4,012 research outputs found

    Gobierno local abierto: diagnóstico en México y Oaxaca

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    Con un enfoque centrado en el ciudadano y el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, la expresión gobierno abierto ha revolucionado la administración pública. Esto ha implicado una alta deliberación, colaboración, participación y publicidad. El objetivo del presente artículo es diagnosticar los estados cuyos municipios siguen el proyecto de gobierno abierto, para lo cual se tomó como muestra a los estados de México y Oaxaca, donde se compararon los estratos de desarrollo humano muy alto y bajo. A partir de ello se formuló la hipótesis de que los gobiernos locales en México responden de forma diferente a la expresión gobierno abierto cuando este tiene que ver de manera directa y proporcional con el desarrollo humano. Es decir, los municipios con mayor desarrollo humano tuvieron también mayor nivel de gobierno abierto, mientras que los gobiernos con menor desarrollo humano alcanzaron niveles inferiores de gobierno abierto. Se estudiaron 30 municipios de ambas entidades, con diez variables a analizar mediante contraste estadístico de chi cuadrada y coeficiente de correlación r de Pearson. Los resultados demostraron que sí existe una relación entre desarrollo humano y gobierno abierto

    May anomalous X chromosome methylation be responsible for the spontaneous abortion of a male foetus?

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    Pregnancy loss is an important reproductive problem which appears to be highly associated with genetic factors. A spontaneous abortion occurred before prenatal diagnosis could be performed, in a woman who carried a fragile X full mutation. DNA extracted from formalin-fixed para ffin-embedded chorionic villi preparations indicated that it was a male embryo with an apparently methylated X chromosome. The previous analysis of the family showed that her daughter, who also carried a full mutation, exhibited an extremely skewed X inactivation of the normal allele (100%) and a severe fragile X phenotype. Thus, we speculate that the aberrant pattern of X chromosome methylation in this family may provoke the spontaneous miscarriage of this pregnancy that could be explained by at least partial inactivation of the unique X chromosome in a male foetus. Spontaneous abortion occurs quite frequently in humans, and recurrent pregnancy loss is a significant problem in women’s health (Christiansen 2006). Many cases of spontaneous abortion defy diagnosis and genetic factors have been proposed as a major contribution (Lanasa and Hogge 2000; Sierra and Stephenson 2006). The X chromosome inactiva tion (XCI) is the process in which one of the two X chromosomes present in each cell of female mammals is inactivated during early embryogenesis, to achieve dosage compensation with males (Avner and Heard 2001; Heard 2004). Initial steps of XCI involve a ‘counting process’, which senses the X chromosome/autosome ratio that restricts XCI to female embryos and, thereafter, the choice of which chromosome is inactivated (Morey et al . 2004).Skewed XCI leads to an expression of X-linked recessive disorders in females (Plenge et al. 2002; Mart´ınez et al. 2005; Renault et al. 2007). Another form of X-inactivation called meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), takes place in males, during spermatogenesis and is a manifestation of the general meiotic-silencing mechanism (Turner 2007). In this study, we report the spontaneous abortion of a male foetus with an apparently methylated X chromosome, and propose that anomalous inactivation of its uniqueX chromosome could explain nonviability of the embryo and pregnancy loss. Therefore, we strongly suggest, as a follow up, that the methylation status of the X chromosome be tested in early spontaneous abortion of males in the absence of any other known genetic or nongenetic cause

    Predictive value of PSA velocity over early clinical and pathological parameters in patients with localized prostate cancer who undergo radical retropubic prostatectomy

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    OBJECTIVES: To analyze the behavior of the prostate specific antigen velocity (PSAV) in localized prostate adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 500 men who had localized prostate adenocarcinoma, who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy between January 1986 and December 1999. The PSAV was calculated for each patient and subsequently, the values were correlated with 5 groups: age, initial PSA value, clinical stage, tumor volume and Gleason score. RESULTS: The behavior of PSAV presented statistic significance with an increment between 1.3 ng/mL and 9.6 ng/mL, ranging from 38.6% and 59.8% when compared with the initial PSA value (p < 0.0001), clinical stage (p = 0.0002), tumor volume (p < 0.0001) and Gleason score (p = 0.0009). CONCLUSION: PSAV up to 2.5 ng/mL/year is associated with factors of good prognosis, such as initial PSA below 10 mg/mL, clinical stage T1, tumor volume below 20% and Gleason score lower than 7.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) Division of UrologyUNIFESP, EPM, Division of UrologySciEL

    Secretion of Acetylxylan Esterase From Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Enables Utilization of Lignocellulosic Biomass as a Carbon Source

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    Microalgae offer a promising biological platform for sustainable biomanufacturing of a wide range of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and fuels. The model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is thus far the most versatile algal chassis for bioengineering and can grow using atmospheric CO2 and organic carbons (e.g., acetate and pure cellulose). Ability to utilize renewable feedstock like lignocellulosic biomass as a carbon source could significantly accelerate microalgae-based productions, but this is yet to be demonstrated. We observed that C. reinhardtii was not able to heterotrophically grow using wheat straw, a common type of lignocellulosic biomass, likely due to the recalcitrant nature of the biomass. When the biomass was pretreated with alkaline, C. reinhardtii was able to grow using acetate that was released from the biomass. To establish an eco-friendly and self-sustained growth system, we engineered C. reinhardtii to secrete a fungal acetylxylan esterase (AXE) for hydrolysis of acetylesters in the lignocellulosic biomass. Two transgenic strains (CrAXE03 and CrAXE23) secreting an active AXE into culture media were isolated. Incubation of CrAXE03 with wheat straw resulted in an eight-fold increase in the algal cell counts with a concomitant decrease of biomass acetylester contents by 96%. The transgenic lines showed minor growth defects compared to the parental strain, indicating that secretion of the AXE protein imposes limited metabolic burden. The results presented here would open new opportunities for applying low-cost renewable feedstock, available in large amounts as agricultural and manufacturing by-products, for microalgal cultivation. Furthermore, acetylesters and acetate released from them, are well-known inhibitors in lignocellulosic biofuel productions; thus, direct application of the bioengineered microalga could be exploited for improving renewable biofuel productions

    Estimación del riesgo a la exposición de partículas suspendidas en el Valle de Toluca

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    Las partículas PM10 suspendidas en la atmósfera afectan el sistema respiratorio humano, además presentan un riesgo potencial cancerígeno debido a la gran cantidad de hidrocarburos que se quema en la atmósfera. Se estimó la exposición de las partículas PM10 suspendidas en el Valle de Toluca y sus alrededores, con la información de 8 años, proporcionada por la Red Automática Monitoreo de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de Toluca (rama t). Para la estimación de riesgo se tomó en consideración la distribución de Gumbel-1 de Valores Extremos, asimismo se utilizaron diferentes periodos de retorno y la ocurrencia probabilística en intervalos de tiempo de 1, 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5 y 20 años. Se infirió, estadísticamente, un alto grado de riesgo a la salud, debido a la magnitud de la concentración media de estas partículas y se predice que, de existir las condiciones actuales, esta relación estadística permanecerá invariante dentro de los próximos 20 años

    Difficulties in the energy renovation processes of district heating buildings. Two case studies in a temperate climate

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    Renovation at district scale is a key strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumptions by optimising the implementation of renewable energy sources and taking advantage of economies of scale. In this context, this paper focuses on assessing the positive impacts and difficulties after the energy rehabilitation of thermal envelopes in two buildings that belong to two different District Heating systems. The methodology is based on the comparative analysis of indoor temperatures data and energy consumption data of 17 monitored dwellings. The results showed a significant association between the improvement of envelopes and the increase of indoor temperatures in winter (β=0,644). Due to some technical and social barriers, the heating system was not regulated after the rehabilitation, so energy consumption was unnecessarily high, there were situations of indoor overheating in winter (maximum average indoor temperatures between 24-26°C) and these issues produced dissatisfaction on neighbours. In order to avoid these negative consequences, some recommendations are provided, such as informing neighbours about expectations in each step of the long rehabilitation process, reconsidering payments to promote the envelope rehabilitation but maintaining a fixed cost to protect vulnerable groups, and promoting post-occupational studies that contribute to the viability and up-date of this kind of District Heating systems

    Consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on complex multimorbid elderly: Follow-up of a community-based cohort. SAMAC3 Study

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    ©2023. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Nursing Scholarship. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12860Background: The restrictions imposed during the management of the pandemic led to lack of care of other health problems. Purpose: To assess changes in the health status of complex multimorbidity elderly, functional and cognitive capacities, perception of the social surroundings, care pro vided by the nurses, including nursing diagnosis and interventions, use of health ser vices, adverse events, and use of devices and technical help during the first 6 months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Design: A 1-year longitudinal cohort study was conducted. Methods: Ninety-seven complex multimorbid elderly attended in primary care were evaluated every 3 months in a health area of the Spanish National Health System (SNHS). The research was called “SAMAC3 study”. Results: Significant negative changes were observed in the functional and cognitive ca pacity of the elderly, and in several nursing diagnoses. A decrease was observed in the frequency of visit to the nurses, hospital admittance, length of hospital stays, and falls. Conclusions: The functional and cognitive capacities of the cohort became worse. However, a significant decrease in the frequency of use of health services was ob served. The nurses detected significant changes in activity-exercise, cognitive perception, and roles-relationships, but their interventions were mostly centered on resolving clinical matters that required immediate attention. Clinical Relevance: The present study allowed us to observe that a situation of social and health stress has worsened the health indicators of multimorbid elderly, and the clinical care of community nurses was insufficient to providing care for the deteriora tion of the physical and cognitive domains
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