Síndrome de hiperinfección mortal por Strongyloides stercoralis en un paciente diabético y alcohólico de México

Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome is a medical emergency that requires a high level of suspicion. Immunocompromised patients are at high risk of hyperinfection syndrome; however, malnutrition, alcoholism, and diabetes mellitus also need to be considered as predisposing factors. The diagnosis and treatment of Strongyloides hyperinfection are challenging and patients often have severe complications. Consequently, mortality is overwhelmingly high, with proportions above 60%.Herein, we report a case of Strongyloides hyperinfection in a 40-year-old alcoholic diabetic patient living in México. Unfortunately, the late diagnosis resulted in his death despite the treatment and supportive measures. Increased awareness is needed to prevent the dire consequences of strongyloidiasis.El síndrome de hiperinfección por Strongyloides stercoralis es una emergencia médica que requiere una aguda sospecha clínica. Los pacientes inmunocomprometidos tienen alto riesgo de sufrir el síndrome de hiperinfección; sin embargo, la desnutrición, el alcoholismo y la diabetes mellitus también deben considerarse factores predisponentes. El diagnóstico y el tratamiento de la hiperinfección por S. stercoralis constituyen un desafío y los pacientes a menudo tienen complicaciones graves. Como consecuencia, la mortalidad es abrumadoramente alta, con proporciones superiores al 60 %.Se presenta un caso de hiperinfección por S. stercoralis en un paciente diabético y alcohólico de 40 años que vivía en México. Infortunadamente, el diagnóstico tardío causó su muerte a pesar del tratamiento y las medidas de soporte. Se necesita un mayor conocimiento para prevenir las terribles consecuencias de la estrongiloidiasis

Accounting for inventory data and methodological choice uncertainty in a comparative life cycle assessment: the case of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in an offshore Mediterranean enterprise

Purpose: Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), growing different species in the same space, is a technology that may help manage the environmental impacts of coastal aquaculture. Nutrient discharges to seawater from monoculture aquaculture are conceptually minimized in IMTA, while expanding the farm economic base. In this study, we investigate the environmental trade-offs for a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) considering a shift from monoculture towards IMTA production of marine fish. Methods: A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA), including uncertainty analysis, was implemented for an aquaculture SME in Italy. Quantification and simultaneous propagation of uncertainty of inventory data and uncertainty due to the choice of allocation method were combined with dependent sampling to account for relative uncertainties and statistical testing and interpretation to understand the uncertainty analysis results. Monte Carlo simulations were used as a propagation method. The environmental impacts per kilo of fish produced in monoculture and in IMTA were compared. Twelve impact categories were considered. The comparison is first made excluding uncertainty (deterministic LCA) and then accounting for uncertainties. Results and discussion: Deterministic LCA results evidence marginal differences between the impacts of IMTA and monoculture fish production. IMTA performs better on all impacts studied. However, statistical testing and interpretation of the uncertainty analysis results showed that only mean impacts for climate change are significantly different for both productive systems, favoring IMTA. For the case study, technical variables such as scales of production of the species from different trophic levels, their integration (space and time), and the choice of species determine the trade-offs. Also, LCA methodological choices such as that for an allocation method and the treatment of relative uncertainties were determinant in the comparison of environmental trade-offs. Conclusions: The case study showed that environmental trade-offs between monoculture and IMTA fish production depend on technical variables and methodological choices. The combination of statistical methods to quantify, propagate, and interpret uncertainty was successfully tested. This approach supports more robust environmental trade-off assessments between alternatives in LCAs with uncertainty analysis by adding information on the significance of results. It was difficult to establish whether IMTA does bring benefits given the scales of production in the case study. We recommend that the methodology defined here is applied to fully industrialized IMTA systems or bay-scale environments, to provide more robust conclusions about the environmental benefits of this aquaculture type in Europe

Exfoliated graphite preparation based on an eco-friendly mechanochemical route

In the present study, we proposed an eco-friendly method to produce exfoliated graphite based on a dry mechanochemical process. This route represents an alternative that avoids the use and disposal problems related to highly corrosive and dangerous reagents use, manipulation and elimination. As non-toxic alternative exfoliation route, an equimolar mixture of graphite flakes and calcium carbonate was milled and leached with an aqueous solution of acetic acid (vinegar). There was a notable reduction of the graphite particle size with a significantly increased level of exfoliation, which dramatically improved the surface area of the prepared samples from 4 to 363 m2 g-1. After 16 h of processing, milled particles reached a thickness reduction of up to 5 nm and micrometric widths.The overall yield of processed graphite is around 92% based on the raw graphite. The evident benefits of the obtained exfoliated graphites in the adsorption of methylene blue (a common pollutant of textile wastewater) are presented. Exfoliated graphite represents a valid alternative as adsorption agent for dye removal reaching efficiencies above 95% after 30 min of testing with an aqueous solution of methylene blue. Contrary, the untreated graphite sample showed a null adsorption activity

Chiapas : entre el autoritarismo y la transición democrática, desde Acteal hasta el diálogo EZLN y sociedad civil

Obra cuya intención es dar cuenta de los diversos actores sociales involucrados en el conflicto de Chiapas, a nivel político, económico y sociocultural. El texto recupera un taller de análisis de coyuntura sobre el tema, realizado en agosto de 1998.ITESO, A.C

The evolution of ultraviolet emission lines from the circumstellar material surrounding SN 1987A

The presence of narrow high-temperature emission lines from nitrogen-rich gas close to SN 1987A has been the principal observational constraint on the evolu- tionary status of the supernova's progenitor. A new analysis of the complete five-year set of low and high resolution IUE ultraviolet spectra of SN 1987A (1987.2--1992.3) provide fluxes for the N V 1240, N IV] 1486, He II 1640, OIII] 1665, NIII] 1751, and CIII] 1908 lines with significantly reduced random and systematic errors and reveals significant short-term fluctuations in the light curves. The N V, N IV] and N III] lines turn on sequentially over 15 to 20 days and show a progression from high to low ionization potential, implying an ioni- zation gradient in the emitting region. The line emission turns on suddenly at 83+/-4 days after the explosion, as defined by N IV]. The N III] line reaches peak luminosity at 399+/-15 days. A ring radius of (6.24+/-0.20)E{17} cm and inclination of 41.0+/-3.9 is derived from these times, assuming a circular ring. The probable role of resonant scattering in the N V light curve introduces systematic errors that leads us to exclude this line from the timing analysis. A new nebular analysis yields improved CNO abundance ratios N/C=6.1+/-1.1 and N/O=1.7+/-0.5, confirming the nitrogen enrichment found in our previous paper. From the late-time behavior of the light curves we find that the emission origi- nates from progressively lower density gas. We estimate the emitting mass near maximum (roughly 400 days) to be roughly 4.7E{-2} solar masses, assuming a filling factor of unity and an electron density of 2.6E4 cm^{-3}. These results are discussed in the context of current models for the emission and hydrodynamics of the ring.Comment: 38 pages, AASTeX v.4.0, 13 Postscript figures; ApJ, in pres

Conscious mobility for urban spaces: case studies review and indicator framework design

A lack of data collection on conscious mobility behaviors has been identified in current sustainable and smart mobility planning, development and implementation strategies. This leads to technocentric solutions that do not place people and their behavior at the center of new mobility solutions in urban centers around the globe. This paper introduces the concept of conscious mobility to link techno-economic analyses with user awareness on the impact of their travel decisions on other people, local urban infrastructure and the environment through systematic big data collection. A preliminary conscious mobility indicator framework is presented to leverage behavioral considerations to enhance urban-community mobility systems. Key factors for conscious mobility analysis have been derived from five case studies. The sample offers regional diversity (i.e., local, regional and the global urban contexts), as well as different goals in the transformation of conventional urban transport systems, from improving public transport efficiency and equipment electrification to mitigate pollution and climate risks, to focusing on equity, access and people safety. The case studies selected provide useful metrics on the adoption of cleaner, smarter, safer and more autonomous mobility technologies, along with novel people-centric program designs to build an initial set of conscious mobility indicators frameworks. The parameters were applied to the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon in Mexico focusing on the needs of the communities that work, study and live around the local urban campus of the Tecnologico de Monterrey’s Distrito Tec. This case study, served as an example of how conscious mobility indicators could be applied and customized to a community and region of interest. This paper introduces the first application of the conscious mobility framework for urban communities’ mobility system analysis. This more holistic assessment approach includes dimensions such as society and culture, infrastructure and urban spaces, technology, government, normativity, economy and politics, and the environment. The expectation is that the conscious mobility framework of analysis will become a useful tool for smarter and sustainable urban and mobility problem solving and decision making to enhance the quality of life all living in urban communities

Flower Development as an Interplay between Dynamical Physical Fields and Genetic Networks

In this paper we propose a model to describe the mechanisms by which undifferentiated cells attain gene configurations underlying cell fate determination during morphogenesis. Despite the complicated mechanisms that surely intervene in this process, it is clear that the fundamental fact is that cells obtain spatial and temporal information that bias their destiny. Our main hypothesis assumes that there is at least one macroscopic field that breaks the symmetry of space at a given time. This field provides the information required for the process of cell differentiation to occur by being dynamically coupled to a signal transduction mechanism that, in turn, acts directly upon the gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying cell-fate decisions within cells. We illustrate and test our proposal with a GRN model grounded on experimental data for cell fate specification during organ formation in early Arabidopsis thaliana flower development. We show that our model is able to recover the multigene configurations characteristic of sepal, petal, stamen and carpel primordial cells arranged in concentric rings, in a similar pattern to that observed during actual floral organ determination. Such pattern is robust to alterations of the model parameters and simulated failures predict altered spatio-temporal patterns that mimic those described for several mutants. Furthermore, simulated alterations in the physical fields predict a pattern equivalent to that found in Lacandonia schismatica, the only flowering species with central stamens surrounded by carpels