PONE-D-24-45657Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve modelsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Matsumoto,

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ACADEMIC EDITOR: The submission has scientific merits, however, requires a major revision to address the concerns raised by the reviewers. 

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Kind regards,

Yusuf Oloruntoyin Ayipo, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

The submission has scientific merits, however, requires a major revision to address the concerns raised by the reviewers.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This manuscript requires a significant amount of improvement in:

Provide number of time points and intervals at which measurements are taken,

using the time metric that best reflects the time of inclusion in the study

(typically time from enrollment, or calendar time in studies that involve long

enrollment times).

Highlight the differences between the time of first

measurements and follow-up times

Describe patterns of missing values across variables at each time point and

across time points.

Describe the participants that have missing data for some of the measurements

Estimate the probability of drop-out after inclusion, taking appropriately into

account the reasons for drop-out

Visualize the association between each explanatory variable with the structural

variables at baseline

Summarize changes and variability of variables within subjects

Describe numerically or graphically the longitudinal trends of the time-varying

variables

Reviewer #2: he statistical analysis in this study is well-designed and rigorously executed. The use of latent curve models (LCM) is appropriate for analyzing longitudinal data on tendon micro-vibration intensity across varying levels of exerted muscle strength. The authors thoroughly evaluated multiple LCM structures (linear, quadratic, piecewise linear) and selected the best-fitting models based on established goodness-of-fit criteria (e.g., CFI, RMSEA, SRMR). The inclusion of sex-specific analyses and multi-sample comparisons further strengthens the study, as it accounts for known physiological differences between males and females.

Strengths:

Robust Methodology: The preprocessing steps (noise removal, peak detection) and model validation (fit indices, chi-square tests) are clearly described and justified.

Physiological Consistency: The results align with existing knowledge of muscle fiber composition and motor unit recruitment, lending credibility to the findings.

Transparency: The authors acknowledge limitations, such as model fit challenges for males and restricted data availability, which enhances the study's reliability.

Suggestions for Improvement:

Model Fit Justification: While the piecewise linear LCM fits males well, the borderline fit indices for the quadratic LCM (RMSEA = 0.178) could be discussed further—perhaps exploring alternative nonlinear models.

Data Accessibility: Although ethical restrictions are understandable, providing a de-identified dataset or simulation code (if feasible) would improve reproducibility.

Future Work: The hypothesis that MTG reflects muscle fiber contractions could be strengthened by correlating findings with direct physiological measurements (e.g., EMG/MMG) in follow-up studies.

Ethical Considerations:

The study complies with ethical guidelines (Helsinki Declaration, institutional approval) and clearly outlines participant consent and exclusion criteria. No dual publication or ethical concerns are evident.

Reviewer #3: Good job by the authors. The corrections suggested in the attachment should be carefully considered. I did observe that manuscript is available on ResearchGate. I don't know if this violates the dual publication requirement, and so I let the editor(s) know.

Reviewer #4: This manuscript introduces a novel and robust method for measuring muscle activity through mechanotendography (MTG) that is combined with a latent curve model. The research methods are detailed and also provide solid support for the conclusion. That said, a few minor changes are recommended. The present Data Availability statement does not totally comply with PLOS ONE's open data policies. The authors should consider sharing an unidentified version of the dataset in a public database, or provide a clear explanation if ethical considerations prevents this. Given that the writing is clear, in my estimation, the introduction and discussion might need a few modifications for simplicity and conciseness. Ultimately, this is a well-conducted study that provides valuable profound knowledge to it's readers and I propose that it be published with minor adjustments focusing on data accessibility and presentation clarity.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

Reviewer #4: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Review_Increase trajectories of tendon.docx

Increase trajectories of tendon micro vibration intensity during ankle plantar flexion: A longitudinal data analysis using latent curve models

PONE-D-24-45657R1

Dear Dr. Matsumoto,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Yusuf Oloruntoyin Ayipo, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

The submission meets the level of scientific rigour required for publication in this title and all the concerns raised by the respective reviewers have been addressed satisfactorily. I hereby recommend the manuscript for publication in the current version.

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #4: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #3: Yes

Reviewer #4: Yes

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

Reviewer #4: This publication proposes an original and practical method for assessing muscle activity using mechanotendography (MTG), which has the potential to have a substantial impact in both clinical and daily circumstances. The rationale for MTG as an alternative to EMG and MMG has been demonstrated, and the methodical utilization of latent curve models is ideal for modeling longitudinal muscle response data. The outcomes, most especially the sex-specific model differences, are intriguing and merit further study. To improve the writing, the authors should discuss the physiological rationale for sex variations and clarify sensor placement repeatability. In the end, this is an organized and significant contribution to non-invasive muscle monitoring methods.

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #3: No

Reviewer #4: No

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