How Vaccination Rumours Spread Online:Tracing the Dissemination of Information Regarding Adverse Events of COVID-19 Vaccines

Objectives: To trace the emergence and dissemination of the most prominent rumours about potential adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: We use a weekly Google Trends search to gather information about what alleged adverse events are being associated with COVID vaccines by the general population. We then use CrowdTangle and Factiva searches to examine how discussions about the five most prominent adverse events have spread through traditional media channels and Facebook. Results: Traditional mass media reporting remains crucial in both promoting and moderating discussions around alleged adverse events. While some cases illustrate that social media networks can synthesise and amplify rumours about adverse events, traditional media coverage remains crucial as a forum for exploring and debunking spurious claims. Conclusion: Traditional media stories still bear signficant responsibility as credibility markers for rumours about vaccine adverse events. Journalists should therefore be encouraged to be particularly earnest when reporting such stories, and the scientific community should aid journalists in this task by clearly responding to any rumours emerging online.</p

Wave turbulence in the two-layer ocean model

This paper looks at the two-layer ocean model from a wave turbulence perspective. A symmetric form of the two-layer kinetic equation for Rossby waves is derived using canonical variables, allowing the turbulent cascade of energy between the barotropic and baroclinic modes to be studied. It turns out that energy is transferred via local triad interactions from the large-scale baroclinic modes to the baroclinic and barotropic modes at the Rossby deformation scale. From there it is then transferred to the large-scale barotropic modes via a nonlocal inverse transfer. Using scale separation a sys- tem of coupled equations were obtained for the small-scale baroclinic component and the large-scale barotropic component. Since the total energy of the small-scale component is not conserved, but the total barotropic plus baroclinic energy is conserved, the baroclinic energy loss at small scales will be compensated by the growth of the barotropic energy at large scales. It is found that this transfer is mostly anisotropic and mostly to the zonal component

Large-scale drift and Rossby wave turbulence

We study drift/Rossby wave turbulence described by the large-scale limit of the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima equation. We define the zonal and meridional regions as $Z:= \{{\bf{k}}\,:| {k}_{y}| \gt \sqrt{3}{k}_{x}\}$ and $M:= \{{\bf{k}}\,:| {k}_{y}| \lt \sqrt{3}{k}_{x}\}$ respectively, where ${\bf{k}}=({k}_{x},{k}_{y})$ is in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic field such that k x is along the isopycnals and k y is along the plasma density gradient. We prove that the only types of resonant triads allowed are $M\leftrightarrow M+Z$ and $Z\leftrightarrow Z+Z$. Therefore, if the spectrum of weak large-scale drift/Rossby turbulence is initially in Z it will remain in Z indefinitely. We present a generalised Fjørtoft's argument to find transfer directions for the quadratic invariants in the two-dimensional ${\bf{k}}$-space. Using direct numerical simulations, we test and confirm our theoretical predictions for weak large-scale drift/Rossby turbulence, and establish qualitative differences with cases when turbulence is strong. We demonstrate that the qualitative features of the large-scale limit survive when the typical turbulent scale is only moderately greater than the Larmor/Rossby radius

Community Dynamics of Freshwater Picocyanobacteria and Development and Application of HIP 1 PCR (Cyanobacterial Typing Technique).

The main aim of this study was to further our understanding of the diversity of a freshwater picocyanobacterial community. The HIP 1 PCR typing technique was developed and applied to 506 isolates of picocyanobacteria from a field study on Esthwaite Water in 2000. This study has demonstrated that genetic diversity existed within the picocyanobacteria characterised morphologically by rod shaped cells and high phycocyanin pigment content. Picocyanobacteria of this morphology represented a significant proportion of the picocyanobacterial community within the lake in 2000, which was typical of summer conditions for that lake. Twenty-one HIP 1 types were defined; ninety isolates were not assigned to a type as they generated HIP 1 PCR products which were insufficiently similar to less than five other isolates. The diversity of HIP 1 PCR products generated from isolates within the types ranged from homogeneous complex patterns to similarity of one key PCR product and heterogeneity of minor products. It is likely that on further isolation and testing of isolates within the more heterogeneous types further splitting of these types will be appropriate. The HIP 1 types were each re-isolated on at least two sampling occasions (one month apart). Some types were isolated from sites spanning the sampling period demonstrating that there was some stability within the HIP 1 types within the picocyanobacterial community within Esthwaite Water over the summer of 2000. Some types appeared to be isolated more successfully at different times of the sampling period suggesting a temporal shift/changes of HIP 1 types in the picocyanobacterial community between June and October in Esthwaite Water. It was possible to demonstrate that three HIP 1 types were isolated at statistically different success rates from some spatial or temporal locations. It was concluded that picocyanobacteria are considerably more diverse than indicated by gross morphology. Picocyanobacteria of different genotypes may play a range of functional roles within the freshwater environment. The HIP 1 PCR typing technique may allow us to get a handle on the diversity of this group in order to investigate this further. Within this study the HIP 1 PCR typing technique was developed for application to field study. Several methods of DNA extraction were compared; the Dynabeads DNA Direct System 1 was selected for use in the field study as it produced the most reliable template for PCR at the lowest processing time and cost. The discrimination, specificity and reproducibility for the technique were investigated and the technique continued to show potential for application to field studies. A method was devised for assessing the similarity of PCR products amplified by HIP 1 PCR for application to the field study isolates. This method was demonstrated as sufficient to appropriately group the PCR products from four different templates of cyanobacterial DNA separated repeatedly on different electrophoresis gels. On application to the field isolates this method assisted with the grouping of isolates into HIP 1 types, however the final user interpretation of the PCR products was also necessary. It is also expected that on further isolation/analysis of these types further definition of HIP 1 genotypes will be appropriate. The HIP 1 PCR technique has been demonstrated to be a useful tool for assessing diversity within ecological studies. The major advantages of the technique compared to others are the discrimination, cost, speed and simplicity of the technique and capacity for analysis of large numbers of isolates. The major limitation of the technique is the requirement for isolation of cyanobacteria

Rossby wave turbulence

In this thesis, Rossby waves are considered within the one-layer Charney-Hasegawa-Mima (CHM) equation and two-layer quasi-geostrophic (QG) model. They are studied from a wave turbulence (WT) perspective. Since nonlinearity is quadratic, interactions take place between triplets of waves known as triads. A triad is said to be resonant if its wave vectors and frequencies satisfy k1 + k2 - k3 = 0 and w(k1)+w(k2)-w(k3) = 0 respectively. These triads can then be joined together to form resonant clusters of various sizes. The wave vectors can be continuous, in an unbounded domain, or discrete, in a bounded domain. Continuous, otherwise known as kinetic, WT has been extensively studied in the one-layer case. It is known that three quadratic invariants exist and they take part in a triple cascade in k-space. This thesis is interested in finding quadratic invariants, of which there can be many, in the discrete regime. It begins by considering discrete clusters of resonant triads arising from a Hamiltonian three-wave equation. A cluster consists of N modes forming a total of M connected triads. It is shown that that finding quadratic invariants is equivalent to a basic linear algebra problem, consisting of finding the null space of a rectangular M x N matrix A with entries 1, -1 and 0. An algorithm is then formulated for decomposing large clusters into smaller ones to show how the quadratic invariants are related to topological parts of the cluster. Specifc examples of clusters arising in the CHM wave model are considered. The second part of this thesis focusses on the large-scale limit of the CHM equation. This limit has been studied the least; however, it would appear to be more relevant since Rossby waves in the ocean are large-scale. Recently a new quadratic invariant, known as semi-action, has been discovered in this limit. Its density is one in the meridional region |ky| /3kx: As a consequence of the conservation of semi-action, conditions are placed on the triad interactions involving zonal (Z) and meridional (M) modes. In this thesis it is proved directly, without appealing to conservation, that the following triad interactions are prohibited: M -> M +M,M -> Z + Z,Z -> M + Z and Z -> M +M: The cascade directions are studied of the three invariants, the energy, enstrophy and, depending whether the initial spectrum is in the meridional or zonal sector, the semi-action or zonsotrophy respectively. The results are interpreted to explain the formation of unisotropic turbulence with dominating zonal scales. In the final part of this thesis, a symmetric form of the two-layer kinetic equation for Rossby waves is derived using canonical variables, allowing the turbulent cascade of energy between the barotropic and baroclinic modes to be studied. It turns out that energy is transferred via local triad interactions from large-scale baroclinic modes to the baroclinic and barotropic modes at the Rossby deformation scale. From there it is transferred into large-scale barotropic modes via a non-local inverse transfer

Inaction, under-reaction action and incapacity:communication breakdown in Italy’s vaccination governance

This article explores why governments do not respond to public compliance problems in a timely manner with appropriate instruments, and the consequences of their failure to do so. Utilising a case study of Italian vaccination policy, the article considers counterfactuals and the challenges of governing health policy in an age of disinformation. It counterposes two methods of governing vaccination compliance: discipline, which uses public institutions to inculcate the population with favourable attitudes and practices, and modulation, which uses access to public institutions as a form of control. The Italian government ineffectively employed discipline for a number of years. Epistemological and organisational constraints stymied its efforts to tackle a significant childhood vaccination compliance problem. With a loss of control over the information environment, vaccinations were not served well by exogenous crises, the sensationalism of the news cycle and online misinformation. Hampered by austerity, lack of capacity and epistemic shortcomings, the Italian government did not protect the public legitimacy of the vaccination programme. Instead of employing communications to reassure a hesitant population, they focused on systemic and delivery issues, until it was too late to do anything except make vaccinations mandatory (using modulation). The apparent short-term success of this measure in generating population compliance does not foreclose the need for ongoing governance of vaccine confidence through effective discipline. This is evident for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with many Italians still indicating that they would not accept a vaccine despite the devastation that the disease has wrought throughout their country

Quadratic invariants for discrete clusters of weakly interacting waves

We consider discrete clusters of quasi-resonant triads arising from a Hamiltonian three-wave equation. A cluster consists of N modes forming a total of M connected triads. We investigate the problem of constructing a functionally independent set of quadratic constants of motion. We show that this problem is equivalent to an underlying basic linear problem, consisting of finding the null space of a rectangular M × N matrix with entries 1, −1 and 0. In particular, we prove that the number of independent quadratic invariants is equal to J ≡ N − M* ≥ N − M, where M* is the number of linearly independent rows in Thus, the problem of finding all independent quadratic invariants is reduced to a linear algebra problem in the Hamiltonian case. We establish that the properties of the quadratic invariants (e.g., locality) are related to the topological properties of the clusters (e.g., types of linkage). To do so, we formulate an algorithm for decomposing large clusters into smaller ones and show how various invariants are related to certain parts of a cluster, including the basic structures leading to M* < M. We illustrate our findings by presenting examples from the Charney–Hasegawa–Mima wave model, and by showing a classification of small (up to three-triad) clusters

Coronavax : preparing community and government for COVID-19 vaccination:: a research protocol for a mixed methods social research project

Introduction Ahead of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination programme, the interdisciplinary Coronavax research team developed a multicomponent mixed methods project to support successful roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine in Western Australia. This project seeks to analyse community attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine access and information needs. We also study how government incorporates research findings into the vaccination programme. Methods and analysis The Coronavax protocol employs an analytical social media study, and a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with purposively selected community groups. Participant groups currently include healthcare workers, aged care workers, first responders, adults aged 65+ years, adults aged 30-64 years, young adults aged 18-29 years, education workers, parents/guardians of infants and young children (&lt;5 years), parents/guardians of children aged 5-18 years with comorbidities and parents/guardians who are hesitant about routine childhood vaccines. The project also includes two studies that track how Australian state and Commonwealth (federal) governments use the study findings. These are functional dialogues (translation and discussion exercises that are recorded and analysed) and evidence mapping of networks within government (which track how study findings are used). Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been granted by the Child and Adolescent Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) and the University of Western Australia HREC. Study findings will be disseminated by a series of journal articles, reports to funders and stakeholders, and invited and peer-reviewed presentations.</p