Teaching about nearly zero energy buildings in the architecture curriculum in Havana, Cuba

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings paradigm is changing the way buildings are designed worldwide. In order to have professionals more prepared to face this goal a design workshop has been implemented for Architecture students at the Technological University of Havana, Cuba. In this paper the background of the environmental design and teaching of nearly zero energy buildings in the architecture curriculum of Havana is explained. The objective of this paper is describe an academic experience with transdisciplinary and integral program designed in order to optimize building`s energy use. From the program consist of a main subject of architectural design, elective and optional subjects, and professional practice. The main subject consisted of architectural design of buildings in urban and rural contexts. The optional subjects were directed towards renewable sources of energy, participation and social impact and the principles of bioclimatic design in hot-humid contexts. The professional practice was aimed at diagnosing energy consumption of different buildings types in real contexts. Finally, the paper discusses the main results and lessons learned from experiences with this educational program through different study methodologies such as historical analysis of sustainability in architecture studies of Havana in last 40 years, presentation of transformations made to program of subject in last two courses as well as exhibition of some results by student work carried out in different contexts

El desarrollo sostenible en la comunidad las terrazas : primeros resultados de un proyecto internacional

Las Terrazas is a singular example of a rural community dedicated to tourism in Cuba. Currently, it is considered a rural experience of sustainable development due to actions developed in relation to environment’s conservation, sociocultural development and use of natural resources, however, the interventions carried out lack an integrating approach to achieve the sustainability. In 2017 an international project between Cuban and Belgian universities began to be developed with the aim of providing methods and solutions to optimize the sustainability of rural communities, and in particular this community as a study case. This paper aims to present the first results obtained by international project, in particular during the Diagnostic stage. The methods used have made it possible to conceive the project on the bases established at international level and the priorities of Cuba; show the integration of teams work with professors, students of different faculties and specialties, as well as actors and managers of the community; characterize and evaluate the community in an integral way, using tools of community participation and define the problems and potentialities for project. As Results, problems of relations between the community and the territory, between tourists and the community, the limited use of renewable energy sources, population growth in the face of changes in housing affecting abitability, among others, are identified. These aspects will allow to made proposals to improve sustainability in next stages of project

Empirical Evidence Of Verdoorns Law In Mexican Manufacturing

In this document we use the model called Verdoorns Law that has been widely favored with the empirical evidence as being able to explain the persistence of divergences in growth rates, which establishes a positive relation between product growth and productivity. The goal is to estimate the Verdoorns coefficients for the 32 states in Mexico for the period of 1985-2004 through the use of the Ordinary Least Square method (OLS) and the pool data technique for an added analysis at subsector levels of the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this paper is to explain regional divergences in Mexico by identifying those factors that influence economic growth and that would allow the proposal of regional policies that can help reduce the observed differences, and by contributing to the development of the country as a whole. Consistent results were found with Verdoorns Law by detecting increasing returns in the manufacturing industry, both by regions and by subsectors. The states that show lower Verdoons coefficients (higher returns to scale) are definitely the ones that have grown the most

KELT-17: a chemically peculiar Am star and a hot-Jupiter planet

Context. The detection of planets orbiting chemically peculiar stars is very scarcely known in the literature. Aims. To determine the detailed chemical composition of the remarkable planet host star KELT-17. This object hosts a hot-Jupiter planet with 1.31 MJup detected by transits, being one of the more massive and rapidly rotating planet hosts to date. We aimed to derive a complete chemical pattern for this star, in order to compare it with those of chemically peculiar stars. Methods. We carried out a detailed abundance determination in the planet host star KELT-17 via spectral synthesis. Stellar parameters were estimated iteratively by fitting Balmer line profiles and imposing the Fe ionization balance, using the program SYNTHE together with plane-parallel ATLAS12 model atmospheres. Specific opacities for an arbitrary composition and microturbulence velocity vmicro were calculated through the Opacity Sampling (OS) method. The abundances were determined iteratively by fitting synthetic spectra to metallic lines of 16 different chemical species using the program SYNTHE. The complete chemical pattern of KELT-17 was compared to the recently published average pattern of Am stars. We estimated the stellar radius by two methods: a) comparing the synthetic spectral energy distribution with the available photometric data and the Gaia parallax, and b) using a Bayesian estimation of stellar parameters using stellar isochrones. Results. We found overabundances of Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Sr, Y, Zr, and Ba, together with subsolar values of Ca and Sc. Notably, the chemical pattern agrees with those recently published of Am stars, being then KELT-17 the first exoplanet host whose complete chemical pattern is unambiguously identified with this class. The stellar radius derived by two different methods agrees to each other and with those previously obtained in the literature.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, A&A accepte

Combined sub-optimal doses of Rosuvastatin and Bexarotene impairs angiotensin II-induced arterial mononuclear cell adhesion through inhibition of Nox5 signaling pathways and increased RXR/PPARα and RXR/PPARγ interactions

Aim: Mononuclear cell (MC) infiltration into the arterial subendothelium is a key event in atherogenesis. Rosuvastatin (Rosu) and bexarotene (Bex) exert anti-inflammatory activity, but serious dose-related adverse effects have emerged. The need for safer and effective strategies to prevent and treat atherosclerosis led us to test the effect of combined use of both drugs on angiotensin II (Ang-II)-induced arterial MC recruitment. Results: Vehicle, Rosu (10-30 nM), Bex (0.3-1 μM), or a combination of both were administered to human umbilical arterial endothelial cells (HUAECs) 20 h before stimulation with 1 μM Ang-II (4 h). Surprisingly, a combination of Rosu (10 nM)+Bex (0.3 μM), which did not influence Ang-II-induced MC recruitment when either stimulus was studied alone, significantly reduced this response. This effect was accompanied by diminished Ang-II-induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and CX3CL1 endothelial expression and CXCL1, CXCL8, CCL2, and CCL5 production. Preincubation of HUAECs with Rosu+Bex inhibited Nox5 expression and Nox5-induced RhoA activation stimulated by Ang-II through increased RXRα, PPARα, and PPARγ expression in addition to RXRα/PPARα and RXRα/PPARγ interactions. In vivo, combined but not single administration of Rosu (1.25 mg/kg/day) and Bex (10 mg/kg/day) significantly diminished Ang-II-induced arteriolar leukocyte adhesion in the cremasteric microcirculation of C57BL/6 mice and atherosclerotic lesion formation in apoE(-/-) mice subjected to an atherogenic diet. Innovation and conclusion: Combined administration of Bex+Rosu at suboptimal doses may constitute a new alternative and effective therapy in the control of the vascular inflammation associated to cardiometabolic disorders, since they synergize in their anti-inflammatory actions and may counteract their associated adverse effects

El Estudio DiSA-UMH: Estudio de cohorte prospectivo en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud de la Universidad Miguel Hernández

Introduction: Young adulthood is an important stage to establish dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors that could be linked to the long-term development of chronic diseases in later life. The 3 years follow-up prospective cohort DiSA-UMH study was set up with the main objectives of determining the nutritional status, lifestyle behaviors and health status, assessing the possible changes during the follow-up, and estimating their influence on the occurrence and development of chronic diseases.Material and Methods: Baseline information of 1204 health science students from Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH) aged between 17 and 35 years was collected during the period from 2006 to 2012. All the participants completed a general questionnaire divided into separate sections that included a food frequency questionnaire, specific questions on physical activity, tobacco consumption, nutritional labelling use, weight, height, health status, and questions about the diagnosis of several diseases. In order to validate self-reported data, several reliability/validity investigations with different subsamples were specifically conducted. After baseline questionnaire, students were asked to obtain anthropometric measurements and fasting blood samples. To evaluate our assessment of dietary intake, between three and nine 24-hour recalls administered by telephone were conducted over one year.Results: The first follow-up period of 3-years finished in 2015 and the second 3-year follow-up period is still ongoing. Although the retention rates during these assessment periods were 59.2% and 52.2% respectively, the losses of follow-up happened in a random way because of characteristics of participants and non-participants during follow-up were similar.Introducción: La edad adulta es una etapa importante para el establecimiento de hábitos dietéticos y estilos de vida que pueden estar implicados en el desarrollo de enfermedades crónicas posteriormente. El estudio de cohortes prospectivo con seguimiento a 3 años DiSA-UMH nació con el objetivo de determinar el estado nutricional, estilos de vida y la salud, evaluar los posibles cambios de estos durante el seguimiento y ver cómo influyen en la aparición y desarrollo enfermedades crónicas.Material y Métodos: La información basal de 1204 estudiantes de ciencias de la salud de entre 18 y 35 años de la Universidad Miguel Hernández fue recogida entre los años 2006 y 2012. Todos los participantes autocumplimentaron un cuestionario que incluía un cuestionario de frecuencia de alimentos, preguntas sobre actividad física, consumo de tabaco, alcohol, uso del etiquetado nutricional, peso, talla, tensión arterial sistólica y diastólica y estado de salud, así como preguntas sobre la presencia de diversas enfermedades. Con el fin de validar la información autoaportada, se realizaron específicamente diversos estudios de validación con diferentes submuestras. Tras el cuestionario basal, se les preguntó a los estudiantes para obtener medidas antropométricas y muestra de sangre en ayunas. Para valorar la evaluación de ingesta dietética se recogieron entre 3 y 9 recordatorios de 24 horas realizados por teléfono durante un año.Resultados: En 2015 finalizó el trabajo de campo del primer seguimiento de 3 años, estando aún en marcha el segundo periodo de 3 años de seguimiento. Aunque las tasas de retención durante estos periodos fueron de 59,2% y 52,2% respectivamente, las pérdidas de seguimiento se produjeron de forma aleatoria, ya que las características generales de los que participan y no participan en el seguimiento eran similares

Percutaneous Closure of Paravalvular Leaks: A Systematic Review

[EN] Paravalvular leak (PVL) is an uncommon yet serious complication associated with the implantation of mechanical or bioprosthetic surgical valves and more recently recognized with transcatheter aortic valves implantation (TAVI). A significant number of patients will present with symptoms of congestive heart failure or haemolytic anaemia due to PVL and need further surgical or percutaneous treatment. Until recently, surgery has been the only available therapy for the treatment of clinically significant PVLs despite the significant morbidity and mortality associated with re-operation. Percutaneous treatment of PVLs has emerged as a safe and less invasive alternative, with low complication rates and high technical and clinical success rates. However, it is a complex procedure, which needs to be performed by an experienced team of interventional cardiologists and echocardiographers. This review discusses the current understanding of PVLs, including the utility of imaging techniques in PVL diagnosis and treatment, and the principles, outcomes and complications of transcatheter therapy of PVLs. (J Interven Cardiol 2016;29:382–392

KELT-17: a chemically peculiar Am star and a hot-Jupiter planet

Context. The detection of planets orbiting chemically peculiar stars is very scarcely known in the literature. Aims. To determine the detailed chemical composition of the remarkable planet host star KELT-17. This object hosts a hot-Jupiter planet with 1.31 MJup detected by transits, being one of the more massive and rapidly rotating planet hosts to date. We aimed to derive a complete chemical pattern for this star, in order to compare it with those of chemically peculiar stars. Methods. We carried out a detailed abundance determination in the planet host star KELT-17 via spectral synthesis. Stellar parameters were estimated iteratively by fitting Balmer line profiles and imposing the Fe ionization balance, using the program SYNTHE together with plane-parallel ATLAS12 model atmospheres. Specific opacities for an arbitrary composition and microturbulence velocity vmicro were calculated through the Opacity Sampling (OS) method. The abundances were determined iteratively by fitting synthetic spectra to metallic lines of 16 different chemical species using the program SYNTHE. The complete chemical pattern of KELT-17 was compared to the recently published average pattern of Am stars. We estimated the stellar radius by two methods: a) comparing the synthetic spectral energy distribution with the available photometric data and the Gaia parallax, and b) using a Bayesian estimation of stellar parameters using stellar isochrones. Results. We found overabundances of Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Sr, Y, Zr, and Ba, together with subsolar values of Ca and Sc. Notably, the chemical pattern agrees with those recently published of Am stars, being then KELT-17 the first exoplanet host whose complete chemical pattern is unambiguously identified with this class. The stellar radius derived by two different methods agrees to each other and with those previously obtained in the literature.Fil: Saffe, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Miquelarena Hollger, Paula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Alacoria, José Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Jorge Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Flores Trivigno, Matias Gaston. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Jaque Arancibia, Marcelo Daniel. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Calvo, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Jofre, Jorge Emiliano. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Collado, Ana Elisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Instituto de Ciencias Astronómicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio; Argentin

Determinants of Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Pain Among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital in Spain

Background: All nurses should receive training and education regarding pain as part of their pre-graduate stage, as its assessment and appropriate management when treating patients largely depends on them. With the right knowledge it is possible to reduce its high prevalence, as well as the serious consequences it can lead to. Aim: To determine the level of knowledge and attitudes towards pain of final-year nursing students in Spain. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study using a convenience sample of five Spanish universities during the academic year 2020-2021. The Spanish version of the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was used. In addition, socio-demographic variables such as age, sex, relationship status, employment status, and the number of dependants were collected. The specific palliative or oncology subjects of each university was also assessed. Results: A total of 224 questionnaires were collected. One of the nursing universities obtained the best score in the KASRP (59.75%) which was significant (p = .001). This university was the only one that offers specific subjects in palliative or oncologic care. A training deficit in aspects related to pain assessment and pharmacologic concepts was detected. We found no relationship between the KASRP and the different sociodemographic variables. Conclusions: Specific training in palliative care improves the students' knowledge regarding pain, although the results did not reach an acceptable minimum. The universities' training programs for Spanish students need to be adapted in order to achieve better results