Publications by authors named "Miguel S"

Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), specifically PCV10 and PCV13, on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) globally, highlighting how these vaccines have reduced the prevalence of disease caused by vaccine-type serotypes after extensive use.
  • It describes the methodology of data collection from various surveillance sites, which aimed to evaluate IPD cases that occurred five years after the vaccines were implemented, focusing on different age groups for analysis.
  • Findings indicate significant differences in serotype distribution between PCV10 and PCV13 sites; notably, certain serotypes, such as 19A and serotype 3, were prevalent in specific age groups, signaling ongoing challenges in controlling
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Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) prevention bundles have been used to reduce infection rates in most types of surgery. Bundles tailored to colorectal surgery have been used with success.

Aim: To identify and review the individual interventions that constitute each SSI prevention care bundle in colorectal surgery, and the reduction in SSI rate associated with their implementation.

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In this work, supported Pt monometallic catalysts were prepared using oxide and carbon supports by conventional impregnation methods. Similar Pt metallic nanoparticle sizes (mean sizes about 1.8-2 nm) have been obtained using different Pt precursor loadings (0.

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Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized the landscape of cancer therapy, offering unprecedented specificity and diverse mechanisms to combat malignant cells. These biologic agents have emerged as a cornerstone in targeted cancer treatment, binding to specific antigens on cancer cells and exerting their therapeutic effects through various mechanisms, including inhibition of signaling pathways, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). The unique ability of mAbs to engage the immune system and directly interfere with cancer cell function has significantly enhanced the therapeutic armamentarium against a broad spectrum of malignancies.

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  • * Analysis of data from over 1 million forest plots and thousands of tree species shows that wood density varies significantly by latitude, being up to 30% denser in tropical forests compared to boreal forests, and is influenced mainly by temperature and soil moisture.
  • * The research also finds that disturbances like human activity and fire alter wood density at local levels, affecting forest carbon stock estimates by up to 21%, emphasizing the importance of understanding environmental impacts on forest ecosystems.
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Microalgae are microorganisms that are rich in bioactive compounds, including pigments, proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides. These compounds can be utilized for a number of biomedical purposes, including drug delivery, wound healing, and tissue engineering. Nevertheless, encapsulating microalgae cells and microalgae bioactive metabolites is vital to protect them and prevent premature degradation.

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Introduction: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRPs) represent a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach tailored to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and overall health-related quality of life, while reducing cardiovascular hospitalizations and mortality. Our aim was to determine changes in exercise capacity and cardiac events according to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) following a CRP.

Methods: This single-center cohort study included 131 patients who completed a center-based CRP from 2015 to 2022.

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Forest disturbance regimes across biomes are being altered by interactive effects of global change. Establishing baselines for assessing change requires detailed quantitative data on past disturbance events, but such data are scarce and difficult to obtain over large spatial and temporal scales. The integration of remote sensing with dense time series analysis and cloud computing platforms is enhancing the ability to monitor historical disturbances, and especially non-stand replacing events along climatic gradients.

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  • Long-term observational data is scarce, limiting the prediction of ecological variations using traditional statistical or machine-learning methods.
  • A new framework utilizes citizen-science data and machine-learning to model ecological observations based on environmental conditions, enhancing prediction accuracy.
  • This approach demonstrates the potential of using citizen-science data for real-time predictions of ecological events across large areas, making it accessible for ecologists and practitioners.
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Freshwater ecosystems host disproportionately high biodiversity and provide unique ecosystem services, yet they are being degraded at an alarming rate. Fires, which are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to global change, can affect these ecosystems in many ways, but this relationship is not fully understood. We conducted a systematic review to characterize the literature on the effects of fires on stream ecosystems and found that (1) abiotic indicators were more commonly investigated than biotic ones, (2) most previous research was conducted in North America and in the temperate evergreen forest biome, (3) following a control-impact (CI) or before-after (BA) design, (4) predominantly assessing wildfires as opposed to prescribed fires, (5) in small headwater streams, and (6) with a focus on structural and not functional biological indicators.

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The Mediterranean Basin has experienced substantial land use changes as traditional agriculture decreased and population migrated from rural to urban areas, which have resulted in a large forest cover increase. The combination of Landsat time series, providing spectral information, with lidar, offering three-dimensional insights, has emerged as a viable option for the large-scale cartography of forest structural attributes across large time spans. Here we develop and test a comprehensive framework to map forest above ground biomass, canopy cover and forest height in two regions spanning the most representative biomes in the peninsular Spain, Mediterranean (Madrid region) and temperate (Basque Country).

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Objectives: Dynamic trends of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) including the evolution of prevalent serotypes are very useful to evaluate the impact of current and future pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) and the rise of non-vaccine serotypes. In this study, we include epidemiological patterns of S. pneumoniae before and after COVID-19 pandemic.

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The emergence of alternative stable states in forest systems has significant implications for the functioning and structure of the terrestrial biosphere, yet empirical evidence remains scarce. Here, we combine global forest biodiversity observations and simulations to test for alternative stable states in the presence of evergreen and deciduous forest types. We reveal a bimodal distribution of forest leaf types across temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere that cannot be explained by the environment alone, suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

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Accurate measuring, mapping, and monitoring of mangrove forests support the sustainable management of mangrove blue carbon in the Asia-Pacific. Remote sensing coupled with modeling can efficiently and accurately estimate mangrove blue carbon stocks at larger spatiotemporal extents. This study aimed to identify trends in remote sensing/modeling employed in estimating mangrove blue carbon, attributes/variations in mangrove carbon sequestration estimated using remote sensing, and to compile research gaps and opportunities, followed by providing recommendations for future research.

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Article Synopsis
  • Remote sensing data is crucial for evaluating ecological changes but often lacks coverage for significant historical events affecting the environment.
  • The article discusses the untapped potential of historical black-and-white satellite photos from the 1960s to enhance ecological assessments and understand key ecological concepts.
  • Although these photos were declassified long ago, modern image processing advancements can help researchers better use this data for ecological and conservation inquiries.
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Environmental concerns about residues and the traditional disposal methods are driving the search for more environmentally conscious processes, such as pyrolysis and gasification. Their main final product is synthesis gas (syngas) composed of CO, CO, H, and methane. Syngas can be converted into various products using CO-tolerant microorganisms.

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Background: Haemodialysis units are now managing an increasing number of patients with varying needs and levels of acuity. To maintain safety, haemodialysis patients must be placed in the most appropriate dialysis unit that has the required human and physical resources to care for them. The first step towards achieving these goals is to develop a tool specific to haemodialysis units to effectively measure patient acuity.

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Tropical rainforests of Latin America (LATAM) are one of the world's largest carbon sinks, with substantial future carbon sequestration potential and contributing a major proportion of the global supply of forest carbon credits. LATAM is poised to contribute predominantly towards high-quality forest carbon offset projects designed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, halt biodiversity loss, and provide equitable conservation benefits to people. Thus, carbon markets, including compliance carbon markets and voluntary carbon markets continue to expand in LATAM.

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Hypophysitis is a pathology with low incidence and prevalence. Likewise, deep fungal infections in immunocompetent patients also represent a rare phenomenon. Even rarer is the case described below, where these two mentioned elements are combined, namely: pituitary cryptococcoma or granulomatous hypophysitis caused by said pathogen in a host without altered immune response.

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vast metabolic versatility places it as a remarkable model bacterium and an excellent biotechnological chassis. The key component of photosynthesis (PS) studied in this work (HP1) stands out among the other members of PpaA/AerR anti-repressor family since it lacks the motif they all share: the cobalamin B-12 binding motif. Despite being reduced and poorly conserved, HP1 stills controls PS as the other members of the family, allowing a fast response to changes in the redox state of the cell.

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Crude polysaccharides extracted from the sp. and sp. macroalgae collected in different seasons (winter, spring and summer) from the Galician and North Portugal coasts were characterised, aiming to support their biomedical application to wound healing.

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Currently, tissue engineering has been dedicated to the development of 3D structures through bioprinting techniques that aim to obtain personalized, dynamic, and complex hydrogel 3D structures. Among the different materials used for the fabrication of such structures, proteins and polysaccharides are the main biological compounds (biopolymers) selected for the bioink formulation. These biomaterials obtained from natural sources are commonly compatible with tissues and cells (biocompatibility), friendly with biological digestion processes (biodegradability), and provide specific macromolecular structural and mechanical properties (biomimicry).

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  • Clear-cutting, a common forestry practice, affects the soil fungal community in managed forests, but stand-level variations, particularly at the edge of clear-cuts, are not well understood.
  • Soil sampling from clear-cuts and surrounding areas showed small differences in fungal community composition and diversity, with the clear-cut zone having fewer ectomycorrhizal species but similar richness and evenness compared to the edge and forest zones.
  • Despite lower fungal biomass in clear-cuts, other soil properties like organic matter, pH, nitrogen, and phosphorus remained consistent across all zones, indicating that small-scale clear-cutting can maintain comparable soil fungal communities over the medium term.
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