其他最新文献

{"title":"Revisiting guidance on population sampling for highly polymorphic STR loci.","authors":"Sanne E Aalbers, Katherine B Gettings","doi":"10.1016/j.fsigen.2025.103336","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsigen.2025.103336","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Population databases allow us to attach probabilities to DNA evidence by the estimation of genotype frequencies, which rely on accurate allele frequency estimates. As short tandem repeat (STR) marker sets for human identification have expanded to include more discriminating markers, and especially now that sequencing techniques allow us to distinguish between alleles based on variation in underlying base-pair structure, it is important to reevaluate existing guidance on population database sizes for the estimation of allele frequencies. In this paper, we revisit the topic of population sampling by focusing on the representation of alleles, i.e. whether alleles are observed or not, in a sample of individuals containing data for highly polymorphic autosomal STR loci. The effect of both length- and sequence-based STR data on population sample size implications are demonstrated, and differences between lesser and more polymorphic markers are discussed. The consequences of using a limited number of individuals are explored and the impact of increasing population sample sizes by combining different data sets is shown to help determine the point at which further sampling may no longer provide significant value. Finally, different approaches for accommodating previously unobserved alleles and their impact on DNA evidence evaluations are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":94012,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international. Genetics","volume":"80 ","pages":"103336"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12382342/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144805494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficient and Effective Diabetes Care in the Era of Digitalization and Hypercompetitive Research Culture: A Focused Review in the Western Pacific Region with Malaysia as a Case Study.","authors":"Boon-How Chew, Pauline Siew Mei Lai, Dhashani A/P Sivaratnam, Nurul Iftida Basri, Geeta Appannah, Barakatun Nisak Mohd Yusof, Subashini C Thambiah, Zubaidah Nor Hanipah, Ping-Foo Wong, Li-Cheng Chang","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2024.2417788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2024.2417788","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There are approximately 220 million (about 12% regional prevalence) adults living with diabetes mellitus (DM) with its related complications, and morbidity knowingly or unconsciously in the Western Pacific Region (WP). The estimated healthcare cost in the WP and Malaysia was 240 billion USD and 1.0 billion USD in 2021 and 2017, respectively, with unmeasurable suffering and loss of health quality and economic productivity. This urgently calls for nothing less than concerted and preventive efforts from all stakeholders to invest in transforming healthcare professionals and reforming the healthcare system that prioritizes primary medical care setting, empowering allied health professionals, improvising health organization for the healthcare providers, improving health facilities and non-medical support for the people with DM. This article alludes to challenges in optimal diabetes care and proposes evidence-based initiatives over a 5-year period in a detailed roadmap to bring about dynamic and efficient healthcare services that are effective in managing people with DM using Malaysia as a case study for reference of other countries with similar backgrounds and issues. This includes a scanning on the landscape of clinical research in DM, dimensions and spectrum of research misconducts, possible common biases along the whole research process, key preventive strategies, implementation and limitations toward high-quality research. Lastly, digital medicine and how artificial intelligence could contribute to diabetes care and open science practices in research are also discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2417788"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142959818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do Pro-Competition Healthcare Reforms Always Bring Health Benefits? Evidence from China.","authors":"Zixuan Peng, Audrey Laporte, Xiaolin Wei, Jay Pan, Peter C Coyte","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2507975","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2025.2507975","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It is already a common practice for many health care systems in the world to opt for mixed markets where different types of health care facilities compete against each other to offer high-quality health care to patients. Nevertheless, little is known about the effects of the interaction between hospitals of the same or different type on patient health outcomes. This study estimated the impacts of aggregate and specific types of hospital competition by hospital-type on the quality of inpatient care using an analysis dataset comprising 267,183 individuals from China. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index was employed to measure the degree of hospital competition, with length of stay, readmission and mortality being used to measure the quality of inpatient care. The Poisson and binomial logistic models combined with the instrumental variable approach were constructed to estimate the impacts of hospital competition. This study generated three key findings: 1) aggregate hospital competition reduced the quality of inpatient care, as evidenced by a rise in the odds of readmission and length of stay; 2) intra-type hospital competition reduced the quality of inpatient care and in general had larger effects on reducing the quality of inpatient care than inter-type hospital competition; and 3) the only exception was in the way that competition between private nonprofit hospitals contributed to better quality of inpatient care. The overarching suggestion is that instead of treating competition as a panacea for improving health, a flexible plan tailored to specific conditions is needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2507975"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144259534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Public Policy and Health System Responses to Diabetes Mellitus in Nigeria: A Call for Reform.","authors":"Friday Okonofua, Lorretta Favour Ntoimo, Rosemary Ogu, Maradona Isikhuemen","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2477941","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2477941","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diabetes mellitus, once a rare diagnosis in precolonial and early post-colonial Nigeria, now has the highest prevalence and fatality rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This increased prevalence is attributed to rising population affluence characterized by sedentary lifestyles and higher consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods. The burden is further exacerbated by a poorly responsive healthcare system. Currently, less than 50% of affected individuals are aware of their condition. Factors such as misconceptions about the disease, a preference for unproven traditional herbal treatments, and the high cost of treatment hinder effective secondary responses. Health system challenges in diabetes management in Nigeria include inadequate implementation of existing policies and guidelines, high out-of-pocket payments, poor quality of healthcare, and limited public education about the disease. To address these issues, we recommend a policy focus on:  1) Implementing actionable policies and guidelines for diabetes prevention and care; 2) Improving the pre-paid care system to reduce out-of-pocket payments; 3) Enhancing the quality of services at all healthcare levels, with the establishment of centers of excellence for specialized diabetes management; 4) Continuing the training, retraining, motivation, and expansion of the workforce responsible for diabetes care; and 5) Health promotion and health awareness aimed at the public to address inaccurate beliefs and practices about diabetes. Addressing these multifaceted factors will help to reduce the rising incidence of diabetes in Nigeria.</p>","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2477941"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143617895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving Implementation of NCD Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Case of Fixed Dose Combinations for Hypertension in Kenya.","authors":"Adrianna Murphy, Daniel Mbuthia, Ruth Willis, Benjamin Tsofa, Mary Gichagua, Peter Mugo, Kara Hanson, Michael R Reich","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2024.2448862","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23288604.2024.2448862","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Health systems in low- and middle-income countries face the challenge of addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with scarce resources to do so. There are cost-effective interventions that can improve management of the most common NCDs, but many remain poorly implemented. One example is fixed dose combinations (FDCs) of medications for hypertension. Included in WHO's Essential Medicines List, FDCs combine two or more blood pressure lowering agents into one pill and can reduce burden on patients and the health system. However, implementation of FDCs globally is poor. We aimed to identify health systems factors affecting implementation of evidence-based interventions for NCDs, and opportunities to address these, using the case study of FDCs in Kenya. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 policy-makers and healthcare workers involved in hypertension treatment policy and identified through snowball sampling. Interview data were analyzed thematically, using the Access Framework to categorize themes. Our interviews identified factors operating at the global, national, county, and provider levels. These include lack of global implementation guidance, context specific cost-effectiveness data, or prioritization by procurement agencies and clinical guidelines; perceived high cost; poor data for demand forecasting; insufficient budget for procurement of NCD medications; absence of prescriber training and awareness of clinical guidelines; and habitual prescribing behavior and understaffing limiting capacity for change. We propose specific strategies to address these. The findings of this work can inform efforts to improve implementation of other evidence-based interventions for NCDs in low-income settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2448862"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143191466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mitigating salinity and cadmium stress in rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) using PGPR and salicylic acid: rhizosphere, health risk, and physiological insights.","authors":"Arwa Abdulkreem Al-Huqail, Muna Abdul-Rahman Al-Malki, Dalia Mohammad Melebari, Hanan El Sayed Osman, Dikhnah Alshehri, Suliman Mohammed Suliman Alghanem, Amany H A Abeed, Hesam Mousavi","doi":"10.1080/15592324.2025.2553803","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15592324.2025.2553803","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soil contamination with salinity and heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) is becoming a serious global problem due to the rapid development of the social economy. Although plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria PGPR and organic agents such as salicylic acid (SA) are considered major protectants to alleviate abiotic stresses, the study of these bacteria and organic acids to ameliorate the toxic effects of salinity and Cd remains limited. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the individual and combined effects of PGPR and SA on enhancing the phytoremediation of salinity (100 mM NaCl) and Cd (50 µM CdCl₂) using rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) plants. The research results indicated that elevated levels of salinity and Cd stress in soil significantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, and gas exchange attributes. However, salinity and Cd stress also induced oxidative stress in the plants by increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) by 44% and 38%, respectively, which also induced increased compounds of various enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, and also the gene expression and sugar content. Furthermore, a significant (<i>P</i> < 0.05) increase in cadmium accumulation, potential health risk indices, proline metabolism, the AsA-GSH cycle, and the pigmentation of cellular components was observed. Although the application of PGPR and SA showed a significant (<i>P</i> < 0.05) increase in plant growth and biomass, gas exchange characteristics, microbial diversity, functional gene abundance in the rhizosphere, enzymatic and nonenzymatic compounds, and their gene expression, and also decreased oxidative stress. In addition, the application of PGPR and SA enhanced cellular fractionation and decreased metal accumulation by 37% in shoots, proline metabolism, and the AsA-GSH cycle in <i>O. sativa</i> plants. These results provide new insights for sustainable agricultural practices and hold immense promise in addressing the pressing challenges of salinity and heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils.</p>","PeriodicalId":94172,"journal":{"name":"Plant signaling & behavior","volume":"20 1","pages":"2553803"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12416180/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145006914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short-term transcriptional memory and association-forming ability of tomato plants in response to ultrasound and drought stress stimuli.","authors":"Dóra Farkas, Anita Király, Viktor Ambrus, Bianka Tóth, Judit Dobránszki","doi":"10.1080/15592324.2025.2556982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2025.2556982","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant memory is an adaptive mechanism that plants can use to increase their fitness and cope with adverse environmental stresses. In this study, mRNA-sequencing (mRNA-seq), whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) methods were applied for evaluating formation and maintenance of somatic transcriptional memory after treatment with ultrasound and drought stimuli in tomatoes. In addition, the effects of repeated stimuli, as well as the association-forming ability of plants were studied when they were trained previously with combined stimuli. Two days after exposure to the two stimuli applied alone or in combination, significantly altered gene transcription and DNA methylation were revealed. Using four selected target genes, we demonstrated that plants memorized stimuli for 5-10 d, in a gene- and stimulus-dependent way. The repeated application of the stimuli caused various alterations in gene transcription behavior, such as habituation, sustained induction or modified reinduction. Plants were able to use one conditioned stimulus as a predictor of the other, unconditioned one, after conditioning in the case of 3 out of 4 target genes, and used their transcriptional memory associatively. The exploitation of plant memory and associative learning may contribute to the development of new strategies to increase plant stress resilience.</p>","PeriodicalId":94172,"journal":{"name":"Plant signaling & behavior","volume":"20 1","pages":"2556982"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145042782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can a 19^th Century French Medical Debate Provide Guidance on How to Tackle Type 2 Diabetes?","authors":"Abdo S Yazbeck","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2464977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23288604.2025.2464977","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2464977"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143506534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of <i>NPR1-</i>like genes in pearl millet under diverse biotic and abiotic stresses and phytohormone treatments.","authors":"Jagatjeet Nayak, Chanwala Jeky, Baisista Saha, Nrisingha Dey, Soumya Ranjan Mahapatra, Namrata Misra, Mrunmay Kumar Giri","doi":"10.1080/15592324.2025.2552895","DOIUrl":"10.1080/15592324.2025.2552895","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) is a master regulator of salicylic acid (SA)- facilitated plant hormone signaling and plays a crucial role in plant defense through the activation of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Although <i>NPR1-</i>like genes are associated with stress responses in a variety of plant species, no thorough genome-wide investigation of these genes has been undertaken in pearl millet (<i>Pennisetum glaucum</i>). This study discovered seven <i>PgNPR1</i>-like genes on four pearl millet chromosomes (Chr1, Chr2, Chr4, and Chr6), which exhibit close affinity to NPRs from other plants and have common gene structures, conserved motifs, and domains. The promoter regions of <i>PgNPR1-</i>like genes have numerous cis-acting elements connected with biotic and abiotic stresses, natural plant growth, and development. The qPCR results showed that <i>PgNPR1</i>-like genes were differentially expressed in distinct tissues, developmental stages, and under various biotic and abiotic stresses. Some putative <i>NPR1-like</i> genes, such as <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10029279</i>, <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10004488</i>, <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10004489</i>, and <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10015079</i>, showed considerable expression in response to abiotic stimuli such as heat, drought, and salinity. The <i>PgNPR1-</i>like gene <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10029279</i> was observed to be differently expressed upon treatment of hormones such as SA and MeJA. <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10029279</i> was also significantly expressed after <i>Magnaporthe grisea</i> infection, which causes blast in pearl millet. <i>In silico</i> expression study of the <i>PgNPR1-</i>like genes after <i>Sclerospora graminicola</i> infection, causing downy-mildew disease, revealed that <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10029279</i> and <i>Pgl_GLEAN_10004489</i> were significantly upregulated. In addition, the docking results also showed that Pgl_GLEAN_10029279 and Pgl_GLEAN_10007810 out of all seven PgNPRs have strong interactions with the ligand SA, which proves their potential involvement in SA signaling and hence plant defense. These results offer a firm framework for comprehending the roles and development of <i>PgNPR1-</i>like genes in pearl millet.</p>","PeriodicalId":94172,"journal":{"name":"Plant signaling & behavior","volume":"20 1","pages":"2552895"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12427447/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145016992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development Assistance for Health and the Challenge of NCDs Through the Lens of Type 2 Diabetes.","authors":"William Savedoff, Abdo S Yazbeck, David H Peters, Son Nam Nguyen","doi":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2531693","DOIUrl":"10.1080/23288604.2025.2531693","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent the largest burden of disease, even in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). The long latency period, chronicity, and common environmental, behavioral and genetic etiologies of NCDs-as shown through the example of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-expose health system failures to undertake multi-sectoral public health actions, address early detection, and provide integrated care. Development assistance for health (DAH), with its focus on donor priorities, often exacerbates such health system challenges. DAH has mainly focused on infectious diseases along with conditions related to reproductive health. Some programs show how DAH could help LMICs reorient health systems by focusing on neglected areas like economic and social policies, along with environmental and behavioral drivers of diseases like T2DM. Furthermore, in an era of declining resources for DAH, external support needs to be catalytic, supporting reforms more than financing services. Orienting limited DAH to address NCDs could support the necessary transformation of service organization, financial allocation criteria, data generation and use, health promotion, and training of care providers. DAH could also strengthen the public institutions and policies that prevent NCDs like T2DM through economic policies, environmental regulation, and health promotion interventions that address social and behavioral risk factors. Four broad categories of actions can guide DAH to better orient health systems to address NCDs: \"First, do no harm,\" help transform health systems, think outside the box, and match tools to needs. Several existing assistance modalities are also presented to show specific ways that this reorientation can be implemented.</p>","PeriodicalId":73218,"journal":{"name":"Health systems and reform","volume":"11 1","pages":"2531693"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144735885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}