Publications by authors named "Assis D"

Article Synopsis
  • Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are liver diseases that damage bile ducts, leading to bile accumulation, liver injury, and increased risk of liver failure; current treatments are limited, especially for PSC.
  • Ursodeoxycholic acid is the first-line treatment for PBC, but many patients do not respond fully, indicating a need for better therapies; pruritus (itching) is a common and severe symptom due to cholestasis that is often inadequately treated.
  • The review examines the use of PPAR agonists, a type of medication that targets liver metabolism, as potential second-line treatments for PBC and PSC, highlighting recent FDA approvals for
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mounting evidence indicates the involvement of neuroinflammation in the development of schizophrenia (SCZ), but the potential role of astroglia in this phenomenon remains poorly understood. We assessed the molecular and functional consequences of inflammasome activation using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes generated from SCZ patients and healthy controls (CTRL). Screening protein levels in astrocytes at baseline identified lower expression of the NLRP3-ASC complex in SCZ, but increased Caspase-1 activity upon specific NLRP3 stimulation compared to CTRL.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Resource partitioning among sympatric species is crucial for assembling ecological communities, such as caterpillar-ant assemblages in tropical forests. Myrmecophilous caterpillars use behavioral and chemical strategies to coexist with ants, avoiding attacks. While these strategies are well-understood in single pair of interacting species, such as those involving myrmecophiles and ants, their role in complex multitrophic interactions that include several species of plants, herbivores and ants remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, an immune response against the host's tissues, resulting in inflammation and intestinal damage. GVHD is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in this group of people, with an incidence of approximately 29.9% to 36% in acute grade II-IV gastrointestinal cases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The production of cellulose derivatives using ionic liquid (IL) as solvents and catalysts has become prominent over the last few years, since the process eliminates the use of toxic substances. This study aimed to map and understand the trends in cellulose processing using ILs by a patent analytic approach and technology life cycle modeling. The documents were searched on the Espacenet® and Orbit® platforms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study explored using residues from petroleum and cassava industries to sustainably produce xanthan gum (XG) via Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis 1182, resulting in a yield of 6.80 g/L.
  • - Microscopic analyses showed that the recovered XG had elongated fiber-like structures and well-defined crystalline properties, indicating a higher quality compared to commercial samples.
  • - The recovered XG exhibited low viscosity but high emulsification capacity, highlighted by emulsification indices over 50%, marking the first creation of a complex XG-metal structure with these characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Detecting emotions is a growing field aiming to comprehend and interpret human emotions from various data sources, including text, voice, and physiological signals. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a unique and promising approach among these sources. EEG is a non-invasive monitoring technique that records the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp's surface.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We employed laser microdissection to selectively harvest tumor cells and stroma from the microenvironment of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissues. The captured HNSCC tissue fractions were analyzed by quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics using a data independent analysis approach. In paired samples, we achieved excellent proteome coverage having quantified 6,668 proteins with a median quantitative coefficient of variation under 10%.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * There is a significant need for alternative treatments, particularly for patients who do not respond well to current therapies, as untreated conditions can progress to severe liver damage and potentially require transplants.
  • * Recent research has focused on targeting nuclear hormone receptors, especially the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), as potential adjunct therapies; PPAR agonists have shown promise in alleviating symptoms in PBC and PSC, with
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatobiliary complications of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) constitute a significant burden for persons with CF of all ages, with advanced CF liver disease in particular representing a leading cause of mortality. The causes of the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations, ranging from steatosis to focal biliary cholestasis and biliary strictures, are poorly understood and likely reflect a variety of environmental and disease-modifying factors in the setting of underlying CFTR mutations. This review summarizes the current understanding of the pathophysiology of hepatobiliary manifestations of CF, and discusses emerging disease models and therapeutic approaches that hold promise to impact this important yet incompletely addressed aspect of CF care.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Public health is increasingly challenged by pathogenic microorganisms with new antimicrobial resistance, making identification difficult for emerging pathogens like NDM-1-producing strains.
  • A study documents Brazil's first case of a new ST418 strain, initially misidentified, which was accurately identified through ANI analyses and whole-genome sequencing.
  • The study found that the resistance gene was located on a 112 kb IncFIB plasmid, emphasizing the need for public health vigilance as this species may spread significant resistance genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a progressive liver disease without effective medical treatments, but new clinical trials are exploring innovative therapies despite varying outcomes and measurement inconsistencies.
  • There is a shift in treatment goals towards assessing liver fibrosis and patient-reported outcomes, indicating a need for a standardized approach to measure treatment effects across trials.
  • The development of a core outcome set (COS) will involve a systematic literature review, stakeholder interviews, a Delphi survey for prioritizing outcomes, and a consensus meeting to establish effective measures for future PSC clinical studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interspecific hybrid crude palm oil (HCPO) HIE OxG derived from crossbred African oil palm () and American Caiaué () is prominent for its fatty acid and antioxidant compositions (carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols), lower production cost, and high pest resistance properties compared to crude palm oil. Biodegradable and sustainable encapsulants derived from vegetable byproducts were used to formulate HCPO nanoparticles. Nanoparticles with hybrid crude palm oil and jackfruit seed flour as a wall material (N-JSF) and with hybrid crude palm oil and jackfruit axis flour as a wall material (N-JAF) were optimized using a 2 experimental design.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This report introduces a Brighton Collaboration (BC) case definition for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), which has been classified as a priority adverse event of special interest (AESI), as there were possible cases seen following COVID-19 vaccination. The case definition was developed by a group of subject matter and BC process experts to facilitate safety data comparability across pre- and post-licensure clinical trials, as well as pharmacovigilance activities in multiple settings with diverse resources and healthcare access. The usual BC case definition development process was followed in an expedited manner, and took two months to complete, including finalising the manuscript for publication, instead of the usual 1 year development time.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) among African Americans (AA) is not well understood.

Methods: Transplant-free survival and hepatic decompensation-free survival were assessed using a retrospective research registry from 16 centers throughout North America. Patients with PSC alive without liver transplantation after 2008 were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Here, we analyze critical changes in environmental law enforcement in the Brazilian Amazon between 2000 and 2020. Based on a dataset of law enforcement indicators, we discuss how these changes explain recent Amazon deforestation dynamics. Our analysis also covers changes in the legal prosecution process and documents a militarization of enforcement between 2018 and 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As the primary decision-maker about the health, nutrition, and well-being of their horses, owners' knowledge of correct management practices and clinical changes can potentially affect the immediate health of their horses, in addition to having an impact on the prevention of disease spread in the herd. The adoption of management practices to prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens depends on various factors, including demographics, awareness of the problem, perceived responsibility, previously held beliefs, and sociocultural norms. This study aimed to evaluate the health management practices and the level of knowledge about infectious diseases of equine owners in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many studies have been conducted to focused on developing an optimal alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP) composition to increase the recovered fraction of oil in reservoirs that have already undergone water injection. To analyze the effect of alkali (NaCO), surfactant (lauryl sodium sulfate), and polymer (commercial xanthan gum) concentration on oil recovery, a complete factorial experimental design was performed with combinations of three variables (alkali, surfactant, and polymer) and three central point replications (2³ + 3). The experiments were carried out on a core holder using rock samples from the Botucatu formation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - This study measured the temperature changes in the pulp chamber of extracted human molars during different photoactivation techniques for curing resin-based composites in cavities, using a T-type thermocouple to monitor real-time temperatures.
  • - Two types of bulk-fill composites were tested with various curing durations and methods, all delivering the same energy exposure, while their hardness was assessed after sectioning the cured materials.
  • - Results showed that while one composite had higher temperature increases than the other during some methods, all techniques kept temperature rises below 5.5 °C, indicating they are safe for dental use due to acceptable hardness ratios.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cystic fibrosis (CF) may cause a spectrum of hepatobiliary complications, including portal hypertension, multilobular cirrhosis, and liver failure. Current guidelines on the detection and monitoring of hepatobiliary complications in CF were published in 1999. The CF Foundation assembled a committee to evaluate research advances and formulate revised guidelines for CF-associated liver disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This work aimed to obtain and characterize chitin and chitosan extracted from the rearing residues of Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio, and Blaptica dubia insects in different growth stages in the same rearing cycles chitin and chitosan yielded 11.21 %-20.89 % and 6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Over the last ten years, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) has spread in Brazil among various Enterobacterales species, not just Klebsiella.
  • The study involved analyzing 32 clinical isolates from 11 different species, with a focus on their antibiotic resistance profiles, revealing the presence of key resistance genes such as bla and mcr-1.
  • The findings highlight the urgent need for improved detection and control measures in hospitals to prevent the further spread of these resistant bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A reliable method using a QuEChERS approach and liquid chromatography coupled to Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry was optimized and validated for the quantification of 20 growth promoters in bovine serum. The recoveries ranged from 91.4-114.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF