Article
Immunology
Feride Eren, Lilly Schwieler, Funda Orhan, Anna Malmqvist, Fredrik Piehl, Simon Cervenka, Carl M. Sellgren, Helena Fatouros-Bergman, Goran Engberg, Sophie Erhardt
Summary: In this study, immune aberrations in schizophrenia were investigated by analyzing a large number of immune-related proteins. It was found that several inflammatory proteins were significantly elevated in the plasma of both first-episode psychosis patients and schizophrenia patients, and these elevations were associated with disease severity. However, only CD5 showed a difference in cerebrospinal fluid.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Bruce K. Patterson, Jose Guevara-Coto, Ram Yogendra, Edgar B. Francisco, Emily Long, Amruta Pise, Hallison Rodrigues, Purvi Parikh, Javier Mora, Rodrigo A. Mora-Rodriguez
Summary: CCR5 and its ligands play a role in COVID-19 pathogenesis, with a focus on immune responses. Elevated B-cells and certain monocytic subsets were observed in COVID-19 patients, while certain T-cell subsets were decreased compared to healthy controls. Various cytokines showed significantly different levels in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls, indicating immune dysregulation in the disease process.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Allergy
Bo L. Chawes, Helene M. Wolsk, Christian J. Carlsson, Morten A. Rasmussen, Nilofar Folsgaard, Jakob Stokholm, Klaus Bonnelykke, Susanne Brix, Ann-Marie M. Schoos, Hans Bisgaard
Summary: The study analyzed the relationship between airway immune composition in 620 healthy one-month-old newborns and childhood allergies and asthma. It found that specific airway immune profiles were associated with elevated specific IgE to allergens, positive skin prick tests, and allergic rhinitis in early childhood.
Review
Immunology
Tong Yue, Yu Shi, Sihui Luo, Jianping Weng, Yali Wu, Xueying Zheng
Summary: Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus that is largely driven by inflammation. Understanding and elucidating the inflammation-related mechanisms is crucial for prevention and management of diabetic retinopathy.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Andrology
Hannah E. Lyons, Bridget M. Arman, Sarah A. Robertson, David J. Sharkey
Summary: This study systematically reviews the concentrations of immune regulatory cytokines in seminal plasma of healthy men and evaluates the impact of different quantification methodologies. The results show that the concentrations of many cytokines associated with fertility status vary greatly between studies, possibly due to different immunoassay methods and lack of validation for seminal plasma assessment. Accurate reference ranges for healthy men cannot be determined from the published data due to the large variation between studies.
Article
Clinical Neurology
David H. Adamowicz, Tsung-Chin Wu, Rebecca Daly, Michael R. Irwin, Dilip Jeste, Xin M. Tu, Lisa T. Eyler, Ellen E. Lee
Summary: This study aimed to explore the relationship between executive functioning and inflammatory biomarkers in people with schizophrenia. The results showed that systemic inflammation did not predict long-term declines in executive functioning. This suggests the need for further research to better understand the relationship and mechanisms between inflammation and cognition in schizophrenia.
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2024)
Article
Immunology
Yuanyuan Li, Yan Yang, Aonan Zhao, Ningdi Luo, Mengyue Niu, Wenyan Kang, Anmu Xie, Hong Lu, Lei Chen, Jun Liu
Summary: This study identified a correlation between a profile of four peripheral immune biomarkers and the development and progression of Parkinson's disease. The findings provide a basis for identifying Parkinson's disease patients with abnormal inflammatory profiles and providing timely therapeutic interventions.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2022)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Joaquim Pedro Brito-de-Sousa, Ana Carolina Campi-Azevedo, Ismael Artur da Costa-Rocha, Jesuanne Carla Silva-Andrade, Lizandra Morgado-Santos, Jordana Grazziela Alves Coelho-dos-Reis, Vanessa Peruhype-Magalhaes, Matheus de Souza Gomes, Laurence Rodrigues Amaral, Andrea Teixeira-Carvalho, Thadia Evelyn Araujo, Eloisa Amalia Vieira Ferro, Rosiane Aparecida da Silva-Pereira, Lis Ribeiro do Valle Antonelli, Ana Maria Caetano de Faria, Angelica Oliveira Gomes, Olindo Assis Martins-Filho
Summary: This study reveals the impact of ageing on the pattern of serum soluble mediators. It shows a bimodal profile of serum soluble mediators, with one peak at 6-10 years and a second wave around 61-70 years. The study also identifies universal age-related biomarkers and differences in magnitude and timing between sexes.
EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Michel Lopez-Teros, Adriana Alarcon-Aguilar, Norma Edith Lopez-Diazguerrero, Armando Luna-Lopez, Mina Konigsberg
Summary: Astrocytes in the aging central nervous system have both neuroprotective and neurotoxic functions, contributing to chronic inflammation and impaired cognitive function. The secretomes of senescent and reactive astrocytes have not been directly compared in the aging brain.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mi Eun Kim, Dae Hyun Kim, Jun Sik Lee
Summary: Forkhead box O transcription factors (FoxOs) play a crucial role in maintaining normal cell physiology and immune cell development. Dysregulation of FoxOs can lead to the development of various diseases, and restoring the activity of FoxOs holds therapeutic potential.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Nina Vindegaard Sorensen, Nis Borbye-Lorenzen, Rune Haubo Bojesen Christensen, Sonja Orlovska-Waast, Rose Jeppesen, Kristin Skogstrand, Michael Eriksen Benros
Summary: By analyzing the cytokine levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with recent-onset depression and healthy controls, this study found that IL-4, MCP-1, and MIP-1 beta levels were significantly higher in patients with depression compared to healthy controls, while IL-6 and IL-8 levels showed no significant differences.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Xinyu Cheng, Zhan Wang
Summary: Immune cells play a crucial role in regulating bone metastasis, including in the processes of metastatic homing, seeding, dormancy, and outgrowth within the bone. Additionally, immune molecules such as chemokines, cytokines, and exosomes have diverse functions in remodeling the bone metastatic niche. These cellular and molecular players may have therapeutic and prognostic potential in bone metastasis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Honglin Dong, Viktorija Asmolovaite, Sebastien Farnaud, Derek Renshaw
Summary: This study investigates the influence of vitamin D supplementation on immune function of healthy older adults. The results show that vitamin D supplementation significantly increases plasma 25(OH)D concentration but has no significant effect on metabolic and immunological parameters.
FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Andrea Botticelli, Giulia Pomati, Alessio Cirillo, Simone Scagnoli, Simona Pisegna, Antonella Chiavassa, Ernesto Rossi, Giovanni Schinzari, Giampaolo Tortora, Francesca Romana Di Pietro, Bruna Cerbelli, Alessandra Di Filippo, Sasan Amirhassankhani, Alessandro Scala, Ilaria Grazia Zizzari, Enrico Cortesi, Silverio Tomao, Marianna Nuti, Silvia Mezi, Paolo Marchetti
Summary: This study aimed to identify an immune profile predicting the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) by analyzing the levels of soluble immune factors. The results showed that patients with lower levels of certain factors had longer overall survival. Cluster analysis revealed two distinct clusters, with Cluster A showing better treatment response and prognosis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Mingmin Lu, Youngsub Lee, Hyun S. Lillehoj
Summary: Birds have a unique immune system that is important for studying fundamental immunological concepts. However, research on the avian immune system lags behind other species, limiting its use as a disease model. Understanding the avian immune system requires studying regulatory mediators.
DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Valentina Gallo, Roberta Gentile, Giovanni Antonini, Stefano Iacobelli
Summary: In this study, Gal-3BP plasma levels were measured in COVID-19 patients and found to be significantly higher in severe cases compared to non-severe cases. These findings suggest that Gal-3BP could be a potential biomarker for diagnosing and treating COVID-19 patients.
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Surgery
Joana Ferreira, Alexandre Carneiro, Isabel Vila, Cristina Silva, Cristina Cunha, Adhemar Longatto-Filho, Amilcar Mesquita, Jorge Cotter, Armando Mansilha, Margarida Correia-Neves, Pedro Cunha
Summary: This study aimed to determine the differences in skeletal muscle characteristics and inflammatory parameters between patients with claudication and with chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). The results showed that CLTI patients had decreased skeletal muscle mass and a systemic inflammation status.
ANNALS OF VASCULAR SURGERY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Olga Valentim, Jose Vilelas, Jose C. Carvalho, Carmen M. Silva Maciel Andrade, Catarina Tomas, Patricio Soares Costa, Carlos Sequeira
Summary: A study conducted on higher education students found that healthy lifestyles have a significant impact on positive mental health. The research analyzed a large sample of students and identified four clusters based on levels of positive mental health. The findings showed that students in Cluster 1, characterized by higher levels of positive mental health, had greater satisfaction in affective relationships, engaged in more recreational and sports activities, had better sleep quality, followed a healthy diet, and consumed fewer medication and illicit drugs. This study highlights the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles and positive mental health among higher education students.
GLOBAL HEALTH PROMOTION
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Joao Canto-Gomes, Sara Da Silva-Ferreira, Carolina S. Silva, Daniela Boleixa, Ana Martins da Silva, Ines Gonzalez-Suarez, Joao J. Cerqueira, Margarida Correia-Neves, Claudia Nobrega
Summary: This study investigates the alterations in immune cells in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) patients without disease-modifying drugs (DMD). The findings reveal decreased numbers of central memory CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, as well as activated HLA-DR+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in pwPPMS. Moreover, changes in NK cell populations are found to be strongly correlated with disease severity.
Article
Education & Educational Research
Filipe Falcao, Daniela Marques Pereira, Nuno Goncalves, Andre De Champlain, Patricio Costa, Jose Miguel Pego
Summary: Automatic Item Generation (AIG) is the process of generating test items using cognitive models and computer modules. This study evaluates the effectiveness of AIG in medical education through two studies, which found that AIG-generated items have high quality and validity. AIG allows for fast and cost-efficient generation of numerous high-quality items.
ADVANCES IN HEALTH SCIENCES EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Sara Hora Gomes, Marta Trindade, Cristina Petrisor, Dinis Costa, Jorge Correia-Pinto, Patricio S. Costa, Jose M. Pego
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the OSAUS scale in assessing competence in ultrasound hyomental distance measurement. The results showed strong internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. Further studies are needed to implement the OSAUS scale in the clinical setting for training and assessment of airway ultrasound competence.
BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andre Santa Cruz, Ana Mendes-Frias, Marne Azarias-da-Silva, Sonia Andre, Ana Isabel Oliveira, Olga Pires, Marta Mendes, Barbara Oliveira, Marta Braga, Joana Rita Lopes, Rui Domingues, Ricardo Costa, Luis Neves Silva, Ana Rita Matos, Cristina Angela, Patricio Costa, Alexandre Carvalho, Carlos Capela, Jorge Pedrosa, Antonio Gil Castro, Jerome Estaquier, Ricardo Silvestre
Summary: Based on our study, individuals with post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) exhibit persisting immunological dysfunction, including changes in mucosal immune parameters, redistribution of mucosal CD8(+)beta 7Integrin(+) T cells, and IgA, indicating potential viral persistence and mucosal involvement in the etiopathology of PASC at six months following infection.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Sarai Isabel Machado, Maria Lopes Pereira, Susana Roque, Maria Jose Costeira, Adriano A. A. Bordalo, Andre Miranda, Patricio Costa, Nuno Borges, Joana Almeida Palha
Summary: Salt iodization programs have been found to be effective in ensuring adequate iodine intake in iodine-deficient populations. A study in Portugal found that iodine deficiency was prevalent among women of childbearing age and pregnant women. While iodized salt became mandatory in school canteens, there were no specific programs or regulations for the general population. The study also found that the overall sales and contribution of iodized salt to iodine intake were extremely low.
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Catarina S. Silva, Rute D. Pinto, Ricardo A. Pires, Margarida Correia-Neves, Rui L. Reis, Nuno L. Alves, Albino Martins, Nuno M. Neves
Summary: The thymus is essential for the development of T cells and plays a key role in adaptive immunity. Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) interact with thymocytes in the thymus 3D environment, and feeder-layer cells have been used for successful TEC cultures. This study evaluated the effect of feeder cell-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) on TEC cultures and found that ECM density impacts cellular performance and that feeder cell-derived ECM is a suitable substrate for TEC culture.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Daniela S. M. Pereira, Filipe Falcao, Andreia Nunes, Nuno Santos, Patricio Costa, Jose Miguel Pego
Summary: With the advancing technology of AI and the increasing integration of chatbots into our daily lives, pedagogical challenges are arising, especially in medical education. This article presents the development process of OSCEBot (R), a chatbot designed to train medical students in the clinical interview approach. The chatbot was developed using the SentenceTransformers (SBERT) framework, which utilizes siamese and triplet networks to create sentence embeddings for semantic search. Three clinical cases were developed, and performance metrics were calculated based on different question categories. The results showed potential for improvement and the need for more diverse clinical scenarios.
MEDICAL EDUCATION ONLINE
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Anna Quialheiro, Andre Miranda, Miguel Garcia Jr, Adriana Camargo de Carvalho, Margarida Correia-Neves, Nadine Correia Santos
Summary: This study aimed to develop and evaluate the impact of a digital inclusion program on digital and health literacy among community dwellers in northern Portugal. The findings showed that the program led to significant improvement in digital literacy, which was sustained one month after the intervention. However, there was no significant change in health literacy during the project period.
JMIR FORMATIVE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Joana Ferreira, Julieta Afonso, Alexandre Lima Carneiro, Isabel Vila, Cristina Cunha, Susana Roque, Cristina Silva, Amilcar Mesquita, Jorge Cotter, Margarida Correia-Neves, Armando Mansilha, Adhemar Longatto-Filho, Pedro Cunha
Summary: This study compared the characteristics of visceral, subcutaneous, and peri-aortic adipose tissue using CT scans and correlated them with cardiovascular risk factors. Peri-aortic adipose tissue had the highest density, while smokers/ex-smokers had lower density of subcutaneous adipose tissue. Sex was found to be a predictor of subcutaneous adipose tissue area, while hypertension was associated with higher visceral adipose tissue area.
JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Business
Paulo de Lencastre, Joana Cesar Machado, Patricio Costa
Summary: This paper explores how the figurativeness of names and logos affects cognitive responses. The findings highlight the importance of the interaction between the figurativeness of the name and the logo. Semantic repetition is beneficial for recall and generating associations, while semantic dispersion ensures recognition. However, there are exceptions to these patterns.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Filipe Manuel Vidal Falcao, Daniela S. M. Pereira, Jose Miguel Pego, Patricio Costa
Summary: Progress tests (PT) are commonly used for evaluating clinical knowledge retention and long-life learning in health professions education. Automatic Item Generation (AIG) is a method that generates test items through algorithms, aiming to reduce the cost and time spent on item development. This study compared the quality and validity of AIG-items with manually written items in formative assessment modalities. The findings showed that AIG-items performed similarly to manually written items in terms of difficulty, information, and distractor quality. AIG-items demonstrated validity evidence and were suitable for evaluating medical students at different levels of knowledge.
EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Ana Marote, Diogo Santos, Barbara Mendes-Pinheiro, Claudia Serre-Miranda, Sandra Anjo, Joana Vieira, Filipa Ferreira-Antunes, Joana Sofia Correia, Caroline Borges-Pereira, Andreia G. Pinho, Jonas Campos, Bruno Manadas, Manuel R. Teixeira, Margarida Correia-Neves, Luisa Pinto, Pedro M. Costa, Laurent Roybon, Antonio J. Salgado
Summary: This study compared the secretomes of long-term cultured BM-MSCs and iMSCs, and conducted a comprehensive characterization of both sources. The results showed that although there were significant differences in proliferation between the two sources, the secretome composition of both sources was similar in pre-senescent and senescent states. These findings suggest that shifting from BM-MSCs to a more advantageous source like iMSCs may yield similar therapeutic effects as the gold-standard MSC source.
STEM CELL REVIEWS AND REPORTS
(2023)
