PLoS ONE
Articles in this Issue
Age at first marriage among women in Lesotho: Multilevel survival analysis- insight from 2023-24 demographic and health survey data
Background Early marriage remains a significant public health and social issue in Lesotho, with profound implications for women's health, education, and economic empowerment. Despi...
Faster turnover of taxonomic over functional bacterial composition during vermicomposting indicates increasing functional redundancy
Microbial taxonomy underpins microbial functionality; consequently, changes in taxonomic composition are expected to influence community functional profiles. However, functional redundancy—the ability...
A systematic review and meta-analysis on the epidemiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses in Ethiopia
Background Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are among the most prevalent work-related disorders affecting individuals across all age groups and professions. Nurses ar...
In vitro isolation and identification of entomopathogenic fungus (Metarhizium pinghaense) and assessment of its virulence against whiteflies and aphids
Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Aphis gossypii (Glover) are two notorious pests of vegetables grown in greenhouses and their outbreaks can be...
Expression of Concern: MiR-125b Reduces Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Replication by Negatively Regulating the NF-κB Pathway
In vivo rectal dosimeter with MRI marker
Background Hypofractionated external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer necessitates precise rectal dose evaluation. We fabricated a radiochromic polyurethane-based in vivo rect...
Evaluation of analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the root extract of Grewia schweinfurthii Burret and its major chemical constituents
Despite the widespread use of conventional analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, their clinical utility is often limited by adverse effects, necessitating the search for safer alternatives from medic...
Predictive value of complete blood cell count-based inflammatory markers for peritonitis risk in peritoneal dialysis patients: A multicenter cohort study
Background Peritonitis is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Inflammatory indices derived from routine complete blood count (CBC) parameters—including the pan-immu...
Preliminary study on comparative non-targeted metabolomics analysis sheds light on the chemical diversity of citrus fruit pulps
Citrus flavor and nutritional quality are closely tied to metabolite composition, yet comparative metabolic dissection of fruit pulp traits across citrus subspecies remains insufficient. Here, we appl...
AgriOptNet: A hybrid optimization and lightweight deep learning framework for soil texture classification and crop recommendation based on nutrition
Agriculture is a central part of human subsistence, with classification of soil texture and nutrition-based crop recommendation being the central aspects of optimal agricultural practice. Nevertheless...
Beyond citation-based metrics: Measuring interdisciplinarity via SBERT semantic embeddings and its heterogeneous effects on citation impact
Background Interdisciplinary research is a cornerstone of global science policy, yet decades of research have reached conflicting conclusions about its association with citation im...
Characterisation of the bacterial and archaeal microbiota in processed colostrum collected from a spring-calving dairy herd
Colostrum feeding is critical for neonatal calf health, providing immunoglobulins (Ig) and other bioactive compounds that support immune function and early microbiome development. While the microbiota...
Sequence-robust MRI asymmetry measures for the detection of anoperineal lesions in Crohn’s disease on axial pelvic MRI scans
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely considered the gold standard for evaluating Crohn’s disease anoperineal lesions. However, despite its central role in clinical evaluation, automated methods...
Synergistic Bioactive Ointment: ZnO Nanoparticles Combined with Carica papaya Latex and Aloe Vera Gel for Broad-Spectrum Biomedical Applications
The development of multifunctional topical formulations that combine natural bioactives with therapeutic nanomaterials offers a promising route to improved wound healing and management....
Anxiety disorder burden inequalities across middle- and high-income countries: 1990–2035 trends and projections
Background Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions worldwide, but their burden varies substantially across countries with different income levels. Evid...
Incidence and direct medical costs of child injuries in Lebanon (2012–2016): Evidence from closed insurance claims analysis
Despite the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) reporting 20% of the global burden of child injury and one of the highest death rates for child injury (45.5 per 100,000), there are few studies from the...
Bidirectional association between cognitive function and depressive symptoms in UK community elderly based on physical activity as mediator
Introduction Previous studies have shown that physical activity (PA) can improve cognitive function (CF) and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults, and that there is...
Supporters of Germany’s far-right AfD party are concerned about immigration rather than feeling deprived
Is concern about immigration sufficient to account for the increasing success of Germany’s right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)? Or does socio-economic deprivation also matter?...
Identification and validation of novel reference genes for bovine respiratory and lymphoid tissues using public transcriptomes and BRSV challenge model
RT-qPCR can be employed to quantify target gene expression normalized to reference genes that are expected to remain stable across experimental conditions. However, previously reported reference genes...
Global patterns and trends in heart failure burden under chronic respiratory disease cause categories among adults aged 55 years and older: A systematic analysis based on the GBD 2021 Study
Background Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and heart failure (HF) impose substantial global burdens. However, the long-term population-level burden of HF impairment under CRD c...
hLMR1, a hepatocyte-specific long noncoding RNA that represses amino acid catabolism through pre-mRNA interaction in human liver
Amino acid (AA) catabolism and ureagenesis in the liver are essential for maintaining systemic nitrogen homeostasis. Patients with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) exhi...
Comparing token-based and trajectory-based vowel space metrics for assessing speech in Parkinson’s disease
This study assessed the ability of three acoustic measures of vowel space, two token-based and one trajectory-based, to quantify speech differences in people with Parkinson’s disease compared to contr...
Comparative genome-wide analysis of CAD (Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase) gene family in Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus and their expression profiles in response to various abiotic abiotic stresses
The CAD (Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase) gene family is a key determinant for lignin biosynthesis in plants. In legumes, CAD enzymes are involved in the development of vascular tissues such as xylem a...
Immediate effects of sitting position on cervical and trunk posture, perceived discomfort, and RULA-based ergonomic risk during smartphone gaming: A randomized within-subject study
Objective This study investigated the immediate effects of three sitting positions, including chair sitting with and without a backrest and cross-legged sitting on the floor, on ce...
Sustainable hydrogel from biowaste: Synthesis and characterization of pectin and starch-based hydrogels derived from fruit peel
Arid regions such as the United Arab Emirates face persistent challenges in agricultural productivity due to water scarcity, poor soil quality, and the overuse of chemical fertilizers. As a sustainabl...