Nevin Manimala

Poult Sci. 2026 Jul 3;105(10):107393. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107393. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated a microencapsulated blend of organic acids and cinnamon extract (OAs-C) as a natural alternative to antibiotic growth promoters. A total of 360 day-old male Ross 308 chicks were assigned to four dietary treatments: a negative control (NC), a positive control with antibiotics (PC), and two supplement levels at 1.5 or 3.0 g/kg. The 3.0 g/kg dose significantly increased body weight gain (BWG; P = 0.005) and improved the cumulative FCR (P = 0.014). Feed intake (FI), Newcastle disease virus antibody (NDV) titers or serum antioxidant parameters, specifically malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) remained statistically unaffected by the OAs-C treatments (P > 0.05). Morphometric analysis of the jejunum revealed that villus height (VH) and villus width (VW) were not significantly influenced by the 1.5 and 3 g/kg OAs-C. The PC and 1.5 g/kg groups significantly reduced jejunal crypt depth (CD; P = 0.033). Compared to the control, birds supplemented with 1.5 g/kg OAs-C achieved the highest VH/CD ratio (quadratic P-value = 0.021). Furthermore, the 3.0 g/kg inclusion level significantly expanded the villus surface area (VSA) with linear (P = 0.030) trend. Apparent ileal Ash digestibility showed significant linear (P = 0.041) and quadratic (P = 0.038) effects. Supplementation with 3.0 g/kg OAs-C induced significant linear and quadratic increases (P < 0.01) in the digestibility of crude protein (CP) and calcium (Ca). Regarding apparent ileal phosphorus (P) digestibility, a significant quadratic response (P < 0.001) was observed, with the 1.5 g/kg dose providing the optimal result. In conclusion, the microencapsulated OAs-C blend enhances broiler growth and feed efficiency primarily by optimizing intestine morphology and improving nutrient utilization.

PMID:42413181 | DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2026.107393

J Contam Hydrol. 2026 Jun 29;282:105035. doi: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2026.105035. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Groundwater contamination associated with legacy landfills is a major environmental concern in rapidly urbanising regions. This study investigates the seasonal hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater surrounding the Ghazipur landfill in East Delhi, India, using an integrated framework that combines compositional data analysis (CoDA), entropy-weighted water quality indexing (EWQI), multivariate statistics, hydrochemical facies analysis, and hydrogeological interpretation. Groundwater samples collected during the pre-monsoon (n = 14) and monsoon (n = 60) seasons of 2023 were analysed for major ions and physicochemical parameters. Hydrochemical facies analysis, Gibbs plots, bivariate relationships, and CLR-transformed PCA collectively indicate that groundwater chemistry is predominantly influenced by anthropogenic salinity enrichment associated with landfill leachate and urban contamination. Strong near-stoichiometric Na⁺-Cl^– relationships suggest conservative dissolved-ion transport within the shallow aquifer system, whereas NO₃^– exhibited spatially heterogeneous behaviour independent of the dominant salinity system, indicating mixed anthropogenic nitrogen inputs potentially associated with landfill-derived nitrogen transformation, sewage leakage, urban wastewater, and regional slaughterhouse-related organic waste activities. Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis confirmed that the nitrate dominant PCA structure remained statistically robust despite unequal seasonal sample sizes. Spatial EWQI mapping revealed substantial monsoonal expansion of groundwater-quality deterioration, particularly within downgradient southeastern sectors of the study area. The study demonstrates that monsoonal recharge enhances contaminant redistribution and modifies hydrochemical structure within shallow urban aquifers rather than simply diluting groundwater chemistry. The integrated CoDA-based framework implemented in this study provides an effective approach for evaluating complex groundwater contamination processes in landfill-affected urban environments.

PMID:42413164 | DOI:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2026.105035

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2026 Jul 7;27(9):106371. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106371. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis of depression may be challenging in older adults with dementia because of atypical symptoms and overlap with other comorbidities. While the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) is the gold standard for screening, the Saint Louis University-Appetite, Mood, Sleep, Activity, and Thoughts of Death (SLU-AMSAD), another brief screening tool designed to assess late-life depression, seems to be more practical than the CSDD, with a shorter test duration.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional validation study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In this study, conducted at a geriatric outpatient clinic, a total of 111 patients with dementia were enrolled, and both depression and dementia were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria.

METHODS: The SLU-AMSAD was administered to both patients and caregivers, along with the CSDD. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between the SLU-AMSAD and CSDD. The diagnostic accuracy of the SLU-AMSAD was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis, with the area under the curve (AUC).

RESULTS: Caregiver-reported SLU-AMSAD scores demonstrated a strong correlation with CSDD (r = 0.875; P < .001), whereas patient-reported SLU-AMSAD scores exhibited a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.384; P < .001). With an optimal cutoff of ≥3, diagnostic performance was substantially stronger for the caregiver-reported SLU-AMSAD-achieving 95.3% sensitivity and 93.6% specificity (AUC, 0.984; 95% CI, 0.965-1.000; P < .001)-whereas the patient-reported SLU-AMSAD yielded a sensitivity of 59.4% and a specificity of 83% (AUC, 0.731; 95% CI, 0.638-0.823; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The SLU-AMSAD is a valid and practical screening tool for depression in older adults with dementia. Given the shorter duration and strong caregiver-reported performance, it should be integrated into clinical dementia assessment, facilitating early detection and intervention for depression in such a vulnerable patient group.

PMID:42413154 | DOI:10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106371

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2026 Jul 7;27(8):106342. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106342. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To examine the short-term within-individual changes in residents’ depressive and behavioral symptoms following the March 2020 lockdown in US nursing homes.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Nursing home residents in US nursing homes operating from 2019 to 2020.

METHODS: Residents in 2020 were considered exposed to the lockdown, and residents in 2019 were considered not exposed to the lockdown. Using the national Minimum Data Set 3.0, outcomes included changes in depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ]-9 or PHQ-10-OV) and behavioral symptoms (Agitated and Reactive Behavior Scale), examined as continuous score changes and binary adverse severity changes between baseline and follow-up (PHQ-9: n₂₀₂₀ = 499,984, n₂₀₁₉ = 514,378; PHQ-10-OV: n₂₀₂₀ = 47,371, n₂₀₁₉ = 51,398; Agitated and Reactive Behavior Scale: n₂₀₂₀ = 628,332, n₂₀₁₉ = 641,403). Mixed-effects models with facility random intercepts estimated changes in symptom scores and generalized estimating equations with a log link to estimate the risk ratios of adverse severity changes. Statistical interactions between the lockdown and resident cognitive impairment, facility ownership, size, overall ratings, and staffing levels were examined. Sensitivity analyses were conducted among residents in states with state-level visitation bans.

RESULTS: No clinically meaningful within-individual, short-term changes in depressive or behavioral symptom scores were observed. Associations did not meaningfully differ across resident cognitive impairment levels, facility characteristics, or states with visitation bans. For residents with minimal or mild depressive symptoms at baseline, those exposed to the lockdown were 22% and 39% more likely to experience worsening symptoms than those unexposed, whereas those with very severe behavioral symptoms at baseline were 7% less likely to show no improvement. These associations were slightly stronger in states with visitation bans.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings should be interpreted with measurement sensitivity, residents’ lived experiences, and nursing home efforts to address social isolation in mind, underscoring the need for more responsive and timely assessments and for balanced approaches that consider both infection control and residents’ psychosocial well-being.

PMID:42413137 | DOI:10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106342

Biomedica. 2026 Apr 28;46(Sp. 1):118-128. doi: 10.7705/biomedica.8220.

ABSTRACT

Introducción. Las infecciones virales, bacterianas y fúngicas constituyen un importante problema de salud, asociado a un incremento significativo de la morbimortalidad de las enfermedades respiratorias. Objetivo. Caracterizar las infecciones respiratorias y sus agentes etiológicos en pacientes de los dos hospitales de tercer nivel de Guayaquil (Ecuador) durante los primeros seis meses del 2024. Materiales y métodos. Estudio observacional, transversal y prospectivo de dos hospitales, entre el 1° de enero y el 30 de junio del 2024. Se recopilaron los datos demográficos, clínicos y microbiológicos (fechas, edad, sexo, tipo de muestra, resultados y diagnósticos), los cuales fueron analizados mediante el programa estadístico IBM SPSS™ Statistics 27.0. Resultados. De los 56 pacientes incluidos, 35 presentaron infecciones respiratorias, con predominio del sexo femenino y con una edad promedio de 49 años. Se identificaron los siguientes agentes: rinovirus-enterovirus, virus de la influenza A, coronavirus, virus de la parainfluenza y virus respiratorio sincitial. Entre las bacterias más frecuentes se encontraron: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Proteus spp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Serratia marcescens, Streptococcus agalactiae y Streptococcus pneumoniae. Asimismo, se detectaron genes de resistencia de las bacterias como CTX-M, KPC, mecA/mecC y MREJ, NDM, Oxa48-like y VIM. En el caso de infecciones fúngicas, se aislaron Candida albicans y C. glabrata. La mayoría de los pacientes con enfermedad respiratoria evolucionaron a neumonía intrahospitalaria. Conclusión. Durante el período estudiado, las infecciones respiratorias en las unidades de cuidados intensivos se asociaron principalmente con bacterias patógenas, destacándose la gran frecuencia de neumonías intrahospitalarias y la detección de genes de resistencia antimicrobiana.

PMID:42413100 | DOI:10.7705/biomedica.8220

Psychol Sci. 2026 Jul 7:9567976261459011. doi: 10.1177/09567976261459011. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Researchers have long debated whether self-esteem is associated with aggression. In this preregistered research, we tested the effects of self-esteem on aggression by using statistical models that control for unmeasured time-invariant confounders. Data came from a multi-wave longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin families, including multi-informant assessments of children, mothers, and fathers at 1- or 2-year intervals. There was no evidence of systematic self-esteem effects on aggression, and the results held when we controlled for narcissism and when the influence of shared-method variance could be ruled out. Also, there was little evidence for effects in the reverse direction, that is, from engaging in aggression on self-esteem. One limitation was that in most cases it was not possible to test whether the self-esteem effects were curvilinear because of the nonconvergence of these models. Overall, the findings do not support either low or high self-esteem as a risk factor for aggression.

PMID:42413080 | DOI:10.1177/09567976261459011

J Clin Oncol. 2026 Jul 7:JCO2601147. doi: 10.1200/JCO-26-01147. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:42413068 | DOI:10.1200/JCO-26-01147

JCO Oncol Pract. 2026 Jul 7:OP2501376. doi: 10.1200/OP-25-01376. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Social determinants of health (SDOH) shape cancer treatment access, adherence, and outcomes, yet their collection and use within National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) studies remain poorly defined. This study examined how demographic and SDOH-related variables were historically collected and published to identify gaps that constrain the study of social context within NCTN trials.

METHODS: Participant-level data from completed phase III trials for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers conducted by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance) or its legacy groups from 1999 to 2018 were pooled. Thirteen measures were assessed: four demographic and nine SDOH-related. The proportion of individual participants with data collected for each measure was evaluated. Data utilization was evaluated for all primary articles and via targeted review of related publications using the number either reporting subgroups or publishing analyses for each measure.

RESULTS: A total of 12,701 participants across 11 trials were included. All trials collected demographic measures (<2% of patients missing), insurance status (1% missing), and ZIP code (3% missing). Education level was collected in two trials (28% missing) with marital and employment status collected in one trial (41% missing for both). No trials collected data on other SDOH-related measures. Education level was the only SDOH-related measure reported in primary articles, and none reported analysis of SDOH-related measures. Of the 149 related publications, <2% reported or analyzed any SDOH-related measure.

CONCLUSION: Across Alliance and NCTN legacy group phase III trials for GI cancers, demographic variables have been consistently collected and frequently reported or analyzed, whereas SDOH-related measures are inconsistently collected and rarely published in the literature. These findings demonstrate a historical absence of routine SDOH data capture and utilization within NCTN trials.

PMID:42413064 | DOI:10.1200/OP-25-01376

Ann Work Expo Health. 2026 Jun 3;70(5):wxag054. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxag054.

ABSTRACT

With an aging workforce and longer working lives, staying in physically demanding occupations is increasingly challenging, and the factors influencing perceived exertion are still poorly understood. Also, self-rated exertion may not correlate strongly with physiological measurements of physical strain at work, such as heart rate. Our study aimed to describe the physical strain experienced by senior workers in manual occupations using Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale and to explore associations between personal variables such as heart rate during work, age, physical fitness, and RPE ratings. We recruited workers aged 50 yr or older in manual occupations and collected data using questionnaires, physical examinations, field heart rate monitoring, and RPE ratings during work. Field heart rate monitoring was conducted using a chest band with a pulse sensor that transmitted data to a mobile application, and the first 6 h of recordings were used in subsequent analyses. Subjects were asked to simultaneously complete a diary at the end of each shift, rating the overall physical exertion for that day using the RPE scale, ranging from 6 (rest) to 20 (maximal physical exertion). Correlation between variables was determined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (r). A linear mixed model was used to investigate associations between personal variables and RPE ratings. The sample consisted of 126 subjects, aged 50 to 67 yr, of whom 76 (60.3%) were females. The participants were employed as construction workers, kitchen workers, cleaners, or assistant nurses. They rated perceived physical exertion on the RPE scale once daily in one to three workdays, resulting in a total of 250 workdays. The mean (SD) RPE rating was 12.1 (2.1). When stratified by sex, the mean (SD) RPE rating was 12.1 (2.2) among females and 12.0 (1.8) among males (P = 0.669). When stratified by occupational group, the mean (SD) was 11.9 (1.9) for construction workers, 12.1 (2.0) for kitchen workers, 12.4 (1.6) for cleaners, and 11.8 (2.8) for assistant nurses (P = 0.139 to 0.815). In total, 298 heart rate (HR) recordings were obtained during work with a mean (SD) HR of 89.4 (11.4) beats/min (range 54 to 125). There was a significant bivariate correlation between the RPE ratings and mean HR for the entire study population (r = 0.14; P = 0.025) as well as in the group of construction workers (r = 0.23; P = 0.042), but not for any other occupational groups (r = 0.04 to 0.25; P = 0.096 to 0.752). In the linear mixed model, using the RPE ratings as the dependent variable, the statistically significant (P < 0.05) estimated coefficients (SE) were as follows: mean heart rate (beats/min), 0.03 (0.01); very poor sleep quality, 3.38 (0.93); and high psychological stress, 2.62 (0.71). Age, body mass index, theoretical maximum oxygen consumption, and chronic pain ratings were not significantly associated with the RPE ratings. We conclude that senior workers in manual occupations reported that their work was somewhat hard in terms of physical exertion. Our study also indicates associations between mean heart rate, sleep quality, psychological stress, and RPE ratings.

PMID:42413062 | DOI:10.1093/annweh/wxag054

Health Aff (Millwood). 2026 Jul;45(7):775-781. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00179.

ABSTRACT

Long COVID has debilitating effects but is inconsistently diagnosed because of subjective criteria, limited treatments, and variations in health care access. We analyzed electronic health records from the National Clinical Cohort Collaborative for patients diagnosed with acute COVID-19 in the US between January 2022 and March 2023. Using six race and ethnicity categories, we evaluated 222 symptoms and long COVID diagnoses (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, code U09.9) within twelve months after infection. We assessed the relationship between race and ethnicity and long COVID diagnosis, adjusting for patient covariates and long COVID symptomatology set to the presence of at least one documented long COVID-associated symptom. Among 2.4 million patients, Black patients were less likely to be diagnosed with long COVID than White patients under a scenario in which a symptom was present and health care monitoring was at least bimonthly. For the remaining racial and ethnic groups, we found no statistically significant differences in long COVID diagnoses compared with White patients. Although the magnitude was small, the difference in diagnosis likelihood suggests the presence of potential diagnostic bias.

PMID:42413051 | DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00179