Autoinflammatory diseases are a group of disorders caused by the dysregulation of the innate immune system, leading to episodes of systemic inflammation, with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) being the most common among them. Other inflammatory disorders have recently been associated with FMF, including inflammatory bowel disease, specifically Crohn's disease (CD). While the gastrointestinal involvement in FMF is not the most typical presentation, both FMF and CD can share clinical features that challenge their diagnosis and treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnnu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc
July 2024
This study outlines the conceptual and design framework for a modular bioreactor intended to advance accessibility in tissue engineering by providing an optimal environment for three-dimensional cell growth and differentiation. By integrating 3D printing technology, we propose an innovative and cost-effective approach to bioreactor fabrication streamline the development and customization of tissue engineering applications. While the actual cell cultivation within the bioreactor has yet to be undertaken, preliminary analyses-including rigorous rheological evaluation and computational simulations-validate the bioreactor's potential to maintain a uniform, contamination-free culture environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), but the impact of baseline kidney function and care processes on outcomes is not well understood. We hypothesized that baseline kidney health status may influence courses and outcomes of AKI. : This is a multinational, multicenter, retrospective cohort study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) instillation is a widely used adjuvant therapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), typically associated with a favorable safety profile. However, severe complications such as systemic BCG infection, though rare, can occur and are potentially life-threatening. Diagnosing systemic BCG infection is challenging due to frequently negative microbiological results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAortic dissection is a life-threatening vascular emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality. Clinical manifestations might include severe chest pain to neurological deficits, depending on the arterial segments involved. Extensive dissections involving multiple aortic segments and branch vessel occlusions, such as the carotid arteries, are rare and pose unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare and slow-progressing lymphoid disorder commonly presenting with splenomegaly and cytopenias. The diagnosis can be challenging due to its nonspecific clinical presentation, frequently resembling other diseases. We report the case of a 48-year-old male patient, whose initial diagnostic hypotheses included cutaneous tuberculosis and reactive arthritis, but the diagnosis was confirmed as HCL after further investigation, including flow cytometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, sustainable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and pullulan (PUL)/PHBV filaments were prepared with ketoprofen for scaffold preparation. The research aimed evaluate the influence of pullulan in the filament properties, such as thermal, morphological, and biological behavior. Hansen parameters demonstrated the difference in the miscibility of the polymers and drug in the blend.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitrogenous pollution has been reported to be a major threat to biodiversity and, therefore, it may be related to the decline of amphibians, the most threatened group of vertebrates in the world. In spite of this, and the widespread release of nitrogenous compounds into the environment, research on the impact of this pollution on Neotropical species remains limited. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity of one anuran species inhabiting in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Dendropsophus haddadi) to NaNO by an acute exposure laboratory experiment, addressing also whether carryover effects exist.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe nonrandomness factor (α) is a parameter related to the polarity (and consequent randomness of spatial orientation) of the molecules and is generally fixed between 0.20 and 0.47 since no technique has been developed so far for its accurate estimation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Brazilian Amazon is a vast area with limited health care resources. To assess the epidemiology of critically ill acute kidney injury (AKI) patients in this area, a prospective cohort study of 1029 adult patients of the three intensive care units (ICUs) of Rio Branco city, the capital of Acre state, were evaluated from February 2014 to February 2016. The incidence of AKI was 53.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntensive Care Med Exp
September 2024
Background: Hypotension during dialysis arises from vasomotor tone alterations and hypovolemia, with disrupted counterregulatory mechanisms in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients. This study investigated the predictive value of preload dependency, assessed by the passive leg raising (PLR) test, and arterial tone, measured by dynamic elastance (Eadyn), for intradialytic hypotension (IDH).
Methods: In this prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary hospital ICU, hemodynamic parameters were collected from critically ill AKI patients undergoing intermittent hemodialysis using the FloTrac/Vigileo system.
Ren Fail
December 2024
Background: Renal dysfunction is a common complication following liver transplantation (LT). This study aimed to determine whether a comprehensive assessment of kidney function using nineteen serum and urinary biomarkers (BMs) within the first 48 h post-LT could enhance the prediction of severe acute kidney injury (AKI) and the need of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) during the first postoperative week.
Methods: Blood and urine (U) samples were collected during the pre- and postoperative periods.
Introduction: In-utero myelomeningocele repair is the gold standard treatment after the publication of the MOMS trial. We have performed a retrospective analysis from our prospective in-utero myelomeningocele closure database (started in 2011), and selected only patients with the incontinent bladder pattern according to the Leal da Cruz categorization (Leal da Cruz, et al. J Urol 2015) to review mid-term clinical outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcanthamoeba genus can affect humans with diseases such as granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a highly lethal neuroinfection. Several aspects of the disease still need to be elucidated. Animal models of GAE have advanced our knowledge of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study modeled the adsorption process of the drug diclofenac sodium on activated charcoal. For this purpose, a mass balance-based model was used considering a fixed bed column. The mass transfer rate in the solid phase was represented by a driving force model proposed in this study, and a gamma exponent with a range of 0 > γ ≤ 2 was assigned to the model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, petroleum-derived plastics are widely used despite the disadvantage of their long degradation time. Natural polymers, however, can be used as alternatives to overcome this obstacle, particularly cornstarch. The tensile properties of cornstarch films can be improved by adding plant-derived nanofibers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe transition to a low-carbon economy is one of the main challenges of our time. In this context, solar energy, along with many other technologies, has been developed to optimize performance. For example, solar trackers follow the sun's path to increase the generation capacity of photovoltaic plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntibiotics are the main active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the treatment and prevention (prophylaxis) of bacterial infections, for which they are essential for health preservation. However, depending on the target bacterial strain, an efficient treatment may imply weeks of continuous intake of antibiotics, whose unmetabolized fraction ends up in the wastewater system by human and animal excreta. The presence of these chemical compounds in wastewater is known to damage aquatic ecosystems and cause antibiotic resistance of pathogenic agents, which threatens the future application of these medicines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective was to evaluate the chemical composition and in vitro fermentation of spineless cactus of the genus Nopalea, F-21 (Nopalea cochenillifera Dyck), IPA-Sertânia (Nopalea cochenillifera Dyck) and Miúda (Nopalea cochenillifera Salm Dyck), in different phenophases. There was no effect (P < 0.05) of the phenological phases of spineless cactus on DM, ash, OM, EE, and CP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The increased screen media use among children aged 3 to 5, particularly in the post-COVID era, is concerning. Despite several organizations' recommendation of a one-hour screen limit for young children, actual usage often exceeds this guideline.
Objective: This study explored the influence of parental characteristics such as self-efficacy, motivation, socioeconomic status, and cognitive abilities on children's screen time habits.