80 results on '"Bernardes, R."'
Search Results
2. Pre-clinical Study of a Customized Rehabilitation Device Prototype for Patients with Immobility Syndrome
- Author
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Ribeiro, T., Roseiro, L., Silva, M., Santos, F., Bernardes, R., Cardoso, R., Parola, V., Neves, H., Cruz, A., Xavier, W., Durães, R., Malça, C., Ceccarelli, Marco, Series Editor, Agrawal, Sunil K., Advisory Editor, Corves, Burkhard, Advisory Editor, Glazunov, Victor, Advisory Editor, Hernández, Alfonso, Advisory Editor, Huang, Tian, Advisory Editor, Jauregui Correa, Juan Carlos, Advisory Editor, Takeda, Yukio, Advisory Editor, Tarnita, Daniela, editor, Dumitru, Nicolae, editor, Pisla, Doina, editor, Carbone, Giuseppe, editor, and Geonea, Ionut, editor
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- 2023
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3. New insights on the mechanisms of myocardial injury in hypertensive patients with COVID-19
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Moll Bernardes, R, primary, Ferreira, J R, additional, Sousa, A S, additional, Schaustz, E B, additional, Tortelly, M B, additional, Pimentel, A L, additional, Figueiredo, A C B S, additional, Noya-Rabelo, M M, additional, Fortier, S, additional, Albuquerque, D C, additional, Rosado De-Castro, P H, additional, Camargo, G C, additional, Souza, O F, additional, Luiz, R R, additional, and Medei, E, additional
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- 2023
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4. A Spinosad-Based Formulation Reduces the Survival and Alters the Behavior of the Stingless Bee Plebeia lucii
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Marques, R D, Lima, M A P, Marques, R D, and Bernardes, R C
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- 2020
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5. Sobre sinos e monges: o Tempo, as Horas e o horologium vitae no contemporâneo
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BERNARDES, R. G. A., primary
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- 2021
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6. Optimization Process of an Innovative Rehabilitation Device based on Pre-Clinical Results
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Bernardes, R., primary, Parola, V., additional, Cardoso, R., additional, Neves, H., additional, Cruz, A., additional, Xavier, W., additional, Durães, R., additional, and Malça, C., additional
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- 2023
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7. Occipital blood‐brain barrier permeability is an independent predictor of visual outcome in type 2 diabetes, irrespective of the retinal barrier: A longitudinal study
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Abuhaiba, S. I., Cordeiro, M., Amorim, A., Cruz, Â., Quendera, B., Ferreira, C., Ribeiro, L., Bernardes, R., and Castelo‐Branco, M.
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- 2018
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8. How cutting types and shading levels influence the vegetative propagation of Pereskia aculeata?
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Santos, C. C., primary, Bernardes, R. da S., additional, Silverio, J. M., additional, Lima, N. M., additional, Goelzer, A., additional, Dias, A. dos S., additional, Scalon, S. de P. Q., additional, and Vieira, M. do C., additional
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- 2023
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9. Validação da Passion Scale para a população portuguesa praticante de exercício físico.
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Rodrigues, F., Monteiro, D., Soares, R., Bernardes, R., and Teixeira, D. S.
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BEHAVIOR modification ,PHYSICAL fitness centers ,MODELS & modelmaking ,SCALING (Social sciences) ,HABIT - Abstract
Copyright of Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte is the property of Cuadernos de Psicologia del Deporte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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- 2022
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10. P4555Efficacy and safety of valsartan in children aged 1–5 years with hypertension, with or without chronic kidney disease: A 6-week randomised, multicentre, double-blind study followed by open-label phase
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Bapatla, K, primary, Jankauskiene, A, additional, Drozdz, D, additional, Wasilewska, A, additional, De Paula Bernardes, R, additional, Chiang, Y, additional, and Glazer, R, additional
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- 2019
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11. Fighting Opportunistic Bacteria in Drug Delivery Medical Devices
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Bernardes, R., primary, Ferreira, J. A., additional, Grassi, M., additional, Nhangumbe, M., additional, and de Oliveira, P., additional
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- 2019
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12. Macular changes in patients with multiple sclerosis - A texture analysis of optical coherence tomography data
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Bernardes, R., primary, Silva, G., additional, Batista, S., additional, Sousa, L., additional, and Castelo Branco, M., additional
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- 2017
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13. Optical coherence tomography - machine learning
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Bernardes, R., primary and Castelo-Branco, M., additional
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- 2017
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14. DETERMINAÇÃO DA CONDUTIVIDADE TÉRMICA EFETIVA DE FERTILIZANTES GRANULADOS: INFLUÊNCIA DA UMIDADE E DO DIÂMETRO DE PARTÍCULA
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BERNARDES, R. C. R, additional, CARDOSO, J. M., additional, and PERAZZINI, H., additional
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- 2017
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15. Productivity and agronomic characteristics of sugarcane under different tillage systems
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Moraes, E. R., primary, Bernardes, R. F. B., additional, Domingues, L. A. S., additional, and Lana, R. M. Q., additional
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- 2017
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16. Comparison of three retreatment techniques with ultrasonic activation in flattened canals using micro‐computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy
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Bernardes, R. A., primary, Duarte, M. A. H., additional, Vivan, R. R., additional, Alcalde, M. P., additional, Vasconcelos, B. C., additional, and Bramante, C. M., additional
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- 2015
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17. Creating Meaning - People Living with Mental Illness in Switzerland
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Wolfensberger, Peter, Hahn, S., van Teijlingen, Edwin, Thomas, S., Lomba, L., Parola, V., Costa, P., Feilzardo, H., Santos, M., Silva, M., Neves, M., Morgado, T., Casaleiro, T., and Bernardes, R.
- Abstract
Introduction: Mental illnesses have a large impact on individuals, their families and friends and communities. People living with mental illness often face discrimination and not the least within the health-care system. In this research project people living with mental illness in Switzerland share their stories. Out of these stories the Creating Meaning Theory was developed which sheds light on how the people concerned deal with their life situations. Objectives: The aim of this research project was to explore and evaluate the personal experiences of people living with mental illness and to outline the process of adaptation within a new theory. This new understanding may help health-care providers and nurses to promote an improved quality of life and increased wellbeing. Methodology: A constructivist and reflexive Grounded Theory approach was chosen for the study. Ten participants, people living with mental illness in Switzerland, were interviewed and additional data from various sources were included in the data analysis. Results: Three categories form the theoretical framework of the Creating Meaning Theory, which summarises the experiences of the people interviewed for this study: Constructing explanations refers to the process of participants trying to understand what is going on in their lives. Defining self-identity points out that people living with mental illness provide themselves with an understanding of who they are. Making sense-of-life refers to the aspect, that the participants give situations meaning and take control over them. The findings support existing theories but add a new and unique understanding of people’s experiences in living with mental illness. Conclusions: The Creating Meaning Theory provides a new and unique understanding of the adaptation process to living with mental illness from a service user perspective. It is a non-linear, infinite and ongoing process. Their stories need to be heard, understood and transformed into action in real life, health-care and society.
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- 2020
18. Fighting opportunistic bacteria in drug delivery medical devices
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M. Nhangumbe, P. de Oliveira, Mario Grassi, R. Bernardes, José Augusto Ferreira, Bernardes, R., Ferreira, J. A., Grassi, M., Nhangumbe, M., and De Oliveira, P.
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biology ,business.industry ,Applied Mathematics ,fungi ,Biodegradable polymeric coating ,food and beverages ,Drug release ,Numerical simulation ,biology.organism_classification ,01 natural sciences ,PDE system coupled with an ODE ,Sharp estimates ,Microbiology ,010101 applied mathematics ,Drug delivery ,Medicine ,0101 mathematics ,business ,Bacteria - Abstract
The aim of this paper is the mathematical study of the interactions between bacterial populations, materials they colonize, and drugs delivered from surfaces where they adhere. Bacteria can cause infections, which are common events in different types of medical implants as, for example, orthopedic prosthesis, and are often responsible for rejection. A controlled drug delivery to fight bacterial adhesion is crucial in reducing infection rates. A strategy recently adopted to address the problem is to deliver therapeutic agents locally by dispersing them into polymeric implant coatings. The mathematical model is composed of a system of three partial differential equations that describe the drug release from a biodegradable polymeric coating and by an ordinary differential equation that governs the density of a bacterial population. The link between the system of partial differential equations and the ordinary differential equation is defined by an integral that represents the mass of drug that is released by the polymeric coating at time t. Quasi-sharp estimates for the bacterial density that give insight into its dependence on the polymeric properties and the drug characteristics are established. Numerical experiments illustrating the behavior of the density of bacteria, depending on the characteristics of the drug-polymeric coating system, are included.
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- 2019
19. Validation of a similarity measurement method for clustering cardiac signals
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Jorge Henriques, Maria da Graça Ruano, Paulo Carvalho, Teresa Rocha, Simão Paredes, A. Kianimajd, Morgado, M., Bernardes, R., Amador, M., and Afonso, P. M.
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Discrete wavelet transform ,0209 industrial biotechnology ,business.industry ,Correlation clustering ,Pattern recognition ,02 engineering and technology ,computer.software_genre ,Medoid ,Haar wavelet ,Identification (information) ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,Similarity (network science) ,Distortion ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,Data mining ,Artificial intelligence ,Cluster analysis ,business ,computer ,Mathematics - Abstract
Development of personalized cardiovascular management systems involves automatic identification of the current data as normal or pathological; considering cardiac data as time-series, the illness identification may be performed by seeking similarity between the current patient's time-series data and a reference signal and then proceeding to illness stratification (clustering). Seven of the most common methods of time-series similarity measurement were assessed by imposing 6 types of distortions to the reference signal, considering for each distortion 20 possible variations. This study employed 10 seconds length records of arterial blood pressure signals of healthy subjects, collected from a public database. Then clustering using Partitioning Around Medoids was performed among pathological and non-pathological data considering 3 different clusters. Clustering results confirm usage of the reduced basis Discrete Wavelet Transform resulting from the combination of Haar wavelet decomposition with the Karhunen-Loeve transforms, presenting an accuracy ranging from 76% to 85% when partitioning around Medoids clustering is used. [H2020 - 692023] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
- Published
- 2017
20. Effects of high energy X-rays on cell morphology and functions
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Gabriele Pasqua, Valeria Panzetta, Paolo A. Netti, Chiara Piccolo, Mariagabriella Pugliese, Sabato Fusco, I. Musellav, Afonso P.M.,Amador M.,Morgado M.,Bernardes R., Panzetta, Valeria, Musellav, I., Pugliese, Mariagabriella, Piccolo, C., Pasqua, G., Netti, PAOLO ANTONIO, and Fusco, S.
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0301 basic medicine ,High energy ,Chemistry ,Cell ,Adhesion ,Cell morphology ,Cell biology ,Focal adhesion ,03 medical and health sciences ,030104 developmental biology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Transformed cell ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,medicine ,Cytoskeleton - Abstract
The characterization of cytoskeleton properties could be a very important diagnostic tool with which to better understand the tumourigenic mechanisms. Here we have consolidated our previous findings as to how high energy X-ray - which are ordinarily employed in radiotherapy - can modify the structure and the activity of the cell cytoskeleton. We studied the effects over time (24 and 72 h) of two different doses of X-rays (1 and 2 Gray) on proliferation, spreading, focal adhesions, migration and mechanical properties of BALB/c3T3 and SV40 transformed BALB/c3T3 cells. We observed that X-rays induced a sensitive increase of transformed cell adhesion, responsible of the decrease of migratory ability and the enhancement of the mechanical properties of SVT2 cells. On the contrary, the effects of X-rays on BALB/c3T3 properties were negligible.
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- 2017
21. Composition and in vitro antioxidants activity of Chamaerops humilis L
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José Coelho, Ruben Elvas-Leitão, Maria Cristina Oliveira, Jerson G. Veiga, Ana M. Dias, Amadeu F. Brigas, Morgado, M., Bernardes, R., Amador, M., and Afonso, P. M.
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chemistry.chemical_classification ,Antioxidant ,Chromatography ,biology ,DPPH ,medicine.medical_treatment ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Flavonoid ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,biology.organism_classification ,040401 food science ,01 natural sciences ,High-performance liquid chromatography ,Electronic mail ,Extracts ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0404 agricultural biotechnology ,Nutraceutical ,Chamaerops ,chemistry ,Polyphenol ,medicine - Abstract
The aim of this work is to evaluate the polyphenols composition and the antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of Chamaerops humilis L. Methanol extracts from dried leaves of Chamaerops humilis were prepared using Soxhlet extraction and examined as potential sources of phenolic compounds. Different methods were used to evaluate antioxidant activity of the extracts, including colored (ABTS*+), DPPH radical scavenging assay and reducing power. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extracts were evaluated by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride (AlCl3) methods, respectively. Phenolic compositions of the methanol extracts were elucidated by high performance liquid chromatography coupled on-line with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The extract was mainly composed of C-and O-flavones and its O-methylated derivatives. The results suggest that methanol extracts have good potential as sources of bioactive compounds and presents an important antioxidants capacity, which can ensures its potential recommendation for application in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors. Fundacdo para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) [UID/QUI/00100/2013, UID/MULTI/00612/2013, REM2015] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
- Published
- 2017
22. Use of Anticoagulant Therapy in Obese People: What is the Evidence for the Ideal Dose?
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Noya-Rabelo MM, Novaes E, Moll-Bernardes R, and Souza O
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- Humans, Atrial Fibrillation drug therapy, Anticoagulants administration & dosage, Anticoagulants therapeutic use, Obesity drug therapy, Obesity complications
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- 2024
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23. Lack of Anticoagulant Use in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Increased Risk of Thromboembolic Events According to Sex: Insights from a Multicentric Brazilian Study.
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Medei E, Moll-Bernardes R, Pinheiro MVT, Sousa AS, Abufaiad B, Feldman A, Arruda GDS, Monteiro TLC, Luca FA, Henz BD, Albuquerque DC, Fagundes Junior AAP, Noya-Rabelo MM, Camiletti AS, Frajtag RM, Luiz RR, and Souza OF
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- Humans, Male, Female, Brazil epidemiology, Aged, Middle Aged, Sex Factors, Risk Factors, Prospective Studies, Sex Distribution, Prevalence, Adult, Aged, 80 and over, Age Distribution, Atrial Fibrillation drug therapy, Atrial Fibrillation epidemiology, Atrial Fibrillation complications, Anticoagulants therapeutic use, Thromboembolism prevention & control, Thromboembolism epidemiology, Thromboembolism etiology
- Abstract
Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, and its presentation differs according to age and sex. Recent studies have revealed differences in AF among various demographic groups, including the Latin American population., Objectives: To better understand potential disparities in AF prevalence and treatment strategies in the Brazilian population through data from a large multicentric prospective registry., Methods: The Rede D'Or AF registry is a multicenter prospective observational study including patients aged ≥ 18 years with AF who were seen in the emergency department of 32 tertiary hospitals in Brazil. Patients were characterized according to sex and other baseline characteristics and were classified according to previous anticoagulant use. The lack of anticoagulant use in patients with previous indications was analyzed. Statistical significance was set at 5%., Results: The study data were from a total of 1955 patients enrolled. Male sex was more prevalent, and men were younger than the women. Due to an increased prevalence of previous AF episode and a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score, more women had indications for anticoagulant therapy; however, a significant proportion was not receiving this treatment. From 29 in-hospital deaths, 15 patients had previous indication for anticoagulation, but only 3 were using anticoagulants., Conclusion: This study revealed sex-related differences in the Brazilian population of patients with AF that are consistent with trends in high-income countries. The promotion of better implementation of anticoagulant and antithrombotic therapies to reduce the risk of death and thromboembolic events among women with AF in Brazil is crucial.
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- 2024
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24. Cardiac remodeling and inflammation detected by magnetic resonance imaging in COVID-19 survivors.
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Schaustz EB, Secco JCP, Barroso JM, Ferreira JR, Tortelly MB, Pimentel AL, Figueiredo ACBS, Albuquerque DC, Sales ARK, Rosado de-Castro PH, Pinheiro MVT, Souza OF, Medei E, Luiz RR, Silvestre-Sousa A, Camargo GC, and Moll-Bernardes R
- Abstract
Background: Concerns have been raised about cardiac inflammation in patients with long COVID-19, particularly those with myocardial injury during the acute phase of the disease. This study was conducted to examine myopericardial involvement, detected by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in patients hospitalized for COVID-19., Methods: Adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who presented myocardial injury or increased D-dimers were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients were invited to undergo CMR imaging examination after discharge. During follow-up, patients with nonischemic myocardial or pericardial involvement detected on the first CMR imaging examination underwent second examinations. CMR imaging findings were compared with those of a control group of healthy patients with no comorbidity., Results: Of 180 included patients, 53 underwent CMR imaging examination. The mean age was 58.4 ± 18.3 years, and 73.6 % were male. Myocardial and pericardial LGE was reported in 43.4 % and 35.8 % of patients, respectively. Nonischemic myocardial or pericardial involvement was reported in 26 (49.1 %) patients. The prevalence of pericardial LGE was associated inversely with the interval between hospital discharge and CMR. COVID-19 survivors had higher end-systolic volume indices (ESVis) and lower left-ventricular ejection fractions than did healthy controls. Seventeen patients underwent follow-up CMR imaging; the end-diastolic volume index, ESVi, and prevalence of pericardial LGE, but not that of nonischemic LGE, were reduced., Conclusion: Among COVID-19 survivors with myocardial injury during the acute phase of the disease, the incidences of nonischemic myocardial and pericardial LGE and CMR imaging-detected signs of cardiac remodeling, partially reversed during follow-up, were high., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)
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- 2024
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25. Anterior transposition of the inferior oblique and anti-elevation syndrome - how far to go?
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Fornazieri Darcie AL, Debert I, Oliveira de Assis Bernardes R, Akemi Matsura Misawa M, Bertocco JF, and Polati M
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- Humans, Retrospective Studies, Male, Female, Middle Aged, Child, Adult, Strabismus surgery, Strabismus physiopathology, Adolescent, Postoperative Complications, Child, Preschool, Incidence, Eye Movements physiology, Vision, Binocular physiology, Young Adult, Aged, Syndrome, Oculomotor Muscles surgery, Oculomotor Muscles physiopathology, Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures methods
- Abstract
Purpose : To study the incidence of postoperative anti-elevation syndrome in relation to the magnitude of anterior transposition of the inferior oblique. Methods : A retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients submitted to anterior transposition of the inferior oblique from 2000 to 2020. Anti-elevation syndrome was defined as limitation of elevation of the abducting eye, resulting in a secondary upshoot of the contralateral adducting eye. Results : A total of 312 eyes of 170 patients were enrolled in the study. The incidence of anti-elevation syndrome was 20.4% when the inferior oblique was positioned 4 mm posterior to the temporal border of the inferior rectus insertion; 23.5% when sutured 2 mm posterior to the temporal border of the inferior rectus insertion and 32.8% when placed at the same level of the inferior rectus insertion with two sutures vertically aligned. When the posterior border of the inferior oblique was horizontally aligned with the anterior border and positioned adjacent to the inferior rectus insertion, in a "J shape" fashion, the incidence of anti-elevation was 41.8%. Conclusions : The anterior transposition of the inferior oblique with "J" deformity increases the risk of anti-elevation syndrome. Additionally, placing the sutures more anteriorly than 2 mm posterior to the inferior rectus insertion increases the incidence of this finding.
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- 2024
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26. Cardiac and Liver Fibrosis Assessed by Multiparametric MRI in Patients with Fontan Circulation.
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Innocenzi A, Rangel I, Póvoa-Corrêa M, Parente DB, Perez R, Rodrigues RS, Fukuyama LT, Barroso JM, Oliveira Neto JA, Silvestre de Sousa A, Luiz RR, Barbosa RCP, Camargo GC, and Moll-Bernardes R
- Abstract
The abnormal hemodynamics in Fontan circulation due to persistently increased systemic venous pressure results in hepatic venous congestion and Fontan-associated liver disease. Combined assessment of cardiac and liver fibrosis and cardiac remodeling using multiparametric MRI in this context have not been fully explored. To evaluate cardiac and liver fibrosis and cardiac remodeling using multiparametric MRI in patients who have undergone Fontan procedures. Thirty-eight patients and 23 controls underwent cardiac and liver MRI examinations in a 3.0-T scanner. Mann-Whitney, Fisher exact test, and Spearman's correlation were applied to evaluate myocardial volumes, function, native cardiac and liver T1 mapping, ECVs and liver stiffness. The mean native cardiac T1 value (p = 0.018), cardiac ECV (p < 0.001), liver native T1 (p < 0.001), liver ECV (p < 0.001), and liver stiffness (p < 0.001) were higher in patients than controls. The indexed end-diastolic volume (EDVi) correlated with the myocardial ECV (r = 0.356; p = 0.033), native liver T1 (r = 0.571; p < 0.001), and with liver stiffness (r = 0.391; p = 0.015). In addition, liver stiffness correlated with liver ECV (r = 0.361; p = 0.031) and native liver T1 (r = 0.458; p = 0.004). An association between cardiac remodeling and cardiac and liver fibrosis were found in this population. The usefulness of MRI to follow cardiac and liver involvement in these patients is critical to improve treatment strategies and to prevent the need for combined liver and heart transplantation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
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- 2024
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27. Corrigendum: Normative mice retinal thickness: 16-month longitudinal characterization of wild-type mice and changes in a model of Alzheimer's disease.
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Batista A, Guimarães P, Martins J, Moreira PI, Ambrósio AF, Castelo-Branco M, Serranho P, and Bernardes R
- Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1161847.]., (Copyright © 2024 Batista, Guimarães, Martins, Moreira, Ambrósio, Castelo-Branco, Serranho and Bernardes.)
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- 2024
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28. Retinal OCT biomarkers and their association with cognitive function-clinical and AI approaches.
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Rauscher FG and Bernardes R
- Abstract
Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers have the potential to serve as early, noninvasive, and cost-effective markers for identifying individuals at risk for cognitive impairments and neurodegenerative diseases. They may also aid in monitoring disease progression and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting cognitive decline. The association between retinal OCT biomarkers and cognitive performance has been demonstrated in several studies, and their importance in cognitive assessment is increasingly being recognized. Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) with an exponential number of applications in the medical field, particularly its deep learning (DL) subset, which is widely used for the analysis of medical images. These techniques efficiently deal with novel biomarkers when their outcome for the applications of interest is unclear, e.g., for diagnosis, prognosis prediction, disease staging, or any other relevance to clinical practice. However, using AI-based tools for medical purposes must be approached with caution, despite the many efforts to address the black-box nature of such approaches, especially due to the general underperformance in datasets other than those used for their development. Retinal OCT biomarkers are promising as potential indicators for decline in cognitive function. The underlying mechanisms are currently being explored to gain deeper insights into this relationship linking retinal health and cognitive function. Insights from neurovascular coupling and retinal microvascular changes play an important role. Further research is needed to establish the validity and utility of retinal OCT biomarkers as early indicators of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases in routine clinical practice. Retinal OCT biomarkers could then provide a new avenue for early detection, monitoring and intervention in cognitive impairment with the potential to improve patient care and outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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29. Impact of the immune profiles of hypertensive patients with and without obesity on COVID-19 severity.
- Author
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Moll-Bernardes R, Ferreira JR, Sousa AS, Tortelly MB, Pimentel AL, Figueiredo ACBS, Schaustz EB, Secco JCP, Sales ARK, Terzi FVO, Xavier de Brito A, Sarmento RO, Noya-Rabelo MM, Fortier S, Matos E Silva FA, Vera N, Conde L, Cabral-Castro MJ, Albuquerque DC, Rosado de-Castro P, Camargo GC, Pinheiro MVT, Souza OF, Bozza FA, Luiz RR, and Medei E
- Subjects
- Adult, Humans, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Epidermal Growth Factor metabolism, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A, HLA-DR Antigens metabolism, Obesity complications, Obesity metabolism, COVID-19 complications, COVID-19 metabolism, Hypertension complications, Hypertension epidemiology, Hypertension metabolism, Diabetes Mellitus
- Abstract
Background: Comorbidities such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are associated with COVID-19 development and severity, probably due to immune dysregulation; however, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not clear. The immune signatures of hypertensive patients with obesity with COVID-19 may provide new insight into the mechanisms of immune dysregulation and progression to severe disease in these patients., Methods: Hypertensive patients were selected prospectively from a multicenter registry of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 and stratified according to obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). Clinical data including baseline characteristics, complications, treatment, and 46 immune markers were compared between groups. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables associated with the risk of COVID-19 progression in each group., Results: The sample comprised 213 patients (89 with and 124 without obesity). The clinical profiles of patients with and without obesity differed, suggesting potential interactions with COVID-19 severity. Relative to patients without obesity, patients with obesity were younger and fewer had cardiac disease and myocardial injury. Patients with obesity had higher EGF, GCSF, GMCSF, interleukin (IL)-1ra, IL-5, IL-7, IL-8, IL-15, IL-1β, MCP 1, and VEGF levels, total lymphocyte counts, and CD8
+ CD38+ mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), and lower NK-NKG2A MFI and percentage of CD8+ CD38+ T cells. Significant correlations between cytokine and immune cell expression were observed in both groups. Five variables best predicted progression to severe COVID-19 in patients with obesity: diabetes, the EGF, IL-10, and IL-13 levels, and the percentage of CD8+ HLA-DR+ CD38+ cells. Three variables were predictive for patients without obesity: myocardial injury and the percentages of B lymphocytes and HLA-DR+ CD38+ cells., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that clinical and immune variables and obesity interact synergistically to increase the COVID-19 progression risk. The immune signatures of hypertensive patients with and without obesity severe COVID-19 highlight differences in immune dysregulation mechanisms, with potential therapeutic applications., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)- Published
- 2024
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30. [Retinal optical coherence tomography biomarkers and their association with cognitive functions : Clinical and artificial intelligence approaches. German version].
- Author
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Rauscher FG and Bernardes R
- Subjects
- Humans, Retinal Ganglion Cells, Artificial Intelligence, Cognition, Biomarkers, Tomography, Optical Coherence methods, Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Abstract
Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers have the potential to serve as early, noninvasive, and cost-effective markers for identifying individuals at risk for cognitive impairments and neurodegenerative diseases. They may also aid in monitoring disease progression and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions targeting cognitive decline. The association between retinal OCT biomarkers and cognitive performance has been demonstrated in several studies, and their importance in cognitive assessment is increasingly being recognized. Machine learning (ML) is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) with an exponential number of applications in the medical field, particularly its deep learning (DL) subset, which is widely used for the analysis of medical images. These techniques efficiently deal with novel biomarkers when their outcome for the applications of interest are unclear, e.g., for the diagnosis, prognosis prediction and disease staging. However, using AI-based tools for medical purposes must be approached with caution, despite the many efforts to address the black-box nature of such approaches, especially due to the general underperformance in datasets other than those used for their development. Retinal OCT biomarkers are promising as potential indicators for decline in cognitive function. The underlying mechanisms are currently being explored to gain deeper insights into this relationship linking retinal health and cognitive function. Insights from neurovascular coupling and retinal microvascular changes play an important role. Further research is needed to establish the validity and utility of retinal OCT biomarkers as early indicators of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases in routine clinical practice. Retinal OCT biomarkers could then provide a new avenue for early detection, monitoring and intervention in cognitive impairment with the potential to improve patient care and outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. The hemodynamic response function as a type 2 diabetes biomarker: a data-driven approach.
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Guimarães P, Serranho P, Duarte JV, Crisóstomo J, Moreno C, Gomes L, Bernardes R, and Castelo-Branco M
- Abstract
Introduction: There is a need to better understand the neurophysiological changes associated with early brain dysfunction in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) before vascular or structural lesions. Our aim was to use a novel unbiased data-driven approach to detect and characterize hemodynamic response function (HRF) alterations in T2DM patients, focusing on their potential as biomarkers., Methods: We meshed task-based event-related (visual speed discrimination) functional magnetic resonance imaging with DL to show, from an unbiased perspective, that T2DM patients' blood-oxygen-level dependent response is altered. Relevance analysis determined which brain regions were more important for discrimination. We combined explainability with deconvolution generalized linear model to provide a more accurate picture of the nature of the neural changes., Results: The proposed approach to discriminate T2DM patients achieved up to 95% accuracy. Higher performance was achieved at higher stimulus (speed) contrast, showing a direct relationship with stimulus properties, and in the hemispherically dominant left visual hemifield, demonstrating biological interpretability. Differences are explained by physiological asymmetries in cortical spatial processing (right hemisphere dominance) and larger neural signal-to-noise ratios related to stimulus contrast. Relevance analysis revealed the most important regions for discrimination, such as extrastriate visual cortex, parietal cortex, and insula. These are disease/task related, providing additional evidence for pathophysiological significance. Our data-driven design allowed us to compute the unbiased HRF without assumptions., Conclusion: We can accurately differentiate T2DM patients using a data-driven classification of the HRF. HRF differences hold promise as biomarkers and could contribute to a deeper understanding of neurophysiological changes associated with T2DM., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Guimarães, Serranho, Duarte, Crisóstomo, Moreno, Gomes, Bernardes and Castelo-Branco.)
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- 2024
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32. When Sex Matters: Differences in the Central Nervous System as Imaged by OCT through the Retina.
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Nunes A, Serranho P, Guimarães P, Ferreira J, Castelo-Branco M, and Bernardes R
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Background: Retinal texture has gained momentum as a source of biomarkers of neurodegeneration, as it is sensitive to subtle differences in the central nervous system from texture analysis of the neuroretina. Sex differences in the retina structure, as detected by layer thickness measurements from optical coherence tomography (OCT) data, have been discussed in the literature. However, the effect of sex on retinal interocular differences in healthy adults has been overlooked and remains largely unreported., Methods: We computed mean value fundus images for the neuroretina layers as imaged by OCT of healthy individuals. Texture metrics were obtained from these images to assess whether women and men have the same retina texture characteristics in both eyes. Texture features were tested for group mean differences between the right and left eye., Results: Corrected texture differences exist only in the female group., Conclusions: This work illustrates that the differences between the right and left eyes manifest differently in females and males. This further supports the need for tight control and minute analysis in studies where interocular asymmetry may be used as a disease biomarker, and the potential of texture analysis applied to OCT imaging to spot differences in the retina.
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- 2023
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33. Use of PET/CT to detect myocardial inflammation and the risk of malignant arrhythmia in chronic Chagas disease.
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de Oliveira RS, Moll-Bernardes R, de Brito AX, Pinheiro MVT, de Almeida SA, da Silva Gomes NL, de Oliveira Terzi FV, Moreira OC, Xavier SS, Rosado-de-Castro PH, and de Sousa AS
- Subjects
- Humans, Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography, Fluorodeoxyglucose F18, Positron-Emission Tomography methods, Gallium Radioisotopes, Cross-Sectional Studies, Parasitemia, Prospective Studies, Arrhythmias, Cardiac diagnostic imaging, Inflammation diagnostic imaging, Death, Sudden, Cardiac, Myocarditis diagnostic imaging, Heart Diseases, Chagas Disease complications, Chagas Disease diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Background: Chagas heart disease (CHD) is characterized by progressive myocardial inflammation associated with myocardial fibrosis and segmental abnormalities that may lead to malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. This arrhythmia might be related to the persistence of parasitemia or inflammation in the myocardium in late-stage CHD. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been used to detect myocardial inflammation in non-ischemic cardiomyopathies, such as sarcoidosis, and might be useful for risk prediction in patients with CHD., Methods and Results: Twenty-four outpatients with chronic CHD were enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study between May 2019 and March 2022. The patients were divided into two groups: those with sustained ventricular tachycardia and/or aborted sudden cardiac death who required implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, and those with the same stages of CHD and no complex ventricular arrhythmia. Patients underwent
18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18 F-FDG) and68 Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT, and blood samples were collected for qualitative parasite assessment by polymerase chain reaction. Although similar proportions of patients with and without complex ventricular arrhythmia showed18 F-FDG and68 Ga-DOTATOC uptake,68 Ga-DOTATOC corrected SUVmax was higher in patients with complex arrhythmia (3.4 vs 1.7; P = .046), suggesting that inflammation could be associated with the presence of malignant arrhythmia in the late stages of CHD. We also detected Trypanosoma cruzi in both groups, with a nonsignificant trend of increased parasitemia in the group with malignant arrhythmia (66.7% vs 33.3%)., Conclusion:18 F-FDG and68 Ga-DOTATOC uptake on PET/CT may be useful for the detection of myocardial inflammation in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy, and68 Ga-DOTATOC uptake may be associated with the presence of malignant arrhythmia, with potential therapeutic implications., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to American Society of Nuclear Cardiology.)- Published
- 2023
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34. New Insights on the Mechanisms of Myocardial Injury in Hypertensive Patients With COVID-19.
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Moll-Bernardes R, Ferreira JR, Schaustz EB, Sousa AS, Mattos JD, Tortelly MB, Pimentel AL, Figueiredo ACBS, Noya-Rabelo MM, Fortier S, Matos E Silva FA, Vera N, Conde L, Cabral-Castro MJ, Albuquerque DC, Rosado-de-Castro PH, Camargo GC, Pinheiro MVT, Freitas DOL, Pittella AM, Araújo JAM, Marques AC, Gouvêa EP, Terzi FVO, Zukowski CN, Gismondi RAOC, Bandeira BS, Oliveira RS, Abufaiad BEJ, Miranda JSS, Miranda LG, Souza OF, Bozza FA, Luiz RR, and Medei E
- Subjects
- Adult, Humans, ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1, HLA-DR Antigens, Biomarkers, Lymphocyte Activation, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, COVID-19 complications
- Abstract
Purpose: Myocardial injury is common in hypertensive patients with 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Immune dysregulation could be associated to cardiac injury in these patients, but the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated., Methods: All patients were selected prospectively from a multicenter registry of adults hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19. Cases had hypertension and myocardial injury, defined by troponin levels above the 99th percentile upper reference limit, and controls were hypertensive patients with no myocardial injury. Biomarkers and immune cell subsets were quantified and compared between the two groups. A multiple logistic regression model was used to analyze the associations of clinical and immune variables with myocardial injury., Results: The sample comprised 193 patients divided into two groups: 47 cases and 146 controls. Relative to controls, cases had lower total lymphocyte count, percentage of T lymphocytes, CD8
+ CD38+ mean fluorescence intensity (MFI), and percentage of CD8+ human leukocyte antigen DR isotope (HLA-DR)+ CD38- cells and higher percentage of natural killer lymphocytes, natural killer group 2A (NKG2A)+ MFI, percentage of CD8+ CD38+ cells, CD8+ HLA-DR+ MFI, CD8+ NKG2A+ MFI, and percentage of CD8+ HLA-DR- CD38+ cells. On multivariate regression, the CD8+ HLA-DR+ MFI, CD8+ CD38+ MFI, and total lymphocyte count were associated significantly with myocardial injury., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that lymphopenia, CD8+ CD38+ MFI, and CD8+ HLA-DR+ MFI are immune biomarkers of myocardial injury in hypertensive patients with COVID-19. The immune signature described here may aid in understanding the mechanisms underlying myocardial injury in these patients. The study data might open a new window for improvement in the treatment of hypertensive patients with COVID-19 and myocardial injury., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)- Published
- 2023
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35. Neurovascular and hemodynamic responses to mental stress and exercise in severe COVID-19 survivors.
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Faria D, Moll-Bernardes R, Testa L, Moniz CMV, Rodrigues EC, Mota JM, Souza FR, Alves MJNN, Ono BE, Izaias JE, Sales AO, Rodrigues TS, Salemi VMC, Jordão CP, De Angelis K, Craighead DH, Rossman MJ, Bortolotto LA, Consolim-Colombo FM, Irigoyen MCC, Seals DR, Negrão CE, and Sales ARK
- Subjects
- Adult, Humans, Middle Aged, Blood Pressure physiology, Hemodynamics, Exercise physiology, Heart Rate physiology, Sympathetic Nervous System, Forearm blood supply, Muscle, Skeletal innervation, Hand Strength, COVID-19
- Abstract
Previous studies show that COVID-19 survivors have elevated muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), endothelial dysfunction, and aortic stiffening. However, the neurovascular responses to mental stress and exercise are still unexplored. We hypothesized that COVID-19 survivors, compared with age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched control subjects, exhibit abnormal neurovascular responses to mental stress and physical exercise. Fifteen severe COVID-19 survivors (aged: 49 ± 2 yr, BMI: 30 ± 1 kg/m
2 ) and 15 well-matched control subjects (aged: 46 ± 3 yr, BMI: 29 ± 1 kg/m2 ) were studied. MSNA (microneurography), forearm blood flow (FBF), and forearm vascular conductance (FVC, venous occlusion plethysmography), mean arterial pressure (MAP, Finometer), and heart rate (HR, ECG) were measured during a 3-min mental stress (Stroop Color-Word Test) and during a 3-min isometric handgrip exercise (30% of maximal voluntary contraction). During mental stress, MSNA (frequency and incidence) responses were higher in COVID-19 survivors than in controls ( P < 0.001), and FBF and FVC responses were attenuated ( P < 0.05). MAP was similar between the groups ( P > 0.05). In contrast, the MSNA (frequency and incidence) and FBF and FVC responses to handgrip exercise were similar between the groups ( P > 0.05). MAP was lower in COVID-19 survivors ( P < 0.05). COVID-19 survivors exhibit an exaggerated MSNA and blunted vasodilatory response to mental challenge compared with healthy adults. However, the neurovascular response to handgrip exercise is preserved in COVID-19 survivors. Overall, the abnormal neurovascular control in response to mental stress suggests that COVID-19 survivors may have an increased risk to cardiovascular events during mental challenge.- Published
- 2023
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36. Subtractive adaptation is a more effective and general mechanism in binocular rivalry than divisive adaptation.
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Cravo MI, Bernardes R, and Castelo-Branco M
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- Humans, Dominance, Ocular, Visual Perception physiology, Brain, Photic Stimulation methods, Vision, Binocular physiology, Vision Disparity
- Abstract
The activity of neurons is influenced by random fluctuations and can be strongly modulated by firing rate adaptation, particularly in sensory systems. Still, there is ongoing debate about the characteristics of neuronal noise and the mechanisms of adaptation, and even less is known about how exactly they affect perception. Noise and adaptation are critical in binocular rivalry, a visual phenomenon where two images compete for perceptual dominance. Here, we investigated the effects of different noise processes and adaptation mechanisms on visual perception by simulating a model of binocular rivalry with Gaussian white noise, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise, and pink noise, in variants with divisive adaptation, subtractive adaptation, and without adaptation. By simulating the nine models in parameter space, we find that white noise only produces rivalry when paired with subtractive adaptation and that subtractive adaptation reduces the influence of noise intensity on rivalry strength and introduces convergence of the mean percept duration, an important metric of binocular rivalry, across all noise processes. In sum, our results show that white noise is an insufficient description of background activity in the brain and that subtractive adaptation is a stronger and more general switching mechanism in binocular rivalry than divisive adaptation, with important noise-filtering properties.
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- 2023
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37. Textural properties of microglial activation in Alzheimer's disease as measured by (R)-[ 11 C]PK11195 PET.
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Lapo Pais M, Jorge L, Martins R, Canário N, Xavier AC, Bernardes R, Abrunhosa A, Santana I, and Castelo-Branco M
- Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia worldwide, accounting for 60-70% of diagnosed cases. According to the current understanding of molecular pathogenesis, the main hallmarks of this disease are the abnormal accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Therefore, biomarkers reflecting these underlying biological mechanisms are recognized as valid tools for an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Inflammatory mechanisms, such as microglial activation, are known to be involved in Alzheimer's disease onset and progression. This activated state of the microglia is associated with increased expression of the translocator protein 18 kDa. On that account, PET tracers capable of measuring this signature, such as (R)-[
11 C]PK11195, might be instrumental in assessing the state and evolution of Alzheimer's disease. This study aims to investigate the potential of Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix-based textural parameters as an alternative to conventional quantification using kinetic models in (R)-[11 C]PK11195 PET images. To achieve this goal, kinetic and textural parameters were computed on (R)-[11 C]PK11195 PET images of 19 patients with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and 21 healthy controls and submitted separately to classification using a linear support vector machine. The classifier built using the textural parameters showed no inferior performance compared to the classical kinetic approach, yielding a slightly larger classification accuracy (accuracy of 0.7000, sensitivity of 0.6957, specificity of 0.7059 and balanced accuracy of 0.6967). In conclusion, our results support the notion that textural parameters may be an alternative to conventional quantification using kinetic models in (R)-[11 C]PK11195 PET images. The proposed quantification method makes it possible to use simpler scanning procedures, which increase patient comfort and convenience. We further speculate that textural parameters may also provide an alternative to kinetic analysis in (R)-[11 C]PK11195 PET neuroimaging studies involving other neurodegenerative disorders. Finally, we recognize that the potential role of this tracer is not in diagnosis but rather in the assessment and progression of the diffuse and dynamic distribution of inflammatory cell density in this disorder as a promising therapeutic target., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.)- Published
- 2023
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38. Effectiveness of functional orthopedic appliances as an alternative treatment among children and adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
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Bernardes R, Di Bisceglie Ferreira LM, Machado Júnior AJ, and Jones MH
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- Child, Humans, Adolescent, Polysomnography adverse effects, Quality of Life, Sleep Apnea, Obstructive
- Abstract
Introduction: The objective here was to review the efficacy of functional jaw orthopedic appliances for treating children/adolescents with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), through correlating the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen saturation (SaO
2 ) in polysomnography (PSG), in addition to questionnaire scores from the obstructive sleep apnea-18 (OSA-18)., Methods: The PRISMA 2020 guidelines1 were followed. A search was conducted in October 2021, with updating to May 2022, in the MEDLINE/PubMed, BVS (LILACS/BBO), ISI, SciELO (Web of Science), COCHRANE, EMBASE, SCOPUS and WHO databases and the gray literature. Data selection and extraction were performed by two independent reviewers, with Cohen kappa testing. All articles included in the meta-analyses showed good quality and low risk of bias. Statistical analyses were performed in the "R" software, using means with standard deviations, and differences in the means were represented graphically in forest plots. Heterogeneity was tested using I2 , in random-effect models., Results: From before to after treatment, treated individuals showed improved AHI, SaO2 and OSA-18 scores2 . Comparing treated individuals and controls, AHI decreased in treated individuals and increased in controls. For SaO2 , the increase in treated individuals was greater than in controls. For OSA-18, daytime/nighttime symptoms decreased in treated individuals and increased in controls., Conclusion: Functional jaw orthopedic appliances are appropriate and effective for children/adolescents with OSA whose etiology is deficient maxillomandibular growth and development. Functional jaw orthopedics treats the form and function of the stomatognathic system, thereby enhancing quality of life., Prospero Registration Protocol: CRD42021253341., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
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39. Phase-Resolved Optical Coherence Elastography: An Insight into Tissue Displacement Estimation.
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Batista A, Serranho P, Santos MJ, Correia C, Domingues JP, Loureiro C, Cardoso J, Barbeiro S, Morgado M, and Bernardes R
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- Elastic Modulus, Phantoms, Imaging, Tomography, Optical Coherence methods, Elasticity Imaging Techniques methods
- Abstract
Robust methods to compute tissue displacements in optical coherence elastography (OCE) data are paramount, as they play a significant role in the accuracy of tissue elastic properties estimation. In this study, the accuracy of different phase estimators was evaluated on simulated OCE data, where the displacements can be accurately set, and on real data. Displacement (∆d) estimates were computed from (i) the original interferogram data (Δφori) and two phase-invariant mathematical manipulations of the interferogram: (ii) its first-order derivative (Δφd) and (iii) its integral (Δφint). We observed a dependence of the phase difference estimation accuracy on the initial depth location of the scatterer and the magnitude of the tissue displacement. However, by combining the three phase-difference estimates (Δdav), the error in phase difference estimation could be minimized. By using Δdav, the median root-mean-square error associated with displacement prediction in simulated OCE data was reduced by 85% and 70% in data with and without noise, respectively, in relation to the traditional estimate. Furthermore, a modest improvement in the minimum detectable displacement in real OCE data was also observed, particularly in data with low signal-to-noise ratios. The feasibility of using Δdav to estimate agarose phantoms' Young's modulus is illustrated.
- Published
- 2023
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40. Retinal imaging in animal models: Searching for biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
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Batista A, Guimarães P, Serranho P, Nunes A, Martins J, Moreira PI, Ambrósio AF, Morgado M, Castelo-Branco M, and Bernardes R
- Abstract
There is a pressing need for novel diagnostic and progression biomarkers of neurodegeneration. However, the inability to determine disease duration and stage in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) hinders their discovery. Because animal models of disease allow us to circumvent some of these limitations, they have proven to be of paramount importance in clinical research. Due to the clear optics of the eye, the retina combined with optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers the perfect opportunity to image neurodegeneration in the retina in vivo , non-invasively, directly, quickly, and inexpensively. Based on these premises, our group has worked towards uncovering neurodegeneration-associated changes in the retina of the triple-transgenic mouse model of familial AD (3×Tg-AD). In this work, we present an overview of our work on this topic. We report on thickness variations of the retina and retinal layers/layer aggregates caused by healthy aging and AD-like conditions and discuss the implications of focusing research efforts solely on retinal thickness. We explore what other information is embedded in the OCT data, extracted based on texture analysis and deep-learning approaches, to further identify biomarkers that could be used for early detection and diagnosis. We were able to detect changes in the retina of the animal model of AD as early as 1 month of age. We also discuss our work to develop an optical coherence elastography system to measure retinal elasticity, which can be used in conjunction with conventional OCT. Finally, we discuss the potential application of these technologies in human patients and the steps needed to make OCT a helpful screening tool for the detection of neurodegeneration., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Batista, Guimarães, Serranho, Nunes, Martins, Moreira, Ambrósio, Morgado, Castelo-Branco and Bernardes.)
- Published
- 2023
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41. Normative mice retinal thickness: 16-month longitudinal characterization of wild-type mice and changes in a model of Alzheimer's disease.
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Batista A, Guimarães P, Martins J, Moreira PI, Ambrósio AF, Castelo-Branco M, Serranho P, and Bernardes R
- Abstract
Animal models of disease are paramount to understand retinal development, the pathophysiology of eye diseases, and to study neurodegeneration using optical coherence tomography (OCT) data. In this study, we present a comprehensive normative database of retinal thickness in C57BL6/129S mice using spectral-domain OCT data. The database covers a longitudinal period of 16 months, from 1 to 16 months of age, and provides valuable insights into retinal development and changes over time. Our findings reveal that total retinal thickness decreases with age, while the thickness of individual retinal layers and layer aggregates changes in different ways. For example, the outer plexiform layer (OPL), photoreceptor inner segments (ILS), and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) thickened over time, whereas other retinal layers and layer aggregates became thinner. Additionally, we compare the retinal thickness of wild-type (WT) mice with an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (3 × Tg-AD) and show that the transgenic mice exhibit a decrease in total retinal thickness compared to age-matched WT mice, with statistically significant differences observed at all evaluated ages. This normative database of retinal thickness in mice will serve as a reference for future studies on retinal changes in neurodegenerative and eye diseases and will further our understanding of the pathophysiology of these conditions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Batista, Guimarães, Martins, Moreira, Ambrósio, Castelo-Branco, Serranho and Bernardes.)
- Published
- 2023
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42. Troponin in COVID-19: To Measure or Not to Measure? Insights from a Prospective Cohort Study.
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Moll-Bernardes R, Mattos JD, Schaustz EB, Sousa AS, Ferreira JR, Tortelly MB, Pimentel AML, Figueiredo ACBS, Noya-Rabelo MM, Sales ARK, Albuquerque DC, Rosado-de-Castro PH, Camargo GC, Souza OF, Bozza FA, Medei E, and Luiz RR
- Abstract
Myocardial injury (MI), defined by troponin elevation, has been associated with increased mortality and adverse outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the role of this biomarker as a risk predictor remains unclear. Data from adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were recorded prospectively. A multiple logistic regression model was used to quantify associations of all variables with in-hospital mortality, including the calculation of odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CI). Troponin measurement was performed in 1476 of 4628 included patients, and MI was detected in 353 patients, with a prevalence of 23.9%; [95% CI, 21.8-26.1%]. The total in-hospital mortality rate was 10.9% [95% CI, 9.8-12.0%]. The mortality was much higher among patients with MI than among those without MI, with a prevalence of 22.7% [95% CI, 18.5-27.3%] vs. 5.5% [95% CI, 4.3-7.0%] and increased with each troponin level. After adjustment for age and comorbidities, the model revealed that the mortality risk was greater for patients with MI [OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 2.06-4.36%], and for those who did not undergo troponin measurement [OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 1.62-2.97%], compared to those without MI. Our data support the role of troponin as an important risk predictor for these patients, capable of discriminating between those with a low or increased mortality rate. In addition, our findings suggest that this biomarker has a remarkable negative predictive value in COVID-19.
- Published
- 2022
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43. Stage-independent biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease from the living retina: an animal study.
- Author
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Ferreira H, Serranho P, Guimarães P, Trindade R, Martins J, Moreira PI, Ambrósio AF, Castelo-Branco M, and Bernardes R
- Subjects
- Animals, Animals, Laboratory, Biomarkers, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Retina diagnostic imaging, Tomography, Optical Coherence methods, Alzheimer Disease diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
The early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders is still an open issue despite the many efforts to address this problem. In particular, Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains undiagnosed for over a decade before the first symptoms. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is now common and widely available and has been used to image the retina of AD patients and healthy controls to search for biomarkers of neurodegeneration. However, early diagnosis tools would need to rely on images of patients in early AD stages, which are not available due to late diagnosis. To shed light on how to overcome this obstacle, we resort to 57 wild-type mice and 57 triple-transgenic mouse model of AD to train a network with mice aged 3, 4, and 8 months and classify mice at the ages of 1, 2, and 12 months. To this end, we computed fundus images from OCT data and trained a convolution neural network (CNN) to classify those into the wild-type or transgenic group. CNN performance accuracy ranged from 80 to 88% for mice out of the training group's age, raising the possibility of diagnosing AD before the first symptoms through the non-invasive imaging of the retina., (© 2022. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2022
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44. NKG2A Expression among CD8 Cells Is Associated with COVID-19 Progression in Hypertensive Patients: Insights from the BRACE CORONA Randomized Trial.
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Moll-Bernardes R, Fortier SC, Sousa AS, Lopes RD, Vera N, Conde L, Feldman A, Arruda G, Cabral-Castro M, Albuquerque DC, Paula TC, Furquim T, Loures VA, Giusti K, Oliveira N, Macedo A, Barros E Silva P, De Luca F, Kotsugai M, Domiciano R, Silva FA, Santos MF, Souza OF, Bozza FA, Luiz RR, and Medei E
- Abstract
Cardiovascular comorbidities and immune-response dysregulation are associated with COVID-19 severity. We aimed to explore the key immune cell profile and understand its association with disease progression in 156 patients with hypertension that were hospitalized due to COVID-19. The primary outcome was progression to severe disease. The probability of progression to severe disease was estimated using a logistic regression model that included clinical variables and immune cell subsets associated with the primary outcome. Obesity; diabetes; oxygen saturation; lung involvement on computed tomography (CT) examination; the C-reactive protein concentration; total lymphocyte count; proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells; CD4/CD8 ratio; CD8+ HLA-DR MFI; and CD8+ NKG2A MFI on admission were all associated with progression to severe COVID-19. This study demonstrated that increased CD8+ NKG2A MFI at hospital admission, in combination with some clinical variables, is associated with a high risk of COVID-19 progression in hypertensive patients. These findings reinforce the hypothesis of the functional exhaustion of T cells with the increased expression of NKG2A in patients with severe COVID-19, elucidating how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection may break down the innate antiviral immune response at an early stage of the disease, with future potential therapeutic implications.
- Published
- 2022
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45. Retinal Aging in 3× Tg-AD Mice Model of Alzheimer's Disease.
- Author
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Guimarães P, Serranho P, Martins J, Moreira PI, Ambrósio AF, Castelo-Branco M, and Bernardes R
- Abstract
The retina, as part of the central nervous system (CNS), can be the perfect target for in vivo, in situ , and noninvasive neuropathology diagnosis and assessment of therapeutic efficacy. It has long been established that several age-related brain changes are more pronounced in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, in the retina such link is still under-explored. This study investigates the differences in the aging of the CNS through the retina of 3× Tg-AD and wild-type mice. A dedicated optical coherence tomograph imaged mice's retinas for 16 months. Two neural networks were developed to model independently each group's ages and were then applied to an independent set containing images from both groups. Our analysis shows a mean absolute error of 0.875±1.1 × 10
-2 and 1.112±1.4 × 10-2 months, depending on training group. Our deep learning approach appears to be a reliable retinal OCT aging marker. We show that retina aging is distinct in the two classes: the presence of the three mutated human genes in the mouse genome has an impact on the aging of the retina. For mice over 4 months-old, transgenic mice consistently present a negative retina age-gap when compared to wild-type mice, regardless of training set. This appears to contradict AD observations in the brain. However, the 'black-box" nature of deep-learning implies that one cannot infer reasoning. We can only speculate that some healthy age-dependent neural adaptations may be altered in transgenic animals., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Guimarães, Serranho, Martins, Moreira, Ambrósio, Castelo-Branco and Bernardes.)- Published
- 2022
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46. Usefulness of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging for diagnosing primary vascular ectasia in a dog.
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Mantelli MI, Bernardes R, Corsaletti A, Aumann M, Meynaud P, and Lavoué R
- Subjects
- Animals, Dilatation, Pathologic veterinary, Dogs, Endoscopy veterinary, Female, Hemorrhage veterinary, Dog Diseases diagnostic imaging, Dog Diseases surgery, Narrow Band Imaging methods, Narrow Band Imaging veterinary
- Abstract
A 2-year-old spayed female crossbred dog was presented for profuse, acute, and chronic vaginal hemorrhage. Coagulation disorders were excluded. Conventional diagnostic imaging failed to precisely identify the source of bleeding. After whole-blood transfusion, magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging allowed the visualization of unique vascular patterns within the vaginal wall. Presumptive diagnosis of vaginal vascular ectasia was made and confirmed by histopathological examination. Surgical management with subtotal vaginectomy cured the dog. Key clinical message: Vascular ectasia is rarely reported in veterinary medicine and is challenging to diagnose. This is apparently the first report of the usefulness of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging as a diagnostic tool for vascular ectasia in a dog., (Copyright and/or publishing rights held by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.)
- Published
- 2022
47. Intraocular implants loaded with A 3 R agonist rescue retinal ganglion cells from ischemic damage.
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Boia R, Dias PAN, Galindo-Romero C, Ferreira H, Aires ID, Vidal-Sanz M, Agudo-Barriuso M, Bernardes R, Santos PF, de Sousa HC, Ambrósio AF, Braga MEM, and Santiago AR
- Subjects
- Humans, Ischemia drug therapy, Receptor, Adenosine A3 metabolism, Retina metabolism, Adenosine A3 Receptor Agonists pharmacology, Retinal Ganglion Cells
- Abstract
Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss underlies several conditions which give rise to significant visual compromise, including glaucoma and ischaemic optic neuropathies. Neuroprotection of RGCs is a clinical well-defined unmet need in these diseases, and adenosine A
3 receptor (A3 R) activation emerges as a therapeutic pharmacological approach to protect RGCs. A porous biodegradable intraocular implant loaded with 2-Cl-IB-MECA (selective A3 R agonist) was used as a strategy to protect RGCs. Drug-loaded PCL implants released 2-Cl-IB-MECA for an extended period and the released 2-Cl-IB-MECA limited glutamate-evoked calcium (Ca2+ ) rise in RGCs. Retinal thinning due to transient ischemia was not prevented by 2-Cl-IB-MECA-PCL implant. However, 2-Cl-IB-MECA-PCL implants decreased retinal cell death, promoted the survival of RGCs, preserved optic nerve structure and anterograde axonal transport. We further demonstrated that 2-Cl-IB-MECA-loaded PCL implants were able to enhance RGC function that was compromised by transient ischemia. Taking into consideration the beneficial effects afforded by 2-Cl-IB-MECA released from the PCL implant, this can be envisaged a good therapeutic strategy to protect RGCs., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2022
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- View/download PDF
48. Prevalence and factors associated with no intention to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life.
- Author
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Mattiello R, Kotoski A, Ayala CO, Recha CL, Quiroga CV, Machado CR, Roxo CO, Varela FH, Couto GT, Cassão G, Lopes JB, Gonçalves JIB, Silva JFD, Barh MB, Rocha ND, Albuquerque NS, Corte RAD, Bernardes R, Richter SA, Rossi T, and Santos IS
- Subjects
- Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Mothers, Pregnancy, Prevalence, Breast Feeding, Intention
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with no intention to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life in a sample of women in the first 24 h postpartum during the hospital stay., Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from screening phase of a birth cohort. The proportion of mothers who did not intend to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months (primary outcome) derived from a negative response to the question "Would you be willing to try to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months?", in an interview conducted by previously trained interviewers. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals were obtained by Poisson regression with robust variance., Results: A total of 2964 postpartum women were interviewed. The overall prevalence of mothers who did not intend to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months was 17.8% (16.4-19.1%). After adjusting for maternal age and type of pregnancy (singleton or multiple), no intention to exclusively breastfeed was higher in mothers with a monthly household income < 3 minimum wages (PR, 1.64; 1.35-1.98) and in those who intended to smoke 4-7 days/week after delivery (PR, 1.42; 1.11-1.83). The presence of significant newborn morbidity (PR, 0.32; 0.19-0.54) and intention to breastfeed up to 12 months (PR, 0.46; 0.38-0.55) had a protective effect against not intending to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months., Conclusions: Approximately 1 in every 5 mothers did not intend to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. Strategies aimed at promoting exclusive breastfeeding should focus attention on mothers from lower economic strata and smokers., (Copyright © 2021 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. Texture Analysis and Its Applications in Biomedical Imaging: A Survey.
- Author
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Ghalati MK, Nunes A, Ferreira H, Serranho P, and Bernardes R
- Subjects
- Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
- Abstract
Texture analysis describes a variety of image analysis techniques that quantify the variation in intensity and pattern. This paper provides an overview of several texture analysis approaches addressing the rationale supporting them, their advantages, drawbacks, and applications. This survey's emphasis is in collecting and categorising over five decades of active research on texture analysis. Brief descriptions of different approaches are presented along with application examples. From a broad range of texture analysis applications, this survey's final focus is on biomedical image analysis. An up-to-date list of biological tissues and organs in which disorders produce texture changes that may be used to spot disease onset and progression is provided. Finally, the role of texture analysis methods as biomarkers of disease is summarised.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. The skin microbiome of infected pressure ulcers: A review and implications for health professionals.
- Author
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Gomes F, Furtado GE, Henriques M, Sousa LB, Santos-Costa P, Bernardes R, Apóstolo J, Parreira P, and Salgueiro-Oliveira A
- Subjects
- Health Personnel, Humans, Risk Factors, Microbiota, Pressure Ulcer microbiology, Skin microbiology
- Abstract
Background: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are injuries resulting from ischaemia caused by prolonged compression or shear forces on the skin, adjacent tissues and bones. Advanced stages of PUs are associated with infectious complications and constitute a major clinical challenge, with high social and economic impacts in health care., Goals: This study aims to identify and describe the relationship between PU risk factors, stages and anatomical locations, and the relevance of microbial cohabitation and biofilm growth., Methods: The narrative review method to advocating a critical and objective analysis of the current knowledge on the topic was performed. Indexed databases and direct consultation to specialized and high-impact journals on the subject were used to extract relevant information, guided by co-authors. The Medical Subject Headings of pressure ulcer (or injury), biofilms, infection and other analogues terms were used., Results: Development of PUs and consequent infection depends on several direct and indirect risk factors, including cutaneous/PU microbiome, microclimate and behavioural factors. Infected PUs are polymicrobial and characterized by biofilm-associated infection, phenotypic hypervariability of species and inherent resistance to antimicrobials. The different stages and anatomical locations also play an important role in their colonization. The prevention and monitoring of PUs remain crucial for avoiding the emergence of systemic infections and reducing health care-associated costs, improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the mortality-associated infected PUs., (© 2021 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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