Tag: nevin manimala

PLoS One. 2025 Mar 5;20(3):e0314808. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314808. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

In the summer, the high temperatures, high humidity, frequent rainstorms, and typhoons in the East China region limit the growth of SAOPOLO tomato seedlings. By using a plant factory combined with an LED artificial light environment, the light environment can be effectively controlled to produce high-quality seedlings. This study investigates the growth and energy consumption of tomato seedlings in an artificial light plant factory. The experiment compared tomato seedlings cultivated in the artificial LED light environment of a plant factory with those grown in a semi-enclosed seedling greenhouse. The study meticulously examined the actual growth and development processes of the tomato seedlings, systematically tracking and recording the specific impacts of different cultivation environments on the seedlings’ growth and development. Additionally, the experiment followed up on the fruiting conditions of the subsequent tomato plants. The experimental results show that compared to tomato seedlings grown in a greenhouse, those cultivated in the artificial light plant factory grew more slowly before grafting, characterized by slightly lower plant height, relatively smaller leaf area, and slightly thinner stems. However, after grafting, the growth rate of the tomato seedlings in the plant factory significantly accelerated, with increased plant height, leaf area, and stem diameter. On the 16th day after grafting, the cumulative leaf length and width fitting curves for the two cultivation methods coincided. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the electricity consumption during the tomato seedling cultivation process, including that for controlling environmental temperature and humidity and the LED artificial supplemental lighting in the plant factory, was significantly lower. Over the two-month seedling cultivation period, the resource consumption in the greenhouse was 220% and 281% higher than in the plant factory, respectively. Statistical results also showed that the mortality rate of tomato seedlings cultivated in the artificial light plant factory was only 4.3%, much lower than the 6.5% mortality rate in the greenhouse. When the subsequent tomato plants were uniformly transplanted to the greenhouse for cultivation and their fruit weights were measured and recorded, the results indicated no significant difference in the fruit weights of tomatoes grown in the plant factory compared to those grown in the greenhouse. Therefore, experimental evidence confirms that cultivating tomato seedlings in an artificial light plant factory can significantly reduce cultivation costs, increase seedling survival rates, and not affect tomato quality.

PMID:40043069 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0314808

PLoS One. 2025 Mar 5;20(3):e0317089. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317089. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mixed milk feeding is defined as providing formula and/or animal milk along with breast milk to infants under six months old which is prevalent in many countries. However, this practice is generally not recommended as it can reduce the intake of breast milk, depriving the infant of its optimal nutritional and immunological benefits. Unlike formula, breast milk contains complex bioactive constituents that promote intestinal and pancreatic growth and develop mucosal defenses. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution and predictors of MMF practices in Ethiopia.

METHODS: This study utilized data from the 2019 Mini-Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (MiniEDHS), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey conducted from March to June 2019. The total weighted sample size derived from the data examined in this study amounted to 524 infants. The data analysis used Global Moran’s I for spatial autocorrelation and the Getis-Ord Gi * statistic for local cluster analysis to assess the spatial distribution of mixed milk feeding prevalence across Ethiopia’s administrative regions and cities. Empirical Bayesian Kriging was used for spatial interpolation to estimate mixed milk feeding prevalence in unsampled areas. The analysis utilized a maximum spatial cluster size threshold of 50% of the population to detect clusters of varying sizes. Ordinary least squares regression analysis identified significant spatial predictors. In geographically weighted regression analysis, the effect of predictor variables on the spatial variation of mixed milk feeding was detected using local coefficients.

RESULTS: The overall weighted prevalence of Mixed Milk Feeding (MMF) in Ethiopia was 10.12% (95% CI: 7.8, 13.01). This prevalence shows significant regional variations across the country emphasizing regional disparities in prevalence and distribution. The Global Moran’s I statistic was 0.14, with a Z-score of 3.18 and a p-value of < 0.001, indicating a significant spatial clustering of MMF prevalence. Hotspots of mixed milk feeding were identified in Somali, Dire Dawa, and Afar, while cold spots were observed in Amhara, Tigray, Benishangul Gumuz, SNNPR, and parts of Oromia. Household wealth (middle wealth index) and lack of baby postnatal checkups emerged as key influencers of mixed milk feeding practices.

CONCLUSION: The study found significant regional variations in mixed milk feeding practices in Ethiopia. Households with middle wealth index and baby without postnatal check were significant spatial predictors of mixed milk feeding. To reduce mixed milk feeding prevalence, targeted interventions should engage community leaders, enhance breastfeeding education in maternal health services, and integrate counseling into routine healthcare to support informed maternal choices and improve child health outcomes nationwide.

PMID:40043067 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0317089

J Spec Oper Med. 2025 Mar 5:7TZF-0HBX. doi: 10.55460/7TZF-0HBX. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fresh whole blood has been the standard of care for the treatment of hypovolemia secondary to blood loss in the Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines since 2014. Current recommendations from the Prolonged Field Care Working Group state that the impact on mission performance is not degraded with 1 unit (450mL) of donation. Because there is limited information on combat performance after donation, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of blood donation on simulated battlefield tasks in U.S. Special Forces Soldiers.

METHODS: A total of 17 U.S. Special Forces Soldiers participated in this study. Soldiers served as their own controls and were subject to blinded blood draw and a sham draw, which were ordered randomly and separated by 6 days. Outcome measures consisted of performance, capillary blood lactate, salivary osmolality, heart rate, and estimated core temperature. These measures were taken at baseline, then immediately following a 1,200-m shuttle run, 3-event stress shoot, and 5-mile run, all while wearing a typical combat load.

RESULTS: There was a moderate-to-large, statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in shuttle run time due to blood donation (δ=12.5s, Hedges’ g=1.0). We also detected moderate, statistically significant increases in shooting scores (δ=29.2s, Hedges’ g=0.5) and 8-km run times (δ=3.9m, Hedges’ g=0.7) due to blood donation. There was no interaction between event and blood draw condition for heart rate, estimated core temperature, blood lactate, or salivary osmolality. Blinding was only 26% effective, as Soldiers were able to correctly identify the procedure that they were subjected to 74% of the time.

CONCLUSION: The moderate-to-large performance decrements found in this study are somewhat greater than those of previous studies. We believe that our results may be different due to the more demanding tasks that were performed after the blood draw in our investigation.

PMID:40042893 | DOI:10.55460/7TZF-0HBX

Mil Med. 2025 Mar 4:usaf064. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usaf064. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: During the full-scale war in Ukraine, the number of military personnel suffering from combat injuries with the development of anemia significantly increased. The work aimed to generalize and study the clinical and hematological characteristics of anemia in service members who received gunshot and blast injuries during combat operations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined 264 servicemen within 6 months (main group). They took part in hostilities and received gunshot and shrapnel wounds accompanied by blood loss. The control group consisted of 87 practically healthy service members. Complete blood test was performed on an automatic hematology analyser ABX Micros ES 60 of the company Horiba ABX. We determined the level of ferritin using the enzyme immunoassay method ELISA, the concentration of serum iron using the photometric method, and C-reactive protein (CRP) using the immunoturbidimetric latex method (quantitatively). The studies’ results were processed using variational statistics. For each group of patients, the arithmetic mean (M), the standard deviation (Ϭ), and the error of the arithmetic mean (m) were calculated. We used the statistical processing package STATISTICA 10 (Statsoft Inc.).

RESULTS: Isolated injuries accounted for 50.89%, injuries to two or more anatomical areas-49.11%, injuries to limbs and large joints-30.6%, chest-14.66%, abdominal cavity-21.9%, and polytrauma-32.84%. All patients had blood loss, but its degree was not countable. The number of erythrocyte mass transfusions ranged from 2 to 7 (3.5 ± 0.7 on average). A total of 39.42% of victims were delivered in a severe condition, and 60.58% in a moderate condition. We divided the patients into the groups: 1st group (n = 60) where the blood was tested after in 1 month after injury, 2nd (n = 42)-2 months, 3rd (n = 37), 4th (n = 31), 5th (n = 26), and 6th (n = 24) in 3, 4, 5, and 6 months. We observed an initial increase in the number of leukocytes and platelets, and a decrease in the levels of erythrocytes, hemoglobin, MCV, and MCH, an increase in the absolute number of granulocytes and monocytes, and a decrease in the number of lymphocytes. In all, 7.9% of patients were diagnosed with severe anemia, 44.7% with moderate, and 40.4% with mild. The ferritin level exceeded the control group’s results almost three times, while the iron content in the blood serum was significantly reduced. The hemoglobin level did not normalize within six months in most service members with anemia (because of severity or complications of the injuries and multiple surgeries). The CRP was elevated for 6 months after injury. Correlation analysis confirmed a positive relationship between the level of hemoglobin, the number of leukocytes, and the level of CRP.

CONCLUSIONS: We view combat anemia as more than a hematology issue. It needs prompt, coordinated care from various fields. Interventions may include blood transfusions, surgery, and correcting iron levels. We can decrease the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines through anti-inflammatory therapy. Additionally, possible adrenergic modulation can promote erythropoiesis.

PMID:40042885 | DOI:10.1093/milmed/usaf064

JAMA Cardiol. 2025 Mar 5. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2025.0025. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Patients with heart failure (HF) and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have a spectrum of risk, and the effect of therapies may vary by risk.

OBJECTIVES: To validate the Prognostic Models for Mortality and Morbidity in HFpEF (PREDICT-HFpEF) in the phase 3 randomized clinical trial Finerenone Trial to Investigate Efficacy and Safety Superior to Placebo in Patients With Heart Failure (FINEARTS-HF) and to evaluate the effect of finerenone, compared with placebo, across the spectrum of risk in these patients.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The FINEARTS-HF trial was conducted across 653 sites in 37 countries. Participants were adults 40 years and older with symptomatic HF and left ventricular EF of 40% or greater randomized between September 2020 and January 2023.

INTERVENTION: Finerenone (titrated to 20 mg or 40 mg) or placebo.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The 3 PREDICT-HFpEF risk scores for the composite outcome of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization, cardiovascular death, and all-cause death, respectively, were calculated. Predicted risk was compared with observed outcomes. Model performance was assessed using the Harrell C statistic. The rates of the predicted outcomes (plus the composite of cardiovascular death and worsening HF events, which was the primary end point in the trial) were examined according to quintiles of risk score, as was the effect of finerenone according to risk quintiles.

RESULTS: A total of 6001 patients (mean [SD] age, 72 [9.6] years; 3269 male [54.5%]) were randomized in the FINEARTS-HF trial. The C statistics for cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization, cardiovascular death, and all-cause death at 2 years were 0.71 (95% CI, 0.69-0.72), 0.68 (95% CI, 0.66-0.71), and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.67-0.71), respectively. The risk of the composite outcomes was approximately 8- to 10-fold higher in those in the highest compared with the lowest risk quintile. The relative risk reduction with finerenone compared with placebo was consistent across the spectrum of risk for all outcomes examined (eg, interaction P value for primary outcome = .24).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of the FINEARTS-HF randomized clinical trial demonstrate that the PREDICT-HFpEF models performed well in terms of calibration and discrimination. Baseline risk did not modify the benefit of finerenone.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04435626.

PMID:40042880 | DOI:10.1001/jamacardio.2025.0025

Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2025 Mar 5:zwaf117. doi: 10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf117. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: The role of adult HDL-C in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) faces challenges from Mendelian randomisations and drug trials. However, the association between childhood HDL-C and its changes and adult ASCVD remains undefined. This study aimed to determine this association.

METHODS: Participants: Children in the International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium with childhood HDL-C and adult ASCVD follow-up. Age- and sex-standardized HDL-C z-scores were calculated for childhood (3-19 years), early childhood (3-11 years), and adolescence (12-19 years); Low HDL-C defined as <1.03mmol/L; Participants classified as consistently normal, low-to-normal, normal-to-low, and consistently low based on HDL-C status at early childhood and adolescence. ASCVD events: Identified using self-reports adjudicated by medical records or death registries. Analysis: Cox proportional hazards models quantified the associations between childhood HDL-C and adult ASCVD.

RESULTS: The study included 38,589 participants (49.7% males, mean age in 2016: 46.4 years) with 779 ASCVD and 784 imputed ASCVD events. After adjusting for sex, cohort, age and HDL-C measurement year, higher HDL-C z-scores in childhood, early childhood and adolescence were associated with lower adult ASCVD risk (HRs: 0.81-0.82), with the lowest risk at HDL-C >1.50mmol/L. Normal-to-low (HR 1.38, 95%CI 1.04-1.82) and consistently low (HR 1.94, 95%CI 1.45-2.63) childhood HDL-C increased adult ASCVD risk compared to consistently normal HDL-C. Adjusting for BMI and triglycerides weakened these associations.

CONCLUSIONS: Childhood and adolescent HDL-C were prospectively and inversely associated with adult ASCVD, suggesting that low HDL-C could be a risk maker of adult ASCVD. Future replications, mechanistic studies and Mendelian randomisations on childhood HDL-C may clarify its causal effects on adult ASCVD.

PMID:40042879 | DOI:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf117

Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2025 Mar 5. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2024-0282LE. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:40042866 | DOI:10.1165/rcmb.2024-0282LE

JAMA Dermatol. 2025 Mar 5. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.0055. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: The uncertainties about the real-world effectiveness of adalimumab biosimilars limit their widespread adoption for psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of adalimumab biosimilars Amjevita and Imraldi with Humira for psoriasis.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: An emulation of 2 targeted pragmatic clinical trials was conducted using data from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR), a prospective pharmacovigilance registry tracking individuals receiving biologic and conventional systemic treatments for psoriasis in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Data from patients with psoriasis using adalimumab registered to BADBIR were included. Data were collected from September 2007 to January 2023, and data were analyzed from January to September 2023.

EXPOSURES: The effectiveness of initiating Amjevita and Imraldi were compared with initiating Humira among adalimumab-naive patients, and the effectiveness of switching from Humira to either Amjevita or Imraldi were compared with continuing Humira among patients who had been using Humira consistently for more than 2 years.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The study outcomes were absolute Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score of 2 or less and PASI score of 4 or less at 12 months after the index date. Inverse propensity treatment weighting was used to analyze receiving either biosimilars or Humira to account for confounding. Multiple imputations were used to account for missing PASI data at 12 months and inverse probability of censoring weighting to account for censorship due to deviation from the treatments under investigation. Logistic regression models were fitted to compare the outcomes between study cohorts.

RESULTS: Of 11 400 included patients, 6924 (60.7%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 45.3 (12.5) years. A total of 6133 patients were identified in the new user analysis (5416 starting Humira, 382 starting Amjevita, and 335 starting Imraldi) and 5267 patients in the switcher analysis (3808 continuing Humira, 847 switching to Amjevita, and 612 switching to Imraldi). Amjevita and Imraldi new users had no significantly different probability of achieving a PASI score of 2 or less (Amjevita: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.98; 95% CI, 0.78-1.25; Imraldi: aOR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.64-1.07) and a PASI score of 4 or less (Amjevita: aOR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.84-1.37; Imraldi: aOR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.69-1.20) compared with Humira new users. Patients who switched to Amjevita and Imraldi also had no statistically significant differences in achieving a PASI score of 2 or less (Amjevita: aOR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.94-1.51; Imraldi: aOR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.72-1.18) and a PASI score of 4 or less (Amjevita: aOR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.96-1.84; Imraldi: aOR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.70-1.41) compared with those who continued Humira.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, Amjevita and Imraldi were as effective as Humira for both new starters and patients switching to biosimilars from Humira.

PMID:40042863 | DOI:10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.0055

Brief Funct Genomics. 2025 Jan 15;24:elaf001. doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elaf001.

ABSTRACT

Molecular epidemiology of Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is crucial to implement its control strategies including vaccination and containment, which primarily deals with knowing serotype, topotype, and lineage of the virus. The existing approaches including serotyping are biological in nature, which are time-consuming and risky due to live virus handling. Thus, novel computational tools are highly required for large-scale molecular epidemiology of the FMD virus. This study reported a comprehensive computational tool for FMD molecular epidemiology. Ten learning algorithms were initially evaluated on cross-validated and ten independent secondary datasets for serotype prediction using sequence-based features through accuracy, sensitivity and 14 other metrics. Next, best performing algorithms, with higher serotype predictive accuracies, were evaluated for topotype and lineage prediction using cross-validation. These algorithms are implemented in the computational tool. Then, performance of the developed approach was assessed on five independent secondary datasets, never seen before, and primary experimental data. Our cross-validated and independent evaluation of learning algorithms for serotype prediction revealed that support vector machine, random forest, XGBoost, and AdaBoost algorithms outperformed others. Then, these four algorithms were evaluated for topotype and lineage prediction, which achieved accuracy ≥96% and precision ≥95% on cross-validated data. These algorithms are implemented in the web-server (https://nifmd-bbf.icar.gov.in/MolEpidPred), which allows rapid molecular epidemiology of FMD virus. The independent validation of the MolEpidPred observed accuracies ≥98%, ≥90%, and ≥ 80% for serotype, topotype, and lineage prediction, respectively. On wet-lab data, the MolEpidPred tool provided results in fewer seconds and achieved accuracies of 100%, 100%, and 96% for serotype, topotype, and lineage prediction, respectively, when benchmarked with phylogenetic analysis. MolEpidPred tool provides an innovative platform for large-scale molecular epidemiology of FMD virus, which is crucial for tracking FMD virus infection and implementing control program.

PMID:40042853 | DOI:10.1093/bfgp/elaf001

JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Mar 3;8(3):e250024. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0024.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Although mother’s own milk (MOM) is associated with reduced risk of neonatal complications of prematurity and improved neurodevelopmental outcomes, to our knowledge, there have been no large US studies reporting rates of MOM feeding initiation and sustained MOM feedings by gestational age (GA).

OBJECTIVE: To compare rates of MOM feeding initiation and continuation at 12 weeks for infants by GA.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cross-sectional study used state-level surveillance data for maternal characteristics and behaviors before and after pregnancy. Participants were women who gave birth from January 1 through December 31, 2021, in 36 US jurisdictions (33 states, the District of Columbia, New York City, and Puerto Rico) and completed the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) questionnaire. Data were analyzed from July 2023 to April 2024.

EXPOSURE: Infant GA, including early preterm (EPT; ≤27 weeks’ gestation), moderately preterm (MPT; 28-33 weeks’ gestation), late preterm (LPT; 34-36 weeks’ gestation), and early term to postterm (≥37 weeks’ gestation).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: MOM feeding initiation and continuation at 12 weeks after delivery. Weighted multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to test the association between MOM feeding initiation and continued provision at 12 weeks after delivery by infant GA.

RESULTS: Among 29 098 births, there were 0.4% EPT, 1.8% MPT, 6.7% LPT, and 91.1% early-term to postterm infants. Unadjusted MOM feeding initiation was highest for EPT infants (89.7% [95% CI, 85.0%-94.7%]) and lowest for LPT infants (81.8% [95% CI, 79.5%-84.1%]). For infants that initially received MOM, 71.6% (95% CI, 70.7%-72.6%) of early-term to postterm infants still received MOM at 12 weeks followed by 63.1% (95% CI, 52.9%-73.2%) of EPT infants, 61.2% (95% CI, 58.0%-64.3%) of LPT infants, and 58.6% (95% CI, 53.4%-63.8%) of MPT infants. After adjusting for maternal characteristics, LPT infants were 4.4 (95% CI, -6.7 to -2.1) percentage points less likely to initiate MOM feedings and those who received any MOM were 6.7 (95% CI, -9.9 to -3.5) percentage points less likely to receive MOM at 12 weeks compared with early-term to postterm infants. There were no differences in adjusted initiation or continuation rates among EPT (3.1 [95% CI, -1.4 to 7.5] percentage points for initiation and -0.0 [95% CI, -8.6 to 8.6] percentage points for continuation) or MPT (2.4 [95% CI, -0.5 to 5.3] percentage points for initiation and -3.3 [95% CI, -8.0 to 1.5] percentage points for continuation) infants compared with early-term to postterm infants.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This cross-sectional study found that MOM feeding initiation and continuation rates at 12 weeks after birth for LPT infants were substantially lower than rates for infants with other GAs. Research is needed to pinpoint barriers to MOM feeding initiation and continuation in this vulnerable population of infants.

PMID:40042846 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0024