Publications by authors named "Diogo Martins"

Aim: To identify sleep-promoting nursing interventions in hospitalized adults and older people.

Background: Sleep is necessary for maintaining good physical and mental health, as well as a high quality of life. Hospitalization can significantly disrupt sleep patterns, which is an often-overlooked issue.

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Cyanobacteria represent a promising resource for sustainable agriculture, as they have demonstrated the ability to restore soil fertility even after death and decay. However, several cyanobacteria can also release secondary metabolites, such as cyanotoxins, which may compromise the quality of agricultural products and pose a potential risk to human health. Depending on the concentration of exposure, few studies reported deleterious effects on plant species when irrigated with cylindrospermopsin (CYN) contaminated water, impairing plant growth and leading to food product contamination, while other studies show promoting effects on plant yield.

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Telemedicine offers potential benefits for health care delivery. However, evidence of cross-border telemedicine data exchange within the European Union (EU) remains limited. The objective of this communication provides a brief outline of the regulatory framework, initiatives, and challenges associated with cross-border telemedicine data exchange in the EU, setting the stage for a comprehensive evidence assessment.

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In the model organism Bacillus subtilis, a signaling protease produced in the forespore, SpoIVB, is essential for the activation of the sigma factor σ, which is produced in the mother cell as an inactive pro-protein, pro-σ. SpoIVB has a second function essential to sporulation, most likely during cortex synthesis. The cortex is composed of peptidoglycan (PG) and is essential for the spore's heat resistance and dormancy.

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Some members of the Firmicutes phylum, including many members of the human gut microbiota, are able to differentiate a dormant and highly resistant cell type, the endospore (hereinafter spore for simplicity). Spore-formers can colonize virtually any habitat and, because of their resistance to a wide variety of physical and chemical insults, spores can remain viable in the environment for long periods of time. In the anaerobic enteric pathogen Clostridioides difficile the aetiologic agent is the oxygen-resistant spore, while the toxins produced by actively growing cells are the main cause of the disease symptoms.

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Background: Snakebite clinical trials have often used heterogeneous outcome measures and there is an urgent need for standardisation.

Method: A globally representative group of key stakeholders came together to reach consensus on a globally relevant set of core outcome measurements. Outcome domains and outcome measurement instruments were identified through searching the literature and a systematic review of snakebite clinical trials.

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Snakebite clinical trials have often used heterogeneous outcome measures and there is an urgent need for standardisation. A globally representative group of key stakeholders came together to reach consensus on a globally relevant set of core outcome measurements. Outcome domains and outcome measurement instruments were identified through searching the literature and a systematic review of snakebite clinical trials.

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The inclusion of social determinants of health offers a more comprehensive lens to fully appreciate and effectively address health. However, decision-makers across sectors still struggle to appropriately recognise and act upon these determinants, as illustrated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, improving the health of populations remains challenging.

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Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) represent a significant global public health burden. As more countries experience both epidemiologic transition and increasing urbanization, it is clear that we need approaches to mitigate the growing burden of NCDs. Large and growing urban environments play an important role in shaping risk factors that influence NCDs, pointing to the ineluctable need to engage sectors beyond the health sector in these settings if we are to improve health.

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Bacteria that reside in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans are essential for our health, sustenance and well-being. About 50-60% of those bacteria have the ability to produce resilient spores that are important for the life cycle in the gut and for host-to-host transmission. A genomic signature for sporulation in the human intestine was recently described, which spans both commensals and pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile and contains several genes of unknown function.

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Introduction With obesity reaching pandemic proportions, its detrimental influence on many health-related conditions has recently become a focus of research. Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of several disorders associated with obesity. Materials and methods This study was designed to identify MSK pain in individuals with severe obesity, recruited from a specialized obesity clinic, and to evaluate the correlation between the MSK symptoms and some individual criteria.

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Sophisticated imaging systems have helped to redefine the clinical presentation of acute macular neuroretinopathy and have markedly enhanced diagnostic sensitivity. The proposed mechanism of paracentral acute middle maculopathy is related to ischemia at the level of the superficial and deep retinal capillary plexi. This is a case report of a patient who developed an acute macular neuroretinopathy after an uneventful angioplasty with stents in the coronary artery.

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Introduction: Mechanical thrombectomy is standard treatment for large vessel occlusion (LVO) in adults. There are no randomized controlled trials for the pediatric population. We report our single-center experience with thrombectomy of LVO in a series of pediatric patients, and perform a review of the literature.

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The characterization of historical mine tailings provides important information for land-management decisions, in particular when considering potential reprocessing activities or the development of an environmental protection program. In addition, outcomes from such characterization may define the scope for a more detailed investigation. The present work describes the characterization of the waste material from the Cabeço do Pião tailings impoundment performed within the project ReMinE: Improve Resource Efficiency and Minimize Environmental Footprint.

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Background And Objectives: The primary treatment for locally advanced cases of cervical cancer is chemoradiation followed by high-dose brachytherapy. When this treatment fails, pelvic exenteration (PE) is an option in some cases. This study aimed to develop recommendations for the best management of patients with cervical cancer undergoing salvage PE.

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Ligneous conjunctivitis is a rare form of chronic and recurrent bilateral conjunctivitis, in which thick membranes develop on the tarsal conjunctiva and on other mucosae. We report the case of a 55-year old female patient with bilateral ligneous conjunctivitis who was successfully treated with 50% heterologous serum. There was no recurrence or side effects after one-year follow-up.

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In many cases protein assemblies are stabilized by covalent bonds, one example of which is the formation of intra- or intermolecular ε-(γ-glutamyl)lysil cross-links catalyzed by transglutaminases (TGases). Because of the potential for unwanted cross-linking reactions, the activities of many TGases have been shown to be tightly controlled. Bacterial endospores are highly resilient cells in part because they are surrounded by a complex protein coat.

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Aorto-left ventricular tunnel is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly, consisting of a short abnormal pathway, usually from a sinus of Valsalva into the left ventricular cavity. It is usually diagnosed with echocardiography. We report a case of a newborn presenting with heart murmur and rapid progression to heart failure and left ventricular enlargement due to an aorto-left ventricular tunnel.

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A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

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We report an integrated system for accelerating assays with concentrators in a standard 12-well plate (ISAAC-12) and demonstrate its versatility for rapid detection of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in the cell culture supernatant of breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 by accelerating the enzymatic reaction and end-point signal intensity via electrokinetic preconcentration. Using direct printing of a conductive ion-permselective polymer on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel, the new microfluidic concentrator chip can be built without modifying the underlying substrate. Through this decoupling fabrication strategy, our microfluidic concentrator chip can easily be integrated with a standard multiwell plate, the de facto laboratory standard platform for high-throughput assays, simply by reversible bonding on the bottom of each well.

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