PLoS ONE最新文献

Objectives: This study examined differences in young adults' mood states during immersive virtual reality (VR), non-immersive VR, and traditional exercise biking sessions.

Design: Repeated-measure study design.

Methods: Forty-nine college students (34 females; Mage = 23.6 years) completed three separate 20-minute exercise biking sessions: (1) immersive VR biking using the PlayStation 4 + VirZoom VR bike; (2) non-immersive VR biking using the Gamercize bike + Xbox 360; and (3) traditional stationary biking using the Spirit Fitness XBU55. Participants' mood states (anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor) were assessed by using the Brunel Mood Scale after each session.

Results: Statistically significant differences were observed between biking sessions for all components of mood [F (2, 96) = 3.84-278.56, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.07-0.85], except for tension (p > 0.05). Results indicated non-immersive VR biking yielded significantly higher anger compared to immersive VR biking; non-immersive VR biking yielded significantly higher confusion compared to immersive VR biking and traditional biking, respectively; immersive VR biking yielded significantly lower depression compared to traditional biking; both immersive VR biking and non-immersive VR biking yielded significantly lower fatigue compared to traditional biking; and immersive VR biking yielded significantly higher vigor compared to non-immersive VR biking) and traditional biking, respectively.

Conclusion: Findings suggested the immersive VR-based biking exercise may facilitate in reducing the negative feelings, such as anger, fatigue, depression, and improving positive feeling, such as vigor, among college students. The immersive VR-based exercise appeared to be a feasible approach for motivating college students participating in physical activity and improving overall mood states.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), caused by environmental factors associated with the host's genetic traits, is represented by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Despite the increasing number of patients with IBD, the current treatment is limited to symptomatic therapy. A complex IBD model mimicking the human IBD etiology is required to overcome this limitation. Herein, we developed novel complex IBD models using interleukin 2 receptor subunit gamma (Il2rg)-deficient mice, high-fat diet, dextran sodium sulfate, and Citrobacter rodentium. The more IBD factors applied complexly, colon length shortened and inflammation worsened. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines increased with increased IBD factors. Anti-inflammatory cytokine decreased in all factors application but increased in Il2rg deficiency and Westernized diet combination. Additionally, the pro-inflammatory transcription factors and leaky intestinal epithelial marker were upregulated by a combination of IBD factors. Species diversity decreased with IBD factors. Phylogenetic diversity decreased as IBD factors were applied but increased with combined Il2rg deficiency and Westernized diet. The more IBD factors applied complexly, the more severe the dysbiosis. Finally, we developed a novel complex IBD model using various IBD factors. This model more closely mimic human IBD based on colonic inflammation and dysbiosis than the previous models. Based on these results, our novel complex IBD model could be a valuable tool for further IBD research.

Over the last 30 years, high-resolution site documentation has rapidly developed, with analogue drawings and film photography being replaced with high-precision digital recordings. Today, most archaeological field data sets are produced using digital tools that store spatial and visual information in various digital formats directly, i.e., born-digital. A fully digital workflow makes the process of combining, comparing, and integrating field datasets quicker, easier, and potentially more analytically powerful. However, at sites where both analogue and born-digital data sets have been produced, additional procedural digitization steps are required before full data interoperability is achieved. In cases where the archaeological sites have a long excavation history, multiple generations of analogue and digital site documentation techniques have often been used, making it particularly challenging to physically reconstruct an excavated site based on its archival material. The Middle Stone Age site of Blombos Cave, South Africa, is a prime example of this type of challenging situation. This site features a more than 3-meter-deep and well-preserved archaeological sequence dated to between 300 and 100 000 years ago. Since it was initially excavated in 1991, multiple archaeological campaigns have been carried out (>15), and the excavations are still ongoing. The field documentation from Blombos Cave has, over the years, produced varied but rich datasets that have never been integrated into a single, coherent, and accessible archive. In this paper we evaluate the changes in excavation protocol at Blombos Cave over time, and we use this knowledge to digitally integrate and map the various stages of excavation within a three-dimensional framework using digital photogrammetry and archival photographs. The archaeological and analytical value of this approach is exemplified through multiple case studies, in which we demonstrate how and why the merging of old and new archaeological field data can lead to new results, specifically by offering more complete mapping and more accurate and analytically dynamic visualisations. The research history at Blombos Cave is not unique or site-specific. Our approach would be applicable to a wide variety of sites and contexts where long-running excavations have produced a mix of analogue and digital field data.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268631.].

Background: Scabies is a common but neglected skin disease caused by the parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis. Globally, the disease affects more than 400 million people. Although Ethiopia is a high-burden country for scabies, its epidemiology has not been well assessed. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of scabies, clinical features, and associated risk factors in the communities of the Hawassa Zuria District of the Sidama Region, southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September through November 2023 in the Hawassa Zuria District. A multistage random sampling technique was applied to enrol 511 participants. The International Alliance for Control of Scabies Diagnostic Criteria was used for examination. The data were collected electronically using the Open Data Kit application through a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Analysis was performed using STATA software. The binary logistic regression analyses model was used to assess the association between each independent variable and scabies prevalence. During the bivariate logistic regression analyses a variable with a p-value of < 0.25 was a candidate for multivariable logistic regression analyses. In multivariable logistic regression analyses the odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval and a p-value less than 0.05 were used to describe the strength of the association and statistical significance.

Results: The median age of the study participants was 19 years (interquartile range: 11-32 years), and 52.6% of the participants were females. The overall prevalence of scabies was 6.3% (95% CI 4.3-8.7%). The majority of individuals with scabies had a moderate degree of severity. The most frequent lesions were intensely itchy papules, vesicles, and pustules that appeared in the interdigital space, flexor wrist surfaces, and elbow. Males were more likely to have scabies [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.57; 95% CI: 1.10-6.00] than females were and it was not influenced by age. The risk of scabies was higher for households with low (AOR = 3.88; 95% CI: 1.01-14.91) and middle-class wealth index (AOR = 4.43; 95% CI: 1.13-17.33), as well as for individuals residing in households with an overcrowding index >1.5 (AOR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.13-6.18), in those individuals who washed their hands with water only (AOR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.23-7.24), in those who used an unimproved water source (AOR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.25-7.06) and in those who slept on the floor (AOR = 2.70; 95% CI: 1.17-6.18).

Conclusion: The observed moderate presence of scabies in the study area stresses the need to strengthen disease management efforts, improve wealth, reduce overcrowding, ensure clean water access, and promote better hygiene practices to reduce the spread of scabies.

Neuroinflammation, a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, is associated with neuronal cell loss and cognitive dysfunction. Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is involved in neuroinflammation in the brain via the degradation of endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol to arachidonic acid, a precursor of some eicosanoids; therefore, MAGL inhibitors are expected to have anti-inflammatory effects. We recently developed a reversible, selective, central nervous system penetrant, and orally available MAGL inhibitor, compound 4f. Compound 4f (1 mg/kg) robustly increased 2-arachidonoylglycerol levels and decreased arachidonic acid levels in the mouse brain. To examine whether compound 4f can suppress neuroinflammation and neuronal cell loss, kainic acid (KA)-injected mice were used as a neuroinflammation model in this study. Compound 4f (1 mg/kg) significantly decreased the cytokine and chemokine expression levels and suppressed neuronal cell loss in the hippocampi of mice. Compound 4f also ameliorated cognitive impairment in KA-injected mice. The cannabinoid receptor 1 antagonist, AM251, and cannabinoid receptor 2 antagonist, AM630, partly blocked the neuroprotective effects of compound 4f in the hippocampi of KA-injected mice. Gene expression profiles and pathway analyses revealed that compound 4f reversed the KA-induced changes in the expression of genes related to inflammation and neurotransmission. These results indicate that the selective and reversible MAGL inhibitor, compound 4f, can be used as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

With the combination of artificial intelligence and robotics technology, more and more professional robots are entering the public eye. Basketball robot competition, as a very good target system for autonomous robot research, is very suitable for conducting research on robot autonomous perception system object detection. However, traditional basketball robots have problems such as recognition difficulties, which seriously affect the recognition of robot targets and distance measurement based on recognition. To improve the performance of basketball robots in competitions, research was conducted to improve the object detection system. Firstly, a basketball robot object detection system based on robot operating system was designed. In the software layer of the object detection system, an algorithm that combines YOLOv5s and laser detection was used, and an appropriate instance batch normalization network module was introduced in the YOLOv5s algorithm to improve the model's generalization ability. The experiment outcomes indicated that the improved algorithm had intersection over union (IoU), structural information loss, ambiguity and signal-to-noise ratio of 0.96, 0.03, 0.13, and 0.98, respectively, and performed the best in the other comparison models. The recall curve area and F1 value of the improved algorithm were 0.95 and 0.9789, respectively. In the detection of basketball, volleyball, and calibration columns, the average classification accuracy of the improved model was 95.87%, and the average calibration box accuracy was 97.05%. From this, the algorithm proposed in the study has robust performance and can efficiently achieve object detection and recognition of basketball robots. The improved algorithm proposed in the study provides more reliable and rich information for the perception ability of basketball robots, as well as for their subsequent decision-making and action planning, thereby improving the overall technical level of the robots.

Social discrimination, the investigation of a novel peer more so than a familiar peer, is used as a measure of social memory. There is much less research on long-term social memory than short-term social memory, and no long-term social memory research in female rats. The majority of long-term social discrimination research has relied on long familiarization session of an hour or more and involved juveniles as the stimulus peers. Here we show that a 30-minute familiarization session is sufficient to produce social discrimination 24 h later in both male and female rats and allows for measurement of social approach. Other methodological considerations are described, such as: that age- and sex-matched stimulus peers can be used across a wider range of ages than the use of juveniles; evidence that a familiar peer in a novel location attenuates social discrimination; that the first 10 minutes of the social approach reliably shows a preference for the social peer over an object whereas the 30-minute session does not; and that 10-minute discrimination sessions are preferable to 5-minute sessions. The research satisfies the goal of obtaining an efficient procedure to investigate both the possibility of enhancing or diminishing social approach and social memory with experimental manipulations in both sexes.

Background: Until the COVID-19 pandemic, it had not been possible to examine the effect of rapid policy changes surrounding telemental health on patient-reported mental health care access, costs, symptoms, and functioning. Sizable variation in telemental health use by patient race-ethnicity, age, and rurality, and in its adoption across healthcare settings, underscores the need to study equitable dissemination and implementation of high-quality telemental health services in the real world. This protocol describes an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study that aims to examine the effects of state telemental health policy expansion on patient-reported mental health outcomes, as well as the policy-to-practice pathway from the perspectives of state leaders, clinicians, and staff who care for underserved patients.

Methods: This study uses legal mapping research methods to characterize the effective dates and specific provisions of telemental health policies (e.g., Medicaid reimbursement, private payer laws, professional licensure requirements) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Then, we will examine state factors (e.g., COVID-19 cases, broadband internet access) explaining these telemental health policies using discrete-time hazard models. The primary quantitative analysis employs a difference-in-difference approach to predict effects on outcome measures using a nationally representative survey of individuals. Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we will examine policy effects on (a) access to, use of, and expenditures related to mental health care and (b) mental health outcomes, functioning, and employment. Finally, qualitative methods will be used to obtain feedback from state leaders, administrators, clinicians, and clinic staff members on how state telemental health policy expansion influenced mental health services delivery during the pandemic, with a focus on improving safety-net care. We will use a positive deviance approach to select key partners from 6 "high" and 6 "low" telehealth expansion states for interviews and focus groups.

Discussion: The overall study goal is to better understand the effect of pandemic-related state policy changes around telehealth on patient-reported mental health care access, costs, symptoms, and functioning. By characterizing variations in telehealth policies and their downstream effects, this mixed-methods study aims to inform equitable dissemination, implementation, and sustainment of high-quality telemental health services.

The safety of ready-to-eat food sold in urban informal markets in low and middle-income countries is a pressing public health challenge, that needs to be addressed if we are to establish healthy food systems. Guided by the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation model for Behavior change (COM-B), this qualitative study aimed to explore perceptions of street vendors on their participation in a food safety capacity building intervention, consisting of training and provision of food safety equipment. The intervention aimed to improve food safety behavior of vendors of ready-to-eat chicken in informal markets in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. A total of 24 vendors selling ready-to-eat chicken at street restaurants participated in semi-structured interviews after training, which focused on vendors' stories of change related to food safety capabilities, opportunities, motivation, and behaviors. Data were thematically analyzed following COM-B components. Vendors noted improvements in psychological (i.e., knowledge, awareness, self-efficacy, perceptions) and physical capabilities (i.e., equipment useability and applicability), and motivations (perceived responsibility, reputation, client satisfaction, profits, consumer demand). Moreover, training and provision of equipment, spill-over effects to employees or neighboring outlets, and social support were perceived as key social and physical opportunities, while structural challenges such as market infrastructure, regulations, financial resources, cost of living, and outlet culture were physical barriers to implement lessons learnt. This study provides insights into the impact of engaging vendors in improving food safety behavior through training and equipment provision. Improvements in vendors' perceived capabilities and motivation contributed to improved food safety behavior, while contextual barriers hindered the perceived adoption of food safety behaviors.