High schoolers discover four exoplanets through Harvard and Smithsonian mentorship program

The high schoolers turned scientists published their findings this week, thanks to a research mentorship program at the Center for Astrophysics; Harvard and Smithsonian

HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS

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IMAGE: A FIVE-PLANET SYSTEM AROUND TOI-1233 INCLUDES A SUPER-EARTH (FOREGROUND) THAT COULD HELP SOLVE MYSTERIES OF PLANET FORMATION. THE FOUR INNERMOST PLANETS WERE DISCOVERED BY HIGH SCHOOLERS KARTIK PINGLÉ AND JASMINE... view more 

CREDIT: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Cambridge, Massachusetts - They may be the youngest astronomers to make a discovery yet.

This week, 16-year-old Kartik Pinglé and 18-year-old Jasmine Wright have co-authored a peer-reviewed paper in The Astronomical Journal describing the discovery of four new exoplanets about 200-light-years away from Earth.

The high schoolers participated in the research through the Student Research Mentoring Program (SRMP) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. Directed by astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva, the SRMP connects local high schoolers who are interested in research with real-world scientists at Harvard and MIT. The students then work with their mentors on a year-long research project.

"It's a steep learning curve," says Sousa-Silva, but it's worth it. "By the end of the program, the students can say they've done active, state-of-the-art research in astrophysics."

Pinglé and Wright's particular achievement is rare. High schoolers seldom publish research, Sousa-Silva says. "Although that is one of the goals of the SRMP, it is highly unusual for high-schoolers to be co-authors on journal papers."

With guidance from mentor Tansu Daylan, a postdoc at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, the students studied and analyzed data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS is a space-based satellite that orbits around Earth and surveys nearby bright stars with the ultimate goal of discovering new planets.

The team focused on TESS Object of Interest (TOI) 1233, a nearby, bright Sun-like star. To perceive if planets were orbiting around the star, they narrowed in on TOI-1233's light.

"We were looking to see changes in light over time," Pinglé explains. "The idea being that if the planet transits the star, or passes in front of it, it would [periodically] cover up the star and decrease its brightness."

To the team's surprise, they discovered not one but four planets orbiting around TOI-1233.

"I was very excited and very shocked," Wright says. "We knew this was the goal of Daylan's research, but to actually find a multiplanetary system, and be part of the discovering team, was really cool."

Three of the planets are considered "sub-Neptunes," gaseous planets that are smaller than, but similar to our own solar system's Neptune. It takes between 6 and 19.5 days for each of them to orbit around TOI-1233. The fourth planet is labeled a "super-Earth" for its large size and rockiness; it orbits around the star in just under four days.

Daylan hopes to study the planets even closer in the coming year.

"Our species has long been contemplating planets beyond our solar system and with multi-planetary systems, you're kind of hitting the jackpot," he says. "The planets originated from the same disk of matter around the same star, but they ended up being different planets with different atmospheres and different climates due to their different orbits. So, we would like to understand the fundamental processes of planet formation and evolution using this planetary system."

Daylan adds that it was a "win-win" to work with Pinglé and Wright on the study.

"As a researcher, I really enjoy interacting with young brains that are open to experimentation and learning and have minimal bias," he says. "I also think it is very beneficial to high school students, since they get exposure to cutting-edge research and this prepares them quickly for a research career."

The SRMP was established in 2016 by Or Graur, a former postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Astrophysics |Harvard & Smithsonian. The program accepts about a dozen students per year with priority given to underrepresented minorities.

Thanks to a partnership with the City of Cambridge, the students are paid four hours per week for the research they complete.

"They are salaried scientists," Sousa-Silva says. "We want to encourage them that pursuing an academic career is enjoyable and rewarding--no matter what they end up pursuing in life."

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Pinglé, a junior in high school, is considering studying applied mathematics or astrophysics after graduation. Wright has just been accepted into a five-year Master of Astrophysics program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask--and ultimately answer--humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.

Massey researchers review geographic factors that affect HPV vaccinatio

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, with an estimated 79 million Americans currently infected with the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a high-risk HPV infection does not go away, it can lead to the development of a variety of cancers, including 91% of all cervical cancers, 70% of oropharyngeal cancers and cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis and anus.

HPV vaccination can significantly reduce the number of new cancer diagnoses linked to the virus, in addition to preventing a number of other health complications.

"Given the effect that HPV vaccination has had on cancer prevention, it is important to identify factors influencing HPV vaccination coverage," said Bernard Fuemmeler Ph.D., associate director for population science, the Gordon D. Ginder, M.D., Chair in Cancer Research and co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at VCU Massey Cancer Center.

Fuemmeler and his team conducted the first-ever systematic review of area-level data reported in the United States between 2006 and 2020 to determine how geography, neighborhoods and sociodemographic factors impact HPV vaccination rates among adolescents and young adults. The study was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

The CDC recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine six to 12 months apart beginning at age 11 or 12 and for everyone through age 26 if not already vaccinated. Despite this federal recommendation from health experts, Fuemmeler's team found that, across these studies, vaccination uptake is not uniform within the population and existing studies suggest that vaccination coverage varies markedly across the U.S and within local regions of the U.S.

"Understanding how HPV vaccination coverage varies by geography can help to identify areas of need for prevention and control efforts," said Fuemmeler, a professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy at the VCU School of Medicine.

Many intervention strategies have been implemented to address several of the factors that contribute to low vaccination rates, including education level, health insurance coverage, income and vaccine awareness, but those efforts are often untargeted or limited to certain areas, creating widespread geographical disparities throughout the country. For example, Fuemmeler's research shows that HPV vaccination completion rates vary from nearly 80% in Rhode Island to less than 29% in Mississippi.

Upon completion of their review, Fuemmeler's team proposed five recommendations and future considerations to overcome the current barriers to effectively address and improve national HPV vaccination coverage: 1) foster interdisciplinary collaborations and research to support more detailed analyses of geographic disparities in HPV vaccination coverage; 2) standardize procedures for immunization reporting systems to make information consistent across states; 3) standardize variable definitions in research on HPV vaccination coverage; 4) incorporate spatial regression modeling approaches to identify where HPV-related burdens are elevated and prevention and intervention efforts are needed; and 5) obtain data on HPV prevalence in smaller geographic areas for a more detailed understanding of HPV vaccination coverage nationwide.

"Our findings demonstrate the need to adopt geospatial, standardized and collaborative approaches in future studies that allow for the effective mapping, detection and reporting of geographic areas with low HPV vaccination coverage," Fuemmeler said.

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Fuemmeler's collaborators on this study include Askar Chukmaitov, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.A., and David Wheeler, M.P.H., Ph.D., members of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Massey; Carrie Miller, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the VCU School of Medicine; Elizabeth Do, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Truth Initiative and formerly of the VCU School of Medicine; Brianna Rossi, M.P.H., and Albert Ksinan, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellows at VCU; John Cyrus of VCU Libraries.

Additionally, Massey received $200,000 from the National Cancer Institute in 2020 for a one-year HPV supplement to its Cancer Center Support Grant. Led by Shillpa Naavaal, B.D.S., M.S., M.P.H., member of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Massey and assistant professor in the Department of Dental Public Health and Policy at the VCU School of Dentistry, this supplemental funding will investigate vaccine hesitancy in rural counties of Virginia and the resulting findings will inform and support the growth of infrastructure to increase HPV vaccination uptake within Massey's catchment area. This P30HPV supplement will serve three primary objectives: 1) determine reasons for vaccine hesitancy among parents of middle school-aged children in rural counties; 2) understand HPV vaccination practices and perceived barriers among health care providers and key community stakeholders; and 3) disseminate survey and interview findings and encourage conversation on how to improve HPV vaccination.

Co-investigators on this supplement include Fuemmeler, Chukmaitov and Wheeler; Tegwyn Brickhouse, DDS, Ph.D., of the VCU School of Dentistry; and Janaye Oliver, M.P.H., of the Virginia Department of Health.

No more needles for diagnostic tests?

Nearly pain-free microneedle patch can test for antibodies and more in the fluid between cells

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

Research News

IMAGE: ENGINEERS AT THE MCKELVEY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS HAVE DEVELOPED A MICRONEEDLE PATCH THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO THE SKIN, CAPTURE A BIOMARKER OF INTEREST... view more 

CREDIT: IMAGE: SISI CAO

Blood draws are no fun.

They hurt. Veins can burst, or even roll -- like they're trying to avoid the needle, too.

Oftentimes, doctors use blood samples to check for biomarkers of disease: antibodies that signal a viral or bacterial infection, such as SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19; or cytokines indicative of inflammation seen in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and sepsis.

These biomarkers aren't just in blood, though. They can also be found in the dense liquid medium that surrounds our cells, but in a low abundance that makes it difficult to be detected.

Until now.

Engineers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a microneedle patch that can be applied to the skin, capture a biomarker of interest and, thanks to its unprecedented sensitivity, allow clinicians to detect its presence.

The technology is low cost, easy for a clinician or patients themselves to use, and could eliminate the need for a trip to the hospital just for a blood draw.

The research, from the lab of Srikanth Singamaneni, the Lilyan & E. Lisle Hughes Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Material Sciences, was published online Jan. 22 in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

In addition to the low cost and ease of use, these microneedle patches have another advantage over blood draws, perhaps the most important feature for some: "They are entirely pain-free," Singamaneni said.

Finding a biomarker using these microneedle patches is similar to blood testing. But instead of using a solution to find and quantify the biomarker in blood, the microneedles directly capture it from the liquid that surrounds our cells in skin, which is called dermal interstitial fluid (ISF). Once the biomarkers have been captured, they're detected in the same way -- using fluorescence to indicate their presence and quantity.

ISF is a rich source of biomolecules, densely packed with everything from neurotransmitters to cellular waste. However, to analyze biomarkers in ISF, conventional method generally requires extraction of ISF from skin. This method is difficult and usually the amount of ISF that can be obtained is not sufficient for analysis. That has been a major hurdle for developing microneedle-based biosensing technology.

Another method involves direct capture of the biomarker in ISF without having to extract ISF. Like showing up to a packed concert and trying to make your way up front, the biomarker has to maneuver through a crowded, dynamic soup of ISF before reaching the microneedle in the skin tissue. Under such conditions, being able to capture enough of the biomarker to see using the traditional assay isn't easy.

But the team has a secret weapon of sorts: "plasmonic-fluors," an ultrabright fluorescence nanolabel. Compared with traditional fluorescent labels, when an assay was done on microneedle patch using plasmonic-fluor, the signal of target protein biomarkers shined about 1,400 times as bright and become detectable even when they are present at low concentrations.

"Previously, concentrations of a biomarker had to be on the order of a few micrograms per milliliter of fluid," Zheyu (Ryan) Wang, a graduate student in the Singamaneni lab and one of the lead authors of the paper, said. That's far beyond the real-world physiological range. But using plasmonic-fluor, the research team was able to detect biomarkers on the order of picograms per milliliter.

"That's orders of magnitude more sensitive," Ryan said.

These patches have a host of qualities that can make a real impact on medicine, patient care and research.

They would allow providers to monitor biomarkers over time, particularly important when it comes to understanding how immunity plays out in new diseases.

For example, researchers working on COVID-19 vaccines need to know if people are producing the right antibodies and for how long. "Let's put a patch on," Singamaneni said, "and let's see whether the person has antibodies against COVID-19 and at what level."

Or, in an emergency, "When someone complains of chest pain and they are being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, we're hoping right then and there, the patch can be applied," Jingyi Luan, a student who recently graduated from the Singamaneni lab and one of the lead authors of the paper, said. Instead of having to get to the hospital and have blood drawn, EMTs could use a microneedle patch to test for troponin, the biomarker that indicates myocardial infarction.

For people with chronic conditions that require regular monitoring, microneedle patches could eliminate unnecessary trips to the hospital, saving money, time and discomfort -- a lot of discomfort.

The patches are almost pain-free. "They go about 400 microns deep into the dermal tissue," Singamaneni said. "They don't even touch sensory nerves."

In the lab, using this technology could limit the number of animals needed for research. Sometimes research necessitates a lot of measurements in succession to capture the ebb and flow of biomarkers -- for example, to monitor the progression of sepsis. Sometimes, that means lot of small animals.

"We could significantly lower the number of animals required for such studies," Singamaneni said.

The implications are vast -- and Singamaneni's lab wants to make sure they are all explored.

There is a lot of work to do, he said: "We'll have to determine clinical cutoffs," that is, the range of biomarker in ISF that corresponds to a normal vs. abnormal level. "We'll have to determine what levels of biomarker are normal, what levels are pathological." And his research group is working on delivery methods for long distances and harsh conditions, providing options for improving rural healthcare.

"But we don't have to do all of this ourselves," Singamaneni said. Instead, the technology will be available to experts in different areas of medicine.

"We have created a platform technology that anyone can use," he said. "And they can use it to find their own biomarker of interest."

We don't have to do all of this ourselves

Singamaneni and Erica L. Scheller, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Bone and Mineral Disease at the School of Medicine, worked together to investigate the concentration of biomarkers in local tissues.

Current approaches for such evaluation require the isolation of local tissues and do not allow successive and continuous inspection. Singamaneni and Scheller are developing a better platform to achieve long term monitoring of local biomarker concentration.

Working together

Srikanth Singamaneni, the Lilyan E. Lisle Hughes Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, and Jai S. Rudra, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, worked together to look at cocaine vaccines, which work by blocking cocaine's ability to enter the brain.

Current candidates for such a vaccine don't confer long-lasting results; they require frequent boosting. Singamaneni and Rudra wanted a better way to determine when the effects of the vaccine had waned. "We've shown that we can use the patches to understand whether a person is still producing the necessary antibodies," Singamaneni said. "No blood draw necessary."

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UTMB team proves potential for reducing pre-term birth by treating fetus as patient

Scientists successfully tested innovative drug delivery system developed by ILIAS Biologics, Inc.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH AT GALVESTON

Research News

 

GALVESTON, Texas - The results of a study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch may pave the way for a new medicine delivery system that could reduce the incidence of pre-term labor and premature birth by allowing physicians to treat the 'fetus as the patient'. The study has been published in Science Advances.

It has long been suspected that pre-term labor is triggered by inflammation caused by a sick fetus. A new study by scientists at UTMB has proved the hypothesis by studying several important assumptions about the relationship between the health of a mother and her unborn child.

According to Dr. Ramkumar Menon, a Professor in UTMB's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Cell Biology, his team worked with ILIAS Biologics, Inc., a South Korean biotechnology company, to test their bioengineered exosomes as a delivery system for anti-inflammatory medicine directly to the fetus.

"Exosomes are natural nanoparticles or vesicles in our bodies, and we have trillions of them circulating through us at all times. By packaging the medicine inside a bioengineered exosome and injecting it into the mother intravenously, the exosomes travel through the blood system, cross the placental barrier and arrive in the fetus, where they deliver the medicine," explains Dr. Menon.

In laboratory tests with mice, there were several steps prior to testing the drug delivery. First, Menon said it was important to prove that fetal cells, specifically immune cells, actually migrated through the mother's body to her uterine tissues as well as to her, which can cause inflammation, the leading cause of pre-term labor.

To prove migration of cells, female mice were mated with male mice who had been genetically engineered with a red fluorescent dye called tdtomato. The dye causes cells in the male to turn red, so once mating has occurred, cells in the developing fetus also turn red and can easily be tracked as they migrate through the mother. This model was developed by Dr Sheller-Miller, a post-doctoral fellow in the Menon lab who is also the first author of this report. Development of this model that determined fetal immune cells reaching maternal tissues was also a turning point in this research.

Once scientists had proof of cell migration, they next used the mouse model to determine if bioengineered exosomes could deliver a special anti-inflammatory medicine, an inhibitor of NF-kB, called super repressor (SR) IkB from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus.

The exosomes were created using an innovative approach developed by ILIAS Biologics, Inc. called EXPLOR®, or Exosomes engineering for Protein Loading via Optically Reversible protein to protein interaction. The study proved that the exosomes effectively delivered medicine to the fetus, slowed the migration of fetal immune cells, and delayed pre-term labor.

In addition, the study found that: * Sustained effects/delays in labor required repeated dosing * Prolongation of gestation improved pup viability * Mouse models provided valuable information to help understand the mechanisms often seen in humans * Future studies, including human clinical trials are needed to confirm laboratory results

"Pre-term birth rates have not reduced in the past few decades, and this technology (the bioengineered exosomes) could lead the way to other treatments for the delivery of drugs to treat the underlying cause of inflammation in a fetus," said Dr. Menon. This technology can also be used to package other drugs in exosomes to treat other adverse pregnancy complications.

This study result is the second proof of concept that suggests significant anti-inflammatory effects of the same exosomes from ILIAS Biologics. In April 2020, the researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the ILIAS team published the same exosomes' substantial efficacy in the septic mouse model in Science Advances. (Link: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/15/eaaz6980)

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Additional research team members include Samantha Sheller-Miller (first author), Enkhtuya Radnaa and Lauren Richardson of UTMB, Jae-Kwang Yoo, Eunsoo Kim, Kyungson Choi, Youngeun Kim, Una Kim of ILIAS Biologics, Inc., and Chulhee Choi of ILIAS Biologics, Inc and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

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ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH: Texas' first academic health center opened its doors in 1891 and today has fourcampuses, four health sciences schools, fourinstitutes for advanced study, a research enterprise that includes one of only two national laboratories dedicated to the safe study of infectious threats to human health, a Level 1 Trauma Center and a health system offering a full range of primary and specialized medical services throughout the Texas Gulf Coast region. UTMB is an institution in the University of Texas System and a member of the Texas Medical Center.

ABOUT ILIAS Biologics, Inc.: ILIAS Biologics Inc. was established in 2015 in South Korea to develop exosome-based therapeutics. Its platform technology, EXPLOR™, makes it possible to load large therapeutic molecules into exosomes. ILIAS Biologics Inc. is actively developing various therapeutic exosomes, Exo-Targets®, as potential treatments for sepsis, pre-term birth, and various hard-to-treat diseases in inflammatory, metabolic areas and oncology. To learn more about ILIAS Biologics Inc., visit the website at http://www.iliasbio.com.

ABOUT EXPLOR® technology: EXPLOR® technology is a novel protein-loading method that enables active loading of large therapeutic cargo proteins into the lumen of exosomes--nanosized extracellular vesicles--through cellular biogenesis processes. This process involves controllable and reversible detachment of cargo proteins from the membrane of exosomes once they load into exosomes, which increases the ef?ciency of delivery of payload proteins into the cytoplasm or nucleus of target cells. While exosomes have been actively studied as novel therapeutic vehicles for intracellular drug delivery, the controllable loading of therapeutic cargo proteins as free forms in the exosomal lumen has remained a technical hurdle. ILIAS's technology provides a unique solution to overcome this challenge.

Lack of sleep, stress can lead to symptoms resembling concussion

Study suggests baseline symptoms may help interpret recovery scores

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A new study suggests that a lot of people might be going through life with symptoms that resemble concussion - a finding supporting researchers' argument that athletes recovering from a brain injury should be assessed and treated on a highly individualized basis.

In the national study, between 11% and 27% of healthy college athletes with no history of a recent concussion reported combinations of symptoms that met criteria for post-concussion syndrome (PCS) as defined by an international classification system. Among the nearly 31,000 student-athletes surveyed, three factors stood out as the most likely to predict PCS-like symptoms: lack of sleep, pre-existing mental health problems and stress.

The participants were cadets from four U.S. military service academies - who undergo rigorous training and are required to participate in athletics - and students who competed in NCAA sports at 26 U.S. higher education institutions.

Beyond the substantial numbers of students who reported clusters of PCS-like symptoms, between one-half and three-quarters of all of the athletes surveyed reported one or more symptoms commonly experienced by people who've had a concussion, the most common being fatigue or low energy and drowsiness.

"The numbers were high, and were consistent with previous research in this area, but it is quite shocking," said study lead author Jaclyn Caccese, assistant professor in The Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. "These are elite athletes who are physically fit, and they are experiencing that many symptoms commonly reported following concussion. So looking across the general population, they'd probably have even more."

It's important to understand that there are multiple sources of these symptoms, researchers say, so that student-athletes' post-concussion care zeroes in on symptoms caused by the injury. In addition, knowing athletes' medical history and baseline symptom status may help clinicians predict which pre-existing factors could contribute to a slower recovery from a concussion.

"When a patient comes into a clinic and they are a month or more out from their most recent concussion, we need to know what symptoms they were experiencing before their concussion to know if their symptoms are attributable to their concussion or something else. Then we can start treating the concussion-related symptoms to hopefully help people recover more quickly," Caccese said.

This study, published last week in the journal Sports Medicine, was conducted by the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium established by the NCAA and U.S. Department of Defense. Caccese completed the research while she was a PhD student and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware, a consortium member institution.

The initiative is designed to fill gaps in knowledge about concussion effects and recovery among student-athletes at colleges, universities and military service academies by collecting and analyzing data on men and women who compete in a range of sports and undergo military training.

Participants in this study included 12,039 military service academy cadets and 18,548 NCAA student-athletes who completed the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool symptom evaluation as part of the consortium's baseline testing. The consortium also collected demographic data and personal and family medical histories from participants.

Statistical analyses showed which factors in athletes' medical histories were most closely associated with reports of symptoms that aligned with PCS criteria. Among cadets, 17.8% of men and 27.6% of women reported a cluster of symptoms that met PCS criteria. Among NCAA athletes, 11.4% of men and 20% of women reported combined symptoms that mimicked the PCS criteria. (Caccese said the varied timing of data collection at military service academies compared to NCAA preseason testing likely contributed to the symptoms reported by a higher percentage of cadets.)

For both groups, sleep problems - and particularly insufficient sleep the night before the test - and pre-existing psychiatric disorders were the most predictive conditions, and a history of migraines also contributed to symptoms that met PCS criteria. In cadets, academic problems and being a first-year student increased odds of having symptoms that met PCS criteria, and in NCAA athletes, a history of ADHD or depression contributed to meeting PCS criteria.

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision uses the term post-concussion syndrome for persistent symptoms following concussion, although the cause or causes of these symptoms can be difficult to determine. Symptoms range from persistent headaches, dizziness and fatigue to anxiety, insomnia and loss of concentration and memory.

A complicating factor with high symptom reporting is that recognizing concussion and determining return to play is based on reported symptoms. And while some symptoms may be more closely connected to concussion than others - such as dizziness, pressure in the head, or sensitivity to light or noise - others, like fatigue, drowsiness and even headaches, can be linked to a variety of causes.

"Perhaps we can create a battery of symptoms more specific to concussion," Caccese said. "That is another project in this series - trying to see if there are groups of symptoms or specific symptoms that may be more able to identify individuals with concussion."

The CARE Consortium also aims to identify factors that will help predict outcomes in student-athletes and cadets who suffer concussions.

"This hopefully not only shows clinicians that we need to consider how people would have presented before injury, but also provides some normative data so they can interpret other patients' data," Caccese said. "We really don't know a lot about why people have persistent symptoms, and it seems to be very variable. So we're trying to understand this better to help predict who will have a prolonged recovery, and who will not."

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Co-authors of the study were investigators from multiple CARE Consortium member institutions.

Contact:
Jaclyn Caccese,
Caccese.1@osu.edu

Written by Emily Caldwell,
Caldwell.151@osu.edu

This publication was made possible, in part, with support from the Grand Alliance Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium, funded, in part, by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014, is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, through the Combat Casualty Care Research Program, endorsed by the Department of Defense, through the Joint Program Committee 6/ Combat Casualty Care Research Program - Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Program under Award No. W81XWH1420151. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Defense.

NIH-funded study examines mono, chronic fatigue syndrome in college students

Researchers in Chicago conduct longitudinal study of 4,500 undergraduates

ANN & ROBERT H. LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO

Research News

 

Many college students fully recover from infectious mononucleosis (which is almost always caused by Epstein-Barr virus) within 1-6 weeks, but some go on to develop chronic fatigue syndrome, also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS). A longitudinal study from DePaul University and Northwestern University followed 4,501 college students to examine risk factors that may trigger longer illness. The research appears in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Previous retrospective studies found that risk factors for developing ME/CFS after catching mono included preexisting physical symptoms and the number of days spent in bed, according to co-principal investigators Leonard A. Jason, professor of psychology at DePaul University; and Dr. Ben Z. Katz, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

"We are the only study to collect comprehensive biological and behavioral data prior to illness onset, which for the first time allowed us to identify some of the predisposing circumstances or conditions that make certain individuals more likely to get ill due to mono and stay ill," says Jason, director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul.

Of the 4,501 college students in the study, 238 or 5.3% developed mononucleosis; and 55 of those (23%) met criteria for ME/CFS six months later, 20 of whom (8%) met criteria for severe ME/CFS. Researchers found that those who developed ME/CFS had more physical symptoms and immune irregularities at baseline, but they did not start out with statistically significantly more psychological symptoms such as stress, depression, anxiety or abnormal coping.

"Some people who are attacked by a virus stay sick. What we've found is that their emotional functioning and psychological states are not statistically different from those who get attacked by the same virus and recover. This becomes important validating information for those people who have this illness," says Jason.

Participants in the study each completed seven different surveys to assess potential symptoms of ME/CFS. They also received a comprehensive psychiatric exam, and provided samples of serum, plasma and white blood cells. In future publications, researchers aim to analyze cytokine networks in participants' blood and other risk factors. Deficiencies in certain cytokines "might suggest predisposing irregularities in immune response," write the researchers. Vicky Whittemore, the Program Director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), stated that NINDS is supporting follow-up research to continue to study this cohort, and to examine possible predictors of COVID-19 as well.

"Since we have baseline data on nearly all of the 4500 students, we can use our same database to tease out risk factors for COVID infection as well as prolonged recovery from that illness," says Katz.

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Other co-authors on the study are Joseph Colter, Mohammed F. Islam and Madison Sunnquist of DePaul's Center for Community Research.

The study, "Risks for Developing ME/CFS in College Students Following Infectious Mononucleosis: A Prospective Cohort Study" was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, grant number AI 105781.

Research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is conducted through the Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute. The Manne Research Institute is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children's is ranked as one of the nation's top children's hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. It is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Last year, the hospital served more than 220,000 children from 48 states and 49 countries.

Loneliness hits young people harder during lockdown

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES

Research News

 

Fear of losing your job, worrying about you or a loved one getting sick, and online meetups with family and friends you have not seen for months. The COVID-19 lockdown has completely changed everyday life for most people around the world. Physical distancing is the

 new normal and an extremely important tool in the fight against the pandemic.

However, the effects of the lockdown on mental health are alarming - especially for young people under 30 and people with preexisting mental health issues. This is the conclusion of a new study from the University of Copenhagen, University College London, Sorbonne University, INSERM and the University of Groningen. The study builds on data from 200,000 citizens across Europe.

As part of the collaborative network COVID-Minds, researchers have collected and analyzed mental health data from four different countries (Denmark, France, the Netherlands and the UK) during the first lockdown in the spring and early summer of 2020.

'We have studied different mental health factors such as loneliness, anxiety and COVID-19 related worries. The highest levels of loneliness were observed amongst young people and people with preexisting mental health illness', says Assistant Professor Tibor V. Varga from Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

'Psychological stress is a prominent risk factor for future long-term and severe mental illness. Therefore, it is very important to know how lockdowns affect people, so we have a better chance of preventing long-term consequences.'

The researchers suggest that the subgroups identified by the study as particularly prone to experiencing loneliness and anxiety should be closely followed to prevent future challenges.

Mental health should be a concern parallel to containing the virus

The study consists of mental health data from 200,000 citizens from the four European countries during the first lockdown (March 2020 to June 2020). In all four countries, the highest levels of loneliness and anxiety were observed in March and early April, in the very beginning of the lockdown. These outcomes slowly subsided over the next few months as the countries gradually reopened.

Even though the four countries have had different approaches to handling the pandemic, it seems that the mental health reactions are quite similar and very important to take notice of to avoid long-term consequences.

'Mental health has emerged as a quite important parallel concern of this pandemic. While we of course need to contain the spread of the virus and deal with the obvious emergencies at hand, we also need to pay attention to the potential damaging psychiatric aftermath', says Professor Naja Hulvej Rod from Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

'People under 30 and people with a history of mental illness could benefit from tailored public-health interventions to prevent or counteract the negative effects of the pandemic'.

The research project 'Standing together - at a distance' continuously collects Danish data to track the mental health status and consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The assembled data from June 2020 until now confirm the results of the study: Lockdown has a negative impact on anxiety, loneliness and worries concerning COVID-19.

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New study shows correlation between teen obesity and mental health issues

LUND UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Half of all young people treated for severe obesity have neuropsychiatric problems, according to a new study by researchers from Lund University and Gothenburg, Sweden, among others. Two thirds of the teens suffered from some type of mental health problem, as reported by themselves or their parents.

Both obesity and mental illness have increased among young people during the 2000s. Researchers have long observed a connection between obesity and ADHD/depression/eating disorders, but it has seldom been studied.

The present study involved 48 teenagers (73% girls), with an average age of 15 and an average BMI of 42, which is severe obesity. Half of the participants received medical treatment for obesity, while the other half underwent surgery.

The teenagers' parents completed questionnaires to measure their children's symptoms of ADHD and autism. The adolescents themselves responded to questions about binge eating and symptoms of depression.

The results show that over half of the parents estimated that their teenagers had difficulties resembling ADHD and/or autism, despite only a few of them having been previously diagnosed with these conditions.

"Symptoms of ADHD mean that the person has difficulty with impulse control. This increases the risk of eating without being hungry and the tendency to opt for quick solutions such as fast food", says Kajsa Järvholm, a psychology researcher at Lund University and the University of Gothenburg.

"People on the autism spectrum are sometimes more selective in their eating than others. They only accept certain dishes but may eat more of them as a result", she says.

One fifth of the adolescents reported suffering symptoms of depression. One third of them reported problems with binge eating, which is a loss of control resulting in the person eating large quantities of food in a short time.

"Contrary to our expectations, the adolescents with neuropsychiatric difficulties did not have more problems with binge eating and depression than the other adolescents in the group", says Järvholm.

Altogether, the information provided by the parents and adolescents revealed that two thirds of the patients in the study had difficulties arising from neuropsychiatric problems, binge eating and/or depression.

The researchers believe that the findings reveal a need to personalise treatments for adolescents with severe obesity as the majority also reported mental illness.

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JUST LIKE RUSSIA

India tightens oversight on funds received by NGOs

New guidelines to banks on Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act rules.

Vijaita Singh
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 29, 2021 UPDATED: JANUARY 30, 2021 

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has laid down a charter for banks which says that “donations received in Indian rupees” by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and associations from “any foreign source even if that source is located in India at the time of such donation” should be treated as “foreign contribution”.

As per the existing rules, all banks have to report to the Central government within 48 hours, the “receipt or utilisation of any foreign contribution” by any NGO, association or person whether or not they are registered or granted prior permission under the FCRA.

The Hindu Explains | What is Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, and how does it control donations?

Last September, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, was amended by Parliament and a new provision that makes it mandatory for all NGOs to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account at the State Bank of India’s New Delhi branch was inserted.

FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country.

All NGOs seeking foreign donations have to open a designated FCRA account at the SBI branch by March 31.

Also read | Home Ministry amends FCRA rules

The NGOs can retain their existing FCRA account in any other bank but it will have to be mandatorily linked to the SBI branch in New Delhi.

Penal provisions

The Ministry has laid out a series of guidelines and charter to make the NGOs and the banks comply with the new provisions.

The charter for the banks said, “It may be noted that foreign contribution has to be received only through banking channels and it has to be accounted for in the manner prescribed. Any violation by the NGO or by the bank may invite penal provisions of The FCRA, 2010.” It added that “donations given in Indian rupees (INR) by any foreigner/foreign source including foreigners of Indian origin like OCI or PIO cardholders” should also be treated as foreign contribution.

Also read | ‘FCRA Bill virtually makes it impossible for NGOs to function’

Recently the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a foreign based group that advocates secessionist and pro-Khalistani activities in India.

NIA summoned 40 people, all associated with the ongoing farmers agitation, to join the probe in the case where it alleged that large amounts of funds being collected by Khalistani terrorist outfits are being sent through NGOs to pro-Khalistani elements based in India.

In 2019, MHA had amended FCRA rules where it said that even persons prohibited to receive foreign funds such as journalists, politicians, members of the judiciary “are allowed to accept foreign contribution from their relatives” if the amount does not exceed ₹1 lakh. Any such transaction above ₹1 lakh will have to be informed to MHA.

MHA also said down “good practices” to be followed by NGOs in accordance with standards of global financial watchdog- Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It asked NGOs to inform the Ministry about “suspicious activities” of any donor or recipient and “take due diligence of its employees at the time of recruitment.”

FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country. The Act, first enacted in 1976 was amended in the year 2010 and then 2020.

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