Modificación, evaluación y análisis de eficiencia del colector solar de tubos al vacío comercial

En la sociedad moderna la demanda de energía aumenta a medida que la población y el consumo per cápita crecen, al punto que los recursos energéticos tales como el petróleo y sus derivados han disminuido en forma exponencial y por ende el elevado consumo de estos ocasiona la liberación de gases tóxicos a la atmosfera, causando daños irreparables; muestra de ello es el incremento de la temperatura terrestre, lo cual crea un efecto invernadero en la superficie de la tierra, haciendo que las zonas frías (polos norte y sur) se empiecen a calentar derritiendo los glaciales y provocando que el nivel del mar aumente. Cada año se aprecia como este tipo de fenómenos naturales se intensifican afectando poblaciones, desapareciendo especies animales y vegetales a causa del daño en los ecosistemas, haciendo que el planeta se convierta cada vez menos habitable para los humanos. Comúnmente a las energías que provienen de recursos renovables se les denomina energías alternativas tales como la eólica la cual proviene de las corrientes de aire y es convertida en otras formas útiles de energía para actividades humanas, este es un recurso renovable, limpio y ayuda a disminuir las emisiones de gases del efecto invernadero; entre otros recursos renovables se encuentra el uso de biomasa, el movimiento ondulante de las mareas y la energía del sol; esta última está jugando un papel importante como la fuente de energía más potente con la cual cuenta la humanidad debido a que la energía solar que llega a la tierra durante un año puede suplir 6.720 veces más la necesidad energética del mundo en el mismo transcurso de tiempo

Desarrollo de una metodología para aplicar la norma ISO 14001 y norma OHSAS 18001 en talleres de mecánica vehicular

Este trabajo consiste en la integración de dos sistemas de gestión avalados por el ICONTEC (Instituto Colombiano de Normalización Técnica), que son, la NTC-ISO 14001 de gestión ambiental y la NTC-OSHAS 18001 de seguridad y salud en el trabajo, el desarrollo de esta última se complementa con el decreto único reglamentario 1072 del 2015 del sector trabajo, que es de obligatoriedad para todas las empresas a nivel nacional. Al principio de este trabajo se encuentra el capítulo de Generalidades, donde se ponen en la mesa las similitudes compartidas por ambos sistemas, tales como el requisito de conocer el contexto en el que se desenvuelve la organización en términos económicos, sociales y ambientales, así también los procesos que interactúan en una organización. En la segunda parte, se exponen especificaciones puntuales que requieren ambos sistemas, en el caso del SGA se habla de identificar aspectos e impactos ambientales, mientras que el SG-SST es identificación de peligros y evaluación de riesgos, estas, comúnmente llamadas Matrices, son la razón de ser de los sistemas, a partir de estas se desarrollan programas para controlar, mitigar, y eliminar los aspectos y los peligros. Ya para cerrar, de nuevo se escribe acerca de las generalidades compartidas para ambos sistemas de gestión y es necesario hablar en común de un plan de emergencias, una matriz de comunicación, un mismo plan de auditoria interna y el mismo documento de revisión por la dirección. Finalmente, se hace la implementación integrada de ambos sistemas de gestión en un taller mecánico convencional, en el que se señala todo el contenido de las normas, como en un manual de gestión integral

Bone metabolism and inflammatory biomarkers in radiographic and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis patients: a comprehensive evaluation

IntroductionAxial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a heterogeneous disease that can be represented by radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA) and non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the markers of inflammation and bone turnover in r-axSpA patients and nr-axSpA patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study included 29 r-axSpA patients, 10 nr-axSpA patients, and 20 controls matched for age and sex. Plasma markers related to bone remodeling such as human procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), sclerostin, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were measured by an ELISA kit. A panel of 92 inflammatory molecules was analyzed by proximity extension assay.ResultsR-axSpA patients had decreased plasma levels of P1NP, a marker of bone formation, compared to controls. In addition, r-axSpA patients exhibited decreased plasma levels of sclerostin, an anti-anabolic bone hormone, which would not explain the co-existence of decreased plasma P1NP concentration; however, sclerostin levels could also be influenced by inflammatory processes. Plasma markers of osteoclast activity were similar in all groups. Regarding inflammation-related molecules, nr-axSpA patients showed increased levels of serum interleukin 13 (IL13) as compared with both r-axSpA patients and controls, which may participate in the prevention of inflammation. On the other hand, r-axSpA patients had higher levels of pro-inflammatory molecules compared to controls (i.e., IL6, Oncostatin M, and TNF receptor superfamily member 9). Correlation analysis showed that sclerostin was inversely associated with IL6 and Oncostatin M among others.ConclusionAltogether, different inflammatory profiles may play a role in the development of the skeletal features in axSpA patients particularly related to decreased bone formation. The relationship between sclerostin and inflammation and the protective actions of IL13 could be of relevance in the axSpA pathology, which is a topic for further investigation

Long runs of homozygosity are associated with Alzheimer's disease

Altres ajuts: The Genome Research at Fundació ACE project (GR@ACE) is supported by Fundación bancaria "La Caixa," Grifols SA and Fundació ACE. L.M.R. is supported by Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (Grant PI-0001/2017).Long runs of homozygosity (ROH) are contiguous stretches of homozygous genotypes, which are a footprint of inbreeding and recessive inheritance. The presence of recessive loci is suggested for Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, their search has been poorly assessed to date. To investigate homozygosity in AD, here we performed a fine-scale ROH analysis using 10 independent cohorts of European ancestry (11,919 AD cases and 9181 controls.) We detected an increase of homozygosity in AD cases compared to controls [ β (CI 95%) = 0.070 (0.037-0.104); P = 3.91 × 10 −5 ; β (CI95%) = 0.043 (0.009-0.076); P = 0.013]. ROHs increasing the risk of AD (OR > 1) were significantly overrepresented compared to ROHs increasing protection (p < 2.20 × 10 −16). A significant ROH association with AD risk was detected upstream the HS3ST1 locus (chr4:11,189,482‒11,305,456), (β (CI 95%) = 1.09 (0.48 ‒ 1.48), p value = 9.03 × 10 −4), previously related to AD. Next, to search for recessive candidate variants in ROHs, we constructed a homozygosity map of inbred AD cases extracted from an outbred population and explored ROH regions in whole-exome sequencing data (N = 1449). We detected a candidate marker, rs117458494, mapped in the SPON1 locus, which has been previously associated with amyloid metabolism. Here, we provide a research framework to look for recessive variants in AD using outbred populations. Our results showed that AD cases have enriched homozygosity, suggesting that recessive effects may explain a proportion of AD heritability

Genomic Characterization of Host Factors Related to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in People with Dementia and Control Populations: The GR@ACE/DEGESCO Study

Emerging studies have suggested several chromosomal regions as potential host genetic factors involved in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease outcome. We nested a COVID-19 genome-wide association study using the GR@ACE/DEGESCO study, searching for susceptibility factors associated with COVID-19 disease. To this end, we compared 221 COVID-19 confirmed cases with 17,035 individuals in whom the COVID-19 disease status was unknown. Then, we performed a meta-analysis with the publicly available data from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. Because the APOE locus has been suggested as a potential modifier of COVID-19 disease, we added sensitivity analyses stratifying by dementia status or by disease severity. We confirmed the existence of the 3p21.31 region (LZTFL1, SLC6A20) implicated in the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and TYK2 gene might be involved in COVID-19 severity. Nevertheless, no statistically significant association was observed in the COVID-19 fatal outcome or in the stratified analyses (dementia-only and non-dementia strata) for the APOE locus not supporting its involvement in SARS-CoV-2 pathobiology or COVID-19 prognosis

Genome-wide association analysis of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes reveal novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease and three causality networks : The GR@ACE project

Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways. Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome-wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta-analyzed with additional genome-wide association study data sets. Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta-analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31-rs4704171 and NDUFAF6-rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP-rs7225151 and CD33-rs3865444. Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta-analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Resultados Semilleros de Investigación 2009-2010

La publicación recoge los doce informes finales de investigación presentados por los estudiantes de ocho Semilleros 1 y cuatro Semilleros 2, correspondientes a la convocatoria 2009–2010 y se constituye en el Número 25 de la Serie de Investigaciones en Construcción, si bien este es el primer Número publicado en formato digital que UNIJUS se permite poner a disposición no sólo de la comunidad universitaria, sino también de la sociedad colombiana e internacional, interesada en los temas estudiados por los jóvenes investigadores de la Facultad de Derecho, Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701