PLOS ONE
Expression of Concern: Evaluating the compressive strength of glass powder-based cement mortar subjected to the acidic environment using testing and modeling approaches
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by The PLOS One Editors
by The PLOS One Editors
by The PLOS One Editors
by A. J. A. Al-Gburi This paper presents an ultra-compact millimetre-wave antenna designed to support 28 GHz and 38 GHz 5G smartphone applications. To ensure safe and reliable integration, a comprehensive specific absorption rate (SAR) evaluation was carried out using three anatomically realistic head phantoms: a full-head, a skeletal skull, and an isolated brain model. The fabricated prototype demonstrated robust dual-band performance with close agreement between simulated and measured results. Importantly, SAR levels remained well below international safety limits, confirming both compliance and user safety. These results highlight the antenna’s strong potential for enabling next-generation high-data-rate communications in compact mobile devices.
by Yosia Mugume, Ron Cook, Breana Hagerty, Jinjie Liu, Zachary B. Alvord, Linda Danhof, John E. Froehlich, Josh V. Vermaas, Christoph Benning Plastid Lipase 3 (PLIP3) is a chloroplast phospholipase A that cleaves linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, from the sn-1 position of the chloroplast membrane lipid monogalactosyldiacylglycerol. Linolenic acid is subsequently converted by enzymes in the chloroplast and the peroxisome to jasmonic acid (JA) requiring transport between the organelles. Overexpression of a cDNA encoding PLIP3 resulted in stunted plant growth with altered leaf morphology caused by accumulation of JA and other oxylipin metabolites redirecting the metabolism from growth to defense. We conducted a genetic suppressor screen in the PLIP3-OX (PLIP3 overexpression) line to query the entire pathway from the start of JA biosynthesis to its perception, transduction, and modification by other signaling pathways. We identified a mutant allele of the 13-lipoxgenase LOX3, lox3–4, that is causal to the attenuation of the PLIP3-OX phenotype with reduced dwarfism and decreased production of JA and other oxylipins. The responsible G776E point mutation is in the C terminal catalytic domain in proximity to the non heme iron binding site of LOX3. The point mutation likely inhibits the oxidation of α-linolenic acid demonstrating its importance for general JA biosynthesis as its activity cannot be compensated for by other 13-lipoxygenases.
by InHo Lee, SangHee Hong, EunChul Jang, JuneHee Lee, JeongBeom Lee Background Confined space work exposes workers to complex risks, including oxygen deficiency, hazardous gases, and physical strain, requiring structured criteria for fitness-for-duty screening. This study aimed to develop a Confined-Space Suitability Index (CSSI) based on routinely available health examination and functional test data. Methods A total of 111 workers were analyzed. Risk factors were classified into anthropometric and metabolic factors, functional and physiological factors, and lifestyle factors. Low cardiorespiratory fitness was defined using age- and sex-specific VO₂max reference thresholds from Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) H-43–2021 and Canadian Public Health Association reference values. Risk-factor weights were derived using LASSO regression, and internal validation was performed using leave-one-out cross-validation and bootstrap stability analysis. Results According to the revised CSSI criteria, 86 workers were classified as suitable, 19 as caution, and 6 as unsuitable. The independent specialist assessment classified 7 workers as unsuitable. In leave-one-out cross-validation, the CSSI showed an AUROC of 0.940 and an AUPRC of 0.567, with sensitivity of 0.833, specificity of 0.933, and negative predictive value of 0.990. In bootstrap stability analysis, dyslipidemia, low cardiorespiratory fitness, and hypertension were consistently selected. Conclusions The CSSI may serve as a structured screening and referral-support index for identifying workers who require additional specialist evaluation before confined space work. However, it should be interpreted as an auxiliary index rather than a replacement for specialist fitness-for-duty judgment.
by Maimounah Hebi, Johanna Czamanski-Cohen, Karen L. Weihs, Richard D. Lane
by Wenhan Yang Tumor hypoxia is biologically important in breast cancer, but its prognostic value may be distorted by intrinsic molecular subtype composition. This study evaluated whether hypoxia-related prognosis was subtype-dependent and whether hypoxia was associated with genome-wide copy-number alteration (CNA) burden. Transcriptome-derived hypoxia scores, CNA burden, and overall survival data were analyzed from TCGA and METABRIC. Survival differences between hypoxia groups were assessed using Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank tests. Multivariable Cox models were used to evaluate hypoxia-related prognosis after adjustment for subtype and eligible clinical covariates. Proportional hazards diagnostics and Weibull accelerated failure time models were further applied to address potential model-assumption violations. In TCGA, the cohort-wide survival association was no longer evident after adjustment for subtype and clinical covariates. The clearest subtype-specific signal was observed in Luminal B tumors. Within this subtype, low hypoxia was associated with better survival after adjustment for age, stage, and CNA burden. In METABRIC, high hypoxia remained associated with poorer survival in Weibull accelerated failure time models. Higher hypoxia was also consistently associated with greater CNA burden across both cohorts. These findings support subtype-aware interpretation of hypoxia biomarkers and suggest a reproducible link between hypoxia and genomic instability in breast cancer.
by Pedro Cury, Rogério da Hora Passos, Fernanda Alves, Sérgio Brasil, Gustavo Frigieri, Fabio S. Taccone, Ronney B. Panerai, Juliana Caldas
by Darwin A. León-Figueroa, Edwin Aguirre-Milachay, Milagros Diaz-Torres, Jean Pierre Villanueva-De La Cruz, Edwin A. Garcia-Vasquez, Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas, Mario J. Valladares-Garrido
by Shihao Zhang, Jianxin Wang, Zhuo Li, Yusheng Li Fine-particle loss in earth-rock dams can induce abnormal grout diffusion during rehabilitation. To address this issue, we investigated the influence of fine particle content on grouting efficiency in coarse-grained materials. Using transparent soil technology, coarse-grained materials were simulated with fused quartz sand and a refractive-index-matched pore fluid (n = 1.4585). Dyed epoxy resin was used as a cement grout analog. Constant-pressure grouting tests (40 kPa) were performed on three test conditions representing no fine-particle loss, partial fine-pareicle loss, and complete fine-particle loss. The grout diffusion process was visualized and quantified using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The results reveal that fine particle content critically controls grout diffusion patterns and rates. (1) Excessive fines cause pore clogging, resulting in grout upwelling, surface seepage, and limited diffusion, forming locally consolidated masses with blocky bonding. (2) An appropriate fine particle content enables uniform spherical diffusion, creating an optimized structure characterized by point bonding of large particles and small-pore filling. (3) The absence of fines leads to gravity-dominated rapid settlement with weak horizontal diffusion, leaving only surface-coated particles. This study elucidates the coupled mechanisms of fine-particle migration, clogging, and grout diffusion, providing an experimental basis for optimizing permeation grouting in coarse aggregates.
by Sudip Saha, Muhammad Arslan Pervaiz, Muhammad Safwat Rahman, Shahriar Ahmmed, Jannatul Maua The growing sophistication of cyber threats and adversarial attacks poses critical challenges to the security and robustness of machine learning models deployed in real-world systems. While traditional deep learning architectures excel in clean data classification, they often fail under adversarial perturbations, exposing vulnerabilities in sensitive domains such as healthcare, finance, and industrial control. In this paper, we introduce a novel hybrid adversarially-trained deep learning framework that integrates reinforcement learning-inspired robustness adaptation with knowledge-driven regularization to achieve improved resilience against fast gradient sign method (FGSM) and projected gradient descent (PGD) attacks. Our approach simultaneously optimizes clean accuracy and adversarial robustness by balancing cross-entropy and adversarial loss components, while monitoring calibration error, gradient dynamics, and generalization gap to ensure stable convergence. Extensive experiments on reconnaissance, shellcode, and worms datasets demonstrate that the proposed model achieves up to 97.88% accuracy on clean data and maintains 84.9% accuracy under FGSM and 81.75% under PGD attacks, outperforming convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) baselines by more than 6–10 percentage points in adversarial robustness. Furthermore, the training curves reveal consistent improvements in convergence stability, runtime efficiency, gradient norm decay, and a 30% reduction in expected calibration error, validating the scalability of the framework. This work contributes not only a novel adversarial defense paradigm but also provides insights into the trade-offs between robustness, efficiency, and generalization.
by The PLOS One Editors
by The PLOS One Editors
by The PLOS One Editors
by Katharine Holmes, Lindsay Bottoms Background Fencing and wheelchair fencing are Olympic and Paralympic sports with growing global participation and increasing scientific interest. However, the overall structure, methodological profile, and thematic distribution of experimental and quantitative observational research in both has not been systematically characterized. Objective To map the scope, methodological characteristics, and thematic focus of experimental and quantitative observational studies involving fencing and wheelchair fencing athletes. Methods A scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCOhost were searched for studies containing the terms “fencing,” “fencer,” or “fencers” in the title or abstract. Eligible studies employed experimental or quantitative observational designs and included fencing athletes as participants. Data were extracted using a structured framework and summarized descriptively across study design, research domain, participant characteristics, sample size, weapon discipline, and geographic distribution. Results A total of 445 studies met inclusion criteria. Publication volume increased substantially after 2015. Laboratory-based (35.7%) and cross-sectional (30.3%) designs predominated, whereas prospective cohort studies (5.4%) and randomized controlled trials (4.3%) were comparatively uncommon. Performance and skill analysis constituted the largest research domain (41.1%), while injury/epidemiology (7.9%), recovery/rehabilitation (4.3%), and training load/fatigue (1.6%) research were limited. Most studies involved small sample sizes with fewer than 50 participants and focused on able-bodied athletes; wheelchair fencing was markedly underrepresented. Sex was not specified in 24.3% of studies, and weapon discipline was not reported in 44.9%. Research output was geographically concentrated in Europe and select North American and East Asian countries. Conclusions Although fencing research has expanded rapidly in recent years, it remains methodologically and thematically uneven. Greater emphasis on longitudinal and interventional designs, injury surveillance, rehabilitation research, improved reporting practices, and inclusive representation across sex, weapon discipline, geographic regions, and wheelchair athletes are necessary to strengthen the translational relevance and evidence-based development of fencing sport science.
by Can Guo, Xukun Luo, Zijin Tang, Jian Zhou, Tang Liu Background Although frailty has been recognized as a predictor of various adverse outcomes in older adults, the association between physical pre-frailty or frailty and the risk of osteomyelitis remains unclear. Methods In this nested case-control study, data from 466,918 eligible participants recruited into the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 were used. Incident osteomyelitis cases were identified through linked electronic health records up to 19 December 2022 and matched to controls at a 1:5 ratio by age, sex, and assessment center from the baseline population meeting the eligibility criteria. Frailty status was assessed at baseline using a five-item phenotype adapted from the Fried criteria and categorized as non-frail, pre-frail, or frail. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between frailty status and osteomyelitis after adjustment for socioeconomic factors, lifestyle behaviors, medication use, and clinical risk factors. Results Compared with non-frail individuals, participants with physical pre-frailty had a significantly higher odds of osteomyelitis (OR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.16–1.64), with the odds further increasing among those with physical frailty (OR = 2.79; 95% CI: 2.05–3.81), demonstrating a clear dose–response relationship (P-trend <0.001). These associations between physical frailty status and osteomyelitis remained robust across subgroups defined by potential risk factors. Conclusions Physical pre-frailty and frailty were associated with higher odds of osteomyelitis, with the odds increasing across frailty categories.
by Benjamin Kingsley Harley, Inemesit Okon Ben, Theophilus Duku Asamoah, Cedric Dzidzor K. Amengor, Nii Korley Kortei, Priscilla Eghan, Theophilus Christian Fleischer Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common infection that affects women of reproductive age, with a high prevalence among pregnant women. When left untreated, it can lead to pregnancy complications including miscarriage. The study evaluated the activity of the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract of Paullinia pinnata and its isolated compound 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one against drug-resistant strains and clinical isolates of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis. Furthermore, the effects of the combinations of 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one with voriconazole, nystatin or caspofungin on the Candida strains and isolates as well as its antibiofilm activity against the drug-resistant strains are reported in this study. The EtOAc leaves extract of P. pinnata demonstrated considerable activity against the drug-resistant Candida strains and clinical isolates with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 31.25 to 500 µg/mL when assessed for anti-Candida activity using the microbroth dilution method. The extract was column fractionated to obtain five bulk fractions, and from the most active bulk fraction, BF4 (MIC = 3.91–31.25 µg/mL), 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one was isolated. This study is the first reported biological activity of the compound. 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one exhibited strong activity against the panel of drug-resistant Candida species with MIC ranging from 0.5 to 16 µg/mL (0.85–27.10 µM). This activity was within similar range to that of ketoconazole (MIC = 1–8 µg/mL) and amphotericin B (MIC = 0.5–2 µg/mL). When combined with voriconazole, nystatin or caspofungin using the checkerboard assay, 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one recorded synergism of 33.33% to 83.33% with the antifungals, with majority of the synergistic interactions observed against C. albicans and C. glabrata strains and isolates. 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one also demonstrated anti-biofilm activity. Its IC50 values against the formation of biofilms and preformed biofilms of the Candida species were 15.30–46.40 μg/mL (25.91–78.60 μM) and 25.40–90.84 μg/mL (43.02–153.86 μM), respectively. In conclusion, P. pinnata possesses strong anti-Candida activity and its isolated compound, 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one displayed potent anti-Candida and anti-biofilm action. These findings identify 6α-(3’-methoxy-4’-hydroxybenzoyl)-lup-20(29)-ene-3-one as a promising anti-Candida compound warranting further investigation, including cytotoxicity in mammalian cells, before its therapeutic potential can be fully assessed.
by Mohammed Nasir, Bereket Tessema, Sura Markos Background Meningomyelocele (MMC) is believed to commonly coexist with congenital heart disease (CHD), due to embryological pathways involving neural crest cells and risk factors such as folate and homocysteine metabolism abnormalities. However, evidence from developing countries is limited. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence of CHD among infants with MMC and identified factors associated with the occurrence of CHD in infants with MMC. Methodology This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Hawassa University Comprehensive Hospital between May 1 and August 1, 2025. Infants with MMC born from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2024, who underwent echocardiographic evaluation were included. Data were collected through chart review. Prevalence of CHD in infants with MMC was described using frequencies and percentages, and binary logistic regression identified factors associated with CHD. Results A total of 265 infants with MMC were included in this study. The prevalence of CHD among infants with MMC was 7.2%. The presence of maternal history of spontaneous abortion [AOR = 2.51, (95% CI: 1.12, 9.83); P = 0.03], maternal overweight or obesity [AOR = 2.93, (95% CI: 1.15, 7.98); P = 0.01], maternal diabetes mellitus [AOR = 2.22, (95% CI: 1.13, 8.45); P = 0.01], extracardiac anomalies in the infant [AOR = 2.94, (95% CI: 1.11, 8.78); P = 0.04] were associated with CHD in infants with MMC. Conclusion CHD was relatively common among infants with MMC, affecting 7.2% of cases. Factors associated with CHD included maternal history of spontaneous abortion, maternal overweight or obesity, maternal diabetes mellitus, and the presence of extracardiac anomalies in the infant. These findings highlight the significance of routine cardiac evaluation and targeted maternal risk assessment in infants with MMC to improve early detection and management.
by The PLOS One Editors