PLoS ONE
Articles in this Issue
CrackNet: A novel multi-scale architecture for crack segmentation
Crack detection is essential for structural safety inspection but remains challenging due to noise, illumination variations, and complex backgrounds. In this paper, we propose CrackNet, a segmentation...
Psychology at the screen: Investigating the current VAR protocol
This study aimed to investigate the psychological process of the current Video Assistant Referee (VAR) protocol by calculating, i) the prevalence of overturn/maintain decisions by the referee at the p...
Trends in overweight and obesity among reproductive-age women in Bangladesh: Analysis of nationally representative surveys over a decade
Background Overweight and obesity are emerging public health concerns in Bangladesh, contributing to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases. We aimed to examine trends in p...
Development and validation of prediction models for predicting social care strengths and vulnerability in older people: Cohort study using routine data in Adult Social Care
In Adult Social Care, UK local authorities have statutory responsibilities for assessing needs and delivering services to ensure adults’ wellbeing. Administrative data collected during this process ma...
Acute SARS-CoV-2 viral load and systemic inflammation are associated with neuropsychiatric and musculoskeletal symptoms in long COVID
Background Long after recovery from acute-COVID illness, many patients show persistent multi-organ dysfunction consistent with Long COVID. Biochemical profile and measurements of i...
Auto-assessment of assessment: A human-in-the-loop AI framework addressing policy gaps in academic assessment
Education is being transformed by rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), including emerging Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI). Such technology can significantly support academics and s...
Higher mobility of freshwater mussels in response to unsuitable habitat conditions
Movement behavior of freshwater invertebrates is largely understudied, although gaining insights into behavioral responses may be crucial to better understand their ecology and to guide their conserva...
On-body measure of reaction time correlates with intoxication level
Excessive alcohol use has profound effects on individual health and healthcare systems worldwide. Despite this, there is currently no system or device that can detect robustly the physiologic and func...
Movement behavior in adults with sickle cell disease compared to healthy adults: a cross-sectional study
Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common monogenic disorders in the world. Patients with SCD have chronic hemolytic anemia and experience episodic pain due to...
Inoculation with indigenous nitrogen-fixers enhances seedling growth and nutrient uptake in a greenhouse bioassay
Desert ecosystems in Kuwait are increasingly affected by land degradation, resulting in nutrient-limited soils that constrain native plant establishment. Harnessing indigenous diazotrophic bacteria ad...
Land Finance and fiscal rules: An estimated DSGE model for Hong Kong
This study systematically analyzes the choice of fiscal rules under Hong Kong’s land finance pattern and their macroeconomic implications for the first time through DSGE methods. Using quarterly data...
Fixed-time adaptive fuzzy command filtering control for a two-joint robotic manipulator with input dead zone saturation and time-varying delay
This paper studies an adaptive fuzzy fixed-time tracking control problem for the two-joint robotic manipulator with input deadzone saturation and time-varying delay. By employing auxiliary signals to...
Importance of work-related factors for post-retirement labour market participation
Today’s pensioners are healthier than ever, and many participate in the labour market after retirement. Some pensioners continue to work for financial reasons, but in most cases the motives for work a...
Effect of an educational program on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hospital nurses regarding evidence-based practice: A quasi-experimental study
Background Preparing nurses for evidence-based practice (EBP) requires developing their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and ability to apply evidence-based practice in clinical setti...
Spatial and temporal patterns of SARS-CoV-2 infection in uMgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Background Investigating the spatial distribution of SARS-CoV-2 at a local level and describing the pattern of disease occurrence can be used as the basis for efficient prevention...
Noninvasive detection of audiovisual superadditivity in rat brain by miniaturized SERF magnetometer
The neural mechanisms of multisensory integration, particularly the superadditive response where combined sensory inputs elicit neural activity exceeding the sum of unimodal responses, remain a centra...
Mathematical Model on the optimal control of HIV/AIDS transmission dynamics, incorporating the uninfected class after an effective exposure to the disease
In this work, we formulated a mathematical model on HIV/AIDS transmission dynamics that incorporates the post-contact control measure. The six important compartments of the model are: Susceptible, und...
Ultra-processed food consumption and the risk of overweight and obesity in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction Overweight and obesity during early life increase the risk of premature morbidity and mortality. Adolescent obesity raises the likelihood of developing cardiovascular...
Stage-specific screening reveals differential resilience response to cold stress in rice
Rice cultivation in the northern and northeastern districts of Bangladesh faces cold stress during the seedling and reproductive stages that drastically reduces yield. As a precursor to generate impro...
Assessing the real-world safety of vutrisiran for transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis with polyneuropathy: Based on WHO-VigiAccess and FAERS databases
Background Vutrisiran is a double-stranded siRNA targeting transthyretin mRNA, primarily for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR) with polyneuropathy. Underst...
Modeling wave scattering in impedance-lined duct networks with expansion chambers
This article presents a general framework for predicting acoustic wave scattering in ducted systems with expansion chambers and dissipative linings, as commonly encountered in engineering noise-contro...
Unusual outcome variances as a method to identify potentially problematic clinical trials
An unusual outcome variance contributed to uncovering major cases of research misconduct, leading to over 200 retractions. Detecting such problematic randomized trials early – before they unduly influ...
Is early childhood education associated with better midlife cognition, especially for children facing socioeconomic marginalization?
Purpose Education is a strong predictor of cognitive aging, but little work has evaluated the relationship between early childhood education (ECE) specifically and cognition in mid...
The neuroactive potential of the elderly human gut microbiome is associated with mental health status
Ageing is usually associated with physiological decline, increased mental health issues, and cognitive. deterioration, alongside specific changes in the gut microbiome. However, the relationship betwe...
Bioinformatics analysis and qRT-PCR validation of iron metabolism-related genes in pediatric asthma
Pediatric asthma (PA) is a chronic airway disease with a complex etiology, and iron metabolism disorder is believed to be involved in its pathogenesis. In this study, we integrated three peripheral bl...