bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication
Authors: Klaus Eyer 
Published: October 2024

Vaccine hesitancy and the challenge of successful scientific communication
Drawing on personal experiences and public discourse, Dr. Klaus Eyer, an Associate Professor at Aarhus University, explores the challenges of communicating about vaccine science to address vaccine hesitancy. Various hurdles need to be overcome by a vaccine to protect against a disease. It needs to be proven safe and effective in clinical studies. It also needs to be widely accepted and used by the public. This article examines the difficulties of communicating about vaccine science based on personal experiences and public discussions. My background is rooted in continental Europe, and my perspective may differ from those with other cultural or personal backgrounds. I have been actively involved in public outreach to promote vaccination, driven by my conviction in scientific evidence that shows current vaccines offer a net benefit to both individuals and communities, despite the challenges they present in terms of safety and efficacy in very rare cases, as I discussed in the previous article for this publication.(1) To offer a broader view, I’ve included insights from colleagues gathered through discussions in recent years, but we will still only be able to scratch the surface.
Women entrepreneurs in violent conflict zones
Authors: Jennings Jennifer E , Elkailani Omima 
Published: October 2024

Women entrepreneurs in violent conflict zones
Read here for insights from a Libya-based study conducted by researchers at the University of Alberta about women entrepreneurs in violent conflict zones. In a couple of recent Open Access Government publications, Professor Jennifer Jennings from the University of Alberta collaborated with a former doctoral student to offer ideas for policy priorities and policy-oriented research related to gender and entrepreneurship. Here, she teams up with one of her current PhD students, Omima Elkailani, to share findings from a study of women’s entrepreneurship in one of the world’s most violent conflict zones: the African country of Libya after the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
The future of AVS, dizziness, and vertigo in emergency departments Part IV: Priorities for universal healthcare after COVID
Authors: Nakatsuka Millie 
Published: October 2024

The future of AVS, dizziness, and vertigo in emergency departments Part IV: Priorities for universal healthcare after COVID
In the fourth article of this five-part series, Dr Millie Nakatsuka discusses how reform must be integrated into the broader context of the public health landscape. 2024 marks the 46th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration, which identified primary healthcare as the key method of achieving ‘Health for All’. OECD analysis, however, continues to show that substantial chronic underinvestment in preventive healthcare and chronic disease management persists, reflecting a global failure to adopt coherent coordinated health policies, and to rationally plan cost-effective healthcare aligned with population health priorities. Instead, governments regularly misallocate and waste resources on ad hoc politically motivated projects, all too often catering to the lobbying power of vested interest groups.
Why and how systemic change overcomes ineffectiveness
Authors: Beer Michael 
Published: October 2024

Why and how systemic change overcomes ineffectiveness
Michael Beer, from Harvard Business School, provides insight into why and how systemic change overcomes ineffectiveness in organizations. According to leading academics and consultants, seventy percent of corporate transformations are failures. The organization is stuck in neutral, ineffective, and unable to make systemic change in order to perform better. Strategy changes follow changes in the competitive environment. The system of organizing, managing, and leading must then be realigned with the new strategy or friction and conflict between groups that must coordinate for the organization to survive will arise. A decline in effectiveness and performance will begin. Firing people or creating new programs to re-educate them doesn’t work. Edward Deming, the quality guru who taught the Japanese how to compete on quality, found that “94% of problems in business are system driven and only 6% are people driven.” When confronted with strategic inflection points, 7 silent capabilities must be confronted through honest conversations. Most managers do not, however, know why or how.
Electric-field nanobubbles: A step change in nanobubble engineering, and its “coming of age”
Authors: English Niall 
Published: October 2024

Electric-field nanobubbles: A step change in nanobubble engineering, and its “coming of age”
Niall J. English, from Chemical Engineering at University College Dublin, discusses how electric-field nanobubbles have displaced their mechanically-generated counterparts in performance and sustainability. Limited solubility of gases in water, such as oxygen, is a fundamental challenge. In ecosystems and the environment, lack of dissolved oxygen (DO) is a major reason for fish kills and water bodies being blighted by algal blooms, in addition to lack of effectiveness of activated-sludge processes in water treatment or poorer-than-hoped results in irrigation. Nanobubbles (NBs) are tiny gas bubbles on the nanometre (nm) scale. They may be thermodynamically metastable for up to many months, or sometimes even longer, and have enhanced gas-transfer properties and substantial industrial potential. The concept of NBs versus traditional, coarser bubbles – with the latter subject to buoyancy phenomena, while NBs are relatively impervious to rising – in essence, “subverts” Stokes’ Law of bubble rising – and have an excellent area-to-volume ratio. If NBs are generated well – indeed, the art of “nanobubble engineering”, as it were – NBs lead to important and useful applications.
Cognitive function and electrode mapping’s role in cochlear implant performance
Authors: Walia Amit , Shew Matthew , Buchman Craig A 
Published: October 2024

Cognitive function and electrode mapping’s role in cochlear implant performance
Amit Walia, Matthew Shew and Craig A. Buchman from Washington University School of Medicine, detail the role of cognitive function and electrode mapping in cochlear implant performance. In a previous article, we explored various factors influencing cochlear implant (CI) performance, including demographic, audiologic, and surgical variables, as well as the importance of cochlear health, as measured by electrocochleography. Beyond cochlear health, cognitive function, device function and surgical variables all play a role in performance. This section highlights the impact of cognitive function and device mapping to further refine and optimize CI outcomes.
Modelling biodiversity is an essential part of its protection
Authors: Blanchet Guillaume 
Published: October 2024

Modelling biodiversity is an essential part of its protection
Professor Guillaume Blanchet from Université de Sherbrooke considers why modelling biodiversity is an essential part of protection and how we can model biodiversity better. The snowy owl is one of the most charismatic animals in the world, maybe in part because of the immense success of Harry Potter, which has a snowy owl as a pet. Even if it is a well-known species and one that almost everyone has little to no trouble spotting in the sky if it flies (even high up) above our head, scientists are still finding it very challenging to draw on a map where it lives and reproduces. To show how much trouble even the best scientists in the world have in defining where the snowy owl is found, I present here two expert maps suggesting where the snowy owl may be found.
Right-wing ethno-nationalists and jihadi Salafists
Authors: Bøås Morten 
Published: October 2024

Right-wing ethno-nationalists and jihadi Salafists
Morten Bøås, from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), examines the similarities between right-wing ethno-nationalists and jihadi Salafists. It may seem strange to argue that people who subscribe to immensely opposing ideologies should have anything in common. However, recent research suggests that this may not be as strange as one initially thought. The PREVEX project, but also like-minded studies, have shown that religious beliefs and ideological conviction matter less for individuals who initially move into the ‘world’ of violent extremism. The path of radicalisation is not one paved with strong beliefs about religion or ideology. For most, it is something else that makes them make choices that, unfortunately, so easily and dramatically can transform their life trajectory.
Adipose tissue: A treasure trove of stem cells for regenerative medicine
Authors: Pietramaggiori Giorgio , Scherer Saja 
Published: October 2024

Adipose tissue: A treasure trove of stem cells for regenerative medicine
Adipose tissue, commonly known as fat, has long been considered a mere energy reservoir. However, recent discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of this tissue, placing it at the heart of advances in stem cells and regenerative medicine. To shed light on these questions, we will rely on the expertise of Doctors Saja Scherer and Giorgio Pietramaggiori from the Global Medical Institute clinic in Lausanne. These two eminent specialists are at the forefront of research and clinical applications of adipose tissue in regenerative medicine. Dr. Saja Scherer, a renowned plastic surgeon, is recognized for her innovative work on the use of adipose tissue in facial reconstruction and rejuvenation. Her research has contributed to improving fat grafting techniques, thus optimizing results for patients.
Innovative packaging design enhances vaccine accessibility for developing countries
Authors: Ratnakumar Marlish 
Published: October 2024

Innovative packaging design enhances vaccine accessibility for developing countries
Unither Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to innovating and expanding capacity to provide equitable vaccine accessibility in developing countries and enhance preparedness for future pandemics. Here, they explain how the Euroject® device can support their goals.The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a devastating impact worldwide, causing seven million deaths and infecting more than 775 million people. (1) Despite the rapid development and approval of vaccines, their distribution faced significant hurdles due to shortages of consumables like glass vials. To prepare for ‘Disease X’, a term coined by governments to describe an unknown pathogen that could emerge and cause an epidemic or pandemic, many steps have been taken to increase preparedness. In this context, Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) technology has emerged as a game-changing solution, particularly for developing countries, owing to its efficient and scalable packaging design.
Cellular scaffolding: Crowdsourcing cellular responses in health and disease
Authors: Herbert Alan 
Published: October 2024

Cellular scaffolding: Crowdsourcing cellular responses in health and disease
In this article, Dr Alan Herbert discusses how different types of cellular scaffolds interact and impact the risk of diseases, citing the example of Z-RNAs pushing cells to inflammatory states in tumors and autoimmune conditions, setting the stage for new therapeutics. The cell is full of so many proteins and RNA versions that it is a challenge to see how anything works at all. There is so much crowding it is like trying to get to your train through the mass of people on the station platform during rush hour. All the different biomolecules involved can be modified by the addition of phosphates, sugars, and lipids in so many different ways and at so many alternative sites that it seems impossible to track the one that matters. Yet, somehow, cells work in a highly efficient manner.
Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families
Authors: Jang Sung Joon , Johnson Byron R 
Published: October 2024

Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families
Sung Joon Jang and Byron R. Johnson, inspire us with their research on Bible reading and human flourishing among U.S. military families. Military service can create unique challenges for active and retired members and their families, such as frequent deployments or relocations and family separation. It also brings into their home lives the mental and physical consequences of war after tours of duty and post-combat experiences. Prior research shows that these stressors tend to have lasting, detrimental effects on the well-being of military personnel, veterans, and their families, including mental illness, poor health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, marital and family problems, suicide, and domestic violence.
“It’s not your fault!”: Aging and the dilemmas of literacy in a digital world
Authors: Sawchuk Kim 
Published: October 2024

“It’s not your fault!”: Aging and the dilemmas of literacy in a digital world
As the world becomes increasingly digitally focused, Kim Sawchuk, Director of engAGE: Centre for Research on Aging, Concordia University, examines what this shift means for older adults trying to navigate media literacy. In an increasingly digital world, media literacy has become a critical life skill. Yet, having the skills to engage in this world can be challenging. In a recent workshop on navigating digital ecosystems, older participants spoke eloquently of the joys, frustrations, and threats they encountered in their daily digital lives. They recounted the difficulties they face in acquiring and maintaining the knowledge and skills needed to access this digital world safely and securely in media systems that are changing at a rapid pace.
The hidden climate cost: Food loss, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions
Authors: Price Gordon , Clark Grant 
Published: October 2024

The hidden climate cost: Food loss, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions
Professor Gordon Price from Dalhousie University and Professor Grant Clark from McGill University study the hidden climate change costs of food loss and waste in Canada. Here, they highlight the need for greater cooperation and data sharing. What connects a meal left uneaten, crops left to rot in the field, and spoiled produce buried in a landfill? They all contribute to the more than one billion tonnes of food that is lost or wasted globally every year (UNEP, 2024). Food loss and waste (FLW) is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and consequently a driver of climate change. The intertwined relationship between food policy, production, and consumption requires that government, industry, and consumers take immediate and collective action to reduce FLW and its environmental impact.
Delegation of financial decision-making to spouse in old age
Authors: Basu Anup 
Published: October 2024

Delegation of financial decision-making to spouse in old age
Professor Anup Basu from Queensland University of Technology explains the process of delegating financial decision-making to spouses in old age. Ageing can cause cognitive abilities to decline, adversely impacting financial decision-making capacity. Although in many married households, one spouse is primarily responsible for managing household finances, discharging this responsibility can become challenging with age, and it may become necessary to share it with the other spouse.
Environmental weathering transforms plastic pollution
Authors: Farner Jeffrey M 
Published: October 2024

Environmental weathering transforms plastic pollution
The prevalence of plastics in our daily lives is reflected by their ubiquity in nature. Jeffrey M. Farner from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, details how environmental weathering transforms plastic pollution. Due to use, improper disposal, and environmental transport, plastics are found globally, including in unpopulated locations. This pollution ranges from intact discarded items large enough to be choking hazards for marine life to particles at the nanometer scale. These smallest particles have been observed to translocate into animal tissues, raising concerns about toxicity. The concentrations of plastic particles vary widely, as do the morphology and other characteristics, but they exist.
Protecting the human epigenome with nutritional epigenetics intervention programs
Authors: Dufault Renee J 
Published: October 2024

Protecting the human epigenome with nutritional epigenetics intervention programs
Dr Renee J. Dufault, Executive Director at the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, explains the significance of nutritional epigenetics in understanding the impact of nutrients and dietary chemicals on gene expression patterns, as well as their role in the development of conditions such as autism and ADHD. Rising rates of autism, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, and type-2 diabetes are occurring worldwide and can be explained by changes in the human epigenome. Nutrients and dietary chemicals can alter or modify the expression of genes and impact their behavior patterns across generations. (1) Nutritional epigenetics is the field of research where scientists study the effects of nutrients and dietary chemicals on gene expression. (2), (3) The inheritable and reversible patterns of gene expression result from changes in DNA chromatin structure, which occur most commonly through mechanisms of methylation. (2) Genes may be methylated (silenced) or demethylated (turned on) at distinct locations in the human genome, which contains all of the genes. Inheritable DNA methylation patterns are reversible depending on prenatal dietary exposures to nutrients and dietary chemicals. (3), (4)
Decarbonizing the textile industry: How Ever Dye is revolutionizing dyeing processes
Authors: Durand Victor 
Published: October 2024

Decarbonizing the textile industry: How Ever Dye is revolutionizing dyeing processes
While the textile industry is continuously evolving and becoming more technologically advanced, it still relies on highly polluting and energy-intensive processes. Victor Durand, Head of Operations at Ever Dye, shares the company’s commitment to changing this and decarbonizing the textile industry. The textile industry, especially emerging fast-fashion brands like Shein or Temu, is contributing significantly to water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. It ranks third among industries emitting supply chain pollutants out of the big eight polluters and is the second largest polluter of clean water. (1) The overconsumption of clothing has resulted in a significant increase in energy- and water-intensive production levels, and this trend is expected to continue.
Persistent anti-vaxxers and pandemic-induced new anti-vaxxers
Authors: Toriumi Fujio 
Published: October 2024

Persistent anti-vaxxers and pandemic-induced new anti-vaxxers
Read this analysis of persistent anti-vaxxers and pandemic-induced new anti-vaxxers by Fujio Toriumi, Professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan. During the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, anti-vaccine discourses pose a threat to public health by making it challenging to achieve herd immunity. Although studies describing anti-vaxxers’ characteristics have been accumulating, a lack of understanding prevails regarding the “triggers” that lead individuals to become anti-vaxxers.
A novel route to secure and low-power accelerators for edge computing
Authors: Pavanello Fabio 
Published: October 2024

A novel route to secure and low-power accelerators for edge computing
Dr. Fabio Pavanello, Researcher at CNRS/CROMA Laboratory, guides us through a novel route to secure and low-power accelerators for edge computing, or in other words, the NEUROPULS approach. The current exponential increase of devices at the edge demands ever-growing performance to process vast amounts of locally generated data daily. Specialised hardware solutions are under investigation to achieve ultra-low-power computation while being lightweight, cost-effective, and commercially scalable. Additionally, such solutions shall also be highly secure, e.g., for data integrity and confidentiality, and, depending on the application, should provide extremely low latencies, e.g., in safety-critical scenarios (autonomous driving, healthcare, aviation, etc.).
Advancing knowledge about criminal justice and mental health
Authors: Gröning Linda 
Published: October 2024

Advancing knowledge about criminal justice and mental health
Researchers with expertise in criminal law, philosophy, psychiatry and psychology are combining their knowledge to explore how mental disorders are approached within criminal law and contribute to better legal and forensic practices. Current criminal justice systems are based on the premise that human beings are responsible agents that can be held accountable for their actions. However, most criminal justice systems have legal doctrines recognising that there are exceptions when an individual should not be considered criminally accountable. A ubiquitous practice is that children under the minimum age of criminal responsibility are not subject to punishment. Similarly, most countries limit criminal responsibility for offenders with mental disorders and disabilities. However, the question of who should be held criminally accountable and who should not is highly controversial, and a subject of debate. The same applies to what role psychological and psychiatric experts should have in criminal proceedings.
PETRI-MED: Enhancing marine phytoplankton diversity monitoring in the Mediterranean
Authors: Talone Marco 
Published: October 2024

PETRI-MED: Enhancing marine phytoplankton diversity monitoring in the Mediterranean
Preserving biodiversity is crucial for sustaining life on Earth. Unfortunately, it is facing growing threats. Marco Talone and the PETRI-MED Team discuss their objectives for the PETRI-MED project and explain why it is urgently necessary. Marine biodiversity is crucial for maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems. The variety of life forms in our oceans—from microscopic plankton to giant whales—plays a key role in sustaining ecological balance. Each species contributes to ecosystem services such as oxygen production, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling, which are vital for the planet’s health. Marine biodiversity also supports the global food web, providing a primary source of protein for over three billion people. Additionally, it contributes to the blue economy through fisheries, tourism, and biotechnology. Lastly, healthy marine ecosystems are better equipped to withstand and recover from environmental changes and human impacts, such as climate change and pollution. Among the various life forms inhabiting our ocean, phytoplankton is one of the most important.
A promising approach to preventing developmental dyslexia
Authors: Mather David 
Published: October 2024

A promising approach to preventing developmental dyslexia
David Mather, an Independent Researcher at the University of Victoria, has a promising approach to preventing developmental dyslexia. Discover more here. Studies suggest that left-eye dominant children may develop dyslexia by learning to write using pathways in the right brain hemisphere. Dr David Mather, a researcher associated with the University of Victoria, recently published a paper reviewing these findings. He outlines a proposed approach to teaching writing skills that could prevent these children from developing dyslexia. This approach involves teaching children to write when they are seven or eight years old when the human brain is better at mapping and memorizing entire words.