Study of sustainability opportunities during construction

textConstruction Sustainability involves the processes, decisions, and actions during the construction phase of capital projects that enhance current and future environmental, social, and economic needs while considering project safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Most of the currently available published literature and advances in project level sustainability practices have focused on the early Concept Planning and Design phases of capital projects. Knowledge of sustainability practices during the Construction phase of capital projects is still in the early development stages and is highly fragmented; information regarding the selection, assessment, and implementation of construction sustainability solutions has remained largely unavailable or underdeveloped. Moreover, capital project owners and constructors increasingly seek practical guidance and resources to better integrate and evaluate sustainability decisions and actions within project construction services. The dearth of research on effective sustainability practices during the construction phase suggests that higher levels of sustainability attention and effort are needed in this area, in addition to the creation of support guidance and tools. To fill this gap in knowledge, this research has identified 54 unique actions that project teams can apply during construction to enhance the overall sustainability of their project. These construction phase sustainability actions (CPSAs) have been cataloged, characterized, and evaluated to facilitate their consideration and implementation by project teams. To further support the selection process and implementation of these actions, the research team developed a high-level strategic work process, a spreadsheet-based CPSA Screening Tool, and additional in-depth guidance for three CPSAs. In addition, both input- and output-oriented construction sustainability metrics have been developed and identified. Equipped with the findings from this study, owners and construction contractors will be better prepared to implement sustainability actions during the construction phase of capital projects.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Adaptación y propiedades psicométricas de la Escala Sentido de Coherencia (SOC-29) en jóvenes universitarios, 2021

El objetivo de esta investigación es adaptar y analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala Sentido de Coherencia (SOC-29). En este estudio participaron 500 estudiantes universitarios a los cuales se les realizó la encuesta de manera virtual. El instrumento tiene 15 ítems y se divide en 3 dimensiones: comprensibilidad, manejabilidad y significatividad, con tipo de respuesta dicotómica. Se analizó la validez de contenido mediante el criterio de 8 jueces quienes evaluaron la claridad, contexto, congruencia y dominio del constructo. Metodología: La investigación se clasifica como un estudio instrumental psicométrico, de diseño no experimental, corte transversal, enfoque cuantitativo y muestreo no probabilístico. Resultados: Se obtuvo un índice por V de Aiken V= 0.91, una consistencia interna confiable por alfa de Cronbach total de 0.702. El análisis factorial confirmatorio dio como resultado una medida de KMO= 0.779 y un valor Sig. < 0.00, la varianza total explicada por 3 factores logró un valor de 42.1%, se concluye que el ítem 11 debe ser eliminado, ya que carece de carga factorial y mejora el nivel de confiabilidad por alfa de Cronbach.JULIACAEscuela Profesional de PsicologíaPsicología positiv

Burbujas en precios de activos financieros: existencia, persistencia y migración

En este trabajo también se examina la hipótesis de migración de burbujas entre diferentes mercados de activos dentro de un mismo país. Posterior a la introducción, en la sección I se presenta una breve revisión de literatura relacionada. En la siguiente se explican los modelos teóricos de base, las metodologías de detección y las pruebas de migración de burbujas. La sección III consta de una descripción de los datos utilizados en este trabajo. En la IV se describen los resultados país por país. Finalmente, se presentan algunos comentarios a manera de conclusión

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings: Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8-13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05-6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50-75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation: Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life

Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

Overview of construction sustainability research products

Much research has been conducted on capital project sustainability in the last two decades, but most of the findings only provide guidelines for its implementation during facility planning or design. This nearly exclusive focus on early project phases has left the industry with the need for more detailed guidance on implementing construction sustainability practices during jobsite execution. With this need in mind, the Construction Industry Institute (CII) chartered Research Team (RT) 304, "Sustainability Practices and Metrics for the Construction Phase of Capital Projects", to develop this missing practical guidance. This paper overviews the findings and products of the research team. The team developed a catalog of 54 Construction Phase Sustainability Actions (CPSAs) for onsite implementation during the construction phase to increase overall project sustainability. Each CPSA is characterized in terms of corresponding construction functions, potential sustainability impact, influence on project performance (i.e., cost, schedule, quality, and safety), ease of implementation, barriers to implementation, conditions that leverage benefits, and output metrics. The research team also developed two spreadsheet-based tools—the CPSA Screening Tool and the CPSA Implementation Index—to facilitate CPSA implementation during construction. The screening tool enables users to prioritize the 54 CPSAs according to project characteristics, while the index tool assesses CPSA implementation levels. Through its validation efforts, the team determined that the current level of CPSA implementation across the industry is at approximately 60 percent, and that this rate should increase with the regular use of the CPSA catalog, screening tool, and implementation index.Non UBCUnreviewedFacultyOthe

Northwesternmost records of Vampyressa thyone Thomas, 1909 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) from Sierra de Atoyac, Guerrero, México

We report new northwesternmost records of the Northern Little Yellow-eared Bat, Vampyressa thyone Thomas, 1909 (Phyllostomidae, Stenodermatinae), from Sierra de Atoyac, Guerrero, Mexico. We identified four individuals using morphological characters; two of the individuals were collected at 1,234 and 1,285 m above sea level, altitudes atypical for this species. Captures were recorded between 19:20 and 23:18 h, and all individuals presented signs of reproductive activity. With these data, we increase the scarce knowledge about this rare frugivorous bat

Clinical characterization of data-driven diabetes subgroups in Mexicans using a reproducible machine learning approach

Introduction Previous reports in European populations demonstrated the existence of five data-driven adult-onset diabetes subgroups. Here, we use self-normalizing neural networks (SNNN) to improve reproducibility of these data-driven diabetes subgroups in Mexican cohorts to extend its application to more diverse settings.Research design and methods We trained SNNN and compared it with k-means clustering to classify diabetes subgroups in a multiethnic and representative population-based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets with all available measures (training sample: NHANES-III, n=1132; validation sample: NHANES 1999–2006, n=626). SNNN models were then applied to four Mexican cohorts (SIGMA-UIEM, n=1521; Metabolic Syndrome cohort, n=6144; ENSANUT 2016, n=614 and CAIPaDi, n=1608) to characterize diabetes subgroups in Mexicans according to treatment response, risk for chronic complications and risk factors for the incidence of each subgroup.Results SNNN yielded four reproducible clinical profiles (obesity related, insulin deficient, insulin resistant, age related) in NHANES and Mexican cohorts even without C-peptide measurements. We observed in a population-based survey a high prevalence of the insulin-deficient form (41.25%, 95% CI 41.02% to 41.48%), followed by obesity-related (33.60%, 95% CI 33.40% to 33.79%), age-related (14.72%, 95% CI 14.63% to 14.82%) and severe insulin-resistant groups. A significant association was found between the SLC16A11 diabetes risk variant and the obesity-related subgroup (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.83, p=0.008). Among incident cases, we observed a greater incidence of mild obesity-related diabetes (n=149, 45.0%). In a diabetes outpatient clinic cohort, we observed increased 1-year risk (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.51) and 2-year risk (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.31) for incident retinopathy in the insulin-deficient group and decreased 2-year diabetic retinopathy risk for the obesity-related subgroup (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.89).Conclusions Diabetes subgroup phenotypes are reproducible using SNNN; our algorithm is available as web-based tool. Application of these models allowed for better characterization of diabetes subgroups and risk factors in Mexicans that could have clinical applications