bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting weekly instability in depressive symptoms among individuals diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder using deep learning and passively-collected movement data
Authors: Langener Anna , Price George , Haddox Dawson , Heinz Michael V. , Mackin Daniel , Nemesure Matthew David , Collins Amanda C , Lekkas Damien , Griffin Tess , Pillai Arvind , Nepal Subigya , Campbell Andrew T. , Jacobson Nicholas C.
Published: February 2025

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental health disorder often identified by persistentlow mood, and a lack of motivation and energy. Persons with MDD often experience largefluctuations in their symptoms over hours and days, which can offer valuable clinical insights,highlighting potential targets for treatment and intervention strategies. However, there remains a gapin our understanding of how feasible it is to accurately predict fluctuations in depressive symptoms. Inthis preregistered study, we aim to explore the ability to predict acute fluctuations in depressivesymptoms using deep learning models among individuals diagnosed with MDD. Passively-collectedaccelerometry data, a ubiquitous, privacy-preserving data stream with empirical ties to MDDsymptomatology, was used to predict instability in depressive symptoms. Our sample containsclinically-depressed individuals per a structured clinical interview (N = 179, Mean Age = 38.2 ± 10.0,Women = 81.6%). Participants filled out their depressive symptom assessments three times a day overthe course of 90 days, resulting in an average of 214.49 EMA questionnaires (median: 237, min: 77,max: 270, SD: 54.27) per person. Although our results suggest a small-moderate correspondencebetween the predictions and observed outcomes of passively-collected movement alone in predictingfuture high/low depression instability (AUCTest = 0.59 ± 0.06, SensitivityTest = 0.30 ± 0.13, SpecificityTest = 0.81 ± 0.10), our model performed worse than a random intercept only baseline model(AUCTest = 0.83) and predicted intraindividual variability of instability in depressive symptoms belowchance (AUCTest = 0.46 ± 0.21). Thus, there is a need to improve predictive performance to enhanceclinical utility. This may require the inclusion of additional passive sensing modalities in futureresearch.
Defining Who is a Worker: Why I-O Psychology Should Extend Consideration to Nonhuman Animals that Labor for Humans
Authors: Hernandez Ivan
Published: February 2025

In this article, we call for a more inclusive field of I-O psychology that extends its consideration toward all workers—including nonhuman animal workers—as worthy of study and advocacy. Although many fields in psychology already incorporate nonhuman animals in their theories and implications, I-O has largely overlooked the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of these individuals, which engage in tasks that contribute to society. To demonstrate the intertwined nature of animal and human work, we summarize the variety of occupations and tasks that nonhuman animals have had within the history of humans. These animals have worked alongside humans for millennia, filling similar or complementary jobs that human workers perform. Although the nature of animal works varies, spanning different work dimensions, I-O psychology content areas address challenges found within each of the dimensions. We present a “work dimensions” framework that helps identify when an individual is a “worker” from the lens of I-O psychology. This framework highlights how the same critical work constructs considered for humans can likewise be considered for nonhuman labor. We describe several ways that a nonhuman animal inclusive I-O can benefit the field along research, educational, and policy dimensions. By considering work along its fundamental characteristics and workers along their mental properties, I-O psychology can become more inclusive of a wide range of individuals at the margins of society.
The Five-Dimensional Dual Cycle Model of Identity Formation: Domain-Specific Identity Processes and Domain-General Statuses – Evidence from Serbian Youth
Authors: Stojković Irena , Jelić Marija , Mentus Kandić Phd, Tatjana Slavko , Filipović Božidar , Veselinović Marijana
Published: February 2025

The five-dimensional dual-cycle model of identity formation has been widely used in research. However, it has not been investigated whether identity processes, as described by this model, are general across various domains or domain-specific.The main objective of this study was to address this gap in knowledge by exploring whether identity processes, as described by the model, are general or specific across the domains of future goals related to education and friendship. Further objectives included testing the five-dimensional dual-cycle model among young people in Serbia and deriving identity statuses based on the identity processes in these two domains. Two adapted versions of the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS) were created: one for future goals related to education and another for future goals related to friendship. The sample consisted of 955 high school and university students. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a domain-specific identity processes model, which included the five original factors of the DIDS. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender were established. Cluster analysis identified six identity statuses: troubled diffusion, carefree diffusion, foreclosure, ruminative moratorium, achievement, and a cluster representing a combination of educational foreclosure and friendship carefree diffusion. The findings suggest that identity processes, according to the five-dimensional dual-cycle model, are domain-specific. However, identity statuses across the domains of future goals related to education and friendship are congruent for the majority of individuals. These results highlight the importance of exploring both domain-specific and shared factors in identity development in future research.
Beliefs about What Disadvantaged Groups Would Do with Power Shape Advantaged Groups’ (Un)Willingness to Relinquish it
Authors: Kachanoff Frank , Sheehy-Skeffington Jennifer , Ho Arnold , Richeson Jennifer , Kteily Nour
Published: February 2025

Dominant groups often resist possible changes to the hierarchical status quo. Might such tendencies be partly rooted in negative—yet potentially malleable—meta-beliefs about how disempowered groups would use power if they gained control? We investigate these questions across three studies and eight independent samples (Total N = 7,460 analyzed responses) in the context of Black-White relations in the United States. Specifically, we examine White Americans’ meta-beliefs about whether Black Americans desire power to structure society into a hierarchy in which they are dominant versus to institute equality for all groups (i.e., meta-dominance beliefs). Across 6 cross-sectional sub-samples (Study 1, Samples A-F; N = 3,383), we developed and validated a measure of meta-dominance, and found that White Americans varied substantially in their beliefs about how Black Americans would use power. Critically, Whites’ meta-dominance beliefs were uniquely related to their opposition to policies empowering Black Americans as well as their support for efforts to maintain Whites’ position atop the social hierarchy, even when controlling for a range of relevant constructs. In two pre-registered experiments among White Americans (Studies 2-3; N = 4,077), one of which was a registered report, we tested two possible causal pathways that might explain this relation: (1) “Meta-Dominance Beliefs leads to Opposition to Black Empowerment” and (2) “Opposition to Black Empowerment leads to Meta-Dominance Beliefs”. We found evidence in support of the “Meta-Dominance Beliefs leads to Opposition to Black Empowerment” pathway, but not for the latter Opposition to Black Empowerment leads to Meta-Dominance Beliefs” pathway. We discuss our findings’ implications for theories of hierarchy-maintenance.
How Do People Perceive Sexual Harassment Targeting Transgender Women, Lesbians, and Straight Cisgender Women?
Authors: Mezzapelle Jennifer L. , Reiman Anna
Published: February 2025

Third-party observers’ opinions affect how organizations handle sexual harassment. Prior research has focused on perceptions of sexual harassment targeting straight cisgender women. We examined how targets’ sexual orientation and gender identity impact these perceptions. In three preregistered studies, straight cisgender participants imagined a coworker confided that a male colleague had sexually harassed her. The target was a transgender woman, a lesbian woman, or a woman whose sexual orientation and gender identity were unspecified. In Study 1 (N=428), participants reported believing that sexual harassment targeting lesbians and women with unspecified identities was most likely motivated by attraction and power, whereas sexual harassment targeting transgender women was seen as most likely motivated by power and prejudice. Despite these differences in perceived motivation, in Study 2 (N=421) perceptions of appropriate consequences for the perpetrator did not vary based on the target’s identity. Study 3 (N=473) demonstrated that the specific behavior of which sexual harassment is assumed to consist differs based on the target’s identity. Whereas women with unspecified identities and lesbians were assumed to face stereotypical attraction-based harassment, transgender women were assumed to face gender harassment. Stereotypes about sexual harassment can bias third-party assumptions, invalidating experiences that do not match pervasive stereotypes.
Exploring protective influences for associations of neighborhood adversity with psychopathology and cognitive outcomes
Authors: Vargas Teresa , McLaughlin Katie A , Rakesh Divyangana
Published: February 2025

ObjectiveNeighborhood adversity predicts mental health and cognitive outcomes, but little is known about structural factors that may buffer these links. The current study addresses this gap by assessing the role of protective factors in the association of neighborhood deprivation, threat, and segregation with psychopathology symptoms and cognitive outcomes. MethodLinear mixed models were run in the ABCD sample of 11,868 participants to test associations of neighborhood Area Deprivation Index (ADI; deprivation), crime (threat), and dissimilarity and interaction index (segregation) with attention difficulties, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), and fluid and crystallized cognitive performance. School environment, neighborhood education child opportunity index, neighborhood cohesion, and access to green space were tested as moderators of the association of neighborhood adversity with outcomes. ResultsHigher access/quality of educational resources buffer the association of neighborhood deprivation with crystallized cognitive performance. Supportive school environments were associated with lower externalizing symptoms, particularly for youth in low threat contexts. Further, for racial/ethnic minority youth living in low-segregation neighborhoods, higher neighborhood access/quality of educational resources related to lower internalizing symptoms.ConclusionWhile adverse neighborhood environments are associated with higher psychopathology symptoms and lower cognitive performance, some aspects of neighborhoods may buffer this association. Understanding these patterns is necessary for informing structural interventions that might reduce disparities in mental health and cognitive function.
Moral Self-Assessment After Committing a Crime. A Study on Men and Women in Prison with a Control Group
Authors: Paruzel-Czachura Mariola , Blukacz Mateusz Michał , Jiménez María Luisa Vecina , Reed Americus
Published: February 2025

Moral self-assessment is vital to one’s identity, but how does it change after committing immoral behavior like crime? We compared a sample of N = 382 men and women in prison sentenced for violent and non-violent crimes with a matched control group (N = 382). We measured their self-importance of moral identity, moral self-concept, and moral self-image. We found prisoners had lower moral self-concept and internalization but higher symbolization and moral self-image than non-prisoners. However, all the effects were small. Moreover, violent prisoners had slightly higher internalization than non-violent prisoners, but they did not differ in other moral self-assessments. Women in prison scored higher in moral self-concept and internalization than men in prison, while men in prison scored higher in symbolization than women in prison. We found no sex differences in moral self-image. In sum, committing a crime slightly impacts one’s moral self-perception, and we need more studies to understand the mechanisms behind it.
See Something, Say Something? Exploring the Gap between Real and Imagined Moral Courage
Authors: Kemper Nathan , Campbell Dylan , Reiman Anna
Published: February 2025

Research shows that people often do not intervene to stop immoral action from happening. However, limited information is available on why people fail to intervene. Two preregistered studies (Ns = 248, 131) explored this gap in the literature by staging a theft in front of participants and immediately interviewing them to inquire about their reasons for intervening or not intervening. Across both studies, most participants did not try to stop the theft or even report it to the experimenter afterwards. Furthermore, many participants reported confusion and inattention as precursors to non-intervention, yielding insight into what inhibits moral courage.
Chat-GPT4 can Enhance Creativity. But Human Ego Can Hamper its Potential
Authors: Gill Tripat
Published: February 2025

Generative AI (Gen-AI; e.g., Chat-GPT4) is promoted as a potent tool to augment human creativity. But research has not systematically examined Gen-AI’s capabilities in generating new advertising slogans, and whether human creators will readily accept such Gen-AI assistance. We investigated this in two pre-registered studies. In study 1, we found that advertising slogans by ChatGPT-4 were of significantly higher quality (more novel, meaningful and persuasive), but of lower diversity, than those by human creators. In Study 2, we found that Gen-AI assistance significantly enhanced the slogan quality for less creative individuals. However, the latter Gen-AI enhancement was not realized by egocentric creators (objectively less creative but self-reporting high subjective creativity). The egocentric creators also preferred their own lower quality slogans over the ones provided by Chat-GPT4. These findings show that while Gen-AI is efficacious in creative marketing tasks, its adoption and enhancement potential may be hindered by human ego.
WEIRD Questions: Diversifying Conceptual Sampling
Authors: Atari Mohammad , Kroupin Ivan , Morhayim Liora , Blasi Damián E. , Schulz Jonathan Friedemann , Henrich Joseph
Published: February 2025

Psychological science is defined in terms of the study of the human mind. Psychological research, however, has fallen short of examining diverse human populations, with most existing research focused on a small slice of human diversity around the globe, typically people from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations. On top of the WEIRD-participants problem, there is also a bias in the researchers themselves, most of whom come from WEIRD backgrounds. Here, we make the case for a new and distinct source of bias: WEIRD questions. Our species offers a substantially varied distribution of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral repertoires, but researchers have sampled topics and questions from a small part of this distribution, leaving out a variety of cognitive processes, emotions, and behaviors that remain understudied. We review sources of bias in asking questions about the human mind, discuss examples, and call for diversifying conceptual sampling in psychological science. We close by discussing some remedies to counter the WEIRD-questions problem: taking theory seriously, valuing descriptive research, rethinking team science, and aligning structural disciplinary incentives.
Capturing Children’s Emotions Through Artwork: A Vision Transformer-Based Analysis
Authors: Mor Nuriel Shalom
Published: February 2025

Children’s drawings are recognized as a potent medium for understanding their emotional states, particularly when language skills are still developing. This study presentsa novel framework that integrates the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) withan advanced Vision Transformer (ViT-B/16) model to examine indicators of depressionin children’s artwork. We recruited 80 children aged 6 to 10, who first completed theMFQ and then created free-form drawings. Each drawing was digitized and labeled asindicating either high or low levels of depressive symptoms according to MFQ thresholds. Our ViT-B/16 architecture, initialized with pretrained weights and fine-tunedon a dataset of 514 scanned images, achieved a validation accuracy of 89.27%, aligning well with the MFQ-based labels. Key model metrics—including precision, recall,and F1-score—highlighted the self-attention mechanism’s ability to capture subtle visual cues dispersed across each drawing. Despite these encouraging results, the studyacknowledges limitations such as the subjectivity of artistic interpretation, potentialbiases from a limited sample, and the need for further ethical and explainability considerations. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of state-of-the-art deep learningtechniques to enhance early detection and intervention for children’s emotional wellbeing.
What is the external validity of sentencing research? A multi-level meta-analysis of race and gender disparities
Authors: Pina-Sánchez Jose , brunton-smith ian
Published: February 2025

Sentencing research is rarely cross-jurisdictional. More problematically, most quantitative sentencing research is based on a limited number of American jurisdictions where court data is available. As a result, it is difficult to assess the extent to which key findings from the sentencing literature apply universally. We build on the recent growth of sentencing research outside the US to explore the external validity of studies reporting the conditional association of offenders’ race and gender with sentence length. To do so, we conduct two multi-level meta-analyses, distinguishing the proportion of between-study heterogeneity attributable to differences at the study and jurisdiction levels. Our findings reveal that while race disparities in sentencing are statistically significant, they are minimal in magnitude (a 3% penalty for racial minorities) and remarkably consistent across jurisdictions. In contrast, gender disparities are more pronounced (a 13% penalty against men) but highly variable, with some jurisdictions showing parity. Both analyses uncover substantial variability due to sample and modelling choices, highlighting the limited generalisability of existing sentencing research. We urge caution in interpreting findings from single studies on sentencing disparities and advocate for the pre-registration of analytical strategies to mitigate researcher bias.
Government Justification of Police Actions against Protesters: Biopolitics in Poland during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Dubrow Joshua , Radiukiewicz Anna , Zukowski Alan
Published: February 2025

How did the government justify aggressive, and, at times, violent police actions against demonstrators during the pandemic? We use a biopolitical framework to empirically explore how leading members of Poland’s government justified protest policing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Poland’s PiS-led government, like others across Europe, implemented social distancing measures that curtailed the right to peaceful assembly. The government justified aggressive crowd control tactics such as kettling to “protect” society from what they perceived as illegal and unruly protestors who seek to cause indirect mass harm, e.g. spread the virus via street protesting, or cause direct harm to police officers through physical acts of protester aggression. The government argued that protesters, instead of being whom the state must keep safe from biological harm, actually threaten a vulnerable police force and other institutions. The government projected their own vulnerability to cast protesters as biological threats to the nation and, thus, as dangerously norm-breaking “others,” in order to justify surveillance of demonstrators and aggressive police tactics.
The Minerals Energy Complex in South Africa: an Empirical Debunking
Authors: Reddy Niall
Published: February 2025

A hugely influential framework in South African political economy holds that the country has been dominated for the better part of a century by a Minerals Energy Complex (MEC) comprising powerful firms and state agencies involved in mining and a range of downstream industries. The MEC is said to act as a 'system of accumulation' determining patterns of accumulation across the economy. This paper argues that MEC theories rest on hollow empirical foundations. It shows, firstly, that the apparent size, stability and integration of MEC sectors in national accounting data are a statistical artifact of the overly expansive and ad hoc way in which the MEC has been defined. Secondly, it shows that the political-institutional conditions for an MEC system of accumulation no longer exist, if they ever did. Conglomerates related to MEC sectors once possessed the ability to shape economy-wide accumulation dynamics but it's unclear if their interests were ever geared towards the self-reproduction of core sectors at the expense of diversification. With liberalization those capacities were dismantled. MEC firms never regained their position at the top of the corporate hierarchy and in fact there is no clear evidence of them even acting as coherent fraction of capital. Far from favoring the MEC, the post-Apartheid state meekly pursued diversification but was stymied in this by it's own lack of capacity. This left commodity dependence intact -- not as a result of the MEC, but of state enfeeblement induced first by neoliberalism and then by state capture. The paper closes by showing how assumptions of corporate hegemony -- latently embedded in MEC theories -- leave us unable to explain major trends in South African political economy like state capture.
From Worker to Owner: Emerging Articulations of ‘Trabajo’ and ‘Negocio’ in Return Migration to Cuba
Authors: Simoni Valerio
Published: February 2025

Particularly since 2012, following important changes in the country’s migratory law and the increasing salience of private entrepreneurship possibilities, a significant number of Cuban migrants started envisaging a return to Cuba. Looking at the trajectories of Cuban men that returned to the island mainly from Europe, this paper explores the moral narratives that these migrants deploy when talking about economic life in Cuba in comparison to the countries they are returning from. Such assessments are often linked to the shift in status that such migrants experienced, as they moved from menial jobs in Europe to more entrepreneurial position in Cuba, signifying for many a change from worker to owner, and from ‘trabajo’ (work) to ‘negocio’ (business). Particular attention is paid to the ways in which such shifts are expressed, the role given to the experience of having lived in Europe, and the new forms of economic subjectivity and ideals of economic life that are linked to it. The paper considers the context and climate in which such narratives emerge, relying to do so also on research participants’ own assessment of current changes and continuities in Cuba. The examination of how work and business are enacted and talked about by returnees, combined with a preliminary assessment of the responses this generates among the wider public, signals their influence on how economic life appears to be increasingly articulated and morally framed in Cuba.
Name generators in egocentric network research: a comparative analysis of three approaches
Authors: González-Casado Miguel A. , Rey Alejandro Cruzado , Corrotea Miroslav Pulgar , McCarty Christopher , Molina Jose Luis , Sánchez Angel
Published: February 2025

This article presents an analysis of the impact of the number of alters elicited in an ego network on the structural properties of those networks. There continues to be debate about the pros and cons of eliciting a fixed number of alters for each respondent versus allowing the respondent to list as many or few alters as they would like. This article explores a random assignment of respondents to three treatment groups – 1) a fixed number of alters set at 30, 2) a variable number of alters up to 45, and 3) a variable number of alters up to 45 with a 20 alter minimum. The results indicate that, from a non-structural perspective, all levels of emotional proximity, interaction contexts, genders, and ages are consistently sampled across the three name generators. At the structural level, the behavior of individual metrics is also largely similar. However, the most significant differences arise in the collective behavior of structural metrics—specifically, in their correlation structure, the amount of redundant information each variable provides, and the diversity and interpretability of the observed structural variability. When a name generator constrains network size, it reduces the sparsity of the correlation matrix, effectively decreasing the number of independent global variables needed to describe network structure and making these global variables less interpretable. In other words, networks constructed with a name generator that limits size tend to be more similar to each other, exhibiting less structural diversity and yielding differences that are harder to interpret. However, we discuss how these differences may simply be mathematical artifacts, without necessarily implying a clear advantage in choosing one name generator over another.
Book Review: The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power: Media, Race, Economics (Second Edition) by Jared A. Ball.
Authors: Gardner Samuel
Published: February 2025

Reviewed book: Jared A. Ball (2023). The Myth and Propaganda of Black Buying Power: Media, Race, Economics (2nd edn). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, xix + 133 pp. ISBN: 978-3031-26548-8
Shocking the System: The Athletic, a Journalistic Merger and the (Preventable) Ensuing Fallout
Authors: Ferrucci Patrick , Perreault Gregory P
Published: February 2025

This case study applies systems theory to examine the merger between The Athletic andThe New York Times from the perspective of Athletic journalists. As media mergersincrease, research on their successes and failures can illuminate the tensions at theintersection of organizational culture, journalism, and growing corporate culture withinjournalism. Utilizing in-depth interviews with journalists conducted both before andmonths after the merger, this study examines how the Times failed to properly accountfor how slight changes—especially to journalists’ perceived autonomy—could upend priorpositive stasis within the organization. The study concludes by hypothesizing how negativeconsequences could have been avoided and what this means for future journalism—particularly sports journalism—mergers and acquisitions.
Resilience or social reproduction? 'Prosocial' children and gendered interdependencies between paid and unpaid labour after the Great Recession
Authors: Mari Gabriele
Published: February 2025

BACKGROUNDEarly studies show that children might be ‘resilient’ when families navigate economic crises and related job loss. What resilience means is unclear, though, and why and from whom resilience is required has seldom been examined.OBJECTIVEI theorise children’s prosociality – helping, supporting and comforting others – as a form of transformative resilience. From a social reproduction perspective, I also consider how prosociality imbues and is influenced by caregiving relationships within families. I examine how children’s prosociality/caregiving (unpaid labour) developed in response to parents losing and regaining employment (paid labour) amid the Great Recession in Ireland.METHODI rely on cohort data from children’s early years to adolescence (Growing Up in Ireland, 2008-2022). I estimate growth-curve and OLS models for prosocial development and outcomes tapping into paid and unpaid labour. Associations with parental job loss are identified net of observables while outlining conditions for causal claims.FINDINGSChildren whose mothers experienced job loss are rated more prosocial than their peers from middle childhood onwards. Girls with younger siblings drive this finding. At age 13, the same group is more likely to provide regular care within the household, while their mothers scale back caregiving and reprise paid work after heightened childcare responsibilities during the crisis.CONTRIBUTIONThe study contributes to debates on the formation of prosociality, the intergenerational consequences of job loss, and the household division of labour among adults and children. Findings suggest focusing on if and how families cope with a context unequally structured by (labour) markets and gender norms.
Bergenin, Isolated Compound from Crassula ovata Plant, Its Role as Synergistic Effect With Docetaxel Against Prostatic Cancer (PC-3) Cell Lines
Authors: Hawraa Kareem Lifta  , Kadhim Enas Jawad
Published: February 2025

The synergistic effect of the bergenin compound, derived from the Crassula ovata plant, and the docetaxel drug in vitro cell line was assessed in this study. The bergenin compound was extracted using a Soxhlet device and 85% ethanol, then was identified and isolated using a high-performance liquid chromatograph. Docetaxel is regarded as a potent chemotherapy treatment that was licensed in 1996 to treat a variety of cancers, including prostate cancer, by preventing microtubular depolymerization and reducing the impact of bcl-2 and bcl-xL gene expression. It is considered one of the most effective chemotherapy treatment for prostatic cancer. However, it has adverse effects, including febrile neutropenia or myelosuppression. This study aim to combine the docetaxel with new natural compound as there is no previous study on combination between the docetaxel and bergenin to reduce the therapeutic dose as much as possible and obtain same therapeutic effect .The results demonstrated that bergenin exhibits a good synergistic effect against prostatic cancer with IC50 equal to 26 as a phenolic compound that can induce G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, enhance the expression of Bax, decrease the expression of Bcl-2, and inhibit the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. As revealed by the results, the inhibition effect of the combination (bergenin and IC50 docetaxel equal to 89,8) was 64, compared to an inhibition effect of 62 for 100 mcg of docetaxel and the data obtained were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with a significance level of "p < 0.05"  .
Formulation and in vitro Evaluation of Acemetacin Nanosuspension
Authors: Hussein Al-Gharani  , Khalid Al-Kinani
Published: February 2025

Acemetacin (ACM) is classified as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is an indomethacin glycolic ester that is transformed into indomethacin in vivo. The analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties of the ACM are attributed to its prostaglandin inhibitory action. Acemetacin belongs to biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS) class II drugs, which are characterized by having high permeability but poor aqueous solubility. The purpose of this study was to develop acemetacin nanoparticles (ACM NPs) for enhanced solubility and rate of dissolution. The solvent-anti-solvent approach was used to formulate the nanoparticles. Two stabilizers were used to prepare ACM NPs (sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and Soluplus®). Design Expert® software was used to create the experiments utilizing a computer-based approach. The Box-Behnken design was used for this purpose in order to investigate the effect of different formulation variables on particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) of ACM NPs. Using Soluplus® as a stabilizer, the chosen formula F22 has desirability value 0.701, and its particle size and PDI values were 59.69 nm and 0.1847 respectively. The saturated solubility of ACM in the generated nanoparticles was approximately ten times greater than that of the naked drug (25.01 μg/ml vs. 2.43 μg/ml), and a 100% dissolution was accomplished in 90 minutes compared to the naked ACM, which only gave 47% in this time frame. In conclusion, this is the first time reporting the preparation of ACM nanosuspension, and turning ACM into polymeric nanoparticles is an effective method to increase the solubility and rate of dissolution of the drug, readying it for incorporation into a dosage form requiring such properties.
Impact of Genomic Variation of NFE2L2 (rs6706649) on Serum Glyoxalase-1 Levels in A Sample of Iraqi Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Retinopathy
Authors: Sarah Hashim Mhaibes  , Shatha H Ali
Published: February 2025

Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor-2 (NFE2L-2) is one important endogenous anti -oxidative stress signal pathway. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or genetic variants of NFE2L-2 may be accountable for the genesis of diabetic retinopathy. Glyoxalase-1 (Glo-1) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG) into D-lactate. The activity of GLO1 is regulated by the transcription factor NFE2L2.The goal of this study is to ascertain whether there is an association between the rs6706649 of NFE2L2 gene variant with serum GLO-1 levels in a group of Iraqi diabetic patients diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study included ninety patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (48 females and 42 males), with ages ranging from 40 to 80 years. The participants were partitioned into two the following groups: Group A; 60 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosed with DR (among them 29 patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and 31 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)) and Group B: 30 patients without evidence of DR (DWR) considered as a control group were enrolled in the study. A non-significant difference in genotyping and allele carriage frequencies of rs6706649 (G/A) SNP between DR and DWR groups. Also, there was a non-significant difference between PDR and NPDR patients' groups in relation to the different genotypes and alleles of rs6706649 (G/A) of NFE2L2 gene. However, the changing from the wild genotype (GG) to mutant (AA) and heretogynotypes (GA) had significant positive correlation with the increased serum levels of GLO-1 and significant negative correlation with serum level of methylglyoxal (MG) in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, pentosidine, carboxymethyl lysine (CML), GLO-1 and MG levels were significantly higher in DR when compared to DWR groups. The A mutant allele of rs6706649 (G >A) had significant positive correlation with the increased  serum GLO-1 levels in DR group. Meanwhile, DR group had increased serum MG, GLO-1, pentosidine and CML levels. Hence, these biomarkers can serve as prognostic indicators for diabetic retinopathy.
Assessment of Serum Levels of Total Bile Acids in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients on Hemodialysis with and without Uremic Pruritus
Authors: Mustafa Sh. Abdulqahar  , Ali A. Kasim
Published: February 2025

Chronic kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis are frequently suffering from uremic pruritus, which can be quite uncomfortable. Uremic pruritus affects over 40% of hemodialysis patients. Bile acids have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pruritus; especially in conditions associated with cholestasis. The purpose of the study is to investigate the serum levels of total bile acids in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis, with and without uremic pruritus. Ninety adults, chronic kidney disease patients who were on chronic hemodialysis at the hemodialysis unit at Al-Fallujah Teaching Hospital in Fallujah City, Iraq, were involved. Patients were grouped equally in two groups; according to the presence or absence of pruritus, based on the itching severity scale. Serum levels of total bile acids, urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, and intact parathormone were measured before and after the hemodialysis session. The serum level of total bile acids [median (IQR)], in the pre-dialysis (session samples, were non-significantly higher in patients with uremic pruritus compared to those without uremic pruritus [179.89(40.8) µmol/L and 175.28 (34.2) µmol/L; respectively]; P=0.56. Serum levels of total bile acids were not correlated with the patient's age, sex, and serum levels of urea, creatinine, calcium, phosphorous, or intact parathormone; p>0.05. Finally, serum levels of total bile acids were reduced by dialysis, and the serum levels of patients with uremic pruritus were significantly higher than those in patients without uremic pruritus in the post-dialysis session samples [133.99(23.69) µmol/L and 122.60(21.41) µmol/L; respectively]; P=0.001. In conclusion, targeting serum levels of bile acids might alleviate pruritus in chronic kidney disease patients on hemodialysis.
Correlation of the Complement Decay Accelerating Factor, Tumour Necrosis Factors-alpha, and Interleukin-1 Beta with the Response to Rituximab in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Authors: Haidar Mohammed Hussein  , Ali Abdulhussein Kasim
Published: February 2025

Rituximab (RTX) is one of the biological medications that has been used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. However, a high percentage of patients may experience resistance to RTX therapy. The study aims to investigate the potential association of serum levels of the complement decay accelerating factor (DAF), as well as the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 Beta (IL-1β); with response to RTX treatment in rheumatoid arthritis patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted under specialized physician supervision in the Specialized Center of Rheumatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital in Baghdad/Iraq. Ninety adult patients who were already diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and receiving RTX intravenous infusion, for at least six months, were enrolled in the study. The selected patients were either responders to RTX (45 patients), or non-responders to RTX (45 patients). The response to RTX was assessed according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28). The serum level of the DAF was significantly higher in RTX non-responders in comparison to RTX responders, (P-value ˂0.001). Similarly, serum levels of TNF- α and IL-1β, were significantly higher in RTX non-responders in comparison to RTX responders, (P-value ˂0.001; for each). The serum level of the estimated markers showed a high significant correlation with the 6 months change in DAS28 (P-value ˂0.001; for each). The Cut-off values, sensitivity, and specificity of DAF, TNF-α, and IL-1β in identifying responders to RTX were (≤417.58 µg/L, 97.8%, and 100%), (≤67.69 ng/L, 97.8%, and 100%), and (≤5.38 ng/L, 95.6%, and 95.6%), respectively. In conclusion, serum levels of DAF, TNF-α, and IL-1β have good potential to be used as markers for the assessment of the response to RTX therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Treatment Satisfaction and Health-Related Quality of Life in Iraqi Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Receiving Biologic Therapy; Rituximab
Authors: Aya Fawzi Talib  , Mohammed Mohammed Mahmood
Published: February 2025

The exact mechanism of action and which rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients might benefit from Rituximab (RTX) are still questionable. One of the key elements in assessing the performance of a healthcare facility is patient satisfaction, which is a measure of how satisfied a patient is with the medical care he receives. This study aimed to evaluate the health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction and their association with the responsiveness to RTX in RA patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Center of Rheumatology in Baghdad- Iraq. The study enrolled 90 patients diagnosed with RA and receiving RTX intravenous infusion, for at least six months. The 28-joints disease activity score (DAS28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were used to assess disease activity and RTX response. RA Impact of Disease (RAID) and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) were used to assess the health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction, respectively. A total of 90 patients were enrolled in the current study and were divided into two groups (the RTX responders group included 50 patients and the RTX non-responders group included 40 patients) according to DAS28 and CDAI assessment. The patients in the responders group had a significantly better quality of life according to the RAID score (P-value<0.001),  the effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction were significantly higher in the responders group compared to the non-responders group (P-values were <0.001 for all). There were significant negative correlations between the effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction with RAID, CDAI, and DAS28. Better health-related quality of life and satisfaction were achieved among RTX responders compared to others, some satisfaction parameters were affected by the history of RA and duration of disease
Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, Identification of Some Bioactive Constituent and Isolation of Unknown Compound from Murraya paniculata Cultivated in Iraq
Authors: Zainab Ali Qasim  , Haseeb Khamees Amjed
Published: February 2025

Murraya paniculata, sometimes known as orange Jessamine, is a significant decorative plant found in tropical and subtropical regions. It belongs to the Rutaceae family. The distribution of this species extends from South Asia to Australia. This plant possesses a multitude of applications in traditional medicine for the treatment of several ailments. The plant demonstrates an extensive array of pharmacological actions, involving antinociceptive, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antibacterial, and analgesic effects. This study aims to conduct Preliminary Phytochemical Screening, Phytochemical investigation of some bioactive constituents, and isolation of new compounds from Iraqi Murraya paniculata. It is worth noting that no previous phytochemical survey has been conducted on this plant in Iraq. The entire plant underwent a process of defatting using n-hexane for 48 hours. The materials with reduced fat content were extracted using the hot technique (Soxhlet) in 85% methanol. Subsequently, the extract was fractionated employing solvents with varying polarity, such as petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate. A preliminary phytochemical screening was conducted using established procedures. The petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate fractions underwent high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis using authenticated standards. Preparative layer chromatography was employed to isolate a novel chemical from the chloroform fraction. The isolated compound was identified using FT-IR and 1HNMR. The initial tests suggest the existence of alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, coumarins, and other secondary metabolites. The chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses reveal the occurrence of various phytochemicals in different fractions of Murraya paniculata as follows: the petroleum ether fraction contains stigmasterol; the chloroform fraction contains aegeline and a newly isolated and identified alkaloid called severifoline; and the ethyl acetate fraction contains apigenin, auraptene, luteolin,5,7,3’,4’-tetramethoxy flavanone and methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate. These findings will be of great value to phytochemists and pharmacologists in their future efforts to develop new active compounds from this plant, considering its notable pharmacological activity.
Effects of Flavonoid Fraction of Echinops Mosulensis on Induced Parkinson’s Disease Model in Mice
Authors: Asmaa Abdulwahab Ahmed  , Haitham Mahmood Kadhim
Published: February 2025

Toxins, especially 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), are among the most commonly utilized models of Parkinson's disease (PD) based on the method utilized, MPTP causes different changes like striatal dopamine depletion , and behavioral abnormality. Phytochemical analysis of Echinops mosulensis extract indicated that there was significant amount of flavonoid present in extract. Flavonoids are belonging to several kinds of plant polyphenols exert a potent antioxidant, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of present study was to investigate neuroprotective effect of flavonoid fractions of Iraqi Echinops mosulensis on induced PD model in mice. Forty male mice were randomly arrayed in 4 groups (10 mice in each group). Group 1: healthy normal control group received distilled water orally via gavage tube for 25 days. Group 2: induction group received MPTP (30mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally for 5 consecutive days to achieved model of PD then continue with distilled water orally via gavage tube for 25 days. Group 3: the positive control group administered pramipexole orally (1mg/ kg/ day) for 25 days then the induction was done with MPTP (30mg/kg/day) intraperitoneally 1 hour post-pramipexole from day 15 to 19. Group 4: received flavonoid fraction orally (250 mg/kg/day) for 25 days then the induction was done with MPTP (30mg/kg/ day) intraperitoneally 1 hour post- flavonoid fraction form the day 15 to day 19. At the day 26, the behavior test was done and at the day 27 all animals were sacrificed. Homogenized brain tissue was prepared for analysis. In present study there was significant decreased in Malondialdehyde, interleukin -1beta, cytochrome C, α-synuclein levels of flavonoid fraction accompanied with significant increase in tyrosine hydroxylase level of flavonoid fraction as compared to induction (p≤0.05), as well as significant increase in distance traveled in treated group as compared to induction (p≤0.05) .Additionally, good improvement in histopathological analysis of treated group as compared to induction. In conclusion, flavonoid fraction of E. mosulensis has a neuroprotective effect on MPTP induced PD Model in Mice.
Preparation and Characterization of Febuxostat as Nanosuspension
Authors: Zahraa Salim Alwan  , Nawal Ayash Rajab
Published: February 2025

Febuxostat (FEB) is a potent, non-purine-selective inhibitor of xanthine oxidoreductase used to manage gout. Gout is a type of arthritis that occurs due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals in the joints, leading to inflammation and pain. According to the Biopharmaceutical Classification System (BCS), FEB was classified under class II drugs. The low dissolution rate of the drug determines its bioavailability at approximately 49%. Drug nanosizing, such as Nanosuspensions (NS), represents an exciting and potentially beneficial method to improve the bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. This study aimed to prepare and characterize FEB NS to increase the dissolution rate, which can enhance its oral bioavailability. Using solvent/anti-solvent precipitation, 40mg of FEB was dissolved in ethanol and dropped into an antisolvent system containing distilled water, water-soluble stabilizers (L-arginine and Soluplus), and co-stabilizers (Poloxamer 407 and Tween 80) in different ratios. FEB NS formulas were characterized based on particle size (P.S), polydispersity index (PDI), and in vitro dissolution studies. The optimized formula (F7) was further characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. PDI of 0.13 ± 0.01 and P.S of 62.46 nm ± 0.015 was observed with the selected formula, which contained FEB, Soluplus, and tween 80 in a ratio of (1:4:0.5). A significant increase in drug release was observed at 60 minutes over ordinary FEB suspension. Consequently, Soluplus was the best stabilizer, and the solvent-antisolvent method to prepare FEB NS was successful. Therefore, NS is a valuable approach to improving the solubility of FEB, a BCS Class II drug.