Browse Articles

Structural characterization and bioaccessibility of nanoliposomal lutein from pumpkin extract

Supported storytelling through the ‘Life Threads’ approach for family members after traumatic brain injury: “We’ve been through all of this trauma, and you’re giving me some string?”

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) brings inevitable and significant changes for family members, yet there is little to relieve their trauma, resolve their grief, or prevent ongoing suffering. The aim of this qualitative pre-feasibility study was to understand the clinical potential of storytelling for families after TBI using the ‘Life Threads’ approach (LTA). An in-depth inductive qualitative design was adopted within an interpretivist paradigm. Following informed consent, participants took part in an online focus group, then engaged with the LTA over four weeks before completing an unstructured, in-person interview. A final focus group explored participants’ reflections on the LTA. A purposive sample of 20 family members began the study, three withdrew after the first focus group leaving a final sample size of 17. The analytical approach used was Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. Eleven participants reported tangible benefits from engaging with the LTA, and thirteen described being able to tell their story in a way not possible through traditional methods. Four main themes were identified: ‘Scaling Cliffs with Broken Wings’ and ‘An Entanglement of Wellbeing’ illustrated the evolving and contextual needs of families post-TBI. ‘Hear Me, See Me: The Power of Story’ highlighted how the LTA facilitated voice, agency, and sense-making, while ‘Creating the Conditions for Stories to Be Told’ identified the enabling environment required for such benefits to emerge. The findings suggest that the LTA offers a meaningful way for family members to explore, express, and make sense of their experiences following TBI. It supports narrative reconstruction, fosters connection and agency, and provides a rare opportunity for self-reflection. However, implementation must be trauma-informed, paced, and supported by skilled facilitators capable of holding space for complex emotional responses.

Aggregation operators based on interval-valued Fermatean fuzzy linguistic sets for medical waste disposal planning

“We do anything to get alcohol”: A mixed methods approach to explore the intersections between alcohol use and HIV risk and infection amongst adolescent girls and young women from high HIV-burdened communities in South Africa

Despite national declines in HIV prevalence, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa continue to face a disproportionate burden of HIV infection. The syndemic theory provides a framework for understanding how interconnected epidemics such as alcohol use disorders, violence and HIV cluster together and reinforce each other. Using this theory, we aimed to test and explore the relationship between alcohol use and HIV risk and infection amongst AGYW in high HIV-burdened communities in South Africa. Data for this study were drawn from a mixed methods impact evaluation of a combination HIV prevention programme implemented across eight provinces in South Africa. A household survey was conducted among AGYW aged 15─24 years in the 12 intervention sub-districts selected by the Global Fund and 12 matching comparison sub-districts. Dried blood spot specimens were collected to test for HIV; alcohol use and sexual behaviours were reported through a self-completed electronic questionnaire. Generalised linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between alcohol use and HIV risk and infection as well as sexual risk behaviours and hazardous drinking. A subsample of 68 AGYW participated in qualitative in-depth interviews. Interview transcripts were translated into English and analysed using thematic analysis. Of the 5025 survey participants, 10% were living with HIV, and 35% engaged in hazardous drinking. No significant association was found between alcohol use and HIV risk or infection. However, a positive association was found between hazardous drinking and sexual violence (OR=1.51; 95% CI: 1.20─1.90), condomless sex (OR=1.25; 95% CI: 1.07─1.47), and condom counselling (OR=1.32; 95% CI: 1.14─1.53). Qualitative interview participants described how AGYW sought alcohol from older men, knowing that sex would be expected in exchange. This put them in high-risk situations where sexual violence was a concern and negotiating condom use became more challenging. These findings highlight the need for interventions that educate AGYW on the harmful effects of binge drinking and provide safer, healthier alternatives for recreation, particularly in low-resourced communities.

Growth monitoring and promotion utilisation among children aged 24–59 months attending an Urban Health Centre in Malawi: prevalence and associated factors

Postprandial response of leptin and adiponectin to standardized high-carbohydrate and high-fat meals in adults: A cross-sectional study

Background Leptin and adiponectin link adiposity with metabolic regulation. While their fasting levels have been extensively studied, little is known about their postprandial dynamics, and it is generally assumed that their concentration is unaffected by food intake. Objective To evaluate the postprandial responses of leptin and adiponectin following two standardized meals differing in macronutrient composition, in adults with and without obesity. Methods In 79 adults (43 women, 36 men; 47% with obesity), we investigated whether meal composition influences adipokine responses. Participants completed two standardized mixed-meal tolerance tests: a high-carbohydrate meal (60% carbohydrate, 20% fat, 20% protein) and a high-fat meal (50% fat, 30% carbohydrate, 20% protein). Blood samples were collected at baseline and after 60, 120, and 360 minutes. Data were evaluated using linear mixed-effects models. Results Women exhibited higher leptin and adiponectin concentrations than men (p < 0.001). Participants with obesity had higher leptin and lower adiponectin across all time points (p < 0.001) with both meals. In mixed-effects models, Sex and BMI were significant predictors of both concentrations of adipokines. Meal type significantly influenced leptin trajectories, with leptin concentrations having a progressive decline after the high-fat meal; in contrast, they did not change significantly after the high-carbohydrate meal. Adiponectin concentration showed only modest time-related changes but was not significantly modified by meal composition. Conclusions Sex and BMI are significant determinants of the postprandial dynamics of leptin and adiponectin, while meal composition, especially high-fat meals, influences leptin concentrations. These observations underscore the importance of considering postprandial dynamics rather than basal levels for assessing metabolic health. The reductions in leptin, particularly in individuals with obesity, could potentially influence satiety-related pathways, although this hypothesis requires confirmation in studies directly assessing appetite and energy intake.

A rapid image acquisition method for external defect inspection of battery can

Defect induced improved capacitive performance of MnS incorporated MoO3 nanocomposite for supercapacitor electrodes in aqueous electrolytes

Electrode materials play a crucial role in improving supercapacitor performance. In this work, MnS nanoparticles were incorporated into MoO 3 to form a MoO 3 /MnS nanocomposite via hydrothermal synthesis, and the capacitive performance of the resulting supercapacitor electrodes was evaluated. Their electrochemical performances were studied in conjunction with KCl and Na 2 SO 4 electrolytes. The generation of MoO 3 /MnS nanocomposite was confirmed by XRD analysis and HR-TEM imaging. It is found that the MnS nanoparticles altered the morphology of MoO 3 from nanobelts to nanofibers and produced a defective, rough surface. The defective surface expanded the interlayer distance from 0.396 nm to 0.421 nm. In both ionic electrolytes, the MoO 3 /MnS composite demonstrated higher capacitive performance than the pristine MoO 3 . At 0.3 A g -1 current density, the estimated specific capacitance of MoO 3 /MnS was 387 F g -1 and 335 F g -1 in KCl and Na 2 SO 4 electrolytes, respectively. In the symmetric two-electrode system, the MoO 3 /MnS shows a specific capacitance of 297 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 , with an energy density of 33.37 Wh kg −1 and a power density of 450 W kg −1 . The MoO 3 /MnS nanocomposite provides excellent 90% retention after 1000 continuous charging-discharging cyclic. The enhancement of electrochemical performance is attributed to the large surface area, defective morphology, and broader interlayer distance. This system bridges the gap between traditional batteries and capacitors, offering a unique approach to producing supercapacitor electrodes.

Impact of hand weeding frequency on agronomic performance and essential oil profile of purple basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

MetaboVariation 2.0: Multivariate analysis for identifying metabolite variation at the individual level

Variations in individuals’ metabolic profiles are the result of their genetic makeup and environmental and lifestyle factors. To address the challenge of identifying these intra-individual variations at the individual level, we introduce “MetaboVariation 2.0”, a multivariate Bayesian generalised linear model designed to flag individuals with intra-individual variations in metabolite levels across repeated measurements. MetaboVariation 2.0 builds upon the previous univariate MetaboVariation approach by incorporating dependencies between metabolites, offering a more comprehensive assessment of individual metabolic variations. While simultaneously considering all metabolites, MetaboVariation 2.0 flags an individual when their observed metabolite levels deviate from their individual-level posterior predictive interval at a time point. A series of simulation studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of MetaboVariation 2.0. In addition it was applied to a metabolomics data set. The efficacy of this approach was validated through a series of simulation studies. These simulations demonstrated that the multivariate model outperformed its predecessor, particularly in scenarios where the dependencies between the metabolites were positive. The model showed lower mean absolute differences between correlation matrices of metabolite levels from replicate datasets and the original simulated data, indicating improved accuracy in capturing the metabolic dependencies. In addition, analysis of plasma metabolite levels from 164 individuals with 20 metabolites measured across four time points was performed to detect individuals with intra-individual variations. MetaboVariation 2.0 revealed intra-individual variations in 15.2% of the individuals, with 20% or more of their metabolites showing variations beyond their 97.5% posterior predictive intervals in at least one time point. In conclusion, MetaboVariation 2.0 accounts for the inherent dependencies between different metabolites, offering a full view of an individual’s metabolic profile which is an important advancement for assessment of individual-level metabolite variation. A software implementation of this approach is freely available through the “MetaboVariation” R package, promoting its accessibility and use in broader metabolomics research.

Design of a Photoactuator Based on a Photosalient Crystal Driven by Solid‐State [2+2] Cycloaddition

ABSTRACT Soft microrobots have become an emerging branch of materials science owing to their capability to perform critical tasks in inaccessible, compact, confined, and tiny spaces. This work highlights the fabrication of a soft photo‐actuator by utilizing molecular motions of one of the two isostructural photosalient CdI 2 based metal complex, incorporated into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix to achieve flexible, controlled macroscopic shape‐dependent photomechanical motions. The actuator successfully performs light‐controlled mechanical work, including mimicking bio‐responses, silica‐ball displacement. We performed the quantitative analysis of its motion as a function of time and displacement. The actuator's performance is strongly dependent on strength, thickness, and applied load. As the rate and magnitude of actuation depend on UV exposure, a theoretical model is developed to identify crucial parameters for optimized performance. The model quantitatively evaluates time‐dependent light‐induced deflection and the resulting photo‐actuation force under no(with) load conditions, capturing an initial fast response followed by a slower regime governed by above parameters. The rapid conversion of photochemical energy into mechanical work is further demonstrated through a prototype photo‐switch. Overall, this study advances the understanding of light‐controlled actuation in composite films and contributes to the development of next‐generation smart soft microrobots from both experimental and theoretical perspectives.

Automatic computation of breast cancer biomarkers from multiple $$^{18}$$ F-FDG PET image segmentation

Abstract Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a standard clinical practice for tumor downsizing in breast cancer, with $$^{18}$$ F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) being an essential tool for predicting complete pathological response and monitoring treatment. Our work aims to leverage PET imaging for automated segmentation of breast lesions and biomarker analysis before and after the first course of chemotherapy. We developed a system to segment primary tumor regions and extract biomarkers reflecting tumor evolution. A total of 243 baseline and 180 follow-up $$^{18}$$ F-FDG PET scans were acquired. Ground truth annotations were generated semi-automatically for all baseline scans and manually for 12 test cases. A deep learning-based segmentation method was developed and evaluated using various architectures. The optimal baseline model, trained on baseline exams, was fine-tuned on 15 follow-up scans using active learning to segment tumors in follow-up exams. The pipeline extracts maximum standardized uptake value (SUV $$_{max}$$ ), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) to assess tumor response. Quality control procedures were used to exclude outliers. Among the tested approaches, nnUNet achieved the best tumor segmentation on PET baseline scans, with a Dice similarity coefficient of $$0.89 \pm 0.04$$ and a Hausdorff distance of $$3.52 \pm 0.76$$ mm on the test set. After fine-tuning, performance on follow-up exams reached a Dice similarity coefficient of $$0.78 \pm 0.03$$ and Hausdorff distance of $$4.95 \pm 0.12$$ mm. Biomarker analysis showed strong correlations between manual and automatic segmentations. The average $$\Delta SUV_{max}$$ , $$\Delta MTV$$ , and $$\Delta TLG$$ between 12 baseline and follow-up scans used for testing were $$-6.02 \pm 1.55$$ (p=0.002), $$-9.30 \pm 2.33$$ cm $$^3$$ (p=0.007), and $$-14.09 \pm 6.33$$ cm $$^3$$ (p=0.010), respectively. The proposed method provides an effective automated system for breast tumor segmentation from $$^{18}$$ F-FDG PET. Thanks to biomarkers extracted from the automatic segmentations on both baseline and follow-up exams, our method enables the automatic assessment of cancer progression.

Assessing educational poverty: Insights into youth opportunities

Educational opportunities (EO) are the main drivers for ensuring the balanced growth of future generations and a more prosperous future for the community. A lack or inadequacy of EO can lead to conditions of educational poverty. Despite its fundamental relevance, measuring this phenomenon is still an open challenge in the scientific community, given its complex and multidimensional nature and multiple connections with other aspects such as family background and cognitive and emotional development. The objective of this paper is to identify the main factors that may contribute to measuring educational poverty in terms of deprivation or lack of opportunities for youth aged 15–19. A pilot study of youth living in the city of Naples is proposed to test a conceptual model and to characterize groups of youth with different levels of educational poverty. Factor analysis was carried out to uncover the underlying dimensions regarding EO. The findings underscore the phenomenon’s three-dimensional aspect, encompassing the dimensions of Family , School , and Environment . Additionally, the study revealed the diversity among respondents about these three dimensions by exploiting a hierarchical cluster analysis. Results showed that family background, Italian grade, gender, and type of school are significantly related to the detected groups, providing valuable insights into the issue of educational poverty.

Lipid Modified with Pyridinium Betaine Manipulates Liposomal Membrane Fusion Behavior for Spatially Confined Cytoplasmic Delivery

Abstract Spatially confining the membrane‐fusion effects of fusogenic delivery systems in tumors can enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic toxicity. However, current existing fusion‐regulating strategies often suffer from insensitivity and unidirectional control, leading to suboptimal antitumor effects and potential safety risks. Here, we designed a pyridinium betaine‐capped lipid, 2‐(4‐((2,3‐di(stearoyloxy)propyl)carbamoyl)pyridin‐1‐ium‐1‐yl)acetate (DSPCPA)), as a pH‐responsive regulator to precisely manipulate the membrane‐fusion behavior of fusogenic liposomes. Incorporating DSPCPA, we optimized a formulation of s elf‐a d aptive, en vironment‐responsive fu sogenic l iposome (SENDFUL) capable of rapidly and reversibly switching membrane‐fusion activity responding acidic tumor microenvironments. At physiological pH, SENDFUL remains negatively‐charged due to the zwitterionic nature of DSPCPA, undergoing in a non‐fusogenic state. In acidic tumor regions (pH 6.5), protonation of DSPCPA rapidly converts surface charge to positive, triggering tumor‐specific fusion via strengthened electrostatic interactions with cellular membranes. This reversible transition highly confines lysosome‐bypassing cytosolic delivery to tumors, minimizing systemic toxicity. We utilized SENDFUL to construct a nanoagonist for the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway, which elicited potent antitumor immunity with negligible toxicity in vitro and in vivo. Thus, SENDFUL represents an advanced strategy for spatially precise regulation of liposomal membrane fusion, providing a safe and efficient platform for tumor‐specific intracellular drug delivery.

A novel 6G-oriented secure bidirectional key exchange scheme based on graphene-assisted terahertz physical layer

Diagnostic value of antibody responses to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis-derived proteins PtpA and PtpB in rheumatoid arthritis

Evidence suggests that Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) may contribute to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), partly through effector proteins—particularly the tyrosine phosphatases PtpA and PtpB—that modulate macrophage signaling and promote bacterial persistence. This study evaluated whether serum antibodies against these proteins serve as biomarkers of RA. Humoral responses to PtpA and PtpB were quantified in Mexican RA patients (n = 100) and healthy controls (n = 100) using in-house ELISAs. Associations with disease activity (DAS28), ROC performance, and logistic regression models were assessed. Results showed that anti-PtpB antibody levels were significantly higher in patients with RA than in healthy controls (median OD 0.185 vs. 0.080; p < 0.0001) and had moderate discriminative capacity (AUC = 0.762). Anti-PtpB reactivity increased with higher disease activity and showed a significant positive association with DAS28 (p < 0.05). In addition, there was a functional disability measured by HAQ (p < 0.001), as well as moderate correlations with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and rheumatoid factor. A combined logistic regression model integrating both antibodies markedly improved diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.934), achieving high sensitivity (90%) and specificity (89%). These findings suggest a potential association of MAP with RA immunopathogenesis and indicate that combined quantification of anti-PtpA and anti-PtpB antibodies captures complementary and non-redundant immunological information. This combined serological approach may enhance RA diagnosis and provide clinically relevant insights into disease activity and severity.

The ternary nanocomposite g-C3N4/TiO2@polyaniline embedded in PVDF based triboelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting

SuperSelective PCR primers for determining cis/trans configurations of mutations within the same gene

In non-small cell lung cancer, the choice of an effective targeted therapy often depends on the presence of a somatic mutation that alters an amino acid in a key protein. However, if an additional somatic mutation occurs in the same mutant gene, causing an additional amino acid substitution to occur in that protein, the targeted therapy can become ineffective. A PCR assay has now been developed that utilizes two different SuperSelective primers, one primer for the amplification of the DNA strand containing the original somatic mutation, and a second primer for the amplification of the DNA strand containing the additional somatic mutation. Exponential amplification only occurs if these two somatic mutations occur in cis on the DNA molecule present in the same sister chromosome, and does not occur at all if the two different somatic mutations occur in trans on different DNA molecules in two different sister chromosomes. Significantly, if only one of these two mutations is present, amplification does not occur, thereby ensuring that the assay specifically detects the coexistence of both target mutations being present on the same DNA strand. This assay (demonstrated utilizing EGFR exon 20 mutations T790M and C797S) is extraordinarily sensitive, enabling the early substitution of a more effective therapy if the two mutations occur in a cis configuration. Moreover, these SuperSelective PCR assays can utilize DNA fragments isolated from noninvasive liquid biopsy samples, and they can be carried out on widely available spectrofluorometric thermal cyclers.

Enhancing crop disease recognition framework via vision-language model with cross-attention and gated fusion

In-silico prediction of multi‑target mechanisms of Pinellia ternata phytochemicals in lung cancer: Evidence from a graph‑attention‑guided virtual screening and multi‑scale simulations

Pinellia ternate has long been used to treat respiratory diseases, possessing potential anti-tumor activity and exhibiting multi-component, multi-target characteristics. This study prioritized lung cancer-related targets using the HERBGAT framework based on graph attention networks (GAT). High-quality PDB structures were retrieved, and diffusion-generative docking was performed to construct complex conformations and assess their confidence levels. Molecular dynamics simulations of representative complexes were conducted over 200 ns, and binding free energies were estimated using the MM/PBSA method. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of the bioactive compounds were evaluated using Swiss ADME and PreADMET computational tools, and density functional theory (DFT) analysis using ORCA software was combined to explore their electronic structure and properties. In this study, the potential targets of Pinellia ternata highly overlap with lung cancer pathological genes, with FGFR4, CDK2, JAK2, KDR, PAK4, PTK2 and PDGFRA being the core. Baicalein exhibits a conserved binding mode of “hinge hydrogen bond-aromatic interlayer-hydrophobic groove” at targets such as PTK2/KDR/JAK2. Energy decomposition indicates that van der Waals forces and nonpolar solvation are the main thermodynamic driving forces for complex formation. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis further reveals that the high electronic “softness” of baicalein and its sensitive response to the environment in terms of frontier orbitals and electrostatic potential may be related to its high affinity, which is ubiquitous in different pockets. This study provides a computational chain of evidence for the intervention of Pinellia ternata’s active ingredient on lung cancer-related targets. The well-defined cross-target migratory pharmacophore of baicalein, consistent energy and kinetics, and the oral pharmacodynamics of ADMET indicate that it can serve as a multi-target lead compound targeting the PTK2/KDR migration-angiogenesis pathway, while also affecting JAK2 and CDK2. Given that the current evidence is based on in-silico predictions, further validation through target enzymology, binding thermodynamics, and cellular pathway experiments is needed.