percent in children, adults, and controls, respectively. No risk of ALL was found for T allele carriers in children OR=0.81 (0.52-1.25), P=0.33, but an increased risk was detected in adults OR=4.98 (2.24-11.10), P<0.001. The findings in children agree with most of the studies but are discordant with those reported in adults. These differences could be due to ethnicity, genetic background, sampling, and methodology.
Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative brain disorder characterized by extracellular accumulations of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides, intracellular accumulation of abnormal ...proteins, and early loss of basal forebrain neurons. Recent studies have indicated that the conformation of Aβ is crucial for neuronal toxicity, with intermediate misfolded forms such as oligomers being more toxic than the final fibrillar forms. Our previous work shows that Aβ blocks the potassium (K+ ) currents IM and IA in septal neurons, increasing firing rates, diminishing rhythmicity and firing coherence. Evidence also suggests that oxidative stress (OS) plays a role in AD pathogenesis. Thus we wished to determine the effect of oligomeric and fibrillar forms of Aβ1–42 on septohippocampal damage, oxidative damage, and dysfunction in AD. Oligomeric and fibrillar forms of Aβ1–42 were injected into the CA1 region of the hippocampus in live rats. The rats were sacrificed 24 hours and 1 month after Aβ or sham injection to additionally evaluate the temporal effects. The expression levels of the K+ voltage-gated channel, KQT-like subfamily, member 2 (KCNQ2 ) and the OS-related genes superoxide dismutase 1, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase, and monamine oxidase A, were analyzed in the hippocampus, medial, and lateral septum. Our results show that both forms of Aβ exhibit time-dependent differential modulation of OS and K+ channel genes in the analyzed regions. Importantly, we demonstrate that Aβ injected into the hippocampus triggered changes in gene expression in anatomical regions distant from the injection site. Thus the Aβ effect was transmitted to anatomically separate sites, because of the functional coupling of the brain structures.
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