Research works

Physicochemical antibacterial mechanisms of rose-thorn-inspired micro-nano Cu conical coatings

The rising prevalence of bacterial antibiotic resistance threatens human health and public safety, posing a critical challenge to conventional antimicrobial strategies. Inspired by rose thorn architecture, this study employs Janus Green B (JGB) as a crystallization modifier in a...

Age-related degeneration initiates at the surface: preferential biomechanical and biological decline in rat articular cartilage

Age-related degeneration of articular cartilage is a key pathological hallmark of primary osteoarthritis (OA). As the cartilage’s barrier layer, the superficial zone maintains tissue homeostasis and is increasingly recognized as the initial site of age-related cartilage degenerat...

Tocilizumab in refractory anti-synthetase syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease:a phenotype-stratified cohort study

Anti-synthetase syndrome-associated ILD (ASyS-ILD) spans a spectrum from active inflammation to established fibrosis; IL-6 pathway involvement supports a rationale for tocilizumab, yet phenotype-specific efficacy data are lacking. Thirty-two patients with refractory ASyS-ILD rece...

BCL9 inhibition promotes fibroblast lipogenesis by regulating macrophage–fibroblast interactions to attenuate pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease with an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. M2 macrophage-derived TGF-β1 promotes fibroblast myogenesis, contributing to IPF pathogenesis. Targeting macrophage polarization and fibr...

NDUFV1 activation mediates high glucose-induced apoptosis in peritoneal mesothelial cells

Peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs) are critical components of the peritoneum, and prolonged exposure to high glucose in peritoneal dialysis fluid can lead to structural and functional impairment of the peritoneal membrane. However, whether such cellular damage is caused by gluco...

Intraoperative titanium clip localization versus preoperative medical glue localization for pulmonary nodules: a prospective cohort study

Preoperative CT-guided percutaneous localization of pulmonary nodules is widely used in clinical practice but is often associated with localization-related complications. Intraoperative titanium clip localization may provide a safer localization strategy. This study aimed to comp...

Cadaveric analysis of periosteal temperature response across skin types in facial tissues using a multi-wavelength diode laser

Energy-based devices are often applied to the midface using uniform treatment parameters despite interindividual variability in facial anatomy and skin pigmentation. For bulk-heating technologies, clinical relevance depends not only on superficial heating but also on the timing a...

Baseline neutrophil count, benign ethnic neutropenia risk, and clozapine haematological monitoring: A multi-ethnic retrospective cohort study from the United Arab Emirates

Background Concerns about haematological toxicity and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) monitoring may limit clozapine use, particularly in multi-ethnic populations where benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN) and lower baseline ANC are common. We characterised baseline ANC distribution,...

Predictors of academic self-efficacy in medical intern students: the roles of mindful eating, physical activity, sleep quality, and mental workload

Academic self-efficacy, defined as an individual’s belief in their capacity to complete academic tasks, may play a role in the learning and performance of medical students. Lifestyle factors such as sleep quality, physical activity, and mindfulness-based behaviors have been assoc...

Latent profile analysis and associated factors of injection-related fear in school-aged children: a cross-sectional investigation

Injection-related fear in school-aged pediatric patients may influence their cooperation with medical procedures and psychological wellbeing. However, few studies have characterized distinct latent profiles of injection-related fear in this pediatric population. To further clarif...

Prevalence and associated factors of repeat induced abortion among women at a tertiary obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Vietnam: a cross sectional study

Repeat induced abortion remains a major reproductive health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Although abortion is legal in Vietnam up to 22 weeks of gestation, the country continues to report high abortion rates in Southeast Asia, with limited recent dat...

Vitamin D deficiency among adults screened for orthodontic treatment in Saudi Arabia: prevalence and implications for trial recruitment

Vitamin D deficiency remains highly prevalent in the Middle East and may influence both oral-health research planning and orthodontic trial feasibility. This study estimated vitamin D deficiency prevalence in adults screened for orthodontic treatment in Saudi Arabia and quantifie...

A machine learning model based on mPASS and imaging features for early assessment of clinically relevant outcomes in acute pancreatitis

To develop and validate a machine learning (ML) model based on the modified pancreatitis activity scoring system (mPASS) and imaging features for the early assessment of multiple clinically relevant outcomes in acute pancreatitis (AP). A retrospective cohort of 420 AP patients wa...

Perceived stress, dental pain, and coping strategies among dental patients in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Perceived stress reflects an individual’s appraisal of a situation as overwhelming. It plays a crucial role in shaping pain experience and management. Dental pain, resulting from tooth decay, its sequelae or periodontal diseases, may adversely affect quality of life by contributi...

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) following gastrointestinal sepsis in a child: a case report

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is a rare neurological entity in the paediatric population, whose diagnosis relies primarily on brain MRI. Although at-risk populations are well established, cases occurring in the context of sepsis of gastrointestinal origin ar...

Cognitive rehabilitation with immersive virtual reality in schizophrenia: A randomized waiting list-controlled study

Background Cognitive symptoms represent a major determinant of long-term disability in chronic schizophrenia and only partially respond to pharmacotherapy. Evidence is growing about the potential effect of cognitive interventions to promote functional recovery. Immersive virtual...

Optimizing one-dimensional bin packing for conveyor belt logistics via pointer-network-based A2C and heuristics

The one-dimensional Bin Packing Problem (1D-BPP) poses significant challenges in logistics, particularly for optimizing item packing sequences in warehouse conveyor belt systems. This paper proposes a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) approach using Advantage Actor-Critic (A2C) i...

Effects of different temperature treatments on physiological and biochemical parameters and bolting in Lactuca sativa

This study investigates the effects of temperature on the growth, development, and bolting characteristics of Lactuca sativa , utilizing the late-maturing variety WS1 and the early-maturing variety WS3 as experimental materials. Three temperature gradients were established: 18 °C...

Serum and salivary uric acid levels in oral submucous fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study aimed to evaluate differences in serum uric acid (SeUA) and salivary uric acid (SaUA) levels between patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and healthy controls. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies rep...

Familial tailgut cysts in two sisters presenting with sacral dimple sign: a case report

Tailgut cysts are rare congenital cystic lesions arising from remnants of the embryological postanal primitive gut. Familial clustering of tailgut cysts has been rarely reported, and the association with sacral dimple sign as an early diagnostic indicator remains underexplored. W...