Publications by authors named "Cristofher Ferrada"

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common manifestation of oral cancer. It has been proposed that periodontal pathogens contribute to OSCC progression, mainly by their virulence factors. However, the main periodontal pathogen and its mechanism to modulate OSCC cells remains not fully understood.

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Analytical methods for the determination of microplastics in sediments typically involve matrix drying, sieving, grinding, and flotation as part of the sample treatment. However, the real need for these steps and analytical validation studies are scarce. This work proposes a method that avoids the drying, sieving, and flotation procedures by using a direct acid attack of HNO₃/HCl (3:1) on wet sediment samples, assisted by microwave digestion.

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  • Research reveals that fine particulate matter (PM) from wildland fire smoke significantly affects health, but the impact of its composition remains unclear.
  • A new model was created to estimate daily concentrations of smoke-derived Organic Carbon (OC) and Elemental Carbon (EC) in the U.S. and Southern Canada from 2002 to 2019, showing that wildland fire smoke has offset some improvements in air quality.
  • Long-term exposure to smoke-derived carbonaceous PM results in over 7,000 deaths annually in the contiguous U.S. alone, emphasizing the need for effective policies to manage fire smoke due to increasing frequency and intensity linked to climate change.
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  • English walnut cultivation in Chile has grown to 9,000 hectares in the Maule Region, but many trees are showing signs of decline, with symptoms observed in 10-35% of trees per orchard, including chlorotic leaves and branch dieback.
  • A study involved collecting symptomatic branches, which were disinfected and cultured on a growth medium to isolate fungal pathogens, resulting in the identification of four isolates with specific growth characteristics.
  • Genetic analysis indicated that these isolates closely match Neofusicoccum nonquaesitum, a pathogen known to affect walnut trees; further tests are being conducted to determine the pathogenicity of these isolates.
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  • VEXAS syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes bone marrow failure and systemic inflammation, which can lead to a higher risk of infections for affected patients.
  • In a study of 94 patients with VEXAS, 6% developed pneumonia (PJP), 15% experienced reactivation of the alphaherpesvirus, and 10% had non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections.
  • The research found that developing PJP or NTM significantly increases the risk of death, while prophylactic treatments for these infections were shown to be highly effective in reducing infection rates.
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Phenol red (PR) is a commonly used compound in culture media as a pH indicator. However, it is unknown whether this compound can interfere with the pharmacological induction of ferroptosis. Here, using high-content live-cell imaging death analysis, we determined that the presence of PR in the culture medium preconditioned normal and tumor cells to ferroptosis induced by system x inhibition mediated by imidazole ketone erastin (IKE) or GPX4 blockade in response to RSL-3, but had no significant effects against treatment with the endoperoxide FINO.

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In solid tumors, hypereosinophilia is a rare phenomenon and is mainly associated with mucin-secreting carcinomas. Thyroid tumors associated with neutrophilia and/or eosinophilia have been described exclusively in patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer. Eosinophilia associated with papillary thyroid cancer is extremely rare and there are very few cases currently described.

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  • VEXAS syndrome is a genetic disease primarily affecting older men, characterized by systemic inflammation, bone marrow failure, and skin issues, with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 4269 men over 50.
  • A study of 112 patients revealed that 83% experienced skin involvement, making it a common symptom, with various histopathologic findings indicating conditions like leukocytoclastic vasculitis and neutrophilic dermatosis.
  • Specific genetic variants were linked to different skin manifestations; treatment with oral prednisone was effective in improving skin symptoms for a majority of patients.
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Pannexin1 hemichannels (Panx1 HCs) are found in the membrane of most mammalian cells and communicate the intracellular and extracellular spaces, enabling the passive transfer of ions and small molecules. They are involved in physiological and pathophysiological conditions. During apoptosis, the C-terminal tail of Panx1 is proteolytically cleaved, but the permeability features of hemichannels and their role in cell death remain elusive.

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Relapsing polychondritis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent inflammation of cartilaginous structures, mainly of the ears, nose and respiratory tract, with a broad spectrum of accompanying systemic features. Despite its rarity, prompt recognition and accurate diagnosis of relapsing polychondritis is crucial for appropriate management and optimal outcomes. Our understanding of relapsing polychondritis has changed markedly in the past couple of years with the identification of three distinct patient clusters that have different clinical manifestations and prognostic outcomes.

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Introduction: Hemorrhage is a major cause of preventable trauma deaths, and the ABC approach is widely used during the primary survey. We hypothesize that prioritizing circulation over intubation (CAB) can improve outcomes in patients with exsanguinating injuries.

Methods: A prospective observational study involving international trauma centers was conducted.

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Chemical modulation of proteins enables a mechanistic understanding of biology and represents the foundation of most therapeutics. However, despite decades of research, 80% of the human proteome lacks functional ligands. Chemical proteomics has advanced fragment-based ligand discovery toward cellular systems, but throughput limitations have stymied the scalable identification of fragment-protein interactions.

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The solute carrier transporter family 6 (SLC6) is of key interest for their critical role in the transport of small amino acids or amino acid-like molecules. Their dysfunction is strongly associated with human diseases such as including schizophrenia, depression, and Parkinson's disease. Linking single point mutations to disease may support insights into the structure-function relationship of these transporters.

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Objective: The liver releases glucose into the blood using the glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) system, a multiprotein complex located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we show for the first time that the G6Pase system is also expressed in hypothalamic tanycytes, and it is required to regulate energy balance.

Methods: Using automatized qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses, we evaluated the expression of the G6Pase system.

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Background: In patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), clinicians must balance preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) with the risk of intracranial hemorrhagic expansion (ICHE). We hypothesized that low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) would not increase risk of ICHE or VTE as compared to unfractionated heparin (UH) in patients with severe TBI.

Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years of age with isolated severe TBI (AIS ≥ 3), admitted to 24 level I and II trauma centers between January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2020 and who received subcutaneous UH and LMWH injections for chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (VTEP) were included.

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A consistent association has been observed between internet addiction and symptoms of social anxiety. However, there is a lack of empirical research that delves into potential explanations for this relationship and its directionality, making it difficult to translate findings into development of interventions for social anxiety that account for technology-related behaviors. The present study aimed to evaluate the longitudinal dynamics between internet addiction, symptoms of social anxiety, avoidance of social interactions, and using the internet to cope with loneliness.

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  • VEXAS syndrome is an autoinflammatory disorder linked to mutations in the UBA1 gene, with thrombosis being a significant clinical feature affecting 49% of patients.
  • The majority of thrombosis cases were venous thromboembolism (VTE), often occurring unprovoked, recurrent, and sometimes even in patients on anticoagulants.
  • Despite the high incidence of VTE, overall patient survival was good, with an 88% survival rate over nearly 5 years, indicating that thrombosis does not significantly impact long-term survival in these patients.
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Historically, death has been socially accepted, but for the last decades it has been hidden in hospitals, transforming physicians into "death specialists". Thus, medical graduates should feel prepared to assume this responsibility accompanying the patient and their family through the process. With this in consideration, the present work explores students' and graduates' perceptions of preparation to face a patient's death (SPEM) in a Chilean Medical school and identifies SPEM-associated characteristics.

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Purpose: Incorporating surgical skills education in trauma care is essential for young surgeons and surgical trainees. This study describes an innovative e-learning course for teaching trauma care surgical skills in an international cooperative setting. Furthermore, it aims to offer valuable insights on enhancing e-learning practices.

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VEXAS (Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic) syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory syndrome characterized by somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene and is considered the prototype of hematoinflammatory diseases. Patients with VEXAS syndrome exhibit inflammatory and hematological manifestations that can lead to clinical diagnoses such as relapsing polychondritis, polyarteritis nodosa, Sweet syndrome, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Diagnosis requires bone marrow evaluation to identify cytoplasmic vacuoles in myeloid and erythroid precursors.

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