Search Results (21,597)

The intake of live microorganisms (LMOs) may contribute to modulating gut microbial ecology with an impact on health. In this study, we examined the intake of LMOs in adults and its association with gut microbiota composition, intestinal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and health-related biochemical parameters. A total of 151 adults were analyzed across three age groups (18–50, 51–65, and 66–95 years). Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and LMOs consumption was estimated with a previously developed database. The levels of some relevant intestinal microbial groups were measured using Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), SCFAs were determined using gas chromatography, and biochemical markers were assessed through standardized laboratory methods. LMOs intake was significantly higher in the two older age groups compared with younger adults, with yogurt identified as the primary dietary source of LMOs across all ages. In the middle-aged group, bacterial LMOs intake independently predicted higher abundances of Akkermansia and Bacteroides-related taxa, while fungal LMOs were positively associated with butyric acid levels. In the older age group, bacterial LMOs intake was directly associated with branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) while fungal LMOs intake was directly associated with circulating cholesterol and inversely with malondialdehyde (MDA). Overall, the findings suggest that LMOs consumption, mainly bacteria intake from fermented dairy products, increases with age and is linked to age-specific changes in gut microbiota, microbial metabolites, and biochemical health parameters. Full article

Deep coal reservoirs commonly exhibit strong multiscale heterogeneity, which directly affects coalbed methane (CBM) storage, diffusion, and flow. In this study, deep No. 8 coal samples from the Daning–Jixian block, Ordos Basin, were comprehensively and quantitatively characterized using low-pressure CO₂ adsorption, low-temperature N₂ adsorption, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A method-constrained calibration framework was developed to assign reliable fractal dimensions to different pore-size intervals and to calculate a volume-weighted comprehensive fractal index. The scale-dependent pore structure was evaluated, and its relationships with coal quality, maceral composition, and maximum vitrinite reflectance (R_o,max) were analyzed. The results show that deep anthracite has a trimodal pore-size distribution, with micropores dominating both specific surface area and pore volume. Fractal behavior is strongly scale-dependent, and calibrated full-pore-size fractal dimensions provide a more reliable measure of reservoir heterogeneity than single-method interpretations. Pore development and heterogeneity are closely associated with coalification degree, coal quality, and maceral composition. Ash tends to inhibit pore development, whereas fixed carbon and vitrinite promote micropore development; inertinite mainly contributes to macropores and fractures. These findings provide a quantitative basis for evaluating pore-structure heterogeneity and optimizing deep CBM reservoir development. Full article

Homeownership is considered an important indicator of financial stability, but the economic security it provides varies substantially across households. In this paper, I examine housing fragility among U.S. homeowners and ask how vulnerability to housing- and credit-market disruptions is organized across wealth position, portfolio composition, and educational attainment. Drawing on perspectives emphasizing financialization and action under uncertainty, I conceptualize housing fragility as a multidimensional condition rooted in the organization of household balance sheets and in unequal capacities to navigate financial institutions and market risk. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the 1989–2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, I analyze six indicators capturing leverage, repayment strain, portfolio concentration, and housing cost burdens among homeowners. Findings show that housing fragility is systematically stratified across the wealth distribution, with lower-wealth homeowners consistently exhibiting higher leverage, greater repayment burdens, and more severe housing cost strain. Fragility is also more strongly associated with overall net worth than with housing values alone, indicating that broader balance-sheet resources shape households’ capacity to sustain ownership under changing market conditions. In addition, less-educated homeowners experience persistently higher levels of fragility, particularly in measures tied to repayment obligations and ongoing financial strain. The findings show that homeownership amplifies existing wealth inequalities by exposing lower-wealth households to disproportionate financial risk embedded in contemporary housing and credit markets. Full article

Background: Older adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery are vulnerable to perioperative complications, but the prognostic value of routine echocardiographic markers in high-acuity cohorts remains incompletely defined. Methods: This secondary analysis of a prospective cohort included 503 consecutive adults with known cardiovascular disease undergoing non-cardiac surgery, characterized by a high proportion of urgent presentations. Patients were stratified by age (geriatric, ≥65 years; non-geriatric, <65 years). The primary endpoint was major in-hospital adverse events (MIAEs), defined as a composite of in-hospital death, surgical reintervention, and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). Postoperative creatinine was not routinely measured in stable patients discharged early; therefore, renal outcomes were interpreted strictly as available-case analyses (n = 364). Results: MIAEs occurred more frequently in geriatric than in younger patients (45.5% vs. 30.8%). Within the geriatric cohort, patients with reduced LVEF (<50%) had lower MAPSE values and higher crude rates of AKI, death, and MIAE than those with LVEF ≥ 50%. In multivariable analyses, reduced LVEF was associated with MIAE, although this small subgroup was susceptible to statistical overfitting. MAPSE reflected longitudinal systolic dysfunction but did not retain independent prognostic value after adjustment. Conclusions: In this pilot subgroup analysis of high-acuity patients, reduced preoperative LVEF (<50%) served as a clinical flag identifying a high-risk geriatric phenotype with increased cardiorenal vulnerability. Given the event-enriched available-case denominator, these findings should be considered hypothesis-generating observations intended to increase clinical awareness. Full article

Gamma irradiation is one of the techniques widely authorized for the decontamination of dried herbs and spices. Its effect on the functional properties of essential oils, however, remains incompletely characterized. In this study, we examined the impact of gamma irradiation (at 5, 15, and 25 kGy) on the phytochemical composition, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant capacity, and insect-repellent activity of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the citral-dominant chemotype remained stable across all irradiation doses, with geranial and neral constituting approximately 62–63% of the volatile profile. The antibacterial assays were done on five bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae). Inhibition zones showed no statistically significant differences across irradiation doses (p ≥ 0.05), while MIC (75–100 µg/mL) and MBC (125–150 µg/mL) values remained constant across all doses. DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP antioxidant assays revealed no dose-dependent changes (DPPH IC₅₀: 688–703 µg/mL; ABTS IC₅₀: 18–22 µg/mL; FRAP: 505–517 µg/mL ascorbic-acid equivalents). The essential oil exhibited pronounced repellent activity (87–99%) against adult Tribolium confusum beetles at 0.125 µL/cm², persisting for 24 h and unaffected by irradiation. Molecular docking of the major constituents (geranial, neral, geraniol, and β-myrcene) against key target proteins (3N7H, 3NVY, 4URM, and 8BN6) provided predictive support consistent with the observed activities, indicating plausible molecular interactions rather than confirmed target engagement. In silico ADME and toxicity profiling indicated favorable predicted pharmacokinetic properties and no major in silico toxicity alerts for the four modeled constituents. Taken together, these findings indicate that, under the conditions tested, gamma irradiation at food-decontamination doses produced no major shifts in composition and no statistically detectable changes in the measured bioactivities of C. citratus essential oil. Full article

High-dimensional financial Extract–Transform–Load (ETL) pipelines often contain heterogeneous variables whose statistical properties may change between recurring data deliveries, affecting feature reliability before downstream machine learning models are trained. This study extends a previously proposed Canberra-based data drift monitoring framework by introducing a hypothesis-informed feature stability component for automated feature assessment and prioritization. Unlike the prior descriptive framework, which relied on univariate and bivariate exploratory metrics, the proposed extension adds an inferential layer and evaluates how this layer changes feature ranking relative to the original score and alternative marginal drift measures. The method combines univariate deviations in summary statistics, bivariate deviations in dependency-related metrics, and hypothesis-based evidence from Anderson–Darling, Mann–Whitney U, and Levene tests. The resulting p-values are aggregated using a Landau-calibrated harmonic mean p-value formulation and transformed into a bounded hypothesis score, which is integrated into a composite variable-level stability ranking. The framework operates on precomputed exploratory data analysis (EDA) outputs, enabling scalable comparison between a validated reference dataset and a current ETL delivery. The proposed extension provides an interpretable and computationally efficient mechanism for identifying unstable features and supporting feature review, exclusion, or prioritization in automated machine learning pipelines. Full article

Background/Objectives: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is increasingly recognized as involving inflammation and the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Few studies have simultaneously assessed systemic inflammatory markers and gut microbiota composition within the same cohort while accounting for metabolic confounders. Moreover, data from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) populations remain limited, restricting our understanding of how diet may influence neuroimmune–microbiome interactions in depression. This study aimed to investigate associations between MDD, systemic inflammatory markers, and gut microbiota composition in Lebanese adults. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind in Lebanon, as well as in the MENA region. Methods: In this cross-sectional case–control study, we examined circulating inflammatory markers and gut microbial profiles in 46 adults with DSM-5-confirmed MDD and 25 healthy controls. Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured, and the gut microbiota composition was characterized using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Multivariable models were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), Mediterranean diet adherence, and fluoxetine exposure. Results: Depression status was not independently associated with CRP or IL-6 after adjustment, whereas BMI emerged as a significant determinant of systemic inflammation. At the genus level, MDD was associated with the enrichment of Dorea, Lachnoclostridium, Collinsella, Bilophila, and Klebsiella and the depletion of Christensenella, Mitsuokella, and Victivallis, independent of inflammatory biomarkers. Alpha diversity did not differ between groups, while beta diversity showed modest metric-dependent differences, primarily driven by presence/absence-based measures. Conclusions: Specific microbial taxa may contribute to gut–brain signaling pathways implicated in MDD and systemic inflammation. Further longitudinal and mechanistic studies are required to clarify causal interactions within inflammation–microbiome networks in MDD. Full article

Solid-state fermentation of burdock roots with Eurotium cristatum was performed to enhance their functional properties. Fermentation induced marked compositional remodeling, resulting in a 1.37-fold increase in protein content compared to unfermented controls. Antioxidant capacities were markedly enhanced. DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging activities both exceeded 90%, and intracellular ROS levels in Caenorhabditis elegans were reduced by 62.7%. Phenolic profiling via UPLC-ESI-MS/MS identified and quantified 74 phenolic compounds across samples; notably, 10 flavonoids were exclusively detected in fermented burdock roots, indicative of microbial biotransformation. Correlation analysis integrating phenolic abundance with all three antioxidant endpoints revealed 11 compounds significantly associated with enhanced bioactivity. Among these, sinapic acid, 3-hydroxyflavone, liquiritigenin, and sakuranetin exhibited positive correlations with all three antioxidant measures. Prostaglandin G/H synthase 1 (PTGS1) and PTGS2 were identified as shared antioxidant-relevant targets, with PTGS1 highlighted due to its constitutive role in prostaglandin biosynthesis. Importantly, 3-hydroxyflavone, liquiritigenin, and sakuranetin were newly emerged following fermentation, providing direct evidence that E. cristatum mediates the synthesis or structural modification of key flavonoids, thereby augmenting the antioxidant chemical profile and functional efficacy of burdock roots. Full article

Tension–tension fatigue testing of polymer matrix composites (PMCs) conducted per ASTM D3479/D3479M using rectangular specimens is widely plagued by premature crack initiation and propagation at the edges of reinforcing grip tabs, which leads to severe underestimation of the material’s actual fatigue life. While dog-bone specimen geometries have been universally adopted to mitigate this issue, and benchmark studies have validated their ability to completely eliminate grip-region failures in low-to-intermediate-strength PMCs, our preliminary work identified a critical unaddressed limitation: standardized dog-bone configurations produce highly unreliable fatigue characterization results for T800-grade and higher-strength carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates, with experimentally measured fatigue lives deviating significantly from predictions derived from classical laminate theory. To resolve this discrepancy and enable accurate fatigue performance quantification for high-strength CFRP laminates, the present work focuses specifically on the transition region geometry of dog-bone specimens, which we hypothesized to be the source of spurious premature failures in high-strength laminate testing. The study is bounded to tension–tension fatigue loading regimes relevant to high-performance structural applications of T800-grade and above CFRP laminates, with the core objective of developing an optimized geometry that eliminates premature non-gauge-section failures. First, statistical analysis of a large dataset of preliminary tests confirmed that transition region geometric parameters exert a non-negligible effect on the measured fatigue performance of advanced high-strength fiber-reinforced polymer laminates; stress concentrations induced by non-optimized geometries were identified as the root cause of premature non-gauge-section failures even in conventional dog bone specimens. We then systematically varied transition region geometric parameters, performed finite element stress modeling to quantify full-field stress distributions for each candidate geometry, and conducted parallel tension–tension fatigue tests on all designed configurations to cross-validate simulation outputs and experimental performance. Our results demonstrate that the optimized dog-bone configuration developed in this work completely eliminates all spurious non-gauge-section failure modes. Fatigue lives measured using the optimized geometry show excellent agreement with classical laminate theory predictions, enabling robust, repeatable quantification of the intrinsic fatigue life of high-strength CFRP laminates. The proposed configuration addresses the longstanding reliability gap associated with standardized dog-bone geometries for high-strength fiber-reinforced polymer fatigue characterization. Full article

(1) Background: Soil nutrient availability in vineyards is shaped by physicochemical and biological processes. However, how baseline edaphic differences are related to soil microbial functional genes and plant elemental composition under biodynamic management remains unclear; (2) Methods: Two biodynamically managed Pinot Noir (Vitis vinifera L.) vineyard sites in Tasmania, hereafter referred to as site 1 (S1) and site 2 (S2), were compared at fruit set, veraison, and ripening. Soil physicochemical properties were measured, soil, leaf, and grape berry elemental compositions were assessed by X-ray fluorescence, and soil microbial taxonomic marker genes and soil microbial functional genes were quantified by qPCR. Because the dataset comprised only six site-by-stage composite samples without independent field-level biological replication, multivariate analyses and partial least squares path modeling were used as exploratory tools; (3) Results: The two sites showed distinct baseline soil physicochemical properties. Soil microbial functional genes varied across sites and phenological stages, with several nitrogen (N)-cycling genes showing higher values at S1 and amoA increasing toward ripening at both sites. AMG, defined here as an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF)-related marker, also increased toward ripening and was interpreted separately from the N-cycling genes. Soil elements mainly reflected site-related differences, whereas leaf and berry elements showed clearer variation across phenological stages. The exploratory path model, based on this limited composite dataset, summarized sequential associations among soil physicochemical properties, microbial functional genes, leaf elements, and berry elements, as well as a direct association between soil physicochemical properties and berry elemental composition; (4) Conclusions: These findings describe exploratory soil–microbe–plant association patterns under biodynamic management and should not be interpreted as statistically inferential or causal evidence. Full article

Electroless nickel–phosphorus (Ni–P) coatings were deposited on steel substrates for 20, 40, and 60 min to examine the effect of deposition time on their pseudocapacitive behavior in an alkaline electrolyte. The coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Although coating mass, thickness, and roughness increased monotonically with deposition time, the electrochemical response showed a pronounced maximum at 40 min. The 40 min coating exhibited the highest areal capacitance in both CV and GCD measurements, reaching 33.1 ± 1.8 mF cm^–2 at 10 mV s^–1 and 426.5 ± 9.8 mF cm^–2 at 5 mA cm^–2, whereas the 60 min coating showed substantially lower capacitance. SEM and AFM confirmed progressive nodular coarsening and increasing surface roughness with time, but these geometric parameters alone did not explain the non-monotonic capacitance trend. In contrast, XPS revealed that the 40 min coating possessed the highest surface Ni content, while prolonged deposition led to a more P-enriched outermost surface. EIS further showed that the 40 min coating had the most favorable local high-frequency interfacial response, whereas the 60 min coating exhibited the highest local polarization. The results demonstrate that the electrochemical performance of electroless Ni–P coatings is more closely associated with the composition and accessibility of the activated near-surface region than with coating thickness or roughness alone, and that 40 min represents an interfacial optimum under the applied deposition conditions. Full article

Background: Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease that often proves resistant to lifestyle measures alone. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), are reshaping treatment, yet prospective real-world data remain limited. Objective: To prospectively assess the effects of once-weekly Semaglutide on weight, body composition, and metabolic health in obesity. Methods: An exploratory observational study of 37 patients initiating Semaglutide (mean age 31 years; 11 children and adolescents; 22 females) was conducted. All met obesity criteria (baseline BMI 34.7 kg/m²). Anthropometry, bioimpedance body composition, and fasting biochemistry were obtained at baseline and 3 months. Variables were reported as mean ± SD or median (IQR) according to normal/non-normal distribution, whether a parametric test or a Wilcoxon one was used. Parametric or non-parametric paired tests (two-sided α = 0.05) were applied. We also explored tri-ponderal mass index (TMI, kg/m³) and its correlations with metabolic markers. Results: At 3 months, body weight decreased by a median 8.0 kg (p < 0.001), BMI by 1.6 kg/m² (p < 0.001). Body fat percentage declined: 43.4% to 42.8% (p = 0.009), with a small reduction in skeletal muscle mass (−0.6 kg; p = 0.035). Fasting glucose improved (p = 0.030) and HOMA-IR fell significantly. HbA1c changes were minimal, consistent with near-normal baseline values. Triglycerides decreased, while total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, liver enzymes, creatinine, uric acid, and 25-OH vitamin D remained stable. Baseline TMI (median 20.13 kg/m³; IQR 3.80) correlated strongly with HOMA-IR (r = 0.766, p < 0.001) and moderately-to-strongly with body fat percentage (r = 0.621, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In this real-world cohort, Semaglutide produced rapid, clinically meaningful improvements in weight, adiposity, and insulin resistance within 3 months. Findings suggest that Semaglutide may represent a promising adjunct to lifestyle therapy in obesity management. Full article

To address prevalent industrial challenges, including the high cost of fabricating microstructures via photolithography and 3D printing, impurity residues easily generated by conventional physical/chemical pore-forming techniques, and the limited sensitivity of regular capacitive sensors, this paper innovatively proposes an integrated low-temperature in situ gas foaming strategy using ammonium bicarbonate for the fabrication of porous TPU-based ionic gels. Relying on the complete gaseous decomposition property of ammonium bicarbonate upon heating, a three-dimensionally interconnected continuous porous network is spontaneously constructed inside the polymer matrix. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is selected as the continuous polymer phase, and [EMIM][TFSI] imidazolium ionic liquid is blended as the ion source to synthesize composite ionic gel substrates. A PDMS composite slurry filled with graphene is employed to prepare flexible substrates, followed by low-temperature oxygen plasma surface modification to introduce polar functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl onto electrode surfaces. A standard sandwich-structured ionic pressure sensor with the configuration of “top modified electrode—porous ionic gel dielectric layer—bottom modified electrode” is finally assembled. The porous framework and modified electrodes constitute a dual synergistic enhancement system: the porous structure markedly reduces the equivalent elastic modulus of the gel and improves its compressive deformation capacity; polar-modified electrodes optimize the interfacial compatibility between electrodes and gels, shorten ion migration paths and lower interfacial contact resistance. Systematic calibration of multiple batches of parallel samples reveals that the as-fabricated sensor achieves a high sensitivity of 25.3 kPa⁻¹ across the full measuring range from 0 to 1000 kPa with a linear fitting coefficient R² = 0.992. The loading response time and unloading recovery time of the device are 60 ms and 80 ms respectively, with a performance degradation of less than 3% after 1000 consecutive loading–unloading cycles, featuring low hysteresis error and excellent signal repeatability. Multi-scenario in vivo wearable tests on human subjects verify that the device can precisely capture subtle fluctuations of radial artery pulse and periodic laryngeal deformation during swallowing, distinguish characteristic waveform patterns of various English words according to differences in vocal cord vibration, and accurately detect bending motions when attached to finger joints. The entire fabrication process adopts common chemical raw materials and standard laboratory equipment without expensive micro-nano processing facilities, featuring convenient raw material procurement and high process fault tolerance, which enables large-area coating-based mass production. This work delivers a novel technical route for the low-cost large-scale production of high-performance ionic flexible sensors and bears significant industrialization reference value for applications in wearable medical monitoring, bionic robotic electronic skin, flexible human–machine interactive touch panels and other related fields. Full article

Background: The aim of the present retrospective observational study is to compare the required doses of propofol (PPF) for anaesthesia induction in dogs presented with intervertebral disc disease (IVDD)-related thoracolumbar or cervical myelopathy. Methods: The anaesthetic records of dogs with either cervical- or thoracolumbar-related myelopathy anaesthetised for diagnostic or surgical procedures from September 2021 to July 2023 were evaluated. Inclusion criteria were premedication with the same dose of dexmedetomidine (DEX) (180 μg m⁻²), and induction with PPF. The sedation score (SS), Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale-Short Form (GCMPS-SF) results and the total PPF dose required for intubation were collected. Data were analysed with the Shapiro–Wilk test, independent samples t-test and Spearman’s rho test. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Fifty-five records were included in the study, 27 dogs with cervical and 28 with thoracolumbar myelopathy due to IVDD. Statistically significant higher doses of PPF were required in the dogs with cervical (mean 3.2 mg kg⁻¹, ±SD 1.25 mg kg⁻¹) than with thoracolumbar (mean 1.9 mg kg⁻¹, ±SD 0.65 mg kg⁻¹) myelopathy (t-test, p < 0.001). The SS in the dogs with cervical–cervicothoracic myelopathy (CCTM) (median 6, ±min 2 max 10) also differed from the SS of the dogs with thoracolumbar myelopathy (TLM) (median 7.5, min 2 max 12) (t-test, p = 0.02). Sedation score and the dose of PPF were significantly negatively correlated (Spearman’s rho −0.311, p = 0.021). Sedation score and GCMPS-SF were also significantly negatively correlated (Spearman’s rho −0.363, p = 0.007). However, no statistically significant negative correlation was found between PPF dose and GCMPS-SF score (Spearman’s rho = 0.248, p = 0.068). Conclusions: Our findings should be considered when planning anaesthetic protocols in patients suffering from IVVD-related myelopathy in order to optimize safety in these patients. Full article

Background and Objectives: Cachexia is a systemic wasting syndrome associated with poor outcomes in chronic diseases, including heart failure (HF). Although the cachexia index (CXI), which integrates skeletal muscle mass, serum albumin, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, has shown prognostic value in oncology, its clinical significance in HF remains poorly defined. Materials and Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study evaluated a selected subgroup of adults hospitalized with decompensated heart failure between January 2020 and January 2025 who had undergone abdominal computed tomography within the preceding 6 months, enabling CT-based body composition assessment. Skeletal muscle index was measured at the L3 vertebral level, and CXI was calculated as (SMI × serum albumin)/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. Patients were followed for all-cause mortality and HF-related rehospitalizations. Results: A total of 127 patients were included (mean age 70.45 ± 12.73 years; 51.2% male). CXI showed excellent discrimination for mortality (AUC 0.951; 95% CI 0.905–0.996), with an optimal cut-off value of <20.87. Patients with low CXI had significantly higher all-cause mortality (80.5% vs. 4.7%, p < 0.001) and more HF-related hospitalizations [4 (3–5) vs. 0.5 (0–1), p < 0.001] than those with high CXI. Conclusions: In patients hospitalized with decompensated HF, low CXI was strongly associated with all-cause mortality and recurrent hospitalization, suggesting that CXI may serve as an integrative prognostic marker in this population. Full article