Publications by authors named "Angel Ballesteros"
Article Synopsis
- Recent research on graphene has highlighted its unique properties, leading to diverse applications.
- The study investigates how an electric field affects curved graphene nanoflakes using Density Functional Theory, analyzing curvature energy, dipolar moments, and quantum regeneration times.
- Findings suggest that both curvature and electric fields can be used to control regeneration times, potentially enabling the exploration of new phenomena in graphene.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the mechanical and electronic properties of bent hexagonal graphene quantum dots using density functional theory, focusing on unusual behaviors that arise from material deformation.
- Researchers analyze different surfaces with various shapes—spherical, cylindrical, and one-sheet hyperboloid—while considering boundary conditions that affect atom positioning.
- A notable correlation is established between the Gaussian curvature of these surfaces and quantum regeneration times, with a significant divergence in revival time for the hyperboloid shape, potentially linked to a pseudo-magnetic field influencing a phase transition.
Graphene nanostructures have attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to their unconventional properties. We have employed Density Functional Theory to study the mechanical and electronic properties of curved graphene nanoflakes. We explore hexagonal flakes relaxed with different boundary conditions: (i) all atoms on a perfect spherical sector, (ii) only border atoms forced to be on the spherical sector, and (iii) only vertex atoms forced to be on the spherical sector.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAny epidemiological compartmental model with constant population is shown to be a Hamiltonian dynamical system in which the total population plays the role of the Hamiltonian function. Moreover, some particular cases within this large class of models are shown to be bi-Hamiltonian. New interacting compartmental models among different populations, which are endowed with a Hamiltonian structure, are introduced.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the efficacy and safety of an extended treatment period in HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected patients without early virological response (EVR).
Methods: Patients received pegylated interferon (peg-INF)-alpha2a 180 microg/week plus ribavirin 800 mg/d for 12 weeks. Patients achieving EVR at week 12 continued under therapy for an additional 12 or 36 weeks depending on genotype.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) types are associated with squamous cell cancers. HIV infection is linked with a higher prevalence of anal HPV infection. It is important to assess whether HPV is present in other body parts involved in sexual practices to establish a cancer prevention program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are less responsive to anti-HCV therapies and are at a higher risk of toxicity than HCV monoinfected patients. HCV viral kinetics is the basis for the study of response to interferon-based therapy and for predicting sustained virological response (SVR). A lack of early virological response (EVR; undetectable HCV RNA or a decrease of >/=2 log(10) from baseline) after 12 weeks of pegylated interferon (peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) is an equally reliable predictor of lack of SVR in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients and in the monoinfected HCV population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It has been suggested that the addition of ribavirin (RBV) as a part of the treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV co-infected patients on didanosine (ddI) or stavudine (d4T) might increase the nucleoside-induced impairment of mitochondrial function.
Design: Comparative study to investigate the impact on mitochondrial function of adding RBV to a long-term treatment with ddI, d4T or both in HCV/HIV non-cirrhotic, asymptomatic patients. We included 26 patients: 16 continued with their current antiretroviral therapy (control group) and 10 patients received a concomitant 24-week course of RBV plus pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alpha-2b therapy (HCV-treated group).
Advanced liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients on antiretroviral therapy.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses
December 2004
HIV infection is believed to adversely affect the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver disease. However, information regarding HIV and HCV coinfection in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is scarce. A cross-sectional study in 75 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients (most of them on HAART) and 75 HCV-monoinfected patients paired by age, sex, and date of liver biopsy analyzed the association of HIV infection with advanced liver fibrosis (Knodell fibrosis stages 3 + 4).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze the 28-day hepatitis C virus (HCV) response to Pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin therapy in HIV/HCV co-infected patients and assess how early responses could predict long-term treatment success.
- The trial included 28 co-infected patients, measuring early virological responses at specific time points to see if they correlated with achieving a sustained virological response (SVR).
- Results showed that responders had a significantly faster HCV viral load reduction in the first 24 hours, and early response assessments could be valuable for managing treatment for these patients, highlighting the importance of monitoring viral decay for predicting treatment outcomes.
Objective: To report a case of Clostridium difficile colitis associated with valaciclovir treatment.
Case Summary: A 73-year-old man with lumbar herpes-zoster started valaciclovir 1 g tid. After three days he began vomiting and developed diarrhea, three to four stools per day.