PLoS ONE
Articles in this Issue
Topic: Distribution of Anopheles stephensi bioforms in selected districts of Rajasthan, India
Introduction Anopheles stephensi is a major urban malaria vector in Rajasthan, India, and is responsible for spreading persistent malaria throughout the year. In Rajasthan, An. stephensi is invariably...
Syphilis seroprevalence and risk factors among first-time blood donors in Brazil: A comprehensive repeated cross-sectional analysis spanning a decade
Background Syphilis remains a global health challenge, with rising incidence rates worldwide Prevalence surveys conducted in Brazil over extended periods of time are scarce. This study examines the se...
Changes in pregnancy-related hormones, neuromechanical adaptations and clinical pain status throughout pregnancy: A prospective cohort study
During pregnancy, increased hormonal levels contribute to ligament laxity of the pelvis and could predispose to lumbopelvic pain. The main objective of this study was to assess changes in pregnancy-re...
Differences in bacterial community structure and metabolites between the root zone soil of the new high – Fragrance tea variety Jinlong No. 4 and its grandparent Huangdan
With the development of the tea industry, understanding the differences in root zone microecology among different tea varieties is of great significance for improving tea quality and yield. To investi...
Enhancing programmatic scale-up: Applying the consolidated framework for implementation research to evaluate decentralized drug-resistant tuberculosis services in Southern Nigeria
Background Decentralization of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) services using multilevel interventions was piloted in Akwa-Ibom and Oyo States of Nigeria, which had high rates of pre-treatment los...
Thermodynamics, economy and environment analyses and optimization of series, parallel, dual-loop Kalina cycles for double-source heat recovery in cement industry
This research aims to investigate the heat recovery of both suspension preheater flue gas and clinker cooler hot air in cement industry. Three thermodynamic cycles including series Kalina Cycle (S-KC)...
A DNA barcode library for Culex mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of South America with the description of two cryptic species of subgenus Melanoconion
Among mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), the genus Culex Linnaeus is one of the most diverse in the world and includes numerous known vector species of parasites and viruses to humans. Morphological ide...
Off the charts: A comparative analysis of data visualisations in online science news from South Africa and the USA
Terms like ‘big data’, ‘data science’, and ‘data visualisation’ have become buzzwords in recent years and are increasingly intertwined with journalism. Data visualisation may further blur the lines be...
Correction: Determinants of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy spectrum
Design of a clinical balance tool for fall risk assessments: A development and usability study
Background Falls are a significant source of early morbidity and mortality in the aging population, yet clinical changes that lead to increased fall risks often escape early identi...
Durability analysis of rotary direct drive electro-hydraulic pressure servo valve based on failure physics principle
The rotary direct drive electro-hydraulic servo valve (RDDPV) is extensively employed in hydraulic systems across aerospace, automotive, and various industrial sectors owing to its remarkable precisio...
“Betaone” barley water extract suppresses ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in vivo and RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation in vitro
Betaone is a variety of barley developed by the Korea Rural Development Administration. This study investigated the anti-osteoporosis effects of Betaone barley water extract (B1W) on ovariectomy (OVX)...
Bile acids as biomarkers in carbonized archaeological sediment: Insights from dung burning experiments
Bile acids are increasingly used as fecal biomarkers for studying archeology, environmental pollution, paleoeconomy, and human-animal interactions. Exclusively synthesized by vertebrates, bile acids a...
Comparison of ultrasound and dynamic MRI for the measurement of diaphragmatic excursion: A prospective single-center study
Objectives Ultrasound (US) measurements of diaphragmatic excursion (DE) are widely used to provide a non-invasive assessment of the diaphragmatic function at the bedside, especially in intensive care....
Use and impact of digital technology in supporting health providers deliver care in low- and low-middle-income countries: A systematic review protocol
Background Healthcare providers are critical to the successful, sustainable and impactful implementation of digital health. Despite the growing interest, Digital Health Innovations (DHIs) are often im...
Voices of surgical wards nurses on barriers hindering acute post-operative pain management at Tshwane municipality, South Africa
Introduction and background Acute pain is expected following a surgery, but it is often inadequately managed by health care providers. However, little is known about the barriers that hinder acute pos...
Challenges and realities of early childhood development centers in Malawi: A critical examination
The study on Early Childhood Development (ECD) practices in T/A Zilakoma, Nkhata Bay South Constituency, Malawi, employs the Ecological Systems Theory to explore recruitment, role definitions, and sup...
Behind the mask: Random and selective masking in transformer models applied to specialized social science texts
Transformer models such as BERT and RoBERTa are increasingly popular in the social sciences to generate data through supervised text classification. These models can be further trained through Masked...
Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage against clinical isolates of AmpC beta lactamase–Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae from hospital wastewater
Background The increasing incidence of AmpC β-lactamase producing by K. pneumoniae has raised global alarm. Consequently, there is a crucial need for effective methods to inactivate pathogenic bacteri...
Factors associated with phosphate homeostasis in children with beta-thalassemia major: An analytical cross sectional study from Pakistan
Introduction Children with beta-thalassemia major (β-TM) commonly experience metabolic bone diseases. Understanding fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) levels in these children can shed light on phos...
An efficient Rhizobium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system for Cuscuta campestris
Parasitism has evolved independently in various plant families, with Cuscuta campestris (field dodder) being an economically significant example. Despite advances in genomics and transcriptomics, func...
Characterization of fillets and skins from two varieties of genetically improved farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) is a strain of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) developed for improved production and commercial parameters. Skin color, one of the characteristics disti...
An analytical delay model for multi-class and lane-free traffic condition
This study emphasises the criticality of delay as a performance metric for signalized intersections and the challenges associated with its estimation, particularly in the context of Multi-class and La...
Cross-validation of prediction equations for estimating the body mass index in adults without the use of body weight
Introduction Body Mass Index (BMI) is a widely accepted measure by the World Health Organization for assessing body composition, as it provides critical insights into health risks, life expectancy, an...
Decoupled Classifier Knowledge Distillation
Mainstream knowledge distillation methods primarily include self-distillation, offline distillation, online distillation, output-based distillation, and feature-based distillation. While each approach...