Publications by authors named "Rauel Vilar"

Blackberry can be considered a source of phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties, especially anthocyanins, which are responsible for the attractive color of the juice. However, blackberry juice quality can be reduced under severe heat treatments, resulting in darkened color and altered taste. Membrane separation processes are an alternative for the clarification and concentration of fruit juices, with advantages as the maintenance of the nutritional, sensory, and functional characteristics of the product.

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The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective well-being, but studies of its measurement invariance across a large number of nations remain limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset-with data collected between 2020 and 2022 -to assess measurement invariance of the SWLS across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups (N = 56,968). All participants completed the SWLS under largely uniform conditions.

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Hantaviruses are zoonotic pathogens associated with severe human diseases such as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Despite the extensive study of rodent-borne hantaviruses, research on bat-associated hantaviruses remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence and cross-reactivity of neotropical bat samples with rodent- and bat-associated recombinant hantavirus nucleoproteins (rNPs) to improve hantavirus surveillance in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

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Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality before 50 have been rising alarmingly in the recent decades.

Methods: Using a cohort of 10,000 patients, this study investigates the clinical, mutational, and co-mutational features of CRC in early-onset (EOCRC, < 50 years) compared to late-onset (LOCRC, ≥ 50 years).

Results: EOCRC was associated with a higher prevalence of Asian and Hispanic patients, rectal or left-sided tumors (72% vs.

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Background: England aims to reach the World Health Organization (WHO) elimination target of decreasing HCV incidence among people who inject drugs (PWID) to <2 per 100 person-years (/100pyrs) by 2030. We assessed what testing and treatment strategies will achieve this target and whether they are cost-effective.

Methods: A dynamic deterministic HCV transmission model among PWID was developed for four England regions, utilising data on the scale-up of HCV treatment among PWID in prisons, drug treatment centres (DTC, where opioid agonist therapy is provided), and any other setting (e.

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Angiotensin II is well known to have an important influence on blood pressure, mediated via the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), but more recent studies have shown that angiotensin II may play an important additional role in eliciting pain via a distinct action at the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R). Signalling pathways that link activation of AT2R to a sensation of pain are, however, incompletely understood. Here we use rodent inflammatory pain models to confirm that selective activation of AT2R triggers aversive responses, and that these are abolished by either antagonism or genetic deletion of AT2R.

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Iatrogenic cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a disease caused by contact with neurosurgical material or human growth hormone contaminated by beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ), has a prion-like transmission mechanism. We present a series of three patients under 55 years of age who underwent cranial surgery. All of them developed multiple cerebral hemorrhages, transient focal neurological deficits, and/or cognitive impairment after 3-4 decades.

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Sporotrichosis is caused by fungi belonging to the genus Sporothrix, and is generally acquired by traumatic inoculation. A 26-year-old man developed pustular lesions and a 6-kg weight loss after developing a lesion on his right hand 6 months previously. He was diagnosed with acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and disseminated sporotrichosis cultures of bone and muscle biopsy and blood samples grew Sporothrix schenckii.

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Background: Bat-borne hantaviruses have been identified worldwide but little is known about neotropical bats in the megadiverse biomes of the American continent. Although serological evidence has hinted at hantavirus circulation in Brazil, the scarce number of genomic detection represents a gap to understand viral diversity, prevalence, and ecology of bat-borne hantaviruses.

Objective: We aim to investigate and evaluate the presence and prevalence of bat-borne hantavirus in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

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Visualization of guanine-rich oligonucleotides that fold into G-quadruplex (G4) helical structures is of great interest in cell biology. There is a large body of evidence that suggests that these noncanonical structures form and play important biological roles. A promising recent development highlighted fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) as a robust technique for the direct and quantitative imaging of G4s in live cells.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Microalgae are promising microorganisms that can produce a variety of valuable compounds, like proteins and antioxidants, due to their rapid growth and ability to utilize CO2 and wastewater, making them sustainable for various industries like bioenergy and cosmetics.
  • - The study emphasizes the importance of selecting the right microalgal species and manipulating growth conditions (like light, nutrients, and temperature) to enhance the production of desired compounds, while facing challenges related to species responses and scale-up.
  • - Future research should focus on improving cultivation methods, real-time monitoring for better yield, and conducting large-scale experiments to analyze the sustainability and economic feasibility of microalgal applications.
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  • Hepatitis C (HCV) in people who are also infected with HIV leads to faster liver disease progression compared to those with only HCV, potentially due to HLA-G, which suppresses immune responses.
  • A study analyzed liver samples from 59 patients with both chronic HCV and HIV to look at HLA-G levels in relation to liver disease severity.
  • The results showed that higher HLA-G expression was linked to more severe liver conditions but did not affect the effectiveness of HCV treatment, indicating HLA-G's complex role in disease progression in coinfected patients.
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Purpose: Validate a novel approach for assessing residual astigmatism's impact on visual acuity in pseudophakic patients using defocus curves and spherical equivalent compensation.

Materials And Methods: Thirteen patients over 40 with cataracts and normal ophthalmological examinations were enrolled in a prospective, non-randomized cohort study. The defocus curve method was employed, wherein visual acuity was measured with spherical lenses ranging from -2.

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Neurotrophin receptors of the Trk family are involved in the regulation of brain development and neuroplasticity, and therefore can serve as targets for anti-cancer and stroke-recovery drugs, antidepressants, and many others. The structures of Trk protein domains in various states upon activation need to be elucidated to allow rational drug design. However, little is known about the conformations of the transmembrane and juxtamembrane domains of Trk receptors.

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Objective: Determining the etiology of hyperprolactinemia is fundamental for selecting the most appropriate treatment strategy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of prolactin levels in predicting the etiology of nonphysiological hyperprolactinemia.

Subjects And Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed medical records of patients with nonphysiological hyperprolactinemia seen at two neuroendocrine reference centers located in Recife, Brazil, from January 2000 to December 2019.

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The immune revolution that swept the field of oncology in the mid-2010s with the advent of checkpoint inhibitors has led to a paradigm shift in approaches toward adapting new cancer prevention modalities. Cancer vaccines have emerged from this era with astounding potential as a durable intervention to prevent cancers especially for patients with hereditary susceptibilities such as Lynch syndrome carriers. This review covers new insights in the immunoprevention landscape for patients living with Lynch syndrome including highlights ranging from clinical trials exploring the use of chemoprevention agents to boost immune cellularity to investigative studies using novel vaccine approaches to induce long-term antitumor immunity.

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Background: There has been a rise in endometrial cancer (EC) incidence leading to increased mortality. To counter this trend, improving the stratification of post-surgery recurrence risk and anticipating disease relapse and treatment resistance is essential. Liquid biopsy analyses offer a promising tool for these clinical challenges, though the best strategy for applying them in EC must be defined.

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Importance: Disparity in overall survival (OS) and differences in the frequency of driver gene variants by race and ethnicity have been separately observed in patients with colorectal cancer; however, how these differences contribute to survival disparity is unknown.

Objective: To quantify the association of molecular, socioeconomic, and clinical covariates with racial and ethnic disparities in overall survival among patients with colorectal cancer.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This single-center cohort study was conducted at a tertiary-level cancer center using relevant data on all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer from January 1, 1973, to March 1, 2023.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chronic high cholesterol levels lead to systemic immune responses that accelerate atherosclerosis, but the impact of alternating high-fat diets (HFD) had not been well studied.
  • Researchers used a mouse model to compare the effects of an alternating HFD versus a continuous HFD on atherosclerosis progression, finding that the alternating diet significantly worsened the condition.
  • The study revealed that this worsening was linked to IL-1β production, which triggered inflammatory responses and increased neutrophil levels that contributed to plaque formation and exacerbated atherosclerosis, suggesting that targeting these pathways could reverse the effects.
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  • Tumor deposits (TDs) are associated with poorer outcomes in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, leading to lower cancer-related survival (CRS) and shorter time-to-recurrence (TTR) compared to those without TDs.
  • In a study with 1,426 CRC patients, those with TDs showed significantly reduced CRS (42% vs. 82%) and TTR (34% vs. 79%) over five years.
  • The findings suggest that incorporating TDs into the TNM classification system could help better identify high-risk groups and improve prognostic evaluations.
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Current anticancer therapies suffer from issues such as off-target side effects and the emergence of drug resistance; therefore, the discovery of alternative therapeutic approaches is vital. These can include the development of drugs with different modes of action, and the exploration of new biomolecular targets. For the former, there has been increasing interest in drugs that are activated by an external stimulus (e.

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  • * A high-fat diet (HFD) changes how Trp is processed in the body and can lead to inflammation, which might worsen heart problems.
  • * This study shows that controlling Tryptophan metabolism could help reduce gut inflammation and heart disease, leading to new treatment options.
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  • Melanoma of the gastrointestinal tract is rare, typically arising from metastatic spread from skin lesions, with the small bowel being the most affected area.
  • A case study is presented of a 47-year-old man with a large soft tissue tumor who developed intussusception, ultimately diagnosed with melanoma after pathology tests.
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