Publications by authors named "Sierra L"

Haemocyanin-derived peptides were previously found in semi-purified fractions of mucus secretion from the snail Achatina fulica, which exhibited an inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus strains. Here, an in silico rational design strategy was employed to generate new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from A. fulica haemocyanin-derived peptides (AfH).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer deaths, often linked to chronic liver disease, but extrahepatic factors also play a significant role in its development.
  • * A review of literature up to October 2024 finds that prevention strategies include hepatitis vaccinations, antiviral treatments, lifestyle changes (like diet and exercise), environmental controls, and regular screenings for high-risk groups.
  • * A holistic approach that integrates medical, lifestyle, and environmental strategies is crucial for effectively reducing HCC incidence worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rapidly escalating energy demands have spurred a relentless quest for innovative materials and methodologies in energy storage technologies. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as promising candidates for energy storage applications owing to their customizable structure and inherent properties, including enduring porosity and expansive surface area. In this study, we introduce imine-based COF aerogels fashioned into flexible COF electrodes, employing redox electrolytes based on hydroquinone (HQ) dissolved in HSO aqueous solution and 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To investigate the conformational changes in human serum albumin (HSA) caused by chemical (CD) and thermal denaturation (TD) at pH 7.4 and 9.9, crucial for designing controlled drug delivery systems with paclitaxel (PTX).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Metabolic changes involving the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle have been linked to different non-metabolic cell processes. Among them, apart from cancer and immunity, emerges the DNA damage response (DDR) and specifically DNA damage repair. The oncometabolites succinate, fumarate and 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) increase reactive oxygen species levels and create pseudohypoxia conditions that induce DNA damage and/or inhibit DNA repair.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The cornerstone treatment for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), but many patients exhibit an incomplete response, leading to disease progression. Risk prediction models like the GLOBE and UK-PBC scores hold promise for patient stratification and management. We aimed to independently assess the predictive accuracy of these risk scores for UDCA response in a prospective U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Preadipocytes are formed during the 14th and 16th weeks of gestation. White adipose tissue, in particular, is generated in specific areas and thereby assembles after birth, rapidly increasing following the propagation of adipoblasts, which are considered the preadipocyte cell precursors. The second trimester of gestation is a fundamental phase of adipogenesis, and in the third trimester, adipocytes, albeit small may be present within the main deposition areas.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder marked by cognitive impairment, movement abnormalities, and behavioral disturbances. The Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) is a widely used tool to detect cognitive decline in HD. Variations in SCWT formats-horizontal (original) and vertical (Golden)-may influence performance, given HD's impact on cognitive and oculomotor abilities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Critical care cardiology (CCC) in the modern era is shaped by a multitude of innovative treatment options and an increasingly complex, ageing patient population. Generating high-quality evidence for novel interventions and devices in an intensive care setting is exceptionally challenging. As a result, formulating the best possible therapeutic approach continues to rely predominantly on expert opinion and local standard operating procedures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The mechanical manipulations of fat tissue represented from centrifugation, filtration, washing, and fragmentation were considered the most effective strategies aiming to obtain purified lipofilling with different impacts both in terms of adipose-derived stem cells amount contained in stromal vascular fraction, and fat volume maintenance.

Objectives: The present work aimed to report results in fat volume maintenance obtained by lipofilling purification based on the combined use of washing and filtration, in a clinical study, and to deeply investigate the adipose-derived stem cells yield and growth capacity of the different stromal vascular fraction extraction techniques with an in vitro approach.

Methods: A preliminary prospective, case-control study was conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) abolishes tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and has emerged as a definitive treatment for TR.

Objectives: The purpose of this multicenter, observational study was to determine the clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes of patients with TR screened for TTVR.

Methods: Patients underwent TTVR screening at 7 centers on a compassionate-use basis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - This document serves as an evidence-based guideline for naming and classifying congenital bicuspid aortic valve and its associated conditions, aimed at a wide range of medical professionals.
  • - It is designed for use by pediatricians, cardiologists, surgeons, and researchers, ensuring clarity across various healthcare fields.
  • - The consensus is subject to updates as new research and key findings emerge, highlighting its dynamic nature in adapting to evolving medical knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Infiltration of the mesoporous structure of SBA-15 silica as a hard template with phenanthroline complexes of Fe and Co allowed the simultaneous dispersion of nitrogen, iron and cobalt species on the surface of the obtained carbonaceous CMK-3 silica replica, with potential as bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts for the cathodic oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER). The textural properties and mesopore structure depended on the composition of the material. The carbonaceous FeCoNCMK-3 (1/1), obtained with an Fe/Co molar ratio of 1/1, exhibited an ordered cylindrical mesoporous structure with a high mesopore volume, a rather homogeneous composition in terms of total and surface concentrations of iron and cobalt, and a balanced presence of pyridinic-, pyrrolic- and graphitic-N species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) like autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis show varied survival rates post-liver transplant (LT), influenced by factors such as disease severity and socio-economic conditions.
  • Analyzing data from 13,702 AILD patients listed for LT from 2002 to 2021, the study focused on waitlist removal, patient survival, and graft survival, taking into account demographics, health conditions, and social factors.
  • Findings revealed that lack of college education and public insurance increased waitlist removal and negatively affected both patient and graft survival, while unemployment had the most significant adverse effect on survival outcomes; U.S. citizenship status did not impact
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) prompts liver transplantation (LT) due to cholestasis, cirrhosis, and liver failure. Despite lower MELD scores, recent studies highlight higher PBC waitlist mortality, intensifying the need for alternative transplantation strategies. Living donor liver transplant (LDLT) has emerged as a solution to the organ shortage.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

(Lamiaceae family), a species also treated as in a recently segregated genus from , is a perennial herb or subshrub native to the Andes of northern South America. leaves are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat respiratory and digestive illnesses. In this study, plants at different phenological stages (vegetative, flowering, and post-flowering) were harvested to obtain essential oils (EOs) and extracts (from fresh plant materials or post-distillation waste) whose chemical compositions and antioxidant activities were determined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dehydrated orange by-product on the productive parameters, carcass yield, and meat quality of rabbits in the fattening stage. Four diets with increasing levels of orange by-products (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) were evaluated, each with six replicates of two 32-day-old crossbred rabbits that were randomly allocated. The experimental period was from 32 to 70 days of age of the rabbits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study introduces circular economy principles in essential oil production to minimize waste and enhance the use of plant materials, potentially offering a viable economic alternative to coca cultivation in Colombia.
  • It utilizes Java-type citronella and palmarosa plants, employing distillation techniques to extract essential oils and subsequently extracting bioactive compounds from the residual biomass.
  • The results show typical essential oil yields, confirm compliance with ISO standards for chemical composition, and reveal that the hydroalcoholic extracts possess significant antioxidant activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The comet assay in Drosophila has been used in the last few years to study DNA damage responses (DDR) in different repair-mutant strains and to compare them to analyze DNA repair. We have used this approach to study interactions between DNA repair pathways in vivo. Additionally, we have implemented an ex vivo comet assay, in which nucleoids from treated and untreated cells were incubated ex vivo with cell-free protein extracts from individuals with distinct repair capacities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Cognitive decline is an important early sign in pre-motor manifest Huntington's disease (preHD) and is characterized by deficits across multiple domains including executive function, psychomotor processing speed, and memory retrieval. Prior work suggested that the Loewenstein-Acevedo Scale for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L)-a verbal learning task that simultaneously targets these domains - could capture early cognitive changes in preHD. The current study aimed to replicate, validate and further analyze the LASSI-L in preHD using larger datasets.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the prevalence and severity of cognitive impairment in Huntington's disease (HD) using standardized criteria for neurocognitive disorder (NCD), revealing varying levels of impairment across different stages of the disease and among control groups.
  • - Results show that the prevalence of mild NCD ranges from 8.8%-47.3% in premanifest and manifest HD populations, while major NCD prevalence is significantly higher in manifest HD (21.1%-57.7%) compared to premanifest stages.
  • - Findings indicate a notable increase in cognitive decline before the formal diagnosis of HD, underscoring the need for enhanced clinical care and support services for affected individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare disease that affects large vessels like the aorta, and its symptoms range from mild to severe, making it hard to diagnose in some cases.
  • A 37-year-old male patient presented with vision problems and high blood pressure but initially had no clear diagnosis until advanced imaging revealed TA after his condition worsened.
  • The case emphasizes the need for a thorough evaluation and a team approach for treating complex conditions like TA, where multiple specialties need to manage the patient's diverse symptoms and therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF