Search

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Natural products have emerged as a novel source in the management of non-communicable diseases, more so in diabetes mellitus and its comorbidities. Aloe vera is widely recognized for its anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic properties and numerous researchers have identified component (s) from Aloe vera attributing to these therapeutic effects., Aim of the Study: The current work was undertaken to gain insight into the protective effect of Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. extract to study the cytoarchitecture/histopathological alterations in the target organs in mutant Obese WNIN/GR-Ob rats that were made frank diabetic with streptozotocin., Materials and Methods: Rats were divided into five groups. 1)WNIN-GR-Ob/control group 2)WNIN-GR-Ob treated with STZ 3)WNIN-GR-Ob + STZ + Sitagliptin 4)WNIN-GR-Ob + STZ + Aloe vera 5)WNIN-GR-Ob/control group + Aloe vera. Histopathological analysis of the pancreas, kidney, liver, and adipocytes was done after 4 weeks of treatment., Results: The histopathological examination of STZ-induced diabetic rats revealed significant changes in all the vital organs including cell infiltration, degeneration, and necrosis. Treatment with A. vera negated most of the histopathological changes seen in STZ induced rats. Sitagliptin-which served as a positive control in the present study-reversed the alterations seen in streptozotocin rats., Conclusion: Considering the hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic activities of Aloe vera that have been previously demonstrated by us, the present study further re-instates the therapeutic efficacy of Aloe vera towards vital organs. It was able to restore islet cells and reduce β-cell damage. In addition, it was also able to aid in kidney tubular regeneration and reverse the degenerative changes brought on by streptozotocin on liver. Further, Aloe vera treated group exhibited moderate hyperplasia with decreased size of adipocytes and reduced macrophage infiltration. Thus, our findings advocate its application as an important nutraceutical in the therapeutic management of diabetes mellitus and associated complications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite infecting all mammals including humans and causes toxoplasmosis. There is no vaccine available for humans and thus vaccine development efforts continue using novel antigens and/or vaccine platforms. Since our previous microarray screening study showed that ROP6 is a suitable antigen to be used in vaccine studies, in this study, we aimed to design an optimized mRNA construct encoding the ROP6 protein and then demonstrate its efficiency and immunogenicity using in vitro methods. For this, we constructed a pT7CFE1-Chis/ROP6 vector encoding optimized ROP6 mRNA containing EMCV 5'UTR with IRES and a 20 nucleotides fragment from alpha globin 3' UTR. Then, we generated the optimized ROP6 mRNAs with anti-reverse cap analogue (ARCA) and approximately 150 nucleotide long poly-A tail. Next, HEK293T cells were transfected with the optimized ROP6 mRNAs to show recombinant ROP6 protein expression capability. Moreover, we expressed in vitro recombinant ROP6 protein in HeLa cell lysate using the pT7CFE1-Chis/ROP6 vector to reveal the immunogenicity of recombinant ROP6 protein using sera samples collected from mice infected with PRU strain of T. gondii. The IFA and Western blot results showed that the optimized ROP6 mRNAs successfully expressed the recombinant ROP6 protein in HEK293T cells. Moreover the recombinant ROP6 protein expressed in HeLa cell lysate strongly reacted with sera samples collected from mice. The absorbance difference detected among positive and negative mice serum samples analyzed was statistically significant, indicating that the recombinant ROP6 protein was immunogenic (P = 0.0003). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the optimized ROP6 mRNAs can be used in the development of mRNA vaccines against toxoplasmosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A decline in mitochondrial functions associated with ageing is the key factor of free radical generation which contributes to age-related pathologies. Protecting healthy functional mitochondrial networks with antioxidants is critical in promoting healthy ageing. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of ergothioneine (EGT)-rich Lentinula edodes extract (LE-ETH) against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) assaulted senescent HT22 cells. Mitochondrial function was evaluated by measuring mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP levels and mitochondrial toxicity. The protective mechanisms were elucidated via the exploration of antioxidant and mitochondrial biogenesis signalling pathways. Our results revealed that a low dose of t-BHP increases mitochondrial toxicity. The pretreatment with 100 µg/mL of LE-ETH and the equimolar concentration of EGT for 8 h significantly improve the mitochondrial function and reduced inflammation. Through gene expression studies, we demonstrated that pretreatment of LE-ETH significantly improves the antioxidant and mitochondrial biogenesis pathway via Nrf2 signaling axis. However, the downstream genes of the mitochondrial biogenesis pathway were unaffected by equimolar EGT concentration. Gas chromatography-mass spectrum (GC-MS) analysis was carried out to identify the bioactive compounds that are present in LE-ETH extract which contributed to its efficacy in improving the mitochondrial functions. A total of 23 compounds consisting of phenols, fatty acids, and sterols were identified in the ethanolic extract. Pentanoic acid was the major compound identified in LE-ETH. These findings demonstrated that EGT-rich L.edodes mushroom is a potential neuroprotective agent which could serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for the preservation of mitochondrial functions in healthy ageing explorations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). All rights reserved.)

Wastewater receives per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from diverse consumer and industrial sources, and discharges are known to be a concern for drinking water quality. The PFAS family includes thousands of potential chemical structures containing organofluorine moieties. Exposures to a few well-studied PFAS, mainly perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAA), have been associated with increased risk of many adverse health outcomes, prompting federal drinking water regulations for six compounds in 2024. Here, we find that the six regulated PFAS (mean = 7 to 8%) and 18 measured PFAA (mean = 11 to 21%) make up only a small fraction of the extractable organofluorine (EOF) in influent and effluent from eight large municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Most of the EOF in influent (75%) and effluent (62%) consists of mono- and polyfluorinated pharmaceuticals. The treatment technology and sizes of the treatment facilities in this study are similar to those serving 70% of the US population. Despite advanced treatment technologies, the maximum EOF removal efficiency among facilities in this work was <25%. Extrapolating our measurements to other large facilities across the United States results in a nationwide EOF discharge estimate of 1.0 to 2.8 million moles F y -1 . Using a national model that simulates connections between wastewater discharges and downstream drinking water intakes, we estimate that the sources of drinking water for up to 23 million Americans could be contaminated above regulatory thresholds by wastewater-derived PFAS alone. These results emphasize the importance of further curbing ongoing PFAS sources and additional evaluations of the fate and toxicity of fluorinated pharmaceuticals., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

The direct-infusion of 130 coffee samples into a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometer (FT-ICR-MS) provided an ultra-high resolution perspective on the molecular complexity of coffee: The exceptional resolving power and mass accuracy (± 0.2 ppm) facilitated the annotation of unambiguous molecular formulas to 11,500 mass signals. Utilizing this molecular diversity, we extracted hundreds of compound signals linked to the roasting process through guided Orthogonal Partial Least Squares (OPLS) analysis. Visualizations such as van Krevelen diagrams and Kendrick mass defect analysis provided deeper insights into the intrinsic compositional nature of these compounds and the complex chemistry underlying coffee roasting. Predictive OPLS-DA models established universal molecular profiles for rapid authentication of Coffea arabica versus Coffea canephora (Robusta) coffees. Compositional analysis revealed Robusta specific signals, indicative of tryptophan-conjugates of hydroxycinnamic acids. Complementary LC-ToF-MS 2 confirmed their compound class, building blocks and structures. Their water-soluble nature allows for application across raw and roasted beans, as well as in ready-made coffee products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the potential of enzymes produced by artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) flower cell suspension cultures elicited by melatonin (5 μm) and salicylic acid (50 μm) on the production and characteristics of miniature goat cheeses. In this study, five types of fresh miniature goat cheese were produced using whole artichoke flower extract, salicylic acid (50 μm) or melatonin (5 μm) treated artichoke suspension cell culture extracts, a culture extract without elicitor treatment (control) and rennin enzyme., Results: The milk clotting activity values of the enzymes were measured in the range 0.52-0.74. The effect of the enzymes on the titratable acidity, water-soluble nitrogen, ripening index, αs-caseins and β-caseins of goat cheese was significant (P < 0.05). The highest level of casein degradation was observed in the cheese produced with the enzyme containing melatonin, followed by the cheese produced with the enzyme containing salicylic acid., Conclusion: For the enzymes produced by the suspension cell culture method, the addition of melatonin and salicylic acid had a slightly positive effect on the proteolytic activity of the extracts. It was also found that the enzymes obtained from artichokes by the suspension cell culture method did not achieve successful cheese production in terms of chemical, textural and biochemical aspects compared to those obtained from animal enzymes. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is of great economic importance as a cultivated crop in many parts of the world. In addition to being a pillar of the textile industry, cotton and its byproducts are used for livestock feed, seed oil, and other products. Bacillus thuringiensis crystal toxin (Bt) expression in cotton provides effective protection against chewing insects but does not defend plants from piercing/sucking insect pests. With the aim to create transgenic plants with resistance against piercing/sucking pests, we used Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of cotton cultivar Coker 312 to express the Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASLA) gene from the phloem-specific rolC promoter. The ASLA transgene was stably inherited and showed Mendelian segregation in the T1 generation. Transgenic lines, expressing the ASLA gene, showed explicit resistance against major sap-sucking pests. Green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) choice assays showed that 75% of aphids preferred untransformed cotton plants relative to those expressing the ASLA gene. In detached leaf bioassays, plants expressing ASLA caused 82% aphid mortality and 44-53% reduction in fecundity. Clip cage bioassays with whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) showed 74-82% mortality and 44-60% decrease in fecundity due to ASLA gene expression. In whole plant bioassays, whiteflies showed 77% mortality and a 54% decrease in fecundity on ASLA transgenics. Importantly, we did not observe a negative effect of the ASLA gene on ladybugs (Coccinella septempunctata) that consumed these whiteflies. Together, our findings demonstrate the potential of ASLA-transgenic cotton for providing protection against two devastating insect pests, whiteflies and aphids. The ASLA-transgenic cotton appears promising for direct commercial cultivation besides serving as a potential genetic resource in recombination breeding., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Despite the ongoing progress in detecting and treating cancer, there is still a need for extensive research into the molecular mechanisms involved in the emergence, progression, and resistance to recurrence of female reproductive tissue-specific cancers such as ovarian, breast, cervical, and endometrial cancers. The nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that exhibits increased expression in female tumors. Moreover, elevated levels of NEAT1 have been associated with poorer survival outcomes in cancer patients. NEAT1 plays a pivotal role in driving tumor initiation through modulating the expression of genes involved in various aspects of tumor cell proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), metastasis, chemoresistance, and radio-resistance. Mechanistically, NEAT1 acts as a scaffold RNA molecule via interacting with EZH2 (Enhancer of Zeste 2 Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 Subunit), thereby influencing the expression of downstream effectors of EZH2. Additionally, NEAT1 functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by microRNAs (miRNAs) sponging, consequently altering the expression levels of their target genes during the development of female cancers. This comprehensive review aims to shed light on the latest insights regarding the expression pattern, biological functions, and underlying mechanisms governing the function and regulation of NEAT1 in tumors. Furthermore, particular emphasis is placed on its clinical significance as a novel diagnostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target for female cancers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Vitamin B12, a water-soluble essential micronutrient, plays a pivotal role in numerous physiological processes in the human body. This review meticulously examines the structural complexity and the diverse mechanisms through which vitamin B12 exerts its preventive effects against a spectrum of health conditions, including pernicious anaemia, neurological disorders, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and complications in foetal development. The selection of articles for this review was conducted through a systematic search across multiple scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Criteria for inclusion encompassed relevance to the biochemical impact of vitamin B12 on health, peer-reviewed status and publication within the last decade. Exclusion criteria were non-English articles and studies lacking empirical evidence. This stringent selection process ensured a comprehensive analysis of vitamin B12's multifaceted impact on health, covering its structure, bioavailable forms and mechanisms of action. Clinical studies highlighting its therapeutic potential, applications in food fortification and other utilizations are also discussed, underscoring the nutrient's versatility. This synthesis aims to provide a clear understanding of the integral role of vitamin B12 in maintaining human health and its potential in clinical and nutritional applications. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.)

The use of pesticides has led to environmental pollution and posed a global health risk, since they remain as residues on foods. Beans one of the most widely cultivated crop in Africa, and susceptible to attack by insects both on field and during storage, leading to the application of pesticides to control pests' infestation. However, misuse of these chemicals by farmers on beans has resulted in the rejection of beans exported to European countries, due to the presence of pesticide residues at concentrations higher than the maximum residues levels (MRLs). In this study, the effectiveness of the Association Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) Official Method and the European Committee of Standardization (CEN) Standard Method, were determined using multivariate approach for the analysis of organochlorine pesticide residues in 6 varieties of beans samples. The significance of factors (mass of sample, volume of acetonitrile, mass of magnesium sulphate, sample pH, centrifugation time and speed) affecting the efficiency of extraction was estimated using Plackett-Burman design, while central composite design was used to optimize the significant factors. The following optimum factors were subsequently used for method validation, recovery tests, and real sample analysis: 4 g of sample sludge (1:1 v/v), 10 mL of acetonitrile, 4.45 g of MgSO 4 , and 5 min of centrifugation at 5000 rpm. The figure of merit of analytical methodology estimated using matrix-matched internal standard calibration method gave linearity ranging from 0.25 to 500 μg/kg, with correlation coefficient (R 2 ) greater than 0.99, the recovery ranged from 75.55 to 110.41 (RSD = 0.70-16.65), with LOD and LOQ of 0.23-1.77 μg/kg and 0.76-5.88 μg/kg, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Toxicity testing is an important tool for risk assessment of sediment contamination in estuaries. However, there has been a predominant focus on fitness parameters as toxic endpoints and on crustaceans as test organisms, while effects at the sub-organismal level and on other benthic taxa have received less attention. Also, interactions between sediment contamination and natural stressors such as oxygen are often neglected in traditional toxicity tests. Here we conducted a toxicity test of sediments from the Elbe and Oder (Odra) estuaries under three weeks of continuous and intermittent oxygenation, using biomarkers in an annelid, the ragworm Hediste diversicolor. Contaminated sediments affected worm survival and some biomarkers of antioxidant defense, electrophilic stress, and energy status with response ratios of above 20%. Toxic effects were most pronounced in sediments from the upper Elbe estuary, which contained high levels of heavy metals and organic chemicals. Oxygen regimes hardly changed the sediment effects, suggesting the robustness of the biomarker-based toxicity test with ragworms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A new probe, 4-(((3',6'-bis(diethylamino)-3-oxospiro[isoindoline-1,9'-xanthen]-2-yl)imino)methyl)phenyl)boronic acid (R4B) was prepared by facile condensation of 4-formylphenylboronic acid and rhodamine B hydrazide. R4B was characterized by spectroscopic methods and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The sensor R4B solution turned pink and emitted orange fluorescence only in the presence of sialic acid but remained colorless and non-fluorescent otherwise. The sugar recognition performance was investigated via UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopic studies. Our results revealed that R4B has good affinity and selectivity for sialic acid over common monosaccharides, with a detection limit as low as 10 -7 M. Furthermore, R4B selectively inhibited growth of human colorectal adenocarcinoma HT-29 (IC 50 <20 µM) without significant cytotoxicity to normal human colon fibroblasts CCD-18Co. Treatment with R4B suppressed HT-29 colony formation via mitochondrial apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. Cellular imaging studies also revealed the ability of R4B as a fluorescence dye to detect intracellular sialic acid and showed mitochondria-tracking ability in HT-29 cells. In summary, R4B is a potential theranostic for the detection of intracellular sialic acid during the early incubation period, followed by induction of cancer apoptotic cell death at a later treatment point., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide solution-enhanced dispersion (SEDS) was used to encapsulate hemp seed oil (HSO) within matrices of hemp seed protein isolate (HPI), pea protein (PPI) and soy protein (SPI) (0.5 % w/v) in complex with alginate (AL) (0.01 % w/v). The effects of different pH levels (3-9), NaCl concentrations (0-200 mmol/L) and simulated gastrointestinal conditions on HSO release and digestion patterns were analyzed. The findings revealed that SPI/AL microcapsules effectively maintained structural integrity and controlled oil release across diverse pH levels and salt concentrations. During gastrointestinal phases, minimal oil release was observed during oral digestion (<25 % for all samples), while significant (P < 0.05) gastric release occurred in PPI/AL (55.4 %) and SPI/AL (78.1 %) microcapsules. Surprisingly, HPI/AL microcapsules exhibited delayed and sustained release (27.9 %), indicating their potential as ideal wall material for delivering sensitive food and pharmaceutical ingredients to the intestinal stage while minimizing damage in the harsh gastric environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Here we demonstrate for the first time that an antibody-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-polymer conjugate thin-film biosensor can easily be fabricated to selectively capture Tau protein. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are employed as sensing elements, thus capitalizing on their propensity to undergo assembly or disassembly in response to the adsorption or conjugation of various biomolecules on their surface, thereby forming robust interactions with the target analyte. We show that the Tau protein in its different aggregation phases can be detected, by restricting the reaction area on the solid thin polymer film and thus reducing the diffusion effects usually encountered in immunosensors. A limit of detection (LOD) of 460 pg/mL was reached, demonstrating a great potential for detecting Tau in aggregation states. This sensor based on thin polymer film could open new routes for sensing and monitoring Tau protein in biological assays and biomedical diagnosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Patients with dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency in peripheral mononuclear cells are at higher risk of severe toxicity due to the improper dose of fluorouracil-based chemotherapy drugs, which has become an essential aspect for consideration in clinical studies. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a first-line and second-line chemotherapy drug in adjuvant, neoadjuvant, or palliative therapy settings to treat solid tumors and cancers. In this work, a novel in-syringe-based fast drug extraction (IS-FaDEx) technique followed by UHPLC-MS/MS detection was developed for rapid biomonitoring of 5-FU and its biometabolites in human blood samples. In this process, the 5-FU drug and its metabolites were extracted using 1 mL of extraction solvent, and then, the cleanup was performed with solid sorbents under an semi-automated setup. Under optimized conditions, method validation results showed an excellent linearity range from 1∼1000 ng mL -1 with correlation coefficients >0.99. The detection limits varied between 0.4 and 2.0 ng mL -1 , recoveries of 5-FU and its biometabolites ranged from 94.9-107.5%, and relative standard deviation were between 3.1-8.3%. The overall analytical GREEnness (AGREE) score for the proposed method was determined to be 0.83 using the AGREE metric approach, showing an excellent greenness profile. Therefore, the developed method proved efficient, robust, semi-automated, and rapid, which can considerably minimize solvent, salts, and sorbent usage following green and sustainable chemistry principles. The current approach showed effectiveness in drug monitoring investigations and can be beneficial for enhancing the efficacy and safety of 5-FU-based chemotherapy in colorectal cancer patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Cell immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic modality to combat unmet medical needs. Macrophages offer a prominent cell therapy modality since their phenotypic plasticity allows them to perform a variety of roles including defending against pathogens, inducing/suppressing adaptive immunity, and aiding in wound healing. At the same time, this plasticity is a major hurdle in implementation of macrophage therapy. This hurdle can be overcome by cellular backpacks (BPs), discoidal particles that adhere on the macrophage surface and regulate M1/M2 phenotypic shift in an environment-independent manner. In this study, we engineered IL-4 BPs for maintaining macrophages in the M2 phenotype to regulate excess inflammation in periodontitis, a major oral infectious disease. IL-4 BPs induced and maintained M2 phenotype in macrophages in vitro for several days. After injection of macrophages carrying IL-4 BPs into the gingiva, the cells stayed in the tissue for over 5 days and maintained the M2 phenotype in the disease sites. Furthermore, treatment with IL-4 BP-macrophages significantly suppressed the disease progression. Altogether, a treatment with BP-carrying macrophages offers a promising local therapy against periodontitis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest S.M., N.Ka. N. Ku, S·P and L.L.W. are inventors on patent applications related to backpacks (owned and managed by Harvard University)., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit unique properties and potential applications when reduced to one-dimensional (1D) nanoribbons (NRs), owing to quantum confinement and high edge densities. However, effective growth methods for self-aligned TMD NRs are still lacking. We demonstrate a versatile approach for lattice-guided growth of dense, aligned MoS 2 NR arrays via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on anisotropic sapphire substrates, without tailored surface steps. This method enables the synthesis of NRs with widths below 10 nanometers and longitudinal axis parallel to the zigzag direction, being also extensible to the growth of WS 2 NRs and MoS 2 -WS 2 heteronanoribbons. Growth is influenced by both substrate and CVD temperature, indicating the role of anisotropic precursor diffusion and substrate interaction. The 1D nature of the NRs was asserted by the observation of Coulomb blockade at low temperatures. Pronounced catalytic activity was observed at the edges of the NRs, indicating their promise for efficient catalysis.

Contamination of water resources by artificial coloring agents and the increasing incidence of bacterial illnesses are two significant environmental and public health issues that are getting worse day by day. Traditional treatment techniques frequently fail to address these problems adequately in a sustainable and environmental friendly way. In response, our study presents a novel photocatalyst that demonstrates superior photodegradation capability and antibacterial qualities in catering the above issues. Sonochemical synthesis route was adopted to synthesize the nanocomposite of zinc oxide/bismuth oxide (ZnO-Bi 2 O 3 ) along with pure ZnO and Bi 2 O 3 . X-ray diffraction investigation was performed to analyze the crystallographic structure and confirmed the formation of the composite. High-resolution transmission electron microscopic analysis showed that the particle size of the composite to be in 20 to 55 nm range with the formation of heterojunction at ZnO/Bi 2 O 3 interface. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopic and micro Raman studies of the nanocomposite sample helped to detect the presence of stretching vibrations linked with Zn and Bi ions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study revealed the chemical constitution and electronic states of the nanocomposite sample displaying the Zn 2p, Bi 4f, and O 1 s spectral lines. Investigation on the photocatalytic efficiency of the samples was done and the results showed an appreciable increase in photodegradation efficiency for the composite sample in degrading methylene blue (93.24%) and Congo red (92.47%) dyes in 180 min. The effect of pH, photocatalyst amount, and dye concentration on the efficiency of degradation was also been examined. Two primary causes of the enhanced performance of the composite are the generation of hydroxyl radicals (OH•) and the suppression of carrier recombination which is initiated by the synergistic combination of the two metal oxides in the nanocomposite. The nanocomposite sample was found to be stable and reusable for its effective use in environmental cleanup. By using the disk diffusion process, the antibacterial potential of the samples was analyzed and it was discovered that the nanocomposite showed an exceedingly superior antibacterial performance than the pristine samples in preventing the growth of two strains of bacteria, i.e., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: This is an observational study. The Centurion University Research Ethics Committee has confirmed that no ethical approval is required. Consent to participate: Not applicable as no research was conducted involving human subjects. Consent for publication: Not applicable as no research was conducted involving human subjects. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Several countries, including Canada and Australia, have developed public health-based lower-risk gambling limits to differentiate lower-risk from higher-risk gambling. This study aimed to identify a preliminary set of lower-risk gambling limits (gambling frequency, duration, expenditure, expenditure as a proportion of personal net income, and diversity), and investigate if gambling types are linked to additional harms, in a Swedish context. The study involved secondary analyses of two online survey studies using the Gambling Disorder Identification Test (GDIT). Receiver operating curve analyses were conducted in relation to both + 1 and + 2 gambling-related harms in a sample of 705 past-year gamblers. Potential lower-risk limits ranges identified were: gambling frequency of "2-3 times a week" to "4 or more times a week" (8-16 times monthly); gambling duration of 6 to 15 h per month; gambling expenditure of 2,000 SEK (approximately $USD190) per month; gambling expenditure as a proportion of personal net income of 5%; and gambling diversity of only one problematic gambling type. Gambling on slots and sports betting were associated with gambling-related harms. The lower-risk limits in the current study were higher than in previous studies, which may be explained by the large proportion of support- or treatment-seeking gamblers with high rates of problem gambling and problematic online gambling in the study sample. An international consensus-based framework on gambling consumption is warranted, with lower-risk limits validated in future empirical studies using larger datasets collected from the Swedish general population., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical Approval: Approvals from the Regional Ethics Board of Stockholm, Sweden (ref. no. 2017/1479-31 and 2022-03651-01). An analysis plan was published ( https://aspredicted.org/vf8mz.pdf and https://osf.io/zsq3v/ ) prior to study analyses. Competing Interests: The author declares no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Jakun, a Proto-Malay subtribe from Peninsular Malaysia, is believed to have inhabited the Malay Archipelago during the period of agricultural expansion approximately 4 thousand years ago (kya). However, their genetic structure and population history remain inconclusive. In this study, we report the genome structure of a Jakun female, based on whole-genome sequencing, which yielded an average coverage of 35.97-fold. We identified approximately 3.6 million single-nucleotide variations (SNVs) and 517,784 small insertions/deletions (indels). Of these, 39,916 SNVs were novel (referencing dbSNP151), and 10,167 were nonsynonymous (nsSNVs), spanning 5674 genes. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that the Jakun genome sequence closely clustered with the genomes of the Cambodians (CAM) and the Metropolitan Malays from Singapore (SG&#95;MAS). The ADMIXTURE analysis further revealed potential admixture from the EA and North Borneo populations, as corroborated by the results from the F3, F4, and TreeMix analyses. Mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed that the Jakun genome carried the N21a haplogroup (estimated to have occurred ~19 kya), which is commonly found among Malays from Malaysia and Indonesia. From the whole-genome sequence data, we identified 825 damaging and deleterious nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNVs) affecting 720 genes. Some of these variants are associated with age-related macular degeneration, atrial fibrillation, and HDL cholesterol level. Additionally, we located a total of 3310 variants on 32 core adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) genes. Of these, 193 variants are listed in PharmGKB, and 21 are nsSNVs. In summary, the genetic structure identified in the Jakun individual could enhance the mapping of genetic variants for disease-based population studies and further our understanding of the human migration history in Southeast Asia., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Research and Ethics Committee of Universiti Teknologi MARA [Ref no: 600-RMI (5/1/6)] and the Department of Orang Asli Development (Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli Malaysia, JAKOA) [JHEOA.PP.30.052. Jld 5(17)]. The subject consented to participate in this study., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Chronic lung infections are the primary cause of morbidity and early mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) and, as such, have been the subject of a great deal of research. Subsequently, they have become one of the key paradigms for polymicrobial infections. The literature, however, has traditionally focused on the presence of pathogens in isolation or univariate measures like number of species to predict decline of lung function and ignores large swathes of data. Here, we suggest that looking at the interactions between species identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, rather than at species singularly, could elucidate hitherto unknown properties of these complicated infections. To confirm this, pooled samples from studies conducted by our laboratory, sequenced using the same pipeline, were used to assess microbiome-wide associations to lung function. We found pathogenic interactions between species were limited to the most abundant species, which were composed of canonical CF pathogens (including Pseudomonas , Staphylococcus , Stenotrophomonas , and Achromobacter ) and commensals. This observation is crucial for better understanding of polymicrobial infections and treatment of these conditions while providing a simple framework for expanding this research into other disease states. The adoption of ecological principles into infection science can provide better understanding and options to those suffering from chronic conditions. The statistical ecology approach presented here enables clear hypotheses from observational data that can be ratified through subsequent manipulative experimental studies. Moreover, it can also be used to support the design and construction of clinically relevant in vitro models of polymicrobial infections., Importance: Research studies have repeatedly demonstrated that chronic lung infection in cystic fibrosis is polymicrobial and consequently does not adhere to the single microbe-based Koch's postulates. Despite the plethora of evidence, the role of the constituent taxa present is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate how an ecological modeling perspective on lung infection microbiota can tease out potential interactions that alter progression of disease. Using techniques akin to genome-wide association studies, we show and validate 22 taxa, present in the chronic respiratory disease associated with cystic fibrosis, which have significant interactions that are negatively associated with patient lung function, the majority of which are "non-pathogenic" organisms. This work highlights the need to understand the interactive landscapes of the microbiomes to fully appreciate the complexity and treat chronic lung infections. Furthermore, this presents testable hypotheses for manipulative experiments in model systems to elucidate key mechanisms to driving disease progression., Competing Interests: Outside the current work, D.W.R. and C.V.D.G. received funding from Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Transition metal oxide interfaces have garnered great attention due to their fascinating properties that are absent in their bulk counterparts. The high mobility and coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism at these interfaces remain compelling research topics. Here, we first report superconductivity in the 2DEG formed at the LaFeO 3 /SrTiO 3 interfaces, characterized by a superconducting transition temperature ( T c ) of 333 mK and a superconducting layer thickness of 13.7 nm. The observation of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition at low temperatures indicates the two-dimensional nature of the superconductivity. Such two-dimensional superconductivity can be tuned by applying a gate voltage ( V g ) across the SrTiO 3 substrate, showing a dome-shaped T c - V g dependence. Moreover, we observe a hysteretic behavior in the magnetoresistance in the superconducting regime, and the underlying mechanism requires further investigation. Our results unveil the superconducting characteristics of 2DEG at LaFeO 3 /SrTiO 3 interfaces and offer a new compelling platform to investigate emergent quantum phenomena at oxide interfaces.

Robust bipolar devices based on exclusively ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors are highly desired for advanced power electronics. The heterojunction strategy has been a prevailing method for fabricating a bipolar device due to the lack of effective bipolar doping in the same UWBG material. Here, we demonstrate a unique heterojunction design integrating the p-type diamond and n-type ε-Ga 2 O 3 that achieves remarkable breakdown voltages surpassing 3000 V. Despite the lattice mismatch, the heteroepitaxial ε-Ga 2 O 3 film is established on the diamond substrate, forming an atomically sharp interface with C-O-Ga bonding and enabling the O-terminated diamond surface for constructing an effective rectifying heterojunction. The ultra-high-quality interface, together with the lightly doped diamond as the drift layer, largely weakens the commonly met electric field crowding effect in power diodes and provides a cost-effective thermal management route. This study provides an efficient heterojunction design to realize the potential of UWBG semiconductors for ultra-high-power applications.

Fo32931 and FoCII5 are two subtypes of Fusarium oxysporum (Fo), a pathogenic filamentous fungus. Phenamacril (PHA), a Fusarium -specific fungicide that targets myosin I, exhibits significant hyphal growth inhibition in Fo32931 but shows weak resistance in FocII5 , despite only two amino acid differences in the PHA-binding pocket of myosin I. In this study, we aim to elucidate the molecular basis for the differential sensitivity of F. oxysporum myosin I variants (FoMyoI 32931 and FoMyoI cII5 ) to phenamacril through computational methods and biochemical validation. The results suggest that phenamacril functions as an allosteric inhibitor for FoMyoI 32931 , inhibiting the large oscillation of the converter lever domain (CLD) upon ATP binding and promoting the opening of the outer cleft, further impairing protein function. PHA significantly reduced the coupling between the CLD, especially the converter, and the catalytic center, diminishing the response of the CLD to the motor domain in FoMyoI 32931 . From the residue mutation experiment, we found that the S418T substitution in FoMyoI cII5 is the key to the reduced phenamacril sensitivity of FocII5 . According to the microscale thermophoresis (MST) assay and pocket conformation analysis, the S418T mutation disturbs the orientation of pocket residues, especially Lys537, leading to a looser pocket and reduced interaction between Lys537 and phenamacril, which lowers the binding affinity of FoMyoI cII5 for phenamacril. These findings provide deeper insights into the reasons for the lower sensitivity of FoCII5 to phenamacril from both molecular and structural perspectives and will also guide the design of novel inhibitors against resistant Fusarium spp., like FoCII5 .

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a neuroinvasive and neurovirulent orthoflavivirus, can be prevented in humans with the SA14-14-2 vaccine, a live-attenuated version derived from the wild-type SA14 strain. To determine the viral factors responsible for the differences in pathogenicity between SA14 and SA14-14-2, we initially established a reverse genetics system that includes a pair of full-length infectious cDNAs for both strains. Using this cDNA pair, we then systematically exchanged genomic regions between SA14 and SA14-14-2 to generate 20 chimeric viruses and evaluated their replication capability in cell culture and their pathogenic potential in mice. Our findings revealed the following: (i) The single envelope (E) protein of SA14-14-2, which contains nine mutations (eight in the ectodomain and one in the stem region), is both necessary and sufficient to render SA14 non-neuroinvasive and non-neurovirulent. (ii) Conversely, the E protein of SA14 alone is necessary for SA14-14-2 to become highly neurovirulent, but it is not sufficient to make it highly neuroinvasive. (iii) The limited neuroinvasiveness of an SA14-14-2 derivative that contains the E gene of SA14 significantly increases (approaching that of the wild-type strain) when two viral nonstructural proteins are replaced by their counterparts from SA14: (a) NS1/1', which has four mutations on the external surface of the core β-ladder domain; and (b) NS2A, which has two mutations in the N-terminal region, including two non-transmembrane α-helices. In line with their roles in viral pathogenicity, the E, NS1/1', and NS2A genes all contribute to the enhanced spread of the virus in cell culture. Collectively, our data reveal for the first time that the E protein of JEV has a dual function: It is the master regulator of viral neurovirulence and also the primary initiator of viral neuroinvasion. After the initial E-mediated neuroinvasion, the NS1/1' and NS2A proteins act as secondary promoters, further amplifying viral neuroinvasiveness., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2025 Song et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Termination of pregnancy continues to be one of the major public health problems. The prevalence and determinants associated with pregnancy termination among women from low-middle income countries such as Tanzania have previously not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study aims to explore the prevalence and determinants associated with pregnancy termination among Tanzanian women., Methods: Data for this study was extracted from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS). A total of 15,254 women aged 15-49 years, clustered in selected enumerated areas, participated in the survey. A modified Poisson regression model with sampling weights was used to find the factors that are associated with pregnancy termination., Results: The prevalence of pregnancy termination was 14.3% (95% CI: 13.81-14.75%). Our findings reveal that several factors are significantly associated with pregnancy termination. In particular, women's age, level of education, marital status, history of pregnancy losses, wealth status, attempt to delay or avoid getting pregnant outside the ideal birth spacing, and recent internet use, total children ever born, desire for more children, were significantly associated with pregnancy termination. Women who reside in rural areas, those covered by health insurance and those using contraceptives had a significantly lower likelihood of terminating pregnancy compared to their counterparts., Conclusions: The findings highlighted that the prevalence of terminating pregnancy is alarming in Tanzania, signaling a significant public health challenge. To address the concerning rates of pregnancy termination, the government of Tanzania and other institutions are advised to enhance the accessibility and quality of healthcare services for women, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Bridging socio-economic inequalities and removing geographic barriers to healthcare access will ensure women receive timely and adequate support., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All methods concerning human participants in our study were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards laid out in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. This study does not involve any experiment or interaction with human or animal subjects. The study uses secondary data from 2022 TDHS. The TDHS was reviewed and approved by the International Consulting and Fulfillment (ICF’s Inc.) Ethical Review Board. Researchers in this study obtained written permission from ICF to download and use the data. The dataset used in this study was anonymous. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing of interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Objective: This review aims to estimate the prevalence and incidence of zoonotic diseases from studies of populations from South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka)., Introduction: South Asia is of notable importance in terms of the prevalence and incidence of endemic zoonoses, as well as its role as a focal point for emerging zoonotic diseases., Inclusion Criteria: All populations residing in the 8 South Asian countries, irrespective of age/gender, will be considered. Primary outcomes will include studies estimating the prevalence and incidence of zoonotic diseases in South Asia. Secondary outcomes will include the burden of zoonotic diseases, including emergence and re-emergence., Methods: Databases including MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase (Ovid), Scopus, and Web of Science, as well as government websites, reports of multilateral agencies, and gray literature will be searched. Titles/abstracts, full screening, and critical appraisal of included studies will be conducted by 2 independent reviewers with adjudication by a third author. JBI guidelines for prevalence and incidence studies will be used to extract data from included studies. Critical appraisal of included studies will be conducted using the standard JBI checklists. Where feasible, statistical meta-analysis will be conducted to report the proportional representation related to prevalence and incidence using forest plots, along with the 95% CI. Publication bias will be assessed using Egger's test and funnel plots, if possible. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis will be conducted using standard methods. Where statistical pooling is not possible, tables and figures will be used to present the results in a narrative synthesis., Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42023450289., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2025 JBI.)

The synthesis and characterization of novel platinum(II) and platinum(IV) complexes derived from unsymmetrical ethylene or propylenediamine derivatives are presented. IR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry techniques were employed to characterize the complexes, revealing distinctive absorption bands and isotope patterns. Furthermore, the complexes were characterized by 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis elucidated the coordination geometry and intermolecular interactions of complexes 3, 4 and 6. Cytotoxicity evaluation of the complexes on various cell lines highlighted complex 3 as the most active, realizing its tumoricidal activity through induction of apoptosis and increased total caspase activity in MCF-7 cells. Since its application is followed by cytoprotective autophagy, the effectiveness can be additionally empowered by concomitant inhibition of this process. Furthermore, the Pt IV compound 3 induces oxidative stress in hemoglobin, and is reducible by glutathione, suggesting its potential as a carrier for the active Pt II precursor 2a to cancer cells without increasing cytotoxicity. Cyclic voltammetry corroborates the ability of complex 3 to undergo reduction under physiological conditions.

In the present scenario, cancerous tumours are common in humans due to major changes in nearby environments. Skin cancer is a considerable disease detected among people. This cancer is the uncontrolled evolution of atypical skin cells. It occurs when DNA injury to skin cells, or a genetic defect, leads to an increase quickly and establishes malignant tumors. However, in rare instances, many types of skin cancer occur from DNA changes tempted by infrared light affecting skin cells. This disease is a worldwide health problem, so an accurate and appropriate diagnosis is needed for efficient treatment. Current developments in medical technology, like smart recognition and analysis utilizing machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques, have transformed the analysis and treatment of these conditions. These approaches will be highly effective for the recognition of skin cancer utilizing biomedical imaging. This study develops a Multi-scale Feature Fusion of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks on Cancerous Tumor Detection and Classification (MFFDCNN-CTDC) model. The main aim of the MFFDCNN-CTDC model is to detect and classify cancerous tumours using biomedical imaging. To eliminate unwanted noise, the MFFDCNN-CTDC method initially utilizes a sobel filter (SF) for the image preprocessing stage. For the segmentation process, Unet3+ is employed, providing precise localization of tumour regions. Next, the MFFDCNN-CTDC model incorporates multi-scale feature fusion by combining ResNet50 and EfficientNet architectures, capitalizing on their complementary strengths in feature extraction from varying depths and scales of the input images. The convolutional autoencoder (CAE) model is utilized for the classification method. Finally, the parameter tuning process is performed through a hybrid fireworks whale optimization algorithm (FWWOA) to enhance the classification performance of the CAE model. A wide range of experiments is performed to authorize the performance of the MFFDCNN-CTDC approach. The experimental validation of the MFFDCNN-CTDC approach exhibited a superior accuracy value of 98.78% and 99.02% over existing techniques under ISIC 2017 and HAM10000 datasets., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Early diagnosis of cleft lip and palate (CLP) requires a multiplane examination, demanding high technical proficiency from radiologists. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate the first artificial intelligence (AI)-based model (CLP-Net) for fully automated multi-plane localization in three-dimensional(3D) ultrasound during the first trimester., Methods: This retrospective study included 418 (394 normal, 24 CLP) 3D ultrasound from 288 pregnant woman between July 2022 to October 2024 from Shenzhen Guangming District People's Hospital during the 11-13 + 6 weeks of pregnancy. 320 normal volumes were used for training and validation, while 74 normal and 24 CLP volumes were used for testing. Two experienced radiologists reviewed three standard lip and palate planes (mid sagittal, retronasal triangle, and maxillary axial planes) as ground truth (GT) and the CLP-Net was developed to locate these planes., Results: In normal test set, mean angle(± SD)° and distance(± SD)mm differences were 6.24 ± 4.83, 9.81 ± 5.48, 15.36 ± 18.14 and 0.86 ± 0.72, 1.36 ± 1.15, 1.96 ± 2.35 for MSP ± SD, RTP ± SD and MAP ± SD, NCC and SSIM were 0.931 ± 0.079, 0.819 ± 0.122, 0.781 ± 0.157 and 0.896 ± 0.058, 0.785 ± 0.076, 0.726 ± 0.088 respectively. In the CLP cases, there were 8.61 ± 5.52, 10.67 ± 5.08, 16.91 ± 17.42 and 1.03 ± 1.20, 1.17 ± 1.08, 1.34 ± 0.95 for mean angle and distance in MSP, RTP, and MAP, respectively. NCC and SSIM were 0.876 ± 0.104, 0.803 ± 0.084, 0.793 ± 0.089 and 0.841 ± 0.105, 0.812 ± 0.085, 0.764 ± 0.100, respectively. CLP-Net predictions had a highly visual acceptance rate among radiologists (MSP: 95%, RTP: 70%, MAP: 70%), with improved localization speed 15s(31.3%) for senior radiologists and 63s(38.9%) for junior radiologists., Conclusions: CLP-Net accurately locates three planes for CLP screening, aiding radiologists and enhancing the efficiency of ultrasound examinations., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the People’s Hospital of Guangming District, Shenzhen (LL-KT-2023090) and followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not Applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Many efforts to increase the uptake of e-mental health (eMH) have failed due to a lack of knowledge and skills, particularly among professionals. To train health care professionals in technology, serious gaming concepts such as educational escape rooms are increasingly used, which could also possibly be used in mental health care. However, such serious-game concepts are scarcely available for eMH training for mental health care professionals., Objective: This study aims to co-design an escape room for training mental health care professionals' eMH skills and test the escape room's usability by exploring their experiences with this concept as a training method., Methods: This project used a research through design approach with 3 design stages. In the first stage, the purpose, expectations, and storylines for the escape room were formulated in 2 co-design sessions with mental health care professionals, game designers, innovation staff, and researchers. In the second stage, the results were translated into the first escape room, which was tested in 3 sessions, including one web version of the escape room. In the third stage, the escape room was tested with mental health care professionals outside the co-design team. First, 2 test sessions took place, followed by 3 field study sessions. In the field study sessions, a questionnaire was used in combination with focus groups to assess the usability of the escape room for eMH training in practice., Results: An escape room prototype was iteratively developed and tested by the co-design team, which delivered multiple suggestions for adaptations that were assimilated in each next version of the prototype. The field study showed that the escape room creates a positive mindset toward eMH. The suitability of the escape room to explore the possibilities of eMH was rated 4.7 out of 5 by the professionals who participated in the field study. In addition, it was found to be fun and educational at the same time, scoring 4.7 (SD 0.68) on a 5-point scale. Attention should be paid to the game's complexity, credibility, and flexibility. This is important for the usefulness of the escape room in clinical practice, which was rated an average of 3.8 (SD 0.77) on a 5-point scale. Finally, implementation challenges should be addressed, including organizational policy and stimulation of eMH training., Conclusions: We can conclude that the perceived usability of an escape room for training mental health care professionals in eMH skills is promising. However, it requires additional effort to transfer the learnings into mental health care professionals' clinical practice. A straightforward implementation plan and testing the effectiveness of an escape room on skill enhancement in mental health care professionals are essential next steps to reach sustainable goals., (©Joyce J P A Bierbooms, Wouter R J W Sluis-Thiescheffer, Milou Anne Feijt, Inge M B Bongers. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 07.01.2025.)

The dynamics of many macromolecular machines are characterized by chemically mediated structural changes that achieve large-scale functional deployment through local rearrangements of constitutive protein subunits. Motivated by recent high-resolution structural microscopy of a particular class of such machines, contractile injection systems (CISs), we construct a coarse-grained semianalytical model that recapitulates the geometry and bistability of CISs in terms of a minimal set of measurable physical parameters. We use this model to predict the size, shape, and speed of a dynamical actuation front that underlies contraction. Scaling laws for the velocity and physical extension of the contraction front are consistent with our numerical simulations and may be generally applicable to related systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent decades, poorly insulated windows have increased the energy consumption of heating and cooling systems, thus contributing to excessive carbon dioxide emissions and other related pollution issues. From this perspective, the electrochromic (EC) windows could be a tangible solution as the indoor conditions are highly controllable by these smart devices even at a low applied voltage. Literally, vanadium pentoxide (V 2 O 5 ) is a renowned candidate for the EC application due to its multicolor appearance and substantial lithium insertion capacity. Despite the growing interest in V 2 O 5 thin films, only limited literature study is available for V 2 O 5 films specifically the annealing effects of these films at lower temperatures (< 300 °C). It is noteworthy that a low temperature is advantageous for glass-based EC devices, as it prevents deformation, cracking, and structural damage to the transparent conductive glass. In this study, V 2 O 5 thin films were fabricated using the sol-gel spin coating technique prior to annealing over the temperature range of 100-300 °C. Subsequently, V 2 O 5 thin films were assembled into a device form to analyze their EC characteristics. The V 2 O 5 device, featuring thin film annealed at 200 °C, demonstrated excellent EC performance with high optical contrast of 42.32%, high coloration efficiency (CE) of 34.93 cm 2 /C, as well as rapid coloring and bleaching times of 0.4 s and 3 s, respectively. These results shed light on the importance of annealing temperature control towards the EC performance of V 2 O 5 devices for future applications., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

To examine changes in symptoms and health status in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) 24 months after participating in the mindfulness-based group-program, the Vitality Training (VTP), followed by physical exercise counselling. Seventy-six participants, mean age (range) 43 (26-52), females 69 (91%), diagnosed with FM according to the ACR 2011-criteria received the VTP in a previous randomised controlled trial. Control group participants could receive the VTP after a 12-month observation period, therefore only data from the intervention group were analysed in the present study. Self-reported data were collected electronically at baseline, 3, 12 and 24 months. Outcomes were patient global impression of change (PGIC), FM-severity, i.e. widespread pain (WPI) and symptom severity (SSS), pain, fatigue, sleep quality, psychological distress, motivation and barriers for physical activity, mindfulness and work participation. Trends across time-points were analysed using mixed models for repeated measurements. At 24-months, 48 (56.5%) participants responded, 94% female, median (range) age 46 (28-54), symptom duration 12 (5-33) years. Seven participants reported much/very much better on the PGIC; 21 (44%) reported no change/minimal improvement. Improvements were observed in WPI (-1.9, ES 0.4), SSS (-1.2, ES 0.6), fatigue (-0.8, p =.014) and self-efficacy for physical activity (1.4, ES 0.4). There was a significant trend of reduced WPI, SSS, pain and fatigue across the four time-points, but no additional improvements from 12 to 24-month follow-up. Participants who had completed the VTP demonstrated small to moderate improvements in symptom burden and FM-severity from baseline to 24-month follow-up. Trial registration number: ISRCTN96836577 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN96836577 , prospectively registered 12.07.2016., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (2015/2447/REK sør-øst A 04/02/2016). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before inclusion in the study. Open data sharing note: Data are available on request to the corresponding author. Open access funding note: I confirm that my institution VID Specialized University (VID vitenskapelige høgskole) has an Open Access agreement with Springer Journals. Note about related congress abstract publication: Zangi HA, Haugmark T, Provan S Aa, Hagen KB. High symptom burden and limited changes in fibromyalgia patients’ health status two years after participation in a multicomponent rehabilitation programme. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2022-eular.4532 . Competing interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

The widespread discharge of organic dyes into the wastewater from various industrial processes has develop a major environmental apprehension in the modern world. To tackle such environmental issues, we are synthesizing a novel catalyst of composition, Ba 1 - x Co x Dy y Fe 12-y O 19 (x = y = 0.02-0.06) using sol-gel auto-combustion (SGAC) for the photocatalytic eradication of malachite green dye (MGD). The fabricated sample show single-phase hexagonal structure. The hexagonal-shaped grains are seen in the field emission spectroscopy (FESEM) visuals of prepared hexaferrites. The oxidation states of every element present in the developed specimens are investigated using the X-ray photoelectron spectrophotometer scrutinized. The specific surface area (SSA) of the HF1 sample is 3.523 m 2 /g, whereas the band gap values of co-doped barium hexaferrites are found within the range of 1.61 to 1.75 eV. The magnetic analysis of developed hexaferrites indicates that increasing the concentration of Dy and Co, raised in the saturation magnetization and declines in coercivity. The conducted photocatalytic evaluations reveal that the removal efficiencies of 89.85%, 91.12%, and 94.36% are obtained for the prepared HF1, HF2, and HF3 hexaferrites after 90 min of natural irradiation. Moreover, the capability for the reusability of the synthesized hexaferrites is assessed over a series of five consecutive experimental cycles. As a result, this research delves at potential applications of co-doped BaFe 12 O 19 hexaferrites in the photocatalytic eradication of MGD for environmental applications., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: One of the author, Arun Inamadar is current AE for BMJ case reports.

Accurate estimation of interfacial tension (IFT) between nitrogen and crude oil during nitrogen-based gas injection into oil reservoirs is imperative. The previous research works dealing with prediction of IFT of oil and nitrogen systems consider synthetic oil samples such n-alkanes. In this work, we aim to utilize eight machine learning methods of Decision Tree (DT), AdaBoost (AB), Random Forest (RF), K-nearest Neighbors (KNN), Ensemble Learning (EL), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network (MLP-ANN) to construct data-driven intelligent models to predict crude oil - nitrogen IFT based upon experimental data of real crude oils samples encountered in underground oil reservoirs. Several statistical indices and graphical approaches are used as accuracy performance indicators. The results show that virtually all the gathered datapoints are suitable for the purpose of model development. The sensitivity analysis indicated that pressure, temperature and crude oil API all negatively affect the IFT, with pressure being the most effective factor. The evaluation study proved that Random Forest is the most accurate developed intelligent model as it was characterized with acceptable R-squared (0.959), mean square error (1.65), average absolute relative error (6.85%) of unseen test datapoints as well as with correct trend prediction of IFT with regard to all input parameters of pressure, temperature and crude oil API. The developed model can be considered an accurate an easy-to-use tool for the prediction of crude oil/N 2 IFT values for enhance oil recovery study optimization and upstream reservoir investigations., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background: Understanding the size and surface charge (ζ-potential) of particles in the mixed micellar fraction produced by in vitro digestion is crucial to understand their cellular absorption and transport. The inconsistent presentation of micellar size data, often limited to average particle diameter, makes comparison of studies difficult. The present study aimed to assess different size data representations (mean particle diameter, relative intensity- or volume-weighted size distribution) to better understand physiological mixed micelle characteristics and to provide recommendations for size reporting and sample handling., Results: Dietary compounds (RRR-α-tocopherol, retinyl-palmitate, β-carotene, curcumin and naringenin) underwent a simplified in vitro digestion, whereas foods (spinach and red cabbage) were subjected to both a simplified and the INFOGEST 2.0 digestions. Dynamic light scattering was used to measure size and surface charge of the mixed micelles. A significant percentage of particles above the 200 nm filter cut-off was observed, indicating aggregation and dynamic size changes in the mixed micellar fraction. Freezing of the mixed micelles notably enhanced the aggregation., Conclusion: The determination of particle size in polydisperse mixed micellar fractions is challenging, and relying solely on average particle diameter can be misleading. Especially in more polydisperse samples, parameters such as polydispersity index and volume-weighted distribution should accompany average particle diameter data. To minimize the effect of freezing on particle size, we recommend filtering the digesta after storage (freezing), as this leads to similar size distribution compared to mixed micellar fraction measured directly after digestion. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.)

The progression of tumors has been demonstrated to have a strong correlation with ferroptosis. Bis(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylphenyl) sulfone (TMBPS) has been shown to effectively inhibit the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but its underlying mechanism is not clear. In this study, ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) was employed to explore whether the death of HCC cells caused by TMBPS is related to ferroptosis. The intracellular lipid peroxides, Fe 2+ , malondialdehyde (MDA), GSH/GSSG, mitochondrial morphology, and potential of HCC cells were detected after TMBPS treatment. The target of TMBPS was predicted by the molecular docking approach and verified via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), western blot, and cellular heat transfer assay (CETSA). Our results revealed that Fer-1 effectively reversed the cell death induced by TMBPS in HCC cells. Treatment with TMBPS induced typical ferroptosis features, including increased levels of intracellular lipid peroxides, Fe 2+ , and MDA, along with a decreased GSSH/GSH ratio and mitochondrial potential. These effects were reversed by overexpressing SLC7A11. These findings suggest that the cell death triggered by TMBPS in HCC cells is linked to ferroptosis, potentially mediated through the inhibition of SLC7A11 expression., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum gilo group) is a nutritious vegetable widely commercialized in Ghana. In the 2021 planting season (May-July), collar rot symptoms were observed on African eggplant on a farm at Domeabra, Legon, and Okumaning in the Central (N5° 48' 11″, W1° 26' 48″), Greater Accra (N5° 39' 34″, W0° 11' 34″) and Eastern (N6° 8' 34″, W0° 55' 59″) regions of Ghana, respectively. Disease incidence was 8-15% in the different farms. Infected plants showed gray-colored lesions at the collar region, soft root rot, and, eventually, wilted due to stem girdling. Thin mycelia were observed on the affected parts of the stem and roots. To identify the causal agent, small portions of diseased stem tissues were submerged in 2% NaOCl for 2 min and rinsed thrice in sterile distilled water (SDW). Next, they were transferred to PDA, amended with ampicillin (50 mg/ml), and then incubated at 25°C for 3 days. Twelve isolates purified by the hyphal-tip culture method were similar morphologically, fluffy with a smooth texture like fine chamois, initially cottony white, and turning pale orange at the center with aging. They were fast-growing, reaching 63.7 to 72.1 cm in diameter. Hyphae were hyaline, septate, branched, 1.4 to 3.1 µm in diameter. These morphological features resembled Paramarasmius sp., classified originally as Marasmius (Sharples) (Antonín et al., 2022). Genomic DNA was extracted from the mycelia of three isolates from the various sampling regions for molecular identification. Two rDNA regions, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and mitochondria small subunit (mtSSU), were amplified and sequenced using the ITS1/ITS4 and MS1/MS2 primers, respectively (White et al., 1990). BLASTn analysis of the ITS and the mtSSU sequences revealed a 99.9% and 99.8% identity to P. palmivorus (MN871733.1 and MN794124.1, respectively), further confirmed by phylogenetic analyses. To confirm pathogenicity, the inoculum was made by transferring mycelial plugs from three isolates into autoclaved millet grains, pre-soaked in SDW for 6 hrs. The cultures were incubated at 25 ± 1°C for 8 days, with regular shaking every 2 days to ensure uniform growth. Subsequently, fungal inoculation was made by placing three grains colonized by mycelia close to the stem base of a 21-day-old healthy seedling of African eggplant (cv. Kotobi) raised in pots filled with sterilized potting soil. Each fungal treatment consisted of six replicates of inoculated plants. Three plants were mock-inoculated with autoclaved grains to serve as control treatments, and the experiment was repeated twice. The plants were kept in a screen house with a 12/12 hrs light-dark cycle at 28 ± 3°C. Daily irrigation was done using SDW. Five days after inoculation, typical stem rot symptoms developed at the collar region, characterized by grey water-soaked lesions and thin white mycelium. Next, the seedlings toppled, wilted, and died within 7-14 days. No symptoms were observed in the mock-inoculated plants. The pathogen was reisolated from infected plants on PDA and confirmed as P. palmivorus according to the molecular approach outlined above. P. palmivorus has been recorded to cause bunch rot in oil palm and thread blight disease of cocoa in Ghana (Amoako-Attah et al., 2020). To our knowledge, this study is the first record of P. palmivorus affecting African eggplant in Ghana, and it emphasizes the need to control and determine the host range of this pathogen.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate different machine learning algorithms for predicting body weight (BW) in Sujiang pigs using the following morphological traits: age, body length (BL), backfat thickness (BFT), chest circumference (CC), body height (BH), chest width (CW), and hip width (HW). Additionally, this study also investigated which machine learning algorithms could accurately and efficiently predict body weight in pigs using a limited set of morphological traits. For this purpose, morphological measurements of 365 mature (180 ± 5 days) Sujiang pigs from the Jiangsu Sujiang Pig Breeding Farm in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, China were used. The age of the pigs (180 ± 5 days) was also included as a nominal predictor. In total, 218 individual measurements were obtained after data preprocessing. In the Sujiang pig dataset, BW had a significantly positive and high linear relationship with BH, BL, CW, HW, and CC resulting in values of 0.66, 0.72, 0.81, 0.84, and 0.88, respectively (p < 0.01). Artificial neural network (ANN), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), and classification and regression tree (CART) algorithms were used to predict BW. Overall, the ANN algorithm outperformed the other algorithms in this pig dataset according to the goodness of fit criteria of R 2  = 0.85, RMSE = 3.98, MAD = 3.25, MAPE = 4.25, SDR = 0.39, RAE = 0.002, MRAE = 0.008, and AIC = 97.96. The ANN algorithm was trained using several training algorithms, such as the Levenberg‒Marquardt algorithm, Bayesian regularization, and scaled conjugate gradient. In addition, the number of neurons in the hidden layer was manipulated to 2, 3, or 4. All training algorithms yielded similar results. However, when the predictor variables were HW, BL, and BH, the Levenberg-Marquardt network had the best ability to predict body weight in Sujiang pigs (R 2  = 0.83). When BH measurements were not included in the model, the model's predictive ability decreased by approximately 5%. According to the results, the use of Levenberg‒Marquardt and Bayesian Regularization in the ANN algorithm can help improve breeding strategies. The traits determined to be the best predictors of BW in Sujiang pigs using the ANN algorithm can be used as indirect selection criteria in the future. This study suggests that different age stages, breeds, and morphological traits can be used to accurately predict BW in pigs in future research. These findings indicate that the ANN algorithm is a powerful tool for accurately predicting pig BW using a limited set of traits. The results of the ANN model can be used to establish selection criteria and breed standards for Sujiang pigs., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: In the present study, open access data were used. In the original study, the authors stated that all procedures were approved by the ethics committee of Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Bright daylight has various positive influences, such as the long-term synchronization of circadian rhythms and an associated alertness that creates optimal conditions for attentional performance. However, the short-term effects of light on attention have not yet been sufficiently researched. Studies of these short-term effects on selective attention also showed partly contradictory effects. To investigate these short-term effects, 95 participants completed the Attention Network Test, under conditions of bright daylight or warm-white light. The focus of the present study was on executive attention, because this construct comes closest to the ANT short form of selective attention used. A significant enhancement of executive attention was observed under bright daylight conditions. This specifically means a short term effect of bright daylight on executive attention and thus selective attention in young adults., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2025 Wessolowski, Rahim. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The field of healthcare diagnostics is navigating complex challenges driven by evolving patient demographics and the rapid advancement of new technologies worldwide. In response to these challenges, these biosensors offer distinctive advantages over traditional diagnostic methods, such as cost-effectiveness, enhanced specificity, and adaptability, making their integration with point-of-care (POC) platforms more feasible. In recent years, aptasensors have significantly evolved in diagnostic capabilities through the integration of emerging technologies such as microfluidics, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) systems, wearable devices, and machine learning (ML), driving progress in precision medicine and global healthcare solutions. Moreover, these advancements not only improve diagnostic accuracy but also hold the potential to revolutionize early detection, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes, especially in resource-limited settings. This Account examines key advancements, focusing on how scientific breakthroughs, including artificial intelligence (AI), have improved sensitivity and precision. Additionally, the integration of aptasensors with these technologies has enabled real-time monitoring and data analysis, fostering advances in personalized healthcare. Furthermore, the potential commercialization of aptasensor technologies could increase their availability in clinical settings and support their use as widespread solutions for global health challenges. Hence, this review discusses technological improvements, practical uses, and prospects while also focusing on the challenges surrounding standardization, clinical validation, and interdisciplinary collaboration for widespread application. Finally, ongoing efforts to address these challenges are key to ensure that aptasensors can be effectively implemented in diverse healthcare systems.

This theoretical work focuses on the application of Tamm resonance-based biosensing using a one-dimensional photonic crystal for detecting skin vitiligo, a condition caused by the loss of pigment in the body. This biosensor utilizes the interaction of light with the photonic structure to identify the specific biomarkers associated with vitiligo. The proposed structure is composed of prism/Ag/skin-sample/(GaP/PS) N /glass. The MATLAB simulations are used to obtain numerical results pertaining to the work by using the transfer matrix method (TMM). The analysis of transmission spectra of the proposed structure shows its minute sensing ability of detecting skin vitiligo. The proposed sensor possesses a higher sensitivity of 1200 nm/RIU which is higher than the sensitivities of the sensor reported earlier. Moreover, the suggested biosensor possesses an extremely high-quality factor value of 40,650 with an exceptionally small full-width-half-maximum value of 0.04 nm., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Commissioning for health services has been implemented as one approach to improve the quality and access to healthcare for First Nations, regional and remote populations. This review systematically scoped the literature for studies that described or evaluated the governance, funding, implementation and outcomes from health service commissioning targeting these groups in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States (CANZUS nations)., Methods: Seventeen databases were searched for relevant peer reviewed and grey literature studies published in English from 2010 to 2023. Grounded theory methods were used to identify the enablers and strategies or processes that support commissioning and any challenges to implementation., Results: Overall, 29 Peer reviewed and 18 grey literature studies remained after screening. The studies reported enabling conditions for effective commissioning including operating models that were responsive to beneficiary needs, workforce and technical capability, flexibility and duration of contracts, adequate funding, and achievable health outcomes and indicators. Supporting strategies focussed on multi-actor collaboration, relationship building, and service innovation. Reported impacts included improved access to care, and self-determination and wellbeing for First Nations populations. Challenges related to inflexible funding, high transaction costs, overcompliance, and poor relationships. Most studies were process evaluations or descriptions of the application of commissioning to various health areas, with comparatively limited assessment of the impacts across the health system, or on health status., Conclusion: Findings suggests that a relational model drives success in commissioning for health and wellbeing services for First Nations, regional and remote populations. The relational model presented in this review is supported by the following attributes: responsive, resourced, collaborative, equitable, innovative and self-determined: and when applied by multiple actors in the commissioning process can address the complex health and wellbeing needs of end users., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was provided by: Central Queensland University, approval number Human Research Ethics Committee (ID: 0000023943) and; Queensland Health, Far North Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/2023/QCH/97970 (Jun ver 2) – 1723). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Single-cell proteomics (SCP) detected based on different technologies always involves batch-specific variations because of differences in sample processing and other potential biases. How to integrate SCP data effectively has become a great challenge. Integration of SCP data not only requires the conservation of true biological variances, but also realizes the removal of unwanted batch effects. In this study, benchmarking analysis of popular data integration methods was conducted to determine the most suitable method for SCP data. To comprehensively evaluate the performance of these integration methods, a novel evaluation system was proposed for integrating SCP data. This evaluation system consists of three objective measures from different perspectives: category ( a ), the efficacy of correcting batch effects; category ( b ), the power of conserving biological variances; and category ( c ), the ability to identify consistent markers. For this comprehensive evaluation, five benchmark data sets under different scenarios (containing substantial proteins, substantial cells, multiple batches, multiple cell types, and unbalanced data) were utilized for selecting the most suitable data integration method. As a result, three methods, ComBat, Scanorama, and Seurat version 3 CCA, were identified as the most recommended methods for integrating SCP data. Overall, this systematic evaluation might provide valuable guidance in choosing the appropriate method for data integration in the SCP.

Temporal binding describes an illusory compression of time between voluntary actions and their effects. In two experiments, using stable, preexisting action-effect associations, we investigated whether motor identity prediction (prediction of the effect's identity) enhances temporal binding. Touch-typists performed keystrokes and were presented with congruent (corresponding letter) or incongruent (noncorresponding letter) effects after different intervals. Touch-typists estimated the interval between keystrokes and effects. In both experiments, interval estimates were shorter with congruent than with incongruent effects, indicating that motor identity prediction contributes to temporal binding when using stable, preexisting action-effect associations. The congruency effect disappeared over the time course of Experiment 1 (in which incongruent effects were three times more likely than congruent effects), whereas it remained stable in Experiment 2 (in which congruent and incongruent effects were equally likely). Thus, the impact of motor identity prediction on temporal binding is context-sensitive. Even with highly overlearned action-effect associations, participants seem very flexible in adapting their internal predictions about an effect's identity. They may cease to use previously acquired action-effect associations in contexts in which their predictions are less reliable, thereby diminishing the influence of motor identity prediction on temporal binding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).