The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41666-026-00229-9.

An unprecedented global effort is currently underway to move away from animal studies and toward more human-relevant methods. While this shift is gaining momentum in biomedical research and preclinical safety assessment, how does it extend to the toxicological and regulatory evaluation of food contaminants? This review examines the current state of foodborne contaminant assessment, specifically mycotoxins, emphasizing both emerging efforts and persistent barriers to implementing an animal-free testing paradigm. Several initiatives from regulatory bodies signal a strong commitment to change. However, major challenges remain. Additionally, animal use in the European Union continues to be widespread in procedures related to food and feed safety, as well as in hazard assessment studies addressing exposure to mycotoxins. These considerations emphasize an urgent call to action to promote human-relevant approaches and advance safety assessment practices in the context of 21 st century technologies. • Global efforts are moving toxicology assessment away from animal studies. • Regulatory integration of NAMs in food safety remains limited. • Mycotoxin risk assessment represents an example of the slow adoption of NAMs. • Momentum from biomedical research should now drive innovation in food safety.

The increasing volume of medical education research necessitates efficient, reliable, and scalable methods for conducting quality appraisals. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) is a widely used tool, although its manual scoring process remains resource-intensive. This study evaluated how well large language models (LLMs) appraise medical education research using the MERSQI tool in comparison with human judges. Three LLMs (GPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4, and Gemini 2.5 Pro) assigned MERSQI domain scores to 1423 medical education research articles. The authors compared AI-generated scores with human-generated scores using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) across the six MERSQI domains. They evaluated the agreement between AI- and human-generated MERSQI composite scores using Bland-Altman plots. Domain-level ICC values ranged from fair (0.24) to near perfect (0.81), with the lowest agreement observed in the 'sampling,' 'validity evidence,' and 'data analysis' domains. No single LLM consistently outperformed the others across all domains. Composite score agreement with human ratings was substantial and similar across LLMs (ICC range: 0.65-0.69). GPT-5 produced slightly lower composite scores than humans, while Claude Sonnet 4 and Gemini 2.5 Pro produced higher scores, with Gemini showing the largest deviation. The Bland-Altman plots for Gemini 2.5 Pro suggested proportional bias, indicating its agreement with human scores varied across the range of study quality. These LLMs demonstrated substantial agreement with human raters for MERSQI composite scores, but domain-level agreement varied. Systematic differences in scoring patterns highlight the need for human oversight and additional calibrations before integrating LLMs into systematic review appraisal workflows.

Study on the detection of facial emotion using AlexNet plus LSTM model

Thermal lamination and laser cut (TLLC) method for enclosed Micro-fluidic paper analytical devices (μPADs) by controlled ablation

The specificity and selectivity of aptamer depends on the binding epitope: insights from aptamer Hislxl-2a.

Microphysiological systems to accelerate and de-risk AAV gene therapy development.

The pursuit of eco-friendly nanomaterials with both antibacterial and anticancer properties is gaining momentum in biomedical research. This study reports the green synthesis of Silver and Zinc oxide (Ag/ZnO) nanocomposite using Coleus amboinicus leaf extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent. Characterization via UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed absorption peaks at approximately 280 nm and 370 nm, indicative of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles, respectively. FTIR analysis identified phytochemical-derived functional groups responsible for particle stabilization, while SEM imaging showed agglomerated nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 100 to 150 nm. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanocomposites. The biosynthesized Ag/ZnO nanocomposite exhibited potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant strains including Enterococcus faecalis , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , MRSA, and Klebsiella pneumoniae , with significant zones of inhibition observed at a concentration of 80 μg/mL. Furthermore, the nanocomposite displayed promising anticancer activity against A549 lung cancer cells, achieving an IC₅₀ of 60 μg/mL after 24 h, as determined by MTT assay. Morphological features of apoptosis, such as membrane blebbing and nuclear condensation, were observed, while AO/EtBr, DCFDA, and Rhodamine 123 staining confirmed elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. These findings suggest a ROS mediated mechanism underlying the dual antibacterial and anticancer activities of the Ag/ZnO nanocomposite. This green synthesis approach provides a sustainable strategy for developing multifunctional nanomaterials, although further in vivo studies are required to confirm efficacy and elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved for future therapeutic applications. • Green synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposite using Camboinicus leaf extract • Potent activity against MDR bacteria at 80 μg/mL concentration • Anticancer efficacy against A549 lung cancer cells • ROS-mediated mechanism confirmed via multiple fluorescence staining assays.

Advancements in sustainable bioprinting: Materials, challenges and opportunities in transition from 3D to 4D printing

Virtual control groups in nonclinical research: A Re-analysis of 20 studies using virtual control group data.

Beyond lipid homochirality: Analytical strategies and biological implications.

Impact of U.S. government policies under the Trump administration on radiology and medical research: a survey of international researchers.

Online supercritical fluid derivative extraction-pressure change focusing-supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification of double bond positional isomers in unsaturated lipids.

Selected calix[4]arene as an effective modulator of mitochondrial function and smooth muscle contractility.

This article reports transcriptomic dataset generated by rationalized sequencing of the 3' ends of messenger RNAs (3' mRNA-Seq) in porcine samples. Libraries were prepared from whole blood, plasma, serum, and exosome-enriched fractions derived from plasma and serum. This approach was applied to whole blood, with porcine globin blockers being used to minimise the impact of the large quantity of globin transcripts. In addition, serum and plasma-derived RNA were processed without globin depletion, allowing a direct assessment of transcriptome profiles from these biofluids. Although the library preparation protocol employed was not originally designed for plasma or serum samples, we successfully produced libraries from RNA extracted from these different compartments. More unexpectedly, libraries could also be generated from exosome-enriched fractions. While expression profiles from plasma and serum fractions display distinctive characteristics compared to whole blood, a quite high proportion of genes were detected in these extracts. The resulting data provide comprehensive transcriptomic information across multiple sample types, including minimally invasive compartments, and are made available to support further exploration of 3' mRNA-Seq in biomedical and veterinary research.

Introduction: Spinal anaesthesia is preferred for infraumbilical surgeries due to its rapid onset and effective postoperative analgesia. Ropivacaine, a long-acting local anaesthetic with reduced cardiotoxicity, is increasingly used with adjuvants to enhance block characteristics. Intrathecal adjuvants like fentanyl are being increasingly used to improve or prolong the anaesthetic and analgesic effects. Aim: To compare the effects of 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine alone versus 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine with fentanyl (25 μg) as an adjuvant in spinal anaesthesia for infraumbilical surgeries. Materials and Methods: This randomised controlled study was conducted at tertiary care facility at the Operation Theatre (OT) complex in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Dhiraj Hospital, Smt. Bhikhibhen Kanjibhai Shah Medical Institute and Research Centre Vadodara, Gujarat, India from January 2023 to June 2024. Eighty patients undergoing elective infraumbilical surgeries were divided into two equal groups of 40 patients each. Group R (Ropivacaine only) received intrathecal 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine 2.5 mL+normal saline 0.5 mL, while group RF (Ropivacaine+Fentanyl) received intrathecal 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine 2.5 mL+fentanyl 25 μg. The parameters studied were onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade, haemodynamic changes, sedation scores, two-segment regression time, duration of analgesia, and sideeffects. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-test and Chi-square test with p-value <0.05 considered significant. Results: The mean age in group R was 64.5±7.2 years and group RF was 67.8±6.9 years. The time to S2 regression was significantly longer in group RF (118.8±12.8 min) compared to group R (104.5±11.2 min) (p-value <0.001). group RF achieved higher sensory block level (T8 vs T10, p-value <0.001) with shorter motor block duration (208±59 vs 282±56 minutes, p-value <0.001). VAS scores were lower in group RF (3.0±1.5 vs 4.5±1.8, p-value=0.01). Time to rescue analgesia was significantly prolonged in group RF (320±55 vs 210±45 minutes, p-value <0.001). Sedation was higher in group RF (7.5% vs 0%, p-value=0.04) with no significant haemodynamic differences. Conclusion: Addition of intrathecal fentanyl 25 μg as an adjunct to 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine provides superior analgesia, shorter motor blockade, and prolonged postoperative pain relief while maintaining haemodynamic stability in comparison to intrathecal 0.75% hyperbaric ropivacaine alone.

Obesity care education in Canadian medical schools: A multi-site qualitative study.

Association between changes in adherence to the planetary health diet and adiposity and body fat distribution: a cohort study

Mechanism of Shenqi Citian Granules in the treatment of acute mountain sickness based on proteomics and serum pharmacochemistry.

Artificial intelligence methods for protein structure and interaction prediction: Recent advances and challenges.