Socioeconomic differences in digital inequality among Chinese older adults: Results from a nationally representative sample
This study has implications for prioritizing targeted policies and interventions aimed at supporting socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults and ensurin g equal opportunities for all to access and benefit from the digital world. (Source: PLoS One)
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Hongchao Hu Source Type: research
Exploration and demonstration of explainable machine learning models in prosthetic rehabilitation-based gait analysis
by Mohammad Pourmahmood Aghababa, Jan Andrysek
Quantitative gait analysis is important for understanding the non-typical walking patterns associated with mobility impairments. Conventional linear statistical methods and machine learning (ML) models are commonly used to assess gait performance and related changes in the gait parameters. Nonethe less, explainable machine learning provides an alternative technique for distinguishing the significant and influential gait changes stemming from a given intervention. The goal of this work was to demonstrate the use of explainable ML models in gait analysis for prosthetic rehabili...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Mohammad Pourmahmood Aghababa Source Type: research
RIO-kinase 2 is essential for hematopoiesis
by Jan-Erik Messling, Isabel Pe ña-Rømer, Ann Sophie Moroni, Sarah Bruestl, Kristian Helin
Regulation of protein synthesis is a key factor in hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Rio-kinase 2 (RIOK2) is a ribosome biogenesis factor that has recently been described an important regulator of human blood cell development. Additionally, we have previously identified RIOK 2 as a regulator of protein synthesis and a potential target for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, its functional relevance in several organ systems, including normal hematopoiesis, is not well understood. Here, we ...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Jan-Erik Messling Source Type: research
Assessment of transparency indicators in space medicine
by Rosa Katia Bellomo, Emmanuel A. Zavalis, John P. A. Ioannidis
Space medicine is a vital discipline with often time-intensive and costly projects and constrained opportunities for studying various elements such as space missions, astronauts, and simulated environments. Moreover, private interests gain increasing influence in this discipline. In scientific dis ciplines with these features, transparent and rigorous methods are essential. Here, we undertook an evaluation of transparency indicators in publications within the field of space medicine. A meta-epidemiological assessment of PubMed Central Open Access (PMC OA) el...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Rosa Katia Bellomo Source Type: research
Circuit analogy unveiled the haemodynamic effects of the posterior cross vein in the wing vein networks
by Kazuki Sugiyama, Yoshihiro Kubota, Osamu Mochizuki
We investigated the wing vein network topology in fruit flies and observed that the posterior cross vein (PCV) disrupts the symmetry of the entire network. The fluidic engineering function of this vein’s disposition remains unexplored although the wing vein network is known to transport blood. W e examined the fluid mechanical effects of the PCV’s disposition on this blood-transporting network through numerical simulations involving the removal and rearrangement of the vein, avoiding impractical physical manipulation. We characterised the geometry of each wing memb...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Kazuki Sugiyama Source Type: research
Associations between Polish school principals ’ health literacy and implementation of the Health Promoting School approach during the COVID-19 pandemic
by Karina Leksy, Grzegorz Gawron, Rafaela Ros ário
The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to increasing the responsibility of school principals for the health of all school community members. Moreover, evidence confirms the significant role of school principals’ health literacy (HL) for health promotion in schools. Therefore, the presented stu dy aims to evaluate the associations between Polish school principals HL and the implementation of the Health Promoting School (HPS) approach in Polish schools. The present study was conducted as part of an international survey on the global COVID-HL network (www.covid-hl.eu) b...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Karina Leksy Source Type: research
Brolucizumab in recalcitrant neovascular age-related macular degeneration –real-world data in Chinese population
by Chang-Chi Weng, Sheng-Chu Chi, Tai-Chi Lin, Yi-Ming Huang, Yu-Bai Chou, De-Kuang Hwang, Shih-Jen Chen
This retrospective study aimed to determine the short-term efficacy and safety of brolucizumab treatment for recalcitrant neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in a real-world setting in Taiwan. Recalcitrant nAMD patients who were treated with brolucizumab from November 2021 to Augus t 2022 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were included. Patients were followed for 3 months after switching to brolucizumab. The primary outcomes were changes in mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal ...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Chang-Chi Weng Source Type: research
Sex-structured disease transmission model and control mechanisms for visceral leishmaniasis (VL)
ConclusionThe analysis of the model shows that there is a possibility for a backward bifurcation for R 0 (Source: PLoS One)
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Temesgen Debas Awoke Source Type: research
Exploring the stability of the gender gap in faculty perceptions of gender climate at a rural regional university
This study explored the gender gap in faculty perceptions of institutional diversity climate at a rural comprehensive regional university in the United States. In addition to gender, differences across academic discipline a nd time were explored using 2 (men and women) x 2 (STEM and other) x 2 (2017 and 2022) between-groups ANOVAs. Results revealed a gender gap that persisted across time and perceptions of stressors, diversity climate, student behavior, leadership, and fairness in promotion/tenure procedures, with marg inalized (women) faculty consistently reporting greater barriers/concern for women faculty relative to th...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Michael J. Bordieri Source Type: research
Mineral patterns in hair: A decisive factor between reproducible and repeat breeder dairy cows
by Hyun-Joo Lim, Seunghoon Lee, Woncheoul Park, Eungwoo Park, Jae Gyu Yoo
Reproduction, especially impregnation, is a critical aspect of dairy cow management that directly influences herd milk productivity. We conducted a noninvasive hair mineral assay to compare the mineral profiles of two dairy cow groups: reproducible and repeat breeder, by investigating the levels o f 11 essential minerals (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cr, Se, and P) and 6 toxic elements (Hg, Pb, Cd, Al, As, and Ni) in both groups. We also conducted principal component and correlation matrix analyses to compare hair mineral patterns between the grou...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Hyun-Joo Lim Source Type: research
Assessing current visual tooth wear age estimation methods for < i > Rangifer tarandus < /i > using a known age sample from Canada
This study finds that the three evaluated methods all have variable errors and biases, and two show extensive biases when applied to older individuals. Demographic data is simpler to generate and more flexible to report when methods allow age to be estimated as a continuous or discrete variable, rather than as age ranges. The dentition samples used by two of the previously developed methods impact their applicability to other populations ofRangifer. In one existing method, individuals were unavailable from some age ranges leaving gaps when assigning ages. For anotherRangifer-ageing method, the population utilized was too d...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Grace Kohut Source Type: research
Partial herd hoof trimming results in a higher economic net benefit than whole herd hoof trimming in dairy herds
by Marlena Waldbauer, Eldon Spackman, Herman W. Barkema, Edmond A. Pajor, Sebastian Knauss, Karin Orsel
Sole ulcers, a common cause of lameness is the costliest non-infectious foot lesion in dairy cows and one of the most prevalent non-infectious foot lesions in freestall housing systems. Costs associated with sole ulcers are treatment costs, plus increased labor and decreased productivity and ferti lity. Routine hoof trimming is part of a strategy to manage sole ulcers. However, hoof trimming strategies differ among farms. The two most frequently applied strategies are: 1) partial herd hoof trimming with a 2-month interv...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Marlena Waldbauer Source Type: research
Dietary patterns; serum concentrations of selenium, copper, and zinc; copper/zinc ratio; and total antioxidant status in patients with glaucoma
This study aimed to identify the biochemical parameters that determine the occurrence of glaucoma and assess the correlation between oxidative stress and clinical data in patients with glaucoma and healthy controls. We enrolled 169 participants; the glaucoma group comprised 104 patients with prima ry open-angle, pseudoexfoliation, or angle-closure glaucoma, and the control group comprised 65 healthy individuals. Serum concentrations of selenium (Se), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn); Cu/Zn ratio; and total antioxidant status were measured in both groups. Significantly lower Se and Zn serum levels w ere observed in men (67.7 ± 1...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Izabela Zawadzka Source Type: research
Construction and characterization of a hypervesiculation strain of < i > Escherichia coli < /i > Nissle 1917
In this study, we aimed to increase the OMV production of EcN. The double gene knockout ofmlaE andnlpI was conducted in EcN because the ΔmlaEΔnlpI of experimental strainE.coli K12 showed the highest OMV production in our previous report. The ΔmlaEΔnlpI of EcN showed approximately 8 times higher OMV production compared with the parental (wild-type) strain. Quick-freeze, deep-etch replica electron microscopy revealed that plasmolysis occurred in the elongated ΔmlaEΔnlpI cells and the peptidoglycan (PG) had numerous holes. While these phenomena are similar to the findings for the ΔmlaEΔnlpI of K12, there were more PG ...
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tomomi Sawabe Source Type: research
Association between illness perception and social alienation among maintenance hemodialysis patients: The mediating role of fear of progression
ConclusionsIllness perception directly predicts social alienation in MHD patients and exerts an indirect effect through the mediating role of fear of progression. Suggests that healthcare professionals should concentrate on MHD patients with high negative illness perceptions to alleviate their fear of progression, thereby decreasing the level of social alienation and enhancing their integration into society. (Source: PLoS One)
Source: PLoS One - April 2, 2024 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Beisha Zhu Source Type: research
