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Tag: Newswise

  • What caused the holes in SUE the T. rex’s jaw? Probably not an infection

    What caused the holes in SUE the T. rex’s jaw? Probably not an infection

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    Newswise — SUE the T. rex is one of the most complete, best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever found. That level of preservation helps reveal details about SUE’s life. For instance, SUE lived to a ripe old age of about thirty-three, and in those years, suffered their fair share of injuries. SUE’s most mysterious ailment might be the holes in their jawbone. These holes, some the diameter of a golf ball, dot the back half of the left lower jaw. It’s not clear what caused them, but similar injuries have been found in other T. rex fossils. In a new study published in Cretaceous Research, scientists showed that one of the popular theories– that SUE had suffered an infection from a protozoan parasite– couldn’t be true.

    “These holes in SUE’s jaw have been a mystery for decades,” says Jingmai O’Connor, the associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum and a co-author of the study. “Nobody knows how they formed, and there have been lots of guesses.”

    One early hypothesis was that SUE suffered from a fungus-like bacterial infection, but that was later shown to be unlikely. It was re-hypothesized that SUE had a protozoan infection. Protozoans are microbes with more complex cell structures than bacteria. There are lots of protozoan-caused maladies out there; one common such disease is called trichomoniasis, caused by a microbe called Trichomonas vaginalis. Humans can get infected with trichomoniasis as an STD, but other animals can catch it too.

    “Trichomoniasis is found in birds, and there’s a falcon specimen with damage to its jaw, so some paleontologists thought that a Trichomonas-like protozoan might have caused similar damage to SUE,” says O’Connor. “So for this study, we wanted to compare the damage in SUE’s jaw with Trichomonas damage in other animals to see if the hypothesis fit.”

    Bruce Rothschild, a medical doctor whose application of scientific medical approaches to paleontology earned him a role as a research associate at the Carnegie Museum, enlisted O’Connor’s assistance in analyzing SUE’s injuries. In March of 2021, O’Connor took high-resolution photos of the holes in SUE’s jaw, and the researchers analyzed them for signs of bone regrowth.

    “This was the first time I’ve worked on a T. rex. I usually work on smaller fossil birds, and I have to admit, I was pretty excited,” says O’Connor. “It really is an incredible animal.”

    The researchers compared the holes in SUE’s jaw to healed breaks in other fossil skeletons. In collaboration with Field Museum bioarcheologist Stacy Drake and co-author anthropologist María Cecilia Lozada from the University of Chicago, O’Connor and Rothschild also examined the healed bones around trepanation holes made in skulls by Inca surgeons and healers in ancient Peru.

    “We found that SUE’s injuries were consistent with these other examples of bone injury and healing. There are similar little spurs of bone reforming,” says O’Connor. “Whatever caused these holes didn’t kill SUE, and the animal survived long enough for the bones to begin repairing themselves.”

    O’Connor then worked with Field Museum assistant collections manager of birds Mary Hennen to find a bird skeleton in the Field’s collections with history of trichomoniasis. “She found me one, and you don’t see jaw holes,” says O’Connor. “You do see signs of infection, and they are in the back of the throat, but there aren’t holes bored through the jaw like we see in SUE.” Trichomonas, or a similar protozoan, doesn’t seem to fit.

    So what did cause these holes, if not an infection? “We still don’t know. My co-author Bruce Rothschild thinks they’re bite or more likely claw marks, but I don’t think that makes sense,” says O’Connor. “The holes are only found in the back of the jaw. So if they are bite marks, why are there not also holes at the front of the jaw? And you don’t see rows of holes, or indentations, like you’d see from a row of teeth, even a row where the teeth are different heights. They’re just random, all over the place.”

    Rothschild’s hypothesis suggests that the claw marks are the result of courtship behavior, possibly even between two male T. rex specimens. Scientists don’t know SUE’s sex, but the fossil’s size makes some paleontologists think SUE was male, and there are lots of examples of homosexual activity in nature. “The ‘gay T. rex’ hypothesis is fun, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to support it one way or the other,” says O’Connor.

    But if bite or claw marks (love bites or otherwise) are off the table, O’Connor says there are lots of possibilities remaining to explain the holes– some of which we maybe haven’t thought of yet. But she’s keen to help figure it out.

    “The more I started learning about these jaw holes, the more I was like, ‘This is really weird,’” says O’Connor. “What I love about paleontology is trying to solve mysteries, so my interest is definitely piqued.”

     

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    Field Museum

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  • Special Issue of AJPH Illuminates Lead Risks Throughout U.S., Prevention Steps

    Special Issue of AJPH Illuminates Lead Risks Throughout U.S., Prevention Steps

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    Newswise — The dangers of lead are virtually everywhere in the United States.

    A series of national studies about lead exposures are featured in a special supplement of the American Journal of Public Health in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which show the widespread impact of lead contamination in drinking water, in game meat and exposure to lead from firearms.

    The supplement, entitled, Ubiquitous Lead: Risks, Prevention-Mitigation Programs, and Emerging Sources of Exposure, reveal higher than normal lead exposure in school drinking water in states without water-lead testing programs, and elevated lead in tap water at childcare centers, lead contamination in game meat donated to food banks, and reveals how veterans may have been exposed to lead from firearms.

    It covers a range of topics including industrial and occupational lead, sources of lead exposure, blood lead testing efforts, surveillance methods and community prevention actions. The articles also reflect the government prevention efforts, and strategies for prevention of exposure.

    Although lead exposure has been significantly reduced since the 1970s and 1980s when federal policies were implemented to eliminate lead in paint and reduce lead in passenger car gasoline, people remain at risk, especially children. The evidence demonstrates that children living in poverty and some minority children bear a disproportionate risk of exposure, though lead contamination is widespread.

    No  level of lead exposure is safe, especially for children. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect learning, ability to pay attention and academic achievement. A blood test is the best way to determine if a child has been exposed to lead.

    “Given the almost ubiquitous nature of lead, wider swaths of children are potentially at risk,” write Tanya Telfair LeBlanc, PhD, MS, Robert Svendsen, PhD, and Paul Allwood, PhD, guest editors from the CDC Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice in the National Center for Environmental Health. “The time for action is now. Lead poisoning prevention is complex and requires a recalibration of current public health approaches and perspectives.”

    LeBlanc is senior health scientist, for the CDC’s Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch (LPPSB- proposed). Svendsen, is director of the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice.  Allwood, is the branch chief of the LPPSB.

    “Lead poisoning prevention, as a model for the future of public health, forces us to boldly confront equity issues such as safe housing, clean drinking water, safe schools and childcare facilities, environmental justice, community infrastructure repair, occupational risks and so on,” they write. “We must protect young children from exposure prevention should be a national priority.”

    The studies published in the supplement  show:

    • Lead contamination in school drinking water in seven states suggested that many public schools were without drinking water-lead testing programs. Angie L. Cradock, principal research scientist and deputy director of the Harvard Prevention Research Center, analyzed data on lead concentration in drinking water samples in 2018.
    • Elevated levels in tap water in 4,005 licensed North Carolina childcare centers from 2020 to 2021.Well-water reliance was the largest risk factor, followed by Head Start programs and building age. Of 22,943 samples analyzed, 3 percent of the tap water exceeded the N.C. hazard level and 25 percent exceeded the American Academy of Pediatrics reference level, according to Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, director of environmental health and water quality at the RTI International, and colleagues.
    • In an essay entitled “Biting the bullet: a call for action on lead contaminated meat in food banks, Samantha Totoni, MPH, and her co-authors at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, signal possible lead contamination in over one 1 million kg of hunted deer meat donated to U.S. food banks each year. They called for primary prevention efforts to protect recipients of donated hunter’s bounty from lead-exposed meat.
    • Gina Oda, MS, a public health surveillance and research investigator for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, and other authors in “Exposure Sources Among Veterans with Elevated Blood Lead Levels, United States, 2015–2021,” examine the characteristics and sources of exposure in veterans with elevated blood lead levels. Firearms were the largest exposure source among veterans with elevated blood lead level.

    Since 1978, lead has been prohibited in paint products and reduced in passenger car gasoline since the 1980s. But lead is abundant in soil and may be found in homes built before 1978, in layers of paint beneath the surface and in original plumbing pipes.

    Lead can be inhaled in dust particles or in fumes from burning lead-painted wood, imported items such as cookware, toys, cosmetics, arts and crafts, and firearms ammunition and fishing tackle.  Such potential exposure routes continue to pose public health risks as the Flint, Mich. water crisis demonstrated in 2014.

    Still, federal authorities have been working continuously to overcome the lead impact.

    Pointing to the national response, Patrick Breysse, PhD, CIH, director of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and colleagues summarized the work of federal agencies working collaboratively in the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health and Safety Risks to Children to update national regulatory standards, guidance, educational tools, and programs focused on risk mitigation in individual communities.

    Dr. Allwood of the CDC provided historical perspectives in “Two Diseases that Are One: An Historical Perspective on the CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program” which chronicle and detail over 50 years of lead poisoning prevention activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    In articles that highlight prevention strategies in the field, Stephanie Yendell, a senior epidemiology supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Health and colleagues write about a program that mitigates take-home lead exposure in a Minnesota fishing tackle and battery terminal plant in a piece, “Tackling the Lead Gremlins: A Response to Take-Home Lead Exposure.”

    Trisha Calabrese, an editor at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and colleagues in “An Innovative Approach to Increase Lead Testing by Pediatricians in Children, United States, 2019-2021” described a national tele-mentoring program to educate pediatricians on the importance of lead testing during ordinary medical practice.  Evaluation results indicate two weeks to one month after training, over 80% of participants reported increased lead testing and practice changes.

    “We must protect young children from exposure to lead to ensure that future leaders have the mental capacity to confront the challenges ahead,” said LeBlanc and her co-authors. “Thus, childhood lead exposure prevention should be a national priority.”

    The special AJPH supplement, Ubiquitous Lead: Risks, Prevention-Mitigation Programs, and Emerging Sources of Exposure, is available online. To request a full copy of a study or for information on scheduling interviews, contact APHA Media Relations.

    This issue was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, Lead Poisoning Prevention and Surveillance Branch (Proposed) under contract number 75D30121P10856. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Government.

     

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    APHA champions the health of all people and all communities. We are the only organization that combines a 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence policy to improve the public’s health. Visit us at www.apha.org.

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    American Public Health Association (APHA)

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  • Health, care and social services should be designed to be sensitive to people’s shame, experts urge

    Health, care and social services should be designed to be sensitive to people’s shame, experts urge

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    Newswise — Health, care and social services should be designed to be more sensitive to the shame felt by their clients, patients and service users, experts have said. Using a ‘shame lens’ can transform interactions between professionals and those they work with, according to a new study.

    The research says being more aware of the impact of shame will help doctors and other care professionals manage interactions and relationships with more empathy, humanity and sensitivity. This is particularly relevant for professionals working with trauma-informed approaches. Training care professionals to have “shame competence” would involve giving them a theoretical and practical understanding of what shame is, how it operates, how it is evoked, how it can be hidden, and understand the behaviours that are used to cope with shame.

    The study, published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, was conducted by Luna Dolezal, from the University of Exeter, and Matthew Gibson, from the University of Birmingham.

    Dr Dolezal said: “Not only is shame a barrier to accessing services, but it is also very easily exacerbated and incited in the context of seeking help from professionals. Interactions with care professionals can compound feelings of shame, as these interactions often involve unequal power relationships, a fear of being judged, the scrutiny and exposure of one’s potentially ‘shameful’ past, circumstances, coping behaviours, body, illnesses, along with other vulnerabilities.”

    Dr Gibson said: “Having the capacity, on the levels of policy, organizations and individual practitioners, to address shame directly is imperative considering the how impactful shame can be for those who have experienced trauma and post-traumatic states. Being attentive to shame, and acknowledging its significance for individuals, in health and social care contexts can improve both engagement and outcomes.

    “Using a ‘shame lens’ can help those who work with people to redesign services to be more sensitive and supportive, with the ultimate aim of avoiding additional trauma and harm.”

    The study says doctors, social workers and other care professionals should become aware of common verbal and nonverbal cues that may indicate shame. This includes physical tics such as covering the face, blushing and downcast eyes. They should also be aware of words people us instead of shame – self-conscious’, ‘embarrassed’, ‘foolish’, ‘worthless’, ‘inept’, ‘inferior’ and stammering, silence, long pauses.

    They must remain alert to, and continuously assess, how the language they use, their demeanour, questioning style, emotional expression and other interpersonal dynamics may inadvertently produce a shame response. Organizations must also continuously assess for implicit and explicit shaming, endeavouring to eliminate intentional or inadvertent shaming from their policies and practices.

     

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    University of Exeter

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  • Taking aim at triple-negative breast cancer and multiple myeloma to improve prognoses

    Taking aim at triple-negative breast cancer and multiple myeloma to improve prognoses

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    Newswise — Two Houston Methodist cancer researchers have been awarded a half million dollars in funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to further research two of the most lethal, difficult-to-treat cancers that all-too-often have poor prognoses.

    Jenny C. Chang, M.D., director of Houston Methodist Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and Emily Hermann Chair in Cancer Research, received a $250,000 grant to study the interaction between obesity and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

    Chang says TNBC, already the worst prognosis among the subtypes of breast cancer, has even worse outcomes in obese patients. These patients have a higher chance of resisting chemo and an increased risk of relapse and poorer survival. She says the reason is unclear, but evidence indicates it’s associated with chronic inflammation and that two essential players of chronic inflammation – tumor neutrophil infiltration and nitric oxide (NO) levels – have been identified to play pivotal roles in obesity-associated TNBC.

    Studies have shown that obesity reprograms the tumor microenvironment and that this reprograming is accompanied by increased nitric oxide levels that, along with infiltrating neutrophils, compromise vascular integrity and cause increased breast cancer metastasis. Chang and her team propose that NOS inhibition will reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment to enhance the efficacy of the current standard of care. Successful completion of their proposed work will provide an improved understanding of the role of the NOS inhibitors in TNBC and may define prognostic markers in obese TNBC patients at a higher risk of mortality, as well as help the design of successful clinical trials to enhance the appropriate selection of TNBC patients who would benefit from chemotherapy and/or immune checkpoint therapy.

    Jing Yang, Ph.D., an associate professor of oncology with the Houston Methodist Research Institute and member of the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, received a $250,000 grant to study multiple myeloma, which is the second most common blood cancer, to improve the therapeutic efficacy and survival in these patients. Specifically, Yang and her team are looking at a novel FDA-approved monoclonal antibody treatment, daratumumab (DARA), that has shown to improve therapeutic efficacy when combined with other drugs, but falls short in patients with high-risk multiple myeloma who too often relapse or don’t respond to the treatment at all.

    Yang’s team believe they found a clue to better understand how multiple myeloma cells resist DARA and keep it from being effective. Using the largest public database for multiple myeloma patients, they examined tumor gene expression and patients’ best clinical response, which led them to identifying a protein called NHE6 that may be involved in multiple myeloma’s resistance to treatment with DARA. They found that the NHE6 protein is highly expressed in multiple myeloma cells, and its high expression is correlated with patients’ poorer prognoses, high-risk genetic features and multiple myeloma stage progression. Ultimately, these multiple myeloma cells with the high NHE6 level were less responsive to DARA.

    Yang and team’s plan is to investigate the role and mechanism by which NHE6 induces DARA resistance and develop NHE6 as a new target to improve DARA efficacy in murine models and patients. The knowledge gained from their study should uncover innovative insight into how multiple myeloma cells escape from DARA treatment. Given that DARA is an emerging compound used as standard care for multiple myeloma patients, they believe their new strategy of targeting NHE6 and developing an inhibitor to do so could significantly improve DARA-based multiple myeloma therapy outcomes.

     

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    For more information:

    Targeting Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) pathway to remodel obesity induced tumor inflammation in patients with TNBC; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas; awarded Sept. 14, 2022; $250,000 grant (RP220650); PI: Jenny C. Chang, M.D.; https://www.cprit.state.tx.us/grants-funded/grants/rp220650

     

    Targeting NHE6 to improve clinical efficacy of daratumumab in myeloma; Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas; awarded Sept. 14, 2022; $250,000 grant (RP220639); PI: Jing Yang, Ph.D.; https://www.cprit.state.tx.us/grants-funded/grants/rp220639

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    Houston Methodist

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  • Most Twitter users don’t follow political elites, researchers suggest

    Most Twitter users don’t follow political elites, researchers suggest

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    Newswise — While social media platforms are the primary source of political information for a growing number of people, a majority of Twitter users do not follow either members of Congress, their president or news media, a new study suggests.

    They are much more likely to follow Tom Hanks or Katie Perry than an elected official.

    “Those users who do follow political accounts on Twitter, however, stick to insular online communities and mostly follow and share information from their political in-group,” said Magdalena Wojcieszak, lead author and professor of communication at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Amsterdam.   

    In other words, speaking to ongoing debates about so-called “echo chambers” on social media platforms, the small group of users who do follow political elites display clear political biases and engage with these elites in a very one-sided way.

    The findings come after researchers from UC Davis and New York University analyzed four years’ worth of data from a sampling of 1.5 million Twitter users.

    Researchers concluded that even though the group of social media users who display political biases in their online behaviors is small, it is nevertheless consequential. These users are much more vocal, participatory and active online, thus amplifying the general perception of unprecedented polarization.

    The study was published Friday (Sept. 30) in Science Advances.

    “In this project, we focus on national political elites due to their visibility and national-level influence on public opinion and the political process,” Wojcieszak said. Yet, despite the prominence and impact of presidents, congressmen, journalists, pundits and the news media, researchers found that only 40% of Twitter users follow one or more political “elites.” The remaining 60% follow no political actors at all.

    “Given that we analyzed over 2,500 American political elite accounts including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, prominent pundits including Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity, and the most popular media outlets such as MSNBC and Fox News, the fact that only 23% of the representative sample of over 1.5 million users follow three of more of such elite accounts is revealing,” Wojcieszak said.

    The authors found that those users who do follow politicians, pundits and news media follow their political in-group at much higher rates than out-group elites (around 90% vs. 10%) and share tweets from in-group elites overwhelmingly more frequently than out-group tweets (at about a 13:1 ratio). And when users share out-group tweets, they tend to add negative comments to these reshares, further reinforcing ideological biases online.

    The research also reveals important ideological asymmetries: conservative users are roughly twice as likely as liberals to share in-group versus out-group content, as well as to add negative commentary to out-group shares.

    Surprising findings

    “Overall, the majority of American Twitter users are not sufficiently interested in politics to follow even a single political or media elite from our list,” Wojcieszak said. Researchers wrote that they found this surprising, since it is generally believed that Twitter users are more politically engaged than the general population.

    Given a growing radicalization in America, decreasing support for democratic norms, and rising support for political violence, concerns about political biases on social media platforms are valid, no matter how small the groups displaying those biases may be.

    “At the same time,” Wojcieszak said, “we have to remember that these political biases are far removed from the everyday online behaviors of most politically disinterested Americans, who simply don’t care and prefer to immerse themselves in entertainment or sports. Our findings should help us all keep in perspective the concerns about the so-called ‘echo chambers’ online.”

     Co-authors of the study include: Andreu Casas, Free University of Amsterdam; Xudong Yu, former doctoral student at UC Davis, now University of Amsterdam; and Jonathan Nagler and Joshua A. Tucker, New York University Center for Social Media and Politics.

    The Center for Social Media and Politics at New York University is supported by funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Charles Koch Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Siegel Family Endowment, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

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    University of California, Davis

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  • Long-term study supports link between inflammation and cognitive problems in older breast cancer survivors

    Long-term study supports link between inflammation and cognitive problems in older breast cancer survivors

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    Newswise — LOS ANGELES – Scientists are still trying to understand why many breast cancer survivors experience troubling cognitive problems for years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible culprit. A new long-term study of older breast cancer survivors published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and co-led by UCLA researchers adds important evidence to that potential link.

    Higher levels of an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein (CRP) were related to older breast cancer survivors reporting cognitive problems in the new study.

    “Blood tests for CRP are used routinely in the clinic to determine risk of heart disease. Our study suggests this common test for inflammation might also be an indicator of risk for cognitive problems reported by breast cancer survivors,” said study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and faculty member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. 

    The study, called the Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC) Study, is one of the first long-term efforts to examine the potential link between chronic inflammation and cognition in breast cancer survivors 60 and older, who make up a majority of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Previous research has focused largely on younger women and women immediately after therapy, making it difficult to draw conclusions about CRP’s role in long-term cognitive problems among older breast cancer survivors. 

    In TLC, teams of researchers from around the country talked to, and obtained blood samples from, hundreds of breast cancer survivors and women without cancer up to 6 times over the course of 5 years. The study was motivated by hearing from survivors and advocates that cognitive problems are one of their major worries.

    “Cognitive issues affect women’s daily lives years after completing treatment, and their reports of their own ability to complete tasks and remember things was the strongest indicator of problems in this study,” said co-senior study author Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University who is the lead of the TLC study.

    “Being able to test for levels of inflammation at the same time that cognition was being rigorously evaluated gave the TLC team a potential window into the biology underlying cognitive concerns,” said Elizabeth C. Breen, a professor emerita of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, who also served as co-senior study author.

    Cognition, from the perspective of each woman, was evaluated through a commonly used questionnaire assessing how the women perceive their ability to remember things like names and direction, ability to concentrate, and other aspects of everyday life. The study found higher CRP levels among survivors were predictive of lower reported cognitive function among breast cancer survivors. There was no similar relationship between CRP levels and reported cognition in the women without cancer. 

    Cognitive performance, as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests, failed to show a link between CRP and cognition. The authors say this may indicate women are more sensitive to differences in their everyday cognitive function, self-reporting changes that other tests miss.

    The authors said their study supports the need for research on whether interventions that can lower inflammation – including increased physical activity, better sleep, and anti-inflammatory medications – may prevent or reduce cognitive concerns in older breast cancer survivors. 

    Other study authors include Zev M. Nakamura, Brent J. Small, Xingtao Zhou, Harvey J. Cohen, Tim A. Ahles, Jaeil Ahn, Traci N. Bethea, Martine Extermann, Deena Graham, Claudine Isaacs, Heather S.L. Jim, Paul B. Jacobsen, Brenna C. McDonald, Sunita K. Patel, Kelly Rentscher, James Root, Andrew J. Saykin, Danielle B. Tometich, Kathleen Van Dyk, and Wanting Zhai. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.   

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    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

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  • Exploring Europa Possible with Silicon-Germanium Transistor Technology

    Exploring Europa Possible with Silicon-Germanium Transistor Technology

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    Newswise — Europa is more than just one of Jupiter’s many moons – it’s also one of most promising places in the solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. Under 10 kilometers of ice is a liquid water ocean that could sustain life. But with surface temperatures at -180 Celsius and with extreme levels of radiation, it’s also one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. Exploring Europa could be possible in the coming years thanks to new applications for silicon-germanium transistor technology research at Georgia Tech.

    Regents’ Professor John D. Cressler in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and his students have been working with silicon-germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors (SiGe HBTs) for decades and have found them to have unique advantages in extreme environments like Europa.

    “Due to the way that they’re made, these devices actually survive those extreme conditions without any changes made to the underlying technology itself,” said Cressler, who is the project investigator. “You can build it for what you want it to do on Earth, and you then can use it in space.”

    The researchers are in year one of a three-year grant in the NASA Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology (COLDTech) program to design the electronics infrastructure for upcoming Europa surface missions. NASA plans to launch the Europa Clipper in 2024, an orbiting spacecraft that will map the oceans of Europa, and then eventually send a landing vehicle, Europa Lander, to drill through the ice and explore its ocean. But it all starts with electronics that can function in Europa’s extreme environment.

    Cressler and his students, together with researchers from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and the University of Tennessee (UT), demonstrated the capabilities of SiGe HBTs for this hostile environment in a paper presented at the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference in July.

    Europa’s Challenge

    Like Earth, Jupiter also has a liquid metal core that generates a magnetic field, producing radiation belts of high-energy protons and electrons from the impinging solar wind. Unfortunately, as a moon of Jupiter, Europa sits squarely in those radiation belts. In effect, any technology designed for Europa’s surface would not only need to be able to survive the cold temperatures but also the worst radiation encountered in the solar system.

    Fortunately, SiGe HBTs are ideal for this hostile environment. The SiGe HBT introduces a nanoscale Si-Ge alloy inside a typical bipolar transistor to nano-engineer its properties, effectively producing a much faster transistor while maintaining the economy-of-scale and low cost of traditional silicon transistors.  SiGe HBTs have the unique ability to maintain performance under extreme radiation exposure, and their properties naturally improve at colder temperatures. Such a unique combination makes them ideal candidates for Europa exploration.

    “It’s not just doing the basic science and proving that SiGe works,” Cressler said. “It’s actually developing electronics for NASA to use on Europa. We know SiGe can survive high levels of radiation. And we know it’s remains functional at cold temperatures. What we did not know is if it could do both at the same time, which is needed for Europa surface missions.”

    Testing the Transistors

    To answer this question, the GT researchers used JPL’s Dynamitron, a machine that shoots high-flux electrons at very low temperatures to test SiGe in Europa-type environments. They exposed ­­SiGe HBTs to one million Volt electrons to a radiation dose of five million rads of radiation (200-400 rads is lethal to humans), at 300, 200, and 115 Kelvins (-160 Celsius).

    “What had never been done was to use electronics like we did in that experiment,” Cressler said. “So, we worked literally for the first year to get the results that are in that paper, which is in essence definitive proof that what we claimed is, in fact, true—that SiGe does survive Europa surface conditions.” 

    In the next two years, the GT and UT researchers will develop actual circuits from SiGe that could be used on Europa, such as radios and microcontrollers. Yet more importantly, these devices could then be seamlessly used in almost any space environment, including on the moon and Mars.

    “If Europa is the worst-case environment in the solar system, and you can build these to work on Europa, then they will work anywhere,” Cressler said. “This research ties together past research that we have done in my team here at Georgia Tech for a long time and shows really interesting and novel applications of these technologies. We pride ourselves on using our research to break new innovative ground and thereby enable novel applications.”

    Citation:  J.W. Teng, G.N. Tzintzarov, D. Nergui, J.P. Heimerl, Y. Mensah, J.P. Moody, D.O. Thorbourn, L. Del Castillo, L. Scheick, M.M. Mojarradi, B.J. Blalock, and J.D. Cressler, “Cryogenic Total-Ionizing-Dose Response of 4th-Generation SiGe HBTs using 1-MeV Electrons for Europa-Surface Applications,” IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference, July 2022.

     

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    The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is one of the top public research universities in the U.S., developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

    The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its more than 46,000 students, representing 50 states and more than 150 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning.

    As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society. 

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    Georgia Institute of Technology

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  • Better Asthma and COPD Drugs with Fewer Side Effects Are Within Reach

    Better Asthma and COPD Drugs with Fewer Side Effects Are Within Reach

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    Rockville, Md. (September 29, 2022)—Bronchodilators, the most common type of asthma-fighting drug, inhibits contractions of airway smooth muscle that are induced by stimulating receptors on the muscle’s surface. New research highlights a novel mechanism for the drugs and will aid in the development of better medications for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The findings are detailed in a new article by researchers from Dundalk Institute of Technology in Ireland and Queen’s University in Northern Ireland. 

    Asthma and COPD are common lung disorders—caused by excessive constriction of the airways—that make breathing difficult. Bronchodilators,  also known as beta-adrenoceptor agonists, relax airway smooth muscle and open the airways to make breathing easier. These drugs bind to beta-adrenoceptors located on airway muscle cells and cause them to relax.

    Constriction of the airways is regulated in the nerves, which release a chemical called acetylcholine. This chemical causes the airways to constrict and narrow. For patients with COPD, the constrictor effects of acetylcholine are enhanced. It has been long known that beta-adrenoceptor agonists could reverse the constricting effects of acetylcholine on airway smooth muscle, but it has not been fully clear how this occurs. It is important to understand how these medications work to assist with future development of more effective drugs with fewer side effects.

    Read the full article, “M2 muscarinic receptor-dependent contractions of airway smooth muscle are inhibited by activation of β-adrenoceptors,” published ahead of print in Function. Contact APS Media Relations or call 301.634.7314 to schedule an interview with a member of the research team.

     

     

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  • The road to future AI is paved with trust

    The road to future AI is paved with trust

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    Newswise — The place of artificial intelligence, AI, in our everyday life is increasing and many researchers believe that what we have seen so far is only the beginning. However, AI must be trustworthy in all situations. Linköping University is coordinating TAILOR, a EU project that has drawn up a research-based roadmap intended to guide research funding bodies and decision-makers towards the trustworthy AI of the future.

    “The development of artificial intelligence is in its infancy. When we look back at what we are doing today in 50 years, we will find it pretty primitive. In other words, most of the field remains to be discovered. That’s why it’s important to lay the foundation of trustworthy AI now,” says Fredrik Heintz, professor of artificial intelligence at LiU, and coordinator of the TAILOR project.

    TAILOR is one of six research networks set up by the EU to strengthen research capacity and develop the AI of the future. The foundation of trustworthy AI is being laid by TAILOR, by drawing up a framework, guidelines and a specification of the needs of the AI research community. “TAILOR” is an abbreviation of Foundations of Trustworthy AI – integrating, learning, optimisation and reasoning.

    The roadmap now presented by TAILOR is the first step on the way to standardisation, where the idea is that decision-makers and research funding bodies can gain insight into what is required to develop trustworthy AI. Fredrik Heintz believes that it is a good idea to show that many research problems must be solved before this can be achieved. 

    The researchers have defined three criteria for trustworthy AI: it must conform to laws and regulations, it must satisfy several ethical principles, and its implementation it must be robust and safe. Fredrik Heintz points out that these criteria pose major challenges, in particular the implementation of the ethical principles. 

    “Take justice, for example. Does this mean an equal distribution of resources or that all actors receive the resources needed to bring them all to the same level? We are facing major long-term questions, and it will take time before they are answered. Remember – the definition of justice has been debated by philosophers and scholars for hundreds of years,” says Fredrik Heintz.

    The project will focus on large comprehensive research questions, and will attempt to find standards that all who work with AI can adopt. But Fredrik Heintz is convinced that we can only achieve this if basic research into AI is given priority. 

    “People often regard AI as a technology issue, but what’s really important is whether we gain societal benefit from it. If we are to obtain AI that can be trusted and that functions well in society, we must make sure that it is centred on people,” says Fredrik Heintz.

    Many of the legal proposals written within the EU and its member states are written by legal specialists. But Fredrik Heintz believes that they lack expert knowledge within AI, which is a problem. 

    “Legislation and standards must be based on knowledge. This is where we researchers can contribute, providing information about the current forefront of research, and making well-grounded decisions possible. It’s important that experts have the opportunity to influence questions of this type,” says Fredrik Heintz.

    The complete roadmap is available at: Strategic Research and Innovation Roadmap of trustworthy AI

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  • Breast Cancer Screening: Understanding Risk and Age

    Breast Cancer Screening: Understanding Risk and Age

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    Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 2022 – Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States and will result in an estimated 43,250 deaths in the nation this year, according to the American Cancer Society. The most effective screening tool for breast cancer is a mammogram, which uses low dose X-rays to create images of the breast. This method can find breast cancer before there are any signs or symptoms, and before the cancer grows larger or spreads to other parts of the body. Fortunately, when breast cancer is detected early, it is easier and more successful to treat, which is why all women should learn about screening regardless of their age. 

    Risk of developing breast cancer increases as you get older. The two most significant risk factors for developing breast cancer include being a woman and increasing age, however, there are other factors that may increase your risk. You may also be at high risk if you have a mother or sister who developed breast or ovarian cancer or if you have multiple family members who developed breast, ovarian or prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women, with a median age at the time of diagnosis at 62.

    Women over 70 are still at risk of breast cancer. It is generally recommended that women begin getting a mammogram at age 40 annually. For women aged 50 to 74 years, The United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening mammography in women aged 75 years or older. The American Cancer Society advises physicians to continue screening patients as long as they are in “good overall health” and have a life expectancy of 10 year or longer.

    All women should pay attention to breast cancer warning signs. Early disease usually does not cause pain. As the cancer grows, symptoms may include a lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area, change in the size or shape of the breast, or tenderness. Other symptoms include nipple discharge or the nipple pulled back into the breast, or a change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels (warm, swollen, red, or scaly).

    Early detection saves lives. If you are unsure about breast cancer screening recommendations for your personal situation, discuss with your doctor to make a decision that feels right for you. Learn more at rwjbh.org/mammo.

    Michele Blackwood, MD, FACS, is Chief, Section of Breast Surgery at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center and  only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and Medical Director, Northern Regional Director of Breast Services at  RWJBarnabas Health.

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  • Liver Cancer: Excessive Alcohol Use and Other Risks

    Liver Cancer: Excessive Alcohol Use and Other Risks

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    Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 2022 – The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. It removes toxins from the blood and regulates the levels of chemicals. It excretes a product called bile which helps you digest fat. It makes clotting factors and stores sugar that the body uses for energy. Many may associate poor liver health with increased alcohol consumption but does that mean that drinking alcohol causes liver cancer? Mariam F. Eskander, MD, MPH, surgical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health, and assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School whose clinical expertise includes liver tumors, shares more information on this topic.

    Q: What is the relationship between excessive alcohol use and liver cancer?

    Heavy alcohol use is toxic to the liver. Alcohol abuse can cause irreversible damage to the liver called cirrhosis, and cirrhosis is the biggest risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer. Other risk factors are chronic hepatitis B or C and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which can also lead to cirrhosis. Smoking is another risk factor.

    Q: What are ways to lower liver cancer risk?

    Take care of your liver! This means avoiding excessive alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking.

    Q: Are there any early signs or symptoms of liver cancer?

    Unfortunately, there are not any early signs of liver cancer. However, patients may present with abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea or vomiting, and yellowing of the skin or eyes.

    Q: Is liver cancer hereditary?

    Generally, no. There are some genetic conditions that increase the risk of developing liver cancer but they are not common. These include hereditary hemochromatosis and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

    Q: Should people who have liver cancer abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages?

    Yes, people who have liver cancer should avoid drinking alcohol. It can worsen liver function and limit treatment options. It can also increase the risk of developing another type of cancer.

    Q: What should I do if I think I’m at risk for liver cancer?

    Talk to your primary care physician about your specific risk factors and actions you can take to lower your risk. People with cirrhosis should also see a liver specialist to improve their liver health and get regular ultrasound screenings for liver cancer.

    At Rutgers Cancer Institute, the Liver Cancer and Bile Duct Cancer Program is the state’s only multidisciplinary health care group focused on liver and bile duct tumors. Learn more about our Liver Cancer and Bile Duct Cancer Program.

     

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    Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

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  • Oncoplasty: Breast Cancer Surgery with Cosmetic Results

    Oncoplasty: Breast Cancer Surgery with Cosmetic Results

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    Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 2022 – In recent decades, advances in breast cancer surgery have dramatically changed the treatment of the disease. It’s no longer just the removal of the whole breast (mastectomy), or taking out the tumor (lumpectomy). Now, women have more options made possible by the dynamic field of oncoplastic surgery, which is a combination of cancer surgery with traditional plastic surgery techniques to remove breast cancers and simultaneously leave the remaining breast as intact as possible. Shicha Kumar, MD, FACS, surgical oncologist in the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center and only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center together with RWJBarnabas Health; and assistant professor of surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, shares more.

    Cancer is Removed, Breasts are Saved

    Oncoplastic surgical techniques involve careful planning of skin and breast tissue removal, and incorporate many different approaches. For some, it may be an incision around the nipple, in the armpit area, under the breast – to both improve appearance and decrease lumpectomy defects. For other patients, a more complex approach may be appropriate involving reshaping the entire breast gland after removing a large amount of breast tissue and repositioning the nipple. This may be accompanied by more advanced techniques such as replacing breast volume with tissue from other parts of the body and even operating on the non-affected breast with a reduction procedure to achieve the same look on both sides. 

    An Unexpected Silver Lining

    Many patients are surprised to learn that breast cancer surgery can improve the cosmetic appearance of their breasts. Oncoplastic surgical techniques provide many positive benefits for women healing from both the physical and emotional journey of breast cancer. Research has shown that these techniques improve quality of life, sense of wellbeing and gives patients confidence in their body image, knowing they can preserve their natural breasts without leaving the breast distorted or asymmetric.

    When to Consider this Surgery  

    The decision-making regarding the selection of patients for oncoplastic techniques includes many factors, such as tumor size, tumor location, breast size and shape, the density of glandular tissue, the presence of other chronic illness, smoking, need for additional cancer treatment, and patient preference. At Rutgers Cancer Institute and RWJBarnabas Health, our experts have experience in various oncoplastic techniques for lumpectomy and work closely with other surgical oncologists and plastic surgeons throughout the health system to achieve desirable results.  This collective experience translates into the best possible outcomes for our patients.

    Learn more at rwjbh.org/mammo.

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  • The Impact of Breast Cancer on the Hispanic/ Latina Community: Answers from an Expert

    The Impact of Breast Cancer on the Hispanic/ Latina Community: Answers from an Expert

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    Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 2022 – Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women after skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. While there are more options for women diagnosed with breast cancer now more than ever as a result of advances in research and targeted therapies, outcomes vary among women of different races and ethnicities, including people within the Latina and Hispanic community. Gerardo Capo, MD, medical oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center and only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, who sees patients at Trinitas Regional Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, shares more about what the Hispanic/Latina community should know about the disease.

    How are Hispanic/Latina women impacted by breast cancer?

    According to the 2021-2023 edition of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts and Figures for Hispanic/Latino People, an estimated 28,100 breast cancer cases and 3,100 deaths are expected to occur among Hispanic women this year. Hispanic/Latina women are 30 percent less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, however, breast cancer in Latinas and Hispanic women may remain undiagnosed until later stages when it is more challenging to treat.

    Why are Hispanic/Latina women in the U.S. diagnosed at a later stage?

    There are many reasons why Hispanic/Latina women in the U.S. are diagnosed at a later stage. These might include lack of awareness of breast cancer risks and screening methods as well as financial barriers. Cultural and language barriers may also influence behaviors, beliefs about illness and approaches to medical care.

    What do you think Hispanic/Latina women need to know about breast cancer?

    If you are a Hispanic/Latina woman, understanding the signs of breast cancer and how breast cancer affects those with your background could help save your life.  Symptoms may include a lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area, change in the size or shape of the breast, or tenderness. Other symptoms include nipple discharge or the nipple pulled back into the breast, or a change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels (warm, swollen, red, or scaly). Hispanic/Latina women should also know that the most effective screening tool for breast cancer is a mammogram. This method of screening can detect breast cancer before there are any signs or symptoms. According to the American Cancer Society, it is recommended that women ages 45 to 54 at average risk for developing breast cancer should have a mammogram annually.

    Are clinical trials an option for Hispanic/Latina women?

    Yes. Ensuring people from diverse backgrounds participate in clinical trials is key to advancing health equity. Learn more about open clinical trials at Rutgers Cancer Institute: https://www.cinj.org/clinical-trials/clinical-trials-overview.

    The Latino Advisory Council at Rutgers Cancer Institute serves to assist in the promotion of equitable health and economic wellbeing of our community and helps ensure that values and cultural differences among persons and communities are respected.

    Learn more at rwjbh.org/mammo.

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  • Black Women, Breast Cancer and Clinical Trials

    Black Women, Breast Cancer and Clinical Trials

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    Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., Date October 1, 2022 – For Black women, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and as of 2019 has surpassed lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in this population, according to the American Cancer Society. Black women continue to experience disparities in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, leading to increased mortality of up to 40 percent higher than white women. Researchers are working to improve outcomes for Black women with breast cancer – including through increased participation in clinical trials, which helps find better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

    Coral Omene, MD, PhD, medical oncologist at the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center and member of the Cancer Health Equity Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer center and only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center together with RWJBarnabas Health; and an assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, shares more on the topic.

    Diversity matters in breast cancer research. Clinical trials are research studies involving human volunteers to evaluate medications, vaccines, or medical devices for safety and effectiveness and play an essential role in improving patient cancer care and outcomes. Because different populations can respond differently to therapies, clinical trials for breast cancer that include those specific populations are important. Ensuring people from diverse backgrounds participate in clinical trials is key to advancing health equity. 

    Black women are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials. The reasons for this are multi-factorial, including social, economic, structural factors, and communication, and access issues. In particular, a lack of awareness and understanding of clinical trials, compounded by distrust of the medical system all pose barriers to Black women participating.

    We’re working to connect Black women with clinical trials. Rutgers Cancer Institute has recently been awarded a $50,000 grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research in partnership with ESPN to increase clinical trial awareness and enrollment of Black women with breast cancer. The efforts in this funded proposal to increase clinical trial participation among Black breast cancer patients will include tailored patient education; advocacy and outreach; patient navigation; and physician engagement and outreach. Read the full news release here.

    What can Black women do?

    Black women should feel empowered to take every opportunity available to them to detect breast cancer early through annual mammograms and encourage their family members and friends to do so as well. Black women diagnosed with breast cancer should ask questions, including discussion of clinical trial options and seek second opinions if necessary, so that they are comfortable with their treatment plans. If there are any issues that may pose a barrier to receive treatment or participate in a clinical trial, they should inform the team and be reassured that the medical team is dedicated to helping them navigate or resolve those barriers, so that they can receive the best treatment option. Importantly, they must be engaged in all the avenues available to help decrease breast cancer recurrence.

    Learn more at rwjbh.org/mammo.

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  • Gottlieb Center for Fitness to Make Grand Reopening on October 1

    Gottlieb Center for Fitness to Make Grand Reopening on October 1

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    Newswise — MELROSE PARK, IL –The Gottlieb Center for Fitness is set to reopen on October 1. After closing during the pandemic, the fitness center was remodeled to bring new and improved facilities to members.

    The Gottlieb Center for Fitness is a 55,000 square foot facility with two pools, an indoor cushioned track, extensive cardio and strength equipment, exercise studios and basketball court. Members will also enjoy a lineup of group exercise and aquatics classes aimed to serve all fitness levels to encourage an active, healthy lifestyle. Located next to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, the center features convenient hours, personal training and fitness programs.

    Members can sign up for classes and attend walking clubs and member socials. Full membership information is available on the Loyola Medicine website, and those interested in purchasing a membership can call 708-538-5790.

    “We’re excited to be able to bring the Gottlieb Center for Fitness back to the community,” said Gottlieb Memorial Hospital president Elizabeth Early. “We hope the new and improved facilities and programs will provide members with the resources they need to achieve their health and wellness goals.”

    The facility is located at 551 W. North Avenue, Entrance #7, Melrose Park. The fitness center will be open Monday through Friday from 5:30 am to 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm. Free parking is available onsite.

    Learn more at https://www.loyolamedicine.org/gottlieb-center-for-fitness/

     

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    About Loyola Medicine

    Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago’s western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from more than 1,500 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. Loyola is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois’s largest burn center, a certified comprehensive stroke center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. Established in 1961, Gottlieb is a 247-licensed-bed community hospital in Melrose Park with the Judd A. Weinberg Emergency Department, the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care and the Loyola Cancer Care & Research Facility at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center. MacNeal is a 374-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Berwyn with advanced medical, surgical and psychiatric services, acute rehabilitation, an inpatient skilled nursing facility and a 68-bed behavioral health program and community clinics. 

     

    For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

     

    About Trinity Health

    Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, Catholic health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 115,000 colleagues and nearly 26,000 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 25 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 88 hospitals, 131 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 125 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. Based in Livonia, Michigan, its annual operating revenue is $20.2 billion with $1.2 billion returned to its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. 

     

    For more information, visit www.trinity-health.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

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  • URI Prof. Isaac Ginis’ Team Is Making Dramatic Improvements in Storm Damage Prediction

    URI Prof. Isaac Ginis’ Team Is Making Dramatic Improvements in Storm Damage Prediction

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    “I don’t predict a hurricane season. If a hurricane makes landfall near where you live, that is an active season for you,” says URI Professor of Oceanography Isaac Ginis.

    Yet predicting the severity of a hurricane can mean the difference between life and death, which is why Ginis makes it his business to predict the power of these ferocious storms. He developed a computer model so successful it was adopted by the National Weather Service. As one of the few scientists worldwide to show the role the ocean plays in hurricanes, Ginis essentially proved that ocean temperature is the most important factor in hurricane intensity and power.

    Says Ginis, “People may think if you have 20 hurricanes predicted in a season that it would be more dangerous than in a season with fewer, in terms of making landfall, which is not true. Even with an inactive season, we can have catastrophic hurricanes. In 1992 we had only seven hurricanes, but among them was Andrew, which made landfall in Florida and devastated the surrounding area south of Miami. It doesn’t matter how many are in the Atlantic since most of those go out to sea. The media will often ask how many, and if you hear a prediction of fewer storms, people feel they can relax, but that isn’t the case.”

    Ginis’s research efforts have resulted in pioneering advances in modeling of the tropical cyclone-ocean interactions that have led to significant improvements in hurricane intensity forecast skills.

    His research group has contributed to the development of the Hurricane Weather Research Forecast model used by the U.S. National Hurricane Center and Joint Typhoon Warning Center for operational forecasting of tropical cyclones in all ocean basins. One of his team’s most recent projects, the Rhode Island Coastal Hazards, Analysis, Modeling and Prediction (RI-CHAMP) system, which launched in June, advances storm model capabilities and develops a real-time hazard and impact prediction system for hurricanes and nor’easters in Southern New England. The system provides actionable information to decision makers in helping to prepare for a storm. When it comes to forecasting hurricanes, the focus is usually on more tropical locales. However, Ginis says, “the farther they move to the north, the more complex they become.”

    More on Isaac Ginis:

    Actionable Information, Aboard GSO (Spring 2022)
    URI leads team of researchers awarded $1.5 million NOAA grant, URI News (Sept. 2021)
    Ocean Research, University of Rhode Island (July 2021)
    Isaac Ginis, University of Rhode Island (May 2018)

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  • Argonne research to help U.S. achieve net-zero carbon emissions goal

    Argonne research to help U.S. achieve net-zero carbon emissions goal

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    Newswise — Argonne program prioritizes critical carbon-capture research.

    Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are tackling big problems facing the world. One of the biggest is climate change.

    In the United States, as elsewhere around the globe, the symptoms of climate change have become plain to see: record-setting heat waves, unprecedented storms and flooding, historic droughts and wildfires. Scientists have linked these symptoms to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily carbon dioxide. Globally in 2021, total emissions of carbon dioxide reached about 36 gigatons, the highest level ever. These emissions are estimated to increase in the coming years unless bold actions are taken.

    “The need to decarbonize is as urgent as it gets, and Argonne is in a good position to do something about it.” — Vyaas Gururajan, research scientist, Transportation and Power Systems division

    In the face of the threat, the U.S. has made a pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Within the next decade, according to the National Academy of Sciences, the world should be removing about seven to 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year. Today, we’re nowhere near that; the current rate is about 0.04 gigatons.

    One of several means to help meet the net-zero goal is removal of carbon dioxide from industrial plant emissions and directly from the air. Argonne researchers are thus aligning a variety of research programs toward the development of highly effective and energy efficient systems to capture carbon.

    Though Argonne researchers have been doing important work related to decarbonization for decades, this new joint effort unites experts across the lab. ​“Essentially, we want a group of scientists dedicated to this pressing problem,” said Vyaas Gururajan, a research scientist in Argonne’s Transportation and Power Systems division who is working with Sibendu Som, director of the lab’s Center for Advanced Propulsion and Power.

    In the near term, the researchers are focused on studying point-source capture technologies. In point-source capture, the unit trapping carbon dioxide is attached, or very close to, an exhaust stream such as a factory’s flue-gas stack. Point-source capture is far less energy intensive and, therefore, cheaper than another common method called direct-air capture. During direct-air capture, carbon dioxide is pulled right out of the atmosphere. In this research, Som can call upon his deep well of experience using high performance computing systems to model engines.

    Currently, Argonne researchers are creating computational tools to numerically simulate and model a variety of complex elements of theoretical carbon-capture systems. ​“We are developing a software framework to solve this problem,” Som said, ​“because there are way too many parameters in the problem to investigate experimentally.” The ideal system achieves a high rate of carbon dioxide transfer while using a low amount of power.

    One technology the researchers are looking into is called a hollow fiber membrane contactor module. Basically, a gas that contains carbon dioxide and a liquid solvent are fed into a container that has very thin fibers whose walls, or membranes, possess pores that are able to maintain liquid-gas contact, selectively removing carbon dioxide from the gas stream. The CO2-rich solvent is then heated, producing pure carbon dioxide gas and solvent that can be reused.

    Scientists at Argonne and elsewhere are also investigating possible ways to reuse or store the captured carbon dioxide. For example, it could be stored underground or used in processes to create liquid fuels.

    Another carbon capture method involves flow through a so-called packed bed reactor. Gas containing carbon dioxide is pushed through a matrix of sorbents — materials that adsorb a liquid or gas, such as zeolites or silica gel. The carbon dioxide accumulates on the sorbent material and can then be boiled off and captured, allowing the sorbent to be used again.

    “If we are going to simulate these processes numerically using a computer, we need lots of parameters for the various solvents and sorbents we are using,” Gururajan said. ​“Therefore, we need a range of experts at Argonne on board.” The research dovetails, for example, with that of Di-Jia Liu, a senior chemist in Argonne’s Chemical Sciences and Engineering division. He recently discovered a new electrocatalyst (a substance that increases the rate of an electrochemical reaction) that converts captured carbon dioxide and water into ethanol. Solving the carbon-capture conundrum will require experts in this and many other highly specialized disciplines, including chemical kinetics, molecular transport, material characterization and synthesis and computational fluid dynamics.

    This effort has been made possible, in part, by a grant from Argonne’s Launchpad Program, designed to provide motivated early- and mid-career researchers the opportunity and support to build a technology program that can scale to about $10 million in funding per year within five years.

    “The need to decarbonize is as urgent as it gets, and Argonne is in a good position to do something about it,” Gururajan said. ​“We have all of these scientists doing research on so many different fronts. Why not channel some of that work toward this critical need to remove carbon dioxide?”

    Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.

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  • Ancient ‘shark’ from China is humans’ oldest jawed ancestor

    Ancient ‘shark’ from China is humans’ oldest jawed ancestor

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    Newswise — Living sharks are often portrayed as the apex predators of the marine realm. Paleontologists have been able to identify fossils of their extinct ancestors that date back hundreds of millions of years to a time known as the Palaeozoic period. These early “sharks,” known as acanthodians, bristled with spines. In contrast to modern sharks, they developed bony “armor” around their paired fins.

    A recent discovery of a new species of acanthodian from China surprised scientists with its antiquity. The find predates by about 15 million years the earliest acanthodian body fossils and is the oldest undisputed jawed fish.

    These findings were published in Nature on Sept. 28.

    Reconstructed from thousands of tiny skeletal fragments, Fanjingshania, named after the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site Fanjingshan, is a bizarre fish with an external bony “armor” and multiple pairs of fin spines that set it apart from living jawed fish, cartilaginous sharks and rays, and bony ray- and lobe-finned fish.

    Examination of Fanjingshania by a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qujing Normal University, and the University of Birmingham revealed that the species is anatomically close to groups of extinct spiny “sharks” collectively known as acanthodians. Unlike modern sharks, acanthodians have skin ossifications of the shoulder region that occur primitively in jawed fish.

    The fossil remains of Fanjingshania were recovered from bone bed samples of the Rongxi Formation at a site in Shiqian County of Guizhou Province, South China.

    These findings present tangible evidence of a diversification of major vertebrate groups tens of millions of years before the beginning of the so called “Age of Fishes” some 420 million years ago.

    The researchers identified features that set apart Fanjingshania from any known vertebrate. It has dermal shoulder girdle plates that fuse as a unit to a number of spines—pectoral, prepectoral and prepelvic. Additionally, it was discovered that the ventral and lateral portions of the shoulder plates extend to the posterior edge of the pectoral fin spines. The species has distinct trunk scales with crowns composed of a row of tooth-like elements (odontodes) adorned by discontinuous nodose ridges. Peculiarly, dentine development is recorded in the scales but is missing in other components of the dermal skeleton such as the fin spines.

    “This is the oldest jawed fish with known anatomy,” said Prof. ZHU Min from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “The new data allowed us to place Fanjingshania in the phylogenetic tree of early vertebrates and gain much needed information about the evolutionary steps leading to the origin of important vertebrate adaptations such as jaws, sensory systems, and paired appendages.”

    From the outset, it was clear to the scientists that Fanjingshania‘s shoulder girdle, with its array of fin spines, is key to pinpointing the new species’ position in the evolutionary tree of early vertebrates. They found that a group of acanthodians, known as climatiids, possess the full complement of shoulder spines recognized in Fanjingshania. What is more, in contrast to normal dermal plate development, the pectoral ossifications of Fanjingshania and the climatiids are fused to modified trunk scales. This is seen as a specialization from the primitive condition of jawed vertebrates where the bony plates grow from a single ossification center.

    Unexpectedly, the fossil bones of Fanjingshania show evidence of extensive resorption and remodelling that are typically associated with skeletal development in bony fish, including humans.

    “This level of hard tissue modification is unprecedented in chondrichthyans, a group that includes modern cartilaginous fish and their extinct ancestors,” said lead author Dr. Plamen Andreev, a researcher at Qujing Normal University. “It speaks about greater than currently understood developmental plasticity of the mineralized skeleton at the onset of jawed fish diversification.”

    The resorption features of Fanjingshania are most apparent in isolated trunk scales that show evidence of tooth-like shedding of crown elements and removal of dermal bone from the scale base. Thin-sectioned specimens and tomography slices show that this resorptive stage was followed by deposition of replacement crown elements. Surprisingly, the closest examples of this skeletal remodelling are found in the dentition and skin teeth (denticles) of extinct and living bony fish. In Fanjingshania, however, the resorption did not target individual teeth or denticles, as occurred in bony fish, but instead removed an area that included multiple scale denticles. This peculiar replacement mechanism more closely resembles skeletal repair than the typical tooth/denticle substitution of jawed vertebrates.

    A phylogenetic hypothesis for Fanjingshania that uses a numeric matrix derived from observable characters confirmed the researchers’ initial hypothesis that the species represents an early evolutionary branch of primitive chondrichthyans. These results have profound implications for our understanding of when jawed fish originated since they align with morphological clock estimates for the age of the common ancestor of cartilaginous and bony fish, dating it to around 455 million years ago, during a period known as the Ordovician.

    These results tell us that the absence of undisputed remains of jawed fish of Ordovician age might be explained by under sampling of sediment sequences of comparable antiquity. They also point towards a strong preservation bias against teeth, jaws, and articulated vertebrate fossils in strata coeval with Fanjingshania.

    “The new discovery puts into question existing models of vertebrate evolution by significantly condensing the timeframe for the emergence of jawed fish from their closest jawless ancestors. This will have profound impact on how we assess evolutionary rates in early vertebrates and the relationship between morphological and molecular change in these groups,” said Dr. Ivan J. Sansom from the University of Birmingham.

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    Chinese Academy of Sciences

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  • Low long-term risk of breast cancer recurrence after nipple-sparing mastectomy

    Low long-term risk of breast cancer recurrence after nipple-sparing mastectomy

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    Newswise — September 29, 2022 – Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) – an increasingly popular option for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer – not only achieves good cosmetic outcomes, but also low long-term risk of recurrent breast cancer, reports a study in the October issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

    Ten years after NSM, the rate of recurrent breast cancer is only 3%, according to the new research, led by ASPS Member Surgeon Mihye Choi, MD, of the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, New York University Langone Health. The researchers write, “Nipple-sparing mastectomy remains a viable option in the appropriately indicated patient with regards to long-term cancer recurrence.”

    Not just improved cosmetic outcomes – NSM provides good long-term cancer control

    In the NSM technique, the surgeon preserves the nipple and surrounding tissues for use in immediate breast reconstruction. Compared to conventional mastectomy, NSM allows for a more natural-looking reconstruction, leading to higher patient satisfaction. However, there is little information about the long-term risk of recurrent breast cancer after NSM.

    Dr. Choi and colleagues evaluated breast cancer outcomes in 120 patients undergoing NSM for breast cancer treatment. The analysis included a total of 126 therapeutic NSM procedures. The analysis excluded prophylactic (preventive) NSM procedures to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at high genetic risk.

    At a median follow-up of 10 years after NSM, the analysis showed low recurrent cancer risks: 3.33% per patient and 3.17% per reconstructed breast. Of the four patients with recurrent cancer, two had local recurrences (breast only) and two had cancer spread to other locations (locoregional recurrence).

    Recurrence risk was higher for women who had cancer involving the lymph nodes. However, on analysis adjusting for other factors, there were no demographic, surgical, or tumor-related variables that predicted the risk of recurrent breast cancer.

    The researchers point out some key limitations of their findings – including selection bias related to the characteristics of patients likely to be considered good candidates for NSM. Most of the patients in the study had early-stage breast cancers: stage 1 in about 45% and stage 0 in 34%.

    The finding of good long-term cancer control is especially important in light of the growing use of NSM and immediate reconstruction for women with breast cancer. “Patients with NSMs have had low locoregional recurrence rates in a retrospective review of patients with a median follow-up of 10-years,” Dr. Choi and colleagues conclude. They add: “Despite low rates of recurrence, close surveillance remains important to continually assess for long-term safety of NSM.”

    Click here to read “Long-Term Cancer Recurrence Rates following Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study“

    DOI: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000009495

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    About Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

    For over 75 years, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (http://www.prsjournal.com/) has been the one consistently excellent reference for every specialist who uses plastic surgery techniques or works in conjunction with a plastic surgeon. The official journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® brings subscribers up-to-the-minute reports on the latest techniques and follow-up for all areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery, including breast reconstruction, experimental studies, maxillofacial reconstruction, hand and microsurgery, burn repair and cosmetic surgery, as well as news on medico-legal issues.

    About ASPS

    The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world. Representing more than 7,000 physician members, the society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

    About Wolters Kluwer

    Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

    Wolters Kluwer reported 2021 annual revenues of €4.8 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

    Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.

    For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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    Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott

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  • Unreliable neurons improve brain functionalities

    Unreliable neurons improve brain functionalities

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    Newswise — The brain is composed of millions of billions of neurons which communicate with each other. Each neuron collects its many inputs and transmits a spike to its connecting neurons. The dynamics of such large and highly interconnected neural networks is the basis of all high order brain functionalities.

    In an article published today in the journal Scientific Reports, a group of scientists has experimentally demonstrated that there are frequent periods of silence in which a neuron fails to respond to its inputs. As opposed to elecronic devices, which are fast and reliable, the brain is composed of unreliable neurons. “A logic-gate always gives the same output to the same input, otherwise electronic devices like cellphones and computers, which are composed of many billions of interconnected logic-gates, wouldn’t function well,” said Prof. Ido Kanter, of Bar-Ilan University’s Department of Physics and Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, who led the study. “Comparing the unreliability of the brain to a computer or cellphone: one time your computer answers 1+1=2 and other times 1+1=5, or dialing 7 in your cellphone many times can result in 4 or 9. Silencing periods would appear to be a major disadvantage of the brain, but our latest findings have shown otherwise.”

    Contrary to what one might think, Kanter and team have demonstrated that neuronal silencing periods are not a disadvantage representing biological limitations, but rather an advantage for temporal sequence identification. “Assume you would like to remember a phone number, 0765…,” said Yuval Meir, a co-author of the study. “Neurons which were active when the digit 0 was presented might be silenced when the next digit 7 is presented, for example. Consequently, each digit is trained on a different dynamically created sub-network, and this silencing mechanism enables our brain to identify sequences efficiently.”

    The brain silencing mechanism is a proposed source for a new AI mechanism, and in addition has been demonstrated as the origin for a new type of cryptosystem for handwriting recognition at automated teller machines (ATMs). This cryptosystem allows the user to write his personal identification number (PIN) on an electronic board rather than clicking a PIN into the ATM. The sequence identification developed by Kanter and team, based on neuronal silencing periods, is not only capable of identifying the correct PIN but also the user’s personal handwriting style and the timing in which each digit of the PIN is written on the board. These added features act as safeguards against stolen cards, even if a thief knows the user’s PIN.

    This latest research by Kanter and team shows that it is not always beneficial to improve the unreliablilty of stuttered neurons in the brain, because they have advantages for higher brain functions.

    See video here.

     

     

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    Bar-Ilan University

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