Publications by authors named "Ortiz N"

Background: To optimize vaccination strategies, it is useful to detect breakthrough infections and assess vaccine effectiveness in programmatic use. Monitoring emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccine effectiveness against them is also essential to determine the most effective vaccine options. This study aims to monitor SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections, the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, and host immune response during the peri-infection period of COVID-19.

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Objective: To analyze long-term clinical and biomarker features of anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) autoimmune nodopathy (AN).

Methods: Patients with anti-CNTN1 autoimmune nodopathy detected in our laboratory from which clinical information was available were included. Clinical features and treatment response were retrospectively collected.

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Objective: To investigate COVID-19 disparities between Hispanic/Latino persons (H/L) and non-H/L persons in an agricultural community by examining behavioral and demographic differences.

Methods: In September 2020, we conducted Community Assessments for Public Health Emergency Response in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, Washington, to evaluate differences between H/L and non-H/L populations in COVID-19 risk beliefs, prevention practices, household needs, and vaccine acceptability. We produced weighted sample frequencies.

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Background: Low-intensity shockwave therapy (LiSWT) is an emerging non-invasive and restorative therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED) with demonstrated efficacy and few adverse events. Although LiSWT has been shown to improve erectile function amongst men with ED, few studies have examined its long-term durability. We present the long-term results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessing erectile function after LiSWT.

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Multiligament knee injuries (MLKIs) frequently require immediate intervention to prevent severe complications, including vascular injury. We present the case of a 51-year-old male who sustained a traumatic right knee dislocation following a motor vehicle accident. The patient exhibited significant tibiofemoral dissociation with Grade 3 instability, classified as Schenck KD IV.

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Legionnaires disease is a serious pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. During November 2022-June 2024, CDC was notified of 12 cases of Legionnaires disease among travelers on two cruise ships; eight on cruise ship A and four on cruise ship B. CDC, in collaboration with the cruise lines, initiated investigations to ascertain the potential sources of on-board exposure after notification of the second potentially associated case for each ship.

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Article Synopsis
  • Transforming atmospheric water vapor into liquid can help provide water in dry areas for drinking, thermal management, and hydrogen production.
  • Current methods are slow and rely on solid materials, while this new approach uses a liquid salt solution for capturing water, making the process more efficient.
  • The proposed method utilizes a hydrogel membrane for rapid water capture, showing potential to supply enough water for two to three people per square meter in arid conditions.
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Background And Objective: In-vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has become increasingly prevalent even in cases without significant male factor infertility; however, stagnant live-birth rates, both nationally and internationally, have driven more research into sperm selection. To date, nothing has replaced swim-up and density-gradient preparation methods and therefore we sought to review the state of the science.

Methods: A PubMed search was performed between years of 1989 and 2024 for English research articles reporting data on sperm selection technology in assisted reproductive technology.

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In recent years there has been a decline in the incidence of gastric cancer, however the high mortality rate has remained constant. The present study evaluated the potential effects of the retinoid fenretinide on the viability and migration of two cell lines, AGS and NCI-N87, that represented primary and metastatic intestinal gastric cancer subtypes, respectively. It was determined that a similar2 dose of fenretinide reduced the viability of both the primary and metastatic cell lines.

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X-ray nanotomography is a powerful tool for the characterization of nanoscale materials and structures, but it is difficult to implement due to the competing requirements of X-ray flux and spot size. Due to this constraint, state-of-the-art nanotomography is predominantly performed at large synchrotron facilities. We present a laboratory-scale nanotomography instrument that achieves nanoscale spatial resolution while addressing the limitations of conventional tomography tools.

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Introduction: Severe mental disorders can cause significant and lasting distress for patients and their families and generate high costs through the need for care and loss of productivity. This study tests DIALOG+, an app-based intervention to make routine patient-clinician meetings therapeutically effective. It combines a structured evaluation of patient satisfaction with a solution-focused approach.

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Serratia marcescens is an environmental gram-negative bacterium that causes invasive disease in rare cases. During 2020-2022, an outbreak of 21 invasive Serratia infections occurred in a prison in California, USA. Most (95%) patients had a history of recent injection drug use (IDU).

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Background: The advent of precision oncology (PO) has revolutionised diagnostic and follow up strategies and improved clinical outcomes for cancer patients. However, socio-economic inequalities in the level of implementation of PO in different countries is a prevailing issue. To improve this situation, the Latin America Patients Academy has gathered the recommendations of healthcare professionals and social civil members experienced in cancer management from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina regarding the areas that need to be prioritised to improve the access to PO in Latin American (LATAM) countries.

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Assisted human reproduction has undergone rapid advances since its inception 45 years ago. To keep pace with these advances, assisted reproduction laboratories should adhere to a quality management system that addresses staffing and training, physical space and air quality, equipment maintenance and other operational matters, and ensures gamete and embryo handling in accordance with the latest quality and safety standards. Accordingly, this review aims to provide a reference document that highlights the critical aspects to consider when establishing and operating an ART laboratory.

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Introduction: Iatrogenic injury during urethral catheterization is a common reason for inpatient urologic consultation and is associated with increased morbidity and resource utilization. Literature defining the patient population, interventions, or outcomes associated with traumatic catheterization is scarce.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of consults for adult urethral catheterization at a single tertiary care center (July 2017-December 2019), with focus on patient characteristics and complications.

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Based on the spatial aspect of human beings and the social production of spaces and places, and considering that the social and health crisis associated with COVID-19 led to changes in spaces as well as restrictions and greater regulations regarding their use and social interactions, this article develops a theoretical discussion on the relationship between people and public space in the context of Colombia. This reflection is developed around four themes: the transformations of public spatiality as materiality; the normative uses of public space as a way of surveillance and control of society; the lessening of the world to proximal spatial scales and the consequent transformations in the relationalities with and in public spaces; and the contradictions and inequities of public space, expressed in the unequal distribution of spatial forms of living the pandemic. These aspects lead us to consider the relevance of highlighting the experiential sense of public spaces, from the analysis of new relationalities and social networks that take place there.

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Objective: The objective of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to summarize the latest studies evaluating the burden of illness in endogenous Cushing's syndrome (CS), including the impact of CS on overall and domain-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the economic burden of CS to provide a holistic understanding of disease and treatment burden.

Methods: An SLR was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist to identify peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference abstracts published in English from 2015 to December 4, 2020.

Results: Forty-five publications were eligible for inclusion; data were extracted from 37 primary studies while 8 SLRs were included for reference only.

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Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a common treatment in which radiofrequency (RF) is used to heat neural tissue and reduce pain. The impact of adipose content in tissue on the lesion size may impact efficacy, and to date, there is little, if any, data comparing its influence on RFA.

Objectives: We evaluated the influence of adipose tissue on RF lesion size.

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Background: Low-intensity shockwave therapy for erectile dysfunction is emerging as a promising treatment option.

Aim: This randomized sham-controlled crossover trial assessed the efficacy of low-intensity shockwave therapy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Methods: Thirty-three participants with organic erectile dysfunction were enrolled and randomized to shockwave therapy (n = 17) or sham (n = 16).

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Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in Colombia. To date, small-scale Colombian coffee growers have developed this activity with a simple infrastructure and random use of water that generates harmful by-products to the water resource mainly in the stage of separation of the mucilage. The coffee mucilage wastewater (CMW) is composed of high organic loads and its impact on water sources is due to its high load of nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values of over 25,000 mg/L.

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Background: There are little published data regarding longer percutaneous drain durations following inflatable penile prosthesis placement; despite this, drain proponents suggest reduced scrotal hematoma formation, while detractors cite the risk of retrograde device seeding.

Aim: Here, we quantify the outcomes of a multi-institutional cohort with drain durations of 48 hours or greater.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively for patients undergoing primary 3-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) placement who had a postoperative drain placed.

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Background And Objective: With the general population aging and thus more patients developing bothersome erectile dysfunction, stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder, there will likely be a higher demand for three common interactive implants in urology, the penile prosthesis, artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) and sacral neuromodulation (SNM). Further, the prevalence of mild and major neurocognitive disorders (also known as mild cognitive impairment and dementia, respectively) is expected to increase. While the aforementioned urologic implants have excellent short and long term outcomes, there are also known device issues such as malfunction or misuse that may require surgical removal and/or revision.

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Histopathology associated with the apicomplexan Aggregata valdessensis in the wild population of Octopus tehuelchus was studied. Moreover, to analyze the impact of the prevalence and infection intensity on the dorsal mantle length, sex, maturity stages, condition index and total hemocyte counts on wild O. tehuelchus, Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were applied.

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