PeerJ
type: channel
link: https://peerj.com/articles/
description: Articles published in PeerJ
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
publication name: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359
items: Patient satisfaction after outpatient hysteroscopy: a retrospective descriptive study
items: TSCytoPred: a deep learning framework for inferring cytokine expression trajectories from irregular longitudinal gene expression data to enhance multi-omics analyses
items: Assessment of distinct effects of Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex Benth Ethanolic leaf extract on glucose transport in different cell types
items: Impact of insular landscape features on the population genetics of a threatened climbing palm, Korthalsia rogersii Becc., endemic to the Andaman Islands
items: Multimodal system for recording individual-level behaviors in songbird groups
items: Risk factors of diastasis recti abdominis, and relationship with surface electromyography characteristics of pelvic floor muscles in early postpartum: a retrospective study
items: Screening frost-tolerant sunflower hybrids: integrating physiological traits and electrolyte leakage analysis
items: Serum cystatin-C and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a retrospective cohort study
items: Prognostic implications of microRNA-107 in esophageal cancer: a retrospective cohort study
items: Effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on ischemic stroke incidence and mortality: a five-year time-series study in Jining, China

Patient satisfaction after outpatient hysteroscopy: a retrospective descriptive study
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background The aim of the study is to analyse the overall satisfaction level of patients undergoing diagnostic and/or therapeutic hysteroscopy in an ambulatory setting and examine factors related to satisfaction. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was conducted to analyse outpatient hysteroscopies performed between January 2020 and June 2022 at the University Hospital of Igualada. Patient demographic and clinical data as well as hysteroscopic features were collected. A telephonic questionnaire on patient satisfaction was conducted retrospectively. Results A total of 435 hysteroscopies were analysed. Hysteroscopy was successful in 95.6% of them with a clinical remission in 69.8% of patients. The mean pain score was 3.33 (Visual Analogue Scale). An average overall satisfaction score of 9 was obtained. Pain was the main reason in patients with low satisfaction ratings. A positive correlation was found between the patient satisfaction score and the level of information received before the procedure. An inverse relationship was detected between the patient satisfaction score and the pain experienced during the hysteroscopy. Conclusions Outpatient diagnostic and/or therapeutic hysteroscopy is a technique accepted by the majority of patients and with a high level of satisfaction. Variables such as pain or the previous information received are important and directly related to the final satisfaction level of the procedure.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Claudia Sanchez Carbonell
creator: Jennifer Rovira Pampalona
creator: Carla Oliveres Amor
creator: Alexandra Caballol Arteaga
creator: Maria Degollada
creator: Pere Brescó Torras
subject: Gynecology and Obstetrics
subject: Surgery and Surgical Specialties
subject: Women’s Health
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20272
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Sanchez Carbonell et al.
abstract: Background The aim of the study is to analyse the overall satisfaction level of patients undergoing diagnostic and/or therapeutic hysteroscopy in an ambulatory setting and examine factors related to satisfaction. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was conducted to analyse outpatient hysteroscopies performed between January 2020 and June 2022 at the University Hospital of Igualada. Patient demographic and clinical data as well as hysteroscopic features were collected. A telephonic questionnaire on patient satisfaction was conducted retrospectively. Results A total of 435 hysteroscopies were analysed. Hysteroscopy was successful in 95.6% of them with a clinical remission in 69.8% of patients. The mean pain score was 3.33 (Visual Analogue Scale). An average overall satisfaction score of 9 was obtained. Pain was the main reason in patients with low satisfaction ratings. A positive correlation was found between the patient satisfaction score and the level of information received before the procedure. An inverse relationship was detected between the patient satisfaction score and the pain experienced during the hysteroscopy. Conclusions Outpatient diagnostic and/or therapeutic hysteroscopy is a technique accepted by the majority of patients and with a high level of satisfaction. Variables such as pain or the previous information received are important and directly related to the final satisfaction level of the procedure.
bibliographic citation: Sanchez Carbonell et al. (2025) Patient satisfaction after outpatient hysteroscopy: a retrospective descriptive study. PeerJ 13:e20272 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20272
date submitted: 2025-03-26
date accepted: 2025-09-30
issued: 2025-11-10
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Sanchez Carbonell
  given name: Claudia
author list: Agent
  family name: Rovira Pampalona
  given name: Jennifer
author list: Agent
  family name: Oliveres Amor
  given name: Carla
author list: Agent
  family name: Caballol Arteaga
  given name: Alexandra
author list: Agent
  family name: Degollada
  given name: Maria
author list: Agent
  family name: Brescó Torras
  given name: Pere
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20272
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-10
copyright: ©2025 Sanchez Carbonell et al.
attribution name: Sanchez Carbonell et al.

TSCytoPred: a deep learning framework for inferring cytokine expression trajectories from irregular longitudinal gene expression data to enhance multi-omics analyses
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Cytokines play a crucial role in immune system regulation, mediating responses from pathogen defense to tissue-damaging inflammation. Excessive cytokine production is implicated in severe conditions such as cancer progression, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and severe cases of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Studies have shown that cytokine expression profiles serve as biomarkers for disease severity and mortality prediction, with machine learning (ML) methods increasingly employed for predictive analysis. To improve patient outcome predictions, treatment adaptation, and survival rates, longitudinal analysis of cytokine profiles is essential. Time-series cytokine profiling has been linked to tumor response, overall survival in various cancers, and acute encephalopathy. Similarly, COVID-19 severity and patient outcomes correlate with cytokine expression dynamics over time. However, challenges remain due to the limited availability of time-series cytokine data, restricting broader experimental applications and robust predictive modeling. Recent advancements indicate that cytokine expression can be computationally inferred using gene expression data and transcription factor interactions. Inferring cytokine levels from existing gene expression datasets could enhance early disease detection and treatment response predictions while reducing profiling costs. This work proposes TSCytoPred, a deep learning-based model trained on time-series gene expression data to infer cytokine expression trajectories. TSCytoPred identifies genes relevant for predicting target cytokines through interaction relationships and high correlation. These identified genes are subsequently utilized in a neural network incorporating an interpolation block to estimate cytokine expression trajectories between observed time points. Performance evaluations using a COVID-19 dataset demonstrate that TSCytoPred significantly outperforms baseline regression methods, achieving the highest coefficien…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Joung Min Choi
creator: Heejoon Chae
subject: Bioinformatics
subject: Computational Biology
subject: Data Mining and Machine Learning
subject: Data Science
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20270
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Choi and Chae
abstract: Cytokines play a crucial role in immune system regulation, mediating responses from pathogen defense to tissue-damaging inflammation. Excessive cytokine production is implicated in severe conditions such as cancer progression, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and severe cases of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Studies have shown that cytokine expression profiles serve as biomarkers for disease severity and mortality prediction, with machine learning (ML) methods increasingly employed for predictive analysis. To improve patient outcome predictions, treatment adaptation, and survival rates, longitudinal analysis of cytokine profiles is essential. Time-series cytokine profiling has been linked to tumor response, overall survival in various cancers, and acute encephalopathy. Similarly, COVID-19 severity and patient outcomes correlate with cytokine expression dynamics over time. However, challenges remain due to the limited availability of time-series cytokine data, restricting broader experimental applications and robust predictive modeling. Recent advancements indicate that cytokine expression can be computationally inferred using gene expression data and transcription factor interactions. Inferring cytokine levels from existing gene expression datasets could enhance early disease detection and treatment response predictions while reducing profiling costs. This work proposes TSCytoPred, a deep learning-based model trained on time-series gene expression data to infer cytokine expression trajectories. TSCytoPred identifies genes relevant for predicting target cytokines through interaction relationships and high correlation. These identified genes are subsequently utilized in a neural network incorporating an interpolation block to estimate cytokine expression trajectories between observed time points. Performance evaluations using a COVID-19 dataset demonstrate that TSCytoPred significantly outperforms baseline regression methods, achieving the highest coefficien…
bibliographic citation: Choi et al. (2025) TSCytoPred: a deep learning framework for inferring cytokine expression trajectories from irregular longitudinal gene expression data to enhance multi-omics analyses. PeerJ 13:e20270 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20270
date submitted: 2025-05-06
date accepted: 2025-09-30
issued: 2025-11-10
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Choi
  given name: Joung Min
author list: Agent
  family name: Chae
  given name: Heejoon
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20270
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-10
copyright: ©2025 Choi and Chae
attribution name: Choi and Chae

Assessment of distinct effects of Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex Benth Ethanolic leaf extract on glucose transport in different cell types
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Extracts of Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex Benth have been used as a traditional medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa for the management of various ailments including diabetes and has been shown to reduce plasma glucose levels in rat models of diabetes. Treatment of a range of mammalian cell lines with P. curatellifolia ethanolic leaf extract (PCE) for 24–48 h, typically between 0 and 100 µg/mL, revealed different actions: in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, PCE markedly inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport (50% inhibition at 100 µg/mL), whereas by contrast PCE-treatment of Caco-2 cells, a model of the intestinal epithelia at the same concentration, increased glucose transport ∼2-fold. This effect was accompanied by increased glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) levels but is independent of changes in the level of Akt, Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) or p38. Our data suggest that the antidiabetic effects of extracts of P. curatellifolia may arise by increased absorption of glucose from the gut and thus distribution to other cells/tissues. Our data further highlight the importance of screening metabolic actions of plant extracts against multiple cell lines, as these can often exhibit distinct cell-type-specific responses, and further suggest that relatively low doses of PCE (up to 100 µg/mL) could warrant investigation in in vivo models of disease.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Simeon Omale
creator: John C. Aguiyi
creator: Samuel Ede
creator: Layla Ryalls
creator: Runfei Ye
creator: Busra Basbaydar
creator: Gwyn W. Gould
creator: Shaun K. Bremner-Hart
subject: Biochemistry
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Diabetes and Endocrinology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20269
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Omale et al.
abstract: Extracts of Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex Benth have been used as a traditional medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa for the management of various ailments including diabetes and has been shown to reduce plasma glucose levels in rat models of diabetes. Treatment of a range of mammalian cell lines with P. curatellifolia ethanolic leaf extract (PCE) for 24–48 h, typically between 0 and 100 µg/mL, revealed different actions: in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, PCE markedly inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose transport (50% inhibition at 100 µg/mL), whereas by contrast PCE-treatment of Caco-2 cells, a model of the intestinal epithelia at the same concentration, increased glucose transport ∼2-fold. This effect was accompanied by increased glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) levels but is independent of changes in the level of Akt, Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) or p38. Our data suggest that the antidiabetic effects of extracts of P. curatellifolia may arise by increased absorption of glucose from the gut and thus distribution to other cells/tissues. Our data further highlight the importance of screening metabolic actions of plant extracts against multiple cell lines, as these can often exhibit distinct cell-type-specific responses, and further suggest that relatively low doses of PCE (up to 100 µg/mL) could warrant investigation in in vivo models of disease.
bibliographic citation: Omale et al. (2025) Assessment of distinct effects of Parinari curatellifolia Planch.ex Benth Ethanolic leaf extract on glucose transport in different cell types. PeerJ 13:e20269 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20269
date submitted: 2025-05-12
date accepted: 2025-09-30
issued: 2025-11-10
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Omale
  given name: Simeon
author list: Agent
  family name: Aguiyi
  given name: John C.
author list: Agent
  family name: Ede
  given name: Samuel
author list: Agent
  family name: Ryalls
  given name: Layla
author list: Agent
  family name: Ye
  given name: Runfei
author list: Agent
  family name: Basbaydar
  given name: Busra
author list: Agent
  family name: Gould
  given name: Gwyn W.
author list: Agent
  family name: Bremner-Hart
  given name: Shaun K.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20269
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-10
copyright: ©2025 Omale et al.
attribution name: Omale et al.

Impact of insular landscape features on the population genetics of a threatened climbing palm, Korthalsia rogersii Becc., endemic to the Andaman Islands
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Despite the critical structural and functional roles of palms in tropical forest ecosystems and their importance in the local economy and livelihood, palms face significant threats from habitat loss and economic exploitation. Many endemic palms on tropical islands warrant conservation strategies aimed at augmenting the existing gene pool to support effective management and long-term protection of genetic diversity. This study investigated the genetic diversity and structure of Korthalsia rogersii, a threatened climbing palm (rattan) endemic to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, across seven known populations (including recently identified ones) using microsatellite markers. The aim was to formulate informed conservation strategies by understanding how the island landscape influences the population genetic divergence of the species. Although heterozygosity and bottleneck analyses did not reveal significant genetic diversity loss, a positive correlation between population size and the number of observed alleles points to a potential ongoing decline. Moderate to high genetic differentiation was observed between populations, with geographical isolation contributing to divergence, particularly in the Interview island population. Notably, the South Andaman population (Chidiya Tapu) harbours the highest number of private alleles, despite exhibiting low overall genetic divergence, indicating it may serve as a reservoir of lost genetic diversity. Further, the Bakultala population shows significant within-population relatedness and reduced allelic diversity, indicative of genetic isolation and demographic decline. These findings provide preliminary insights into the role of the island landscapes in the Andaman archipelago in shaping population genetic divergence among plant taxa. Effective conservation strategies should target gene diversity, genetic structure and hotspots of unique alleles identified in the study, prioritising both population size enhancement and gene…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Sarath Paremmal
creator: Modhumita Dasgupta
creator: Sreekumar VB
creator: Suma Dev
subject: Biodiversity
subject: Conservation Biology
subject: Genetics
subject: Plant Science
subject: Population Biology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20265
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Paremmal et al.
abstract: Despite the critical structural and functional roles of palms in tropical forest ecosystems and their importance in the local economy and livelihood, palms face significant threats from habitat loss and economic exploitation. Many endemic palms on tropical islands warrant conservation strategies aimed at augmenting the existing gene pool to support effective management and long-term protection of genetic diversity. This study investigated the genetic diversity and structure of Korthalsia rogersii, a threatened climbing palm (rattan) endemic to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, across seven known populations (including recently identified ones) using microsatellite markers. The aim was to formulate informed conservation strategies by understanding how the island landscape influences the population genetic divergence of the species. Although heterozygosity and bottleneck analyses did not reveal significant genetic diversity loss, a positive correlation between population size and the number of observed alleles points to a potential ongoing decline. Moderate to high genetic differentiation was observed between populations, with geographical isolation contributing to divergence, particularly in the Interview island population. Notably, the South Andaman population (Chidiya Tapu) harbours the highest number of private alleles, despite exhibiting low overall genetic divergence, indicating it may serve as a reservoir of lost genetic diversity. Further, the Bakultala population shows significant within-population relatedness and reduced allelic diversity, indicative of genetic isolation and demographic decline. These findings provide preliminary insights into the role of the island landscapes in the Andaman archipelago in shaping population genetic divergence among plant taxa. Effective conservation strategies should target gene diversity, genetic structure and hotspots of unique alleles identified in the study, prioritising both population size enhancement and gene…
bibliographic citation: Paremmal et al. (2025) Impact of insular landscape features on the population genetics of a threatened climbing palm, Korthalsia rogersii Becc., endemic to the Andaman Islands. PeerJ 13:e20265 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20265
date submitted: 2025-05-15
date accepted: 2025-09-29
issued: 2025-11-10
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Paremmal
  given name: Sarath
author list: Agent
  family name: Dasgupta
  given name: Modhumita
author list: Agent
  family name: VB
  given name: Sreekumar
author list: Agent
  family name: Dev
  given name: Suma
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20265
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-10
copyright: ©2025 Paremmal et al.
attribution name: Paremmal et al.

Multimodal system for recording individual-level behaviors in songbird groups
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: The implicit goal of longitudinal observations of animal groups is to identify individuals and to reliably detect their behaviors, including their vocalizations. Yet, to segment fast behaviors and to extract individual vocalizations from sound mixtures remain challenging problems. Promising approaches are systems that record behaviors with multiple cameras, microphones, and animal-borne wireless sensors. Good systems extract from such multimodal signals perfectly synchronized data streams. In this vein, we designed a modular system (BirdPark) for simultaneously recording small animals wearing custom low-power frequency-modulated radio transmitters. Our custom software-defined radio receiver makes use of a multi-antenna demodulation technique that eliminates data losses due to radio signal fading and that increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the received radio signals by 6.5 dB compared to demodulation from the best single-antenna. Digital acquisition of all data streams relies on a single clock, which offers accurate cross-modal redundancies that can be used to dissect rapid behaviors on time scales well below the video frame period. We demonstrate this feat by reconstructing the wing-stroke phases of free-flying songbirds and by separating the vocalizations among up to eight vocally interacting birds. In conclusion, our work paves the way for automatically dissecting complex social behaviors.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Linus Rüttimann
creator: Yuhang Wang
creator: Jörg Rychen
creator: Tomas Tomka
creator: Heiko Hörster
creator: Richard H. R. Hahnloser
subject: Animal Behavior
subject: Computational Biology
subject: Zoology
subject: Statistics
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20203
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Rüttimann et al.
abstract: The implicit goal of longitudinal observations of animal groups is to identify individuals and to reliably detect their behaviors, including their vocalizations. Yet, to segment fast behaviors and to extract individual vocalizations from sound mixtures remain challenging problems. Promising approaches are systems that record behaviors with multiple cameras, microphones, and animal-borne wireless sensors. Good systems extract from such multimodal signals perfectly synchronized data streams. In this vein, we designed a modular system (BirdPark) for simultaneously recording small animals wearing custom low-power frequency-modulated radio transmitters. Our custom software-defined radio receiver makes use of a multi-antenna demodulation technique that eliminates data losses due to radio signal fading and that increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the received radio signals by 6.5 dB compared to demodulation from the best single-antenna. Digital acquisition of all data streams relies on a single clock, which offers accurate cross-modal redundancies that can be used to dissect rapid behaviors on time scales well below the video frame period. We demonstrate this feat by reconstructing the wing-stroke phases of free-flying songbirds and by separating the vocalizations among up to eight vocally interacting birds. In conclusion, our work paves the way for automatically dissecting complex social behaviors.
bibliographic citation: Rüttimann et al. (2025) Multimodal system for recording individual-level behaviors in songbird groups. PeerJ 13:e20203 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20203
date submitted: 2025-02-10
date accepted: 2025-09-17
issued: 2025-11-10
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Rüttimann
  given name: Linus
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Yuhang
author list: Agent
  family name: Rychen
  given name: Jörg
author list: Agent
  family name: Tomka
  given name: Tomas
author list: Agent
  family name: Hörster
  given name: Heiko
author list: Agent
  family name: Hahnloser
  given name: Richard H. R.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20203
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-10
copyright: © 2025 Rüttimann et al.
attribution name: Rüttimann et al.

Risk factors of diastasis recti abdominis, and relationship with surface electromyography characteristics of pelvic floor muscles in early postpartum: a retrospective study
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Objective This study aimed to identify the factors associated with diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) in early postpartum women and investigate any relationship with surface electromyography (sEMG) characteristics of pelvic floor muscles (PFM). Methods A total of 478 participants who visited Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital for postpartum re-examination between January and March 2023 were divided into two groups: DRA and Non-DRA. Basic demographic data were collected via self-reported questionnaires. Additionally, inter-recti distance (IRD) was measured using ultrasound imaging, and pelvic floor muscle activity was assessed using surface electromyography according to the Glazer protocols. Results There were no significant differences between the non-DRA and DRA groups in terms of weight gain during pregnancy, physical activity, number of fetuses, delivery mode, gestational diabetes, or urinary incontinence during pregnancy or postpartum. However, the DRA group was older and had a significantly lower level of education. Both pre-pregnancy and postpartum body mass index (BMI) were higher in the DRA group. The proportion of first-time mothers was greater in the non-DRA group, and fetal weight was lower in the non-DRA group compared to the DRA group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that older maternal age, lower education level, and a high number of deliveries were independently associated with an increased risk of DRA. No significant differences were observed in sEMG parameters between the two groups at the pre-baseline, flick contraction, tonic contraction, endurance contraction, and post-baseline stages. Conclusion Older maternal age, lower educational attainment, and higher parity were significantly associated with an increased risk of diastasis recti abdominis in early postpartum. No correlation was found between the sEMG characteristics of pelvic floor muscles and diastasis recti abdominis in the early postpartum period.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Xiaojun He
creator: Yang Lin
creator: Sha He
creator: Juan Lin
subject: Anatomy and Physiology
subject: Evidence Based Medicine
subject: Gynecology and Obstetrics
subject: Women’s Health
subject: Rehabilitation
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20299
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 He et al.
abstract: Objective This study aimed to identify the factors associated with diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) in early postpartum women and investigate any relationship with surface electromyography (sEMG) characteristics of pelvic floor muscles (PFM). Methods A total of 478 participants who visited Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital for postpartum re-examination between January and March 2023 were divided into two groups: DRA and Non-DRA. Basic demographic data were collected via self-reported questionnaires. Additionally, inter-recti distance (IRD) was measured using ultrasound imaging, and pelvic floor muscle activity was assessed using surface electromyography according to the Glazer protocols. Results There were no significant differences between the non-DRA and DRA groups in terms of weight gain during pregnancy, physical activity, number of fetuses, delivery mode, gestational diabetes, or urinary incontinence during pregnancy or postpartum. However, the DRA group was older and had a significantly lower level of education. Both pre-pregnancy and postpartum body mass index (BMI) were higher in the DRA group. The proportion of first-time mothers was greater in the non-DRA group, and fetal weight was lower in the non-DRA group compared to the DRA group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that older maternal age, lower education level, and a high number of deliveries were independently associated with an increased risk of DRA. No significant differences were observed in sEMG parameters between the two groups at the pre-baseline, flick contraction, tonic contraction, endurance contraction, and post-baseline stages. Conclusion Older maternal age, lower educational attainment, and higher parity were significantly associated with an increased risk of diastasis recti abdominis in early postpartum. No correlation was found between the sEMG characteristics of pelvic floor muscles and diastasis recti abdominis in the early postpartum period.
bibliographic citation: He et al. (2025) Risk factors of diastasis recti abdominis, and relationship with surface electromyography characteristics of pelvic floor muscles in early postpartum: a retrospective study. PeerJ 13:e20299 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20299
date submitted: 2025-02-20
date accepted: 2025-10-06
issued: 2025-11-07
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: He
  given name: Xiaojun
author list: Agent
  family name: Lin
  given name: Yang
author list: Agent
  family name: He
  given name: Sha
author list: Agent
  family name: Lin
  given name: Juan
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20299
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-07
copyright: ©2025 He et al.
attribution name: He et al.

Screening frost-tolerant sunflower hybrids: integrating physiological traits and electrolyte leakage analysis
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Frost is an important environmental stress factor that adversely affects plant growth and development and can even threaten plant survival. Methods This study aimed to identify frost-tolerant sunflower hybrids by analyzing the changes in physiological characteristics after exposure to frost at two early growth stages. Fourteen sunflower hybrids were exposed to frost stress at −4 °C for 4 hours at developmental stages of V2 and V4. Chlorophyll content (SPAD), relative leaf water content, leaf temperature, and electrolyte leakage were measured. Additionally, the percentage of damaged and dead plants following frost stress was recorded. Principal component analysis was performed for classification of sunflower hybrids. Results Significant differences were observed among the sunflower hybrids for all parameters investigated. All parameters were significantly affected by genotype and frost treatment. Increased electrolyte leakage and decreased relative water content were identified in frost- stressed plants. Electrolyte leakage was found to be significantly correlated with the percentage of damaged and dead plants at the V4 stage. Frost susceptibility increased with the advancing growth stage, with a higher percentage of damaged and dead plants at the four-leaf stage. The dead plant rate increased from 4.1% at the V2 stage to 19.4% at the V4 stage. SY Roseta, P63LE113, P64LE121, and Sanbro MR had the lowest percentage of damaged and dead plants at the two-leaf stage, while Sanbro MR, LG 50.585, and LG 59.580 were at the V4 stage. Conclusions The study highlighted the crucial influence of the growth stage on frost tolerance, with earlier stages showing greater resilience. Sunflower hybrids P63LE113, SY Gibraltar, and P63MM54 appeared more tolerant to frost damage. At the V4 stage, chlorophyll content and electrolyte leakage can be employed as potential selection criteria for frost-tolerant genetic resources and hybrids.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Mehmet Demir Kaya
creator: Engin Gökhan Kulan
creator: Nurgül Ergin
subject: Agricultural Science
subject: Plant Science
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20282
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Kaya et al.
abstract: Background Frost is an important environmental stress factor that adversely affects plant growth and development and can even threaten plant survival. Methods This study aimed to identify frost-tolerant sunflower hybrids by analyzing the changes in physiological characteristics after exposure to frost at two early growth stages. Fourteen sunflower hybrids were exposed to frost stress at −4 °C for 4 hours at developmental stages of V2 and V4. Chlorophyll content (SPAD), relative leaf water content, leaf temperature, and electrolyte leakage were measured. Additionally, the percentage of damaged and dead plants following frost stress was recorded. Principal component analysis was performed for classification of sunflower hybrids. Results Significant differences were observed among the sunflower hybrids for all parameters investigated. All parameters were significantly affected by genotype and frost treatment. Increased electrolyte leakage and decreased relative water content were identified in frost- stressed plants. Electrolyte leakage was found to be significantly correlated with the percentage of damaged and dead plants at the V4 stage. Frost susceptibility increased with the advancing growth stage, with a higher percentage of damaged and dead plants at the four-leaf stage. The dead plant rate increased from 4.1% at the V2 stage to 19.4% at the V4 stage. SY Roseta, P63LE113, P64LE121, and Sanbro MR had the lowest percentage of damaged and dead plants at the two-leaf stage, while Sanbro MR, LG 50.585, and LG 59.580 were at the V4 stage. Conclusions The study highlighted the crucial influence of the growth stage on frost tolerance, with earlier stages showing greater resilience. Sunflower hybrids P63LE113, SY Gibraltar, and P63MM54 appeared more tolerant to frost damage. At the V4 stage, chlorophyll content and electrolyte leakage can be employed as potential selection criteria for frost-tolerant genetic resources and hybrids.
bibliographic citation: Kaya et al. (2025) Screening frost-tolerant sunflower hybrids: integrating physiological traits and electrolyte leakage analysis. PeerJ 13:e20282 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20282
date submitted: 2024-12-24
date accepted: 2025-10-01
issued: 2025-11-07
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Kaya
  given name: Mehmet Demir
author list: Agent
  family name: Kulan
  given name: Engin Gökhan
author list: Agent
  family name: Ergin
  given name: Nurgül
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20282
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-07
copyright: ©2025 Kaya et al.
attribution name: Kaya et al.

Serum cystatin-C and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a retrospective cohort study
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Numerous studies across various populations have revealed that elevated cystatin-C levels are associated with an excessive risk of mortality. However, the prognostic value of cystatin-C remains unidentified in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether serum cystatin-C could predict all-cause mortality independently in HCM patients. Methods Data from 456 HCM patients treated at West China Hospital were collected and stratified into two groups based on the median baseline serum cystatin-C level. All-cause mortality was the primary outcome. Cox regression models were used to analyze the association between cystatin-C levels and mortality risk. Results A total of 90 deaths were recorded over a median follow-up period of 4.67 years. Patients with higher cystatin-C levels had an increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 2.11, 95% CI [1.30–3.42], p = 0.003) compared to those with lower levels. Time-dependent area under the curves (AUC) of cystatin-C in different time points, ranging from initial measurement to follow-up, showed a relatively stable fluctuation between 0.70 and 0.80. In comparison, the commonly used renal function markers, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine, yielded lower AUC values. Restricted cubic spline curves showed that with median value of cystatin-C (1.01 mg/L) as reference, there was a gradual rise in risk of all-cause mortality with cystatin-C increasing. Subgroup analyses in female, in the patients ≥ 58 years old, and in the patients with eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 consistently confirmed robustness of the main findings. Conclusion Elevated serum cystatin-C levels are associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in HCM patients, providing valuable prognostic information beyond traditional renal function markers such as eGFR and serum creatinine.
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Lu Liu
creator: Yi Zheng
creator: Haiyan Ruan
creator: Ziqiong Wang
creator: Xiaoping Chen
creator: Sen He
subject: Cardiology
subject: Epidemiology
subject: Internal Medicine
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.19631
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Liu et al.
abstract: Background Numerous studies across various populations have revealed that elevated cystatin-C levels are associated with an excessive risk of mortality. However, the prognostic value of cystatin-C remains unidentified in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether serum cystatin-C could predict all-cause mortality independently in HCM patients. Methods Data from 456 HCM patients treated at West China Hospital were collected and stratified into two groups based on the median baseline serum cystatin-C level. All-cause mortality was the primary outcome. Cox regression models were used to analyze the association between cystatin-C levels and mortality risk. Results A total of 90 deaths were recorded over a median follow-up period of 4.67 years. Patients with higher cystatin-C levels had an increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 2.11, 95% CI [1.30–3.42], p = 0.003) compared to those with lower levels. Time-dependent area under the curves (AUC) of cystatin-C in different time points, ranging from initial measurement to follow-up, showed a relatively stable fluctuation between 0.70 and 0.80. In comparison, the commonly used renal function markers, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine, yielded lower AUC values. Restricted cubic spline curves showed that with median value of cystatin-C (1.01 mg/L) as reference, there was a gradual rise in risk of all-cause mortality with cystatin-C increasing. Subgroup analyses in female, in the patients ≥ 58 years old, and in the patients with eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 consistently confirmed robustness of the main findings. Conclusion Elevated serum cystatin-C levels are associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in HCM patients, providing valuable prognostic information beyond traditional renal function markers such as eGFR and serum creatinine.
bibliographic citation: Liu et al. (2025) Serum cystatin-C and all-cause mortality in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a retrospective cohort study. PeerJ 13:e19631 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19631
date submitted: 2023-11-07
date accepted: 2025-05-30
issued: 2025-11-07
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Liu
  given name: Lu
author list: Agent
  family name: Zheng
  given name: Yi
author list: Agent
  family name: Ruan
  given name: Haiyan
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Ziqiong
author list: Agent
  family name: Chen
  given name: Xiaoping
author list: Agent
  family name: He
  given name: Sen
doi: 10.7717/peerj.19631
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-07
copyright: ©2025 Liu et al.
attribution name: Liu et al.

Prognostic implications of microRNA-107 in esophageal cancer: a retrospective cohort study
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) imposes a heavy disease burden in China, accounting for over 50% of global cases and approximately 301,000 annual deaths. Current prognostic markers inadequately predict recurrence in early-stage patients. This study investigates microRNA-107 (miR-107) as a novel prognostic biomarker for ESCC. Methods Tumor tissues (n = 66) and adjacent normal tissues (n = 28) were collected from ESCC patients undergoing radical surgery (2010–2012). miR-107 expression was quantified via reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) (normalized to U6 snRNA). Clinicopathological correlations and survival outcomes were analyzed using χ2 tests, Kaplan–Meier/log-rank tests, and Cox regression. Comparative analysis of miR-107 levels was performed in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma line 109 (EC109) cancer cells versus human esophageal epithelial cell (HEEC) normal epithelial cells. Results miR-107 expression was significantly lower in esophageal cancer tissues (0.801 ± 0.737) compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissues (1.390 ± 1.346), p = 0.006. Low miR-107 expression (cutoff = median) correlated with advanced tumor, node, metastasis stage (TNM stage) (I vs. V: 100% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (73.1% vs. 35%, P < 0.001), and larger tumor size (70% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.001). Patients with low miR-107 had shorter median overall survival (10 vs. 59 months; Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.475, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [0.247–0.915]; P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis confirmed miR-107 as an independent prognostic factor alongside TNM stage (HR = 3.586, 95% CI [2.253–5.708]; P < 0.001). Consistently, EC109 cells exhibited 59% lower miR-107 levels than HEEC (P = 0.029). Conclusions miR-107 downregulation is a robust predictor of aggressive ESCC phenotypes and poor survival. It holds promise as a clinical biomarker for risk stratification and personalized therapy. Future studies should validate these …
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Jie Sun
creator: Jin Zhang
creator: Jingwen Ye
creator: Yuqi Chen
creator: Caifeng Jiang
subject: Clinical Trials
subject: Gastroenterology and Hepatology
subject: Internal Medicine
subject: Oncology
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20327
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Sun et al.
abstract: Background Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) imposes a heavy disease burden in China, accounting for over 50% of global cases and approximately 301,000 annual deaths. Current prognostic markers inadequately predict recurrence in early-stage patients. This study investigates microRNA-107 (miR-107) as a novel prognostic biomarker for ESCC. Methods Tumor tissues (n = 66) and adjacent normal tissues (n = 28) were collected from ESCC patients undergoing radical surgery (2010–2012). miR-107 expression was quantified via reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) (normalized to U6 snRNA). Clinicopathological correlations and survival outcomes were analyzed using χ2 tests, Kaplan–Meier/log-rank tests, and Cox regression. Comparative analysis of miR-107 levels was performed in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma line 109 (EC109) cancer cells versus human esophageal epithelial cell (HEEC) normal epithelial cells. Results miR-107 expression was significantly lower in esophageal cancer tissues (0.801 ± 0.737) compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissues (1.390 ± 1.346), p = 0.006. Low miR-107 expression (cutoff = median) correlated with advanced tumor, node, metastasis stage (TNM stage) (I vs. V: 100% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), lymph node metastasis (73.1% vs. 35%, P < 0.001), and larger tumor size (70% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.001). Patients with low miR-107 had shorter median overall survival (10 vs. 59 months; Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.475, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [0.247–0.915]; P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis confirmed miR-107 as an independent prognostic factor alongside TNM stage (HR = 3.586, 95% CI [2.253–5.708]; P < 0.001). Consistently, EC109 cells exhibited 59% lower miR-107 levels than HEEC (P = 0.029). Conclusions miR-107 downregulation is a robust predictor of aggressive ESCC phenotypes and poor survival. It holds promise as a clinical biomarker for risk stratification and personalized therapy. Future studies should validate these …
bibliographic citation: Sun et al. (2025) Prognostic implications of microRNA-107 in esophageal cancer: a retrospective cohort study. PeerJ 13:e20327 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20327
date submitted: 2025-04-21
date accepted: 2025-10-13
issued: 2025-11-06
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
author list: Agent
  family name: Sun
  given name: Jie
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Jin
author list: Agent
  family name: Ye
  given name: Jingwen
author list: Agent
  family name: Chen
  given name: Yuqi
author list: Agent
  family name: Jiang
  given name: Caifeng
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20327
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-06
copyright: ©2025 Sun et al.
attribution name: Sun et al.

Effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on ischemic stroke incidence and mortality: a five-year time-series study in Jining, China
type: item
type: AcademicArticle
description: Background Short-term exposure to air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke incidence and mortality. However, there is a lack of research based on data from disease surveillance systems. This study used disease surveillance system data to quantitatively analyze the association between air pollution and ischemic stroke incidence and mortality in Jining, China. Methods The stroke registration system of the Jining City Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes information on confirmed stroke cases reported by all medical institutions in the jurisdiction, covering a population of 8.9 million. Generalized linear regression models combined with distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNM) were used to determine the association between air pollutants and ischemic stroke incidence and mortality. Stratified analyses by sex, age, and season were also conducted. Results During the study period (January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022), there were 209,949 ischemic stroke incidence cases and 23,565 ischemic stroke-related deaths. There were more ischemic stroke incidence and death cases in males compared to females. The number of incidence cases was higher in the warm season (52.6%) than in the cold season (47.4%), while this pattern was reversed for the number of deaths, with a higher number of deaths in the cold season (55.9%) than in the warm season (44.1%). This study showed that exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) was associated with ischemic stroke incidence, and exposure to PM2.5, PM10, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and CO was associated with ischemic stroke mortality. The relative risks (RRs, with 95% CIs) for ischemic stroke incidence at the maximum single-lag effect day for each interquartile range (IQR) increment for PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO were 1.007 (1.001–1.014), 1.004 (1.000–1.008); 1.031 (1.011–1.051), and 1.008 (1.001–1.015), respectively. The RRs (with 95% CIs) for morta…
format: application/pdf
format: text/html
creator: Yaohui Kong
creator: Wenhua Duan
creator: Zi Zhang
creator: Peizhen Zhou
creator: Mei Wang
creator: Jing Zhang
creator: Wenjun Wang
subject: Neurology
subject: Public Health
subject: Environmental Health
description: doi:10.7717/peerj.20298
publisher: PeerJ Inc.
rights: © 2025 Kong et al.
abstract: Background Short-term exposure to air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke incidence and mortality. However, there is a lack of research based on data from disease surveillance systems. This study used disease surveillance system data to quantitatively analyze the association between air pollution and ischemic stroke incidence and mortality in Jining, China. Methods The stroke registration system of the Jining City Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) includes information on confirmed stroke cases reported by all medical institutions in the jurisdiction, covering a population of 8.9 million. Generalized linear regression models combined with distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNM) were used to determine the association between air pollutants and ischemic stroke incidence and mortality. Stratified analyses by sex, age, and season were also conducted. Results During the study period (January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022), there were 209,949 ischemic stroke incidence cases and 23,565 ischemic stroke-related deaths. There were more ischemic stroke incidence and death cases in males compared to females. The number of incidence cases was higher in the warm season (52.6%) than in the cold season (47.4%), while this pattern was reversed for the number of deaths, with a higher number of deaths in the cold season (55.9%) than in the warm season (44.1%). This study showed that exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) was associated with ischemic stroke incidence, and exposure to PM2.5, PM10, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and CO was associated with ischemic stroke mortality. The relative risks (RRs, with 95% CIs) for ischemic stroke incidence at the maximum single-lag effect day for each interquartile range (IQR) increment for PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO were 1.007 (1.001–1.014), 1.004 (1.000–1.008); 1.031 (1.011–1.051), and 1.008 (1.001–1.015), respectively. The RRs (with 95% CIs) for morta…
bibliographic citation: Kong et al. (2025) Effect of short-term exposure to air pollution on ischemic stroke incidence and mortality: a five-year time-series study in Jining, China. PeerJ 13:e20298 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20298
date submitted: 2025-02-05
date accepted: 2025-10-06
issued: 2025-11-06
is part of: PeerJ
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
author list: Agent
  family name: Kong
  given name: Yaohui
author list: Agent
  family name: Duan
  given name: Wenhua
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Zi
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhou
  given name: Peizhen
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Mei
author list: Agent
  family name: Zhang
  given name: Jing
author list: Agent
  family name: Wang
  given name: Wenjun
doi: 10.7717/peerj.20298
volume: 13
issn: 2167-8359
publication name: PeerJ
publication date: 2025-11-06
copyright: ©2025 Kong et al.
attribution name: Kong et al.

PeerJ
type: Periodical
uri: PeerJ
issn: 2167-8359