Nevin Manimala

Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2025 Jan 17;29:29-40. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2025.01.005. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The oral healthcare sector is witnessing a significant increase in the creation of eco-friendly biomaterials intended to inflict minimal damage to humans and the environment, primarily due to the inadequacies of conventional synthetic restorative materials which have a short shelf life and are prone to instability. The main objective of this study was to synthesise cost-effective titania nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) from biowaste corn silky hair fibre.

METHODS: The titania nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) were characterised through x-ray diffraction; scanning electron microscopy; energy-dispersive spectroscopy; Fourier transform spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy, as well as dynamic light-scattering to identify their phases, morphologies, dimensions, and chemical compositions. The nanoparticles were subsequently integrated into standard glass ionomer cement (GIC) to create innovative smart titania-enriched glass ionomer cement at multiple concentrations in the form of 4 × 4 × 1 mm blocks, which were evaluated for enamel shear bond strength, spectral mapping, and surface topography.

RESULTS: Confirmation was obtained that the newly synthesised TiO₂ nanoparticles, with a particle diameter of 24.17 nm and a pure rutile phase, displayed a spherical morphology and a smooth surface. Adding 5 % of these smart titania nanoparticles to GIC resulted in a substantial increase in its shear bond strength to enamel, which rose to 4.93 + 0.74 MPa, with a standard error of 0.23, and this change was statistically significant at p < 0.05. The material’s sustainable surface characteristics were confirmed by the presence of increased Fluorine (6.46 %) and Titanium (0.79 %) alongside a decrease in the amounts of Aluminium (23.51 %), Silicon (20.01 %), Phosphorus (0.33 %), and Sulphur (0.09 %), as indicated by spectral mapping.

CONCLUSION: This study developed eco-friendly and sustainable titanium dioxide nanoparticles from silky corn hair fibres. The addition of titania nanoparticles to conventional glass-ionomer cement resuledt in increased enamel shear bond strength and altered surface texture with higher titanium and fluorine content, making it a promising smart restorative material for dentistry.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A new smart material containing titania-enriched glass ionomer cement showed its ability to significantly improve enamel shear bond strength and extend its storage life. These eco-friendly biomaterials have considerable clinical potential to provide enhanced stability and performance in the oral environment.

PMID:39906909 | PMC:PMC11791324 | DOI:10.1016/j.csbj.2025.01.005

Front Nutr. 2025 Jan 21;11:1521567. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1521567. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: High body mass index (BMI) is a crucial determinant in low back pain (LBP) incidence and progression. However, the effect of increased BMI on LBP has been largely overlooked at the global, regional, and national levels. This research aimed to use data from the 2021 global burden of disease (GBD) study to determine trends associated with LBP due to high BMI from 1990 to 2021, thereby providing evidence for developing targeted policies.

METHODS: Epidemiological data on the association between high BMI and LBP is obtained from the GBD 2021. Disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI-related LBP are stratified by year, age, country, and socio-demographic index (SDI). The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to evaluate the trends from 1990 to 2021. A Bayesian age-period cohort (BAPC) model was used to assess the corresponding trends from 2022 to 2036. Additionally, statistical models, such as decomposition analysis and frontier analysis, were used.

RESULTS: According to the GBD 2021, the number of DALYs caused by LBP attributed to high BMI reached 8,363,759 in 2021, which is an increase of 170.97% since 1990. The age-standardized rate of disability-adjusted life years (ASDR) for LBP caused by high BMI has been increasing from 1990 to 2021, with an EAPC of 1.14%. Among the five SDI regions, ASDR has increased. High-income North Americans exhibited the highest risk of LBP caused by high BMI, with Hungary being the most affected. Frontier analysis highlights the urgent need for intervention in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada. Finally, the burden of LBP related to high BMI will continue to rise from 2022 to 2036.

CONCLUSION: Between 1990 and 2021, there was a global increase in lower back pain due to high BMI, with a projected continuation of this trend. Monitoring BMI is crucial for developing region-specific and national strategies, and research emphasizes the urgency of reducing the health burden of high BMI and improving the quality of life for the global population.

PMID:39906897 | PMC:PMC11790459 | DOI:10.3389/fnut.2024.1521567

Environ Res Health. 2025 Mar 1;3(1):015014. doi: 10.1088/2752-5309/adac03. Epub 2025 Feb 3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In the 6 months following Hurricane Maria the number of people who died from the hurricane was much higher than was initially estimated from death certificates. Disruption of health care services and displacement led to the exacerbation of pre-existing chronic diseases. The objectives of this study were to (1) estimate the excess deaths in Puerto Rico in the 6 months following Maria, (2) identify geographical areas experiencing higher risk of chronic disease mortality following Maria and (3) identify community-level vulnerability characteristics associated with some communities being at higher risk of increased chronic disease mortality after Maria.

METHODS: Death records were obtained from Puerto Rico’s Department of Health Demographic Registry. Mortality risks per 100 000 were calculated for chronic disease categories and all-cause mortality for the 6 months following Maria and the same months in the year before. Geospatial analysis using Getis-Ord Gi* Statistic was used to determine if mortality clusters of 6 month mortality risk following hurricane Maria by census tract were statistically significant. Multinomial logistic regression was used to model the association between census tract level social vulnerability and being classified as higher or sustained risk of mortality in the 6 months following Hurricane Maria compared to the previous year’s mortality risk. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated to measure associations between social vulnerability and mortality risk.

RESULTS: In the 6 months following Maria there were increases in mortality risk for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, sepsis, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension and all-cause mortality. Examining community level characteristics associated with vulnerability to disasters, neighborhoods with higher proportion of people 65 and older, higher proportion of houses being multiunit structures and higher proportion of households with no vehicle, in comparison to other neighborhoods in Puerto Rico,were more likely to have sustained high risk for mortality before and after Maria or increased risk of being a hot spot for chronic disease mortality after Maria.

PMID:39906886 | PMC:PMC11788712 | DOI:10.1088/2752-5309/adac03

Open Mind (Camb). 2025 Jan 23;9:210-239. doi: 10.1162/opmi_a_00186. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

A remarkable feature of human intelligence is the ability to optimize our decisions based on the potential actions of others. This ability, i.e., strategic sophistication, is crucial in strategic interactions, where we need to predict others’ actions (first-order beliefs), anticipate others’ beliefs about our own possible actions (second-order beliefs), and optimize decisions based on such beliefs. While behavioral research has highlighted systematic departures from theoretically optimal behavior in strategic interactions, little is known about the possibility of enhancing strategic sophistication. In particular, no studies investigated whether and how the interaction between exogenous factors (i.e., the learning environment) and endogenous factors (i.e., individual cognitive abilities) shapes learning in strategic settings. In a novel mouse-tracking study, we manipulate the learning environment and test its interaction with individual cognitive abilities in determining context-specific and transfer of learning in interactive games. Choice and process data reveal that the interplay between individual cognitive abilities and the learning environment does modulate participants’ learning. The learning environment determines what is learned and whether acquired knowledge is applied in similar contexts and transferred to novel settings. Moreover, learning success in different strategic environments depends on individual cognitive abilities. In particular, higher levels of cognitive reflection are necessary to learn sophisticated strategic behavior (i.e., forming second-order beliefs) and transfer acquired knowledge to more complex strategic environments after receiving relevant feedback. However, higher cognitive reflection levels are insufficient to prevent the misapplication of procedures learned in a specific environment to other strategic contexts with substantial structural differences. Our results provide novel insights into the factors that promote or hamper learning in interactive decision-making.

PMID:39906870 | PMC:PMC11793201 | DOI:10.1162/opmi_a_00186

Open Mind (Camb). 2025 Jan 23;9:189-209. doi: 10.1162/opmi_a_00184. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

Young infants can segment continuous speech with acoustic as well as statistical cues. Understanding how these cues interact can be informative about how infants solve the segmentation problem. This study investigates the use of acoustic and statistical cues by both adult French speakers and 6-to-7-month-old French-learning infants. Both groups were familiarized with a naturally recorded string, alternating either in duration (long-short) or in intensity (soft-loud). In addition, statistical cues were present in both strings, signaling different word boundaries than the acoustic cues. The adults were tested in a recognition task and the infants with the Head-turn Preference Procedure. Results show that the French-speaking adults segmented the strings by responding to the acoustic cues in both familiarization conditions, following the predictions of the Iambic-Trochaic Law. In contrast, the French-learning infants displayed segmentation based on TPs in the Intensity condition only. These findings collectively contribute to our understanding of how the use of acoustic and statistical cues to decode linguistic input changes between infancy and adulthood and differs across languages.

PMID:39906869 | PMC:PMC11793197 | DOI:10.1162/opmi_a_00184

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 11;11(2):e41919. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41919. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore whether cavitation generated by ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles (USMB) can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of colchicine and diminish its gastrointestinal side effects in rats with acute gouty arthritis (AGA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rat AGA model was established by injection of Monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. The rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (A: control group, B: model control group, C: cavitation group, D: high dose colchicine group, E: cavitation + low dose colchicine group, F: cavitation + high dose colchicine group) according to whether they were given cavitation and different doses of colchicine. The effect of cavitation on blood perfusion was analyzed by comparing contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and the area under the curve (AUC) of CEUS with the ankle joint of right hind limb. The AGA symptoms were assessed by referring to the degree of ankle joint swelling within 24 h and the gait score. The infiltration of neutrophils was determined using the hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining method. For the evaluation of vascular inflammation and dilation, plasma interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) served as the key indicators. Besides, the severity of gastrointestinal adverse reactions is determined by analyzing the gastrointestinal reaction scores.

RESULTS: When compared with groups A, B, and D, the AUC was markedly higher in groups C, E, and F (all P < 0.05). In groups E and F, the degree of ankle swelling, gait scores, and the level of plasma IL-1β in AGA rats were lower, while the concentration of plasma eNOS was higher compared to the group D (all P < 0.05). HE staining findings demonstrated that the integration of cavitation and colchicine played a positive role in reducing neutrophil infiltration in the ankle joint synovium and mitigating the gastrointestinal reaction score in AGA rats. In contrast to groups D, E, and F that were given colchicine, group E had a substantially lower gastrointestinal reaction score, with statistically significant differences observed in pairwise comparisons (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: In rats with AGA, cavitation generated by USMB exerted a remarkable effect on augmenting the blood perfusion of the ankle joint. This, in turn, not only amplified the anti-gout efficacy of colchicine but also reduced the dosage of colchicine. Concurrently, it effectively mitigated the associated gastrointestinal side effects.

PMID:39906862 | PMC:PMC11791222 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41919

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 18;11(2):e41826. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41826. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

This research explores the practices and abilities of the people of Salatiga City in accepting the existence of “The Others” or other groups in the context of religious tolerance. Salatiga is known as one of the most tolerant cities in Indonesia, demonstrating success in managing social harmony and inclusion. This research utilizes a two-stage Action Research Cycle (ARC). The research revealed that Salatiga City Government has implemented various policies and strategies to promote acceptance of diversity, such as anti-discrimination regulations, integration of tolerance issues in development plans, and cultural, educational, and policy approaches. The findings show that these strategies have been largely effective in improving acceptance of Others and religious tolerance in Salatiga, which is reflected in the high scores in the Tolerant City Index. While significant progress has been made, the study also identified ongoing challenges in maintaining religious tolerance. These include addressing the remaining inequality between major and minor religions, and mitigating potential sources of conflict. These challenges highlight the need for continued efforts and refinement of existing strategies. The perceptions and experiences of the people of Salatiga tend to be positive in accepting “The Others” and building religious tolerance, supported by the active role of the government, educational institutions, religious leaders, and the community. This research emphasizes the importance of ongoing efforts to maintain and strengthen inclusivity and harmony in Salatiga City, recognizing both the successes achieved and the work that remains to be done.

PMID:39906850 | PMC:PMC11791108 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41826

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 16;11(2):e42052. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42052. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive cancers due to its high mortality rate in spite of intensive treatment. It may be happened because of drug resistance against their typical receptors, since these receptor genes are often mutated by environmental stress. So identifying mutated oncodriver genes which could be used as potential drug target is essential in order to develop effective new therapeutic drugs as well as better prognosis for GBM patients. In this study, we analyzed whole exome sequencing (WES) profiles of NCBI database on GBM and matched-normal (control) samples originated from astrocyte like neural stem cells (NSC) of subventricular zone (SVZ) to explore GBM-causing mutated oncodriver genes, since SVZ is considered as the origin of GBM development. We detected 16 mutated oncodriver genes. Then, filtering by differential co-expression analysis based on independent RNA-Seq profiles of CGGA database revealed 10 genes as dysregulated oncodriver genes. Following that, 3 significantly overexpressed oncodriver genes (MTCH2, VWF, and WDR89) were identified as potential drug targets. Then molecular mechanisms of GBM development were investigated by these three overexpressed driver genes through gene ontology (GO), KEGG-pathways, Gene regulatory network (GRN) and mutation analysis. Finally, overexpressed oncodriver genes guided top-ranked six drug agents (Irinotecan, Imatinib, etoposide, pazopanib, trametinib and cabozanitinib) were recommended against GBM through molecular docking study. Most of our findings received support by the literature review also. Therefore, the findings of this study might carry potential values to the wet-lab researchers for further investigation in terms of diagnosis and therapies of GBM.

PMID:39906820 | PMC:PMC11791140 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42052

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 17;11(2):e42091. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42091. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

Non-sewered sanitation (NSS) has been adopted by a significant population, especially in developing countries. For the effective operation of NSS, it is important to ensure optimal treatment of the collected faecal sludge (FS) in on-site sanitation systems. Solid-liquid separation is among the most important steps in the treatment of FS in NSS. The ability of the FS for solid-liquid separation has assumed greater significance in the design and operation of sludge treatment process. Although dewatering indices such as specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and capillary suction time (CST) have been extensively used to determine the limits of sludge dewaterability, these parameters do not provide information on the limits of unbound moisture. The unbound and bound moisture fractions of the FS samples were determined using different methods, and each method was evaluated for reliability. Different FS samples were collected from ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, urine diversion dehydrating toilets (UDDT) and septic tanks (ST). Batch settling tests (BST), centrifugation, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and water activity (WA) measurements were performed on the samples. While the BST provided the settleability of FS at gravitational force, and centrifugation estimated the relative limit of solid-liquid separability upon application of a force, the boundary of unbound moisture or the interface of unbound and bound moisture fractions as determined by TGA, DSC and WA. Evidently there was a fine overlap of the unbound and bound moisture at the interface due to presence of some tightly held unbound moisture and loosely held bound moisture. The unbound-bound moisture interface, thus, can be experimentally determined to be between 51.07 and 60.35 % for VIP sludge, 51.48-64.38 % for UDDT sludge, 62.29-66.71 % for ST-wGW sludge and 59.11-60.37 % for ST-GW sludge. Although hypothesis testing revealed no statistically significant difference between the methods and sample types, it can be concluded that WA demonstrated the highest reliability in terms of accuracy, ease of measurement, rapidity and repeatability.

PMID:39906817 | PMC:PMC11791258 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42091

World J Surg. 2025 Feb 4. doi: 10.1002/wjs.12501. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Strangulation and hanging injuries are a common form of self-inflicted harm. The incidence of associated blunt cerebrovascular injury and its correlation with clinical findings remains unclear. Furthermore, the decision to image and the choice of imaging remains unresolved.

METHODS: A multicenter retrospective review of a prospectively collected database was performed of all patients who presented with a hanging or strangulation injury. All patients underwent a CT angiogram. Inferential and descriptive statistics were performed. Patient demographics, clinical data, laboratory results, and imaging findings were reviewed.

RESULTS: Over an 11-year period (2013-2023), 194 patients presented with hanging or strangulation type injuries. The median age was 28.7 years, and 24% were female. All patients underwent a CT angiogram with only 9 patients (4.6%) having a positive finding. There was no correlation between positive findings on CT angiogram and any clinical or laboratory finding. The in-hospital mortality rate was 1%, none of whom had an associated vascular injury.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of vascular injury in strangulation or hanging injuries is 4.6%. In light of the reported incidence of stroke in blunt carotid injury (23%-30%) when left untreated, it is imperative that these injuries are found and treated. Based on the above data, there are no clinical or lab indicators (or combination thereof) that can be safely used to exclude an injury and avoid imaging. Thus, is it advised that all patients are imaged with a CT angiogram.

PMID:39904936 | DOI:10.1002/wjs.12501