Publications by authors named "Ferreira W"

Article Synopsis
  • The study examines how rod-shaped magnetic colloids form patterns when subjected to a rotating magnetic field, using computer simulations to analyze their dynamics.
  • The research identifies three synchronization regimes that influence how the rods align with the rotating field, based on various factors like the rods' shape and the strength and frequency of the magnetic field.
  • Detailed phase diagrams reveal the intricate relationships among the magnetic field's magnitude, rotation frequency, and the resulting self-organized structures formed by the rods.
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Understanding lectin-carbohydrate interactions at the structural and molecular levels is crucial to the field of lectins, as the diverse roles and biological activities exhibited by these proteins are fundamentally linked to their specific binding to target glycoconjugates. This study aimed to apply molecular dynamics to analyze the structure and binding properties of Parkia lectins. 3D structures of Parkia platycephala and P.

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Objective: To evaluate the effect of a constant rate infusion of ketamine on left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in dogs anesthetized with propofol.

Study Design: Prospective randomized, blinded clinical study.

Animals: Sixteen healthy dogs.

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BACKGROUND This case report describes a case of a 25-year-old man who underwent a surgical procedure and was subsequently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Following his immediate admission to a specialized hospital unit for hematology and hemotherapy to receive chemotherapy, he was found to have a concurrent infection with multidrug-resistant Elizabethkingia meningoseptica as well as Enterococcus faecium. Both isolates are commonly associated with healthcare-associated infections.

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Background: Given the lack of evidence regarding the effects of adherence to oral nutritional supplements (ONS) and the types of formulas used in clinical practice, we aimed to assess the impact of adherence to ONS and the high-protein formula on the nutrition status and muscle strength in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.

Methods: This study evaluated newly diagnosed outpatients with esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer prescribed ONS. Nutrition status was assessed using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), and muscle strength was assessed using handgrip strength (HGS) dynamometry.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on cobalt oxide nanoparticles (CoO-NPs), which exhibit unique catalytic and magnetic properties, making them valuable for applications like catalysts, drug delivery, and sensors.
  • - Researchers explored the synthesis and local characterization of CoO-NPs in two crystal structures—rock-salt cubic (fcc-CoO) and Wurtzite (hcp-CoO)—using different ligands (oleylamine and oleic acid) to control their properties.
  • - Techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of both phases, with the better morphological control observed in nanoparticles produced using a combination of the ligands.
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Introduction: The environmentally acquired aerobic spore-forming (EAS-Fs) bacteria that are ubiquitous in nature (e.g., soil) are transient colonisers of the mammalian gastro-intestinal tract.

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Propofol is an intravenous anesthetic administered as a bolus or continuous infusion during anesthetic induction and maintenance. Its pharmacokinetic characteristics include hepatic and extrahepatic metabolism with a rapid onset of action and short duration, which provides a smooth anesthetic induction without excitatory effects. To evaluate whether the isolated use of propofol in anesthetic induction in dogs changes the hemodynamic variables assessed via echocardiography.

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Article Synopsis
  • Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent responsible for Chagas disease, exhibits unique biological traits and responds to DNA damage through a specific repair pathway called transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER).
  • When UV light induces DNA lesions, unresolved transcriptional stress can lead to a programmed cell death mechanism that resembles apoptosis.
  • The study reveals that the Cockayne Syndrome B protein (CSB) plays a crucial role in this process, as its overexpression increases cell death after UV exposure, while its absence confers resistance, suggesting an ATR-dependent apoptosis-like signaling in T. cruzi.
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Unlabelled: The production of coconut tree seedlings is an important step in the production process, as it substantially affects the productive performance of the adult plant, and the way of obtaining seedlings directly reflects the added costs. To minimize costs, the introduction of biostimulants can be considered a viable and sustainable technology. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of applying in promoting growth and reducing the costs of producing Brazilgreen dwarf coconut seedlings.

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Introduction: Long COVID occurs when numerous symptoms begin 3 weeks after acute infection and last for 12 months or more. High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) has been tested in patients with COVID-19; however, previous studies did not investigate the HD-tDCS use combined with inspiratory muscle training (IMT) for respiratory sequelae of long COVID.

Case Presentation: Six individuals (four women and two men) aged between 29 and 71 years and presenting with respiratory sequelae of long COVID were included.

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Background: Currently, the species are responsible for a variety of serious infections and are already considered a global public health problem, especially in underdeveloped countries, where surveillance and monitoring programs are still scarce and limited. Analyses were performed on the complete genome of an extensively antibiotic-resistant strain of , which was isolated from a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, who had been admitted to a hospital in the city of Manaus, Brazil.

Methods: Phenotypical identification and susceptibility tests were performed in automated equipment.

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The Hertz-Sneddon elastic indentation model is widely adopted in the biomechanical investigation of living cells and other soft materials using atomic force microscopy despite the explicit viscoelastic nature of these materials. In this work, we demonstrate that an exact analytical viscoelastic force model for power-law materials, can be interpreted as a time-dependent Hertz-Sneddon-like model. Characterizing fibroblasts (L929) and osteoblasts (OFCOLII) demonstrates the model's accuracy.

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Objectives: Regular quality-assured WGS with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and epidemiological data of patients is imperative to elucidate the shifting gonorrhoea epidemiology, nationally and internationally. We describe the dynamics of the gonococcal population in 11 cities in Brazil between 2017 and 2020 and elucidate emerging and disappearing gonococcal lineages associated with AMR, compare to Brazilian WGS and AMR data from 2015 to 2016, and explain recent changes in gonococcal AMR and gonorrhoea epidemiology.

Methods: WGS was performed using Illumina NextSeq 550 and genomes of 623 gonococcal isolates were used for downstream analysis.

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Stressed soft materials commonly present viscoelastic signatures in the form of power-law or exponential decay. Although exponential responses are the most common, power-law time dependencies arise peculiarly in complex soft materials such as living cells. Understanding the microscale mechanisms that drive rheologic behaviors at the macroscale shall be transformative in fields such as material design and bioengineering.

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Article Synopsis
  • Limited knowledge of urethral discharge syndrome (UDS) and genital ulcer disease (GUD) in Brazil prompted a nationwide study aimed at updating treatment guidelines from 2018 to 2020.
  • The study involved collecting samples from male participants across Brazil and utilized advanced PCR testing to identify various pathogens linked to UDS and GUD.
  • Findings revealed that Neisseria gonorrhoeae was the most common pathogen in UDS, while herpes simplex virus type 2 was most prevalent in GUD, highlighting significant coinfection rates and providing crucial insights into the local aetiology of these conditions.
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Unlabelled: Photobiomodulation (PBM) has ergogenic effects on aerobic and anaerobic efforts and may improve sports performance. As Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) fighting requires both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, so PBM may be effective in increasing the physical performance of BJJ athletes. Thus, this study aimed to verify the effects of PBM with different energy doses (6 or 12 J per point) on high-intensity intermittent anaerobic performance in BJJ athletes.

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This study aimed to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin treatment on anxiety-related behavior and short- and long-term memory impairment in mice infected with acute RH and BRI strains of Toxoplasma gondii. Balb/C mice were infected intraperitoneally and after 2 h, oral treatment with rosuvastatin (40 mg/kg/day) was initiated for 4 days. Behaviors related to anxiety and locomotion were evaluated in the open field (OF), and short- and long-term memory through the novel object recognition test (NOR).

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Detection of t(9;22), and consequent fusion, is still a marker of worse prognosis for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with resistance to tyrosine-kinase inhibitor therapy being a major obstacle in the clinical practice for this subset of patients. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of targeting poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) in a model of p190+ ALL, the most common isoform to afflict ALL patients, and demonstrated the use of experimental PARP inhibitor (PARPi), AZD2461, as a therapeutic option with cytotoxic capabilities similar to that of imatinib, the current gold standard in medical care. We characterized cytostatic profiles, induced cell death, and biomarker expression modulation utilizing cell models, also providing a comprehensive genome-wide analysis through an aCGH of the model used, and further validated PARP1 differential expression in samples of ALL p190+ patients from local healthcare institutions, as well as in larger cohorts of online and readily available datasets.

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This work presents a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly digestion method employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) for the determination of As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, Sr, and Zn in medicinal herbs. A fractional factorial design uses a multivariate strategy to optimize the experimental parameters. At 180 ºC and 120 min of sample digestion, the optimal condition for a closed block digester was achieved with a mixture consisting of 1.

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This article discusses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems and its effects on the working conditions and mental health of health professionals and invisible health workers. It presents data on deaths among health professionals, highlighting the need for better and safer working conditions and improvements in public management. We emphasize WHO/PAHO recommendations and the need for equitable vaccine distribution, including poor countries and vulnerable populations.

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Sewage sludge usage as agricultural soil amendment is a well-known practice employed worldwide. However, certain components may pose risks to the soil ecosystem. For a better verification of the potential adverse effects on the soil biota, biological assays have become an indispensable tool for an accurate understanding of the residue's behavior on soil, as well as its potential toxicity.

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Natural compounds with pharmacological activity, flavonoids have been the subject of an exponential increase in studies in the field of scientific research focused on therapeutic purposes due to their bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, antibacterial, antiviral, neuroprotective, radioprotective, and antitumor activities. The biological potential of flavonoids, added to their bioavailability, cost-effectiveness, and minimal side effects, direct them as promising cytotoxic anticancer compounds in the optimization of therapies and the search for new drugs in the treatment of cancer, since some extensively antineoplastic therapeutic approaches have become less effective due to tumor resistance to drugs commonly used in chemotherapy. In this review, we emphasize the antitumor properties of tangeretin, a flavonoid found in citrus fruits that has shown activity against some hallmarks of cancer in several types of cancerous cell lines, such as antiproliferative, apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-metastatic, anti-angiogenic, antioxidant, regulatory expression of tumor-suppressor genes, and epigenetic modulation.

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Identifying cultivars of leguminous crops exhibiting drought resistance has become crucial in addressing water scarcity issues. This investigative study aimed to select soybean and cowpea cultivars with enhanced potential to grow under water restriction during the vegetative stage. Two parallel trials were conducted using seven soybean (AS3810IPRO, M8644IPRO, TMG1180RR, NS 8338IPRO, BMX81I81IPRO, M8808IPRO, and BÔNUS8579IPRO) and cowpea cultivars (Aracê, Novaera, Pajeú, Pitiúba, Tumucumaque, TVU, and Xique-xique) under four water levels (75, 60, 45, and 30% field capacity-FC) over 21 days.

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