Saturday, November 14, 2020

Drawing the line to answer art's big questions

KAIST scientists show how statistical physics can reveal art trends across time and culture

THE KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KAIST)

Volume 90%

VIDEO: DISSECTING LANDSCAPE ART HISTORY WITH INFORMATION THEORY view more

CREDIT: PROFESSOR HAWOONG JEONG, KAIST

Algorithms have shown that the compositional structure of Western landscape paintings changed "suspiciously" smoothly between 1500 and 2000 AD, potentially indicating a selection bias by art curators or in art historical literature, physicists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and colleagues report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

KAIST statistical physicist Hawoong Jeong worked with statisticians, digital analysts and art historians in Korea, Estonia and the US to clarify whether computer algorithms could help resolve long-standing questions about design principles used in landscape paintings, such as the placement of the horizon and other primary features.

"A foundational question among art historians is whether artwork contains organizing principles that transcend culture and time and, if yes, how these principles evolved over time," explains Jeong. "We developed an information-theoretic approach that can capture compositional proportion in landscape paintings and found that the preferred compositional proportion systematically evolved over time."

CAPTION

The algorithm progressively dissects the painting based on the amount of information in each subsequent partition.

Digital versions of almost 15,000 canonical landscape paintings from the Western renaissance in the 1500s to the more recent contemporary art period were run through a computer algorithm. The algorithm progressively divides artwork into horizontal and vertical lines depending on the amount of information in each subsequent partition. It allows scientists to evaluate how artists and various art styles compose landscape artwork, in terms of placement of a piece's most important components, in addition to how high or low the landscape's horizon is placed.

The scientists started by analysing the first two partitioning lines identified by the algorithm in the paintings and found they could be categorized into four groups: an initial horizontal line followed by a second horizontal line (H-H); an initial horizontal line followed by a second vertical line (H-V); a vertical followed by horizontal line (V-H); or a vertical followed by a vertical line (V-V) (see image 1 and 2). They then looked at the categorizations over time.

They found that before the mid-nineteenth century, H-V was the dominant composition type, followed by H-H, V-H, and V-V. The mid-nineteenth century then brought change, with the H-V composition style decreasing in popularity with a rise in the H-H composition style. The other two styles remained relatively stable.

The scientists also looked at how the horizon line, which separates sky from land, changed over time. In the 16th century, the dominant horizon line of the painting was above the middle of the canvas, but it gradually descended to the lower middle of the canvas by the 17th century, where it remained until the mid-nineteenth century. After that, the horizon line began gradually rising again.

CAPTION

The paintings were divided into four categories depending on how their compositions were partitioned by the first two lines developed by the algorithm.

Interestingly, the algorithm showed that these findings were similar across cultures and artistic periods, even through periods dominated by a diversity in art styles. This similarity may well be a function, then, of a bias in the dataset.

"In recent decades, art historians have prioritized the argument that there is great diversity in the evolution of artistic expression rather than offering a relatively smoother consensus story in Western art," Jeong says. "This study serves as a reminder that the available large-scale datasets might be perpetuating severe biases."

The scientists next aim to broaden their analyses to include more diverse artwork, as this particular dataset was ultimately Western and male biased. Future analyses should also consider diagonal compositions in paintings, they say.

###

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea.

Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children?

Vanderbilt University Medical Center study offers an answer

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Research News

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children.

Children have lower levels of an enzyme/co-receptor that SARS-CoV-2, the RNA virus that causes COVID-19, needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lung.

The findings, published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, support efforts to block the enzyme to potentially treat or prevent COVID-19 in older people.

"Our study provides a biologic rationale for why particularly infants and very young children seem to be less likely to either get infected or to have severe disease symptoms," said Jennifer Sucre, MD, assistant professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), who led the research with Jonathan Kropski, MD, assistant professor of Medicine.

Sucre and Kropski are co-corresponding authors of the paper. Bryce Schuler, MD, PhD, a resident in Pediatrics and Genetics at VUMC and postdoctoral fellow in the Vanderbilt Stimulating Access to Research in Residency program, is the paper's first author.

There is still much to learn about SARS-CoV-2. But this much is known: After a viral particle is inhaled into the lungs, protein "spikes" that stick out like nail studs in a soccer ball attach to ACE2, a receptor on the surfaces of certain lung cells.

A cellular enzyme called TMPRSS2 chops up the spike protein, enabling the virus to fuse into the cell membrane and "break into" the cell. Once inside, the virus hijacks the cell's genetic machinery to make copies of its RNA.

Sucre and Kropski, who have collaborated since 2016 on studies of lung diseases in premature infants and adults, wondered if TMPRSS2 had something to do with the greater severity of COVID-19 symptoms observed in older people compared to children.

"Our research has always focused on understanding lung development and how infant lungs differ from adult lungs in their vulnerability to injury," Sucre said. "In this study we actually took the opposite approach, and were able to see how the developing lung by its differences is protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection."

The researchers were well equipped to begin such a study. As members of the international Human Cell Atlas (HCA) Lung Biological Network, they and their colleagues had built a dataset on lung development in the mouse using a technique called single-cell RNA-sequencing.

The technique can detect the expression of genes in individual cells of tissues such as the lung. In this way the researchers were able to track the expression of genes known to be involved in the body's response to COVID-19 over time.

They found that while the gene for ACE2 was expressed at low levels in the mouse lung, "TMPRSS2 stood out as having a really striking trajectory of increased expression during development," Schuler said.

With the help of VUMC pathologists, the researchers obtained and analyzed human lung specimens collected from donors of different ages, and confirmed a similar trajectory in TMPRSS2 expression to what they'd found in mice.

"What we found is that expression of (TMPRSS2) goes up significantly with aging, and we see that at the level of the gene and at the level of the protein," Sucre said. "We see a lot more TMPRSS2 in older individuals, in both humans and mice."

The researchers also used fluorescent probes to analyze autopsy specimens from three patients who died of COVID-19, and found the virus in three types of cells that express TMPRSS2.

TMPRSS2 is well known for its role in the development of prostate cancer. Drugs that block the enzyme and which have been approved for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer currently are being tested clinically as potential treatments for COVID-19.

The new findings reported today support further investigation.

"We do think TMPRSS2 could be an attractive target both in treatment and potentially as a prophylaxis for (preventing infection in) people at high risk of COVID exposure," Sucre said.

###

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Are diagnostic imaging studies with positive conclusions or titles published faster?

Positive conclusions--but not titles--were associated with a shorter time from study completion to publication, which could contribute to an overrepresentation of positive results in the test accuracy literature

AMERICAN ROENTGEN RAY SOCIETY

Research News

Leesburg, VA, November 13, 2020--According to an article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), positive conclusions--but not titles--were associated with a shorter time from study completion to publication, which may contribute to an overrepresentation of positive results in the imaging diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) literature.

"We included primary imaging DTA studies from systematic reviews published in 2015," explained first author Lee M. Treanor of Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus. Extracting both the conclusion and the title of each study, positivity was independently classified in duplicate. The time from study completion to publication was also extracted and calculated. Hazard ratios were estimated using a multivariable Cox regression model to determine the strength of the associations, adjusting for potentially confounding variables.

Based up the researchers' MEDLINE search, 781 studies appeared eligible for inclusion. Excluding seven studies (three for not having an abstract, three for not being a primary DTA study, and one because it was a duplicate) yielded a total of 774 imaging DTA studies; however, time from study completion to publication could only be calculated for 516 studies.

The median time from study completion to publication was 18 months (interquartile range [IQR], 13-26 months) for the 413 studies with positive conclusions, compared with 23 months (IQR, 16-33 months) for the 63 studies with neutral conclusions and 25 months (IQR, 15-38 months) for the 40 studies with negative conclusions.

For studies with positive titles, the median time from study completion to publication was 18 months (IQR, 11-26 months), compared with 19 months (IQR, 13-28 months) for studies with neutral titles and 30 months (IQR, 24-34 months) for studies with negative titles.

"Of all included studies," Treanor et al. tallied, "39 (5%) had positive titles, 731 (94%) had neutral titles, and 4 (< 1%) had negative titles," concluding that positive titles were not significantly associated with a shorter time to study publication (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.75-1.69).

Because an inflated perception of test performance could adversely influence clinical decision making and patient care, the authors of this AJR article suggested bias reduction strategies "should undergo trials by both journal editors and researchers in the imaging DTA community."

###

Founded in 1900, the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is the first and oldest radiological society in North America, dedicated to the advancement of medicine through the profession of radiology and its allied sciences. An international forum for progress in medical imaging since the discovery of the x-ray, ARRS maintains its mission of improving health through a community committed to advancing knowledge and skills with an annual scientific meeting, monthly publication of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), quarterly issues of InPractice magazine, AJR Live Webinars and Podcasts, topical symposia, print and online educational materials, as well as awarding scholarships via The Roentgen Fund®.

RNA structures of coronavirus reveal potential drug targets

UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN

Research News

IMAGE: SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ADOPTED BY THE RESEARCHERS. AFTER 'PROBING' THE STRUCTURE OF THE SARS-COV-2 RNA GENOME USING SPECIFIC CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, THE SECONDARY STRUCTURE OF STABLE RNA ELEMENTS... view more
CREDIT: DANNY INCARNATO, UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus RNA genome structure was studied in detail by researchers from the University of Groningen, the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, and Leiden University. The RNA structures are potential targets for the development of drugs against the virus. The results were published on 10 November as 'Breakthrough paper' in the journal Nucleic Acid Research.

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses have been around throughout the history of mankind. Over the past 18 years, many deaths worldwide have occurred because of severe acute respiratory syndromes caused by coronaviruses, including SARS and MERS. This, together with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has already taken more than a million lives, demonstrates the urgent need for new ways of combating coronavirus infections.

Genome structure

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a beta coronavirus with a linear single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome. Similar to those in other RNA viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 RNA structures are expected to play a crucial role in how the coronavirus replicates in human cells. Despite this importance, only a handful of functionally relevant coronavirus structural RNA elements have been studied to date. Therefore, researchers from the IIMCB (Poland), together with scientists from the University of Groningen and Leiden University (both in the Netherlands), performed an extensive characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome structure using various advanced techniques.

The study, coordinated by Dr Danny Incarnato from the University of Groningen, involved RNA structure probing to obtain single-base resolution secondary structure maps of the full SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus genome both in vitro and in living infected cells. Subsequently, the team identified at least 87 regions in the SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequence that appear to form well-defined compact structures. Of these, at least 10% are under strong evolutionary selection pressure among coronaviruses, suggesting functional relevance. Importantly, this is the first time that the structure of the entire coronavirus RNA (one of the longest viral RNAs with approximately 30,000 nucleotides) was determined.

Drug

'We first identified the structures in vitro, and subsequently confirmed their presence in the RNA of viruses inside cells,' explains Incarnato. 'This means that our results are very robust.' Also, pockets were identified in some RNA structures that could be targeted by small molecules to hamper the function of the viral RNA. 'Furthermore, a number of the structures are conserved between different coronaviruses, meaning that a successful drug targeting SARS-CoV-2 could also be effective against future new virus strains .'

The scientists also identified parts of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA that are intrinsically unstructured. 'These could be targeted by antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics,' explains Incarnato. Adding short nucleic acid strands that can bind to these viral RNA sections would create double-stranded regions, which are naturally targeted by enzymes inside human cells.

Weak spots

In conclusion, this collaborative research establishes a firm foundation for future work aimed at developing potential small-molecule drugs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections and possibly also infections by other coronaviruses. 'This work would not have been possible without the collaboration between the Netherlands and Poland,' says Janusz Bujnicki, head of the Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Protein Engineering at the IIMCB in Warsaw. 'Together, we invented a new way of searching for potential weak spots in large viral RNAs. Collectively, our work lays the foundation for the development of innovative RNA-targeted therapeutic strategies to fight SARS-CoV-2 infections.'

The article describing the results of these analyses has been published in Nucleic Acids Research and reviewers who evaluated the manuscript nominated it for featured status as a 'breakthrough paper'.

Reference: Ilaria Manfredonia, Chandran Nithin, Almudena Ponce-Salvatierra, Pritha Ghosh, Tomasz K. Wirecki, Tycho Marinus, Natacha S. Ogando, Eric J. Snider, Martijn J. van Hemert, Janusz M. Bujnicki, Danny Incarnato: Genome-wide mapping of therapeutically-relevant SARS-CoV-2 RNA structures. Nucleic Acids Research, 10 November 2020

###

Vitamin C's effectiveness against COVID may hinge on vitamin's natural transporter levels

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY

Research News

IMAGE: DRS. SADANAND FULZELE AND CARLOS ISALES view more
CREDIT: KIM RATLIFF, PRODUCTION COORDINATOR, AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY

High doses of vitamin C under study for treating COVID-19 may benefit some populations, but investigators exploring its potential in aging say key factors in effectiveness include levels of the natural transporter needed to get the vitamin inside cells.

Age, race, gender, as well as expression levels and genetic variations of those vitamin C transporters that make them less efficient, all may be factors in the effectiveness of vitamin C therapy against COVID-19 and other maladies, investigators at the Medical College of Georgia Center for Healthy Aging report in a commentary in the journal Aging and Disease.

The investigators recommend that those factors be considered in the design and execution of clinical trials, and when trial results are analyzed, for COVID-19 as well as other conditions, says Dr. Sadanand Fulzele, aging researcher and the article's corresponding author.

The novel nature and lack of immunity against the coronavirus has prompted a worldwide pursuit of effective treatments for COVID-19, they write. That includes repurposing drugs with known safety profiles, including Vitamin C, an established immune system booster and antioxidant, which made it a logical choice to explore in COVID-19. Both strategies are needed in response to infection with the novel coronavirus to ensure a strong immune response to stop the virus from replicating in the body, and to avoid the over-the-top, destructive immune response the virus itself can generate if it does.

There are at least 30 clinical trials underway in which vitamin C, alone or in combination with other treatments, is being evaluated against COVID-19, some with doses up to 10 times the recommended 65 to 90 milligrams daily of vitamin C.

Factors like whether or not vitamin C can get inside the cell, likely are an issue in the effectiveness the therapies ultimately show, says Dr. Carlos M. Isales, co-director of the MCG Center for Healthy Aging and chief of the MCG Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

In fact, without adequate transporters on a cell's surface to get the water-soluble vitamin past the lipid layer of cell membranes, particularly large doses may enable the vitamin to cluster around the outside of cells where it actually starts producing oxidants, like damaging reactive oxygen species, rather than helping eliminate them, says Isales, a study coauthor.

"We think it's important to look at transporter expression," Fulzele says.

They suspect low transporter expression is a factor in the mixed results from vitamin C's use in a variety of other conditions. Clinical trials in osteoarthritis, for example, an autoimmune disease where a misdirected immune system is attacking the joints, has gotten mixed results, Fulzele says. However its usage in other viral-induced problems, like potentially deadly sepsis, has shown benefit in reducing organ failure and improving lung function in acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is also a major cause of sickness and death with COVID-19.

At the time their Aging and Disease paper was published, there were not yet published studies of the efficacies of high-dose, intravenous vitamin studies underway for COVID-19.

Fulzele, who works on vitamin C in aging, and others have shown that some conditions, like osteoarthritis and even normal aging, are associated with significant downregulation of at least one subtype of vitamin C transporter.

In fact, part of the paradox and concern with COVID-19 is that those most at risk mostly have both lower levels of vitamin C before they get sick and fewer transporters to enable the vitamin to be of benefit if they get more, Fulzele says.

Many of those most at risk from COVID-19, including individuals who are older, Black, male and with chronic medical conditions like osteoarthritis, hypertension and diabetes, tend to have lower levels of vitamin C, another reason vitamin C therapy would be considered a reasonable treatment, Isales says. The investigators also note that patients may develop a vitamin C deficiency over the course of their COVID-19 illness since, during an active infection, vitamin C is consumed at a more rapid rate. Insufficient levels can augment the damage done by an overzealous immune response.

While not routinely done, transporter expression can be measured today using PCR technology, a method also used for novel coronavirus as well as influenza testing. While increasing transporter expression is not yet doable in humans, one of Fulzele's many research goals is to find a drug or other method to directly increase expression, which should improve the health of older individuals as well as those with other medical conditions that compromise those levels.

He notes that reduced transporter levels that occur naturally with age are a factor in the reduced immune function that also typically accompanies aging. That means that even when a 60-year-old and 20-year-old both have a healthy diet in which they consume similar, sufficient amounts of vitamin C, the vitamin is not as effective at boosting the older individual's immune response. Reduced immune function in older individuals is known to put them at increased risk for problems like cancer and COVID-19.

Low vitamin C levels also have been correlated with higher mortality in older individuals from causes like cardiovascular disease. High oxidative stress, a major factor in conditions like cardiovascular disease as well as aging and now COVID-19, also is associated with significantly reduced expression of the vitamin C transporter.

Isales and Fulzele doubt that taking a lot of vitamin C is a good preventive strategy against COVID-19, except in those individuals with a known deficiency.

Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, which means people have to consume it in their food or supplements. Foods naturally high in vitamin C include oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The vitamin's diverse roles in the body also include formation of blood vessels, collagen and cartilage.

###

Gregory Patterson, a medical student who worked with Fulzele over the summer between his first and second year of medical school as part of MCG's Medical Scholars Program, is first author on the study. The research was supported in part by the National institutes of Health.

Read the full study here.

Light shed on the atomic resolution structure of phage DNA tube

A methodological milestone

FORSCHUNGSVERBUND BERLIN

Research News

IMAGE: ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF PHAGES OF THE FAMILY SIPHOVIRIDAE (YELLOW AND BLUE) THAT INFECT A BACTERIAL CELL (GREEN). THE EXCERPT (CIRCLE) SHOWS THE ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE DNA TUBE (YELLOW), THROUGH... view more
CREDIT: VISUALIZATION: BARTH VAN ROSSUM, FMP

Given that phages are able to destroy bacteria, they are of particular interest to science. Basic researchers from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) in Berlin are especially interested in the tube used by phages to implant their DNA into bacteria. In collaboration with colleagues from Forschungszentrum Jülich and Jena University Hospital, they have now revealed the 3D structure of this crucial phage component in atomic resolution. The key to success was combining two methods - solid-state NMR and cryo-electron microscopy. The study has just been published in the journal Nature Communications.

With growing antibiotic resistance, phages have increasingly become the focus of research. Phages are naturally occurring viruses with a very useful property: they implant their DNA into bacteria and proliferate there until the bacterial cell is ultimately destroyed. This is why they are also referred to as bacteriophages (bacteria eaters).

This approach has already been shown to fight multidrug-resistant bacteria. Last year, the case of a girl from England hit the headlines, when she was cured from a serious antibiotic-resistant infection using engineered phages.

However, the widespread use of phage therapy is still a long way off. Many of the underlying principles that are key to advancing this therapy are not yet understood. For example, little was previously known about the appearance of the exact architecture of the tube used by phages to implant their DNA into bacteria. Now scientists from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) in Berlin, together with colleagues from Forschungszentrum Jülich and Jena University Hospital, have managed to reveal the 3D structure of this crucial phage component in atomic resolution.

Designed for transporting DNA

"The structure and flexibility of the DNA tube attached to the icosahedron-shaped capsid is somewhat reminiscent of a spinal column," stated FMP's Professor Adam Lange, describing one of the new findings. "It seems to be perfectly designed for transporting DNA."

The researchers were able to gain fascinating insights into the structure and function of this sophisticated DNA transport pathway - in this case, from a variant of phage SPP1 - by innovatively combining solid-state NMR with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Lange's research group further developed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) especially for this task under an ERC Grant; cryo-EM expert Professor Gunnar Schröder from Forschungszentrum Jülich performed the electron-microscopic investigations. In addition, new modeling algorithms were required for the computer-based combination of the two data sets for structure determination. These algorithms were developed by Professor Michael Habeck from Jena University Hospital. "The key to success was combining the two methods, representing a methodological milestone," commented Professor Lange.

While solid-state NMR is ideal for visualizing flexible structures and tiny details, cryo-EM provides insight into the overall architecture. The resulting image shows that six gp17.1 proteins organize into stacked rings, forming a hollow tube. The rings are connected by flexible linkers, making the tube very bendable. "We are now able to understand how negatively charged DNA is repelled from the likewise negatively charged interior wall of the flexible tube, passing through it smoothly," explained FMP's Maximilian Zinke, lead author of the study now published in Nature Communications. "The bacteria are ultimately destroyed via this pathway."

Milestone for integrated structural biology

According to group leader Adam Lange, besides representing a quantum leap forward in phage research, the work will also advance "integrated structural biology", the term for the combination of these two complementary methods.

Thanks to the recent installation of a new high-resolution Titan Krios electron microscope, the infrastructure required to achieve this is now available on Campus Berlin-Buch. Moreover, a 1.2 gigahertz device will soon be added to the existing NMR spectrometers. "Equipped with cryo-EM and the most sensitive NMR spectrometer in the world, we will be very present in integrative structural biology in the future," enthused Adam Lange. "This offers bright prospects for the campus and for the research location of Berlin."

###

Politicians and governments are suppressing science, argues The BMJ

UK's pandemic response relies too heavily on those with worrying competing interests

BMJ

Research News

Politicians and governments are suppressing science, and when good science is suppressed, people die, argues a senior editor at The BMJ today.

Executive editor, Dr Kamran Abbasi, argues that covid-19 "has unleashed state corruption on a grand scale, and it is harmful to public health."

Politicians and industry are responsible for this opportunistic embezzlement, he writes. So too are scientists and health experts. "The pandemic has revealed how the medical-political complex can be manipulated in an emergency--a time when it is even more important to safeguard science."

He points to examples of suppression of science or scientists during the UK's pandemic response, including inappropriate involvement of government advisers in the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), attempts to withhold information on covid-19 and inequalities, block publication of a study on point-of-care antibody testing for covid-19, and instruct scientists not to talk to the media.

In the US, President Trump's government manipulated the Food and Drug Administration to hastily approve unproved drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and remdesivir, he adds. Globally, people, policies, and procurement are being corrupted by political and commercial agendas.

Abbasi argues that the UK's pandemic response "relies too heavily on scientists and other government appointees with worrying competing interests, including shareholdings in companies that manufacture covid-19 diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines."

So how might science be safeguarded in these exceptional times?

The first step is full disclosure of competing interests from government, politicians, scientific advisers, and appointees, such as the heads of test and trace, diagnostic test procurement, and vaccine delivery. The next step is full transparency about decision making systems, processes, and knowing who is accountable for what.

Governments and industry must also stop announcing critical science policy by press release, he adds. "Clear, open, and advance publication of the scientific basis for policy, procurements, and wonder drugs is a fundamental requirement."

Politicians often claim to follow the science, but Abbasi says a better approach is for politicians, the publicly appointed decision makers, to be informed or guided by science when they decide policy for their public.

"Science is a public good. It doesn't need to be followed blindly, but it does need to be fairly considered," he writes.

"Importantly, suppressing science, whether by delaying publication, cherry picking favourable research, or gagging scientists, is a danger to public health and maladministration of taxpayers' money when entangled with commercial decisions," he argues. "When good science is suppressed, people die."

###

Peer reviewed? No
Evidence type: Editorial
Subject: Suppression of science

Nearly one in five parents of food-allergic children are bullied

In study, 49% of parents/guardians say it was helpful to step in to stop bullying of child

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ALLERGY, ASTHMA, AND IMMUNOLOGY

Research News

IMAGE: ACAAI'S ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING IS VIRTUAL THIS YEAR view more
CREDIT: ACAAI

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill (November 13, 2020) - Parents of children with food allergies find their children are often bullied by classmates, as well as parents of other children and teachers. A new study being presented at this year's virtual American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting shows that nearly one in five parents of food-allergic kids are the target of bullying by a multitude of sources.

"We know children are often bullied about their food allergies," says Dannielle Brown, MHS, lead author of the study. "What we weren't aware of was how many parents are bullied by multiple sources. Of the 252 parents or guardians we surveyed, more than 17% said they had been bullied."

Parents of children 4-17 years (school-age children) in the survey found it was helpful to take action to stop the bullying. 13% of parents/guardians spoke with their child, 7% spoke with the offender or the offender's parent, 17% spoke with a teacher and 15% spoke with a principal or administrator. Almost 50% of those who did something to stop food allergy bullying said it was helpful.

Another important finding in the survey was that while there were no significant differences in the percentages of Black and white children who were bullied around food allergies, Black children experienced non-food allergy-related bullying twice as frequently.

"No child or their parent should be bullied because of their food allergies," says food allergy researcher Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, ACAAI member and one of the lead researchers on the study. "And it's of course equally important that Black children with food allergies not be bullied for additional reasons. Having a food allergy puts tremendous stress on the entire family and any form of bullying makes life that much harder."

Presentation Title: Food Allergy-Related Bullying and School Policy Among Black and White Children in the FORWARD Study
Presenter: Dannielle Brown, MHS

###

For more information about food allergies, or to find an allergist in your area, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. The ACAAI Virtual Annual Meeting is Nov. 13-15. For more news and research from the ACAAI Scientific Meeting, go to our newsroom - and follow the conversation on Twitter #ACAAI20.

About ACAAI

The ACAAI is a professional medical organization of more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and allied health professionals, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. The College fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research. ACAAI allergists are board-certified physicians trained to diagnose allergies and asthma, administer immunotherapy and provide patients with the best treatment outcomes. For more information and to find relief, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. Join us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Food allergies take a greater emotional toll on Asian families

Study shows higher negative quality of life scores for Asians, Blacks and Hispanics with food allergies

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF ALLERGY, ASTHMA, AND IMMUNOLOGY

Research News

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill (November 13, 2020) - Studies have shown that food allergies negatively affect the quality of life of those who suffer with them. A new study being presented at this year's virtual American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting reveals the impact on food allergy quality of life (FAQOL) for Asian patients and their parents is significantly higher than for other races.

"Based on our questionnaire, Asian parents of children with food allergy living in the U.S. had a mean score of 50.5, indicating a 'fairly' negative impact on quality of life, which was significantly higher than white and Black parents," says Christine Rubeiz, MD, ACAAI member and lead author of the study. "White and Black parents had mean scores of 40.4 and 40.9 respectively, corresponding closer to the food allergy having 'a little bit' of a negative impact on quality of life."

The study examined 6829 questionnaires filled out at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center as part of a retrospective chart review. The questionnaires were scored from 0-100, with higher scores corresponding to worse quality of life.

"Our study showed Asian parents had significantly higher scores (worse QOL) in both higher and lower socioeconomic groups," says allergist Amal Assa'ad, MD, ACAAI member and senior author of the study. "Most studies of Asian children have been done in Asia, where the prevalence of food allergy is 3-8%. Some estimates of food allergy in the general U.S. population report a similar prevalence, about 8%. Asian families with food allergy appear to have worse food allergy-related-quality of life compared to other races, according to our research. This highlights the need for further studies on the impact of food allergy on Asian families, who may be an underrecognized population."

According to Dr. Rubeiz, "We found other significant racial disparities in FAQOL scores, particularly with Black and Hispanic patients. Within the Medicaid population, we found that Black and Hispanic patients and parents had significantly higher scores (worse quality of life) compared to white patients and parents. Cultural food preferences and the financial burden of food allergy may be a factor in this finding."

Presentation Title: Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status Effect on Food Allergy-Related Quality of Life in Children and Caregivers
Presenter: Christine Rubeiz, MD

About ACAAI

The ACAAI is a professional medical organization of more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and allied health professionals, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. The College fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy, and research. ACAAI allergists are board-certified physicians trained to diagnose allergies and asthma, administer immunotherapy, and provide patients with the best treatment outcomes. For more information and to find relief, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. Join us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

A few kilograms weight loss nearly halves the risk of diabetes

Peer reviewed - Randomised Controlled Trial - People

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA

Research News

Losing a few kilograms in weight almost halves people's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes - according to a large scale research study led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia.

A new study published in the international journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows how providing support to help people with prediabetes make small changes to their lifestyle, diet and physical activity can almost halve the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The findings come from the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS) - the largest diabetes prevention research study in the world in the last 30 years. The NDPS clinical trial ran over eight years and involved more than 1,000 people with prediabetes at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

The study found that support to make modest lifestyle changes, including losing two to three kilograms of weight and increased physical activity over two years, reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 40 to 47 per cent for those categorised as having prediabetes.

There are about eight million people with prediabetes in the UK and 4.5 million have already developed Type 2 diabetes.

The NDPS, funded by £2.5m from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and NIHR CRN Eastern, was led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) and University of East Anglia (UEA), together with colleagues from Ipswich Hospital, and the Universities of Birmingham and Exeter.

The research trial tested a simple lifestyle intervention, which helped people make small achievable lifestyle changes that led to a modest weight loss, and increases in physical activity.

Importantly these changes were sustained for at least two years and the weight lost was not put back on.

These findings are important as they show that a 'real-world' lifestyle programme really can make a difference in helping people reduce their risk of Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.

Prof Mike Sampson, NDPS Chief Investigator and Consultant in Diabetes at NNUH, said: "We are delighted with the results of this trial, as until now no one was very sure if a real-world lifestyle programme prevented Type 2 diabetes in the prediabetes population we studied, as there have been no clinical trials that had shown this.

"We have now shown a significant effect in Type 2 diabetes prevention, and we can be very optimistic that even a modest weight loss, and an increase in physical activity, in real world programmes like this have a big effect on the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

"This is really great news for the eight million people in the UK with a prediabetes diagnosis. The results of this trial, show that diabetes prevention is possible in the same prediabetes populations being treated in the NHS national diabetes prevention programme.

"This is important to know, as the clinical methods for diagnosing diabetes and prediabetes have changed a lot in recent years."

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study ran between 2011 and 2018 and worked with 135 GP practices in the East of England, and found 144,000 people who were at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

In screening sites across the East of England, 13,000 of these people then took a fasting glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) blood test to detect prediabetes.

More than 1,000 people with prediabetes were then entered into a randomised controlled trial, testing a pragmatic real-world lifestyle intervention, compared to a control group, with average follow-up of just over two years.

Earlier studies have used quite intense and expensive research interventions in different groups of prediabetes participants, but this is the first time a real world group delivered intervention has been shown to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

NDPS also asked lay members of the public who had Type 2 diabetes themselves, to help support participants with prediabetes in the trial, but for this particular population this did not further reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes.

NDPS co-investigatro Prof Max Bachmann, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "The NDPS intervention was delivered in groups which was far less expensive than individual-focused interventions which have previously shown to be effective under optimal conditions.

"For every 11 people who received the NDPS intervention, one person was prevented from getting Type 2 diabetes, which is a real breakthrough."

Prof Colin Greaves from the University of Birmingham, who jointly led the development of the NDPS intervention, said: "If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, this approach offers a way to take a different direction in your life - to get off the path to type 2 diabetes and onto the road to a healthier future."

Dr Jane Smith, NDPS collaborator from the University of Exeter, said: "Type 2 diabetes is a huge health challenge globally. NDPS is an incredibly positive story for individuals and healthcare systems, and underlines the importance of providing national diabetes prevention programmes, which can use our research findings."

Prof Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity for NHS England, said: "This study with similar referral criteria and a similar intensive lifestyle intervention to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme has surpassed expectations in preventing Type 2 diabetes. This is hugely encouraging for the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, and what participants might expect to achieve in the longer term."

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: "We welcome this new research showing that a group-based support programme can help people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes reduce their risk.

"This trial again highlights how achieving modest weight loss through diet and physical activity changes can lead to huge benefits for people at high risk of developing type 2. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition, but with the right help many cases can be prevented or delayed.

"Diabetes UK's Know Your Risk' tool helps people to determine their risk and take steps to reduce it, including by self-referring on to NHS England's Diabetes Prevention Programme in their local area."

###

'Lifestyle Intervention With or Without Lay Volunteers to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes in People With Impaired Fasting Glucose and/or Nondiabetic Hyperglycemia' is published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Saturday, November 14, 2020

CAPTION

CAPTION

Why does COVID-19 seem to spare children?

Are diagnostic imaging studies with positive conclusions or titles published faster?

About Me