Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.19105
Austin Valido, Ana Carolina Boncompagni, Michelle Tsang, Patricia Hume
Background: Vicks VapoRub (VVR) is a globally popular over-the-counter remedy marketed for use as a topical antitussive and analgesic. This review seeks to provide health professionals and care providers with a thorough summary of the benefits and complications associated with VVR use reported in the medical literature, identify off-label consumer behaviors that might increase the risk of health complications, and encourage further research into over-the-counter (OTC) medications.
Methods: Three databases-PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase-aided in creating a pool of 220 studies. For inclusion, studies had to discuss the therapeutic application of VVR in humans or a complication arising from its use.
Findings: Thirty-seven articles were found to meet inclusion criteria. Nine synthesis groups were created: three groups concern the product's efficacy in regard to upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptom treatment (n = 7), onychomycosis treatment (n = 2), and in the context of wound care (n = 2). Six groups collate case reports that describe VVR-related complications, including VVR-associated lipid pneumonia (n = 11), ocular injury (n = 5), camphor toxicity (n = 5), dermatological conditions (n = 3), psychosis (n = 1), and respiratory distress (n = 1). The evidence around the use of VVR for the treatment of URTI symptoms and onychomycosis is limited and inconclusive. Even more limited cross-sectional data concerns its use in wound care. Many of the complications described in our study (e.g., multi-organ failure, ocular evisceration, severe pneumonia) involve product misuse. This review was designed to help guide patients on the safe and appropriate use of VVR (e.g., advising patients to avoid heating, ingesting, or intranasal/intrabuccal/ocular application of the product). In general, the severity of complications associated with misuse of VVR highlights the importance of complementary and alternative medicine disclosure and discussion.
{"title":"There's the Rub: a narrative review of the benefits and complications associated with Vicks VapoRub use.","authors":"Austin Valido, Ana Carolina Boncompagni, Michelle Tsang, Patricia Hume","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19105","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.19105","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vicks VapoRub (VVR) is a globally popular over-the-counter remedy marketed for use as a topical antitussive and analgesic. This review seeks to provide health professionals and care providers with a thorough summary of the benefits and complications associated with VVR use reported in the medical literature, identify off-label consumer behaviors that might increase the risk of health complications, and encourage further research into over-the-counter (OTC) medications.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three databases-PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase-aided in creating a pool of 220 studies. For inclusion, studies had to discuss the therapeutic application of VVR in humans or a complication arising from its use.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Thirty-seven articles were found to meet inclusion criteria. Nine synthesis groups were created: three groups concern the product's efficacy in regard to upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) symptom treatment (<i>n</i> = 7), onychomycosis treatment (<i>n</i> = 2), and in the context of wound care (<i>n</i> = 2). Six groups collate case reports that describe VVR-related complications, including VVR-associated lipid pneumonia (<i>n</i> = 11), ocular injury (<i>n</i> = 5), camphor toxicity (<i>n</i> = 5), dermatological conditions (<i>n</i> = 3), psychosis (<i>n</i> = 1), and respiratory distress (<i>n</i> = 1). The evidence around the use of VVR for the treatment of URTI symptoms and onychomycosis is limited and inconclusive. Even more limited cross-sectional data concerns its use in wound care. Many of the complications described in our study (<i>e.g.</i>, multi-organ failure, ocular evisceration, severe pneumonia) involve product misuse. This review was designed to help guide patients on the safe and appropriate use of VVR (<i>e.g.</i>, advising patients to avoid heating, ingesting, or intranasal/intrabuccal/ocular application of the product). In general, the severity of complications associated with misuse of VVR highlights the importance of complementary and alternative medicine disclosure and discussion.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19105"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874951/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.19036
Jan A Veenstra
<p><strong>Background: </strong>Neuropeptides play important roles in insects, but in many cases their functions remain obscure. Comparative neuropeptidome analyses may provide clues to what these functions might be. Praying mantises are predators and close relatives of cockroaches that are scavengers. Cockroach neuropeptidomes are well established, but little is known about mantis neuropeptides. The recently published genome assembly of the praying mantis <i>Tenodera sinensis</i> makes it Possible to change that.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The genome assembly from <i>T. sinensis</i> was analyzed for the presence of genes coding neuropeptides. For comparison, publicly available short read archives from this and other mantis species were also examined for the presence and expression of neuropeptides.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>As a rule, the neuropeptidomes of the Mantodea and Blattodea are almost identical; praying mantises and cockroaches use very similar neuropeptides. However, there is one surprising exception. Praying mantises lack the receptors for pyrokinins, including those for the tryptopyrokinins. No typical pyrokinin genes were found, but some species do have a tryptopyrokinin gene, in others this has also been lost and, in one species it is a speudogene. For most praying mantises there is no information where tryptopyrokinin is expressed, but in <i>Deroplatys truncata</i> it is in the thorax and thus not in the suboesophageal ganglion, as in other insects. In the genomic short read archives of two species-out of 52-sequences were found for a tryptopyrokinin specific receptor. The phylogenetic position of those two species implies that the receptor gene was independently lost on multiple occasions. The loss of the tryptopyrokinin gene also happened more than once.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The multiple independent losses of the pyrokinin receptors in mantises suggests that these receptors are irrelevant in praying mantises. This is very surprising, since expression of tryptopyrokinin is very strongly conserved in two neuroendocrine cells in the suboeosphageal ganglion. In those species for which this is known, the expression of its receptor is in the salivary gland. As a neuroendocrine, tryptopyrokinin is unlikely to acutely regulate salivation, which in other insects is regulated by well characterized neurons. If the action of tryptopyrokinin were to prime the salivary gland for subsequent salivation, it would make perfect sense for a praying mantis to lose this capacity, as they can not anticipate when they will catch their next prey. Priming the salivary gland days before it is actually needed would be energetically costly. The other pyrokinins are known to facilitate feeding and may in a similar fashion prime muscles needed for moving to the food source and digesting it. This hypothesis provides a good explanation as to why praying mantises do not need pyrokinins, and also what the function of these ubiquitous art
{"title":"Neuropeptides from a praying mantis: what the loss of pyrokinins and tryptopyrokinins suggests about the endocrine functions of these peptides.","authors":"Jan A Veenstra","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19036","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.19036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Neuropeptides play important roles in insects, but in many cases their functions remain obscure. Comparative neuropeptidome analyses may provide clues to what these functions might be. Praying mantises are predators and close relatives of cockroaches that are scavengers. Cockroach neuropeptidomes are well established, but little is known about mantis neuropeptides. The recently published genome assembly of the praying mantis <i>Tenodera sinensis</i> makes it Possible to change that.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The genome assembly from <i>T. sinensis</i> was analyzed for the presence of genes coding neuropeptides. For comparison, publicly available short read archives from this and other mantis species were also examined for the presence and expression of neuropeptides.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>As a rule, the neuropeptidomes of the Mantodea and Blattodea are almost identical; praying mantises and cockroaches use very similar neuropeptides. However, there is one surprising exception. Praying mantises lack the receptors for pyrokinins, including those for the tryptopyrokinins. No typical pyrokinin genes were found, but some species do have a tryptopyrokinin gene, in others this has also been lost and, in one species it is a speudogene. For most praying mantises there is no information where tryptopyrokinin is expressed, but in <i>Deroplatys truncata</i> it is in the thorax and thus not in the suboesophageal ganglion, as in other insects. In the genomic short read archives of two species-out of 52-sequences were found for a tryptopyrokinin specific receptor. The phylogenetic position of those two species implies that the receptor gene was independently lost on multiple occasions. The loss of the tryptopyrokinin gene also happened more than once.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The multiple independent losses of the pyrokinin receptors in mantises suggests that these receptors are irrelevant in praying mantises. This is very surprising, since expression of tryptopyrokinin is very strongly conserved in two neuroendocrine cells in the suboeosphageal ganglion. In those species for which this is known, the expression of its receptor is in the salivary gland. As a neuroendocrine, tryptopyrokinin is unlikely to acutely regulate salivation, which in other insects is regulated by well characterized neurons. If the action of tryptopyrokinin were to prime the salivary gland for subsequent salivation, it would make perfect sense for a praying mantis to lose this capacity, as they can not anticipate when they will catch their next prey. Priming the salivary gland days before it is actually needed would be energetically costly. The other pyrokinins are known to facilitate feeding and may in a similar fashion prime muscles needed for moving to the food source and digesting it. This hypothesis provides a good explanation as to why praying mantises do not need pyrokinins, and also what the function of these ubiquitous art","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19036"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874938/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18799
Fressia N Ames-Martínez, Ivan Capcha Romero, Anthony Guerra, Janet Gaby Inga Guillen, Harold Rusbelth Quispe-Melgar, Esteban Galeano, Ernesto C Rodríguez-Ramírez
Background: Because of illegal logging, habitat fragmentation, and high value timber Andean montane forest Cedrela species (such as Cedrela angustifolia), is endangered in Central and South America. Studying the effects of climate change and tree cover loss on the distribution of C. angustifolia will help us to understand the climatic and ecological sensitivity of this species and suggest conservation and restoration strategies.
Methods: Using ecological niche modeling with two algorithms (maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and Random Forest) under the ecological niche conservatism approach, we generated 16,920 models with different combinations of variables and parameters. We identified suitable areas for C. angustifolia trees under present and future climate scenarios (2040, 2070, and 2100 with SSP 3-7.0 and SSP 5-8.5), tree cover loss, and variables linked to soil and topography.
Results: Our results demonstrated 10 environmental variables with high percentage contributions and permutation importance; for example, precipitation seasonality exhibited the highest contribution to the current and future distribution of Cedrela angustifolia. The potential present distribution was estimated as 13,080 km2with tree cover loss and 16,148.5 km2without tree cover loss. From 2040 to 2100 the species distribution will decrease (from 22.16% to 36.88% with tree cover loss variation). The results indicated that Bolivia displayed higher habitat suitability than Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Finally, we recommend developing conservation management strategies that consider both protected and unprotected areas as well as the impact of land-use changes to improve the persistence of C. angustifolia in the future.
{"title":"Climate change and tree cover loss affect the habitat suitability of <i>Cedrela angustifolia</i>: evaluating climate vulnerability and conservation in Andean montane forests.","authors":"Fressia N Ames-Martínez, Ivan Capcha Romero, Anthony Guerra, Janet Gaby Inga Guillen, Harold Rusbelth Quispe-Melgar, Esteban Galeano, Ernesto C Rodríguez-Ramírez","doi":"10.7717/peerj.18799","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.18799","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Because of illegal logging, habitat fragmentation, and high value timber Andean montane forest <i>Cedrela</i> species (such as <i>Cedrela angustifolia</i>), is endangered in Central and South America. Studying the effects of climate change and tree cover loss on the distribution of <i>C. angustifolia</i> will help us to understand the climatic and ecological sensitivity of this species and suggest conservation and restoration strategies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using ecological niche modeling with two algorithms (maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and Random Forest) under the ecological niche conservatism approach, we generated 16,920 models with different combinations of variables and parameters. We identified suitable areas for <i>C. angustifolia</i> trees under present and future climate scenarios (2040, 2070, and 2100 with SSP 3-7.0 and SSP 5-8.5), tree cover loss, and variables linked to soil and topography.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our results demonstrated 10 environmental variables with high percentage contributions and permutation importance; for example, precipitation seasonality exhibited the highest contribution to the current and future distribution of <i>Cedrela angustifolia.</i> The potential present distribution was estimated as 13,080 km<sup>2</sup>with tree cover loss and 16,148.5 km<sup>2</sup>without tree cover loss. From 2040 to 2100 the species distribution will decrease (from 22.16% to 36.88% with tree cover loss variation). The results indicated that Bolivia displayed higher habitat suitability than Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Finally, we recommend developing conservation management strategies that consider both protected and unprotected areas as well as the impact of land-use changes to improve the persistence of <i>C. angustifolia</i> in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e18799"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874945/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Nicotinamide (NAM) metabolism fulfills crucial functions in tumor progression. The present study aims to establish a NAM metabolism-correlated gene (NMRG) signature to assess the immunotherapy response and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).
Methods: The training set and validation set (the GSE31210 dataset) were collected The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), respectively. Molecular subtypes of LUAD were classified by consensus clustering. Mutation landscape of the top 20 somatic genes was visualized by maftools package. Subsequently, differential expression analysis was conducted using the limma package, and univariate, multivariate and LASSO regression analyses were performed on the screened genes to construct a risk model for LUAD. Next, the MCP-counter, TIMER and ESTIMATE algorithms were utilized to comprehensively assess the immune microenvironmental profile of LUAD patients in different risk groups. The efficacy of immunotherapy and chemotherapy drugs was evaluated by TIDE score and pRRophetic package. A nomogram was created by integrating RiskScore and clinical features. The mRNA expressions of independent prognostic NMRGs and the migration and invasion of LUAD cells were measured by carrying out cellular assays.
Results: Two subtypes (C1 and C2) of LUAD were classified, with C1 subtype showing a worse prognosis than C2. The top three genes with a high mutation frequency in C1 and C2 subtypes were TTN (45.25%), FLG (25.25%), and ZNF536 (19.8%). Four independent prognostic NMRGs (GJB3, CPA3, DKK1, KRT6A) were screened and used to construct a RiskScore model, which exhibited a strong predictive performance. High-risk group showed low immune cell infiltration, high TIDE score, and worse prognosis, and the patients in this group exhibited a high drug sensitivity to Cisplatin, Erlotinib, Paclitaxel, Saracatini, and CGP_082996. A nomogram was established with an accurate predictive and diagnostic performance. GJB3, DKK1, CPA3, and KRT6A were all high- expressed in LUAD cells, and silencing GJB3 inhibited the migration and invasion of LUAD cells.
Conclusion: A novel NMRG signature was developed, contributing to the prognostic evaluation and personalized treatment for LUAD patients.
{"title":"A nicotinamide metabolism-related gene signature for predicting immunotherapy response and prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma patients.","authors":"Meng Wang, Wei Li, Fang Zhou, Zheng Wang, Xiaoteng Jia, Xingpeng Han","doi":"10.7717/peerj.18991","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.18991","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nicotinamide (NAM) metabolism fulfills crucial functions in tumor progression. The present study aims to establish a NAM metabolism-correlated gene (NMRG) signature to assess the immunotherapy response and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The training set and validation set (the GSE31210 dataset) were collected The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), respectively. Molecular subtypes of LUAD were classified by consensus clustering. Mutation landscape of the top 20 somatic genes was visualized by maftools package. Subsequently, differential expression analysis was conducted using the limma package, and univariate, multivariate and LASSO regression analyses were performed on the screened genes to construct a risk model for LUAD. Next, the MCP-counter, TIMER and ESTIMATE algorithms were utilized to comprehensively assess the immune microenvironmental profile of LUAD patients in different risk groups. The efficacy of immunotherapy and chemotherapy drugs was evaluated by TIDE score and pRRophetic package. A nomogram was created by integrating RiskScore and clinical features. The mRNA expressions of independent prognostic NMRGs and the migration and invasion of LUAD cells were measured by carrying out cellular assays.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two subtypes (C1 and C2) of LUAD were classified, with C1 subtype showing a worse prognosis than C2. The top three genes with a high mutation frequency in C1 and C2 subtypes were <i>TTN</i> (45.25%), <i>FLG</i> (25.25%), and <i>ZNF536</i> (19.8%). Four independent prognostic NMRGs (<i>GJB3</i>, <i>CPA3</i>, <i>DKK1</i>, <i>KRT6A</i>) were screened and used to construct a RiskScore model, which exhibited a strong predictive performance. High-risk group showed low immune cell infiltration, high TIDE score, and worse prognosis, and the patients in this group exhibited a high drug sensitivity to Cisplatin, Erlotinib, Paclitaxel, Saracatini, and CGP_082996. A nomogram was established with an accurate predictive and diagnostic performance. <i>GJB3</i>, <i>DKK1</i>, <i>CPA3</i>, and <i>KRT6A</i> were all high- expressed in LUAD cells, and silencing <i>GJB3</i> inhibited the migration and invasion of LUAD cells.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A novel NMRG signature was developed, contributing to the prognostic evaluation and personalized treatment for LUAD patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e18991"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874940/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.19112
Fang He, Shu Wang, Hua Wang, Xing Ding, Pengfei Huang, Xiaoyun Fan
Objective: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a global health threat. Our study aimed to develop and externally validate a nomogram to estimate the probability of MDR-TB in patients with TB.
Methods: A total of 453 patients with TB in Anhui Chest Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 were included in the training cohort. In addition, 116 patients with TB from Anhui Provincial Hospital Infection District between January 2015 and November 2023 were included in the validation cohort. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to build a predictive model by combining the feature selected in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model. The C-index, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis were implemented to evaluate the predictive model's discrimination, calibration, and clinical practicality. Then, logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models were constructed using R software, and the accuracy, goodness of fit, and stability of the models were verified using the validation cohort.
Results: Eight variables of patients with TB were selected using the best penalization parameter of the LASSO regression method, and the nomogram was established. The model displayed good discrimination with a C-index of 0.752 and good calibration. A high C-index value of 0.825 could still be reached in the validation cohort. The decision curve analysis demonstrated the clinical value of the model.
Conclusion: In this study, we constructed the LASSO regression model based on eight clinical traits and outcomes of laboratory tests, providing a novel insight for evaluating MDR-TB.
{"title":"Development and validation of a nomogram predicting multidrug-resistant tuberculosis risk in East China.","authors":"Fang He, Shu Wang, Hua Wang, Xing Ding, Pengfei Huang, Xiaoyun Fan","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19112","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.19112","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a global health threat. Our study aimed to develop and externally validate a nomogram to estimate the probability of MDR-TB in patients with TB.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 453 patients with TB in Anhui Chest Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 were included in the training cohort. In addition, 116 patients with TB from Anhui Provincial Hospital Infection District between January 2015 and November 2023 were included in the validation cohort. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to build a predictive model by combining the feature selected in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression model. The <i>C</i>-index, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis were implemented to evaluate the predictive model's discrimination, calibration, and clinical practicality. Then, logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) models were constructed using R software, and the accuracy, goodness of fit, and stability of the models were verified using the validation cohort.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eight variables of patients with TB were selected using the best penalization parameter of the LASSO regression method, and the nomogram was established. The model displayed good discrimination with a <i>C</i>-index of 0.752 and good calibration. A high <i>C</i>-index value of 0.825 could still be reached in the validation cohort. The decision curve analysis demonstrated the clinical value of the model.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this study, we constructed the LASSO regression model based on eight clinical traits and outcomes of laboratory tests, providing a novel insight for evaluating MDR-TB.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19112"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874934/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.19066
Abdullah Alqarni, Jagadish Hosmani, Saeed Alassiri, Ali Mosfer A Alqahtani, Ali Alfaifi, Shuayl Abdulaziz Al Jazea
<p><strong>Background: </strong>Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) comprise an extensive spectrum of conditions that originate from diverse complex components of the temporomandibular joint. It is generally acknowledged that the biopsychosocial model is the preeminent framework for understanding the aetiology of TMDs. Anxiety, depression, and tension are among the psychological disorders that are commonly observed in dental students. The current research probed the propinquity of psychosocial stressors and TMD-like symptoms among clinical dental undergraduates residing in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia, with a specific emphasis on the functional implications for their overall well-being.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This research included 89 clinical dentistry students who completed online questionnaires. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and Oral Health Impact Profile for Temporomandibular Disorders (OHIP-TMD) were used in these surveys. The trait-related attributes of TMD impacting the oral health profile were assessed using principal component analysis. Demographic factors for anxiety and TMD were examined using linear regression. The psychosocial and functional variables of the OHIP-TMD were compared with those of anxiety in the general regression system.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) value was 0.60, with a standard deviation of 0.61, indicating that the majority of respondents reported no or infrequent impacts on their oral health profile. Gender was a significant predictor of OHIP scores (<i>P</i> < 0.05), with females reporting higher scores. Despite these higher scores among females, the overall impact on oral health remained minimal for most respondents. The average PROMIS score was 11.12, with a standard deviation of 3.84. The PROMIS regression analysis on demographic variables yielded an R<sup>2</sup> value of 0.092, F(4,78) = 5.691, with significance at <i>P</i> < 0.05. Gender emerged as the most significant predictor of PROMIS scores (<i>P</i> < 0.05), with females reporting higher scores. Once again, despite the higher scores among females, the overall impact remained low for most respondents. An analysis using a general linear model revealed a significant correlation between heightened anxiety levels and an increase in both psychosocial problems and physical function.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although the majority of respondents reported minimal impacts on their oral health, anxiety remained a significant issue among female clinical dentistry students at the College of Dentistry in Aseer Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This anxiety was closely linked with psychological distress and impaired oral physical function. Beyond the realm of dental health, anxiety also had a profound effect on academic performance and student engagement. Therefore, addressing student anxiety is essential for enhancing overall well-being and academic success.<
{"title":"Association between psychosocial stressors and temporomandibular disorders in clinical dental students: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Abdullah Alqarni, Jagadish Hosmani, Saeed Alassiri, Ali Mosfer A Alqahtani, Ali Alfaifi, Shuayl Abdulaziz Al Jazea","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19066","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.19066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) comprise an extensive spectrum of conditions that originate from diverse complex components of the temporomandibular joint. It is generally acknowledged that the biopsychosocial model is the preeminent framework for understanding the aetiology of TMDs. Anxiety, depression, and tension are among the psychological disorders that are commonly observed in dental students. The current research probed the propinquity of psychosocial stressors and TMD-like symptoms among clinical dental undergraduates residing in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia, with a specific emphasis on the functional implications for their overall well-being.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This research included 89 clinical dentistry students who completed online questionnaires. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) and Oral Health Impact Profile for Temporomandibular Disorders (OHIP-TMD) were used in these surveys. The trait-related attributes of TMD impacting the oral health profile were assessed using principal component analysis. Demographic factors for anxiety and TMD were examined using linear regression. The psychosocial and functional variables of the OHIP-TMD were compared with those of anxiety in the general regression system.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The mean Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) value was 0.60, with a standard deviation of 0.61, indicating that the majority of respondents reported no or infrequent impacts on their oral health profile. Gender was a significant predictor of OHIP scores (<i>P</i> < 0.05), with females reporting higher scores. Despite these higher scores among females, the overall impact on oral health remained minimal for most respondents. The average PROMIS score was 11.12, with a standard deviation of 3.84. The PROMIS regression analysis on demographic variables yielded an R<sup>2</sup> value of 0.092, F(4,78) = 5.691, with significance at <i>P</i> < 0.05. Gender emerged as the most significant predictor of PROMIS scores (<i>P</i> < 0.05), with females reporting higher scores. Once again, despite the higher scores among females, the overall impact remained low for most respondents. An analysis using a general linear model revealed a significant correlation between heightened anxiety levels and an increase in both psychosocial problems and physical function.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although the majority of respondents reported minimal impacts on their oral health, anxiety remained a significant issue among female clinical dentistry students at the College of Dentistry in Aseer Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This anxiety was closely linked with psychological distress and impaired oral physical function. Beyond the realm of dental health, anxiety also had a profound effect on academic performance and student engagement. Therefore, addressing student anxiety is essential for enhancing overall well-being and academic success.<","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19066"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-27eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18994
Mohamed I Motawei, Mohamed M Kamara, Medhat Rehan
Drought is one of the most environmental stressors, significantly affecting wheat production, particularly in the face of accelerating climate change. Therefore, developing drought-resistant, high-yielding wheat varieties is essential to ensure sustainable production and maintain global food security as the world population rapidly grows. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation of local and imported bread wheat genotypes through simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and assess their combining ability to identify top-performing genotypes under both normal and drought-stress environments. SSR markers revealed significant genetic diversity among the parental genotypes, which were utilized to develop 28 F1 crosses utilizing diallel mating design. Field trials under well-watered and drought-stressed environments demonstrated that drought significantly reduced all measured agronomic traits. The genotypes were categorized into five clusters based on their drought tolerance, ranging from highly sensitive (group-E) to robustly drought-resistant (group-A). The local variety Sids-12 (P2) was identified as an excellent combiner for breeding shorter and early-maturing cultivars and Line-117 (P3), Line-144 (P4), and Line-123 (P5) for improving grain yield and related traits under drought conditions. The crosses P1×P5, P3×P8, P4×P5, and P6×P7 possessed superior performance under both conditions. Key traits, including plant height, grains per spike, 1,000-grain weight, and spikes per plant, displayed strong correlations with grain yield, providing an effective approach for indirect selection in drought-prone environments.
{"title":"Exploring molecular variation and combining ability of local and exotic bread wheat genotypes under well-watered and drought conditions.","authors":"Mohamed I Motawei, Mohamed M Kamara, Medhat Rehan","doi":"10.7717/peerj.18994","DOIUrl":"10.7717/peerj.18994","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Drought is one of the most environmental stressors, significantly affecting wheat production, particularly in the face of accelerating climate change. Therefore, developing drought-resistant, high-yielding wheat varieties is essential to ensure sustainable production and maintain global food security as the world population rapidly grows. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation of local and imported bread wheat genotypes through simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and assess their combining ability to identify top-performing genotypes under both normal and drought-stress environments. SSR markers revealed significant genetic diversity among the parental genotypes, which were utilized to develop 28 F1 crosses utilizing diallel mating design. Field trials under well-watered and drought-stressed environments demonstrated that drought significantly reduced all measured agronomic traits. The genotypes were categorized into five clusters based on their drought tolerance, ranging from highly sensitive (group-E) to robustly drought-resistant (group-A). The local variety Sids-12 (P2) was identified as an excellent combiner for breeding shorter and early-maturing cultivars and Line-117 (P3), Line-144 (P4), and Line-123 (P5) for improving grain yield and related traits under drought conditions. The crosses P1×P5, P3×P8, P4×P5, and P6×P7 possessed superior performance under both conditions. Key traits, including plant height, grains per spike, 1,000-grain weight, and spikes per plant, displayed strong correlations with grain yield, providing an effective approach for indirect selection in drought-prone environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e18994"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11874937/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Previous research has shown a correlation between high visceral fat levels and hyperuricemia incidence. The Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (CVAI) assessed visceral fat status in the Chinese population. Our study investigates the correlation between CVAI and asymptomatic hyperuricemia in type 2 diabetes patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 1,588 hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients to investigate the association between CVAI and hyperuricemia. CVAI was included in the logistic regression analysis as both a continuous and categorical variable, and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the dose-response relationship. Additionally, subgroup analyses were performed to investigate potential interactions among variables. The predictive capability of CVAI was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on the basic model.
Results: The CVAI quartile group analysis revealed a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia with increasing CVAI levels. CVAI is significantly associated with hyperuricemia, as identified through multifactorial logistic regression analysis. After adjusting for all covariates, the odds ratios for CVAI in the second, third, and fourth quartiles were significantly higher than in the lowest quartile, with values of 2.688 (95% CI [1.301-5.554], p = 0.008), 2.752 (95% CI [1.320-5.739], p = 0.007), and 4.990 (95% CI [2.392-10.409], p < 0.001), respectively. No significant interactions were observed in the subgroup analysis. Incorporating CVAI into the basic model increased the ROC curve's area under the curve to 0.714.
Conclusion: This study found a positive correlation between CVAI and hyperuricemia incidence in type 2 diabetes patients. Consequently, CVAI may reliably indicate hyperuricemia in this patient population.
{"title":"Association of Chinese visceral adiposity index with asymptomatic hyperuricemia incidence in type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Qing Wang, Tian Liu, Changxin Jia, Ping Wang, Yangang Wang, Qing He","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Previous research has shown a correlation between high visceral fat levels and hyperuricemia incidence. The Chinese Visceral Adiposity Index (CVAI) assessed visceral fat status in the Chinese population. Our study investigates the correlation between CVAI and asymptomatic hyperuricemia in type 2 diabetes patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study analyzed 1,588 hospitalized type 2 diabetes patients to investigate the association between CVAI and hyperuricemia. CVAI was included in the logistic regression analysis as both a continuous and categorical variable, and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the dose-response relationship. Additionally, subgroup analyses were performed to investigate potential interactions among variables. The predictive capability of CVAI was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve based on the basic model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The CVAI quartile group analysis revealed a higher prevalence of hyperuricemia with increasing CVAI levels. CVAI is significantly associated with hyperuricemia, as identified through multifactorial logistic regression analysis. After adjusting for all covariates, the odds ratios for CVAI in the second, third, and fourth quartiles were significantly higher than in the lowest quartile, with values of 2.688 (95% CI [1.301-5.554], <i>p</i> = 0.008), 2.752 (95% CI [1.320-5.739], <i>p</i> = 0.007), and 4.990 (95% CI [2.392-10.409], <i>p</i> < 0.001), respectively. No significant interactions were observed in the subgroup analysis. Incorporating CVAI into the basic model increased the ROC curve's area under the curve to 0.714.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study found a positive correlation between CVAI and hyperuricemia incidence in type 2 diabetes patients. Consequently, CVAI may reliably indicate hyperuricemia in this patient population.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19045"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11871898/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening disease causing millions of deaths every year. It has been reported that programmed cell death (PCD) plays a critical role in the development and progression of sepsis, which has the potential to be a diagnosis and prognosis indicator for patient with sepsis.
Methods: Fourteen PCD patterns were analyzed for model construction. Seven transcriptome datasets and a single cell sequencing dataset were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.
Results: A total of 289 PCD-related differentially expressed genes were identified between sepsis patients and healthy individuals. The machine learning algorithm screened three PCD-related genes, NLRC4, TXN and S100A9, as potential biomarkers for sepsis. The area under curve of the diagnostic model reached 100.0% in the training set and 100.0%, 99.9%, 98.9%, 99.5% and 98.6% in five validation sets. Furthermore, we verified the diagnostic genes in sepsis patients from our center via qPCR experiment. Single cell sequencing analysis revealed that NLRC4, TXN and S100A9 were mainly expressed on myeloid/monocytes and dendritic cells. Immune infiltration analysis revealed that multiple immune cells involved in the development of sepsis. Correlation and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis revealed that the three biomarkers were significantly associated with immune cells infiltration.
Conclusions: We developed and validated a diagnostic model for sepsis based on three PCD-related genes. Our study might provide potential peripheral blood diagnostic candidate biomarkers for patients with sepsis.
{"title":"Leveraging diverse cell-death patterns in diagnosis of sepsis by integrating bioinformatics and machine learning.","authors":"Mi Liu, Xingxing Gao, Hongfa Wang, Yiping Zhang, Xiaojun Li, Renlai Zhu, Yunru Sheng","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19077","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sepsis is a life-threatening disease causing millions of deaths every year. It has been reported that programmed cell death (PCD) plays a critical role in the development and progression of sepsis, which has the potential to be a diagnosis and prognosis indicator for patient with sepsis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fourteen PCD patterns were analyzed for model construction. Seven transcriptome datasets and a single cell sequencing dataset were collected from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 289 PCD-related differentially expressed genes were identified between sepsis patients and healthy individuals. The machine learning algorithm screened three PCD-related genes, NLRC4, TXN and S100A9, as potential biomarkers for sepsis. The area under curve of the diagnostic model reached 100.0% in the training set and 100.0%, 99.9%, 98.9%, 99.5% and 98.6% in five validation sets. Furthermore, we verified the diagnostic genes in sepsis patients from our center <i>via</i> qPCR experiment. Single cell sequencing analysis revealed that NLRC4, TXN and S100A9 were mainly expressed on myeloid/monocytes and dendritic cells. Immune infiltration analysis revealed that multiple immune cells involved in the development of sepsis. Correlation and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analysis revealed that the three biomarkers were significantly associated with immune cells infiltration.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We developed and validated a diagnostic model for sepsis based on three PCD-related genes. Our study might provide potential peripheral blood diagnostic candidate biomarkers for patients with sepsis.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19077"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11871900/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Background: Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is known to increase oxidative stress, impacting health adversely. This study examines the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and oxidative stress biomarkers in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Methods: A pilot prospective observational study was conducted in Samoeng District, Chiang Mai, including 25 healthy participants (age 25-60 years). Urine samples were collected during high (March-April 2023) and low (May-July 2023) PM2.5 seasons. PM2.5 concentrations were monitored daily from the Northern Thailand Air Quality Health Index (NTAQHI) system. Biomarkers analyzed included 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), malondialdehyde (MDA) via Spectrophotometry, and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2α (8-epi-PGF2α) with Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0.
Results: Significant increases in urinary 1-OHP, MDA, and 8-epi-PGF2α were observed during the high PM2.5 season compared to the low season. The mean concentration of PM2.5 was 67 µg/m3 during high pollution and 7 µg/m3 during low pollution. Elevated levels of these biomarkers indicate increased oxidative stress associated with higher PM2.5 exposure.
Conclusions: This study highlights a significant association between elevated PM2.5 levels and increased oxidative stress biomarkers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The findings suggest that exposure to higher concentrations of PM2.5 contributes to oxidative stress, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes.
{"title":"Assessment of urinary oxidative stress biomarkers associated with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure in Chiang Mai, Thailand.","authors":"Shamsa Sabir, Surat Hongsibsong, Hataichanok Chuljerm, Wason Parklak, Sakaewan Ounjaijean, Puriwat Fakfum, Sobia Kausar, Kanokwan Kulprachakarn","doi":"10.7717/peerj.19047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is known to increase oxidative stress, impacting health adversely. This study examines the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and oxidative stress biomarkers in Chiang Mai, Thailand.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A pilot prospective observational study was conducted in Samoeng District, Chiang Mai, including 25 healthy participants (age 25-60 years). Urine samples were collected during high (March-April 2023) and low (May-July 2023) PM2.5 seasons. PM2.5 concentrations were monitored daily from the Northern Thailand Air Quality Health Index (NTAQHI) system. Biomarkers analyzed included 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), malondialdehyde (MDA) <i>via</i> Spectrophotometry, and 8-epi-prostaglandin F2<i>α</i> (8-epi-PGF2<i>α</i>) with Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant increases in urinary 1-OHP, MDA, and 8-epi-PGF2<i>α</i> were observed during the high PM2.5 season compared to the low season. The mean concentration of PM2.5 was 67 µg/m<sup>3</sup> during high pollution and 7 µg/m<sup>3</sup> during low pollution. Elevated levels of these biomarkers indicate increased oxidative stress associated with higher PM2.5 exposure.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights a significant association between elevated PM2.5 levels and increased oxidative stress biomarkers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The findings suggest that exposure to higher concentrations of PM2.5 contributes to oxidative stress, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e19047"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11871891/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143542906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}