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result(s) for
"Figueiredo, Joana"
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Familial gastric cancer: genetic susceptibility, pathology, and implications for management
by
Pinheiro, Hugo
,
Figueiredo, Joana
,
Seruca, Raquel
in
Breast cancer
,
Colorectal cancer
,
Family medical history
2015
Familial gastric cancer comprises at least three major syndromes: hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach, and familial intestinal gastric cancer. The risk of development of gastric cancer is high in families affected b-y these syndromes, but only hereditary diffuse gastric cancer is genetically explained (caused by germline alterations of CDH1, which encodes E-cadherin). Gastric cancer is also associated with a range of several cancer-associated syndromes with known genetic causes, such as Lynch, Li-Fraumeni, Peutz-Jeghers, hereditary breast–ovarian cancer syndromes, familial adenomatous polyposis, and juvenile polyposis. We present contemporary knowledge on the genetics, pathogenesis, and clinical features of familial gastric cancer, and discuss research and technological developments, which together are expected to open avenues for new genetic testing approaches and novel therapeutic strategies.
Journal Article
Global declines in coral reef calcium carbonate production under ocean acidification and warming
by
DeCarlo, Thomas M.
,
Anderson, Kristen D.
,
Smithers, Scott G.
in
"Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences"
,
Acidification
,
Animals
2021
Ocean warming and acidification threaten the future growth of coral reefs. This is because the calcifying coral reef taxa that construct the calcium carbonate frameworks and cement the reef together are highly sensitive to ocean warming and acidification. However, the global-scale effects of ocean warming and acidification on rates of coral reef net carbonate production remain poorly constrained despite a wealth of studies assessing their effects on the calcification of individual organisms. Here, we present global estimates of projected future changes in coral reef net carbonate production under ocean warming and acidification. We apply a meta-analysis of responses of coral reef taxa calcification and bioerosion rates to predicted changes in coral cover driven by climate change to estimate the net carbonate production rates of 183 reefs worldwide by 2050 and 2100. We forecast mean global reef net carbonate production under representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 will decline by 76, 149, and 156%, respectively, by 2100. While 63% of reefs are projected to continue to accrete by 2100 under RCP2.6, 94% will be eroding by 2050 under RCP8.5, and no reefs will continue to accrete at rates matching projected sea level rise under RCP4.5 or 8.5 by 2100. Projected reduced coral cover due to bleaching events predominately drives these declines rather than the direct physiological impacts of ocean warming and acidification on calcification or bioerosion. Presently degraded reefs were also more sensitive in our analysis. These findings highlight the low likelihood that the world’s coral reefs will maintain their functional roles without near-term stabilization of atmospheric CO₂ emissions.
Journal Article
Lower limb kinematic, kinetic, and EMG data from young healthy humans during walking at controlled speeds
by
Vilas-Boas, João P.
,
Santos, Cristina P.
,
Figueiredo, Joana
in
639/166/985
,
639/766/747
,
Adult
2021
Understanding the lower limb kinematic, kinetic, and electromyography (EMG) data interrelation in controlled speeds is challenging for fully assessing human locomotion conditions. This paper provides a complete dataset with the above-mentioned raw and processed data simultaneously recorded for sixteen healthy participants walking on a 10 meter-flat surface at seven controlled speeds (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 km/h). The raw data include 3D joint trajectories of 24 retro-reflective markers, ground reaction forces (GRF), force plate moments, center of pressures, and EMG signals from
Tibialis Anterior
,
Gastrocnemius Lateralis
,
Biceps Femoris
, and
Vastus Lateralis
. The processed data present gait cycle-normalized data including filtered EMG signals and their envelope, 3D GRF, joint angles, and torques. This study details the experimental setup and presents a brief validation of the data quality. The presented dataset may contribute to (
i
) validate and enhance human biomechanical gait models, and (
ii
) serve as a reference trajectory for personalized control of robotic assistive devices, aiming an adequate assistance level adjusted to the gait speed and user’s anthropometry.
Measurement(s)
walking • Lower Extremity
Technology Type(s)
motion capture • electromyography • force platform
Factor Type(s)
sex • age • height • mass • leg length • foot length
Sample Characteristic - Organism
Homo sapiens
Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data:
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13169348
Journal Article
Global warming decreases connectivity among coral populations
by
Figueiredo Joana
,
Connolly, Sean R
,
Thomas, Christopher J
in
Barrier reefs
,
Climate change
,
Connectivity
2022
Global warming is killing corals; however, the effects of warming on population connectivity, a process fundamental to reef recovery, are largely unexplored. Using a high-resolution (as high as 200 m), empirically calibrated biophysical model of coral larval dispersal for the southern Great Barrier Reef, we show that the increased larval mortality and reduced competency duration under a 2 °C warming alter dispersal patterns, whereas projected changes in large-scale currents have limited effects. Overall, there was on average a 7% decrease in the distance larvae disperse (among-reef interquartile range (IQR), −10% to −4%), an 8% decrease in the number of connections into each reef (IQR, −11% to −3%) and a 20% increase in local retention (IQR, 0% to +49%). Collectively, these shifts imply that 2 °C of warming will reduce inter-reef connectivity, hampering recovery after disturbances and reducing the spread of warm-adapted genes. Such changes make protections more effective locally, but may require reducing spacing between protected areas.The authors develop a high-resolution model of coral larval dispersal for the southern Great Barrier Reef. They show that 2 °C of warming decreases larval dispersal distance and connectivity of reefs, hampering post-disturbance recovery and the potential spread of warm-adapted genes.
Journal Article
A Review on Locomotion Mode Recognition and Prediction When Using Active Orthoses and Exoskeletons
by
Cerqueira, João
,
Santos, Cristina P.
,
Figueiredo, Joana
in
Accuracy
,
Algorithms
,
Database searching
2022
Understanding how to seamlessly adapt the assistance of lower-limb wearable assistive devices (active orthosis (AOs) and exoskeletons) to human locomotion modes (LMs) is challenging. Several algorithms and sensors have been explored to recognize and predict the users’ LMs. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear which are the most used and effective sensor and classifier configurations in AOs/exoskeletons and how these devices’ control is adapted according to the decoded LMs. To explore these aspects, we performed a systematic review by electronic search in Scopus and Web of Science databases, including published studies from 1 January 2010 to 31 August 2022. Sixteen studies were included and scored with 84.7 ± 8.7% quality. Decoding focused on level-ground walking along with ascent/descent stairs tasks performed by healthy subjects. Time-domain raw data from inertial measurement unit sensors were the most used data. Different classifiers were employed considering the LMs to decode (accuracy above 90% for all tasks). Five studies have adapted the assistance of AOs/exoskeletons attending to the decoded LM, in which only one study predicted the new LM before its occurrence. Future research is encouraged to develop decoding tools considering data from people with lower-limb impairments walking at self-selected speeds while performing daily LMs with AOs/exoskeletons.
Journal Article
Ocean acidification partially mitigates the negative effects of warming on the recruitment of the coral, Orbicella faveolata
by
Figueiredo Joana
,
Fogarty, Nicole D
,
Pitts, Kelly A
in
Acidification
,
Biological fertilization
,
Calcification
2020
Ocean acidification and ocean warming constitute major threats to many calcifying reef organisms, including scleractinian corals. The combined effects of these two environmental stressors on the earliest life history stages of reef calcifiers remain poorly studied, particularly for Atlantic corals. Here, we investigate how acidification and warming influence the fertilization success, larval survivorship, and larval settlement of the threatened Atlantic coral, Orbicella faveolata. Gametes and larvae from O. faveolata were subjected to a factorial combination of warming (ambient versus + 1.5 °C) and acidification (ambient versus − 0.2 pH units) projected to occur by the year 2050. O. faveolata individuals were maintained in the same treatments throughout all early life history stages investigated. The fertilization success of O. faveolata was not affected by acidification, warming, or their combination. However, during larval development, warming caused complete mortality and prevented any subsequent settlement. Interestingly, these negative effects of warming were mitigated when combined with ocean acidification, such that both larval survivorship and settlement increased by 41% in the combined treatment relative to the isolated warming treatment. Our research suggests that temperature-induced increases in larval metabolism may be counterbalanced by acidification, which serves to reduce larval metabolism. Notwithstanding, larval survivorship and settlement were still reduced by 50% under combined acidification and warming relative to the ambient treatment, indicating that climate change will continue to serve as major stressor during the early life history stages of corals, jeopardizing the resilience of Caribbean reefs.
Journal Article
The Extracellular Matrix: An Accomplice in Gastric Cancer Development and Progression
by
Fernandes, Maria Sofia
,
Carneiro, Patrícia
,
Seruca, Raquel
in
Carcinogenesis - pathology
,
cell-ecm interaction
,
Disease Progression
2020
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic and highly organized tissue structure, providing support and maintaining normal epithelial architecture. In the last decade, increasing evidence has emerged demonstrating that alterations in ECM composition and assembly strongly affect cellular function and behavior. Even though the detailed mechanisms underlying cell-ECM crosstalk are yet to unravel, it is well established that ECM deregulation accompanies the development of many pathological conditions, such as gastric cancer. Notably, gastric cancer remains a worldwide concern, representing the third most frequent cause of cancer-associated deaths. Despite increased surveillance protocols, patients are usually diagnosed at advanced disease stages, urging the identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers and efficient therapeutic strategies. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview regarding expression patterns of ECM components and cognate receptors described in normal gastric epithelium, pre-malignant lesions, and gastric carcinomas. Important insights are also discussed for the use of ECM-associated molecules as predictive biomarkers of the disease or as potential targets in gastric cancer.
Journal Article
Ketamine and Dexmedetomidine Combination for the Management of the Pediatric Difficult Airway
by
Figueiredo, Joana
,
Telo, Margarida
,
Ferreira, Rodrigo
in
Airway management
,
Anesthesiology
,
Case reports
2023
The pediatric difficult airway is a challenge for the anesthesiologist. In this article, we describe a case where ketamine and dexmedetomidine were used to approach a difficult airway in a five-month-old patient with a palatal teratoma. These two drugs have complementary effects, because of which they can be used to maintain ventilation without compromising airway reflexes and are suitable for the management of pediatric difficult airways.
Journal Article
Human-in-the-Loop Optimization of Knee Exoskeleton Assistance for Minimizing User’s Metabolic and Muscular Effort
2024
Lower limb exoskeletons have the potential to mitigate work-related musculoskeletal disorders; however, they often lack user-oriented control strategies. Human-in-the-loop (HITL) controls adapt an exoskeleton’s assistance in real time, to optimize the user–exoskeleton interaction. This study presents a HITL control for a knee exoskeleton using a CMA-ES algorithm to minimize the users’ physical effort, a parameter innovatively evaluated using the interaction torque with the exoskeleton (a muscular effort indicator) and metabolic cost. This work innovates by estimating the user’s metabolic cost within the HITL control through a machine-learning model. The regression model estimated the metabolic cost, in real time, with a root mean squared error of 0.66 W/kg and mean absolute percentage error of 26% (n = 5), making faster (10 s) and less noisy estimations than a respirometer (K5, Cosmed). The HITL reduced the user’s metabolic cost by 7.3% and 5.9% compared to the zero-torque and no-device conditions, respectively, and reduced the interaction torque by 32.3% compared to a zero-torque control (n = 1). The developed HITL control surpassed a non-exoskeleton and zero-torque condition regarding the user’s physical effort, even for a task such as slow walking. Furthermore, the user-specific control had a lower metabolic cost than the non-user-specific assistance. This proof-of-concept demonstrated the potential of HITL controls in assisted walking.
Journal Article
Linking Jasmonic Acid to Grapevine Resistance against the Biotrophic Oomycete Plasmopara viticola
by
Sousa Silva, Marta
,
Figueiredo, Joana
,
Figueiredo, Andreia
in
Acid resistance
,
Acids
,
Airborne microorganisms
2016
Plant resistance to biotrophic pathogens is classically believed to be mediated through salicylic acid (SA) signaling leading to hypersensitive response followed by the establishment of Systemic Acquired Resistance. Jasmonic acid (JA) signaling has extensively been associated to the defense against necrotrophic pathogens and insects inducing the accumulation of secondary metabolites and PR proteins. Moreover, it is believed that plants infected with biotrophic fungi suppress JA-mediated responses. However, recent evidences have shown that certain biotrophic fungal species also trigger the activation of JA-mediated responses, suggesting a new role for JA in the defense against fungal biotrophs. Plasmopara viticola is a biotrophic oomycete responsible for the grapevine downy mildew, one of the most important diseases in viticulture. In this perspective, we show recent evidences of JA participation in grapevine resistance against P. viticola, outlining the hypothesis of JA involvement in the establishment of an incompatible interaction with this biotroph. We also show that in the first hours after P. viticola inoculation the levels of OPDA, JA, JA-Ile, and SA increase together with an increase of expression of genes associated to JA and SA signaling pathways. Our data suggests that, on the first hours after P. viticola inoculation, JA signaling pathway is activated and the outcomes of JA-SA interactions may be tailored in the defense response against this biotrophic pathogen.
Journal Article