A comprehensive analysis of contributing factors in bus crashes: integrating passenger injury severity and vehicle damage severity using the Frank copula model.

A paper-based sensor with distance readout for rapid on-site screening of promethazine hydrochloride in beverages.

Introduction Public search behavior provides a high-frequency external attention signal for understanding changes in market expectations in the digital economy. During periods of macroeconomic adjustment and investment uncertainty, search attention may capture shifts in public concern, information demand, and expectation formation. Methods Using Douyin search data on the theme of “investment” in Shandong Province from 4 June 2022 to 1 August 2025, this study constructs a Public Investment Search Network based on the Visibility Graph algorithm. The analysis examines temporal fluctuation, phase-based evolution, network topology, community differentiation, topological indicators, degree distribution, and robustness under alternative network constructions. Results The results show clear phase-based aggregation and divergence in public investment attention. The network exhibits a heavy-tailed degree distribution and small-world-like characteristics. Attention evolves through a cyclical process of concentration, dispersion, and rebalancing under the combined influence of policy stimuli, market fluctuations, and information diffusion. Changes in clustering coefficient, modularity, volatility, and Shannon entropy further reveal the self-organizing features of public investment search behavior. Discussion The findings suggest that the public investment search network provides a structural representation of collective attention and offers supplementary information for monitoring market signals and changes in public expectations. The study describes the structure of public investment-related attention rather than directly testing firm-level investment responses. Future research may combine search-network indicators with firm-level investment, innovation, or financial data to further examine how external attention signals are incorporated into corporate decisions.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is the first-line analgesic and antipyretic recommended globally during pregnancy. Observational studies have reported associations with increased risks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring, raising public and clinical concern; however, these findings may be substantially confounded by unmeasured familial factors. To assess the association between prenatal paracetamol exposure and risk of ASD and ADHD in offspring using a sibling-matched study design to control for familial confounding. This population-based cohort study, conducted from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2023, in Hong Kong, used deidentified electronic health records within a triangulation framework. From an initial cohort of 708 020 mother-child pairs (approximately 43.3% with prenatally paracetamol exposure), sibling-matched cohorts were constructed of children from families with discordant prenatal paracetamol exposure and sufficient follow-up (≥2 years for ASD and ≥5 years for ADHD). Data analysis was conducted from October 2, 2025, to March 24, 2026. Prenatal paracetamol exposure, identified from electronic dispensing records (British National Formulary [BNF], section 4.7.1) with data on drug name, strength, dosage, and prescription dates. Incident diagnoses per the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, for ASD (code 299) or for ADHD (code 314) or a prescription for ADHD-specific medication licensed in Hong Kong (methylphenidate, atomoxetine, or lisdexamfetamine [BNF, section 4.4]). The final cohorts comprised 124 333 children for ASD analysis (mean [SD] age, 9.3 [4.7] years; 61 775 females [49.7%] and 62 558 males [50.3%]) and 97 285 for ADHD analysis (mean [SD] age, 7.6 [4.2] years; 48 455 females [49.8%], 48 830 [50.2%]). In the sibling-matched analyses, prenatal paracetamol exposure was not associated with the risk of ASD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.00; 95% CI, 0.91-1.11) or ADHD (aHR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.93-1.08). Null associations were consistent across exposure timing, cumulative dose, and usage patterns (sporadic, intermittent, persistent), and were robust in sensitivity analyses. However, positive associations were observed in conventional cohort analyses, and importantly, also in negative control analyses of prepregnancy exposure for ASD (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08-1.17) and ADHD (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.20-1.28). In this population-based cohort study, a sibling-matched analysis found no evidence of an association between prenatal paracetamol exposure and the risk of ASD or ADHD in offspring. The positive signals observed in conventional studies are likely attributable to residual familial confounding. These findings provide important reassurance regarding the safety of indicated paracetamol use during pregnancy.

Biodistribution and toxicity of inhaled nickel oxide nanoparticles: Potential application to realistic exposure.

Since COVID-19 vaccine introduction in December 2020, > 13 billion doses have been distributed globally, including > 5 billion Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) doses. Real-world evidence in pregnancy remains heterogenous in design and outcome definitions, with limited analysis by dose timing or variant period. Most reviews evaluated COVID-19 vaccines as a class without focus on individual products, limiting product-specific interpretation. Given expanding evidence and public concern around safety of vaccines during pregnancy, an updated, pregnancy-focused systematic review of BNT162b2 safety is warranted. This study aimed to review and synthesize evidence on the safety of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women, including pregnancy-related outcomes. A systematic literature review (PROSPERO registered) was conducted in accordance with Cochrane methodology and reported following PRISMA guidelines. Medline and Embase were searched from December 2020 to June 2025, supplemented by regulatory reports and conference searches. Eligible randomized and observational studies reporting obstetric or neonatal outcomes after ≥ 1 dose of BNT162b2 were included. Quality appraisal was conducted using NICE checklists. Results were narratively synthesized and reported following SWiM guidance. Across 25 studies, comprising > 450,000 BNT162b2-vaccinated pregnant women, no increased risk was observed for miscarriage, congenital anomalies, preterm birth, hypertensive disorders, small for gestational age, low birth weight, or neonatal death, with effect estimates broadly consistent and centered around the null across available trimester-stratified analyses, dose numbers, and study design. However, trimester-specific data, particularly for first-trimester exposure, were limited. The cumulative evidence demonstrates a reassuring safety profile for Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccination with no indication of increased pregnancy-related or neonatal risk. The evidence is mainly observational and heterogeneous, with limited precision for rare outcomes, but the results align with findings from international registry, surveillance, and population-based evidence and support BNT162b2 vaccination in pregnancy as an effective and safe means to reduce preventable maternal morbidity, although evidence remains limited for first-trimester-specific exposure. The review protocol was prospectively registered with PROSPERO [CRD420251080193] [1].

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a critical issue within South African universities. It affects students’ safety, well-being, and access to quality education. Despite efforts to address this issue, universities continue to experience cases of sexual violence, harassment, emotional abuse, and coercion. Student protests and public concern have also exposed weaknesses in institutional responses and survivor protection. This study aims to systematically review existing literature on GBV in South African universities to identify what is currently known, how GBV is understood, and what gaps exist in literature. The study was guided by Social Learning and Intersectionality theories. A qualitative systematic literature review approach was adopted. The findings revealed that GBV is shaped by harmful gender norms, patriarchal attitudes, alcohol and substance abuse, economic vulnerability, and weak institutional accountability. Literature review further revealed that many survivors avoid reporting incidents because of fear, stigma, victim-blaming, and distrust in institutional systems. GBV was also found to have serious psychological, social, physical, and academic effects on students. The study concludes that GBV remains a structural challenge within South African higher education institutions. The study recommends stronger institutional accountability, survivor-centred support services, gender transformation programmes, and collaborative interventions to create safer university environments.

Public discussions regarding the potential increase in non-subsidized fuel prices resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the X platform between January 1, 2026, and May 17, 2026, were highly intensive and generated diverse public responses to the global economic impacts triggered by the geopolitical conflict between Iran and Israel. The primary issue addressed in this study is the growing public concern over the possibility of rising non-subsidized fuel prices, which may affect transportation costs, logistics distribution, and daily living expenses. This study aims to analyze public sentiment toward this issue using the IndoBERT deep learning model to obtain a more accurate understanding of public opinion trends. Data were collected through a scraping process on the X platform using keywords related to non-subsidized fuel and the Strait of Hormuz. The collected data were then processed through several preprocessing stages, including case folding, noise removal, tokenization, stopword removal, and stemming, before being classified into positive, neutral, and negative sentiment categories. Out of 412 analyzed tweets, negative sentiment emerged as the dominant category at 49.8%, followed by neutral sentiment at 48.5%, while positive sentiment accounted for only 1.7%. The findings indicate that the majority of the public expressed concern regarding the potential increase in non-subsidized fuel prices and its impact on economic conditions and household expenditures.

Carrying backpacks daily imposes a physical burden on school-aged children, raising increasing public concern. This study compared the physiological responses and head–neck posture of primary school students when carrying traditional versus modified bags. Thirty-two public primary school students aged 7–12 years participated. Physiological measures included heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SpO₂), blood pressure, and respiratory rate (RR). Head and neck tilt angles and forward head posture were assessed using photogrammetry and Kinovea software. Participants walked at a natural pace (1.1–1.3 m/s) along an 8-meter walkway for five minutes under five conditions: no bag, bilateral traditional bag, unilateral traditional bag, bilateral modified bag, and unilateral modified bag. Backpack design showed significant main effects on heart rate (p = 0.001, ηp² = 0.316), respiratory rate (p = 0.007, ηp² = 0.214), systolic blood pressure (p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.387), and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.002, ηp² = 0.279), with higher values in the traditional condition (e.g., HR 95.94 ± 2.26 bpm; RR 31.59 ± 0.86 breaths/min; systolic 108.33 ± 1.30 mmHg; diastolic 78.05 ± 1.64 mmHg). Carrying method affected HR (p = 0.014, ηp² = 0.178), with higher values during unilateral use. No interaction effects were found for physiological variables (p > 0.05). SpO₂ remained stable (98.78–99.47%). For posture, significant effects of design were observed for neck tilt (p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.350), head tilt (p = 0.001, ηp² = 0.324), and forward head posture (p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.335). The traditional backpack produced smaller neck tilt (49.75° ± 1.05°) but greater head tilt (78.60° ± 1.56°) and forward head posture (8.68 ± 4.59 cm). Unilateral carrying increased head tilt (77.83° ± 1.56°, p = 0.021). Interaction effects were found for neck and head tilt (p < 0.05). The modified backpack reduces physiological strain and improves postural alignment, particularly under unilateral carrying, while bilateral use minimizes asymmetrical loading.

Acetaminophen (paracetamol and tylenol) has long been recommended as the preferred first-line analgesic and antipyretic in pregnancy, supported by decades of clinical experience, and has a more favorable safety profile than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioids. Recently, however, political statements and media coverage linking maternal tylenol use to autism risk have amplified public concern and created uncertainty in clinical practice. This narrative review summarizes the current epidemiological evidence and positions of major professional societies and regulatory agencies on prenatal acetaminophen exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. A large Swedish nationwide cohort with a sibling-control analysis found no significant association between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and children's risk of autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or intellectual disability, suggesting that the previously reported modest risk elevations largely reflect confounding and methodological limitations. Similar null findings from other high-quality cohort and sibling-comparison studies indicate no causal relationship between therapeutic prenatal acetaminophen use and major neurodevelopmental disorders. Consistent with these data, organizations such as the World Health Organization, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and national regulators continue to endorse short-term guideline-concordant acetaminophen use as appropriate in pregnancy. In routine obstetric care, emphasis should be placed on maternal safety, fetal well-being, and evidence-based counseling rather than non-evidence-based concerns, with acetaminophen used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest necessary duration unless future high-quality data indicate otherwise.

Emergent bioengineering.

As the severe impacts of climate change become increasingly apparent, concerns about climate-related issues have grown in recent years. The news media plays an important role in disseminating information about climate change and its consequences to the wider public and thus can influence public climate concern. Here, we investigate how extreme weather affects issue attention to climate change in the European online news media and how extreme weather and news coverage jointly shape changes in climate change concern. For the analysis, we combine 12 harmonized Eurobarometer survey waves, measuring public concerns about climate issues, with meteorological data and indices of environmental news coverage based on publications from 2 481 media outlets in 200 regions of 22 European countries. Using fixed effects panel models, we estimate effects of temperature anomalies on climate news and climate concern and explore the role of the news media in explaining changes in concerns in response to temperature anomalies. The results indicate that unusually high temperatures exhibit a robust positive effect on media attention, especially when they overlap with other events that draw attention to the climate topic, such as major climate change conferences. We furthermore find evidence that the climate news in national outlets increases public concern about climate change and show that reporting by such outlets is likely to partly explain the effects of temperature anomalies on concerns. We do not find any significant effects of climate reporting in regional news outlets on climate concern. Our results suggest that the national news media partly mediates the effects of extreme weather on public climate change concern. The findings also highlight that focusing events strongly influence issue attention of the media, providing windows of opportunity to raise awareness about climate issues, while pointing to challenges in sustaining attention to related topics beyond short-lived news cycles.

Polysubstance impairment detected in fatally injured drivers, United States, 2018-2022.

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD) is a vision-threatening condition requiring timely diagnosis and treatment, yet population-level public interest and information-seeking behavior is difficult to assess using traditional utilization data alone. This study evaluated temporal and geographic patterns of public interest in retinal detachment in the United States and contextualized this interest relative to retina specialist availability. In this retrospective observational study, we queried Google Trends for RD-related search terms in the United States from 2008 to 2025. Google Trends reports relative search volume (RSV) on a normalized scale from 0 to 100. We extracted annual and state-level values using a composite of diagnostic and surgical RD terms. We obtained state-level counts of vitreoretinal surgeons from the American Society of Retina Specialists database and calculated retina surgeon density per 100,000 population using 2025 U.S. Census estimates. We also calculated the Search-to-Surgeon Index as an exploratory ratio of state-level relative search volume to retina surgeon density. We evaluated associations between RSV, Search-to-Surgeon Index, population age structure, and time using the using the Mann-Kendall trend test with Sen's slope estimator and the Spearman correlation test. From 2008 to 2025, retinal detachment-related relative search volume increased by 178%, with a significant temporal increasing trend (τ = 0.745, P < 0.001). Relative search volume declined sharply in April 2020. In 2025, state-level relative search volume ranged from 61 to 100 (median, 84). States with a higher proportion of residents aged 50 years and older demonstrated higher relative search volume (ρ = 0.56, P < 0.001). Retina surgeon density varied more than tenfold across states, ranging from 0.17 to 2.09 per 100,000 residents. Search-to-Surgeon index values ranged from 40 to 406 (median, 155), with the highest values observed in states with limited retina surgeon availability. Population age distribution was not significantly associated with Search-to-Surgeon index (ρ = -0.06, P > 0.10). Public interest in retinal detachment has increased substantially over time and varies widely across U.S. states. Integrating Google Trends data with retina surgeon distribution highlights geographic mismatches between public interest and specialist availability. This exploratory framework may help identify regions with disproportionate public concern relative to local workforce capacity.

Context: Attention to the potential impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1, or “bird flu”) on human health increased following documentation of mammalian transmission in spring 2024 and the prevalence of H5N1 in the commercial dairy supply. The authors aim to quantify (a) the prevalence and (b) the sociopolitical correlates of public concern about H5N1 as well as support for policy action aimed at reducing its potential health risks. Methods: In a nationally representative survey of N = 831 US adults, the authors asked respondents to answer questions about their levels of concern about H5N1 transmission, beliefs about the safety of consuming unpasteurized milk products, and support for policy interventions. Results: Few Americans express high levels of concern about H5N1 health risks. People who express lower levels of concern about H5N1 and those who hold inaccurate or uncertain views toward raw milk safety are in turn less supportive of policies aimed at mitigating the spread of H5N1, as are people who endorse anti-intellectual attitudes and identify with the Republican Party. Conclusions: Moderate levels of concern about H5N1 risks could undermine pandemic preparedness. Lacking strong signals from the public, policy makers may be reluctant to pursue policies that reduce avian influenza's pandemic potential.

ABSTRACT Against the necropolitical background of border deaths and disappearances, in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, lie the lives and stories of the survivors – hundreds of thousands of border-crossers who were spared the same ending, struggle to get settled in a safe country and are typically reluctant to tell or represent all things past. Their societal marginalization invites us to challenge the ordinary ‘division of labour’ on what should be made visible, or rather left invisible, about border death – and the risk of it. Based on four years of fieldwork in an asylum centre in Italy, I show how the weight of past suffering tends to creep into everyday life in waiting despite the attempts to leave it behind. Once approached in an ethnographic framework of habitual and trust-based interaction, however, some ‘thoughts’ can be converted into meaningful narrative fragments that matter in themselves and for the dilemmas they reveal about chance, unspeakability and societal reluctance to face death. Ethnography is a potential form of care about silence, memories and ways of representation that question the survivors’ invisibility and contribute to turning their private suffering into a public concern.

SummaryDuring 2023, 10 cases of locally acquired mosquito-transmitted (autochthonous) malaria were reported to CDC from four U.S. states after a 20-year period with no autochthonous cases. These cases highlight that although the United States eliminated malaria transmission in the early 1950s, the country remains susceptible to malaria reintroductionThis report provides operational guidance to local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal public health responders on public health investigation and response to a suspected autochthonous malaria case in the United States. The guidance in this report updates the 2006 guidance (CDC. Locally acquired mosquito-transmitted malaria: a guide for investigations in the United States. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2006) and is based on CDC subject-matter expertise, outbreak response experience from 2023, and targeted literature reviewInvestigations of suspected autochthonous malaria cases often raise public concern and can require substantial public health resources. Public health investigations of these cases should include epidemiologic, entomologic, and laboratory components and frequently require coordination among local, state, and Federal jurisdictions. This report provides an outline of the essential actions for such investigations conducted by describing the components of the investigation and providing resources and tools to assist public health personnel at the local, state, and Federal level

The cost-of-living crisis is believed to have shifted attitudes towards travel options, prioritising cost savings over environmental concerns. However, a significant gap remains in identifying the belief structure expressed in public digital discourse regarding adopting eco-friendly travel in extreme contexts (e.g. cost-of-living crises) using naturally-occurring data. We address this gap using a big-data methodology to scrape and clean 17,379 comments from Reddit and YouTube users posted between 2022 and 2024 (i.e. amid the current cost-of-living crisis) regarding eco-friendly travel. The final cleaned corpus comprised 10,603 comments. Cleaned data were assessed using thematic, sentiment and emotion analyses. Guided by an integrated analytical lens drawing on the Planned Behaviour, Value-Belief-Norm, and Socio-Technical Systems theories, our results suggest a five-theme belief structure: Transport, Community Impact, and Accessibility; Personal Perspectives and Everyday Experiences; Travel Choices and Infrastructure Development; Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action; and Societal Policies and Public Concerns. Sentiment analysis indicates 80% negativity and 18% positivity, with uncertainty as the most common emotion (37%). Systemic barriers, financial stresses, and inequitable policies fuelled widespread frustration, yet personal agency and adaptive strategies offered some optimism. Semi-structured interviews with nine experts helped contextualise the findings and refine their practical implications.

INVITED REVIEW: A review of dairy quality assurance programs: What do we know and where are we headed?

Social media plays an important role in disseminating information and identifying real-time needs during disasters. Its importance was shown on February 6, 2023, when Türkiye was struck by two destructive earthquakes. This resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities and economic devastation. In the early aftermath, social media was utilized as an important instrument for public coordination, information dissemination and social mobilization. The study analyzed 697,313 tweets shared between February 6 and 14, 2023. Data were acquired via the X API v2 and processed to assess the engagement metrics of digitally expressed disaster needs using Python (version 3.12.7). Named Entity Recognition approach was applied to a combined rescue-request corpus to extract and geocode spatial data for heatmap visualization. Most frequent hashtags, types of requests, and patterns of interaction were investigated to examine how individuals communicated and expressed their needs during the earthquake. Findings showed that X contained time-sensitive, publicly generated signals related to rescue appeals, shelter needs, hygiene concerns and humanitarian coordination. During the first 12hours of the earthquake, communication was primarily characterized by urgent requests for emergency rescue and heavy machinery. By the second day, shelter-related posts became more prominent with blanket and tent related requests. After the fourth day, there was a consistent rise in the posts about hygiene items and mobile toilets. The requests reached a peak between days five and seven. The study highlights the potential value of social media data as a supplementary source for understanding publicly expressed needs during disaster response. X posts reflected a temporary shift from urgent rescue appeals to shelter, hygiene, and recovery-related concerns. However, because this study was descriptive and did not assess post accuracy, operational impact, or predictive performance, the findings should be interpreted as digital indicators of public concern rather than direct evidence of response effectiveness.