Health Sciences

Over one million annual deaths have been attributed to bacterial antimicrobial resistance. Although antibiotics have saved countless other lives, overuse and misuse of antibiotics increases this global threat. Developing new antibiotics and retraining clinicians can be undermined by patients who pressure clinicians to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics. So we validated two low-cost, scalable interventions for improving antibiotic decisions in an online randomized control trial and a pre-registered replication (N = 985). Both first-person vignette experiments found that an infographic and text message (...) caused intermediate to large improvements in antibiotic decisions compared to active controls — even when controlling for a dozen confounds. Notably, these educational interventions also reduced trust in a clinician who offered antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. These data show how low-cost adjustments to existing communication systems can teach people to reduce the existential risks of antibiotic resistance and how inappropriate antibiotic prescribing can erode trust in health systems. (shrink)

Background: School meal programs are not only government initiatives but also community-driven efforts. Aiming to combat food insecurity among school-aged children effectively, these programs are executed in conjunction with food bank initiatives. Various community groups play a crucial role in the success of both food security initiatives. There is a need to improve community engagement to successfully link school meal programs with food banks to build program synergy, combating food insecurity through a two-sided approach. Aim: This study aims to examine (...) community engagement in school meals program by analyzing its purposeful focus on creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for different community groups, i.e., youths, women, and others. Methods: The Bayesian Mindsponge Framework, combining the reasoning strengths of Mindsponge theory and inference advantages of Bayesian analysis, was employed on a dataset of 126 government representatives who manage large-scale school meal programs in 126 different countries. Results: Findings showed that the school meals program’s purposeful focus on creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for women in the community was positively associated with community engagement, thereby supporting the linkage between the programs and food banks. In contrast, providing jobs and income-generating opportunities for youths and other community groups had an ambiguous association with community engagement in school meal programs. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of creating jobs and income-generating opportunities for women to improve community engagement in school meal programs. Formulating strategies that empower woman’s entrepreneurship may foster their involvement and engagement in school meal programs, promising to successfully link these programs with food bank initiatives among implementing countries. (shrink)

Along with environmental pollutions, urban planning has been connected to public health. The research indicates that the quality of built environments plays an important role in reducing mental disorders and overall health. The structure and shape of the city are considered as one of the factors influencing happiness and health in urban communities and the type of the daily activities of citizens. The aim of this study was to promote physical activity in the main structure of the city via urban (...) design in a way that the main form and morphology of the city can encourage citizens to move around and have physical activity within the city. Functional, physical, cultural- social, and perceptual-visual features are regarded as the most important and effective criteria in increasing physical activities in urban spaces based on literature review. The environmental quality of urban spaces and their role in the physical activities of citizens in urban spaces were assessed by using the questionnaire tool and analytical network process (ANP) of structural equation modeling. Further, the space syntax method was utilized to evaluate the role of the spatial integration of urban spaces on improving physical activities. Based on the results, the consideration of functional diversity, spatial flexibility and integration, security, and the aesthetic and visual quality of urban spaces plays an important role in improving the physical health of citizens in urban spaces. Further, more physical activities, including motivation for walking and consequently, the sense of public health and happiness, were observed in the streets having higher linkage and space syntax indexes with their surrounding texture. (shrink)

The paradoxical phenomena of hyperthermia-induced vasoconstriction, hyperthermia-induced hypothermia, and hyperthermia induced arterial vasoconstriction have been observed in animal heatstroke clinical case studies. We attempt to explain the basic mechanism behind such findings in terms of the principle of body heat conservation and natural countermeasure against heat exposure through reduction in the extent of vascular surface area exposed. Hyperthermia-induced vasoconstriction is a paradoxical physiological phenomenon that has limited explanation and exploration in research, despite being observed in clinical case studies. The bodily (...) response of vasoconstriction and vasodilation to increased heat loss and gain work on the principle that heat transfer through the amount of vascular surface area exposed can be moderated in order to be minimised or maximised. Hyperthermia-induced vasoconstriction likely transitions from the break point of maximal limit of vasodilation to counter further rapid heat loss beyond this point. We also propose an explanation of this physiological counter mechanism from the perspective of body core-peripheral steep temperature gradient reduction during hyperthermia or extreme temperature conditions and a spontaneous tendency to avoid unstable blood pressure perturbation. One study which examined the outcome of heating a rabbit's carotid artery produced graded vasoconstriction which is proportional to temperature increase (Mustafa, Thulesius, & Ismael, 2004). These interesting results point out a spontaneous physiological counteractive measure to minimise organ and/or arterial surface area heat exposure through extreme vasodilation by inducing vasoconstriction to counter against persistent excessive heat loss from rapidly increasing temperature of internal organ(s) to the ambient environment, as well as to restore and re-elevate the simultaneous significant arterial blood pressure reduction due to extreme heat gain. (shrink)

In a recent case-control study by Zimny et al. (2021), the development of unruptured cerebral artery aneurysm can be reasonably traced to the combined factor of high wall shear stress and wall shear stress gradient. In addition, regions of bifurcation apices with such factor of significant wall shear stress are critical in aneurysm formation. A consideration of directional and spatial changes in opposition against the inertia and seamless hemodynamic blood flow in approaching the juncture of bifurcation apex that increase interaction (...) of contact forces between arterial walls and blood volume may aid in further discussion of causality. (shrink)

Background: The feeding modalities applied in countries with school meal programs are varied because these are shaped not only by the national commitments to alleviate food insecurity among children but also by resource availability from national and international agencies. In terms of financial resources, the USA plays a consistent role in providing donations, grants, loans, and loan guarantee programs to support global school feeding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees these funding sources for international school meal programs. Aim: This (...) study aims to examine the moderating effect of USDA funding on the relationship between supply purchasing methods and feeding modalities among countries implementing school meal programs. Methods: The Bayesian Mindsponge Framework, combining the reasoning strengths of Mindsponge Theory and inference advantages of Bayesian analysis, was employed on a dataset of 126 government representatives who manage large-scale school meal programs in 126 different countries. Results: The findings indicated that USDA funding has the potential to positively moderate the relationship between foreign supply purchases and the feeding modalities of school meal programs. However, the direct association between foreign purchases and feeding modalities was unclear. Conversely, while USDA funding was found to have a negative moderation effect on the relationship between domestic supply purchases and feeding modalities, it is these domestic purchases that show potential for positively influencing the feeding modalities. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of supporting the World Bank and World Food Programme’s recommendation to rely more on local resources and capacities for developing long-term and sustainable school meal programs. Further exploration of the impact of foreign supply purchases on feeding modalities is needed. Formulating strategic plans to better leverage USDA funding for enhancing domestic supply purchases is highly recommended. (shrink)

Since the stone age humankind has created masterworks which possess a mysterious quality of solidity and grandeur or monumentality. A Paleolithic Venus and a still life by Cezanne both share this monumentality. Michelangelo likened monumentality to sculptural relief, Braque called monumentality 'space', and Hans Hoffman, himself one of the masters, called monumentality 'pictorial depth.' The masters agreed on the import of monumentality, but none of them left a clear explanation of it. In 1943 Earl Loran published his classic book on (...) Cezanne's pictorial structure but, as I demonstrate, his explanation was misleading. This book provide a clear explanation, as did an earlier book by Robert Casper. This book also traces some history of monumentality with reproductions. It also explains how some painters achieved monumentality and how a student can attempt it. Pictorial space is created in the tension between pairs of opposing planes. Opposing planes pull against each other, each containing the other, paradoxically, within the flat surface of the canvas. Sculpture also can be 'plastic': opposing masses pull against each other, each containing the other and creating tension in the space which lies between them. Painting has other aspects like subject matter, expression, style and technique but pictorial space does not depend on these. Monumentality moves us profoundly and apparently has done so since the Paleolith. Using patients' vignettes, I show that there are profound parallels between the structure of a monumental work of art and the structure of an evolving personality. In Winnicott's words, such a personality has 'depth ... an interior space to put beliefs in ... an inside ... a space where things can be held ... the capacity to accept paradox [to contain opposites] ... room and strength ... and originality and the acceptance of tradition as the basis for invention'. A monumental painting also meets this description. I argue that monumental art provides a visual portrait of an evolving personality just as myth, as Freud and Jung both showed, provides a narrative portrait of an evolving personality. An evolving personality is perhaps humankind's most important creation; an underlying purpose of both myth and art is to help us achieve it. I demonstrate in this book that monumental art represented the evolving personality since at least 35,000 BC. Thus to understand monumentality is to better understand the personality and its history. (shrink)

In an online, participatory class, we interpreted The Dream of the Tabby Cats knowing nothing of the dreamer beyond age and gender, and having none of the dreamer’s associations. Our interpretation included a series of predictions about the dreamer. When it was complete, we asked the bringer of the dream (who had until then been silent and was not visible to us) to give us more information about the dreamer. Later the dreamer herself gave us more information. Of six predictions (...) four were confirmed. The dreamer’s apartment is repeatedly disturbed and, each time, a new cat appears. This record is another iteration of an experiment that will be described more fully in the paper The Dream of the Six-Legged Dog: An Experimental System to Test Meaning, soon to be published. This iteration repeats and confirms the evidence given in that paper. AUDIO RECORD OF CLASS AVAILABLE: link is on first page of the paper you download from this page. (shrink)

This paper integrates symbolic thought and experimental research. We hypothesized that symbolic narratives provide homeostasis for the complex adaptive system that is personality. Our interpretation of a dream was based, in part, on this hypothesis. We found that the dream retold the myth of Saturn. When, by direct experiment, we tried to falsify our interpretation, our results supported our interpretation and thereby supported our hypothesis. Previously, evidence for this hypothesis had been only anecdotal. __________________________________________ For an audio-record of entire class: (...) link is given on 1st page of the text you download from this page. (shrink)

In an online, participatory class, we interpreted The Dream of the White House knowing nothing of the dreamer and having none of the dreamer’s associations. Our interpretation included a series of falsifiable predictions about the dreamer. When it was complete, we asked the bringer of the dream (who had until then been silent and was not visible to us) to give us more information about the dreamer. Of 17 predictions 15 were confirmed. The dreamer suffers dislocation and loss until she (...) asks a female manager for help. This record is another iteration of an experiment that will be described more fully in the paper 'The Dream of the Six-Legged Dog: An Experimental System to Test Meaning,' soon to be published. This iteration repeats and confirms the evidence given in that paper. More than any of the other iterations, it details how talk therapy promotes personality reorganization. It then supports these observations with experimental evidence. Because it demonstrates how talk therapy works, this iteration supports talk therapy against pressure from the drug and insurance corporations. AUDIO-RECORDING OF WHOLE CLASS: link provided on first page of the paper you download here. (shrink)

rails to total abstraction, to conjure a perfect social system, between fulfilment of individual and colective will.

Healthy eating has long been a focus of professionals and researchers, both to evaluate strategies for improvement and to gain a deeper understanding of its dynamics in order to develop effective promotion methods. This study aims to examine the roles of individuals’ information-seeking abilities and e-health literacy in fostering a healthy eating intention among Iranians. Employing Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics on a dataset of 9,755 Iranian participants, the study found positive associations between healthy eating information-seeking ability, e-health literacy, and healthy (...) eating intention among Iranian adults. However, the moderating effect of e-health literacy on the relationship between information-seeking ability and healthy eating intention remains ambiguous. We suggest that enhancing individuals' healthy eating information-seeking abilities and e-health literacy, alongside improving the availability, affordability, and accessibility of reliable healthy eating information, is essential for fostering healthy eating intentions. (shrink)

Nature is foundational to human health and well-being. Evidence indicates natural environments offer significant therapeutic benefits, especially for health. There are various physical, psychological, and social mechanisms to explain the human-nature-health nexus. Coastal nature, in particular, possesses unique characteristics of blue spaces, rich in sensory stimuli with therapeutic effects. By elaborating concepts of public health and ecological psychology, we attempted to analyze how coastal nature holds the potential to be a healing avenue for the public, expanding its well-known function as (...) a tourism destination into a health-promoting destination. Coastal environments offer measurable health benefits, such as stress reduction, mood enhancement, attention and focus restoration, cardiovascular fitness and musculoskeletal health improvement, etc. This review advocates for the role of the coastal environment in health promotion, where the coast serves as a meaningful and powerful public healthcare resource. By proposing integrative care models that synergize biomedical treatments and nature-based interventions, this paper calls for policy innovations that consider coastal nature as essential healthcare infrastructure in public health planning. Coastal healing may offer a new pathway toward holistic care, equitable and sustainable public health, through coastal engagement activities. (shrink)

Bribing doctors for preferential treatment is rampant in the healthcare system of developing countries like Vietnam. Although bribery raises the out-of-pocket expenditures of patients, it is so common to be deemed an “envelope culture.” Given the little understanding of the underlying mechanism of the culture, this study employed the mindsponge theory for reasoning the mental processes of both patients and doctors for why they embrace the “envelope culture” and used the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics to validate our reasoning. Analyzing (...) responses from 1042 Vietnamese patients, we discovered that bribing doctors can help patients reduce the destitution risk induced by treatment. Such effect of doctor bribery remains consistent among patients that have to pay high daily costs (e.g., accommodation and subsistence fees) regardless of their employment status. Nevertheless, for patients with no or unstable jobs, their risks of destitution increase if they have to pay more thank-you money. These findings suggest that doctor bribery is an adaptive strategy for patients in an environment where the healthcare supply cannot meet the actual demand. Moreover, healthcare equity is greatly exacerbated due to the envelope culture, as vulnerable individuals are exposed to a greater threat of poverty. At the same time, those with good economic conditions get preferential treatment by paying a higher amount of thank-you money. Healthcare workers’ ethics must be the top priority for an equitable and proper healthcare system. (shrink)

Although global awareness of environmental challenges is increasing, modern healthcare systems marginalize nature-based healing practices. This paper advocates for a renewed integration of healthcare and the natural world by highlighting the cultural, historical, and scientific foundations of natural healing. Through a multidisciplinary synthesis spanning ethnobotany, public health, and ecological psychology, we examine how home gardens serve as practical embodiments of an eco-surplus culture—a worldview that positions nature as foundational to human well-being and planetary sustainability. Home gardens offer measurable health benefits, (...) such as stress reduction, immune enhancement, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. Drawing on diverse case studies—from Indigenous land-based healing to immigrant communities preserving ethnomedicine—we show how gardening fosters physical, psychological, and cultural health. The paper concludes by proposing integrative care models that align biomedical treatments with nature-based interventions and calls for policy innovations that recognize gardens as essential health infrastructure. Reimagining home gardens in this way opens new pathways toward more holistic, equitable, and sustainable approaches to wellness. (shrink)

Biomedicine increasingly powers global health and economies, yet its innovation pipeline remains fundamentally dependent on biodiversity which supplies natural products and inspiration for modern drugs. Meanwhile, the extinction rates accelerate and conservation finance lags. Based on the semiconducting principle of environmental and monetary value, this perspective proposes an actionable mechanism to redirect a fraction of biomedicine’s revenues toward conservation. Embedding these tools can foster an eco-surplus culture in which every life-saving therapy contributes to safeguarding species and habitats, securing innovation and (...) planetary health. (shrink)

Background: Transgender health care is a subject of much debate among clinicians, political commentators, and policy-makers. While the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care (SOC) establish clinical standards, these standards contain implied ethics but lack explicit focused discussion of ethical considerations in providing care. An ethics chapter in the SOC would enhance clinical guidelines. Aims: We aim to provide a valuable guide for healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in the ethical aspects of clinical support for gender (...) diverse and transgender people of all ages. Recognizing that the WPATH is a global association, we address broad challenges. We offer a reflection on general ethical principles, providing conceptual tools for healthcare providers, patients, and families to navigate the specific challenges they might encounter in transgender health care, in line with WPATH’s worldwide mission and scope. Method: This article employs a descriptive analysis, and our framework of reference is the four principles of biomedical ethics: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Results: The article presents a discussion on the four ethical principles as applied to transgender health care. We address issues such as respect for patient autonomy in decision-making, the role of beneficence and nonmaleficence in clinical interventions, and the importance of justice in equitable treatment and access to care. Some of the ethical concerns we address in this article pertain to the current sociopolitical climate, where there has been increasing legal interference, internationally, for transgender and nonbinary people, particularly youth, seeking medical care. Discussion: We highlight the interplay between ethical principles and clinical practice, underscoring the need for ethical guidance in addressing the diverse challenges faced by healthcare providers and patients in transgender health care. We advocate for continuous refinement of ethical thinking to ensure that transgender health care is not only medically effective but also ethically sound. (shrink)

The meaning of being healthy is widely debated, with many suggesting it is a multidimensional concept encompassing key dimensions such as the absence of disease, the presence of well-being, and a healthy lifestyle. While recent studies indicate that lifestyle may be a dominant dimension, it remains unclear whether this holds true across populations or if significant differences exist, particularly between laypeople and healthcare professionals. Our studies reveal a difference, but surprisingly, in the opposite direction of what the literature would predict: (...) medical professionals are substantially more likely than laypeople to frame discussions of “healthy” and “unhealthy” in lifestyle contexts. This result challenges prevailing assumptions about the biomedical focus of healthcare professionals and has implications for improving health communication. (shrink)

In pharmacology, most drugs are designed to produce specific, predictable effects. However, certain medications exhibit both causal and stochastic (random) effects, leading to outcomes that are not entirely deterministic. These "noisy drugs" can alter the probability distributions of physiological states, making their effects complex and sometimes unpredictable. Understanding how these drugs introduce stochasticity and reshape physiological Markov blankets is crucial for advancing personalized medicine and improving therapeutic strategies.

Being compassionate and empathic while making rational decisions is expected from healthcare workers across different contexts. But the daily challenges that these workers face, aggravated by the recent COVID-19 crisis, can give rise to compassion and decision fatigue, which affects not only their ability to meet these expectations but has a significant negative impact on their wellbeing. Hence, it is vital to identify factors associated to their exhaustion. Here, we sought to describe levels of compassion and decision fatigue during the (...) pandemic, and to identify factors related to these forms of exhaustion. We collected data using self-reported questionnaires to measure compassion fatigue, decision fatigue, and grit in five intervals from April to November, 2020 (N = 856). Our results showed a negative correlation between grit and compassion and decision fatigue. We also found that under the circumstances studied grit tends to be higher in technicians, nurses, other professionals (psychologists, social workers), and workers at the Emergency Room (ER), and lower in general practitioners. Compassion fatigue tend to be higher for technicians, whereas decision fatigue was lower for specialists, general practitioners, and technicians, and higher for those working at private hospitals. (shrink)

In Norway, priority for health interventions is assigned on the basis of three official criteria: health benefit, resources, and severity. Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have mainly happened through intersectoral public health efforts such as lockdowns, quarantines, information campaigns, social distancing and, more recently, vaccine distribution. The aim of this article is to evaluate potential priority setting criteria for public health interventions. We argue in favour of the following three criteria for public health priority setting: benefit, resources and improving the (...) well-being of the worse off. We argue that benefits and priority to the worse off may reasonably be understood in terms of individual well-being, rather than only health, for public health priority setting. We argue that lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic support our conclusions. Keywords: COVID-19, Prioritarianism, Priority Setting, Public Health, Severity. (shrink)

Gallbladder disease commonly affects the general population of Western developed nations and the standard surgical treatment of laparoscopic cholecystectomy normally follows severe cases of this condition. However, the negative health and life quality consequences of this standard line of treatment are lesser known and stand the chance of being taken lightly by healthcare professionals. Complications include bile duct injury, dropped gallstones and a second open invasive surgery, of which could be life threatening for some rare cases. It is, therefore, necessary (...) to highlight the limitations of such a procedure and the need for improvement and widening of the range of treatment options for vulnerable members of the patient population. Additionally, here is a brief overview introduction of a new procedure called endoscopic ultrasound guided gallbladder drainage with promising success rates that can be a potentially feasible alternative to traditional surgical procedures to offer gallbladder disease patients. (shrink)

Today, we have a mixture of young and older individuals, people with special needs, and people who can care for themselves. Over 1 billion people are estimated to be disabled; this figure corresponds to about 15% of the world's population, with 3.8% (approximately 190 million people) accounting for people aged 15 and up (Organization, 2011). The number of people with disabilities is upward due to the increase in chronic health conditions and many other things. These and other factors have made (...) the need for proper care facilities urgent in today's society. Several care facilities are built to help people with disabilities live their everyday lives and not be left out of the community. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence is now widely accessible and already being used by healthcare researchers throughout various stages in the research process, such as assisting with systematic reviews, supporting data collection, facilitating data analysis and drafting manuscripts for publication. The most common AI tools used are forms of generative AI such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Generative AI is a type of AI that can generate human-like text, audio, videos, code and images based on text-based prompts inputted by a human user. Generative (...) AI is trained on large amounts of data, and the outputs are sophisticated and can be indistinguishable from a response from a skilled human. In this article, we outline several AI applications that can be used in healthcare research, examining their benefits, limitations and outline best practices for maintaining research integrity and ethical standards. (shrink)

The concept of health has long been debated in philosophy and medicine, with discussions often centering on whether health is merely the absence of disease (negativism) or requires the presence of some positive state or ability (positivism). Empirical studies on the folk concept remain scarce and inconclusive. This paper investigates the folk concept of health through implication and contradiction tests. Our findings reveal that while people often infer that health entails both a disease-free state and lifestyle-related factors, interpretations of ‘health’ (...) vary significantly depending on context, with participants associating health primarily with the absence of disease in medical settings while emphasizing lifestyle factors like diet and activity in personal training scenarios. These results suggest that the meaning of the folk concept of health is strongly context-dependent. (shrink)

This article constitutes a Patient Perspective, grounded in lived experience, its primary aim is to enhance awareness of anti- depressant-induced anhedonia by providing experience-based insights, relevant to clinicians, researchers, and caregivers. My own experiences with treatment-resistant depression-anxiety have been significant and long-lasting. In my 22-year-plus jour- ney of illness experience—and having taken over 23 antidepressant medications—emotional-blunting, anhedonia, and mania have all, at times, been side-effect-related factors. This work explores the conundrum of antidepressant-induced anhedonia, developing an in-depth patient perspective useful for (...) mental health practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, and for wider formal professional and informal nonprofessional caring actors. I write this via a reflexive lens as a long-term mental health patient, while also recognizing my dual-positionality as a Chartered Psychologist and an academic with a PhD working in the field of mental health. Thus, my dual-perspective provides a unique lens useful for translating the patient experience to a wider caregiving audience: fostering understanding and deepened awareness of the anhedonia experience. Implications for patient care are discussed. (shrink)

This study explores experiences of ex-incels—men who have withdrawn from incel communities—through eleven qualitative interviews analysed using R.W. Connell’s hegemonic masculinity (HM) framework. Findings reveal some ex-incels adopt flexible masculinities, while others struggle with prescriptive norms perpetuated by the anti-feminist ‘manosphere’. Findings spotlight identity reconstructions, where men both reject and remain influenced by rigid archetypes, performing hybrid masculinities. This study deepens understanding of incel ideology, its impact on identity, and interplay between inceldom and masculinities via contributing to hybrid masculinities theorising. (...) Insights presents applications for gender theory and inform further research on HM’s influence within unique cultural contexts. (shrink)

Một khối lượng nghiên cứu ngày càng tăng cho thấy biến đổi khí hậu không chỉ mang đến những rủi ro hiển nhiên như thời tiết cực đoan, mà còn tiềm ẩn các nguy cơ sức khỏe ít được chú ý hơn—trong đó có sự gia tăng của các bệnh nấm, điển hình như sốt Valley (Valley fever). Căn bệnh này, do hít phải bào tử nấm Coccidioides tồn tại trong đất, đã chứng kiến số ca mắc tại California tăng (...) gấp ba lần kể từ năm 2014, gây ra các tình trạng từ triệu chứng hô hấp nhẹ đến biến chứng đe dọa tính mạng [2]. (shrink)

A growing body of research reveals that climate change carries hidden health risks beyond extreme weather—among them, the surge of fungal diseases like Valley fever. This illness, caused by inhalation of airborne Coccidioides spores found in soil, has seen cases in California triple since 2014, leading to conditions ranging from mild respiratory symptoms to life-threatening complications [2].

Trong hệ miễn dịch của các loài động vật có xương sống, kháng thể là những chiến binh thiết yếu chống lại mầm bệnh. Trong số các loài tứ chi không thuộc lớp thú, immunoglobulin Y (IgY) là lớp kháng thể chủ yếu, kết hợp các đặc điểm chức năng của IgG và IgE ở động vật có vú. Mặc dù cấu trúc tổng thể được bảo tồn, IgY thể hiện sự đa dạng đáng chú ý giữa các loài. Một (...) nghiên cứu gần đây của Zhang và cộng sự [2] đã khám phá một cơ chế chưa từng được nhận diện trước đây về đa dạng hóa IgY ở loài rắn Elaphe taeniura, mở ra góc nhìn mới về cách các quá trình tiến hóa định hình phản ứng miễn dịch. (shrink)

Rừng nhiệt đới thường được gọi là “lá phổi của Trái Đất,” nhưng vai trò của chúng đối với sự sống con người còn vượt xa việc lưu trữ carbon và duy trì đa dạng sinh học. Một nghiên cứu mới công bố trên Nature Climate Change cho thấy việc chặt phá những cánh rừng này mang đến một hệ quả tức thời và chết người: làm tăng nhiệt độ địa phương và gây ra hàng nghìn ca tử vong liên (...) quan đến nắng nóng mỗi năm. (shrink)

Trên toàn cầu, hàng triệu người tham gia lao động ngoài trời mỗi ngày, thường trong những điều kiện đòi hỏi khắt khe và nguy hiểm. Trong số đó, công nhân di cư và dân tộc thiểu số (migrant and ethnic minority - MEM) phải đối mặt với nguy cơ bị phơi nhiễm nhiệt không tương xứng. Một đánh giá tổng quan gần đây của van Selm và cộng sự (2025) đã làm sáng tỏ tình trạng dễ bị tổn thương (...) cao hơn của công nhân làm việc ngoài trời là người MEM và các rào cản cấu trúc cản trở khả năng bảo vệ sức khỏe của họ. (shrink)

Global discussions around the risks, benefits and governance of solar radiation modification (SRM) in the climate change response portfolio are accelerating, but the topic remains nascent in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In 2023, a US start-up (Make Sunsets) performed a small-scale, non-research deployment of SRM in Baja California, Mexico, without prior permission or community engagement. Their actions prompted Mexico to announce its intention to ban SRM experimentation, underscoring the need for governance to prevent irresponsible practices that could discredit (...) legitimate research. We perform an empirical and ethical analysis of the landscape of academic discussions and media coverage on SRM in the LAC region, focusing on the Make Sunset case. Our analysis leads us to three conclusions: first, a lack of regulations in LAC that fosters mistrust, fuels perceptions of neo-colonialism and restricts potentially valuable and responsible research; second, we argue that the theatrical Make Sunsets case is not ethically justified in light of the diversity of risks associated with it; third, we offer foundational, participatory recommendations to promote effective, transparent and sustainable governance of SRM, including LAC in global conversations. (shrink)

A growing body of research reveals a silent yet pervasive threat to maternal and child health—chemical exposures during pregnancy [1,2]. The U.S. Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, the largest initiative of its kind, is reshaping our understanding of how environmental factors encountered early in life impact long-term health and development [3].

In the rural regions of New England, naturally occurring arsenic in bedrock poses a silent but serious threat to households dependent on private wells. Unlike public water systems regulated by authorities, private well users bear sole responsibility for monitoring water quality. Despite the well-documented health risks of arsenic exposure—including increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and developmental issues—only 56% of Maine residents using private wells reported testing their water [2,3].

Tại các vùng nông thôn New England, sự hiện diện tự nhiên của arsen (arsenic) trong đá nền tạo ra một mối đe dọa âm thầm nhưng nghiêm trọng đối với các hộ gia đình phụ thuộc vào giếng nước tư nhân.

Climate policy is often evaluated through its ability to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but new research highlights a powerful co-benefit: saving lives.

In the aftermath of natural disasters, recovery efforts often prioritize rebuilding physical infrastructure. However, a recent study by Setsuko Onoda proposes a more holistic perspective—urging policymakers to consider regional homeostasis, a concept referring to the balance and sustainability of both ecological systems and daily life conditions, as the foundation for genuine recovery in disaster-stricken regions of Tohoku, Japan [2].

Trong nhiều thập kỷ, ethylene oxide (EtO) đã đóng một vai trò quan trọng trong nhiều ngành công nghiệp, phục vụ như một chất khử trùng cho thiết bị y tế, một thành phần chính trong sản xuất nhựa và chất khử trùng để chế biến thực phẩm. Tuy nhiên, mặc dù có tầm quan trọng đối với sức khỏe cộng đồng và sản xuất, EtO cũng được phân loại là một chất gây ung thư ở người. Một nghiên cứu (...) mới toàn diện đã cung cấp bằng chứng chắc chắn về liên kết giữa sự phơi nhiễm nghề nghiệp lâu dài với EtO và nguy cơ tử vong do ung thư vú ở phụ nữ. (shrink)

Khi khí hậu toàn cầu ấm lên, một mối lo ngại cấp bách đang nổi lên: nhiệt độ tăng và thời tiết biến đổi sẽ ảnh hưởng thế nào đến sự lây lan của các bệnh truyền nhiễm?

As the climate warms, a pressing global concern is how rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns will influence the spread of infectious diseases.

The current study is conducted to examine the following research questions: -/- How is the older adults’ health condition associated with their level of perceived heat tolerance when being at home? How is the older adults’ health condition associated with their level of perceived heat tolerance when being outside? Is the relationship between older adults’ health condition and their level of perceived heat tolerance when being at home conditional on the level of concerns regarding climate change? Is the relationship between (...) older adults’ health condition and their level of perceived heat tolerance when being at home conditional on the perception of climate change’s negative impacts on health? Is the relationship between older adults’ health condition and their level of perceived heat tolerance when being outside conditional on the level of concerns regarding climate change? Is the relationship between older adults’ health condition and their level of perceived heat tolerance when being outside conditional on the perception of climate change’s negative impacts on health? -/- Findings from this study are expected to contribute to promoting the eco-surplus culture and sustainable development. (shrink)

Bệnh tim mạch (Cardiovascular Disease - CVD) vẫn là nguyên nhân gây tử vong hàng đầu ở phụ nữ trên toàn cầu, và các xu hướng gần đây đã làm dấy lên những lo ngại, đặc biệt là do sự chững lại trong việc giảm tỷ lệ mắc CVD ở phụ nữ trẻ tuổi.

This paper develops an account of how the implementation of ML models into healthcare settings requires revising the methodological apparatus of philosophical bioethics. On this account, ML models are cognitive interventions that provide decision-support to physicians and patients. Due to reliability issues, opaque reasoning processes, and information asymmetries, ML models pose inferential problems for them. These inferential problems lay the grounds for many ethical problems that currently claim centre-stage in the bioethical debate. Accordingly, this paper argues that the best way (...) to make progress in remedying these ethical problems is to distil their epistemic core and to identify appropriate epistemic norms as guardrails. The viability of this approach will be highlighted based on four key issues: trust, responsibility, paternalism, and fairness. In that respect, the paper also contributes to a more pronounced view of the specific methodological challenges for ethical theorizing, when the point of reference are complex statistical models that make predictions, rather than individual agents, acting for reasons. (shrink)

As wildfires intensify across North America, they leave more than scorched earth in their wake. Invisible clouds of fine particulate matter—PM₂.₅, measuring 2.5 microns or smaller—travel vast distances, infiltrating lungs and triggering serious health consequences [2-4]. A recent study by Bashan, Li, and Wang [5] introduces a novel method to track these pollutants using dynamic spatial networks that capture the systemic spread of air pollution across the United States.

Động kinh và các cơn co giật là những rối loạn thần kinh suy nhược, ảnh hưởng đến gần 46 triệu người trên toàn cầu [1]. Mặc dù đã có nhiều nghiên cứu, nguyên nhân gây ra các tình trạng này vẫn chưa được hiểu rõ hoàn toàn. Gần đây, sự chú ý của giới khoa học đã chuyển sang các yếu tố môi trường — đặc biệt là ô nhiễm không khí và biến động nhiệt độ — những yếu (...) tố tiềm năng có thể kích hoạt hoặc làm trầm trọng thêm các triệu chứng. Một nghiên cứu gần đây do Sharma và cộng sự [2] thực hiện đã phân tích dữ liệu từ 34 nghiên cứu dịch tễ học nhằm điều tra mối liên hệ này. (shrink)

Seizures and epilepsy, debilitating neurological disorders affecting nearly 46 million people worldwide, remain largely unexplained in terms of their causes [1]. Recent scientific attention has turned to environmental factors—specifically air pollution and temperature extremes—as potential contributors to both the onset and aggravation of these conditions. A comprehensive scoping review by Sharma et al. [2] synthesizes findings from 34 epidemiological studies investigating these associations.