Publications by authors named "Olga Fernandez"

Article Synopsis
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in female adolescents, leading to various health issues, including metabolic and psychiatric problems.
  • Recent studies indicate a higher risk of mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in women with PCOS, and potential neurodevelopmental risks for their children as well.
  • The underlying causes for these mental health associations are not fully understood yet, emphasizing the need for better mental health assessments and collaboration among healthcare providers in managing PCOS.
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Unlabelled: Macrophages are the principal host cells of . in human infection and play a critical role in controlling infection and enabling parasite survival and persistence. Nevertheless, understanding of drug resistance in leishmaniasis has primarily focused on the parasite.

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  • Interleukin-2 (IL-2) has been used for cancer treatment for over 30 years, but high toxicity has led to the development of mutant variants with lower toxicity and enhanced therapeutic benefits.
  • The Center of Molecular Immunology has created a new variant called IL-2 no-alpha mutein, which is currently undergoing a Phase I/II clinical trial and is produced in E. coli through a process that requires refolding.
  • A new purification method involving copper-catalyzed air oxidation ensures proper disulfide bond formation, resulting in a protein with improved 3D structure, higher purity, and greater biological activity compared to previous methods.
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Objective: Arboviruses pose a challenge in ensuring the supply of pathogen-free blood components because they are not routinely screened in blood banks, and blood components from infected asymptomatic donors could be transfused. This study aimed to detect and characterize arboviral infections in Colombian blood donors.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, the prevalence of dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), and chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses and co-infections of blood donors were compared between an epidemic period (November 2019-February 2020,  = 462) and an endemic period (November 2021-August 2022,  = 1,119).

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  • - Neutrophils play a crucial role in fighting infections, but their function in drug-resistant infections, like leishmaniasis, is not well understood.
  • - Research shows that drug-resistant parasites change the expression of certain neutrophil genes, increasing detoxification processes and reducing cytokine production, particularly impacting a chemokine called CCL3.
  • - Reduced CCL3 levels hinder neutrophils’ ability to recruit other immune cells, which was confirmed in mouse models, highlighting how drug-resistant parasites can alter immune responses in infected skin.
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  • *2! It finds that parasite survival rates in various cell models can predict treatment success, with Sb-resistant strains being associated with higher odds of treatment failure and larger lesion sizes in mouse models.
  • *3! Host risk factors also complicate the interpretation of treatment outcomes, indicating that both parasite characteristics and patient conditions play critical roles in the effectiveness of leishmaniasis treatment.
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  • Internet-based interventions like m-WWWT can help address postnatal depression and anxiety among new mothers, and this study explored its feasibility and effectiveness among participants in Chile.
  • The study involved 128 first-time mothers who were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group, with high recruitment and low dropout rates indicating that the intervention was well-received.
  • Although the overall effectiveness showed no significant differences between groups, certain women with lower initial symptoms did benefit from the intervention, suggesting potential for future research in similar contexts.
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Introduction: There is sufficient evidence about the effectiveness of internet-based interventions; however, the users' level of adoption and utilization remains low, with this phenomenon requiring adequate explanation.

Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the users' perceptions and experience of a web-based program (ASCENSO), designed to complement (usual) in-person depression treatment.

Method: Twelve participants of the ASCENSO program, comprised of adult individuals ( = 44.

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Background: The shortage of available transplant organs has made it necessary to search for alternatives, one of which is xenotransplantation. However, the use of animal organs could face rejection from society and the personnel involved in its implementation.

Objectives: (a) to analyze the attitudes of Veterinary Degree students in six Spanish Universities towards xenotransplantation; and (b) to determine the factors that affect its acceptance.

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  • The study aimed to explore how individuals recovering from depression subjectively understand their own recovery experiences.
  • Forty participants from South America, mainly women aged 22 to 63, were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed using Grounded Theory to identify key themes.
  • The main finding revealed that recovery is seen as a transformational process involving self-acceptance, empowerment, and active engagement in managing one's mental health, rather than just the absence of depressive symptoms.
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Symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety in new mothers are prevalent and negatively impact maternal emotional wellbeing and infant development. Barriers to accessing treatment prevent women from receiving mental health care, a situation that has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. mHealth interventions hold the potential to support women during the transition to parenthood despite these barriers and to promote the use of preventive interventions.

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  • The text refers to a correction for a previously published article in a psychology journal.
  • The specific article is identified by its DOI (Digital Object Identifier) number, 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712087.
  • This indicates that there may have been errors or updates necessary for the original publication.
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  • A total of 73 patients were randomly assigned to receive either MA with PTX or MA with a placebo, and various metrics were evaluated, including therapeutic failure rates and inflammatory gene expression.
  • Results indicated no significant improvement in treatment efficacy with PTX, showing failure rates of 35% for PTX compared to 25% for placebo, and no change in inflammatory mediator expression linked to the treatment groups.
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  • Internet-based mental health interventions, such as ASCENSO, aim to improve access to care for depression, especially when combined with traditional therapy (blended care), though their effectiveness in this context is still under investigation.
  • The study involved 167 adults with major depressive disorder in Chile, with half receiving ASCENSO alongside standard treatment (TAU) and the other half just TAU.
  • The outcomes measured include reductions in depressive symptoms and improvements in quality of life, evaluated through online assessments and mental health center records over a period of 6 to 9 months.
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  • Antimonial drugs and miltefosine often fail to effectively treat cutaneous leishmaniasis, prompting research into alternative oral combination therapies to boost treatment efficacy and prevent drug resistance.
  • In a study, posaconazole and itraconazole showed high potency against various Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis strains, while fluconazole and voriconazole were less effective.
  • The combination of miltefosine and posaconazole demonstrated significant synergy, leading to a greater reduction in infection when tested against clinical strains, indicating its potential as a new treatment strategy.
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  • Recent research shows that the body's natural immune response may play a role in how well antimicrobial drugs work, particularly against leishmaniasis.
  • The study focused on how clinical strains of parasites resistant to a common antileishmanial drug, pentavalent antimony (SbV), affect neutrophil activation by comparing sensitive and resistant strains.
  • The findings indicate that neutrophils infected with drug-resistant strains produce less reactive oxygen species and have a different expression profile for specific activation markers compared to those infected with drug-sensitive strains.
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  • - The study explores how parental psychological control (PC) affects adolescents’ autonomy and identity, focusing on factors like adolescent temperament, maternal anxiety, and perceptions of parental conflict in a sample of Chilean mother-adolescent pairs.
  • - Results showed that adolescents reported higher levels of PC than their mothers, with maternal anxiety, perceived interparental conflict, and adolescent frustration all linked to increased PC.
  • - Conversely, adolescents demonstrating better self-regulatory skills, indicated by higher effortful control, experienced lower levels of maternal PC, suggesting that these skills can help mitigate the effects of maternal psychological control.
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  • Children and adolescents under child protective services in Chile often have complex mental health needs, and traditional care may be limited due to the uneven distribution of specialized resources.
  • A study evaluated a telepsychiatry consultation program involving videoconferencing sessions with child psychiatrists, conducted twice a month over six months at rural primary health care clinics.
  • The results showed that the program effectively aided clinicians in diagnosing and treating 11 minors, was deemed useful, and addressed several connectivity challenges, indicating its feasibility for improving mental health care delivery.
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The immune mechanisms that contribute to the efficacy of treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to define immune correlates of the outcome of treatment of CL caused by () species during standard of care treatment with pentavalent antimonials. We conducted a comparative expression profiling of immune response genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and lesion biopsy specimens obtained from CL patients before and at the end of treatment (EoT) with meglumine antimoniate.

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  • * A study involving 2815 Spanish veterinary students revealed that 66% understood brain death, but only 37% supported the law of presumed consent regarding organ donation.
  • * Despite mixed feelings about the law, 71% of the students expressed interest in learning more about ODT through informational sessions.
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is the main causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Colombia and is usually treated with either meglumine antimoniate (MA) or miltefosine (MIL). In recent years, there has been increasing evidence of the emergence of drug-resistance against these compounds. Neutrophils are known to play an important role in immunity against .

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The mechanisms of Leishmania resistance to antimonials have been primarily determined in experimentally derived Leishmania strains. However, their participation in the susceptibility phenotype in field isolates has not been conclusively established. Being an intracellular parasite, the activity of antileishmanials is dependent on internalization of drugs into host cells and effective delivery to the intracellular compartments inhabited by the parasite.

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Infection by () , the predominant etiologic agent for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Colombia, is characterized by a chronic mixed inflammatory response. Current treatment options are plagued by toxicity, lengthy treatment regimens, and growing evidence of drug resistance. Immunotherapy, modulating the immune system to mount a protective response, may provide an alternate therapeutic approach.

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Cutaneous and mucosal leishmaniasis is widely distributed in Central and South America. Leishmania of the Viannia subgenus are the most frequent species infecting humans. L.

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Background: Therapeutic response in infectious disease involves host as well as microbial determinants. Because the immune and inflammatory response to Leishmania (Viannia) species defines the outcome of infection and efficacy of treatment, immunomodulation is considered a promising therapeutic strategy. However, since Leishmania infection and antileishmanial drugs can themselves modulate drug transport, metabolism and/or immune responses, immunotherapeutic approaches require integrated assessment of host and parasite responses.

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