Advancing Open Science

Objectives: The study explores the comparative effects of atorvastatin (ATV), policosanol (PCO), and their combination (ATV+PCO) on metabolic stress and associated organ damage in hyperlipidemic–hyperglycemic zebrafish. Methodology: Hyperlipidemic–hyperglycemic zebrafish (n = 112) were segregated into four groups (n = 28/group) and fed either with a high-cholesterol (HC, 4% w/w) and a high-galactose (HG, 30% w/w) diet, HCHG diet with policosanol (PCO, 0.1% w/w), atorvastatin (ATV, 0.1% w/w), or ATV+PCO (0.1% w/w each). After 12 weeks of supplementation, survivability and embryo production were assessed, along with biochemical and histological examinations of various organs across the groups. Results: Following a 12-week dietary regime, compromised zebrafish survival probability (0.75) was observed in the ATV group, compared to the PCO group (0.89), which increased to 0.82 with combined intake of ATV+PCO. A significantly greater effect of ATV than PCO was observed in reducing the HCHG elevated TC, TG, and LDL-C levels. However, compared to the ATV, a significantly higher HDL-C/TC (%) ratio was spotted in the PCO. Unlike individual supplementation (ATV or PCO), a combined intake (ATV+PCO) proved highly effective in counteracting dyslipidemia, especially by augmenting the HDL-C/TC (%) ratio. Interestingly, no protective effect of ATV was observed against elevated blood glucose levels, oxidative stress, or diminished antioxidant markers. Whereas ATV, in combination with PCO, significantly reduced blood glucose and MDA levels and elevated sulfhydryl content and antioxidant variables (ferric iron reduction ability and paraoxonase activity). ATV+PCO supplementation effectively mitigated HCHG-induced fatty liver, inflammation, ROS generation in the kidney, and brain senescence. Likewise, ATV+PCO improved reproductive health, elevating spermatozoa counts and embryo production ability of zebrafish. Notably, ATV+PCO supplementation significantly inhibited the HCHG-induced eye damage and demyelination in the retina, while ATV alone failed to establish any such changes. Conclusions: The study indicates the combinational therapy of ATV+PCO may offer a possible treatment to counter the metabolic stress and associated events in hyperlipidemic–hyperglycemic zebrafish.

Background/Objectives: Eggs serve as an important source of nutrition for the general public. However, despite their importance, research examining consumer characteristics related to egg consumption remains limited, focusing on the quality. Therefore, the primary objective of this work is to define the concept of food quality from the consumer’s perspective in the U.S. egg market. This work employs five attributes to evaluate the food quality of eggs, including price fairness, nutritional value, product size, packaging, and hygiene. Methods: This research also investigates the structural relationships between food quality attributes, trust, and loyalty. Food quality is operationalized through five sub-dimensions: price fairness, nutritional value, product size, packaging, and hygiene. Data were collected via an online survey using the Clickworker platform, resulting in 311 valid responses for statistical analysis. Covariance-based structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Results: The findings reveal that trust is positively influenced by price fairness, nutritional value, packaging, and hygiene. Furthermore, loyalty is positively affected by nutritional value, product size, and trust. Conclusion: This research contributes to the literature by offering a consumer-centered definition of egg quality and by identifying key quality-related attributes that influence trust and loyalty.

Background and objectives: Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a recognized complication in people living with HIV (PLHIV) that remains under-addressed, particularly in Malaysia. Known contributing factors for low BMD include advanced age, HIV infection itself, and prolonged use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), particularly tenofovir-based regimens. There are limited data on the burden of low BMD in the HIV population in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of low BMD among men living with HIV on tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and to identify the possible associated factors compared to a group of healthy individuals matched for age and ethnicity. Methods: This is single-center cross-sectional study involved 112 men (56 HIV-positive individuals and 56 uninfected individuals matched for age and ethnicity) who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans of the femoral neck and lumbar spine. Sociodemographic, clinical lifestyle, and laboratory data, including FRAX scores for those aged more than 40 years old, were collected. Results: The prevalence of low BMD at the femoral neck in HIV-infected men on tenofovir disoproxil fumarate was significantly higher compared to healthy individuals (32.1% vs. 16.1%; p < 0.05). Low BMD prevalence at the lumbar spine was higher in the HIV group (8.9% vs. 3.6%; p = 0.463) but was not statistically significant. Older age and low body mass index (BMI) were found to be significantly associated with reduced BMD in HIV patients. Chronic kidney disease stage 2 and 3a was linked with low femoral neck BMD. HIV-related factors (duration of illness, duration of ART exposure, and CD4+ counts) showed no significant associations to low BMD. The 10-year risk of major osteoporotic and hip fractures estimated by the FRAX tool was low in both groups, and no participant exceeded the recommended intervention threshold. Conclusions: Men with HIV on tenofovir disoproxil fumarate have a higher prevalence of low BMD, particularly at the femoral neck. Traditional risk factors were more closely associated with low BMD compared to HIV-related factors and specific markers, supporting the need for routine bone health screening and preventive strategies in this population.

Background: Africa is a continent with diverse climates, landscapes, rainfall patterns, and vegetation types, all of which significantly influence its mammalian fauna, particularly small mammals. Rodents, which are highly diverse across the continent, serve as reservoirs for various zoonotic pathogens. Frequent human–rodent interactions heighten the risk of zoonotic disease transmission, posing a serious public health concern. Methods: This study conducted a comprehensive review of rodent control methods and their effectiveness in mitigating zoonotic diseases in Africa. Literature searches were performed using PubMed, Web of Science, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. Additionally, one study was manually identified from the reference lists of the retrieved papers. Results: Thirteen relevant studies were identified, including seven field-based studies, five model evaluations, and one review. The distribution of studies varied by country, with the highest numbers conducted in Guinea (n = 3) and Nigeria (n = 3), followed by Sierra Leone (n = 2), Uganda (n = 2), Morocco (n = 1), Tanzania (n = 1), and Madagascar (n = 1). Two primary rodent control methods, kill traps and rodenticides, were used, targeting multimammate rats (Mastomys natalensis) and black/roof rats (Rattus rattus), the species most frequently encountered in human settings. Conclusion: Most studies examined short-term rodent management strategies, which proved insufficient in significantly reducing zoonotic disease prevalence. These findings highlight the need for Africa to adopt more sustainable, ecologically based rodent control approaches to effectively curb zoonotic risks in the long term.

In addressing the increasing global energy demand, this manuscript compares four distinct processes for hydrogen production from natural gas (NG): steam methane reforming (SMR), dry methane reforming (DMR), autothermal reforming (ATR), and catalytic methane decomposition (CMD). The comparison emphasizes their respective efficiencies and environmental impacts. Simulations were conducted using the Peng–Robinson model, implemented in the DWSIM 8.8.3 software package, considering commercially available Colombian natural gas. Technical and environmental impacts were taken into account for the evaluation of the most practical hydrogen production plant by employing, for the first time, the TOPSIS method of comparison. Reaching 0.36 kg H₂ per kg of NG, ATR stands out as the top TOPSIS solution. However, SMR is not far behind, producing more hydrogen than any of its competing alternatives (0.56 kg H₂ per kg of NG) but at a significantly larger environmental cost. DMR demonstrates promising potential for utilizing CO₂. Finally, CMD proves to be advantageous in terms of cleanliness and reduced CO emissions but is limited by the high temperature requirements and the constant need for catalyst regeneration. This paper aims to raise awareness about Colombia’s abundant natural resources and its potential to play a significant role in the future hydrogen economy.

With the large-scale integration of renewable energy and power electronic devices, power quality disturbances exhibit strong nonlinearity and complex dynamic behavior. Traditional methods are limited by insufficient feature extraction and cumbersome classification, often failing to meet practical accuracy and robustness requirements. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multi-level ensemble method for power quality disturbance identification. A time–frequency dual-branch feature extraction module was designed, combining residual networks and bidirectional temporal convolutional networks to capture both local discriminative features and long-range temporal dependencies in the time and frequency domains. A cross-attention mechanism was further employed to fuse the time–frequency features, enabling adaptive focus on the most critical information for disturbance classification. The fused features were fed into fully connected layers and a Softmax classifier for multi-class identification. Experimental results demonstrated superior accuracy, robustness, and generalization capability compared with existing methods, validating the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly used to manage acid-related gastrointestinal conditions. Nevertheless, growing attention has been paid to their long-term safety, especially their possible link to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Prior research has yielded inconsistent findings, underscoring the need for a comprehensive and current evaluation. Methods: A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Embase (Ovid), and the Cochrane Library to identify relevant publications up to May 28, 2025, without language restrictions. Two investigators independently extracted study information and evaluated methodological quality as well as potential sources of bias. Eligible studies were observational in design and investigated the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) exposure and the risk of developing dementia compared with non-use. For the quantitative synthesis, pooled risk ratios (RRs) and corresponding confidence intervals were generated using a random-effects approach. Study Results: Eighteen studies, encompassing more than 6.3 million participants, met the inclusion criteria. The pooled estimate showed no statistically significant association between PPI use and overall dementia risk (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 0.98–1.33; I² = 99%). However, significant heterogeneity and variable risk of bias—particularly due to confounding, exposure misclassification, and immortal time bias—limit certainty in these findings. Subgroup analyses revealed significantly elevated risks among individuals aged ≥65 years (RR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.01–1.46) and in studies from Asia (RR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.12–1.52) and Europe (RR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.10–1.59), suggesting possible population- or context-specific vulnerability. Conclusions: Our findings reveal a lack of consistent evidence supporting a link between PPI use and dementia risk, primarily due to significant heterogeneity among existing studies. While no robust overall association was demonstrated, significant subgroup signals in older adults and specific regions suggest that clinical uncertainty remains. Rather than indicating a direct causal risk, these results underscore the importance of prescribing stewardship. Clinicians should focus on appropriate prescribing, ensuring long-term PPI therapy is reserved for patients with a clear therapeutic justification and utilized for the shortest effective duration.

Background: Scrub typhus is commonly misdiagnosed because of nonspecific clinical features and limited data on the performance of diagnostic tests. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of commercially available serological and molecular assays for diagnosing scrub typhus. Methods: Adult patients with suspected scrub typhus who visited a tertiary-care hospital in South Korea from July 2022 to December 2024 were prospectively enrolled. Scrub typhus was confirmed by either a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result for Orientia tsutsugamushi or a ≥ four-fold increase in the O. tsutsugamushi-specific total immunoglobulin (Ig) antibody titer on an immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The diagnostic performances of the serial IFA, an immunochromatography-based rapid diagnostic test (ICT), and multiplex real-time PCR targeting the groEL and 47-kDa genes were compared. Results: Among 159 patients, 81 had scrub typhus and 78 did not. The sensitivity and specificity were 64% and 100% for the serial IFA, 75% and 91% for the ICT, and 95% and 100% for multiplex PCR, respectively. The area under the curve was significantly higher for the ICT (0.819) than for the acute-phase IFA (0.743, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Multiplex real-time PCR provided rapid and highly accurate confirmation of scrub typhus, and an acute-phase ICT may be an alternative to a single acute-phase IFA for early clinical decision-making.