Tag: nevin manimala

J Strength Cond Res. 2025 Oct 1;39(10):e1188-e1194. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005183.

ABSTRACT

Hunzinger, KJ, Pollen, TR, Bilimoria, AM, Hough, AK, Hough, JD, Lutz, VN, Medagam, RH, and Schneider, ALC. Representation of women authors in 4 decades of rugby research. J Strength Cond Res 39(10): e1188-e1194, 2025-Gender bias in scientific publication, particularly authorship, is common; however, its extent in rugby research remains unclear. This study examined the prevalence of authorship by gender among first, last, and corresponding authors of rugby research over 4 decades. Indexed rugby studies published through September 29, 2024, were collected from 3 databases (Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed). Articles were screened by 2 reviewers, with a third reviewer for consensus. Author gender was identified through names and regional data using the Genderize database. Percentages of women authors were calculated, and Fisher’s exact tests compared first or corresponding author gender pairs. Logistic regression assessed trends over time by role, publication year, and author count. Of 10,142 articles screened, 2,258 (22.3%) were included. Women represented 20.0% of first authors, 16.0% of last authors, and 17.9% of corresponding authors. Publication frequency increased over time for both genders, but the gender ratio remained stable. The most common first/corresponding author pairing was man/man (71.6%), significantly higher than other author gender pairs (p < 0.001). Publication year was associated with increased odds of female first and corresponding authorship (both p-trend < 0.05), and more authors per paper was associated with increased odds of woman first author (OR = 1.04 [95% CI = 1.00-1.08]). Consistent with other fields, women authors are underrepresented in rugby research. These disparities may limit diverse perspectives in the field and hinder the visibility and career advancement of women researchers. Potential underlying factors driving these disparities should be investigated to inform policies that promote equitable access to funding, research opportunities, and leadership roles in rugby science.

PMID:40991854 | DOI:10.1519/JSC.0000000000005183

Genes Brain Behav. 2025 Oct;24(5):e70036. doi: 10.1111/gbb.70036.

ABSTRACT

The amygdala participates in the processing of stimulus signals from stimuli and the coordination of the physiological and behavioral responses. The sexually dimorphic structure of the amygdala also contributes to sex-specific molecular and functional profiles. The present study compares the response of the amygdala molecular mechanisms to different environmental stimuli between sexes. The amygdala of female and male pigs was profiled under control, immunostimulation, and the metabolic stimulus of fasting using RNA-sequencing. Differential expression analysis (False Discovery Rate -adjusted p value < 0.05) identified 958 genes affected by stimulus and 504 genes affected by sex within treatments. The functional categories presenting a predominance of differentially expressed genes included the synaptic vesicle cycle pathway, vascular smooth muscle contraction pathway, epithelial cell proliferation process, chemokine signaling, and apoptosis. Network analysis revealed hub genes, including Stx1a, Cplx1, Clam3, and Myh11, among the gene modules susceptible to stimuli. The regulatory element SUZ12 was associated with differential gene expression between stimuli in both sexes, whereas RELA and IRF1 were uniquely detected in males and females, respectively. The findings from the multifaceted approach provide genomic leads to investigating interventions that can mitigate the effects of stimuli on the amygdala function.

PMID:40991843 | DOI:10.1111/gbb.70036

Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2025 Sep 24:ivaf225. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivaf225. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: In cardiovascular surgery, frailty is a risk for postoperative dysphagia. This study investigated the effect of preoperative training on strengthening the tongue muscle and its clinical impact.

METHODS: Patients scheduled for cardiovascular surgery between 2022 and 2024 who underwent preoperative tongue pressure measurement were included. Preoperative tongue muscle training was conducted using the novel device Pecopanda.

RESULTS: Forty-two patients who purchased the Pecopanda and received preoperative training were assigned to the training group, and 66 patients without training or with maintained tongue pressure were assigned to the non-training group. Low tongue pressure below 30 kPa was observed in 44.4% of patients. Age was 76 (71-81) years in the training group and 70 (59-75) years in the non-training group. Change in tongue pressure pre- to post-operation was 0.2 (IQR: -1.3 to 7.0) kPa in the training group, and -2.2 (IQR: -4.4 to -0.5) kPa in the non-training group. Multiple regression analysis showed that changes in tongue pressure pre- and post-operation tended to be greater in the training group (β = 1.342, 95% CI: -0.825 to 3.509). Logistic regression analysis suggested a trend towards a protective association between preoperative tongue training and deglutition diets or tube feeding at refeeding (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.26 to 2.48). All patients in the training group were discharged home without the need for deglutition diets and tube feeding.

CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative training with simple tongue exercises may increase tongue pressure and support clinical outcomes in patients with low tongue pressure.

PMID:40991361 | DOI:10.1093/icvts/ivaf225

Brief Bioinform. 2025 Aug 31;26(5):bbaf487. doi: 10.1093/bib/bbaf487.

ABSTRACT

A gene is defined as essential when its functional loss compromises an organism’s viability. Identifying essential genes is critical for identifying the components that regulate a biological system. Advances in gene editing techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 provide a capacity to interrogate a genome to elucidate the genes that are essential. However, these techniques are often applied for a single-cell line and rarely probed at a level of a tissue or organ. The recent availability of large-scale single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) atlases provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate essential gene expression in a more comprehensive context. Our study leverages information from benchmarking datasets, single-cell tissue atlases, and databases of essential genes, to develop a method, scEssentials, that uses a statistical framework to investigate the robustness and specificity of essential genes across multiple cell types. Using scEssentials, mouse and human models showed consistently high expression and exhibited limited variability across more than 60 cell types. We demonstrate a substantial number of significantly correlated gene pairs that produce densely connected co-expression networks with functional annotation. Finally, we develop a score to quantify the relative essentiality of genes within scEssentials, further validating their significant association with gene mutation frequency and chromatin accessibility. Using ageing as an application, we demonstrate how scEssentials identifies robust gene expression profiles. Only one-fifth of scEssentials genes showed significant ageing-related differential expression among age groups. Collectively, the robustness of scEssentials serves as a reference for analysing scRNA-seq data and provides insight into the heterogeneous nature such as ageing.

PMID:40991328 | DOI:10.1093/bib/bbaf487

Bioinformatics. 2025 Sep 24:btaf540. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaf540. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

SUMMARY: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are essential tools for predicting individual phenotypic risk but often lack accuracy in non-European ancestry groups. Transfer Learning for Polygenic Risk Scores (TL-PRS) addresses this challenge by leveraging European PRSs to improve prediction in underrepresented ancestries but requires privacy-sensitive individual-level data and has low computational efficiency. Therefore, we introduce PTL-PRS (Pseudovalidated Transfer Learning for PRS), an extension of TL-PRS that incorporates pseudovalidation to eliminate the need for individual-level data and includes further software optimization. For pseudovalidation, PTL-PRS generates pseudo-summary statistics for training and validation and evaluates model performance with the pseudo-R2 metric. To improve computational efficiency, PTL-PRS software was optimized with C ++, blockwise early stopping, and direct genotype retrieval. Overall, PTL-PRS enhances usability while maintaining TL-PRS’s predictive performance.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The PTL.PRS R package is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/bokeumcho/PTL.PRS. The summary statistics used in this paper are available in the public domain: UK Biobank (https://pheweb.org/UKB-TOPMed), PGS Catalog (https://www.pgscatalog.org), COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (https://www.covid19hg.org) and GenOMICC (https://genomicc.org/data).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

PMID:40991324 | DOI:10.1093/bioinformatics/btaf540

Clin Transplant. 2025 Oct;39(10):e70262. doi: 10.1111/ctr.70262.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been a progressive increase in the number of Mycoplasma spp. infections (MIs) reported among kidney transplant (KT) recipients. Although in these patients MIs have been associated with life-threatening complications and graft failure, specific epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnostic work-up, and treatment strategies remain undefined.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane) of MIs after kidney transplantation (PROSPERO ID: CRD42024520942).

RESULTS: Our work summarizes 13 case reports, 7 retrospective case series, and 1 retrospective uncontrolled cohort study, published between 1970 and 2023, collectively reporting 30 episodes of MIs. Due to the scarcity of information, incidence, prevalence, and predisposing factors could not be explored. Time interval between kidney transplantation and MIs ranged between 3 and 120 days. More often, the surgical site (n = 18) or the urinary tract (n = 6) was involved, with most infections sustained by Mycoplasma hominis (n = 28). Clinical features included fever (n = 18), abdominal pain (n = 8), leukocytosis (n = 8), and elevated CRP levels (n = 6). The definitive diagnosis was obtained using microbial cultures (n = 16) or PCR method (n = 12), and the time required for identification varied from 3 to 90 days. Preferred antibiotics were tetracyclines (n = 19) and quinolones (n = 9). Overall, MIs led to 20 surgical interventions, 6 graft losses, and 2 deaths.

CONCLUSION: Future research projects should consider the epidemiology of Mycoplasma spp. infection in solid organ transplant recipients.

PMID:40991313 | DOI:10.1111/ctr.70262

JAMA. 2025 Sep 24. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.15488. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: US children’s health insurance is fragmented across public and private sources, with wide state variation. However, the extent of children’s interactions with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and their experience of uninsurance over 18 years of childhood remains unclear. Such estimates can provide a baseline for gauging the potential impact of upcoming Medicaid policy changes.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate insurance dynamics in relation to Medicaid or CHIP and uninsurance over childhood under post-Affordable Care Act (ACA) prepandemic policy conditions.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Using a microsimulation model, we projected individual-level monthly insurance coverage (Medicaid or CHIP, Marketplace, employment-based, other, or uninsured) from birth until the 18th birthday for a simulated nationally representative cohort of 100 000 US children. National data were synthesized (2015-2019), including natality records, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey pooled 2-year panels, and 1 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 3-year panel. Monthly insurance status was simulated by matching dynamically updated predictors to SIPP samples every 12 months. Predictors included annual family income as a percentage of the federal poverty level, insurance history, state, and age. The analysis was bootstrapped 1000 times to generate 95% uncertainty intervals (95% UI).

EXPOSURES: Insurance status and state of residence at birth.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Cumulative insurance experience, overall and by subgroup.

RESULTS: It was estimated that, by their 18th birthday, 61% (95% UI, 58%-63%) of US children were ever enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP and 42% (95% UI, 38%-46%) were ever uninsured. An estimated 26% (95% UI, 24%-29%) of children were continuously enrolled in employment-based or other insurance excluding Medicaid, CHIP, or Marketplace. Among children born with Medicaid or CHIP, the share ever uninsured was 59% (95% UI, 48%-66%) in ACA nonexpansion states vs 36% (95% UI, 30%-41%) in expansion states. Across alternative categorizations of policy restrictiveness, the highest share of ever uninsured among children born with Medicaid or CHIP was consistently estimated in states with the most restrictive Medicaid and CHIP eligibility criteria.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: An estimated 3 of 4 US children relied on publicly subsidized insurance (Medicaid, CHIP, or Marketplace) or experienced a period without any insurance by their 18th birthday in the post-ACA, prepandemic policy environment. Substantial state heterogeneity in childhood uninsurance underscores the critical role of Medicaid policies.

PMID:40991296 | DOI:10.1001/jama.2025.15488

JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Sep 2;8(9):e2533505. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.33505.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: The Joint Commission requires hospitals and behavioral health care organizations to identify patients at risk of suicide (National Patient Safety Goal 15.01.01). Risk algorithms and in-person screening for suicide risk show utility in identifying patients at risk of suicidal behavior, yet there is little research examining their comparative performance in children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of suicide risk screening and risk algorithms in identifying the risk of suicide attempts among pediatric patients in the emergency department (ED).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort study included youths aged 10 to 18 years presenting to the ED of a northeastern US state between September 1, 2019, and August 31, 2021. Patients were screened for suicide risk using the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions survey and the Columbia-Brief Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Electronic health records from this same cohort containing data from May 31, 2017, to the date of their first encounter within this period were extracted to train a risk algorithm. To observe the presence or absence of a suicide attempt, patients were followed up from their first ED encounter for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2.5 years, through March 2, 2022. Data were analyzed from May 2023 to December 2024.

EXPOSURE: Assessments from suicide risk screening and a risk algorithm.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The occurrence of a suicide attempt following a patient’s first suicide risk screening or first visit in the screening period, if not screened.

RESULTS: Among 19 653 patients included in the analysis, the median age was 14.3 (IQR, 12.1-16.2) years, and 10 007 (50.9%) were female. Four hundred ninety-five patients (2.5%) were treated for a suicide attempt. Among patients screening positive for suicide risk in testing samples (mean, 8.1% [95% CI, 7.6%-8.6%]) and patients in the top 8.1% of the distribution on the algorithm, the algorithm correctly identified a mean of 50.7% (95% CI, 47.3%-54.1%) of those who attempted suicide in contrast to 36.5% (95% CI, 31.9%-41.2%) identified by screening. The algorithm uniquely identified 127% more youths who attempted suicide (125) than did screening (55).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study of pediatric patients, the risk algorithm was superior to screening across all performance metrics and could substantially assist health care organizations’ efforts to meet the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal to reduce the risk of suicide.

PMID:40991285 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.33505

J Craniofac Surg. 2025 Sep 24. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000011778. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Patients undergoing mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) frequently have risk factors that may hinder bone healing during consolidation. Here, we examine how preoperative feeding modalities affect bone healing in MDO patients.

METHODS: Retrospective chart review was performed for patients undergoing MDO between 2015 and 2024. Data included patient demographics, preoperative feeding modality, and bone healing complications. SPSS was used for statistical analysis, employing Fisher exact test for categorical variables, and logistic regression to adjust for confounding variables.

RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were analyzed (average age=14.77 mo). Twenty-one patients had preoperative feeding difficulties, with 6 patients feeding by mouth (PO) and 16 patients requiring alternative (non-PO) methods. Ten patients experienced bone healing complications; 7 patients had delayed consolidation and 6 had nonunion. Proportions of complications between patients with PO versus non-PO feeding were comparable (Fisher exact P-Value= 1.000). Logistic regressions showed age at surgery, preoperative weight, non-PO feeding, and the presence of Pierre Robin Sequence or cleft palate did not predict the occurrence of bone healing complications, delayed consolidation, or nonunion (P>0.05). Non-PO feeding had the strongest association with the occurrence of bone healing complications and nonunion, with odds ratios of 2.016 (95% CI: 0.154-26.309, P-Value=0.593) and 7.155 (0.086-597.411, P-Value=0.383), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Our data indicates preoperative feeding modality does not correlate with bone healing complications, suggesting MDO can be considered for patients regardless of feeding modality, potentially expanding eligibility for the procedure without increased risk. Additional research is warranted to understand risk factor effects on MDO outcomes.

PMID:40991267 | DOI:10.1097/SCS.0000000000011778

Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Sep 23. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000012472. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE) is the second most common nerve compression in the upper extremity. Painful paresthesias in fingers progress to muscle weakness and atrophy impairing activities of daily living. Despite common occurrence and impacting lives, risk factors that predispose UNE and help understand disease severity are not investigated thoroughly.

METHODS: Patients enrolled in the Surgery for Ulnar Neuropathy (SUN) at the elbow study were included. Data on patient demographics, distance traveled, disease duration and comorbidities collected at the time of enrollment prior to surgery were used for this analysis. Ordinal logistic regression was used to determine risk factors associated with three-level UNE severity.

RESULTS: 225 study participants included in this analysis had an average age of 51 years. Age (OR= 1.05 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.08; p < 0.001) and disease duration (OR= 0.71; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.93; p = 0.01) were significantly associated with disease severity. Patients with longer disease duration prior to surgery were less likely to have severe disease.

CONCLUSION: In this NIH-funded clinical trial, distance traveled, and patient comorbidities were not associated with severity of UNE. Patients with longer disease duration were less inclined to seek treatment sooner likely owing to mild disease severity. Our results inform that distance traveled by patients is not a limitation for UNE treatment. Older individuals are at increased risk of severe disease and can benefit from early referral and treatment.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, Level 1.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/): NCT04254185, Date 1/31/2020.

PMID:40991254 | DOI:10.1097/PRS.0000000000012472