Biomedical Publications FROM PR

CONCLUSION: The PRIMERO birth cohort study, with its comprehensive data on viral exposures, respiratory outcomes, and airway molecular phenotypes in a high-risk population of Puerto Rican children, is uniquely positioned to address long-standing questions about the early-life determinants and mechanisms underlying virus-related asthma development.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing silent pandemic driven by multidrug-resistant infections, particularly those associated with medical devices such as dental implants, heart valves, and urinary catheters. This review addresses the urgent need for alternative antimicrobial strategies by exploring the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in the discovery of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and the rational design of bioactive surfaces. We describe how AI-based models accelerate the...

Effective control of local dengue virus transmission requires reducing the population of mosquitoes below a critical density threshold. Aedes aegypti density thresholds can serve as targets for intervention effectiveness. Most thresholds have been identified by correlating vector densities with pathogen transmission events. However, despite previous descriptive research there is a need for rigorously controlled field studies to clarify the interactions between Ae. aegypti density and human...

Non-coding variants can alter transcription factor (TF)-DNA binding and dysregulate gene expression. Here, we present a protocol for evaluating the impact of non-coding variants on TF binding and gene expression. We describe steps for expressing and purifying DNA-binding proteins, preparing DNA probes and reporter constructs, and measuring changes in TF-DNA binding affinity. Finally, we provide instructions for quantification and statistical analysis. For complete details on the use and...

Tonsillectomies traditionally have been used as the first line of treatment for children with sleep-disordered breathing. The purpose of the research presented in this article is to determine the effectiveness of this surgical procedure and compare it to children that have not had such surgery. A sample comprised 9,317 subjects, of which 537 had tonsillectomies and 8,780 did not have tonsillectomies. The study analyzed: (1) the effectiveness of the tonsillectomies regarding the elimination of...

Phthalates are widely used plasticizers and solvents in a variety of consumer and personal care products, resulting in ubiquitous exposure across the general population. Pregnancy represents a particularly critical window of vulnerability, as prenatal phthalate exposures have been linked to adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth and child developmental problems. While growing evidence highlights potential neurotoxic effects in children, few studies have examined the combined impact of...

The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will be achieved. We assembled a multi-taxa tracking dataset (11 million geopositions from 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species) to provide a global assessment of space use of highly mobile marine megafauna, showing that 63% of the area that they cover is used 80% of the time...

Ashy stem blight (ASB), caused by the fungus Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goidanich, poses a significant threat to common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivation worldwide. Due to the limited effectiveness of fungicides against ASB, the development of genetically resistant cultivars offers an eco-friendly and sustainable management strategy. This study aimed to accelerate genetic improvement in common bean by integrating molecular breeding tools with conventional breeding approaches to...

Missense mutations can alter the biochemical properties of proteins, including stability, structure, and function, potentially contributing to the development of multiple human diseases. Mutations in TBX5, a transcription factor (TF) necessary for heart development, are among the causes of congenital heart diseases (CHD). However, further research on biophysical and biochemical mechanisms is needed to understand how missense mutations in TFs alter their function in regulating gene expression. In...

CONCLUSIONS: There was a high rate of PSEs during out-of-hospital delivery and PPH treated by EMS, with specific subgroups at highest and lowest risk of PSEs. Focusing on these associations may help guide educational or system resource interventions to help reduce the risk of PSEs.

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Alexander's disease is a rare and progressive neurodegenerative disorder that presents significant challenges for anesthetic management due to its effects on the central nervous system. The disease stems from mutations in the glial fibrillary acidic protein (i.e., GFAP) gene, leading to impaired myelination and neurological complications such as bulbar dysfunction, spasticity, and autonomic instability. This case report presents the anesthetic management of a 34-year-old female patient diagnosed...

High-quality genomes are rapidly increasing across seagrasses. However, it remains limited for tropical seagrasses of the Hydrocharticae family, with most research focused on temperate seagrasses such as Posidonia spp. and Zostera spp. We present the complete genome sequences of two species of tropical Caribbean seagrasses, Syringrodium filiforme and Halophila stipulacea. Illumina sequencing was performed on genetic material from wild-collected specimens. The reads were assembled using a de novo...

Variants of the ADGRV1 gene cause Usher syndrome type 2C (USH2C). There are three types of Usher syndrome, all inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. USH2C classically causes sensorineural hearing loss and progressive retinitis pigmentosa (RP) occurring in adolescence or adulthood. In this study, we report the case of a 34-year-old male with congenital sensorineural and progressive hearing loss and peripheral vision loss with a fundus examination of pale optic nerve with a cup-to-disk...

Undergraduate students often have limited access to industry-focused research opportunities. To address this, faculty and students from 10 primarily undergraduate institutions collaborated with Sampling Human, a biotechnology company, to test a biocytometry workflow for single-cell analysis. The project engaged 15 students with varying levels of research experience and demonstrated that prior research expertise was not essential for successfully using the workflow. Participants followed...

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. Despite progress in prevention and success in early detection through cytologic screening and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) detection, there remains a challenge in triaging women appropriately to colposcopy and biopsy. We sought to validate the CervicalMethDx test, a precision DNA methylation classifier for cervical cancer detection, as a reflex test in women with HPV positive samples. A blinded retrospective study was performed on...

An increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme environmental conditions due to anthropogenic climate change impacts coral reefs through myriad stressors, from elevated sea-surface temperatures to increased storm activity. A reef's response to these disturbances can be influenced by factors including taxonomic composition, life history strategies, or spatial patterning of the reef community members. We explored the disturbance-specific responses of coral reefs by following changes in...

CONCLUSION: 3D laparoscopic bilateral nephrectomy is safe, effective, and cost-efficient for ADPKD-HSK. Further studies are needed to guide the surgical management of this rare condition.

CONCLUSION: High-volume centers and specialized surgeons consistently demonstrated improved outcomes, including lower mortality and recurrence rates for patients treated for breast cancer. Rising breast cancer incidence, combined with advances in surgical and multidisciplinary care, highlights the urgency for standardized training. Evidence shows that structured programs with volume thresholds, multidisciplinary approach, and modern surgical techniques improve patient survival and satisfaction....

Using direct mechanical, enzymatic, and chemical extraction methods, the intestinal microbiome of the marine invertebrate Holothuria glaberrima was obtained. ITS and 16S rDNA regions were sequenced to enrich and investigate the prokaryotic and fungal diversity profiles from different anatomical regions within the sea cucumber's intestinal biology.