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Promoting Patient and Public Involvement in the research process

Marianna Vitaloni — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 13:10:29 +0000

Engaging patient and public partners is becoming recognized as integral for researchers when designing clinical studies. In this behind the papers blog published by BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, one of the authors explains how patient involvement can improve research effectiveness and lead to real societal benefit.

Does loss of smell in COVID patients mean the virus has infected their brain?

Christopher von Bartheld, Rafal Butowt, Nicolas Meunier and Bertrand Bryche — Mon, 24 May 2021 18:30:34 +0000

Around 50% of people confirmed to have COVID-19 report a loss or reduction in the sense of smell. But does this imply that the virus is neuro-invasive through the olfactory neurons? A new study concludes that the olfactory nerve is an unlikely route to brain infection, which is thought to be a rare occurrence in humans.

Highlights of the BMC Series – April 2021

Lisa Heinke — Wed, 19 May 2021 11:54:49 +0000

Responding to a pandemic - Research integrity, misconduct and consequences - Equity in clinical trial registration - Nitrogen-fixing legumes and reforestation - Vitamin D and magnesium a successful treatment for children with ADHD?

Geosocial networking apps can be a helpful tool to study larger cohorts in HIV research and assess health interventions

Dr. Min-ying Zhang — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 09:00:05 +0000

Dating apps have changed the patterns of sexual behaviors in most demographic groups, with potential consequences on the risk for HIV and STI transmission. A study recently published in Infectious Diseases of Poverty used a geosocial networking app for gay men to assess HIV incidence among users. Beyond HIV control, these apps could potentially play an important role in promoting general health and wellbeing.

Facebook surveys provide rapid insights into people’s behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daniela Perrotta — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:00:07 +0000

How did people change their behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic? In an article recently published in EPJ Data Science, Daniela Perrotta and co-authors illustrate how timely data collection via Facebook, along with appropriate survey designs and statistical methods, can help answer this question.

Helping ensure that forest bioenergy is environmentally sustainable

Brian Titus — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 11:00:47 +0000

Can removal of woody materials from forests for renewable bioenergy production be environmentally sustainable? A recent review in Energy, Sustainability and Society demonstrates that a wide range of environmental and social values can be protected when harvesting forest biomass, such as harvest residues, salvaged sub-merchantable trees, diseased or dead trees, and whole-tree thinnings.

Lawyers used sheepskin to deter fraudsters out to fleece them

Sean Paul Doherty — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:00:50 +0000

Historic legal deeds are one of the most abundant resources in British archives, yet we know a surprisingly little amount about how they are manufactured. In a recent article in Heritage Science, numerous parchments were studied, indicating a preference for using sheepskin parchment. Intriguingly, it seems this may have been to deter fraud. Sean Paul Doherty discusses the findings.

Algorithm-Generated Music Recommendations: Low Accuracy for Fans of Beyond-Mainstream Music

Dominik Kowald & Elisabeth Lex — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:00:18 +0000

A new study published in EPJ Data Science shows that fans of beyond-mainstream music, such as hard rock and ambient, may receive less accurate recommendations than fans of mainstream music, such as pop. A team of researchers at Know-Center Graz, Graz University of Technology, University of Innsbruck, University of Utrecht, and Johannes Kepler University Linz analysed the characteristics of beyond-mainstream music listeners to better understand the needs of this underserved user group.

Can machine learning techniques predict the popularity of memes on social media?

Nóra Balogh — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 11:00:23 +0000

What exactly makes memes transmitted through online social networks go viral? Research published recently in Applied Network Science uses machine learning techniques to examine and predict the success of a meme. Furthermore, these memes could provide a looking glass into the thoughts of internet users in the time of COVID-19. Nóra Balogh, a co-author of the study, talks about the findings.

A data-driven approach for assessing biking safety in cities

Konstantinos Pelechrinis — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000

The bicycle is arguably the most sustainable and eco-friendly mode of transport but biking safety remains a prime concern, especially in cities. Konstantinos Pelechrinis and his co-authors propose a model which provides interpretable findings for practical change.