Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may affect body mass index (BMI) and other components of cardiometabolic (CM) risk during childhood, but evidence is scarce and inconsistent.
We estimated ...associations between prenatal PFAS exposures and outcomes relevant to cardiometabolic risk, including a composite CM-risk score.
We measured perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in maternal plasma (first trimester). We assessed weight gain from birth until 6 mo. At 4 and 7 y, we calculated the age- and sex-specific
-scores for BMI, waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure (BP) (n≈1,000). At age 4, we calculated the age-, sex-, and region-specific
-scores for cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), high-density (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (n=627). At age 4, we calculated a CM-risk score (n=386) as the sum of the individual age-, sex-, and region-specific
-scores for WC, BP, HDL-C, and TGs. We used the average between the negative of HDL-C
-score and TGs
-score to give similar weight to lipids and the other components in the score. A higher score indicates a higher cardiometabolic risk at age 4.
PFOS and PFOA were the most abundant PFAS (geometric mean: 5.80 and 2.32 ng/mL, respectively). In general, prenatal PFAS concentrations were not associated with individual outcomes or the combined CM-risk score. Exceptions were positive associations between prenatal PFHxS and TGs
-score for a doubling of exposure, β=0.11; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01, 0.21, and between PFNA and the CM-risk score (β=0.60; 95% CI: 0.04, 1.16). There was not clear or consistent evidence of modification by sex.
We observed little or no evidence of associations between low prenatal PFAS exposures and outcomes related to cardiometabolic risk in a cohort of Spanish children followed from birth until 7 y. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1330.
Classification problems and their corresponding solving approaches constitute one of the fields of machine learning. The application of classification schemes in Renewable Energy (RE) has gained ...significant attention in the last few years, contributing to the deployment, management and optimization of RE systems. The main objective of this paper is to review the most important classification algorithms applied to RE problems, including both classical and novel algorithms. The paper also provides a comprehensive literature review and discussion on different classification techniques in specific RE problems, including wind speed/power prediction, fault diagnosis in RE systems, power quality disturbance classification and other applications in alternative RE systems. In this way, the paper describes classification techniques and metrics applied to RE problems, thus being useful both for researchers dealing with this kind of problem and for practitioners of the field.
Labour in the 21st Century Stone, Katherine; Dagnino, Emanuele; Martínez, Silvia Fernández
2017, 2017-02-01
eBook
Several major transformations have characterized the world of work in recent years. Those transformations follow different patterns in different countries, yet their dynamics are so interrelated that ...it is often hard, if not impossible, to distinguish the causal relationships among them. Technological advances, globalization, old and new media, demographic changes, and new production and economic systems are all key factors acting on this ongoing transformation which is impacting both the world of work and society as a whole. In the spirit of Karl Polanyi, the well-known scholar who described the rise of market-based societies, we are led to wonder if we are witnessing a new "Great Transformation of Work", on such a scale that it might change the very meaning of work in our society, and even its anthropological connotations. Accordingly, this volume investigates and discusses the different aspects of this transformation from a comparative perspective. In order to propose better solutions to cope with these changes, it is necessary to analyze their ongoing dynamics. Lawmakers, unions, scholars and practitioners are all called to do their part in order to achieve the goals of sustainability and fairness of our economic systems.
Acetylcholine α7 nicotinic receptors are widely expressed in the brain, where they are involved in the central processing of pain as well as in neuropsychiatric, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory ...processes. Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) show the advantage of allowing the selective regulation of different subtypes of acetylcholine receptors without directly interacting with the agonist binding site. Here, we report the preparation and biological activity of a fluoro-containing compound, 1-(2′,5′-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(2-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanone (8, RGM079), that behaves as a potent PAM of the α7 receptors and has a balanced pharmacokinetic profile and antioxidant properties comparable or even higher than well-known natural polyphenols. In addition, compound RGM079 shows neuroprotective properties in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-toxicity related models. Thus, it causes a concentration-dependent neuroprotective effect against the toxicity induced by okadaic acid (OA) in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y. Similarly, in primary cultures of rat cortical neurons, RGM079 is able to restore the cellular viability after exposure to OA and amyloid peptide Aβ1–42, with cell death almost completely prevented at 10 and 30 μM, respectively. Finally, compound RGM079 shows in vivo analgesic activity in the complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced paw inflammation model after intraperitoneal administration.
The human gastrointestinal system has the capacity to metabolize dietary gluten. The capacity to degrade gliadin-derived peptide is present in humans from birth and increases during the first stages ...of life (up to 6-12 months of age). Fecal samples from 151 new-born and adult non-celiac disease (NCD) volunteers were collected, and glutenase and glianidase activities were evaluated. The capacity of total fecal proteins to metabolize 33-mer, 19-mer, and 13-mer gliadin peptides was also evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Feces from new-borns (meconium) showed glutenase and gliadinase activities, and peptidase activity against all three gliadin peptides. Maximal gluten degradative activity was observed in fecal samples from the youngest volunteers (0-12 months old). After the age of nine months, the gluten digestive capacity of gastrointestinal tract decreases and, from ±8 years old, individuals lose the ability to completely degrade toxic peptides. The gastrointestinal proteases involved in gluten digestion: elastase 2A, elastase 3B, and carboxipeptidase A1 are present from earlier stages of life. The human digestive tract contains the proteins capable of metabolizing gluten from birth, even before starting gluten intake. Humans are born with the ability to digest gluten and to completely degrade the potentially toxic gliadin-derived peptides (33-, 19-, and 13-mer).
The papers analyzes two recent decisions in which the Supreme Court has applied the interpretation of the CJEU about the concept of disability of the Directive 2000/78/EC. Both rulings resolve ...appeals for the unification of doctrine on similar factual assumptions. The ruling of the CJEU on the Daouidi case is used as a contrasting judgment. In both resolutions, the Supreme Court concluded that, in the specific cases examined, there were no elements to consider that the workers dismissed after or during an incapacity period met the requirements demanded by the CJEU, to understand that they were people with disability. Consequently, it concluded that the appealed rulings had correctly applied the doctrine of the CJEU and that, therefore, the dismissals of these workers should be classified as unfair and not as invalid.
El artículo analiza dos sentencias recientes del TS en las que ha aplicado la interpretación del TJUE sobre el concepto de discapacidad de la Directiva 2000/78/CE. Ambas sentencias resuelven recursos para la unificación de doctrina sobre supuestos de hecho similares y en los que se utiliza la sentencia del TJUE sobre el caso Daouidi como sentencia de contraste. En ambas resoluciones, el TS concluyó que, en los casos concretos que examinó, no se daban los elementos necesarios para considerar que los trabajadores despedidos después o durante una situación de IT cumpliesen con los requisitos exigidos por el TJUE, para entender que eran personas con discapacidad. En consecuencia, concluyó que las sentencias recurridas habían aplicado correctamente la doctrina del TJUE y que, por lo tanto, los despidos de esos trabajadores debían de calificarse como improcedentes y no como nulos.
To our knowledge, this is the first study reported in the literature that has validated the Norma Latina Battery in a population of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Mexico. The objective of ...the study was to determine the discriminant validity of the Norma Latina Battery in a group of Mexican individuals with AD and a group of heathy controls (HC). The Norma Latina Battery was administered to 234 Mexican participants (117 HC and 117 individuals with AD). Results show that: (1) the Norma Latina Battery has high discriminative capacity between groups in all domains; (2) participants with AD presented worse scores in each of the cognitive domains compared to the HC and a greater number of low scores in each of the established thresholds or cut-off points; and finally, (3) the Norma Latina Battery had optimal sensitivity and specificity, especially when a set was observed ≥5 scores below the 10th percentile or ≥4 scores below the 5th percentile. In conclusion, it is recommended that both clinicians and researchers use this battery in the evaluation of Mexican people with AD to better understand the prognosis of the disease and its subsequent treatment.
Phlebotomine sand flies are the main vectors of
Leishmania
genus species worldwide; therefore, the detection of some reproductive parasites, such as
Wolbachia
, has been considered a possible ...strategy for biological control. In Mexico, leishmaniasis cases have been recorded in 25 states, yet only two sand fly species have been related to
Wolbachia
spp. Although the state of Tabasco has a high number of leishmaniasis cases, only few studies have been done on sand fly species. The aim of this study was to analyze the diversity of sand fly species and to detect
Wolbachia
spp. and/or
Leishmania
spp. in the captured specimens. Sand flies were collected at the locality of Huimango, Tabasco, Mexico, during October 2019, using nine light traps (CDC) and two Shannon traps per night. The specimens were identified and females were analyzed by PCR for the DNA detection for pathogens. A total of 193 sand fly specimens belonging to five species were morphologically identified.
Pintomyia ovallesi
was the most abundant species (76.84%), followed by
Micropygomyia cayennensis
(6.40%). Furthermore, first records of four sand fly species were established for the state of Tabasco, thereby increasing the species richness in the state from four to eight. We observed a natural infection rate of 9.7% (10/103) for
Leishmania
and 0.91% (1/103) for
Wolbachia
. The importance of conducting entomological surveys in endemic areas of leishmaniasis in Mexico is highlighted, to determine whether other sand fly species may be potential vectors of
Leishmania
spp., and if some
Wolbachia
strains could be relevant for the control of leishmaniasis.
Introduction: Diabetes is a serious and chronic condition that occurs when a person's blood glucose levels are high because the body cannot produce insulin or its amount is insufficient. It is an ...important and independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and other damages.Objective: To describe the prevalence and mortality from diabetes in Cuba during the decade 2010-2019.Material and Methods: A descriptive ecological study on diabetes in Cuba was carried out. Dispensarization and gross mortality rates due to the disease in the 2010-2019 decade were taken into account. The statistical yearbooks published by the Directorate of Medical Records and Health Statistics of the Ministry of Public Health those years were used as a source of information.Results: The prevalence of diabetes in Cuba in the decade tended to increase from 4,04 % in 2010, to 6,67 % in 2019. It was more frequent in women. Crude mortality rates decreased in that period from 23,9 to 20,6 per 100 000 inhabitants.Conclusions: The annual prevalence rates of diabetes reported in Cuba were higher in females. In the decade, the general prevalence of diabetes showed an increase, while the trend in gross mortality from this disease was related to the decrease. Women were more likely to die than men.
Introducción: La diabetes mellitus es una afección grave y crónica que ocurre cuando los niveles de glucosa en la sangre de una persona son altos, porque su cuerpo no puede producir insulina o su cantidad es insuficiente. Constituye un importante e independiente factor de riesgo, para las enfermedades cardiovasculares y otros daños.Objetivo: Describir la prevalencia y mortalidad por diabetes en Cuba, en el decenio 2010- 2019.Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio ecológico, descriptivo, sobre la diabetes mellitus en Cuba. Se tuvieron en cuenta, la dispensarización, las tasas de mortalidad brutas por la enfermedad, en el decenio 2010- 2019. Los anuarios estadísticos publicados por la Dirección de Registros Médicos y Estadísticas de Salud, del Ministerio de Salud Pública de esos años, fueron la fuente de información.Resultados: La prevalencia de diabetes en Cuba en el decenio, ha tenido tendencia al incremento de 4,04 % en 2010, a 6,67 % en 2019. Fue más frecuente en las personas del sexo femenino. Las tasas brutas de mortalidad, disminuyeron en ese período de 23,9 a 20,6 por 100 000 habitantes.Conclusiones: Las tasas de prevalencia anuales de diabetes reportadas en Cuba, resultaron mayores en el sexo femenino. En el decenio, la prevalencia general de diabetes mostró un incremento, en tanto que la tendencia de la mortalidad bruta por esta enfermedad, fue al descenso. Murieron más mujeres que hombres.
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