Nevin Manimala

ACS Nano. 2025 Oct 27. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5c15982. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Fivefold twinned noble-metal nanocrystals (NCs), particularly decahedral (Dh) structures, are of significant interest owing to their crystallographic structures and physicochemical properties. However, the precise and high-yield synthesis of Dh NCs remains a challenge, as they can adopt multiple shapes (e.g., star, Marks, pentagonal rod, Ino, and regular Dh) with comparable formation energies. In this study, we used in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) to directly visualize the growth and shape evolution of gold Dh by systematically tuning experimental parameters including electron dose rate, precursor concentration, and ligand additives. By modulating the relative growth rates along the vertices (${\overline{v}}_v$) and the twin boundaries (${\overline{v}}_t$) of 5-fold twinned seeds, we achieve controllable structural transformation between star and regular Dh. Furthermore, the introduction of different surfactants leads to the structural transformation from Dh to a truncated or elongated pentagonal nanorod, respectively. Statistical quantitative analyses reveal a critical size threshold for the shape evolution of Dh, dependent on the growth rate, surfactant type, and concentration. Our study details the structural transformation routes among different Dh shapes, thereby deepening the understanding of their growth and shape evolution mechanisms.

PMID:41143442 | DOI:10.1021/acsnano.5c15982

Niger Postgrad Med J. 2025 Oct 1;32(4):439-446. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_96_25. Epub 2025 Oct 27.

ABSTRACT

Adolescents and young women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face disproportionately high rates of HIV infection and unintended pregnancy. As Internet access accelerates across SSA, its implications for adolescent sexual health demand urgent scrutiny. This correspondence examines the association between Internet use and risky sexual behaviours (RSBs) amongst 5920 unmarried, sexually active females aged 15-34, using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from nine countries: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania. Data analysis employed logistic regression methods using R version 4.4.2. The prevalence of RSB was higher amongst Internet users (46.2% vs. 35.7%). It was as high as 72.2% in Lesotho, as low as 21% in Ghana. Internet users were 26% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.09-1.45]) more likely to engage in RSBs. Additional drivers included age, media exposure, non-marital fertility, residence and country-specific factors. Relative to Kenya, elevated odds were found in Lesotho (aOR = 2.54, 95% CI = [1.88-3.46]), Burkina Faso (aOR = 2.13, 95% CI = [1.61-2.81]), Mozambique (aOR = 1.64 [1.26-2.13]) and Rwanda (aOR = 1.90, 95% CI = [1.35-2.70]). While digital platforms hold promise for expanding sexual education, these findings underscore the need for targeted content oversight and culturally responsive interventions to mitigate online health risks.

PMID:41143382 | DOI:10.4103/npmj.npmj_96_25

Niger Postgrad Med J. 2025 Oct 1;32(4):383-391. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_303_24. Epub 2025 Oct 27.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively disrupted health and education systems in Nigeria, especially clinical education, which requires hands-on training and physical assessment of patients. As a result of this peculiarity, an innovative Virtual model to TRain and Assess Clinical Students (VTRACS), a learner centred approach for teaching clinical healthcare professionals acceptability of this virtual reality (VR) model for clinical students’ training and examination, based on limited budget and cost, was developed to mirror a real-life in-class simulation.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, appropriateness and acceptability of this virtual model for clinical students’ training and examination.

METHODS: A mixed-methods research design was employed using both descriptive quantitative data and in-depth interviews. The participants comprised 24 students from dentistry, nursing, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology programmes and eight faculty members at a public University in Southwest Nigeria. All the participants were exposed to VTRACS for training and assessment.

RESULTS: The results showed a high level of feasibility (72%), appropriateness (85%) and acceptability (84%) for the virtual model. The findings from the qualitative data revealed varied views on the implementation of the virtual model for the training and assessment of clinical students. While a vast majority of the participants judged the intervention as effective in teaching and assessment, others expressed some challenges, including possible loss of empathy for patients, less effectiveness for complicated operations and unsuitability for some specific clinical examinations.

CONCLUSION: This study concluded that the model should be integrated and combined with physical training and assessment to optimise the benefits of Virtual Reality (VR) in medical education.

PMID:41143374 | DOI:10.4103/npmj.npmj_303_24

Niger Postgrad Med J. 2025 Oct 1;32(4):376-382. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_148_25. Epub 2025 Oct 27.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment is a growing public health challenge for older adults in nations like India due to demographic changes and chronic diseases, significantly impacting daily function. Despite its importance, there is limited research in quantifying the burden of cognitive impairment.

AIMS: This study aims to assess the prevalence of cognitive impairment among the elderly in an urban area and to determine the associated factors.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2024 and February 2025 in an urban area of Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu. 300 participants aged 60 years and above were selected using two-stage random sampling. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Katz index of independence of activities of daily living (ADL) and DASS-21 scale. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with cognitive impairment (MoCA score ≤24).

RESULTS: The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 36.67%. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) was present in 11.67% of participants. Multivariate analysis revealed that engaging in leisure activities was protective against cognitive impairment (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.332). Factors significantly associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment included gait disturbances (AOR 2.872), dependence in ADL (AOR 5.983) and depression (AOR 7.393).

CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent among the elderly in this urban South Indian community. Promoting leisure activities and addressing modifiable factors such as depression, functional dependence and gait disturbances are important strategies for mitigating cognitive decline in this population.

PMID:41143373 | DOI:10.4103/npmj.npmj_148_25

Niger Postgrad Med J. 2025 Oct 1;32(4):290-296. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_152_25. Epub 2025 Oct 27.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains a significant global health threat, with Africa bearing the highest burden. Pregnant women in Nigeria are particularly vulnerable due to the country’s high malaria prevalence.

OBJECTIVES: The study examined the knowledge and utilisation of Malaria prevention strategies by pregnant women attending some selected primary health centres (PHCs) in Borno State, Nigeria.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study was conducted using a cross-sectional descriptive survey in two local government areas: Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere, in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. Furthermore, Fisher’s formula determined the sample size, and data were collected from 407 pregnant women using a questionnaire recruited through a multistage Sampling. Finally, IBM SPSS version 27 statistical software was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: The mean age ± standard deviation of 26 ± 4.08, and most (80.8%) of pregnant women have good knowledge of malaria prevention. The utilisation of malaria prevention strategies was low, with 79.1% showing an overall poor usage. 60.9% reported using long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, 20.6% had never used larval source management. 54.8% of the respondents were in their second trimester. Knowledge of malaria prevention was associated with the trimester of pregnancy (P = 0.0044), gravidity (P = 0.019) and education (P = 0.001). However, no relationship was found between maternal religion and knowledge of malaria prevention (P = 1.000).

CONCLUSIONS: Although pregnant women are aware of malaria prevention methods, there is a gap in their effective utilisation. To address this, targeted health education, intersectoral collaboration and supportive monitoring at PHC and community levels are recommended.

PMID:41143361 | DOI:10.4103/npmj.npmj_152_25

Data Brief. 2025 Sep 5;62:112030. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2025.112030. eCollection 2025 Oct.

ABSTRACT

Parthenium hysterophorus (Famine weed) is considered one of the top seven most problematic and devastating weeds in the world. It compromises the integrity of ecosystems, human health, agricultural production and biodiversity. For example, the species releases toxic chemicals such phenolics and lactones which inhibit germination and growth of co-occurring species, leading to declines in pasture production, dry grass biomass and natural habitats and biodiversity. It may also lead to health complications in human populations, declined quality of milk and meat products from cattle and degenerative changes in liver and kidney of sheep and buffalo. Therefore, its early detection and discrimination are critical for facilitating site-specific weed management to avert its adverse impacts. The spectral library datasets that characterize P. hysterophorus spectral properties, critical for its detection, are not available in the public domain. Through this article, we aim to make accessible the first spectral dataset for P. hysterophorus and its co-occurring plant species to the research community to facilitate the development of techniques for effectively identifying and mapping its distribution at various scales, facilitate the development of more robust dimensionality reduction and classification models, and support mapping efforts aiming to scale up to operational analysis with airborne and satellite sensors. The data was collected using the Spectral Evolution spectroradiometer at Ndumo Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is made available as Tables (.csv format) containing averaged Raw spectra (per Elementary Sampling Unit [ESU]), pre-processed and multi-sensor resampled data. Moreover, codes are provided in R-Statistical language to replicate the preprocessing and resampling steps. This spectral library dataset for P. hysterophorus is invaluable for aiding early detection and discrimination and evaluating the effectiveness of eradication measures, thus can potentially aid resource allocation and mitigation of severe impacts by the species.

PMID:41143271 | PMC:PMC12545815 | DOI:10.1016/j.dib.2025.112030

Innov Surg Sci. 2024 Aug 26;10(3):109-119. doi: 10.1515/iss-2024-0014. eCollection 2025 Sep.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: After pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) due to pancreatic cancer, recurrence is frequent in almost half of the patients. The rate of R0 resections is associated with the probability of local recurrence and overall survival. A potential intervention to improve the rate of R0 resections is a more radical resection along the superior mesenteric artery (SMA); however, randomized data of such an approach are lacking. Therefore, we conducted the randomized, controlled PancER trial to evaluate the effect of an extended PD compared with conventional PD.

METHODS: Patients were randomized to either an extended PD consisting of a modified Kocher maneuver with partial resection of the prerenal fascia, an uncinate process first approach with systematic mesopancreatic dissection along the SMA equivalent to level III dissection according to Inoue, or conventional PD. The primary endpoint, rate of R0 resections, and other perioperative outcomes were compared.

RESULTS: A total of 50 patients were randomly assigned to extended PD (n=24) or conventional PD (n=26). R0 resections were 10 % more frequent in the extended PD group than in the conventional group (75.0 vs. 64.7 %), which was not statistically significant (p=0.59). Patients self-reported more diarrhea symptoms following extended PD after 30 days (p<0.01). Other perioperative outcomes as well as long-term outcomes were comparable between the two groups.

CONCLUSION: The PancER trial shows that extended PD with more radical resection along the SMA can be performed with comparable perioperative outcomes to conventional PD. Although the intervention improved the R0 resection rate by 10 %, this increase was below expectation. Therefore, an even more radical PD resection technique involving not only the SMA but also the celiac and hepatic artery (TRIANGLE operation) was developed at Heidelberg University. The TRIANGLE operation is currently being evaluated in a randomized controlled multicenter trial. The results of the PancER trial served as pilot data for this subsequent study.

PMID:41143201 | PMC:PMC12552034 | DOI:10.1515/iss-2024-0014

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2025 Oct 10;12:1653988. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1653988. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (ISMAD) is a rare arterial disease, and its exact cause is still not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of anatomical factors in the development of ISMAD.

METHODS: This case-control study included patients diagnosed with ISMAD via computed tomography angiography from two major medical centers in China. An equal number of age-sex and body mass index matched patients without aortic and superior mesenteric artery disease were selected as controls. Several anatomical parameters were compared between the ISMAD group and the control group. Significant parameters were identified through univariate and multivariate analyses, and models were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: A total of 60 patients with isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection and 60 age-sex (52.6 ± 6.1 vs. 52.2 ± 13.5, p = 0.82) and body mass index (24.3 ± 2.5 vs. 24.0 ± 4.0, p = 0.72) matched normal controls from two major hospitals in China were included in the study. Compared with normal controls, the multivariate analysis revealed that curvature (OR 1.239, 95% CI 1.122-1.369, p < 0.001) and tortuosity (OR 0.002, 95% CI, 0.000-0.083, p = 0.001) were independent predictors of ISMAD occurrence.

CONCLUSION: Patients with ISMAD exhibited higher levels of curvature and lower levels of tortuosity compared to normal control group.

PMID:41143194 | PMC:PMC12549576 | DOI:10.3389/fcvm.2025.1653988

Echocardiography. 2025 Nov;42(11):e70329. doi: 10.1111/echo.70329.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Essential hypertension is associated with structural and functional cardiac changes, including left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which significantly increases cardiovascular risk. Left anterior fascicular block (LAFB), historically considered benign, has recently been linked to adverse outcomes. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a noninvasive marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. The interplay between LAFB, LVH, and CIMT in hypertensive patients remains poorly defined.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 256 patients with essential hypertension, divided into LAFB (n = 60) and non-LAFB (n = 196) groups. All participants underwent 12-lead electrocardiography, echocardiography, and carotid ultrasonography. CIMT was measured as a surrogate of vascular remodeling. Echocardiographic indices of cardiac remodeling and CIMT were compared between groups. Logistic regression identified independent predictors of LAFB.

RESULTS: Patients with LAFB had significantly higher left atrial diameter (LAD), left atrial volume index (LAVI), interventricular septal thickness (IVST), posterior wall thickness (PWT), left ventricular mass (LVM), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and prevalence of LVH compared with those without LAFB (all p < 0.001). Mean CIMT values were also greater in the LAFB group (0.82 ± 0.27 vs. 0.72 ± 0.19 mm, p = 0.003). ROC analysis identified LAD >35 mm and LVMI >81 g/m² as useful predictors of LAFB. Multivariate logistic regression showed increased LAD (OR = 7.94, 95% CI: 2.24-28.10, p = 0.001) and LVM (OR = 3.37, 95% CI: 1.49-7.57, p = 0.003) as independent predictors of LAFB.

CONCLUSION: In essential hypertension, LAFB is associated with more advanced cardiac remodeling and increased CIMT. LAD and LVM were independent predictors of LAFB, suggesting that this ECG finding may serve as a simple marker of higher cardiovascular risk.

PMID:41139238 | DOI:10.1111/echo.70329