Welcome to our Hot Topics of 2022! We’ve rounded up the top-trending articles of the year as chosen by you, our readers! From stopping child abuse to protecting the planet, these articles caught your attention.
We’d love to know what your favourite #RFHotTopics were, so let us know on Twitter or Facebook. Make sure you didn’t miss out on any of our most-read articles which we’ve listed below for your reading pleasure.
5: PediBIRN-4: A screening method to detect abusive head trauma
Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a leading cause of child traumatic death. AHT often masquerades as accidental head trauma, making it difficult to diagnose. Kent Hymel and his team at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, in collaboration with researchers from the Pediatric Brain Injury Research Network (PediBIRN), carried out three multicentre research studies. These involved over 900 young, acutely head-injured patients to derive, validate, and ultimately implement a simple, effective, evidence-based screening tool for AHT. Their screening tool guides doctors’ decisions regarding abuse evaluations in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) settings, leading to fewer potential cases of missed abuse.
4: HAT – accessible COVID-19 antibody testing for the global population
Serodiagnostic tests are invaluable in monitoring the progress of a disease within a community, and identifying which patients need booster vaccinations. These tests detect antibodies in the blood after infection with, or vaccination against, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, these tests have not previously been available all over the world, primarily because of their high cost and requirement for sophisticated equipment. Dr Etienne Joly at the Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology, University of Toulouse, France, has developed a quantitative serodiagnostic test for COVID-19 that is both affordable and easy to use, even in the most unlikely and challenging of settings.
3: Rethinking flat panel loudspeakers: Acoustic improvements for invisible sound integration
Benjamin Zenker, from the Technical University of Dresden, and founder of ZEN Audio Engineering, has been developing loudspeakers for over 15 years. During the last three years, he has developed simple and robust methods to improve the acoustic quality of flat panel loudspeakers with the aim to invisibly integrate sound within architecture. This could make flat panel loudspeakers an alternative to conventional speaker systems.
2: Ethical consumption and carbon emissions: Utilising the ‘great event heuristic’
Professor Bernward Gesang of the University of Mannheim, Germany, has published numerous contributions to the field of ethical consumer decision-making. He considers how an individual can best contribute to the greater good in protecting the planet from carbon emissions through their own personal and consumer choices. He examines whether individuals can make a difference through individual or collective consumer decisions, concluding that the current commonly advised strategy for individual climate protection may not be the most effective one.
1: Sustained drug delivery system takes lung disease treatment to the next level
Dr Pattisapu Gangadharam and Dr Nejat Düzgüneş, along with other researchers at VGSK Technologies Inc, are working on a game-changing sustained drug-delivery system. Their latest focus is a sustained and efficient administration of the steroid medication budesonide. This steroid can effectively treat lung inflammation, a symptom secondary to COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. Notably, their ProLungTM system allows the administration of one dose once a week as a targeted therapy to the point of viral attachment in the lungs, protecting the lungs from significant inflammation.
Thank you to all our readers who have supported and enjoyed the vital research we’ve highlighted this year. Our readers and contributors are the lifeblood of pushing forward advancements that will benefit us all. We’re looking forward to more brainy breakthroughs and fascinating hot topics in 2023, making complex science beautifully accessible. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
