F1000Research最新文献

Background: With the rapid aging of the population, increasing life satisfaction among older adults is essential. Negative perceptions of older adults are internalized, leading to poor mental health. This study hypothesized that participants with more negative perceptions of older adults would have lower life satisfaction.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of older adults was conducted across five wards and four cities in Tokyo, Japan. Participants responded to questions regarding demographics, life satisfaction, and negative perceptions of older adults. Data from 285 participants (264 women, M = 71.97 years) were analyzed.

Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient for life satisfaction concerning residential areas was. 03 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [-.03, .10]). Instead of multilevel models, a multiple regression model with life satisfaction as the dependent variable and negative perceptions of older adults and demographics as the independent variables yielded the best fit. Results indicated that participants with more negative perceptions of older adults reported lower life satisfaction ( β = -.16, 95% CI = [-.28, -.04], p = .008), supporting our hypothesis.

Conclusions: This study was constrained by limited variance in residential areas and a predominantly female participant pool. Previous studies have shown that higher life satisfaction is associated with increased social participation and extended life expectancy, and interventions aimed at enhancing life satisfaction in older adults are significant. Further exploration is warranted to ascertain whether a causal relationship exists, wherein more negative perceptions of older adults diminish life satisfaction.

Biopesticides are pest control products derived from natural sources such as microbes, macro-organisms (insects and pathogens), plant extracts, and certain minerals. Many biopesticides are considered environmentally safe and can complement or substitute conventional chemical pesticides. They can also be highly specific or broad spectrum with a unique mode of action controlling a wide range of pest species. Due to their target-specificity and low to no environmental residuality, biopesticides conform to the 3 pillars of Climate-Smart Agriculture, the Sustainable Development Goals, and, ultimately, the Paris Agreement. This review focuses largely on microbial biopesticides derived from fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes. It discusses (i) the various microbial biopesticide formulations, (ii) the mode of microbial biopesticide action, (iii) the factors that affect the potential efficacy of biopesticides, (iv) challenges to the adoption of microbial biopesticides, and (v) the role of microbial biopesticides in Integrated Pest Management programs. Finally, advancements in application techniques, as well as future research directions and gaps, are highlighted.

Background: This research investigates the unsteady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow, heat, and mass transfer of tangent hyperbolic ternary hybrid nanofluids over a permeable stretching sheet. The study considers three types of nanoparticles-aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), copper (Cu), and titanium oxide (TiO₂)-dispersed in a base fluid of ethylene glycol (C₂H₆O₂). This ternary hybrid nanofluid (Al₂O₃-Cu-TiO₂/C₂H₆O₂) has potential applications in cooling systems, biomedical uses for targeted drug delivery and hyperthermia treatments, heat exchangers, and polymer processing techniques like extrusion and casting.

Methods: This study will examine the combined effects of Weissenberg number, power law index, nanoparticle volume fraction, viscous dissipation, magnetic field, heat generation, nonlinear thermal radiation, temperature ratio, Joule heating, Brownian motion, thermophoresis, porous permeability, variable thermal conductivity, Eckert number, Prandtl number, Schmidt number, chemical reaction, velocity ratio, and Forchheimer number on the electrical conductivity of unsteady flow in tangent hyperbolic ternary hybrid nanofluids. The governing equations are transformed into similarity equations using appropriate transformations and solved numerically with the MATLAB BVP5C package. The results are validated against data from published articles to ensure reproducibility.

Results: The findings reveal that an increase in the Weissenberg and Forchheimer numbers reduces the velocity profile, while the temperature distribution increases. The variable thermal conductivity parameter (Γ) leads to a higher temperature profile, indicating improved heat transfer. Higher nanoparticle concentrations in the nanofluids and hybrid nanofluids result in enhanced skin friction, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number. Ternary hybrid nanofluids show the most significant improvement in heat transfer and thermal conductivity.

Conclusions: Ternary hybrid nanofluids significantly enhance heat and mass transfer, showing potential for applications in cooling systems, drug delivery, and polymer processing. The numerical results are consistent with previous research, confirming the reliability and reproducibility of the findings.

Background: The approach to estimating mandibular age has been widely used, although it has shown age estimation disparities in diverse populations, including Indians.

Objective: Our goal was to test the Demirjian 8-teeth approach utilizing orthopantomogram to estimate age reliably after incorporating the third molar. We also used Chaillet and Demirjian's regression equations to estimate age estimation accuracy in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Methods: The retrospective study included 196 people. Individuals were 8-24 years old. The left mandibular teeth were staged using an orthopantomographs utilizing the Demirjian 8-teeth approach. The Chaillet and Demirjian's regression models determined dental age, and statistical methods compared dental age to chronological age.

Results: The gender breakdown was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. Gender did not significantly affect chronological mean age or estimated mean age (13.39±3.77 vs. 13.10±3.51, p = 0.583; 11.75±2.92 vs. 11.58±2.70, p = 0.674). Statistically substantial differences in chronological and estimated mean ages between male and female individuals (p<0.001). Out of the total participants, 31.6% had a difference in age of ±1 year, 30.6% had a difference of 1-2 years, and 37.8% had a difference of more than 2 years. Compared to chronological and estimated ages, these variations in age between males and females were not statistically significant (p=0.557).

Conclusions: The findings of this study support the use of Demirjian's 8-teeth approach in the Saudi population residing in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, employing Chaillet and Demirjian's regression equations.

Background: Maxillofacial fractures, frequently arising from road traffic incidents, falls, and acts of interpersonal aggression, are a considerable public health issue, exhibiting diverse epidemiological patterns according to demographic factors. The application of miniplates for fracture stabilization is a recognized technique, with innovative methods such as 3D plate systems emerging. Nonetheless, consequences including infections and hardware malfunctions persist. This systematic review seeks to present current evidence regarding the complications linked to miniplate placement in maxillofacial fractures over the last ten years.

Methods: A systematic review was performed in accordance with PRISMA principles. Databases such as the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Scopus were examined from September 2014 to September 2024. Studies documenting problems related to miniplate placement were included, without language constraints. The ROBINS-I tool was utilized for non-randomized studies, whereas the Cochrane risk of bias tool was applied to randomized controlled trials.

Results: From 2,289 initially found studies, 56 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Among these, 28 employed interventional designs, whilst the remaining 28 were observational research. The predominant problems documented in several investigations encompassed infection, wound dehiscence, malocclusion, paraesthesia, malunion/non-union, segment movement, hardware failure, and palpable hardware. Advanced methodologies such as 3D plate systems and locking mechanisms were linked to diminished complication rates.

Conclusion: This systematic analysis presents a decade of updated research about problems associated with miniplate placement in maxillofacial fractures. Novel methodologies such as 3D plate systems and locking mechanisms demonstrate promise in mitigating problems relative to conventional techniques. These findings can facilitate informed decision-making in clinical practice. Additional study utilizing standardized outcomes and prospective designs is essential to enhance comprehension of the long-term effects of miniplate utilization.

Research funding committees play an integral role in the research funding process, consisting of a range of skills, knowledge, and expertise (e.g., professional, and public contributors). Although there is some evidence that has explored the efficiency and effectiveness of funding committees in terms of the funding process, there is a lack of published evidence about the purpose, role, and function of funding committees, from the perspective of committee members. A subset of survey data from a cohort of six National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) research programmes, exploring the purpose of a funding committee, and the expectations and role of a funding committee member between October 2020 to December 2021. All committee members were eligible to participate in the survey. Using an inductive approach, 50 completed responses (22.5% response rate) were analysed, focusing on the role of a funding committee member and the functions of a funding committee. Participants highlighted seven key areas for the purpose of a funding committee: prioritising and recommending what research to fund (n=36) and assessment of quality (n=24) being the most common responses. Four areas were considered important to the expectations and role of funding committee members, with reviewing, critically appraising, and discussing applications (n=44); and being fair, objective, and unbiased (n=27) being the most common responses. The findings offer a unique insight into committee members' expectations about the role, purpose and function of a funding committee and their contribution to the funding recommendation process. There was high agreement that the purpose and role of committees and their members was to offer expert advice to make fair, impartial decisions on which research should be prioritised. Exploring the purpose, role, and function of funding committees has relevance and importance for funding organisations seeking to enhance and optimise the decision-making practice of funding committees.

Background: Trichoderma spp. hold significant potential as biocontrol agents in agriculture due to their antagonistic properties against plant pathogens. The study aimed to characterize and identify Trichoderma isolates from rhizospheric regions of vegetable crops.

Methods: In this study, Trichoderma isolates were collected from rhizospheric soil samples of vegetable crops from different ecological zones and were selected for comprehensive morphological and molecular characterization. The isolates were visually assessed for colony color, growth pattern, aerial mycelium presence, phialide and conidial morphology, and chlamydospore presence. Molecular analysis was employed based on ITS and tef-1α sequences. Diversity indices were also computed for different ecological zones.

Results: The morphological characteristics and phylogenetic trees for both regions provided a clear species resolution, with four main clades: Harzianum, Viride, Brevicompactum and Longibrachiatum with 12 species T. harzinaum, T. afroharzianum, T. lentiforme, T. inhamatum, T. camerunense, T. azevedoi, T. atroviride, T. asperellum, T. asperelloides, T. koningii, T. longibrachiatum and T. brevicompactum and nine species as a new country record. Diversity indices indicated that high mountain regions displayed the highest species diversity and evenness (H = 1.724 [0.28], J = 0.84, D = 0.28), followed by hilly regions (H = 1.563 [0.28], J = 0.72, D = 0.28). Plains, on the other hand, exhibited lower species diversity (H = 1.515, J = 0.66, D = 0.33). The calculated species abundance values showed that plains (E = 2.11), mid-hills (E = 1.95), and high mountains (E = 1.99) each had their unique diversity profiles. Notably, T. afroharzianum and T. asperellum were predominant.

Conclusions: Overall, the study unveiled a rich diversity of Trichoderma species in different agricultural zones of Nepal. These findings shed light on the ecological distribution and diversity of Trichoderma spp., which could have significant implications for sustainable agriculture and biological control strategies.

Background: Indonesia is one of the countries that is endemic to avian influenza virus subtype H9N2. This study aims to compare the molecular characteristics of avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H9N2 from West Java.

Methods: Specific pathogen-free (SPF) embryonated chicken eggs were used to inoculate samples. RNA extraction and RT-qPCR confirmed the presence of H9 and N2 genes in the samples. RT-PCR was employed to amplify the H9N2-positive sample. Nucleotide sequences were obtained through Sanger sequencing and analyzed using MEGA 7. Homology comparison and phylogenetic tree analysis, utilizing the neighbor-joining tree method, assessed the recent isolate's similarity to reference isolates from GenBank. Molecular docking analysis was performed on the HA1 protein of the recent isolate and the A/Layer/Indonesia/WestJava-04/2017 isolate, comparing their interactions with the sialic acids Neu5Ac2-3Gal and Neu5Ac2-6Gal.

Results: RT-qPCR confirmed the isolate samples as AIV subtype H9N2. The recent virus exhibited 11 amino acid residue differences compared to the A/Layer/Indonesia/WestJava-04/2017 isolate. Phylogenetically, the recent virus remains within the h9.4.2.5 subclade. Notably, at antigenic site II, the recent isolate featured an amino acid N at position 183, unlike A/Layer/Indonesia/WestJava-04/2017. Molecular docking analysis revealed a preference of HA1 from the 2017 virus for Neu5Ac2-3Gal, while the 2023 virus displayed a tendency to predominantly bind with Neu5Ac2-6Gal.

Conclusion: In summary, the recent isolate displayed multiple mutations and a strong affinity for Neu5Ac2-6Gal, commonly found in mammals.

Background: The 2013-2016 West African Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak resulted in 28,600 cases and 11,300 deaths officially reported to the World Health Organization. Previous studies investigating factors associated with death had conflicting findings, interventions showing promising outcomes had small sample sizes, studies were often single- or dual-country based and most focused on laboratory-confirmed EVD and not on clinically-suspected EVD. We used the Ebola data platform of the Infectious Disease Data Observatory (IDDO) to review individual patient records to assess factors associated with death, and particularly whether there were differences between laboratory-confirmed and clinically-suspected cases.

Methods: This was a cohort study involving analysis of secondary data in the IDDO database. The study population included all patients classified as having either clinically-suspected or laboratory-confirmed EVD, admitted to 22 Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone between December 2013 and March 2016. Baseline characteristics and treatments were documented along with ETU exit outcomes. Factors associated with death were investigated by multivariable modified Poisson regression.

Results: There were 14,163 patients, of whom 6,208 (43.8%) were laboratory-confirmed and 7,955 (56.2%) were clinically-suspected. Outcomes were not recorded in 2,889 (20.4%) patients. Of the 11,274 patients with known outcomes, 4,090 (36.3%) died: 2,956 (43.6%) with laboratory-confirmed EVD and 1,134 (18.8%) with clinically-suspected EVD. The strongest risk factor for death was confirmed disease status. Patients with laboratory-confirmed disease had 2.9 times higher risk of death compared to clinically-suspected patients, after adjusting for other co-variables. Other factors significantly associated with death included a higher risk for patients aged ≥60 years and a lower risk for patients in Sierra Leone.

Conclusions: Although laboratory-confirmed patients admitted to ETUs fared worse than clinically-suspected patients, the latter still had a substantial risk of death and more attention needs to be paid to this group in future EVD outbreaks.

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers transformative potential for human-computer interaction, particularly through eye-gesture recognition, enabling intuitive control for users and accessibility for individuals with physical impairments.

Methods: We developed an AI-driven eye-gesture recognition system using tools like OpenCV, MediaPipe, and PyAutoGUI to translate eye movements into commands. The system was trained on a dataset of 20,000 gestures from 100 diverse volunteers, representing various demographics, and tested under different conditions, including varying lighting and eyewear.

Results: The system achieved 99.63% accuracy in recognizing gestures, with slight reductions to 98.9% under reflective glasses. These results demonstrate its robustness and adaptability across scenarios, confirming its generalizability.

Conclusions: This system advances AI-driven interaction by enhancing accessibility and unlocking applications in critical fields like military and rescue operations. Future work will validate the system using publicly available datasets to further strengthen its impact and usability.