Browse Articles

Dynamic analysis of a Caputo fractional-order SEIR model with a general incidence rate

Abstract This study develops a fractional-order SEIR model with asymptomatic infections and memory effects, introducing a generalized incidence rate to better reflect the nonlinear characteristics of transmission. The Caputo fractional derivative is used to capture memory effects and non-locality, dynamically adjusting the order to adapt to complex processes, improving accuracy and fitting. Based on Lyapunov functions, we rigorously prove that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when $$R_0<1$$ R 0 < 1 , and the endemic equilibrium is globally stable when $$R_0>1$$ R 0 > 1 . Sensitivity analysis identifies key factors influencing disease spread and control. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical results and demonstrate the advantages of the fractional-order model in capturing epidemic dynamics, which traditional integer-order models fail to capture such dynamics. This study contributes to more accurate disease modeling and provides insights for optimizing control strategies for complex infectious diseases.

Reviewing the evidence base for social recovery in mental health service provision: A protocol for a scoping review

Introduction The concept of recovery within mental health service delivery is no longer a new concept across the westernised world. However, its development in terms of implementation policy and practice has remained challenging for all stakeholders. This has focused on personal recovery being unattainable for many individuals due to neoliberalism and individualism. Consequently, one argument which is beginning to build is the need to focus on the idea of social recovery, a relatively new concept. However, no synthesis of social recovery’s evidence base in relation to mental health service provision has taken place. This protocol provides a detailed plan of how a scoping review would be undertaken and completed to examine this evidence. Methods and analysis Adopting Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis compliant scoping review has been chosen. This includes a five-stage approach to completing scoping reviews. This includes the search terms that will be used. It also details the variety of databases (CINAHL, EBSCO, Jstor, OVID SP, PsychINFO, PubMed, RCNi, Science Direct, Web of Science and Scopus) and other sources including repositories (Cochrane Online Library, ETHos, nz.research.org.nz, ProQuest, National ETD Portal, Google, Google Scholar and ResearchGate). Inclusion and exclusion criteria are illustrated in this protocol. Given that the concept of social recovery is relatively new, no search range was chosen.

2-Methoxyestradiol attenuates lung injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia via inhibiting the HIF1-α/SLC7A11 pathway

Undiagnosed hypertension and its associated factors in India: A rural-urban contrast from the National Family Health Survey (2019-21)

Undiagnosed hypertension extracts significant social cost, with money spent on complications already accounting for one-fifths of total health expenditure. Widespread socioeconomic disparities and inequity in health care access between rural and urban areas is expected. It is important to identify the different factors associated with undiagnosed hypertension in the working age population (15–49-years) residing in urban and rural areas, both of whom are vital to the economic development of our country. Data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) for men and women aged 15–49 years was extracted and analysed. Operational definitions were prepared to identify known and undiagnosed hypertension. Distribution of undiagnosed hypertension according to sociodemographic, anthropometric and health-related behaviour was studied using frequencies and weighted proportions. Choropleth maps were used to depict state-wise distribution of undiagnosed hypertension. Multivariable logistic regression was used to find risk factors and protective factors for undiagnosed hypertension for men and women in rural and urban areas. The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension was 11.7%. among men and 7.2% among women. The proportion of men with undiagnosed hypertension (66.3%) was significantly higher than the proportion of women (41.4%). Urban-rural differences were noted in various states. Education and empowerment of rural women through provision of means of socioeconomic enhancement and strengthening of community-based screening and referral under the national programme were some of the major policy implications of our findings. Future research is warranted in areas such as health insurance coverage, working away from home, owning a mobile telephone and other interventions to improve health-seeking behaviour in the rural areas.

Personal exposure to air pollutants and immune system biomarkers in pregnant women

Abstract The immune function is suspected to play an important role in the health effects of air pollution but it remains poorly investigated in pregnant women. One-week personal measurements of exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 2.5 µm mass concentration (PM2.5) and PM2.5 oxidative potential (OP) were assessed in 270 pregnant women from the French cohort SEPAGES. PM filters were analyzed for PM2.5 OP using the dithiothreitol (DTT) and the ascorbic acid (AA) assays. From a blood sample withdrawn at the end of the exposure measurement week, levels of 29 cytokines and chemokines were measured at baseline and after T cell and dendritic cell activation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and resiquimod (R848), respectively. Associations between each air pollutant and each cytokine were assessed using adjusted linear regression models. An increase in NO2 exposure was associated with higher interleukin 10 (IL-10) and lower PHA-activated tumor necrosis factor (TNF). No association with PM2.5 concentration was observed, but increased exposure to PM $${\text{OP}}^{{{\text{AA}}}}$$ OP AA was associated with lower baseline and R848-activated IL-8 and increased exposure to PM $${\text{OP}}^{\text{DTT}}$$ OP DTT was associated with higher PHA-activated IL-17A. Our study provides insights into the relationships between air pollution exposure and immune function among pregnant women.

Collagen architecture in triple negative breast cancer

This study evaluated collagen properties in TNBC samples collected from different racial groups to determine the presence of variance in matrix architecture. African American (AA) breast cancer patients have a significantly higher mortality rate and nearly a three-fold increased prevalence of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) when compared to Caucasian (C) patients. The extracellular matrix region surrounding tumors contains abundant collagen fibers, and these fibers undergo remodeling throughout cancer progression, promote metastasis, and impede treatment response. High mammographic density, commonly known as dense breast tissue, is hypothesized to be more prevalent in AA women and characterized by increased collagen deposition and associated with more aggressive cancers. The aim of this research was to investigate fibrillar collagen architecture in TNBC samples from AA and C patients using two-photon microscopy with second harmonic generation (SHG), an intrinsic optical signal produced by fibrillar collagen. Twenty tissue regions per tumor sample were randomly selected for SHG microscopy, and image processing was conducted using the Fiji macro TWOMBLI to quantify mesoscopic fibrillar morphological properties and nanoscopic fibrillar properties with the Forward-Backward SHG ratio. Compared to the images from C tumor samples, those from AA samples exhibited a significant increase in parameters including fiber area, total length, and number of endpoints and branchpoints, but had decreased lacunarity. Collagen microstructure, including fibril arrangement and packing density, did not significantly differ between the groups. These results illustrate that the TNBC samples analyzed from AA patients may have macrostructural collagen characteristics associated with aggressive phenotype tumor formation.

2D nonlinear seismic response characteristics of a megacity-scale site under Ricker wavelets

The SpasT-SCI-T trial protocol: Investigating calpain-mediated sodium channel fragments as biomarkers for traumatic CNS injuries and spasticity prediction

Spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury are major causes of long-term disability and are often complicated by spasticity, a motor disorder characterized by increased muscle tone and exaggerated reflexes that significantly impair quality of life. Current diagnostic methods lack the sensitivity needed to accurately predict the severity of injury or the onset and progression of spasticity. Trauma-induced calcium dysregulation activates calpains, a family of proteases that cleave sodium channels, disrupting their inactivation and increasing persistent sodium currents. This cascade drives the overexcitability of motoneurons, contributing to the development of spasticity. Consequently, sodium channel fragments have emerged as promising biomarkers that link injury mechanisms to clinical outcomes. The present SpasT-SCI-T clinical trial protocol aims to evaluate sodium channel fragments as blood biomarkers for assessing the severity of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, as well as their potential to predict clinical outcomes, including the development of spasticity. This prospective, multicenter, case-control and cohort study involves 40 participants: 20 individuals with spinal cord injury, 10 individuals with traumatic brain injury, and 10 healthy controls. Blood samples are collected within six hours of injury and at follow-up points over six months. Clinical outcomes, including spasticity (assessed using the Modified Ashworth Scale), neurological recovery (measured by the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale and Glasgow Coma Scale), and quality of life (evaluated using the Short Form-36 Health Survey), are analyzed in correlation with biomarker levels. We anticipate that calpain-mediated sodium channel fragments will transform the management of central nervous system injuries by enabling early diagnosis, improving prognostic accuracy, and guiding personalized therapeutic strategies. The clinical trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06532760, January 10, 2024), with Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Marseille as the sponsor.

National and subnational trends in obesity prevalence in Iran: a Spatiotemporal study with future predictions

Evaluation of novel glucose-related blood biomarkers for predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with acute ischemic stroke

Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. AIS patients with hyperglycemia demonstrate a potential risk to enhance severity and mortality rates. Glycemic markers, including blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, and stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), have currently been reported to predict unfavorable outcomes in these patients. However, the ability of novel glucose-related blood biomarkers, such as the glucose to albumin ratio (GAR), glucose to estimated average glucose ratio (GAGR), and glucose to potassium ratio (GPR), to predict severe AIS patients and in-hospital mortality in Thailand remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the utility of novel glucose related-blood biomarkers in predicting severity and in-hospital mortality among AIS patients. We conducted a retrospective single-center analysis of data from patients admitted to the Stroke Unit at Saraburi Hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2023. A total of 351 AIS patients were examined, with 191 (54.4%) presenting severe cases, and 31 (8.8%) died in the hospital. We demonstrated that the GAR was superior to SHR, GAGR, and GPR in predicting severity, showing an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.672 (95% CI: 0.614–0.731), yielding a sensitivity of 72.8% and a specificity of 56.6%. However, the SHR showed a highest AUC of 0.832 (95% CI: 0.734–0.930) in predicting in-hospital mortality, with sensitivity and specificity of 87.1% and 64.7%, respectively. Furthermore, AIS patients with GAR ≥ 30.0 and SHR ≥ 18.0 had a 12.761 and 12.365-fold increased risk of death (p < 0.001), respectively. Our study indicates that, besides SHR, GAR may serve as a predictive and cost-effective biomarker for predicting severe cases and in-hospital mortality of AIS, facilitating early triage even with limited resources.

Modeling, development and validation of environmental behavior scale for preservice teachers

Coupling coordination analysis of the economic-social-infrastructure-ecological resilience system: A case study of Zhejiang Province

Nowadays, with the acceleration of urbanization and the profound impact of climate change, urban resilience has become a key issue for sustainable development. Through the panel data of Zhejiang Province from 2014 to 2022, this study employs the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to analyze the coupling coordination relationship of the Economic-Social-Infrastructure-Ecological resilience (ESIE) quaternary system and binary systems. The impact of the CCD of each binary system on the overall CCD is determined by the grey correlation model considering alongside the current state of the coupling coordination development to identify the key binary system that promotes the development of the overall coordination. It finds that the CCD of the ESIE quaternary system in Zhejiang’s cities exhibits a consistent upward trend, and spatially, a pattern of coordinated regional urban development centered on the city of Hangzhou and Ningbo emerges. The CCD analysis of binary systems reveals a low level of pairwise CCD between economic, infrastructure and social resilience, with prominent contradictions between the three. Additionally, the CCD of the economic-infrastructure resilience binary system is the core issue currently faced by the overall coordinated development of the ESIE quaternary system. This research not only provides a new perspective for understanding the intrinsic mechanism of coupled and coordinated development of urban resilience but also offers a scientific basis for crafting sustainable urban policies.

Examining the impact of big five personality traits on generation Z designers’ subscription to paid AI drawing tools using SEM and FsQCA

Prevalence of ophthalmic abnormalities and refractive changes in Taiwanese children with Down syndrome

Background Ophthalmological manifestations in children with Down syndrome remain significantly underdiagnosed, particularly in Asian populations. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of ophthalmic disorders in Taiwanese children with Down syndrome, analyze their refractive changes over time, and compare findings with existing research across diverse ethnic populations. Methods Comprehensive ophthalmologic examinations were conducted on 148 Taiwanese children with Down syndrome, documenting age, sex, medical history, ocular alignment, visual acuity, and cycloplegic refraction. Annual refractive change assessments were performed using multivariate linear regression analysis for subjects with minimum one-year follow-up. Results Visually significant refractive errors were identified in 75.7% of subjects, with astigmatism being most prevalent (70.3%), followed by hyperopia (31.8%) and myopia (19.6%). Our cohort showed higher astigmatism prevalence compared to previous studies of Asian children with Down syndrome. Longitudinal analysis revealed an annual refractive change of −0.16 ± 0.65 diopters, with age and baseline spherical equivalence emerging as significant contributing factors. Conclusions This study provides unprecedented data on ophthalmic disorders and refractive changes in Taiwanese children with Down syndrome. The high prevalence of refractive errors, particularly astigmatism, underscores the importance of early and regular screening in this population. These findings may inform the development of targeted screening protocols and optimal intervention timing.

Integrating green hydrogen storage into mine water pumping stations in the context of energy transition

Triglyceride glucose index and mortality in tracheally intubated patients: a MIMIC-IV retrospective cohort study

Tracheal intubation is crucial in ICU treatment but poses risks of complications and mortality. Simple and effective indicators for assessing mortality risk in intubated ICU patients are needed. This study analyzed 5,915 intubated ICU patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care 3.0 database. Multivariable Cox regression and two-stage linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between triglyceride glucose (TyG) index levels and ICU and in-hospital mortality rates. High TyG levels significantly correlated with increased mortality risk (HR range 1.34–1.44, p < 0.01). The association was linear with ICU mortality but nonlinear with in-hospital mortality. TyG levels ≥9.2 significantly increased in-hospital mortality risk (HR: 1.277, 95% CI: 1.114–1.464, p < 0.001). Higher TyG indices were associated with a higher risk of ICU and in-hospital mortality, emphasizing the importance of these findings for early prevention or timely intervention in intubated ICU patients.

Decadal hydroclimatic changes in the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland

Biomechanical risk factors for ACL injury during a high-intensity exergame differ between the sexes based on exercise type

Incidence rates in anterior cruciate ligament injuries, which are linked to multiple factors, are higher in females than in males. Modifiable contributors to the difference in risk are biomechanical factors such as knee valgus and knee rotation or neuromuscular control. Despite considerable research efforts, re-rupture rates are still high necessitating the need for improved risk reduction and rehabilitation programs. Incorporating exergaming, physically active serious games including a dual-task, has high potential to address this need. However, the execution of dual-tasks leads to altered movement patterns. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of these movement patterns and their sex-specific differences is essential to subsequently tailor the training approach. The aim of this study was to explore biomechanical differences between males and females when performing a high-intensive exergame. Using three-dimensional motion capture (Vicon) during a 25-min exergame (Sphery Racer, ExerCube), kinematics were measured in 18 healthy athletes (9 male, 9 female). Knee valgus, knee internal rotation, and hip flexion angles during 10–30° knee flexion, were compared between the sexes and in each of the nine different exercises. Touches, and punches showed significant sex differences for knee internal rotation angle (main effect of sex F(1,16) = 6.14, p = .025). Depending on the exercise and side, the difference in estimated means between males and females in touches and punches ranged from 4.6–7.8°, with females showing higher values. Therefore, females display distinct movement patterns linked to anterior cruciate ligament injury, indicating that these movements should be carefully integrated into routine training and late-stage post-injury rehabilitation.

Global, regional, and national burden of female infertility and trends from 1990 to 2021 with projections to 2050 based on the GBD 2021 analysis

Microscopic theory of activated ion hopping in polymerized ionic liquids and glasses

We combine polymer integral equation theory of structure with microscopic dynamical theories of activated relaxation to formulate a theory of ion hopping in supercooled polymerized ionic liquids (PolyILs) and glasses. Activation barriers and the mean ion relaxation time are analyzed as a function of the ion-to-monomer size ratio, polymer persistence length, intrachain degree of dynamic cooperativity, anion–cation Coulomb attraction strength, and dielectric constant. A general finding is the dominance of Coulomb cage correlations and anion–cation attractions in determining the hopping rate of the small ions studied. A critical finding is that the activation barrier exists only above a threshold value of the system-specific dimensionless Coulomb attraction strength. As a consequence, the barrier grows in a highly nonlinear manner with anion–cation attraction energy. This suggests a route to super-ionic transport via a relatively modest reduction of the Coulombic association energy, an effect that becomes more dramatic the smaller the mobile ion. The temperature-dependent growth of the ion relaxation time is non-Arrhenius in the supercooled liquid, but may, or may not, crossover to an apparent Arrhenius form in the glass depending on how the dielectric constant on the relevant timescale changes with temperature. The magnitude of dynamic decoupling between the ion and polymer alpha relaxation times at the laboratory glass transition, the degree of trajectory level coupling of the ion and monomer motion, and ion jump lengths are also determined. A high level discussion of the connections between theory, experiments, and simulations, and a quantitative application to specific lithium, sodium, and potassium PolyILs, are presented.