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Solar-driven atmospheric water extraction (SAWE) is a sustainable technology for decentralized freshwater supply. However, most SAWE systems produce water intermittently due to the cyclic nature, with adoption hindered by complex design requirements or periodic manual operations. Herein, a fully passive SAWE system that can continuously produce freshwater under sunlight is presented. By optimizing the three-dimensional architecture to facilitate spontaneous mass transport and efficient energy utilization, this system can consistently produce 0.65 L m -2 h -1 of freshwater under 1-sun illumination at 90% relative humidity (RH) and functions in arid environments with an RH as low as 40%. We test the practical performance of a scaled-up system in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia over 35 days across two seasons. The system produces 2.0-3.0 L m -2 per day of freshwater during the summer and 1.0-2.8 L m -2 per day of freshwater during the fall, without requiring additional maintenance. Intriguingly, we demonstrate the system's potential for off-grid irrigation by successfully growing cabbage plants using atmospheric water. This passive SAWE system, harnessing solar energy to continuously extract moisture from air for drinking and irrigation, offers a promising solution to address the intertwined challenges of energy, water, and food supply, particularly for remote and water-scarce regions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Insufficient insulin secretion is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes and has been attributed to beta cell identity loss characterized by decreased expression of several key beta cell genes. The pro-inflammatory factor BMP-2 is upregulated in islets of Langerhans from individuals with diabetes and acts as an inhibitor of beta cell function and proliferation. Exposure to BMP-2 induces expression of Id1-4, Hes-1, and Hey-1 which are transcriptional regulators associated with loss of differentiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which BMP-2 induces beta cell dysfunction and loss of cell maturity. Mouse islets exposed to BMP-2 for 10 days showed impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and beta cell proliferation. BMP-2-induced beta cell dysfunction was associated with decreased expression of cell maturity and proliferation markers specific to the beta cell such as Ins1, Ucn3, and Ki67 and increased expression of Id1-4, Hes-1, and Hey-1. The top 30 most regulated proteins significantly correlated with corresponding mRNA expression. BMP-2-induced gene expression changes were associated with a predominant reduction in acetylation of H3K27 and a decrease in NeuroD1 chromatin binding activity. These results show that BMP-2 induces loss of beta cell maturity and suggest that remodeling of H3K27ac and decreased NeuroD1 DNA binding activity participate in the effect of BMP-2 on beta cell dysfunction., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

A statistical thermodynamics variational criterion is propounded to study thermal hysteresis in reversible clustering of gold (Au) nanoparticles. Experimentally, a transient equilibrium mapping analysis is employed to characterize it thermodynamically, further measurements being performed at the nanostructural and electrochemical levels (UV-Vis-NIR spectra, SLS/SAXS, zeta potential). Theoretically, it is successfully interpreted as a thermodynamic cycle, prompting that nanoclusters has potential to produce useful work from heat and paving the way to nanoclustering heat engines. By taking into account the virial expansion of hysteretic pressure, an entropy measure is deduced for a dilute system with given virial coefficients. This allows us to figure out the role of relevant interparticle potential parameters (i.e. surface potential, nanoparticle size, Debye's length, Hamaker energy) in both isothermal and isochoric variations at the onset of hysteresis. Application to spherical Au nanoparticles in watery salt solution (NaCl) is developed when an ad-hoc (DLVO) pairwise potential governs the second virial coefficient at the nanoscale. In particular, the variational criterion predicts a pressure drop between heating and cooling paths which is likely at the base of some energy redistribution (e.g. ordering/restructuring of electric double layers). We found an integrating factor that is able to numerically predict the existence of a critical value for the initial salt concentration maximizing the hysteretic area, and the effect of nanoparticle size on the cycle extent., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Massive hemoptysis is a rare life-threatening complication of pulmonary actinomycosis that should be treated promptly due to the risk of asphyxiation and hemodynamic instability. We present the case of a 57-year-old female who was presented to our center with massive hemoptysis. Thoracic computed tomography scan revealed a cavitated lesion with perilesional ground-glass opacity. Right lower lobectomy was then performed using uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery, excising a 13 × 12 × 8 cm cavitated lung fragment. The pathology service reported the presence of microscopical evidence of filamentous gram positive bacterial colonies, showing compatible features of pulmonary actinomycosis. The patient was discharged with oral penicillin with an uneventful post-operative course., (Copyright: © 2022 Permanyer.)

Objective: To determine the epidemiology of the localization and histological type of meningiomas in the Mexican population and the distribution of the different histological patterns and their relationship to tumor localization and patient demographics., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 5 hospitals in Mexico from 2009 to 2019. For qualitative variables, mean values were compared using Pearson χ 2 test for the correlation between location and histological pattern as well as the clinical presentation and the patient's sex. Student t test was performed for age and its correlation with location and histology., Results: Analysis of 179 patients revealed significant differences in histopathological pattern, patient sex, and tumor location. No significant differences were found for age or clinical presentation in association with any specific histological pattern., Conclusions: There was a correlation between the histology of the 15 histopathological varieties of meningiomas and the predilection site of appearance as well as certain demographic aspects, such as sex. This study lays the foundation for future studies in Mexico on the differentiation and typing of meningiomas regardless of the histological grade to which they belong, as the exact behavior of these tumors, including grade I tumors, remains unknown to date., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Renal transplantation (RT) has evolved to improve its functionality. Some factors have been little studied, one of which is hyperuricemia and its impact on renal graft function. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of complications of renal transplantation and its influence on hyperuricemia values in the first year of evolution., Material and Methods: The authors completed a retrospective, observational study of 2 RT units in Mexico from January 2013 to December 2017. In total, 1009 files met the inclusion criteria; the levels of uric acid (UA) and creatinine (Cr) were determined before transplantation and in months 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 after transplantation. Descriptive analysis was performed with measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, difference of means with Student t test, and SPSS version 25 (IBM, Armonk, NY, United States)., Results: The mean pretransplant UA was 6.24 mg/dL (standard deviation [SD] 1.97); per month was 4.73 mg/dL (SD 1.49). There is a difference in means between categorized groups of UA in the 5 post-RT moments (1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months). A positive correlation of 0.41 to 0.47 was found with Spearman's test. The delayed function of the graft influenced in the first month after transplant in presenting hyperuricemia and acute dysfunction in month 6 showed that the rejection had no significance at any time., Conclusions: The relationship between the values of UA and Cr in the RT represents a moderate positive correlation; delayed graft function in the first month impacts the presence of hyperuricemia, as well as acute dysfunction at month 6 after transplantation., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In the United States, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the healthiest lunch option for students, yet participation is suboptimal and fruit and vegetable waste remains high. Improving school meal convenience, engaging teachers in the school-lunch program, and enhancing the cafeteria environment are promising strategies to improve participation and dietary intake, yet little evidence is available on their impact., Methods/design: The Multi-Pronged Intervention to Increase Secondary Student Participation in School Lunch (MPI) is a 3-year quasi-experimental study in a large urban school district in California. A total of 24 middle and high schools participated in the study: half received the intervention and half served as controls. The intervention consisted of additional school lunch points of sale (vending machines and mobile carts), a school meal outreach program for teachers, and cafeteria redesigns. School meal participation, student-reported fruit and vegetable consumption, and school lunch plate waste were assessed at baseline and in years 1 and 2 of the intervention. Change in meal participation and fruit and vegetable consumption were compared between intervention and control arms to determine the impact of the intervention on school meal participation and dietary intake., Discussion: This study is positioned to provide evidence on the feasibility and efficacy of a multi-level intervention to increase school meal participation and consumption of fruits and vegetables., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The liver is an important integrator of nutrient metabolism, yet no liver-derived factors regulating nutrient preference or carbohydrate appetite have been identified. Here we show that the liver regulates carbohydrate intake through production of the hepatokine fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which markedly suppresses consumption of simple sugars, but not complex carbohydrates, proteins, or lipids. Genetic loss of FGF21 in mice increases sucrose consumption, whereas acute administration or overexpression of FGF21 suppresses the intake of both sugar and non-caloric sweeteners. FGF21 does not affect chorda tympani nerve responses to sweet tastants, instead reducing sweet-seeking behavior and meal size via neurons in the hypothalamus. This liver-to-brain hormonal axis likely represents a negative feedback loop as hepatic FGF21 production is elevated by sucrose ingestion. We conclude that the liver functions to regulate macronutrient-specific intake by producing an endocrine satiety signal that acts centrally to suppress the intake of "sweets.", (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interferon-γ (IFNγ) contribute to type 1 diabetes (T1D) by inducing β-cell death. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor (TRAF) proteins are adaptors that transduce signaling from a variety of membrane receptors including cytokine receptors. We show here that IL-1β and IFNγ upregulate the expression of TRAF2 in insulin-producing INS-1E cells and isolated rat pancreatic islets. siRNA-mediated knockdown (KD) of TRAF2 in INS-1E cells reduced IL-1β-induced phosphorylation of JNK1/2, but not of p38 or ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinases. TRAF2 KD did not modulate NFκB activation by cytokines, but reduced cytokine-induced inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) promotor activity and expression. We further observed that IFNγ-stimulated phosphorylation of STAT3 required TRAF2. KD of TRAF2 or STAT3 reduced cytokine-induced caspase 3/7 activation, but, intriguingly, potentiated cytokine-mediated loss of plasma membrane integrity and augmented the number of propidium iodide-positive cells. Finally, we found that TRAF2 KD increased cytokine-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In summary, our data suggest that TRAF2 is an important mediator of IL-1β and IFNγ signaling in pancreatic β-cells., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Spinal Cord Injury ASIA A (tetraplegia) is a frequent pathology that may affect population regardless of age, sex or race, and that can induce metabolic abnormalities that may worsen the nutritional status of these patients. There are no existing specific protocols to treat these disorders in the specialized units in Mexico., Material and Methods: We analyzed 16 patients at the Spine Clinic SS-DF, 18 years or older without any drug treatment or any previous disease, known or diagnosed when admitted to the hospital. Laboratory samples were obtained as well as the nutritional status was calculated at their admittance and discharge. Individually calculated nutritional support was administered starting at their third day of hospital stay., Results: 100% of the patients showed some type of metabolic disorder associated to the neurological injury. 50% of the patients were classified with severe malnutrition, 25% moderate and 25% mild, all improved at their discharge., Conclusions: We confirmed the presence of metabolic changes in these patients, the efficacy of routine laboratory in the Spine Clinic SS-DF for their evaluation, and that adequate nutritional support may help correct metabolic disorders in this patients.