Tag: pubmed

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 28;21(8):e0357040. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0357040. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Reliable flood forecasts must be translated into timely, accountable warnings, particularly in small mountainous basins with short concentration times and limited historical records. This study links a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) rainfall-runoff model with Jiangxi Province’s hierarchical “631” response mechanism. Twenty flood events from the Xiangshui River Basin were divided chronologically into 14 training events and six independent test events. The final network contains four stacked BiLSTM layers and a fully connected output layer; it does not contain convolutional or pooling layers. Against LSTM, GRU and Xin’anjiang baselines, BiLSTM obtained a mean Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.90 and a mean denormalised RMSE of 11.2 m3/s. All six paired NSE differences favoured BiLSTM, but the small test set precludes confirmatory statistical inference; results are therefore reported with event-level differences and leave-one-event-out sensitivity rather than interpreted from the Wilcoxon p-value alone. SHAP marginal attribution identified Qingxi, Yingfang and Zhongcun as the most influential stations and the two most recent input lags as the dominant time steps. A marginal-consistent station-lag diagnostic further localised the strongest first-order contributions to upstream rainfall at t-1 and t-2, while explicitly not being treated as a SHAP interaction estimate. Forecast skill declined from NSE = 0.90 at 1 h to 0.58 at 6 h, indicating that quantitative precipitation forecasts are required for operational 3-6 h prediction. The revised integration framework therefore assigns observation-driven BiLSTM forecasts to the short-lead “1” stage and QPF-informed forecasts to the “3” and “6” stages. The findings support a focused, auditable pathway from data-driven prediction to warning action while defining the limits imposed by event scarcity and missing future rainfall forcing.

PMID:42664266 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0357040

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 28;21(8):e0356989. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0356989. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Shared decision-making (SDM) can enhance patient involvement in treatment and care decisions. Still, questions remain on how multiple myeloma (MM) patients perceive and evaluate their current and desired roles in these decisions and whether characteristics influence their willingness to be involved. This study aimed to identify I) the current knowledge of the concept SDM among MM patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in MM care, II) how MM patients are and want to be involved in decisions, and III) differences in the willingness to be involved in view of participants’ characteristics (e.g., age, gender, health literacy).

METHODS: An online survey for MM patients and HCPs involved in MM care was launched in October and December 2023, respectively. The data was statistically analyzed.

RESULTS: 558 patients and 89 HCPs completed the survey. Most patients lived in the Netherlands (28.7%), Israel (23.5%) and Belgium (15.8%), and most HCPs lived in France (39.3%) and Israel (24.7%). 56.6% of the patients and 28.1% of the HCPs had not previously heard of SDM. Almost all patients (96.1%) indicated wanting to be involved in treatment decisions. 3.9% of patients indicated not wanting to be involved, because they did not know whether they would have enough knowledge to decide or because they were used to the HCP deciding. All HCPs believed that MM patients should be involved if they want to. Patients had higher involvement scores at recent consultations and desired to be more involved in initial decisions following diagnosis. The survey revealed no significant differences in participants’ involvement and their characteristics.

CONCLUSION: MM patients want to be involved in decisions and HCPs are willing to involve MM patients. However, challenges remain concerning the practical implementation of involvement and SDM. This highlights the importance of understanding SDM and patient involvement and assessing the individual needs and preferences of MM patients.

PMID:42664265 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0356989

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 28;21(8):e0357471. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0357471. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

As learners increasingly use open online resources for informal language learning, YouTube has become an important setting for self-directed English learning. However, less is known about how learners’ motivation, confidence in using YouTube for learning, and perceptions of content quality are associated with behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction in this context. This study examined the associations of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, YouTube learning self-efficacy, and content quality with behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction in YouTube-based informal English learning (YIEL). It also examined whether behavioral engagement statistically mediated the associations of these four constructs with learning satisfaction. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 393 undergraduate students in Taiwan and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). All hypothesized associations were supported, and the model explained 47.6% of the variance in behavioral engagement and 64.7% of the variance in learning satisfaction. Behavioral engagement also statistically mediated the associations between these four constructs and learning satisfaction. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, YouTube learning self-efficacy, and content quality were associated with both behavioral engagement and learning satisfaction, and that behavioral engagement was also associated with learning satisfaction. Together, these findings extend current understanding of YIEL by highlighting behavioral engagement both as an outcome associated with these four focal constructs and as a statistical mediator of their associations with learning satisfaction.

PMID:42664247 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0357471

Am J Audiol. 2026 Aug 28:1-12. doi: 10.1044/2026_AJA-25-00220. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the subjective listening effort in daily life situations of adult cochlear implant (CI) users in a clinical setting using a questionnaire designed for hearing aid (HA) users.

METHOD: The listening effort of CI users with progressive sensorineural hearing loss was measured using the Listening Effort Questionnaire (LEQ). In addition, speech comprehension results and demographic data were recorded in order to statistically examine correlations with the LEQ results.

RESULTS: A total of 112 participants-unilateral CI users with bilateral deafness, bilateral CI users, unilateral CI users with single-sided deafness (SSD), and bimodal users (CI + HA)-were included in the study (M_age = 56.5 years, SD = 13.6). The median listening effort score (scale ranges from 0 = no effort to 10 = maximum effort) was 5.7 for situations affected by the signal-to-noise ratio, 6.6 for situations with low sound quality, and 3.8 for quiet situations with lipreading. The differences in listening effort between the three types of situations were significant. Speech comprehension in noise was associated with listening effort in noisy situations. In situations with low sound quality and quiet situations with lipreading, less listening effort was required by participants with SSD than by bilateral CI users and bimodal users.

CONCLUSIONS: The LEQ appears to be suitable for measuring adult CI users’ subjective listening effort in daily life. The highest listening effort was experienced in situations with low sound quality, while the lowest effort was experienced in situations involving speech perception in quiet and lipreading.

PMID:42663607 | DOI:10.1044/2026_AJA-25-00220

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026 Aug 28:glag210. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag210. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence points to the protective role of adult child education in older parents’ health, including their risk of ADL and IADL difficulties. Yet, little is known whether this association varies cross-nationally due to contextual differences in intergenerational transfers, family dynamics, and other factors. This study examines the relationship between adult child education and parents’ functional health outcomes across countries, using comparable population-based datasets.

METHODS: We used harmonized data from seven population-based studies accessed through the Gateway to Global Aging Data. Our analytic sample included 88,683 adults 60 years and older from 24 countries. We estimated and meta-analyzed associations between adult child education and respondents’ (parents’) difficulty with basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADLs), controlling for respondents’ own education and other socio-demographic characteristics. We also considered heterogeneity across parent and child demographics (e.g. parent gender, child gender).

RESULTS: Across all studies, each additional year of education averaged across adult children was associated with a 3% lower risk of difficulty with both ADLs (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.95, 0.98) and IADLs (95% CI: 0.95, 0.98). Statistical heterogeneity appeared to be driven by one study (e.g. I2 = 78.94% when the study was included vs. I2 = 0.04% when excluded). Results suggest limited heterogeneity across demographic subgroups.

CONCLUSION: “Upward” intergenerational benefits of higher adult child education for parents’ late-life ADL and IADL difficulties appear to be relatively consistent across a range of global settings. Further research is needed to uncover the mechanisms driving these cross-national associations.

PMID:42663587 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glag210

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):57-66. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849300.

ABSTRACT

Age assessment is essential in forensic practice when the chronological age of living individuals is unknown, particularly in legal, civil, migration, and asylum contexts requiring the judicial determination of age-related rights and responsibilities. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two cervical vertebral methods in a Portuguese reference subadult population (6-23 years), ethnically homogeneous, using the analysis of the fourth cervical vertebra (C4) on lateral cephalometric radiographs. Two approaches were applied: Baccetti’s qualitative morphological staging of C2-C4 and Cameriere’s morphometric ratio of C4. A total of 528 lateral cephalometric radiographs, balanced by age and sex, were analysed independently by trained observers. Intra- and inter-observer reliability were evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and weighted Cohen’s kappa (κ). Statistical procedures included correlation analyses, multiple linear regression, Classification Trees (CT), and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to assess performance at legally relevant thresholds (12, 14, 16, 18 years). Baccetti’s method explained 75.3% (coefficient of determination R²=0.753) of chronological age variability, with a mean error of approximately two years and high accuracy for thresholds of 12-16 years. Cameriere’s ratio showed lower explanatory capacity (R²=0.568) and a mean error of 2.7 years, although its ROC curves demonstrated good discriminatory performance across all age cut-offs. The combination of both methods showed a slight increase in predictive performance (R²=0.784), although this combined approach was not formally evaluated as an independent model. Females reached skeletal maturity earlier, although error rates were similar between sexes. Reliability was excellent across methods. Both approaches proved applicable for forensic age assessment, offering complementary advantages: Baccetti’s method provides broader morphological interpretation, whereas Cameriere’s morphometric ratio offers objectivity and reproducibility. These population-specific reference data support the forensic use of cervical vertebral analysis as part of a multimodal age estimation framework.

PMID:42663583 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849300

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):35-42. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849045.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The increasing sophistication of restorative materials in replicating natural tooth fluorescence poses a challenge for both antemortem and postmortem dental charting. This study evaluated the efficacy of various discrete excitation wavelengths, including those from common forensic torches, in differentiating modern restorative materials from tooth.

METHODS: Conducted within the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) laboratory framework, six extracted human molars and five contemporary A3-shade restorative materials were examined via spectrophotometry across five excitation wavelengths: 266, 300, 365, 395 and 426nm. Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) was applied to Peak Intensity and Peak Emission Wavelength data to quantify the multivariate statistical separation between groups.

RESULTS: UV-A wavelengths of 365nm and 395nm produced the most robust group separation. While 365nm excitation produced the highest absolute emission intensities for visual detection, 395nm excitation elicited unique spectral red-shifts in composite resins, providing the highest mathematical discrimination. Visible violet excitation at 426nm was the least reliable differentiator.

CONCLUSION: For forensic practitioners, UV-A torches (365-395 nm) remain effective for detecting the tooth-coloured restorations tested here. While 365nm is optimal for rapid visual screening 395nm provides a more distinctive spectral fingerprints for formal characterisation. Despite improved fluorescence matching under visible light, the modern restorative materials tested here retain unique spectral signatures under UV-A illumination, though variable fluorescence intensity influenced detectability and may limit generalisation to other restorations or teeth.

PMID:42663581 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849045

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):23-34. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849228.

ABSTRACT

Forensic dentistry focuses on identifying individuals through distinctive characteristics of their dental structures. There is a lack of documentation of dental records in developing countries, particularly in Ghana. Therefore, the study aimed to generate detailed baseline data on the sexually dimorphic features of the canine tooth. A convenience sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 280 participants (140 males and 140 females) aged 18-42 years. Ethical approval was obtained from the Committee on Human Research, Publications and Ethics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Informed consent was sought from the participants. Dental impressions were made using alginate powder, and study models were prepared using dental stone. Measurements of right and left mesiodistal width of the mandibular and maxillary canines, and Intercanine distances were taken using Digital Vernier Calipers. The means of the Right and Left Mandibular, Maxillary Mesiodistal Widths, Intercanine Distances, and the Right Mandibular Canine index were sexually dimorphic. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that models employing the Right and Left Mandibular Mesiodistal Width, Mandibular Intercanine Distance, Maxillary Intercanine Distance, Right and Left Maxillary Mesiodistal Width, and Right Mandibular Canine Index were good and statistically significant in predicting sex. The best-performing model was the Left Maxillary Mesiodistal Width, which correctly predicted 65% of males and 67.9% of females, with an overall prediction accuracy of 66.40%. Microdont was the predominant tooth type for left and right maxillary canines, followed by mesodont and microdont among both sexes. The results of this study indicate sexual dimorphism, providing a baseline for further research. Canine dimensions, combined with other dental and skeletal indicators, can enhance the accuracy of sex estimation.

PMID:42663580 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849228

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):16-22. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849188.

ABSTRACT

Clinicians and lecturers often use clinical photographs of actual patients for teaching purposes, in congress presentations and for scientific publications. It has been customary practice to blank out the eyes on clinical photographs to ensure anonymity. Researchers have become increasingly concerned that merely covering the eyes is not an effective way to conceal identity especially if the photograph is of a person that may be known to the observer. This study blanked out the eyes of 15 photographs of staff members and well-known public figures as per routine practice in maintaining anonymity. The images were presented to dental students in the final two years of their study, and they were asked to try and identify the individuals. The students were then shown the same images in a different order with no blanked-out eyes and again asked to identify the people. Students were advised that spelling of names was not important. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics to determine the number of correct answers per illustration and in total for both the blanked out and unaltered series of photographs. The results revealed that despite the eyes being blanked out, 75% of the students were able to identify the same number of faces in both series, 21% only had 1 image they could not identify in the blanked out images, and 4% misidentified 2 images. This study confirmed the suspicion that mere blanking out the eyes of an image is ineffectual in ensuring anonymity. It is also evident that most journals are aware of this limitation, and are insisting on confirmation of consent before publishing facial photographs. However, the authors suggest that all lecturers, presenters at study groups and organisers of conferences ensure there is a declaration slide included in the presentation, in which they assure the audience they have gained consent from the respective subjects in their presentations.

PMID:42663579 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849188

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):2-15. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21848953.

ABSTRACT

In forensic contexts, incomplete or fragmented bones are frequently encountered due to post-mortem damage and taphonomic changes, and teeth can be considered a valid and reliable source for sex estimation, as they are among the most resistant structures of the human body. Methods based on metric and non-metric dental traits are commonly used for sex estimation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of sexual dimorphism in a Brazilian population through metric and non-metric analysis of teeth. A total of 73 individuals aged between 18 and 25 years were evaluated. All analyses were conducted on the upper jaw. The metric analysis consisted of obtaining buccolingual and mesiodistal measurements of the clinical crown of the teeth. In addition to measurements for each tooth, the maxillary dental arch perimeter and intercanine distance were also considered. The non-metric analysis consisted of observing and describing traits present or absent in the teeth, using the ASUDAS. Intraobserver error was assessed using the paired t-test and the Dahlberg method. Parametric or non-parametric tests were applied according to the data distribution. The mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions proved effective for identifying sex differences, except for teeth 12/22 (mesiodistal) and 13/23 (buccolingual). The maxillary dental arch perimeter and intercanine distance were significantly larger in males. Regarding non-metric traits, the results were less significant; only a few teeth presented traits associated with sexual dimorphism: the lingual tubercle (tooth 22), the mesial marginal ridge tubercle (tooth 26), and the hypocone cusp (teeth 17 and 27). It is concluded that the findings, although relevant, should be interpreted with caution, as their consistency still needs to be confirmed. Therefore, additional studies with larger samples from different regions of Brazil are necessary to validate these parameters and consider them reliable in anthropological and forensic contexts.

PMID:42663578 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21848953