Publications by authors named "Aoki F"

The text is based on a round table held at the Faculty of Education (FE) of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) as one of the activities to commemorate Paulo Freire's Centenary (2021). It aims to record part of his time at the university, from 1980 to 1991, based on the work conducted with FE and the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) through training and extension activities at the Paulínia-SP School Health Center. It also describes and analyses the agendas of the country's re-democratization process, the clashes over public policies in the National Constituent Assembly, and the process of setting up an integrated and universal system of education and collective public health from a participatory perspective.

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Phosphorylated H2AX, known as γH2AX, forms in response to genotoxic insults in somatic cells. Despite the high abundance of H2AX in zygotes, the level of irradiation-induced γH2AX is low at this stage. Another H2A variant, TH2A, is present at a high level in zygotes and can also be phosphorylated at its carboxyl end.

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Article Synopsis
  • In somatic cells, DNA repair is reduced during mitosis to avoid issues like anaphase bridges, which can disrupt the separation of chromosomes.
  • Research shows that while γH2AX signals (markers of DNA damage) linger in somatic cells, they peak and diminish quickly in mouse zygotes, suggesting their DNA repair process is effective even during mitosis.
  • The lack of H2AX was found to improve the separation of sister chromatids and embryo development, indicating that the DNA repair system in zygotes is uniquely regulated to eliminate damaged cells and prevent mutation transmission to future generations.
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In mice, transcription from the zygotic genome is initiated at the mid-one-cell stage, and occurs promiscuously in many areas of the genome, including intergenic regions. Regulated transcription from selected genes is established during the two-cell stage. This dramatic change in the gene expression pattern marks the initiation of the gene expression program and is essential for early development.

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Speciation often involves the evolution of multiple genetic-based barriers to gene flow (i.e., "coupling").

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Article Synopsis
  • Silicone endotracheal prostheses are good for medical use, but they often develop harmful biofilms that can cause inflammation and complications.
  • The study tested cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) to see if it could inhibit these harmful biofilms, and also assessed its effects on human bronchial cells.
  • Results showed that CAP significantly reduced biofilm viability without being harmful to the bronchial cells, suggesting it could be a useful method to prevent biofilm formation on silicone prostheses.
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Linker histone variants regulate higher-order chromatin structure and various cellular processes. It has been suggested that linker histone variant H1a loosens chromatin structure and activates transcription. However, its role in early mouse development remains to be elucidated.

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We provide an update to the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada seasonal influenza foundation guideline on the use of antiviral drugs for influenza for the upcoming 2021-2022 influenza season in Canada. Peramivir and baloxavir marboxil were licensed in Canada in 2017 and 2020, respectively, but neither is currently marketed. Thus, this guidance continues to focus on further optimizing the use of oseltamivir and zanamivir.

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Mammalian zygotes are hypersensitive to radiation exposure compared with later-stage embryos and somatic cells, which may be due to an unusual DNA damage response (DDR). DNA damage checkpoints are an essential part of the DDR, allowing for faithful replication of cells. Although the DDR and radiosensitivity of somatic cells are dependent on the cell cycle phase, it remains largely unclear how the irradiation of zygotes at different phases affects cell cycle progression and preimplantation development.

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The role of sexual selection in speciation is implicated in both empirical case studies and larger comparative works. However, sexual selection faces two major problems in driving speciation. First, because females with novel preferences search for their initially rare males, search costs are expected to curtail initial sexual divergence.

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In Brief: In oocytes, chromatin structure is loosened during their growth, which seems to be essential for the establishment of competence to accomplish the maturation and further development after fertilization. This paper shows that a linker histone variant, H1foo, is involved in the formation of loosened chromatin structure in growing oocytes.

Abstract: During oogenesis, oocytes show a unique mode of division and gene expression patterns.

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Congenital tracheoesophageal fistula is usually diagnosed at an early age, but may remain undetected into adulthood if atresia is absent and if the fistula is small. A tracheoesophageal fistula should be suspected in patients with unexplained episodes of respiratory distress or pneumonia; however, more subtle signs can be an important symptom for early recognition of the disease. Ono's sign is a well-known symptom of tracheoesophageal fistula, characterized by paroxysmal coughing triggered by swallowing of fluids.

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The zygotic genome is transcriptionally silent immediately after fertilization. In mice, initial activation of the zygotic genome occurs in the middle of the one-cell stage. At the mid-to-late two-cell stage, a burst of gene activation occurs after the second round of DNA replication, and the profile of transcribed genes changes dramatically.

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While transplantation is a viable treatment option for end-stage lung diseases, this option is highly constrained by the availability of organs and postoperative complications. A potential solution is the use of bioengineered lungs generated from repopulated acellular scaffolds. Effective recellularization, however, remains a challenge.

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The () gene, which encodes a transcription factor, regulates sexual differentiation in insects. Sex-specific splicing of occurs to yield male- and female-specific isoforms, which promote male and female development, respectively. Thus, functional disruption of leads to an intersexual phenotype in both sexes.

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The pericentromeric heterochromatin of one-cell embryos forms a unique, ring-like structure around the nucleolar precursor body, which is absent in somatic cells. Here, we found that the histone H3 variants H3.1 and/or H3.

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Objectives: To estimate the incidence of dengue infection across geographically distinct areas of Brazil.

Methods: This prospective, household-based, cohort study enrolled participants in five areas and followed them up for up to 4 years (2014-2018). Dengue seroprevalence was assessed at each scheduled visit.

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Background: Dermoid cysts are well-known lesions that manifest as subcutaneous tumors around the lateral sides of the eyebrows in young patients. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often performed to confirm the diagnosis. On the other hand, a lipoma is usually a circular lesion, which is sometimes observed in the upper part of the face.

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Successful re-epithelialization of de-epithelialized tracheal scaffolds remains a challenge for tracheal graft success. Currently, the lack of understanding of the bioreactor hydrodynamic environment, and its relation to cell seeding outcomes, serve as major obstacles to obtaining viable tracheal grafts. In this work, we used computational fluid dynamics to (a) re-design the fluid delivery system of a trachea bioreactor to promote a spatially uniform hydrodynamic environment, and (b) improve the perfusion cell seeding protocol to promote homogeneous cell deposition.

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DMRT (Doublesex and Mab-3-related transcription factor) is a highly conserved transcription factor family involved in sex determination in numerous animal species. One DMRT, dmrt2/dmrt11E, has entirely different functions in invertebrate and vertebrate species, indicating unpredicted functions. Here, we performed functional analysis of the dmrt11E gene in the domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori.

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We provide an update to the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada foundation guidance for the upcoming 2020-2021 influenza season in Canada. Important issues for this year include the implications of co-circulation of SARS-CoV-2, the role of diagnostic testing, and a restatement of dosing and administration recommendations for neuraminidase inhibitors in various age groups and underlying health conditions. Although peramivir and baloxivir are now licensed in Canada, neither is currently marketed, so this guidance focuses on further optimizing the use of oseltamivir and zanamivir.

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After fertilization, the zygotic genome is activated through two phases, minor zygotic activation (ZGA) and major ZGA. Recently, it was suggested that DUX is expressed during minor ZGA and activates some genes during major ZGA. However, it has not been proven that Dux is expressed during minor ZGA and functions to activate major ZGA genes, because there are several Dux paralogs that may be expressed in zygotes instead of Dux.

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Background: Masculinizer (Masc) plays a pivotal role in male sex determination in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. Masc is required for male-specific splicing of B. mori doublesex (Bmdsx) transcripts.

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