Publications by authors named "Luis Leon"

Background: Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) followed by esophagectomy is the standard treatment for resectable, locally advanced esophageal cancer. The ideal timing between neoadjuvant therapy and esophagectomy is unclear. Delayed esophagectomy is associated with worse outcomes.

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Objectives: A growing body of data indicates that extracranial carotid artery disease (ECAD) can contribute to cognitive impairment. However, there have been mixed reports regarding the benefit of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) as it relates to preserving cognitive function. In this work, diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and neurocognitive testing are used to provide insight into structural and functional brain changes that occur in subjects with significant carotid artery stenosis, as well as changes that occur in response to CEA.

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Background: Reported advantages to robotic thoracic surgery include shorter length of stay (LOS), improved lymphadenectomy, and decreased complications. It is uncertain if these benefits occur when introducing robotics into a well-established video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) practice. We compared the two approaches to investigate these advantages.

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Purpose: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating disease characterized by persistent fatigue and decreased daily activity following physical and/or cognitive exertion. While ME/CFS affects both sexes, there is a higher prevalence in women. However, studies evaluating this sex-related bias are limited.

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Contemporary concepts in health-care reform promote a shift in the provision of care away from hospitals in favor of the more cost-effective and efficient use of outpatient facilities including ambulatory surgery centers and office-based procedure centers particularly in the care of cardiovascular disease. This article reviews the experience of patients and specialists in caring for patients with peripheral arterial disease in an office-based care setting.

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Background: Atherectomy is an important option for debulking atherosclerotic plaque from diseased arteries in patients with infrainguinal arterial disease. Laser atherectomy uses a high-powered laser to remove the plaque from the arteries to restore blood flow.

Aims: The Pathfinder multicenter registry was initiated to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the 355 nm laser atherectomy system in a real-world setting for the treatment of de novo, re-stenotic and in-stent restenosis (ISR) lesions in infrainguinal arteries of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).

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angelfishes are some of the most iconic marine fishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP). However, very limited genomic resources currently exist for the genus. In this study we: (i) assembled and annotated the nuclear genome of the King Angelfish (), and (ii) examined the demographic history of in the TEP.

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Objective: Patients undergoing intervention for acute iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (IFDVT) with May-Thurner syndrome (MTS) typically require inpatient (IP) hospitalization for initial treatment with anticoagulation and management with pharmacomechanical thrombectomy. Direct oral anticoagulants and percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) devices offer the opportunity for outpatient (OP) management. We describe our approach with these patients.

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Background: Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) and liposomal bupivacaine (LB) are two methods used for postoperative pain control after thoracic surgery. Some studies have compared LB to standard bupivacaine. However, data comparing the outcomes of LB to TEA after minimally invasive lung resection is limited.

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Article Synopsis
  • Dystonia, linked to cerebellar dysfunction, causes issues like abnormal movements and disrupted sleep, indicating a need for therapies addressing both symptoms simultaneously.
  • Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown effectiveness in reducing motor symptoms of dystonia and may also help with sleep disturbances, though its dual effects targeting the cerebellum haven't been fully explored.
  • In experiments with genetic mouse models of dystonia, cerebellar DBS improved sleep quality and timing, reduced the latency to REM sleep, and alleviated severe motor symptoms, suggesting its potential as a combined treatment strategy.
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Human disturbances are altering the biosphere in unprecedented ways. Yet, the precise picture of how these disturbances are altering the biosphere and the consequences for humans and the planet reamain undefined. The knowledge and tools to quantify these impacts are often dispersed across traditionally independent scientific disciplines.

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Salmonella spp. is a prevalent pathogen that causes great public health concern worldwide. Bacteriophage-based cocktails have arisen as an alternative to antibiotics to inhibit the growth of Salmonella.

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Lower Central America (LCA) has a complex biogeographic history shaped by the rise of the Isthmus of Panama and the global climatic oscillations of the Pleistocene. These events have been crucial in structuring biodiversity in LCA, but their consequences for the distribution and partitions of genetic diversity across the region remain to be elucidated. We combined complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to study the phylogeographic history and population genetic structure of the electric fish Brachyhypopomus occidentalis in LCA.

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An aberrant right subclavian artery, the most common anatomic variant of the aortic arch, occurs in 0.5% of the population. Symptoms generally result from compression of the esophagus and/or trachea as the aberrant vessel passes posteriorly in the mediastinum.

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Biological invasions are expected to alter food web structure, but there are limited empirical data directly comparing invaded versus uninvaded food webs, particularly in species-rich, tropical systems. We characterize for the first time the food web of Lake Gatun-a diverse and highly invaded tropical freshwater lake within the Panama Canal. We used stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the trophic structure of the fish community of Lake Gatun and to compare it to that of a minimally invaded reference lake, Lake Bayano.

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Hypersensitivity reactions after endovenous ablation with cyanoacrylate are relatively common, mild, and self-limited. However, rare cases of severe hypersensitivity reactions have occurred. To date and to the best of our knowledge, only two other cases requiring vein excision have been reported, and we present the third.

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Divergent natural selection should lead to adaptive radiation-that is, the rapid evolution of phenotypic and ecological diversity originating from a single clade. The drivers of adaptive radiation have often been conceptualized through the concept of "adaptive landscapes," yet formal empirical estimates of adaptive landscapes for natural adaptive radiations have proven elusive. Here, we use a 17-year dataset of Darwin's ground finches (Geospiza spp.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study reveals that the molecular circadian clock is essential for this fear-entrained behavior, but having a functional clock in the SCN alone is not enough to maintain these changes.
  • * The findings suggest that the changes in circadian rhythms and sleep patterns typically seen in fear and anxiety disorders may be influenced by a circadian clock that has been altered through fear responses.
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Sylvatic New World mosquitoes (e.g. Old-growth Forest species) can transmit viruses among non-human primates.

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Widespread species often harbor unrecognized genetic diversity, and investigating the factors associated with such cryptic variation can help us better understand the forces driving diversification. Here, we identify potential cryptic species based on a comprehensive dataset of COI mitochondrial DNA barcodes from 2,333 individual Panamanian birds across 429 species, representing 391 (59%) of the 659 resident landbird species of the country, as well as opportunistically sampled waterbirds. We complement this dataset with additional publicly available mitochondrial loci, such as ND2 and cytochrome obtained from whole mitochondrial genomes from 20 taxa.

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Published scientific evidence demonstrate the current spread of healthcare misinformation in the most popular social networks and unofficial communication channels. Up to 40% of the medical websites were identified reporting inappropriate information, moreover being shared more than 450,000 times in a 5-year-time frame. The phenomenon is particularly spread in infective diseases medicine, oncology and cardiovascular medicine.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Dystonia, the third most common movement disorder, is linked to sleep issues, particularly in the cerebellum, which plays a crucial role in regulating sleep but whose exact impact on these impairments is not well understood.
  • - Researchers created two genetically modified mouse models of dystonia to study how cerebellar dysfunction affects both movement and sleep; these models show different levels of motor disorders but share issues with neurotransmission in cerebellar circuits.
  • - Findings revealed that both mouse models experienced more wakefulness and non-REM sleep while struggling to enter REM sleep, suggesting that the alterations in cerebellar circuits contribute to sleep quality problems independently from motor symptoms in dystonia.
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Human disturbances are altering global biodiversity in unprecedented ways. We identify three fundamental challenges underpinning our understanding of global biodiversity (namely discovery, loss, and preservation), and discuss how the omics revolution (e.g.

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Background: The best approach to tuberculosis (TB) treatment in transplanted patients is still unknown. Current guidelines are based on evidence either extrapolated from other populations or observational. Rifampin-containing regimens have strong pharmacokinetic interactions with immunosuppressive regimens, with high rates of organ dysfunction and ∼20% mortality.

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