BioMed Research International最新文献

Background: Justicia gendarussa is a branched shrub spread across Indian, Sri Lankan, and Malaysian forests. It has been widely used across many countries to treat asthma, rheumatism, colics in children, eczema, and HIV. The study goal was to investigate the phytoconstituents from J. gendarussa and to discover its therapeutic potential against various disease conditions.

Methods: The plant sample was collected, dried, and grinded into coarse powder which was then soaked in methanol for 2 weeks. After the maceration process, the crude methanolic extract was subjected to solvent-solvent partitioning into four different fractions: n-hexane soluble fraction (HSF), dichloromethane soluble fraction (DMSF), ethyl acetate soluble fraction (EASF), and aqueous fraction (AQF). DMSF was chemically evaluated through chromatographic separation, and all the fractions including the crude methanolic extracts were assessed for their potential pharmacological activities against pain, oxidative stress, hyperglycemia, diarrhea, and microbes following standard protocols.

Results: Chemical investigation results in the isolation of lupeol, β-sitosterol, and 1-monostearin. The structures of the compounds were elucidated through meticulous NMR spectroscopic analysis. In a DPPH free radical scavenging assay, prominent action was noticed by EASF, with a median inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) of 24.207 g/mL in comparison to the BHT with an IC₅₀ value of 23.159 g/mL. In central analgesic activity, all the results were highly significant, with the highest (233.47%) time elongation in comparison to the control, observed after 90 min at 600 mg/kg b.w. and maximum peripheral analgesic activity of 61.96% was found at a dose of 600 mg/kg b.w. Two test doses (600 and 400 mg/kg b.w.) demonstrated substantial hypoglycemic and antidiarrheal effects that became more pronounced over time. The isolated compounds demonstrated impressive binding scores when interacting with glutathione reductase (3GRS), mu-opioid receptor (MOR), kappa opioid receptor (KOR), and glucose transporter 3 (GLUT 3) receptors. However, their performance was notably lacking in terms of binding with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) receptors.

Conclusion: Three isolated phytochemicals demonstrate promising binding affinities with the receptor molecules that support the pharmacological findings of this study. However, additional research needs to be conducted to isolate more phytoconstituents and affirm the pharmacological potential of J. gendarussa.

Background and aims: The effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression on the prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are still unclear. The aim of this study was to construct and evaluate a mutant gene-based model to predict the prognosis of ESCC patients with VEGF overexpression.

Methods: Samples from 50 ESCC patients with VEGF overexpression were subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) to identify gene mutations. The associations between the enrichment of these mutations and patient outcomes were also evaluated in a cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Hazard ratios were identified via the Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses. A support vector machine recursive feature elimination algorithm was used to construct the model, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to evaluate its prognostic performance.

Results: ESCC patients with FAT1, FGF3, FGF12, and FGF19 mutations; advanced M stage; and high neutrophil counts tended to have poorer prognoses.

Conclusion: A model based on a four-gene signature effectively predicts the prognosis of ESCC patients.

Cervical cancer is preventable; however, it remains the leading cause of death in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Women with HIV (WWHs) have a sixfold higher risk of developing and dying from cervical cancer than women without HIV. Cervical cancer can be prevented by vaccination against high-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPVs) and by screening for and treating precancer cervical lesions. While these preventive measures are routinely available to WWHs in developed countries, they are lacking in most LMICs, where the burden of HIV and cervical cancer is the highest. To prevent cervical cancer deaths among WWHs in LMICs, it is imperative to determine the dual burden of HIV and cervical cancer in LMICs. This narrative review synthesized scientific papers and policy documents on the intersection of HIV and cervical cancer in LMICs published between August 2006 and July 2025. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for articles and official reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on cervical cancer burden, prevention strategies, barriers, and outcomes among WWHs. Despite its proven effectiveness, HPV vaccination coverage in LMICs is under 30%, and screening uptake is below 20%. Weak health systems, workforce shortages, stigma, reliance on donor funding, and late-stage case presentation are major challenges in curbing cervical cancer in LMICs. Urgent political commitment is required to integrate precancer screening and HPV testing into routine HIV care and scale-up HPV vaccination to achieve the WHO's triple-intervention targets to eliminate cervical cancer among WWHs in LMICs.

Fruits and their peels are rich sources of bioactive compounds with significant health benefits. Vinegars produced from fruits and their peels are gaining increasing interest as a functional food due to their antioxidant, antimicrobial, and potential therapeutic properties. In this study, the four vinegars (Cydonia oblonga pulp vinegar [COV], Cydonia oblonga peel vinegar [COPV], Diospyros kaki pulp vinegar [DKV], and Diospyros kaki peel vinegar [DKPV]) were produced via natural fermentation. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant properties (DPPH and ABTS activity), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) inhibitory activity of these produced vinegars were evaluated. Additionally, in order to compare the properties of these products with natural home-style/traditional, the same content and activities of Cydonia oblonga fruit vinegar (COFV) and Diospyros kaki fruit vinegar (DKFV) were examined. The results indicated that COPV exhibited the highest TPC (842.57 ± 56.79 mg GAE/L) and TFC (248.45 ± 55.08 mg catechin/L), while DKPV showed the highest GST inhibitory activity (81.25%). All samples demonstrated significant DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging potential. Vinegars derived from peels (COPV and DKPV) generally contain higher levels of bioactive compounds than the others. Additionally, docking results indicated that the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups and aromatic rings of main components in extracts interacted extensively with GST active cite via π-donor, carbon and/or conventional H-bonds, π-anion, π-alkyl, π-π T-shaped, and amide-π stacked interactions. The findings suggest that peel vinegars are a promising source of natural antioxidants and potential GST inhibitors. These findings also highlight their potential value as functional food products.

Background: Cell-in-cell structures (CICs), a novel biomarker for complex cellular interactions, have garnered increasing attention for their potential in predicting cancer patient prognosis. However, the prognostic significance of CICs in tumor outcomes remains inconclusive. To address this, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the prognostic value of CICs in solid tumors, adhering to the Meta-analyses Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to October 2024 for the retrieval of full articles. Studies related to the prognosis of cell-in-cell and solid tumors were considered eligible for analysis. The quality of the included studies was assessed according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Quality assessment tool.

Results: We included 1836 patients with solid tumors to evaluate the association between overall cell-in-cell structures (oCICs) and prognosis, and 429 patients to evaluate the association between four subtypes of CICs (tumor-in-tumor [TiT], tumor-in-macrophage [TiM], macrophage-in-tumor [MiT], and lymphocyte-in-tumor [LiT]) and prognosis. We present the hazard ratio (HR) for overall survival (OS) for the number of CICs for each solid tumor. The combined HR for OS of oCICs was 1.64 (95% CI, 1.18-2.28; p = 0.003), and for LiT, it was 1.43 (95% CI, 1.12-1.83; p = 0.005), indicating that both oCICs and LiT are reliable prognostic factors for solid tumors. However, the combined HRs for OS of TiT, TiM, and MiT were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.35-1.48; p = 0.37), 1.28 (95% CI, 0.67-2.45; p = 0.46), and 1.54 (95% CI, 0.93-2.56; p = 0.09), respectively, suggesting that these subtypes may not be reliable prognostic factors due to the limited number of studies.

Conclusion: The presence of higher numbers of oCICs and LiT is an adverse prognostic factor for patients and affects OS.

Introduction: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are the presence of circulating microorganisms in the bloodstream. Globally, the distribution and factors that influence BSIs are changing, which is an alarming sign to investigate. In addition, prospective data are limited in Ethiopia. For these reasons, it is necessary to assess the BSI and associated factors.

Objectives: This study was aimed at assessing BSI and associated factors at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UOGCSH), 2023.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2023 to December 2023 among 252 patients. The data was collected using consecutive sampling techniques, coded, and analyzed using SPSS Version 27. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used for variables with a p value of < 0.2 on bivariable binary logistic regression. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to report the strength of the association, and p value < 0.05 was used to declare a statistically significant association. The Hosmer and Lemeshow tests were used to confirm the goodness of fit of the model (p value, 0.734).

Results: A total of 228 participants were included in this study, with a mean age of 41 (±18) years. Overall, bacterial growth was detected on 41 (18%) of blood cultures. Of these, 15 (6.6%, 95% CI: 3.5-9.6) were true BSI, while the remaining 26 (11.4%) were contaminants. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most commonly detected bacterium. Blood volume, stroke, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) are significantly associated with BSI, whereas poor venipuncture antiseptic techniques and being febrile are significantly associated with contaminants.

Conclusion: Prevalence of true BSI is low, and collected blood volume, stroke, and high NLCR were associated with BSIs at UOGCSH. Training on blood sample collection, quality checks, and testing anaerobic bacteria and fungi is recommended.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the academic production of ultra-processed foods and their relationship with neuropsychiatric disorders, assessing trends, collaboration patterns, and emerging thematic areas between 2019 and 2024.

Methods: The RAMIBS guidelines for scientometric studies were followed. The search was performed in Scopus using terms related to ultra-processed foods and neuropsychiatric disorders. Studies published between January 2019 and December 2024 were included, excluding letters to the editor and conference proceedings. Data were analyzed with SciVal and R Studio, using Bibliometrix to explore metrics such as Scholarly Output, SNIP 2023, CiteScore 2023, h-index, and international collaboration. Bradford's Law was applied to identify key journals.

Results: We identified 53 documents from 50 sources, with an annual growth of 24.57%. The average age of the documents was 2.98 years, with an average of 10.49 citations per publication. Brazil and the United States led in production with six articles each, while the international collaboration reached 18.87%. The most outstanding journals were "Nutrients" (SNIP 1.31, CiteScore 9.2) and "Preventive Medicine" (SNIP 1.37, CiteScore 7.7). Keyword analysis revealed a focus on the relationship between diet, obesity, and mental health. According to Bradford's Law, "Nutrients" led as the most relevant source.

Conclusions: The bibliometric data show a sustained growth in research on ultra-processed foods and neuropsychiatric disorders, with Brazil and the United States as the main contributors. The journal Nutrients played a key role as a source of dissemination. Although high thematic diversity was evident, international collaboration was limited, reflecting opportunities to strengthen global networks.

Purpose: Some challenges with current wound dressings include limited availability of advanced options and antimicrobial effectiveness. Polyurethane (PU) foams could be suitable choices as wound dressings once their disadvantages are resolved. PU wound dressings with antimicrobial and therapeutic properties are emerging as valuable options to prevent wound infection and improve the healing process. This study is aimed at developing a hydrophilic antimicrobial PU foam incorporated with N. sativa oil (NSO) for potential use as a wound dressing material.

Methods: In the formulation of PU foam, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and glycerine ethoxylate were utilized to improve the hydrophilicity. PU foams were subjected to detailed analysis using electron microscopy, FTIR, mechanical properties, liquid absorption, porosity measurement, cytocompatibility, in vitro antibacterial assay, and animal evaluation.

Results: FTIR confirmed the linkages of polyols and isocyanate in PU as well as the presence of NSO in the foam structure. The prepared foams had high porosity with homogeneous and interconnected pores. The addition of NSO to hydrophilic PU foam caused increases in tensile strength, elongation at break, and water absorption. The results of the storage experiment showed that NSO-PU foam remained stable under high humidity and temperature conditions. NSO-PU exhibited no significant toxicity on human dermal fibroblasts in the MTT assay. The presence of NSO also gave the foam antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Histological study showed enhanced wound healing capability of NSO-PU. In NSO-PU, a thin epidermis composed of keratinocytes was observed at the wound site and the collagen deposited around the wounds treated with NSO-PU was organized and close to normal skin tissue.

Conclusion: These results indicate that this material can be used as a hydrophilic antibacterial wound dressing.

In this article, the researcher explores an automated approach for detecting a brain tumor using MRI scans of the brain. In underdeveloped countries, many people are dying due to the slow detection process and other negligence of radiologists. People suffer from these diseases due to the slow process of recognition. Since the number of patients is greater than that of radiologists, there is the possibility of human error, which can cause serious damage. The detection of tumors from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data is an important manual task, specifically in terms of the time that the radiologist performs. In this study, the researchers sought to study state-of-the-art techniques to detect normal brain and brain tumors from MRI using machine learning techniques. The main objective of this study is to develop a novel automated technique for brain tumor detection. Through the worldwide consideration of practical literature, it is clear that traditional approaches are insufficient to resolve all uncertainties and problems. Therefore, a novel approach to examining MRI must be adapted. This study proposes two different novel techniques: one that uses ensemble classification and the other that makes use of the deep learning model of YOLOv3. In ensemble classification, two classification algorithms are used which are support vector machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbors (KNNs). The YOLOv3 model is used to detect and outline tumor locations in the images. This study used an open-source dataset and data collected from hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. The ensemble classifier achieved an overall accuracy of 80.50%, while the YOLOv3 model achieved higher performance with 97.80% accuracy, 97.40% precision, 98.18% recall, and a mean intersection over union (IoU) score of 0.65. These results confirm that YOLOv3 is a useful technique for identifying brain tumors.

Introduction: This study aims to investigate computed tomography (CT) radiomic features and dosimetric-clinical biomarkers to predict vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) in nonlaryngeal head and neck cancer (HNC) patients treated with chemoradiation therapy (CRT), using machine learning (ML) models.

Methods: Sixty-five HNC patients who underwent CRT were recruited to assess radiation-induced VCD 6 months posttreatment. For each patient, CT radiomic features of the laryngeal region, clinical, and dose-volume histogram (DVH) metrics were collected to develop ML models. Nine classifiers were trained using selected features obtained from three feature selection algorithms: least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), extra trees, and elastic net. The models were built using imaging features alone (radiomics model) and in combination with clinical and dosimetric features (combined model). Model performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC).

Results: Of the 65 patients, 31 developed VCD. Among radiomics models, the AdaBoost and random forest (RF) classifiers performed best, with AUCs of 0.74 and 0.84, respectively. For the combined models, nine classifiers achieved an AUC greater than 0.95 using LASSO and elastic net algorithms. In contrast, only one classifier surpassed an AUC of 0.95 when using the extra trees algorithm.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that pretreatment CT radiomic features are predictive biomarkers for radiation-induced toxicities, including VCD. Furthermore, combining radiomic features with clinical and dosimetric data can improve the predictive modeling of radiotherapy outcomes.