Culture

The life cycle of insects consists of specific developmental stages. But, in response to adverse conditions, such as harsh winters, some insects arrest their own development at a particular stage. This process of seasonal adaptation is called "overwintering," in which the growth rate of the insect is either reduced or halted. This mechanism helps the insect to cope with extreme conditions that are unsuitable for its growth and reproduction. Overwintering usually occurs at a species-specific developmental stage. For example, some insects, such as silk moths, butterflies, and fresh flies, go through diapauses in the "embryo" or "pupal" stage (developmental stages in which the insect is still immature). In such insects, this process has been extensively studied. But, in some insects that go through this arrest at the "nymphal" stage (another type of stage in which the insect is still immature), the exact details of this process have been unclear until now.

In a study published in PNAS, a research group, led by at Dr Kenji Tomioka of Okayama University, dug deeper into how developmental arrest occurs at the nymphal stage. They studied this process in a species of cricket, called Modicogryllus siamensis, in which the growth arrest phase occurs once a year in the nymphal stage. The scientists also knew that in this stage, the insect shows "photoperiodic" responses (meaning that it responds to the length of days). Dr Tomioka explains, "Although photoperiod and temperature are known to regulate this change, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. The cricket Modicogryllus siamensis 'overwinters' as nymphs, with a reduced growth rate and increased molts."

A nymph develops into its adult form approximately 60 days after it hatches from the egg under long-day conditions. During its developmental process, it undergoes about 8 molts (a process in which the insect sheds its exoskeleton). Under short-day conditions, the nymphal period is longer with an increased number of molts, which helps in the overwintering process. Exactly how this happens was the question. To begin with, the scientists wanted to see how the nymphal period of slow growth is regulated by temperature. They found that low temperatures led to the reduced expression of two genes, insulin-like peptide (Ms'Ilp) and Target of rapamycin (Ms'Tor), which are part of the pathway that promotes the growth cycle in insects (the "insulin/TOR signaling" pathway). Interestingly, the scientists found that a suppression of these genes leads to a slowdown of growth in the insect, without even affecting the number of molts.

Next, the scientists focused on how day length regulates the growth arrest in insects. They uncovered that an intracellular pathway, called "the juvenile hormone (JH) pathway," controls how day length affects the growth and molting numbers of the insect. Based on these findings, the researchers conclude that the JH signaling pathway and the temperature-controlled insulin/TOR pathway work in tandem to regulate nymphal development to achieve seasonal adaptation in this cricket.

These findings not only deepen our understanding on the mechanism of seasonal adaptation in certain insects but also shed light on the insect's evolutionary strategy to survive in temperate areas, where day length and temperature change seasonally. Dr Tomioka concludes, "Our study was the first to show that nymphal development in an insect was controlled by two distinct mechanisms. Although much remains to be known regarding these mechanisms, we aim to gain this insight through further research."

For our social life and our profession we must be able to deal with our environment and other people. Executive functions, meaning the basic intellectual abilities that control human thought and action, help us to do this. These include selective attention, otherwise known as the ability to concentrate on one stimulus and suppress others, or the working memory, with which we can retain and manipulate information. These functions also enable us to plan actions and to divide them into individual steps.

However, some people do not succeed, finding it difficult to focus, plan their actions in a goal-oriented manner, and they have poor control over their impulses and emotions. They suffer from a condition called dysexecutive syndrome, which is often caused by craniocerebral trauma or a stroke.

One of those affected is a 56-year-old patient from Leipzig. She had suffered several strokes that hit a strategically very important region of the brain: The so-called inferior frontal junction area (IFJ) in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex in both hemispheres. The injury meant she was no longer able to pass basic psychological tests. These include, for example, the planning task zoo visit, in which a person is required to plan a tour of a zoo in accordance with various guidelines, or the Stroop test, which measures how well someone can suppress disturbing, unimportant stimuli in order to concentrate on an actual task.

The special feature of the examined patient: The lesion was limited to the IFJ alone, in both hemispheres of the brain equally (see figure). Normally, a stroke injures larger areas of the brain or is not restricted to such a defined area. In addition, it rarely affects the homologous areas in both hemispheres of the brain at the same time. As difficult as the situation is for the patient, it offers a unique opportunity for science to investigate the role of this region for executive functions.

"From functional MRI examinations on healthy persons, it was already known that the IFJ is increasingly activated when selective attention, working memory and the other executive functions are required. However, the final proof that these executive abilities are located there has not yet been provided," explains Matthias Schroeter, first author of the underlying study and head of the research group "Cognitive Neuropsychiatry" at MPI CBS. However, causal evidence of such functional-anatomical relationships can only be obtained when the areas are actually switched off--and thus the abilities actually located there fail. "We were able to provide this proof with the help of this patient."

And not only that; in addition to the classic approach -- assigning individual functions to a specific brain region on the basis of brain damage and the corresponding impairments -- the researchers also took the opposite approach: the "big data" approach via databases. These portals contain information from tens of thousands of participants from many psychological tests and the brain areas activated in the process. With their help, the researchers were able to predict the patient's impairments solely on the basis of the brain damage determined by brain scans. Experts refer to this as symptom reading, a method which could be used in the future to adapt a therapy to individual patients and their brain damage without having to test it in detail.

"If patients suffer from a loss of executive functions after an accident or stroke, for example, they are usually less able to regenerate the other affected abilities because they find it difficult to plan for them," said Schroeter. "In future, when the lesion images and databases provide us with more detailed information on which regions, and hence abilities, have failed, we will be able to adapt the therapy even more specifically.

IBARAKI, Japan--Comprehensive implementation of COVID-19 infection prevention measures boosts their effectiveness, while partial implementation compromises it. These are the findings from a study led by Prof. Setsuya Kurahashi at the Faculty of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba.

The team developed an agent-based computer model to estimate the effects of staggered commuting times, telecommuting, school closures, social distancing, self-isolation, and the various other measures being used in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Simulations conducted using this model showed that implementing measures either individually or in partial combinations yields limited results. The findings provide hints for estimating the combinations of measures most effective in preventing the spread of infection.

As governments, local authorities, research institutions, and the media all present a multitude of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 such as washing and disinfecting hands, wearing masks, avoiding the "three Cs" (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings), self-isolating, telecommuting, staggered commuting times, videoconferencing, and school closures, the lack of hard data makes comprehensive estimation of effectiveness difficult. This study seeks to fill that gap by modeling the COVID-19 infection process in a range of scenarios involving different behaviors.

The model compared the effectiveness of different measures against the COVID-19 infection process on the populations, workplaces, and schools of two virtual "towns." The residents were exposed to the risk of infection through commuting to work and school, and visiting shops and other everyday places. Hospitalizations, deaths, and infection speeds were simulated across 27 combinations of preventive measures, including no measures at all, basic measures only, combinations of basic measures, and combining basic measures with reduced contact with other people.

Combinations that incorporated telecommuting, school closures, and stay-home measures suggested the greatest efficacy, while measures implemented alone or in partial combinations did not result in any drop in hospitalization numbers, and were not effective as infection prevention measures. Moreover, in all of the permutations covered, elderly people made up a far greater proportion of those hospitalized and critically ill, thus indicating that preventing infection among the elderly may lead to fewer hospitalizations and deaths overall. However, any chink in the armor was enough to compromise effectiveness in these models, and the risk of infection remained high.

In addition, the model used in this study has already provided insights regarding other factors in the spread of COVID-19, including the effects of events where crowds gather (conclusion: the type of event has a greater effect than the scale), the effects of increased PCR testing (more testing of those who may be infected may help inhibit infection), and the effects of lockdowns and their durations (late and incomplete lockdowns resulted in recurrences of COVID-19).

The team is hopeful that these studies will help speed up the discovery of the most effective measures for combatting COVID-19.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have been widely used as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances--for example, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Though HFCs have no impact on the ozone layer, they are also long-lived potent greenhouse gases with global warming potentials as high as CFCs, meaning HFCs are regulated by both the Montreal Protocol as well as the Kyoto Protocol. China is a major consumer of HFCs around the world. How to estimate HFC emissions as accurately as possible is therefore a key issue to understand regional contributions, especially for potential emission source areas.

In a recently published study in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, Dr. Bo Yao from the China Meteorological Administration worked with local scientists in Zhejiang Province, and together they estimated the emissions of HFCs in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region by a tracer ratio method for the period 2012-2016.

"The YRD region is a fast-growing region in China with rapid urbanization and industrialization," explains Dr Yao, who is the Chief Scientist of greenhouse gases at the Meteorological Observation Center of the China Meteorological Administration. Dr Yao further explains why the YRD was selected as the target of their study: "Rapid economic growth has been partly driven by the expanding manufacturing sector, including the fluorine chemical industry, production of electronics, air conditioners, refrigerators and automobiles, which would result in a large amount of HFC emissions."

Yao's team chose CO as a tracer to estimate the HFC emissions. "We employed the tracer ratio method, for it is more objective than the bottom-up inventory approach and easier than the top-down method by inverse modeling," he adds. the team found that the YRD contributes around one third of the national total HFC CO2-equivalent emissions. The emissions intensity of HFCs in this area is also higher than both national and global levels, in terms of per capita, per unit area, or per unit GDP.

Ten HFC species were studied, among which HFC-23 was found to contribute approximately two thirds of all HFC emissions in terms of CO2-equivalent emissions in the YRD. "HFC-23 is a byproduct from the fluorine industry, or very limited fluorine chemistry plants, in the YRD. If HFC-23 emissions were totally eliminated, the HFC CO2-equivalent emission in the YRD would drop down obviously, and the emissions intensity of the YRD would be lower than national and global levels. So, HFC-23 is the key chemical when considering the mitigation potential of HFCs in the YRD, or even in China as a whole," suggests Yao.

COVID-19 is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism, blood clots in the venous circulation, according to a study conducted by researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), UK. In a series of 274 consecutive cases of COVID-19 admitted to hospital, a significant percentage (7.7%) were diagnosed with venous thromboembolism. The most common type of venous thromboembolism, seen in 76.2% of these cases, was pulmonary embolism, a blood clot on the lungs. The research team found that the D-dimer blood test was useful to identify those patients at highest risk of venous thromboembolism when admitted to hospital.

Lead author, Dr Chi Eziefula, Senior Lecturer in Infection at BSMS, said: "Identifying which patients have a risk of, and clinical evidence of, a venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 is highly important for two reasons. Firstly, because venous thromboembolism is linked to a risk of death and secondly because it is treatable with anticoagulant medications."

Dr Tim Chevassut, Reader in Haematology at BSMS, said: "This study signals the importance of further research to explore the pathological mechanisms specific to COVID-19. It also highlights the urgent need for clinical trials to evaluate the role of anticoagulation treatment for the prevention of deaths and morbidity from COVID-19 infection."

Offering personalised ovarian cancer risk prediction to women shows that 98 per cent of participants felt less worried after finding out their ovarian cancer risk status, according to a study led by Queen Mary University of London.

Identifying women at high risk for ovarian cancer currently relies on clinical assessments and family history-based testing for susceptibility genes - a policy that misses more than half of the gene carriers and represents enormous missed opportunities for more targeted prevention. Around 70 per cent of ovarian cancer cases are currently diagnosed too late, when they are already at stage 3 or 4, meaning that treatment is more radical and the chance of survival is much lower, compared to being diagnosed at stage 1 or 2.

In the study, funded by Cancer Research UK and The Eve Appeal, volunteers completed a risk assessment and genetic testing to receive a personalised risk estimate of developing ovarian cancer, which was calculated using genetic, lifestyle and hormonal ovarian cancer risk factors. None of the participants would routinely have been offered genetic testing on the NHS, as they did not fulfil current clinical testing criteria.

The study then followed the participants over six months through questionnaires which recorded a range of information including their psychological health and quality of life. Ovarian cancer worry and general cancer risk perception decreased over the six months. Individuals identified at increased risk could opt for screening and prevention.

The results suggest that this population-based personalised risk prediction is feasible and acceptable, has high satisfaction, reduces cancer worry, and does not have a negative impact on psychological health or quality of life.

Lead researcher Professor Ranjit Manchanda from Queen Mary's Barts Cancer Institute and Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine said: "Our findings support broadening genetic testing for ovarian cancer genes across the entire population, beyond just the current criteria-based approach, to better identify women at risk. This could prevent thousands more cancers than any current strategy, saving many lives. Why do we need to wait for women to get cancer to identify others in whom we can prevent cancer? A population testing approach can change this."

Professor Ian Jacobs from University of New South Wales said: "If women identified as high risk act on the information that they're given they can take preventative action to reduce their risk or undertake regular screening. The impact that this study could have on healthcare in the future for these cancers is promising and an exciting step forward in prevention."

Athena Lamnisos, CEO of The Eve Appeal added: "At The Eve Appeal we know that investing in cancer prevention is so vital. It's much better to prevent cancer development than deal with the devastating consequences of a cancer diagnosis. Particularly for a disease that's often diagnosed at a late stage like ovarian cancer. This pilot trial shows promise for all women. The emerging evidence shows that it could provide a personalised estimate of their risk of ovarian cancer development. This will allow them to make decisions allowing them to minimise their risk, by opting for preventative surgery, or to have regular screening. An exciting step forward."

More than 1600 kilometers east of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica lies the Atlantic island of South Georgia.

Here, king penguins live in huge colonies. Their days are spent chomping on krill, squid and fish, feeding their chicks and producing 'guano', which means poo in penguin. Nothing mind-boggling about that, you might say.

However, there is something very special about the comings and goings of king penguins. Tremendous amounts of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, are released via their guano, according to a 2019 study completed by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and their colleagues.

"Penguin guano produces significantly high levels of nitrous oxide around their colonies. The maximum emissions are about 100 times higher than in a recently fertilised Danish field. It is truly intense - not least because nitrous oxide is 300 times more polluting than CO2," explains Professor Bo Elberling, of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management.

Besides being a strain on the climate, nitrous oxide has an effect very similar to the sedative laughing gas used in the dentist's office. Bo Elberling explains:

"After nosing about in guano for several hours, one goes completely cuckoo. One begins to feel ill and get a headache. The small nitrous oxide cylinders that you see lying in and floating around Copenhagen are no match for this heavy dose, which results from a combination of nitrous oxide with hydrogen sulphide and other gases."

How penguin poop turns into nitrous oxide
Penguins' favorite foods are fish and krill, both of which contain large amounts of nitrogen absorbed from phytoplankton in the ocean.

Once penguins have filled their bellies, nitrogen is released from their feces into the ground. Soil bacteria then convert the substance into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

"It is clear to us that the level of nitrous oxide is very high in places where there are penguins -- and thereby guano -- and vice versa, lower in places where there is none," explains Bo Elberling.

Knowledge of how penguin droppings affect the Earth and atmosphere is highly relevant in the fight against climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Elberling continues:

"While nitrous oxide emissions in this case are not enough to impact Earth's overall energy budget, our findings contribute to new knowledge about how penguin colonies affect the environment around them, which is interesting because colonies are generally becoming more and more widespread."

He concludes by asserting that, "we should learn from this in relation to Danish agriculture, where large quantities of nitrous oxide are emitted by nitrogen fertilisers in fields. One of the things we can learn, for example, is how and when to fertilise vis-à-vis the optimal conditions for soil bacteria to produce nitrous oxide."

Researchers from the University of Freiburg, Stuttgart and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München conducted an online survey of more than 7,800 people in Germany from May 7-17, 2020 about their experiences and attitudes in the corona pandemic. The results are now being presented by Prof. Dr. Uwe Wagschal, Dr. Sebastian Jäckle, Dr. Eva-Maria Trüdinger and Dr. Achim Hildebrandt. Almost every German is affected by the pandemic in some way. Only five percent of those surveyed do not feel affected by the restrictions and measures. In contrast, every third respondent feels strongly or even very strongly affected, women more strongly than men overall. Younger and older people, however, feel less burdened by the pandemic than people between 30 and 60.

The perceived strain in individual regions of Germany varies greatly, the researchers report. The respondents feel a particularly heavy strain in the regions of Chemnitz and Gießen, but also in Central Franconia, Saxony-Anhalt and the Dresden region. Compared to the official case numbers of the German public health advisory body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), in the regions, however, there is no strong correlation between the number of infected persons and the perceived strain. People in northern Germany in particular are more relaxed, but even in the most affected areas in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the respondents tend to feel less strained, despite high infection rates and deaths in the south.

In addition to the perceived stress, there is also fear of impairment. The fear of one's own illness or that of people close to one is the strongest. For just under 40 percent of those surveyed, this is the greatest fear, in addition to the fear of a slump in the economy and of having to restrict their lifestyle. On the other hand, the respondents are much less afraid of isolation and their own unemployment. "Obviously, the danger of one's own unemployment is assessed less dramatically than the overall economic consequences," explains Wagschal. "Overall, however, there is a high level of confidence in the health measures of the federal and state governments," says the Freiburg political scientist. More than 60 percent of those surveyed consider them suitable for dealing with the health consequences of the pandemic. The interviewees are considerably more skeptical as to whether the political measures taken are suitable for dealing with the economic consequences of the pandemic. Only just under 35 percent of those surveyed are convinced of it.

A majority of the almost 7,800 people surveyed have a clear idea of who should pay for the costs of the pandemic: 51 percent think that a wealth tax is very sensible for the rich, while a further 30 percent think it is partly sensible. In contrast, only just under 3 percent consider general tax increases to be very sensible. The idea of reintroducing the solidarity surcharge is considered very sensible by only around 15 percent of those surveyed.

"Overall, a clear majority of 59.9 percent of those surveyed do not consider the government measures to combat the virus to be excessive," Wagschal emphasizes, "but there are clear differences between the supporters of the parties. More than half of the FDP supporters and almost three quarters of the AfD supporters consider the measures to be exaggerated, but less than 15 percent of the supporters of the CDU/CSU, the Greens and the SPD." However, the generally approving majority also takes a differentiated view of the measures. It agrees with protective measures such as increasing social distance, sealing off affected communities or closing the borders. The public is much more critical of measures such as monitoring telecommunications data electronically or restricting parliamentary rights.

When asked about their sources of information with regard to corona reporting, there are clear differences between the supporters of the individual parties. Supporters for the CDU/CSU, the SPD and the Green Party all have a great deal of trust in the official websites such as that of the Ministry of Health or the RKI as well as the established, public media and newspapers. The supporters of the Left and especially the FDP consistently show a lower level of trust here. AfD supporters and the supporters of other parties, including respondents who indicated the new grouping "Resistance 2020" as their electoral preference, deviate significantly from the rest of the population. They consider all sources of information to be rather untrustworthy on average and are most likely to find information on internet blogs, YouTube and social networks, precisely those sources in which the rest of the population has the least confidence.

Pregnant women involved in the criminal justice system are disproportionately not receiving medications for opioid use disorder, as compared to their peers, according to a Vanderbilt-led study published today in PLOS Medicine.

Researchers from Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute in Minneapolis analyzed data from the nation's treatment facilities and found that women referred for treatment by a criminal justice agency were half as likely to get evidence-based treatment.

"Medications for opioid use disorder save lives and improve pregnancy outcomes, but many pregnant women are not getting them," said senior author Stephen Patrick, MD, a neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and director of the Center for Child Health Policy.

"While policymakers have paid substantial attention to the opioid crisis, there has been little focus on pregnant women and even less toward pregnant women involved in the criminal justice system. There is an urgent need for well-funded, cross-sector approaches to improve outcomes for mothers and infants affected by the opioid crisis," he said.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) has increased in pregnant women by 400% over the last 25 years, according to the study. Between 1999 and 2017, overdose deaths increased 260%. Medication for opioid use disorder has become a standard of care, but just 50% of pregnant women receive such treatment, the study said.

Nearly 1 in 5 pregnant women with OUD are referred for treatment through a criminal justice agency, such as a court, probation or parole program.

"Pregnant women referred to opioid treatment from criminal justice agencies are less likely to receive first-line treatment with medication," said lead author Tyler Winkelman, MD, a primary care physician and co-director of the Health, Homelessness, and Criminal Justice Lab at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute in Minneapolis.

The study also compared treatment rates in states that expanded Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and those that did not.

The rate of medications like buprenorphine and methadone were consistent between 2011 and 2013 in expansion states, and then increased by 68% between 2015 and 2017.

Medication rates in non-expansion states did not increase substantially after the ACA was implemented.

"Medicaid expansion was associated with substantial improvements in rates of medications for opioid use disorder and is an important tool to improve access to treatment for this vulnerable population," Winkelman said.

Based on these findings, the researchers recommend closer collaboration between criminal justice and public health agencies to improve access to medications for opioid use disorder. Expanding Medicaid programs could also help connect pregnant women to effective treatment, they said.

ITHACA, N.Y. - So-called "white lies" - telling a spouse you like their sub-par cooking, or praising a friend's unflattering haircut - serve a purpose. But they can cause problems in the workplace, where honest feedback, even when it's negative, is important.

Women are more likely to be given inaccurate performance feedback, according to new research by Lily Jampol, Ph.D. '14, and Vivian Zayas, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

In their paper, "Gendered White Lies: Women Are Given Inflated Performance Feedback Compared to Men," Zayas and Jampol find that underperforming women are given less truthful but kinder performance feedback compared to equally underperforming men.

White lies are told to preserve relationships, avoid harming the other person or to present one's self in a positive light, among other reasons, Jampol said. Though they often reflect benign intentions, in some contexts they can be problematic.

"Given that developmental performance feedback is a ubiquitous and important process in most workplaces and of many people's working lives, access to fair and accurate feedback should be available to anyone needing improvement, regardless of his or her social group," the authors wrote. "Here we have exposed one factor that may, to a certain degree, impede this access - being a woman."

The study adds to a robust body of research showing gender differences in performance evaluations. Previous research has shown, for example, that women are described more warmly and with more positive words than men in narrative performance reviews, while being evaluated more negatively on more objective, quantitative measures of performance. Women are praised for their work while being allocated fewer resources than men. Women also report receiving less negative feedback from managers.

The primary aim of this new study, Zayas said, was "to provide empirical evidence that there is a greater propensity to positively distort information, or tell white lies, to women during person-to-person feedback."

The researchers used two studies to test this hypothesis.

In the first, which measured participants' perceptions of another person's actions, participants read a hypothetical manager's assessment of an employee's poor performance. Then they read what feedback the manager chose to give directly to the employee. Participants were randomly assigned to read different feedback statements, ranging from truthful feedback, which was the harshest, to the least truthful statement, which was also the nicest.

Study participants were asked to guess the employee's gender based on the feedback the manager had chosen to give.

"Participants overwhelmingly guessed that an underperforming employee who had been told a white lie - the least truthful, but the nicest feedback - was a woman," said Jampol, a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist at ReadySet, a consulting firm in Oakland, California. "This finding suggests that participants believe that this is a likely occurrence in giving feedback."

The second study examined whether the participants themselves were more likely to tell white lies to an underperforming woman, compared with a man.

For the second study, the researchers asked participants to grade two poorly written essays, with the writers identified solely by their initials, AB or SB; their genders were not known. Given that participants did not know the gender of the writers and the evaluation was done privately, their grades represent how they truly evaluated the essay.

After submitting their grades, study participants were asked to provide feedback directly to each writer over chat, so that the writer could improve. At this point, the writers' names (Andrew or Sarah) were revealed, revealing that one was a man, the other a woman. Participants submitted a grade to each writer, as well as substantive comments to improve their essays.

Participants were more likely to tell white lies to the woman writer, inflating Sarah's grades nearly a full letter grade higher than from their initial private evaluation. They also gave her more positive comments than they gave Andrew. In contrast, the man's in-person feedback was statistically indistinguishable from the participants' undisclosed evaluations of his work.

The studies reveal a potential obstacle to equality, Jampol and Zayas said.

ITHACA, N.Y. - The Most Interesting Man in the World preferred Dos Equis, James Bond promoted Heineken and a rescue dog fetched Bud Light for partygoers.

Aired in 2012, those were just a few of the nearly 600 televised commercials for alcohol products - mostly beer - that the average American adult was exposed to that year, according to new Cornell research.

The study provides some of the most precise estimates yet of Americans' exposure to such ads - averaging more than one a day - and found a link between that exposure and drinking behavior.

The more alcohol ads someone was exposed to, the study determined, the more likely they were to report consuming at least one alcoholic drink in the previous month. And among drinkers, exposure to more ads correlated to consuming more drinks.

"These ads are so ubiquitous, especially for certain types of audiences, that this cumulative, repeated exposure seems to have the potential to reinforce the behavior," said Jeff Niederdeppe, associate professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Higher exposure to the ads is clearly and consistently linked to higher levels of drinking."

Niederdeppe is the co-author of the study published May 18 in the journal Addiction with Rosemary Avery, professor of policy analysis and management in the College of Human Ecology, and Christofer Skurka Ph.D. '19, assistant professor at Penn State University. Three undergraduates from the Department of Policy Analysis and Management also contributed to the paper: Emmett Tabor '19, Nathaniel Lee '19 and Brendan Welch '21.

The research team mined commercial data that tracked what time and on what networks advertisements for beer, wine and spirits ran in more than 200 individual media markets from 2010-13.

That data was paired with the TV viewing and drinking habits reported by nearly 55,000 adults in the Simmons National Consumer Survey, which also provided a wealth of demographic data.

The analysis made it possible to know, for example, that a survey respondent from Phoenix who watched "The Office" on NBC might have seen a Budweiser ad that aired during the program in that market.

Previous studies have relied on more "blunt" measures, Niederdeppe said, that did not account for variation in viewing preferences within local markets: Everyone in Phoenix was counted the same way.

"We were able to come up with a much more precise estimate of the likelihood of a particular individual being exposed to an ad," Niederdeppe said.

On average, the researchers estimated, survey respondents were exposed to 576 alcohol ads over the previous year - nearly 70% of those for beer, followed by spirits and then wine.

True to stereotype, men were estimated to have been exposed to nearly twice as many beer commercials as women. Wine ad exposure was estimated to be higher among women, but the numbers of wine ads were small relative to beer ads.

African Americans were disproportionately exposed to televised alcohol advertising, the study found, seeing about 150 more commercials a year than white survey respondents, likely due to industry targeting, Niederdeppe said.

The research team estimated that a doubling of exposure to alcohol ads would increase by 11% the odds that someone reported having at least one drink in the last 30 days, and among drinkers would increase by 5% the number of drinks consumed during the previous month.

"These patterns were consistent across demographic groups and they were consistent across alcohol types," Niederdeppe said.

The magnitude of increased drinking associated with people who saw more ads is not huge, Niederdeppe said, but it adds up.

"Maybe it's a handful of drinks, but it's a handful of drinks spread across a very large number of people," he said. "To the extent that increases in alcohol consumption, particularly at high levels, are associated with negative health outcomes, then there's the potential for a significant effect at the population level."

The study contributes to the body of evidence policymakers should consider while scientists debate whether even moderate alcohol consumption is safe, Niederdeppe said.

"It makes clear," he said, "that there's a huge volume of exposure that is potentially consequential."

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Characterized by a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, Alzheimer's is an irreversible disease that leads to memory loss and a decrease in cognitive function. More than 5 million Americans suffer with the brain condition, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. While the causes of Alzheimer's are not fully understood, scientists believe genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors are involved in the disease's development.

Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that the decline of reproductive hormones due to ovary removal, which is a model of menopause, can reduce cognitive function and potentially play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease in women. The findings could help explain why women make up nearly two-thirds of people in the United States with Alzheimer's disease, although gender is just one of many contributing factors.

Yuksel and Cansu Agca, researchers at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center and Comparative Medicine Program, used rats experiencing surgically induced menopause to serve as Alzheimer's models at Discovery Ridge Research Park. After placing the rats in a special maze designed to test their behavior, they found that the rats with induced menopause displayed poor memory and learning, indicating a decline in cognitive function.

"We wanted to see what impact various interventions, such as hormone depletion from menopause, had on the potential development of Alzheimer's," said Yuksel Agca, associate professor of veterinary pathology. "These animal models can be useful for future testing to examine the impact of a variety of other factors, such as alcohol, smoking, diet, exercise, hypertension or previous traumatic brain injuries."

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's currently, studying how the age-related disease progresses over time in animals can help better inform the development of therapeutic drugs for humans, such as hormone replacement therapy. Lifestyle choices can also be made to decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

"While some people are genetically predisposed, or more likely, to develop Alzheimer's, avoiding bad habits like an unhealthy diet or lack of exercise can help reduce the risks," lead author Cansu Agca said. "It's a complicated disease to understand because we all have variations in our genes, and we each respond to lifestyle choices and environmental factors differently, but this research can help us learn which factors are potentially contributing to or increasing the risk of Alzheimer's."

The research is an example of translational medicine, a major component of the NextGen Precision Health Institute. By partnering with government and industry leaders, the institute will empower interdisciplinary collaborations and life-changing precision health advancements targeting individual genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors.

DALLAS, May 18, 2020 -- Treatment with antibodies purified from donated blood - immune globulin therapy - and steroids restored heart function in the majority of children with COVID-related multi-system inflammatory syndrome, according to new research published yesterday in Circulation, the flagship journal of the American Heart Association.

Physicians around the world have recently noted that a small number of children exposed to COVID-19 have an emerging condition with features overlapping toxic shock syndrome and similar to a heart condition known as Kawasaki disease, together with cardiac inflammation. The symptoms most commonly observed are high-spiking fever, unusual lethargy over several days (asthenia), digestive signs including severe abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea, swollen lymph nodes (adenopathy) and skin rash.

In this small study, "Acute heart failure in multisymptom inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS0-C) in the context of global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic," researchers in France and Switzerland retrospectively collected and analyzed clinical, biological, therapeutic and early outcome data for children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from March 22 to April 30, 2020, with fever, cardiogenic shock or acute left ventricular dysfunction with inflammatory state.

This analysis included 35 children (ages 2 to 16; median age of 10 years). Thirty-one (88.5%) children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and none of the children had underlying cardiovascular disease. Secondary conditions were limited, and 17% of patients were overweight (n=6). All patients presented with fever and unusual lethargy (asthenia) lasting approximately 2 days, and 83% of patients (n=29) presented with gastrointestinal symptoms.

Left ventricular systolic dysfunction was present in all patients in association with low systolic blood pressure. Almost all patients required respiratory assistance (n= 33). Left ventricular function recovered in the majority of patients discharged from the intensive care unit (n=25). Ten patients treated with ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for 3-6 days were successfully weaned. (ECMO is a process whereby the blood is sent through a machine to increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. The oxygen-rich blood is then returned to the body.)

The majority of patients received intravenous immune globulin treatment (n=25), and 12 patients were treated with intravenous steroids. Three children were treated with an interleukin 1 receptor antagonist due to persistent severe inflammatory state. 23 patients were treated with a therapeutic dose of heparin. No deaths were observed.

"The majority of patients recovered within a few days following intravenous immune globulin, with adjunctive steroid therapy used in one third. Treatment with immune globulin appears to be associated with recovery of left ventricular systolic function," researchers reported.

The researchers' key findings are:

Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a new syndrome that appears to be temporally related to previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

MIS-C shares similarities with atypical Kawasaki disease, but prominent clinical signs are largely different.

Myocardial involvement with acute heart failure is likely due to myocardial stunning or edema rather than to inflammatory myocardial damage.

Whereas the initial presentation may be severe with some patients requiring circulatory and respiratory mechanical assistance, rapid recovery with the use of immune globulin and steroids is currently observed.

Early diagnosis and management appear to lead to favorable outcome using classical therapies.

Additional study is needed to determine the full spectrum of the illness and whether long-term cardiac complications may arise.

During lockdown, the Media Psychology Lab, directed by Emma Rodero, a lecturer with the UPF Department of Communication, has conducted a study on the listening habits, consumption, credibility and psychological impact of the radio in the COVID-19 crisis. Everything indicates that radio sets the bar quite high with its treatment of the crisis.

Radio in company and more listening

Before, radio was consumed individually, but during lockdown, it has begun to be listened to in company, like in the olden days, and either via the traditional device or through new technologies, such as smart speakers or smartphones and tablets. People listen while performing other tasks such as cleaning or cooking, so it mainly takes place in the living-room followed by the kitchen. Average radio consumption time has increased by almost one point. Now, people are listening more to the radio and to a wider variety of stations. The consumption of podcasts and audiobooks has also risen slightly.

Radio is the most credible medium

Radio stands as the most credible information medium. Listeners find radio the most impartial, most neutral and most trustworthy medium, in line with other studies that reflect this. Yet, television is the medium to which most people resort for getting informed.

Radio is a medium that entertains and makes the listener feel they are accompanied

Radio is playing a very important role during lockdown, psychologically speaking. Listeners say that sadness, fear and anxiety are the emotions most intensely experienced during the crisis, but radio is helping to alleviate these feelings. Listeners consider radio as being the medium that best entertains them, the friendliest, and that most stimulates their imagination. This means that listeners feel more in company and consequently, the feeling of sadness diminishes.

Bacteria can still develop antibiotic resistance even in the face of challenging genetic tradeoffs, or compromises, associated with varying antibiotic concentrations, says a new study published today in eLife.

The rapid emergence of bacteria that are resistant to antibacterial drugs is a growing global health crisis. The findings provide valuable new insights on how different concentrations of drugs affect the evolution of resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, which can cause life-threatening blood infections.

Antibiotic resistance can emerge when a genetic mutation occurs in a single bacterium that allows it to survive the drug. While vulnerable bacteria die, the new resistant strain multiplies. It takes multiple mutations for bacteria to become highly resistant to antibiotics and each mutation likely comes with a few tradeoffs. For example, a mutation that allows bacteria to survive an antibiotic may slow the organism's growth when no antibiotic is present. The more tradeoffs there are on the evolutionary path to drug resistance, the harder it should be for resistance to emerge.

"If the fitness landscape is smooth with few tradeoffs, the evolving bacterial population can easily become resistant, whereas in a rugged landscape with lots of tradeoffs one expects it to get stuck at suboptimal peaks and to be less likely to become resistant," explains lead author Suman Das, Research Associate at the Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Germany.

To learn more about how different antibiotic concentrations affect the evolution of resistance in E. coli, Das teamed up with Susana Direito, Bartlomiej Waclaw and Rosalind Allen at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who exposed the bacteria to different concentrations of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. They tracked the growth rate of bacteria in these circumstances and the tradeoffs that occurred, and Das created a mathematical model based on their data.

The model showed that the paths to resistance become more difficult to traverse in the presence of tradeoffs. But, contrary to the researchers' expectation, the obstacles created by the tradeoffs did not make the emergence of resistance less likely.

"The evolution of resistance wasn't constrained by fitness landscape ruggedness," Das says. "At the same time, as more tradeoffs emerged, it became more difficult for us to predict the evolutionary path the bacteria would take towards resistance."

Their model did suggest, however, that bacteria may reverse course and regain susceptibility to antibiotics when faced with lower concentrations of the drugs.

"Our model provides a principled framework for addressing the evolution of antibiotic resistance in clinical and environmental settings, where drug concentrations vary widely," adds senior author Joachim Krug, Group Leader at the Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne. "It could one day be used to help scientists design new drugs or treatment protocols that prevent or slow the emergence of antibiotic resistance."