Publications by authors named "Barcelos I"

The advent of memristors and resistive switching has transformed solid-state physics, enabling advanced applications such as neuromorphic computing. Inspired by these developments, we introduce the concept of Mem-emitters, devices that manipulate light-emission properties of semiconductors to achieve memory functionalities. Mem-emitters, influenced by past exposure to stimuli, offer a new approach to optoelectronic computing with potential for enhanced speed, efficiency, and integration.

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Rickettsiosis is a disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Rickettsia, and is a potentially fatal zoonotic disease of great medical and veterinary importance. Given the urgent need to develop new diagnostic methods for detecting this disease, the present review aimed to evaluate the number of publications dedicated to the identification of Rickettsia spp. in human samples using molecular methods, such as polymerase chain reaction and its variations.

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Two-dimensional (2D) materials, particularly transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have gathered significant attention due to their interesting electrical and optical properties. Among TMDs, monolayers of WSeexhibit a direct band gap and high exciton binding energy, which enhances photon emission and absorption even at room temperature. This study investigates the electronic and optical properties of WSemonolayers when they are mechanically transferred to indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates.

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  • The study reports on nine new cases of Ceroid lipofuscinosis type 11 (CLN11) from Latin American families, a rare disease with previously limited documentation.
  • Patients showed slow disease progression, with symptoms including visual impairment, seizures, and cognitive decline, starting between ages 3 and 17.
  • The findings highlight a potential diagnostic clue for CLN11 and include two specific genetic variants associated with the condition.
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  • - Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), like WSe, are being studied for their potential to create single-photon emitters (SPEs), essential for quantum technologies.
  • - Current research employs magneto-optical techniques to examine how different magnetic fields and strain affect the excitonic states and optical properties of SPEs in WSe monolayers.
  • - Findings include a surprising redshift in PL energy without changes in intensity, attributed to intervalley defect excitons, which enhances understanding of SPEs for future applications.
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Biotite, an iron-rich mineral belonging to the trioctahedral mica group, is a naturally abundant layered material (LM) exhibiting attractive electronic properties for application in nanodevices. Biotite stands out as a non-degradable LM under ambient conditions, featuring high-quality basal cleavage-a significant advantage for van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH) applications. In this work, we present the micro-mechanical exfoliation of biotite down to monolayers (1Ls), yielding ultrathin flakes with large areas and atomically flat surfaces.

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Chagas disease (CD), caused by the protozoan , is an important public health problem, occurring mainly in Latin America. The disease has a major social and economical effect, negatively impacting the life of the infected individuals, and bringing great costs to public health. An early and accurate diagnosis is essential for administration of early treatment.

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The advancement of nanobiocomposites reinforced with 2D nano-materials plays a pivotal role in enhancing bone tissue engineering. In this study, we introduce a nanobiocomposite that reinforces bovine collagen with 2D nano-talc, a recently exfoliated nano-mineral. These nanobiocomposites were prepared by blending collagen with varying concentrations of 2D nano-talc, encompassing mono- and few-layers talc from soapstone nanomaterial.

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Dysregulated B cell cytokine production contributes to pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS); however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study we investigated how cytokine secretion by pro-inflammatory (GM-CSF-expressing) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10-expressing) B cells is regulated. Pro-inflammatory human B cells required increased oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) compared with anti-inflammatory B cells.

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Chagas disease, caused by the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi, continues to be a serious public health problem in Latin America, worsened by the limitations in its detection. Given the importance of developing new diagnostic methods for this disease, the present review aimed to verify the number of publications dedicated to research on peptides that demonstrate their usefulness in serodiagnosis. To this end, a bibliographic survey was conducted on the PubMed platform using the keyword "peptide" or "epitope" combined with "Chagas disease" or "Trypanosoma cruzi"; "diagno*" or "serodiagnosis" or "immunodiagnosis", without period restriction.

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Regular exercise training can lead to several health benefits, reduce mortality risk, and increase life expectancy. On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle is a known risk factor for chronic diseases and increased mortality. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) represent a significant global health problem, affecting millions of people worldwide.

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  • Aicardi-Goutières syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes widespread neurological issues, with specific effects on fine and visual motor skills not well understood.
  • A study involving 74 individuals utilized the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 to assess fine and visual motor performance in relation to disease severity and genotype, revealing strong correlations between neurologic severity and motor skills.
  • Findings indicated that the Peabody scales could effectively differentiate motor skill levels in varying degrees of the syndrome, providing insights that may improve clinical care and research approaches for affected individuals.
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Growing interest in therapeutic development for rare diseases necessitate a systematic approach to the collection and curation of natural history data that can be applied consistently across this group of heterogenous rare diseases. In this study, we discuss the challenges facing natural history studies for leukodystrophies and detail a novel standardized approach to creating a longitudinal natural history study using existing medical records. Prospective studies are uniquely challenging for rare diseases.

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Improving the diagnostic technology used to detect tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL) is essential in view of it being a widespread, often neglected tropical disease, with cases reported from the Southern United States to Northern Argentina. Recombinant proteins, recombinant multiepitope proteins, and synthetic peptides have been extensively researched and used in disease diagnosis. One of the benefits of applying these antigens is a measurable increase in sensitivity and specificity, which improves test accuracy.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on Aicardi Goutières Syndrome (AGS), a genetic condition that causes diverse symptoms and neurological issues, and aims to analyze the differences in severity among affected siblings to understand the variability better.
  • - Researchers examined 26 siblings from 13 families, collecting data on their age of symptom onset, genetic mutations, neurological impairments, and other complications, using a specific scale to measure severity.
  • - Findings revealed different genetic mutations affecting AGS severity, with older siblings typically diagnosed later, common symptoms including motor dysfunction and feeding difficulties, and notable discordance in severity scores among certain sibling pairs.
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Background: Human cysticercosis (CC) is a global public health problem, especially in Latin America, including Brazil. We aimed to analyze the seroprevalence of CC among school-age children and adolescents.

Methods: We analyzed the presence of specific IgG antibodies against metacestodes in 500 serum samples from elementary school children and adolescents in Jataí City, state of Goiás, Brazil.

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Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a spectrum of motor abilities. While the Aicardi-Goutières syndrome severity score favors severely impacted individuals, there is an unmet need to define tools measuring function across the Aicardi-Goutières syndrome spectrum as potential outcome assessments for future clinical trials. Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) and AGS Severity Scale were administered in individuals affected by Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (n = 71).

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Single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as WSehave gathered increasing attention due to their intense electron-hole interactions, being considered promising candidates for developing novel optical applications. Within the few-layer regime, these systems become highly sensitive to the surrounding environment, enabling the possibility of using a proper substrate to tune desired aspects of these atomically-thin semiconductors. In this scenario, the dielectric environment provided by the substrates exerts significant influence on electronic and optical properties of these layered materials, affecting the electronic band-gap and the exciton binding energy.

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In this work, we synthesized and studied the spectroscopic properties of (NH)(SO)Y(HO) (Y = Ni, Mg) crystals doped with AgNO or HBO. These crystals constitute a series of hexahydrated salts known as Tutton salts. We investigated the influence of dopants on the vibrational modes of the tetrahedral ligands NH and SO, octahedral complexes Mg(HO) and Ni(HO), and HO molecules present in these crystals through Raman and infrared spectroscopies.

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Phyllosilicates have emerged as a promising class of large bandgap lamellar insulators. Their applications have been explored from the fabrication of graphene-based devices to 2D heterostructures based on transition metal dichalcogenides with enhanced optical and polaritonics properties. In this review, we provide an overview of the use of infrared (IR) scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) for studying nano-optics and local chemistry of a variety of 2D natural phyllosilicates.

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  • Graphene shows unique optical properties at terahertz (THz) frequencies, but studying these properties is difficult due to its thinness compared to the larger THz wavelengths.
  • Using a nanoscope with a free-electron laser, researchers examined graphene's response across a range of frequencies from 1.5 to 6.0 THz.
  • Findings reveal that below 2 THz, graphene acts like a metal, screening fields similarly to noble metals, while at 3.8 THz, plasmonic resonances enhance imaging capabilities, with properties adjustable through electrical doping.
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and are the vectors of important arboviruses: dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever. Female mosquitoes acquire arboviruses by feeding on the infected host blood, thus being able to transmit it to their offspring. The intrinsic ability of a vector to infect itself and transmit a pathogen is known as vector competence.

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COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. Although the respiratory system is the main target of COVID-19, the disease can affect other organs, including the kidneys. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), commonly seen in patients infected with COVID-19, has a multifactorial cause.

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We investigated the valley Zeeman splitting of excitonic peaks in the microphotoluminescence (μPL) spectra of high-quality hBN/WS/MoSe/hBN heterostructures under perpendicular magnetic fields up to 20 T. We identify two neutral exciton peaks in the μPL spectra; the lower-energy peak exhibits a reduced -factor relative to that of the higher energy peak and much lower than the recently reported values for interlayer excitons in other van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. We provide evidence that such a discernible -factor stems from the spatial confinement of the exciton in the potential landscape created by the moiré pattern due to lattice mismatch or interlayer twist in heterobilayers.

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Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reached all over the world population, it has demonstrated a heterogeneous impact on different populations. The most vulnerable communities which coexist daily with the social inequalities like low access to hygiene and personal protection products, crowded residences, and higher levels of chronic diseases have a higher risk of contact and the spread of infection, beyond unfavorable clinical outcomes. The elevation of the risk of infection exposure can be related to gender due to the presence of a larger contingent of women in essential services, as well as frontline and cleaning professionals who regardless of gender have the greatest exposure to the virus.

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