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CCCTC-binding factor N-terminal domain regulates clustered protocadherin gene expression by enhancing cohesin processivity
Understanding the role of family functioning, dietary adherence, and culture on glycemic control among adults with type 2 diabetes: A mediation and moderation analysis
Background Families and cultural contexts can impact dietary adherence and glycemic control of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Yet little is known about these relationships in Africa, where poor dietary adherence and glycemic control are prevalent. To address this gap, this study investigated whether dietary adherence mediates family functioning and glycemic control among T2D adults in Benin, West Africa. We also explored whether cultural identity affected the association between family functioning and dietary adherence. Methods A cross-sectional study of 512 T2D patients from six health centers was conducted to assess: 1) family functioning with the 12-item McMaster Family Assessment Device–General Functioning Subscale (FAD-GF); 2) dietary adherence via the Perceived Dietary Adherence Questionnaire (PDAQ); and 3) cultural identity with the 12-item Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). The three-month glycemic control was determined with Glycated Hemoglobin - HbA1c. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using Stata’s structural equation model (SEM). Results Healthy family functioning, good dietary adherence and good glycemic control rates were 56.8%, 33%, and 30.5% respectively. Path analysis showed that healthy family functioning was significantly associated with lower HbA1c levels (-0.34, 95% CI: [-0.72, -0.03]), and there was a significant indirect effect via greater dietary adherence (-0.12, 95% CI: [-0.22, -0.01]). However, cultural identity did not significantly impact the relationship between family functioning and dietary adherence. Conclusions Our study revealed that family functioning, adherence to dietary recommendations, and glycemic control are interconnected in adults with T2D. Interventions should target modifiable factors like dietary adherence and address relevant risk and resilience sources to improve glycemic control in urban African families.
Multidimensional assessment of the spatiotemporal evolution, driving mechanisms, and future predictions of urban heat islands in Jinan, China
Epitomic profiling and functional characteristics of pemphigus vulgaris autoantibody binding to keratinocyte M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor
Association of excessive screen time exposure with ocular changes leading to astigmatism in children
Purpose The purpose of this study was to find the relationship between excessive screen time exposure and the development of astigmatism in children. Methods A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted at tertiary care hospital, Islamabad between June 2023 to May 2024. In total, 431 patients were included in this study after informed written consent. Screen time exposure was assessed through smartphone usage history or parental reports of daily use of smart gadget(s). Tear break-up time was measured using a fluorescein strip, cobalt blue filter on a slit-lamp biomicroscope and a stopwatch. Data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical tests including Spearman’s correlation and regression analyses. Results The study included 431 children (mean age: 6.70 ± 1.80 years; 55% male, 45% female). Mean screen time was 4.54 ± 1.52 hours/day. A positive correlation between screen time and the magnitude of astigmatism was observed (r = 0.33, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed a significant relationship among screen time and astigmatism (B = 0.177, CI: 0.80-0.25). Tear break- up time (TBUT) showed a significant negative correlation with screen time (r = -0.167, p < 0.001), and reduced TBUT was linked to a higher risk of inflammatory conjunctivitis and lid thickening (B = -0.431, CI: -0.12 to -0.49, p < 0.001). The results highlighted that inflammatory conjunctivitis/lid thickness have three times greater risk of developing high astigmatism (OR = 3.31, p-value < 0.001, CI = 1.91 to 5.73) while the risk of moderate astigmatism in such cases was two times higher (2.12, p-value = 0.004, CI = 1.26-3.56). However, the effect of lid thickness on astigmatism when combining with screen time has a little effect that is not significant (p-value = 0.053). Thus, excessive screen time is an independent risk factor of causing astigmatism in children (p < 0.001). The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test demonstrated significant improvement in visual acuity after correction (p < 0.001). Conclusion Excessive screen time in children is significantly associated with astigmatism, tear film instability, inflammatory ocular conditions, including conjunctivitis and lid thickening. These findings suggest the need for preventive strategies, such as reducing screen time and encouraging regular eye examinations, to protect children’s ocular health.
Valorization of recycled concrete powder, clay brick powder, and volcanic pumice powder in sustainable geopolymer concrete
Abstract The use of recycled powder as a binder in geopolymer concrete (GPC) represents a promising approach to reducing construction waste and promoting the production of sustainable materials. This study examines the impact of recycled concrete powder (RCP), clay brick powder (CBP), and volcanic pumice powder (VPP) on the mechanical, durability, and thermal properties of GPC with fly ash and slag under water curing. Key mechanical properties, including compressive strength (CS), splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength, were evaluated, while durability was assessed through water absorption, water penetration, and resistance to sulfate and acid attacks. The thermal performance was tested by exposing the samples to elevated temperatures of 200 °C, 400 °C, and 600 °C. Results demonstrated that incorporating 25% RCP enhanced CS by 14.88% at 28 days compared to the control mixture, although higher replacement levels (50% and 75%) led to reduced CS due to increased porosity. Similarly, CBP at 25% substitution resulted in a 21.12% increase in CS, with declines observed at higher replacement levels. Conversely, VPP at 25% substitution decreased CS by 8.68% at 28 days, with further significant reductions at higher levels due to its high porosity. Sulfate resistance testing in a 5% MgSO₄ solution showed minimal mass loss for CBP mixtures (0.3–1.2%) and moderate CS reductions (5.7–29.6%). RCP mixtures exhibited low mass loss (0.3–1.7%) and CS reductions (8.7–15.8%), while VPP mixtures experienced the highest mass losses (1.36–3.4%) and CS reductions (20.5–31.3%). SEM analysis revealed that RCP and CBP mixtures exhibited denser microstructures, which contributed to their enhanced durability and thermal stability. Generally, optimizing the replacement levels of RCP, CBP, and VPP improves the durability, pore structure, and mechanical performance of GPC. Among the materials, CBP demonstrated superior resistance in acidic environments, while RCP excelled in thermal stability, demonstrating their potential for producing sustainable and durable geopolymer concrete.
Mutant protein chemical rescue: From mechanisms to therapeutics
Implications for Precision Accelerated Clinically Embedded Research (PACER): A novel technology-enabled approach to conducting minimal-risk research in outpatient community healthcare settings
Current challenges in the clinical research landscape include insufficient enrollment of study participants, lack of study participant diversity, protracted study progression, and the siloing of research within academic medical centers. Recent advances in technology could minimize barriers to producing effective, timely, and comprehensive clinical research by addressing issues from study design to dissemination of results. Particularly, the Fast Health Interoperability Resources standards and Clinical Decision Support Hooks could support data acquisition, sharing, and expansion of research across organizations and disparate electronic health records. We developed a novel approach, Precision Accelerated Clinically Embedded Research (PACER), that leverages these advances in healthcare technology to integrate very short, minimal-risk research activities into clinical encounters. PACER could enable scalable, efficient, and cost-effective clinical research and has enormous potential. However, PACER also presents potential ethical, sociotechnical, and implementation quandaries. The current study aimed to obtain insights on these matters from relevant individuals. We conducted 47 qualitative semi-structured interviews with patients, clinicians, research experts (individuals involved in developing and conducting research), and bioethicists. We sought participants’ perspectives on the potential ethical, sociotechnical, and implementation issues raised by PACER. We identified five key domains: impacts on clinical research, consent, compensation, impacts on people and organizations, and implementation. We examined interview participants’ views using bioethical principles of autonomy, justice/fairness, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. While participants had diverse views, these insights highlight important considerations for PACER implementation and suggest areas for future empirical work.
Long-term survival evaluation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with severe aortic valve stenosis: a retrospective cohort study
Cryo-EM structure of apo-form human DNA polymerase δ elucidates its minimal DNA synthesis activity without PCNA
Behavioral determinants for glycemic control among type 2 diabetic patients in Hosanna town; institution based unmatched case control study
Backgrounds Together with other non-communicable diseases, diabetes mellitus (DM) remains main health threats to human beings throughout the world. Despite an alarming increment of its trend in Ethiopia, majority of diabetic patients failed to attain glycemic control. Thus, this study aimed at identifying modifiable lifestyles for glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus. Objectives To assess behavioral determinants of glycemic control among type 2 diabetic patients attending Wachemo University Nigist Eleni Mohammed Memorial Teaching Hospital (WUNEMMTH) in Hosanna, Ethiopia. Methods Institution based unmatched case control study was conducted from May15-July 15, 2023. The questionnaire was digitalized to open data kit (ODK) for android version. Data was collected by simple random sampling technique and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive and logistic regression analysis were performed. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to measure the effect size. Level of statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. Results From 232 expectants, 226 (cases = 113 and controls = 113) were participated, making the response rate 97.41%. After adjusting for others, non-adherence to fruit and vegetable intake (AOR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.73-6.60), non-adherence to physical exercise (AOR = 4.94, 95% CI = 2.38-10.27), poor diabetic self-efficacy (AOR = 5.51, 95% CI = 2.85-10.66) and high body mass index (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI = 1.73-7.82) were independent determinants for poor glycemic control among T2DM clients. Conclusion and recommendations Self-efficacy and healthy lifestyle were behavioral determinants for glycemic control among T2DM patients. Thus, interventions targeting modifiable lifestyle should be an integral part of the management along with standard pharmacotherapy.
Novel Ni/Fe-MIL-53@ZnO nanocomposite for efficient photodegradation of aflatoxins G1 and G2
The molecular basis of immunosuppression by soluble CD52 is defined by interactions of N-linked and O-linked glycans with HMGB1 box B
Hyperspectral target detection based on graph sampling and aggregation network
To comprehensively utilize the spectral information encapsulated within hyperspectral images and more effectively handle the intricate and irregular structures among pixels in complex hyperspectral data, a novel graph sampling aggregation network model is put forward for hyperspectral target detection. Notably, before this study, graph sampling aggregation networks had scarcely been employed in the realm of hyperspectral target detection. This proposed model is capable of autonomously learning the effective feature representations of nodes within the graph, thereby facilitating the extraction and processing of graph data. It achieves this by extracting feature vectors through principal component analysis to construct adjacency matrices and performing convolution operations on hyperspectral images via sparse matrix multiplication, which enables the propagation and aggregation of node features within the graph structure. Upon reconstructing the image, the target data is extracted using residuals, and target detection is accomplished by minimizing the constraint energy. The model was evaluated on seven hyperspectral image datasets, and the experimental results demonstrated that the proposed graph sampling aggregation network model could proficiently detect targets with an average detection accuracy exceeding 99 . 8%, outperforming other comparative models. Concurrently, it exhibits a remarkable adaptability to the diverse characteristics of different datasets, thus validating its high level of accuracy and robustness.
An experimental study on the effects of electronic medicinal product information on vaccine hesitancy
Structural basis of a distinct α-synuclein strain that promotes tau inclusion in neurons
Comparison of the surgical efficacy of total hip replacement versus hemiarthroplasty in the treatment of femoral neck fractures in elderly patients with sarcopenia
Background Total hip arthroplasty (THA) and hemiarthroplasty (HA) are common surgical procedures for femoral neck fracture (FNF) in elderly patients; however, optimal treatment options remain controversial. Currently, limited research has compared the effectiveness of THA versus HA, specifically in patients with FNF and sarcopenia. Methods This retrospective study included data from 109 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the period between January 2015 and December 2017. Among these, 48 underwent THA, and 61 underwent hip arthroplasty (HA). The cross-sectional area (cm2) of muscle tissue at the pedicle level of the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12) was measured using chest computed tomography. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated by dividing the cross-sectional area of the muscle at the T12 pedicle by height squared. Sarcopenia was diagnosed when grip strength and SMI values were below the diagnostic cut-off value. Various factors were compared, including age, sex, SMI, body mass index (BMI), perioperative surgery-related indicators, postoperative 5-year survival, satisfaction, complication, and re-revision surgery rates between the 2 groups. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the THA and HA groups in terms of age (P = 0.227), sex (P = 0.870), SMI (P = 0.946), BMI (P = 0.310), postoperative time to ambulation (P = 0.803), length of hospitalization (P = 0.777), postoperative visual analog scale score (P = 0.933), and postoperative Harris score (P = 0.379). At the 5-year follow-up, there were no statistical differences in patient survival rate (P = 0.896), satisfaction (P = 0.945), incidence of complications (P = 0.796), or re-revision rate (P = 0.807). Patients who underwent THA had significantly longer operative times (P = 0.000) and larger surgical incisions (P = 0.000). They also experienced greater blood loss (P = 0.000) and blood transfusion volumes (P = 0.017), as well as increased hemoglobin (P = 0.000) and albumin (P = 0.000) loss. Furthermore, patients who underwent THA incurred higher surgical costs (P = 0.000). Conclusion THA and HA demonstrated comparable effectiveness and outcomes in patients with FNF and sarcopenia. HA was a less invasive and more cost-effective surgical option, making it the preferred choice.
Exploring the synergistic effect of MXene@ZIF-8 hybrid composites for water treatment
Not all 5′-deoxyadenosines are created equal: Tracing the provenance of 5′-deoxyadenosine formed by the radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine enzyme 7-carboxy-7-deazaguanine synthase
The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Knowledge Inventory Device 2 (IBD-KID2) is an effective tool for measuring disease-specific knowledge in Chinese patients
Background The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Knowledge Inventory Device 2 (IBD-KID2) is a specialized tool designed to evaluate disease-specific knowledge in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to develop a Chinese version of IBD-KID2 and to test the reliability and validity of this tool in Chinese patients with IBD. Methods A Chinese version of IBD-KID2 was developed through initial cultural relevance/comprehension review and adaptation using content validity index for individual items (I-CVI, level > 0.78 acceptable) and the scale overall (S-CVI, level > 0.8 acceptable). A standardized approach was used to translate IBD-KID2 to Chinese, with the final tool being 15 items long and scored as one point for each correct answer (maximum score of 15). Tool validity was evaluated in a convenience sample of patients with IBD. External reliability was evaluated using test-retest analysis in a participant subset two weeks after baseline completion and internal reliability evaluated using cohort scores (Cronbach’s alpha, Cronbach’s α). Results Following expert review for cultural relevance/comprehension the original IBD-KID2 scored > 0.78 I-CVI and > 0.9 for the S-CVI, and the tool was then translated. Ninety-six participants with IBD completed the Chinese IBD-KID2; 68 (71%) were male, eight (8%) aged < 18 years, and 63 (66%) had Crohn’s disease. The mean IBD-KID2 score of the cohort was 9.2 (±3.2, range 3-14). Scores decreased with age (p = 0.012) and increased with higher levels of education (p < 0.001). The retest reliability in a subset of 30 patients showed a correlation of 0.89 (P < 0.001), with no difference between the two time points (mean difference 0.4, = 0.16). The tool had high internal consistency with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.8. Conclusion The Chinese version of the IBD-KID2 demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, making it a robust instrument for evaluating disease-specific knowledge in individuals with IBD.