Publications by authors named "Laura Flores"

Urethane is widely used for its ability to induce prolonged anesthesia. Variability in previously reported cardiovascular parameters in murine models makes it challenging to definitively evaluate the cardiovascular effects of urethane anesthesia. We aimed to address these challenges, thereby advancing our understanding of urethane's effects on cardiovascular function in mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Aguascalientes has a high rate of kidney failure in young adults, potentially linked to low kidney volume (KV) at birth and exposure to harmful substances (xenobiotics).
  • The study involved 299 healthy pregnant women, analyzing their urine, amniotic fluid, and their newborns' urine to measure various toxic metals and pesticides, alongside calculating the total kidney volume.
  • Results indicated that exposure to specific pesticides and fluoride during pregnancy correlated with low kidney volume in infants, suggesting a possible connection to kidney health issues and electrolyte imbalances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at the dangers of radiation and acid pollution from fine coal waste stored in big piles called tailings dams.
  • It found that this fine coal waste has levels of uranium and thorium that are higher than what is normally found around the world.
  • The tests showed that there might be a risk from radiation, and that acid drainage (which is bad for the environment) can happen or not happen in the same place.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Cancer is a leading cause of death among Hispanic and/or Latinx populations in the U.S., highlighting the need for targeted interventions in radiation therapy access and treatment outcomes.
  • The NAVAH program utilized a Spanish-language culturally sensitive survey to understand barriers faced by Hispanic-American breast cancer patients, focusing on several categories like acceptability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability, and availability.
  • A pilot study with 6 volunteers indicated satisfaction with medical providers, yet revealed significant concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare treatment and system interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Complete avoidance of milk is the usual management for IgE-mediated cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA). A baked milk ladder is a method of dietary advancement therapy in IgE-mediated CMPA in Ireland, while in Spain, avoidance of milk awaiting natural tolerance acquisition through an oral food challenge (OFC) is employed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of dietary advancement therapy using a milk ladder compared with complete avoidance of milk for managing IgE-mediated CMPA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Anaphylaxis has been increasing in recent years, with common triggers in infants being milk and eggs. Currently, the mainstay of treatment for milk and/or egg allergy is strict avoidance. Recently, new therapies have emerged including stepwise introduction of allergens via a ladder approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The retention of physicians and other health care professionals in rehabilitation medicine is a critical issue that affects patients' access to care and the quality of the care they receive. In the United States and globally, there are known shortages of clinicians including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. These shortages are predicted to worsen in the future.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Radiation therapy (RT) is an essential cancer treatment but can lead to side effects like fatigue and pain; prehabilitation aims to improve health before treatment to lessen these effects and enhance recovery.
  • A scoping review was conducted to analyze studies from the past 21 years that focus on prehabilitation interventions for cancer patients undergoing RT, uncovering 30 relevant articles with over 3600 participants.
  • The majority of studies (60%) were randomized controlled trials, mainly looking at patients with head and neck cancer, and focused primarily on targeted physical exercises as prehabilitation interventions, with adherence and feasibility being the key outcomes measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of prehabilitation is to improve the physical and emotional health of patients before upcoming surgery or therapies. This mini-review focuses on current advances in urological prehabilitation and how it can be used together with enhanced recovery after surgery and conventional rehabilitation protocols. Urological prehabilitation has primarily focused on improving urinary continence, erectile function, bone density, and lean body mass, with some promising results for all of these outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Documented disparities have profoundly impacted the training and careers of physicians from socially and historically marginalized groups, including women, people with disabilities, people who identify with racial and ethnic minority groups, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning+ community. Professionalism is a core component of medical training and practice, yet a focus on workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion is often absent. This report aims to encourage the adoption of workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion as a crucial component of professionalism, with an emphasis on the field of psychiatry.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many species exhibit biparental care to maximize fitness. When a partner is lost, the surviving partner may alter their behavior to compensate offspring. Whether both sexes use the same physiological mechanisms to manifest their change in behavior remains elusive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Anaphylaxis is rising in prevalence among children. The current recommendations on the effective transition of anaphylaxis management to adolescents and young adults suggest preparation for the transition may be considered at 11-13 years of age in accordance with the patient's developmental stage. However, there has been limited research conducted on the perspective of caregivers regarding the transition of anaphylaxis management to their children.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and worsened existing healthcare inequalities, particularly affecting individuals with disabilities and racial/ethnic minorities.
  • - Certain groups, such as pregnant women, children, and older adults, may require specialized medical care during and after their illness.
  • - To address these disparities, more research and clinical guidelines are needed to ensure equitable and individualized healthcare, with telemedicine potentially helping to bridge the care gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a regression in baseline health of disadvantaged populations, including individuals with frail syndrome, older age, disability, and racial-ethnic minority status. These patients often have more comorbidities and are associated with increased risk of poor postoperative complications, hospital readmissions, longer length of stay, nonhome discharges, poor patient satisfaction, and mortality. There is critical need to advance frailty assessments to improve preoperative health in older populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Despite robust weight loss and cardiometabolic benefit, lean mass loss following sleeve gastrectomy (SG) confers health risk. Bisphosphonates are a potential therapeutic agent for lean mass maintenance. Thus, our objective was to explore the effect of six months of risedronate (vs placebo) on change in dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT) derived lean mass metrics in the year following SG.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In wineries, wastewater production and solid waste generation can pose serious environmental threats. Winery wastewater production has a seasonal behavior and needs a treatment system that can adapt to these fluctuations while reducing costs, and environmental impacts and promoting other winery activities. The implementation of constructed wetlands (CWs) has been demonstrated to be a competitive solution for winery wastewater and sludge treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Older individuals often experience co-morbidities and frailty before elective surgeries, which can lead to complications; prehabilitation seeks to enhance their preoperative health.
  • A scoping review identified 36 studies from between August 2012 and August 2022, focusing on the effectiveness of various prehabilitation methods, primarily exercise therapy.
  • Evidence suggests that prehabilitation, particularly multimodal programs, may improve postoperative recovery for older, frail patients undergoing surgeries like hip or knee replacements and cancer-related operations, though more robust studies are needed to confirm these benefits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This meta-analysis, which consisted of a scoping review and retrospective medical record review, is focused on potential sex differences in cardiovascular diseases in patients with Down syndrome. We limited our review to peer-reviewed, primary articles in the English language, in the PubMed and Web of Science databases from 1965 to 2021. Guidelines for scoping reviews were followed throughout the process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Significant inequities based on sex, race, ethnicity, and age exist among participants in clinical trials dedicated to investigating medical disease states. While general demographic data regarding blood donors and blood transfusion recipients have been studied extensively, the demographics of participants involved in blood donation and blood transfusion clinical trials are unknown. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of United States (U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mitochondria are more than just the cellular powerhouse. They also play key roles in vital functions such as apoptosis, metabolism regulation, and other intracellular interactions. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes for 12 subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The menopause transition is marked by hormonal shifts leading to body composition changes, such as fat mass gain and lean mass loss. Weight-bearing and resistance exercise can help maintain lean mass during the menopause transition; however, uptake is low. Pre-clinical research points to bisphosphonates as also being effective in preventing loss of lean mass.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Glucocorticoids act through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and exert pleiotropic effects in different cancer types. In prostate cancer cells, GR and androgen receptor (AR) share overlapping transcriptomes and cistromes. Under enzalutamide treatment, GR signaling can bypass AR activation and promote castration resistance via the expression of a subset of AR-target genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF