Biomedical Publications FROM PR

The coffee berry borer (CBB) is the most destructive pest of coffee worldwide, with damages exceeding $500 M a year and affecting the livelihood of 25 million farmers. Coffee fruit rot (CFR) is described as an anthracnose disease; it can cause up to 80% loss of the crop on susceptible cultivars when conditions favor it. These two serious threats to coffee production have been studied separately, but a link between them was not shown until recently. Several recent studies show that CBB damage is...

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A panel of experts reached consensus on the diagnostic criteria for MCD described in this study. These criteria include major and minor clinical criteria, along with histopathological criteria for the diagnosis of genital and oral MCD. This consensus is a crucial step in the diagnosis of and future treatment development for MCD, a rare and clinically understudied condition.

A new hyphenated technique using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to separate analytes in mixtures, coupled with mid-infrared (MIR) laser spectroscopy for identification and quantification, is presented. The method, which provides a means for rapid screening of analytes that is practical, low-cost, fast, robust, and reproducible, was tested using nitroaromatic and aliphatic nitro high explosives (HEs) as target analytes. HEs are anthropogenic contaminants containing an -NO(2) group. For...

Andrographolide (ADG) was conjugated with MIL-53(Al), ZIF-8, carbon-based quantum dots (CBQDs) and doped carbon-based quantum dots (D-CBQDs) using high-pressure (0.3 GPa) contact. This solvent-free approach is environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and time-saving, resulting in ADG-MOFs-CBQDs/D-CBQDs with physical properties comparable to those produced by traditional liquid phase encapsulation. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized using SEM, XRD, TGA, FT-IR, and ¹H NMR. The...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health problem worldwide. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are among the top six countries of the continent with high mortality and years of life lost attributable to CKD. The magnitude of the gap in delivering pediatric kidney care in northern Central America has never been systematically documented, hindering the possibility of planning prevention and effective management. A survey was sent to the directors of pediatric kidney care...

This study was undertaken to understand the species-specific response and the effect of changes in ambient temperature on the jumping performance of two congeneric tropical frog species, environmental specialist Eleutherodactylus wightmanae and environmental generalist Eleutherodactylus coqui, obtained from three distinct populations across their east-west longitudinal range in Puerto Rico. Three environmental temperatures currently experienced in their natural habitat were selected for...

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide and is known to have higher mortality among women with African ancestry. Herein, we describe the creation and characterization of a multiethnic breast cancer tissue microarray (ME-BrTMA) representing tumors from non-Hispanic White (n = 41), non-Hispanic Black (NHB; n = 45), and Hispanic patients from Puerto Rico (n = 36) and Florida (n = 52). This ME-BrTMA comprises five blocks with a total of 610 cores: 371...

CONCLUSION: Primary intraosseous paragangliomas are rare, with this case representing only the second reported in femur and third in the appendicular skeleton. It underscores the importance of a multimodal diagnostic approach, individualized treatment plans, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

In this study, we expand the computational investigation of selenium, which has previously been limited to metals such as Cu, Fe, Pd, Au, and Pt. Utilizing density functional theory calculations, we explore the adsorption and diffusion of selenium at a low-coverage regime of 0.25 ML on a broader range of metal surfaces, including Ni, Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt, and Au. Our results reveal that selenium exhibits a distinct preference for three-fold or four-fold high-coordination sites on most studied...

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Purpose: To evaluate the class 2 gene expression profiling of patients with small and medium-small uveal melanoma, focusing on tumor control, metastases, and mortality. Methods: This retrospective case series evaluated patients treated for small or medium-small uveal melanoma by the same surgeon. Patients with small uveal melanoma were treated with microincision vitrectomy surgery or brachytherapy, and patients with medium-small uveal melanoma were treated with brachytherapy. All patients were...

This study presents the fabrication and characterization of highly selective, room-temperature gas sensors based on ternary zinc oxide-molybdenum disulfide-titanium dioxide (ZnO-MoS(2)-TiO(2)) nanoheterostructures. Integrating two-dimensional (2D) MoS(2) with oxide nano materials synergistically combines their unique properties, significantly enhancing gas sensing performance. Comprehensive structural and chemical analyses, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray...

CONCLUSIONS: More frequent lengthening intervals were associated with a higher rate of postoperative complications. Further studies are needed to clarify the optimal timing of these intervals among patients with EOS and their association with the outcomes.

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Different materials are studied for environmental gas sensors as well as photodetection prototypes. A ZnO/MoS(2) p-n junction was synthetized to act as a multifunctional sensor prototype. After the ZnO was prepared on a silicon substrate by using DC sputtering at room temperature, molybdenum disulfide layers were spin-coated on a nanostructured zinc oxide flake-shaped surface to form an active layer. The heterostructure's composite surface was examined using scanning electron microscopy,...

(1) Background: Coping with a cancer diagnosis can be a challenging process, in which patients and caregivers often require family support. For an adequate support network, there must be clear communication among patients, caregivers, and family members. However, the literature has not adequately discussed communication interventions with extended family members. Our research team identified the need to incorporate communication strategies among patients, caregivers, and extended family. For...

Puerto Rico has faced significant damage from natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting clinical services and scientific research logistics. In response, the RCMI-CCRHD Program at the UPR-MSC organized a retreat with the objective of understanding the challenges faced by its research network during the pandemic and strategies to overcome them. The retreat featured presentations on COVID-19 supplemental projects and included a discussion group. Twenty attendees identified the...

Orchidaceae is one of the most species-rich families of flowering plants, with most current diversity having evolved within the last 5 My. Patterns associated with species richness and rapid diversification have been identified but have not often been associated with evolutionary processes. We review the most frequently identified correlates of diversity and suggest that the processes and rate by which they occur vary geographically and are largely dependent on persistent pulses of habitat...

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to establish the clinical utility of a therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)-supported, model-informed precision dosing (MIPD) approach (precision-guided dosing [PGD]) by assessing the impact of pharmacokinetic (clearance [CL]) and clinical laboratory parameters on adalimumab (ADA) dosage adjustments during maintenance therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods: In the EMPOWER study, blood was collected at any time post-ADA injection....

CONCLUSION: SD methodology effectively facilitated consensus on the process for implementing ACS guidelines, demonstrating its utility in clinical settings. Decision-makers may consider adopting SD processes to streamline guideline implementation and optimise patient care across disease areas and clinical settings.