Recent research has underscored the efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) in managing obesity among healthy adults. This meta-analysis reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from major databases up to May 2024, focusing on the effects of L. plantarum on body weight, body mass index (BMI), and metabolic parameters. This study has been registered in PROSPERO (number: CRD 42024531611). The analysis of nine studies revealed significant weight reduction and BMI decreases with L. plantarum supplementation compared to a placebo. Notably, using more than two strains together enhanced these effects. Improvements were also observed in abdominal fat and inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). This meta-analysis synthesizes evidence from nine RCTs to test the hypothesis that L. plantarum supplementation effectively reduces body weight and BMI in healthy adults compared to a placebo. However, variations in study designs, probiotic strains, and intervention durations call for more robust trials to confirm these benefits.

This study gathers and examines information about the flow state’s emergence during tests and its factors using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to establish a method and reveal an individual student’s flow construct. Through a single-case experimental design and 766 test items, multiple measurements were performed on a 14-year-old junior high school science-gifted student. During the test, self-efficacy, item difficulty, cognitive load, and test performance (long-term test performance [LT-tp] and short-term test performance [ST-tp]) were examined to establish the construct of EEG-detected, real-time flow states (EEG-Fs). Based on the chi-square test of independence results, the EEG-F had a significant correlation with the student’s cognitive load, self-efficacy, LT-tp, and item difficulty. Furthermore, a J48 decision tree analysis and logistic regression revealed four inhibiting and two inducing conditions affecting the emergence of EEG-Fs. The two inducing conditions included (1) high self-efficacy with a low cognitive load (odds ratio (OR) = 3.7) and (2) high cognitive load when combined with high self-efficacy and LT-tp for low-difficulty items (OR = 3.5). The established method and findings may help teaching designers or automated teaching applications detect the individual student’s flow construct to select appropriate test tasks accordingly, resulting in an optimal experience and better achievements.