Do you want to stay updated on the latest breakthroughs and research in your chosen field? Our Top Picks, handpicked by our journal editors, feature the finest in Open Access research. This month’s picks include articles with fascinating insights into disease prediction, gender equality, AI, food security, and early childhood education.
1. Decoding Disease Dynamics: Can Advanced Statistics Prevent Health Crises?
Disease outbreaks are a major concern for governments and communities across the globe, causing great personal strife and damage to local economies. Malaria, one of the world’s deadliest parasitic diseases, exemplifies the severe impact such illnesses can have. To mitigate the impact of malaria on local communities, effective strategies for contagion management and patient care are essential. The road to implementing these strategies begins with the data.
Discover how Markov chains, a mathematical system governed by certain probabilistic rules, can be used to predict malaria incidence and inform health procedures here.
2. The Future of Fault Detection: Can AI Revolutionize Hydraulic Systems?
Hydraulic systems are everywhere, controlling everything from aircraft landing gear to the brakes in our cars and even rollercoaster rides. By transmitting pressurized fluid through pipes or hoses, they are used to move key parts of different machines, allowing them to function as designed. But these systems also falter, and this is where artificial intelligence (AI) can play a critical role. Recent developments in AI offer new possibilities for detecting system faults through deep learning. These intelligent algorithms can tell us when maintenance is required, preventing total system failure.
Read more about the process of designing and the benefits of such AI models in this article.
3. How Can Schools Help Eradicate Online Gender-Based Violence?
Though the internet offers numerous opportunities for discussion, connection, and mutual understanding, users are not immune to violence in the cyberspace. Women and children in particular face harassment online, leading to high levels of stress and anxiety. Given the adverse psychological impact of such violence, and the increasing usage of social media amongst youth populations, it is more important than ever to protect these vulnerable groups from harm.
This study of students’ experiences of the cyberspace in Indonesia highlights how mobilizing school communities can safeguard against gender-based violence online.
4. Grains of Concern: How Does Rice Trade Shape Food Security in Southeast Asia?
For countries in Southeast Asia, a hot, steaming bowl of rice offers more than just a satisfying meal. Rice accounts for a significant proportion of total exports, wielding great influence over broader trade patterns and domestic economic and political stability. In recent years, economic integration through the ASEAN Economic Community has led to an increase in rice exports overall, raising questions about the opportunities for achieving food security across the region.
Learn about how rice can help tackle food insecurity in Southeast Asia here.
5. Streaming Success: Can YouTube Improve Early Learning Experiences?
In the ever-growing cyberspace, YouTube has emerged as a valuable tool for education. Content creators post videos about everything from organic chemistry to Shakespeare, making the platform an accessible and convenient space for learning. Alongside this spike in the volume of educational content is a growing awareness of different types of intelligence (emotional, intellectual, spiritual, etc.) that have begun to shape policies, particularly those regarding early childhood education. As parents, teachers, and policymakers work to provide environments that cater to these various kinds of intelligence, YouTube offers one path for encouraging such learning.
Explore how the platform can help develop spiritual intelligence in children in this article.