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The Factors That Contribute to Dysfunctional Behavior in Active Military Personnel: An Umbrella Review.

Dysfunctional behavior in active military personnel is a complex and challenging issue for military forces worldwide. Effective management of this issue requires a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to dysfunctional behavior in military populations. The current study presents an umbrella review that synthesized and analyzed the existing literature on contributory factors to dysfunctional behavior in active military personnel using a systems thinking-based framework. Eleven systematic reviews were identified as eligible for inclusion in the umbrella review. The synthesis identified 14 contributory factors to the following types of dysfunctional behavior: suicidal behavior, substance misuse, domestic violence perpetration, and destructive leadership. The analysis indicated that existing literature focuses on contributory factors relating to the military personnel themselves and not influences in the broader military system or wider society. Additionally, few studies have sought to understand how factors interact to create dysfunctional behavior. Future research would benefit from the use of systems thinking-based frameworks and methods to investigate the factors, across the broader military system and society, that contribute to dysfunctional behavior in active military personnel.

Humans

The present and future of nonviral delivery-based genome editing for hereditary hearing loss.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes nonviral genome-editing delivery platforms for hereditary hearing loss, focusing on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs), and discusses their advantages over adeno-associated virus-based delivery, as well as the barriers to clinical translation. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent advances have established LNPs as a clinically advanced nonviral platform, although challenges related to inner ear biodistribution, cell type specificity, endosomal escape, and immunogenicity remain to be addressed. In parallel, eVLPs have undergone substantial technical evolution, progressing from early low efficiency systems to advanced base editor- and prime editor-eVLP architectures that enhance cargo loading and editing efficiency. Extracellular vesicle-based genome editing has also emerged as an additional platform, although issues related to reproducibility, loading efficiency, and scalability remain major hurdles. SUMMARY: Nonviral genome editing platforms expand the therapeutic toolkit for hereditary hearing loss by enabling transient delivery of genome editors with potential safety advantages. Future efforts should focus on characterizing biodistribution and immunogenicity, refining cell type-specific tropism, and establishing scalable manufacturing processes to enable successful clinical translation.

Humans

Meta-analysis of source identification and apportionment in soil: A systematic review of analytical procedures, receptor modeling, and environmental applications.

Soil pollution poses significant risks to ecosystems and human health, necessitating accurate source identification and apportionment to guide mitigation strategies. This systematic review evaluates the application of Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and other receptor models in soil pollution studies, focusing on analytical procedures, tracer indicators, and environmental applications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive framework for conducting soil source apportionment studies, aiding policymakers in designing effective, region-specific environmental management strategies by compiling global trends and methodological insights. The study addresses sampling protocols, emphasizing representativeness and quality control. Data from 500 peer-reviewed publications highlight the dominance of research in China, Eastern Europe, and South Asia, with agricultural soils being the most frequently studied. Key findings reveal that traffic emissions (20.8 %) and industrial activities (19.4 %) are the primary global contributors to soil contamination, with regional variations such as coal combustion in cold climates and agricultural inputs in developing regions. Policy recommendations include stricter industrial regulations, sustainable agricultural practices, and targeted remediation efforts based on source-specific risks.

Soil Pollutants

Insights into specific and nonspecific butyrate-producing pathways during the in vitro fecal fermentation of butyrylated starch.

Butyrylated starch is a special type-4 resistant starch with butyrate-carrying attribute. In this study, the unique butyrate-producing capability of butyrylated starch was deeply investigated by focusing on its specific and nonspecific butyrate-producing pathways, respectively, using specially designed substrates as controls. In vitro fermentation studies revealed that butyrylated and isobutyrylated starches generated high levels of butyrate and isobutyrate, respectively, highlighting the role of butyryl group metabolism in the specificity of butyrate production. Carboxylesterase assays have demonstrated that butyryl group metabolism is primarily facilitated by carbohydrate esterases expressed in the gut microbiota. Combined with 16S rRNA sequencing and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, it was found that butyrylated starch fermentation did not significantly enhance traditional butyrate synthesis pathways but modified the balance between the butyryl-CoA:acetyl-CoA transferase and butyrate kinase pathways by altering the gut microbiota composition, specifically by upregulating the relative abundance of indicator species such as Bacteroides, the Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and Parabacteroides. These insights offer theoretical guidance for designing butyrylated starch structures and regulating intestinal health.

Starch

Insights into the regulation of the HOTAIR proximal promoter.

HOTAIR (HOX transcript antisense RNA) is a HOXC-cluster long intervening non-coding RNA (lincRNA) whose cancer relevance is tightly coupled to how its transcription is wired into hormone, hypoxia, inflammatory, and developmental signaling. HOTAIR is known to associate with cancer cell proliferation, motility, tumor invasion, and metastasis. The present mini-review focuses on the regulatory architecture and mechanistic complexity of HOTAIR transcriptional regulation, with emphasis on three organizing principles. First, we consider the impact of promoter choice between a canonical proximal promoter (P1), which supports the 2.2-2.4 kb transcript, and an alternative upstream promoter/TSS (P2), which contributes to context-dependent transcription initiation. Second, we examine the long-distance enhancer-promoter communication between HOTAIR distal enhancer and P1/P2. Third, we summarize the recent epigenetic and epi-transcriptomic mechanisms involved in HOTAIR transcript initiation and elongation. A combination of these events determines isoform-specific transcription to govern cell-type-, context-, and cancer specific modulation of HOTAIR expression that promotes tumor formation and cancer progression. Finally, the review proposes how large-scale RNA datasets, long-read sequencing, and isoform-specific studies can refine our understanding of this versatile lincRNA's regulation.

Humans

Heat stress in cereal crops: reproductive development and grain filling.

Increasingly frequent extreme heat events threaten cereal production and food security under a changing climate. The reproductive-to-grain formation continuum of cereals is particularly vulnerable to elevated temperatures, as heat stress disrupts developmental processes from inflorescence formation and fertilization to grain filling and quality establishment. These disruptions reduce reproductive success, impair yield formation, and compromise grain quality. A comprehensive understanding of the developmental, physiological, molecular, and genetic basis of cereal heat tolerance is therefore essential for developing climate-adapted crops. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding heat stress during cereal reproduction and grain filling across major cereal crops. We first discuss how heat stress affects sequential developmental processes, including inflorescence development, gametophyte development, flowering and pollination, fertilization, and grain filling. We then integrate emerging evidence on cross-cutting mechanisms that connect stage-specific heat responses, focusing on hormonal and redox homeostasis, carbohydrate metabolism and source-sink coordination, proteostasis and endomembrane organization, and genome stability and multilayered gene regulation. Finally, we summarize the genetic basis of cereal heat tolerance by highlighting genetic determinants, favorable alleles, and their potential applications in breeding. We further discuss current bottlenecks and future opportunities for breeding heat-tolerant cereals.

Cereals

Inulin, Containing Frutco-Oligosaccharides, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale Scores in College Students.

This study was conducted to determine the effects of fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) inulin on anxiety symptoms in college students. Forty million adults in the United States suffer from anxiety. Previous studies have viewed gut microbiota and its potential link to anxiety in both humans and mice. However, no previous studies focused on the effect of FOS inulin on college students. Fourteen subjects received 4.9 g per day of FOS inulin as the treatment (TX) or no supplement as the control (CON) for 28 days. Both the TX and CON groups were given the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) on days 1 and 28. Both groups were also given a 3-day food log at the beginning of the experiment and otherwise maintained their regular diet. Results showed a statistically significant decrease in median GAD-7 scores in both groups (P = .017, r = .637 and P = .042, r = .587 for the TX and CON groups, respectively). However, when comparing the GAD-7 scores between groups, no statistically significant results were found. FOS inulin supplementation did not alleviate anxiety symptoms in college students participating in this study.

Adolescent

Microglial modulation in general anesthesia: molecular.

General anesthetics profoundly alter brain function and consciousness, yet the mechanisms underlying these effects remain incompletely understood. Although traditional studies have primarily focused on neuronal targets, accumulating evidence suggests that microglia dynamically respond to anesthetic exposure and may participate in anesthesia-associated neurophysiological changes. Beyond their established immune functions, microglia are increasingly implicated in synaptic remodeling, metabolic regulation, neuronal activity surveillance, and neuron-glia communication. Recent studies indicate that different classes of anesthetic agents modulate microglial activity through diverse and context-dependent mechanisms involving inflammatory signaling, purinergic pathways, calcium dynamics, mitochondrial metabolism, and neural circuit interactions. These responses are associated with postoperative neurocognitive disorders, altered synaptic plasticity, and anesthesia-related changes in brain states. In this review, we summarize current evidence regarding the effects of volatile anesthetics, intravenous anesthetics, and analgesics on microglial function and discuss the molecular, functional, and circuit-level mechanisms underlying anesthesia-associated neuron-microglia interactions. We further highlight the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of microglial responses during anesthesia and discuss current limitations in the field, including the lack of temporally resolved and cell-specific approaches. Understanding these processes may provide insights into anesthesia-associated neurocognitive dysfunction and support the development of neuroimmune-targeted strategies in anesthesiology.

General anesthesia

Hepatotoxicity of OBS: A review of the emerging PFOS substitute.

As an alternative to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), sodium perfluorononenyl oxobenzene sulfonate (OBS) is widely used due to its cost-effectiveness. Multiple studies have shown that the liver is a classic target organ for OBS. However, there is currently no systematic review on the hepatotoxic effects of OBS. This review systematically summarizes the exposure characteristics of OBS in the environment and human populations, as well as its mechanisms of liver toxicity. In vivo studies consistently demonstrate that OBS induces hepatotoxic effects, such as hepatomegaly, vacuolization, elevated serum transaminases, and lipid dysregulation, though the manifestation of these phenotypes varies across species and exposure routes. In vitro evidence further shows that OBS reduces cell viability and survival, and triggers necrosis accompanied by inflammation. Mechanistically, oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling, and metabolism disorder are implicated. Critically, most existing work addresses subacute or subchronic exposure, leaving a gap in chronic risk assessment for long-term, low-dose OBS exposure. Moreover, mechanistic studies have focused predominantly on downstream transcriptional and signaling changes, with limited exploration of upstream epigenetic controls. Overall, this study aims to provide a comprehensive reference for future toxicological investigations and liver injury risk assessments related to OBS exposure.

Humans

Functional and Nutritional Potential of Chickpea Protein Hydrolysates: A Systematic Review and Plant-protein Network Analysis.

Chickpea is a protein-rich legume increasingly explored as a substrate for functional plant-based ingredients. Chickpea protein hydrolysates (CPHs) and chickpea-derived peptides (CPs), obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis or simulated gastrointestinal digestion, may provide technological and biological properties while supporting the valorization of chickpea fractions and by-products. This review integrates a network analysis of title-abstract terms from 5,728 unique Scopus and PubMed records on plant protein hydrolysates with a systematic review of 72 studies focused on CPH production, peptide characterization, bioactivity, and translational gaps. The evidence indicates that CPHs and CPs show promising antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer-related activities, mainly supported by biochemical assays, cell models, and animal studies. However, heterogeneous hydrolysis protocols, incomplete peptide characterization, inconsistent bioactivity methods, limited scale-up evidence, and the absence of human intervention trials restrict translation. Future studies should prioritize standardized protocols, mechanistic validation, bioavailability, sensory and regulatory assessment, food-matrix validation, and clinical trials.

Cicer

To longevity and beyond: A systems view of aging and stress resilience.

Aging is a dynamic and time-dependent process characterized by progressive functional decline across biological systems. Key hallmarks, including genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immunosenescence, have been widely described, each reflecting distinct yet interconnected mechanistic frameworks. Rather than acting in isolation, these processes arise from complex interactions among cellular stressors, impaired repair mechanisms, and the cumulative burden of maladaptive responses. This system-level perspective explains the inter-individual variability in aging trajectories. Centenarians represent an extreme and informative model of successful aging, in which the balance between damage accumulation and repair is shifted toward the maintenance of physiological function. Their exceptional longevity is supported by coordinated genetic, epigenetic, metabolic, and immunological adaptations that enhance resilience to age-related stressors. Here, we summarize the biological drivers and theoretical frameworks of aging within an integrative context, focusing on mechanisms associated with extended healthspan in centenarians. We also examine the contribution of major animal models, highlighting their complementary roles in elucidating conserved and species-specific aging pathways. Overall, aging outcomes reflect a dynamic equilibrium between damage and repair processes. Understanding how this balance is modulated in long-lived individuals may inform strategies to promote healthy aging and delay the onset of age-related diseases.

Humans

Portable metagenomics for preventive surveillance and outbreak control in livestock and poultry: Pathogen detection, resistome profiling, and antimicrobial stewardship.

Conventional diagnostics for livestock and poultry outbreaks commonly rely on culture or targeted PCR panels, which may be too slow or too narrow to guide early control decisions. Portable metagenomics, particularly real-time nanopore sequencing, offers a route to broad pathogen detection, antimicrobial-resistance gene profiling, and outbreak investigation within an integrated workflow. This implementation-focused review evaluates how near-point-of-care metagenomics may support preventive veterinary medicine through earlier detection, surveillance, cohorting, biosecurity decisions, and antimicrobial stewardship. We synthesize sample-to-answer workflows for enteric and respiratory disease in food-producing animals, including sampling, nucleic-acid extraction, host depletion or target enrichment, library preparation, sequencing, bioinformatics, quality control, and interpretation. Applications in calf diarrhea, bovine respiratory disease, poultry outbreaks, mastitis, and resistome monitoring are considered alongside the central limitation that detection alone does not establish causation. Pathogen and resistance-gene signals must therefore be interpreted with clinical signs, lesions, epidemiology, controls, and confirmatory testing. We also propose a minimum reporting checklist, intended as a practical framework rather than a validated consensus standard. Portable metagenomics is not a replacement for conventional diagnostics, but appropriately validated workflows can reduce uncertainty during time-sensitive outbreaks and support more judicious antimicrobial use.

Animals

Insights from expert panels on the EU clinical evaluation consultation procedure.

BACKGROUND: The Clinical Evaluation Consultation Procedure (CECP) under the EU Medical Device Regulation aims to strengthen and harmonize the assessment of high-risk medical devices. This review summarizes early insights from expert panels to support improved clinical evaluation practices. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This review analyses 34 expert panel opinions derived from 281 CECP submissions between April 2021 and December 2025. Statements from opinions were systematically extracted, de-duplicated, and grouped into thematic categories, with independent review and validation. The analysis focuses on common challenges found during the consultation procedure of the expert panels on the content of the clinical assessment in relation to clinical evidence, benefit-risk assessment, intended purpose alignment, and post-market clinical follow-up planning. RESULTS: Expert panel findings highlight recurrent issues in the sufficiency, consistency, and transparency of clinical evidence, underscoring the need for improved standardization and clearer guidance. CONCLUSIONS: Strengthening documentation quality and alignment across stakeholders will enhance the robustness, efficiency, and predictability of conformity assessments for high-risk medical devices.

Humans

Depth-dependent multi-kingdom microbial interactions and biogeochemical cycling genes in eutrophic shallow lake sediments.

Microorganisms are pivotal to lake ecosystem biogeochemical cycles, yet existing research often focuses on single microbial kingdoms or surface sediments, neglecting multi-kingdom interactions and depth-resolved dynamics. To address these gaps, we used metagenomic sequencing to characterize microbial communities and their functional associations across overlying water and 0-45 cm sediments in four shallow lakes of the middle Yangtze River basin, China. Despite increasing bacterial and fungal diversity with depth, the 0-9 cm surface sediments exhibited the strongest multi-kingdom network connectivity and the greatest microbial stability. Functional genes exhibited clear depth-dependent patterns: nitrogen cycling genes, including those involved in dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, were most enriched in the upper 0-9 cm of sediment; methane cycling genes were positively correlated with depth; phosphorus cycling genes and some sulfur cycling genes, such as assimilatory sulphate reduction, declined with depth. Sediment microbial assembly was dominated by deterministic processes, in which the vertical distribution of functional genes was primarily dictated by heavy metals and conventional environmental indicators. These findings highlight depth-specific multi-kingdom microbial interactions and their associations with biogeochemical cycling, advancing lacustrine microbial ecology understanding and providing references for lake conservation under environmental change.

Lakes

Review: The African turquoise killifish as a model for the integrative physiology of vertebrate aging.

With increasing emphasis on extending healthy lifespan, aging research requires vertebrate models that permit efficient mechanistic investigation and intervention testing within practical time and cost constraints. The African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) has attracted growing attention because it combines an exceptionally short life cycle with an intact vertebrate physiological context and an expanding genetic toolkit, enabling relatively rapid evaluation of candidate aging interventions and mechanistic analysis across molecular, tissue, and organismal levels. This review assesses N. furzeri from an integrative-physiology perspective, focusing on germline-soma interactions, gut microbiota-host crosstalk, nutrient sensing and metabolic remodeling, temperature responsiveness, and AMPK-mTOR-linked programs. It also examines expanding genome-engineering and reporter approaches that support mechanistic and tissue-resolved investigation of these physiological processes. Building on recent reviews of killifish biology, disease modeling, regeneration, and the hallmarks of aging, we synthesize evidence across major intervention domains, distinguish established phenotypic effects from incompletely resolved mechanisms, and highlight functional endpoints, methodological standardization, and the appropriate interpretation of the model's translational relevance. Together, these features position N. furzeri as a strategically useful vertebrate platform for rapid mechanistic testing, intervention evaluation, and prioritization of aging-related pathways. Future progress will require improved methodological standardization, tissue-resolved causal studies, and question-driven cross-species validation where appropriate.

Animals

Messaging Strategies for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Among People with Depression: A Scoping Review.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is strongly associated with higher tobacco use and lower quit rate; few communication campaigns have been designed with these mental health factors in mind. This scoping review compiles existing research on tobacco prevention and cessation messaging involving people with depression to identify gaps and opportunities for future message development. METHODS: Sources included PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Academic Search Premier, and ProQuest Central (November - December 2024). The 55 studies included examined tobacco prevention or cessation messages and measured depression, depressive symptoms, or mental health as a primary outcome or analytic covariate. Study characteristics, target population, delivery format, message content, theoretical frameworks, outcomes, and gaps were extracted. RESULTS: RCTs made up half (51%) of the included studies, and most (78%) were conducted in the U.S. Nearly half (46%) required participants to have a mental health condition. Interventions most often used interactive (65.5%) or text-based (47.3%) communication and focused on tobacco cessation (89%) rather than vaping (9%). Common outcomes included feasibility or acceptability (37.7%) and point prevalence abstinence (37.7%). Mental health-specific messages showed mixed effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Despite progress in integrating mental health into tobacco messaging, targeted interventions for people with depression remain limited. Few studies tested long-term outcomes or used biochemical verification; many relied on untargeted generalized messaging.

Journal Article

Advanced mitigation strategies for acrylamide formation in foods: Mechanistic insights, emerging innovations, and future perspectives.

Acrylamide is a heat-induced contaminant formed predominantly in carbohydrate-rich foods during high-temperature processing, posing significant concerns due to its potential carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and genotoxic effects. This review critically examines the mechanisms of acrylamide formation, emphasizing the role of the Maillard reaction and key precursors such as asparagine and reducing sugars, along with the influence of processing conditions including temperature, time, pH, and moisture. Various mitigation strategies are comprehensively discussed, ranging from raw material selection and genetic approaches to enzymatic treatments such as asparaginase and the application of natural and chemical inhibitors. Advances in processing technologies, including optimization of conventional thermal methods and emerging non-thermal techniques such as cold plasma and ultrasound, are evaluated for their effectiveness. The review also highlights the role of food additives, functional ingredients, and fermentation in reducing acrylamide formation. Furthermore, recent developments in analytical techniques, including chromatographic methods, biosensors, and artificial intelligence-based predictive models, are explored for improved detection and control. Risk assessment, toxicological implications, and global regulatory frameworks are also examined. Finally, future perspectives focusing on genetic engineering, personalized nutrition, and digital technologies such as AI and blockchain are discussed to support sustainable and industry-applicable mitigation strategies.

Acrylamide

Positive psychology interventions during pregnancy: A systematic review.

Positive psychology interventions (PPI) have been applied and demonstrated evidence in various population groups. The present systematic review focused on the types and influence of PPI on the physical and psychological health of pregnant women. Studies that matched the selection criteria were identified on EBSCOhost, PsychINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and four positive psychology journals. From the 2528 records identified, finally eight studies were included in the review. PPI in this review were delivered utilising various positive psychology components such as hope, gratitude and optimism based on existing theories, for example, the strengths theory, broaden-and-build theory, and hope theory. Most interventions were conducted from 14 gestational weeks onwards and were delivered via virtual platforms or mobile applications. As a result of this systematic review, it was identified that PPIs for maternal well-being were aimed at improving (1) physical health, including labour pain, nausea and vomiting; (2) psychological health, including stress, emotions, anxiety and depression; and (3) subjective health, including life satisfaction, perceived social support and quality of life. Most of the selected studies provided significant evidence towards improvement of well-being outcomes from administering PPI. For future studies, in-depth PPI integrated coping and support approaches should be further evidenced among diverse pregnant populations.

Humans