PLOS ONE Alerts: New Articles

Neck circumference as an anthropometric marker of overweight among school-aged children in Bharatpur, Nepal: A community-based study

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Subina Bajracharya, Sadikshya Neupane, Parita Shrestha

Background

Childhood overweight have become a major public health concern among children in developing countries. BMI, commonly used to diagnose overweight, requires standardized equipment and trained personnel, limiting their feasibility in large-scale screenings. Neck circumference (NC) has emerged as a simple and practical alternative for identifying overweight in children. This study aimed to examine the association between NC and established anthropometric indicators and to determine optimal NC cutoff values for identifying overweight among school-aged children.

Methods

A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2025 among 300 apparently healthy children aged 6–11 years in Ward No. 16, Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Nepal. Sociodemographic data were collected using structured interviews. Anthropometric measurements including height, weight, NC, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC) were obtained using standardized procedures. BMI-for-age classifications were based on WHO AnthroPlus growth references. Chi square test, pearson correlation, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed using SPSS version 16. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

Among the 300 children, 48.3% had normal BMI-for-age, 10.3% were overweight and 41.3% were underweight. Chi square test revealed a statistically significant association between neck circumference and BMI-for-age (p < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated strong positive correlations between NC and weight (r = 0.792), height (r = 0.639), BMI (r = 0.723), waist circumference (r = 0.797), and hip circumference (r = 0.734) (p < 0.001 for all). ROC curve analysis indicated excellent diagnostic accuracy of NC for identifying overweight. The optimal cutoff values were 27.75 cm for boys (AUC = 0.884; sensitivity = 88.9%; specificity = 66.2%) and 26.75 cm for girls (AUC = 0.904; sensitivity = 100%; specificity = 69.4%). The overall cutoff value was 27.25 cm (AUC = 0.883; sensitivity = 80.6%; specificity = 74.3%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis confirmed NC had a statistically significant positive association with overweight with COR 12.077 (4.75–30.67) and AOR 20.817 (6.34–68.29).

Conclusions

Neck circumference is significantly correlated with established anthropometric indicators and demonstrates diagnostic accuracy for identifying overweight among school-aged children. NC measurement is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective screening tool that may be particularly useful in school-based and resource-limited settings.

Cancer surgical outcome study in Ethiopia: A 7-day multicenter prospective observational cohort study

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Atalel Fentahun Awedew, Yonatan Abie Tsegaye, Addisu Assfaw Ayen, Fisiha Guade Tesifaw, Bedemariam Tadesse Amsalu, Amsalu Molla Getahun

Background

Safe surgery is a fundamental quality indicator within the global surgery framework. Postoperative complications remain a leading global cause of disability, mortality, and economic loss, with a disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Objective

This study aims to generate robust epidemiological data on postoperative outcomes of cancer surgery in Ethiopia.

Methods

This study employed a 7-day national observational prospective cohort design. The study enrolled adult patients aged 18 years and older who underwent either elective or non-elective cancer surgery in hospitals across Ethiopia. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests for categorical variables, and logistic regression models to identify risk factors for postoperative complications. Outcome measures 7^th day postoperative mortality and complications. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

A total of 265 cancer surgeries were performed across 46 hospitals (overall surgeries = 4412). The mean patient age was 46.6 years (SD = 14.9). The majority of patients were classified as low-risk America Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification: ASA I (106/265, 40%) and ASA II (133/265, 50.2%) and low Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status: ECOG 0 (112/265, 42.3%) and ECOG 1 (98/265, 37%). Colorectal cancer surgery was the most common type (38/265, 14.5%), while laparoscopic surgery was performed in only 3/265 cases (1.1%). Postoperative complications developed in 84 of 265 patients (31.7%) with leading complication was superficial surgical site infection 47/265(17.8%). Emergency surgery (AOR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.1–8.4, p = 0.003), comorbidity (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1–3.7, p = 0.025), and an ECOG performance status of III (AOR = 9.5, 95% CI: 1.5–61.1, p = 0.02) were statistically significantly associated with 7^th day postoperative complications. The overall 7-day mortality rate after cancer surgery was 5/265 (1.9%).

Conclusion

Despite the relatively young age of patients, their low ASA physical status scores, and good ECOG performance, a significant proportion experienced adverse outcomes following cancer surgery: one in three patients developed postoperative complications, one in nine required reoperations, and one in 53 died. These findings suggest a critical need for evidence-based interventions to strengthen the underlying infrastructure and care processes within the surgical system which are essential to achieving safe, effective, and high-quality surgical care for cancer patients in Ethiopia.

Real‑world analysis of Macular Oedema associated with Paclitaxel Formulations using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Koki Takeda, Toshinori Hirai, Ayu Sugioka, Rinka Okamura, Asako Nishimura, Nobuhito Shibata

Aim

This study explored the potential association between paclitaxel (PTX) and macular oedema (ME), a rare adverse event, through pharmacovigilance analysis using a large-scale spontaneous reporting database.

Methods

Disproportionality analysis of ME associated with PTX formulations, including nanoparticle albumin-bound PTX (nab‑PTX) was conducted using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database on data collected during April 2004–June 2025. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to estimate adjusted reporting odds ratios (RORs) for ME. A positive signal was defined as a lower 95% confidence interval (CI) for the ROR exceeding 1.0 with at least three ME cases.

Results

Among 585,738 reports, 123 involved ME. A significant signal was observed for overall PTX (adjusted ROR: 19.5; 95% CI: 13.5–28.3). By formulation, significant signals were identified for conventional PTX (adjusted ROR: 9.4; 95% CI: 5.5–16.1) and nab‑PTX (adjusted ROR: 47.0; 95% CI: 30.4–72.8). Multivariable logistic regression indicated significant signals for diabetes mellitus (adjusted ROR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2–2.9) and co-administration of prostaglandin analogue eye drops (adjusted ROR: 19.9; 95% CI: 8.6–45.7).

Conclusion

PTX formulations were associated with an increased reporting signal of ME. Notably, patients with diabetes mellitus and those using prostaglandin analogue eye drops may require closer ophthalmologic monitoring during PTX therapy.

Dynamic transmission and evolutionary analysis of the HIV-1 subtype CRF01_AE pol region in Ningxia, China

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Ziyang Luo, Wei Sun, Jianxin Pei, Subinuer Mutalifu, Youping Duan, Yufeng Li, Xiaohong Zhu, Zhonglan Wu

The CRF01_AE recombinant is the dominant HIV strain in Ningxia, characterized by rapid disease progression and imposing a significant local burden. Current prevention strategies, often based on broad subtype classifications, are insufficient to address the distinct transmission dynamics of such specific recombinants. To delineate the spatiotemporal migration patterns and epidemic trends of CRF01_AE in Ningxia, this study conducted a systematic analysis of 206 local sequences. The results reveal extensive viral spread with clear geographic diffusion routes, particularly strong migration from Yinchuan to other major cities. Key demographic groups driving transmission are individuals aged 20–39, retired/unemployed persons, and those with junior high school education. Although the transmission intensity has fluctuated, the current effective reproductive number remains above 1, indicating ongoing epidemic expansion, while the viral evolutionary rate appears stable. The study demonstrates that the CRF01_AE epidemic in Ningxia is still expanding and evolving, and identifies core transmission hubs and population clusters. These findings not only align with some prior understanding but also uncover more complex transmission networks and demographic patterns, highlighting the necessity for implementing targeted interventions specific to this strain to effectively control its spread.

A lightweight hybrid framework integrating convolutional neural networks and fast Fourier transform for reliable and calibrated ECG-based cardiac abnormality detection

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Abdoul Malik, Selim Aras

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is an essential non-invasive tool for detecting cardiac abnormalities; however, accurate interpretation often requires specialized expertise that may be unavailable in resource-limited clinical settings. While deep learning models have demonstrated high classification performance, many existing architectures remain computationally intensive and lack assessments of predictive reliability, hindering their deployment in clinical decision support systems. In this study, we propose a lightweight hybrid framework integrating Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) components. This architecture combines time-domain morphological representations learned from raw ECG signals with physiologically relevant spectral features to enable accurate and efficient classification. Unlike previous approaches, this work emphasizes reliable model evaluation by incorporating probability calibration and a rigorous patient-wise validation protocol. The proposed method was evaluated on the publicly available PTB-XL dataset using the official 10-fold cross-validation protocol for both binary and five-class multi-label classification. In addition to conventional discrimination metrics, model reliability was assessed using Expected Calibration Error (ECE). The model achieved an accuracy of 92.42% and an AUC of 97.8% for binary classification, alongside a macro-AUC of 92.46% for five- class multi-label classification. Calibration analysis demonstrated well-calibrated probability estimates with low ECE values. Despite its competitive performance, the architecture is highly efficient, containing only 87K parameters and 0.26 GFLOPs. These findings highlight the potential of lightweight hybrid architectures combined with calibration-aware evaluation to support reliable AI-assisted ECG diagnostics in resource-constrained healthcare settings.

Longitudinal changes in laboratory parameters and QTc during isavuconazole therapy in Japanese patients with hematologic malignancies

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Koichi Ohata, Ryo Kobayashi, Daichi Watanabe, Yuto Yamada, Takashi Niwa, Mio Wada, Momoko Ohashi, Yuto Kaneda, Yoshikazu Ikoma, Takuro Matsumoto, Nobuhiko Nakamura, Hiroshi Nakamura, Nobuhiro Kanemura, Masahito Shimizu, Akio Suzuki

Background

Isavuconazole (ISCZ) is an azole antifungal with a low risk of QTc prolongation and no requirement for renal dose adjustment. However, real-world data in Asian patients remain limited.

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated 45 patients who received ISCZ between April 2023 and March 2025. Laboratory parameters and QTc values (QTcB/QTcF) were extracted from medical records. Longitudinal changes were assessed using linear mixed-effects models. In patients receiving arsenic trioxide (ATO), QTc trajectories were compared among ATO alone, ATO with ISCZ (ATO-ISCZ), and ATO with other antifungals.

Results

Grade ≥2 elevations in AST and ALT occurred in 11.1% and 13.3% of patients, respectively, and were transient. No significant deterioration in laboratory parameters was observed. In the ATO subgroup, QTc values in the ATO-ISCZ group were lower than those in the ATO group from Day 30, with the largest difference at Day 70 (−45.5 ms for QTcB and −42.3 ms for QTcF; both p < 0.001). The ATO–other antifungals group showed similar trends to the ATO group. No clinically significant cardiac events were observed.

Conclusions

ISCZ showed a favorable safety profile in Japanese patients with hematologic malignancies and may be a safe option during QT-prolonging therapies.

Beliefs about animal emotions are associated with self-reported consumer behaviors related to animal use

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Michael A. Kisley

Human-held beliefs about the emotional capacity and experience of non-human animals appear to be related to attitudes concerning animal use, but direct links between such beliefs and consumer behaviors that affect animals have not been investigated. Two survey-based studies were conducted to test whether scores on the Beliefs about Animal Emotions Scale (BAES) are associated with self-reported consumer behaviors. In Study 1, beliefs about animal emotions statistically predicted reported frequency of non-dietary animal use avoidances (e.g., avoiding animal-tested products, animal-based competitions), over and above age, gender, and educational attainment in a U.S.-based sample. Study 2, which involved targeted recruitment of self-identified vegetarians and vegans, largely replicated these findings, and further showed that BAES scores predicted the number of reported animal-product food avoidances. Having established a link between beliefs about animal emotions and animal-related behavioral choices, additional analyses were conducted to investigate potential factors that contribute to such beliefs. Educational attainment was a consistent negative predictor of BAES scores across both studies: more highly educated participants attributed less emotional capacity and experience to animals. Exploratory analyses indicated that, based on self-report, there are numerous sources of information that contribute to beliefs about animal emotions including, most notably, direct interaction with pets and personal belief systems (e.g., moral, spiritual). Together, these results indicate that individual differences in beliefs about animal emotions, in particular beliefs concerning emotional complexity and authenticity, as well as beliefs about the moral relevance of animal emotions, are importantly related to self-reported consumer behaviors that have implications for animals.

Quantitative comparative study on the verb-direction constructions “V+ Xia (下)”, “V+ Xialai (下来)” and “V+ Xiaqu (下去)” in mandarin Chinese

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Tian Tan, Jiangcai Li

“V+ Xia (下)”, “V+ Xialai (下来)” and “V+ Xiaqu (下去)” are common verb-direction constructions in Mandarin Chinese, exhibiting certain similarities in syntactic distribution and semantic content. Employing collostructional analysis, this study quantitatively and visually calculates the collocational strength and attraction between different types of verbs and these verb-direction constructions. It analyzes the polysemy of the three constructions, summarizes the differences in their prototype meaning, and examines the distribution of collocational strength and relative semantic distance between prototypical and non-prototype meanings. Furthermore, it explores the characteristics of the semantic network structures presented by the three constructions. The findings indicate that “V+ Xialai” possesses the largest number of attracted verbs, the broadest verb selection range, and the highest productivity among the three constructions. “V+ Xia”, constrained by prosody, exhibits the lowest productivity but the highest average collocational strength. “V+ Xia” has the highest number of semantic types with a relatively uniform distribution of collocational strength, whereas the distributions for “V+ Xialai” and “V+ Xiaqu” are more concentrated around their prototype meanings. The semantic networks of “V+ Xia” and “V+ Xiaqu” overall display a gradient continuum, while that of “V+ Xialai” is relatively discrete, with certain semantic types showing a tendency to form independent clusters. The prototype meanings of all three constructions demonstrate strong semantic coherence. Non-prototype meanings with high collocational strength also exhibit relatively strong internal coherence, while those with low collocational strength are more discrete, displaying characteristics of diversity.

Social determinants of health and postnatal wellbeing among women with type 2 diabetes in Thailand: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study protocol

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Ratchanok Phonyiam, Tippawan Srichalerm, Arissara Sawatpanich, Jantra Keawpugdee

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes mellitus affects pregnancy and can lead to maternal complications. Women affected by diabetes during pregnancy have ongoing physical, psychological, and social needs until birth preparation and after childbirth. The Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) can have a greater impact on health outcomes than healthcare services or personal lifestyle choices alone. To date, no study has explored how women with type 2 diabetes experience life after childbirth. To help close this knowledge gap, the proposed study aims to: 1) Culturally adapt and translate the Postnatal Well-being in Transition scale into Thai. 2) Quantitatively describe the SDoH and postnatal well-being during the diabetes transition among Thai women with T2DM. 3) Explore Thai women’s experiences regarding their SDoH, based on the mean scores of their postnatal well-being during the diabetes transition. And 4) Explore and analyze the impact of postnatal care on women with T2DM using a mixed-methods approach.

Methods

This is an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study protocol with two distinct phases. The first phase involves the translation of the study instrument, while the second phase focuses on data collection for the mixed-methods study. Data will be collected from 50 postnatal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus who have delivered a baby within the past six weeks. Participants will provide data on demographics, social determinants of health, and their postnatal well-being in transition. From this group, 12 women will be selected to participate in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences. The study will use triangulation to integrate and validate the findings from both the quantitative and qualitative data sources.

Ethics and dissemination

Human Research Ethics Committee approval has been received from the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University. The study findings will be reported in international journals.

Association between occupational hearing loss and predicted 10 year cardiovascular risk among middle aged industrial workers

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Negin Kassiri, Mohammad Eslami, Yasser Labbafinejad, Motahareh Harati, Saber Mohammadi, Zahra Asadgol

Purpose

Occupational hearing loss is a prevalent occupational disease with potential systemic health implications, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). This cross-sectional study investigated the association between hearing loss and 10-year CVD risk among middle-aged industrial workers in Tehran.

Methods

A total of 988 workers (83.7% male, mean age 46.8 ± 5.9 years) underwent routine occupational health examinations, including pure-tone audiometry and cardiovascular risk assessment using the WHO/ISH prediction chart. Hearing-loss phenotypes included low-frequency hearing loss (LFHL), high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL), overall hearing loss (HL), and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Ear-specific hearing loss was first assessed separately for the left and right ears; participant-level hearing-loss variables were then defined based on the presence of hearing loss in either ear. The WHO/ISH 10-year CVD risk score was reported descriptively. To avoid conceptual overlap between the composite WHO/ISH score and its component variables, the composite CVD-risk variable was not entered into multivariable logistic regression models. Instead, multivariable logistic regression was used to identify demographic, occupational, and clinical factors associated with each hearing-loss phenotype.

Results

The prevalence of NIHL was 19.9%. Ear-specific HFHL was observed in 27.2% of left ears and 25.5% of right ears, while LFHL was observed in 17.0% of left ears and 18.0% of right ears. In multivariable logistic regression models, sex and age were the most consistent independent factors associated with hearing loss. Female sex was associated with lower odds of LFHL, HFHL, overall HL, and NIHL compared with male sex. Older age was independently associated with LFHL, HFHL, and overall HL. Smoking was independently associated with HFHL and NIHL, while work experience was independently associated with NIHL. Job type and diabetes were not consistent independent predictors in the adjusted models. The composite WHO/ISH CVD-risk score was not included in the adjusted models to avoid conceptual overlap with its component variables.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the importance of demographic, behavioral, and occupational factors, particularly sex, age, smoking, and work experience, in occupational hearing loss among middle-aged industrial workers. Although predicted 10-year CVD risk was described in this occupational cohort, the composite WHO/ISH risk score was not included in multivariable models together with its component variables. Hearing conservation programs should integrate noise control, regular audiometric screening, smoking cessation, and cardiovascular risk assessment as complementary components of occupational health surveillance.

Healthcare providers' perspectives and needs related to the management of Pediatric Feeding Disorder: A focus group study

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Kelsey Thompson, Cuyler Romeo, Meg Simione, Hayley Estrem, Jaclyn L. Pederson, William G. Sharp

Pediatric feeding disorder is a prevalent, impactful diagnosis for children and their families. This diagnosis is heterogenous in presentation and requires the care of a multidisciplinary team of providers. Existing research suggests providers are underprepared to assess and treat pediatric feeding disorder, therefore more information on training and clinical practice is needed. This study conducted focus groups to describe the training journey of providers across all four pediatric feeding disorder domains (medical, nutrition, feeding skill, psychosocial). Seven focus groups (total of 25 providers) were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: differences in academic preparation, workplace infrastructure and access, desire for comprehensiveness and feasibility, and value of the family perspective. Overall, results point to opportunities to improve provider training and therefore patient care including academic exposure to pediatric feeding disorder and multi-disciplinary collaboration practices, increased access to mentorship, training, and evidenced-based resources, and enrichment of the research to practice pipeline with a focus on family-centered care.

An integrated Gaussian–Probabilistic–Fuzzy framework for health assessment and remaining useful life prediction of medium-voltage switchgears

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Ali Aranizadeh, Behrooz Vahidi, Amir Khorsandi

Reliable operation of Switchgear is crucial for ensuring the safety and stability of modern power systems. However, prolonged exposure to thermal, mechanical, and electrical stresses progressively deteriorates switchgear performance, often resulting in catastrophic failures and costly outages. This paper proposes a novel hybrid framework for comprehensive health assessment and remaining useful life (RUL) prediction of medium-voltage (MV) switchgears by integrating Gaussian normalization, probabilistic modeling, and fuzzy logic evaluation. Initially, all measured indicators are systematically classified into four functional subsystems, electrical, mechanical, insulation, and auxiliary, to enable structured condition evaluation. The Gaussian method normalizes heterogeneous indicator values, the probabilistic approach quantifies the failure likelihood of each indicator, and the fuzzy logic system handles uncertain and linguistic expert information. The resulting subsystem health indices are aggregated to derive a global health index (HI), which is then used to estimate RUL through a (Gaussian, Probability, Fuzzy) GPF-based algorithm. The proposed framework has been validated using real field data collected from two MV substations, and its performance has been benchmarked against existing techniques. Results demonstrate superior accuracy, robustness, and interpretability of the proposed method under uncertainty, providing actionable insights for condition-based maintenance scheduling and risk-informed decision-making in power utilities.

Texture-enhanced thermography for joint inflammation detection using consumer-grade thermal cameras

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Shaye Kivity, Dima Bykhovsky, Nadav Sheffer, Keren Netzer, Yael Pri-Paz Basson, Oshrat Tayer-Shifman, Rotem Sivan, Netzah Calamaro, Rami Ginaime, Eli Flaxer, Sara Naftali, Anat Ratnovsky, Lior Luria, Oshrit Hoffer

Background

Early identification of active synovitis is essential for treat-to-target management in inflammatory arthritis. While MRI and ultrasound are highly sensitive, their clinical use is constrained by high costs, operator dependence, and lack of portability. Infrared thermography (IRT) is rapid and contactless, but conventional temperature-based approaches are sensitive to ambient conditions and inter-individual baseline variability, and contralateral comparison is unreliable in bilaterally involved disease. This study evaluates whether consumer-grade thermal cameras, augmented with texture-based features and complementary differencing strategies, can detect and differentiate joint inflammation.

Methods

Thermal images of knees, ankles, wrists, and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints were acquired from 239 participants (167 with inflammatory arthritis, osteoarthritis (OA), or fibromyalgia; 72 healthy controls). Beyond absolute temperature, higher-order texture features (e.g., entropy, skewness) were extracted to quantify spatial heterogeneity in heat distributions. To reduce environmental and inter-individual variability, two normalization strategies were applied: contralateral left–right (L-R) differencing for unilateral disease and a novel anterior–posterior (A-P) differencing for bilateral or subclinical presentations. Group comparisons used the Mann-Whitney U test (p < 0.05), and effect sizes were summarized using Cohen’s d.

Results

Compared with non-differenced features, contralateral differencing markedly strengthened discrimination for unilateral inflammation, with very large effects at the knee (d = 2.15) and ankle (d = 1.83). Texture features, specifically entropy and skewness, outperformed absolute temperature in detecting latent (subclinical) wrist inflammation via A-P differencing (d=−1.11). Thermographic signatures also supported differential characterization, distinguishing inflammatory arthritis from OA (d=−1.49) and fibromyalgia (d=−1.17). Furthermore, A-P gradients showed anatomical specificity, with inflammation reducing gradients in wrists but increasing them in MCP joints (d = 0.64).

Conclusion

Texture-enhanced thermography, combined with L-R and A-P differencing, shows promise as an accessible approach for identifying active and subclinical joint inflammation. This approach addresses the limitations of bilateral disease in traditional thermography and widens the clinical applicability of IRT screening.

Event-triggered MPC-PID based trajectory tracking control for differential drive mobile robots

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Maike Wang, Gang Zhang, Duansong Wang

Periodic model predictive control (MPC) for differential-drive mobile robots requires online optimization at every sampling instant, which can be redundant during near-steady tracking. This study develops an event-triggered hierarchical MPC–PID framework, termed ET–MPC–PID, to reduce the outer-loop optimization burden while accounting for actuator-side execution effects. The outer MPC updates the velocity setpoint only when a normalized event condition is satisfied or the maximum holding interval is reached. A fixed-period PID-form velocity servo with conditional integration regulates the actuator channel under lag and saturation. The formulation distinguishes holding-induced decision discrepancy from actuator-side mismatch and provides a local practical boundedness characterization. Simulations on double lane-change and figure-eight trajectories compare periodic PID, periodic MPC, periodic MPC–PID, an external variable-horizon ET–MPC reference, and event-triggered ablations. ET–MPC–PID reduces the QP call rate to 16.9% and 22.3% of periodic MPC while outperforming the no-PID event-triggered variant. Sensitivity, Pareto, runtime, and 100-trial Monte Carlo analyses further demonstrate the accuracy–computation trade-off and empirical robustness under sampled execution uncertainty.

Tracing early life stress in human molar morphology: Associations between linear enamel hypoplasia and maxillary first molar form

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek, Alan H. Goodman, Mark Hubbe, John P. Hunter, Timothy M. Sefczek, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg

Permanent tooth structures can respond to environmental disruptions even after the initiation of hard tissue deposition at the cusp tips, affecting dental morphology. In bioarcheological studies, linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) provides evidence of both the presence and timing of developmental stressors that can occur during first molar odontogenesis. Yet, previous studies used LEH from the entirety of the anterior tooth surface to relate disruptions to changes in permanent tooth morphology, which could conflate causality by misrepresenting the timing of events. This study assessed associations between LEH formed during maxillary permanent first molar development and dental characteristics of these molars in contemporary humans with known health and nutritional histories from Tezonteopan, Mexico. LEH were observed in the field, and dental characteristics (crown size, principal cusp spacing, expression of cusp 5 and Carabelli trait) were observed on maxillary dental casts taken of the same adolescent study participants (n = 54). Statistical analyses included multivariate- and generalized linear models, and Principal Component Analyses. Slightly larger crown sizes, decreased buccolingual principal cusp spacing, and a slight decrease in cusp 5 expression were associated with the presence of LEH. The decrease in cusp spacing and decrease in cusp 5 expression follow expectations of the Patterning Cascade Model. Our results differ in some ways from those of previous studies possibly due to our focus on LEH defects forming during molar developmental periods. Our findings support the growing body of studies highlighting the unpredictability of molar morphology in the presence of developmental disruptions.

Formulation development of a biphasic release tablet-in-tablet system containing ketorolac tromethamine

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Ping Zou, Yuan Zeng, Xiang-ru Liao, Xiang-yang Xie, Yin-ke Li, Yi-hui Ma, Hui Liu

Ketorolac tromethamine (KT) is a potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for moderate to severe pain management. Its short elimination half-life necessitates frequent dosing, which can reduce patient compliance. The objective of this study was to formulate, develop, and optimize a novel biphasic-release tablet-in-tablet (TIT) system for KT to provide immediate pain relief followed by extended drug release. A TIT system was designed, comprising an immediate-release (IR) outer layer and an extended-release (ER) core matrix. The ER core was optimized using a 3² full factorial design, with the amounts of HPMC K100M and HPMC K4M as independent variables. Formulations were evaluated for pre- and post-compression parameters, drug-excipient compatibility, and in vitro drug release. The drug release kinetics and mechanism were analyzed using various mathematical models. The optimal ER core formulation (F1) exhibited a drug release of 4.6% at 0.5 h and 66.1% at 12 h, closely matching the theoretical profile (similarity factor f₂ = 51). Release kinetics followed the first-order model and the Korsmeyer-Peppas model indicated an anomalous (non-Fickian) release mechanism (n = 0.831). The corresponding TIT formulation (F11) demonstrated desired physicochemical properties: hardness of 75 N, friability of 0.59%, and rapid outer layer disintegration (<50 s). The TIT provided an initial burst release (~30%) within 30 minutes, followed by sustained release exceeding 90% over 24 hours. This TIT system represents a promising alternative to conventional KT tablets for effective pain management.

Efficacy and safety of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on hemoglobin and anemia in the pediatric population: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Gladys Estheysi Elías Solís, Steffi Aleksandra Maraza Pacori, Salomon Huancahuire-Vega, David R. Soriano-Moreno

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on hemoglobin levels and anemia in the pediatric population.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL were searched up to August 2025. We included RCTs assessing prebiotics, probiotics, or synbiotics on hemoglobin or anemia in children. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed, and certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE and minimal important differences. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251108276).

Results

Nineteen RCTs involving 4188 children were included. Compared to placebo or standard care, prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics (alone or with iron) showed no important effects on hemoglobin, hematocrit, or ferritin (certainty: high to very low). However, probiotics versus placebo may reduce anemia (1 RCT; RD: -−6 per 100; 95% CI: -−15 to +6, low certainty). No serious adverse events were reported; observed events were mainly mild gastrointestinal symptoms.

Conclusion

Prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics do not provide clinically important benefits on hemoglobin or anemia in children, although they appear safe. Larger, high-quality trials in high-risk populations are needed.

The comparative analysis of Sino-Japanese football policies from the perspective of policy instruments

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Chuanmin Zhang, Zanying Hu, Huqiang Wei, Mei Peng, Fei Gao

Football development depends heavily on strong policy support, rendering policy analysis and evaluation of significant practical importance. This study uses Nvivo11 software and the PMC index model to conduct a quantitative comparative analysis of 31 Sino-Japanese football policy texts, focusing on policy instruments, content characteristics, and overall quality. The findings reveal that both countries prioritize football development, social participation, and club construction; China emphasizes campus football, while Japan focuses on elite player development and league performance. PMC evaluation indicates that Chinese policies score higher in system design and institutional capacity, whereas Japan performs better in implementation clarity and community linkage. Both countries share shortcomings in insufficient policy clarity and vague long-term competitive goals. The research results provide empirical evidence for the optimization of Chinese football policies and a reference for drawing on international experience.

Object detection in histology: A multi-dataset benchmark and test-time inference

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Dragoș-Vasile Leordean, Eugen-Richard Ardelean

Medical image analysis has become increasingly important for automated medical diagnosis, as well as deep learning. Specifically, object detection models may help in automatically identifying pathological structures and features. This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis for object detection tasks in histological images of the latest models including the YOLO (You Only Look Once) architectures, from YOLOv8 to the recently introduced YOLOv12. These models were evaluated alongside alternative architectures including RT-DETR, YOLO-World, and YOLOE across five diverse histology datasets: BCNB, Nuclei, TNBC, MoNuSAC, and CryoNuSeg. The experimental analysis employed standardized training protocols with consistent hyperparameters and data augmentation strategies, evaluating the performance through multiple metrics, inference time, and computational cost. The results obtained on the five datasets indicate that YOLOv11 consistently showed a strong performance across multiple datasets, however the newly introduced attention mechanisms of YOLOv12 show good performance, despite the model having slightly lower overall performance. Specialized variants like YOLOE demonstrated promising results for specific applications, while RT-DETR showed poor performance on smaller objects, which are typical in histological images. Statistical analyses indicate that YOLOv11 indeed has the best performance but that all models have a poor performance on objects of small sizes; moreover, the most common cases of failure are background false positives and missed detections. This comprehensive evaluation provides insights for the current state of object detection architectures for clinical histopathology applications and establishes benchmarks for future avenues of research in automated medical image analysis. In addition to the multi-model benchmark, we propose Test-time Graph Similarity Propagation (TGSP), a test-time self-supervised refinement that uses ResNet50 deep features to build a k-NN similarity graph over detections and performs label propagation to re-score predicted boxes. TGSP replaces TSBP’s iterative Earth-Mover matching with adaptive per-class quantile thresholds and graph-based label propagation, eliminating K-means hyperparameters and better scalability. Our analysis on histology datasets TGSP consistently matches or improves F1 relative to both a fixed 0.5 threshold and TSBP, with the biggest gains when base-model confidence calibration is poor.

Pronunciation assessment in foreign language learning: Reliability and scoring bias in human–generative AI evaluation

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Whyunyoung Choi

This study examines the reliability and scoring bias of generative AI (Gen-AI)-based pronunciation assessment compared with human raters, addressing whether AI-generated scores can be trusted in real educational settings. Sixty students participated in a 12-week program. A total of 180 pronunciation samples were evaluated across eight subcomponents (individual phonemes, stress, rhythm, intonation, linking, reduction, fluency, and clarity) by three standardized human raters and Gen-AI using the same 7-point rubric. Quantitative analyses (intraclass correlation coefficients, paired-samples t-tests, and Pearson correlations) assessed reliability and bias, while semi-structured interviews with raters provided explanatory qualitative insights. Gen-AI demonstrated moderate reliability with human raters across most components, showing the highest agreement in fluency and the weakest in individual phonemes. However, Gen-AI consistently assigned significantly higher scores than human raters across all subcomponents. Qualitative findings revealed that discrepancies originated from Gen-AI’s limited discriminative power, systematic flaws in handling missing data, decontextualized scoring approach, lack of sensitivity to L1 interference, and inability to interpret pragmatic context. While Gen-AI cannot fully replace human expertise, it can function as a complementary tool for formative assessment and autonomous practice. A hybrid assessment model integrating Gen-AI’s efficiency with human raters’ contextual and interpretive insights is recommended for effective foreign language pronunciation education.

Systematic multi-parameter optimization of an injectable thermosensitive CS/β-GP/HEC hydrogel for 3D cell culture applications

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Wenjing Zhao, Ying Liu, Jiali Yao, Zhenlu Zhou, Linlu Yan, Hao Liang, Qiping Hu

Injectable thermosensitive hydrogels have been widely investigated as minimally invasive scaffolds for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. In this study, we systematically screened a chitosan (CS)/β-glycerophosphate (β-GP)/hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) ternary hydrogel system using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. By evaluating gelation kinetics, injectability, and structural stability through a weighted scoring model, two superior formulations (G1 and G3) were selected for their ability to balance rapid gelation at 37 °C with reliable room-temperature injectability. Subsequent biological evaluations demonstrated that, compared to conventional 2D cultures, the 3D hydrogels supported robust cellular viability and spatial proliferation through Day 10. The stable biomimetic matrix provided essential physical anchorage, enabling Huh7 cells to self-assemble into dense tumor spheroids and BMSCs to establish spatial networks. This study presents a structured formulation-screening strategy and demonstrates the effectiveness of the CS/β-GP/HEC hydrogel as a reliable platform for in vitro 3D cell culture applications.

Quantitative logics for directed evolution of an asexual population

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Kangbien Park

Directed evolution of asexual populations is expected to offer a wide range of benefits to humanity. Achieving efficient directed evolution (DE) requires a quantitative formulation of experimental methodologies—or logics—that can address potential challenges throughout the evolutionary process. In this article, ten logics designed for resolving such difficulties when performing DE are introduced. To illustrate their application, a hypothetical scenario is considered in which an imaginary asexual population limb evolves into a wing, using a matrix-based discretization method to represent the trait of interest. Specifically, based on the operator model, fifty simulation iterations with logics applied and thirty iterations without logics were done. The results indicate that the introduced logics can accelerate the evolutionary process by roughly 2.6 times, while achieving an average accuracy for reaching the objective trait of approximately 82%. Based on these findings, key considerations for implementing quantitative logic-based DE are discussed, along with approaches for improving alignment between the final outcome and the target reference trait. Moreover, factors that could contribute to making the quantitative logic-based DE process more practical and rigorous are also examined.

Indicator condition-guided HIV testing in patients with mononucleosis-like illness and community-acquired pneumonia in an Emergency Department setting: A prospective study from Poland (2015–2018)

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Karolina Pyziak-Kowalska, Dorthe Raben, Ann Sullivan, Maksymilian Bielecki, Andrzej Horban, Justyna D. Kowalska

Background

Despite advances in HIV care, late diagnosis remains a major public health challenge in Europe, with nearly half of HIV diagnoses in the EU/EEA occurring at a late stage. In Poland, a substantial proportion of people living with HIV remain undiagnosed. Indicator condition–guided testing has been proposed as an effective strategy to reduce missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis.

Methods

A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Emergency Department of the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Warsaw, Poland, between May 2015 and March 2018, as part of the European OptTEST project. HIV DUO testing was offered to patients aged 18–65 years presenting with mononucleosis-like illness (MONO) or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We evaluated the prevalence of HIV infection and assessed linkage to HIV care among those testing positive. Confirmatory testing, CD4 cell counts at diagnosis, and linkage-to-care outcomes were collected.

Results

Among 885 patients with indicator conditions (MONO: 794; CAP: 91), 636 (71.9%) accepted HIV testing. Twenty-two patients (3.5%) were confirmed HIV-positive. HIV prevalence was 2.6% among patients with MONO and 11.1% among those with CAP. Most HIV-positive patients were male (90.9%), with 59% identifying as men who have sex with men or bisexual. The median age was 32.5 years. The median CD4 cell count at diagnosis was 341 cells/µL overall and was lower in patients presenting with CAP than MONO (61 vs. 366.5 cells/µL). All patients diagnosed with HIV were linked to care, and 95.5% initiated antiretroviral therapy, with a median time to treatment of 8 days.

Conclusions

HIV seroprevalence among patients presenting with MONO or CAP was higher than the national average, particularly among those with CAP. These findings support routine indicator condition–guided HIV testing in Emergency Departments to improve early HIV diagnosis and timely linkage to care.

Drug use patterns at a Kenyan referral hospital: A cross-sectional study using WHO core indicators

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Robi Cynthia Chacha, Ermias Mergia Terefe

Background

Suboptimal medicine use practices remain a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where it contributes to increased healthcare costs, and the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to evaluate drug use patterns at Thika Level 5 Hospital in Kenya using World Health Organization (WHO) core drug use indicators.

Methods

A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department. Data were collected from 600 prescriptions, 100 patient encounters, and facility-level assessments using standardized WHO/INRUD data collection tools. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 29), and findings were descriptively compared with WHO reference standards.

Results

The mean number of drugs per prescription was 3.18, which was higher than the WHO recommended range of 1.6–1.8. Generic prescribing was 45.86% while antibiotic prescribing was observed in 58.7% of encounters. Injection use was 13.0% and 76.86% of prescribed medicines were from the Essential Medicines List (EML).Patient-care indicators showed a mean consultation time of 4.26 minutes and a mean dispensing time of 122.8 seconds, which was below the WHO- recommended reference value. Only 30.0% of medicines were adequately labelled, and 44.0% of patients demonstrated complete knowledge of their medications. Significant associations were observed between dispensing time and patient knowledge (p = 0.001), as well as between labelling adequacy and patient understanding (p < 0.001).In contrast, all facility indicators met WHO standards, with full availability of essential medicines, treatment guidelines, and stock records.

Conclusion

Despite strong facility readiness, important gaps were identified in prescribing and patient-care practices. These findings highlight opportunities for interventions aimed at strengthening antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, promoting generic prescribing, improving dispensing practices, and enhancing patient counselling to support improved medicine use practices..

How antiretroviral data cleaning reshaped Mozambique’s progress to reaching HIV epidemic control

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Aleny Couto, Orrin Tiberi, Lindsay Templin, Morais da Cunha, Jose R. Mondlane, Jose Mizela, Hermínio Nhaguiombe, Ryan Keating, Ferreira Ferreira, Emilton Cumbana, Irénio Gaspar

Quality data is fundamental for any public health program, especially for long-term care programs that rely on longitudinal data for decision making. In Mozambique, there had been a growing discrepancy between the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral treatment (ART) reported in the national system when compared to pharmacy and electronic medical records. A national ART data cleaning exercise was conducted in the first semester of 2024 to improve the accuracy and reliability of the nationally reported data. All health facilities with ART services (n = 1,757) compared their nationally reported data between the clinical data available at the health facility and the pharmacy medication pick-up data. The records that were successfully validated were marked as active, while the others were non-active. Upon completion of the review, the nationally reported data were revised. There was a 9.9% decrease (2,166,941–1,951,724) in the number of PLHIV considered currently on ART between December 2023 and June 2024. Among age groups, there was a 28.7% decrease among those less than 10 years of age, 26.4% among those between 10 and 19 years, and 8.0% for those 20 years or more. Cabo Delgado was the province with the largest percentage difference (21.1%, −28,799 PLHIV currently on treatment), while Zambezia had the largest absolute decline, of 41,445 (−8.9%). The notable decreases in PLHIV on ART resulted in an increase in Mozambique’s estimates for new infections, AIDS-related deaths, and vertical transmission. These updates allowed for a more realistic understanding of the HIV epidemic in Mozambique, including highlighting provinces with large data quality issues evidenced by substantial changes in PLHIV on ART numbers. This activity highlighted challenges that exist in paper-based reporting systems and provides evidence for a renewed focus on improving data quality for decision making.

Multimorbidity patterns and their associations with demographic characteristics, behavioral factors, and urban–rural residence: A latent class analysis in the Thai population

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Pavitra Jindahra, Stefano Starita, Pinnaree Tea-makorn

Multimorbidity, defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions, is a growing public health concern. Understanding disease clustering and risk profiles is crucial for prevention and planning purposes. This study analyzed data from the National Health Survey in Thailand, which included 142,753 participants. Latent class analysis investigated nine non-communicable diseases, while multinomial logistic regression explored the characteristics associated with class membership. Four distinct classes were identified: low burden, hypertension–metabolic, predominant hypertension, and high multimorbidity. Advancing age revealed an increased probability of membership in all multimorbidity classes. Females exhibited a higher propensity to belong to the hypertension–metabolic and predominant hypertension classes. Urban residency was associated with an elevated probability of membership in the hypertension–metabolic and high-multimorbidity classes. The body mass index displayed significant variations across classes. Overweight and obesity were linked to the hypertension–metabolic and predominant hypertension classes, with obesity also associated with the high multimorbidity class. Underweight individuals demonstrated a reduced likelihood of membership in the hypertension–metabolic class but an increased likelihood of membership in the predominant hypertension class. Smoking was correlated with a higher probability of membership across classes, particularly among current smokers. Dietary behaviors were distinctly associated across classes. Frequent consumption of high-fat and instant foods was linked to the hypertension–metabolic class, whereas instant food consumption was also associated with the predominant hypertension class. Fruit consumption was correlated with a higher probability of membership in the hypertension–metabolic class, whereas vegetable consumption was associated with a reduced likelihood of membership in the predominant hypertension class. Moderate consumption of non-alcoholic sugary drinks was associated with a lower probability of hypertension–metabolic class membership. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of multimorbidity patterns in Thailand and delineate the demographic, behavioral, and residential profiles associated with non-communicable disease clustering.

The effect of a multimodal multicomponent Prehabilitation program in Older adults with Chronic limb-threatening Ischemia (POCI-study): A study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Seline Verbaan, Miriam C. Faes, Elke T. A. M. van Delft, Alexander L. Kooiman, Patrick W. H. E. Vriens, Hidde Jongsma, Ewout W. Steyerberg, Wilbert B. van den Hout, Lijckle van der Laan, on behalf of the POCI-study group

Chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI) in older adults is associated with severe morbidity and high mortality. The rising prevalence is largely driven by the aging population and confronts healthcare systems with challenges like increasing demand for chronic care, staff shortage and rising healthcare costs. To improve post-operative outcomes and reduce the burden on healthcare systems, multimodal prehabilitation has gained interest and has the potential to improve post operative outcomes. However, evidence of the effect in older adults with CLTI remains scarce. The aim of this study is to determine whether a multimodal multicomponent prehabilitation program (MMPP) reduces length of stay and improves clinical, patient-reported and economic outcomes of older adults with CLTI. We developed a multicenter randomized controlled trial, with embedded cost-effectiveness analyses.. CLTI-patients aged 65 years or older, planned for revascularization, and their primary informal caregiver (IC) will be eligible. A total of 300 patients will be randomized to receive either standard preoperative care or a 2-week MMPP. All patients receive a general health screening. The MMPP includes physiotherapy and, if indicated, referral to a geriatrician, dietician or smoking-cessation coach, ferric carboxymaltose infusion or pre-arranged homecare. The primary outcome is length of stay. Exploratory secondary outcomes include minor complications, quality of life of patient and IC and health related quality of life. Descriptive secondary outcomes include 30-day and 6-month mortality, major complications, readmissions, burden on the IC, cost-effectiveness; and experiences and preferences regarding shared decision making. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of an MMPP within older CLTI-patients. Findings will inform healthcare professionals whether an MMPP should be implemented in routine vascular surgical practice to reduce length of stay and improve clinical and patient-centered outcomes. The study is registered at the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (NL-OMON58069).

Third-generation cephalosporin use is frequently non-guideline-concordant in severe community-acquired pneumonia: Findings from a French critical care cohort

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Quitterie Lostie de Kerhor, Zeina Sabouni, Cyrille Geay, Catherine Bouvet-Velly, Laurent Ducros, Jonathan Chelly

Background and objectives

Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, requiring prompt empirical antibiotic therapy. The choice between amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC) and third-generation cephalosporin (3GC) as first-line beta-lactam therapy in the ICU is still debated. To assess AMC and 3GC susceptibility in severe CAP or community-acquired aspiration pneumonia (CAAP) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP), Haemophilus influenzae (HI) and/or Staphylococcus aureus (SA), and to evaluate the appropriateness of empirical antibiotic therapy.

Methodology

We conducted a single-center retrospective study including patients admitted to the ICU between 01/01/2018 and 30/11/2022 for severe CAP/CAAP with microbiological documentation of at least one of the targeted pathogens. Clinical, microbiological, therapeutic, and outcome data were collected. The primary endpoint was AMC and 3GC susceptibility rates (expressed as percentage and [95% confidence intervals]).

Principal findings

Among 104 included patients (median age 64 [48–71] years; 67% male), 60 (57.7%) had CAAP. AMC susceptibility rates were 81.5% [61.9–93.7], 78.0% [62.4–89.4], and 100% [92.6–100.0], while 3GC susceptibility rates were 96.3% [81.0–99.9], 95.1% [83.5–99.4], and 100% [92.6–100.0], for SP, HI, and SA, respectively. AMC was the empirical treatment in 59% of cases, and this choice was microbiologically appropriate in 86.9% of these prescriptions. Conversely, 3GC were prescribed empirically in 20% of cases, but this broad-spectrum choice was unjustified in 80% of those situations. Antibiotic de-escalation was performed in 28% of cases.

Conclusion

In this single-center retrospective cohort, AMC appears to be a relevant empirical option for severe CAP/CAAP in the ICU, while 3GCs seem frequently overused. These findings required prospective multicenter validation before practice change can be recommended.

Dopaminergic genetic variation and response to social comparative feedback when learning a motor sequence task

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Allison F. Lewis, Rachel Bohnenkamp, Jill Campbell Stewart

Positive social comparative feedback during motor skill practice is hypothesized to enhance motor learning by triggering a dopaminergic response. Individual differences in dopamine-related genes impact dopamine neurotransmission and may influence responsiveness to motor practice conditions that target dopaminergic pathways. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of dopamine genotype on learning of a motor sequence task under two different feedback conditions: response time only feedback or response time with positive social comparison. Fifty-two adults practiced a joystick-based motor sequence task over two consecutive days. On Day 1, participants were randomized to receive either 1) response time only feedback (i.e., “You completed the block in 80 seconds”) or 2) positive social comparative feedback (i.e., “You completed the block in 80 seconds. You were faster than others”). Motor learning was assessed by retention performance, or the change in response time from the first block of Day 1 to the first block on Day 2. Saliva samples were used to genotype for dopamine receptors DRD1, DRD2 and DRD3 and COMT. Individual genes were scored (0–2) and summed to create a polygene score (0–8). Participants were then categorized as having Low (1–4) or High (5–8) dopamine neurotransmission. A significant interaction was found between time, summary polygene group and feedback group (p = 0.048). The Low dopamine group showed greater improvements with response time only feedback versus positive social comparative feedback. The High dopamine group showed similar improvements in response time regardless of feedback type. This suggests that feedback targeting dopaminergic pathways may not be beneficial for individuals with lower dopamine neurotransmission. Our findings suggest that dopaminergic genetics may impact the efficacy of positive social comparative feedback on motor learning in low dopamine genotypes.

Barycentric rational interpolation collocation method for solving two-dimensional linear and nonlinear integro-differential equations

2026-07-29T14:00:00Z

by Wei Zhang, Liangli Chen

Barycentric rational interpolation is characterized by excellent numerical stability, high approximation accuracy, and strong adaptability to node distribution. In this paper, we propose a high-precision barycentric rational interpolation collocation method to provide approximate solutions for both linear and nonlinear two-dimensional integro-differential equations (2D-IDEs) subject to specified boundary conditions. Firstly, the discrete scheme for 2D-IDEs is derived by employing the two-dimensional barycentric rational interpolation formula and the two-dimensional Gauss-Legendre numerical integration formula. Then, the error estimation of the approximate solution and the convergence of the method are analyzed. Finally, numerical examples are provided to validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method.