Search Results (59,037)

Thaumasite sulfate attack (TSA) under elevated water pressure has important implications for the durability of deep underground concrete structures, yet the deterioration process and the coupled effect of water pressure and carbonate supply remain insufficiently understood. In this study, laboratory pressurized sulfate exposure tests were conducted to investigate the evolution of macroscopic performance and microstructure of cement mortars with different limestone powder contents (0%, 15%, and 30%) under water pressures of 0, 2.5, and 5.0 MPa. The results show that elevated water pressure promotes sulfate ingress into the mortar and accelerates later-stage strength loss; this interpretation is supported by the depth-dependent distribution of soluble SO₄²⁻ measured in mortars without limestone powder. Two-way ANOVA indicates that both water pressure and limestone powder content have significant effects on compressive strength, and their interaction becomes statistically significant at 120 d. XRD, FT-IR, and SEM/EDS results show that, under elevated water pressure and high limestone powder content, the corrosion products gradually evolve from gypsum-related products to ettringite- and thaumasite-related products, with a certain spatial differentiation. Specifically, the gray–white, mud-like surface products are consistent with thaumasite-rich assemblages, whereas the needle- and column-like crystals in the interior are consistent with ettringite-rich assemblages. Overall, elevated water pressure mainly promotes sulfate transport, while limestone powder mainly increases carbonate availability. These two factors may jointly intensify TSA deterioration in mortar through a pathway involving transport enhancement, carbonate supply, corrosion product evolution, and aggravated macroscopic damage. This study provides a reference for understanding the sulfate deterioration mechanism of limestone powder-containing cement-based materials in deep underground environments under elevated water pressure. Full article

Agricultural performance is often interpreted through agronomic inputs and technological progress; however, the translation of knowledge into production depends on the structural environments in which food systems operate. This study examined the association between food-security-related publication activity and crop production across global income settings from 2000 to 2025, while testing whether governance, health-system, and financial indicators modify that association. A longitudinal ecological panel was constructed, integrating 61,158 Scopus-indexed peer-reviewed articles on food security and related dimensions of healthy food access and availability with 23 crop production indicators grouped into staple, horticultural, and commodity domains. Income-stratified regression models were followed by hierarchical mixed-effects models and moderator screening. In exploratory stratified models, 67 of 92 income-specific associations reached nominal significance; however, only 5 of those 67 associations (7.5%) remained statistically significant after multilevel modelling and false discovery rate correction. Robust associations were concentrated in selected staple and horticultural outcomes, whereas most commodity indicators lost significance after hierarchical adjustment. Structural moderators related to territorial control, corruption, healthy life expectancy, health researcher density, healthcare access and quality, and official development assistance shifted the conditional slopes linking publication activity to crop output. These findings do not support a uniform linear relationship between publication growth and production volume. Instead, they suggest that the alignment between research ecosystems and agricultural output is structurally conditioned and likely mediated by institutional capacity, health-system resilience, and implementation environments. The ecological design, the use of publication counts as an indirect proxy, and the reliance on production volume rather than yield or efficiency should be considered when interpreting these results. Full article

Background/Objective: Intermittent fasting (IF) shows promise for metabolic and mental health benefits, but evidence in older adults remains limited. This study systematically evaluated the safety and effectiveness of IF in adults aged ≥60 years, comparing different protocols using network meta-analysis. Methods: Systematic review and network meta-analysis following Cochrane and PRISMA guidelines were conducted, producing a literature search until June 2025 across PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases, with inclusion criteria comprising randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and observational studies evaluating IF in adults ≥60 years. Network meta-analysis compared time-restricted eating (TRE), IF 5:2 method, Islamic Sunnah fasting (ISF), Healthy Living Diet and usual diet. The NMA was conducted exclusively using randomized controlled trials (RCTs; n = 7); pre–post trials and observational studies were included solely in the narrative systematic review component and did not contribute to any pooled NMA estimates. Observational data contributed exclusively to the narrative synthesis. Results: Thirty-one studies were included; seven RCTs were eligible for network meta-analysis. ISF and TRE 16:8 were most effective for weight (ISF: −2.36 kg; TRE 16:8: −1.92 kg) and BMI reduction (−0.81 and −1.01 kg/m²) without lean mass loss. Findings on cardiometabolic parameters, mental health, and cognitive function are based on the narrative synthesis of individual studies. Long-term structured IF was associated with improvements in standardized cognitive performance assessed via validated instruments. However, very restrictive eating windows (≤10 h) and prolonged fasting (>12.38 h) were associated with adverse outcomes, including lower cognitive scores and 58% increased cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions: TRE 16:8 and ISF showed the strongest comparative evidence for weight reduction in the RCT-based NMA, with acceptable short-term safety profiles in the included trials. In the narrative review, these protocols were associated with clinically meaningful improvements in body weight, metabolic markers, and blood pressure while generally preserving lean muscle mass in older adults. The cardiovascular mortality risk associated with very restrictive eating windows may emphasize the importance of moderate fasting approaches in this vulnerable population. Further long-term research is needed to confirm optimal protocols and identify at-risk subgroups. Full article

Background/Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), remains a major global health problem. Drug resistance and the limitations of sputum-based diagnostic methods highlight the need for additional host-response biomarkers. Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type O (PTPRO) has been implicated in inflammatory signaling and macrophage immune regulation, but its relationship with TB-related host transcriptional responses remains unclear. This study aimed to identify and preliminarily evaluate a PTPRO-related blood transcriptional signature with potential relevance to TB discrimination and treatment-response assessment. Methods: Genes correlated with PTPRO expression were first screened using TCGA-LUSC as a large human transcriptomic discovery resource. The resulting candidate genes were then filtered in TB-related whole-blood datasets by intersecting genes upregulated in TB compared with healthy controls, pneumonia, and lung cancer. This strategy yielded a five-gene PTPRO-related signature, termed PO5. The signature was evaluated in independent GEO cohorts and further explored by RT-qPCR in H37Ra-infected THP-1-derived macrophages and in a small clinical blood cohort. A PO5-derived TB risk score was calculated for each sample, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to assess discriminatory performance. Changes in TB risk scores during anti-TB treatment were also examined. Results: PTPRO expression was increased in TB whole-blood transcriptomic data and in H37Ra-infected macrophages. In public datasets, PO5 showed potential for distinguishing TB from healthy controls, latent TB, pneumonia, and lung cancer. PO5-derived TB risk scores also decreased after anti-TB treatment. In the exploratory clinical cohort, several PO5 genes showed expression changes in the same general direction as those observed in the public datasets, although the small sample size limited the strength of this evidence. Conclusions: PO5 represents a preliminary PTPRO-related blood transcriptional signature with potential relevance to TB discrimination and treatment-response assessment. These findings remain exploratory and require validation in larger prospective multicenter cohorts, together with further mechanistic studies. Full article

Taste impairment is a little-known non-motor Parkinson’s disease (PD) feature with potential diagnostic value. However, its biological basis and sex-specific patterns remain unclear. We combined psychophysical taste testing, salivary α synuclein (αsyn) profiling, genotyping of four SNCA polymorphisms, and Supervised Learning (SL) within a unified, sex-aware analytical framework to analyze sensory, molecular, and genetic correlates of gustatory dysfunction in 99 PD patients and 60 healthy controls. Overall taste identification was markedly reduced in PD, independently of sex. However, males and females showed distinct taste quality alterations: females preserved sour recognition, while males showed marked citric acid misidentification. SL modeling achieved high accuracy, revealing that the inability to perceive saltiness was most informative overall, astringency misidentification strongly predicted female PD, and sour misidentification characterized male PD. Salivary oligomeric αsyn showed a significant sex × diagnosis interaction, being elevated only in PD females, specifically those failing to identify astringency. Genotype–phenotype analyses revealed sex-dependent associations between SNCA variants (rs356219, rs181489, and rs2583988) and astringency recognition. These findings demonstrated that sex critically shapes the interplay between taste dysfunction, peripheral αsyn biology, and SNCA genetics in PD, supporting sex-aware chemosensory phenotyping and the development of precision taste-based biomarkers. Full article

Objective: Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been associated with altered neonatal adaptation, but its relationship with early elimination patterns remains unclear. Given the role of serotonin in gastrointestinal and urinary physiology, we aimed to evaluate the association between maternal SSRI use during pregnancy and time to first stool and time to first void in healthy neonates. Methods: In this retrospective matched cohort study, neonates exposed to SSRIs in utero were matched 1:1 with unexposed controls by gestational age (GA) and weight-for-gestational-age category. The primary outcomes were time to first void and time to first stool. Multivariable linear regression was performed using log10-transformed time to first stool, adjusting for maternal age, GA, and neonatal sex. Sensitivity analyses included size-for-gestational-age and time to first feeding. Results: A total of 266 neonates were included (133 SSRI-exposed, 133 unexposed). Time to first stool was shorter in SSRI-exposed neonates compared with unexposed neonates (median 7.4 vs. 8.6 h, p = 0.023), while the time to first void did not differ. In adjusted analysis, SSRI exposure remained associated with shorter time to first stool (β = −0.08, 95% CI −0.16 to −0.001, p = 0.035), corresponding to an approximate 17% reduction. The association was consistent across sensitivity analyses. Meconium-stained amniotic fluid was associated with shorter time to first stool among SSRI-exposed neonates but not in unexposed neonates. The overall model explained a limited proportion of variance. Conclusions Prenatal SSRI exposure was associated with modest but consistent reduction in time to first stool, without affecting time to first void. While the clinical significance remains uncertain, these findings suggest a potential influence of in utero SSRI exposure on early neonatal gastrointestinal adaptation, which may be influenced by intrapartum conditions. Full article

This paper proposes a fault-tolerant optimal design method for quad-winding permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) considering irreversible demagnetization under fault conditions. In quad-winding motors, when one or more winding sets become unavailable, the remaining windings must carry higher current to maintain the required torque. This increases the external magnetomotive force acting on the permanent magnets and may cause irreversible demagnetization, particularly in spoke-type magnet structures. To address this issue, the demagnetization characteristics of the quad-winding motor were analyzed under healthy and faulty operating conditions. Based on this analysis, an optimization process using a Radial Basis Function–Multi-Layer Perceptron (RBF–MLP) surrogate model and a combination of grid-based search and local optimization was applied to obtain an optimal motor design. The optimization results show that the irreversible demagnetization ratio was reduced from 5.9% to 0.5% while maintaining a similar magnet volume. The proposed design approach effectively suppresses irreversible demagnetization in quad-winding PMSMs. Full article

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterised by a disrupted gut–kidney axis, wherein intestinal dysbiosis is associated with the accumulation of uraemic toxins and the potential depletion of beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Whilst acetate, propionate, and butyrate are known to modulate systemic inflammation and blood pressure, their precise circulating concentrations across different CKD stages and age groups remain poorly defined. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify blood SCFA concentrations in CKD patients compared to healthy controls. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for clinical studies reporting blood SCFA concentrations in humans with CKD. Methodological quality was assessed using the NIH tool. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for the quantitative meta-analysis, with subgroup analyses performed for age, CKD stage, and treatment modality (dialysis vs. transplantation). Results: Twenty-one studies encompassing 9661 participants were included. Quantitative synthesis revealed a significant and consistent systemic depletion of circulating acetate and propionate in adult CKD patients compared to healthy controls (p < 0.05). This depletion followed a stage-dependent trajectory, worsening alongside declining glomerular filtration rates. Notably, a “butyrate paradox” was identified in paediatric cohorts; whilst adults showed progressive butyrate depletion, children with CKD often maintained or exhibited elevated levels, particularly in the context of hypertension. Furthermore, whilst haemodialysis patients exhibited the most profound SCFA deficiencies, kidney transplantation appeared to partially restore these metabolites toward healthy baseline levels. Conclusions: CKD is associated with a profound systemic reduction in acetate and propionate, supporting the model of a compromised gut–kidney axis based on converging evidence. The divergent results for butyrate in paediatric versus adult populations suggest that SCFA metabolism is influenced by age-related factors or compensatory mechanisms. These findings highlight the potential for SCFA monitoring as a candidate or emerging markers for detecting early renal damage and stratifying risk. Full article

Background: Microstructural abnormalities of the corpus callosum (CC) are a consistent finding in schizophrenia, yet conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics provide limited biological specificity. Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) can disentangle the neurite density index (NDI) and the orientation dispersion index (ODI), providing indirect, model-based markers of white matter microstructure in vivo. Methods: We applied NODDI to diffusion-weighted MRI data in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and matched healthy controls (HCs). The CC was used as a mask and subdivided into the genu (GCC), body (BCC), and splenium (SCC). Group differences in z-scores of the NDI and ODI were assessed using voxel-wise statistics within the CC and region of interest (ROI) analyses in the GCC, BCC, and SCC, controlling for age and sex. Associations between NODDI metrics and clinical symptoms were examined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: FES patients showed a significantly increased ODI in portions of the GCC, BCC, and SCC, as well as region-specific NDI alterations, with decreased NDI in parts of the SCC and increased NDI in sub-regions of the GCC/BCC (voxel-wise p < 0.05, FWE-corrected). ROI analyses confirmed a significant reduction in NDI z-scores in the SCC in FES patients compared with HCs (p = 0.009), whereas the ODI z-scores in the SCC did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.124). Despite the absence of group-level ODI differences in the SCC, the SCC ODI was positively correlated with PANSS negative symptom scores in FES patients (r = 0.554, p = 0.002) and was also positively correlated with PANSS total scores in FES (r = 0.457, p = 0.014). This association remained significant in the region of the SCC after regressing out NDI from ODI (residual z_ODI), which was correlated with PANSS negative scores (r = 0.503, p = 0.006) and PANSS total scores (r = 0.474, p = 0.011), and the ODI/NDI ratio in the SCC was also correlated with negative symptom severity (r = 0.457, p = 0.014). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, in the SCC, negative symptoms in schizophrenia are linked to altered neurite orientation dispersion under conditions of reduced neurite density. The dissociation between group-level NDI and ODI effects and their distinct relationship with psychopathology highlights the value of composite microstructural indices (e.g., residual z_ODI, ODI/NDI) for capturing clinically relevant white matter abnormalities. Full article

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder primarily caused by the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to characteristic motor symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia, as well as non-motor manifestations including depression, sleep disturbances, and speech impairments. Among these symptoms, speech abnormalities affect approximately 90% of individuals with PD, making acoustic analysis a promising non-invasive cue for early detection. However, subtle speech variations are often imperceptible to the human ear, and speech-only analysis may overlook complementary visual manifestations, such as hypomimia—reduced facial expressivity commonly observed in PD patients. To address these limitations, we propose Parkinson’s Detection via Attentional Fusion Network (PDAF-Net), a novel multimodal deep learning framework for early PD detection that jointly models acoustic and facial dynamic features in a binary classification setting. The proposed architecture consists of a Dual-Stream Feature Encoder (DSFE), with an audio branch based on a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM), and a visual branch built upon a two-dimensional convolutional neural network (2D-CNN) and a Transformer encoder. Multimodal integration is achieved through a Cross-Attention-guided Attentional Feature Fusion (CA-AFF) module, which explicitly models bidirectional cross-modal interactions and performs adaptive feature recalibration via an iterative attentional fusion mechanism. We conducted experiments on a self-collected Chinese multimodal dataset comprising 100 PD patients and 100 healthy controls. Although the data are balanced at the subject level, sliding-window segmentation introduces sample-level imbalance; to address this issue, a class-balanced focal loss is employed. Model performance was evaluated using subject-wise five-fold cross-validation. The results demonstrate that PDAF-Net consistently outperforms unimodal baselines across multiple evaluation metrics, achieving an accuracy of 89.3%, an F1-score of 0.884, and an AUC of 0.916. These findings highlight the effectiveness of explicit cross-modal interaction modeling and adaptive feature fusion for improving automated early PD screening in real-world clinical settings. Full article

The skin microbiota plays a key role in maintaining cutaneous homeostasis; however, microbial differences among physiological skin types within healthy individuals remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between skin microbiota diversity and four skin types (normal, oily, dry, and combination) in healthy young women (n = 43), with samples collected from the nasal region. Skin moisture and sebum levels were quantitatively measured, and microbiota profiles were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing targeting the V3–V4 regions. Normal skin exhibited higher alpha diversity, including Chao1 richness and Faith’s phylogenetic diversity, compared with other skin types (median Chao1 values were higher in normal skin than in other groups). Correlation analyses showed that skin moisture was positively associated with microbial richness (ρ = 0.397, p = 0.008), whereas sebum levels were negatively associated with phylogenetic diversity (ρ = −0.455, p = 0.002). Beta diversity analysis revealed that normal skin harbored a distinct microbial community structure. In addition, several bacterial genera were enriched in normal skin, whereas Enterobacterales were observed to be more abundant in non-normal skin types. These findings suggest that skin biophysical properties are associated with microbial community structure and diversity within healthy individuals, although the functional implications of these differences remain to be elucidated. Full article

Background: Supplementation with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFAs), particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may mitigate exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and enhance post-exercise recovery. However, the systematic reviews/meta-analyses evaluating these effects across populations and exercise models are limited and do not provide dosing recommendations. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of LC n-3 PUFA supplementation on key post-exercise recovery outcomes, including muscle soreness, muscle function, and muscle damage biomarkers in healthy adults. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, and clinical trial registry databases was conducted (to January 2025). All studies that met the inclusion criteria underwent appropriate methodological quality assessments using established tools. The data were extracted for inputting into random-effects models, with effect sizes reported as Hedges’ g and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic. Results: Among the 2539 records, 43 studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, and nine met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The effect of LC n-3 PUFA supplementation on recovery outcomes was equivocal, with significant methodological limitations noted across the literature. However, the meta-analysis of nine placebo-controlled, eccentric exercise trials demonstrated that LC n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly reduced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (Hedges’ g = −0.75; 95% CI: −1.14 to −0.36), creatine kinase (CK) (Hedges’ g = −0.40; 95% CI: −0.70 to −0.10), and muscle swelling (Hedges’ g = −0.45; 95% CI: −0.83 to −0.07), and significantly improved muscle strength (Hedges’ g = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.83) and range of motion (ROM) (Hedges’ g = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.33 to 1.53) at peak impairment compared with placebo. Conclusions: LC n-3 PUFA supplementation may support recovery from EIMD. However, due to the methodological limitations across the literature base it was not possible to assess effective dosing strategies. Future studies should address dose–response and duration requirements and incorporate objective assessments of omega-3 status (e.g., the Omega-3 Index [O3I] or comparable biomarkers) alongside standardized compliance measures. These approaches are necessary to determine effective dosing strategies and to test the relationship between omega-3 status and recovery outcomes. Full article

As essential components of the natural environment, urban green and blue spaces (UGBSs) hold significant potential to enhance public health and wellbeing. However, existing research is limited in understanding the spatiotemporal heterogeneity and nonlinear relationships characterizing how built environment (BE) features of UGBSs influence public happiness. This study takes Nanjing, China as a case study. It integrates multisource data (e.g., social media text, remote-sensing imagery, POI data, land use, etc.) and employs machine learning techniques (including sentiment analysis and random forest), to investigate the nonlinear effects and spatiotemporal dynamics of UGBSs’ BE on public happiness. The results show that nonlinear relationships (e.g., S-shaped and inverted U-shaped) commonly exist between UGBSs’ BE indicators and happiness. The influence of UGBSs’ BE on happiness demonstrates significant spatiotemporal dynamics. Diversity and destination accessibility were dominant factors from 2021 to 2023, whereas the importance of the design and density dimensions increased substantially after 2023. The influence varied across UGBS types; except for the diversity dimension, the BE’s density, design, and destination accessibility were significantly associated with happiness across all UGBS types. The study offers empirical evidence to inform planning and management of UGBS infrastructure, with the aim to maximize public health benefits and foster healthy cities. Full article

Background/Objectives: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are relapsing–remitting gastrointestinal disorders often emerging in adolescence and frequently associated with psychiatric co-morbidities, including eating disorders (EDs). Deficiency in interoception—awareness of internal bodily sensations—is a transdiagnostic feature in EDs, with emerging evidence suggesting its relevance also in IBDs. This study aimed to assess interoceptive abilities in adolescents with IBDs compared to healthy adolescents. Methods: A total of 76 patients with IBDs and 90 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. All participants completed a comprehensive psychometric assessment, including measures of interoceptive sensibility (MAIA-2) and eating-related symptomatology (EDI-3). Results: Up to one in six (15.8%) patients with IBDs were found to be at high risk of developing EDs (EDI-3 Eating Disorder Risk Composite scale >70th percentile). Mean MAIA-2 scores were largely comparable, with the exception of the MAIA-2 Trusting subscale, which assesses whether the experience of one’s body is rated as safe and trustworthy. Specifically, patients with IBDs at high risk of developing EDs reported lower scores than both healthy controls and patients with IBDs at low risk of developing EDs, with a statistically significant difference emerging in the comparison with the latter group (p = 0.044). Conclusions: Adolescents with IBDs who report an elevated risk of developing eating disorders have a psychological profile characterised by increased disordered eating symptomatology, accompanied by selective impairment in interoceptive trust, as evidenced by reduced trust in internal bodily signal. These findings highlight the clinical relevance of thorough clinical assessment and early psychological intervention in this vulnerable population. Full article

Quantifying mechanical loading during daily physical activities is essential for designing and evaluating bone health interventions. Accelerometers are a promising tool for estimating these loads under free-living conditions, yet existing prediction models depend on prior knowledge of the activity being performed. This study developed and validated machine learning models to automatically distinguish between walking, running, and jumping using accelerometer data. Forty-eight healthy adults completed a protocol of walking, running, and jumping tasks while wearing ActiGraph GT9X Link accelerometers at the ankle, lower back, and hip. Three algorithms (Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and K-Nearest Neighbors) were trained and evaluated through multiple performance metrics. All models achieved excellent classification accuracy across sensor placements, with percent agreement between 93.8% and 97.7%, receiver operating characteristic area under the curve values consistently above 0.97, and Kappa coefficients exceeding 0.89. These results demonstrate that accelerometer-based activity classification can reliably differentiate walking, running, and jumping, establishing a practical framework for applying activity-specific mechanical loading prediction equations under free-living conditions. Full article