How important are fog and the cloud forest as a water supply in Eastern Mexico?

The water balance is the volume of water flowing through the hydrological cycle, and one of its main components is fog. Fog is considered a type of low-lying cloud and is heavily influenced by water bodies, topography, and wind conditions. Fog incorporates water from the atmosphere to the terrestrial surface and for some ecosystems (e.g., cloud forests) represents a great water contribution. In this work, we aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What is the fog-water contribution to the water balance? (2) How does the presence of vegetation affect the water supply to the ecosystem? We took as a case study the Central Mountain Region of Veracruz, in eastern Mexico, and measured components of the water balance; this included precipitation (gross and net), fog water, interception, transpiration, evapotranspiration, and condensation, and we estimated water gain and loss of the water balance. We registered 510 precipitation events distributed throughout the year with three peaks (October, May, and January). Of these, 386 were fog events, 41 were rain events, and 83 were events combining fog and rain. Fog had a substantial contribution of water to the system, with a volume 22 times greater than that of rain (4311.14 mm vs. 197.5 mm). From the total water gain, the highest proportion (91%) was contributed by fog interception. Fog was considered a constant source of moisture throughout the year; however, water intercepted during the dry season was higher (56%) compared with the wet season (36%). Our results highlight the importance of the fog as a source of water for the region

INCIDENCIA DEL SIÍNDROME DEL TÚNEL DEL CARPO EN CIRUJANOS DENTISTAS DE LA UNIDAD DE ESPECIALIDADES ODONTOLÓGICAS DE LA SECRETARÍA DE LA DEFENSA NACIONAL, 2017

Tesis de Licenciatura en Terapia FísicaEl STC se produce como resultado de la presión del nervio mediano bajo la aponeurosis flexora. Aí mismo, el edema o la tenosinovitis de los tendones flexores pueden provocar un mayor volumen en el túnel carpiano desencadenando los signos y síntomas que caracterizan el síndrome. En general esta patología es una condición de gran interés ya que al ser detectado en forma oportuna influirá en un mejor desempeño de los Cirujanos Dentistas al realizar prácticas de su especialidad. Se considera importante el estudio de esta patología, debido a que dentro del ámbito laboral el síndrome del túnel del carpo puede estar causado y agravado por la ocupación. La mayoría de los pacientes que lo presentan relacionan el trabajo con la lesión y en este caso, los Cirujanos Dentistas militares de la Unidad de Especialidades Odontológicas de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) se ven expuestos a una aumentada carga de trabajo debido a la demanda de atención odontológica que se presenta en esta institución, dentro de la cual realizan actividades con las manos en forma repetitiva, de constante presión y que se encuentran sometidas a vibraciones de alta y mediana intensidad emitidas por sus instrumentos de trabajo, las cuales se consideran un factor importante para establecer este trastorno musculoesquelético. Al realizar un diagnóstico fisioterapéutico, es preciso evaluar el dolor, la sensibilidad, la funcionalidad, la afectación nerviosa y el estado general del paciente, para ello, se emplearon maniobras de provocación de la sintomatología como los test de Phalen, Tinel y Flick y se aplicó un cuestionario. También se requiere conocer las exposiciones ergonómicas adversas tanto dentro como fuera del trabajo. El STC. Tiende a disminuir la calidad de vida del Cirujano Dentista la cual vino en detrimento en la atención de los pacientes, debido a la sintomatología aguda o crónica que limito a este personal en la capacidad de realizar en forma óptima sus actividades profesionales y de la vida diaria. En su actividad profesional, el fisioterapeuta debe promover medidas de prevención que incluyen la educación sanitaria, la educación ergonómica sobre los factores de riesgo. El reconocimiento temprano del STC, nos dará oportunidad de sugerir dentro de las actividades diarias del Cirujano Dentista, ejercicios aeróbicos, ejercicios posturales, ejercicios de elongación y de relajación preventivos. De esta situación surgió la necesidad de saber cuál es la incidencia del Síndrome del Túnel del carpo en Cirujanos Dentistas de la Unidad de Especialidades Odontológicas de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional durante los meses de Agosto a Noviembre del 2017 y así en su momento encontrar las condiciones de plantear un tratamiento preventivo y correctivo para estos pacientes

The HLA class II allele DRB1*1501 is over-represented in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and medically refractory lung disease with a grim prognosis. Although the etiology of IPF remains perplexing, abnormal adaptive immune responses are evident in many afflicted patients. We hypothesized that perturbations of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele frequencies, which are often seen among patients with immunologic diseases, may also be present in IPF patients. Methods/Principal Findings: HLA alleles were determined in subpopulations of IPF and normal subjects using molecular typing methods. HLA-DRB1*15 was over-represented in a discovery cohort of 79 Caucasian IPF subjects who had lung transplantations at the University of Pittsburgh (36.7%) compared to normal reference populations. These findings were prospectively replicated in a validation cohort of 196 additional IPF subjects from four other U.S. medical centers that included both ambulatory patients and lung transplantation recipients. High-resolution typing was used to further define specific HLA-DRB1*15 alleles. DRB1*1501 prevalence in IPF subjects was similar among the 143 ambulatory patients and 132 transplant recipients (31.5% and 34.8%, respectively, p = 0.55). The aggregate prevalence of DRB1*1501 in IPF patients was significantly greater than among 285 healthy controls (33.1% vs. 20.0%, respectively, OR 2.0; 95%CI 1.3-2.9, p = 0.0004). IPF patients with DRB1*1501 (n = 91) tended to have decreased diffusing capacities for carbon monoxide (DLCO) compared to the 184 disease subjects who lacked this allele (37.8±1.7% vs. 42.8±1.4%, p = 0.036). Conclusions/Significance: DRB1*1501 is more prevalent among IPF patients than normal subjects, and may be associated with greater impairment of gas exchange. These data are novel evidence that immunogenetic processes can play a role in the susceptibility to and/or manifestations of IPF. Findings here of a disease association at the HLA-DR locus have broad pathogenic implications, illustrate a specific chromosomal area for incremental, targeted genomic study, and may identify a distinct clinical phenotype among patients with this enigmatic, morbid lung disease

Physical Properties of Cucurbita Ficifolia Seed and Functional Properties of Whole and Defatted Meal

The aim of this research was to describe some physical properties of Cucurbita ficifolia seeds and evaluate the effect of defatting on C. ficifolia seed meal functional properties. Geometric diameter was 8.05 mm, arithmetic diameter was 10.61 mm, sphericity was 45.36%, aspect ratio was 64.29%, surface area was 204.08 mm2, volume was 187.44 mm3, true density was 0.51 Kg/m3, porosity was 31.81% and hardness was 6.23 N. Defatted C. ficifolia seed meal presented a content of protein (70.36 g/100 g) and carbohydrates (13.18 g/100 g). The defatted meal had higher water absorption capacity (2.94 g H2O/g sample), water solubility capacity (34.08 %), oil absorption capacity (2.97 g oil /g sample), emulsifying capacity (24.93%), foaming capacity (30.33%) and better foam stability (from 20 to 60 min) than the whole meal. The high protein content of defatted seed meal, suggests its use as a natural alternative ingredient in numerous food industry applications

Association of Human Leukocyte Antigen with Interstitial Lung Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Protective Role for Shared Epitope

INTRODUCTION: Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is frequently associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as one of extra-articular manifestations. Many studies for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allelic association with RA have been reported, but few have been validated in an RA subpopulation with ILD. In this study, we investigated the association of HLA class II alleles with ILD in RA. METHODS: An association study was conducted on HLA-DRB1, DQB1, and DPB1 in 450 Japanese RA patients that were or were not diagnosed with ILD, based on the findings of computed tomography images of the chest. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, HLA-DRB1*04 (corrected P [Pc] = 0.0054, odds ratio [OR] 0.57), shared epitope (SE) (P = 0.0055, OR 0.66) and DQB1*04 (Pc = 0.0036, OR 0.57) were associated with significantly decreased risk of ILD. In contrast, DRB1*16 (Pc = 0.0372, OR 15.21), DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16 alleles) (P = 0.0020, OR 1.75) and DQB1*06 (Pc = 0.0333, OR 1.57, respectively) were significantly associated with risk of ILD. CONCLUSION: HLA-DRB1 SE was associated with reduced, while DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16) with increased, risk for ILD in Japanese patients with RA

Changes in air quality in Mexico City, London and Delhi in response to various stages and levels of lockdowns and easing of restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic

The impacts of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have provided a valuable global experiment into the extent of improvements in air quality possible with reductions in vehicle movements. Mexico City, London and Delhi all share the problem of air quality failing WHO guideline limits, each with unique situations and influencing factors. We determine, discuss and compare the air quality changes across these cities during the COVID-19, to understand how the findings may support future improvements in their air quality and associated health of citizens. We analysed ground-level PM10, PM2.5, NO2, O3 and CO changes in each city for the period 1st January to August 31, 2020 under different phases of lockdown, with respect to daily average concentrations over the same period for 2017 to 2019. We found major reductions in PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and CO across the three cities for the lockdown phases and increases in O3 in London and Mexico City but not Delhi. The differences were due to the O3 production criteria across the cities, for Delhi production depends on the VOC-limited photochemical regime. Levels of reductions were commensurate with the degree of lockdown. In Mexico City, the greatest reduction in measured concentration was in CO in the initial lockdown phase (40%), in London the greatest decrease was for NO2 in the later part of the lockdown (49%), and in Delhi the greatest decrease was in PM10, and PM2.5 in the initial lockdown phase (61% and 50%, respectively). Reduction in pollutant concentrations agreed with reductions in vehicle movements. In the initial lockdown phase vehicle movements reduced by up to 59% in Mexico City and 63% in London. The cities demonstrated a range of air quality changes in their differing geographical areas and land use types. Local meteorology and pollution events, such as forest fires, also impacted the results

Current study of the use of bamboo as a sustainable building material

Los impactos ambientales que las actividades de producción y consumo han generado para satisfacer sus bienes y servicios, han producido el cambio climático que hoy en día representa una problemática a nivel mundial. Los edificios consumen el 60% de los materiales extraídos de la tierra. Es por ello que el implemento de materiales renovables representa una de las alternativas para mitigar los efectos del medio ambiente. Dentro de ellos el bambú representa una opción, ya que destaca por ser una de las hierbas gigantes de más rápido crecimiento en el mundo y por sus propiedades se ha considerado apto para construcciones sostenibles, rápidas y de bajo costo que pueden sustituir al acero y la madera. Aunque la mayoría de su distribución se encuentra en Asía, América Latina posee especies aptas para la construcción. Su uso en la construcción se ha venido implementando en los últimos años en viviendas pos-desastres, viviendas sociales, restaurantes, puentes peatonales, hypars, laminados de bambú, el uso de las fibras como refuerzo en matrices poliméricas y del hormigón, entre otros. Sin embargo, hasta la fecha es considerado como un “material para pobres” y no hay suficientes investigaciones realizadas para su uso como material estructural principal. La República Mexicana cuenta con una especie apta para la construcción, sin embargo, se desperdicia alrededor de un 60% del bambú existente, siendo una de las principales causas es el desconocimiento de sus propiedades e incertidumbre de su dominio. Sin embargo, el aprovechamiento adecuado de este material, podría significar una reducción al déficit de vivienda habitacional. Es por ello que el presente trabajo tiene por objetivo estudiar el uso actual del bambú en la construcción, a través de la recopilación de documentación relevante, con el fin de informar los últimos avances tecnológicos y tendencias de los últimos años para incentivar y reforzar las bases de futuras investigaciones, que permitan el implemento del bambú como un material ecológico y rentable en la rama de una construcción sostenible y de bajo costo.The environmental impacts that production and consumption activities have generated to satisfy their goods and services have produced climate change, which today represents a global problem. Buildings consume 60% of the materials extracted from the earth. That is why the implementation of renewable materials represents one of the alternatives to mitigate the effects of the environment. Among them, bamboo is an option, as it is one of the fastest growing giant herbs in the world and has been considered suitable for sustainable, fast and low-cost construction that can replace steel and wood. Although most of its distribution is in Asia, Latin America has species suitable for construction. Its use in construction has been implemented in recent years in post-disaster housing, social housing, restaurants, pedestrian bridges, hypars, bamboo laminates, the use of fibers as reinforcement in polymeric matrices and concrete, among others. However, to date it is considered to be a "material for the poor" and there is not enough research done for its use as a main structural material. The Mexican Republic has a species suitable for construction, however, about 60% of the existing bamboo is wasted, being one of the main causes is the lack of knowledge of its properties and uncertainty of its domain. However, the proper use of this material could mean a reduction in the housing deficit. That is why the present work aims to study the current use of bamboo in construction, through the compilation of relevant documentation, in order to inform the latest technological advances and trends in recent years to encourage and strengthen the basis for future research, which will allow the implementation of bamboo as an ecological and profitable material in the branch of sustainable construction and low cost