Nevin Manimala

Microbiol Resour Announc. 2025 Oct 29:e0017425. doi: 10.1128/mra.00174-25. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We report an updated draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. isolate H28, a melanin-producing bacterium recovered from the sediments of Meycauayan River, Philippines. The improvement in sequencing methodology is reflected in the reported statistics. The new sequence data is highly useful for future exploration given the melanogenesis of the bacterium.

PMID:41159971 | DOI:10.1128/mra.00174-25

Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec;16(1):2571252. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2571252. Epub 2025 Oct 29.

ABSTRACT

Background: Forced displacement is globally increasing, with children and adolescents being particularly affected. Exposure to armed conflict, the flight itself and challenges of settling in new environments put them at risk of experiencing potentially traumatic events and developing mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Still, limited information is available regarding the traumatic experiences, psychological stress and treatment goals of treatment-seeking refugee children and adolescents.Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated data from refugee minors seeking treatment at an Outpatient Health Care Center for Refugee Children in Germany. The standard diagnostic procedure included assessing sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic experiences before, during and after flight and mental health problems, including the diagnosis of PTSD and depression. Treatment goals were also examined.Results: From October 2016 to December 2023, a total of 716 refugee minors participated in the study. They were on average 15.13 years old, 56.3% of the sample were unaccompanied, and 72.1% were male. Most participants were from Afghanistan and Syria. Repeated interpersonal violence was frequently experienced in the home country (65.5%), during flight (59.3%), and in Germany (13.7%). The majority of children and adolescents fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of PTSD (57.8%), and the prevalence of depressive episodes was 44.2%, with a comorbidity rate of 35.9%. The majority of refugee minors identified specific treatment goals, particularly for reducing trauma-related symptoms such as negative thoughts, sleep issues, and nightmares.Conclusions: Our findings provide novel data on the mental health problems, pre-, peri- and post-migration traumatic experiences and treatment expectations in a treatment-seeking sample of refugee minors. The findings highlight the importance of developing trauma-focused interventions and improving clinicians’ skills to address effects of complex, potentially ongoing, traumatic experiences and to tailor treatment to personal treatment goals. This is essential for providing high quality care for refugee minors.

PMID:41159958 | DOI:10.1080/20008066.2025.2571252

Eur J Public Health. 2025 Oct 29:ckaf175. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckaf175. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Dental and periodontal infections can lead to serious systemic complications through bacterial dissemination. While global awareness of these risks is increasing, data on the incidence and outcomes of such complications remain limited. This study aims to quantify the incidence of serious extraoral infectious complications associated with dental infectious foci, using dental procedures as markers of active oral infection, in the Czech Republic between 2010 and 2022. A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from the National Register of Reimbursed Health Services. Patients who underwent invasive dental procedures indicating active dental/periodontal infection and were hospitalized for severe infectious conditions within 7 days were identified. This temporal criterion captured both cases where dental procedures preceded systemic spread and cases where dental foci were identified during workup for serious infections. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysed incidence rates and temporal trends. Among 15 098 093 dental procedures over 13 years, annual hospitalizations for associated infectious complications ranged from 855 to 1252 cases. Overall incidence was 12.82 per 100 000 population annually. Oral region complications (cellulitis, abscesses, osteomyelitis) were most common (9.48 per 100 000), followed by systemic complications (sepsis and endocarditis) (2.89 per 100 000). Significant increasing trends were observed for jaw periostitis (P = .006), endocarditis (P < .001), and central nervous system abscesses (P = .027), while acute sinusitis declined (P < .001). This population-based analysis reveals a substantial incidence of serious infectious complications associated with dental infectious foci, with concerning increasing trends in potentially life-threatening conditions. These findings emphasize the importance of preventive dental care and early intervention strategies.

PMID:41159935 | DOI:10.1093/eurpub/ckaf175

Aging Male. 2025 Dec 11;28(1):2568729. doi: 10.1080/13685538.2025.2568729. Epub 2025 Oct 29.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To systematically compare the efficacy and safety of medications in elderly with overactive bladder.

METHODS: Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials databases were systematically searched from database inception to July 25, 2023, and randomized, controlled, double-blind trials for overactive bladder in the elderly were screened according to the protocol. Data were analyzed using Stata17.0.

RESULTS: In terms of reducing Micturitions, the interventions were ranked: trospium chloride (TRO), fesoterodine (FES) 4/8 mg, vibegron (VIB), mirabegron (MIR) 25/50 mg, tolterodine ER (TOL) 4 mg, placebo (PBO), of which only TOL showed no significant difference compared to placebo; Forsafety, the TEAE of TOL 4/8 mg had the highest incidence and was significantly different from others; MIR, VIB, and FES 4mg were well-tolerated regarding dry mouth and constipation; TOL 4 mg, FES 4/8 mg, and VIB showed a statistically increase from placebo for headache and FES 4/8mg and MIR 25 mg showed a statistically increase for dizziness.

CONCLUSIONS: TRO 60 mg has the best efficacy in reducing micturitions, but increases the incidence of dry mouth and constipation; VIB and MIR are well tolerated in dry mouth and constipation, but may increase the risk of headache or dizziness.

PMID:41159930 | DOI:10.1080/13685538.2025.2568729

J Health Organ Manag. 2025 Oct 30:1-19. doi: 10.1108/JHOM-10-2024-0416. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between nursing care satisfaction levels and nursing image perceptions of patients hospitalized in inpatient units of a university hospital.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This is a descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional study. The study data were collected from 610 patients hospitalized in the inpatient units of a university hospital with the Introductory Information Form, Patient Perception of Hospital Experience with Nursing Care and the Nursing Image Scale. Descriptive analyses, independent groups t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation analysis were employed in the analysis of the data.

FINDINGS: It was determined that the Nursing Image Scale scores differed statistically significantly according to the participants’ age, education level, state of thinking that they received quality nursing care and nursing image perception of the participants. It can be stated that the satisfaction of the patients participating in the study with the nursing care provided is high, and the nursing image they perceive is at a high level and positive. A positive and significant relationship was found between the participants’ nursing care satisfaction levels and their perceptions of nursing image (r = 0.502, p < 0.01).

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The results of the study are very important in terms of showing the effect of the image of nursing not only in terms of the development of the profession but also on the perception of the care provided. It is recommended that health institutions and managers determine more strategies in this regard because it affects the preferability of their institutions and the satisfaction of the care provided.

PMID:41159922 | DOI:10.1108/JHOM-10-2024-0416

Expert Rev Proteomics. 2025 Oct 29. doi: 10.1080/14789450.2025.2580647. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Recent advances in multi-omic technologies and computational tools have enabled comprehensive studies of cancer that integrate proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to improve disease understanding and outcomes.

AREAS COVERED: 1. Recent improvements in throughput and decreasing sample mass requirements have enabled deep analysis of hundreds of human samples in multi-omic studies, increasing the statistical rigor of these studies and facilitating comparisons across clinical and demographic categories.2. Despite advances in statistical modeling, machine learning, and pathway-aware analysis, the principal outcome from these observational studies remains correlational – strong statistical associations between omic features and clinical characteristics, including clinical outcomes.3. Demonstration of causal relationships requires multi-pronged mechanistic experiments involving techniques in molecular and cellular biology that are distinct from the analytical and computational skills needed to generate these datasets.Database used: National Library of Medicine PubMed database.

EXPERT OPINION: True clinical utility depends on the demonstration of causal relationships between candidate targets and the biomedical process of interest. Enhanced collaboration with molecular and cellular biologists skilled in the use of modern tools of genetic manipulation and engineered model systems is required to realize the full translational potential of even the most comprehensive multi-omic studies.

PMID:41159901 | DOI:10.1080/14789450.2025.2580647

J Periodontol. 2025 Oct 29. doi: 10.1002/JPER.24-0707. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A self-reported questionnaire developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Periodontology (CDC/AAP) has demonstrated adequate reliability for evaluating periodontal status in national surveillance surveys–which has been translated and validated in multiple languages–but has not yet been tested in Thai. Therefore, this cross-sectional study evaluated the validity of the CDC/AAP self‑report questionnaire for periodontitis in a Thai population.

METHODS: The Thai version of CDC/AAP self-reported questionnaire was developed. Full-mouth periodontal examinations were performed, and periodontitis was diagnosed using CDC/AAP 2012 or European Federation of Periodontology (EFP)/AAP 2018 case definition. Association between questionnaire responses and a periodontitis diagnosis was assessed using multiple regression modeling. Several predictive models were constructed and their validity assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves.

RESULTS: The study included 250 participants resided in Chiang Mai, Thailand, aged 20-82 years, with 83.6% and 84.4% diagnosed with periodontitis based on CDC/AAP 2012 and EFP/AAP 2018 case definitions, respectively. CDC/AAP questions revealed a satisfactory performance in predicting CDC/AAP-defined severe periodontitis and EFP/AAP-defined stage III/IV periodontitis. Additional questions regarding demographic data and periodontal risk factors improved the performance. Reduced model constructed using stepwise regression yielded sensitivity versus specificity of 57.8% versus 84.0% and 79.4% versus 81.4% for predicting CDC/AAP-defined severe periodontitis and EFP/AAP-defined stage III/IV periodontitis, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire in Thai version demonstrated better performance in predicting advanced stages of periodontitis when combined with demographic variables and periodontal risk factors. Our findings highlight the potential utility of this tool in diverse populations.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Despite being one of the most common diseases in humans, periodontal disease diagnosis is not easy at the individual and surveillance levels. Efforts have been made to assemble tools to ease the process, and questionnaires are an auspicious tool. This study aimed to validate the self-reported questionnaire developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with the American Academy of Periodontology for predicting periodontal disease in the Thai population. The validity of the questionnaires was assessed by comparing the self-reported responses to the data collected through a full-mouth examination by a third-year resident from the Periodontology Residency Training Program. In our study, questions related to signs of the disease showed promising validity as a predictive variable for periodontitis, especially its severe form, and the questionnaires performed better when used together with other questions, such as age and education level.

PMID:41159894 | DOI:10.1002/JPER.24-0707

J Infect Dis. 2025 Oct 29:jiaf544. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaf544. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis and malaria are major poverty-related parasitic infectious diseases. They are often co-endemic and affect similar target populations. Mass drug administration and intermittent preventive treatment programs are commonly used for their control. From a programmatic perspective the conception of preventive treatment programs targeting both diseases simultaneously would be a great advantage. While there is preliminary evidence that certain anti-malarial drugs exert a clinically important effect on Schistosomes, little is known on whether praziquantel (PZQ), the only licensed drug to treat schistosomiasis, has activity against Plasmodium parasites. Therefore, the CORMA-MAL study was conducted to evaluate anti-malarial activity of PZQ.

METHODS: This double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb trial was conducted in Lambaréné, Gabon and recruited semi-immune adults with an asymptomatic P. falciparum parasitemia. Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive placebo or 40mg/kg PZQ once daily for three days and followed up for a total of seven days.

RESULTS: 44 participants were recruited. Analytical models indicated a highly significant hourly reduction of microscopically-determined parasitemia in the PZQ arm and a non-significant decreasing trend in the placebo group (regression slopes of log10-transformed parasitemia: β=-0.006 [p<0.001] and β=-0.0013 [p=0.3], respectively). However, in total only 9/22 (41%) in the PZQ arm compared to 6/22 (27%) in the placebo arm reached parasite clearance by D7.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate a statistically significant anti-malarial activity of PZQ; however, the observed effect is only moderate compared to current first-line anti-malarial treatments. Future research should investigate the synergistic potential of combining PZQ and antimalarial drugs in malaria and schistosomiasis control.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered in the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR); Registration number: PACTR202206584817951; Date of Approval: 10/JUN/2022; URL: https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=22586).

PMID:41159886 | DOI:10.1093/infdis/jiaf544

Dent Med Probl. 2025 Oct 28. doi: 10.17219/dmp/210478. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cohen has emphasized that the recommended thresholds for effect sizes should only be used in the absence of detailed information about effect size distributions within specific fields.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to establish updated effect size thresholds (Cohen’s d, Hedges’ g and Pearson’s r) tailored for research in dentistry.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Following methodologies from prior research on effect sizes, the data was extracted from meta-analyses published in the top 10 ranked dentistry journals. The 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles were calculated for Pearson’s r values, as well as for Cohen’s d or Hedges’ g. A total of 4,250 studies were analyzed, with statistical analyses conducted using the R programming language.

RESULTS: The 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles for Pearson’s r in individual differences research were 0.16, 0.40 and 0.67, respectively. For Hedges’ g, the percentiles corresponding to small, medium and large effect sizes were 0.10, 0.35 and 0.86, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: In light of these findings, researchers in the field of dentistry are encouraged to adopt the following thresholds: for Pearson’s r, 0.20 for small effects, 0.40 for medium effects and 0.70 for large effects; and for Cohen’s d or Hedges’ g, 0.10 for small effects, 0.40 for medium effects and 0.90 for large effects. These updated thresholds can improve the rigor and quality of dental research, ultimately benefiting patients through enhanced diagnostics and treatment strategies.

PMID:41159861 | DOI:10.17219/dmp/210478

J Clin Psychiatry. 2025 Oct 27;86(4):25m15881. doi: 10.4088/JCP.25m15881.

ABSTRACT

Objective: Brief social contact-based video interventions are effective in decreasing self-stigma and increasing treatment-seeking intentions. The present study is the first to target essential workers with self-reported anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that viewers of the intervention would show greater increases in treatment-seeking intentions than nonviewers and that those without prior mental health diagnoses or care would have larger increases than those with past mental health care engagement. Additionally, participants who were more emotionally engaged with the intervention would experience greater treatment-seeking intention increases.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial recruited 1,309 essential workers via crowdsourcing who self-reported threshold levels of anxiety, depression, or PTSD symptoms to view either a brief social contact-based video intervention or a control video. Participants’ treatment-seeking intentions were assessed using 3 items from the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 30 days afterward.

Results: Generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses revealed an immediate group-by-time effect of increased treatment-seeking intentions in the intervention group (P = .006, Cohen d = 0.22). Further GEE analyses revealed significant effects among individuals in the intervention group without prior psychiatric diagnoses (P < .001, Cohen d = 0.41), as compared to those with psychiatric diagnoses, and among those without prior treatment experience (P < .001, Cohen d = 0.40) compared to those who had. Participants who were more emotionally engaged experienced significantly greater increases in treatment-seeking intentions (P < .001).

Conclusion: All hypotheses were supported, indicating the efficacy of a brief video intervention in increasing treatment-seeking intentions among essential workers with clinical needs. These results highlight the ability of brief, easily disseminated interventions to reach those most in need of care and effectively increase treatment-seeking intentions.

Trial Registration: Trial identifier: NCT05826132.

PMID:41159853 | DOI:10.4088/JCP.25m15881