Category: Nevin Manimala

AIDS Behav. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s10461-025-04941-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

While urban refugee youth face HIV vulnerabilities spanning socio-ecological levels, knowledge gaps persist in HIV prevention outcomes. We conducted a baseline analysis of a cohort enrolled in Tushirikiane-4-Uthabiti, an intervention focused on HIV testing practices among urban refugee youth aged 16-24 in Kampala, Uganda (N = 330). Using regression models, we examined the societal, community, and interpersonal factors associated with condom use self-efficacy [CUSE], consistent condom use, HIV self-testing [HIVST] kit access, and recent HIV testing. Most participants were women (53.3%), with a mean age of 21.3 years (SD = 2.9). One-fifth reported consistent condom use (19.1%), over half accessed HIVST kits (56.4%), and recent HIV testing (50.6%). Statistically significant results showed that higher education (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) and financial resilience (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) were positively associated with CUSE, whereas food insecurity (β = – 0.21, p < 0.05) was negatively associated with CUSE. Being in a casual relationship (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.33, p < 0.05) and CUSE (aOR 1.12, p < 0.010) were associated with increased odds of consistent condom use. Higher education (aOR 2.45, p < 0.001), adolescent sexual and reproductive health stigma (aOR 1.16, p < 0.010), and perceived HIV stigma (aOR 1.05, p < 0.05) were associated with increased odds of recent HIVST kit access. Financial resilience (aOR 1.05, p < 0.010) and young parenthood (aOR = 2.32, p < 0.010) were associated with increased odds of recent last year HIV testing. The findings demonstrate suboptimal HIV prevention outcomes and highlight the need for tailored multilevel interventions to improve the sexual health of urban refugee youth.

PMID:41489850 | DOI:10.1007/s10461-025-04941-2

Eur Radiol. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s00330-025-12255-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To assess healthcare costs of patients screened for cervical spine (C-spine) fractures using CT, and estimate the change in in-hospital costs if an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm for C-spine fracture detection would assist the radiologist as concurrent reader.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective, early health technology assessment included 2321 consecutive patients (2007-2014; median age 49 years; 61% male) screened for C-spine fractures using CT, of whom 219 patients with fractures. Healthcare costs were calculated per diagnostic category (true positive, true negative, false positive and false negative) based on the diagnosis made by the attending radiologists, and by AI analysis, compared to the reference standard. The potential diagnostic accuracy measures with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for diagnoses made by radiologists assisted by AI and the potential average cost per diagnostic category in this scenario were estimated.

RESULTS: Radiologists identified 193/219 fractures and 2085/2102 scans without fractures. AI identified 23 fractures and 16 scans without fractures that had been misclassified by the radiologists. This resulted in a potential sensitivity of 216/219 (98.6%, 95% CI: 95.7-99.6, 10.5% increase compared to radiologists) and specificity of 2101/2102 (100.0%, 95% CI: 99.7-100, 0.8% increase compared to radiologists) for the AI-assisted scenario. The total cost for the AI-assisted scenario was €60,862 (0.3%) higher than for radiologists alone.

CONCLUSION: In this scenario analysis, the addition of AI as concurrent reader to radiologists was estimated to potentially increase sensitivity by 10.5% and specificity by 0.8% together with a 0.3% increase in in-hospital costs due to more detected fractures.

KEY POINTS: Question The impact of artificial intelligence to detect cervical spine fractures on CT on in-hospital healthcare resource use and costs is unknown. Findings Assistance by AI could potentially improve radiologists’ sensitivity and specificity by 10.5% and 0.8%, respectively, for an additional healthcare cost increase of just 0.3%. Clinical relevance Using artificial intelligence as concurrent reader to radiologists to detect cervical spine fractures on CT could potentially increase diagnostic accuracy to nearly 100% with a minimal increase in in-hospital healthcare resource costs.

PMID:41489842 | DOI:10.1007/s00330-025-12255-z

Eur Spine J. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s00586-025-09608-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to incorporate cartoon visuals into nursing instructions for degenerative disc herniation surgery and test whether cartoon visuals in preoperative nursing instructions can help improve patients ‘ knowledge, satisfaction, and anxiety during hospitalization.

METHODOLOGY: The experimental study was conducted from January to June 2024 and involved 84 patients undergoing surgery for degenerative disc herniation. Participants were randomly assigned by computer into two groups, and preoperative and postoperative tests were conducted to understand the patients’ anxiety, self-care knowledge, and satisfaction: the “traditional group” received standard paper-based nursing instructions, while the “experimental group” received cartoon visual nursing instructions.

RESULTS: The study results were statistically significant differences in self-care knowledge (P = .02) and satisfaction (p < .001) among the experimental and traditional groups. There were no statistical differences in situational and trait anxiety, but the experimental group scores decreased. Another unexpected finding was a statistically significant difference (P = .02) in the experimental group, where the number of days of hospital stay was lower than that in the traditional group.

CONCLUSION: This study showed patients could improve their self-knowledge, reduce situational anxiety, increase satisfaction through cartoon visuals, and reduce the number of hospitalized days. Therefore, the engaging content of cartoon visuals can relieve patients’ nervousness about surgery, increase their trust and cooperation, and further improve the effect of doctor-patient communication.

PMID:41489831 | DOI:10.1007/s00586-025-09608-z

J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1021/jasms.5c00304. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In recent publications, we have demonstrated applications of multiplexed affinity selection electrospray mass spectrometry based on three different principles: size-exclusion chromatography, flow-induced dispersion analysis, and Taylor/non-Taylor dispersion. To enable this multiplexing─i.e., simultaneous measurement of pools of ligands, with their masses acting as selective labels─higher resolving power was required than is typically achievable in native MS; therefore, we worked under conditions that promoted gas-phase ejection of protein-bound ligands, allowing their detection with high mass accuracy in the low-m/z region of the spectrum. Subsequent data analysis required correlation of the extracted ion chromatograms (EICs) of candidate ligands with the EIC of the target protein. Even when relying on simple visual inspection, generating these EICs manually is laborious even for only a few dozen ligand candidates, and a quantitative correlation based on statistical tests quickly becomes very time-consuming. Performing such an experiment for a larger compound library or even without a defined target list, but by instead extracting the chromatogram for every low-m/z signal present, is entirely impractical. Here, we present CATALYST (Computer-Assisted Time Alignment for Ligand Yield and Screening Tool), an open-source software package that can perform this type of analysis─in either targeted or untargeted mode─in a matter of seconds. CATALYST performs several statistical tests to correlate EICs and identify protein-binding ligands and then visualizes the results, greatly accelerating affinity selection mass spectrometry workflows.

PMID:41489822 | DOI:10.1021/jasms.5c00304

Saudi Dent J. 2026 Jan 5;38(1):2. doi: 10.1007/s44445-025-00109-9.

ABSTRACT

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven genetic analysis is crucial for the advancement of personalized dental treatments. Despite progress in genetic research, its clinical application remains limited. This case-control study utilized an association-rule mining algorithm (Apriori) implemented using Python software (version 0.22.0, 2024) to predict dental impaction based on MSX1, PAX9, and AXIN2 polymorphisms. The study was carried out at two centers in Saudi Arabia in October 2023 and involved 106 participants (42 males, 64 females; mean ± standard deviation age = 20.56 ± 8.07 years). Participants were categorized into 52 controls and 54 individuals with hypodontia, among whom 13 had impacted teeth. Saliva samples were analyzed for three single nucleotide polymorphisms: AXIN2 (rs2240308), PAX9 (rs61754301), and MSX1 (rs12532). Although multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated genotypic variations, no statistically significant associations with dental impaction were identified (P = 0.112). However, association-rule mining identified notable genotype patterns with the MSX1 A/A genotype (support = 0.224, confidence = 0.827, lift = 1.475). The combination of PAX9 (C/C) and MSX1 (A/A) had the highest predictive value (lift = 1.671), followed by MSX1 (A/A) with AXIN2 (G/G) (lift = 1.646), and PAX9 (C/C) with AXIN2 (G/G) (lift = 1.475). Based on available scholarly literature, this is among the pioneering studies to use association-rule algorithms to predict dental impaction, highlighting the potential of AI in genetics-based orthodontic diagnostics.

PMID:41489795 | DOI:10.1007/s44445-025-00109-9

Environ Manage. 2026 Jan 5;76(2):56. doi: 10.1007/s00267-025-02352-6.

ABSTRACT

The willingness and behavior of residents to engage in environmental governance and protection are the most direct drivers of environmental improvement, and constitute a vital foundation for achieving ecologically livable conditions and the reform of ecological civilization systems. Based on survey data from 769 respondents collected in Chongqing, this study aims to explore the relationship among social capital, environmental awareness, government satisfaction, and residents’ participation in environmental governance, in order to reveal the key factors that promote eco-friendly behaviors. This paper uses SPSS25.0 to conduct descriptive statistics, one-factor analysis of variance, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, mediation effect tests and other statistical methods. The results demonstrate that social capital exerts a significant positive impact on residents’ participation in environmental governance. Moreover, social capital is significantly positively correlated with key factors such as environmental awareness and government satisfaction. In particular, participation willingness has a significant positive effect on participation behavior, highlighting the importance of motivating individual willingness to participate. Further analysis reveals that environmental awareness plays a partial mediating role between social capital and participation willingness, whereas the mediating effect of government satisfaction is not significant, indicating that enhancing environmental awareness is one of the key pathways to promote participation behavior. The findings of this study are significant for formulating and implementing more effective environmental protection policies and measures, emphasizing the strategy of promoting residents’ participation in environmental governance by enhancing social capital and raising public environmental awareness.

PMID:41489790 | DOI:10.1007/s00267-025-02352-6

Int J Biometeorol. 2026 Jan 5;70(1):13. doi: 10.1007/s00484-025-03092-2.

ABSTRACT

Studies worldwide have reported an increase in suicide during hot weather. In summer, high temperature and intense sunlight often coincide, with the latter being a prerequisite for the former formation. However, little is known about whether and to what extent high temperature mediates the effect of sunlight on suicide. We obtained daily suicide death data in Anhui Province of China for the period from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020. Both daily sunshine hours and daily solar radiation were employed to measure the sunlight exposure. The space-time-stratified case-crossover analysis was used to estimate the association between sunlight exposure and suicide deaths in high- and non-high-temperature weather during the warm season (May through September). A linear regression was then utilized to estimate the extent to which the association was mediated through temperature. Sunlight during the warm season demonstrated a protective effect on suicide in non-high-temperature weather but a hazardous effect in high-temperature weather. Further mediation analysis in high-temperature weather showed that the direct effect of sunlight on suicide deaths was more pronounced than the effect mediated through temperature. The proportion mediated through temperature in the association between sunshine hours and suicide deaths ranged from 11.27% to 18.37%, while the range for solar radiation and suicide deaths was lower (0.50% to 0.89%). Sunlight not only affects suicide risk but also has an indirect effect that is partially mediated through high temperature. Our findings need to be proven in distinct regions, aiming to better understand the role of sunlight and high temperature in triggering suicide.

PMID:41489789 | DOI:10.1007/s00484-025-03092-2

Chin J Integr Med. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s11655-025-3932-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect and safety of Andrographolide Sulfonate (AS) Injection for adjunctive treatment of non-severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults.

METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial. Adult patients with non-severe CAP were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the AS or control group using a stratified block randomization method. Patients received either intravenous AS Injection (500 mg once per day) or placebo for 5 d. Both groups were treated with guideline-based standard therapy simultaneously. The primary outcome was time to clinical stability. Secondary outcomes were initial treatment failure rate, time to fever recovery, length of hospital stay, duration of intravenous antibiotic treatment, and cost of hospitalization. Safety outcomes included adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs.

RESULTS: From September 2016 to April 2019, 482 patients were randomized into AS or control group (241 cases per group), and all were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. The median time to clinical stability was 1 h shorter in the AS group than that in the control group [hazard ratio (HR) 1.440; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.194, 1.736; log rank P<0.01]. AS group had 5 h shorter median time to fever recovery than the control group (HR 1.461; 95% CI 1.150, 1.857; log rank P<0.01). The initial treatment failure rate was significantly lower in the AS group than that in the control group (6.3% vs. 16.0%, P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in the length of hospital stay, duration of intravenous antibiotics treatment, and cost of hospitalization between groups (P>0.05). The proportion of patients with at least 1 AE was 41.5% in the AS group and 40.6% in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS: Adjunctive AS Injection probably accelerates the clinical stability and lowers the initial treatment failure rate in adult hospitalized patients with non-severe CAP, but the absolute clinical benefits are marginal. Its use should take into account efficacy, safety, cost, and Chinese medicine syndrome classification. (Trial registration No. NCT02913118).

PMID:41489779 | DOI:10.1007/s11655-025-3932-8

Mol Cell Biochem. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s11010-025-05426-5. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:41489769 | DOI:10.1007/s11010-025-05426-5

Surg Endosc. 2026 Jan 5. doi: 10.1007/s00464-025-12433-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with longitudinal pancreatojejunostomy (PD-L) for chronic pancreatitis with a suspicious pancreatic head mass. We evaluated these derived surgical procedures with a focus on pain relief, functional preservation, and oncologic vigilance.

METHODS: This retrospective single-center cohort study analyzed clinical data from 20 consecutive patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis who underwent PD-L at the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University between December 2021 and December 2024. We systematically analyzed perioperative parameters, morbidity profiles, and histopathological characteristics. Post-discharge monitoring focused on quantitative pain assessment, pancreatic exocrine and endocrine functional status, and surveillance.

RESULTS: The patients’ cohort comprised 20 male patients (mean age 52.3 ± 10.1 years, range 32-70) who underwent PD-L procedures: open (n = 15), laparoscopic (n = 3), and robotic-assisted (n = 2) approaches. The mean operative time was (387.7 ± 75.1) minutes, with an average intraoperative blood loss of (286 ± 141.0) mL. The mean total length of hospital stay was (18.9 ± 4.6) days. Postoperative complications occurred in 2 patients: one case of abdominal hemorrhage requiring angiographic embolization and one case of delayed gastric emptying managed through endoscopic drainage. Notably, no pancreatic fistula were observed in any case. Pathology revealed chronic pancreatitis in 9 patients, PanIN in 9 (6 PanIN-1, 3 PanIN-2), and pancreatic cancer in 2. Preoperative comparisons between the CP group (n = 9) and the PanIN/malignant group (n = 11) showed no significant differences. Although considerable differences in the smoking index were observed between the two groups, they did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.081). During a median follow-up of 14.5 months, 78.9% (15/19) achieved sustained pain relief without the need for analgesics. Improvements in BMI and enhancements in glycemic regulation were observed in 6 and 5 patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION: PD-L is a safe and effective surgical option for selected CP patients those with a space-occupying lesion in the pancreatic head that may raise suspicion of malignancy, concurrent with calculi-associated dilatation of the main pancreatic duct in the distal pancreatic body and tail segments.

PMID:41489749 | DOI:10.1007/s00464-025-12433-6