Dr. Rios

Drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is an important public health issue in different parts of the world. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex variants (MTBC vars) preferentially infect certain hosts, limiting their distribution to different ecosystems. However, MTBC vars can infect other hosts beyond their preferred target potentially contributing to persistence of drug resistance (DR) in other niches. Here, we performed a comprehensive intra-host genetic analysis for the identification of DR-related mutations among all MTBC minor vars whole genome sequences (8,095 strains) publicly available worldwide...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Effective and safe therapies are needed for the treatment of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Emerging as a key cytokine in inflammation, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) may play a role in promoting inflammation in GCA. OBJECTIVES: To investigate expression of GM-CSF and its receptor in arterial lesions from patients with GCA. To analyse activation of GM-CSF receptor-associated signalling pathways and expression of target genes...

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care rapid tests to identify SARS-CoV-2 can have clinical benefits. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in adults visiting emergency services or screening sites of referral hospitals for COVID-19 to validate the diagnostic performance of a rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2 (Abbott's Panbio) compared with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. Tests were performed by health personnel in a routine situation during a COVID-19 outbreak...

INTRODUCTION: Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is the most common form of functional single-ventricle heart disease. Despite improvements in medical and surgical care, morbidity and mortality remain high, especially around the first surgical stage. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics of newborns with HLHS, seen at a perinatal referral center. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Retrospective des criptive study of all newborns with pre and/or postnatal diagnosis of HLHS between 2014 and 2019 in the Complejo Asistencial Dr...

BACKGROUND: WHO drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) treatment recommendations now emphasize all-oral regimens, recommending against certain injectable agents and deprioritizing others due to inferior safety and efficacy. Despite increasing focus on patient-centered care, we are not aware of systematic attempts to qualitatively document patients' perspectives on injectable agents. This may inform implementation of WHO guidelines, emphasizing the importance of consultation with affected communities...

INTRODUCTION: There is an urgent need to identify men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV with unsuppressed viral loads to prevent transmission. Though respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is traditionally used for hard-to-reach populations, we compare how RDS and direct recruitment (DR) perform in identifying MSM living with HIV with unsuppressed viral loads and identifying MSM with socio-demographics characteristic of hard-to-reach populations. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional analysis among 1305 MSM who were recruited from March 2016 to December 2017 for a case management intervention trial (HPTN 078)...

Genomic-based surveillance on the occurrence of drug resistance and its transmission dynamics has emerged as a powerful tool for the control of tuberculosis (TB). A whole-genome sequencing approach, phenotypic testing and clinical-epidemiological investigation were used to undertake a retrospective population-based study on drug-resistant (DR)-TB in Rio Grande do Sul, the largest state in Southern Brazil. The analysis included 305 resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains sampled statewide from 2011 to 2014, and covered 75...

Screening effectively identifies patients at risk of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) when retinal images are captured through dilated pupils. Pharmacological mydriasis is not logistically feasible in non-clinical, community DR screening, where acquiring gradable retinal images using handheld devices exhibits high technical failure rates, reducing STDR detection. Deep learning (DL) based gradability predictions at acquisition could prompt device operators to recapture insufficient quality images, increasing gradable image proportions and consequently STDR detection...

BACKGROUND: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a duration dependent serious micro vascular insult of diabetes mellitus. Inflammation has a critical role in the development of early and late stage of DR. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is an inflammatory cytokine that promoteup regulation of adhesion molecule expression, leukocyte recruitment and monocyte attraction. TNF-α levels are increased in retinas or vitreous of diabetic animals. A cross-sectional, observational study was performed in a sample of diabetic patients who attend diabetes polyclinic of RIO Hospital, Giza, Egypt, between October 2016 and December 2019...

This special issue of Zootaxa is published in honor of Dr. Jocélia Grazia (Fig. 1) from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, one of the world's most respected and influential active taxonomists in Heteroptera. Though she retired from her long-time position as a Full Professor, away from undergraduate classes and administrative duties, Jocélia is still an active researcher and passionate about studying true bugs. An intense conviction she passes to her many students and becomes evident in her publications...

BACKGROUND: The platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) or CD31 has been involved in regulation of T-cell tolerance, activation, survival and homing in mice cells. However, there is limited knowledge about the expression pattern and role of this molecule in human T cells, particularly in conditions of chronic immune activation. OBJECTIVES: We explored CD31 expression in T cell differentiation subsets of individuals with untreated HIV infection and in non-HIV-infected controls...

BACKGROUND: Since March, Chile experienced an exponential increase in SARS-CoV2 cases, which led to an almost full occupancy of the intensive care units (ICU). AIM: To characterize patients with SARS-CoV2 disease who required hospitalization in the ICU and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in our hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed, which included the first 50 patients, aged 54 ± 13 years (58% men), with SARS-CoV2 disease, with ICU and IMV requirements between March 23 and June 2, 2020...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate clinicopathological and molecular features of NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia that presented with infrequent acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)-like phenotype and clinical presentation. METHODS: Cases with both de novo or secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) were retrieved. Data from flow cytometry immunophenotyping, cytogenetics, molecular studies, and clinical presentation were analyzed. RESULTS: Cases presented with abnormal coagulation parameters and low platelets count; four of them showed a DIC index compatible with overt DIC...

The hormone auxin controls many aspects of the plant life cycle by regulating the expression of thousands of genes. The transcriptional output of the nuclear auxin signaling pathway is determined by the activity of AUXIN RESPONSE transcription FACTORs (ARFs), through their binding to cis -regulatory elements in auxin-responsive genes. Crystal structures, in vitro, and heterologous studies have fueled a model in which ARF dimers bind with high affinity to distinctly spaced repeats of canonical AuxRE motifs. However, the relevance of this "caliper" model, and the mechanisms underlying the binding affinities in vivo, have remained elusive...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Swallowed topical-acting corticosteroids are effective in bringing active EoE into remission. However, it is not clear whether these drugs are effective for long-term maintenance of remission. METHODS: We performed a double-blind trial to compare the efficacy and safety of 2 dosages of a budesonide orodispersible tablet (BOT) vs placebo in maintaining remission of EoE. Maintenance of remission was defined as absence of clinical and histologic relapse and no premature withdrawal for any reason...

Current therapies for diabetic retinopathy (DR) incorporate blood glucose and blood pressure control, vitrectomy, photocoagulation, and intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factors or corticosteroids. Nonetheless, these techniques have not been demonstrated to completely stop the evolution of this disorder. The pathophysiology of DR is not fully known, but there is more and more evidence indicating that oxidative stress is an important mechanism in the progression of DR. In this sense, antioxidants have been suggested as a possible therapy to reduce the complications of DR...

Self-rated health (SRH) is an independent determinant for all-cause mortality. We aimed to examine the independent and combined associations of components of physical fitness with SRH at baseline (cross-sectional) and two years later (longitudinal) in children and adolescents. Spanish youth (N = 1378) aged 8 to 17.9 years participated at baseline. The dropout rate at 2-year follow-up was 19.5% ( n = 270). Participants were categorized as either children (8 to 11.9 years age) or adolescents (12 to 17.9 years age)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.