Thursday, August 06, 2020

NEWS RELEASE 5-AUG-2020

How climate change affects allergies, immune response and autism

The changes in the environment and biodiversity brought on by climate change could be responsible for increases in allergies, autoimmune diseases and autism, according to a Rutgers researcher

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Climate change and disruption of the ecosystem have the potential to profoundly impact the human body. Xue Ming, professor of neurology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who recently published a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on the effects of climate change on allergies, autoimmunity and the microbiome -- the beneficial microorganisms that live on and inside the human body -- discusses how the delicate balance of the environment affects conditions such as allergies, autism and immune disorders.

How has climate change affected respiratory allergies?

Climate change has worsened respiratory allergic disease and has altered the immune system's tolerance in responding to toxins, which has led to an increase in the prevalence of immune diseases. People with chronic respiratory allergic disease that affects the nose and eyes, such as asthma and allergies, are at particular risk due to increased exposure to pollen and the increased concentration and distribution of air pollutants.

According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, climate change has both increased the intensity of the pollen season as well as prolonged its duration. Increases in carbon dioxide were shown to lead to an increase in plant reproduction and total pollen levels, especially those plants that thrive at high carbon dioxide concentrations. For example, ragweed pollen has been increasing in concentration, with models predicting that levels will increase by four times within the next 30 years.

Thunderstorms, which have become more frequent due to rising sea temperatures, have been found to increase concentrations of pollen grains at ground level. After absorbing water, these grains can rupture and release allergenic particles that can induce severe asthmatic symptoms in patients with asthma or hay fever.

Climate change has also been linked to increased concentrations and distribution of air pollutants such as ozone, nitric oxide and other volatile organic chemicals. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that these airborne environmental pollutants may be partially responsible for the substantial increase in allergic respiratory disease seen in industrialized countries over the past several decades.

How do changes to the ecosystem affect allergies and respiratory disorders?

Deforestation and over-logging have led to a dramatic decrease in the diversity of plant species. As one species of plant becomes extinct, new species emerge to take their place. For example, as oak trees have been excessively harvested for architectural purposes, new species of trees have emerged. With these new trees come new forms of tree pollen, which are inhaled and ingested by humans on a daily basis.

Similarly, widespread pesticide use has altered the profile of insects, invertebrates and microorganisms with which we come into contact with through our soil and vegetation. As the environment is altered, our bodies are bombarded with novel organisms. The molecules which make up these organisms -- known as antigens -- are recognized as "foreign" by our bodies and create an inflammatory response.

How might a loss of biodiversity due to climate change affect non-respiratory diseases?

According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history, with nearly 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction due to climate change.

The loss of biodiversity related to climate change may affect the microbiome, potentially leading to inflammatory, autoimmune and neurologic diseases. Immunologic disorders, such as food allergies, are on the rise. For example, several studies have found that increases in carbon dioxide and temperature are correlated with changes in the composition of the peanut, making it more difficult for the body to adapt immunity.

Could disturbances in gut bacteria affect the autism rate?

Disruption of gut bacteria has been linked to neurologic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, autism and Parkinson's disease. In my own research, I found abnormal amino acid metabolism, increased imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body, and altered gut microbiomes among some patients with autism spectrum disorder.

What steps can be taken to minimize the health risks brought on by climate change?

We must end the destruction of our natural environment, decrease emissions of greenhouse gases and adopt more "green" behavior. With research demonstrating links between the microbiome and autoimmune, inflammatory and neurologic diseases, it is critical that we minimize antimicrobial exposure. This may involve altering guidelines for the prescription of antibiotics by medical professionals. In addition, given that the microbiome is directly impacted by our daily environment it is important to regularly immerse ourselves in nature and familiarize ourselves with biodiverse surroundings.

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Warming climate may trigger more West Nile outbreaks in Southern California

Study finds transmission of the mosquito-borne virus can increase rapidly with temperature -- and climate change is likely to bump coastal Southern California into the danger zone

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY

As climate change brings hotter weather to Southern California, coastal populations from San Diego to Santa Barbara may face an increased risk of contracting West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

West Nile virus is America's deadliest mosquito-borne disease and has been a threat to the Los Angeles metropolitan area since it arrived in 2003. The virus is harbored by mosquitos and birds and is most commonly spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.

The study team analyzed data on nearly 2 million mosquitoes that had been captured and tested for West Nile in Los Angeles between 2006 and 2016. They then used machine learning to identify the landscape and climate conditions that influenced mosquito infection in different neighborhoods.

They found that infection among captured mosquitoes was strongly associated with the average temperature in the neighborhood.

"Our data revealed a sharp transition, where -- as temperatures shift between 70 to around 73 degrees Fahrenheit -- the likelihood of capturing infected mosquitoes in L.A. neighborhoods increases dramatically," said Nicholas Skaff, the lead author of the study and a former postdoctoral scholar in environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. "Above this range, conditions become consistently favorable for transmission, and below this range, conditions are consistently unfavorable."

The results, published today (Wednesday, Aug. 5) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, help explain why coastal L.A. communities -- where typical summer conditions hover right at the boundary between favorable and inhibitory temperatures --- seem to be protected some years, yet vulnerable in others.

With significant warming expected over the coming decades, a greater number of West Nile cases may be expected along the Southern California coast, said Justin Remais, associate professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley.

"Coastal L.A. appears to be vulnerable to the expected warming of California's climate by mid-century, which will push coastal climates more consistently into the favorable zone," Remais said. "Inland L.A. may not be as susceptible to these shifts, as the climate is already favorable. Yet, as climate warming progresses towards the century's end, it is possible that temperatures become too hot in these areas."

The researchers emphasize that one or a few particularly hot days do not appear to increase transmission risk significantly. Rather, it is sustained warm temperatures over the course of weeks that give mosquitoes time to acquire the infection and pass it on to bird host species like the house finch.

"Our research suggests that, rather than focusing on daily weather reports, it's important to examine temperatures over the long haul," Skaff said. "If coastal Los Angeles experiences a month or two of warm temperatures during the summer or early fall, it's probably a good time to be extra careful to avoid mosquito bites. Inland parts of L.A. are almost always sufficiently hot during the summer, so other factors end up determining whether intense transmission occurs there."

And while the data indicate that temperature plays a very important role, the researchers emphasize that many factors ultimately determine whether a West Nile outbreak will occur.

"You can think of the favorable temperature range we identified as a prerequisite -- if other things don't go right for the vector or the virus, transmission may still not occur, even when temperatures are favorable," Skaff said. "For example, if most of the susceptible birds in the region were infected during the previous year or two because a large outbreak occurred, herd immunity will be high, and the risk to people will be limited."

"Predicting the transmission of infectious diseases carried by animal hosts and vectors represents a complex puzzle," added Remais, "and machine learning can pick up patterns in vast epidemiological and ecological datasets that help us understand why certain people and neighborhoods are at the highest risk, as well as what the future holds."

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The research team included Qu Cheng, Philip A. Collender, Jennifer R. Head and Christopher M. Hoover of UC Berkeley; Rachel E. S. Clemesha and Alexander Gershunov of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Dennis P. Lettenmaier of UCLA; Jason R. Rohr of the University of Notre Dame; and Robert E. Snyder of the California Department of Public Health.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health's Fogarty International Center and UC Office of the President.

Turning carbon dioxide into liquid fuel

DOE/ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY

IMAGE: ARTISTIC RENDERING OF ELECTROCATALYTIC PROCESS FOR CONVERSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER INTO ETHANOL. view more

CREDIT: (IMAGE BY ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY.)

Catalysts speed up chemical reactions and form the backbone of many industrial processes. For example, they are essential in transforming heavy oil into gasoline or jet fuel. Today, catalysts are involved in over 80 percent of all manufactured products.

A research team, led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory in collaboration with Northern Illinois University, has discovered a new electrocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into ethanol with very high energy efficiency, high selectivity for the desired final product and low cost. Ethanol is a particularly desirable commodity because it is an ingredient in nearly all U.S. gasoline and is widely used as an intermediate product in the chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

"The process resulting from our catalyst would contribute to the circular carbon economy, which entails the reuse of carbon dioxide." -- Di-Jia Liu, senior chemist in Argonne's Chemical Sciences and Engineering division and a UChicago CASE scientist

"The process resulting from our catalyst would contribute to the circular carbon economy, which entails the reuse of carbon dioxide," said Di-Jia Liu, senior chemist in Argonne's Chemical Sciences and Engineering division and a UChicago CASE scientist in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago. This process would do so by electrochemically converting the CO2 emitted from industrial processes, such as fossil fuel power plants or alcohol fermentation plants, into valuable commodities at reasonable cost.

The team's catalyst consists of atomically dispersed copper on a carbon-powder support. By an electrochemical reaction, this catalyst breaks down CO2 and water molecules and selectively reassembles the broken molecules into ethanol under an external electric field. The electrocatalytic selectivity, or "Faradaic efficiency," of the process is over 90 percent, much higher than any other reported process. What is more, the catalyst operates stably over extended operation at low voltage.

"With this research, we've discovered a new catalytic mechanism for converting carbon dioxide and water into ethanol," said Tao Xu, a professor in physical chemistry and nanotechnology from Northern Illinois University. "The mechanism should also provide a foundation for development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide conversion to a vast array of value-added chemicals."

Because CO2 is a stable molecule, transforming it into a different molecule is normally energy intensive and costly. However, according to Liu, "We could couple the electrochemical process of CO2-to-ethanol conversion using our catalyst to the electric grid and take advantage of the low-cost electricity available from renewable sources like solar and wind during off-peak hours." Because the process runs at low temperature and pressure, it can start and stop rapidly in response to the intermittent supply of the renewable electricity.

The team's research benefited from two DOE Office of Science User Facilities at Argonne -- the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) -- as well as Argonne's Laboratory Computing Resource Center (LCRC). "Thanks to the high photon flux of the X-ray beams at the APS, we have captured the structural changes of the catalyst during the electrochemical reaction,'' said Tao Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Illinois University and an assistant scientist in Argonne's X-ray Science division. These data along with high-resolution electron microscopy at CNM and computational modeling using the LCRC revealed a reversible transformation from atomically dispersed copper to clusters of three copper atoms each on application of a low voltage. The CO2-to-ethanol catalysis occurs on these tiny copper clusters. This finding is shedding light on ways to further improve the catalyst through rational design.

"We have prepared several new catalysts using this approach and found that they are all highly efficient in converting CO2 to other hydrocarbons," said Liu. "We plan to continue this research in collaboration with industry to advance this promising technology."

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Support for the research came from Argonne's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) fund provided by the DOE Office of Science and from the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The corresponding scientific paper, "Highly selective electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to ethanol by metallic clusters dynamically formed from atomically dispersed copper," appeared in a July 2020 issue of Nature Energy. In addition to Di-Jia Liu and Tao Xu, authors include Haiping Xu, Dominic Rebollar, Haiying He, Lina Chong, Yuzi Liu, Cong Liu, Cheng-Jun Sun, Tao Li, John V. Muntean and Randall E. Winans.

About Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials

The Center for Nanoscale Materials is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary research at the nanoscale supported by the DOE Office of Science. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE's Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. For more information about the DOE NSRCs, please visit https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities/User-Facilities-at-a-Glance.

About the Advanced Photon Source

The U. S. Department of Energy Office of Science's Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory is one of the world's most productive X-ray light source facilities. The APS provides high-brightness X-ray beams to a diverse community of researchers in materials science, chemistry, condensed matter physics, the life and environmental sciences, and applied research. These X-rays are ideally suited for explorations of materials and biological structures; elemental distribution; chemical, magnetic, electronic states; and a wide range of technologically important engineering systems from batteries to fuel injector sprays, all of which are the foundations of our nation's economic, technological, and physical well-being. Each year, more than 5,000 researchers use the APS to produce over 2,000 publications detailing impactful discoveries, and solve more vital biological protein structures than users of any other X-ray light source research facility. APS scientists and engineers innovate technology that is at the heart of advancing accelerator and light-source operations. This includes the insertion devices that produce extreme-brightness X-rays prized by researchers, lenses that focus the X-rays down to a few nanometers, instrumentation that maximizes the way the X-rays interact with samples being studied, and software that gathers and manages the massive quantity of data resulting from discovery research at the APS.

This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

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://energy.gov/science.

Joint ASU-Hawaii state study reveals long-term human impacts on reef fish

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Resource fishes--species targeted for human consumption--play a key role in reef ecosystems long before they end up on the dinner table. In Hawai?i, subsistence and recreational fishing of local resource fish represent more than half of the share of annual reef seafood consumption, while also playing a vital role in indigenous cultural life.

These same fishes also help reefs to stay healthy by removing algae from coral surfaces, which in turn, help coral recover from bleaching. Given the beneficial relationship between resource fishes and corals, determining how local pressures impact resource fish biomass is necessary for improving reef conservation and management.

In a new study investigating human impacts on resource fish biomass on the Island of Hawai?i, researchers from the Arizona State University Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science (GDCS) and Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) observed an alarming 45% decrease in fish biomass over a decade of surveys. The scientists proposed actionable solutions to mitigate future losses. The study was published today in Ecological Applications.

The researchers investigated the influence of local factors on the nearshore resource fisheries of West Hawai'i Island and compared the impact of distinct types of marine protections. They considered a range of factors including commercial and non-commercial fishing as well as nitrogen pollution from sewage disposal systems and golf courses. They also used ASU's Global Airborne Observatory to map the 3-D reef habitat to assess how it affects fish diversity, abundance, and biomass. The researchers analyzed extensive fish survey data collected by DAR between 2008 and 2018 at more than 300 sites spanning 180 km of coastline.

"Resource fish have been greatly reduced over the past decade in West Hawai'i. We see that negative impacts of nitrogen pollution can outweigh other habitat and land-use stresses on resource fish," said Dr. Shawna Foo, a postdoctoral researcher at GDCS and lead author of the study. Nitrogen effluent from sewage and golf courses contaminates nearshore waters, creating stress for corals and were a major driver of resource fish declines documented in the study.

Despite the long-term decline, the researchers also found that different types of management resulted in different levels of fish biomass. They found significantly greater fish abundance and biomass in areas that banned spearfishing compared to areas that did not, likely due to the fact that four of the five most common species from the surveys are primarily caught by spears. This finding was particularly true for ?scrapers' such as parrotfish.

The researchers also found that marine management areas with multiple bans on spearfishing, aquarium collection, and lay nets had the highest overall fish biomass compared to other managed or unmanaged areas, especially for herbivorous fish. Their findings are supported by a recent global analysis of marine management led by the University of Leeds, which reported higher fish biomass in areas where gear was limited to pole and line fishing. Those researchers recommended specific gear restrictions as a relevant management strategy to attain the dual objectives of supporting resource fish biomass recovery and satisfying stakeholders.

Greg Asner, GDCS director and co-author of the study noted, "These results are among the clearest to emerge for Hawai?i. Based on the long-term monitoring efforts of our Hawai?i DAR partners, we were able to ascertain unequivocal evidence for a decline in shallow reef fish populations along the famous Kona coast of Hawai?i Island. We were also able to connect both the decline and the remaining fish stocks to specific actions that can be taken now to enhance the fishery and protect reefs. This is a triple win for science, management, and the fisher community."

The study reinforces the urgent need to protect reef ecosystems from increasing threats of habitat degradation and climate change. Last year alone, ocean temperatures reached near-record levels, ushering in a coral bleaching event that resulted in coral loss across the Hawaiian archipelago. To protect resource fish biomass and aid reef resilience and recovery, regional management of multiple stressors is greatly needed. The researchers proposed to mitigate such future losses by banning and/or restricting specific fishing gear types and more aggressive management of land-based pollution.

"The collaboration with our partners at GDCS provides an incredible opportunity to combine state-of-the-art seascape level mapping with DAR's long-term coral reef monitoring to understand the links between marine and land management and coral reef health.", noted Brian Neilson, Administrator in charge of the Hawai?i Division of Aquatic Resources. "This study is critical for informing statewide management strategies to maintain important resource fish stocks and resilient reefs, as we face unprecedented climate-driven threats."

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This study was supported by grants from the Lenfest Ocean Program, The Battery Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Waning attention to climate change amid pandemic could have lasting effects

The more attention we pay, the more we care and act, study shows

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

On Sept. 23, 2019, then-16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg stood before a sea of news cameras at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City and told world leaders: "People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing...How dare you continue to look away."

Within days, web searches for 'climate change' soared to levels not seen in years, and environmentalists cheered a new surge of activism. Fast forward to summer 2020: With a global pandemic monopolizing news coverage, searches around environmental issues have plummeted to new lows, according to Google analytics data.

This trend could mean serious trouble for the planet, suggests a new CU Boulder study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

"We found that simply directing your attention to an environmental risk, even momentarily, can make it seem more frightening and worthy of mitigation," said senior author Leaf Van Boven, a professor of psychology and neuroscience. "On the flip side, if you are not actively paying attention, the risk seems less dangerous and less important to address."

Previous research has shown that humans have a finite capacity for attention to risk, inherently programmed to prioritize one threat at a time. Rather than thoughtfully calculating how risky something truly is, humans tend toward "intuitive risk perception," or how something feels in the moment, Van Boven said.

"If a threat seems physically distant, far in the future, too abstract or if we are just too distracted to notice it, our perception of risk declines. Climate change is the prototypical example."

With that in mind, Van Boven and coauthors Jennifer Cole, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, and Kellen Mrkva, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Columbia School of Business, set out to learn whether subtly directing someone's attention to environmental threats, even briefly and involuntarily, boosts their emotional response and willingness to take action.

They recruited two groups--100 college students and a diverse, national sample of 100 adult volunteers. In a series of experiments, images of 12 environmental hazards--a raging wildfire, a polluted river, an endangered polar bear, etc.--flashed on the screen in random order.

When study subjects were shown symbols of environmental threats, like polar bears or wildfires, they came to care about them more.

Meanwhile, the researchers subtly manipulated which image the subject paid attention to.

For instance, the subject might be asked to click the J key every time they see a wildfire. Or they might be asked to look for a certain letter on the screen, and then a polluted river might flash in the area where that letter appeared.

Later, the subjects were asked to rate the threats according to their severity and how frightened they were of them. In one experiment, they were asked to pick one they'd be willing to write a letter to their Congressional representative about.

Across experiments and groups, study participants prioritized subjects they had been subtly directed to pay attention to and were less interested in, or willing to take action on, issues their attention had been drawn away from.

"What was surprising was how little attention they had to direct toward something for it to begin to seem more severe to them," said Mrkva, who began the research while a doctoral student at CU. "Just a few times for a few seconds was enough to have a significant effect on how big of a threat they perceived it to be."

In a recent analysis of Google search trends, Mrkva looked to see how often people searched for information about the same 12 issues. Not surprisingly, as media coverage of coronavirus has gone up, interest in those issues has plummeted." The consequences of this reduced attention could be severe," said Mrkva.

He points to a recent Gallup Poll showing that concern about climate change is already slipping, with only 2% of Americans identifying it as the most important problem facing the country today, versus 5% in December.

Those wanting to raise the profile of environmental hazards in the media face an uphill battle, notes Van Boven.

"It's all COVID all the time right now," he said.

After Greta Thunberg's speech in New York. searches for 'climate change' soared. Amid coronavirus, they've plummeted.

The good news is this: Even the subtlest shift in attention - a single news story or reminder from a friend - may be enough to reorient people.

"You don't need to be loud or overwhelming, you just have to be persistent," Van Boven said.

He also advises people to be cognizant of how their own attention is shaped, deflected or even manipulated.

"Are we wrong to be worried about COVID? Absolutely not. But we should not forget about these other threats, and we should be careful not to let our environmental laws be jeopardized while we're not paying attention."

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Promising new research identifies novel approach for controlling defects in 3D printing

DOE/ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY

A new paper in the journal Additive Manufacturing points to a possible breakthrough solution: Use temperature data at the time of production to predict the formation of subsurface defects so they can be addressed right then and there. A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, together with a colleague now at Texas A&M University, discovered the possibility.

"Ultimately you would be able to print something and collect temperature data at the source and you could see if there were some abnormalities, and then fix them or start over," said Aaron Greco, group manager for Argonne's Interfacial Mechanics & Materials group in the Applied Materials Division (AMD) and a study author. "That's the big-picture goal."

For their research, the scientists used the extremely bright, high-powered X-rays at beamline 32-ID-B at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source (APS), a Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility. They designed an experimental rig that allowed them to capture temperature data from a standard infrared camera viewing the printing process from above while they simultaneously used an X-ray beam taking a side-view to identify if porosity was forming below the surface.

Porosity refers to tiny, often microscopic "voids" that can occur during the laser printing process and that make a component prone to cracking and other failures.

According to Noah Paulson, a computational materials scientist in the Applied Materials division and lead author on the paper, this work showed that there is in fact a correlation between surface temperature and porosity formation below.

"Having the top and side views at the same time is really powerful. With the side view, which is what is truly unique here with the APS setup, we could see that under certain processing conditions based on different time and temperature combinations porosity forms as the laser passes over," Paulson said.

For example, the paper observed that thermal histories where the peak temperature is low and followed by a steady decline are likely to be correlated with low porosity. In contrast, thermal histories that start high, dip, and then later increase are more likely to indicate large porosity.

The scientists used machine learning algorithms to make sense out of the complex data and predict the formation of porosity from the thermal history. Paulson said that in comparison to the tools developed by tech giants that use millions of data points, this effort had to make do with a couple hundred. "This required that we develop a custom approach that made the best use of limited data," he said.

While 3D printers typically come equipped with infrared cameras, the cost and complexity make it impossible to equip a commercial machine with the kind of X-ray technology that exists at the APS, which is one of the most powerful X-ray light sources in the world. But by designing a methodology to observe systems that already exist in 3D printers, that wouldn't be necessary.

"By correlating the results from the APS with the less detailed results we can already get in actual printers using infrared technology, we can make claims about the quality of the printing without having to actually see below the surface," explained co-author Ben Gould, a materials scientist in the AMD.

The ability to identify and correct defects at the time of printing would have important ramifications for the entire additive manufacturing industry because it would eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming inspections of each mass-produced component. In traditional manufacturing, the consistency of the process makes it unnecessary to scan every metallic component coming off of the production line.

"Right now, there's a risk associated with 3D printing errors, so that means there's a cost. That cost is inhibiting the widespread adoption of this technology," Greco said. "To realize its full potential, we need to lower the risk to lower the cost."

This effort is made all the more urgent in recognizing one of the key advantages that additive manufacturing has over traditional manufacturing. "We saw with the recent pandemic response how valuable it would be to be able to quickly adapt production to new designs and needs. 3D technology is very adaptable to those kinds of changes," added Greco.

Looking ahead, Gould said the research team was hopeful that what he called a "very, very good first step" would allow it to keep improving and expanding the model. "For machine learning, to build accurate models you need thousands and thousands of data points. For this experiment, we had 200. As we put in more data, the model will get more and more exact. But what we did find is very promising."

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This research effort was supported by Argonne's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.

About the Advanced Photon Source

Herbicide harming marsupial health and development, research finds

Atrazine impacts reproduction in kangaroos and wallabies

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

IMAGE: THE RESEARCH FOUND THAT CONCENTRATIONS OF ATRAZINE HAVE BEEN RECORDED AT DISTURBINGLY HIGH LEVELS IN VICTORIAN RIVERS AND TASMANIAN STREAMS IMMEDIATELY AFTER FORESTRY SPRAYING. view more

CREDIT: PEXELS ETHAN BROOKE

The health of wallabies and kangaroos is being affected by the herbicide, atrazine, which is used widely in Australia on cereal crops and in forestation to prevent weeds, according to new research.

Atrazine, which has been banned in the European Union since 2003, may be impacting reproduction in marsupials, the University of Melbourne study found, published today in Reproduction, Fertility and Development.

"Exposures to atrazine is causing major abnormalities in the male reproductive system in many animals, triggering male sterility or even male-to-female sex reversal in frogs," Professor in Genetics Andrew Pask said.

"With the marsupial's unique mode of reproduction and the young completing their development in the pouch, mothers are unknowingly passing the toxins on in their breast milk, exposing their young to environmental toxins."

The study is the first time the impacts of pesticides have been investigated in any marsupial and show that they are able to affect reproductive development.

The research found that concentrations of atrazine have been recorded at disturbingly high levels in Victorian rivers and Tasmanian streams immediately after forestry spraying.

Kangaroos and wallabies are at high risk because they eat the sprayed crops and drink from contaminated water resources where chemicals such as atrazine accumulate from run off.

Atrazine affects a broad range of animals from mammals such as rats to amphibians, reptiles and even fish.

With marsupials already experiencing devastating population declines across Australia, and 21 per cent of native mammals currently threatened with extinction, researchers say the potential impacts of environmental toxins are of major concern.

Researchers exposed the adult female tammar wallabies to atrazine contaminated water throughout pregnancy, birth and lactation to help establish the extent of harm being caused by the chemical.

They then examined the reproductive development of their young by assessing their growth and development.

Lead author on the research and PhD student Laura Cook said it is hoped the study will lead to more stringent guidelines around the use of atrazine in Australia.

"Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as atrazine, have the ability to impact development and increase disease susceptibility," she said.

"With increased habitat destruction, marsupials are being pushed onto farmland, attracted to the food resources and rare permanent water sources where they may be vulnerable to agricultural contaminants, such as pesticides."

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POSTMODERN ALCHEMY

Absorbed plant MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication

A practicable and reliable therapeutic strategy to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection

NANJING UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LIFE SCIENCES

In a new study in Cell Discovery, Chen-Yu Zhang's group at Nanjing University and two other groups from Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Second Hospital of Nanjing present a novel finding that absorbed miRNA MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction (HD) can directly target SARS-CoV-2 genes and inhibit viral replication. Drinking of HD accelerate the negative conversion of COVID-19 patients.

The search for clinically effective therapy for Covid-19 has not been successful to date. Many broad spectrum anti-viral agents have failed the test. In previous studies, Zhang's group has demonstrated that a plant microRNA, MIR2911, which is enriched in HD, could directly target influenza A viruses (IAV) including H1N1, H5N1 and H7N9. Drinking of HD can prevent IAV infection and reduce H5N1-induced mice death. They have also revealed that absorbed exogenous miRNAs (including MIR2911 in HD) can be packaged into exosomes, released to circulation, and then delivered into recipient cells as functional secreted miRNAs.

In the current study, they report that MIR2911 in HD can also suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection. The SARS-CoV-2 genome has up to 28 binding sites of MIR2911 which were confirmed by the classic luciferase assay. Cellular-exosomal-MIR2911 at 13.2 pM concentration (cellular exosomes were collected from culture medium of HEK293T cells transfected with synthetic MIR2911 or control ncRNA) inhibited 93% virus replication, indicating that exosomal MIR2911 directly and sufficiently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication.

The MIR2911 concentration in HD was about 52.5 pM (10.5 pmol/200 ml/30 g dried honeysuckle). Serum levels of MIR2911 in heathy volunteers two hours after drinking 200 ml HD were about 0.67 pM. The antiviral function of exosomes with/without MIR2911 collected from the same donor before and after drinking HD were assessed. Exosomes containing MIR2911 (MIR2911 levels: nondetectable before drinking; 57.9 fM after drinking) significantly inhibited virus replication.

A clinical study further confirmed the anti-viral effect of MIR2911 from HD. Patients who already received routine antiviral therapy were divided into two groups, one group received additionally MIR2911 in HD (10.5 pmol/200 ml/30 g dried honeysuckle/day, MIR2911+), the other group receive normal traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) mixture (sequenced to be free of MIR2911-). The time taken to become SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative (TTN) significantly favored patients treated with HD-MIR2911 (median 4.0 vs 12.0 days, HR 0.11, 95% CI 0.025-0.46, P=0.0028), indicating that MIR2911 in HD accelerates the negative conversion of infected patients.

2) It provides a practicable and reliable therapeutic strategy to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.

3) This is the first time that exosomes with/without MIR2911 collected from the same donor before and after drinking HD were used to assess absorbed dietary miRNA function, further supporting that absorbed dietary miRNA plays the important role of cross-kingdom regulation in human consumer.

4) The data that MIR2911 (~60 fM) in exosomes significantly inhibits virus replication not only confirms the extra-high antiviral activity of MIR2911 (compared to that of remdesivir: 3.7 μM and Chloroquine: 10 μM) but also provides a novel and the most similar condition in vivo to assess the efficacy of potential drugs in vitro.

"We wished we could provide really useful information to help stop the pandemic in the darkest hour". Chen-Yu Zhang said. "The focus of this study is to demonstrate that absorbed plant MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication sufficiently. On the other hand, in the study titled "Decreased HD-MIR2911 absorption in human subjects with the SIDT1 polymorphism fails to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication", we have shown that synthetic MIR2911, cellular-exosomal MIR2911 and serum-exosomal MIR2911 directly inhibited SARS-CoV-2 S-protein expression and SARS-CoV-2 replication. More importantly, decreased HD-MIR2911 absorption resulted in non-inhibitory effect on replication, indicating that MIR2911in HD is necessary to suppress SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, we propose medical doctors and scientists from all over the world to carry out HD-MIR2911 clinic trails in order to help treating SARS-CoV-2 infection." Zhang added.

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The researchers of this project include Li-Kun Zhou, Zhen Zhou, Xia-Ming Jiang, Yishan Zheng, Xi Chen, Zheng Fu, Gengfu Xiao, Chen-Yu Zhang, Lei-Ke Zhang, Yongxiang Yi of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Center of Molecular Diagnostic and Therapy, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute of Life Sciences (NAILS), NJU Institute of Artificial Intelligence Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, China; Department of critical Care Medicine and Nanjing infectious Disease Center, the Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China; State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China; Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China

This work was supported by grants from the Chinese Science and Technology Major Project of China (2015ZX09102023-003), National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (2014CB542300 and 2012CB517603), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81250044, 81602697 and 31742075) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BE2016737), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (020814380146) and Jiangsu Provincial Medical Youth Talent (QNRC2016056).

Zhou et al.: "Absorbed plant MIR2911 in honeysuckle decoction inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and accelerates the negative conversion of infected patients" Publishing on Cell Discovery in press

Author contact: Prof. Chen-Yu Zhang (Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Center of Molecular Diagnostic and Therapy, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute of Life Sciences (NAILS), NJU Institute of Artificial Intelligence Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, China) Tel: +86-25-89680245 Email: cyzhang@nju.edu.cn

COVID-19 a perfect storm for conspiracy theories

As the global count of COVID-19 infections heads towards the 20M mark, the pandemic has created what the World Health Organisation calls an 'infodemic', giving conspiracy groups a bigger platform than ever before.

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

IMAGE: COVID-19 A PERFECT STORM FOR CONSPIRACY THEORIES - QUT RESEARCH TRACKS FACEBOOK RUMOURS OF 5G CAUSING THE PANDEMIC. view more

CREDIT: QUT MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

Researchers from QUT's Digital Media Research Centre have taken a deep dive into their world to trace wild rumours on Facebook claiming the coronavirus was caused by 5G technology. They found what was once being preached to the already converted was quickly fanned further afield by social media and celebrities spreading the message.

Professor Axel Bruns, Associate Professor Stephen Harrington and Dr Edward Hurcombe have published their first major output from their Australian Research Council Discovery project Evaluating the Challenge of 'Fake News' and Other Malinformation.

Working with researchers from Monash University (Melbourne), Syracuse University (USA), and Cardiff University (UK), the project runs from mid-2020 to mid-2023. The first major article - 'Corona? 5G? Or Both?: The Dynamics of COVID-19/5G Conspiracy Theories on Facebook' has just been published in in Media International Australia.

It traces in detail the developments around the nonsensical and dangerous belief that 5G technology could cause or exacerbate the symptoms of a severe viral infection.

"Pre-existing conspiracy groups have jumped on the COVID-19 bandwagon and retrofitted their conspiracy theories to the pandemic, to argue the coronavirus outbreak justifies and proves their claims," said Professor Bruns.

"If you are against the roll-out of 5G, for example, then you link it with COVID-19. Other COVID-19 related conspiracy theories include claims it was developed in laboratory in Wuhan, or that it is a ruse by a secret 'world government' to suppress civil liberties."

Dr Hurcombe said that the research focussed on the COVID-5G rumour because of all the COVID-related misinformation stories, it has generated the most immediate and visible impacts. In April, mobile phone towers in the UK, The Netherlands and elsewhere were attacked.

"Much of the early circulation of COVID/5G mis- and disinformation remained niche and reached only existing conspiracy communities. It also existed early on in a wide range of languages, but English-language content contributed most prominently to its spread," said Dr Hurcombe.

"We found lockdowns and other government restrictions seemed to lead to a growth in COVID/5G misinformation; this may be due to people assuming some kind of hidden agenda behind them, but also simply a sign of people having more time on their hands to search social media for coronavirus-related content."

Professor Harrington added that celebrities like singer Keri Hilson and actor Woody Harrelson played a significant role in amplifying mis- and disinformation beyond established conspiracist communities.

"Musicians, actors, sportspeople, and fringe politicians, but (especially in Africa) also evangelist preachers, have all been guilty of this," said Professor Harrington.

"Coverage of their statements in entertainment and mainstream media further amplified such misinformation, even if the media coverage was critical."

Professor Bruns said when governments and health spokespeople were forced to respond to conspiracy theories, and mainstream media publish factchecks, the conspiracy theorists have reached their aims.

"It's win-win for the conspiracy theorists - when their claims are widely reported, even critically, they can then present any denials of their claims as evidence that the government is trying to suppress 'the truth'," he said.

"This makes the true believers even more committed.

"However, debunking is still valuable if it stops other citizens from falling prey to such mis- and disinformation. The same is true for content warnings and takedowns: conspiracy theorists will see them as proof that there really is a conspiracy, but at least they stop the content from circulating any further."

Read the full article at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1329878X20946113

Media contact: Amanda Weaver, QUT Media, 07 3138 3151, amanda.weaver@qut.edu.au After hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au

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Local food

Researchers examine food supply chain resiliency in the Pacific during the COVID-19 pandemic

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

UC Santa Barbara marine conservationist Jacob Eurich and collaborators watched this very situation unfold in the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) -- the island nations scattered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to French Polynesia, and including the Marshall Islands to Papua New Guinea. While infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been slow there relative to other parts of the world, the global lockdown can have outsized effects on their food systems.

"One of the key messages from the research is to rely less on global food supply chains," said Eurich, a co-author on a paper that appears in the journal Food Security. While this study was specific to the PICT region, areas with few domestic alternatives to global supply chains, he noted, are vulnerable to similar threats to food security when shocks to the system occur.

With their remote locations, lack of arable land and economies dependent on tourism and need for food imports, the PICTs have become reliant on movement in and out of the region for much of the food they consume and also for the money to purchase that food.

But even with commerce slowing down, these countries and territories need not suffer food scarcity and malnutrition, the researchers said. The PICTs are home to large networks of coral reefs that host a diverse array of fish and other seafood.

"Coral reefs should operate as biodiverse, living refrigerators for coastal communities, sourcing replenishable, nutritious food," Eurich said. "Coastal communities can and should be able to depend on traditionally-sourced diets if the resource is healthy."

In fact, the time is ripe to reconsider the role of local production in the region's food systems, according to the researchers. For instance, some areas with farmland could benefit by reinvigorating their production of root crops, which would not only decrease reliance on the global supply chain, but also provide healthy alternatives to imported processed foods.

"Bolstering local production and intraregional trade strengthens the food system," he said. "Consuming more locally produced fresh foods and less non-perishable shelf-stable foods is a step in the right direction."

Meanwhile, a shortening of the supply chain via strong intraregional trade could strengthen the regional economy while also protecting against food insecurity. Significant local processing and storage challenges must be overcome, according to the paper, and intra-island transport and food distribution strengthened. Particularly in the PICT region, where large scale local fish storage is currently inadequate, it helps to prioritize production of less perishable foods (like root crops) over fish, Eurich said.

It's not just about pandemic planning. The same principles for resilient food systems in the face of climate change and natural disaster -- both of which the PICTs have been facing -- could serve as a basis for response to other COVID-19-type scenarios, according to the researchers.

"Climate change and natural disasters can be considered shocks to the system," Eurich said. "The pandemic, while there was time to prepare, was still a shock. We have learned that enhancing storage, production and distribution through coordination and increasing regional transparency are keys of a resilient supply chain when these unexpected changes occur."

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