Category: Nevin Manimala

Clin Exp Dermatol. 2025 Aug 2:llaf370. doi: 10.1093/ced/llaf370. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) using real dermatology patients are challenging to standardise due to condition variability and urgent removal of cancerous lesions. Simulated patients alongside photographs offer standardisation but lack authenticity and disrupt consultation flow. Instructional Dermatology Surface Models (IDSMs) offer a realistic alternative, replicating dermatoses as temporary 3D transfers. This project evaluated medical student experiences using an IDSM depicting malignant melanoma within a OSCE involving 263 students. Post-exam, 80 students completed an online questionnaire assessing realism, utility, and communication. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and sentiment analysis. Students found the IDSM realistic and beneficial for enhancing consultation skills. Positive sentiments dominated; the net sentiment ratio was 5.3%, and ‘realistic’ was the most common descriptor. 91% of students preferred IDSMs over photographs. Findings suggest IDSMs benefit dermatology examinations by better simulating clinical practice. The increased cost of IDSMs compared to photographs, is an important consideration for their use.

PMID:40751439 | DOI:10.1093/ced/llaf370

J Appl Toxicol. 2025 Aug 2. doi: 10.1002/jat.4872. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Smoking is a major public health concern worldwide. The toxic components of cigarettes, such as nicotine, can cause abuse, dependence, and tissue damage. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exposure to cigarette smoke on the renal morphology of Wistar rats. For this purpose, 12 male rats were used, divided into two groups (n = 6): CT Group (control) and CG Group (cigarette). The CG Group was exposed to smoke from six cigarettes per day. After 12 weeks, the rats were euthanized, and the kidneys were collected, weighed, and processed histologically for renal tissue analysis. Although the increase in renal weight was not statistically significant (p = 0.479), the CG Group exhibited significantly reduced values for glomerular diameter, capsular area (p < 0.0001), subcapsular area (p = 0.0045), and glomerular tuft area (p = 0.0049) compared to the CT Group. These results indicate that cigarette smoke exposure induces morphological changes in renal structure, even in the absence of significant weight alteration.

PMID:40751407 | DOI:10.1002/jat.4872

Phytother Res. 2025 Aug 2. doi: 10.1002/ptr.70054. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Chronic diseases cause early death and financial strain worldwide. Cardio-metabolic health, crucial for preventing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, may benefit from bilberry’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This meta-analysis reviews studies of bilberry’s impact on lipid profiles, glycemic indices, body composition, and inflammatory and oxidative factors. Inclusion criteria were randomized clinical trials assessing bilberry supplementation in adults for at least 1 week. A comprehensive review of literature was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar until July 21, 2024, without any time limitations. Mean changes and their SDs were used to calculate overall effect sizes, with the Hozo et al. method converting SEs, 95% CIs, and IQRs to SDs. A random-effects model accounted for between-study variations. Eleven RCTs, including 409 individuals, were incorporated into the present systematic review, and 8 were included in the meta-analysis. Combining five effect sizes from the five trials on long-term effects of bilberry administration compared with controls resulted in a non-significant decrease in FBG (WMD: -0.08 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.22 to 0.07, p = 0.30). For HbA1c, the meta-analysis of three RCTs showed a marginally significant reduction (WMD: -1.63%, 95% CI: -3.36% to 0.11%, p = 0.06). The results of the meta-analysis on lipid profile showed a decreasing trend, although this reduction was not statistically significant for TC (WMD: -0.11 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.30% to 0.08%, p = 0.27) or TG (WMD: -0.07 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.32% to 0.19%, p = 0.62). However, a significant change in TG was reported in trials with a crossover design and RCTs with 4 weeks of intervention or less. Although HDL level did not show any significant change (WMD: -0.02 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.10% to 0.07%, p = 0.70), the meta-analysis of five RCTs evaluating the long-term effects of bilberry supplementation revealed a significant change in LDL following bilberry supplementation (WMD: 0.07 mmol/L, 95% CI: 0.01%-0.14%, p = 0.01). Furthermore, no significant reduction was observed in SBP (WMD: -2.75 mmHg, 95% CI: -6.38% to 0.89%, p = 0.13) or DBP (WMD: -1.00 mmHg, 95% CI: -4.66% to 2.65%, p = 0.59) after bilberry supplementation. Finally, anthropometric indices including body weight (WMD: 0.04 Kg, 95% CI: -0.44% to 0.53%, p = 0.86) and inflammatory and oxidative stress markers including hs-CRP (WMD: -8.22 mg/L, 95% CI: -20.24% to 3.81%, p = 0.18), IL-6 (WMD: -7.19 pg/mL, 95% CI: -19.01% to 4.63%, p = 0.23), uric acid (WMD: -0.01 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.03% to 0.01%, p = 0.36), and FRAP (WMD: -42.03 μmol/L, 95% CI: -100.54% to 16.48%, p = 0.16) showed no significant change after bilberry supplementation. Bilberry supplementation may have beneficial effects on HbA1c and TG, but not other cardio-metabolic indices. Therefore, long-term and high-quality trials are needed to confirm the promising effects of bilberries.

PMID:40751398 | DOI:10.1002/ptr.70054

J Homosex. 2025 Aug 2:1-22. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2025.2540367. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Bi+ men have disproportionately high rates of mental health, physical health and substance use concerns. According to minority stress theory, societal stigma adversely impacts health outcomes for LGBTQ+ individuals. This study focused on improving health outcomes for bi+ men, a group that has received little focus in the literature outside of focusing on sexual health. The current intervention aimed to help bi+ men process through previous biphobic experiences by exploring two interventions, psychoeducation and emotion focused writing, and evaluated their effectiveness in reducing the impact of biphobic events. To evaluate intervention effectiveness, we measured participants’ identity-related concerns, trauma/stressor symptoms, depression levels and gender role norms before and after completing one of the two interventions. Overall, the results suggest that both interventions may be helpful in reducing the impact of biphobic events and improving health outcomes for bi+ populations, with intervention differences in gender role conflict and internalized biphobia. These interventions could be a helpful supplement or alternative to individual therapy to process through biphobic experiences.

PMID:40751390 | DOI:10.1080/00918369.2025.2540367

Int J Dev Neurosci. 2025 Aug;85(5):e70034. doi: 10.1002/jdn.70034.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological condition that impacts cognitive, social and behavioural abilities. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective intervention and treatment. Traditional diagnostic methods lack accuracy, efficient feature selection and computational efficiency. This study proposes an integrated approach that combines the electromagnetic interaction algorithm (EIA) for feature selection with the adaptive kernel attention network (AKAttNet) for classification, aiming to improve ASD detection performance across multiple datasets.

METHODS: The proposed methodology consists of two core components: (1) EIA, which optimises feature selection by identifying the most relevant attributes for ASD classification, and (2) AKAttNet, a deep learning model leveraging adaptive kernel attention mechanisms to enhance classification accuracy. The framework is evaluated using four publicly available ASD datasets. The classification performance of AKAttNet is compared against traditional machine learning methods, including logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), as well as competing deep learning models. Statistical evaluation includes precision, recall (sensitivity), specificity and overall accuracy metrics.

RESULTS: The proposed model outperforms conventional machine learning and deep learning approaches, demonstrating higher classification accuracy and robustness across multiple datasets. AKAttNet, combined with EIA-based feature selection, achieves an accuracy improvement ranging from 0.901 to 0.9827, Cohen’s kappa values between 0.7789 and 0.9685 and Jaccard similarity scores from 0.8041 to 0.9709 across four different datasets. Comparative analysis highlights the efficiency of the EIA algorithm in reducing feature dimensionality while maintaining high model performance. Additionally, the proposed method exhibits lower computational time and enhanced generalizability, making it a promising approach for ASD detection.

CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a practical ASD detection framework integrating EIA for feature selection with AKAttNet for classification. The results indicate that this hybrid approach enhances diagnostic accuracy while reducing computational overhead, making it a promising tool for early ASD diagnosis. The findings support the potential of deep learning and optimisation techniques in developing more efficient and reliable ASD screening systems. Future work can explore real-world clinical applications and further refinement of the feature selection process.

PMID:40751377 | DOI:10.1002/jdn.70034

Glob Chang Biol. 2025 Aug;31(8):e70373. doi: 10.1111/gcb.70373.

ABSTRACT

Enhanced rock weathering (EW) is gaining attention as a promising carbon dioxide removal strategy, primarily due to its potential to sequester inorganic carbon through mineral dissolution. However, the broader biogeochemical implications of EW, particularly its effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics, as well as the role played by agriculturally relevant biota such as plants and earthworms, remain poorly understood. In a 15-month mesocosm experiment with Zea mays, we investigated how EW with basalt influences soil CO₂ efflux (SCE; normalized for soil water content and temperature) and how this is modulated by plant and earthworm presence. Using δ¹³C-CO₂ isotope tracing based on the C₃-C₄ shift method, we partitioned normalized SCE into rhizosphere (root plus microbial respiration of rhizodeposits) and soil organic matter components. In the first growing season, basalt increased normalized SCE 2.8-fold in planted mesocosms relative to planted controls, due to elevated rhizosphere respiration. In contrast, during the second growing season, basalt significantly decreased normalized SCE 16.5-fold, but only in unplanted mesocosms. Mediation analysis revealed that basalt also indirectly influenced SCE via changes in soil water content, with the direction of this effect depending on plant presence and growing season. Basalt showed contrasting direct and indirect effects, highlighting the complexity of soil responses to silicate amendments, where multiple, sometimes opposing, processes operate simultaneously. Disentangling such effects is essential for understanding the impact of EW on soil carbon and for effective and reliable upscaling. Our findings suggest that SOM stabilization might occur after basalt application, decreasing SCE. Moreover, they demonstrate that both biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., vegetation, soil fauna, soil moisture) can modulate the impact of EW on SOC dynamics. To quantify the climate change mitigation effect of EW, research must move beyond inorganic carbon and explicitly integrate biotic and organic processes into EW assessments.

PMID:40751376 | DOI:10.1111/gcb.70373

J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci. 2025 Aug 2. doi: 10.1002/jhbp.12193. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the microbiological characteristics of pathogens isolated from blood cultures (BCs) of patients with acute cholangitis (AC) after biliary-enteric anastomosis and biliary intervention (BI).

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 366 patients with AC and bacteremia between 2015 and 2024 at Hiroshima University Hospital. Patients were categorized into three groups: post-biliary reconstruction-associated AC (PBR-AC), BI-associated AC (BI-AC), and common AC (C-AC). Patients’ clinical and microbiological data were statistically analyzed in each group.

RESULTS: The most frequently isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp., accounting for > 50% of isolates in all groups. ESCPM spp. (Enterobacter spp., including Klebsiella aerogenes, Serratia marcescens, Citrobacter freundii complex, Providencia spp., and Morganella morganii) were significantly associated with PBR- and BI-AC compared with C-AC. No significant differences in the prevalence of anaerobic bacteria were observed among the groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ESCPM spp. isolated from BCs was significantly higher in the PBR- and BI-AC groups than in the C-AC group. The presence of biliary-enteric anastomosis or BI history should be checked when determining the treatment strategy for AC. Cefepime may be a better antibiotic option for PBR- and BI-AC, particularly in severe cases.

PMID:40751375 | DOI:10.1002/jhbp.12193

CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol. 2025 Aug 1. doi: 10.1002/psp4.70090. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Phase 2 trials have historically focused on characterizing the dose-exposure-response relationship in relatively homogeneous patient populations before proceeding to confirmatory trials. However, with the rise of multi-regional Phase 2 trials, it is important to strike a balance between this goal and the requirement to make sure that the optimal doses are chosen for patients from various geographic areas. This study uses a dose-ranging trial for an anti-psoriatic drug, featuring a typical design with a total sample size of N = 175, to highlight key considerations regarding sample size in multi-regional exploratory studies. The allocation of sample size to a region of interest (Region X) was evaluated using both a conventional statistical approach and a pharmacometric model-based (PMx) approach, predicated on the assumption of a minimum treatment improvement in Region X. Further evaluation was performed to assess the probability of reaching reliable conclusions regarding clinically relevant inter-regional differences in treatment response. The statistical approach, relying solely on end-of-trial observations from a single dose group, exhibited a maximum power of less than 40% in detecting treatment differences across regions when Region X accounts for 50% of the total sample size. In contrast, the PMx approach, employing data from multiple dose groups across trial duration, demonstrated that 26% of the total sample size yielded over 80% power to identify the inter-regional difference. The PMx approach has also been shown to offer a more efficient characterization of the clinical relevance of inter-regional differences, and has potential to improve decision-making in development progression by integrating prior knowledge.

PMID:40751361 | DOI:10.1002/psp4.70090

J Diabetes. 2025 Aug;17(8):e70132. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.70132.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Whether diverse metabolic statuses within a similar body mass index (BMI) category associate with different in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes.

DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING: Wenzhou, Zhengjiang Province, China.

POPULATION: This retrospective cohort study prescreened 16 458 women who underwent their first IVF and fresh embryo transfer cycle between January 2010 and December 2021.

METHODS: Metabolic status was assessed using the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Patients were then categorized into six groups: metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, metabolically healthy overweight, metabolically unhealthy overweight, metabolically healthy obese, and metabolically unhealthy obese.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was live birth rate.

RESULTS: Regarding live birth, rates in normal weight women were initially lower for metabolically unhealthy normal weight versus metabolically healthy normal weight (44.6% vs. 48.6%), but this was not significant after multivariate adjustment. In obese women, live birth rates were similar between metabolically unhealthy obese and metabolically healthy obese (41.5% vs. 43.9%), with no adjusted difference. For secondary outcomes, metabolically unhealthy normal weight patients had lower biochemical pregnancy rates than metabolically healthy normal weight (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.76-0.98); high blood pressure was a significant risk factor for this outcome in metabolically unhealthy normal weight (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.72-0.98).

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that different cardio-metabolic risk factors but a similar BMI category may have limited adverse effects on live birth rate.

PMID:40751359 | DOI:10.1111/1753-0407.70132

Int J Paediatr Dent. 2025 Aug 1. doi: 10.1111/ipd.70024. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The relationship between primary teeth and their successors involves complex interactions that may influence the development of permanent teeth.

AIM: To evaluate alterations in permanent premolars after endodontic treatment of their primary molar predecessors.

DESIGN: A prospective study was conducted with children initially aged 5 to 9 years, who were submitted to pulpectomy of a primary molar. The protocol involved instrumentation of root canals and obturation with a zinc oxide-eugenol paste. Follow-up examinations were performed until exfoliation of the primary molars and full eruption of the successor premolar. Permanent premolars were assessed for developmental defects of enamel, ectopic eruption, and crown rotation. Logistic regression was used to explore variables associated with these outcomes.

RESULTS: Forty-seven children were followed up for approximately 6 years. Among the successor permanent premolars, 21.3% presented crown rotation, 10.6% ectopic eruption, 6.4% enamel hypomineralization, and 2.1% enamel hypoplasia. No statistically significant association was observed between the assessed alterations and demographic or treatment-related variables, including pulp status, interradicular lesion, root resorption, or root overfilling (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Eruptive alterations were the most frequent findings. No association was identified between variables related to the endodontic treatment of primary molars and subsequent clinical alterations in permanent premolars.

PMID:40751355 | DOI:10.1111/ipd.70024