Publications by authors named "Maria Rocha"

Introduction: The primary aim of stone treatment is to achieve stone-free status. Residual fragments can cause stone growth, recurrence, urinary tract infections, and ureteric obstruction. Our goal was to describe the natural history of stone burden after retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) based on stone-free status (SFS), evaluating stone growth and stone-events.

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Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) relieves motor symptoms, including levodopa-responsive gait disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD). Traditionally, STN-DBS is not indicated to treat severe, clinically resistant axial symptoms. In this scenario, field H1 of Forel (FF) stimulation (FF-DBS) is likely a feasible option, given it improves motor symptoms, including freezing of gait (FOG), as shown by a short-term study.

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  • The Candida parapsilosis species complex is a significant concern in healthcare settings due to rising antifungal resistance.
  • Geraniol, a terpene from essential oils, has demonstrated potential antimicrobial effects against this yeast species in both planktonic and biofilm forms.
  • In lab tests, geraniol showed an effective minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) between 256-512 µg/ml and reduced biofilm activity, while also enhancing the effectiveness of certain antifungal medications like amphotericin B and fluconazole.
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Existing literature suggests that infection-specific mechanisms may play a significant role in the onset and progression of dementia, as opposed to the broader phenomenon of systemic inflammation. In addition, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-coenzyme A (CoA) reductase inhibitors have been proposed as a potential therapeutic approach for sepsis, given their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. We investigated the neuroprotective effect of an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (simvastatin) by analyzing neurodegenerative markers, mitochondrial respiration, and neuronal tracing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) of sepsis survivor animals.

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  • The study investigates the effects of free and nanoencapsulated benznidazole on the inflammatory response and overall health of mice infected with a parasite, focusing on the role of the cholinergic system in immune regulation.
  • * The results show that while both treatments reduced parasite levels and improved blood conditions like anemia and thrombocytopenia, they did not completely eliminate the infection.
  • * Analysis reveals that benznidazole triggers changes in cholinergic signaling and results in significant inflammation and organ damage, but ultimately helps reverse some of the infection-related health issues in the test subjects.
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Background: Mesoionic compound MI-D possesses important biological activities, such as antiinflammatory and antitumoral against melanoma and hepatocarcinoma. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive and common central nervous system tumor in adults. Currently, chemotherapies are not entirely effective, and the survival of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma is extremely short.

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  • Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a primary immune disorder that results in poor B cell function, leading to low levels of immunoglobulins and a higher susceptibility to infections and autoimmune diseases.
  • A rare case of a woman in her 30s, already diagnosed with Evans syndrome and lymphocytic alveolitis, demonstrated CVID when she presented with severe headaches and brain lesions, despite no recurrent infections.
  • Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and immunosuppressive therapy improved her condition significantly, emphasizing the need to consider CVID in patients with autoimmune issues and the benefits of timely treatment.
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This article aims to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of maternal mortality in Brazil during the period 2010-2020 and identify related socioeconomic indicators. We conducted an ecological study of the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Brazil's municipalities using secondary data. Temporal analysis was performed using the joinpoint method.

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Seven seawater polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in water (DAP), suspended particulate matter (SPM), and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) collected from four beaches in northwest Portugal. PCBs were extracted using solid-phase-extraction, ultrasound-extraction and QuEChERS before GC-MS analysis. The two-year annual average concentrations of PCBs in DAP, SPM and the four-year analysis in mussels were ∼ 4.

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Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous infection caused by dimorphic species embedded in the clinical clade. Fungi have virulence factors, such as biofilm and melanin production, which contribute to their survival and are related to the increase in the number of cases of therapeutic failure, making it necessary to search for new options. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have already been shown to inhibit the growth and melanogenesis of other fungi.

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  • Cryptococcal meningitis, caused by yeast infecting both the lungs and central nervous system, is a significant global health issue, particularly among people with advanced HIV but increasingly affecting other immunocompromised groups.
  • Recent advancements have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, emphasizing the need for proper management of symptoms like elevated intracranial pressure.
  • The review highlights differences in the clinical presentation and prognosis of cryptococcal meningitis between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients and underscores the benefits of a collaborative approach among healthcare specialists.
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Bioemulsifiers are compounds produced by microorganisms that reduce the interfacial forces between hydrophobic substances and water. Due to their potential in the pharmaceutical and food industries and their efficiency in oil spill remediation, they have been the subject of study in the scientific community while being safe, biodegradable, and sustainable compared to synthetic options. These biomolecules have high molecular weight and polymeric structures, distinguishing them from traditional biosurfactants.

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Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by arterial, venous, or microvascular thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity, or non-thrombotic manifestations in patients with persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Catastrophic APS is a rare and severe form of APS that is defined by the presence of multiple vascular occlusive events. When a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is present, paradoxical embolization can occur, simultaneously leading to arterial and venous thrombosis.

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Eutrophication has become a recurrent concern in reservoirs worldwide. This problem is intensified in tropical semiarid regions, where the reservoirs have high seasonal and annual variability of water level and volume. Therefore, an extensive understanding of the diel variation of water quality key-parameters can help improve management of such reservoirs.

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  • - The study focused on creating protic ionic liquids (PILs), specifically 2-hydroxy ethylammonium formate (2-HEAF) and 2-hydroxy ethylammonium acetate (2-HEAA), to aid in the crystallization of the antibiotic isoniazid, which is crucial for treating tuberculosis.
  • - It was found that these PILs can change the habit and size of isoniazid crystals, making them more soluble in water compared to standard isoniazid, and exhibiting potential therapeutic advantages against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • - The PILs are non-toxic and demonstrated varied stability and degradation rates when combined with isoniazid, suggesting their
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Background Aims: Adequate re-establishment of thymopoiesis is critical for long-term immune reconstitution after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), potentially impacting patient survival rates. This study aimed to evaluate immune reconstitution in pediatric HCT recipients by quantifying recent thymic emigrants (RTEs), specifically CD3CD31CD45RA cells.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 186 pediatric patients transplanted between 2013 and 2020, undergoing their first allogeneic HCT, who were alive in the first 100 days after transplantation with immune recovery evaluation at three time points: day 100, day 180 and day 360 after HCT.

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Nephrectomy with autotransplantation (NAT) has been performed as an alternative treatment for complex renovascular lesions, intricate ureteral strictures and nephron-sparing surgery in complex renal tumors. : A retrospective observational study was conducted including patients who underwent a NAT from January 2010 to September 2023. Data collected included surgery indications, surgical technique, complications according to Clavien-Dindo classification and mean hospital stay.

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The impacts of hypolipidemic pharmaceuticals on fish lipid metabolism remain unexplored. However, data points to similar effects and mechanisms of action between fish and humans. Therefore, fish may be a strong model for screening hypolipidemic drug candidates and water pollution by lipid-modulating agents.

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Cryptococcal biofilms have been associated with persistent infections and antifungal resistance. Therefore, strategies, such as the association of natural compounds and antifungal drugs, have been applied for the prevention of biofilm growth. Moreover, the pathogenicity model has been used to investigate the capacity to inhibit the pathogenicity of .

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Typical two-cysteine peroxiredoxins (2-Cys-PRXs) are HO-metabolizing enzymes whose activity relies on two cysteine residues. Protists of the family Trypanosomatidae invariably express one cytosolic 2-Cys-PRX (cPRX1). However, the Leishmaniinae sub-family features an additional isoform (cPRX2), almost identical to cPRX1, except for the lack of an elongated C-terminus with a Tyr-Phe (YF) motif.

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  • SNURPORTIN-1 (SNUPN) is important for transporting proteins in the cell but its exact job wasn’t known before.
  • Researchers studied 18 kids with a rare type of muscular dystrophy and found that changes in the SNUPN gene might be causing their health issues.
  • The study showed that the faulty SNUPN protein doesn't work properly, leading to problems in muscle cells and causing symptoms of muscular dystrophy in these kids.
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