Publications by authors named "Rivera L"

Menstrual effluent cell profiles have potential as noninvasive biomarkers of female reproductive and gynecological health and disease. We used DNA methylation-based cell type deconvolution (methylation cytometry) to identify cell type profiles in self-collected menstrual effluent. During the second day of their menstrual cycle, healthy participants collected menstrual effluent using a vaginal swab, menstrual cup, and pad.

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The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an ancient fruit-bearing tree known for its nutritional and antioxidant properties. They originated from the Middle East in regions having large farms including mountainous regions of Al-Baha in Saudi Arabia.

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Background: Adverse pathology (AP) is often used as an intermediate end point for long-term outcomes in men with prostate cancer (PCa) who are active surveillance candidates. The association between a commonly used AP definition and long-term outcomes was tested, which identified definitions more strongly linked to a high risk of metastasis.

Methods: Data were reviewed from the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital cohort of men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) from 1988 to 2020 at nine Veterans Affairs hospitals.

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Background: Obesity is associated with structural deterioration in the gut. Yoyo dieting, which refers to repeated phases of dieting and non-dieting periods leading to cyclic weight loss and regain, is a common occurrence in individuals with obesity. However, there is limited evidence on how gut structures are affected in yoyo dieting.

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The relaxin-family peptide 3 receptor (RXFP3) and its native ligand, relaxin-3, are expressed in specific populations of brain neurons, and research on this system has focused on its role in the central nervous system. However, some studies have indicated that relaxin-3 and RXFP3 are also expressed in peripheral organs, including the gut. In this study, we characterised the identity of RXFP3-expressing cells in the gastrointestinal tract, using RXFP3-Cre/tdTomato reporter mice.

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  • The sensorimotor adaptation process is essential for effective oral communication, particularly when speaking in noisy environments.
  • Recent research indicates that individuals with non-phonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction (NPVH) struggle to adapt their speech in noise, showing difficulty in recovering their normal speaking patterns afterward.
  • The study employed the SimpleDIVA model to analyze differences in adaptation dynamics between participants with typical voices and those with NPVH, revealing that the latter group had lower learning rates and somatosensory feedback, which implies they rely less on body feedback during speech in noise.
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Background: The severity of wildfire seasons amplify stressors that farmworker families in the Pacific Northwest face as they balance childcare, work, and personal wellbeing. A lack of safe and attainable childcare has been a challenge for farmworker parents since before the Covid-19 pandemic and is of particular concern during wildfire season when parents must weigh the risks and benefits of leaving children at home, taking them to work, or sending them to childcare. This study describes how stressors of balancing childcare, work, and concerns about children's exposure to smoke during wildfire season impact the wellbeing and workplace absenteeism and presenteeism for farmworker parents.

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We investigated associations between prenatal genocidal trauma, including maternal rape, and postnatal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on DNA methylation of genes associated with the stress response. In a comparative cross-sectional study of 91 Rwandan young adults, categorized by prenatal exposure to genocide and maternal rape, genocide without rape, and unexposed controls, we analyzed DNA methylation from dried blood spots and assessed ACEs and depression and anxiety symptoms at age 24. Prenatal exposure to maternal rape was associated with DNA methylation changes in BDNF and SLC6A4, with the association in BDNF attenuated after including ACE exposure in the model.

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In this study a Machine Learning model was employed to predict the lipid profile from supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of microalgae sp. USBA-GBX-832 under different temperature (40, 50, 60°C), pressure (150, 250 bar), and ethanol flow (0.6, 0.

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Madariaga virus (MADV) and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) are emerging arboviruses affecting rural and remote areas of Latin America. However, clinical and epidemiologic reports are limited, and outbreaks are occurring at an increasing frequency. We addressed the data gap by analyzing all available clinical and epidemiologic data of MADV and VEEV infections recorded since 1961 in Panama.

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  • The COVID-19 pandemic spurred global efforts to sequence SARS-CoV-2 genomes to monitor its evolution and guide public health decisions, resulting in millions of genome sequences being shared worldwide.
  • The Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN - VirusSeq) launched the Canadian VirusSeq Data Portal to provide open access to genomic sequences and standardized contextual data while adhering to FAIR standards.
  • The portal emphasizes data quality, privacy compliance, and security, and is used alongside tools like Viral AI and the CoVaRR-Net to facilitate ongoing research and analysis of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Canada.
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Excessive body weight is associated with many chronic metabolic diseases and weight loss, so far, remains the gold standard treatment. However, despite tremendous efforts exploring optimal treatments for obesity, many individuals find losing weight and maintaining a healthy body weight difficult. Weight loss is often not sustainable resulting in weight regain and subsequent efforts to lose weight.

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  • - Yoyo dieting, characterized by alternating weight loss and regain, negatively affects metabolism and gut health, potentially causing greater weight gain and changes in gut microbiota composition.
  • - In a study using C57BL/6 mice, yoyo dieting showed short-term benefits in liver health and insulin sensitivity but resulted in increased weight gain relative to continuous high-fat feeding.
  • - Supplementing diets with resistant starch (RS) helped mitigate weight gain and improved gut microbiota, suggesting that higher RS intake could support better weight management and counteract the negative effects of yoyo dieting.
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JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202511000-00033/figure1/v/2024-12-20T164640Z/r/image-tiff In addition to the loss of motor function, ~ 60% of patients develop pain after spinal cord injury. The cellular-molecular mechanisms are not well understood, but the data suggests that plasticity within the rostral, epicenter, and caudal penumbra of the injury site initiates a cellular-molecular interplay that acts as a rewiring mechanism leading to central neuropathic pain.

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We reconcile two significant lines of Cognitive Neuroscience research: the relationship between the structural and functional architecture of the brain and behaviour on the one hand and the functional significance of oscillatory brain processes to behavioural performance on the other. Network neuroscience proposes that the three elements, behavioural performance, EEG oscillation frequency, and network connectivity should be tightly connected at the individual level. Young and old healthy adults were recruited as a proxy for performance variation.

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  • * In September 2023, researchers detected a significant seismic signal from East Greenland that corresponded to a rock-ice avalanche leading to a tsunami in Dickson Fjord.
  • * The study reveals that the tsunami transformed into a 7-meter-high long-duration seiche, demonstrating the interplay between glacial melting and geological hazards, emphasizing the dangerous effects of climate change on these environments.
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  • * HFD causes metabolic changes that disrupt epigenetic regulators, decreasing levels of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and altering chromatin accessibility in the developing heart.
  • * Supplementing with vitamin C during HFD helps counteract these effects by restoring iron levels and enhancing Tet enzyme activity, emphasizing the significance of a balanced maternal diet for healthy embryonic development.
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Background: Blood biomarkers of neurological injury could provide a rapid diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) injury caused by infections. An FDA-approved assay for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) measures glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), which signal astrocyte and neuronal injury, respectively. Here, we assessed the applicability of this biomarker assay for determining infection-induced brain injury.

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The ten-eleven translocation (TET) family of dioxygenases maintain stable local DNA demethylation during cell division and lineage specification. As the major catalytic product of TET enzymes, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine is selectively enriched at specific genomic regions, such as enhancers, in a tissue-dependent manner. However, the mechanisms underlying this selectivity remain unresolved.

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Percutaneous liver procedures are frequently performed in patients with abnormal coagulation tests. Current guidelines suggest prophylactic transfusion is not mandatory in all patients with liver disease or cirrhosis, depending on the risk of bleeding. This study aims to describe the incidence and risk of major bleeding after percutaneous liver procedure in patients with and without cirrhosis.

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Migrant families face challenges to health and well-being from COVID-19. We deployed Mobile Health for Migrant Health (mHealth-4-Mhealth) to migrant families, a household-based program with mHealth-assisted at-home testing and linkages to community resources. We assessed the reach, adoption, and implementation of the program among rural migrant families enrolled in the Title IC Nebraska Migrant Education Program from February 2022 to July 2023.

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Objective: To measure what patients with Spanish language preference and limited English proficiency value most when selecting a prenatal care clinician.

Methods: A discrete choice experiment was administered at two large academic medical centers in Boston, Massachusetts. Participants were identified by electronic medical record, had preferred Spanish language and self-identified limited English proficiency, and either were pregnant with a completed fetal anatomy scan or had given birth within the past 12 months at the time of the study.

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Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a globally dominant crop and major source of calories and proteins for the human diet. Compared with its wild ancestors, modern bread wheat shows lower genetic diversity, caused by polyploidisation, domestication and breeding bottlenecks. Wild wheat relatives represent genetic reservoirs, and harbour diversity and beneficial alleles that have not been incorporated into bread wheat.

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Early-life adversity increases the risk of health problems. Interventions supporting protective and responsive caregiving offer a promising approach to attenuating adversity-induced changes in stress-sensitive biomarkers. This study tested whether participation in an evidence-based dyadic psychosocial intervention, child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), was related to lower epigenetic age acceleration, a trauma-sensitive biomarker of accelerated biological aging that is associated with later health impairment, in a sample of children with trauma histories.

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Measures of life outlook in older adults have been investigated in connection to pain, as both pain management and outlook are important factors of successful aging. We hypothesized that higher pain is associated with lower optimism among community-dwelling older adults. We utilized data from the UC San Diego Successful Aging Evaluation (SAGE), a prospective longitudinal cohort study initiated in 2010, to evaluate the relationship between pain and optimism in 378 community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years.

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