4,865 results match your criteria: "Universidade Lusófona Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies[Affiliation]"

Nutritional epidemiology aims to link dietary exposures to chronic disease, but the instruments for evaluating dietary intake are inaccurate. One way to identify unreliable data and the sources of errors is to compare estimated intakes with the total energy expenditure (TEE). In this study, we used the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water Database to derive a predictive equation for TEE using 6,497 measures of TEE in individuals aged 4 to 96 years.

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Absence of MCJ/DnaJC15 promotes brown adipose tissue thermogenesis.

Nat Commun

January 2025

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.

Obesity poses a global health challenge, demanding a deeper understanding of adipose tissue (AT) and its mitochondria. This study describes the role of the mitochondrial protein Methylation-controlled J protein (MCJ/DnaJC15) in orchestrating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Here we show how MCJ expression decreases during obesity, as evident in human and mouse adipose tissue samples.

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Background: The response to the global call for more data on children's and adolescents' diets and nutrition is limited by the lack of straightforward practical indicators to track their diet quality. On the basis of a food group score compiled from 10 food groups (FGS-10), the minimum dietary diversity for women, calculated as FGS-10 ≥ 5, is a validated proxy population indicator for better micronutrient intake adequacy for adult women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Objectives: This study aims to validate FGS-10 and its related cutoffs against micronutrient intake adequacy in 4-15-y-old children/adolescents in LMICs.

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I-motif formation in the promoter region of the B-MYB proto-oncogene.

Int J Biol Macromol

January 2025

CICS-UBI - Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal; RISE-Health, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d'Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal; Departamento de Química, Universidade da Beira Interior, Rua Marquês de Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal. Electronic address:

Understanding the mechanisms of carcinogenesis is essential to combat cancer. The search for alternative targets for anticancer therapy has gained interest, particularly when focused on upstream pathways. This strategy is particularly relevant when the encoded target proteins are known - or believed - to be "undruggable", as has been reported for the B-MYB oncogene.

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Brewers' spent grain (BSG), the major by-product of the brewery industry, has high nutritional value, making it suitable for upcycling into products such as healthy, and sustainable cookies. Nonetheless, the incorporation of BSG in cookies can impact their quality, given the increased fiber and protein content. This work explored the effect of replacing wheat flour with BSG at 50% and 75% in cookie formulations, focusing on physical, chemical, and sensory properties.

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Glutaminase controls the first step in glutaminolysis, impacting bioenergetics, biosynthesis and oxidative stress. Two isoenzymes exist in humans, GLS and GLS2. GLS is considered prooncogenic and overexpressed in many tumours, while GLS2 may act as prooncogenic or as a tumour suppressor.

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The "" under this Perspective underline the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships across several disciplines, such as medical science and technology, medicine, bioengineering, and computational approaches, in bridging the gap between research, manufacturing, and clinical applications. Effective communication is key to bridging team gaps, enhancing trust, and resolving conflicts, thereby fostering teamwork and individual growth toward shared goals. Drawing from the success of the COVID-19 vaccine development, we advocate the application of similar collaborative models in other complex health areas such as nanomedicine and biomedical engineering.

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The sex chromosomes contain complex, important genes impacting medical phenotypes, but differ from the autosomes in their ploidy and large repetitive regions. To enable technology developers along with research and clinical laboratories to evaluate variant detection on male sex chromosomes X and Y, we create a small variant benchmark set with 111,725 variants for the Genome in a Bottle HG002 reference material. We develop an active evaluation approach to demonstrate the benchmark set reliably identifies errors in challenging genomic regions and across short and long read callsets.

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Multigene, genus-wide phylogenetic studies have uncovered the limited taxonomic resolution power of commonly used gene markers, particularly of rRNA genes, to discriminate closely related species of the nematode genus Heterorhabditis. In addition, conflicting tree topologies are often obtained using the different gene markers, which limits our understanding of the phylo- and co-phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of the entomopathogenic nematode genus Heterorhabditis. Here we carried out phylogenomic reconstructions using whole nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and whole ribosomal operon sequences, as well as multiple phylogenetic reconstructions using various single nuclear and mitochondrial genes.

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Biogeographical Distribution of River Microbial Communities in Atlantic Catchments.

Environ Microbiol Rep

February 2025

IHCantabria-Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.

Microbes inhabit virtually all river ecosystems, influencing energy flow and playing a key role in global sustainability and climate change. Yet, there is uncertainty about how various taxonomic groups respond to large-scale factors in river networks. We analysed microbial community richness and composition across six European Atlantic catchments using environmental DNA sequencing.

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Sustainable Carbon Dots Loaded into Carboxymethylcellulose Based Hydrogels for Uterine Cancer Bioimaging.

Pharmaceutics

November 2024

iBB-Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal.

: The development of innovative materials for disease diagnostics and therapeutics is a fast-growing area of scientific research. In this work, we report the development of innovative hydrogels incorporating carbon dots (Cdots) for bioimaging purposes. : The Cdots were prepared using a sustainable and low-cost process, starting with an underused fiber from the Brazilian semiarid region.

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The brain contains many interconnected and complex cellular and molecular mechanisms. Injury to the brain causes permanent dysfunctions in these mechanisms. So, it continues to be an area where surgical intervention cannot be performed except for the removal of tumors and the repair of some aneurysms.

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Early Mortality Prediction in Intensive Care Unit Patients Based on Serum Metabolomic Fingerprint.

Int J Mol Sci

December 2024

ISEL-Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro 1, 1959-007 Lisbon, Portugal.

Predicting mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) is essential for timely interventions and efficient resource use, especially during pandemics like COVID-19, where high mortality persisted even after the state of emergency ended. Current mortality prediction methods remain limited, especially for critically ill ICU patients, due to their dynamic metabolic changes and heterogeneous pathophysiological processes. This study evaluated how the serum metabolomic fingerprint, acquired through Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, could support mortality prediction models in COVID-19 ICU patients.

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Phytol is a diterpene from the long-chain unsaturated acyclic alcohols, known for its diverse biological effects, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. Present in essential oils, phytol is a promising candidate for various applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological sectors. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and drug-potentiating effects of phytol against multidrug-resistant bacteria and to evaluate its properties: ADME and molecular docking.

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Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of blindness among diabetic patients, particularly in areas with an increase in diabetes epidemics, such as Saudi Arabia. Notwithstanding the significant public health implications, data on the prevalence and risk factors of DR in Saudi Arabia are few and scattered, limited to certain geographic areas. Our study objective is to conduct a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis of the prevalence and predictors for DR in Saudi Arabia, within both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

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Nowadays, consent to use donor bodies for medical education and research is obtained from the body donors and their families before the donation. Recently, the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) published guidelines that could restrict the appearance of cadaveric images in commercial anatomical resources such as textbooks and other educational products. These guidelines state that the donor must expressly consent to using such images for this purpose.

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Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e.

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Type 2 inflammation: a Portuguese consensus using Web-Delphi and decision conferencing (INFLAT2-PT).

Expert Rev Clin Immunol

January 2025

CEGIST-Centro de Estudos de Gestão, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

Objectives: Atopic/allergic diseases impose a growing burden on public health, affecting millions of patients worldwide. The main objective of this study was to develop a national expert consensus on relevant clinical questions related to type 2 inflammation.

Methods: We conducted: a comprehensive literature review with a qualitative analysis to identify the most repeated themes on the overlap of conditions; a modified 3-round Web-Delphi (or e-Delphi); and a final online decision conference.

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The expanding scale and complexity of microscopy image datasets require accelerated analytical workflows. NanoPyx meets this need through an adaptive framework enhanced for high-speed analysis. At the core of NanoPyx, the Liquid Engine dynamically generates optimized central processing unit and graphics processing unit code variations, learning and predicting the fastest based on input data and hardware.

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Article Synopsis
  • A team of over 180 researchers from more than 40 countries is addressing the issues related to "phantom agents," which are proposed pathogenic agents that are listed without concrete evidence of their existence.
  • These phantom agents, identified only through symptoms and lacking proper isolates or genetic data, create obstacles for trade and plant certification, making effective detection and risk assessment difficult.
  • The researchers recommend removing these agents from regulatory lists and updating standards in line with modern diagnostic methods to facilitate germplasm exchange and support global agriculture.
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Galactokinase and galactose metabolism in Leishmania spp.

Exp Parasitol

December 2024

Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. Electronic address:

In Leishmania, the nucleotide-sugar UDP-galactose can be synthesized by a salvage pathway, the Isselbacher route, involving phosphorylation of galactose and the action of UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase. The first enzyme of the pathway, galactokinase, has yet to be studied in this parasite. Here, we report a molecular and biochemical characterization of this enzyme in Leishmania mexicana.

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Despite increasing awareness of the threats they pose, exotic species continue to arrive in Antarctica with anthropogenic assistance, some of which inevitably have the potential to become aggressively invasive. Here, we provide the first report of the globally cosmopolitan species (Diptera, Psychodidae; commonly known as moth flies) in Antarctica during the austral summer of 2021/2022, with the identification confirmed using traditional taxonomic and molecular approaches. The species was present in very large numbers and, although predominantly associated with the drainage and wastewater systems of Antarctic national operator stations in synanthropic situations, it was also present in surrounding natural habitats.

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Psychedelics for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: Interpreting and Translating Available Evidence and Guidance for Future Research.

Am J Psychiatry

January 2025

Department of Psychiatry (McIntyre, Mansur, Rosenblat) and Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (McIntyre, Mansur, Rosenblat), University of Toronto, Toronto; Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation, Toronto (Kwan, Teopiz); Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa (Kwan); Champalimaud Research and Clinical Center, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon (Oliveira-Maia); NOVA Medical School, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS, FCM, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon (Oliveira-Maia); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Greenville (Maletic); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford (Suppes); Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego (Stahl).

During the past decade, there has been extraordinary public, media, and medical research interest in psychedelics as promising therapeutics for difficult-to-treat psychiatric disorders. Short-term controlled trial data suggest that certain psychedelics are effective and safe in the treatment of major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Preliminary evidence also supports efficacy in other psychiatric disorders (e.

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