Publications by authors named "Vega D"

Bacteriophages Biscayne, Bush and GreenIvy were isolated from soil samples in Miami, FL using NRRL B-24224 as host. Transmission electron microscopy shows siphoviral morphologies for all three phages. Based on gene content similarity to other actinobacteriophages, they are assigned to the EE, GA and EA5 clusters, respectively.

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Gem-diols are defined as organic molecules carrying two hydroxyl groups at the same carbon atom, which is the result of the nucleophilic addition of water to a carbonyl group. In this work, the generation of the hydrated or hemiacetal forms using pyridine- and imidazole-carboxaldehyde isomers in different chemical environments was studied by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) recorded in different media and combined with theoretical calculations. The change in the position of aldehyde group in either the pyridine or the imidazole ring had a clear effect in the course of the hydration/hemiacetal generation reaction, which was favored in protic solvents mainly in the presence of methanol.

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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy with the propensity to metastasize. Common sites of metastasis include the liver, lung, and peritoneum with peritoneal metastases (PM) having the worst prognosis. Unfortunately, systemic chemotherapy is often less effective in the treatment of peritoneal metastases.

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Introduction: Parental refusal of intramuscular (IM) vitamin K in newborns poses challenges, particularly for pediatric urologists assessing the safety of neonatal circumcision. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB) is a known risk, with lack of prophylaxis increasing bleeding complications. This study evaluates the safety of neonatal circumcision without IM vitamin K, reviews guidelines, and explores alternative prophylaxis options.

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Curiosity is a powerful motivator of information-seeking behavior. People seek not only positive, but also aversive social information about others. However, whether people also seek unfavorable social information about themselves, as well as the neural mechanisms that may drive such seemingly counterintuitive behavior remain unclear.

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The mol-ecular salt sulfamethoxazolium {or 4-[(5-methyl-1,2-oxazol-3-yl)sulf-amo-yl]anilinium methyl sulfate monohydrate}, CHNOS·CHOS·HO, was prepared by the reaction of sulfamethoxazole and HSO in methanol and crystallized from methanol-ether-water. Protonation takes place at the nitro-gen atom of the primary amino group. In the crystal, N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds (water and methyl-sulfate anion) and inter-molecular N-H⋯N inter-actions involving the sulfonamide and isoxazole nitro-gen atoms, link the components into a tri-dimensional network, additional cohesion being provided by face-to-face π-π inter-actions between the phenyl rings of adjacent mol-ecules.

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Interest in the therapeutic potential of oxytocin for the treatment of mental health disorders, especially those involving social dysfunction, has increased considerably in recent years. To date, most studies have only evaluated oxytocin as monotherapy, with highly inconsistent results. A new line of research is exploring the effects of combining oxytocin with psychotherapy.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Hydrogel beads were made using gelation methods, then dried to form cryogels and xerogels, which were examined for their structure and metal distribution; unimetallic beads showed better water absorption.
  • * All types of beads displayed strong antibacterial properties, particularly against E. coli and P. aeruginosa, with bimetallic materials showing improved effectiveness and water absorption, highlighting their potential for exudative wound care.
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Background: Mindfulness skills training is a core component of Dialectical Behavior Therapy and aims to improve emotion dysregulation (ED) in people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). However, the underlying mechanisms of change are not fully understood.

Methods: A total of 75 BPD outpatients participated in a 10-week mindfulness skills training.

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Approximately 30% of cancer patients experience kidney complications, which hinder optimal cancer management, imposing a burden on patients' quality of life and the healthcare system. The etiology of kidney complications in cancer patients is often attributed to nephrotoxic oncological therapies. However, the direct impact of cancer on kidney health is underestimated, as most nephrotoxic oncological therapies have been studied in animal models that do not have cancer.

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Accurate short- and mid-term blood glucose predictions are crucial for patients with diabetes struggling to maintain healthy glucose levels, as well as for individuals at risk of developing the disease. Consequently, numerous efforts from the scientific community have focused on developing predictive models for glucose levels. This study harnesses physiological data collected from wearable sensors to construct a series of data-driven models based on deep learning approaches.

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Sphere-patterned ultrathin block copolymer films are potentially interesting for a variety of applications in nanotechnology. We use self-consistent field theory to investigate the elastic response of sphere monolayer films with respect to in-plane shear, in-plane extension, compression deformations, and bending. The relations between the in-plane elastic moduli are roughly compatible with the expectations for two-dimensional elastic systems with hexagonal symmetry, with one notable exception: The pure shear and the simple shear moduli differ from each other by roughly 20%.

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Objective: Analyze the molecular mimicry between Plasmodium spp. and autoantigens associated with GBS, identifying possible antigenic epitopes.

Methods: PSI-Blast, Praline, Emboss, Protein Data Bank, Swiss Model Server, AlphaFold 2, Ellipro and PyMol 2.

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Background: Among patients with advanced heart failure (HF), treatment with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) improves health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We investigated the association between psychosocial risk factors, HRQOL and outcomes after LVAD implantation.

Methods: A retrospective cohort (n = 9832) of adults aged ≥ 19 years who received durable LVADs between 2008 and 2017 was identified by using the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS).

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Inspired by the ideas from the fields of gait rehabilitation, neuroscience, and locomotion biomechanics and energetics, a body of work is reviewed that has led to propose a conceptual framework for novel "self-assistive" walking devices that could further promote walking recovery from incomplete spinal cord injuries. The underlying rationale is based on a neural coupling mechanism that governs the coordinated movements of the arms and legs during walking, and that the excitability of these neural pathways can be exploited by actively engaging the arms during locomotor training. Self-assistive treadmill walking rehabilitation devices are envisioned as an approach that would allow an individual to actively use their arms to help the legs during walking.

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Objectives: While the overall incidence and prevalence of diaphragmatic paralysis are unknown due to a wide variety of underlying causes, symptomatic patients experience a marked decline in their quality of life. The goal of this study was to measure the impact of diaphragm plication surgery on the quality of life in patients who were diagnosed with diaphragmatic paralysis.

Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of 46 patients who underwent diaphragmatic plication surgery was performed.

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Objectives: Rapid management of patients with respiratory tract infections in hospital emergency departments is one of the main objectives since the concurrent circulation of respiratory viruses following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The use of new combined point-of-care antigen tests for detecting influenza A/B and SARS-CoV-2 represents an advantage in response time over the molecular tests. The objective was to evaluate the suitability of the CLINITEST® Rapid Covid-19 + Influenza Antigen test (Siemens Healthineers, Germany) (RCIA test) by measuring the sensitivity, specificity, Cohen's kappa, and cut-off values.

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Article Synopsis
  • For years, scientists believed Gram-positive bacteria had no specialized machinery for elongation, but recent findings reveal they can elongate using a pair of proteins called SEDS and PBP during cell division.
  • Researchers utilized the Nebraska Transposon Mutant Library to discover additional proteins, including GpsB, SsaA, and RodZ, that assist in the elongation process.
  • GpsB specifically helps regulate the positioning of other penicillin-binding proteins (PBP2 and PBP4) at the cell division site, crucial for maintaining the correct shape and function of the bacteria, particularly important due to the rising threat of antibiotic-resistant infections.
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Article Synopsis
  • Tioconazole has poor solubility in water, limiting its effectiveness as an antifungal, prompting research into new crystalline salts to enhance its bioavailability.
  • Four new salts were created (mesylate, tosylate, maleate, and fumarate), with studies showing they have improved thermal stability and dissolution rates compared to the original free base and existing oxalate salt.
  • The new salts, particularly the sulfonic acid derivatives, showed significantly better solubility at pH 4.3, indicating their potential as more effective alternatives for delivering tioconazole in various applications.
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The design mebendazole (MBZ) multicomponent systems is important to obtain new materials that incorporate the API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) with better thermal stability, avoiding the interconversion of desmotropes. Interestingly, the presence of water molecules in the mebendazolium mesylate monohydrate prevents the formation of the (8) supramolecular synthon, found in all mebendazolium salts with polyatomic counterions. Here, we designed a new mebendazolium mesylate anhydrous salt based on statistical scrutiny of all mebendazole crystal structures identified in the literature and an exhaustive analysis of the conformational and geometrical requirements for the supramolecular assembly.

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Two novel Cu(I) tetradentate heteroleptic complexes, including nitrile-substituted bipyridines that can be anchored to semiconductor surfaces to be assembled in DSSCs, were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The crystal structures of both species were determined by X-ray diffraction. Results from DFT and TD-DFT calculations were found to be consistent with the experimental data.

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