Publications by authors named "Amaral A"

Growth hormone (GH) has several metabolic effects, including a profound impact on glucose homeostasis. For example, GH oversecretion induces insulin resistance and increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. Here, we show that GH receptor (GHR) ablation in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2)-expressing cells, which comprise a subgroup of glutamatergic neurons, led to a slight decrease in lean body mass without inducing changes in body adiposity.

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Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR), atopic dermatitis (AD), and wheezing, and to describe their patterns of co-occurrence according to different characteristics in adolescence and early adulthood.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses from the 15-year and 22-year follow-ups of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort. The outcomes were assessed based on self-reported data, and the patterns of co-occurrence were determined using cluster analysis.

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Salinization is one of the main pedogenetic processes occurring on the semiarid zone of the Weddel sea, like in Seymour Island, where salt-affected soils are widespread. This study aimed to investigate whether topography controls the distribution of salt-affected soils on Seymour Island, particularly with reference to the Lopez de Bertodano Formation. Chemical and physical results from 45 soil profiles were used, where morphometric variables were extracted.

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Silk sericin (SS) has been widely discarded as a waste by the silk textile industry during the degumming process to obtain fibroin. However, in the past decade, an in-depth understanding of its properties and functions turned it into a high added-value biomaterial for biomedical applications. Herein, we report the molecular design and development of sustainable supramolecular multilayered nanobiomaterials encompassing SS and oppositely charged chitosan (CHT) through a combination of self-assembly and electrostatically driven layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technology.

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The biochemical hallmark of D-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria is brain accumulation of D-2-hydroxyglutaric acid (D2HG). Patients present predominantly neurological manifestations, whose pathogenesis is still unknown. Thus, we examined the impact of elevated brain levels of D2HG, induced by intracerebral injection of this metabolite in juvenile rats, on redox and mitochondrial homeostasis and histochemical landmarks in the cerebral cortex.

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Article Synopsis
  • Spirometry is a test used to evaluate lung function by comparing it to normal levels in healthy non-smokers, focusing on metrics like forced vital capacity (FVC) and the FEV/FVC ratio.
  • The study analyzed data from over 14,000 participants aged 40 and older across 41 sites, revealing regional differences in FVC tied to factors like age and height, categorized into four regions: Europe/richer countries, Near East, Africa, and Far East.
  • Findings showed significant regional variations in FVC values between men and women, particularly in Europe compared to the Far East, but minimal differences in the FEV/FVC ratio across regions.
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Ficus subapiculata is distributed throughout the Amazon region, although its potential for commercial fruit production has not yet been explored. We describe here the chemical and nutritional composition of F. subapiculata fruits and some aspects of the postharvest maturation.

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The MiT/TFE family gene fusion proteins, such as , drive both epithelial (eg, translocation renal cell carcinoma, tRCC) and mesenchymal (eg, perivascular epithelioid cell tumor, PEComa) neoplasms with aggressive behavior. However, no prior mouse models for -related tumors exist and the mechanisms of lineage plasticity induced by this fusion remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that constitutive murine renal expression of human using Ksp Cadherin-Cre as a driver disrupts kidney development leading to early neonatal renal failure and death.

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Rationale: Whether extubation immediately after a successful spontaneous breathing trial is associated with clinical benefits in adult patients with acute brain injury is unknown.

Objectives: We sought to estimate the association between a prompt extubation attempt and ventilator-free days among adult patients with acute brain injury.

Methods: We performed an emulation of a previously designed randomized controlled trial using data from the Toronto Intensive Care Observational Registry in 8 intensive care units in Toronto, Ontario.

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Exposure to high levels of harmful agents in the workplace can significantly impact workers' health, contributing to morbidity and mortality. Levels of these exposures are often measured in high-income countries in research studies and, in some places, to monitor levels in line with health and safety regulations. However, less is known about workplace exposure levels in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

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Patients with glutaric acidemia type I (GA I) manifest motor and intellectual disabilities whose pathogenesis has been so far poorly explored. Therefore, we evaluated neuromotor and cognitive abilities, as well as histopathological and immunohistochemical features in the cerebral cortex and striatum of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) deficient knockout mice (Gcdh), a well-recognized model of GA I. The effects of a single intracerebroventricular glutaric acid (GA) injection in one-day-old pups on the same neurobehavioral and histopathological/immunohistochemical endpoints were also investigated.

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Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, posing a significant challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Transitional care interventions, which ensure coordination and continuity of care as patients move between different levels of healthcare, have been shown to reduce unnecessary healthcare utilization and improve patient outcomes. While much attention has been given to transitional care in heart failure, this review aims to map the interventions implemented for patients following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

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Introduction: Substance abuse is a major public health problem. In recent years, ketamine, which is a parenteral anesthetic, has been consumed increasingly as an illicit drug together with alcohol, although little is known of how this association alters brain activity. The present study investigated the influence of progressive doses of ketamine, associated with alcohol, on electrophysiological activity.

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Tyrosinemia type 1 (TT1) is caused by fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase activity deficiency, resulting in tissue accumulation of upstream metabolites, including succinylacetone (SA), the pathognomonic compound of this disease. Since the pathogenesis of liver and kidney damage observed in the TT1-affected patients is practically unknown, this study assessed the effects of SA on important biomarkers of redox homeostasis in the liver and kidney of adolescent rats, as well as in hepatic (HepG2) and renal (HEK-293) cultured cells. SA significantly increased nitrate and nitrite levels and decreased the concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) in the liver and kidney, indicating induction of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generation and disruption of antioxidant defenses.

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This study investigated the impacts of online and face-to-face Mat Pilates training in adults with persistent symptoms of long COVID on health outcomes. Forty-nine patients (52 ± 5.85 yr.

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Food allergy triggers an immune response to dietary proteins, resulting in food rejection and dermatological and gastrointestinal manifestations. The preferred therapies include diets with hydrolyzed proteins or unusual single-source proteins, with insect protein emerging as a promising option, with no reported allergic reactions in dogs with a food allergy. In this case study, the effects of including black soldier fly larva (BSFL) meal were observed in a 5-year-old spayed beagle previously diagnosed with a food allergy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease affecting women, leading to decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL), with limited understanding of the factors influencing this impairment.
  • A study assessed 45 women with LAM, finding the lowest HRQoL scores in general health and vitality, while anxiety (35%) and depression (17%) were prevalent among the participants.
  • Results indicated that depression symptoms and exercise capacity significantly impacted HRQoL, while lung function showed weak or no correlation with quality of life.
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  • Increased collagen synthesis in the equine endometrium is linked to endometrosis, with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) playing a key role in inflammation and fibrosis.
  • This study examined TLR and collagen gene expression in endometrial tissue from mares at different stages of Kenney and Doig's grading during the follicular phase of the oestrous cycle.
  • Results indicated that TLR-2 and TLR-4 expression was higher in certain endometrial categories, suggesting their potential involvement in initiating inflammatory responses, warranting further research into their role as diagnostic markers in equine reproductive health.
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The establishment of organotypic preclinical models that accurately resemble the native tumor microenvironment at an anatomic human scale is highly desirable to level up platforms potential for screening candidate therapies. The bioengineering of anatomic-scaled three-dimensional (3D) models that emulate native tumor scale while recapitulating their cellular and matrix components remains, however, to be fully realized. In this focus, herein, we leveraged embedded 3D bioprinting for biofabricating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) models combining gelatin-methacryloyl and hyaluronic acid methacrylate extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimetic biomaterials with human pancreatic cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts to generate models capable of emulating native tumor size (∼6 mm) and stromal elements.

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  • Drug-induced lung disease (DILD) happens when certain medicines harm the lungs, affecting between 3% and 5% of people with lung diseases.
  • Symptoms can appear quickly after starting treatment and may range from not feeling sick at all to having serious breathing problems.
  • To treat DILD, doctors usually stop the harmful medication and may give steroids, but the chances of recovery can be very different for each person and some cases can be very serious.
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The drastic change in global climate has led to in-depth studies of the geneticresources of native cattle adapted to challenging environments. Native cattle breeds may harbor unique genetic mechanisms that have enabled them adapt to their given environmental conditions. Adipose tissues are key factors in the regulation of metabolism and energy balance and are crucial for the molecular switches needed to adapt to rapid environmental and nutritional changes.

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The quality of standard single-cell experiments often depends on the immediate processing of cells or tissues post-harvest to preserve fragile and vulnerable cell populations, unless the samples are adequately fixed and stored. Despite the recent rise in popularity of probe-based and aldehyde-fixed RNA assays, these methods face limitations in species and target availability and are not suitable for immunoprofiling or assessing chromatin accessibility. Recently, a reversible fixation strategy known as FixNCut has been successfully deployed to separate sampling from downstream applications in a reproducible and robust manner, avoiding stress or necrosis-related artifacts.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine if being unable to stand at ICU discharge was associated with an increased probability of ICU readmission.

Design: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Toronto Intensive Care Observational Registry (iCORE) project.

Setting: Nine tertiary academic ICUs in Toronto, Canada, affiliated with the University of Toronto.

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