Culture

Amsterdam, May 11, 2021 - It is projected that up to 152 million people worldwide will be living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 2050. To date there are no drugs that have a substantial positive impact on either the prevention or reversal of cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence finds that targeting lifestyle and vascular risk factors have a beneficial effect on overall cognitive performance. A new review in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS Press, examines research that finds spiritual fitness, a new concept in medicine that centers on psychological and spiritual wellbeing, and Kirtan Kriya, a simple 12-minute meditative practice, may reduce multiple risk factors for AD.

"The key point of this review is that making a commitment to a brain longevity lifestyle, including spiritual fitness, is a critically important way for aging Alzheimer's disease free," explain authors Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation, Tucson, AZ, USA, and Andrew B. Newberg, MD, Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences, Department of Radiology, Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. "We hope this article will inspire scientists, clinicians, and patients to embrace this new concept of spiritual fitness and make it a part of every multidomain program for the prevention of cognitive disability."

Research reveals that religious and spiritual involvement can preserve cognitive function as we age. The authors observe that today, spirituality is often experienced outside the context of an organized religion and may be part of every religion or separate to it. Spiritual fitness is a new dimension in AD prevention, interweaving basic, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. The authors discuss the research on how these factors affect brain function and cognition. For example, psychological wellbeing may reduce inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and disability. Significantly, individuals who have a high score on a "purpose in life" (PIL) measure, a component of psychological wellbeing, were 2.4 times more likely to remain free of AD than individuals with low PIL. In another study, participants who reported higher levels of PIL exhibited better cognitive function, and further, PIL protected those with already existing pathological conditions, thus slowing their decline.

Stress and stress management are under-discussed topics in AD prevention, yet the authors point out that there is ample evidence that physical, psychological, and emotional effects of stress may elevate AD risk. Kirtan Kriya (KK) is a 12-minute singing meditation that involves four sounds, breathing, and repetitive finger movements. It has multiple documented effects on stress, such as improving sleep, decreasing depression, and increasing wellbeing. It has also been found to increase blood flow to areas of the brain involved in cognition and emotional regulation and increases grey matter volume and decreases ventricular size in long-term practitioners, which may slow brain aging. Research in healthy individuals, caregivers, and those with cognitive decline found that the practice improves cognition, slows memory loss, and improves mood.

The overall relationship between spiritual fitness and a person's complete physical and mental health is a topic of investigation in the emerging field of study called neurotheology. Early work has focused on the development of models regarding which brain areas are affected through spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer. Over the last 20 years, there has been an extensive growth in neuroimaging and other physiological studies evaluating the effect of meditation, spiritual practices, and mystical experiences. A neuroimaging study of KK found long term brain effects, during meditation and afterwards. Neurotheological studies can help understanding of how a practice such as KK can lead to more permanent effects in brain function that support spiritual fitness, according to Dr. Khalsa and Dr. Newberg.

"Mitigating the extensive negative biochemical effects of stress with meditation practices, in tandem with the creation of heightened levels of spiritual fitness, may help lower the risk of AD. Small shifts in one's daily routine can make all the difference in AD prevention," Dr. Khalsa and Dr. Newberg conclude. "We are optimistic this article will inspire future research on the topic of spiritual fitness and AD."

Study Take-Aways:

Different African populations were genetically interrelated suggesting abundant gene flow across Africa such that all African population should be considered together as single subspecies.

There appeared a striking genomic distance between leopards living in Asia vs. leopards in Africa.

Asian leopards are more genetically separated from African leopards than brown bear species are from polar bear species, the researchers found.

The two leopard groups actually diverged around the same time as Neanderthals split apart from modern humans.

The genetic differences between African and Asian leopards have been maintained since 500,000 to 600,000 years ago. Asian leopards retain markedly less overall genetic variation than is seen in African leopards.

FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. - They are some of the most beautiful, and elusive, animals on the plant. Leopards.

These majestic animals are the only great cat species (Genus Panthera) to roam about both Africa and Asia today. Leopards are considered as highly vulnerable, classified by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Because of their elusive nature, and their adaptation to multiple landscapes (rain forest, savannah, deserts and mountain sides) an accurate estimation of their global census has not been possible.

In a major scientific step to reconstruct the evolutionary history plus their conservation status, the whole genome DNA sequence of 23 individual leopards sampled from eight geographically separated subspecies locales were interpreted using the latest technologies of population ecology and molecular evolution. Ancient DNA sequences for 18 archival specimens along with 5 living leopards were combined to refine our understanding of the leopard's movements, population reductions, divergence and isolation, and over the past half million years.

The new study was published today in Current Biology.

An international team involving scientists from Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Nottingham Trent University, the University of Cambridge, University of Leicester in U.K. and the University of Potsdam in Germany carried out genetic analysis of modern and historical specimens stored in natural history museums as part of the study.

"This study changes everything about genetic contributions to conservation management of the world's leopards, particularly the highly threatened Amur leopard," said Stephen J. O'Brien, Ph.D., a professor and research scientist in NSU's Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, who is a collaborating author and also led the genetic analyses the Florida panther restoration two decades ago.

O'Brien, is also the Chief Scientific Officer at the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, Russia, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Genetic distinctiveness of nine previously suggested subspecies was re-affirmed with increased precision. Different African populations were genetically interrelated suggesting abundant gene flow across Africa such that all African populations should be considered together as a single subspecies. By contrast Asian leopard populations were geographically distinct along ten prior recognized subspecies boundaries.

There appeared a striking genomic distance between leopards living in Asia vs. leopards in Africa. Asian leopards are more genetically separated from African leopards than brown bear species are from polar bear species, the researchers found. The two leopard groups actually diverged around the same time as Neanderthals split apart from modern humans. The genetic differences between African and Asian leopards have been maintained since 500,000 to 600,000 years ago. Asian leopards retain markedly less overall genetic variation than is seen in African leopards.

"While they both have spots, the African and Asian leopards are quite different when looking at their DNA, said Johanna Paijmans, Ph.D., lead author, Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Fellow at the University of Leicester. "Given their mobility, it is surprising that they have remained so distinct and do not carry more shared genetic material with one another. Our study demonstrates that many more exciting genetic discoveries could be hidden among the shelves of natural history museums around the world."

The simplest explanation for both low Asian diversity and this large genetic difference may involve an origin for all leopards in Africa, with a single founding "out of Africa" migration to Asia occurring 500,000 - 600,000 years ago. Evidence of subsequent additional northern migrations were not detected, perhaps because the Asian habitats were protected by behavioural reinforcement, a term used to describe the blocking of immigrants across a narrow migration corridor. For example, a similar pattern had occurred with puma/cougar population migrations to North America from South American isthmus 1-12,000 years ago.

The depletion of genetic diversity observed in Asian leopard subspecies extends to the extreme in the critically endangered Amur leopard ( Panthera pardi orientalis ). Amur leopards comprise a tiny relict subspecies living on the edge of extinction in the Primorsky Krai region of the Russian Far East-RFE, along the North Chinese border. The Amur leopard population has dropped below 60 individuals and is now showing congenital traits that derive from close inbreeding. Conservation organizations in the RFE are proposing a genetic restoration of re-introduction of Amur leopards to Ussurijsky and Lazovsky Nature Reserves in the RFE (similar to what was successful for the Florida Panther restoration 15 years ago to augment the struggling wild population). The new Amur leopard genomic diversity data shall form a baseline for monitor of Amur leopard re-introduction consequences.

"Despite the fact that they the most widely distributed big cats, the evolutionary development and population history of leopards across Africa and Asia has not been studied with genomic tools before now," said Axel Barlow, Ph.D., an expert in palaeogenomics and molecular bioscience in Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology. "Our results have highlighted marked genetic differences between African and Asian leopards, that Asian leopards originated from a single out-of-Africa dispersal event, and that the distinctiveness of leopards on the two continents has been maintained."

It took an unlikely food innovation -- earth-friendly vegetarian patties, made to taste and "bleed" like the familiar meaty ones -- to make people aware of heme.

But heme is an essential part of proteins found in most life forms, from tiny bacteria to soy plants to the human body. Heme plays a crucial role in supplying cells with the energy needed to carry out chemical reactions.

In human cells, iron-containing heme is the essential cofactor of two types of molecules. One is the hemoglobin molecules that bind oxygen in the lungs and ferry it around the body. More than half the heme in the body is in hemoglobin, but some of the rest is in the hemeproteins called cytochromes.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis in the journal eLife shows how animals and bacteria differ in the enzyme they use to attach heme to the cytochrome. Spotting variations in how this "cytochrome c synthase" works would help to find compounds that deactivate the enzyme in bacteria, but not in humans. The results of this study demonstrate that the bacterial cytochrome c synthase could be a promising target for new antibiotics.

However, studying cytochrome c synthase in living cells is challenging.

"We took purified CcsBA [a protein for making cytochrome in bacteria] and purified human HCCS and, with an assay in a test tube, attached the heme to the cyt c or cyt c peptides," said Robert Kranz, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and senior author of the new paper. "This allows us to say what each (CcsBA and human HCCS) recognizes on the cytochrome to attach the heme. It further shows that the peptides can inhibit attachment to the cytochrome by HCCS.

"No one else has purified CcsBA or human HCCS, or analyzed the reaction in vitro," Kranz said.

In addition to this first-of-its-kind research, Kranz led the group of Washington University scientists that previously discovered how the vital but vulnerable heme molecule is shuttled across cell membranes for cytochrome synthesis.

For the new work, the scientists examined in detail which structures the enzymes recognize to attach the heme onto their cytochrome target. Their experiments revealed that human and bacterial synthases actually rely on different parts of the cytochrome c to orient themselves. Different short compounds could block either the human or bacterial enzyme.

Variations between human and bacterial cytochrome c synthase could lead to new antibiotics that prevent cytochrome assembly and kill bacteria while sparing patients. A provisional patent application has been filed for the process by the Washington University Office of Technology Management.

"The project represents seven years of effort," said Molly C. Sutherland, one of three co-first authors of the paper, who is now an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Delaware. Sutherland said that she and co-authors Shalon E. Babbitt and Deanna L. Mendez were able to "work collaboratively, bring individual expertise and build off each other's results.

"This combined effort -- along with some talented undergrads! -- is the reason that we were able to analyze the human and bacterial holocytochrome c synthases at such a detailed level," Sutherland said.

Heme helps ferry oxygen throughout the body, carries iron and colors blood red. For most humans, the majority of the heme we consume comes from animals.

But plants also make heme. Plants use CcsBA in their chloroplasts -- the organelle that conducts photosynthesis -- and they cannot grow without cytochrome proteins. Because of this dependency, Kranz and his team are also looking at how they could block cytochrome processes in plants to build smarter herbicides.

Which bring us back to the heme in those veggie burgers. The company Impossible Foods discovered that heme in red meats catalyze (during cooking) many of the reactions that form the tasty flavors that meat-loving humans crave. A question raised by some at that time was whether heme -- as an added "magic" ingredient -- was safe. But because all plants have heme, humans ingest it every day -- even vegetarians. It is just at higher concentrations in red meat.

"Heme has been consumed by humans and other animals for a long time with no issues," Kranz told Business Insider at the height of the Impossible Burger craze.

So whether functioning as the magic ingredient in plant-based burgers or as an essential co-factor for cytochromes and hemoglobins, being able to control processes that use heme will lead to advances in health and agriculture. The potential use in new antibiotics is perhaps the most exciting for Kranz and his team.

"Now, we see how we might be able to target heme to starve bacteria by cutting off their energy sources," Kranz said. "The next step is to identify the molecules that specifically interfere with cytochrome synthase in bacteria."

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two groups of researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have published papers on the droplets of liquid sprayed by coughs or sneezes and how far they can travel under different conditions.

Both teams used Sandia's decades of experience with advanced computer simulations studying how liquids and gases move for its nuclear stockpile stewardship mission.

Their findings reinforce the importance of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, avoiding poorly ventilated indoor spaces and washing your hands frequently, especially with the emergence of new, more transmissible variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

One study used Sandia-developed high-performance computer simulation tools to model coughing with and without a breeze and with and without protective barriers. This work was recently published in the scientific journal Atomization and Sprays.

Stefan Domino, the lead computer scientist on the paper, said his team found that while protective barriers, such as plexiglass partitions in grocery stores, offer protection from larger droplets, very tiny particles can persist in the air for an extended time and travel some distance depending on the environmental conditions.

Separate computer modeling research at Sandia looked at what happens to the smaller aerosol droplets under different conditions, including when a person is wearing a face covering. That study showed that face masks and shields keep even the small droplets from a cough from dispersing great distances, said researcher Cliff Ho, who is leading that effort. This work was published in the journal Applied Mathematical Modelling on Feb. 24.

Simulating coughs shows persistent particles

In simulations run by Domino's team through Sandia's high-performance computers, larger droplets from a cough with no crosswind and no face coverings fell at most approximately three meters, or roughly nine feet away. They also found that the dry "droplet nuclei," or aerosols, left over after the liquid evaporates from a droplet traveled about the same distance but stuck around in the air for the two minutes they modeled.

Add a plexiglass partition into the mix, and their computer simulations showed that larger droplets cling to the barrier, which mitigates the risk of direct transmission, but the smaller droplet nuclei persist in the air, Domino said.

When they added a 10-meter-per-second breeze from the back to the simulation without a barrier, the larger droplets traveled up to 11 1/2 feet and the droplet nuclei traveled farther.

This study does not call into question the social-distancing standard of 6 feet recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed to prevent direct contact from the majority of larger droplets. In a typical cough from an infected person, roughly 35% of the droplets might have the virus present, but models of how much SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are needed to infect another person are still being developed, Domino said.

"A recent review paper on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 that appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that respiratory transmission is the dominant route for transmission. As such, we feel that establishing a credible modeling and simulation tool to model transport of pathogen-containing droplets emanating from coughs and how they persist in public spaces that we all inhabit represents a critical piece of the required science," he said. Partitions, masks, social distancing, staying home when feeling unwell and getting vaccinated are still important to help cut down transmission, especially with the new more transmissible variants.

Domino also conducted computer modeling of outdoor open spaces and found that standing people exposed to a cough from someone in a kneeling position had relatively low risk of exposure compared to people who were seated. This was because of how the droplets and aerosols interact with the complex breezes that move around people. This work was published in the International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics on April 1. Domino's simulations used over four million hours of computer processing time and were run on many computer processors at the same time.

Simulations support social distancing, masks

Ho used a commercially available fluid dynamics computer model to simulate various events that expel moist fluid, such as coughing, sneezing, talking and even breathing, to understand how they affect transport and transmission of airborne pathogens. He assumed that viral pathogens were aerosolized in tiny droplets and that the pathogen distribution and concentration could be represented by the concentration of the simulated exhaled vapor.

"I introduced spatial and temporal concentrations into the modeling to develop quantified risks of exposure based on separation distance, exposure duration and environmental conditions, such as airflow and face coverings," said Ho. "I could then determine the probability of infection based on spatial and temporal aerosol concentrations, viral load, infectivity rate, viral viability, lung-deposition probability and inhalation rate."

The model also confirmed that wearing a face mask or face shield significantly reduced the forward travel of exhaled vapor and exposure risk by about tenfold. However, the vapor concentrations near the face persisted longer than without face coverings.

Overall, the model showed that social distancing significantly reduced the exposure risk from aerosols by at least tenfold and allowed time for dilution and dispersion of the exhaled viral plume. Other models quantified the degree that being upwind or crosswind of the source of the cough reduced exposure risks, and the degree being directly downwind of the cough increased exposure risks.

The exposure risks decreased with increasing distance, but the greatest increase in benefit was at three feet. Ho's models also quantified the degree that wearing a mask reduces exposure risks at various distances.

In short, the computer modeling confirmed the importance of social distancing and wearing masks. In addition, staying upwind and increasing fresh air ventilation in places like grocery stores, restaurants and schools can help to reduce the exposure risk.

Ho also conducted computer modeling of school buses and found that opening windows on school buses increased ventilation and reduced exposure risks. Specifically, to achieve sufficient ventilation, at least two sets of windows should be opened, one near the front of the bus and one near the back of the bus.

Sandia's stockpile stewardship work aids simulations

Sandia researchers were able to apply many of the same computational tools used in their nuclear stockpile stewardship mission to simulate droplets from coughs and sneezes, as well as Sandia's advanced high-performance computing resources. For the nuclear deterrence mission, these tools study such things as how turbulent jets, plumes and propellent fires react in different conditions.

"We can deploy our simulation tool capability to other applications," Domino said. "If you look at the physics of a cough or a sneeze, it includes attributes of these physics that we normally study at Sandia. We can simulate the trajectory of droplets and how they interact in the environment."

Those environmental conditions can include variables, such as temperature, humidity, launch trajectory, and crosswind strength and direction. They can also include natural and manmade barriers.

Along with studies done by others on cough spray, Sandia's computer-simulation capabilities add the value of seeing how droplets from a cough will react to different conditions. Sandia's simulation tools combine the mass, momentum and energy of the droplets to capture detailed evaporation physics that support the ability to distinguish between droplets that deposit and those that persist in the environment.

Trinity study finds people homeless in their 20s, 30s and 40s are physically comparable to those housed in their 70s and 80s

A Trinity College study published today (Monday, 10th May 2021) demonstrates an extremely high burden of physical and mobility problems experienced by people who are homeless and were admitted for inpatient care to an acute hospital in Dublin. The study found that only one third of participants could climb a hospital stairs and there was a very common presentation of geriatric conditions such as frailty, falls and needing a mobility aid on a long term basis, despite a low median participant age of 45 years.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports here: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88590-0

Overall the study provided visible evidence of accelerated physical ageing among this cohort relative to the general population with participants, (all homeless and mostly using hostel accommodation or rough sleeping) in their 20s, 30s and 40s experiencing poor physical status and geriatric syndromes comparable to housed individuals in their 70s or 80s years.

It is commonly accepted that adults who are homeless experience poor health and frequently require hospital in-patient care. The objective of this study however was to evaluate a broad range of physical functioning variables to enable better future planning of targeted health and accommodation services for this group.

Uniquely this study collectively evaluated this group using a broad range of robust physical functioning measures, including lower extremity physical function, falls risk, functional capacity, stair climbing ability, frailty, fitness and grip strength. Notably, many participants were unable to even complete the simple physical tests due to pain or not feeling well enough.

The study of 65 people, (32.3% female, 66.7% male) was carried out in St James's Hospital and initiated by the Physiotherapy Department, Trinity College and Inclusion Health Team at St James's Hospital. It was conducted by Sinead Kiernan, Department of Physiotherapy St. James's Hospital and Researcher Discipline of Physiotherapy, Trinity and first author and led by Dr Cliona Ní Cheallaigh, Lead Inclusion Health Service, St. James's Hospital and School of Medicine Trinity College.

Most participants (64.0%) utilized hostel accommodation or were rough sleepers (17%). It was previously noted that people who are homeless tend to present more often for unscheduled care - such as presenting to the emergency department much more commonly than those who are stably housed. Some will need to be admitted to hospital for further care - and this cohort can constitute a substantial proportion of inpatients in many acute hospitals at any one time. Some of these patients were referred to physiotherapy and appeared to have very low levels of mobility but the physical characteristics of this vulnerable group were not well known.

KEY FINDINGS

- The majority (83%) of participants had mobility problems.

- Over half (54%) of this cohort experienced at least 1 fall in the previous 6 months.

- Only 31% could attempt to climb one flight of stairs.

- Only 38% could walk for 6 minutes.

- The majority of participants (70.5%) were frail or pre-frail.

- One quarter (25%) displayed extremely poor balance

Dr. Julie Broderick, Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor, Discipline of Physiotherapy, Trinity College said:

"In our study we found that general physical and mobility levels of participants who were homeless in their 20s, 30s and 40s were comparable to levels we would expect to see among stably housed people in their 70s or 80s, this is visible evidence of accelerated physical ageing among this cohort. The huge physical burden experienced by this group who mostly utilised hostels or were rough sleepers is concerning. As well as other complex needs, mobility levels, strength and fitness need to be targeted in this group to prevent further deterioration. Falls prevention strategies are also necessary. Accommodation services for people who are homeless need to be suitable and accessible for people with low mobility levels."

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is established that many people who are homeless experience problems associated with addiction and mental health complexities, but physical and mobility limitations also deserve greater consideration. The Trinity research team propose that medical and rehabilitation services are needed to target these limitations as some may be reversible with appropriate physiotherapy provision. Physiotherapy and other physical rehabilitation services are a priority for this group.

Appropriate community and outreach services are also necessary as it is likely that ongoing support will be needed after discharge from hospital. Specific community-based onward referral services are also required.

And finally, the research team recommends that housing policy should respond to the physical health needs of people who are homeless along with housing and accommodation services that are designed with accessibility in mind.

Dental and orthopedic implants are widely used around the world. Common causes for implant failure are the immune response against oral bacteria and titanium particles shed by the implant. These and other phenomena can generate an inflammatory response, activating the osteoclasts (bone resorbing cells), and ultimately leading to osteolysis (destruction of bone tissue) around the implants. After this process begins, it is almost impossible to control, eventually leading to loss of the implant. A similar process occurs around natural teeth, with bacteria as the main cause, and bone resorption triggered by the immune response and inflammatory cells.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have developed an active molecule (SNV) derived from a vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP, a short protein), which can significantly suppress both the inflammation and the resulting bone destruction. The new technology can help people with orthopedic implants, following, for example, knee implantations, people with dental implants, and people suffering from gum recession (which is in fact bone resorption) or loose teeth, as a result of gum (periodontal) disease. VIP acts as a neurohormone and neurotransmitter related to many physiological processes, such as expanding blood vessels, expanding respiratory passages, cell division and nerve protection. The researchers attached a lipid to the protein making it "fatty" to enable its penetration through the skin, to facilitate administration as an ointment.

The study, conducted by Prof. Yankel Gabet, Prof. David Kohavi, Prof. Illana Gozes, Dr. David Dangoor and Dr. Michal Eger from TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine was just published in Frontiers in Pharmacology. The paper also presents preparations for a clinical trial and results regarding SNV's penetration through the skin.

"I recently met friends and relatives who had undergone knee or tooth implantations, and I understand the great need of patients for such medications. I hope we can help them," says Prof. Illana Gozes. "For years I have worked on VIP - the important protein hormone that maintains the viability of brain cells and also plays a part in sexual activity. We were first in the world to isolate the VIP gene, at a time when genetic cloning was in its infancy. We were also first to develop drug candidates by binding VIP with a lipid to create SNV - a molecule that can penetrate the skin and serve as an ointment drug. At that time, we tried to apply the molecule to problems of impotence and Alzheimer's disease, in collaboration with Prof. Mati Fridkin of the Weizmann Institute. Recently I came upon a totally different direction, in which we discovered that SNV is effective for protecting bones against inflammatory processes triggering bone resorption."

To begin with, the researchers tested the molecule's effect on both bone cells and immune cells. At this stage they discovered that metal particles originating from the implants cause accelerated bone resorption. Testing the molecule in an animal model, they were astounded to find that in the presence of SNV the resorption process is largely suppressed. Thus, the drug may repress or even prevent bone resorption, thereby preserving the hold of implants and teeth in the surrounding bone tissue. "These results were achieved thanks to the collaboration between clinicians and researchers, enabling a research-based response to the clinical challenge," explains Dr. Michal Eger, from the Maurice and Gabriela Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine.

Prof. Yankel Gabet concludes: "This project is a classic example of collaboration between different departments at TAU's Faculty of Medicine. On the one hand, together with Prof. David Kohavi, my group has for years studied the connection between the immune system, inflammatory response, and bone cells. On the other, Dr. Michal Eger is a dentist who decided to explore these processes for her doctoral thesis. She attended a course given by Prof. Gozes, in which VIP and SNV were discussed, and an in-depth conversation led to the idea of checking whether these molecules can prevent bone loss around implants and natural teeth. We quickly discovered the enormous potential of SNV for people who suffer from bone loss around teeth and implants. Currently we are working on translating this new discovery to the clinic."

LAWRENCE -- The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a new world of challenges for education. But a new study from the University of Kansas shows the voices and experiences of students who are already among the most marginalized can help lead the way in making young people's strengths the focus of education.

Students with disabilities already faced a disproportionate amount of inequities in the American educational system before the pandemic. Researchers interviewed students in this population about their experiences during the pandemic and found that students relied on their own strengths, resilience and self-determination. The findings not only highlight the importance of supporting young people to build resilience and ownership of their education and future, but it can also inform returning to in-person education, particularly highlighting the importance of student self-determination and agency.

Sheida Raley"We're increasingly looking at self-determination across the lifespan, especially for younger students, including those in middle and high school. We wanted to gauge their experiences with self-determination and how they navigated the barriers they experienced with school, home and social environments during the pandemic to determine how self-determination and resilience intersect," said Sheida Raley, assistant research professor in special education at KU and the KU Center on Developmental Disabilities, one of the study's co-authors.

Researchers interviewed more than 20 students ages 11-17 with a variety of disabilities for the study. It was published in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk and led by Jessica Toste of the University of Texas, in collaboration with Raley and Karrie Shogren, director of the KU Center on Developmental Disabilities at KU; Jessica Gabriela Coelho of the University of Texas at Austin; and Samantha Gross Towes of California State University Northridge.

Researchers found the participants' pandemic experience responses fell into three major themes: adaptability, increased social awareness and disability identity.

Karrie Shogren"These young people bring strengths to the table that are not always acknowledged in special education services and supports. Understanding and enabling young people to voice how they use those strengths during the pandemic can tell us how better to support all students and leverage student strengths and self-determination as we go back to more and more in-person schooling," Shogren said. "We heard from students the ways they were able to adapt, problem-solve, adjust their goals and leverage supports during the pandemic. This highlights the importance of leveraging students that, as we transition back, while providing supports that address their identified needs and anxieties around the pandemic and its aftermath."

While the study participants experienced difficulties with remote learning, quarantining and social distancing, they also demonstrated how they drew on their personal resilience and self-determination to navigate the challenges. The students highlighted how they used their abilities and skills associated with self-determination to be in closer contact with their teachers to ask questions, receive technical support and complete assignments. That increased interaction improved their relationships with their teachers, though students often reported they missed in-person social interactions with teachers and classmates. However, they still found ways to interact with peers virtually through social media, video chats and other methods, the authors noted. The respondents also indicated an increase in self-awareness, as demonstrated by an increased willingness to talk with teachers about their individual learning needs.

"The students showed they could build self-advocacy skills they maybe didn't have to use before the pandemic, when they saw their teachers regularly," Raley said.

Students also demonstrated an increase in disability awareness and supports needed to meet their learning goals. They discussed feeling empowered to discuss exactly what supports they benefit from, when they had supportive teachers and learning opportunities. The respondents also indicated an understanding of the mental health effects of the pandemic and resulting isolation, but noted that their families had become more involved in their support network during remote learning. In some cases, families became much more involved in their children's school work, others reported how they had more interaction with their siblings and their respective education, as they had previously attended separate schools.

As for their personal experiences during the pandemic, students commonly responded that they had learned patience, which also supported them to learn to adapt when life changes. The experience also opened their eyes to social issues, both nationally and internationally, including matters of public health and disability. Students also demonstrated development of positive emotion regulation skills, especially in instances where they might become frustrated or upset.

The findings not only show how resilient young people with disabilities can be but also how they used their abilities and skills associated with self-determination, such as problem-solving and self-advocacy, to pursue their goals while in school and after graduation during the pandemic. The findings are consistent with research demonstrating students who experience the Self-Determined Learning Model show improved educational outcomes.

"These results tell us again how valuable it is for students to set their own goals," Shogren said. "If we can embed this in our curriculum, youth can navigate through any challenges they face, even challenges like the pandemic."

The educational and personal experiences of the students in the study also lend support to the approach of giving young people ownership of learning, as opposed to setting mandates or telling students what is expected of them and how they will achieve it without directly engaging them in identifying and setting targets for their learning goals.

"We need to let students lead the conversation and tell us what supports they need to navigate new learning models," Raley said. "That can benefit all students, as well as teachers, to identify what support students need to make progress toward their goals that are important to them in life and learning."

Can you feel the heat? To a thermal camera, which measures infrared radiation, the heat that we can feel is visible, like the heat of a traveler in an airport with a fever or the cold of a leaky window or door in the winter.

In a paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, an international group of applied mathematicians and physicists, including Fernando Guevara Vasquez and Trent DeGiovanni from the University of Utah, report a theoretical way of mimicking thermal objects or making objects invisible to thermal measurements. And it doesn't require a Romulan cloaking device or Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. The research is funded by the National Science Foundation.

The method allows for fine-tuning of heat transfer even in situations where the temperature changes in time, the researchers say. One application could be to isolate a part that generates heat in a circuit (say, a power supply) to keep it from interfering with heat sensitive parts (say, a thermal camera). Another application could be in industrial processes that require accurate temperature control in both time and space, for example controlling the cooling of a material so that it crystallizes in a particular manner.

Watch a visualization of how the method cloaks a kite-shaped object here.

Or watch how it works for a Homer Simpson-shaped object here.

Cloaking or invisibility devices have long been elements of fictional stories, but in recent years scientists and engineers have explored how to bring science fiction into reality. One approach, using metamaterials, bends light in such a way as to render an object invisible.

Just as our eyes see objects if they emit or reflect light, a thermal camera can see an object if it emits or reflects infrared radiation. In mathematical terms, an object could become invisible to a thermal camera if heat sources placed around it could mimic heat transfer as if the object wasn't there.

The novelty in the team's approach is that they use heat pumps rather than specially crafted materials to hide the objects. A simple household example of a heat pump is a refrigerator: to cool groceries it pumps heat from the interior to the exterior. Using heat pumps is much more flexible than using carefully crafted materials, Guevara says. For example, the researchers can make one object or source appear as a completely different object or source. "So at least from the perspective of thermal measurements," Guevara says, "they can make an apple appear as an orange."

The researchers carried out the mathematical work needed to show that, with a ring of heat pumps around an object, it's possible to thermally hide an object or mimic the heat signature of a different object.

The work remains theoretical, Guevara says, and the simulations assume a "probing" point source of heat that would reflect or bend around the object - the thermal equivalent of a flashlight in a dark room.

The temperature of that probing source must be known ahead of time, a drawback of the work. However the approach is within reach of current technology by using small heat pumps called Peltier elements that transport heat by passing an electrical current across a metal-metal junction. Peltier elements are already widely used in consumer and industrial applications.

The researchers envision their work could be used to accurately control the temperature of an object in space and time, which has applications in protecting electronic circuits. The results, the researchers say, could also be applied to accurate drug delivery, since the mathematics of heat transfer and diffusion are similar to those of the transfer and diffusion of medications. And, they add, the mathematics of how light behaves in diffuse media such as fog could lead to applications in visual cloaking as well.

Find a preprint of the study here.

After publication, find the full study here.

In addition to Guevara and DeGiovanni, Maxence Cassier, CNRS Researcher at the Fresnel Institute in Marseille, France and Sébastien Guenneau, CNRS researcher, UMI 2004 Abraham de Moivre-CNRS, Imperial College London, London, UK co-authored the study.

A biochemical reaction between an enzyme called luciferase and oxygen causes fireflies to glow and is considered one of the most well-known examples of bioluminescence in nature. Now, an international team of researchers led by Elena Goun at the University of Missouri is working to harness the power of bioluminescence in a low-cost, noninvasive portable medical imaging device that could one day be applied to many uses in biomedical research, translational medicine and clinical diagnoses.

Potential uses include developing better treatments for cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases, along with monitoring various metabolic functions, such as gut health, in both animals and humans, said Goun, an associate professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Science and corresponding author on the study published in Nature Communications.

"This is the first example of a low-cost, portable bioluminescence imaging tool that can be used in large non-transgenic animals such as dogs," Goun said. "The mobility and cost-effectiveness of this technology also makes it a powerful tool for use in many areas of preclinical research, clinical research and diagnostics."

Once the imaging probe is inserted into the body and reaches a targeted internal organ, such as the liver, the level of biological activity, such as liver toxicity, determines the amount of luciferin that is released into the bloodstream. Eventually, it reaches the area of the device, setting off a biochemical reaction that creates light. A portable light detector -- about 10 millimeters, smaller than the diameter of a penny -- is then placed on the surface of the body near the inserted device and measures the intensity of the light. The level of detected light correlates with the amount of luciferin present, which scientists can then use when determining the health of the targeted organ.

Jeffrey Bryan, a professor of veterinary oncology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a co-author on the study, said this technology will be helpful in a clinical setting -- both in animal and human medicine -- where medical professionals can determine if a treatment is working inside a patient.

"This is a way we can monitor, in a minimally invasive way, a patient's physiological response to whatever treatment is administered to him or her," said Bryan, who is also an associate director of comparative oncology at MU's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. "Right now, most of the time we are looking for responses to treatment by asking the patient how they feel and then doing big, invasive, expensive tests to see if the treatment is working. Sometimes, that requires multiple procedures. But, if we can monitor for the desired effect in a minimally invasive manner and continue monitoring the progress over a long time period with this technology, that would probably reduce the need for more invasive testing."

In addition to the diagnostic testing benefits of this technology, Goun said their approach could have the potential to significantly reduce the number of dogs, cats and non-human primates being used for experimental testing purposes by commercial drug development companies.

"Portable bioluminescent platform for in vivo monitoring of biological processes in non-transgenic animals," was published in Nature Communications.

A newly described horned dinosaur that lived in New Mexico 82 million years ago is one of the earliest known ceratopsid species, a group known as horned or frilled dinosaurs. Researchers reported their find in a publication in the journal PalZ (Paläontologische Zeitschrift).

Menefeeceratops sealeyi adds important information to scientists' understanding of the evolution of ceratopsid dinosaurs, which are characterized by horns and frills, along with beaked faces. In particular, the discovery sheds light on the centrosaurine subfamily of horned dinosaurs, of which Menefeeceratops is believed to be the oldest member. Its remains offer a clearer picture of the group's evolutionary path before it went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.

Steven Jasinski, who recently completed his Ph.D. in Penn's Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the School of Arts & Sciences, and Peter Dodson of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Penn Arts & Sciences, collaborated on the work, which was led by Sebastian Dalman of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Spencer Lucas and Asher Lichtig of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque were also part of the research team.

"There has been a striking increase in our knowledge of ceratopsid diversity during the past two decades," says Dodson, who specializes in the study of horned dinosaurs. "Much of that has resulted from discoveries farther north, from Utah to Alberta. It is particularly exciting that this find so far south is significantly older than any previous ceratopsid discovery. It underscores the importance of the Menefee dinosaur fauna for the understanding of the evolution of Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas throughout western North America."

The fossil specimen of the new species, including multiple bones from one individual, was originally discovered in 1996 by Paul Sealey, a research associate of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, in Cretaceous rocks of the Menefee Formation in northwestern New Mexico. A field crew from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science collected the specimen. Tom Williamson of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science briefly described it the following year, and recent research on other ceratopsid dinosaurs and further preparation of the specimen shed important new light on the fossils.

Based on the latest investigations, researchers determined the fossils represent a new species. The genus name Menefeeceratops refers to the rock formation in which it was discovered, the Menefee Formation, and to the group of which the species is a part, Ceratopsidae. The species name sealeyi honors Sealey, who unearthed the specimen.

Menefeeceratops is related to but predates Triceratops, another ceratopsid dinosaur. However Menefeeceratops was a relatively small member of the group, growing to around 13 to 15 feet long, compared to Triceratops, which could grow to up to 30 feet long.

Horned dinosaurs were generally large, rhinoceros-like herbivores that likely lived in groups or herds. They were significant members of Late Cretaceous ecosystems in North America. "Ceratopsids are better known from various localities in western North America during the Late Cretaceous near the end of the time of dinosaurs," says Jasinski. "But we have less information about the group, and their fossils are rarer, when you go back before about 79 million years ago."

Although bones of the entire dinosaur were not recovered, a significant amount of the skeleton was preserved, including parts of the skull and lower jaws, forearm, hindlimbs, pelvis, vertebrae, and ribs. These bones not only show the animal is unique among known dinosaur species but also provide additional clues to its life history. For example, the fossils show evidence of a potential pathology, resulting from a minor injury or disease, on at least one of the vertebrae near the base of its spinal column.

Some of the key features that distinguish Menefeeceratops from other horned dinosaurs involve the bone that make up the sides of the dinosaur's frill, known as the squamosal. While less ornate than those of some other ceratopsids, Menefeeceratops' squamosal has a distinct pattern of concave and convex parts.

Comparing features of Menefeeceratops with other known ceratopsid dinosaurs helped the research team trace its evolutionary relationships. Their analysis places Menefeeceratops sealeyi at the base of the evolutionary tree of the centrosaurines subfamily, suggesting that not only is Menefeeceratops one of the oldest known centrosaurine ceratopsids, but also one of the most basal evolutionarily.

Menefeeceratops was part of an ancient ecosystem with numerous other dinosaurs, including the recently recognized nodosaurid ankylosaur Invictarx and the tyrannosaurid Dynamoterror, as well as hadrosaurids and dromaeosaurids.

"Menefeeceratops was part of a thriving Cretaceous ecosystem in the southwestern United States with dinosaurs that predated a lot of the more well-known members closer to end of the Cretaceous," says Jasinski.

While relatively less work has been done collecting dinosaurs in the Menefee Formation to date, the researchers hope that more field work and collecting in these areas, together with new analyses, will turn up more fossils of Menefeeceratops and ensure a better understanding of the ancient ecosystem of which it was part.

Covid-19 patients who receive oxygen therapy or experience fever show reduced gray matter volume in the frontal-temporal network of the brain, according to a new study led by researchers at Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The study found lower gray matter volume in this brain region was associated with a higher level of disability among Covid-19 patients, even six months after hospital discharge.

Gray matter is vital for processing information in the brain and gray matter abnormality may affect how well neurons function and communicate. The study, published in the May 2021 issue of Neurobiology of Stress, indicates gray matter in the frontal network could represent a core region for brain involvement in Covid-19, even beyond damage related to clinical manifestations of the disease, such as stroke.

The researchers, who are affiliated with the Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), analyzed computed tomography scans in 120 neurological patients, including 58 with acute Covid-19 and 62 without Covid-19, matched for age, gender and disease. The work was done jointly with Enrico Premi and his colleagues at the University of Brescia in Italy, who provided the data for the study. They used source-based morphometry analysis, which boosts the statistical power for studies with a moderate sample size.

"Science has shown that the brain's structure affects its function, and abnormal brain imaging has emerged as a major feature of Covid?19," said Kuaikuai Duan, the study's first author, a graduate research assistant at TReNDS and Ph.D. student in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "Previous studies have examined how the brain is affected by Covid-19 using a univariate approach, but ours is the first to use a multivariate, data-driven approach to link these changes to specific Covid-19 characteristics (for example fever and lack of oxygen) and outcome (disability level)."

The analysis showed patients with higher levels of disability had lower gray matter volume in the superior, medial and middle frontal gyri at discharge and six months later, even when controlling for cerebrovascular diseases. Gray matter volume in this region was also significantly reduced in patients receiving oxygen therapy compared to patients not receiving oxygen therapy. Patients with fever had a significant reduction in gray matter volume in the inferior and middle temporal gyri and the fusiform gyrus compared to patients without fever. The results suggest Covid-19 may affect the frontal-temporal network through fever or lack of oxygen.

Reduced gray matter in the superior, medial and middle frontal gyri was also present in patients with agitation compared to patients without agitation. This implies that gray matter changes in the frontal region of the brain may underlie the mood disturbances commonly exhibited by Covid-19 patients.

"Neurological complications are increasingly documented for patients with Covid-19," said Vince Calhoun, senior author of the study and director of TReNDS. Calhoun is Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Georgia State and holds appointments in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech and in neurology and psychiatry at Emory University. "A reduction of gray matter has also been shown to be present in other mood disorders such as schizophrenia and is likely related to the way that gray matter influences neuron function."

The study's findings demonstrate changes to the frontal-temporal network could be used as a biomarker to determine the likely prognosis of Covid-19 or evaluate treatment options for the disease. Next, the researchers hope to replicate the study on a larger sample size that includes many types of brain scans and different populations of Covid-19 patients.

Scientists now better understand early bacterial evolution, thanks to new research featuring University of Queensland researchers.

Bacteria comprise a very diverse domain of single-celled organisms that are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor that lived more than three billion years ago.

Professor Phil Hugenholtz, from the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics in UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said the root of the bacterial tree, which would reveal the nature of the last common ancestor, is not agreed upon.

"There's great debate about the root of this bacterial tree of life and indeed whether bacterial evolution should even be described as a tree has been contested," Professor Hugenholtz said.

"This is in large part because genes are not just shared 'vertically' from parents to offspring, but also 'horizontally' between distant family members.

"We've all inherited certain traits from our parents, but imagine going to a family BBQ and suddenly inheriting your third cousin's red hair.

"As baffling as it sounds, that's exactly what happens in the bacterial world, as bacteria can frequently transfer and reconfigure genes horizontally across populations quite easily.

"This might be useful for bacteria but makes it challenging to reconstruct bacterial evolution."

For the bacterial world, many researchers have suggested throwing the 'tree of life' concept out the window and replacing it with a network that reflects horizontal movement of genes.

"However, by integrating vertical and horizontal gene transmission, we found that bacterial genes travel vertically most of the time - on average two-thirds of the time - suggesting that a tree is still an apt representation of bacterial evolution," Professor Hugenholtz said.

"The analysis also revealed that the root of the tree lies between two supergroups of bacteria, those with one cell membrane and those with two.

"Their common ancestor was already complex, predicted to have two membranes, the ability to swim, sense its environment, and defend itself against viruses."

The University of Bristol's Dr Tom Williams said this fact led to another big question.

"Given the common ancestor of all living bacteria already had two membranes, we now need to understand how did single-membrane cells evolve from double-membraned cells, and whether this occurred once or on multiple occasions," Dr Williams said.

"We believe that our approach to integrating vertical and horizontal gene transmission will answer these and many other open questions in evolutionary biology."

The research was a collaboration between UQ, the University of Bristol in the UK, Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, and NIOZ in the Netherlands, and has been published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.abe5011).

Just a few changes to an enzyme's amino acids can be enough to dramatically change its function, enabling microbes to inhabit wildly different environments.

University of Queensland microbiologist Associate Professor Ulrike Kappler, led by an international team of researchers, made this discovery when investigating how Haemophilus influenzae bacteria colonise the human respiratory system.

"This disease-causing bacterium is supremely adapted to living in humans, so much so that they cannot survive anywhere else," Dr Kappler said.

"It turns out that one enzyme, MtsZ, is the key player in this adaptation.

"But, surprisingly, close relatives of this protein, which promotes Haemophilus survival exclusively inside humans, help other species of bacteria to survive exclusively in lakes.

"How could closely related enzymes help one bacterial species live exclusively in humans and another to live only in lakes?

"The answer is a matter of minute amino acid changes."

The research shows that a sequence difference of just three amino acids, a difference of less than 0.25 per cent of the MtsZ enzyme sequence, changes the functionality of the enzyme between bacteria living in lakes compared with those living in humans.

"It the natural world, tiny differences can lead to enormous functional changes - for example, humans and chimpanzees aren't exactly the same despite being 99 percent genetically similar," Dr Kappler said.

"We're just now realising that this can be the case for enzymes as well.

"The slight changes in this enzyme enable the lake-dwelling bacteria to live on decaying algae and generate energy.

"Contrast this with Haemophilus, which uses MtsZ to scavenge amino acids from the human body and use them for bacterial growth and replication.

"Now that we understand the unique structure of this enzyme in Haemophilus, we hope to develop ways to inhibit its specific function and remedy chronic respiratory conditions associated with this bacterium."

Researchers have been able to reduce scarring by blocking part of the healing process in research that could make a significant difference for burns and other trauma patients.

University of Queensland Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani said scars had been reduced by targeting the gene that instructs stem cells to form them in an animal study.

"The body's natural response to trauma is to make plenty of blood vessels to take oxygen and nutrients to the wound to repair it," Professor Khosrotehrani said.

"Once the wound has closed, many of these blood vessels become fibroblast cells which produce the collagens forming the hard materials found in scar tissue.

"We found that vascular stem cells determined whether a blood vessel was retained or gave rise to scar material instead."

The experimental dermatology team then identified the molecular mechanism to switch off the process by targeting a specific gene involved in scar formation known as SOX9.

Professor Khosrotehrani said while more research was required, the potential application of the findings would have obvious benefits for many patients including those who've had knee or hip surgeries, melanomas removed, or suffered burns.

"The classic situation where there's a lot of scarring is burns - where the wound is healed but there is a big scar in that area," he said.

"Now that we've found the molecular drivers, we understand the process better and we are hopeful that a treatment can be developed.

"We used siRNA - or small ribonucleic acid - technology to block the RNA of SOX9 from being expressed and this reduced scarring in animals.

"Whatever we propose has to go through the further trials, but we believe this application won't be difficult to apply to human patients."

INFORMS Journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Study Key Takeaways:

The study looked at archival data on 240 U.S. federal government technology programs across 24 federal agencies.

Researchers found that the practice of moving baseline targets is a key driver in continually increasing budgets for federal government technology programs.

The componentization of a program into smaller work units and increasing the level of competency in program management can dampen this increase, resulting in significant cost savings.

CATONSVILLE, MD, May 11, 2021 - With the U.S. federal government investing billions of taxpayer dollars in executing technology programs, wouldn't you like to know where this money is going? A new study has identified ways to reduce federal spending in the execution of these taxpayer-funded technology programs.

To monitor the execution of these programs, the federal government establishes a baseline, which is an aggregate plan consisting of the program's planned budget, schedule and scope. The problem is that federal technology programs are re-baselined several times, which means if the baseline is changed, it can appear as though a program is not over budget when in fact it is over the original planned budget.

New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management investigates the drivers of these baseline changes and identifies mechanisms to reduce these changes, thereby helping improve utilization of taxpayer contributions associated with such programs.

"Taxing the Taxpayers: An Empirical Investigation of the Drivers of Baseline Changes in U.S. Federal Government Technology Programs," written by Dwaipayan Roy, Anant Mishra and Kingshuk Sinha, all of the University of Minnesota, looks at archival data on 240 U.S. federal government technology programs across 24 federal agencies.

"We find significant savings can occur by reducing baseline changes in programs of greater scope if federal agencies and contractor firms invest greater efforts in componentizing a program into smaller work units and identifying managers with high levels of technical and practical knowledge in 'program management' - a competency critical for managing multiple interrelated projects," said Roy, professor in the Carlson School of Management.

"Baseline changes can serve as early warning signals for federal agencies and contractor firms to identify programs that may be facing execution challenges and enable them to make mid-course corrections," continued Roy.

Another key finding is that federal technology programs using the agile methodology experienced more baseline changes.

"Scope creep can be higher in such programs, as these programs can often lack sufficient upfront effort in developing the initial baseline and depend too much on making adaptations during execution. The upfront effort is actually critical for better managing adaptations and avoiding the time-consuming approval process needed for revising a baseline," added Roy.