PLoS ONE
Articles in this Issue
Towards efficient solutions: A novel approach to quadratic nonlinearity in boundary value problems
The Newton method is a classical method for solving systems of nonlinear equations and offers quadratic convergence. The order of convergence of the Newton method is optimal as it requires one evaluat...
Autonomous agents: Augmenting visual information with raw audio data
In the realm of game playing, deep reinforcement learning predominantly relies on visual input to map states to actions. The visual data extracted from the game environment serves as the primary found...
Genetic variations and recurrence in stage III Korean colorectal cancer: Insights from tumor-only mutation analysis
Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the second highest incidence rate among all cancers in Korea, with approximately 30% of patients with regional CRC experiencing recurrence. Understanding the genetic driver...
“If I tell you my problems, how will you perceive me?”: A qualitative study of mental health knowledge, barriers, and opportunities for care among Kenyan adolescents during COVID-19
Introduction The majority of the world’s adolescents live in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, there is a dearth of knowledge about adolescents’ perspectives on mental health and sourc...
Structural time series modelling for weekly forecasting of enterovirus outpatient, inpatient, and emergency department visits
Objectives: Enteroviruses pose a substantial public health challenge in Taiwan, often leading to increased healthcare visits. This study utilizes Taiwan CDC databases to analyse weekly enterovirus cas...
Data-driven prior elicitation for Bayes factors in Cox regression for nine subfields in biomedicine
Biomedical research often utilizes Cox regression for the analysis of time-to-event data. The pervasive use of frequentist inference for these analyses implicates that the evidence for or against the...
Leadership and governance, financing, and coordination and their impact on the operationalization of health interventions in the humanitarian-development nexus in South Sudan
South Sudan ranks among the most fragile nations in the world. Protracted conflict and recurrent shocks have weakened its health system and contributed to high maternal and child mortality rates, desp...
Developmental and neurobehavioral toxicity of benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizer UV-360 on zebrafish larvae
The presence of UV-360, a commonly utilized benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizer, has been frequently detected in diverse environments and organisms. However, existing knowledge regarding the potentia...
The importance of perceived social support for symptoms of depression and academic stress among university students– A latent profile analysis
The aim of the study was to identify, among university students, profiles featuring severity of depressive symptoms, academic stress, and perceived social support and to compare the profiles by gender...
Advanced heart disease classification based on multi-channel heart sound coupling features
Conventional heart sound classification methods often rely on single-channel, one-dimensional feature extraction, which inadequately captures pathological relationships across different auscultation z...
The impact of slip perturbations on minimum toe clearance during walking in younger and older adults
Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the kinematic differences in minimum toe clearance (MTC), a risk factor for falls, between older and younger adults during habitual walking and treadmi...
Effectiveness of obesity interventions in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analyses
The escalating obesity epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is a pressing regional concern. Despite this, there is scarce evidence of effective strategies to halt its upward trend in the region. We have, th...
A simple technique to improve performance of four-port wideband MIMO antenna using shorting pins
This paper presents a four-port multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with compact size, wideband operation, and high isolation characteristics. The wideband performance is achieved by generat...
The changing role of substances: trends, characteristics of individuals and prior healthcare utilization among individuals with accidental substance-related toxicity deaths in Ontario Canada
Objective To investigate trends and the circumstances surrounding fatal substance-related toxicities directly attributed to alcohol, stimulants, benzodiazepines or opioids and combinations of substanc...
Experimental study on instability and failure mechanism of sandstone under freeze-thaw and load
Freeze-thaw damage is the primary cause of instability in rock slopes in cold regions, while the mechanical properties of rock are significantly influenced by loading rate. This study aims to investig...
High throughput sequencing sheds light on the viral diversity in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam
Mosquitoes are important vectors for various infectious pathogens. More than 200 species of mosquitoes are common in Vietnam, one of the main carriers of viruses that are important for humans is the m...
Factors influencing clinical breast cancer screening: A cross-sectional study among Islamic women in Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana
Clinical breast cancer screening among Ghanaian women is generally unsatisfactory due to poor knowledge despite its critical role in the early detection of breast cancer. Available studies in Ghana sh...
Inhibition of HPSE/SDC-2 axis-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition for treating IC/BPS
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) plagues patients and clinicians with its unclear etiology and pathogenesis, and ineffective treatments. Destruction of epithelial tissue and prolif...
Optimization design of top beam energy absorbing member of corrugated hydraulic support with three kinds of sandwich structures based on adaptive response surface method
To enhance the energy absorption performance of support systems in response to the frequent rockburst issues arising from deep coal mining, a new energy-absorbing component with a corrugated core stru...
Mechanical properties of raw bamboo fiber-reinforced phosphogypsum-based composite cementitious materials and their strengthening mechanism
Phosphogypsum-based cementitious materials (PGCs) typically exhibit low strength and poor toughness when utilized as construction materials. This study explores the incorporation of raw bamboo fibers...
Re-introduction of India ink testing as a low-cost laboratory diagnostic for cryptococcosis among HIV infected patients in Southern Mozambique: An implementation research protocol
Laboratory diagnosis for cryptococcal disease among HIV-infected patients remains a challenge in most low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Difficulties with sustained access to cryptococcal rapid...
Age-related differences in men’s preferences and barriers to healthcare: Insights from a national Australian survey
Objectives The high burden of preventable disease among men in many countries has highlighted the urgency of promoting stronger engagement by men in health services and programs. In order to inform pr...
Stereocilium height changes can account for the calcium dependence of the outer-hair-cell bundle’s resting state
Outer-hair-cell bundles are sensory organelles required for normal hearing in mammals. These bundles convert sound-induced forces into receptor currents. This conversion depends on the resting recepto...
Effects of group-based physical activity programs on children, adolescents, and young adults with disabilities: A systematic review
Purpose In recent years, a concerning decline in the physical activity levels of young individuals has been observed, with a notable impact on those with disabilities. Despite evidence suggesting that...
Adoption of evidence-based medicine: A comparative study of hospital and community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia
Objectives Evidence-based medicine (EBM) combines clinical expertise, patient values, and the best available evidence to guide healthcare decision-making. Despite its importance in pharmacy practice,...