Search Results (293)

Integrating spatial transcriptomic data with immunofluorescence image data is challenging using existing tools due to their differences in spatial resolution. Immunofluorescence provides information about protein expression at the cellular or subcellular level, whereas spatial transcriptomic platforms typically rely on multicellular “spots” for RNA profiling. Our study coupled spatial transcriptomics of irradiated glioblastoma tissues with immunofluorescence for γH2AX, a marker of DNA damage within the nuclei of cells. We then compared gene expression in γH2AX-positive and negative regions within the tissue. There was significant interobserver variability in manual annotation of γH2AX positivity in multicellular spots by three different researchers (Kappa statistic = 0.345), despite all of them being familiar with γH2AX immunofluorescence and having predefined imaging parameters for annotation. This variability led to different researchers nominating different genes as being associated with DNA repair. To overcome this problem, we have developed a new tool using MATLAB. This tool performs “spot”-wise image analysis and uses researcher-defined parameters such as immunofluorescent marker intensity threshold and number of positive cells to annotate the “spots” as γH2AX positive or negative. The tissue with the most variability in manual annotation was annotated reproducibly by our MATLAB tool, leading to reproducible downstream analysis. Full article

Bone repair and regeneration following an injury still present challenges worldwide. Three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds made from various materials are used for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. Polymers, minerals and nanotechnology are now being used in combination to achieve specific goals for BTE, including the delivery of antimicrobials through the scaffolds to prevent post-surgical infection. While several materials are utilised for BTE, natural polymers present a unique set of materials that can be manipulated to formulate scaffolds for BTE applications. They have been found to demonstrate higher biocompatibility, biodegradability and lower toxicity. Some even naturally mimic the bone microarchitecture, providing inherent structural support for BTE. Natural polymers may be simply classified as those from plant and animal sources. From both sources, there are different types of proteins, polysaccharides and other specialised materials that are already in use for research in BTE. Interestingly, these have the potential to revolutionise the field of BTE with a sustainable approach. In this review, we first discuss the different natural polymers used in BTE from plant sources, followed by animal sources. We then explore novel materials that are aimed at sustainable approaches, focusing on innovation from the last decade. In these sections, we outline studies of these materials with different types of bone cells, including bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which are the progenitors of bone. We finally outline the limitations, conclusions and future directions from our perspective in this dynamic field of polymers in BTE. With this review, we hope to bring together the updated existing knowledge and the potential future of innovation and sustainability in natural polymers for biomimetic BTE applications for fellow scientists, researchers and surgeons in the field. Full article

The Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM-PRC) conducted a Community Health Needs and Assets Assessment (CHNAA) survey using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach. In this article, we will demonstrate the application of CBPR in informing research agenda and implementation strategies. We will discuss the practical considerations and potential benefits of engaging the community in data collection, interpretation, and utilization to address community health challenges. Emphasizing collaboration, co-learning, and respect, and guided by the CBPR principles, CHNAA ensured that community voices led to the identification and integration of the research priorities. Overseen by the Community Coalition Board (CCB) and its Data Monitoring and Evaluation (DME) Committee, the survey featured closed- and open-ended questions addressing social determinants of health. Out of 1000 targeted participants, 754 provided valid responses, with a 75% response rate. Most respondents were female and represented a racially diverse group. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis revealed that key health concerns were diabetes, COVID-19, mental health, and high blood pressure. Barriers to care included lack of food access, affordable housing, and limited mental health services. The findings led to five public health initiatives launched between 2023 and 2024 demonstrating the CBPR model’s effectiveness in aligning community needs with actionable solutions. Full article

Background/Objectives: The goal of educators is to leave no learner behind. Ultrasounds require dexterity and 3D image interpretation. They are technologically complex, and current medical residency programs lack a reliable means of assessing this ability among their trainees. This prompts consideration as to whether background characteristics or certain pre-existing skills can serve as indicators of learning aptitude for ultrasounds. The objective of this study was to determine whether these characteristics and skills are indicative of learning aptitude for ultrasounds. Methods: This prospective study was conducted with third-year medical students rotating in emergency medicine at the New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, USA. First, students were given a pre-test survey to assess their background characteristics. Subsequently, a psychomotor task (Purdue Pegboard) and visual–spatial task (Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests) were administered to the students. Lastly, an ultrasound task was given to identify the subxiphoid cardiac view. A rubric assessed ability, and proficiency was determined as a 75% or higher score in the ultrasound task. Results: In total, 97 students were tested. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to ascertain if any background characteristics from the pre-test survey was associated with the ultrasound task score. The student’s use of cadavers to learn anatomy had the most correlation (p-value of 0.02). Assessing the psychomotor and visual–spatial tasks, linear regressions were used against the ultrasound task scores. Correspondingly, the p-values were 0.007 and 0.008. Conclusions: Ultrasound ability is based on hand–eye coordination and spatial relationships. Increased aptitude in these abilities may forecast future success in this skill. Those who may need more assistance can have their training tailored to them and further support offered. Full article

The growing demand for organic dyes across industries increases their environmental impact since wastewater containing organic dyes poses serious risks to aquatic life, human beings, and the environment. The removal of organic dye residues is a challenge for traditional wastewater treatment facilities, highlighting the need for advanced treatment techniques that balance cost-effectiveness and sustainability in the face of today’s strict environmental regulations. The use of low-cost starting materials in ceramic membrane technology has recently become more popular as a feasible option because of its affordability and effectiveness, leveraging the synergy of adsorption and filtration to improve dye removal. Recent developments in ceramic membranes derived from waste and natural materials are examined in this review paper, along with their types, mechanisms, and applications in eliminating organic dyes from wastewater. The various forms of ceramic membranes derived from waste and natural materials are classified as follows: those composed solely of inexpensive starting materials, composites of inexpensive materials, hybrids of inexpensive and commercial materials, and inexpensive materials functionalized with cutting-edge materials such as carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles. These membranes have shown promising results in lab-scale research, but their large-scale use is still limited. The factors that negate the commercialization of these membranes are also critically discussed. Finally, key challenges and future research opportunities in the development of sustainable ceramic membranes for highly efficient dye removal are highlighted. Full article

Microplastics have emerged as pervasive contaminants in various ecosystems, raising considerable concerns regarding their impact on environmental health and public safety. The degradation of microplastics is thus recognized as a pressing global challenge. Photocatalytic degradation has emerged as a promising approach due to its potential for efficiency and environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, there remains a need to investigate emerging trends and advancements to understand and fully optimize this technique. Consequently, PRISMA guidelines were employed to define the search parameters, enable the identification of pertinent scholarly articles, and systematically gather bibliographic data from the published literature from 2005 to October 2024. A bibliometric analysis of 204 research articles derived from merged Scopus and Web of Science datasets was conducted to map the field’s research landscape. The analysis showed a robust annual publication growth rate of 17.94%, with leading contributions from China, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Keyword analysis revealed that the commonly applied photocatalysts are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in the photocatalytic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene. Advances in collaboration across Asia and Europe have bolstered the research landscape. However, challenges persist in achieving cost-effective scalability, ensuring the safety of degradation byproducts, and translating laboratory findings into real-world applications. Emerging trends include the development of visible-light-responsive catalysts, advanced nanocomposites, and sustainable photocatalytic technologies. This study underscores the utility of bibliometric tools in identifying knowledge gaps and guiding the development of innovative approaches for microplastic degradation as part of environmental remediation efforts. Full article

Palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) are, respectively, the most prevalent saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (SFAs, MUFAs) in the human diet. The objective of this brief review is to explore how this ratio affects brain function. In two double-masked crossover trials in young adults, physical activity was greater and systemic inflammatory tone was diminished under a diet with a lower dietary PA/OA ratio compared to that of the typical North American Diet, and anger and total mood disturbance were diminished under the low- compared to the higher-PA/OA diet. In another diet trial in young women, functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that lowering the dietary PA/OA ratio decreased brain activation in regions of the basal ganglia, suggesting that brain function was reversibly altered by the dietary PA/OA ratio. Recently, a crossover trial in older adults showed that a lower dietary PA/OA ratio decreased systemic inflammatory tone and caused the greater activation of a working memory network. As people age, there are declines in cognition that impact functional abilities and independence, but the preservation of structural aspects of the brain in normal aging implies that there is the possibility of slowing, stopping, or reversing cognitive changes that impact daily life. Reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion by lowering habitual PA intake for even brief periods of time may be one modality to improve cognitive function in older adults, not only in those with typical cognitive aging but in those with dementia as well. Full article

Accurately identifying road conditions, particularly wetness, is crucial for ensuring road safety and enhancing vehicle performance. We conducted road surface classification and road wetness estimation using state-of-the-art deep learning models in this study. Raspberry Pi Model 4 was used to classify road surfaces and estimate road wetness. SqueezeNet, a lightweight convolutional neural network, was used to recognize wet and dry road surfaces with an accuracy of 90%. The ENet model, known for its efficiency in semantic segmentation tasks, was used to estimate the degree of wetness, categorizing roads into damp, wet, and very wet roads. The ENet model showed an accuracy of 90.48%. The efficiency of the deep learning models in road surface wetness monitoring was validated using a confusion matrix created with the margin classifier. A total of 300 images per category were used for training, amounting to 1200 in total. A total of 20 testing images were used for road surface classification and 21 for road wetness estimation. The results highlighted the robustness and applicability of SqueezeNet and ENet models in estimating diverse environmental road conditions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Erectile dysfunction (ED) significantly impacts the well-being and quality of life of millions of men. Understanding geographic patterns and associated factors influencing ED search trends can offer valuable insights for healthcare improvement and advocacy. This study investigated the correlation between Google search trends for ED and various factors across the US. Methods: Google search trends for “erectile dysfunction” were collected over a 6-year period between March 2018 and August 2024. The Google search trends provided data for individual states on a scale from 1 to 100. Search volumes were analyzed alongside the urologist-to-population ratio, percentage of the population aged 65 and older, median household income, and percentage of state residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationships between ED search volumes and these factors. Results: Higher ED search volumes were associated with a higher percentage of older adults (r = 0.4332, p = 0.001676). A negative correlation was found between ED search volume and higher education (r = −0.482, p = 0.000394). No significant correlation was found between median household income and ED search volume (r = −0.201, p = 0.164) or a greater urologist density (r = 0.0612, p = 0.6729). Conclusions: This study highlights how healthcare access and demographics influence ED search trends. States with older, less educated populations showed higher interest, while wealthier areas with more urologists had no significant correlation. These findings can guide targeted interventions to improve sexual care in underserved regions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Determining whether dietary fatty acids and the use of fat spreads are associated with cardiovascular risk factors is difficult due to the multicollinearity of fatty acids and the consumption of multiple spread types. Methods: We applied clustering methodologies using data on 31 different fatty acids and 5 different types of fat spreads (high fat: butter, blended butters, and margarines; lower fat: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) and investigated associations with blood pressure, serum lipid patterns and insulin resistance in the Raine Study Gen2 participants in Western Australia, at 20 and 22 years of age. Results: Amongst n = 785 participants, there were eight distinct clusters formed from the fatty acid data and ten distinct clusters formed from the fat spread data. Male participants had higher systolic blood pressure than females (122.2 ± 11.6 mmHg versus 111.7 ± 10.3, p < 0.001 at age 20 and 123.4 ± 10.6 versus 113.9 ± 9.8, p < 0.001 at age 22). Males consuming exclusively butter as a fat spread had significantly higher SBP (+4.3 mmHg) compared with males not using spreads. Males consuming a high intake of margarine had significantly higher SBP (+6.6 mmHg), higher DBP (+3.4 mmHg) and higher triglycerides (+30.5%). Amongst females, four patterns of fatty acid intake were associated with lower levels of HDL cholesterol compared with the low-saturated-fat/high n-3 reference group (p = 0.017 after adjustment for relevant confounders, range = −10.1% to −16.0%, p = 0.017). There were no associations between clusters and HOMA-IR or other serum lipids for males or females. Conclusions: Compared to using no fat spreads, amongst males, a high intake of margarine was characterised by higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure and higher serum triglycerides, whilst the use of butter also was associated with higher SBP. Diets low in n-3s or high in trans fats were associated with sub-optimal HDL levels amongst females. Full article

The development of new point-of-care diagnostic testing tools for the detection of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 are a key aspect of clinical care and research. Accurate predictive classification methods are required to correctly identify and treat patients. Here, the onset of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a more serious form of COVID-19, was predicted in a pediatric population using a set of multivariate immunological biomarker expression values. A first-stage bivariate detection of statistically significant biomarkers was obtained from a chosen set of standard cytokines and chemokine biomarkers considered relevant to COVID-19-related infection and disease. To incorporate the observed correlation structure among the resulting set of significant biomarkers, dimension reduction was then applied in the form of principal components. A second-stage logistic regression model using a small number of the principal component variables provided a highly predictive classification model for MIS-C. The resulting model was shown to compare favorably with an artificial neural network-based predictive model. Full article

Urban greenspaces, including residential parks and conservation areas, provide ecological and recreational benefits. This study reports mosquito surveillance and blood meal analysis data from greenspaces in Vero Beach, Florida. It also compares mosquito assemblages and host associations across residential and conservation greenspaces to assess how greenspace type impacts mosquito abundance and host interactions. Using CO₂-baited traps and large-diameter aspirators, mosquitoes were collected over 26 sampling weeks (February–December 2023) yielding over 19,000 female mosquitoes from 32 species. Although mosquito species richness and community composition were similar across greenspace types, relative abundance of some key vector and nuisance species differed significantly. For example, Aedes taeniorhynchus was more common in preserved coastal wetland greenspaces, while Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus were more common in residential greenspaces. Generalized linear models revealed the impacts of climatic variables on the abundance of many key mosquito species. Blood meal analyses showed that host associations did not vary significantly by greenspace type, suggesting stable mosquito–host interactions across the landscape. These results highlight that greenspaces are not uniform in their mosquito species composition. Further studies on the effects of different greenspace types on mosquito communities can help to identify urban landscape features that minimize mosquito-borne disease risk. Full article

Finite element analysis (FEA) of the Fokker–Planck equation governing the nonstationary joint probability density function of the responses of a dynamical system produces a large set of ordinary differential equations, and computations become impractical for systems with as few as four states. Nonetheless, FEA remains of interest for small systems—for example, for the generation of baseline performance data and reference solutions for the evaluation of machine learning-based methods. We examine the effectiveness of two techniques which, while they are well established, have not to our knowledge been applied to this problem previously: reduction of the equations onto a smaller basis comprising selected eigenvectors of one of the coefficient matrices, and splitting of the other coefficient matrix. The reduction was only moderately effective, requiring a much larger basis than was expected and producing solutions with clear artifacts. Operator splitting, however, performed very well. While the methods can be combined, our results indicate that splitting alone is an effective and generally preferable approach. Full article

Genomic characterization of Cannabis sativa has accelerated rapidly in the last decade as sequencing costs have decreased and public and private interest in the species has increased. Here, we present seven new chromosome-level haplotype-phased genomes of C. sativa. All of these genotypes were alive at the time of publication, and several have numerous years of associated phenotype data. We performed a k-mer-based pangenome analysis to contextualize these assemblies within over 200 existing assemblies. This allowed us to identify unique haplotypes and genomic diversity among Cannabis sativa genotypes. We leveraged linkage maps constructed from F₂ progeny of two of the assembled genotypes to characterize the recombination rate across the genome showing strong periphery-biased recombination. Lastly, we re-aligned a bulk segregant analysis dataset for the major-effect flowering locus Early1 to several of the new assemblies to evaluate the impact of reference bias on the mapping results and narrow the locus to a smaller region of the chromosome. These new assemblies, combined with the continued propagation of the genotypes, will contribute to the growing body of genomic resources for C. sativa to accelerate future research efforts. Full article

We developed a home-based electronic nose (E-Nose) to passively monitor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted following bowel movements and assessed its validity by correlating the output with prebiotic fiber intake. Healthy, non-overweight participants followed a three-week protocol which included the following: (1) installing the E-Nose in their bathroom; (2) activating the device following each bowel movement; (3) recording their dietary intake; (4) consuming a fiber bar (RiteCarbs) containing a blend of 10 g of prebiotic fiber daily during weeks two and three; and (5) submit stool specimens at the beginning and end of the study for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and analysis. Participants’ fecal microbiome displayed significantly increased relative abundance of putative total SCFA-producing genera (p = 0.0323) [total acetate-producing genera (p = 0.0214), total butyrate-producing genera (p = 0.0131)] and decreased Gram-negative proinflammatory genera (p = 0.0468). Prebiotic intervention significantly increased the participants’ fiber intake (p = 0.0152), E-Nose Min/Max (p = 0.0339), and area over the curve in VOC–to–fiber output (p = 0.0044). Increased fiber intake was negatively associated (R² = 0.53, p = 0.026) with decreased relative abundance of putative Gram-negative proinflammatory genera. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that a prototype E-Nose can noninvasively detect a direct connection between fiber intake and VOC outputs in a home-based environment. Full article