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Ecoepidemiology and zoonotic risk of intestinal parasites in humans and domestic dogs in marginalized coastal communities of Ecuador

Marine outfall discharges contribute to coastal microplastic pollution and the spread of antimicrobial resistance

Microplastics are widespread in marine environments, with significant contributions from land-based wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A desktop study was conducted on regulatory framework for marine outfalls in South African coastal cities. The South African regional policy permits proper disposal of wastewater in a marine outfall provided raw wastewater is treated and will not have an adverse effect on the receiving body. The experimental study investigated the capacity of microplastics to serve as reservoirs for multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria originating from WWTP effluent. Experiments challenging the regulations were based on microbiology of the effluent that is discharged through an outfall. Microcosms were set up by spiking seawater with WWTP effluent and adding the collected plastic pieces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine colonization on the microplastics. After 30 days of microcosm exposure, selective media and incubation conditions were used to isolate Enterobacteriaceae. Pure isolates were tested against 16 antibiotics normally used in human clinical settings. In the initial biofilms directly from microplastics from the WWTPs, several genera generally associated with wastewater treatment were isolated. Dominant species isolated and identified were Citrobacter sp., Escherichia sp., Enterobacter sp., Serratia sp., Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas sp.. Several isolates were resistant to the last resort of antibiotics, (doripenem and imipenem; 9% to 27%) and some of these isolates were resistant to up to ten of the antibiotics. These findings highlight that clinically relevant Enterobacteriaceae colonize microplastics and survive in biofilms on these microplastics surfaces. Bacterial infections caused by Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae have become a global concern in the fight against bacterial infections. Our findings highlight the need for more data to challenge existing marine outfall policies and the outdated notion stating that dilution alone can solve pollution problems.

“What happens when you get corona?”: Children’s questions and parental responses about the COVID-19 pandemic

Information discussed between parents and children provide a foundation for children's developing understanding of health and illness. Parents of 3-to-7-year-old children (N = 516, 62% female, 78% White) residing in the United States were recruited using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk during July 29th– August 10th, 2020. We asked parents to report three questions that their children had asked about the COVID-19 pandemic and asked them to report how they responded to those questions. Children’s questions focused on lifestyle changes (22%), while parental responses were often about the virus (23%). We examined the stability of content of children’s questions and parental responses between the first peak and second peak of infection and death rates due to COVID-19 in the United States. The topic of children’s questions and the types of parental responses shifted between the two peaks, such that parents during the second peak of the pandemic reported their children asking more frequently about the virus and preventive measures than children in the first peak. Meanwhile, parents during the second peak of infection and death rates were more focused on responding to their children’s questions with information about the virus. We used Latent Class Analysis to explore overall patterns in children’s questions and parents’ responses. For children’s questions, three latent classes were obtained: (1) the virus [39%], (2) the virus/lifestyle changes [21%], and (3) lifestyle changes/preventive measures [40%]. For parents’ responses three latent classes were found: (1) the virus/self-protection [54%], (2) reassurance/the virus [28%], and (3) simple yes/no answers without further explanation [17%]. These results suggest that children’s questions and parental responses can be captured in terms of a discrete number of latent classes.

Association between serum mineral concentrations and gastrointestinal parasite burden in zebu cattle accessing ‘hora’ mineral water in southwestern Ethiopia

Gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) and mineral deficiencies are significant factors affecting health and productivity of free-ranging cattle. Adequate mineral intake, particularly from natural mineral water sources (hora), is vital for immune function, gastrointestinal health, and nutrient absorption. This study aimed to explore the association between GIP burden and serum mineral concentrations in zebu cattle (Bos indicus) routinely accessing hora mineral water in southwestern Ethiopia. A total of 180 fecal samples were collected from cattle across four districts (Bedele, Dabo, Gechi, and Borecha) and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to determine parasite presence and fecal egg count. Concurrently, blood samples were collected to evaluate serum mineral concentrations. The overall GIP prevalence was 55.6%, with Strongyle-type nematodes being the dominant GIP group. Gechi district showed the highest prevalence (64.4%) and mean egg per gram (EPG) of 212.8 (p < 0.05). Although, serum mineral concentrations were generally adequate, significant variations were observed across districts. Strong negative correlations (p < 0.05) were observed between EPG and serum concentrations of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu), indicating that adequate intake of these minerals, potentially sourced from the hora mineral water, may be associated with improved resistance to parasitic infections. These negative correlations were supported by negative binomial regression analysis which identified Zn as the strongest predictor of EPG. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of hora as a natural mineral supplement in its association with lower GIP burden in free-ranging zebu cattle. While this study indicates a correlation between serum mineral concentrations and GIP burden in grazing cattle, controlled experiments are essential to determine the specific effects of individual minerals found in hora on parasite resistance and establish causality.

Deep learning-based Alzheimer’s disease detection using magnetic resonance imaging and gene expression data

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) poses significant challenges to healthcare systems across the globe. Early and accurate AD diagnosis is crucial for effective management and treatment. Recent advances in neuroimaging and genomics provide an opportunity for developing multi-modality-based AD diagnosis models using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. However, the data complexities cause challenges in developing interpretable AI-based AD identification models. In this study, the author built a comprehensive AD diagnostic model using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and gene expression data. MobileNet V3 and EfficientNet B7 model was employed to extract AD features from gene expression data. The author introduced a hybrid TWIN-Performer-based feature extraction model to derive features from MRI. The attention-based feature fusion was used to fuse the crucial features. An ensemble learning-based classification model integrating CatBoost, XGBoost, and extremely randomized tree (ERT) was developed to identify cognitively normal (CN) and AD features. The proposed model was validated on diverse datasets. It achieved a superior performance on MRI and gene expression datasets. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) scores were consistently above 0.85, indicating excellent model performance. The use of Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) values improved the model’s interpretability, leading to earlier interventions and personalized treatment strategies.

The effect of physical exercise on cardiopulmonary fitness in burn patients: A meta-analysis

Objective Cardiopulmonary dysfunction in burn patients is typically caused by both the burn injury and smoke inhalation. Normally presenting with symptoms such as dyspnea, decreased exercise tolerance, decreased maximal heart rate, and decreased arterial oxygen saturation. It has been demonstrated that physical activity helps to increase cardiorespiratory fitness. The goal of this study was to determine whether physical activity can provide additional benefits to the recovery of cardiorespiratory fitness in burn patients by examining research on the topic of physical activity’s ability to enhance cardiorespiratory fitness in burn patients. Methods The electronic databases Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inception until August 30, 2024. To contrast the efficacy of conventional rehabilitation with the benefits of physical exercise in conjunction with it. Revman 5.4 software was employed to conduct a meta-analysis, with peak oxygen consumption serving as the primary outcome indicator and the 6-minute walking test (6MWT), forced vital capacity (FVC)%, forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1)%, max heart rate (HRmax), and resting heart rate (RHR) serving as secondary outcome indicators. The literature’s risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Results A total of 13 studies were incorporated into the meta-analysis, which involved 530 patients. The study results demonstrated that physical exercise combined with conventional rehabilitation significantly improved VO2Peak (MD = 4.91, 95% CI: 3.52–6.29, P < 0.001), 6MWT (MD = 37.11, 95% CI: 11.72–62.51, P = 0.004), FVC% (MD = 6.54, 95% CI: 4.9–8.17, P < 0.001), and FEV1% (MD = 8.27, 95% CI: 7.39–9.14, P < 0.001) in burn patients compared to conventional rehabilitation. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the change in resting heart rate (RHR) (MD = 2.04, 95% CI: −2.71–6.78; P = 0.40) between the physical activity group and the control group, but there was a significant difference in the change in maximum heart rate (HR-max) (MD = 6.27, 95% CI: 1.75–10.97, P = 0.007). The results of the subgroup analysis of VO2peak indicate that resistance training combined with aerobic exercise (MD = 5.47, 95% CI: 4.81–6.13, P < 0.001) is more effective than aerobic exercise alone. In terms of single exercise duration, exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes (MD = 6.32, 95% CI: 4.49–6.16, P < 0.001) is more effective than exercise lasting less than 60 minutes. The improvement effects in adult burn patients (MD = 6.09, 95% CI: 3.7–8.48, P < 0.001) were superior to those in pediatric burn patients. The improvement effects in severe burn patients (MD = 5.66, 95% CI: 4.2–7.12, P < 0.001) were superior to those in moderate burn patients. Conclusions Our study results indicate that physical exercise, when combined with conventional rehabilitation, is more effective than conventional rehabilitation alone in improving cardiorespiratory fitness in burn patients. This is demonstrated by improvements in aerobic capacity, exercise performance, and respiratory function. The most effective approach may involve combining prolonged resistance with aerobic exercise. The certainty of the evidence assessed according to the GRADE guidelines was moderate and very low, with key factors such as publication bias, imprecision, and inconsistency leading to its downgrading.

Identifying trends in reporting on the ethical treatment of insects in research

Transparent reporting on the ethical treatment of research animals (e.g., implementation of the 3Rs, replace, reduce, and refine) is recommended when publishing in peer-reviewed literature. This is meant to foster public trust, safeguard animal welfare, and generate reproducible science. However, entomologists are not expected to engage in such reporting, as their research is not subject to legislated ethical review. Recently, however, entomologists have reported increased concern about the ethical treatment of insects in research, and associated reproducibility and public trust issues. To what degree are these increasing concerns reflected in changes in practices? We surveyed 15 high-impact journals that publish on insects over 20 years to collect data on reporting related to the ethical treatment of insects in research, including animal reduction methods, analgesics/anesthesia statements, and information regarding sacrifice. Out of 1359 sampled papers, no studies reported any methods to reduce animal use. Over 20 years, we found an increase in the proportion of papers reporting insect death and a decrease in the papers reporting significant invasive handling. 84% of papers with significant animal handling or death did not report the use of any anesthetics. We also found an increase in animal-treatment-specific ethics statements (from 0% to 8%), largely driven by the journal Animal Behaviour. We end by 1) making recommendations for entomologists looking to improve their reporting practices and 2) providing tools to improve transparent reporting of information related to the ethical treatment of insects in research.

Urine metabolomic changes in cats with renal disease or calcium oxalate uroliths

Two common problems in the urinary system of cats are renal disease (RD) and calcium oxalate (CaOx) stones. The objective of this study was to assess urine metabolomic parameters of cats with these diseases to determine metabolic abnormalities and differences between the groups. The urine metabolic profile for each cat was determined, along with their lifetime history of stone incidence and renal disease. In order to reduce the data for analysis, factor analysis/factor loading was used allowing statistical hypothesis testing and the selection of significant metabolites from 488 identified metabolites. A total of 42 cats were used (19 healthy, 12 with CaOx stones and 11 with renal disease). Urine from the cats were tested multiple times (mean = 4.6) therefore cat ID was used as a random variable. All analytes were expressed as a ratio to creatinine in order to compensate for differences in water intake. Principal components analysis was used as the method of factor extraction resulting in six factors that differed between groups. Factors 1, 2, and 5 were elevated in healthy cats and depressed in RD and CaOx cats. These factors had several analytes that are known to be elevated in the serum of cats with CaOx stones (i.e., 7-methylguanine, erythritol, pseudouridine, N1-methylinosine). Factor 5 was elevated in healthy cats containing six phenyl moieties as well as p-cresol sulfate. There were two factors which were increased in CaOx cats. Factor 12 was increased when compared to healthy cats and contained three purine nucleic acids (inosine, xanthine and hypoxanthine) as well as 3-hydroxybutyrate while factor 23 was elevated and the only factor that contained phospholipids. These results show that urine is not simply reflecting circulating concentration changes observed in cats with CaOx stones and RD but rather also gives insight into the functional kidney changes associated with these diseases.

Enhancing english oral translation through cross-modal learning and synchronous optimization

Oral translation in English serves as a critical conduit for international communication and cultural exchange. However, the prevalent variations in pronunciation and the rapid pace of spoken language currently impede the efficacy of synchronous translation methods. To improve the quality and efficiency of synchronous oral translation, this paper explores the integration of cross-modal semantic understanding and synchronous enhancement specifically for English oral translation. This exploration commences with the implementation of a cross-modal translation scenario. Subsequently, the text sequence derived from this process is amalgamated with the original speech features via Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT). The cross-information between modalities is explored, and linear transformation optimization is performed on the self-attention mechanism in Transformer to achieve context-awareness and understanding of oral-transcribed text. In conclusion, the integration of dynamic time warping (DTW) enhances real-time synchronization between speech and text, thereby improving translation fluency. Experimental results reveal that, when compared to the existing bilingual attention neural machine translation (NMT) model and the context-aware NMT model, the model proposed in this study yields an average bilingual evaluation understudy (BLEU) score that is 9.3% and 26.9% higher, respectively. Furthermore, its synchronization speed surpasses that of the other two models by 17.9% and 16.8%, respectively. These findings suggest that the fusion model, which incorporates context-awareness and an attention mechanism in cross-modal translation, can significantly elevate the quality and efficiency of English oral translation, offering a novel approach to the synchronous translation of spoken English.

Retraction: Wasp venom peptide improves the proapoptotic activity of alendronate sodium in A549 lung cancer cells

CRISPR/Cas9 mediated ENT2 gene knockout altered purine catabolic pathway and induced apoptosis in colorectal cell lines

Although purine metabolism is one of the most impacted pathways in colorectal cancer (CRC), little is known about the role of equilibrative nucleoside transporter 2 (ENT2) in CRC development and its association with the altered purine metabolism pathway. This study aimed to determine the role of ENT2 in altered purine metabolism in the early and late stages of CRC using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tools and a variety of functional experiments. The expression of ENT2 was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in all CRC cell lines as compared to the normal colon cells. The two CRC cell lines with the highest ENT2 expression, the early stage HT29 cells and the late stage DLD1 cells, were knocked out (KO) using the CRISPR/Cas9 tool. The hypoxanthine (HPX) level and the xanthine oxidase (XO) activity were significantly higher in both HT29/KO and DLD1/KO single cell-derived clones (P < 0.01). The increase in HPX level and XO activity were associated with an elevation in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. These data suggest that the ENT2 KO elevated the ROS levels induced apoptosis and impaired the cell proliferation of the early stage of CRC cell line, i.e., HT29/KO clonal cells. In this context, targeting ENT2 gene might be a potential strategy in CRC treatment by increasing the production of ROS and hence, inducing the apoptosis pathway.

Emotion regulation and perceptions of academic stress as key predictors of academic motivation in second language learning

Motivation, as a driving force of human behavior, is influenced by various psychological factors. Among these, emotion regulation and perceptions of academic stress have received limited attention in the context of second language learning. This study examines the interplay between emotion regulation, perceptions of academic stress, and academic motivation among university students in China who are learning English as a second language. A convenience sample of 1189 university students in China participated in the study. Data were collected using validated emotion regulation, perceptions of academic stress, and academic motivation questionnaires and analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression methods. The results reveal that emotion regulation is strongly and positively correlated with academic motivations (r = 0.73, p < 0.01), while perceptions of academic stress have a strong negative correlation with academic motivations (r = −0.75, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis shows that emotion regulation significantly predicts academic motivations (B = 0.442, p < 0.01), explaining 44.2% of the variance, with cognitive reappraisal having the strongest positive effect (B = 0.435, p < 0.01). Conversely, perceptions of academic stress negatively predict academic motivations (B = −0.503, p < 0.01), with academic workload and exams exerting the most substantial negative impact (B = −0.492, p < 0.01). These findings highlight the critical role of emotional regulation in enhancing academic motivation and the detrimental effects of academic stress, particularly related to self-perception, on students’ motivation.

Modeling and analyzing V2V communication limitations impacts on connected and automated vehicle platoons

Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) platooning, enabled by Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication, promises significant improvements in traffic safety, throughput, and energy efficiency. However, communication constraints — such as range limitations and intermittent connectivity — disrupt information flow, destabilizing platoon dynamics. Existing models lack a unified framework to analyze how these constraints propagate through CAV interactions. To address this gap, the Platoon Intelligent Driver Model (PIDM) is proposed, a novel analytical framework that integrates dynamic communication topologies (predecessor-following, predecessor-leader-following, and 𝕜-predecessor-leader-following) with vehicle dynamics under V2V limitations. The PIDM enables systematic stability analysis and quantifies disturbance propagation mechanisms. Through numerical simulations, the study demonstrates that: (1) 𝕜-predecessor-leader-following topology reduces recovery time by 32% compared to conventional topologies; (2) smaller communication ranges (4–6 vehicles) optimize stability in urban roads, while larger ranges (8–10 vehicles) suit highways; (3) delay time tolerance thresholds depend on platoon size and topology complexity. These findings provide actionable guidelines for designing robust CAV platoon systems under real-world communication constraints.

Use of a predictor cue during a speech sound discrimination task in a Cntnap2 knockout rat model of autism

Autism is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that despite its complex etiology, is marked by deficits in prediction that manifest in a variety of domains including social interactions, communication, and movement. The tendency of individuals with autism to focus on predictable schedules and interests that contain patterns and rules highlights the likely involvement of the cerebellum in this disorder. One candidate-autism gene is contactin-associated protein 2 (CNTNAP2), and variants in this gene are associated with sensory deficits and anatomical differences. It is unknown, however, whether this gene directly impacts the brain’s ability to make and evaluate predictions about future events. The current study was designed to answer this question by training a genetic knockout rat on a rapid speech sound discrimination task. Rats with Cntnap2 knockout (KO) and their littermate wildtype controls (WT) were trained on a validated rapid speech sound discrimination task that contained unpredictable and predictable targets. We found that although both genotype groups learned the task in both unpredictable and predictable conditions, the KO rats responded more often to distractors during training as well as to the target sound during the predictable testing conditions compared to the WT group. There were only minor effects of sex on performance and only in the unpredictable condition. The current results provide preliminary evidence that removal of this candidate-autism gene may interfere with the learning of unpredictable scenarios and enhance reliance on predictability. Future research is needed to probe the neural anatomy and function that drives this effect.

Impact of technological turbulence and competitive intensity on employee job performance: The role of workplace digitalization and job crafting

Following the “environment-behavior-performance” paradigm, we aim to examine how the environment influences employee behavior and job performance. We subdivide the environment into the organizational external environment (dynamic environment, including technological turbulence and competitive intensity) and the specific internal work environment (workplace digitalization). Drawing on uncertainty reduction theory and conservation of resources theory, we validate the chain mediating mechanism through which technological turbulence and competitive intensity affect job performance via workplace digitalization and job crafting. The results indicate that technological turbulence has a significant direct positive effect on job performance (b = 0.233, p < .01). Additionally, it indirectly enhances job performance through a chain mediation pathway involving increased workplace digitalization and higher levels of avoidance crafting (b = 0.021, 95% CI [0.001, 0.056]). In contrast, the direct effect of competitive intensity on job performance is not statistically significant (b = 0.146, p = .126); however, it indirectly improves job performance through increased workplace digitalization and both approach crafting (b = 0.121, 95% CI [0.064, 0.205]) and avoidance crafting (b = 0.051, 95% CI [0.022, 0.105]). Overall, this study applies a multi-level chain mediation model to provide empirical evidence that enriches and extends existing research on the effects of dynamic environments on employee job performance.

Direct real-time RT-PCR for the detection of dengue virus from patient serum in Lao PDR

Introduction Dengue fever is a growing global concern with an estimated 100–400 million infections every year and rising mortality over the past decade. In 2017, 40,000 deaths were attributed to dengue. Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is the gold standard technique to detect dengue virus (DENV) during the acute phase of the infection. However, it requires prior RNA purification which is costly and time consuming. We evaluated direct RT-qPCR using Luna Universal Probe One-Step RT-qPCR kit (Luna RT-qPCR) for the detection of DENV in sera. Methods Luna RT-qPCR conditions were optimized using DENV2 isolates. The efficiency of direct Luna RT-qPCR was evaluated on a panel of 132 patient sera using RNA purification (EZ1&2 Virus Mini Kit) followed by RT-qPCR (SuperScript III Platinum One-Step qRT-PCR system) as reference standard. Results The sensitivity (95% CI) of direct Luna RT-qPCR using neat patient sera was 34% (25–45). By reducing PCR inhibitors through a 1/10 dilution of the sera, the sensitivity improved to 86% (95% CI: 77–92). Comparable results were obtained between direct Luna RT-qPCR and reference standard process for samples with Cq < 35. Conclusion The results obtained in this study are promising. Direct RT-qPCR for DENV detection in patient sera, could make PCR-based dengue detection and typing, and potentially other target detections, more affordable for reference laboratories in LMICs by reducing reagent cost by approximately two-thirds. Further studies are needed to evaluate DENV direct RT-qPCR on prospective samples in diagnosis context and to improve the sensitivity by minimizing the impact of inhibitors.

Effect of finerenone on urinary protein and inflammatory factor levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with diabetic kidney disease

Aims This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of finerenone in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in the real-world medical setting and explore the underlying mechanism of its kidney-protecting effects from the perspective of the inflammatory response. Materials and Methods Forty-eight DKD patients were selected and completed a 6-month finerenone treatment. Renal parameters, inflammatory cytokines, other related indicators and adverse effects were collected at every visit. Additionally, subgroup analysis was conducted on the microalbuminuria group (baseline urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) 30 – < 300 mg/g) and the macroalbuminuria group (baseline UACR ≥ 300 mg/g). Results After finerenone treatment, the levels of UACR, urinary β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) and proinflammatory cytokines in patients decreased compared with the pretreatment levels. Moreover, the rates of decrease in the UACR levels in the macroalbuminuria group were significantly greater than those in the microalbuminuria group. In the initial stage of treatment, the patient’s estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) level decreased and serum potassium level increased compared to before, but with prolongation of the treatment time, both eGFR and serum potassium levels remained stable. Conclusions With the assistance of RAS inhibitors, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists, finerenone effectively reduces urinary protein and improves the inflammatory response, demonstrating relatively manageable safety in real-world DKD treatment. The patients with macroalbuminuria may experience greater benefits.

Effect of psychological interventions on outcomes for caregivers of hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients: Protocol for a systematic review and planned meta-analysis

Caregivers of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) recipients bear significant responsibilities involving commitment to be available 24/7, up to at least 100 days post-transplant or longer, and to provide emotional and physical support to the recipient. This extended caregiving, along with managing all other household responsibilities, can result in an increased caregiver burden, which is associated with reduced quality of life (QoL) and compromised psychological, and physical well-being. In recent years, there has been increased attention to interventions addressing the mental health outcomes of caregivers of HSCT patients. However, there remains a limited understanding of the feasibility and effectiveness of existing interventions targeted to this population. This review aims to systematically evaluate existing psychological interventions for caregivers of HSCT patients and report on: 1) the feasibility and acceptability of these interventions, and 2) the efficacy of these interventions on caregivers’ psychological outcomes. A systematic literature search for studies evaluating psychological interventions targeted to caregivers of HSCT patients was conducted in English through the following databases: Ovid MEDLINE (Wolters Kluwer), Embase (Elsevier), CINAHL Complete (EBSCO), APA PsycArticles (EBSCO), APA PsycInfo (EBSCO). Two reviewers will independently identify the studies, extract relevant data, and conduct quality and risk of bias assessments. Discrepancies in coding will be discussed between the two reviewers, and a third reviewer will resolve pending disagreements. Within the systematic review, all eligible studies will be summarized descriptively. If data allows, we will further utilize meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the efficacy of these psychological interventions tested in RCTs. The association between intervention type, modality, duration, and efficacy will be assessed via subgroup analysis. Ethics approval is not required as this study will only include secondary data from already published studies. The outcomes will be shared through scientific conferences and peer-reviewed publications. This protocol is registered in PROSPERO: CRD42024489695.

Validation of the Thai short form of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire

Introduction The short form of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire was developed to provide a brief, efficient assessment of attitudes toward ageing among older individuals, but requiring less time and energy to administer. However, it has not been translated into Thai language with psychometric validation. This study aimed to validate the psychometric properties of the Thai version of the short form of the questionnaire to determine its reliability in assessing attitudes toward ageing in the Thai context. Methods A total of 224 Thai community-dwelling older people aged 60 years or older were included. Participants completed the Thai short form of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire, a 12-item measure with three dimensions: psychological growth, psychosocial loss, and physical change. The questionnaire was translated into Thai using forward and back translation. Psychometric testing comprised confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency (using Cronbach’s alpha), and test–retest reliability (using the intraclass correlation coefficient). Results The results confirmed a three-factor structure corresponding to the original questionnaire’s subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated excellent model fit. Internal consistency was high, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.764 for psychological growth, 0.704 for psychosocial loss, and 0.760 for physical change. Test–retest reliability showed excellent stability, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.91. Conclusions The Thai short form of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire is a valid, reliable tool for assessing attitudes toward ageing among older Thai individuals. It can assist in identifying areas needing support and informing the development of interventions to promote positive attitudes toward ageing, contributing to the well-being of older adults in Thailand.

Unsupervised fake news detection on social media using hybrid Gaussian Mixture Model

The rise of social media has revolutionized information dissemination, creating new opportunities but also significant challenges. One such challenge is the proliferation of fake news, which undermines the credibility of journalism and contributes to societal unrest. Manually identifying fake news is impractical due to the vast volume of content, prompting the development of automated systems for fake news detection. This challenge has motivated numerous research efforts aimed at developing automated systems for fake news detection. However, most of these approaches rely on supervised learning, which requires significant time and effort to construct labeled datasets. While there have been a few attempts to develop unsupervised methods for fake news detection, their reported accuracy results thereof remain unsatisfactory. This research proposes an unsupervised approach using clustering algorithms, including Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), K-means, and K-medoids, to eliminate the need for manual labeling in detecting fake news. In particular, it also proposes a novel hybrid method that leverages the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) in conjunction with the Group Counseling Optimizer (GCO), a metaheuristic optimization algorithm, to identify the optimal number of clusters for the detection of fake news. The comparative analysis of the evaluation results on real-world data demonstrated that the proposed hybrid GMM outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques, with a silhouette score of 0.77, ARI of 0.83, and a purity score of 0.88, indicating a significantly improved quality of clustering results.