Hydroxychloroquine in pediatric idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis – A case report

Os autores apresentam o caso de uma criança com hemossiderose pulmonar idiopática grave, que, após ter iniciado tratamento com hidroxicloroquina, apresentou alteração do seu curso clínico, com melhoria significativa e duradoura. A eficácia desta terapêutica é salientada. Reportam ainda a ocorrência de exacerbação clínica, com hemoptise, após administração de vacina antigripal. The authors present the case of a child with severe idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis who after having begun treatment with hydroxychloroquine had a significant and lasting improvement. The efficacy of this therapeutic is pointed out. They also report the occurrence of clinical exacerbation, with hemoptysis, after receiving an influenza vaccine

Perspectives of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Diagnostics

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) transcribed from intergenic and intronic regions of the human genome constitute a broad class of cellular transcripts that are under intensive investigation. While only a handful of lncRNAs have been characterized, their involvement in fundamental cellular processes that control gene expression highlights a central role in cell homeostasis. Not surprisingly, aberrant expression of regulatory lncRNAs has been increasingly documented in different types of cancer, where they can mediate both oncogenic or tumor suppressor effects. Interaction with chromatin remodeling complexes that promote silencing of specific genes or modulation of splicing factor proteins seem to be two general modes of lncRNA regulation, but it is conceivable that additional mechanisms of action are yet to be unveiled. LncRNAs show greater tissue specificity compared to protein-coding mRNAs making them attractive in the search of novel diagnostics/prognostics cancer biomarkers in body fluid samples. In fact, lncRNA prostate cancer antigen 3 can be detected in urine samples and has been shown to improve diagnosis of prostate cancer. We suggest that an unbiased screening of the presence of RNAs in easily accessible body fluids such as serum and urine might reveal novel circulating lncRNAs as potential biomarkers in many types of cancer. Annotation and functional characterization of the lncRNA complement of the cancer transcriptome will conceivably provide new venues for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease

Testing the Equivalence of Regular Languages

The minimal deterministic finite automaton is generally used to determine regular languages equality. Antimirov and Mosses proposed a rewrite system for deciding regular expressions equivalence of which Almeida et al. presented an improved variant. Hopcroft and Karp proposed an almost linear algorithm for testing the equivalence of two deterministic finite automata that avoids minimisation. In this paper we improve the best-case running time, present an extension of this algorithm to non-deterministic finite automata, and establish a relationship between this algorithm and the one proposed in Almeida et al. We also present some experimental comparative results. All these algorithms are closely related with the recent coalgebraic approach to automata proposed by Rutten

MicroRNA history : discovery, recent applications and next frontiers

We thank the Department of Scientific Publications at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for English language editing of the manuscript.Since 1993, when the first small non-coding RNA was identified, our knowledge about microRNAs has grown exponentially. In this review, we focus on the main progress in this field and discuss the most important findings under a historical perspective. In addition, we examine microRNAs as markers ofdisease diagnosis and prognosis, and as new therapeutic targets.M.I.A is supported by a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/47031/2008) from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) from Portugal. G.A.C. is supported as a Fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Research Trust, as a Fellow of The University of Texas System Regents Research Scholar, and by the CLL Global Research Foundation. Work in Dr. Calin’s laboratory was supported in part by NIH, by DoD, by 2009 Seena Magowitz – Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – AACR Pilot Grant and by the U.S./European Alliance for the Therapy of CLL

A Dataset of Fact-Checked Images Shared on WhatsApp During the Brazilian and Indian Elections

Recently, messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, have been reportedly abused by misinformation campaigns, especially in Brazil and India. A notable form of abuse in WhatsApp relies on several manipulated images and memes containing all kinds of fake stories. In this work, we performed an extensive data collection from a large set of WhatsApp publicly accessible groups and fact-checking agency websites. This paper opens a novel dataset to the research community containing fact-checked fake images shared through WhatsApp for two distinct scenarios known for the spread of fake news on the platform: the 2018 Brazilian elections and the 2019 Indian elections.Comment: 7 pages. This is a preprint version of an accepted paper on ICWSM'20. Please, consider to cite the conference version instead of this on

MicroRNAs and metastases--the neuroblastoma link

[Excerpt] MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides in length that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. These small RNAs are fundamental regulators of several cellular processes, such as differentiation, development, apoptosis, proliferation, cell cycle regulation and metabolism, through the binding to 3' untranslated regions, coding sequence or 5' untranslated regions of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), preventing their translation or causing their degradation.1 A modest change in only one miRNA will affect multiple mRNA targets; consequently, the deregulation of miRNAs has important consequences to the cellular homeostatic stability, and aberrant miRNAs expression patterns have been described in several types of cancer.2 Recently, miRNAs have been implicated in the metastatic process of several tumors such as human breast and colorectal cancers3 and, as reported this issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy by Guo et al. in neuroblastoma.4 These are extracranial solid tumors, arising from neural crest cells, that are most common in infants and children; metastasis, the main cause of death, is present at the time of diagnosis in approximately 60% of patients. (5) [...

Ceramic biomaterials for tissue engineering

Bioceramics, natural and synthetic, are designed to induce a strong bonding to bone and appeared as an alternative to metallic implants. Bioceramic materials currently used for the repair and reconstruction of hard and soft tissues can be categorized according its composition, structure, and properties. These biomaterials are grouped bioinert ceramics as alumina and zirconia, bioactive glasses and glass ceramics and bioresorbable calcium phosphates-based materials. The bioceramics concepts, namely physico-chemical, mechanical and biological properties, and respective applications in diverse fields of tissue engineering are discussed in depth herein. An up-to-date of bioceramics clinical trials is also considered. Based on the stringent requirements for clinical application, prospects for the development of advanced functional bioceramics for tissue engineering are highlighted for the future.The authors thank to the project FROnTHERA (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology to M-ERA-NET/0001/2014 project, for the fellowship grant (SFRH/BPD/108763/2015) and for the funds provided under the program Investigador FCT 2012 and 2015 (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/2015) are also greatly acknowledge.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BAHA in children: Indications, results and complications

O BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid - prótese auditiva ancorada no osso) é utilizado em malformações do ouvido externo e médio, otorreia crónica, doença ossicular inoperável e como alternativa à prótese auditiva convencional por inadaptação/ impossibilidade. Este artigo descreve a experiência de colocação de BAHA no Hospital Maria Pia – Centro Hospitalar do Porto na última década, por estudo retrospectivo de 47 pacientes. O ganho audiométrico médio foi de 33,9 dB em relação aos valores base e de 14,4 dB em relação ao uso de próteses auditivas convencionais, com limiar auditivo médio com BAHA de 17,8 dB. Não houve qualquer complicação intra-operatória. No pós-operatório, quatro casos exigiram cirurgia para revisão da pele, em dois casos não houve integração óssea do implante e em três casos houve extrusão do implante por traumatismo directo. Este estudo conclui que os BAHA são um método eficaz e seguro de aparelhamento auditivo em crianças.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Decoy activity through microRNAs : the therapeutic implications

Introduction: microRNAs (miRNAs), small noncoding RNAs, are deregulated in several diseases including cancer. miRNAs regulate gene expression at a posttranscriptional level by binding to 5´UTR, coding regions or 3´UTR of messenger RNAs (mRNA), inhibiting mRNA translation or causing mRNA degradation. The same miRNA can have multiple mRNA targets, and the same mRNA can be regulated by various miRNAs. Areas covered: Recently, seminal contributions by several groups have implicated miRNAs as components of an RNA--RNA language that involves crosstalk between competing endogenous RNAs through a decoy mechanism. We review the studies that described miRNAs as players in a biological decoy activity. miRNAs can either be trapped by competing endogenous RNAs or interact with proteins that have binding sites for mRNAs. Expert opinion: The miRNA decoy functions have implications for the design of therapeutic approaches in human diseases, including specific ways to overcome resistance to drug therapy and future miRNA-based clinical trials design.M.I.A. is supported by a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/47031/2008) from Fundacão para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal. Dr. Calin is The Alan M. Gewirtz Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar. He is also supported as a Fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Research Trust, as a University of Texas System Regents Research Scholar, and by the CLL Global Research Foundation. Work in Dr. Calin’s laboratory is supported in part by an NIH/NCI grant (CA135444), a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Idea Award, Developmental Research Awards in Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Brain Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Multiple Myeloma, and Leukemia SPOREs, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the RGK Foundation and the Estate of C. G. Johnson, Jr. The authors disclose no conflicts of interests and no funding was received in preparation of this manuscript

O contributo das ciências sociais e médicas para o estudo da infertilidade

Portugal apenas no último triénio do século XX assistiu a importantes alterações legislativas no âmbito da saúde reprodutiva, mas parte destas ainda não foram concretizadas até ao momento. Não foi, exempli gratia, encetada ainda uma Educação para a Saúde, cobrindo questões tão fulcrais como a Educação Sexual e a prevenção das Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis, que pressupõem impactes sérios na saúde dos portugueses. Dois dos impactes mais significativos prendem-se com a mais elevada taxa de cancro do colo do útero (maior incidência e mortalidade) de toda a União Europeia e com o aumento dos casos de infertilidade. Ainda que até ao momento não exista em Portugal informação completa que permita confirmar a percentagem de casais em situação de infertilidade, estima-se que existam entre 10 a 15% de casais nesta situação, de acordo com o que se avança para a escala mundial, o que corresponderá, grosso modo, a cerca de 500 mil casais inférteis para Portugal. Soluções para este problema? Não parece fácil, e a questão da infertilidade ainda que assole o quotidiano de tantos casais, não entrou verdadeiramente no debate público em Portugal. No entanto, médicos e outros interessados avançam propostas para ajudar a minimizar os efeitos negativos desta situação – desde maiores incentivos para os casais terem filhos mais cedo, como benefícios fiscais, mais facilidade na compra da habitação a uma maior comparticipação do Estado nas técnicas e medicamentos para tratamento da infertilidade. Não sendo conhecida em Portugal a verdadeira dimensão da infertilidade, uma equipa constituída por uma Geógrafa, uma Socióloga e três Médicos, iniciou em 2004, uma investigação num município do Noroeste português (Guimarães) financiada pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (F.C.T.) . Os principais objectivos do projecto prendem-se com a análise aprofundada da problemática da infertilidade no concelho de Guimarães, centrando-se no diagnóstico da proporção de indivíduos com infertilidade em relação à população em geral. Paralelamente preocupa-se com a caracterização dos aspectos clínicos, sócio-culturais e económicos dos casais que constituem casos evidentes de infertilidade. Também se tenta aferir quais são os factores que influenciam a população com problemas de fertilidade a não procurar os serviços de saúde para debelar este problema. Por último, pretende-se informar os casais em situação de infertilidade e orientá-los para a rede de hospitais e instituições privadas existentes no Noroeste Português, que possuem consultas de infertilidade. O presente artigo centra-se nas questões metodológicas inerentes a este estudo, equaciona os factores culturais e sociais que guiam o conceito de infertilidade e revela alguns dados institucionais existentes sobre a problemática.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.Núcleo de Estudos em Sociologia da Universidade do Minho.Associação Ibero-Americana de Sociologia das Organizações (AISO)