Publications by authors named "PINTO A"

Background: The utilization of standardized patient-rated outcome measures (PROMs) by hand therapists is essential to evaluate treatment and clinical outcomes and underpins evidence-based and patient-centered practice. However, research indicates that the routine use of PROMs is inconsistent in clinical practice.

Purpose: To explore the barriers and enablers experienced by hand therapists in the routine use of standardized and valid PROMs.

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Objective: To understand the role of primary care in the COVID-19 pandemic to provide insight into its functioning and inform potential reforms.

Composition Of The Committee: The now dissolved Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (Science Table) was formed in July 2020 to provide decision makers and the public with a synthesis of rapidly evolving evidence related to COVID-19. The Science Table was based at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and supported by Public Health Ontario.

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The healing of lower eyelid injuries can lead to anatomical distortion and compromise the function of multiple periocular structures. To restore eyelid function and aesthetics, it is crucial to establish an accurate diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment to the affected structures. The presented case describes the diagnosis and surgical treatment of a lower eyelid symblepharon, which can be easily misdiagnosed as other scarring sequelae.

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Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: , from accumulated snow sediment sample. , on leaf spots of . , on submerged decaying wood in sea water, on , as endophyte from healthy leaves of .

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NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (NO-GC) is involved in the (patho)physiology of the mammalian heart. However, little is known about the individual cardiac cell types that express NO-GC and the role of the enzyme in cardiac fibrosis. Here, we describe the cellular expression of NO-GC in healthy and fibrotic murine myocardium; these data were compared with scRNA-seq data.

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Ensuring the provision of safe drinking water necessitates thorough monitoring of microbial water quality. While traditional culture-based enumeration of bacterial indicators has served as the gold standard in compliance monitoring since the late 19th century, recent advancements in microbial sensor technology, driven by automation and digitalization, are revolutionizing on-site monitoring capabilities. These innovations offer unparalleled potential for automated, high temporal frequency monitoring with remote, real-time data transmission.

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Hypertension is one of the most important chronic diseases worldwide. Hypertension is a critical condition encountered frequently in daily life, forming a significant area of service in Primary Health Care (PHC), which healthcare professionals often confront. It serves as a precursor to many critical illnesses and can lead to fatalities if not addressed promptly.

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The Notch signaling pathway is crucial for skeletal muscle development, regeneration, inflammation, and aging. This study investigated the association between interleukin-10 (IL-10) and the Notch pathway in C2C12 cells, as well as explored the effects of combined endurance and resistance exercise on the Notch and autophagy pathways in the skeletal muscle of senescence-accelerated mouse-resistant 1 Sedentary (SAMR1 CT), SAMR1 exercised (SAMR1 EX), senescence-accelerated prone mouse 8 Sedentary (SAMP8 CT), and SAMP8 exercised (SAMP8 EX). C2C12 myoblasts were transfected with siIL-10.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sarcoid-like reaction (SLR) is an immune response affecting lymph nodes and organs, which doesn't fulfill the criteria for systemic sarcoidosis, and can be associated with certain diseases like Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  • A 60-year-old male patient with treated CLL developed ALS symptoms following exposure to Venetoclax and Rituximab, presenting with rashes and weakness that progressed over a year.
  • Diagnosis complications included atypical signs and symptoms, leading to misdiagnosis of neurosarcoidosis and challenges in treatment, despite initial interventions with prednisolone and infliximab.
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Background: We report our experience of patients with generalised myasthenia gravis (gMG) treated with efgartigimod, an neonatal Fc receptor antagonist, under the Early Access to Medicine Scheme (EAMS) in the UK.

Methods: Data from all UK patients treated with efgartigimod under the EAMS July 2022 to July 2023 were collected retrospectively. Efgartigimod was administered as per the ADAPT protocol (consisting of a treatment cycle of four infusions at weekly intervals with further cycles given according to clinical need).

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Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive adult glioma (16-month median survival). Its immunosuppressive microenvironment limits the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Objectives: To assess the effects of the ICIs antibodies anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti-PD-L1) in treating adults with diffuse glioma.

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Impacted teeth are a common phenomenon, in both young and adult populations, as extensively documented in the literature. This study aims to systematically assess the global prevalence of impacted third molars and to analyze their demographic predictors. The present review adheres to PRISMA guidelines and includes studies published until December 2023.

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Background: In SARS-CoV-2 infection, cytokines and laboratory biomarkers play a key role in disease progression and their long-term levels have been associated with the outcome of long COVID-19.

Objectives: I) study the levels of cytokines, hematological and biochemical biomarkers in the acute and post-acute phases of COVID-19 disease; and II) assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccine doses on fatigue symptoms.

Methods: This study is an exploratory cohort nested within a clinical and laboratory follow-up of surviving participants after pre-vaccine acute COVID-19 infection with severe clinical manifestations.

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Snake venom-secreted phospholipases A (svPLAs) are critical, highly toxic enzymes present in almost all snake venoms. Upon snakebite envenomation, svPLAs hydrolyze cell membrane phospholipids and induce pathological effects such as paralysis, myonecrosis, inflammation, or pain. Despite its central importance in envenomation, the chemical mechanism of svPLAs is poorly understood, with detrimental consequences for the design of small-molecule snakebite antidotes, which is highly undesirable given the gravity of the epidemiological data that ranks snakebite as the deadliest neglected tropical disease.

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Malaria continues to be a major threat to public health in tropical regions, primarily affecting sub-Saharan Africa but also Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Malaria cases in Honduras have seen a significant decline and the country aims to eliminate the disease by 2030. This study examines the genetic diversity of and in Honduras using four molecular markers (, , , and ), and the chloroquine resistance marker in the context of the elimination phase.

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The increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance has prompted a need for more effective antimicrobial stewardship programs (AMS). Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools have emerged as potential solutions to enhance decision-making and improve patient outcomes in AMS. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the impact of AI in AMS and to assess its predictive performance and diagnostic accuracy.

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Background: Case reports suggest that calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies (CGRP mAbs) may trigger inflammatory flares in patients with autoimmune diseases.

Case Description: A 56-year-old woman with a history of severe migraines, experienced improvement in migraine frequency and intensity after starting fremanezumab 225 mg monthly. However, three months into treatment, she developed symmetric inflammatory polyarthralgias.

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Tuberculosis (TB) dactylitis of the hand is a rare and challenging pathology, requiring positive bacterial identification through culture or biopsy for diagnosis. Treatment is also challenging, although it typically yields an excellent response to long-term tuberculostatic therapy. We describe a case of osteoarticular tuberculous dactylitis in a 36-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a history of lymphoma.

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Objective: To evaluate the benefits of surgical repair acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) on survival of octogenarians.

Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for acute ATAAD from the multicenter European Registry of Type A Aortic Dissection (ERTAAD) were the subjects of the present analysis.

Results: 326 (8.

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Tuberculosis remains a burden to this day, due to the rise of multi and extensively drug-resistant bacterial strains. The genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Rv underwent an annotation process that excluded small Open Reading Frames (smORFs), which encode a class of peptides and small proteins collectively known as microproteins. As a result, there is an overlooked part of its proteome that is a rich source of potentially essential, druggable molecular targets.

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Background: Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used in population and public health to support epidemiological studies, surveillance, and evaluation. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review to identify studies that use ML in population health, with a focus on its use in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We also examine potential algorithmic biases in model design, training, and implementation, as well as efforts to mitigate these biases.

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Background: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of excess weight in adolescents living in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, from 2007 to 2017/2018 and assess associations with physical activity level, screen time, muscle strength, and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted with adolescents (14 to 19 years old). The body mass index was calculated from measurements of body weight (kg) and height (m2).

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A challenge in viral vaccine development is to produce vaccines that generate both neutralizing antibodies to prevent infection and cytotoxic CD8 T-cells that target conserved viral proteins and can eliminate infected cells to control virus spread. mRNA technology offers an opportunity to design vaccines based on conserved CD8-targeting epitopes, but achieving robust antigen-specific CD8 T-cells remains a challenge. Here, we tested the viral-derived oligonucleotide DDO268 as an adjuvant in the context of a model influenza A virus (IAV) nucleoprotein (NP) mRNA vaccine in C57BL/6 mice.

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Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors are the standard of care for hormone receptor (HR)+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer in combination with endocrine therapy. However, the real-world efficacy and safety of standard versus reduced doses in elderly patients remain unclear. This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of standard versus reduced doses of CDK4/6 inhibitors in elderly patients with metastatic breast cancer.

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Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have revolutionized the treatment landscape for metastatic breast cancer, offering targeted delivery of cytotoxic agents with improved efficacy and tolerability compared to conventional chemotherapy. This narrative review explores key predictive factors influencing the efficacy of ADCs, focusing on HER2-targeted therapies, such as trastuzumab emtansine and trastuzumab deruxtecan, as well as sacituzumab govitecan for triple-negative breast cancer. HER2 expression, TROP-2 levels, hormone receptor status, and the tumor microenvironment emerge as critical biomarkers for patient selection and therapeutic outcomes.

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