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Authors: Francis Dalisay, Wenlin Liu, Masahiro Yamamoto, Haoran Chu, Jay Hmielowski, Young-Rock Hong, Jiawei Liu, Benjamin K. Johnson

This study examined how hurricane stressors and three forms of social capital—bonding, bridging, and linking—are associated with climate anxiety, and whether the three forms of social capital would moderate the relationship between hurricane stressors and climate anxiety. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey (N = 1,342) administered in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina following Hurricane Helene and in Florida following Hurricane Milton in 2024. Results showed that hurricane stressors were positively associated with climate anxiety, and these associations held after controlling for symptoms of generalized anxiety. Findings also revealed a nuanced role of social capital. Bonding social capital had a direct negative association with climate anxiety. However, our results suggested that bonding social capital’s protective role is conditional and reverses under high stress. That is, bonding social capital weakened the relationship between hurricane stressors and climate anxiety only when hurricane stressors were low. As stressors accumulated, bonding social capital strengthened the association between stressors and climate anxiety. In contrast, both bridging and linking social capital were positively associated with climate anxiety and strengthened the positive relationship between hurricane stressors and climate anxiety. We discussed theoretical insights and practical implications.

Source: PLOS Mental Health. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000749. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Alonso Ramírez, Marcelo Ardón, Pavel García, Nicholas S. Marzolf, David Genereux

Climate change is altering ecosystems worldwide, but long-term, site-level hydroclimatic responses remain comparatively under-documented in many tropical regions. We analyzed long-term air and water temperature, precipitation, and stream water level data from two active Caribbean research sites: La Selva Research Station, Costa Rica, and El Verde Field Station, Puerto Rico. Our goal was to assess long-term hydroclimatic trends and changes in extreme events using continuous monitoring from automatic and manual sensors. Long-term records show a mean daily temperature of 25.1°C (1992–2024, range: 19.5-29.6°C) at La Selva and 23.6°C (2000–2024, range: 17.7-28.2°C) at El Verde. Mean annual precipitation is 4166 mm at La Selva (1983–2024) and 3635.8 mm at El Verde (1975–2024). We found a decadal warming trend of 0.29°C at both locations. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influenced air temperature at El Verde, where La Niña (+0.02°C day−1, 95% CI: 0.002–0.042) phase was associated with higher daily temperatures, but had no detectable effect on air temperature at La Selva. A significant increase in the frequency of extreme temperature events (defined as exceeding the 95th, 97th, and 99th percentiles) was observed at both sites. Using the 95th percentile and a fitted generalized linear model, both locations had ~8 extreme temperature events per year in the beginning and increased to ~35 events per year in 2024. Changes in precipitation extremes were site-specific and differed between wet and dry metrics. La Selva showed an increase in wet extremes (heavy precipitation), with 99th percentile rainfall exceedances rising from ~1 event per year (1983–1985) to 6 per year in 2024. In contrast, El Verde showed no significant increase in heavy-precipitation events, but exhibited an increase in dry extremes (dry days <1.4 mm, increasing from 152 to 170 days per year). Stream water temperature had a moderate but significant increase. At La Selva, water temperature increased by 0.2°C, and at El Verde, by 0.9°C. An increasing tendency in high-water-level conditions was observed at both locations, though with marginal statistical support (p = 0.08 for the 99th percentile at La Selva and 95th percentile at El Verde), with estimated durations above these extreme thresholds roughly doubling over the study period. Overall, our study shows an increasing frequency of extreme events, both wet and dry, at these two Caribbean protected locations. These findings suggest important and distinct regional changes in climate over the region, with important consequences for ecosystem conservation and management.

Source: PLOS Climate. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0001044. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Stephen Prah, John N. Ng’ombe, Bright Owusu Asante, Jonathan Masasi

Climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT) are promoted to enhance agricultural productivity and strengthen resilience to climate change. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the effects of adoption intensity, particularly when farmers adopt multiple technologies simultaneously. This study examines the effects of CSAT adoption intensity on maize yield and household asset accumulation in Ghana using survey data from 2,151 maize farmers. A dose–response model with Heckman selection is applied to address potential selection bias and estimate the causal effects of varying adoption levels. The findings show that farmers’ education, access to credit, extension services, and perceived drought significantly influence both the likelihood and intensity of CSAT adoption. Results reveal a U-shaped relationship between CSAT adoption intensity and maize yield, where yields initially decline but increase as adoption intensity rises. On average, higher CSAT adoption is associated with a 21% increase in maize yield. Similarly, CSAT intensity shows a nonlinear positive relationship with household asset accumulation, with an average 19.5% increase in assets. The results also indicate heterogeneous effects across farmers. Overall, higher CSAT adoption improves agricultural productivity and long-term household welfare, highlighting the need to strengthen extension services, expand credit access, and raise climate risk awareness to promote sustainable agricultural development.

Source: PLOS Climate. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000886. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Abdullah Hasan A. Alshehri, Abdulkhaliq Ali F. Alshadidi, Lujain Ibrahim N. Aldosari, Sultan Mohammed Kaleem, Vishwanath Gurumurthy, Rajesh Vyas, Sunil Kumar Vaddamanu

Background Chronic environmental noise exposure is a recognized public health concern linked to stress-mediated physiological responses, yet its specific impact on temporomandibular disorders (TMD), bruxism, and malocclusion remains poorly investigated. Objectives To compare the prevalence of TMD, malocclusion, and bruxism between adults residing in high-traffic versus Low- traffic areas in New Delhi, India, and to identify independent predictors of TMD risk. Methods This comparative cross-sectional study enrolled 300 adults (150 per group) from high traffic and low traffic residential areas of New Delhi, India. Individual-level noise exposure (LAeq,24h) was objectively measured. TMD was diagnosed using Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD Axis I criteria). Bruxism, malocclusion, perceived stress scale −1= (PSS-10), and Pittsburgh sleep quality (PSQI) were assessed using validated instruments. Multivariable logistic regression and mediation analysis were performed. Results High-traffic residents had significantly higher TMD prevalence (61.3% vs. 25.3%), bruxism (42.7% vs. 14.0%), and malocclusion (52.0% vs. 26.0%; all p < 0.001). A significant dose-response relationship was confirmed (χ² for trend p < 0.001). High noise exposure was the strongest independent predictor of TMD (aOR = 3.10; 95% CI: 2.00–4.80). Bruxism and perceived stress accounted for 41.4% of this association in exploratory mediation analysis, a pattern compatible with mediation, though the cross sectional design precludes establishing temporal precedence. Conclusions Environmental noise exposure was independently and dose-dependently associated with TMD andbruxism. malocclusion was also prevalent in high traffic areas; however, this cross sectional association more likely reflects pre-existing skeletal or occlusal characteristics than a causal effect of noise, and should be interpreted with caution. These findings support noise abatement policies and targeted oral health screening in high traffic urban environments.

Source: PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360667. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Lei Wang, Xiaowei Zhang, Xiaofang Wang, Deqing Jia

Environmental pollution increasingly requires public participation beyond everyday private pro-environmental behavior. Existing research has mainly examined media use in relation to daily pro-environmental behavior, but less is known about how traditional and new media shape citizens’ choices between institutional and non-institutional anti-pollution participation. Drawing on the O-S-R-O-R framework and using data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey, this study analyzes the relationships among media use, policy knowledge, and anti-pollution action. The results show that traditional media use is positively associated with institutional anti-pollution action, and this relationship is fully mediated by policy knowledge. New media use is positively associated with non-institutional anti-pollution action, but policy knowledge does not mediate this relationship. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effects of media use vary across age, education, and social trust groups. We highlight the importance of traditional media in supporting rational, stable engagement and suggest that stronger regulation of new media is needed, thereby reducing protest activities and safeguarding social stability.

Source: PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360300. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: J. L. Wallace, M. K. Wright, M. A. Camargo-Valero, K. J. Charles, B. Engebretson, B. Gordon, F. Gore, G. Howard, R. Johnston, J. Kohlitz, F. Mills, K. Moon, A. Nijhawan, T. Slaymaker, M. Takane, J. Willetts, B. E. Evans

Despite sustained efforts over several decades, no region is projected to achieve universal sanitation access by 2030, according to international monitoring frameworks. Climate change is increasingly disrupting human and ecological systems, in turn deepening existing inequalities in access to essential services, including sanitation. Coupled with broader socio-economic and political dynamics, these pressures are expected to further widen the global sanitation service gap. Strengthening the resilience of sanitation systems to climate-related impacts represents a critical component of addressing this challenge. Building resilience requires an understanding of the attributes of sanitation systems and the adaptation actions across scales that contribute to their capacity to anticipate, withstand and recover from climate hazards. While existing scholarship has primarily examined the impacts of climate hazards on sanitation system performance, less attention has been given to resilience-building processes and practices. This systematic review is the first to synthesise the evidence on resilience in sanitation systems. The review identifies twenty-seven (n = 27) attributes and adaptation actions with potential to enhance resilience, none of which are currently considered in existing global monitoring processes. Only seventeen (n = 17) studies met the inclusion criteria, and empirical evidence remains scarce, highlighting substantial knowledge gaps. Findings also reveal a dominance of user-level, infrastructure focussed actions in low-income settings, with minimal evidence on operational or enabling environment strategies implemented by service providers or government actors. These findings highlight a substantial gap between identifying potential resilience-building measures and demonstrating how they contribute to resilience sanitation systems. Strengthening the evidence base requires greater emphasis on evaluating resilience outcomes, understanding interactions across the sanitation system, and examining how institutional and operational conditions shape adaptation over time. The findings provide a foundation for developing measurable indicators of climate resilience while highlighting the need for further empirical evidence to inform international monitoring frameworks and guide effective climate resilient sanitation planning.

Source: PLOS Water. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pwat.0000474. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Rusha Begna Wakweya

Ethiopia faces interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, and rural poverty. In response, the government launched the Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) in 2019, a nationwide afforestation and reforestation program aimed at planting billions of seedlings annually. Despite its ecological benefits, the initiative has generated substantial, yet often overlooked, socio-economic benefits that are critical to its long-term sustainability and contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This systematic review, therefore, aimed to identify the socio-economic benefits of the GLI and its role as a pathway to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Relevant literature was sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), using the keywords “Green Legacy, Initiative, benefits, and Sustainable Development (SD).” The review included studies published between 2019 and 2025 that reported on the socio-economic outcomes of the GLI. The results indicated that livelihood diversification, community empowerment, and improved food security and human well-being were the major socio-economic associations reported. The initiative is associated with significant potential to advance sustainable development in Ethiopia by linking ecological restoration with socio-economic improvement. However, significant challenges remain: seedling survival (averaging 76.50% across districts), 65% of GLI employment being temporary, and socioeconomic data missing for 70% of Woredas. Realizing the full potential of this initiative requires integrated policies that strengthen rural markets, ensure inclusive participation, and establish long-term monitoring of both benefits and limitations.

Source: PLOS Sustainability and Transformation. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pstr.0000299. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Solène Neyret, Julien Pellet, Julien Ryard, Mickaël Campo, Jean-Rémy Chardonnet

During a game, players experience substantial affective fluctuations, particularly through cognitive appraisal processes, which notably involves self-categorisation process. However, designing a mental training programme using the contextual elements of a game is still a challenge. Moreover, social contexts can be recreated in virtual reality and it has been demonstrated that people tend to have realistic affective and behavioural reactions to it. In this study, we recreated, in virtual reality, one of the key contexts that players can encounter during a rugby game, a try. After an embodiment phase, participants were standing on the field with other avatars representing the other players, surrounded by an audience of virtual supporters. We used different visual and auditory parameters creating two different kinds of social feedback. In the first condition the social feedback was aimed at inducing social identity, in the second condition the social feedback received in the virtual environment was aimed at inducing personal identity. We measured participants’ identity level before and after each condition, using interactive visual analogue scales inside the virtual environment. We also measured levels of presence and embodiment using the same method. Affective states were measured using an interactive adaptation of Russel’s affect grid, inside the virtual environment as well. Our experiment presents an innovative method aimed at inducing and measuring different identity levels in virtual reality.

Source: PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0359964. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Christian Sommer, Jesper Borre Pedersen, Zara Kanaeva, Timo P. Streicher, Andrew W. Kandel, Nicholas J. Conard, Volker Hochschild

Macroscale and interdisciplinary approaches are emerging as central paradigms in the study of human evolution, as demonstrated by a growing body of large-scale, data-driven research. This development is paralleled by an expanding ecosystem of R packages that provide access to paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions, as well as advanced tools for spatial and temporal analysis and modeling. However, within this computational framework, direct programmatic access to comprehensive archaeological and anthropological data remains limited. We present roadDB, an R package that enables streamlined access to the ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD), a major repository of archaeological, paleoanthropological, paleoenvironmental, geographical and chronological data relevant to human evolution. roadDB bridges the gap between the existing R ecosystem and the ROAD archaeological dataset that covers most of the last 3 million years of human evolution across Africa and Eurasia and thereby represents the only openly available archaeological dataset with such an extensive temporal and geographic coverage. In short, roadDB offers the research community unrestricted, transparent access to a richly curated collection of site-level and assemblage-level information, opening new possibilities for large-scale quantitative research. The package strengthens the integration of archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence in macroscale analyses and supports robust, transparent and interdisciplinary research on the spatio-temporal dynamics of human evolution.

Source: PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0359952. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Han Zhang, Muhizam Mustafa, Zihao Cao, Yongchun Mao, Karima Hussein Abdulhaleem Hemida, Xiaomei Song

In the ongoing efforts of architectural heritage renovation, ornamental motifs serve not only as aesthetic embellishments but also as carriers of cultural symbolism. However, how their visual perception influences public aesthetic judgments and conservation intentions remains underexplored. This study focuses on two types of culturally embedded motifs – the native Chinese dragon and the imported lion – and examines their impact under two visual forms (2D and 3D) within a 2 × 2 experimental framework. A combination of eye-tracking measures and questionnaire assessments was employed with a sample of 80 participants to investigate the effects of iconographic category and visual form on four dependent variables: aesthetic pleasure, conservation intention, fixation time, and time to first fixation. Results revealed significant main effects of both iconographic category and visual form across all outcome variables. Notably, significant interactions were found in conservation intention and time to first fixation. This study advances understanding of how iconographic meaning and visual form jointly shape visual attention, aesthetic evaluation, and conservation intention in architectural heritage contexts.

Source: PLOS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0359522. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.

Authors: Soarov Chakra Borty, Maiya G. Block Ngaybe, Angela E. Apeagyei, Divya Bhagianadh, Monica H. Swahn, Nazmus Sakib

Dementia is a growing public health challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where population aging is expected to substantially increase the regional burden of dementia in the coming decades. Rapidly changing demographics, underdeveloped health infrastructure, and limited awareness of dementia symptoms and care pathways contribute to delayed diagnosis, treatment, and care. This scoping review examined literature published from 2021 to 2025 to identify gaps in dementia care across four key domains: environmental and social factors, technological capacity, community-based caregiving, and financial and economic factors. First, social and ecological factors, including low health literacy, rural residence, and weak primary care infrastructure, influence disease diagnosis and access to care. Second, technological capacity remains limited, including scarce access to neuroimaging and diagnostic tools, limited telemedicine coverage, weak electronic health information systems, and insufficient digital health solutions for early detection, management, and monitoring. Third, evidence from community-based care highlights heavy reliance on informal caregivers who often lack training and institutional support, resulting in substantial emotional, physical, and financial burden. Finally, inadequate public financing for dementia care, coupled with limited insurance coverage, further restricts access to dementia care services and support. Overall, this review highlights critical gaps in policy, evidence generation, cost-effective technology investment, caregiver support, and health systems strengthening across all levels of care. Addressing these multidimensional challenges is crucial to improving the quality of life for people living with dementia and their caregivers across SSA.

Source: PLOS Global Public Health. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0007265. Abstract from the publisher’s feed; HTML formatting and repeated author line removed.