Publications by authors named "Ruas"

Kynurenic acid (KYNA) and quinolinic acid (QUIN) are metabolites of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation with opposing biological activities in the central nervous system. In the periphery, KYNA is known to positively affect metabolic health, whereas the effects of QUIN remain less explored. Interestingly, metabolic stressors, including exercise and obesity, differentially change the balance between circulating KYNA and QUIN.

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Unsafe water has severe implications for human health. Among sanitary wastewater treatment technologies, those that treat effluent in the most natural way possible (avoiding chemicals) need to be employed to minimize environmental damage upon release. Microalgae-based systems are one of the more economical and sustainable methods.

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In face of cumulating evidence about the impact of human-induced environmental changes on mental health and behavior, our understanding of the main effects and interactions between environmental factors - i.e., the exposome and the brain - is still limited.

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Schistosoma mansoni represents a significant etiological agent of schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease with a global distribution. Although the Kato-Katz technique is an effective diagnostic tool in areas with a high prevalence of the disease, it lacks sensitivity in regions with lower prevalence. The objective of this study was to identify and validate novel immunogenic peptide targets derived from the S.

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Studies investigating the mechanisms influencing maximum passive joint range of motion (ROM) and stiffness have not objectively assessed the possible influence of stretch speed and/or arousal state. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of arousal state and stretch speed on healthy individuals ROM, stiffness, gastrocnemius medialis, and soleus electromyographic activity (EMG). Fourteen participants performed one familiarization and then one testing session on separate days in the laboratory.

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Background And Aim: Malignant hilar obstruction usually presents in advanced-stage disease with a poor prognosis. Effective biliary drainage is essential for the beginning of palliative chemotherapy. There is a debate on the amount of liver parenchyma that should be drained to achieve clinical success.

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Peltophorum dubium, a common tree in areas close to agricultural activity in the Brazilian Cerrado, is vulnerable to damage from the drift of picloram, an herbicide widely used in pastures and agriculture in Brazil. The aim was to evaluate the application of 0.0; 19.

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Background: This study will be the first scoping review dedicated to investigating screening strategies for eating disorders specifically performed in the primary health care setting, as no comprehensive examination has been performed to date. Our primary aim is to explore the available literature and assess and identify validated screening strategies for eating disorders in adolescents and adults within the primary care context.

Methods: The study protocol was developed following the guidance outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols and the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews.

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Articaine (ATC) has emerged as one of the most popular local anesthetics (LA) in dental clinics, despite its relatively recent introduction to the market. As a member of the amino-amide class of LA, ATC possesses unique features, including a thiophene ring and an ester group, which allow for its use at higher clinical concentrations. However, reports have indicated a higher incidence of paresthesia associated with ATC, though the underlying cause of this effect remains unclear.

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Pediatric sarcomas present heterogeneous morphology, genetics and clinical behavior posing a challenge for an accurate diagnosis. DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that coordinates chromatin structure and regulates gene expression, determining cell type and function. DNA methylation-based tumor profiling classifier for sarcomas (known as sarcoma classifier) from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) was applied to 122 pediatric sarcomas referred to a reference pediatric oncology hospital.

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This cohort study used prospectively collected data from the Swedish national quality registry, SwedAD, to investigate weight gain as a possible side effect of dupilumab treatment for atopic dermatitis. Patients on dupilumab were compared with patients on other systemic medications, e.g.

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Decline in mitochondrial function is linked to decreased muscle mass and strength in conditions like sarcopenia and type 2 diabetes. Despite therapeutic opportunities, there is limited and equivocal data regarding molecular cues controlling muscle mitochondrial plasticity. Here we uncovered that the mitochondrial mRNA-stabilizing protein SLIRP, in complex with LRPPRC, is a PGC-1α target that regulates mitochondrial structure, respiration, and mtDNA-encoded-mRNA pools in skeletal muscle.

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Triphasic bone scintigraphy (TPBS) is often used to diagnose complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The primary aim of this study is to determine if the diagnosis of CRPS in patients with a positive TPBS (TPBS +ve) is accurate. A secondary aim is to determine if there was delay in treatment of patients who underwent TPBS compared to those who did not have a TPBS.

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Article Synopsis
  • Resilience is essential for students' mental health and helps them adapt to academic challenges, but there's limited understanding of how it varies among students in different fields of study in Brazil.
  • A multi-center study surveyed 8,650 undergraduate students across eight institutions, using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale to measure resilience and various demographic, economic, and academic factors as independent variables.
  • Findings indicated that lower resilience was linked to factors like being female, having low family income, and being from specific academic backgrounds, with an average resilience score of 19.86 out of a possible higher score.
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Background: (1) Maternal-fetal attachment should be assessed in Primary Health Care.

Background: (2)  Depressive symptoms were negatively related to maternal-fetal attachment.

Background: (3)  Social support and family functionality had a positive effect on attachment.

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Purpose: We compared voluntary drive and corticospinal responses during eccentric (ECC), isometric (ISOM) and concentric (CON) muscle contractions to shed light on neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning the lower voluntary drive in a greater force production in ECC than other contractions.

Methods: Sixteen participants (20-33 years) performed ISOM and isokinetic (30°/s) CON and ECC knee extensor contractions (110°-40° knee flexion) in which electromyographic activity (EMG) was recorded from vastus lateralis. Voluntary activation (VA) was measured during ISOM, CON and ECC maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs).

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The cultivation of grapevines has spanned millennia, leading to thousands of varieties through exchanges, mutations, and crosses between genotypes, as well probably as gene flow from wild populations. These varieties are typically categorized by regional origin and primary use, either for wine production or fruit consumption. France, within the Western European group, hosts many of the world's renowned wine grape varieties.

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Article Synopsis
  • About one-third of Portuguese patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) have a genetic cause linked to 10 different genes, with a small percentage showing oligogenic inheritance.
  • CHH leads to delayed puberty and infertility due to issues with hormones like GnRH, LH, and FSH.
  • In a study involving 81 patients and 263 controls, genetic screening helped identify pathogenic variants, but many variants classified as uncertain complicate the understanding of the disease causes.
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Several metabolites have been shown to have independent and at times unexpected biological effects outside of their metabolic pathways. These include succinate, lactate, fumarate, and 2-hydroxyglutarate. 2-Hydroxybutyrate (2HB) is a byproduct of endogenous cysteine synthesis, produced during periods of cellular stress.

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Skeletal muscle atrophy is a morbidity and mortality risk factor that happens with disuse, chronic disease, and aging. The tissue remodeling that happens during recovery from atrophy or injury involves changes in different cell types such as muscle fibers, and satellite and immune cells. Here, we show that the previously uncharacterized gene and protein Zfp697 is a damage-induced regulator of muscle remodeling.

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Senescence is an important cellular program occurring in development, tissue repair, cancer, and aging. Increased senescence is also associated with disease states, including obesity and Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Characterizing and quantifying senescent cells at a single cell level has been challenging and particularly difficult in large primary cells, such as human adipocytes.

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The variation in light within the environment triggers morphophysiological changes in plants and can lead to distinct responses in sun-exposed or shaded plants to glyphosate. The response of genotypes subjected to desiccation with 2160, 1622.4, 1080, 524.

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Agri-environment and forest schemes can support landowners to conserve and enhance agricultural and forest ecosystems. The effectiveness of these schemes is often debated due to discrepancies that occur between the application of such measures and the delivery of Ecosystem Services (ES). We simulated the application of a suite of farmland and forest measures within a range of biophysical contexts in known High Nature Value landscapes across the Republic of Ireland.

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Introduction: Currently, 21 million people live with the disease, mostly in low to middle-income countries. We aimed to assess the survival of patients with schizophrenia using clozapine compared with non-clozapine atypical antipsychotics provided by the Brazilian National Health System using real-world data.

Materials And Methods: This is an open retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia to whom atypical antipsychotics were dispensed by the Brazilian National Health System between 2000 and 2015, based on deterministic-probabilistic pairing of administrative data records.

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Purpose: To monitor changes in mood, cognitive function, brain electrical activity, and circulating kynurenine pathway metabolites in response to a 3-wk severe physical activity (PA) restriction, followed by 3 wk of resumed activity adding resistance and high-intensity interval exercise training.

Methods: Twenty healthy participants (14 males, 6 females; 25.4 ± 5.

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