Nevin Manimala

J Med Virol. 2025 Jul;97(7):e70486. doi: 10.1002/jmv.70486.

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 primarily infects the respiratory tract. Consequently, lung transplantation (LTx) programs have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to summarize the impact of the pandemic on LTx in Belgium. Eurotransplant recorded lung donation and transplantation rates from January 2015 to June 2024. Recipient mortality and LTx for COVID-19 patients were reported by all Belgian LTx centers from January 2016 to June 2023. With the onset of the pandemic, lung donation rates decreased abruptly, reaching their lowest point in the 1st half of 2020 and 2nd half of 2021, with a 44% decrease. Donation rates did not recover until the 2nd half of 2023. Concurrently, annual LTx activity decreased by 20% in 2020, 19% in 2021, and 18% in 2022, subsequently recovering in 2023. Recipient mortality peaked in the 1st half of 2022, with 42% of deaths attributed to COVID-19. Three patients received LTx for COVID-19, and all survived for more than 2 years. LTx programs should prepare for future respiratory virus pandemics. The rapid implementation of evidence-based donor screening; and the reservation of intensive care and operating room capacity can safeguard LTx activity. The high risk of breakthrough infections in LTx recipients requires close follow-up and prompt treatment.

PMID:40616591 | DOI:10.1002/jmv.70486

Int Endod J. 2025 Jul 4. doi: 10.1111/iej.14276. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study evaluated the effectiveness of three-dimensional prototyped macro-models (3DPMM) as an educational aid for teaching endodontic access to dental students.

METHODOLOGY: A total of 72 students were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 24) and participated in study sessions with 3DPMM at different stages: before, during (intermediate) or after performing laboratory projects. The timing of the 3DPMM study sessions rotated across groups for different tooth types (anterior, premolar and molar). Each student performed endodontic access on nine teeth (four anterior, three premolars and two molars). Students completed a questionnaire evaluating their learning experience and confidence. Endodontic access projects were graded by masked instructors, and the data were statistically analysed (α = 0.05).

RESULTS: Students rated their learning experience with the 3DPMM positively, regardless of their differences based on group assignment, tooth type or timing of the study session (p > .05). Procedural errors were observed in 47% of the teeth, with 35.6% exhibiting one error and 11.4% exhibiting two errors. The most common errors included gouging (26.6%) and oversized access cavities (23.5%). Students who completed endodontic access before using the 3DPMM had a significantly higher frequency of multiple errors, oversized access cavities and retained pulp chamber roof (p < .05). Approximately 60% of participants reported increased confidence after using the models, regardless of group assignment, tooth type or study session timing (p > .05).

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that integrating 3DPMM enhanced students’ understanding of internal tooth anatomy, increased their confidence and reduced procedural errors. Students appreciated the hands-on, interactive learning experience offered by the models, reinforcing the value of innovative educational tools in endodontic training.

PMID:40616197 | DOI:10.1111/iej.14276

BMC Nutr. 2025 Jul 4;11(1):121. doi: 10.1186/s40795-025-01046-w.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D supplementation is essential for health, yet its full benefits and optimal use remain incompletely understood, particularly given the global prevalence of deficiency, which affects around 50% of the population, with higher rates in high-latitude regions and among individuals with darker skin. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on the health outcomes of vitamin D supplementation in Africa, addressing gaps in regional and demographic-specific research.

METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Epistemonikos, and Google Scholar, limited to English-language publications without date restrictions. Two independent reviewers evaluated study eligibility, data quality, and risk of bias. The findings were reported in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, employing narrative synthesis and meta-analyses to compare the effects of vitamin D supplementation against control groups. Heterogeneity and publication bias were assessed using Egger’s regression and Q statistics.

RESULTS: The review included 14 randomized controlled trials from 9 African countries, involving 11,259 participants. Half of the studies reported health benefits associated with vitamin D supplementation. Meta-analysis of seven studies demonstrated significant increases in serum vitamin D levels (odds ratio = 6.78, p < 0.001) and reduced viral load in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (odds ratio = 1.63, p = 0.033). However, supplementation did not significantly affect weight gain (odds ratio = 1.1, p = 0.18) or mortality rates in patients with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (odds ratio = 0.971, p = 0.638). Improvements in disease symptoms and biochemical markers were observed (odds ratio = 2.28, p = 0.028), with no significant heterogeneity or publication bias. Subgroup analysis was constrained by the diversity of diseases and insufficient studies.

CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D supplementation showed significant benefits in half of the studies, elevating serum levels and reducing viral load in HIV patients. However, it did not affect weight gain or mortality in TB and HIV patients. While symptom and biomarker improvements were noted, further research is needed to explore subgroup effects and optimize strategies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42024620729.

PMID:40616195 | DOI:10.1186/s40795-025-01046-w

BMC Nutr. 2025 Jul 4;11(1):118. doi: 10.1186/s40795-025-01107-0.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: In 2017, a study uncovered increasing trends in vitamin D supplementation, revealing that 18% of adults exceeded 1000 international units (IU) daily, and 3% surpassed the safe limit of 4000 IU, raising concern for severe hypercalcemia and associated pathological effects on the kidneys, heart, and vascular system. While vitamin D is well-established for prophylactic use against osteomalacia and osteoporosis, its extra-skeletal benefits for healthy individuals, such as improving insulin sensitivity and low-density lipoprotein, remain unclear. This study focuses on defining healthy adults and exploring the potential benefits and drawbacks of prophylactic vitamin D supplementation.

METHODS: Using PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases, 10,155 articles on vitamin D prophylaxis were identified. Randomized controlled trials targeting healthy patients receiving vitamin D for prophylaxis were included, with exclusions based on language, absence of reported outcomes, and patient history. Articles were screened and evaluated by Covidence and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, respectively. Dosage, form, frequency, duration, follow-up care, outcomes, and complications of included articles were recorded. This study protocol has been registered to PROSPERO: CRD42023446944.

RESULTS: Out of 18 articles, 4,415 patients showed low bias risk by the Cochrane tool. Seven studies found significant improvements: protection against autoimmune reactions, elevated hematological and iron profiles, reduced influenza-like illness, and enhanced cognitive tasks. 5000 IU Vitamin D for four weeks significantly reduced cholesterol, unlike 1000 IU for 16 weeks. Conversely, 11 studies revealed no Vitamin D impact on outcomes including hemoglobin-A1c, lipoproteins, BMI, blood pressures, and respiratory infections.

CONCLUSION: Except for a few outcomes, most prophylactic Vitamin D supplementation was generally not found to have statistically significant benefits in the healthy adult population. Future directions can include additional prospective studies with larger sample sizes of healthy adults testing for benefits and adverse effects of prophylactic vitamin D use.

PMID:40616189 | DOI:10.1186/s40795-025-01107-0

Infect Dis Poverty. 2025 Jul 4;14(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s40249-025-01335-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Zoonotic diseases remain a significant public health challenge in China. This study examines the temporal trends, disease burden, and demographic patterns of major zoonoses from 2010 to 2023.

METHODS: This study analyzed data from China’s National Notifiable Infectious Disease Reporting System (NNIDRS, 2010-2023) on nine major zoonoses, including echinococcosis, brucellosis, leptospirosis, anthrax, leishmaniasis, encephalitis (Japanese encephalitis), hemorrhagic fever, rabies, and schistosomiasis. Joinpoint regression was applied to assess annual trends in incidence rates, while autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and exponential smoothing models were used to forecast incidence trends from 2024 to 2035. To assess the performance of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 model in China, disease-specific multipliers-defined as the ratio of GBD estimates to national surveillance data-along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to quantify discrepancies and evaluate the consistency between modeled estimates and empirical observations.

RESULTS: From 2010 to 2023, the incidence rates of leptospirosis [average annual percent change (AAPC) = – 5.527%, 95% CI: – 11.054, – 0.485], encephalitis (AAPC = – 16.934%, 95% CI: – 23.690, – 11.245), hemorrhagic fever (AAPC = – 5.384%, 95% CI: – 7.754, – 2.924), rabies (AAPC = – 20.428%, 95% CI: – 21.076, – 19.841), and schistosomiasis (AAPC = – 28.378%, 95% CI: – 40.688, – 15.656) showed a declining trend in China. In contrast, brucellosis exhibited a modest but statistically significant increase (AAPC = 0.151%, 95% CI: 0.031, 0.272). For most diseases, incidence rates were consistently higher in males than females. Children aged 0-5 years accounted for a substantial proportion of encephalitis and leishmaniasis cases, while adults aged 14-65 years represented the primary affected group across the majority of diseases. Occupationally, farmers and herders were the most affected populations. Compared to national surveillance data, the GBD 2021 model substantially overestimated the burden of zoonotic diseases in China, particularly for echinococcosis (by 3.611-7.409 times) and leishmaniasis (by 3.054-10.500 times).

CONCLUSION: The study revealed significant decline in several major zoonoses in China, while brucellosis showed a continued upward trend. These findings highlight the urgent need for a One Health-based prevention and control system to interrupt cross-species transmission and reduce long-term public health risks.

PMID:40616187 | DOI:10.1186/s40249-025-01335-3

BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 4;13(1):739. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02849-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sub-threshold depression is a prevalent psychological adaptation issue among university students. Although prior research has explored the potential relationship between social media use and depressive symptoms, the findings have been inconsistent, and the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship between passive social network site use and sub-threshold depression in college students from the perspective of the differential susceptibility to media effects model, investigating the mediating role of fear of missing out (FOMO) and the moderating role of coping styles.

METHODS: A total of 738 students from five universities were assessed using the Passive Social Network Site Use Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Fear of Missing Out Scale, and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0, and a moderated mediation model was established using Mplus 8.3.

RESULTS: The findings revealed that: (1) After controlling for gender and age, passive social network site use was a significant positive predictor of sub-threshold depression; (2) FOMO mediated the relationship between passive social network site use and sub-threshold depression; (3) Negative coping styles moderated the relationship between FOMO and sub-threshold depression, such that higher levels of negative coping enhanced the predictive effect of FOMO on sub-threshold depression.

CONCLUSION: The results contribute to understanding the mechanisms through which passive social network site use influences sub-threshold depression in university students. The study suggests that reducing FOMO and enhancing students’ coping styles may help mitigate sub-threshold depression, thereby improving their psychological well-being.

PMID:40616186 | DOI:10.1186/s40359-025-02849-z

BMC Nutr. 2025 Jul 4;11(1):120. doi: 10.1186/s40795-025-01105-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a distinct stage of life characterized by significant physical, psychological, and cognitive development. Maintaining healthy eating behaviors during this period is crucial for preventing various forms of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. This study aimed to assess the effects of educational interventions based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on improving the healthy eating intention of adolescents in selected schools in Bardiya District.

METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among eighth and ninth graders aged between 12 and 18 years from two public schools in Badhaiyatal Rural Municipality of Nepal, one as an intervention (IG) and the other as a control group (CG), selected randomly. A total of 167 students participated in the study, with 82 in the IG and 85 in the CG. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires at baseline and4 weeks after the intervention. The intervention package consisted of an interactive lecture, a group discussion, a poster, an educational video, and a song. In contrast, the control group followed the regular school curriculum without any additional nutrition education. The educational intervention for the IG consisted of 6 sessions, each lasting 60 min. Data were entered and analyzed in SPSS V22, using a chi-square test, paired t-test, and linear regression.

RESULTS: The educational intervention led to significant improvements in knowledge and TPB constructs, with these changes being statistically significant (p < 0.001). The adjusted mean score increases in TPB constructs because the interaction of time and intervention increased from 0.47 to 5.49. The highest gain (β = 5.49; p = 0.001) was observed in the perceived behavioural control score whereas, a minor improvement was seen in behaviour (β = 0.47; p = 0.112). After the intervention, a net increase in the healthy eating intention score was 14.8% compared with that of the control group.

CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that multipronged educational intervention may be effective in improving adolescents’ healthy eating intentions, mainly through perceived eating control and attitude. Model-based and construct-oriented health education can be used with caution in schools to promote healthy eating intentions.

PMID:40616175 | DOI:10.1186/s40795-025-01105-2

J Forensic Sci. 2025 Jul 4. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.70123. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Forensic anthropologists commonly estimate osteological sex using separate metric and morphological analyses, without integrating both data types into a single statistical model. Combining data types into one classification model has the potential to increase sex classification accuracies for the skull. Therefore, the present study seeks to improve sex classification accuracies for the skull by combining morphological and metric variables using decision trees. The main objectives are to (1) generate multiple decision trees that combine metric and morphological variables, (2) compare the classification accuracies of the generated trees to current standard osteological sex estimation methods, and (3) compare the results of the combined data trees to separate morphological and metric trees. The sample included 212 European Americans (males = 106, females = 106) and 191 African Americans (males = 114, females = 77). Decision trees were trained on 80% of the sample and tested using a 20% holdout sample. Multiple trees were generated using 12 morphological and 14 metric variables. The skull (87.9%-100%) and cranium (90.9%-100%) models achieved higher accuracies compared to the mandible models (72.7%-92%). Additionally, the pooled, population-inclusive models performed as well as or better than the separate population models. Overall, the combined-data models attained higher classification accuracies than previous studies that integrated skull measurements and morphological traits, as well as compared to separate decision trees for both data types. Future research should continue to explore implementing decision trees for osteological sex estimation, including models combining metric and morphological variables from multiple skeletal regions.

PMID:40616150 | DOI:10.1111/1556-4029.70123

BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 4;13(1):729. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03058-4.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To explore the relationship between virtuous personality and bystander defending behavior among college students, and to examine the roles of moral identity and friendship quality, a survey was conducted with 643 college students.

METHODS: The survey used the Chinese Virtuous Personality Scale, the Bystander Defending Behavior Scale, the Moral Identity Scale, and the Friendship Quality Inventory. To test the hypotheses, descriptive statistics, t-tests, and correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 22.0. Additionally, mediation and moderation effects were tested using the SPSS macro program PROCESS, specifically Models 4, 7, and 59.

RESULTS: The results revealed the following: (1) a significant positive correlation was found between virtuous personality, bystander defending behavior, moral identity, and friendship quality; (2) virtuous personality not only directly and positively predicted bystander defending behavior, but also influenced this behavior through the mediating role of moral identity; (3) the first part of the mediating effect- “virtuous personality → moral identity → bystander defending behavior”-was moderated by friendship quality. Specifically, the impact of virtuous personality on moral identity was stronger in individuals with higher friendship quality compared to those with lower friendship quality.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that virtuous personality can enhance bystander defending behavior among college students by fostering moral identity. However, lower levels of friendship quality can weaken the positive influence of virtuous personality on moral identity, thereby affecting bystander defending behavior.

PMID:40616135 | DOI:10.1186/s40359-025-03058-4

BMC Vet Res. 2025 Jul 5;21(1):440. doi: 10.1186/s12917-025-04908-4.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasmosis in camels is an important zoonotic infection with considerable economic and public health impacts, particularly in the pastoral regions of Ethiopia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected districts of the Borana zone, Southern Oromia of Ethiopia, to estimate the Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence infection and associated risk factors in camels. Accordingly, 352 camel blood samples were randomly collected. Then, the sera were separated from the blood and analyzed using a latex agglutination test.

RESULTS: According to this study, the seroprevalence of camel T. gondii in the study districts using the latex agglutination test was 7.9%. The current study revealed that the T. gondii seroprevalence was relatively higher in the Miyo (9.1%) district. The males (8.9%), the adult age group (5.8%), and the poor-condition camels (21.0%) had higher seroprevalence. There was a statistically significant association between the body condition and the seroprevalence of camel T. gondii (p = 0.016). However, no statistically significant difference was noted between the seroprevalence of camel T. gondii and the peasant association, districts, age, and sex.

CONCLUSION: This study revealed a significant prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in camels, posing a potential public health risk in the study area. To effectively control the disease and minimize its impact on both animal and human health, it is important to raise public awareness, implement practical biosecurity measures, and conduct further comprehensive studies.

PMID:40616134 | DOI:10.1186/s12917-025-04908-4