Muscular Dystrophies at Different Ages: Metabolic and Endocrine Alterations

Common metabolic and endocrine alterations exist across a wide range of muscular dystrophies. Skeletal muscle plays an important role in glucose metabolism and is a major participant in different signaling pathways. Therefore, its damage may lead to different metabolic disruptions. Two of the most important metabolic alterations in muscular dystrophies may be insulin resistance and obesity. However, only insulin resistance has been demonstrated in myotonic dystrophy. In addition, endocrine disturbances such as hypogonadism, low levels of testosterone, and growth hormone have been reported. This eventually will result in consequences such as growth failure and delayed puberty in the case of childhood dystrophies. Other consequences may be reduced male fertility, reduced spermatogenesis, and oligospermia, both in childhood as well as in adult muscular dystrophies. These facts all suggest that there is a need for better comprehension of metabolic and endocrine implications for muscular dystrophies with the purpose of developing improved clinical treatments and/or improvements in the quality of life of patients with dystrophy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the current knowledge about of metabolic and endocrine alterations in diverse types of dystrophinopathies, which will be divided into two groups: childhood and adult dystrophies which have different age of onset

IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE UN SISTEMA DE PRONÓSTICO Y SU APLICACIÓN A LA DEMANDA DE LOS PRODUCTOS LUBRICANTES FABRICADOS POR UNA EMPRESA (FORECASTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION APPLIED TO THE DEMAND OF THE LUBRICANT PRODUCTS FABRICATED BY AN ENTERPRISE)

Resumen En este trabajo se presenta la implementación de un sistema de pronóstico basado en la combinación de cuatro diferentes métodos. El sistema es empleado para pronosticar las ventas mensuales de 300 productos de una empresa fabricante de lubricantes. Los patrones de venta de cada producto son muy diferentes. Por lo que las series de datos fueron analizados con los métodos de pronósticos: media móvil (MV), suavizado exponencial sencillo (SES), suavizado exponencial doble (DES) y Holt-Winters aditivo (H-WA). Aquí, se muestra que el método de pronóstico idóneo dependerá de las características de la serie de cada producto. Adicionalmente, el promedio de los pronósticos generados por los cuatro métodos proporciona una alternativa interesante como un método único para pronosticar la venta de todos los productos. Finalmente se presentan algunos ejemplos de pronósticos obtenidos con el sistema implementado. Palabras Clave: Periodicidad, pronósticos, series de tiempo, suavizado exponencial, tendencia. Abstract In this work the implementation of a forecasting system based on the combination of four methods is presented. This system is used to forecast the monthly sells of 300 products of a lubricants liquids enterprise. Moreover, the patterns of demand of each product are quite different. Therefore, the time series were analyzed by the forecasting methods: moving average (MV), single exponential smoothing (SES), double exponential smoothing (DES) and the additive Holt-Winters (H-WA). Here, it is shown that the best forecasting method will depends directly on the characteristics of each time series. Additionally, the average of the four forecasting methods provides an interesting alternative since it can be used as unique method for forecasting the demand of all the products. Finally, some forecasting examples obtained with the system are presented. Keywords: Exponential smoothing, forecasting, periodicity, time series, trend

Multimorbilidad y resultados clínicos de una población pediátrica con sospecha de COVID-19 atendida en un hospital mexicano

Introducción: datos de varios países del mundo sugieren que los niños con COVID-19 podrían presentar síntomas diferentes y menos graves que los adultos. Sin embargo, los patrones epidemiológicos y clínicos en este grupo poblacional son poco claros. Métodos: el presente es un estudio observacional, con una caracterización inicial transversal-analítica, y con un componente longitudinal o de seguimiento a un grupo de menores con sospecha y/o diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19, que presentaron desenlaces como mejoría, traslado a un nivel superior de atención o defunción por sintomatología respiratoria. Los niños recibieron atención médica en el Hospital General Regional con Medicina Familiar N.o 1 (HGR C/MF N.o 1), y se les realizó prueba de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real (RT-PCR). Resultados: se estudiaron 98 niños como casos sospechosos para COVID-19, a quienes se les realizó RT-PCR. Del total, 24 resultaron positivos y 74 fueron negativos. La mediana de edad de los participantes fue 64,4 meses (0 a 203 meses), 55 menores eran de sexo masculino, 59 niños tuvieron manejo ambulatorio, y de estos 14 presentaron resultado positivo. Entre los que requirieron manejo hospitalario (39), 10 niños dieron positivo para SARS-CoV-2, y, de estos, 84,7% alcanzaron mejoría y fueron dados de alta; 4 fueron trasladados a hospitales de nivel superior de atención. De los 98 niños en estudio, 11 fallecieron, 7 con resultado negativo y 4 con resultado positivo para SARS-CoV-2.Introduction: Data from several countries around the world suggest that children with COVID-19 may present different and less severe symptoms than adults. However, the epidemiological and clinical patterns in this population group have been unclear. Methods: This is an observational study, with an initial cross-analytical characterization, and with a longitudinal or follow-up component in a group of minors with suspected and or confirmed case of COVID-19, which have outcomes such as improvement, transfer to a higher level of care or death due to respiratory symptoms. The children received medical attention at the Regional General Hospital with Family Medicine No 1 (HGR C / MF No 1), and underwent a Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction test (RT-PCR). Results: 98 children were studied as suspected cases for COVID-19, who underwent RT-PCR. Of the total 24 were positive and 74 were negatives. The median age was 64.4 months (0 to 203 months), 55 minors were male, 59 children had outpatient management, and of these 14 had a positive result. Among those who required hospital management (39), 10 children were positive for SARS-CoV-2, y 84.7% achieved improvement and were discharged. Four were transferred to a higher level of care hospital. Of the 98 children in the study 11 died, seven had a negative result and four a positive result for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: The main symptoms of the pediatric population in this study were; fever, cough and general discomfort. Four of those who died had a positive result for SARS-CoV-2; however, they had other comorbidities.Introducción: datos de varios países del mundo sugieren que los niños con COVID-19 podrían presentar síntomas diferentes y menos graves que los adultos. Sin embargo, los patrones epidemiológicos y clínicos en este grupo poblacional son poco claros. Métodos: el presente es un estudio observacional, con una caracterización inicial transversal-analítica, y con un componente longitudinal o de seguimiento a un grupo de menores con sospecha y/o diagnóstico confirmado de COVID-19, que presentaron desenlaces como mejoría, traslado a un nivel superior de atención o defunción por sintomatología respiratoria. Los niños recibieron atención médica en el Hospital General Regional con Medicina Familiar N.o 1 (HGR C/MF N.o 1), y se les realizó prueba de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real (RT-PCR). Resultados: se estudiaron 98 niños como casos sospechosos para COVID-19, a quienes se les realizó RT-PCR. Del total, 24 resultaron positivos y 74 fueron negativos. La mediana de edad de los participantes fue 64,4 meses (0 a 203 meses), 55 menores eran de sexo masculino, 59 niños tuvieron manejo ambulatorio, y de estos 14 presentaron resultado positivo. Entre los que requirieron manejo hospitalario (39), 10 niños dieron positivo para SARS-CoV-2, y, de estos, 84,7% alcanzaron mejoría y fueron dados de alta; 4 fueron trasladados a hospitales de nivel superior de atención. De los 98 niños en estudio, 11 fallecieron, 7 con resultado negativo y 4 con resultado positivo para SARS-CoV-2

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Connections : safe spaces for women and youth in Latin America and The Caribbean

RESUMEN: Este libro se puede leer en muchos niveles. Uno de ellos puede no ser muy obvio para aquellos que están acostumbrados a leer sobre violencia e inseguridad en América Latina. Es el nivel que le da a este libro un estatus de originalidad y una contribución que va más allá de la región: el ser una forma de conocimiento destinada no solo a interpretar el mundo, sino a cambiarlo […], visibiliza la importancia de un proceso de investigación ajustado al tipo de conocimiento que produce. Aquí se conectan el proceso y el resultado, lo que debería propiciar un debate más amplio con respecto a cómo y qué sabemos de la naturaleza de la violencia y la agencia social para reducirla […]. Esta visión es particularmente relevante en contextos donde el Estado reproduce la violencia, con terribles impactos, en especial en periferias excluidas. […] El proceso de investigación abordado en este libro transgredió muchas fronteras. Hubo fronteras entre países, barreras lingüísticas, fronteras en torno a la educación, el conocimiento y la experiencia, y entre etnias, géneros y generaciones. […] este proceso reunió a académicos, activistas y líderes comunitarios de cinco países de América Latina y uno del Caribe, incluyendo comunidades indígenas en México y Guatemala […]. La violencia está en el tiempo y en el espacio y se reproduce entre las generaciones en diversos espacios de socialización. Este proceso de investigación que trasciende las fronteras, plantea una discusión que atraviesa los diferentes casos sobre cómo los déficits y las desigualdades materiales, las violencias estatales en nombre de la ‘seguridad’, las especificidades culturales, de género y generacionales de la experiencia y la comprensión de la violencia, así como las diversas formas de criminalidad, se cruzan y se reproducen a través del tiempo y el espacio. Jenny Pearce, investigadora y profesora en el Latin American and Caribbean Centre (LACC) de la London School of Economics and Political ScienceABSTRACT: This book can be read on many levels. One level may not be so obvious to those who are used to reading about violence and insecurity in Latin America. It is the level which gives this book a claim to true originality and a contribution beyond the region. This contribution is to form of scholarship aimed not only to interpret the world but to change it […], this text visibilizes the significance of the research process to the kind of knowledge that is produced. It connects process and outcome, and this should start a wider debate about how as well as what we know about the nature of violence and the social agency to reduce it […]. This is particularly relevant in contexts where the State reproduces violence, with terrible impacts on the margins. The research process discussed in this book transgressed many boundaries. There were intercountry borders, linguistic barriers, boundaries around education, knowledge and experience and between ethnicities, genders and generations. […] the research process brought together scholars and community activists and actors from five Latin American and one Caribbean country. And within Latin America there were indigenous communities in Mexico and Guatemala who participated […]. Violence is located in time and space. It is reproduced inter-generationally through varied socialisation spaces. The boundary crossing research process, raises cross case discussion about how material deficits and inequalities, state violences in the name of ‘security’, cultural, gender and generational specificities of experience and understanding of violence, and varied forms of criminality, intersect and reproduce through time and space. Professor Jenny Pearce. Latin American and Caribbean Centre (LACC), London School of Economics and Political Scienc

Gestión del conocimiento. Perspectiva multidisciplinaria. Volumen 17

El libro “Gestión del Conocimiento. Perspectiva Multidisciplinaria”, Volumen 17 de la Colección Unión Global, es resultado de investigaciones. Los capítulos del libro, son resultados de investigaciones desarrolladas por sus autores. El libro es una publicación internacional, seriada, continua, arbitrada, de acceso abierto a todas las áreas del conocimiento, orientada a contribuir con procesos de gestión del conocimiento científico, tecnológico y humanístico. Con esta colección, se aspira contribuir con el cultivo, la comprensión, la recopilación y la apropiación social del conocimiento en cuanto a patrimonio intangible de la humanidad, con el propósito de hacer aportes con la transformación de las relaciones socioculturales que sustentan la construcción social de los saberes y su reconocimiento como bien público

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Aldo-keto reductase and alcohol dehydrogenase contribute to benznidazole natural resistance in Trypanosoma cruzi

The improvement of Chagas disease treatment is focused not only on the development of new drugs but also in understanding mechanisms of action and resistance to drugs conventionally used. Thus, some strategies aim to detect specific changes in proteins between sensitive and resistant parasites and to evaluate the role played in these processes by functional genomics. In this work, we used a natural Trypanosoma cruzi population resistant to benznidazole, which has clones with different susceptibilities to this drug without alterations in the NTR I gene. Using 2DE-gel electrophoresis, the aldo-keto reductase and the alcohol dehydrogenase proteins were found up regulated in the natural resistant clone and therefore their possible role in the resistance to benznidazole and glyoxal was investigated. Both genes were overexpressed in a drug sensitive T. cruzi clone and the biological changes in response to these compounds were evaluated. The results showed that the overexpression of these proteins enhances resistance to benznidazole and glyoxal in T. cruzi. Moreover, a decrease in mitochondrial and cell membrane damage was observed, accompanied by a drop in the intracellular concentration of reactive oxygen species after treatment. Our results suggest that these proteins are involved in the mechanism of action of benznidazole.Fil: González, Laura. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: García Huertas, Paola. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Triana Chávez, Omar. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Garcia, Gabriela Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Dirección Nacional de Instituto de Investigación. Administración Nacional de Laboratorio e Instituto de Salud “Dr. C. G. Malbrán”; ArgentinaFil: Murta, Silvane Maria Fonseca. Centro de Pesquisas Rene Rachou; BrasilFil: Mejía Jaramillo, Ana M.. Universidad de Antioquia; Colombi

Activity of Lepidium meyenii Walp (purple maca) in immunosuppressed Oryctolagus cuniculus (albino rabbits)

Various properties are attributed to “maca”, including immunomodulatory properties due to its secondary metabolites such as macamides, glucosinolates, isothiocyanates and flavonoids. Immunosuppression, hemolytic anemia, and thymic involution were induced with cyclophosphamide. Three concentrations of doses of dehydrated hydroalcoholic extract of purple maca (EHADM) were used for 30 days, the analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple comparisons test the results are statistically significant (p<.05) which shows immunostimulatory activity in the marrow bone (monocytes, lymphocytes and white blood cells) and antianemic (hematocrit 31%) compared to the negative control group (G-1). At 84 mg/kg and at 167 mg/kg, it shows immunomodulatory activity on the humoral response in 66.70% of the experimental animals (G-3 and G-4). It is concluded that the dehydrated hydroalcoholic extract of purple maca presents immunostimulating and immunomodulatory activity on the humoral response in 66.7% of the Oryctolagus cuniculus induced to immunodeficiency with cyclophosphamide

Activity of Lepidium meyenii Walp (purple maca) in immunosuppressed Oryctolagus cuniculus (albino rabbits)

Various properties are attributed to “maca”, including immunomodulatory properties due to its secondary metabolites such as macamides, glucosinolates, isothiocyanates and flavonoids. Immunosuppression, hemolytic anemia, and thymic involution were induced with cyclophosphamide. Three concentrations of doses of dehydrated hydroalcoholic extract of purple maca (EHADM) were used for 30 days, the analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple comparisons test the results are statistically significant (p<.05) which shows immunostimulatory activity in the marrow bone (monocytes, lymphocytes and white blood cells) and antianemic (hematocrit 31%) compared to the negative control group (G-1). At 84 mg/kg and at 167 mg/kg, it shows immunomodulatory activity on the humoral response in 66.70% of the experimental animals (G-3 and G-4). It is concluded that the dehydrated hydroalcoholic extract of purple maca presents immunostimulating and immunomodulatory activity on the humoral response in 66.7% of the Oryctolagus cuniculus induced to immunodeficiency with cyclophosphamide