Publications by authors named "Cruz J"

Purpose: To report the indications, postoperative visual outcomes, and long-term graft survival of primary pediatric keratoplasties performed at a single tertiary care center.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of pediatric patients (16 years and younger) who underwent surgical intervention for corneal opacity at a tertiary care center to evaluate long-term graft survival and visual rehabilitation.

Results: Seventy-three eyes of 46 patients met inclusion criteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objective: Sarcopenia, characterized by the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass (MM) and muscle function, is a common and debilitating condition in cancer patients, significantly impacting their quality of life, treatment outcomes, and overall survival. The pathophysiology of sarcopenia is multifactorial, involving metabolic, hormonal, and inflammatory changes. Recent research highlights the role of chronic inflammation in the development and progression of sarcopenia, with pro-inflammatory cytokines being key mediators of muscle catabolism.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer has a poor prognosis and poses significant therapeutic challenges. Until recently, limited therapeutic options have been available for patients with advanced disease after failure of first-line chemotherapy. The aim of this review is to assess the current evidence supporting second-line treatment options in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the flower development study, we identified SCI1 (Stigma/style Cell-cycle Inhibitor 1), a regulator of cell proliferation. SCI1 interacts with NtCDKG;2 ( Cyclin-Dependent Kinase G;2), a homolog of human CDK11, which is responsible for RanGTP-dependent microtubule stabilization, regulating spindle assembly rate. In a Y2H screening of a cDNA library using NtCDKG;2 as bait, a RanBP1 (Ran-Binding Protein 1) was revealed as its interaction partner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Arctic habitats are changing rapidly and altering trophic webs and ecosystem functioning. Understanding how species' abundances and distributions differ among Arctic habitats is important in predicting future species shifts and trophic-web consequences. We aimed to determine the habitat-abundance relationships for three small herbivores on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska, USA by fitting data from 983 point counts (collected during 2019, 2021, and 2022) with N-mixture models that account for imperfect detection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite the significant literature about morphological features of limb skeletons involved in tetrapod limb evolution, some questions about carpal and tarsal elements remain. In anurans, the ecomorphological and biomechanical approaches studied long hind limbs (to jump) and forelimbs (to land) and emphasized the role of the long bones in locomotion but disregarded what happens with the nodular elements of the carpus and tarsus. Here, we present a comparative study of nodular elements of the carpus and tarsus in anurans based on whole-mount specimens stained with Alcian Blue (cartilage) and Alizarin Red S (bone and calcified cartilage).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Genitourinary health significantly affects the quality of life of men, particularly those in middle age. Recent studies have shown that more than half of the men aged over 40 years experience some degree of low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) or erectile dysfunction (ED).

Objective: To assess the prevalence of ED and LUTS in middle-aged men and correlate this with quality of life data.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In population health research, traditional definitions of rurality based on broad population density measures overlook the diverse characteristics of rural areas.
  • Researchers employed an exploratory latent class analysis to identify distinct classes of rurality in the US by analyzing data from 15,643 rural census tracts using the Community Capitals Framework.
  • Four classes of rurality were identified: Outlying, Developed, Well-Resourced, and Adaptable, each showing significant differences in social vulnerability, suggesting a need for tailored health interventions that consider these unique rural community combinations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the safety and effectiveness of ocrelizumab in Hispanic/Latino individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), highlighting the need for real-world data from underrepresented populations in clinical trials.
  • Out of 305 participants, the majority had relapsing-remitting MS, and the results showed minimal relapses and a significant reduction in MRI activity, with only 12.4% experiencing confirmed disability worsening.
  • While the treatment was largely safe, with a low rate of serious infections and a consistent profile of outcomes, the study confirms ocrelizumab's effectiveness in this demographic at a specialized MS center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Actinobacteria are major producers of antibacterial and antifungal metabolites and are growing their search for substances of biotechnological interest, especially for use in agriculture, among other applications. The Amazon is potentially rich in actinobacteria; however, almost no research studies exist. Thus, we present a study of the occurrence and antifungal potential of actinobacteria from the rhizosphere of , a native South American plant and one that is economically useful in the whole of the Amazon.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pneumothorax, a life-threatening condition characterized by air accumulation in the pleural cavity, requires early and accurate detection for optimal patient outcomes. Chest X-ray radiographs are a common diagnostic tool due to their speed and affordability. However, detecting pneumothorax can be challenging for radiologists because the sole visual indicator is often a thin displaced pleural line.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Exposure to high temperatures during indoor and outdoor activities increases the risk of heat-related illness such as cramps, rashes, and heatstroke (HS). Fatal cases of HS are ten times more common than serious cardiac episodes in sporting scenarios, with untreated cases leading to mortality rates as high as 80%. Enhancing thermal comfort can be achieved through heat loss in enclosed spaces and the human body, utilizing heat transfer mechanisms such as radiation, conduction, convection, and evaporation, which do not require initial energy input.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To correlate the incidence of leptospirosis with sociodemographic data in the Brazilian Unified Health System from 2011 to 2022. This ecological study used national health and economic secondary data sources. Secondary analyses summarized the scenario of disease-related hospitalizations among federative units.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The global spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus poses a serious pandemic threat, necessitating the swift development of effective vaccines. The success of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology in the COVID-19 pandemic, marked by its rapid development and scalability, demonstrates its potential for addressing other infectious threats, such as HPAI A(H5N1). We therefore evaluated mRNA vaccine candidates targeting panzootic influenza A(H5) clade 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been employed to enhance the cellular uptake and intracellular delivery of various nanocarriers. Among them, nanoparticles (NPs) have been used as suitable vehicles for delivering different bioactive molecules in the treatment of a diverse range of diseases. Given the pivotal role of the conjugation method of CPPs, this study aims to evaluate the impact of the position of a cell-penetrating motif (LFVCR) on the biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and endosomal escape of magnetite NPs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Soccer is the most recognized sports worldwide. It is a fertile ground for the use of metabolomics analyses, considering the multifactorial nature of soccer's physical demands on the body. Although scientific studies have tried using it to better understand the impacts of soccer into different contexts of the sport, no systematic review is available on metabolomics analyses in soccer athletes subjected to physical exertion interventions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In , successful development relies on the precise coordination of both spatial and temporal regulatory axes. The temporal axis governs stage-specific identity and developmental transitions through a number of genes, collectively forming the . Among these, Ecdysone inducible protein 93F (E93) serves as the critical determinant for adult specification, but its mechanism of action remains unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The differential diagnosis of neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders, particularly when symptoms overlap significantly, poses a substantial challenge in clinical practice. Parkinson's disease (PD), Lewy body dementia, and catatonia are distinct conditions that can present with similar motor and cognitive symptoms, complicating accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. We report the case of a 45-year-old male patient who presented for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) evaluation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food systems, revealing vulnerabilities but also offering opportunities to build more resilient and sustainable food practices.
  • A study conducted in Madrid analyzed changes in consumer habits during lockdowns through surveys, highlighting variations based on age, gender, income, and education.
  • Findings indicated a notable shift towards local and organic product consumption and increased online shopping, with alternative food networks contributing to improved food security, regardless of urban or rural distinctions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Home-based exercise training may improve access to surgical prehabilitation in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but its efficacy remains unclear. This study systematically investigated the effects of home-based exercise prehabilitation on postoperative exercise capacity, complications, length of hospital stay, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in CRC patients.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing home-based exercise prehabilitation with control in CRC patients were eligible.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The dissemination and implementation (D&I) of evidence at the community level is critical to improve health and advance health equity. Social networks are considered essential to D&I efforts, but there lacks clarity regarding how best to study and leverage networks. We examined networks in community-level D&I frameworks to characterize the range of network actors, activities, and change approaches.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) has been a leader in cancer-related dissemination & implementation (D&I) science. Given increased demand for D&I research, the CPCRN Scholars Program launched in 2021 to expand the number of practitioners, researchers, and trainees proficient in cancer D&I science methods.

Methods: The evaluation was informed by a logic model and data collected through electronic surveys.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Visceral fat has been identified as a key contributor to metabolic disorders owing to its association with decreased adipocytokine function. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), a specialized local deposit of adipose tissue surrounding arteries, has been shown to regulate vascular tone through adipocytokine functions but is compromised in obesity, contributing to increased vascular resistance. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between PVAT of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers collected water samples from eight sites and isolated 206 fungal strains, grouping them into 30 different morphotypes.
  • * Fungi were identified through microscopy and DNA sequencing, revealing a predominance of Ascomycota, and significantly advancing our understanding of fungi in mosquito breeding habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF