Culture

A nasal antiviral created by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons blocked transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in ferrets, suggesting the nasal spray also may prevent infection in people exposed to the new coronavirus, including recent variants

The compound in the spray--a lipopeptide developed by Matteo Porotto, PhD, and Anne Moscona, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics and directors of the Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction--is designed to prevent the new coronavirus from entering host cells.

The antiviral lipopeptide is inexpensive to produce, has a long shelf life, and does not require refrigeration. These features make it stand out from other antiviral approaches under development, including many monoclonal antibodies. The new nasal lipopeptide could be ideal for halting the spread of COVID in the United States and globally; the transportable and stable compound could be especially key in rural, low-income, and hard-to-reach populations.

The study published in Science on Feb. 17.

Ferrets a model for respiratory diseases

Ferrets are often used in studies of respiratory diseases because the lungs of these animals and humans are similar. Ferrets are highly susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, and the virus spreads easily from ferret to ferret.

In this study, carried out in collaboration with Rory de Vries, PhD, and Rik de Swart, PhD, at Erasmus in the Netherlands, 100% of the untreated ferrets were infected by their virus-shedding cagemates, approximating a setting like sharing a bed or close living conditions for people.

Porotto and Moscona have previously created similar lipopeptides--small proteins joined to a cholesterol or tocopherol molecule--to prevent infection of cells by other viruses, including measles, parainfluenza, and Nipah viruses. These anti-viral compounds have been challenging to bring to human trials, in large part because the infections they prevent are most prevalent or serious in low-income contexts.

When SARS-CoV-2 emerged, the researchers adapted their designs to the new coronavirus, collaborating with Christopher Alabi, PhD, at Cornell University. "One lesson we want to stress is the importance of applying basic science to develop treatments for viruses that affect human populations globally," Moscona and Porotto say. "The fruits of our earlier research led to our rapid application of the methods to COVID-19."

A paper describing a first generation of the compound and its effect in a 3D model of the human lung first appeared in the journal mBio on Oct. 20. In this human lung model, the compound was able to extinguish an initial infection, prevent spread of the virus within the lung, and was not at all toxic to the airway cells.

Lipopeptides prevent viruses from infecting cells

The lipopeptides work by preventing a virus from fusing with its host's cell membrane, a necessary step that enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, use to infect cells. To fuse, the new coronavirus unfolds its spike protein before contracting into a compact bundle that drives the fusion.

The compound designed by Porotto and Moscona recognizes the SARS-CoV-2 spike, wedges itself into the unfolded region, and prevents the spike protein from adopting the compact shape necessary for fusion.

In the ferret experiments at Erasmus, the lipopeptide was delivered into the noses of six ferrets. Pairs of treated ferrets were then housed with two control ferrets that received a saline nasal spray and one ferret infected with SARS-CoV-2.

After 24 hours of intense direct contact among the ferrets, tests revealed that none of the treated ferrets caught the virus from their infected cagemate and their viral load was precisely zero, while all of the control animals were highly infected.

Lipopeptides are effective against variants

Public health officials are concerned about the emergence of several SARS-CoV-2 variants, which appear to be more transmissible and deadly, and could be more adept at evading the antibodies generated by current therapies and vaccines available.

Porotto and Moscona tested the lipopeptide on cells infected with a range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, and found that the compound prevented the spike protein of all variants from fusing with the cell membrane as effectively as the dominant strain.

Lipopeptides are easily administered

Porotto and Moscona propose these peptides could be used in any situation where an uninfected person would be exposed, whether in a household, school, health care setting, or community.

"Even in an ideal scenario with large segments of the population vaccinated--and with full trust in and compliance with vaccination procedures--these antivirals will form an important complement to protect individuals and control transmission," Moscona and Porotto say. People who cannot be vaccinated or do not develop immunity will particularly benefit from the spray.

The antiviral is easily administered and, based on the scientists' experience with other respiratory viruses, protection would be immediate and last for at least 24 hours.

The scientists are conducting advanced studies on transmission in animal models and on production and formulation of the peptide. They hope to bring this preventative approach to human clinical trials soon, with the ultimate goal of deploying the therapy to help contain transmission during this pandemic and to support preparedness for future emerging strains and pandemics.

Meteorologists frequently study precipitation events using radar imagery generated at both ground level and from satellite data. Radar sends out electromagnetic waves that "bounce" off ice or water droplets suspended in the air. These waves quickly return to the radar site in a process named "backscattering." Scientists have observed that backscattering reaches its peak during the melting process as water falls through the atmosphere. High backscattering typically results in warm color returns on a radar displays, indicating heavy precipitation.

However, recent case studies noted that partially frozen droplets seem larger to radar than their solid and liquid counterparts of the same size, resulting in radar overestimating the precipitation rate. These studies also suggest that radar exaggeration may occur at a second level of the atmosphere, above the freezing level, especially on the windward slopes of mountain ranges. This phenomenon is known as "reflectivity maxima above freezing," or RMAF.

"Quantitative studies are limited due to the lack of adequate identification criteria," says Dr. Aoqi Zhang, the first author of the study just published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. "We must establish a new method for identifying RMAF structure within radar echoes."

Dr. Zhang and Dr. Chen from Sun Yat-sen University developed and applied their new method to analyze five specific criteria to all vertical precipitation profiles in the TRMM satellite radar dataset for 1998-2013. Their results found 2,736,225 RMAF events and 854,622,978 non-RMAF events, respectively.

"The RMAF structure in reflectivity profiles can be effectively identified by our method," says Dr. Zhang. "We also proved that RMAF is positively correlated with elevation, which is thought to be caused by enhanced updrafts in the middle layers of stratiform precipitation, or in the low to middle layers of convective precipitation over mountains."

This study showed why RMAF events occur specifically on windward slopes above the freezing level. Increasing mountain elevation enhances precipitation-creating updrafts as wind follows terrain upward in what is called "orographic lift." This study also revealed that the precipitation properties of RMAF events and non-RMAF events are significantly different.

"The RMAF structure increases the echo top height and enhances precipitation processes above the RMAF height, but it suppresses the downward propagation of ice particles and the near-surface rain rate," says Dr. Chen. "Future studies of orographic precipitation should take into account the impact of the RMAF structure and its relevant dynamic triggers."

Cryptomeria japonica, or the Japanese cedar, is highly revered as the national tree of Japan. Locally known as "sugi," it covers over 4.5 million hectares of land, accounting for nearly half of Japan's artificial forests. However, it is also notorious for causing hay fever, with a good 26.5% of Japan's population reporting cedar pollen allergies in 2008. Over the past years, pollen allergy caused by this conifer has become a widespread social issue among Japanese residents, with many having to avoid going outdoors during pollen season.

As sterile trees cannot produce and release functional pollen, it is believed that breeding of male-sterile cedar trees could be crucial in reducing the pollen released into the environment. However, their frequency is drastically low, with only two male-sterile trees per 8700 trees in a forest! The rarity of these trees, combined with the large and repetitive genomes of conifers, has made decoding the genes involved in their reproduction (and the lack thereof) a challenge.

Recently, a team of researchers including Dr. Yoichi Hasegawa, Dr. Fu-Jin Wei, and Dr. Saneyoshi Ueno from the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) in Japan, along with Dr. Yoshinari Moriguchi from Niigata University, identified a candidate for the "Male Sterility" (MS1) gene in C. japonica and investigated the applications of selectively breeding male-sterile trees as a means to reduce the pollen load. Their findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Discussing their findings, Dr. Hasegawa says, "We have identified a candidate gene and two deleterious mutations underlying male sterility in sugi trees. The mutants can be easily detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at the seedling stage without observing tree phenotypes (the outward appearance or manifestation), thereby accelerating the breeding of male-sterile sugi."

The team first examined genetic mutations in trees with ms1 alleles from strobili, the cone-like structures that bear pollen, using RNA sequencing analysis. The recessive "allele" (one of the two inherited "copies" of a gene), "ms1," has been associated with male sterility in Japanese cedars because it causes defective formation of microspores--the male gamete required for breeding. They identified a candidate gene for male sterility, called CJt020762. They also identified two deletion mutations within this gene that were consistently found in male-sterile trees. Using these two mutations as markers, the team developed a simple PCR-based screening strategy to detect these mutations and rapidly propagate male-sterile seedlings.

Further, Dr. Hasegawa and his team established a "haplotype network" with trees across 18 natural forests in Japan. Describing how the pattern and variation of genetic alterations in the specified gene influence ancestry, Dr. Hasegawa states, "Phylogeographic analysis of the mutants demonstrates that they share a close common ancestor whose haplotype is distributed throughout Japan, suggesting that new breeding materials with the mutant haplotype will be found in various regions under different environmental conditions."

Their findings provide useful insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying male sterility in conifers and highlights the importance of genetic markers in pollen production. With the help of these markers, selective breeding of male-sterile trees could gradually but eventually replace fertile conifers in artificial forests. This has the potential to substantially reduce the amount of dispersed pollen and the allergies associated with it.

In conclusion, Dr Hasegawa remarks, "Our study identifies the functional gene behind male sterility in conifers for the first time, establishing the model of reproductive genetics in sugi. Increased breeding of male-sterile sugi seedlings in the artificial forests will be easier using genetic screening, gradually replacing fertile trees with male-sterile ones. Probably in the next 50 years, many people with pollen allergy will be relieved to step outdoors in spring owing to the increasing number of male-sterile cedar trees and the eventual decrease in airborne pollen."

The study is indeed a step forward towards carefree--and pollen-free--breathing for people in Japan and even the world over!

Cardiovascular system can be regarded as a mechanical system centered on the heart. Blood flow in the vascular system, hemodynamics factors within the vasculature contain wall shear stress, circumferential wall tensile stress and hydrostatic pressure. Mechanical forces play an important role in vasculature and circulation, such as rapid regulation of vascular wall elasticity, administration of vascular remodeling, and the formation of arteriosclerotic lesions. Stress stimulation within the physiological range enables cells in dynamic balance to maintain homeostasis of vascular morphology, structure and function. Inversely, abnormal stresses stimulation, such as low shear stress, disturbed shear stress and high tensile strain, can break this balance and lead to vascular remodeling. Traditionally, blood pressure defines as a hydrostatic pressure on vascular wall. As a vertical pressure, hydrostatic pressure can act on all components of the vessel. However, few studies have addressed vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) (the most abundant component of the artery) under hydrostatic pressure as well as challenges to their function and the pathogenesis contributions to cardiovascular diseases.

First, researchers constructed a high-hydrostatic-pressure cell-culture system to imitate constant hypertension and applied single cell RNA-sequencing for identification a novel cellular taxonomy of VSMCs under hydrostatic pressure. Under 100-mmHg (analogous to healthy human blood pressure) or 200-mmHg (analogous to hypertension) hydrostatic pressure for 48 h, six distinct VSMC clusters were defined according to differential gene expression and gene ontology enrichment analysis. Especially, two novel VSMC subsets were identified, named the inflammatory subset, with CXCL2, CXCL3 and CCL2 as markers, and the endothelial-function inhibitory subset, with AKR1C2, AKR1C3, SERPINF1 as markers. The inflammatory subset promoted CXCL2&3 and CCL2 chemokine expression and secretion, triggering monocyte migration; the endothelial-function inhibitory subset secreted SERPINF1 and accelerated prostaglandin F2α generation to inhibit angiogenesis. The expression of the two VSMC subsets was greatly increased in arterial media from patients with hypertension and experimental animal models of hypertension.

Collectively, this study identified high hydrostatic pressure directly driving VSMCs into two new subsets, promoting or exacerbating endothelial dysfunction thereby contributing to the pathogenesis of other cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, stroke, and cardiac ischemic damage. The findings also partly explain why strict BP control (SBP

After seven years of intense research, a research group from Aarhus University has succeeded - through an interdisciplinary collaboration - in understanding why a very extended structure is important for an essential protein from the human immune system. The new results offer new opportunities for adjusting the activity of the immune system both up and down. Stimulation is interesting in relation to cancer treatment, while inhibition of the immune system is used in treatment of autoimmune diseases.

In our bloodstream and tissues, the complement system acts as one of the very first defense mechanisms against pathogenic organisms. When these are detected by the complement system, a chain reaction starts, which ends with the pathogen being eliminated and other parts of the immune system being stimulated. The protein properdin is crucial for the efficiency of the complement system. Fortunately, we almost all have sufficient properdin, as otherwise, we are at risk of dying as a child from infectious diseases.

In 2013, Professor Gregers Rom Andersen from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University was frustrated to know many details about other proteins in the complement system, but properdin seemed to be too difficult to work with. It was known that the protein had a very extended structure, which would make it almost impossible to determine the three-dimensional structure of properdin. To make matters worse, properdin is present in three different forms within the body, so-called oligomers, which contain two, three or four copies of the protein.

"But fortunately, Dennis Vestergaard Pedersen walked in the door in the autumn of 2013 to start as a PhD student. Actually, he only had to work with properdin as a side project as it was too risky. But, one day we sketched on the back of an envelope how one might be able to cut properdin into smaller pieces. It worked surprisingly well," says Gregers Rom Andersen.

In this way, Dennis determined the crystal structure of the individual pieces of a properdin molecule after five years. By then, Dennis had long since finished his PhD and did contract research at Aarhus University. But one thing bothered Dennis.

"Despite five years of work, I still did not know what the properdin oligomers we have in our body look like and what role their unusual and extended structure plays for the function of properdin," says Dennis Vestergaard Pedersen.

"I started for fun studying one of the three properdin oligomers using electron microscopy. To my great surprise, I discovered that this properdin oligomer is a rigid molecule, and not flexible as I had expected. This was a big surprise, and really whet my appetite," Dennis continues.

"In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Copenhagen, I therefore started to study the various properdin oligomers in detail. We combined electron microscopy and a technique called small angle scattering, and we were thus able to prove that all the different properdin oligomers are rigid, spatially well-defined molecules."

The special extended structure of properdin is important for the function of the protein in the immune system

At the same time, Dennis - along with Master thesis student Sofia MM Mazarakis - conducted laboratory experiments comparing the ability of artificial and naturally occurring properdin oligomers to drive the activation of the complement system. By combining these data with structural data, the researchers were able to show that the special extended structure of properdin actually is important for the function of the protein in the immune system.

Gregers Rom Andersen elaborates: "Dennis' long and persistent work with properdin has given us a whole new understanding of "the molecule from hell" and especially why it looks the way it does. It has given us new opportunities in terms of being able to control the activity of the complement system both up and down. Stimulation is interesting in connection with cancer, while shutdown of the complement is already used to treat autoimmune diseases."

Through his long work with properdin, Dennis has for a long time collaborated with a large pharmaceutical company and will now try to develop medicine himself. Together with three other researchers from Aarhus University, Dennis has developed a technique that takes advantage of our body's own complement system to kill cancer cells. The technique has just been patented by Aarhus University, and the researchers are now further developing the technique with support from the Innovation Fund Denmark and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

In the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs of a Neptune-sized planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, a mere 4.4 light years away from Earth. This exoplanet is located in a zone that may offer suitable conditions for life. The team was able to collect data with unprecedented sensitivity, thus registering even very weak signals.

Earth is a disruptive factor

Thanks to the new process, the researchers have advanced one step closer to a major goal of exoplanet research: the discovery of Earth-like planets capable of supporting life. Direct imaging of planets delivers information about the composition of their atmospheres and possibly even signs of life. To date, however, direct measurements have mostly found exoplanets that are larger than Jupiter and orbit far away from very young host stars. In other words, these planets fall outside the habitable zone where liquid water could form.

One reason that the search for Earth-like planets has so far proved fruitless is that it has been conducted in the near-infrared range, even though Earth-like planets that might have water are brightest in the mid-infrared range. Yet it is precisely in that range that measurements with normal telescopes are difficult, because that is where the Earth and its atmosphere are also at their brightest. This means the faint signals from exoplanets are lost in particularly strong background noise.

100 hours of observations

As reported in their study, the researchers have now been able to overcome this difficulty and take measurements in the mid-infrared range. They used the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile to examine Alpha Centauri stars A and B, logging nearly 100 hours over the course of a month. "Keeping the telescope pointed at the same star for such a long time is highly unusual," explains Anna Boehle, a postdoc in ETH Professor Sascha Quanz's group. As second author of the study, Boehle was heavily involved in evaluating the data. "We assessed more than five million images," she says.

To be able to detect the faint signals from potential planets, the researchers not only processed a huge volume of data, they also employed two sophisticated measurement techniques: one was to use a new deformable secondary telescope mirror, which made it possible to correct for distortions in the light coming through the Earth's atmosphere; and the other was to use a coronagraph to alternately block the light from each of the stars in turn at very short intervals. This let the scientists further reduce signal noise while examining the surroundings of both stars.

Signs of a planet

"Our findings indicate that in principle, this process enables us to discover smaller terrestrial planets capable of hosting life," Boehle explains, "and it represents a clear improvement over previous observation methods." Indeed, in their data the researchers found a light signal that may originate from a Neptune-sized planet. Boehle says, "Whether or not this signal is actually from a planet requires further study. To that end, we plan to combine the infrared measurements with other measurement methods."

Experts say English slang and regional dialect should not be banned from classrooms but when you're getting to grips with a second language how helpful is it to learn non-standard lingo?

Very, says Sascha Stollhans, of the Department of Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University, who argues that standardised language norms are artificial and language learners should learn about all aspects of language, even the controversial ones.

In his policy paper, just published in the Languages, Society & Policy Journal, he says:

There are concerns among professionals that introducing learners to 'non-standard' language could lead to ambiguity and confusion and that students might be penalised for using it in assessments.

Linguistic variation is a rich area of study that can appeal to language learners and have a positive impact on motivation.

Attitudes to language norms and variation in language teaching vary widely, and current textbooks deal with language variation in very different ways

"Language learners will need to be able to understand slang and dialect when mixing with so-called 'native' speakers - which is easier than ever in this digital age - just take a look at the language used on Twitter," says Mr Stollhans, a Senior Teaching Associate in German Studies at Lancaster.

"More than that, in the UK, where school-based language learning has been in crisis mode for a while now, learning more about the varied ways in which 'native speakers' in different places and contexts communicate could be just the way to get students motivated and interested.

"This process can be extremely creative and tell us a lot about other cultures. It can also be an important step towards a more diverse and inclusive curriculum. After all, language norms are often political and historical, and there are a variety of speakers of a language."

The paper makes concrete recommendations for policy-makers, publishers, authors of learning materials, examination boards and teacher training providers.

It urges:

Curriculum leaders and teachers in the UK to make it their mission to enlighten learners about the rich and dynamic forms of variation a language entails when learning their first language - the first step to learning the complexity of other languages

Examination boards to accept the use of non-standard variations in tests and examinations, in appropriate contexts

Teacher training to include appropriate linguistics elements to sensitise teachers to issues around variation and equip them with the means to be able to make informed decisions about the inclusion of language varieties in their teaching. This is something Mr Stollhans has been campaigning for with the national "Linguistics in Modern Foreign Languages" network.

The policy paper is part of a special collection of policy papers on "Language inequality in education, law and citizenship" that follows on from a meeting which brought together academics with practitioners - teachers, examiners, dictionary-makers, speech therapists, legislators, translators, lobbyists, policy-makers, and others - to examine how assumptions and beliefs about correct, acceptable or standard languages impact on everyday life in a multilingual world.

The meeting, for which Mr Stollhans was invited to chair the education panel, was part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded MEITS project.

Researchers from the University of Granada warn that an accumulation of fatty tissue in the neck (both the double chin and the deeper deposits, located between muscles and around the cervical vertebrae) is a predictor of central and overall adiposity, cardiometabolic risk, and a pro-inflammatory profile in sedentary young adults.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) has revealed that an accumulation of fatty tissue in the neck is a predictor of central and overall adiposity, cardiometabolic risk (heart problems), and a pro-inflammatory profile in sedentary young adults.

Traditionally, the accumulation of visceral adipose tissue has been considered one of the factors most strongly related to cardiometabolic risk and chronic (low-grade) inflammation in humans. However, this well-established association has led researchers to neglect, to some degree, the study of other fatty deposits and their clinical/biological relevance.

"Curiously, several studies have demonstrated that the accumulation of fat in the neck (both superficial deposits such as the double chin or jowls and the deeper deposits, located between the muscles and around the cervical vertebrae) increases in direct proportion to the weight or adiposity of the individual and that it follows specific accumulation patterns, according to gender," explains María José Arias Téllez, a researcher at the UGR and one of the main authors of this work. In fact, a greater accumulation of fat in certain neck tissue compartments, particularly the deeper ones, is linked to a greater likelihood of cardiometabolic risk. Arias Téllez continues: "However, the evidence accumulated to date has been based on experiments performed on patients with benign/malignant tumours or other chronic conditions, and it remains to be seen whether it can be generalised to relatively healthy adults."

The ACTIBATE project

The study carried out at the UGR is part of the ACTIBATE project (Activating Brown Adipose Tissue through Exercise--see http://profith.ugr.es/actibate). The project is financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Health Research Fund of the Carlos III Health Institute (PI13/01393). The research was led by Jonatan Ruiz Ruiz and its results have been published in the International Journal of Obesity.

The study shows that the accumulation of fat in the neck--measured with computed tomography scanning--as well as its distribution in different compartments, is associated with greater overall and central adiposity, greater cardiometabolic risk, and a greater inflammatory status among healthy young adults, regardless of the amount of total and visceral fat. In addition, among the most relevant findings, it was observed that this accumulation of fat in the neck was as powerful a factor (in terms of direction and magnitude) as the accumulation of visceral fat in the prediction of cardiometabolic risk and inflammatory status, especially in men.

"Therefore, these results underline the need for further research in this new direction, to better understand the effect of fat accumulation in the upper part of the trunk (including the neck) and its clinical repercussions, especially in cardiometabolic risk and inflammation," explains Francisco Miguel Acosta Manzano, also among the main authors of the research.

"We still have much work to do. We need to investigate the adipose tissue of the neck in greater depth, to understand its pathogenic role in obesity and associated comorbidities, as well as its biological importance. Furthermore, we only have scant knowledge about the morphological or molecular characteristics of the adipocytes in these deposits, and here basic studies are required. As we increase our knowledge of this deposit, we can also determine whether specific interventions (for example, physical exercise and/or restricted calorie intake) could help reduce the accumulation of fat in the neck (as well as total fat) and implement them clinically," explain Arias Téllez and Francisco Miguel Acosta Manzano, both PhDs students on the Biomedicine programme of the UGR's International School for Postgraduate Studies and members of the PROFITH-CTS977 Research group (http://profith.ugr.es).

Ground-breaking research led by University of Limerick has revealed for the first time that the immune system directly links personality to long-term risk of death.

The study sheds new light on why people who are more conscientious tend to live longer.

Results from the new international study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity have found that the immune system plays a previously unknown role in the link between personality traits and long-term risk of death.

"Personality is known to be associated with long-term risk of death, it is a well replicated finding observed across numerous research studies internationally," explained Principal Investigator on the study Dr Páraic Ó Súilleabháin, from the Department of Psychology and Health Research Institute at University of Limerick, Ireland.

"The critical question is 'how'. We wanted to find out if a biological pathway such as our immune system may explain why this happens.

"Our personality is critically important throughout our lives, from early stages in our development, to the accumulation of the impact of how we think, feel, and behave across our lives, and in the years preceding our death. It is also becoming increasingly apparent how important personality actually is for our long-term health and resulting longevity. For instance, it has been shown that people scoring lower on the personality trait of conscientiousness (a tendency to be responsible, organized, and capable of self-control) can be at a 40% increased risk of future death compared to their higher scoring counterparts. What is not clear is how this could happen, and importantly, what biological pathway might be responsible for this link," added Dr Ó Súilleabháin.

Led by Dr Ó Súilleabháin, this study was conducted with a team of collaborators from the Department of Psychology at UL, the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University, the Department of Psychology at Humboldt University Berlin, and the College of Medicine at Florida State University.

The researchers wanted to investigate if two biological markers which are central to the immune system may explain why personality traits are associated with long-term mortality risk. Specifically, they wanted to test if interleukin-6 and c-reactive protein which are known to play an important role in age-related morbidity may explain how our personality traits are related to how long we live. The study was drawing on data from the Midlife in the United States Longitudinal Study carried out on 957 adults who were examined over a 14-year period.

Dr Ó Súilleabháin explained: "We found that part of the reason why people who score higher on the personality trait of conscientiousness live longer is as a result of their immune system, specifically due to lower levels of a biological marker called interleukin-6. There are likely further biological mechanisms that are yet to be discovered which will give a clearer picture of all the different ways that our personalities are so critical to our long-term health.

"These findings are very important and identify for the first time that an underlying biological marker directly links personality to long-term mortality risk. With replication, these findings provide an opportunity for future interventions to increase our longevity and health across the lifespan," Dr Ó Súilleabháin added.

Women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic report having felt greater stress in the delivery process, and rate lower the quality of care received.

Furthermore, almost 15% more women developed symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth during the pandemic

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) indicates that psychological variables have contributed to more severe anxiety and depression among pregnant women since the COVID-19 pandemic began. These psychological variables include the general stress suffered, the concerns that women have about the pregnancy itself, personal resilience, insomnia, fear of catching the virus, or the feeling of loneliness.

This study, published in the journal Medicina Clínica, has revealed that feeling stress, being highly concerned about the evolution of the pregnancy, fear of contagion, feeling lonely, and sleeping badly are the variables that most affect anxiety and depression.

"We have all experienced highly stressful, sad, or anxious situations at some point during the pandemic. Since the state of alarm was decreed in our country, thousands of people have had to deal with a new way of life that is completely unfamiliar. This situation has affected pregnant women in particular, who have experienced a growing sense of fear about the possibility of infection due to potential transmission to the foetus", explains the main author of this work, Borja Romero González, a researcher at the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment of the UGR.

In addition, the uncertainty caused by the lockdown situation (especially in the Spring of 2020), coupled with the experiences of these women in hospitals that are overwhelmed due to the pandemic, may have contributed to their stress and anxiety.

A study among 131 women

"During lockdown, we were all forced to change our day-to-day habits. So everything that surrounded us during that difficult time could help alleviate the negative effects of a situation in which we exchanged outdoor walks for looking out of a window, and visits to family members for video calls", the researcher at the UGR observes.

Against this backdrop, this study focused on determining which variables--be they psychological or specific to the lockdown experience--contributed to increasing or decreasing the levels of anxiety and depression in a sample of 131 pregnant women.

In addition to the aforementioned psychological variables, then, the authors also analysed certain variables of the lockdown experience itself: the type of dwelling in which the women spent these months, whether they followed a balanced diet, and the frequency of video calls to family and friends.

The main findings were that psychological variables did indeed contribute to worsening anxiety and depression in pregnant women, which points to a clear conclusion: regardless of the major importance of where you live, how much contact you have with your relatives, and the type of diet you follow, the psychological state contributes more directly problems with anxiety and depression," explains Borja Romero.

The UGR researchers therefore consider it very important to target psychological interventions at the pregnant female population, "to listen to them and allow them to talk about their emotions, to minimise the impact of lockdown on more serious problems such as anxiety and depression. This could also have a positive impact on the foetus, since the close relationship between the mother's stress levels and the baby's neurodevelopment is well known.

Less satisfied

A second study compared the levels of satisfaction with childbirth and the incidence of postpartum depression in women who gave birth before vs. during the pandemic. The main results showed that those women who gave birth during the pandemic reported having felt greater stress during the delivery process, and they rated lower the quality of care they received in hospital. Likewise, almost 15% more women developed symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth during the pandemic. This second study was based on a sample of 162 women and was recently published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

One possible explanation for these phenomena may be that, during the state of alarm and the most critical moments of the pandemic, the Spanish hospital system suffered an almost total collapse. This likely affected the women's perception of the quality of care they received. In addition, having to give birth alone or being in an "inhospitable" place (as indeed all hospitals became during the pandemic) would increase the stress at the time of delivery.

"It is very important to note that satisfaction with childbirth is an indicator of later well-being, which is important in reducing the risk of suffering postpartum depression," concludes Borja Romero.

Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 remains active on aerosols and surfaces for between several hours and several days, depending on the nature of the surface and environmental conditions. Presently, researchers from Tel Aviv University have demonstrated that ozone, which has already long been used as an antibacterial and antiviral agent in water treatment, effectively sanitizes surfaces against Coronavirus after short exposure to low concentrations of ozone. The research team was led by Dr. Ines Zucker from the School of Mechanical Engineering at the Ivy and Eldar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering and the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at the Tel Aviv University. Dr. Zucker collaborated with Dr. Moshe Dessau from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar Ilan University in the Galilee and Dr. Yaal Lester from the Azrieli College in Jerusalem in order to investigate the feasibility of ozone for indoor inactivation of SARSCoV-2.

The preliminary findings of the study were published in the Journal: Environmental Chemistry Letters.

Most people recognize ozone as a thin layer of the Earth's atmosphere that guards us against the harmful effects of UV radiation. However, ozone is also known as a strong oxidant and disinfectant employed in water and wastewater treatment schemes. Within the study framework, the research team decided to adapt the mechanisms whereby they use ozone to break down organic pollutants from contaminated waters and demonstrate the expected efficacy of the ozone in neutralizing Coronavirus.

Ozone gas is generated by electrical discharge (the breakdown of chemical compounds into their elements using electric current), in the course of which oxygen molecules are reconstructed in the form of ozone molecules. In the course of their study, the researchers demonstrated the inactivation from various infected surfaces, even in hard-to-reach locations. They demonstrated a high level of disinfection within minutes, even on surfaces not typically disinfected with manually-applied liquid disinfectants with a statistical success rate of above 90%. According to Dr. Ines Zucker, the method involves inexpensive and readily available technology, which can be utilized to disinfect hospitals, schools, hotels, and even aircraft and entertainment halls.

"Gaseous ozone is generated from oxygen gas by electrical discharge. Now, for the first time, we have managed to prove that it is highly efficient in combating Coronavirus as well", stresses Dr. Zucker. "Its advantage over common disinfectants (such as alcohol and bleach) is its ability to disinfect objects and aerosols within a room, and not just exposed surfaces, rapidly and with no danger to public health". Dr. Zucker estimates that, since the gas can be produced relatively cheaply and easily, it should be possible to introduce ozone disinfecting systems on an industrial scale to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

People with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) combined with disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs) share about the 80% of genetic variants associated with aggressive and antisocial behaviours.

This is one of the conclusions of a study published in the journal Nature Communications which counts on the participation of professor Bru Cormand, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD) and the Rare Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERER), and researchers Marta Ribasés and Josep Antoni Ramos Quiroga, from Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Mental Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERSAM).

The study -the most ambitious one published to date on risk genetic factors shared between people with ADHD and DBDs- is based on the study conducted to about 4,000 affected people by these pathologies and 30,000 control individuals, within the frame of the European project Aggressotype, from the Horizon 2020 program, aimed at doing research on the neurobiological basis of the aggressive behaviour. The study is led by Ditte Demontis and Anders D. Børglum (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Stephen V. Faraone (State University of New York, United States).

ADHD: a psychiatric disorder that does not always come alone

ADHD is a common behaviour disorder -it affects about 5% of children and 2.5% adult people- and features hyperactivity, impulsiveness and attention deficit. This disorder usually comes with other psychiatric alterations, mainly disruptive behaviour disorders (DBDs), which can be associated with antisocial and aggressive behaviours.

"ADHD and DBD are caused by genetic and environmental factors. Regarding ADHD, it is estimated that genetics account for a 75%, while in DBDs, it would oscillate between 40 and 70%. These clinical pictures are more frequent in boys than girls, and when they come together, people are more likely to fall into risky behaviours, addictive substance use, and premature death", notes Bru Cormand, professor at the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and head of the Research Group on Neurogenetics of the UB.

"Certain people feature two or more psychiatric disorders, and this coexistence continues, in many cases, in a chronological axis, in which suffering from a psychiatric disorder such as ADHD involves opening the door to other comorbid pathologies that aggravate the life quality of those who suffer from the disorder", notes Marta Ribasés, head of the Laboratory of Genetic Psychiatry of Vall d'Hebrón Research Institute (VHIR).

Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), researchers analyzed the genetic contribution of changes in a single DNA nucleotide (SNP) -the most abundant ones in the human genome- to these psychiatric disorders. As part of the study, VHIR and UB experts brought samples of patients with ADHD diagnosed at Hospital Vall d'Hebron and took part in the analysis of genetic data.

More risk genetic variants in patients with ADHD and DBDs

The research team identified a genomic segment in the chromosome 11 which increases the risk of having ADHD combined with DBD. "This region has the STIM1 gen, which is involved in the regulation of calcium cell levels, neuronal plasticity and learning memory", notes Bru Cormand, who coordinated the international working group on genetics in the Aggressotype project.

"Our study shows that genetics are more determining in people with ADHD and DBD than those who only suffer from ADHD", highlights Bru Cormand. "If we compare the genome of patients with ADHD and DBD to that of those patients with only ADHD, we see that people affected by both disorders have a higher genetic correlation with risk genetic variants. These extra correlations of ADHD and DBD patients would probably correspond to alterations other authors had related to aggressive-related behaviours", notes Cormand.

"If we consider ADHD to be an open door to a negative trajectory, using genetic information to identify those individuals who are more vulnerable will have a strong impact on prevention, early detection and treatment, and will shed light on new research studies to find efficient therapies that can be specific for the disorder or shared between several disorders", notes Marta Ribasés.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is a new science advance that will contribute to broaden the genetic landscape of ADHD comorbidities (that is, the series of pathologies that are correlated with this disorder). From a clinical perspective, knowing the psychiatric alterations that share genetics is a step forward, because it will enable the prediction of potential secondary complications over the life of those individuals with ADHD.

"These results allow us to better understand the origins of DBDs associated with ADHD and provide better information to the family members about this disorder", concludes Josep Antoni Ramos Quiroga, head of the Psychiatry Service of Hospital Vall d'Hebron and the Research Group on Mental Health Psychiatry and Addictions at VHIR.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Though Ohio never formally enacted a so-called "heartbeat bill" banning abortions after six weeks of gestation, legislative and legal actions appear to have fueled beliefs that abortion is illegal in the state, a new study has found.

One in 10 Ohio women surveyed for the study thought abortion was prohibited. The percentage with that belief increased from 5% to 16% during the study period, corresponding to sustained activity to limit abortions from fall of 2018 through summer of 2019. The study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Maria Gallo, the study's lead author and a professor of epidemiology at The Ohio State University, said repeated legislative attempts at extreme restrictions on abortion, the veto by one governor and support of another, and court actions on the legislation were confusing, even to her.

"There was this long period of time where a lot of different things were happening around this proposal and if you weren't keeping up with every twist and turn it would be easy to think that abortion had been outlawed in Ohio, even though it never was," Gallo said.

The 10% of women in the study who thought abortion was illegal included a disproportionate number of women with other barriers to reproductive health care -- those who were younger, of lower socioeconomic status, unmarried or Black.

"Women who are already facing structural barriers to getting care were more likely to believe it was illegal, so that makes the situation even worse," Gallo said.

During each of the eight months of the Ohio Survey of Women, women who completed the survey answered the question: "Based on what you know or have heard, is it legal to get an abortion in your state?"

Most of the 2,359 participants, 64%, understood abortion is legal in Ohio. Another 26% were unsure, and 10% thought it was illegal.

Abortion is legal in Ohio up to 20 weeks of gestation.

Health care providers should be aware that their patients may not understand their reproductive rights and options, Gallo said.

"It's important to make sure that Ohio women -- and people everywhere -- know what their health care options are. They may be hesitant to ask, particularly if they are under the impression that abortion is illegal," she said.

"Abortion may be hard to access, but it's still an individual's legal right to obtain this health care if she wants to."

Other Ohio State researchers who worked on the study are John Casterline, Payal Chakraborty, Alison Norris and Abigail Norris Turner. Danielle Bessett of the University of Cincinnati is also a co-author.

The study was done as part of the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network (OPEN), a multi-center research collaborative launched in 2018 to study how policy affects reproductive health and equity in Ohio and surrounding states.

Scientists have little understanding of the role fishes play in the global carbon cycle linked to climate change, but a Rutgers-led study found that carbon in feces, respiration and other excretions from fishes - roughly 1.65 billion tons annually - make up about 16 percent of the total carbon that sinks below the ocean's upper layers.

Better data on this key part of the Earth's biological pump will help scientists understand the impact of climate change and seafood harvesting on the role of fishes in carbon flux, according to the study - the first of its kind - in the journal Limnology and Oceanography. Carbon flux means the movement of carbon in the ocean, including from the surface to the deep sea - the focus of this study.

"Our study is the first to review the impact that fishes have on carbon flux," said lead author Grace K. Saba, an assistant professor in the Center for Ocean Observing Leadership in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. "Our estimate of the contribution by fish - about 16 percent - includes a large uncertainty, and scientists can improve it with future research. Forms of carbon from fish in ocean waters where sunlight penetrates - up to about 650 feet deep - include sinking fecal pellets, inorganic carbon particles (calcium carbonate minerals), dissolved organic carbon and respired carbon dioxide."

The ocean plays a vital role in the Earth's carbon cycle by exchanging carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas linked to global warming and climate change, with the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean is taken up by phytoplankton (algae), small single-celled plants at the ocean's surface. Through an important process called the biological pump, this organic carbon can go from the surface to ocean depths when algal material or fecal pellets from fishes and other organisms sink. The daily migration of fishes to and from the depths also contributes organic carbon particles, along with excreted and respired material. Another factor is mixing of ocean waters.

"Carbon that makes its way below the sunlit layer becomes sequestered, or stored, in the ocean for hundreds of years or more, depending on the depth and location where organic carbon is exported," Saba said. "This natural process results in a sink that acts to balance the sources of carbon dioxide."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Scientists used accelerometers to track daily activity levels for a week in 89 adults with obesity or overweight and, in a series of tests, measured their ability to multitask and maintain their attention despite distractions. The study revealed that individuals who spent more sedentary time in bouts lasting 20 minutes or more were less able to overcome distractions.

Reported in the International Journal of Obesity, the research adds to the evidence linking sedentary behaviors and cognition, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign kinesiology and community health professor Dominika Pindus, who led the work on the paper.

"Several studies have examined the relationship between different types of sedentary behaviors such as TV viewing and cognitive functions in children and adults," Pindus said. "The relationships they observed varied with the type of sedentary behavior. These studies primarily measured sedentary behaviors during leisure time."

The research found that regularly sitting for extended periods is linked to increased mortality and cardiovascular disease, Pindus said. People who do not engage in at least 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sit for eight hours or more have an increased health risk. Other studies suggest that bouts of prolonged sitting lasting 20 minutes or more negatively affect levels of blood sugar after a meal.

"Few studies, however, have examined the relationship between prolonged sedentary time and cognitive functions," Pindus said. To address this gap in research, she and her colleagues focused on the associations between objectively measured, prolonged sedentary time and cognition in adults 25-45 years old with obesity or overweight.

"We know from previous research that people with obesity or overweight don't do as well on certain types of cognitive tasks," Pindus said. "These tasks engage executive functions - cognitive functions that are important for reasoning and staying focused on a goal."

Some studies have found that long-term physical activity interventions in preadolescent children or older adults can improve those functions.

"But we don't have much data on how prolonged sedentary time is linked to executive functions in working-age people with obesity or overweight," she said. "If we can show how sedentary time and physical activity in everyday life relate to executive functions in those individuals, we may be able to design more targeted lifestyle interventions to improve cognition in this population."

The researchers collected baseline information for all participants, tested their cognitive ability and calculated each person's body mass index and percent body fat. Participants wore accelerometers on their waists during waking hours for seven days. They also completed cognitive tasks and measures of brain function in a laboratory setting.

"We used EEG recordings to measure electrical potentials that are generated in the brain while participants engaged in tasks that challenged them to focus, ignore distractions and flexibly switch attention between tasks," Pindus said. A controller connected to a computer allowed participants to respond to problems while the speed and accuracy of their responses was recorded.

A statistical analysis of participants' sedentariness in relation to their speed and accuracy on a task that measures distractibility found a relationship between the two, Pindus said.

"Our key finding was that people who spent more time in prolonged sedentary bouts were more easily distracted," she said.

More research is needed to determine how the structure of a person's sedentary time influences cognition, Pindus said.

"If you make sure to break up your sitting time with brief bouts of physical activity, could that reduce how distracted you will be?" she said. "And if it does, what is driving this effect? This is something we want to explore."