Medición de la conductividad térmica en materiales aislantes bajo régimen de flujo de calor no estacionario

A device to measure thermal conductivity in thermal insulating solid materials commonly used in buildings was developed following a one-dimensional model of heat flow through a plate of the material to be evaluated. The temperature gradient between the plate faces was measured as a function of time by means of a set of type T thermocouples. A circuit with commercial microcontrollers was designed to control the instrument’s mechanisms, the acquisition and the treatment of data. In preliminary tests with some materials, thermal conductivity values similar to those reported in the literature were obtained by using a linear adjustment with R values between 0.90 and 0.98. This device turns out to be a good instrument for measuring thermal conductivity because it has several advantages, such as: easy implementation, sample size, measurement method; compared to those using traditional methods.Se desarrolló un dispositivo para medir la conductividad térmica en materiales sólidos para aislamiento térmico de uso común en edificaciones, siguiendo un modelo unidimensional de flujo de calor que atraviesa una placa del material a evaluar. Se mide el gradiente de temperatura entre las caras de la placa en función del tiempo, usando un arreglo diferencial de termopares tipo T. Para el control de los mecanismos del instrumento, la adquisición y tratamiento de los datos, se diseñó un circuito con microcontroladores comerciales. En ensayos previos con algunos materiales se obtuvieron valores la conductividad térmica similares a los reportados en la literatura utilizando un ajuste lineal con valores de R entre 0.90 y 0.98. El dispositivo obtenido representa un instrumento útil para la medición de la conductividad térmica, destacando entre sus ventajas: la fácil construcción, el tamaño de las muestras a evaluar y el método de medida, comparado con los métodos tradicionales para medir este parámetro

Evidence of Insulin Resistance and Other Metabolic Alterations in Boys with Duchenne or Becker Muscular Dystrophy

Aim. Our aim was (1) to determine the frequency of insulin resistance (IR) in patients with Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD), (2) to identify deleted exons of DMD gene associated with obesity and IR, and (3) to explore some likely molecular mechanisms leading to IR. Materials and Methods. In 66 patients with DMD/BMD without corticosteroids treatment, IR, obesity, and body fat mass were evaluated. Molecules involved in glucose metabolism were analyzed in muscle biopsies. Results show that 18.3%, 22.7%, and 68% were underweight, overweight, or obese, and with high adiposity, respectively; 48.5% and 36.4% presented hyperinsulinemia and IR, respectively. Underweight patients (27.3%) exhibited hyperinsulinemia and IR. Carriers of deletions in exons 45 (OR = 9.32; 95% CI = 1.16–74.69) and 50 (OR = 8.73; 95% CI = 1.17–65.10) from DMD gene presented higher risk for IR than noncarriers. We observed a greater staining of cytoplasmic aggregates for GLUT4 in muscle biopsies than healthy muscle tissue. Conclusion. Obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and IR were observed in DMD/BMD patients and are independent of corticosteroids treatment. Carriers of deletion in exons 45 or 50 from DMD gene are at risk for developing IR. It is suggested that alteration in GLUT4 in muscle fibers from DMD patients could be involved in IR

Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a developing country: Challenges in management and genetic counseling

Background and objective: Multidisciplinary management of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) has achieved outstanding results in developed nations. We aimed to describe the status of diagnosis and management of DMD in a developing country through the experience of non-profit organizations. Methods: A Multistate, multiple-source, population-based survey was performed from medical records of 432 patients. Data were retrospectively collected, reviewed and curated by health specialists; including clinical features, age at first symptoms, age at diagnosis, disease progression and management, family history, education, age and cause of death. Results: There is a delay in noticing first symptoms and it did not diminish over the past 20 years. Less than 30% of patients obtained definite diagnosis and most of them are in physiotherapy programs but not under steroid treatment. In our study, family history does not anticipate recognition of symptoms compared to sporadic cases (p=0.05). Approximately 93.33% of our patients attended to education programs. Mean age at death was 18.94 ± 6.73 years and the most frequent cause was pneumonia. Conclusion: Delayed diagnosis of DMD in Mexico is mainly caused by the late detection of first symptoms. There is no difference in early detection of symptoms between familiar and sporadic cases. Lifespan of patients in our cohort is reduced compared to developed countries. The late diagnosis and low percentage of definite cases may affect patient management and genetic counseling and could also preclude participation of patients into novel clinical trials

Duchenne muscular dystrophy in a developing country: Challenges in management and genetic counseling

Background and objective: Multidisciplinary management of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) has achieved outstanding results in developed nations. We aimed to describe the status of diagnosis and management of DMD in a developing country through the experience of non-profit organizations. Methods: A Multistate, multiple-source, population-based survey was performed from medical records of 432 patients. Data were retrospectively collected, reviewed and curated by health specialists; including clinical features, age at first symptoms, age at diagnosis, disease progression and management, family history, education, age and cause of death. Results: There is a delay in noticing first symptoms and it did not diminish over the past 20 years. Less than 30% of patients obtained definite diagnosis and most of them are in physiotherapy programs but not under steroid treatment. In our study, family history does not anticipate recognition of symptoms compared to sporadic cases (p=0.05). Approximately 93.33% of our patients attended to education programs. Mean age at death was 18.94 Zapotitlán 6.73 years and the most frequent cause was pneumonia. Conclusion: Delayed diagnosis of DMD in Mexico is mainly caused by the late detection of first symptoms. There is no difference in early detection of symptoms between familiar and sporadic cases. Lifespan of patients in our cohort is reduced compared to developed countries. The late diagnosis and low percentage of definite cases may affect patient management and genetic counseling and could also preclude participation of patients into novel clinical trials