Publications by authors named "Mena D"

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in physiological and pathological processes. Mitochondria, particularly in skeletal and cardiac myocytes, are recognized as the primary site of ROS generation. Detecting oxidative modifications of intracellular or circulating molecules, such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, is commonly employed to indicate ROS formation.

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Throughout the progress of epidemic scenarios, individuals in different health classes are expected to have different average daily contact behavior. This contact heterogeneity has been studied in recent adaptive models and allows us to capture the inherent differences across health statuses better. Diseases with reinfection bring out more complex scenarios and offer an important application to consider contact disaggregation.

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Genetics have nominated many schizophrenia risk genes and identified convergent signals between schizophrenia and neurodevelopmental disorders. However, functional interpretation of the nominated genes in the relevant brain cell types is often lacking. We executed interaction proteomics for six schizophrenia risk genes that have also been implicated in neurodevelopment in human induced cortical neurons.

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been linked to genes with enriched expression in the brain, but it is unclear how these genes converge into cell-type-specific networks. We built a protein-protein interaction network for 13 ASD-associated genes in human excitatory neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The network contains newly reported interactions and is enriched for genetic and transcriptional perturbations observed in individuals with ASDs.

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with a rapid progression and no effective treatment. Metabolic and mitochondrial alterations in peripheral tissues of ALS patients may present diagnostic and therapeutic interest. We aimed to identify mitochondrial fingerprints in lymphoblast from ALS patients harboring SOD1 mutations (mutSOD1) or with unidentified mutations (undSOD1), compared with age-/sex-matched controls.

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Article Synopsis
  • Polypharmacology is emerging as a promising approach for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), focusing on multiple underlying causes like cell damage and inflammation.
  • Researchers developed multi-target drugs by combining riluzole and rasagiline into a new single-molecule hybrid, which showcased inhibitory effects on monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and showed good brain permeability.
  • The new compound demonstrated a protective effect against neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in various cell models, including those from ALS patients, contributing to its potential as an effective ALS treatment.
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Despite Latino Americans having been found to be disproportionally affected by COVID-19, they report higher hesitancy to receive the COVID-19 vaccine than non-Hispanic whites. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence Puerto Rican's intentions to get the COVID-19 Vaccine. A sample ( = 173) of people who currently lived in Puerto Rico were recruited to complete an online, cross-sectional survey about their intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study focuses on improving breast cancer surgery by using Laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS) combined with machine learning to effectively predict the likelihood of tumors and assess prediction errors in real-time.
  • Previous research showed that LRS can differentiate between healthy and tumor tissues; this study enhanced that capability with k-means and neural network (NN) algorithms, achieving high accuracy and sensitivity compared to expert histopathology.
  • Findings indicated specific LRS signals (like increased DNA/RNA intensity and loss of high wavenumber signals) as key indicators of tumors, with NNs allowing for quick creation and evaluation of multiple classification models and their errors.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide, being characterized by the deposition of senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles (enriched in the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide and hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau), respectively) and memory loss. Aging, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and female sex (especially after menopause) are risk factors for AD, but their crosslinking mechanisms remain unclear. Most clinical trials targeting AD neuropathology failed and it remains incurable.

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In this article, we the present the evaluation of the first phase of a KT initiative, the codification of the tacit and explicit knowledge of community social pediatrics (CSP) practitioners. As increasing numbers of professionals began working in the CSP field, it became necessary to capture the know-how to make it better understood. This first phase of the initiative took advantage of one of the KM stages, the codifying process that is absent from KT models.

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The metabolite 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME) is an endogenous estrogen metabolite with potential therapeutic properties in reproductive cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms by which 2ME exerts its anticancer activity are not well elucidated. The purpose of this study was to determine the molecular signals associated with the apoptotic effects of 2ME in a human endometrial cancer cell line.

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Whole slide imaging (WSI) scanners and automatic image analysis algorithms, in order to be used for clinical applications, including primary diagnosis in pathology, are subject to specific regulatory frameworks in each country. Until May 25, 2018, in the European Union (EU), diagnostic (IVD) medical devices were regulated by directive 98/79/EC ( diagnostic medical device directive [IVDD]). Main scanner vendors have obtained a Conformité Européenne mark of their products that in Europe were classified as General Class IVDD, so that conformity is only based on a self-declaration of the manufacturer.

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As digital pathology systems for clinical diagnostic work applications become mainstream, interoperability between these systems from different vendors becomes critical. For the first time, multiple digital pathology vendors have publicly revealed the use of the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) standard file format and network protocol to communicate between separate whole slide acquisition, storage, and viewing components. Note the use of DICOM for clinical diagnostic applications is still to be validated in the United States.

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Digital pathology is an interdisciplinary field where competency in pathology, laboratory techniques, informatics, computer science, information systems, engineering, and even biology converge. This implies that teaching students about digital pathology requires coverage, expertise, and hands-on experience in all these disciplines. With this in mind, a syllabus was developed for a digital pathology summer school aimed at professionals in the aforementioned fields, as well as trainees and doctoral students.

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The use of (18)F-DOPA PET/CT with magnetic resonance imaging fusion and the use of visual methods and quantitative analysis helps to differentiate between changes post-radiosurgery vs. suspicion of disease progression in a patient with brain metastases from melanoma, thus facilitating taking early surgical action.

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Myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors, most frequently found in the left atrium. We present a case of an atrial myxoma. An in-depth review of atrial myxoma is presented, examining the important clinical symptoms and diagnostic indicators.

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Objective: To compare occult brain injuries on neuroimaging in clinically asymptomatic children under 20 months due to abusive versus accidental head trauma.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective review of 58 children under 20 months who underwent neuroimaging for possible abusive trauma was performed. The data collected were demographics, neurological signs/symptoms, imaging findings, and disposition (abusive or accidental).

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Aortic dissection is a relatively rare but dreadful illness, often presenting with tearing chest pain and acute hemodynamic compromise. Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment are essential for survival. In the present review, a rare case of an asymptomatic ascending aortic dissection is reported.

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Purpose: To determine the primary success and recurrence rate of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defects (PEDs) in eyes after penetrating keratoplasty (PK).

Design: Retrospective, non-randomized, observational case series.

Method: AMT was performed in 24 eyes of 24 patients with erosions (n=6) or ulcers (n=18), which were resistant to medical therapy.

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Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome was originally described as being secondary to an infection. Currently, it is almost exclusively secondary to malignancy. A case of SVC syndrome presenting with dyspnea, facial swelling, neck distension and cough developed over a period of 10 days is reported.

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