Publications by authors named "Alvarez R"

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists.

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Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries.

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Osteosarcoma is a rare disease, but it is the most frequent malignant bone tumor. Primary treatment consists of preoperative MAP (methotrexate (MTX), doxorubicin and cisplatin) chemotherapy followed by surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. Pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy is one of the most important prognostic factors, but molecular biomarkers are lacking.

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Introduction: Pembrolizumab stands as a first-line option for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (PD-L1 ≥50%). Several factors such as antibiotic exposure, low body mass index (BMI), certain metastatic location or poor performance status may influence outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis in a cohort of patients with advanced high PD-L1 expression NSCLC treated with first-line pembrolizumab in clinical practice.

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Engagement in scientific discourse is an essential part of becoming a scientist. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine the scientific discourse (and resulting benefits) between undergraduate biology students and professional scientists. We developed a novel method for engaging in scientific discourse, grounded in the theory of legitimate peripheral participation, where undergraduate biology students participate in communities of practice within their own departments.

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The adaptive immune system holds invaluable information on past and present immune responses in the form of B and T cell receptor sequences, but we are limited in our ability to decode this information. Machine learning approaches are under active investigation for a range of tasks relevant to understanding and manipulating the adaptive immune receptor repertoire, including matching receptors to the antigens they bind, generating antibodies or T cell receptors for use as therapeutics, and diagnosing disease based on patient repertoires. Progress on these tasks has the potential to substantially improve the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, as well as advance our understanding of fundamental immunological principles.

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The professional identity of scientists has historically been cultivated to value research over teaching, which can undermine initiatives that aim to reform science education. Course-Based Research Experiences (CRE) and the inclusive Research and Education Communities (iREC) are two successful and impactful reform efforts that integrate research and teaching. The aim of this study is to explicate the professional identity of instructors who implement a CRE within an established iREC and to explore how this identity contributes to the success of these programs.

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The Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC) mandates member states to consider trace element background values when establishing environmental quality standards (EQS) for sediments. This study proposes defining the "background" value as the trace element concentration that is consistently present in the unaltered natural environment, and the "reference" value as an upper limit of variation of naturally occurring concentrations, suggestive of anthropogenic enrichment if exceeded. We argue that background and reference values can be computed as the upper limits of the one-sided 95 % confidence interval for the median and for the 90th percentile, respectively.

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The general increase in temperature, together with sudden episodes of extreme temperatures, are increasingly impacting plant species in the present climate change scenario. is a halophyte from the Mediterranean Basin, exposed to broad daily and seasonal changes in temperature and extreme high temperatures. We studied the photosynthetic responses (chlorophyll fluorescence dynamics and gas exchange) of leaves exposed to temperatures from -7.

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Naineris bicornis Hartman, 1951 and N. australis Hartman, 1957 are redescribed and compared with specimens from the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. A new species, Naineris elegans sp.

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The progesterone receptor (PR) is a steroid-responsive nuclear receptor with two isoforms: PR-A and PR-B. Disruption of PR-A:PR-B signaling is associated with breast cancer through interactions with oncogenic co-regulatory proteins (CoRs). However, molecular details of isoform-specific PR-CoR interactions remain poorly understood.

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We introduce a hardware-software system for rapidly characterizing liquid microjets for x-ray diffraction experiments. An open-source python-based software package allows for programmatic and automated data collection and analysis. We show how jet speed, length, and diameter are influenced by nozzle geometry, gas flow rate, liquid viscosity, and liquid flow rate.

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The hypothesis of this study is that it is possible to determine the plant stand in the soybean ( L. Merril) crop based on the spatial variability of management units, which are limiting factors in maximizing crop yield. Our objectives were as follows: (I) to evaluate the relationship between soil physical and chemical attributes to establish potential management units for variable-rate seeding; (II) to propose a method for varying plant stands based on the law of minimum soil nutrients; an (III) to relate the interaction between different plant stands on soybean grain yield, taking into account the interaction between the spatial variability of the mapped attributes.

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Introduction: Complex Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of ischemic heart disease has increased significantly. We aimed to evaluate sex-related differences in patients undergoing complex PCI.

Methods: single-center prospective observational study including patients undergoing complex PCI between 2017 and 2023.

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Background: Cervical cytology is recommended by WHO as a triage option in HPV-based cervical cancer screening programmes. We assessed the performance of cytology to detect CIN3+ without and with knowledge of HPV positivity.

Methods: Women were screened with cytology and HPV across ESTAMPA study centres in Latin America.

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Article Synopsis
  • Alzheimer’s disease (AD) leads to the loss and degeneration of neuronal functions, with specific alterations observed in the axon initial segment (AIS) of affected neurons.
  • The study revealed that in APP/PS1 mice, which model AD, there were significant changes in AIS integrity and decreased ankyrinG protein levels, linked to the reduced expression of certain enzymes and proteins in astrocytes.
  • Importantly, manipulating retinoic acid levels and using a P2X7 receptor inhibitor showed potential to restore AIS function, suggesting astrocyte involvement in AIS regulation and offering new avenues for early intervention in AD progression.
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Brainstem cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) are clinically more aggressive compared to superficial CCMs. Due to their location, resection can be challenging, making stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) an attractive alternative for symptomatic patient. Brainstem CCM patients (n = 170) were treated with Gamma Knife SRS at 11 radiosurgical centers.

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Patients present a wide range of clinical severities in response severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, but the underlying molecular and cellular reasons why clinical outcomes vary so greatly within the population remains unknown. Here, we report that negative clinical outcomes in severely ill patients were associated with divergent RNA transcriptome profiles in peripheral immune cells compared with mild cases during the first weeks after disease onset. Protein-protein interaction analysis indicated that early-responding cytotoxic natural killer cells were associated with an effective clearance of the virus and a less severe outcome.

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One of the hallmarks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS) is kidney damage. Our previous research demonstrated that Shiga toxin type 2 (Stx2a) decreases cell viability and induces swelling of human glomerular endothelial cells (HGEC). However, Stx2a can disrupt net water transport across HGEC monolayers without affecting cell viability.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The NCCN Guidelines outline a comprehensive approach to diagnosing, staging, and treating ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers.
  • - Recent developments in the use of PARP inhibitors, both as maintenance therapy and standalone treatments, have significantly influenced the recommendations in these guidelines.
  • - These insights highlight the collaborative effort among experts to continuously update treatment protocols based on the latest research in ovarian cancer therapies.
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  • The study focused on improving the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), especially in its early stages, when symptoms can overlap with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
  • Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study comparing newly diagnosed DLB patients to those with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and a control group, utilizing transcranial sonography (TCS) to measure specific brain parameters.
  • Results indicated that higher echogenicity in the substantia nigra (SN) and wider frontal horns of lateral ventricles were strong predictors for diagnosing DLB, suggesting these TCS parameters could help differentiate DLB from other neurodegenerative disorders.
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  • Liquid biopsy (LB) with FoundationOne Liquid CDx (F1L CDx) offers a non-invasive way to detect genetic changes in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients when tissue biopsies aren't possible, and this study assesses its cost-effectiveness in Spain.
  • In a model evaluating 1,000 patients, F1L CDx identified 386 alterations, enabling targeted treatments and yielding significant health benefits compared to traditional non-molecular diagnosis, evidenced by an additional 383.95 life years (LYs) and 305.94 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) despite a higher overall cost of €2,898,308.
  • The analysis concludes that F1L CDx
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Article Synopsis
  • - Glomus tumors (GT) are rare tumors that originate from glomus bodies in the skin and play a role in regulating body temperature, with most being benign but some showing aggressive and malignant behavior.
  • - Malignant glomus tumors can spread and respond poorly to standard chemotherapy, but certain cases have a mutation (BRAF V600E) that offers a potential treatment target.
  • - This report highlights a case of a metastatic glomangiosarcoma with the BRAF V600E mutation that showed significant improvement after being treated with encorafenib and binimetinib.
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