Nevin Manimala

J Clin Neurosci. 2025 Dec 4;144:111778. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2025.111778. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Neuroanatomy is a cornerstone of medical education, yet is perceived by many as daunting. Student-led events, such as the National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC), newly re-established in Scotland, provides a platform to address this challenge by fostering academic interest and enhancing learning through extracurricular achievement and specialty talks.

METHODS: This mixed-methods study analysed data from the 11th NUNC, involving 93 registered medical students. Post-event surveys collated participants’ experiences with institutional neuroanatomy education, preferred learning resources, and self-assessment of their performance in NUNC’s written and practical exams. Quantitative responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data provided insights into learning preferences and challenges.

RESULTS: Of 58 survey respondents, most reported dissatisfaction with the depth and accessibility of institutional neuroanatomy teaching. Online resources (74.1 %) and textbooks (53.4 %) were most frequently used for self-directed learning, in addition to resources provided by students’ institutions. Participants rated both the single-best-answer and spotter exams as difficult, and demonstrated accurate self-assessment of their performance, with modest but significant correlations between perceived and actual scores in both assessments (p = 0.0002). These findings highlight a potential dichotomy between reliance on institutional teaching and students’ preferred resources, emphasising the value of supplementary, accessible, and clinically contextualised materials in the learning of future clinicians. Accuracy in self-assessment suggests that NUNC encourages reflective learning and confidence in neuroanatomy knowledge. This has positive implications for the future clinical practice of these participants as it is increasingly common for non-specialist clinicians to be first point-of-contact for neurological presentations.

CONCLUSION: NUNC provides an impactful platform for addressing gaps in neuroanatomy/clinical neuroscience education, promoting self-directed learning, and inspiring confidence among students interested in careers in neuroanatomy-related fields such as neurosurgery, neurology and other neuroanatomy related fields. Future efforts should focus on integrating a broader range of learning modalities into medical curricula to improve the learning experience and establish reliable foundations for future clinical practice.

PMID:41349184 | DOI:10.1016/j.jocn.2025.111778

Neural Netw. 2025 Nov 25;196:108367. doi: 10.1016/j.neunet.2025.108367. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study addresses the stabilization challenge of discrete-time Markovian jump systems (MJSs) in the presence of deception attacks by employing an event-triggered control (ETC) approach. The proposed ETC framework minimizes the frequency of data transmissions, thereby optimizing network bandwidth usage and mitigating congestion risks. Deception attacks, represented using a Bernoulli-distributed random variable, threaten system security by interfering with normal communication to extract sensitive information. To ensure mean-square stability of the considered MJS, sufficient conditions are established, and controller gain parameters are determined by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through two numerical examples, including an application to a DC motor system.

PMID:41349173 | DOI:10.1016/j.neunet.2025.108367

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2025 Nov 30;1269:124870. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2025.124870. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The rising global burden of obesity underscores the need to better characterize metabolic alterations associated with this condition. Choline (Cho) and its derivative phosphocholine (ChoP) are key intermediates in phospholipid metabolism, yet their relationships with obesity remain unclear. In this study, we established and validated a UPLC-MS/MS method for quantifying serum Cho and ChoP, and investigated their associations with obesity and fasting glucose in a pilot human cohort. Serum samples from 62 participants (obese vs. nonobese) were analyzed. The primary analysis compared metabolite levels between groups, and key secondary analyses included Pearson correlations with fasting glucose and receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-based discrimination; two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was conducted using external GWAS summary statistics. Obese individuals had lower ChoP levels and ChoP/Cho ratios. ChoP and the ChoP/Cho ratio were inversely associated, and Cho was positively associated, with fasting glucose. ChoP showed modest discriminative ability for obesity, and MR suggested that higher ChoP levels may be related to a lower risk of obesity. Overall, we validated a UPLC-MS/MS assay for serum Cho and ChoP, and our findings indicate that ChoP and the ChoP/Cho ratio are linked to obesity and glucose status.

PMID:41349158 | DOI:10.1016/j.jchromb.2025.124870

Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2025 Oct 1;208:102710. doi: 10.1016/j.plefa.2025.102710. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Fatty acid (FA) profiles can be examined in both plasma and red blood cells (RBCs), with the latter showing the average FA concentrations over the past 3-4 months and not being susceptible to daily fluctuations dependent on diet or supplementation. This study provides data on changes in the FA profile in RBCs as a result of 12 weeks supplementation with long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs; EPA and DHA) and training intervention in amateur runners. The study included 26 amateur runners, 14 of whom were assigned to the n-3 PUFA supplementation group (2234 mg of EPA and 916 mg of DHA daily) and 12 to the placebo group; both groups underwent the exercise training. After the 12-week intervention, runners taking n-3 PUFAs showed statistically significant increases in EPA, docosapentanoic acid, DHA and total PUFAs, and decreases in lignoceric, palmitoleic, vaccenic, gondoic, linoleic, eicosadienoic, dihomo-γ-linolenic, and arachidonic acids compared to placebo group. In addition, increases in omega-3 index, delta 9-desaturase index (C16), and PUFA/MUFA index, and a decrease in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and AA/EPA ratio was observed. There were no changes in RBC FAs in the placebo group indicating that exercise training had no effect on RBC FAs. This study provides novel insights into the changes in FA profile in RBCs with n-3 PUFA supplementation, the importance of which in both sports and health scenarios requires further research.

PMID:41349157 | DOI:10.1016/j.plefa.2025.102710

JACC Adv. 2025 Dec 4;5(1):102385. doi: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.102385. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend screening for elevated aldosterone-renin ratio (ARR) in high-risk hypertensive patients. However, the definition, occurrence, and population-level characteristics of aldosterone dysregulation (AD) remain unclear.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the occurrence of AD and associated clinical characteristics.

METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study using health registries with complete laboratory test results for all Danish residents. We examined the annual proportion of ARR testing and AD occurrence, defined as ARR ≥27.7 pmol/mIU (1 ng/dL per mIU/L), in the general and hypertensive population. Clinical characteristics associated with testing and AD were described, and analyses were repeated using different ARR thresholds (138.7 pmol/mIU and 225.8 pmol/mIU).

RESULTS: Among 5.42 million Danish adults, 18,650 underwent ARR testing during 2017-2024. Testing was four-fold higher in hypertensive adults than in the general population. In 2023, AD prevalence per 100,000 was 39.1 in hypertensive adults compared to 10.0 in the general population. Among tested hypertensive adults, 25.0% met the AD threshold ARR ≥27.7 pmol/mIU, while 4.5% and 1.8% met stricter AD thresholds (138.7 and 225.8 pmol/mIU). Hypertensive adults with AD had longer hypertension duration (7.1 vs 5.2 years) and used more concurrent antihypertensive drugs.

CONCLUSIONS: In this first nationwide study of AD, detected AD was 4 times more prevalent in adults with hypertension compared to the general population. One in 4 hypertensive adults tested met the AD threshold of ARR ≥27.7 pmol/mIU and they had higher intensity of antihypertensive therapy.

PMID:41349148 | DOI:10.1016/j.jacadv.2025.102385

Cancer Genet. 2025 Nov 28;300-301:28-35. doi: 10.1016/j.cancergen.2025.11.013. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Double mutations (DMs) in cis within the same BRCA gene are extremely rare, and their clinical significance remains uncertain, as it is unclear whether they confer an additive risk compared with single pathogenic variants (PVs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 1722 patients referred for suspected Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC). Among them, 9 unrelated probands were found to carry the same BRCA2 DM: c.631G>A (p.Val211Ile) in exon 7 and c.7008-2A>T (IVS13-2A>T) at the acceptor splice site of intron 13. Both variants were confirmed to co-segregate in cis. A control group of 19 probands with a single BRCA2 PV located between exons 7 and 14 was selected for comparison.

RESULTS: All DM families originated from the same geographic area in Southern Italy, suggesting a founder effect. The mean age at breast cancer onset was 50.7 years in the DM group and 51.4 years in the control group. Tumor spectrum and distribution among probands and relatives were comparable between groups, and BRCA2-related breast cancers were predominantly hormone receptor-positive in both cohorts. No statistically significant differences were observed regarding cancer types, stage, or receptor profile.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the BRCA2 double mutation c.631G>A/c.7008-2A>T may have a founder effect, and the coexistence of the two variants does not appear to confer an additive cancer risk or a more severe clinical phenotype compared with carriers of a single BRCA2 pathogenic mutation.

PMID:41349144 | DOI:10.1016/j.cancergen.2025.11.013

Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Nov 21;135(21):210402. doi: 10.1103/gqjz-tyqg.

ABSTRACT

We explore the dynamics of two-dimensional Rydberg atom arrays coupled to a single-mode optical cavity, employing nonequilibrium diagrammatic techniques to capture nonlinearities and fluctuations beyond mean-field theory. We discover a novel prethermalization regime driven by the interplay between short-range Rydberg interactions and long-range photon-mediated interactions. In this regime, matter and light equilibrate at distinct-and in some cases opposite-effective temperatures, resembling the original concept of prethermalization from particle physics. Our results establish strongly correlated AMO platforms as tools to investigate fundamental questions in statistical mechanics, including quantum thermalization in higher-dimensional systems.

PMID:41349111 | DOI:10.1103/gqjz-tyqg

Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Nov 21;135(21):211801. doi: 10.1103/fzzl-2dyr.

ABSTRACT

We report on a search for axion dark matter in the frequency range near 5.9 GHz, conducted using the haloscope technique. The experiment employed an 8-cell microwave resonator designed to extend the accessible frequency range by a multifold factor relative to conventional single-cell configurations, while maintaining a large detection volume. To enhance sensitivity, a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier operating near the quantum noise limit was utilized, together with a sideband-summing method that coherently combines mirrored spectral components generated by the Josephson parametric amplifier. Data were acquired over the frequency range 5.83-5.94 GHz. With no statistically significant excess observed, we exclude axion-photon couplings g_{aγγ} down to 1.2×10^{-14} GeV^{-1} at a 90% confidence level. The achieved sensitivity approaches the Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov benchmark prediction, setting the most stringent limits to date in this range.

PMID:41349099 | DOI:10.1103/fzzl-2dyr

Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Nov 21;135(21):212701. doi: 10.1103/d7dr-h36j.

ABSTRACT

We provide the first experimental cross section of the ^{73}As(p,γ)^{74}Se reaction to constrain one of the main destruction mechanisms of the p nucleus ^{74}Se in explosive stellar environments. The measurement was done using a radioactive ^{73}As beam at effective center-of-mass energies of 2.9 and 2.3 MeV/nucleon. Along with the total cross-section measurement, statistical properties of the ^{74}Se compound nucleus were extracted, constraining the reaction cross section in the upper Gamow window of the γ process. The impact of the experimentally constrained reaction rate on ^{74}Se production in Type II supernovae was investigated through Monte Carlo one-zone network simulations. The results indicate that the overproduction of ^{74}Se by Type II supernova models cannot be resolved by nuclear physics alone and point toward the need for a more detailed understanding of the astrophysical conditions of relevance for the γ process.

PMID:41349071 | DOI:10.1103/d7dr-h36j

Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Nov 21;135(21):216902. doi: 10.1103/mvdf-bdrx.

ABSTRACT

We investigated ultrafast defect-lattice dynamics in diamond using the N_{s}:H-C^{0} defect, an analog of bond-centered hydrogen in semiconductors. Combining synthesis, ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations, we show that excitation of the defect’s stretch mode leads to the generation of localized phonons and the formation of a hot ground state, where the interatomic potential is transiently modified. Our results reveal unexpected nonequilibrium phonon effects despite diamond’s exceptionally high thermal conductivity, with implications for quantum defect engineering.

PMID:41349066 | DOI:10.1103/mvdf-bdrx