Publications by authors named "Jessica M Silva"

Article Synopsis
  • Amphibians are a diverse group of tetrapods facing significant threats, with about 41% of species at risk of extinction due to various factors like habitat loss and climate change.
  • Genomic research on amphibians is critical for understanding their biology, including unique traits like tissue regeneration and adaptation, yet it has lagged behind other vertebrates due to technical challenges.
  • The newly formed Amphibian Genomics Consortium (AGC) aims to enhance global collaboration and accelerate genomic research in amphibians, with over 282 members from 41 countries already involved.
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The safety of exercise practice by individuals with cardiovascular disease is due to a good clinical evaluation to identify patients with a higher risk of adverse events, thus the study of simple variables capable of predicting the rate of events during exercise is relevant and may provide better screening tools to be applied in the clinical practice. The study aimed to evaluate if clinical and physical parameters can predict the rate of adverse events during exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation. This was a cohort study that followed 73 patients during 24 sessions of exercise.

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Amphibians represent a diverse group of tetrapods, marked by deep divergence times between their three systematic orders and families. Studying amphibian biology through the genomics lens increases our understanding of the features of this animal class and that of other terrestrial vertebrates. The need for amphibian genomic resources is more urgent than ever due to the increasing threats to this group.

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Under the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 196 Parties committed to reporting the status of genetic diversity for all species. To facilitate reporting, three genetic diversity indicators were developed, two of which focus on processes contributing to genetic diversity conservation: maintaining genetically distinct populations and ensuring populations are large enough to maintain genetic diversity. The major advantage of these indicators is that they can be estimated with or without DNA-based data.

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Objectives: To prospectively compare the results of microvascular flap reconstruction of midface and scalp advanced oncologic defects using superficial temporal versus cervical as recipient vessels.

Methods: This is a parallel group clinical trial with 1:1 allocation ratio of patients who underwent midface and scalp oncologic reconstruction with free tissue flap from April 2018 to April 2022 in a tertiary oncologic center. Two groups were analyzed: those in whom superficial temporal vessels were used as the recipient vessels (Group A) and those in whom cervical vessels were used as the recipient vessels (Group B).

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Introduction: Participants in cardiac rehabilitation programs have low adherence to their sessions, which makes extremely important to recognize the barriers that cause non-adherence, identifying whether the type of service and level of adherence influence these barriers.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, in which 220 individuals (66.80±11.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genetic diversity is essential for the survival of both people and nature, especially in a changing environment.
  • Recent commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity have become more ambitious in conserving this diversity as part of the draft global biodiversity framework.
  • The article discusses how goals have evolved, what improvements are needed, and emphasizes the importance of national strategies and effective indicators for monitoring and managing genetic diversity.
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Food waste is one of the main obstacles to transitioning to sustainable and circular food systems. Food waste-reducing platforms (FWRPs) have emerged as low-cost alternatives by donating or commercializing surpluses and non-commercial food. However, as a recent phenomenon, little is known about their actual contribution to the fight against food waste.

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Background: Virtual reality-based therapy (VRBT) has been recently used in rehabilitation programs, as it can improve patient's adherence to treatment. However, patients' acceptance of VRBT has been scarcely investigated.

Objective: To qualitatively analyze the perceptions and preferences of patients about the inclusion of VRBT to a conventional cardiovascular rehabilitation program (CRP).

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We analyzed the use of persuasive advertising strategies by 18 food brands on TV and Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube in Brazil in April 2018. Advertising strategies were investigated from three groups: power of advertising strategies (n = 10) (e.g.

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Objective: To investigate the advertising patterns on the posts of a fast-food chain in Brazil on three social media platforms in 2019.

Design: An exploratory cross-sectional study.

Setting: Advertising strategies on the posts of a major fast-food chain on their official Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

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Background: Different terms are used to refer to postural balance training, but the ontological debate involving the concepts to pursue nomenclature consensus is unusual.

Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze how often the terms balance, neuromuscular, proprioceptive, functional and sensorimotor training/exercise are used in the literature, and to propose a conceptual critical appraisal to determine the most appropriate terminology to address postural balance exercises.

Methods: A literature search was conducted in the Scopus electronic database.

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A horizon scan was conducted to identify emerging and intensifying issues for biodiversity conservation in South Africa over the next 5-10 years. South African biodiversity experts submitted 63 issues of which ten were identified as priorities using the Delphi method. These priority issues were then plotted along axes of social agreement and scientific certainty, to ascertain whether issues might be "simple" (amenable to solutions from science alone), "complicated" (socially agreed upon but technically complicated), "complex" (scientifically challenging and significant levels of social disagreement) or "chaotic" (high social disagreement and highly scientifically challenging).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the quality of nutrition therapy (NT) in hospitals in Brazil, focusing on malnutrition reduction and cost-effectiveness.
  • It involved interviews and audits in 33 hospitals, revealing that most had a nutrition therapy team (NTT) and protocols, but there were inconsistencies in patient records.
  • The findings highlight a disconnect between established NT practices and actual patient care, indicating room for improvement in the quality and safety of nutrition therapy.
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Phenotypic performance in different environments is central to understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive adaptive divergence and, ultimately, speciation. Because habitat structure can affect an animal's foraging behaviour, anti-predator defences, and communication behaviour, it can influence both natural and sexual selection pressures. These selective pressures, in turn, act upon morphological traits to maximize an animal's performance.

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We constructed a molecular phylogeny of the African plated lizard family Gerrhosauridae using two mitochondrial markers (ND2, 732 bp; 16S, 576 bp) and one nuclear marker (PRLR, 538 bp). This analysis showed that the subfamily Gerrhosaurinae consists of five major clades which we interpret as representing five genera. The genera Tetradactylus and Cordylosaurus were each recovered as monophyletic, but Gerrhosaurus as currently conceived is paraphyletic, consisting of three distinct genus-level assemblages.

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Chameleons are highly specialized and mostly arboreal lizards characterized by a suite of derived characters. The grasping feet and tail are thought to be related to the arboreal lifestyle of chameleons, yet specializations for grasping are thought to exhibit a trade-off with running ability. Indeed, previous studies have demonstrated a trade-off between running and clinging performance, with faster species being poorer clingers.

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Purpose: To evaluate, in large abdominal wall defects surgically shaped in rats, if a synthetic polypropylene nonwoven prosthesis could be used as a therapeutic option to conventional polypropylene mesh.

Methods: Twenty four (24) Wistar rats were enrolled into three groups. Group 1 (Simulation group) with an abdominal wall defect of 3 X 3 left untreated and Groups 2 and 3, respectively treated with a conventional polypropylene mesh and a polypropylene nonwoven (NWV) prosthesis to cover the breach.

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More than 98% of the human genome is comprised of non-protein coding sequences. Interestingly, a considerable fraction of these sequences is transcribed into non-protein coding RNA transcripts. These transcripts range in size from very small RNAs such as the miRNAs (20-25 base pairs) to transcripts that can range up to 100 kb or more.

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It has recently become clear that the transcriptional output of the human genome is far more abundant than previously anticipated, with the vast majority of transcripts not coding for protein. Utilizing whole-genome tiling arrays, we analyzed the transcription across the entire genome in both normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) and NHBE cells exposed to the tobacco carcinogen NNK. Our efforts focused on the characterization of non-coding transcripts that were greater than 300 nucleotides in length and whose expression was increased in response to NNK.

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The Akt kinase is a serine/threonine protein kinase that has been implicated in mediating a variety of biological responses. Studies show that high Akt activity in breast carcinoma is associated with a poor pathophenotype, as well as hormone and chemotherapy resistance. Additionally, high Akt activity is associated with other features of poor prognosis.

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