BMC Public Health. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26547-6. Online ahead of print.
NO ABSTRACT
PMID:41721335 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-026-26547-6
Tag: pubmed
BMC Pediatr. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1186/s12887-026-06633-9. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pain is a common health problem and a leading reason for hospital admissions in children. Rational drug use is crucial in pediatric pain management, especially for young children who rely on their parents.
PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the attitudes of mothers of children aged 0-6 years toward rational drug use in pain management.
METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study involved 403 mothers attending pediatric outpatient clinics at a university hospital. Data collection took place between April and June 2024 using a personal information form and the Parental Attitude Scale Towards Rational Drug Use (PASRDU). Data analysis included the Mann-Whitney U test for pairwise comparisons, the Kruskal-Wallis H test for groups larger than two, and Spearman Correlation analysis for variable relationships.
RESULTS: The mean age of the mothers was 31.60 (± 5.328) years; 45.4% had one child, and 50.9% held a university degree or higher. The mean PASRDU score was 174.01 ± 17.225. A statistically significant positive attitude towards rational drug use was linked to younger mothers, those with fewer children, and those with higher education and socioeconomic status (p < .005). PASRDU scores were also higher among mothers who reported greater self-efficacy in relieving their child’s pain and those who did not administer non-prescribed analgesics (p < .005).
CONCLUSIONS: Mothers generally exhibited high attitudes toward rational drug use in pain management. Attitudes varied by age, education, number of children, socioeconomic status, self-perceived competence in pain management, and use of non-prescribed medications. Nurse-led assessment and tailored education may support rational drug use in pediatric pain management.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.
PMID:41721334 | DOI:10.1186/s12887-026-06633-9
BMC Public Health. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26496-0. Online ahead of print.
NO ABSTRACT
PMID:41721333 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-026-26496-0
BMC Public Health. 2026 Feb 21. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26346-z. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is a rising worldwide health issue with significant physical, psychological, and social implications. Beyond physical health, obesity has profound psychological effects, particularly on body image perception and self-esteem, which can be exacerbated by bullying and social stigmatization.
AIM: To assess body image perception among bullied obese children in Egypt and to examine the relationship between obesity, bullying experiences, and body image dissatisfaction.
METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on 86 Egyptian children aged 5 to 10 years who attended the outpatient nutrition and immunity clinic at the Medical Research Centre of Excellence (MRCE). A comprehensive, structured questionnaire and clinical examination were used and analyzed to assess participants.
RESULTS: The study included 86 children; 40 males and 46 females. Out of 86 children, 44 children were obese with mean of age (8.16 ± 1.78 y) and 42 were healthy children as controls with mean of age (7.69 ± 1.8. 55 y). A total of 27 children (34.6%) in the study population displayed acanthosis nigricans. Students in the obesity group reported higher rates of school bullying (36.4%) as compared to controls (11.9%). The family bullying was significantly higher in the obesity group at 40.9% compared to the control group at 7.1% (p = 0.001). A significant difference (p = 0.000) in sadness feeling was reported in obese children (56.8%) as compared with controls (11.9%). Children with family refusal showed statistically significant higher occurrences of expressing low self-esteem by refusing to be photographed (50%) and showing sadness (75%), especially in females.
CONCLUSION: This study highlights the obesity and its association with obesity-related health risks and emotional distress. School refusal was strongly linked to bullying and academic pressure. Negative school interactions affected family relationships, while family denial increased bullying and emotional distress. Females showed greater vulnerability to sadness than males.
PMID:41721328 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-026-26346-z
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1186/s12911-026-03379-3. Online ahead of print.
NO ABSTRACT
PMID:41721324 | DOI:10.1186/s12911-026-03379-3
BMC Proc. 2026 Feb 20;20(Suppl 10):9. doi: 10.1186/s12919-026-00365-5.
ABSTRACT
Cell migration is a fundamental phenomenon in biology that underlies normal development as well as cancer. Recently, a data-driven approach was introduced that uses deep reinforcement learning(DRL) and 3-D live images to study cell migration. This approach formulates the cell migration process as a sequential Markov decision process (MDP), so that hypotheses of the underlying mechanism of the observed migration can easily be incorporated as high-level regulatory rules and constraints for DRL. The application of the approach successfully uncovered a novel mechanism of cell migration in C. elegans embryogenesis that involves a modular organization of cells by using ubiquitous labels of cell nuclei and simple rules based on empirical statistics of the images. This success demonstrates new opportunities to use DRL to infer the biology of cell migration without prior knowledge. This paper presents an open framework, CellMigrationGym, to standardize the DRL approach to study cell migration. Built upon common packages (OpenAI Gym, PyBullet, and DRL libraries), CellMigrationGym provides powerful and flexible functions to investigate cell migration behavior. Through a case study, we demonstrate the critical functions of CellMigrationGym with technical details, such as 1) preparation and standardization of multiple observational data, 2) reward formulation and DRL model configuration appertaining to the hypotheses of migration mechanism (such as gradient-driven and collective cell behavior-driven mechanisms), 3) exploration of migration scenarios under hypothesized mechanisms, and 4) evaluation of neighboring cell’s influence on the cell migration.
PMID:41721321 | DOI:10.1186/s12919-026-00365-5
BMC Pediatr. 2026 Feb 21. doi: 10.1186/s12887-026-06550-x. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of childhood asthma is increasing in developing countries, accompanied by numerous risk factors. This leads to substantial asthma related morbidity, mortality and economic consequences. The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine prevalence and risk factors associated with asthma in East Africa, thereby elucidating the asthma burden among children and adolescents in the region.
METHODS: Relevant articles were identified through searches of five databases ( PubMed, Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Scopus, and Web of Science), with the PRISMA guideline used for data extraction. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to calculate pooled estimates and associated 95% confidence intervals [CIs]. Heterogeneity between the studies was assessed using Cochrane Q-test and the I2 statistic.
RESULTS: This meta-analysis encompassed 11 studies involving 20,258 children with asthma across six East African countries. The pooled prevalence of asthma was 15.2% (95% CI: 11.9%,18.5%), with notable variation across countries, ranging from 5.2% (95% CI: 3.3%, 7.1%) in Tanzania to 20.8% (95% CI: 17.6%, 24.0%) in Uganda. Risk factors for asthma included family history of asthma (pooled odds ratio [POR] = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.7, 4.5), environmental exposure(POR = 10.1, 95% CI: 1.3, 19.8), allergy exposure (POR = 3.1, 95% CI: 2.3, 4.0), and exposure to smoking (POR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4, 4.3).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of asthma among children in East Africa was high, and multiple risk factors were associated with it.It appears that strategies and targeted interventions to address specific modifiable factors (e.g., environmental exposure, allergy exposure, and exposure to smoking) should be emphasized.
CLINICAL TRAIL NUMBER: CRD42024545007.
PMID:41721311 | DOI:10.1186/s12887-026-06550-x
mSystems. 2026 Feb 20:e0118325. doi: 10.1128/msystems.01183-25. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Bloodstream infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus remain a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Our understanding of S. aureus survival and persistence in human serum, a cell-free fraction of blood hostile for bacteria, is still limited. Here, we applied multivariate data integration methods and network analysis to a multi-omic data set generated from five clinically prevalent S. aureus genotypes exposed to human serum. We observed, and then confirmed using isogenic mutants the significant roles of gapdhB, sucA, sirA, sstD, and perR in bacterial survival in serum. These data show that metabolic versatility in carbon source usage, iron transport, and resistance to oxidative stress is interlinked and central to S. aureus fitness in serum, representing potential S. aureus vulnerabilities that could be exploited therapeutically.IMPORTANCEBloodstream infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus are associated with mortality rates of up to 30%. However, the molecular mechanisms that enable this pathogen to survive in human serum-a nutrient-limited and immunologically hostile environment-remain poorly understood. By integrating multi-omic data from five clinically relevant S. aureus genotypes and validating key signatures using mutants, we identified conserved genetic determinants critical for bacterial survival in serum. Our findings highlight the interconnected roles of carbohydrate metabolic flexibility, iron acquisition, and oxidative stress resistance in shaping S. aureus adaptation to serum. This work advances our understanding of microbial strategies to survive in the bloodstream and demonstrates the potential of multi-omic integration to uncover therapeutic vulnerabilities in bacterial pathogens.
PMID:41718494 | DOI:10.1128/msystems.01183-25
Cardiovasc J Afr. 2025 Oct 17;36(4):462-466. doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2025-064. Epub 2025 Oct 17.
ABSTRACT
AIM: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an important health problem and accurate prognostic evaluations are critical. We aimed to investigate the association between the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and coronary complexity in stable CAD patients.
METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 247 stable CAD patients. The patient group was classified into two groups; group 1: SYNTAX 0, group 2: SYNTAX ≥1. TyG index levels were analysed in these groups.
RESULTS: A total of 247 patients were included in the study. Group 1 included 106 patients and, group 2 included 141 patients. Mean age was 68.9 ± 10.6 and 52.2% was male. TyG index was statistically significantly higher in group 2 (p < 0.001).Correlation analysis showed a strong correlation between the TyG index and SYNTAX score (r = 0.303, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: It was observed that high TyG index values increased the complexity of lesions in coronary arteries. The TyG index may be used to determine the prognosis of patients.
PMID:41718469 | DOI:10.5830/CVJA-2025-064
J Magn Reson Imaging. 2026 Feb 20. doi: 10.1002/jmri.70269. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ankle cartilage is prone to degeneration due to overuse. Developing a non-invasive MRI technique to detect early running-induced lesions enables timely intervention.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the value of the ultrashort echo time magnetization transfer (UTE-MT) sequence in monitoring tibiotalar cartilage changes in amateur marathon runners before and after a marathon.
STUDY TYPE: Prospective.
SUBJECTS: Thirty amateur marathon runners (25 males, 5 females; range: 24-50 years).
SEQUENCE: 3D UTE-MT (gradient-echo), 3D UTE-T2* (gradient-echo).
ASSESSMENT: MRI scans at three time points: 1 week pre-marathon, 2 days post-marathon, and 4 weeks post-marathon. Medial and lateral tibiotalar cartilage was subdivided into 12 subregions, consisting of anterior, middle, and posterior segments for the tibial and talus parts on each side. The UTE-MTR and UTE-T2* values were measured per subregion at each time point.
STATISTICAL TESTS: Repeated measures one-way ANOVA and the Tukey test. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: Most cartilage subregions showed decreased UTE-MTR values 2 days post-marathon and increased after 4 weeks. Significant differences in UTE-MTR over time were observed in 9 subregions, including the medial and lateral anterior, middle, and posterior tibial cartilage (MTiA, MTiM, MTiP, LTiA, LTiM, LTiP), the medial and lateral posterior talus regions (MTaP, LTaP), and the medial middle talus cartilage (MTaM). Post hoc tests revealed significant UTE-MTR decreases 2 days post-marathon in all 9 regions (Rate: MTiA: -3.9%; MTiM: -2.8%; MTiP: -3.0%; MTaP: -4.5%; MTaM: -4.2%; LTiA: -3.5%; LTiM: -4.7%; LTiP: -5.8%; LTaP: -6.8%), with significant increases in MTiA (3.7%) and MTaM (4.4%) at 4 weeks. UTE-T2* values rose in most cartilage regions at 2 days post-marathon and continued increasing at 4 weeks. Only MTiP, LTiM, and LTaM showed significant changes.
DATA CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the UTE-MT sequence enables the quantitative assessment of dynamic changes in tibiotalar joint cartilage after a marathon.
TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.
PMID:41718463 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.70269