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Effect of dietary inclusion of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) leaf powder and astaxanthin on productive performance, hematological and biochemical profiles, hepatic and antioxidant enzyme activities, and gut microbiota in broiler chickens
Recognizing the growing demand for sustainable and natural alternatives in poultry production, this study evaluated the effects of dietary inclusion of artichoke ( Cynara scolymus ) leaf powder (ALP) and astaxanthin on growth performance, hematological and biochemical profiles, hepatic and antioxidant enzyme activities, and gut microbiota in broiler chickens. A total of 1,080 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to nine dietary treatments (six replicates each) for 35 days: a control diet (T1) received basal diet without additives; T2 and T3: 60 and 120 mg astaxanthin/kg feed; T4 and T5: 1 and 2 g ALP/kg feed; T6: 60 mg astaxanthin + 1 g ALP/kg feed; T7: 60 mg astaxanthin + 2 g ALP/kg feed; T8: 120 mg astaxanthin + 1 g ALP/kg feed; T9: 120 mg astaxanthin + 2 g ALP/kg feed. The results showed that the groups fed T2 and T6 significantly enhanced growth performance, increasing live body weight (LBW, p < 0.01) and body weight gain (BWG, p < 0.01) while reducing feed conversion ratio (FCR, p < 0.01). The groups receiving T2, T6, and T9 lowered heterophil counts and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios (p < 0.01). The T4 group reduced cholesterol (p < 0.01), while groups receiving T4, T5, T8, and T9 decreased uric acid levels (p < 0.01). Total protein increased in the T5 and T6 groups (p < 0.01). Antioxidant enzyme activities improved, with elevated glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in all supplemented groups, particularly T9 group (p < 0.01), and increased catalase (CAT) in broilers fed T6 and T7 (p < 0.05). All supplemented groups reduced E. coli (p < 0.05) and increased Lactobacillus counts in the cecum (p < 0.01). In conclusion, astaxanthin and ALP supplementation, particularly 60 mg astaxanthin with 1 g ALP (T6), enhanced broiler growth, antioxidant status, metabolic health, and gut microbiota.
Large transient assemblies of Apaf1 constitute the apoptosome in cells
Abstract Upon cell death signals, the apoptotic protease-activating factor Apaf1 and cytochrome c interact to form the apoptosome complex. The apoptosome is crucial for mitochondrial apoptosis, as it activates caspases that dismantle the cell. However, the in vivo assembly mechanism and appearance of the apoptosome remain unclear. We show that upon onset of apoptosis, Apaf1 molecules accumulate into multiple foci per cell. Disassembly of the foci correlates with cell survival. Structurally, Apaf1 foci resemble organelle-sized, cloud-like assemblies. They form through specific interactions with cytochrome c, contain caspase-9, and depend on procaspase-9 expression for their formation. We propose that Apaf1 foci correspond to the apoptosome in cells. Transientness and ultrastructure of Apaf1 foci suggest that the dynamic spatiotemporal organisation of apoptosome components regulates progression of apoptosis.
Perceptions of the nursing profession among first-year health profession students: A cross-sectional study in Palestine
Background Nursing plays a vital role in healthcare systems worldwide, yet in many societies including Palestine it remains undervalued and misunderstood. First-year health profession students’ perceptions of nursing influence academic engagement, career preferences, and interprofessional relationships. Recent Palestinian studies have shown that resilience, coping strategies, and exposure to clinical environments strongly affect how students view nursing as a profession. Objective To assess perceptions of the nursing profession among first-year health profession students at University, and explore the influence of sociodemographic characteristics and prior healthcare exposure. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 214 first-year students in health-related programs between 10 March and 10 April 2025. Data were collected using a culturally adapted 26-item Nursing Image Scale (NIS). Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, multivariable regression, and ANCOVA were applied, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results The mean perception score was 3.99 out of 5 (79.8%), reflecting moderately positive attitudes. Nursing students reported slightly higher scores (80%) than non-nursing peers (78.4%). No significant differences were found by gender, residence, or family ties to nursing. However, prior hospital exposure was significantly associated with more favorable perceptions (p = 0.04). Regression analysis confirmed that gender, age, GPA, and prior clinical exposure predicted higher perception scores. Conclusion While overall perceptions of nursing were moderately positive, direct hospital exposure and academic achievement were linked to more favorable views. These findings suggest that integrating structured early clinical experiences and resilience-building strategies into curricula could strengthen the image of nursing in Palestine. Limitations The single-institution setting and use of convenience sampling limit generalizability, though findings remain valuable for regional nursing education policy.
Addressing data heterogeneity in distributed medical imaging with heterosync learning
Decline by design: Assessing decline policies as a decarbonisation strategy under the Paris Agreement
Limiting climate change to targets set under the Paris Agreement requires urgent action to reduce the production and use of carbon-intensive technologies, fuels, materials and industrial processes. Accordingly, scholars are increasingly studying ‘decline policies’, which, by design or effect, induce the reduction or discontinuation of carbon-intensive artefacts and activities. However, understanding of the diversity and decarbonisation potential of such policies is hindered by a lack of large-scale, cross-sectoral and cross-national analyses. Here we present a novel dataset of 233 decline policies formulated by the ten highest-emitting Annex I countries to spur decarbonisation. We examine: (1) decline approaches and policies used across sectors; (2) variations in policy design features expected to influence the magnitude of decline and mitigation outcomes; (3) the relationship between decline approaches, policy design features and mitigation impact. We find that decline policies are widely used across the ten countries, including direct approaches (targeting incumbent carbon-intensive elements), and indirect approaches (promoting substitution with cleaner alternatives). Statistical analysis indicates that policy design is a critical determinant of decarbonisation potential. While evidence that direct decline policies might be more effective compared to indirect policies is limited, the ‘intensity’ of decline policies – defined by design features such as strictness, reduction speed and geographic coverage – is significantly associated with higher mitigation impact estimates. Finally, by proposing a typology of archetypical decline policies, our study advances an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding decline as a critical strategy for accelerating decarbonisation.
Inhibition of PGK1 ameliorates acute kidney injury through inactivating the PKM2/ALOX12/ferroptosis pathway in a study with male mice
Application of various mixtures of medicinal herbs in the diet of laying hens: Evaluating preventive approach of fatty liver syndrome
Fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome (FLHS) is a major health issue in laying hens, which is associated with reduced productive performance and increased mortality. This study investigated the efficacy of three herbal additive mixes as dietary interventions to prevent FLHS in a total of 384 LSL-Lohmann laying hens from 65 to 77 weeks of age. Hens were allocated to eight treatments in a 2 × 4 factorial design, comprising two basal diets—a standard diet (SD) and a high-energy, low-protein challenge diet (CD)—alongside four dietary interventions (three herbal mixes and a control). The herbal mixes were formulated as follows: Mix 1 (turmeric, fumitory, green tea, milk thistle), Mix 2 (lemon, black pepper, sumac, chicory), and Mix 3 (garlic, artichoke, ginger, shallot). Productive performance, blood variables, and liver lesion scores were carefully assessed. The results demonstrated that the CD decreased feed intake (FI; P = 0.0001), egg production (EP; P = 0.0001), and egg weight (EW; P = 0.0001) from week 5 onward. Birds received the CD had poorer feed conversion ratio (FCR) as opposed to the SD in weeks 5 and 6 of the trial. Feeding the CD resulted in higher circulatory levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST; P = 0.0001) and triglycerides (TG; P = 0.0001), and a higher frequency of severe livers scores (P = 0.002). Notably, Mix 2 emerged as the most effective intervention, significantly reversing the negative impacts of the CD across all measured parameters. However, the herbal mixes did not significantly affect heterophil and lymphocyte counts or hemoglobin (Hb) concentration when fed with the CD. Overall, the CD significantly impaired productive performance and increased liver pathological lesions. However, supplementing the CD with Mix 2 (lemon, black pepper, sumac, and chicory) consistently led to the most significant improvements across all measured parameters, proving to be an effective dietary intervention to prevent FLHS in laying hens.
Structural basis for transport and inhibition of the human glucose-6-phosphate transporter G6PT
Hyperparameter optimization ResNet by improved Beluga Whale Optimization
The parameter values of neural networks will directly affect the performance of the network, so it is very important to choose the appropriate parameter tuning method to improve the performance of the neural network. In this paper, the improved beluga whale optimization hyperparameter optimization ResNet model is used to construct a new model, EBWO-ResNet. Firstly, in order to solve the problem that the initial population of the original beluga whale optimization is not rich enough, the Tent chaotic map is introduced into the beluga whale optimization, and a new algorithm EBWO is constructed. Secondly, in order to solve the problems of low accuracy and difficult parameter tuning of ResNet, the EBWO algorithm was integrated into ResNet to construct a new model EBWO-ResNet. Finally, in order to verify the effectiveness of the EBWO algorithm, the EBWO algorithm was applied to three engineering problems and compared with other five swarm intelligent algorithms, and in order to verify the effectiveness of the EBWO-ResNet model, EBWO-ResNet was applied to maize disease identification,in order to improve the accuracy of corn identification and ensure corn yield,and the other seven models were compared based on three evaluation indexes. The experimental results show that the EBWO algorithm provides the best solutions in the three engineering problems, and the EBWO-ResNet has the best performance in identifying maize diseases, with an accuracy of 96.3%,which is 0.2-1.5 percentage points higher than that of other models.
N-acetyl-glucosamine primes Pseudomonas aeruginosa for virulence through a type IV pili/cAMP-mediated morphology transition
Abstract A microbe is pathogenic when it manages to survive in its host and, often, is able to proliferate. Thus, virulence entails coping with host defenses in parallel to dissemination and/or attack of the host. How the pathogen endures the attack by effectors of the immune response remains insufficiently understood. Here, we report that planktonic Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not immediately virulent in a Drosophila model of acute infection. Bacteria undergo a maturation step called priming, which is required for transition to virulence. Primed bacteria switch to a bacillus shape, only in vivo, proliferate and resist the action of a specific combination of antimicrobial peptides. This priming mechanism requires an interplay between two major effectors of the type IV pili (T4P), FimV and Vfr, which enhance lateral cell wall peptidoglycan synthesis. Interestingly, N-acetyl-muramic acid (NAM) abolishes the virulence of the injected bacteria, which become round, and prevents the localization of the T4P hub protein FimV at bacterial poles, and cAMP signaling. In contrast, N-acetyl glucosamine (NAG) counteracts the action of NAM by promoting FimV polar placement. In fact, NAG alone accelerates the speed of P. aeruginosa priming in a PilJ-dependent manner. This suggests that the NAG sensed by microorganisms is a common signal that promotes virulence through a morphological switch, both in bacteria and pathogenic dimorphic yeasts.
Caffeine intake and awareness of its adverse effects: Insights from the medical students at the University of Tabuk
Background/Objectives Medical students may consume more caffeine-containing beverages to cope with their stressors, resulting in negative effects on physical or mental well-being. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of caffeine use among medical students as well as their awareness of the negative consequences of caffeine use and its implications on mental health. Methods 305 medical students participated in this cross-sectional study. An online self-administered questionnaire was provided, which included sociodemographic data, caffeine intake patterns, caffeine side effects, and the World Health Organization’s Five Well-Being Index to measure mental health. Results 81.3% of the medical students reported consuming caffeine. Of them, 52% consumed ≥ 400 mg of caffeine per day despite 73.1% of them being adequately aware of its negative consequences. The percentage of medical students who reported some negative effects from caffeine use was 80.6%. Being male (OR: 10.6) and consuming caffeine for several reasons, such as enhancing academic achievement (OR: 8.4), staying awake (OR: 6.5), as a habit (OR: 4.6), or elevating mood (OR: 3.0), all significantly associated with high caffeine intake. On the other hand, being highly aware of its side effects is protective (OR: 0.69). Furthermore, there was a strong inverse correlation between the mental well-being score and caffeine consumption (r = −0.563, P < 0.001). Conclusions Because caffeine consumption is remarkably prevalent among the studied medical students, and one-third of those who consumed a lot of caffeine had poor mental well-being, preventive intervention programs need to be implemented to lower their caffeine consumption.
Periodically-modulated unipolar and bipolar orders in nematic fluids towards miniaturized nonlinear vectorial optics
IV3TM: Inception V3 enabled bidirectional long short-term memory network for brain tumor classification
A brain tumor is one of the life-threatening neurological conditions affecting millions of people worldwide. Early diagnosis and classification of brain tumor types facilitate prompt treatment, thereby increasing the patient’s chances of survival. The advent of Deep Learning methods has significantly improved the field of medical image classification and aids neurologists in brain tumor diagnosis. However, the existing methods using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) face significant difficulties due to the complexities of brain tumors and the variability in tumor characteristics. Consequently, this research proposes the Inception V3 enabled Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory Network (IV3TM) for Brain Tumor Classification. In the proposed approach, the preprocessing and data augmentation techniques are presented to enhance classification performance. At the pre-processing stage, an iterative weighted-mean Filter approach is utilized to cope with bias field-effect fluctuations, noise, and blurring in input images to enhance the edges. Further, the data augmentation strategy increases the size of the available training data. SqueezeNet is used to segment images for further classification operations. Further, the proposed model combines the strengths of Inception V3 and BiLSTM to learn the sequential dependencies significant for understanding the intricate structural relationships in brain MRI data. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated using several metrics, including specificity, accuracy, precision, F1-score, and sensitivity. Furthermore, the proposed method’s error is evaluated using root mean square error (RMSE). Experiments using the Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images dataset and Figshare brain tumor datasets have shown encouraging results.
Akkermansia muciniphila MucT harnesses dietary polyphenols as xenosiderophores for enhanced iron uptake
Quantifying the impact of clinical coding in chronic kidney disease on risk of death and COVID-19 death
Background Patients with biochemical evidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) without a diagnostic code (uncoded CKD) in primary care are at increased risk of death, acute kidney injury (AKI), and unplanned hospital care. Uncoded CKD is highly prevalent and there is no data to evaluate whether patients with uncoded CKD were at an increased risk of COVID-19 death. Aim: to assess whether patients with uncoded CKD stages 3–5 were at increased risk of death and COVID-19 deaths. Methods Descriptive and inferential analyses to measure adjusted hazard of death, and COVID-19 death in patients with CKD stages 3–5 from 2.85 million primary care patients in Greater Manchester, England. Sensitivity analyses using propensity score matching and competing risk regression. Results Coded CKD stages 3 and 4 (versus uncoded) were associated with significantly lower adjusted hazards of death (HR 0.81, CIs 0.77–0.86, p=<0.0001; HR 0.45, CIs 0.34–0.60, p=<0.0001, respectively), and COVID-19 death (HR 0.74, CIs 0.55–0.99, p = 0.03; HR 0.55, CIs 0.30–0.99, p = 0.045, respectively). Descriptive analyses were conducted for patients with CKD stage 5 due to low numbers of patients with uncoded CKD stage 5, precluding survival analyses. Conclusion Our retrospective cohort study suggests that clinical coding is a digital intervention associated with a lower adjusted hazard of death and COVID-19 death in patients with CKD stages 3 and 4, and should be considered a key element in the organisation and delivery of care for people with CKD.
Mechanobiologically-optimized non-resorbable artificial bone for patient-matched scaffold-guided bone regeneration
Abstract Scaffold-guided bone regeneration is poised to revolutionize the management of critical-sized bone defects. However, translation into clinical practice has been hampered by the focus on bioresorbable scaffolds where the rate of degradation needs to match the rate of bone formation and metal plates are required to overcome their mechanical limitations. Metal plates are problematic because they cause stress shielding and X-ray perturbation, increasing the likelihood of hardware failure and interfering with post-operative radiotherapy and imaging. Segmental defects of the mandible are challenging due to high tensile and shear stresses encountered during mastication, with the ovine mandible especially vexing because of the high repetitive loads. Here we show long-term reconstruction of ovine segmental mandibulectomy defects using a permanent, patient-matched, numerically optimized, 3D-printed, thermally toughened, plasma-treated, and laser-sintered polyetherketone gyroid scaffold housing a resorbable ceramic lattice infused with a stem cell laden hydrogel serving as an osteoinductive reservoir of calcium. The durable clinical performance observed indicates a translatable alternative to traditional reconstruction using bone grafts with metal plate fixation.
Intended and experienced literacy practices in a Swedish undergraduate nursing education
Introduction Academic literacy in higher education has been widely studied, but less attention has been given to literacy practices within professional programmes such as nursing education. This study aimed to analyze one Swedish undergraduate nursing programme regarding the presence of academic and professional literacy, and secondarily to explore students’ note-taking as a component of literacy practices. Methods The study employed a descriptive and exploratory design, analyzing curriculum documents and surveying nursing students. An analysis of the intended curriculum (course syllabi) of a three-year undergraduate nursing programme at Karolinska Institutet was conducted to identify explicit and implicit literacy components. A digital questionnaire focusing on note-taking practices was distributed to second-semester students (n = 67; response rate 40%). Closed questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while open-ended responses underwent qualitative content analysis. Results The curriculum analysis demonstrated that academic literacy was primarily addressed through scientific writing, group projects, and thesis work, particularly in the first two and final two semesters. Professional literacy was integrated across all semesters and included communication with patients, families, and interprofessional teams, documentation, and interpretation of professional texts. Surveyed students reported frequent note-taking, primarily during lectures and prior to examinations, using both pen and paper and digital devices, with a preference for pen and paper. Qualitative data indicated that students use note-taking mainly to support memorization, understanding, and exam preparation, with limited focus on professional literacy needs. Conclusion The nursing curriculum integrates both academic and professional literacy practices, although with different emphases across the study period. Students’ current note-taking practices are predominantly academically oriented. These findings highlight the need for more explicit integration and scaffolding of both academic and professional literacy throughout nursing education to better prepare students for their future professional roles, i.e., for clinical communication, documentation, and interprofessional collaboration essential to safe and effective patient care.
Oligomeric HIV-1 integrase structures reveal functional plasticity for intasome assembly and RNA binding
RETRACTED: Analysis of disease burden and future trends of ischemic heart disease in China and globally, 1990–2023
Background This study aimed to analyze the characteristics and trends of the disease burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in China and worldwide, across different age and sex groups, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation in China. Methods Using GBD 2023 data, we analyzed global and China-specific IHD incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALYs. Joinpoint regression was used to assess trends, while factors such as aging and population growth were also examined. An ARIMA model projected the IHD burden from 2024 to 2050. Results From 1990 to 2023, the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and prevalence rate (ASPR) of IHD in China exhibited an upward trend. The ASIR per 100,000 increased from 109.7 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 93–128) to 110.3 (95% UI: 89–131), while the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) decreased from 126.8 (95% UI: 92–163) to 109.5 (95% UI: 94–127), mirroring global trends. The highest incidence of IHD was observed in individuals aged 60–89 years, with mortality peaking between 80–89 years. AAPC analysis revealed that China’s ASIR (AAPC = −0.091%; 95% CI: −0.152 to −0.029) and ASPR (AAPC = 0.227%; 95% CI: 0.115 to 0.34) increased more rapidly than the global average. Decomposition analysis indicated that the rise in IHD burden in China was primarily driven by population aging and growth, a pattern observed globally. Forecasting models suggest that the ASIR will continue to rise in China through 2050, while the ASMR and age-standardized DALYs rates (ASDR) are expected to decline further. Conclusion The incidence and prevalence of IHD in China are projected to rise through approximately 2030. Older males bear a disproportionate burden of the disease. More targeted preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed and should be informed by the findings of this study.