British Journal of Biomedical Science最新文献

{"title":"Assessing the Impact of Mesoporous, Co-Amorphous, and Polymer-Based Systems on Cefdinir's Dissolution and Stability Via Predictive Modeling.","authors":"Raghad Al Nuss, Mohamad Anas Al Tahan, Hind El-Zein","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15242","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15242","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The poor solubility and permeability of Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) Class IV drugs pose major challenges to achieving sufficient oral bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Improving drug dissolution is a key strategy to enhance bioavailability, which in turn can enable more effective targeting of drugs to their site of action. To address this, we formulated cefdinir, a model BCS Class IV compound, using three amorphisation strategies; solid dispersions, mesoporous silica dispersions, and co-amorphous systems to assess the impact of formulation on stability and dissolution. Formulations were prepared via spray drying and solvent immersion using different drug-to-polymer ratios, with miscibility predicted using Flory-Huggins theory. The amorphous nature of each system was confirmed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarised light microscopy (PLM), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Dissolution studies revealed significantly enhanced drug release from all formulations compared to crystalline cefdinir. Among them, solid dispersion and co-amorphous systems exhibited the greatest improvement in dissolution rates, attributed to their ability to maintain supersaturation and inhibit crystallisation via kinetic stabilisation. These systems also showed better physical stability under non-sink aqueous conditions. However, mesoporous silica dispersions demonstrated superior long-term stability, retaining over 95% drug content and preserving their amorphous structure across three storage conditions (25 °C/0% RH, 40 °C/0% RH, and 40 °C/75% RH) for 6 months. This was attributed to the confinement of the drug within silica pores and the absence of hygroscopic excipients. Overall, this study highlights the distinct advantages of each approach, emphasising the importance of balancing dissolution enhancement with solid-state stability, and supports the use of theoretical modelling to guide rational formulation design for poorly soluble drugs to improve oral bioavailability and enable more targeted therapeutic outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"15242"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12945843/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147324718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antimicrobial Resistance: The Answers.","authors":"Beverley C Millar, Mary J Cates, Marco S Torrisi, Amanda J Round, Aisling Warde, Colm J Lowery, John E Moore","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.15559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2026.15559","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has caused a global public health crisis, contributing to approximately five million deaths in 2019 and predicted deaths of approximately ten million annually by 2050. This equates to approximately 1.4-fold more deaths annually from AMR in 2050 than the entire COVID-19 pandemic to date. To tackle this AMR pandemic, regulatory and policy frameworks have been prepared at local, national and international levels with multi-faceted proposals and advances encompassing surveillance, diagnostics, infection prevention, antibiotic prescribing and variation of existing and novel treatment approaches. This narrative review primarily focuses on research and development which have been documented over the last five years in relation to therapeutic approaches at various stages in clinical development and the potential role that vaccines can play in the fight against AMR. This review provides an overview on antibacterial drugs, including novel classes of antibiotics, which have been recently approved, as well as combination antibiotic therapy and the potential of repurposed drugs. The potential role of novel antimicrobial, antibiofilm and quorum sensing inhibitors, such as antimicrobial peptides, nanomaterials and compounds from the extreme and natural environments, as well as ethnopharmacology including the antimicrobial effects of plants, spices, honey and venoms are explored. Novel therapeutic approaches are critically discussed in terms of their realistic clinical potential, detailing recent and ongoing trials to highlight the current interest of these approaches, including immunotherapy, bacteriophage therapy, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), antimicrobial sonodynamic therapy (aSDT), nitric oxide therapy and microbiome manipulation including faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). The potential of predatory bacteria as living antimicrobial agents is also discussed. Importantly, there have been many technological developments which have enhanced bioprospecting and research and development of novel antimicrobials which this review draws attention to, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and Organ-on-a-Chip devices. Finally, key messages from the recent World Health Organization report into the role of vaccines against AMR provides an interesting perspective relating to prevention which can be of significance in tackling the AMR burden.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"15559"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12922517/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147269740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Empowering Students to Identify Their Own Skill Sets Through a Final Year Biomedical Science Job Interview Assessment.","authors":"Kayleigh Wilkins, Amreen Bashir, James Heritage, Kathleen Pritchard, Ross Pallett, Karan Singh Rana","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.14887","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2025.14887","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The final year Professional Development for Biomedical Scientists module at Aston University strives to create competent practitioners upon graduation. Recent research identified that 93% of NHS pathology employers within the United Kingdom, do not believe that new Biomedical Scientist graduates possess the skills required for a Band 5 interview. Additionally, 73% of these employers believed students were not fully prepared for the NHS interview process. Therefore, Aston University redeveloped an existing mock interview component to align directly with NHS interview processes. This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned \"Job interview\" assessment upon student understanding of their own transferable skills and readiness for future laboratory employment.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the assessment through a mixed-method approach survey. The survey was launched to students following their completion of the Medical Laboratory Assistant video interview, using the interview software Interview360. The survey sought to identify if after the interview assessment students felt they could demonstrate with examples, using the STAR technique, several key skills sought by employers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Data was collected from both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 final year Biomedical Science cohort. Collected data has been overwhelmingly positive, with 97% of students agreeing that they <i>\"understand the types of questions they would be asked in an NHS interview\"</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). In terms of the key skills sought for by employers, 93% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they felt they could communicate within a specific situation example their understanding of <i>\"Basic equipment skills\"</i> (<i>p <</i> 0.0001) and their <i>\"understanding of laboratory results\"</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). Whilst 99% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they could demonstrate their \"<i>understanding of laboratory health and safety\"</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). Furthermore, respondents reported that the job interview assessment assisted them to demonstrate their transferable skills, including teamwork (81.6%) and organisational skills (71.05%).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Student responses identify a positive change to their job interview skills and understanding of the NHS interview process. Here, researchers present the re-modelled graded job interview assessment with the NHS aligned mark scheme, along with four pre-assessment workshops as a process to embed employability into the Biomedical Science curriculum.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"14887"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12917370/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147269665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the Barriers Faced by Biomedical Science Undergraduates in Completing a Placement Year.","authors":"Kathryn Dudley, Amreen Bashir","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2026.14947","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2026.14947","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Research shows completing a placement year is associated with improved academic and employment outcomes. For Biomedical science courses, pathology placements allow completion of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) registration training portfolio and obtaining Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration post-graduation. This study sought to identify the barriers biomedical science students across the West Midlands region of England face when completing a placement year, to identify strategies which promote inclusivity to overcome these barriers.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Level 5 and Level 6 students from Aston, Coventry, Keele and Wolverhampton universities were invited to complete a questionnaire which included a mixture of Likert scale and free-text responses. A range of questions assessed student perceptions on the importance of placement opportunities, as well as identifying factors which were important when pursuing a placement year. Likert scale data was analysed quantitatively, and a Mann Whitney U or Kruskal Wallis test were used to infer significance, whereas free text responses were analysed using thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 107 students completed the questionnaire. Students who declared a disability were less likely to undertake an unpaid placement compared to their peers (p = 0.013). Of those students who declared caring responsibilities, 33.3% chose not to apply for a placement year compared to 18.2% of those who did not have caring responsibilities (p = 0.020). Participants reported that funding was important when deciding whether to pursue a placement (88.8%). Thematic analysis revealed several recurring themes deterring student placement applications, including financial support and placement availability within their geographical area. Students valued the importance of professional recognition following the placement and the development of technical and transferable skills.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Many of the barriers are fuelled by financial constraints which deter students from applying to placement positions. Despite the need to increase the Biomedical Scientist workforce, the strategies to increase training opportunities are not well established. Equity in placement funding from centralised sources is key to ensuring Biomedical Scientists can excel in their professional careers. Through availability of funding, marginalised populations will have the same opportunities as their peers therefore producing more employable graduates to meet pathology workforce demands.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"83 ","pages":"14947"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12916434/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147269672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maternal <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> Infection Perturbs Foetal and Maternal Foetal Interface Metabolism, Exposing the Foetus to Kynurenine.","authors":"Hafiz Arshad, Gareth Westrop, Natércia Teixeira, Margarida Borges, Craig W Roberts","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.14989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2025.14989","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;i&gt;Toxoplasma gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection during pregnancy can result in abortion or congenital infection. Events in the maternal-foetal interface, which form a selective barrier between the maternal and foetal circulations and where critical immunological adaptations occur, are critical in determining the pregnancy outcome. Recent studies have demonstrated that &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection can alter host metabolism, but how &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection alters the placenta or the foetus metabolome has not been reported.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;Herein, for the first time, we use liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS) in the BALB/c murine model of congenital &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; to address this shortcoming.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Maternal infection resulted in dysregulation of free amino acids with significant decreases in the levels of arginine, proline, threonine, methionine, leucine, glycine and glutamine detected in the decidua. Similar changes were noted in the placenta, although differences were less pronounced. In contrast, amino acid levels were not significantly altered in the foetal extracts. Results demonstrate that &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection induces the highest number of metabolite changes in the maternal serum. However, a subset of these changes was also found in the maternal-foetal interface and in the developing foetus. Maternal infection resulted in changes to arginine metabolism and downregulation of the urea cycle&lt;b&gt;.&lt;/b&gt; Specifically, ornithine, arginosuccinate and citrulline were significantly decreased in all three tissues following maternal infection. Increased levels of spermidine were evident in the placenta and foetal extracts and not in the decidua from maternally infected mice. This indicates that maternal &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection downregulates the urea cycle, while increasing flux into polyamine biosynthesis in the decidua, placenta and foetus. Maternal infection resulted in an alteration to the tryptophan degradation pathway. Significantly decreased levels of kynurenine were seen in the decidua and placenta of maternally infected mice in comparison with the uninfected controls. In contrast, there was a significant increase in kynurenine in foetal extracts from maternally infected mice. Some metabolites from microbiome origin, including indoxylsulfate and 4-guanidinobutanoate, were changed compared with the controls, suggesting the potential of &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; to change the host microbiome.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Discussion: &lt;/strong&gt;The data presented herein demonstrate that &lt;i&gt;T. gondii&lt;/i&gt; infection during pregnancy alters the metabolome of the maternal-foetal interface and developing foetus. Notably increased kynurenine and decreased tryptophan levels were found in the foetal tissue. As kynurenine is known to be produced during maternal immune activation and has been implicated in the development of psychoneurological diseases these changes could have important implications for t","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"14989"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12913195/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146225600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gut Microbiota of Sarawak's \"Orang Ulu\" Indigenous Community in East Malaysia Reveals Vanish Microbes: A Comparison With Urban Communities.","authors":"Farhat Abjani, Yi Xian Er, Soo Ching Lee, Priya Madhavan, Anthony Rhodes, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Pei Pei Chong, Karuthan Chinna","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15378","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15378","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Urbanization often correlates with reduced diversity in human gut microbiota, with notable variations observed between the gut microbiota among the Indigenous communities in rural villages and urban citizens residing in modern settings. Although research has been conducted on the gut microbiota of healthy adults in Malaysia, there has been no study characterising the gut microbiota of Sarawak's Indigenous communities to date. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the gut microbiota profile of the Sarawak Indigenous groups (specifically Orang Ulu subethnic groups Kayan and Kenyah), comparing them with semi-urbanized Selangor Indigenous communities from Peninsular Malaysia (represented by Proto Malay subtribe Temuan) and Urban communities from Kuala Lumpur.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional study and collected stool samples from 86 Indigenous participants from Sarawak and compared them with published data from 45 Malaysian Indigenous participants from Selangor and 18 Urban citizens living in Kuala Lumpur City. DNA was extracted from the stool samples, and subsequently, the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced. The raw sequence data were analyzed using the Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology 2 (QIIME2) bioinformatics platform.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>Analysis revealed that the Sarawak Indigenous community exhibited the highest gut microbial diversity, followed by the Peninsular Indigenous and Urban groups. The <i>Prevotella</i>/<i>Bacteroides</i> (P/B) ratio revealed that the Sarawak Indigenous community showed the highest presence of <i>Prevotella</i> at 88.3%, while Kuala Lumpur Urban residents had a predominantly <i>Bacteroides</i> composition at 61%. The Selangor Indigenous community also exhibited a <i>Prevotella</i>-dominant profile at 75.5%. VANISH microbes (<i>Prevotella</i>, <i>Faecalibacterium</i>, and <i>Succinivibrio</i>) were identified as dominant genera in the Sarawak Indigenous gut microbiota, contrasting with the BIoSSUM microbe (<i>Bacteroidaceae</i>) found in the Kuala Lumpur cohort.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study sheds light on the distinct gut microbiota composition of Sarawak's Indigenous community, which has not been previously explored. It highlights the impact of urbanization on gut microbiota composition during lifestyle transitions.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"15378"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12867934/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146123786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"S100 Protein and Interleukin Biomarkers Among COVID-19 Subjects With and Without Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.","authors":"Haily Liduin Koyou, Vasudevan Ramachandran, Mohd Nazil Salleh, Wan Aliaa Wan Sulaiman, Mohd Hazmi Mohamed, Mohd Jaamia Qaadir Mohd Badrin, Caroline Satu Jelemie","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15355","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15355","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The global spread of COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic cases to severe complications, such as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multiple organ failure. Identifying effective biomarkers is essential for predicting disease severity and improving patient management.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This meta-analysis aims to assess the significance of S100 proteins (S100A4, S100A8, S100A9, S100A12, S100B, S100P) and interleukins (IL) (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, IL-1β) in COVID-19 patients, comparing those with and without pneumonia or organ failure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic literature search was conducted on different databases, yielding 47 relevant studies published between 2020 and 2024. Data on the prevalence of IL and S100 protein levels were extracted and analyzed using pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) and heterogeneity (I²) to evaluate their associations with disease severity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>IL-6 and IL-10 levels were significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients suffering from pneumonia or organ failure. IL-6 levels were notably higher in pneumonia patients compared to those without (SMD = 0.34 [95% CI: 0.17, 0.52], I² = 29%). Similarly, elevated S100B levels were observed in severe cases (SMD = 0.51 [95% CI: 0.19, 0.83], I² = 0%). While IL-10 levels showed high variability (I² = 90%), they remained consistently linked with worse outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This meta-analysis underscores the potential of IL-6, IL-10, and S100 proteins as important biomarkers in evaluating COVID-19 severity, offering valuable insights to help clinical management.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"15355"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12823546/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146050293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Analysis of the Readability of Public-Facing Information Relating to Prevention of Infectious Diseases by Vaccination.","authors":"Beverley C Millar, Callum Peters, John E Moore","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15435","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15435","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The readability of public-facing vaccine-related information is an important aspect of health literacy particularly regarding vaccine uptake. The aims of this study were to analyse the readability of such written literature and to provide recommendations, for improvement.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Readability of vaccine-related information (n_total = 240) from publicly available sources (n = 20 per category), including PubMed Abstracts, Expert Review of Vaccines (ERV) and Cochrane Reviews (CR), paired plain language and scientific abstracts, public health materials, clinical trial summaries and vaccine patient information leaflets, were assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), SMOG and Gunning Fog readability metrics using the readability software tool readable.com.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Vaccine-related information for all sources had poor readability across all readability metrics with 90.8% and 94.6% not reaching the target FKGL (≤8) (mean 12 ± 3.2 sd) and FRE (≥60) (mean 34 ± 17 sd). Plain language summaries had improved readability, but did not reach reference targets. Scientific abstract and plain language scores for the CR were FRE (mean 25 ± 7.2 sd; median 25) versus (mean 37 ± 8.6 sd; median 36) p < 0.0001), respectively and for ERV FRE the scientific abstract (mean 18 ± 11 sd; median 17) versus the plain language score (mean 26 ± 11 sd; median 28) p = 0.002), respectively, indicating an improvement in readability scores for plain language summaries but again not reaching reference targets.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The readability of public-facing vaccination materials is currently not optimum. The readability can be improved through the employment of readability calculators and ensuring, where possible, the use of mono-syllable words and less than fourteen words per sentence. The preparation of public-facing materials with improved readability scores will help aid in the promotion of health literacy and in turn promote vaccination uptake.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"15435"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12766163/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145910317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular Effects of Glucose on <i>MIR503HG</i>-Regulated Genes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.","authors":"Victoria A Reid, Barbara Yang, Kyle Russo, Melina J Sedano, Ramesh Choudhari, Enrique I Ramos, Shrikanth S Gadad","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15206","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15206","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, characterized by a lack of key hormone receptors in tumor cells. As there are limited treatment options for these patients, it is crucial to understand the underlying mechanisms by which TNBC constantly evolves and evades treatments. In this regard, the pervasive nature of transcription provides a potential reservoir of transcripts, including both coding and noncoding, that TNBC leverages to sustain a proliferative advantage and support tumor growth. TNBC is affected by energy sources such as glucose, which can have a profound impact on gene expression regulation mediated by various molecules, including noncoding RNAs, at the cellular level. In this study, we demonstrate that glucose modulates the gene expression profile mediated by the microRNA-503 host gene (<i>MIR503HG</i>), which has been previously implicated in TNBC. To comprehensively characterize the impact of glucose on <i>MIR503HG</i>-regulated genes and cellular pathways, we sequenced total RNA, performed gene set enrichment analyses, and determined the relation between gene expression and patient outcomes. Analysis of gene subsets specific to various glucose environments identified clinical outcomes for breast cancer patients across different molecular subtypes. Our findings indicate that <i>MIR503HG</i> has potential as a diagnostic marker and may be useful in the clinical management of TNBC.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"15206"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12753515/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145888656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidemiological Analysis of Antinuclear Antibodies Positivity and Pattern Distribution in a Taiwanese Hospital-Based Cohort.","authors":"Yu-Wei Tseng, Cheng-Li Lin, Si-Yu Chen, Tze-Kiong Er","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15625","DOIUrl":"10.3389/bjbs.2025.15625","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autoimmune diseases pose an increasing global health burden. The detection of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) via indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) is central to diagnosing systemic autoimmune conditions. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and distribution of ANA patterns in a Taiwanese population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 8,299 patients who underwent ANA testing at Asia University Hospital between January 2021 and December 2023. ANA patterns were classified based on fluorescence staining characteristics. Demographic variables, including age and gender, were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>ANA positivity was observed in 35.3% of patients. The most frequent pattern was homogeneous (33.0%), followed by speckled (24.1%). Female patients had a significantly higher positivity rate (female-to-male ratio 2.7:1), and the ≥66-year age group accounted for 34.6% of ANA-positive cases. Mixed ANA patterns were identified in 22.8% of ANA-positive patients, with homogeneous-speckled being the most common combination (27.4%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This large-scale study provides valuable epidemiological data on ANA prevalence and pattern distribution in Taiwan. The predominance of homogeneous and speckled patterns, particularly among older female patients, aligns with established trends in autoimmune diseases. The high proportion of mixed ANA patterns suggests the need for further investigation into their clinical significance and diagnostic value.</p>","PeriodicalId":9236,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"82 ","pages":"15625"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12745285/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145862037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}