Publications by authors named "Sobral L"

Background: Cutaneous tuberculosis is a rare form of the disease that defies diagnosis due to the diversity of clinical presentations. This study was based on the reality of a dermatology referral center in the Brazilian Amazon region to detail several characteristics of this disease.

Objective: To describe a series of cases of cutaneous tuberculosis treated at a dermatology service in the Brazilian Amazon region, addressing epidemiological aspects, clinical forms, diagnostic methods, treatment, and outcomes.

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The study evaluated the effects of conventional pasteurization and ohmic heating (OH) at different electric fields (12, 16, 20, or 24 V/cm) on probiotic chocolate dairy desserts' physicochemical, microbiological, sensory properties and volatile profiles. Both treatments were analyzed for parameters such as pH, syneresis, cream stability index, rheology, bioactive compounds (total phenolics and antioxidant capacity), and probiotic viability (Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05) over a 28-day storage period. Ohmic heating at higher electric fields (20 and 24 V/cm) showed comparable results to pasteurization for most parameters, with non-significant differences or even higher values for some.

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  • - Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that affects peripheral nerves, leading to pain and decreased sensitivity, which can impair balance; measures such as center of pressure (COP) oscillations are important for evaluating balance in patients.
  • - The study aimed to validate the use of inertial sensors for assessing balance in leprosy patients by comparing the results to those obtained from a force platform.
  • - Results showed significant differences in balance parameters between leprosy patients and healthy controls, with the inertial sensors confirming the findings from the force platform, indicating their potential as a portable balance assessment tool.
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  • Gene expression helps cells adapt to stress, and a specific protein called P-TEFb plays a big role in how cells respond to heat and other stressors.
  • Researchers found that when pediatric brain cancer cells are treated with radiation, P-TEFb helps the cells quickly reorganize their DNA to repair damage and keep living.
  • Blocking P-TEFb while giving radiation treatment weakened the cells’ ability to adapt, making them more likely to die and improving survival time in experiments.
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Background: Oral Pathology (OP) and Oral Medicine (OM) are specialties in dentistry whose main objective is the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial diseases, and aspects related to the academic training of professionals and fields of practice are distinct and heterogeneous around the world. This study aimed to evaluate professional training and areas of activity in OP and OM in Latin American countries.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 11 countries, with a professional in each country responsible for answering it.

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Background: The accurate etiological diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) is essential for their effective clinical management. The extensive use of molecular methods during the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled massive data acquisition on viral lower respiratory tract infections. The current study aims to identify clinical features associated with eight viral agents among children presenting severe LRTI.

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The potential of low-frequency ultrasound (LFU) combined with nanotechnology-based formulations in improving skin tumors topical treatment was investigated. The impact of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and hydrophilic nanogels as coupling media on LFU-induced skin localized transport regions (LTR) and the penetration of doxorubicin (DOX) in LFU-pretreated skin was evaluated. SLN were prepared by the microemulsion technique and liquid crystalline nanogels using Poloxamer.

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This study investigated the microstructure, rheological properties, and sensory characteristics of butters produced with free and encapsulated xylooligosaccharides (XOS). Four formulations of butter were processed: B: 0 % w/w XOS (control); B: 20% w/w free XOS; B: 20% w/w XOS microencapsulated with alginate (XOS-alginate ratio of 3:1 w/w); and B: 20% w/w XOS microencapsulated with alginate-gelatin (XOS-alginate-gelatin ratio of 3:1:1.5 w/w).

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  • Scientists found that when cells face stress, they can change how they use their genes to survive. !*
  • They studied brain tumors in kids and saw that a special protein called PTEFb helps cells quickly respond to radiation treatment. !*
  • By blocking PTEFb, the cells can’t adapt as well, leading to more cancer cell death and longer survival for the treated tumors. !*
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Minas frescal cheese is extremely popular in Brazil, with high perishability and acceptability. Among emerging technologies, ultrasound stands out for its satisfactory results regarding microbiological safety and technological and sensory aspects. The combined mild temperature application, called thermosonication, can generate even more promising results.

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Context: Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) acts as an antioxidant defense mechanism. NNT mutations cause familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD). How impaired oxidative stress disrupts adrenal steroidogenesis remains poorly understood.

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Background: Approximately 10% of the global tuberculosis (TB) burden is in children. Identification, diagnosis, and early treatment of infection (TBI) is critical to prevent progression to TB in children. The risk of TB, including severe disease, is highest in children <5 years old.

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The effects of thermosonication processing (TS, 90 °C, ultrasound powers of 200, 400, and 600 W) on the quality parameters of Jamun fruit dairy dessert compared to conventional heating processing (high-temperature short time, (HTST), 90 °C/20 s) were evaluated. Microbiological inactivation and stability, rheological parameters, physical properties, volatile and fatty acid profiles, and bioactive compounds were assessed. TS provided more significant microbial inactivation (1 log CFU mL) and higher microbial stability during storage (21 days) than HTST, with 3, 2, and 2.

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The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a series of behavioral changes that resulted in increased social isolation and a more sedentary life for many across all age groups, but, above all, for the elderly population who are the most vulnerable to infections and chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Systemic inflammatory responses are known to accelerate neurodegenerative disease progression, which leads to permanent damage, loss of brain function, and the loss of autonomy for many aged people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a spectrum of inflammatory responses was generated in affected individuals, and it is expected that the elderly patients with chronic neurodegenerative diseases who survived SARSCoV-2 infection, it will be found, sooner or later, that there is a worsening of their neurodegenerative conditions.

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The study aimed to describe the profile of patients and the care provided by the Mobile Riverine Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) in river-dwelling communities of the Amazon and to identify factors related to patients' evolution during care by this service. This descriptive study was conducted in two stages: in the first, the data were obtained on care for individuals in the service from 2009 to 2015; in the second, the data collection was prospective during the first semester of 2016, and patients' evolution was assessed with the Rapid Emergency Medicine Score. In all the periods analyzed, some 90% of the care included medical evacuation, varying over the years as to the type of boat used most frequently in transporting the patients.

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Approximately 1.4 million people die annually worldwide from tuberculosis. Large epidemiologic studies can identify determinants of unfavorable clinical outcomes according to age, which can guide public health policy implementation and clinical management to improve outcomes.

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  • Ewing sarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer primarily affecting children, driven by the oncofusion gene EWS/Fli1, which is hard to target with treatments.
  • Despite its negative impact on metastasis, EWS/Fli1 is linked to epigenetic changes in the cancer, indicating potential alternative treatment pathways that are not yet well understood.
  • New research highlights the epigenetic regulators KDM5A and PHF2 as key players in promoting tumor growth and metastasis by activating harmful genes like L1CAM, suggesting they could be new targets for therapy in Ewing sarcoma.
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Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and the trans-syndesmotic screw frequency after trimalleolar ankle fractures with a posterior malleolus fracture involving <25% of the articular surface.

Material And Methods: Retrospective comparative study. Patients with trimalleolar ankle fracture who underwent surgery between January 2011 and January 2018 were identified within the departments' fracture database.

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  • * Recent research has highlighted the critical role of epigenetic mechanisms in FP-RMS, suggesting potential therapeutic targets, but their intricate workings are still being studied.
  • * The study identifies an epigenetic interaction involving the factors KDM3A and Ets1 that enhances the expression of disease-promoting genes associated with the PAX3/FOXO1 fusion, indicating that targeting this axis could lead to new treatment
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Non-T cell activation linker (NTAL) is a lipid raft-membrane protein expressed by normal and leukemic cells and involved in cell signaling. In acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), NTAL depletion from lipid rafts decreases cell viability through regulation of the Akt/PI3K pathway. The role of NTAL in APL cell processes, and its association with clinical outcome, has not, however, been established.

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Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue malignancy of childhood. RMS exists as two major disease subtypes, with oncofusion-positive RMS (FP-RMS) typically carrying a worse prognosis than oncofusion-negative RMS (FN-RMS), in part due to higher propensity for metastasis. Epigenetic mechanisms have recently emerged as critical players in the pathogenesis of pediatric cancers, as well as potential new therapeutic vulnerabilities.

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As SET protein is overexpressed and PP2A activity is reduced in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), this study aimed to assess the effects induced by OP449, a PP2A activator/SET inhibitor, on OSCC cells in vitro, and its potential either isolated or combined with FTY720, a PP2A activator/sphingosine kinase 1 antagonist, as antitumoral therapy in vivo. SET protein was analyzed in cells by immunoblotting and cancer stem cells by aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 assay (ALDH1). The cytotoxicity of OP449 was determined in five OSCC lineages by resazurin assay.

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Histone acetylation and methylation control gene expression. We investigated the impact of SET knockdown on histone methylation status and the consequences for the miRNAs levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). OSCC cells with and without SET knockdown were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR to determine miRNA levels, and by immunoreactions to histone modifications.

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Epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulatory control play fundamental roles in developmental morphogenesis, and, as more recently appreciated, are heavily implicated in the onset and progression of neoplastic disease, including cancer. Many epigenetic mechanisms are therapeutically targetable, providing additional incentive for understanding of their contribution to cancer and other types of neoplasia. Areas covered: The Jumonji-domain histone demethylase (JHDM) family exemplifies many of the above traits.

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