Publications by authors named "Jose Franco"

For studies involving glycosyltransferases and nucleotide sugar transporters, radioactive nucleotide sugars are critical reagents. Of these, GDP-L-[3H]Fucose is currently commercially unavailable. Here, we present a facile approach for the preparation of GDP-[3H]-L-Fucose, using the enzymatic machinery present in the cytosol of the non-infectious and easily cultivated protozoan, Crithidia fasciculata, and its purification by solid phase extraction ion exchange chromatography.

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Many medical schools are transitioning to pass/fail grading from tiered grading systems which have been associated with increased competition, grade inflation, decreased wellness, and grading disparities along racial/ethnic lines. This retrospective cohort study followed two cohorts of students from one medical school for four years. One cohort was the last class to enter the school under a 5-point grading system for preclinical courses and the other was the first cohort to enter school under a pass/fail grading system for preclinical courses.

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  • Musculoskeletal-related chronic pain, especially knee osteoarthrosis, significantly impacts the daily functioning of individuals over 45, highlighting the need for accessible treatment solutions like telerehabilitation.
  • The study aimed to identify challenges faced in implementing telerehabilitation for chronic musculoskeletal conditions compared to traditional in-person rehabilitation methods.
  • Results from the review indicated that many barriers to telerehabilitation have been addressed, resulting in similar clinical outcomes for patients in both telerehabilitation and face-to-face settings.
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Purpose - The Latin American Society of Immunodeficiencies (LASID) Registry was established in 2009 to collect data on Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) patients in the region. Although several reports have been published regarding LASID data, this is the first report of the entire dataset. Methods - The European Society of Immunodeficiencies (ESID) donated the online platform in 2008.

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  • - Human African trypanosomiasis is a severe neglected tropical disease that can be fatal without treatment, and the WHO has updated its treatment guidelines after a thorough review.
  • - Fexinidazole is now the preferred first-line treatment for patients aged 6 years and over who weigh at least 20 kg, eliminating the need for invasive lumbar punctures for staging the disease.
  • - While fexinidazole improves treatment options and reduces the risk of severe side effects from previous medicines, it remains unavailable for children who don't meet the age or weight criteria, making interim use of pentamidine necessary in some cases.
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  • The authors proposed new diagnostic criteria for catatonia, called the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Catatonia (RDCC), which require three specific symptom clusters to improve diagnostic accuracy compared to existing methods.
  • The RDCC categorizes symptoms into akinesia, unusual motor signs, and behavioral signs, and was tested on a diverse group of 341 patients across various conditions.
  • Results indicated that using the RDCC resulted in significantly lower catatonia diagnoses among the patient groups when compared to DSM-5 and BFCRS criteria, suggesting a more restrictive approach may better identify true cases of catatonia.
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  • Some babies with a specific mutation in the IL7R gene have a serious immune problem called SCID, where they lack a certain type of immune cells called T cells, but still have normal B and NK cells.
  • In a study of 6 adults who have a similar genetic issue, they showed low levels of T cells but had relatively normal levels of other immune cells, indicating a more specific problem in T cell development.
  • Even though their T cells didn’t grow well in the lab, the study hints that there might be another way T cells can develop that doesn’t depend solely on the IL-7 cytokine.
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Severe defects in human IFNγ immunity predispose individuals to both Bacillus Calmette-Guérin disease and tuberculosis, whereas milder defects predispose only to tuberculosis. Here we report two adults with recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis who are homozygous for a private loss-of-function TNF variant. Neither has any other clinical phenotype and both mount normal clinical and biological inflammatory responses.

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This work explores the use of Kraft lignins sourced from different poplar genotypes ( L. "PO-10-10-20" and × "Ballotino") isolated by selective acid precipitation (at pHs 5 and 2.5) to produce electrospun nanostructures that can be further employed for structuring vegetable oils.

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Objective: Validations of brief delirium tools have not included analysis of psychiatric disorders comorbidities or control groups. We validated the Delirium Diagnostic Tool-Provisional (DDT-Pro) in 422 geriatric inpatients with high incidence of depression and/or dementia.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using two delirium reference standards, DSM-5-TR and Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R98).

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Background: Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening disease caused by Cryptococcus neoformans or C. gattii. Neutralizing autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in otherwise healthy adults with cryptococcal meningitis have been described since 2013.

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Background: Surgical excision biopsy remains the only reliable option in most cases of indeterminate pulmonary nodules, particularly in cancer survivors for whom surgery provides local control of pulmonary metastasis and the best chance of cure for early-stage lung cancer. Nevertheless, unnecessary surgeries remain a concern and the prognosis of newly diagnosed lung cancer might be influenced by the history of previous malignancy. We aimed to analyze the outcomes of resected indeterminate pulmonary nodules in patients with and without previous malignancy, and the impact of prior cancer history on survival and recurrence in stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

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  • Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a rare genetic disorder causing neurological issues, blood vessel irregularities, and a weakened immune system, particularly noted in Latin American patients.
  • A study involving 218 patients revealed that the average age for symptoms and diagnosis is about 1 year and 5 years, respectively, with common recurrent airway infections linked to IgA deficiency.
  • The study found a mean survival of 24.2 years, with a 20-year survival rate of 52.6%, and higher mortality rates in females and those with low IgG levels, highlighting the importance of assessing immune function in AT patients.
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The invasive Argentine ant () poses a significant threat to ecosystem stability worldwide. In Mediterranean citrus ecosystems, its spread may be limited by interactions with dominant native ant species. We conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the competitive dynamics between Argentine ants and two major native species, and .

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This study within the field of environmental history explores the scenario amid which the Fundação Brasileira para a Conservação da Natureza (Brazilian Foundation for Nature Conservation) was founded between 1958 and 1966; this important Brazilian non-governmental organization headquartered in Rio de Janeiro worked at the local, national, and international levels. Primary documentary sources were utilized, along with research of the related literature. The conclusions demonstrate the importance of non-governmental organizations predating this foundation, and the influence of conservationists on its establishment and current work.

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Background: Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a neglected tropical disease that usually occurs in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. It caused devastating epidemics during the 20th century. Sustained, coordinated efforts by different stakeholders working with national sleeping sickness control programmes (NSSCPs) succeeded in controlling the disease and reducing the number of cases to historically low levels.

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  • CD4+ T cells are crucial for the immune system, but their exact function is not fully understood, particularly the role of the CD4 protein itself.
  • Researchers studied seven patients with a rare genetic condition causing CD4 deficiency, leading to various infections, and found that these individuals lacked CD4+ T cells but had alternative T cell populations that could still mount immune responses.
  • While the patients showed compensatory immune responses against many pathogens, CD4 remains essential for protection against specific infections like human papillomavirus and Whipple's disease.
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Background: Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening disease caused by or . Autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in otherwise healthy adults with cryptococcal meningitis have been described since 2013. We searched for neutralizing auto-Abs in sera from Colombian patients with non-HIV related cryptococcosis in a retrospective national cohort collected from 1997 to 2016.

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Applying hydrocolloids in the structure of protein emulsion gel can improve its properties. Interaction of whey protein concentrate (WPC) (5%) with xanthan gum (XG) and basil seed gum (BSG) at different concentrations (0.2%, 0.

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The tribological performance of novel bio-based lubricating greases thickened with electrospun lignin nanostructures was investigated in a nanotribometer using a steel-steel ball-on-disc configuration. The impact of electrospun nanofibrous network morphology on friction and wear is explored in this work. Different lignin nanostructures were obtained with electrospinning using ethylcellulose or PVP as co-spinning polymers and subsequently used as thickeners in castor oil at concentrations of 10-30% wt.

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Patients with autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS-1) caused by autosomal recessive AIRE deficiency produce autoantibodies that neutralize type I interferons (IFNs), conferring a predisposition to life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. Here we report that patients with autosomal recessive NIK or RELB deficiency, or a specific type of autosomal-dominant NF-κB2 deficiency, also have neutralizing autoantibodies against type I IFNs and are at higher risk of getting life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia. In patients with autosomal-dominant NF-κB2 deficiency, these autoantibodies are found only in individuals who are heterozygous for variants associated with both transcription (p52 activity) loss of function (LOF) due to impaired p100 processing to generate p52, and regulatory (IκBδ activity) gain of function (GOF) due to the accumulation of unprocessed p100, therefore increasing the inhibitory activity of IκBδ (hereafter, p52/IκBδ).

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(Objectives) Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a life-threatening condition associated with poor outcomes. Early intervention is critical, particularly in low-volume hospitals, which are advised to transfer aSAH patients to high-volume centers. This study examines a novel protocol implemented in 2016 at Região Autónoma da Madeira, a Portuguese island.

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