Category: Nevin Manimala

R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Nov 26;12(11):251377. doi: 10.1098/rsos.251377. eCollection 2025 Nov.

ABSTRACT

The spread of misinformation on social media continues to pose challenges. While prior research has shown some success in reducing susceptibility to misinformation at scale, how individual-level interventions impact the quality of content shared on social networks remains understudied. Across two pre-registered longitudinal studies, we ran two Twitter/X ad campaigns, targeting a total of 967 640 Twitter/X users with either a previously validated ‘inoculation’ video about emotional manipulation or a control video. We hypothesized that Twitter/X users who saw the inoculation video would engage less with negative-emotional content and share less content from unreliable sources. We do not find evidence for our hypotheses, observing no meaningful changes in posting or retweeting post-intervention. Our findings are most likely compromised by Twitter/X’s ‘fuzzy matching’ policy, which introduced substantial noise in our data (approx. 7.5% of targeted individuals were actually exposed to the intervention). Our findings are thus probably the result of treatment non-compliance rather than ‘true’ null effects. Importantly, we also demonstrate that different statistical analyses and time windows (looking at the intervention’s effects over 1 h versus 6 h or 24 h, etc.) can yield different and even opposite significant effects, highlighting the risk of interpreting noise from field studies as signal.

PMID:41307058 | PMC:PMC12646748 | DOI:10.1098/rsos.251377

R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Nov 26;12(11):251200. doi: 10.1098/rsos.251200. eCollection 2025 Nov.

ABSTRACT

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) peel, an abundant agro-industrial by-product, offers significant potential as a sustainable natural dye for textile applications. This study optimized colourant extraction using an alkaline-water system and evaluated dyeing performance on cotton fabrics. Statistical optimization through four-factor linear regression identified optimal conditions: mass-to-liquid ratio of 1 : 10, 12% NaOH, 80°C and 2 h extraction time, yielding 35-40% colourant, significantly outperforming organic solvents (<1%). High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed distinctive polyphenolic profiles between alkaline and water extraction methods, demonstrating altered compound distribution and enhanced extraction efficiency under alkaline conditions. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed dye stability up to 160°C, while particle size analysis showed a mean size of 266 nm, enabling effective fibre penetration. Quantitative dyeing evaluation demonstrated 43.05% exhaustion, 27.76% total fixation efficiency and 0.64 fixation ratio. Colorimetric analysis revealed significant mordant-dependent variations, with tannic acid achieving superior colour strength (K/S = 21.4) compared to metallic mordants: zinc sulfate, alum and ammonium ferrous sulfate. CIELab coordinates confirmed successful dye uptake (L* = -6.92 to -12.83). Post-mordanting with zinc sulfate achieved excellent fastness properties: wash (4-5), light (4) and rubbing (4) fastness. Cationization minimized electrostatic repulsion between cotton and anionic dye molecules, enhancing dye absorption. The findings demonstrate pineapple peel waste viability as a cost-effective natural dye with quantified performance metrics supporting commercial feasibility and circular economy principles in sustainable textile manufacturing.

PMID:41307052 | PMC:PMC12646757 | DOI:10.1098/rsos.251200

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2025 Nov 20;18:7567-7577. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S560186. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) has emerged as a promising non-invasive oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly those with mild to moderate hypercapnia. Despite its growing use, no studies in Saudi Arabia have explored healthcare providers’ clinical practices or perceived barriers related to HFNC application in this patient population. This study aimed to assess the current clinical use and implementation challenges of HFNC among physicians and respiratory therapists (RTs) in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians and RTs across Saudi Arabia from October 27, 2024, to May 20, 2025. The survey, distributed via several channels, collected data on HFNC practices, initial settings, weaning approaches, and perceived barriers. Descriptive statistics presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences between physicians and RTs, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 1724 healthcare providers completed the survey, including 636 (36.9%) physicians and 1,088 (63.1%) RTs. Significant variations were found between the two groups regarding who initiates HFNC, preferred flow rates, and temperature settings (p < 0.05). The most common flow rate selected was 30-40 L/min (47.2%), and initial FiO₂ levels typically ranged between 41% and 60%. Regarding weaning, 43% of respondents reduced flow by 5-10 L/min every 2-4 hours, and 48% disconnected HFNC when the flow rate dropped below 20 L/min. The primary barriers reported by both groups included lack of standardized protocols, insufficient training, and limited HFNC knowledge.

CONCLUSION: There is an inconsistent clinical practice regarding HFNC use in mild to moderate COPD among healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia. Addressing knowledge gaps and standardizing protocols may enhance the effective implementation of HFNC therapy and improve patient outcomes.

PMID:41307048 | PMC:PMC12644235 | DOI:10.2147/JMDH.S560186

Front Psychol. 2025 Nov 11;16:1647823. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1647823. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

Mental health is a fundamental basis for the comprehensive development of college students, and creativity is a key factor in academic success and future adaptability. Although previous studies have suggested a close association between the two, the mechanisms linking them remain insufficiently clarified. This study used a cross-sectional design with a sample of 600 Chinese college students, who completed online questionnaires assessing mental health, creativity, and related psychological factors. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses, and mediation tests were conducted. The findings showed that mental health significantly and positively predicted creativity, indicating that students with better mental health reported higher creativity. Further analysis revealed that cognitive pathways played a partial mediating role, underscoring the importance of cognitive flexibility in the development of creativity, while the mediating roles of emotional and motivational pathways were not significant, suggesting that their influence may be context-dependent. These results demonstrate that mental health enhances creativity both directly and indirectly through cognitive processes, providing theoretical support for cognitive-based models of creativity and offering practical implications for integrating cognitive training and mental health promotion into educational practice. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs and diverse methodological approaches to capture the dynamic interplay between mental health and creativity.

PMID:41307015 | PMC:PMC12643968 | DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1647823

Nat Sci Sleep. 2025 Nov 20;17:3003-3014. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S542235. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with alterations in white-matter integrity. However, few studies have examined topological alterations of white-matter structural networks in OSA. We aimed to investigate alterations in brain structural networks in patients with OSA using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) combined with the network-based statistic (NBS).

METHODS: Clinical, neuropsychological, and DTI data were collected from 77 patients with OSA and 83 healthy controls (HCs). DTI-based structural networks were established based on whole-brain probabilistic tractography. The inter-group difference in topological properties was compared. NBS analysis was performed to assess changes in network connectivity, and the correlation between topological properties and clinical variables was evaluated.

RESULTS: Graph theory analysis showed reduced betweenness centrality (BC) in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus (SFGdor.L) and supplementary motor area (SMA.L) and reduced nodal efficiency (NE) of the SFGdor.L in patients with OSA. NBS analysis revealed abnormalities in a sub-network with 14 nodes, where positive connectivity was observed between individual nodes in patients with OSA. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the BC of SMA.L was positively correlated with anxious (r = 0.242, P = 0.034) and cognitive (r = 0.252, P = 0.027) scores. Compared with HCs, Patients with OSA exhibited lower cognitive scores and higher levels of depression and anxiety.

CONCLUSION: Our findings show alterations in BC and NE of the SFGdor.L and BC of the SMA.L that may reflect neurobiological features of white-matter network disruption in OSA and could represent potential imaging biomarkers of early cerebral involvement. These results are correlational and longitudinal studies are needed to determine temporal relationships and causal effects.

PMID:41307007 | PMC:PMC12645121 | DOI:10.2147/NSS.S542235

Int J Microbiol. 2025 Nov 18;2025:7072067. doi: 10.1155/ijm/7072067. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are significant causes of respiratory infections, particularly in children, yet their epidemiology remains poorly understood in low- and middle-income countries. HPIVs contribute to 20%-40% of pediatric lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and are a leading cause of croup and hospitalizations. This study was aimed at determining the incidence, distribution, and clinical and laboratory characteristics of HPIV in hospitalized acute febrile illness (AFI) patients.

METHODS: A total of 12,409 AFI cases from 2016 to 2018 were tested for HPIVs via molecular methods. RNA was extracted from throat swab samples and tested via multiplex real-time RT-PCR for HPIV Serotypes 1-4. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of HPIV-positive patients were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS: HPIVs were detected in 217 (1.75%) patients, with HPIV-3 (49.77%) being the most prevalent, followed by HPIV-4 (18.90%), HPIV-2 (17.52%), and HPIV-1 (13.83%). HPIV-3 exhibited distinct seasonal peaks, mainly affecting children (1-9 years). Significant variations in hematological and biochemical markers were observed among serotypes and age groups. Upper and lower respiratory symptoms, along with gastrointestinal issues and systemic manifestations such as chills, myalgia, and weakness, are commonly reported.

CONCLUSION: HPIVs contribute to respiratory illness across diverse demographics. HPIV-3 is the predominant serotype, with distinct seasonal and age-related patterns. Improved surveillance and diagnostics could aid in better management and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

PMID:41307000 | PMC:PMC12646732 | DOI:10.1155/ijm/7072067

NPJ Cardiovasc Health. 2025;2(1):57. doi: 10.1038/s44325-025-00096-0. Epub 2025 Nov 24.

ABSTRACT

This study presents an automatic feature extraction tool that first detects temporal location of landmarks within each cardiac cycle of ABP and PPG waveforms, including the systolic phase onset, systolic phase peak, dicrotic notch, and diastolic phase peak. Then, based on these landmarks, extracts 852 features per cardiac cycle, encompassing time-, statistical-, and frequency-domains. The tool’s ability to detect landmarks was evaluated on the perioperative MLORD dataset comprising 17,327 patients and on real-time data collected from a patient monitor (retrospective analysis). When compared with markings by an experienced researcher, the tool demonstrated robust performance across both datasets, waveform types, and all four landmarks, achieving average F1-scores above 97% and error rates below 4%. This tool has significant potential for supporting clinical utilization of ABP and PPG waveform features and for facilitating feature-based machine learning models for various clinical applications where features derived from these waveforms play a critical role.

PMID:41306986 | PMC:PMC12643918 | DOI:10.1038/s44325-025-00096-0

Front Immunol. 2025 Nov 11;16:1703839. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1703839. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: In type 1 diabetes, autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β cells results in insulin deficiency, leading to hyperglycemia. Islet autoantibodies, which precede autoimmune progression, usually develop years before diabetes onset, although some individuals develop diabetes without them. However, not all children who develop islet antibodies progress to diabetes, and they do not all progress at the same rate. Genomic markers may help identify high-risk children for early intervention.

METHODS: Using gene expression profiles derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from 62 high-risk, islet autoantibody-positive children in the TEDDY cohort study, of whom 56 progressed to diabetes, we identified differentially expressed genes, pathways, and protein-protein interactions associated with progression from islet autoantibody seropositivity to the clinical onset of diabetes.

RESULTS: After seroconversion, progressors were distinguished by a peripheral blood gene expression profile enriched for MHC class II-related functions and immune response pathways. Within protein- protein interaction (PPI) networks, we identified SMARCA4 as the central hub and found that its expression stratified progression to type 1 diabetes after seroconversion. Differentially expressed genes in the PPI networks were also highly connected to type 1 diabetes drug-gene targets, particularly JAK2.

DISCUSSION: The enrichment of MHC class II-related functions and immune response pathways after seroconversion highlights immune activation in progressors, whose rate of progression could be stratified as fast or slow based on a 20-gene signature, which warrants confirmation in an independent cohort.

PMID:41306972 | PMC:PMC12645633 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1703839

Front Immunol. 2025 Nov 11;16:1684089. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1684089. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of co-mutations of EGFR with TP53 or KRAS on the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, and the efficacy of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy plus immunotherapy after EGFR-TKI resistance.

METHODS: This was a retrospective study that included 168 patients with locally advanced or advanced NSCLC who had next-generation sequencing (NGS) performed at our institution between January 1, 2021, and October 31, 2023. Based on their genomic profiles, patients were categorized into three groups: EGFR single mutation, EGFR/TP53 co-mutation, and EGFR/KRAS co-mutation. Baseline clinical data were collected, including gender, age, smoking history, histological subtype, clinical stage, ECOG performance status, gene testing results, and treatment regimens. All patients were treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as first-line therapy, including first-, second-, or third-generation agents. Upon disease progression, patients received platinum-based doublet chemotherapy plus immunotherapy as second-line treatment. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test. Baseline characteristics among the three groups were compared using the chi-square test. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate independent prognostic factors for PFS by incorporating all baseline clinical variables and gene mutation status into the model.

RESULTS: A total of 168 patients were included in the analysis: 36 with EGFR single mutation, 80 with EGFR/TP53 co-mutation, and 52 with EGFR/KRAS co-mutation. There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups with respect to baseline characteristics, including gender, age, smoking history, histological type, clinical stage, and ECOG performance status (P > 0.05). Immune-related marker expression was significantly different between the EGFR single mutation group and the two co-mutation groups (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was observed between the co-mutation groups (P = 0.945). Following first-line EGFR-TKI therapy, the EGFR single mutation group showed a significantly longer median PFS compared with the EGFR/TP53 and EGFR/K-RAS co-mutation groups (P < 0.0001). No significant difference in PFS was observed between the two co-mutation groups (P = 0.174). Following progression on EGFR-TKIs, all patients received platinum-based doublet chemotherapy plus immunotherapy. In second-line treatment, the median PFS in the EGFR single-mutation group, which was shorter than in the EGFR/TP53 and EGFR/KRAS co-mutation groups (overall log-rank P < 0.0001), with no significant difference between the two co-mutation cohorts (P = 0.174). However, in multivariable Cox models adjusting for age, sex, smoking history, clinical stage, histology, and ECOG performance status, both EGFR/TP53 and EGFR/KRAS co-mutations were independently associated with a higher hazard of progression. ECOG PS ≥2 was associated with a numerically higher hazard that did not reach statistical significance. No significant associations were observed for other covariates (age, sex, smoking history, clinical stage, histology; all P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: In the first-line setting, patients with an EGFR single mutation treated with EGFR-TKIs had a longer median PFS than those with EGFR/TP53 and EGFR/KRAS co-mutations (14.1 vs 10.4 and 10.9 months, respectively; both P < 0.0001), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed between the two co-mutation subgroups (P = 0.174). Following the development of resistance, all patients received platinum-based doublet chemotherapy plus immunotherapy; in the second-line setting, median PFS was modestly longer in the co-mutation groups compared with the single-mutation group (EGFR/TP53: 5.2 months; EGFR/KRAS: 5.0 months; EGFR single mutation: 3.9 months; overall log-rank P < 0.0001), with no significant difference between the TP53 and KRAS subgroups (P = 0.174). These associations were evident on Kaplan-Meier curves (with numbers at risk) and log-rank testing, and were supported by multivariable Cox models adjusted for age, sex, smoking history, clinical stage, histology, and ECOG performance status.

PMID:41306958 | PMC:PMC12645222 | DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1684089

J Biomed Opt. 2025 Nov;30(11):117002. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.30.11.117002. Epub 2025 Nov 25.

ABSTRACT

SIGNIFICANCE: Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a widely used optical technique for the noninvasive monitoring of cardiovascular parameters. However, its accuracy may be affected by variations in skin pigmentation due to the strong absorption properties of melanin, particularly at visible wavelengths.

AIM: We aimed to investigate how skin tone influences PPG signal signals by developing a pulsatile vascular finger phantom with interchangeable skin layers, characterizing their optical properties across green, red, and infrared wavelengths and evaluating their impact on PPG signal features.

APPROACH: The finger phantom included three optically characterized, interchangeable skin layers representing pale, medium, and dark tones, as well as a custom-made silicone vessel embedded in an anatomically and mechanically characterized structure. PPG signals were recorded in reflectance mode using a custom-made finger clip probe in an in vitro cardiovascular system. Signal features, including signal-to-noise ratio, peak-to-peak amplitude, and area under the curve, were analyzed.

RESULTS: Analysis revealed statistically significant differences ( $p<0.001$ ) between skin tones, with signal degradation increasing with skin pigmentation.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest there is a measurable impact of skin pigmentation on the PPG signal and highlight the need for further research to improve the equity of light-based sensing technologies across all populations. We provide an advancement for future work in developing in vitro models to assess optical sensing performance across diverse skin tones.

PMID:41306936 | PMC:PMC12646468 | DOI:10.1117/1.JBO.30.11.117002