Tag: pubmed

J Adv Vet Anim Res. 2024 Dec 29;11(4):1114-1121. doi: 10.5455/javar.2024.k862. eCollection 2024 Dec.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of quail egg supplements enriched with marine macroalgae Eucheuma spinosum on body weight and physiological conditions of Sprague Dawley rats during pregnancy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used a completely randomized experimental design. The test animals were 25 pregnant white rats aged 3 months and weighed ± 200 gm. Pregnant rats were divided into five treatments and five repetitions; each repetition contained one pregnant rat. T0: control treatment; T1: treatment group consuming quail eggs from quail fed commercial feed; T2: treatment group consuming quail eggs from quail fed with 3% E. spinosum; T3: treatment group consuming quail eggs from quail fed with 4% E. spinosum; T4: treatment group consuming quail eggs from quail fed with 5% E. spinosum. The parameters measured were egg proximate, egg iron, egg cholesterol, red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), mean corpuscular Hb concentration (MCHC), white blood cell (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), neutrophils (NEUT), RBC distribution width (RDW), platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), glucose, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA).

RESULTS: The addition of E. spinosum into quail feed at concentrations of 3%, 4%, and 5% did not show statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) in the proximate levels (water, ash, fat, protein, and carbohydrates) compared to the control. However, the analysis of iron in quail eggs indicated a significant increase (p < 0.05) in comparison to the control treatment. In addition, the supplementation of E. spinosum in the quail feed resulted in significantly reduced (p < 0.05) quail egg cholesterol levels when compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, the supplementation of quail egg produced by quail fed with E. spinosum did not significantly affect the birth weight of the pups, RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC, WBC, LYM, NEUT, RDW, PDW, MPV, MDA, and SOD when compared to the control treatment (p > 0.05). Meanwhile, the mother weight, Hb, HCT, cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and glucose levels significantly increased (p < 0.05) compared to the control.

CONCLUSION: The administration of E. spinosum with concentrations of 3%, 4%, and 5% can increase iron levels and decrease cholesterol levels in quail eggs. The administration of quail egg supplements produced by quail-fed additional macroalgae E. spinosum can increase body weight, Hb, and HCT in pregnant rats. The addition of marine macroalgae with concentrations of 4% and 5% can decrease the levels of cholesterol, LDL, and glucose and increase serum HDL levels in pregnant rats.

PMID:40013288 | PMC:PMC11855413 | DOI:10.5455/javar.2024.k862

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 7;11(2):e41719. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41719. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31849.].

PMID:40013265 | PMC:PMC11862490 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41719

Heliyon. 2025 Jan 2;11(2):e41606. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41606. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.

ABSTRACT

Alternative feedstuffs offer a cost-effective and sustainable option for livestock nutrition, playing a crucial role in niche market development. Brewer’s spent grains (BSG), a byproduct of the expanding craft microbrewery industry, are a particularly promising feed source due to their availability and nutrient content. However, variability in BSG composition poses challenges for their effective incorporation into precision diet formulations. This study aimed to evaluate the variability in the nutrient composition of BSG from craft microbreweries and classify them for precision diet formulation using multivariate analyses. BSG samples from 29 craft microbreweries were collected and analysed for their nutrient composition using wet chemistry methods. Principal components analysed included crude protein (CP), ash and protein corrected neutral detergent fiber (apNDFom), non-fibrous carbohydrates (NFC), and ether extract (EE). Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to identify the most significant nutrient variations, and hierarchical clustering of the principal components was used to group the samples into four distinct clusters. These clusters were further evaluated through in vitro fermentation tests, assessing gas production, digestibility, and fermentation characteristics. Statistical analyses were conducted using R software. The principal components (energy (PC1) and protein (PC2) were the primary factors driving BSG variability. Hierarchical clustering produced four distinct feed clusters, which showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in fermentation profiles, The apNDFom digestibility varied across clusters, with energy-dense feeds (higher and lower energy grains) demonstrating higher digestibility (P < 0.05). The third cluster (CL3), characterized by low protein content, had significantly lower NH₃-N concentrations after fermentation (P < 0.05). Regarding gas and volatile fatty acids (VFA) production, clusters exhibited significant differences (P < 0.05) compared to an alfalfa standard, highlighting the diverse fermentation characteristics of BSG. The variability in energy and protein content among BSG samples results in distinct fermentation profiles, which can influence animal performance and environmental outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of classifying BSG and incorporating precision formulation to mitigate adverse effects and maximize the benefits of this alternative feedstuff.

PMID:40013264 | PMC:PMC11862493 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41606

Res Sci Technol Educ. 2023 Oct 16;43(1):294-311. doi: 10.1080/02635143.2023.2268005. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A major challenge for effective practical work in school science is to encourage students to connect hands-on aspects to minds-on principles, in other words to Think Back-and-Forth (TBF). Teacher behaviour is pivotal in achieving this goal, but teachers lack guidelines how to accomplish this.

PURPOSE: In this study, we identified good practices that were conducive to minds-on learning experiences during practical work.

SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 15 practical physics and chemistry lessons in Dutch lower secondary education grades 8 and 9.

DESIGN AND METHODS: For each lesson, we obtained video-observations of the teacher and learner reports of the students in which they self-reported their learning. The videos were analysed in detail on teacher attention for TBF, congruent pedagogy, mitigation of the cognitive load of the hands-on aspects, and student autonomy. Answers on the learner reports were analysed for minds-on remarks and these were related to the observed lesson characteristics through a multilevel binary logistic model.

RESULTS: Three lesson characteristics were identified as statistically significant predictors of minds-on learning experiences (p < .05), i.e. substantial attention to TBF, congruent pedagogy, and mitigation of the hands-on cognitive load. A qualitative analysis offered insight into the importance of carefully incorporating these characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS: To reach minds-on learning experiences the teacher should give substantial attention to TBF throughout various phases of the lesson. Congruent pedagogy demands that the practical work is balanced given the prior knowledge of the students. Finally, mitigating the cognitive load of the hands-on aspects encompasses some way to prevent students from being distracted by too demanding hands-on elements. Consequently, we recommend that practical work should be designed in accordance with these three lesson characteristics.

PMID:40013259 | PMC:PMC11854045 | DOI:10.1080/02635143.2023.2268005

J Inflamm Res. 2025 Feb 22;18:2629-2646. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S495784. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a critical cardiovascular event characterized by sudden coronary blood flow interruption, leading to myocardial ischemia and necrosis. Despite advances in acute therapeutic measures, understanding the metabolic damage related to AMI, particularly through specific protein expressions, remains limited. This study utilized Olink cardiovascular metabolomics technology to explore cardiovascular metabolism-related protein biomarkers associated with AMI, aiming to address the clinical need for early diagnosis and targeted therapy.

METHODS: This study utilized Olink cardiovascular metabolomics technology to analyze 92 cardiovascular metabolism-related proteins in coronary blood samples from 20 AMI patients and 10 healthy controls. Differentially expressed proteins were identified using statistical t-tests, followed by functional enrichment analysis (GO and KEGG) and protein-protein interaction network construction. Five core proteins were validated in plasma samples from an additional 125 AMI patients and 120 healthy controls via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To evaluate diagnostic performance, receiver operating characteristic curves were generated using GEO-related datasets, and Mendelian randomization analysis was employed to investigate the causal relationship between core proteins and AMI risk.

RESULTS: The study identified 32 proteins with significantly altered expression levels between AMI patients and healthy controls. Among these, five core proteins-PCOLCE, FCN2, REG1A, DEFA1, and CRTAC1-were significantly associated with key biological processes such as metabolism, collagen formation, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These proteins showed strong correlations with clinical indicators, including BMI, LVEF, NT-proBNP, CK-MB, and cTnT. FCN2 and DEFA1 were further validated as having a causal relationship with AMI risk, indicating their potential as diagnostic biomarkers.

CONCLUSION: The identified core proteins PCOLCE, FCN2, REG1A, DEFA1, and CRTAC1 are potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and risk assessment of AMI. These findings suggest that these proteins could serve as targets for future therapeutic interventions aimed at mitigating cardiovascular metabolic damage in AMI.

PMID:40013238 | PMC:PMC11863793 | DOI:10.2147/JIR.S495784

Front Artif Intell. 2025 Feb 12;7:1490698. doi: 10.3389/frai.2024.1490698. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

Apart from what (little) OpenAI may be concealing from us, we all know (roughly) how Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT work (their vast text databases, statistics, vector representations, and huge number of parameters, next-word training, etc.). However, none of us can say (hand on heart) that we are not surprised by what ChatGPT has proved to be able to do with these resources. This has even driven some of us to conclude that ChatGPT actually understands. It is not true that it understands. But it is also not true that we understand how it can do what it can do. I will suggest some hunches about benign “biases”-convergent constraints that emerge at the LLM scale that may be helping ChatGPT do so much better than we would have expected. These biases are inherent in the nature of language itself, at the LLM scale, and they are closely linked to what it is that ChatGPT lacks, which is direct sensorimotor grounding to connect its words to their referents and its propositions to their meanings. These convergent biases are related to (1) the parasitism of indirect verbal grounding on direct sensorimotor grounding, (2) the circularity of verbal definition, (3) the “mirroring” of language production and comprehension, (4) iconicity in propositions at LLM scale, (5) computational counterparts of human “categorical perception” in category learning by neural nets, and perhaps also (6) a conjecture by Chomsky about the laws of thought. The exposition will be in the form of a dialogue with ChatGPT-4.

PMID:40013231 | PMC:PMC11861094 | DOI:10.3389/frai.2024.1490698

Cureus. 2025 Jan 25;17(1):e77988. doi: 10.7759/cureus.77988. eCollection 2025 Jan.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Edentulism is a significant global oral health concern, particularly among elderly individuals. Complete dentures are widely used to restore oral functionality, esthetics, and quality of life. The incorporation of soft liners into complete dentures has been proposed as a means of improving patient comfort and reducing the pressure on the oral mucosa. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the maximum bite force (MBF) in patients wearing complete dentures with and without soft liners for over six months.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four completely edentulous patients participated in this prospective cohort study, divided into two groups: Group 1 (n=22) received complete dentures with long-term, heat-cured, plasticized acrylic liners (Permasoft, Dentsply International, York, PA, USA) and Group 2 (n=22) received conventional complete dentures without liners. MBF was recorded at two months (T0) and six months (T1) after denture delivery. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests for intragroup comparisons and independent t-tests for intergroup comparisons.

RESULTS: Group 1 demonstrated a significant increase in MBF, from 46.07±12.28 N at T0 to 66.34±13.81 newtons (N) at T1 (P=0.021). Similarly, Group 2 exhibited an increase in MBF, from 38.32±12.61 N at T0 to 49.41±10.89 N at T1 (P=0.001). Intergroup comparisons revealed significantly higher MBF in Group 1 than in Group 2 at both time points, with a mean difference of 16.93 N (P=0.001) at T1.

CONCLUSION: The results indicated that the use of soft liners in complete dentures significantly increased MBF over six months compared with conventional dentures. These findings underscore the clinical value of soft liners in improving denture performance and patient outcomes.

PMID:40013230 | PMC:PMC11859458 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.77988

Cureus. 2025 Jan 26;17(1):e78007. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78007. eCollection 2025 Jan.

ABSTRACT

Many claims are made regarding the impacts of static magnetic fields (SMFs) on biological and physiological processes. Some of these are based on scientific underpinnings, and others appear to have less evidence to support them. The present report focuses on the evidence regarding SMF’s effects on blood flow. Fortuitously, the author has direct experimental experience in this area. The approach for this review was to search three major databases (Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase) for peer-reviewed articles written in English in which an SMF was used in humans or other animals and measurements of parameters related to blood flow or velocity before SMF application and either during or after application were reported. After screening the initial 1,954 articles, 108 studies were retrieved and evaluated for relevancy. Of these, 23 were found to satisfy the inclusion criteria and be relevant. This included 10 studies on humans and 13 studies on other animals. The methods employed in many of these studies are illustrated in this review to enhance understanding of the findings. With regard to human studies, none showed an increase in blood flow, and one showed a decrease in flow. With regard to the animal studies, one showed a transient post-exposure increase that was later explained as due to an actual reduction during SMF exposure. Four studies showed a decrease, four showed no change or difference from sham-exposed animals, and four reported an increase. Of these four, two were from the same author using a method that may not have reflected a blood flow change. Based on these findings, it is concluded that claims of an SMF providing an increase in blood flow or circulation are not supported by human studies and not well supported by animal studies. However, this does not close the door to a possible effect for at least four considerations or limitations that may have impacted the absence of a positive finding in human studies: (1) the number of subjects included is relatively small, which affects the study power; (2) the duration of the SMF application of most studies was relatively short; (3) most studies were done on healthy individuals; and (4) the SMF was delivered perpendicular to the body surface, so the effects of tangential field directions are unknown. Although these provisos may impact the detection of a possible SMF effect, they do not alter the current findings, as no reviewed human study has demonstrated a statistically significant increase in blood circulation attributable to an SMF. Thus, the clinical use of an SMF to improve blood circulation is not supported by experimental evidence.

PMID:40013215 | PMC:PMC11859515 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.78007

Cureus. 2025 Jan 26;17(1):e78019. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78019. eCollection 2025 Jan.

ABSTRACT

Introduction Hip fractures, particularly intertrochanteric femur fractures, pose a significant public health challenge, with the global incidence projected to rise. In India, the annual incidence of osteoporotic hip fractures is expected to increase due to the growing geriatric population. The choice of fixation for these fractures remains contentious, with proximal femoral nail (PFN) emerging as a preferred option due to its biomechanical advantages. This study evaluates the outcomes of long and short PFN in managing intertrochanteric fractures, focusing on anterior thigh pain and functional outcomes. Method A retrospective study was conducted on 100 patients treated with long PFN (n=50) or short PFN (n=50) at MAX Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi, from January 2020 to December 2021. Data from medical records and radiographs were analyzed for fracture union, anterior thigh pain (Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, Verbal Rating Scale), and functional outcomes (Harris Hip Score). Complications were also assessed. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v23 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY), with significance at p<0.05. Result The incidence of anterior thigh pain was significantly higher in the short PFN group (18%) compared to the long PFN group (2%) (p=0.017). The mean VAS score was 2.26 ± 1.42 for the short PFN group versus 1.68 ± 0.91 for the long PFN group. While the Harris Hip Scores were comparable (short PFN: 76.18 ± 11.74, long PFN: 78 ± 11.52, p=0.436), complications such as femoral canal impingement (n=4) and varus collapse (n=3) were observed exclusively in the short PFN group. Conclusion Long PFN demonstrated advantages in reducing anterior thigh pain and minimizing complications, particularly in populations with shorter stature and bowed femurs, common in the Indian subcontinent. Although functional outcomes were similar for both groups, long PFN appears to be the preferred choice for intertrochanteric fractures in this demographic. Further studies with longer follow-up durations are recommended to validate these findings.

PMID:40013210 | PMC:PMC11859844 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.78019

J Surg Res. 2025 Feb 25;307:100-106. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2025.01.017. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The study experimentally evaluated the efficacies of different agents in treating pulmonary contusion.

METHODS: In our study, 42 Wistar albino rats were divided into six groups of seven animals each. A model of lung contusion with blunt chest trauma was performed in five groups, except for the control group. One group with pulmonary contusion was considered an untreated group, and saline was administered. For other groups, prednisolone, tranexamic acid, N-acetylcysteine, and vitamin E were applied to determine their efficacy in treatment. The rats were sacrificed 24 h after trauma, and their injured lungs were collected for histopathological examination and blood samples for blood gas analysis. Histopathologically, bronchial damage, alveolar hemorrhage, emphysema, and leukocyte infiltration were assessed using the scoring system.

RESULTS: In our study, statistically significant differences were detected between the rat groups in terms of intraalveolar hemorrhage, leukocyte infiltration, and bronchial damage. In post hoc analysis, intraalveolar hemorrhage was significantly higher in the untreated group compared to the control group (P = 0.012). A near-significant difference was observed between the untreated group and the N-acetylcysteine group (P = 0.061). Regarding leukocyte infiltration, the tranexamic acid group showed significantly higher values compared to both the prednisolone and control groups (P = 0.007; P = 0.016, respectively). For bronchial damage, the levels observed in the vitamin E and tranexamic acid groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (P = 0.08 and P = 0.037, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Many agents are used to treat pulmonary contusion, but no gold standard treatment exists. Prednisolone and N-acetylcysteine play significant roles in treatment. These two drugs contributed to the regression of the findings in pulmonary contusion treatment.

PMID:40009897 | DOI:10.1016/j.jss.2025.01.017