The perception of construction professionals on sustainable building issues in México and Chile

El crecimiento poblacional se encuentra directamente ligado a la edificación; por tal motivo, resulta fundamental ser eficientes con los recursos, pues todo en un marco de desarrollo sustentable y su adopción dentro de los procesos constructivos es un tema de investigación importante. Mientras que investigaciones basadas en encuestas postocupación (POE) son una forma común de abordar el tema, poco se conoce de la forma como los actores de la construcción perciben e incorporan las prácticas de uso eficiente de los recursos para con sus actividades. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados de una encuesta pre-ocupación (EPO) diseñada a partir de las certificaciones LEED y BREEAM, la norma mexicana NMX-AA-164-SCFI-2013, el Programa de Construcción de Edificaciones Sustentables (PCES), la Certificación de Edificaciones Sustentables (CES) y la Certificación de Estándares de Construcción Sustentable en Chile (ECSC). La encuesta estuvo dirigida a profesionales de la construcción en México y Chile, y a raíz de ella se encontró que hay bajo conocimiento y poco empleo de tácticas de edificación sustentable entre la población objeto de estudio; cabe concluir que las técnicas que utilizan están orientadas a la optimización de costo.Population growth is directly linked to construction, for this reason it is essential to be efficient with resources, all within a framework of sustainable development, and its adoption within construction processes is an important research topic. While research based on Post-Occupancy Surveys (POE) is a common way to address the issue, little is known about the way in which construction stakeholders perceive and incorporate efficient resource use practices into their activities. This paper shows the results of a Pre-Occupancy Survey (EPO) designed based on the LEED and BREEAM certifications, the Mexican standard NMX-AA-164-SCFI-2013, the Sustainable Building Construction Program (PCES), the Certification of Sustainable Buildings (CES) and Sustainable Construction Standards in Chile (ECSC). The survey was aimed at construction professionals in Mexico and Chile, finding that there is low knowledge and use of sustainable building tactics and it is concluded that the techniques they use are oriented to cost optimization

Role of Ape1 in Impaired DNA Repair Capacity in Battery Recycling Plant Workers Exposed to Lead

Exposure to lead in environmental and occupational settings continues to be a serious public health problem. At environmentally relevant doses, two mechanisms may underlie lead exposition-induced genotoxicity, disruption of the redox balance and an interference with DNA repair systems. The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of lead exposition to induce impaired function of Ape1 and its impact on DNA repair capacity of workers chronically exposed to lead in a battery recycling plant. Our study included 53 participants, 37 lead exposed workers and 16 non-lead exposed workers. Lead intoxication was characterized by high blood lead concentration, high lipid peroxidation and low activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALAD). Relevantly, we found a loss of DNA repair capacity related with down-regulation of a set of specific DNA repair genes, showing specifically, for the first time, the role of Ape1 down regulation at transcriptional and protein levels in workers exposed to lead. Additionally, using a functional assay we found an impaired function of Ape1 that correlates with high blood lead concentration and lipid peroxidation. Taken together, these data suggest that occupational exposure to lead could decrease DNA repair capacity, inhibiting the function of Ape1, as well other repair genes through the regulation of the ZF-transcription factor, promoting the genomic instability

Successful cases of Latin American health biotechnology investment.

<p>The expectation of HBT in Latin American countries is not only to generate economic benefits but also to solve local health problems.</p

Number of publications in health biotechnology per million inhabitants, 2001–2015.

<p>Source: WOS data and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref052" target="_blank">52</a>,<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref071" target="_blank">71</a>].</p

Number of papers in health biotechnology by selected countries, 2001–2015.

<p>Source: WOS data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref052" target="_blank">52</a>].</p

Top 55 publishers in health biotechnology, 2001–2015.

<p>Logarithm scale. Source: WOS data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref052" target="_blank">52</a>].</p

Average relative citations of Latin American countries and other selected countries in health biotechnology, 2001–2015.

<p>Source: WOS data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref052" target="_blank">52</a>].</p

Rate of international collaboration in health biotechnology, 2001–2015.

<p>Source: WOS data [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0191267#pone.0191267.ref052" target="_blank">52</a>].</p

Keywords used to search WOS for health biotechnology.

<p>Keywords used to search WOS for health biotechnology.</p

Subfields of health biotechnology in the 2001–2015 period with specialization indices > 1.

<p>Subfields of health biotechnology in the 2001–2015 period with specialization indices > 1.</p