Publications by authors named "Joao Araujo"

Laser ablation was used to successfully fabricate multiferroic bilayer thin films, composed of BaTiO (BTO) and CoFeO (CFO), on highly doped (100) Si substrates. This study investigates the influence of BaTiO layer thickness (50-220 nm) on the films' structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties. The dense, polycrystalline films exhibited a tetragonal BaTiO phase and a cubic spinel CoFeO layer.

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Background: The rapid spread and increase of chikungunya (CHIKV) and dengue (DENV) cases in Brazilian regions in 2023 has raised concerns about the impact of arboviruses on public health. Epidemiological and genomic surveillance was performed to estimate the introduction and spread of CHIKV and DENV in Brazil.

Methods: This study obtained results from the Hermes Pardini (HP), a private medical laboratory, and the Health Department of Minas Gerais state (SES-MG).

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Article Synopsis
  • Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using tungsten trioxide (WO) nanoplatelets was studied to enhance hydrogen production efficiency through optimized synthesis parameters like temperature, time, and layer thickness.
  • The research revealed that using a multilayer approach (up to six layers) at low temperatures (90 °C for 12 hours) could boost photocurrent significantly, with five layers showing over a 70% increase compared to single-layer configurations.
  • Morphological features, particularly the fractal dimension of the nanoplatelets and specific crystallographic orientations, were found to significantly influence PEC performance, with advanced X-ray diffraction analysis confirming their critical role in photocurrent enhancement.
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The structure and magnetic properties of epitaxial Heusler alloy films (CoFeGe) deposited on MgO (100) substrates were investigated. Films of 60 nm thickness were prepared by magnetron co-sputtering at different substrate temperatures (T), and those deposited at room temperature were later annealed at various temperatures (T). X-ray diffraction confirmed (001) [110] CoFeGe || (001) [100] MgO epitaxial growth.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Brazil experienced significant COVID-19 impact, highlighted by high death tolls and four main peaks of cases, with the last two waves driven by the emergence of the Omicron variant and its sublineages BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5.
  • - A study analyzed virus samples from 15 health units in Minas Gerais, revealing that BA.1 and BA.2 were most common in the third wave, while BA.4 and BA.5 dominated the fourth.
  • - Findings indicate that vaccination, especially booster doses, played a crucial role in reducing deaths, and the study confirmed the introduction of Omicron subvariants through multiple international cases with continued local transmission.
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Canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is transmitted through the implantation of tumor cells. CTVT was the first tumor described with contagious characteristics and remains one of the few tumors with this capability. This study aimed to map the transcriptomic profile of CTVT to elucidate the potential mechanisms through which this tumor implants and evades host immune surveillance.

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Objective: To analyze the influence of congested and noncongested fixture periods during 2 seasons in a professional male football team on soft-tissue injury incidence and external load.

Methods: Thirty-three professional football players from a Portuguese Liga I team participated in this study. Weekly external load and soft-tissue injury rate and burden of 2 consecutive seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23) were analyzed.

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Background And Aims: Although gut inflammation and dysbiosis have been implicated in the pathophysiology of severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the role of intestinal anti-inflammatory enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase, is still underexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare intestinal alkaline phosphatase (iALP) activity and its proinflammatory substrate - bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) - concentration between mild-to-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Stool samples collected from 53 mild-to-moderate and 57 severe adult COVID-19 patients, previously enrolled in a national multicentre cross-sectional study (NCT04355741), were analysed for iALP activity and LPS concentration.

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Article Synopsis
  • Since 2021, Brazil has faced a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths due to new variants of concern (VOC) and low vaccination rates, which have led to the emergence of more mutations.
  • The study aimed to assess whether local genomic surveillance and epidemiological data can reflect nationwide trends in the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Findings revealed three key variant replacements (Gamma, Delta, and Omicron) and highlighted that vaccination became increasingly effective in preventing new cases and deaths as the pandemic progressed.
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Gut dysbiosis has been recently recognized as a hallmark of ageing. At this stage of life, gut microbiota becomes depleted from bacteria involved in the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), indole and its derivative indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), metabolites shown to improve host glycemic control as well as insulin sensitivity and secretion. Moreover, gut microbiota becomes enriched in pathobiont bacteria involved in the production of imidazole propionate, phenols and trimethylamine, metabolites that promote host insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.

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Water pollution is a major environmental challenge. Due to the inefficiency of conventional wastewater treatment plants in degrading many organic complex compounds, these recalcitrant pollutants end up in rivers, lakes, oceans and other bodies of water, affecting the environment and human health. Semiconductor photocatalysis is considered an efficient complement to conventional methods, and the use of various nanomaterials for this purpose has been widely explored, with a particular focus on improving their activity under visible light.

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Slow cortical oscillations play a crucial role in processing the speech amplitude envelope, which is perceived atypically by children with developmental dyslexia. Here we use electroencephalography (EEG) recorded during natural speech listening to identify neural processing patterns involving slow oscillations that may characterize children with dyslexia. In a story listening paradigm, we find that atypical power dynamics and phase-amplitude coupling between delta and theta oscillations characterize dyslexic versus other child control groups (typically-developing controls, other language disorder controls).

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Importance: Understanding acupuncture point microenvironments is vital for optimizing treatment efficacy. Evaluating changes in water content at these points can provide further insights into the effects of acupuncture on tissues.

Objective: This study aimed to measure tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and assess changes in water content, specifically at stomach 36 (ST36, Zusanli) and spleen 6 (SP6, Sanyinjiao) acupuncture points.

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This work unfolds functionalized ABSs composed of FILs ([CCIm][CFSO] and [N1112(OH)][CFSO]), mere fluoro-containing ILs ([CCIm][CFSO] and [CCIm][CFSO]), known globular protein stabilizers (sucrose and [N1112(OH)][CFSO]), low-molecular-weight carbohydrate (glucose), and even high-charge density salt (KPO). The ternary phase diagrams were determined, stressing that FILs highly increased the ability for ABS formation. The functionalized ABSs (FILs vs.

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This study investigated the association between the IFITM3 rs12252 polymorphism and the severity and mortality of COVID-19 in hospitalized Brazilian patients. A total of 102 COVID-19 patients were included, and the outcomes of interest were defined as death and the need for mechanical ventilation. Genotypes were assessed using Taqman probes.

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Currently, one of the main causes of death in the world is cancer; therefore, it is urgent to obtain a precocious diagnosis, as well as boost research and development of new potential treatments, which should be more efficient and much less invasive for the patient. Magnetic hyperthermia (MH) is an emerging cancer therapy using nanoparticles, which has proved to be effective when combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and/or surgery, or even by itself, depending on the type and location of the tumor's cells. This article presents the results obtained by using a previously developed economic homemade hyperthermia device with different types of magnetite nanoparticles, with sizes ranging between 12 ± 5 and 36 ± 11 nm and presenting different shapes (spherical and cubic particles).

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Interferon alpha-2b (IFN-α2b) is an essential cytokine widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C and hairy cell leukemia, and serum albumin is the most abundant plasma protein with numerous physiological functions. Effective single-step aqueous biphasic system (ABS) extraction for the simultaneous purification of IFN-α2b and BSA (serum albumin protein) was developed in this work. Effects of the ionic liquid (IL)-based ABS functionalization, fluorinated ILs (FILs; [C​2C​1Im][C​4F​9SO​3] and [N​1112(OH)][C​4F​9SO​3]) vs.

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Currently, magnetocaloric refrigeration technologies are emerging as ecofriendly and more energy-efficient alternatives to conventional expansion-compression systems. However, major challenges remain. A particular concern is the mechanical properties of magnetocaloric materials, namely, their fatigue under cycling and difficulty in processing and shaping.

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Speed is an essential skill in sports performance and an important performance metric in talent identification. This study aims to evaluate and compare the sprint acceleration characteristics across different age groups in an elite soccer academy. A total of 141 elite academy soccer players were recruited to participate in the study, and they were assigned to their respective competitive age groups, ranging from under-14 to the B-team.

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Unlabelled: Acute bilateral blindness is an emergent condition that may signal life-threatening disease. The approach focuses on identification of life-threatening disease processes, while differentiating between ocular, psychogenic and neurologic aetiologies. We present the case of an 88-year-old man with multiple cardiovascular risk factors and bilateral chronic glaucoma and cataracts.

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Objective: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. To find ways to reduce behavioral disabilities, researchers study animal models. By targeting ST-36 () and SP-9 (), this study investigated the effects of traditional acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) on motor behavior in gerbils following global cerebral ischemia.

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Giant viruses are noteworthy not only due to their enormous particles but also because of their gigantic genomes. In this context, a fundamental question has persisted: how did these genomes evolve? Here we present the discovery of cedratvirus pambiensis, featuring the largest genome ever described for a cedratvirus. Our data suggest that the larger size of the genome can be attributed to an unprecedented number of duplicated genes.

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Euphractus sexcinctus has a diverse diet, so it needs anatomical and habitual features to help it get its meals. Therefore, the objective is to study the morphology of the small and large intestines of the six-banded armadillo (E. sexcinctus).

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