Upgrade Storage“Next Energy” is incorrectly shortened to “Energy” when MEDLINE journal abbreviations are enabled
I found a reproducible problem with the automatic MEDLINE journal abbreviation function in Zotero.
The problem occurs with the following article:
Saikat Roy, Edison Sosa, Amin Etminan, “Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification,” Next Energy, Volume 12, 2026, Article 100669. DOI: 10.1016/j.nxener.2026.100669.
The metadata in the Zotero item are correct:
Publication: Next Energy
Journal Abbr.: Next Energy
However, when “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is enabled, Zotero changes the journal title from “Next Energy” to “Energy”.
Actual result:
S. Roy, E. Sosa, A. Etminan, Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification, Energy 12 (2026) 100669.
Expected result:
S. Roy, E. Sosa, A. Etminan, Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification, Next Energy 12 (2026) 100669.
The problem was reproduced with the Elsevier Numeric and Applied Thermal Engineering citation styles.
It occurs only when “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is enabled. When this option is disabled, Zotero correctly outputs “Next Energy” using the value entered in the Journal Abbr. field.
The journal Next Energy does not currently appear to have an entry in the NLM Catalog and therefore does not have an official NLM Title Abbreviation there. The incorrect output appears when Zotero processes the title automatically in MEDLINE abbreviation mode.
To determine whether the problem was caused specifically by the word “Next”, I changed only the journal title in the same Zotero item and refreshed the bibliography. The following results were obtained with MEDLINE journal abbreviations enabled:
Next Energy → Energy
Nexet Energy → Nexet Energy
Nxt Energy → Nxt Energy
Thus, the problem is triggered specifically by the exact word “Next”. Zotero removes this word from the journal title, while similar but unrecognized words are retained.
Steps to reproduce:
Create or edit a journal article item in Zotero.
Enter “Next Energy” in the Publication field.
Enter “Next Energy” in the Journal Abbr. field.
Insert the item into a Word document.
Select Elsevier Numeric or Applied Thermal Engineering as the citation style.
Enable “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations”.
Insert or refresh the bibliography.
Result: the journal title is displayed as “Energy”.
If “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is disabled, the journal title is displayed correctly as “Next Energy”.
This problem is important for publisher styles that require abbreviated journal titles. MEDLINE abbreviation mode is useful for producing consistent abbreviations across the bibliography, especially when the Journal Abbr. field is not completed for every item. However, in this case, enabling the option produces an incorrect journal title and also ignores the correct value already entered in the Journal Abbr. field.
Zotero version: 9.0.6 (64-bit)
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2, OS build 19045.7548
Microsoft Word version: Microsoft® Word 2021 MSO (Version 2606 Build 16.0.20131.20154) 32-bit
The problem occurs with the following article:
Saikat Roy, Edison Sosa, Amin Etminan, “Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification,” Next Energy, Volume 12, 2026, Article 100669. DOI: 10.1016/j.nxener.2026.100669.
The metadata in the Zotero item are correct:
Publication: Next Energy
Journal Abbr.: Next Energy
However, when “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is enabled, Zotero changes the journal title from “Next Energy” to “Energy”.
Actual result:
S. Roy, E. Sosa, A. Etminan, Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification, Energy 12 (2026) 100669.
Expected result:
S. Roy, E. Sosa, A. Etminan, Real-time thermal analysis of Li-ion energy storage in a hybrid power system for remote off-grid electrification, Next Energy 12 (2026) 100669.
The problem was reproduced with the Elsevier Numeric and Applied Thermal Engineering citation styles.
It occurs only when “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is enabled. When this option is disabled, Zotero correctly outputs “Next Energy” using the value entered in the Journal Abbr. field.
The journal Next Energy does not currently appear to have an entry in the NLM Catalog and therefore does not have an official NLM Title Abbreviation there. The incorrect output appears when Zotero processes the title automatically in MEDLINE abbreviation mode.
To determine whether the problem was caused specifically by the word “Next”, I changed only the journal title in the same Zotero item and refreshed the bibliography. The following results were obtained with MEDLINE journal abbreviations enabled:
Next Energy → Energy
Nexet Energy → Nexet Energy
Nxt Energy → Nxt Energy
Thus, the problem is triggered specifically by the exact word “Next”. Zotero removes this word from the journal title, while similar but unrecognized words are retained.
Steps to reproduce:
Create or edit a journal article item in Zotero.
Enter “Next Energy” in the Publication field.
Enter “Next Energy” in the Journal Abbr. field.
Insert the item into a Word document.
Select Elsevier Numeric or Applied Thermal Engineering as the citation style.
Enable “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations”.
Insert or refresh the bibliography.
Result: the journal title is displayed as “Energy”.
If “Use MEDLINE journal abbreviations” is disabled, the journal title is displayed correctly as “Next Energy”.
This problem is important for publisher styles that require abbreviated journal titles. MEDLINE abbreviation mode is useful for producing consistent abbreviations across the bibliography, especially when the Journal Abbr. field is not completed for every item. However, in this case, enabling the option produces an incorrect journal title and also ignores the correct value already entered in the Journal Abbr. field.
Zotero version: 9.0.6 (64-bit)
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2, OS build 19045.7548
Microsoft Word version: Microsoft® Word 2021 MSO (Version 2606 Build 16.0.20131.20154) 32-bit