Tag: pubmed

PeerJ. 2026 Jun 30;14:e21532. doi: 10.7717/peerj.21532. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Near-vision-related symptoms are common among students who are often engaged in prolonged near work, such as reading and using digital devices.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the occurrence of ocular symptoms and their associated visual functions among medical sciences students at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 58 participants conducted between May and July 2025. Each participant completed a validated Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) and underwent a comprehensive assessment of refraction, binocular vision and accommodative function.

RESULTS: The findings revealed that 29.3% of participants were classified as symptomatic based on CISS. The most commonly reported symptom was difficulty retaining information after reading (48%), whereas the least reported symptom was the perception of words moving or jumping on the page (7%). Furthermore, uncorrected refractive error significantly influenced symptom severity; ametropic participants reported higher CISS scores (mean ± SD: 18.6 ± 7.5) than emmetropic participants (9.2 ± 5.3, p < 0.0001). No statistically significant associations were observed between CISS scores and binocular vision or accommodative function (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The findings highlight that near-vision-related symptoms are prevalent among university students and are significantly influenced by uncorrected refractive errors. Although no significant correlations were identified between symptom severity and binocular vision or accommodative function, these findings underscore the critical role of refractive correction and routine vision screening in academic populations.

PMID:42405248 | PMC:PMC13330743 | DOI:10.7717/peerj.21532

PeerJ. 2026 Jun 30;14:e21372. doi: 10.7717/peerj.21372. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Bronchial asthma (BA) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases affecting the airway and intestinal mucosa, respectively. Increasing clinical evidence suggests a close association between BA and UC, with mutual aggravation of disease severity when both conditions coexist. However, the underlying mechanisms and suitable experimental models to investigate BA-UC comorbidity remain limited. This study aimed to establish a reliable murine model of comorbid BA-UC and to evaluate the bidirectional impact of airway and intestinal inflammation.

METHODS: Forty specific-pathogen-free (SPF)-grade female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to four groups: control, BA, UC, and comorbid BA-UC. BA was induced by intraperitoneal sensitization with ovalbumin (OVA) followed by repeated aerosolized OVA challenges, while UC was induced by intermittent administration of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The comorbid model was established by synchronously combining both protocols in the same animals. Pulmonary function, airway hyperresponsiveness, Disease Activity Index (DAI), body weight, quality-of-life scores, colon length, and histopathological changes in lung and colon tissues were assessed and compared among groups.

RESULTS: Compared with the control group, mice in the BA, UC, and comorbid BA-UC groups exhibited significant abnormalities in pulmonary function parameters. Among all experimental groups, the comorbid BA-UC group showed the most pronounced decline in quality-of-life scores. Line graph analysis revealed significant differences in colon length shortening and body weight changes in the comorbid BA-UC group (P < 0.05), with colon shortening being significantly greater than that observed in the UC group alone (P < 0.05). Inflammatory cell infiltration was significantly increased in the BA and comorbid BA-UC groups compared with the UC group (P < 0.05). Although granuloma scores were higher in the BA and comorbid BA-UC groups than in the control group, these differences did not reach statistical significance. In contrast to controls, all disease groups (BA, UC, and comorbid BA-UC) exhibited significantly increased pathological injury scores.

CONCLUSION: The synchronous induction of BA and UC using OVA and DSS successfully establishes a stable and reproducible murine model of comorbid BA-UC. This model demonstrates that BA and UC mutually exacerbate airway and intestinal inflammation, supporting the existence of a bidirectional gut-lung immune interaction. The comorbid BA-UC model provides a valuable experimental platform for future mechanistic studies and the development of integrated therapeutic strategies targeting coexisting inflammatory diseases.

PMID:42405247 | PMC:PMC13330746 | DOI:10.7717/peerj.21372

PeerJ. 2026 Jul 2;14:e21498. doi: 10.7717/peerj.21498. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are common among first-year university students, yet the longitudinal associations between different intensities of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and mental health remain unclear. This study examined the relationships between moderate- and vigorous-intensity LTPA and depressive symptoms over one academic year, as well as potential gender differences.

METHODS: A four-wave longitudinal survey was conducted over one academic year among 456 freshmen (Mage = 18.18, SD = 0.67; 202 males and 254 females). Latent growth modeling was employed to analyze temporal changes in depressive symptoms and LTPA, and a parallel process latent growth model was used to assess the relationships between LTPA intensity and depressive symptom trajectories.

RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were relatively elevated at the beginning of the academic year and showed a modest decline over time, whereas LTPA increased across waves. The intercepts of vigorous-intensity LTPA and depressive symptoms were significantly and negatively associated (β = – 0.441, p = 0.002), whereas the association between moderate-intensity LTPA and depressive symptoms at baseline was not statistically significant (β = – 0.278, p = 0.071). Importantly, no significant associations were observed between changes in LTPA and changes in depressive symptoms over time (moderate: β = – 0.187, p = 0.508; vigorous: β = – 0.061, p = 0.823). Female students reported lower baseline levels of both moderate- and vigorous-intensity LTPA compared with males; however, no significant gender differences were observed in the longitudinal associations between LTPA and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: Vigorous-intensity LTPA and depressive symptoms were negatively associated at baseline among first-year university students. However, changes in LTPA were not significantly related to changes in depressive symptoms over the study period. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing between baseline associations and longitudinal change when interpreting relationships between physical activity and mental health.

PMID:42405244 | PMC:PMC13333126 | DOI:10.7717/peerj.21498

Iran Endod J. 2026;21(1):e21. doi: 10.22037/iej.v21i1.44573. Epub 2026 Jun 22.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Advances in endodontic instrumentation are centered around innovation of variable metallurgy and designs of endodontic files to reduce procedural errors. However, there is a lack of consensus in the literature with regard to the shaping ability of WaveOne Gold (WOG) and ProTaper next (PTN) endodontic file systems in the curved root canals. This study aimed to measure and compare the amount of canal transportation (CT) and centering ability (CA) in the coronal, middle, and apical thirds of root canals prepared using the WOG file and PTN system using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of sixty single-rooted teeth with Type I Vertucci canal and moderate 10-30^° canal curvature according to AAE guidelines were collected and divided into two groups: Group 1: WOG system, Group 2: PTN. Baseline and post-operative CBCT scans were obtained for all the specimens using the same exposure parameters. The CT and CA of each root canal at 3, 6, and 9 mm, corresponding to the coronal, middle, and apical third, were calculated. The data was analyzed using SPSS. The level of significance was kept at 0.05.

RESULTS: At the 6 mm level, The WOG system exhibited statistically less canal transportation (CT) in mesio-distal dimension compared to PTN (P=0.005). The direction of transportation was predominantly towards the distal and lingual aspects for both systems. The centering ability (CA) of WOG was statistically higher than that of PTN at 9 mm level (P=0.023). However, all measured transportation values for both systems fell within the clinically acceptable threshold of <0.15 mm.

CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, both the WOG and PTN Next file systems prepared moderately curved root canals with clinically acceptable accuracy, maintaining canal transportation within a safe range. The observed statistical differences are of uncertain clinical significance given the measurement resolution of CBCT.

PMID:42405218 | PMC:PMC13332815 | DOI:10.22037/iej.v21i1.44573

Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2026 Jun 25;27:100357. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2026.100357. eCollection 2026 Aug.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Allostatic load (AL) represents the cumulative physiological burden arising from chronic stress across neuroendocrine, immune, metabolic, and cardiovascular systems. Although AL is strongly associated with cardiometabolic and inflammatory diseases, its underlying genetic architecture remains poorly characterized.

METHODS: We integrated genome-wide association summary statistics for five AL-related phenotypes-systolic blood pressure, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, body mass index, and triglycerides-using Genomic Structural Equation Modeling (Genomic SEM) to derive a latent genetic factor indexing the shared cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic components of AL. A common-factor model was fitted to derive a latent genetic representation of AL, followed by multivariate GWAS of the latent factor. Downstream analyses included functional annotation, Bayesian fine-mapping, transcriptome-wide association analysis (TWAS), pathway enrichment, cell type-specific heritability estimation, and partitioned SNP heritability analyses.

RESULTS: The common-factor model showed good fit (CFI = 0.964; SRMR = 0.037), supporting a shared genetic architecture across the five AL-related traits. Functional annotation indicated that AL-associated variants were predominantly located in non-coding regulatory regions. Pathway enrichment analyses implicated metabolic regulation, lipid processing, neuroendocrine signaling, and immune-related pathways. Integrative fine-mapping and TWAS prioritized genes involved in metabolic homeostasis and neuronal signaling, including HNF4A, MLXIPL, BDNF, and SH2B1. Cell type-specific analyses showed enrichment in neuronal populations and stress-related brain regions, while partitioned heritability analyses demonstrated significant enrichment in conserved regions, promoters, enhancers, and active chromatin marks.

CONCLUSION: This study characterizes the shared polygenic architecture of an AL-related latent factor derived from cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic biomarkers. The results suggest that genetic liability captured by this AL-related latent factor converges on metabolic, immune-inflammatory, neuroendocrine and neural regulatory pathways, providing a system-level perspective on AL-related physiological burden and multisystem disease vulnerability.

PMID:42405204 | PMC:PMC13329553 | DOI:10.1016/j.cpnec.2026.100357

Adv Neural Inf Process Syst. 2025 Dec;38:159735-159768.

ABSTRACT

Binary classification with imbalanced classes is a common and fundamental task, where standard machine learning methods often struggle to provide reliable predictive performance. Although numerous approaches have been proposed to address this issue, classification in low-sample-size and high-dimensional settings still remains particularly challenging. The abundance of noisy features in high-dimensional data limits the effectiveness of classical methods due to overfitting, and the minority class is even difficult to detect because of its severe underrepresentation with low sample size. To address this challenge, we introduce Quantile-based Discriminant Analysis (QuanDA), which builds upon a novel connection with quantile regression and naturally accounts for class imbalance through appropriately chosen quantile levels. We provide comprehensive theoretical analysis to validate QuanDA in ultra-high dimensional settings. Through extensive simulation studies and high-dimensional benchmark data analysis, we demonstrate that QuanDA overall outperforms existing classification methods for imbalanced data, including cost-sensitive large-margin classifiers, random forests, and SMOTE.

PMID:42405201 | PMC:PMC13333170

RSC Adv. 2026 Jul 3. doi: 10.1039/d6ra03353a. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The ongoing discharge of ciprofloxacin (CIP) into aquatic environments presents significant ecological and public health challenges due to its environmental persistence and role in facilitating the proliferation of antibiotic resistance, underscoring the pressing necessity for effective removal technologies. This investigation introduces a novel composite sponge, composed of a amine-functionalized zinc metal-organic framework (NH₂-Zn-MOF) and chitosan-polyethylenimine (CS/PEI), referred to as FZCP, which was successfully synthesized and assessed for its capacity to adsorb CIP from aqueous environments. The synthesis of the FZCP composite sponge yields an adsorbent that is mechanically robust, highly porous, and capable of being reused. Extensive characterization utilizing methods such as XRD, BET surface area, FT-IR and two-dimensional FT-IR correlation spectroscopy, SEM-EDX, and zero point of charge (pH_zpc) analyses affirm the successful functionalization, uniform dispersion of the MOF, and the presence of a significant number of active sites. Batch adsorption experiments revealed a remarkably high adsorption capability, reaching values of up to 487 mg g^-1. The efficiency of the adsorption was found to be significantly affected by several variables, including the solution pH, duration of contact, and the quantity of adsorbent used. Through the application of response surface methodology (RSM) utilizing the Box-Behnken design (BBD) for process optimization, it emerged that the interaction time was the most serious issue influencing adsorption competence. With an overall desirability value of 0.991, the ideal parameters were found to be a solution pH of 7, a duration of contact of 100 min, and an adsorbent dosage of 0.02 g. A pseudo-second-order model adequately explained the adsorption kinetics, and isotherm and thermodynamic investigations indicated that the adsorption process was favorable, spontaneous, and mostly controlled by chemisorption. Ciprofloxacin is adsorbed through a combination of electrostatic forces, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, coordination with Zn(ii) sites, and pore filling, according to mechanistic studies. All of these results point to the potential of the FZCP composite sponge as a very successful adsorbent for eliminating ciprofloxacin from wastewater.

PMID:42405151 | PMC:PMC13330777 | DOI:10.1039/d6ra03353a

J Food Sci. 2026 Jul;91(7):e71271. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.71271.

ABSTRACT

Pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatment is an emerging nonthermal technology that enhances drying efficiency by inducing electroporation, thereby facilitating mass transfer and accelerating moisture removal in plant-based foods. However, previous studies have reported variable outcomes, particularly in color changes and texture modifications, which are influenced by differences in PEF conditions and drying methods. This study, therefore, aimed to quantitatively evaluate the effects of PEF pretreatment on drying kinetics and the quality of dried plant-based foods through a meta-analysis. Data were retrieved from Scopus and PubMed databases, yielding 48 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Analyses were conducted using a random-effects model with Hedges’ d as the effect size. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic and I², and publication bias was examined using the fail-safe N method. The results revealed that PEF pretreatment significantly increased effective moisture diffusivity, reduced drying time, improved rehydration ratio, and affected color attributes (ΔE and chroma) (p < 0.05). In contrast, its effects on total phenolic content, vitamin C, and water activity (a_w) were insignificant and exhibited susceptibility to publication bias. Subgroup analyses further revealed that PEF effectiveness strongly depended on commodity category, PEF parameters, and drying method. Overall, PEF consistently enhanced drying kinetics and rehydration capacity while increasing color differences; however, its effects on bioactive compounds and a_w remain inconclusive due to limited and potentially biased evidence. These findings highlight PEF as a promising pretreatment strategy to improve drying efficiency while maintaining desirable quality in dried plant-based foods.

PMID:42402717 | DOI:10.1111/1750-3841.71271

Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2026 Jul;40(7):676-681. doi: 10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2026.07.014.

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the superimposed effects of the severity of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps（CRSwNP） and Th2-type inflammatory comorbidities（allergic rhinitis/asthma） on 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25（OH） D]and pulmonary function. Methods:A total of 159 patients with CRSwNP were retrospectively enrolled and divided into 4 groups according to comorbidities（single disease group, AR group, asthma group, AR+ asthma group）. CT Lund-Mackay score, endoscopic Lund-Kennedy score, pulmonary function（FEV1.0/FVC）, serum 25（OH） D and eosinophil proportion（EOS%） were evaluated. Analysis of variance, partial correlation and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Results:The comorbidity group had significantly aggravated sinonasal inflammation and lung function damage: Lund-Kennedy score（14.740±5.465 vs Single disease group: 8.49±4.02, P<0.001）, EOS%（13.68%±3.47% vs 3.95%±2.13%, P<0.001） were the highest, and 25（OH） D[（20.22±8.20）nmol/L vs （41.55±14.37）nmol/L, P<0.001] was the lowest, and pulmonary function limitation（FEV1.0/FVC=77.15%±15.92% vs 97.43%±14.01%） was the most significant（P<0.001）. Multivariate regression analysis showed that comorbidity group（odds ratio, OR=2.482, 95%CI 1.350-4.562） and Lund-Kennedy score（OR=1.583, 95%CI 1.358-1.844） were independent risk factors for 25（OH） D deficiency. Both of them also significantly predicted lung function limitation（OR=5.341, 1.414）. The ROC curve confirmed that a Lund-Kennedy score of ≥14 predicted a 92.5% sensitivity for vitamin D deficiency, and a score of ≥11 predicted a 100% sensitivity for pulmonary function limitation. Conclusion:A Lund-Kennedy score of ≥14 and 11 are high-risk warning indicators for 25（OH） D deficiency and restricted lung function. Sinonasal lesions in severe CRSwNP coexisting with Th2-type inflammation are accompanied by more significant 25（OH） D deficiency and lung function impairment. Clinically, such patients need to be monitored more closely.

PMID:42402689 | DOI:10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2026.07.014

Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2026 Jul;40(7):641-646;652. doi: 10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2026.07.008.

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of Stapokibart in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps（CRSwNP） based on key type 2 inflammatory clinical characteristics. Methods:A total of 28 patients with CRSwNP receiving either stapokibart or placebo were stratified based on peripheral blood eosinophil（EOS） count（cutoff value: 0.3×10⁸/L）, comorbid asthma, and history of sinus surgery. After 24 weeks of treatment, changes from baseline in efficacy endpoints-including nasal polyp score（NPS）, nasal congestion score（NCS）, loss of smell score（LOS）, total nasal symptom score（TNSS）, 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test（SNOT-22）, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test（UPSIT）, and Lund-Mackay CT score were analyzed within each subgroup and compared against the placebo group. Results:After 24 weeks of treatment, stapokibart demonstrated significant improvements in nasal symptoms and related outcome measures across all subgroups compared to placebo. Due to the reduced sample sizes following subgroup stratification, differences in efficacy within each subgroup did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion:Stapokibart is effective in the overall CRSwNP population. However, whether its efficacy is influenced by factors such as comorbid asthma, eosinophil levels, or surgical history warrants validation in larger cohort studies.

PMID:42402683 | DOI:10.13201/j.issn.2096-7993.2026.07.008