MY PILLOW

Warriors' down bedding could ease journey to realm of the dead

This may well be the most interesting story about pillows and bedding you will ever read

NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Research News

 

VIDEO: VALSGÄRDE IN SWEDEN IS ESPECIALLY KNOWN FOR ITS SPECTACULAR BOAT GRAVES FROM THE 600S AND 700S CE, AN ERA JUST BEFORE THE VIKING AGE. TWO OF THESE SPECTACULAR BOAT GRAVES... view more 

CREDIT: NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, NTNU UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

The burial field in Valsgärde outside Uppsala in central Sweden contains more than 90 graves from the Iron Age.

"On a light note, we could say that Valsgärde is Scandinavia's answer to Sutton Hoo in England as portrayed in the film The Dig on Netflix," says Birgitta Berglund, professor emeritus of archaeology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's NTNU University Museum.

Valsgärde is especially known for its spectacular boat graves from the 600s and 700s CE. This timeframe is in the middle of what Norway calls the Merovingian period, the era just before the Viking Age.

Two of these spectacular boat graves are at the centre of this story -- or more specifically, the story is really about the down bedding that was found in the graves.

When researchers from NTNU investigated which birds contributed their feathers to the bedding, they made a surprising discovery that provides new insight into Iron Age society.

The boats carrying the two dead men were about 10 metres long, with room for four to five pairs of oars. Both were outfitted for high-ranking warriors, with richly decorated helmets, shields and weapons. Provisions and tools for hunting and cooking were also included for their last voyage.

In one grave, an Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) had been laid, with its head cut off. We'll return to that. Horses and other animals were arranged close to the boats.

"The buried warriors appear to have been equipped to row to the underworld, but also to be able to get ashore with the help of the horses," says Berglund.

Beauty sleep was also taken care of in death.Two warriors lay atop several layers of down bedding. The contents of the bedding probably had a greater function than simply serving as filler.

You might have thought of down bedding as a modern concept, which admittedly only became available for common folk in recent times. The down bedding in the graves at Valsgärde is the oldest known from Scandinavia and indicate that the two buried men belonged to the top strata of society.

Wealthy Greeks and Romans used down for their bedding a few hundred years earlier, but down probably wasn't used more widely by wealthy people in Europe until the Middle Ages, Berglund says.

Berglund has been studying down harvesting in Helgeland coastal communities in southern Nordland county for many years, where people commercialized down production early on by building houses for the eider ducks that were the source of the down. The theory was that down from this location might have been exported south, so Berglund wanted to investigate whether the bedding at Valsgärde contained eider down.

"It turned out that a lot of kinds of feathers had been used in the bedding at Valsgärde. Only a few feathers from eider ducks were identified, so we have little reason to believe that they were a commodity from Helgeland or other northern areas," says Berglund.

However, she was not disappointed by this discovery. The great variety of species gave the researchers unique insight into the bird fauna in the immediate area in prehistoric times, along with people's relationship to it.

"The feathers provide a source for gaining new perspectives on the relationship between humans and birds in the past. Archaeological excavations rarely find traces of birds other than those that were used for food," the researcher says.

"We also think the choice of feathers in the bedding may hold a deeper, symbolic meaning. It's exciting."

Berglund explains that according to Nordic folklore, the type of feathers contained in the bedding of the dying person was important.

CAPTION

Together with curator Leena Aulikki Airola, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's Birgitta Berglund was able to select and borrow feathers from Gustavianum, the Uppsala University Museum in Sweden.

CREDIT

Photo: NTNU University Museum

"For example, people believed that using feathers from domestic chickens, owls and other birds of prey, pigeons, crows and squirrels would prolong the death struggle. In some Scandinavian areas, goose feathers were considered best to enable the soul to be released from the body," she said.

These are well-known folk traditions that have been collected from the 18th century onwards. But they may have their roots in prehistoric times.

In the Icelandic Erik the Red saga, a pillow stuffed with feathers from domestic hens was placed on the throne at Heriólfsnes in Greenland, where a visiting female shaman was to sit. The saga is considered to have been written down in the 13th century, but addresses events around the year 1000, says Berglund.

The examples show that that feathers in the bedding from Valsgärde most likely also had a deeper meaning than just serving as a filler. It's also well known that birds could hold special importance for obtaining information in shamanism -- think of Odin's two ravens Hugin and Munin.

Exactly what ritual function the feathers at Valsgärde had is hard to say. But the bedding contained feathers from geese, ducks, grouse, crows, sparrows, waders and -- perhaps most surprisingly --- eagle owls.

Biologist Jørgen Rosvold, now employed at the Norwegian Institute for Natural History (NINA) identified the species from the feather material.

"It was a time consuming and challenging job for several reasons. The material is decomposed, tangled and dirty. This means that a lot of the special features that you can easily observe in fresh material has become indistinct, and you have to spend a lot more time looking for the distinctive features," Rosvold says.

CAPTION

Zooming in on individual areas of a feather help researchers determine which birds the feathers came from.

CREDIT

Photo: NTNU University Museum

"I'm still surprised at how well the feathers were preserved, despite the fact that they'd been lying in the ground for over 1000 years."

The feathers in the down bedding weren't the only interesting bird find in the graves. One of the graves also contained a headless owl.

From recent graves we know that people took measures to prevent the buried from returning from the dead, and it's easy to imagine that this was also done longer ago as well.

"We believe the beheading had a ritual significance in connection with the burial," says Berglund.

Swords found in tombs from Viking times were sometimes intentionally bent before being laid in the tomb. This was probably done to prevent the deceased from using the weapon if he returned.

"It's conceivable that the owl's head was cut off to prevent it from coming back. Maybe the owl feather in the bedding also had a similar function? In Salme in Estonia, boat graves from the same period have recently been found that are similar to those in Valsgärde. Two birds of prey with a severed head were found there," says Berglund.

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Reference: Birgitta Berglund, Jørgen Rosvold. Microscopic identification of feathers from 7th century boat burials at Valsgärde in Central Sweden: Specialized long-distance feather trade or local bird use? Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 36, April 2021, 102828.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102828

Natural Sciences students' research published in prestigious journal

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Research News

 

A collaborative research project by team of undergraduate students from the University of Exeter's Natural Sciences department has been published in a prestigious academic journal.

Lewis Howell, Eleanor Osborne and Alice Franklin have had their second-year research published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Their paper, Pattern Recognition of Chemical Waves: Finding the Activation Energy of the Autocatalytic Step in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction, was a result of their extended experiment work in the Stage 2 module "Frontiers in Science 2".

Their project involved the Belousov-Zhabotinsky chemical reaction - an example of a chemical oscillator that is often used to illustrate a chaotic system.

These reactions are theoretically important because they show that chemical reactions do not have to be dominated by equilibrium thermodynamic behaviour.

For the research, the team used a Raspberry Pi camera to record images of the reaction over time, and repeated the experiment under a wide range of temperature conditions.

The group were the first to apply a filter-coupled circle finding algorithm and localised pattern analysis to the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction in order to extract features such as velocity of the waves.

They were soon able to get exceptionally good experimental results which, coupled with the application of novel image analysis techniques, allowed them to make unprecedented progress, unveiling some peculiar and previously undocumented features of this chemical oscillator.

Lewis said: "The experimental work went really well; we planned all the experiments ourselves and conducted them over five or six weeks of lab time. It's a really interesting chemical reaction, and we had a lot of fun doing it; we found that our data was really good, which gave us a good platform to work from.

"Together we were able to do a lot of cool analysis, using image processing techniques to extract properties such as the velocity of the chemical waves you see in the reaction."

Dr Eric Hébrard, who co-supervised the module alongside Dr. David Horsell, said: "Throughout all this journey, Lewis, Eleanor and Alice have been very comfortable working alongside academic staff as well as together and have displayed engaging and collaborative team-working skills."

Alice added that "Natural Sciences at Exeter is geared towards giving undergraduate students first-hand experience of research." Eleanor also added that "without the course being so interdisciplinary, we couldn't have achieved such a high quality of results that enabled us to publish this paper; it goes to show that collaboration between scientists from different disciplines is a really effective way to approach research."

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Lewis is currently applying to PhDs and is particularly interested in the field of image analysis, a major component of the paper. Eleanor is also applying to PhDs in the field of photonic sensing. Alice graduated last year and is working at the University of Exeter, as a bioinformatician in a research group at the medical scho

STINKIEST FRUIT ON THE PLANET

NTU Singapore scientists develop antibacterial gel bandage using durian husk

Gel works even at freezing temperatures and contains natural antimicrobial compounds derived from yeast

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: A LARGE HYDROGEL PATCH DERIVED FROM DISCARDED DURIAN HUSKS CAN HELP WOUNDS TO HEAL BETTER. IT CAN ALSO BE CUT INTO SMALL PIECES TO FIT PLASTERS OF VARYING SIZES. view more 

CREDIT: NTU SINGAPORE

Food scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have made an antibacterial gel bandage using the discarded husks of the popular tropical fruit, durian.

Known as the "King of Fruits" in Southeast Asia, the durian has a thick husk with spiky thorns which is discarded, while the sweet flesh surrounding the seeds on the inside is considered a delicacy.

By extracting high-quality cellulose from the durian husks and combining it with glycerol - a waste by-product from the biodiesel and soap industry - NTU scientists created a soft gel, similar to silicon sheets, which can be cut into bandages of various shapes and sizes.

They then added the organic molecules produced from baker's yeast known as natural yeast phenolics, making the bandage deadly to bacteria.

Developed by Professor William Chen, the Director of NTU's Food Science and Technology Programme, the innovation was published recently in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemistry Society.

Conventional hydrogel patches are commonly available at pharmacies, usually used to cover wounds from surgery to minimise the formation of excessive scar tissue, resulting in a softer and flatter scar. The patch keeps the skin hydrated instead of drying up when conventional band-aid or gauze bandages are used.

Prof Chen said conventional hydrogel patches on the market are made from synthetic materials such as polymers like polymethacrylate and polyvinylpyrrolidine. Those with antimicrobial properties also use metallic compounds such as silver or copper ions. Such synthetic materials approved for use in biomedical applications are more costly as compared to the new hydrogel made from natural waste materials.

CAPTION

In lab experiments, yeast derived antibacterial compounds were proven to inhibit growth of common bacteria species and prevent formation of biofilms

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

"With the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, the world will need multiple alternative ways to prevent infections. An effective way to protect open wounds is with antimicrobial bandages that are biocompatible and safe for prolonged use by humans. This is especially important for diabetic patients suffering from chronic wounds," explained Prof Chen, the Michael Fam Chair Professor in Food Science and Technology at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering.

"By using waste products which are currently discarded in large quantities - durian husks and glycerol - we could turn waste into a valuable biomedical resource that can enhance the speedy recovery of wounds and to reduce chances of infections.

With the husk comprising 60 per cent of the durian it is usually discarded and incinerated, posing an environmental issue. In Singapore, it was reported by Straits Times that 14,300 tonnes[1] of durian (estimated 10 million durians) were imported and consumed in 2017.

Being non-toxic and biodegradable, the organic gel bandage is also expected to have a smaller environmental footprint than conventional synthetic bandages.

Giving an independent comment on this innovation, Associate Professor Andrew Tan, Vice Dean (Faculty) from NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, who is an expert in metabolic disorders, said there are existing natural and synthetic hydrogels on the market now, where their usefulness in the healing of some types of wounds are well recognised.

"Hydrogel bandages are known for their non-toxicity, ability to rehydrate the wound bed, and can facilitate autolytic debridement (where the body enzymes and natural fluids act to soften bad tissue and remove it). The innovative and unique part of Prof Chen's current work is the upcycling of the durian rind to obtain cellulose. It's also quite unique given that the thorns of the durian can hurt, but the materials from the rind can heal," Assoc Prof Tan said.

CAPTION

NTU Prof William Chen (left) holding up a hydrogel bandage made from durian with PhD student Cui Xi, who is holding agar plates showing the antibacterial efficacy of the natural yeast phenolics.

CREDIT

NTU Singapore

Why antimicrobial wound dressings are needed

Wounds linked to chronic diseases are expected to become a more common health burden, where bacterial infection of skin wounds is a serious risk. The market for wound dressing is estimated to be worth $11.4 billion annually, according to a paper published in the European Polymer Journal (A. Gupta et al, 2019).

The clinical advantage of the new hydrogel bandage is that the natural yeast phenolics embedded will help to prevent the growth of bacteria such as Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus. and the subsequent formation of biofilms (a layer of slime that can lead to antimicrobial resistance within a bacteria colony).

As a proof of concept, the antimicrobial hydrogels were tested as a wound dressing on animal skin and showed good antimicrobial effects for up to 48 hours.

The new proof-of-concept hydrogel bandage is applied by simply laying it across the wound, just as with existing commercially available silicone gel sheets for wound dressing, the current gold-standard used following cosmetic surgeries to reduce scarring.

Other applications of hydrogels

Organic hydrogels are also useful for wearable, flexible and stretchable electronics, which Prof Chen had demonstrated in a 2019 paper published in Scientific Reports.

Wearable electronics can consist of small sensors that can detect heart rate and physical activities, much like current smart bands. They could aid healthcare workers in monitoring the health of the elderly in remote communities.

To demonstrate the use of organic hydrogels in flexible electronics, a prototype hydrogel that could conduct electrical signals was made with cellulose obtained from Okara - the waste leftover from soybean pulp during the making of soy milk.

"As shown in many of our research papers, fundamental research in food science and technology carries far more interdisciplinary applications in other industries, such as healthcare, biomedical applications and speciality chemicals," Prof Chen added.

"Our innovation is in line with the NTU 2025 strategic plan, where research and innovation are key pillars of focus in tackling some of humanity's greatest challenges. By adopting a waste-to-resource approach and the use of green manufacturing techniques, we have shown that it is possible to reduce consumption of Earth's natural resources, reuse what was thought of as rubbish, and recycle them into valuable products that are useful for mankind."

The team of four NTU researchers took two years to research and publish their findings and is now looking for industry partners who may be keen to take their antibacterial gel bandage to market.

About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, established jointly with Imperial College London.

NTU is also home to world-renowned autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).

Ranked amongst the world's top universities by QS, NTU has also been named the world's top young university for the last seven years. The University's main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and it has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) building projects, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum.

Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a campus in Singapore's healthcare district.

Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources.

For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg

AVOID WIND TURBINES

How improving acoustic monitoring of bats could help protecting biodiversity

New research on how wind energy and species conservation can be brought together

LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH (IZW)

Research News

 

IMAGE: DEAD BAT BELOW A WIND TURBINE. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: LEIBNIZ-IZW/CHRISTIAN VOIGT

In order to assess the risk of bats dying at wind turbines, it is common practice to record the acoustic activity of bats within the operating range of the rotor blades. For this purpose, ultrasonic detectors are attached to the nacelles of the mast top. In a recent analysis, a team of scientists led by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) concludes that the effectiveness of this acoustic monitoring is insufficient to reliably predict mortality risk, especially for bats at large turbines. They therefore recommend installing supplementary ultrasonic detectors at other locations on the wind turbines and developing additional techniques such as radar and thermal imaging cameras for monitoring. The results of their analysis are published in the scientific journal Mammal Review.

Wind is a form of renewable energy source which is widely used for energy generation. One downside of wind energy is that many bats die when colliding with rotor blades of wind turbines. This is an urgent problem for conservation because all bat species are protected by law because of their rarity. To find out when the operation of wind turbines poses a threat to bats and when it does not, the temperature and wind conditions at which bats are particularly active at turbines are determined. For this purpose, the echolocation calls of bats are recorded when they fly into the risk zone near the rotor blades. From this, threshold values for wind speed and temperature can be derived for a bat-safe operation of wind turbines. Wind turbines then only produce electricity when none or only a few bats are active.

"This approach is a good starting point. Its methodological implementation is, however, often insufficient, especially for large wind turbines," summarises bat expert Dr Christian Voigt, Head of the Leibniz-IZW Department of Evolutionary Ecology, together with colleagues from the German Bat Association (Bundesverband für Fledermauskunde Deutschland), the University of Naples Federico II, the University of Bristol and the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in a joint publication. Automated ultrasonic detectors on the nacelles of wind turbines are usually used for acoustic monitoring. These record the calls of passing bats. "Each bat species produces echolocation sounds at a pitch and volume typical for the species," explains Voigt. He and his colleagues simulated sound propagation using the example of the common noctule, with calls of a low frequency (about 20 kHz) but a high sound pressure level (110 dB), and Nathusius's pipistrelle, with calls at a higher frequency (about 40 kHz) and a lower sound pressure level (104 dB). "Our simulations show that, according to the laws of physics, the calls are attenuated with each metre of distance as they propagate through the air by 0.45 dB per metre for common noctules and by 1.13 dB per metre for Nathusius's pipistrelle" says Voigt. With the widely used detection threshold of 60 dB, ultrasonic detectors record calls of common noctules at a distance of calls up to 40 m away. For Nathusius's pipistrelle, the detection range is on average 17 m. Neither maximum distance is sufficient to completely cover the danger zone of large wind turbines. New turbines in particular have rotor blades of more than 60 m in length, which is well above the detection distance of bats by ultrasonic detectors.

The sonar beam of bats also means that echolocation calls do not spread evenly in all directions, but preferentially towards the front in the direction of flying. If bats do not fly directly towards the microphone, the calculated detection range decreases further. In addition, ultrasonic detectors are usually mounted on the underside of the nacelles and the microphone therefore points downwards. Bat calls above the nacelle are therefore not registered. The focus is on the lower half of the danger zone, although bats can also be found in the upper half.

"At a wind turbine with rotor blades of 60 m length, the detectors only cover a maximum of 23 % of the risk zone for the common noctule and only a maximum of 4 % of the risk zone for Nathusius's pipistrelle, two species with a high risk of colliding with turbines. With modern wind turbines, rotor blade lengths continue to increase, so the relative coverage will be even lower in the future," says Voigt, first author of the article. As a consequence, the existing acoustic monitoring measures do not adequately reflect the collision risk. Therefore, the conditions under which wind turbines are switched off for bat protection are insufficient and many animals therefore continue to die.

In order to improve the cover of the risk zone of the rotor blades, the scientists recommend additional detectors at other locations, e.g. above as well as on the lee side of the nacelle. In order to also detect bats circling up the mast of the turbine, it may also be advisable to install ultrasonic detectors directly on the mast. This would also register animals flying at lower levels above ground or collecting insects from the mast surface. Complementary sensor technology such as radar systems or thermal imaging cameras could provide additional information.

Based on the recordings, consultants and researchers can determine the bat species and assess under which conditions (temperature, time of day, wind strength) they are most active. With this information, conditions can be described that restrict the operation of wind turbines during times of particularly high bat activity, thus reducing the risk of killing. "Through suitable monitoring schemes, the operation of wind turbines can be effectively adjusted to ensure that wind energy production does not come at the expense of biodiversity," Voigt concludes.

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Publication

Voigt CC, Russo D, Runkel V, Goerlitz HR (2021): Limitations of acoustic monitoring at wind turbines to evaluate fatality risk of bats. Mammal Review. DOI: 10.1111/mam.12248

HIV vaccine candidate's mysteries unlocked 20 years later

Highly effective cytomegalovirus-based vaccine explained in new scientific studies

OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

About two decades after first devising a new kind of vaccine, Oregon Health & Science University researchers are unlocking why it stops and ultimately clears the monkey form of HIV, called SIV, in about half of nonhuman primates - and why it's a promising candidate to stop HIV in people.

In scientific papers that were simultaneously published today in the journals Science and Science Immunology, creators of the cytomegalovirus, or CMV, vaccine platform describe the unusual biological mechanisms through which it works.

The findings also helped fine-tune VIR-1111, the CMV-based experimental vaccine against HIV that was developed at OHSU and is now being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The trial is being conducted by Vir Biotechnology, which licensed the CMV vaccine platform technology from OHSU.

"Knowing the mechanism that the CMV-based SIV vaccine uses to work in rhesus macaques gives us a way to judge the potential of a human vaccine very quickly," said Louis Picker, M.D., the associate director of the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute and a professor of pathology/molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine. "If you have the wrong genes in the CMV vaccine, the critical immune response needed for efficacy won't develop. You have to thread the CMV vaccine's needle exactly if you want a high degree of protection, and you have to know what you're looking for."

Two of the papers describe that the cytomegalovirus vaccine needs to generate an unusual type of CD8-positive T cell response called MHC-E-restricted T cells to effectively fight off SIV in monkeys.

"We knew for a while that we have unusual T cell responses in monkeys that receive our CMV vaccine against SIV," said Klaus Frueh, Ph.D., a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine and OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute. "But we didn't know if they were important for protection against SIV. This research shows clearly that, without this special MHC-E-restricted T cell response, we don't have protection."

The study published in Science Immunology shows that the vaccine was only able to generate these special T cells to fight off SIV if eight specific genes were missing or inactivated from the natural form of monkey CMV. And a corresponding paper published via Science's First Release describes how a specific cytomegalovirus protein known as Rh67 is required to generate MHC-E-restricted T cells to protect against SIV. Together, these papers suggest how a CMV-based vaccine needs to be designed to create these unconventional T cell responses.

And, in a separate Science Immunology paper that was also published today, a research team led by Andrew J. McMichael, Ph.D., of Oxford University looked into whether what has been learned from nonhuman primate experiments could be transferrable to humans. These researchers showed that MHC-E-restricted CD8-positive T cells could be increased and suppress HIV in laboratory cell cultures.

This new research is being published as the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first building opening for research in April 2001. Picker and Frueh moved to Oregon to help start the institute: Picker has led its vaccine program since its founding, and Frueh joined forces with Picker in 2006. Picker first received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2004 to develop a CMV-based HIV vaccine. Picker says the following in a May 25, 2004, OHSU announcement about the grant: "We believe a persistent viral vector could produce a superior and more durable anti-HIV immune response that would, in effect, hold the line against HIV."

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The following funding was awarded to OHSU in support of the research described in these three studies: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (grants P01 AI094417, U19 AI128741, UM1 AI124377, R37 AI054292, R01AI140888, R01 AI059457), National Institutes of Health Office of the Director (grant P51 OD011092); National Cancer Institute (contract HHSN261200800001E), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-supported Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (OPP1033121).

In the interest of ensuring the integrity of our research and as part of our commitment to public transparency, OHSU actively regulates, tracks and manages relationships that our researchers may hold with entities outside of OHSU. In regards to this research, OHSU and several individuals have a significant financial interest in Vir Biotechnology Inc., a company that may have a commercial interest in the results of this research and technology. These individuals include Picker, Frueh, Sacha, Malouli, Hansen and Hancock.

The three studies are:

* Cytomegaloviral determinants of CD8+ T cell programming and RhCMV/SIV vaccine efficacy, Science, via First Release, March 25, 2021, https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/03/24/science.abe9233

* Modulation of MHC-E transport by viral decoy ligands is required for RhCMV-SIV vaccine efficacy, Science Immunology, , March 25, 2021, https://immunology.sciencemag.org/content/6/57/eabg5413.full

* HLA-E restricted Gag specific CD8+ T cells can suppress HIV-1 infection, offering vaccine opportunities, Science Immunology, March 25, 2021, https://immunology.sciencemag.org/content/6/57/eabg1703

Related OHSU News stories:

* Jan. 6, 2021, OHSU-developed HIV vaccine tech tested in humans for first time, https://news.ohsu.edu/2021/01/06/ohsu-developed-hiv-vaccine-tech-tested-in-humans-for-first-time

* July 17, 2019, HIV vaccine nears clinical trial following new findings, https://news.ohsu.edu/2019/07/17/hiv-vaccine-nears-clinical-trial-following-new-findings

* Jan. 25, 2017, Vaccine technology developed by OHSU scientists acquired by industry leaders, https://news.ohsu.edu/2017/01/25/vaccine-technology-developed-by-ohsu-scientists-acquired-by-industry-leaders

* Sept. 11, 2013, OHSU AIDS vaccine candidate appears to completely clear virus from the body, https://news.ohsu.edu/2013/09/11/ohsu-aids-vaccine-candidate-appears-to-completely-clear-virus-from-the-body

Distinctively Black names found long before Civil War

Study refutes belief that the naming practice is more recent

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: ABE LIVINGSTON, A FORMER SLAVE, WAS PHOTOGRAPHED IN TEXAS IN THE 1930S view more 

CREDIT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Long before Tyrone, Jermaine and Darnell came along, there were Isaac, Abe and Prince.

A new study reveals the earliest evidence of distinctively Black first names in the United States, finding them arising in the early 1700s and then becoming increasingly common in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The results confirm previous work that shows the use of Black names didn't start during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as some scholars have argued, said Trevon Logan, co-author of the study and professor of economics at The Ohio State University.

"Even during slavery, Black people had names that were unlikely to be held by whites. It is not just a recent phenomenon," Logan said.

Logan conducted the study with Lisa Cook of Michigan State University and John Parman of the College of William and Mary. It was published online this month in the journal Historical Methods.

The study focuses on names for Black males, partly because earlier research suggests less distinctiveness of Black women's names historically.

This research is a follow-up to a 2014 study by the same researchers that found distinctive Black names were being used in the period following the Civil War.

It was more difficult to find records that document the names of the enslaved, Logan said. Many official records only list slaves as numbers without names.

The researchers found three sources that did contain the names of enslaved people in the United States. Two of the three sources also included the names of the buyers or sellers of the enslaved, which allowed comparisons between Black and white names. The researchers supplemented the evidence of racial name distinctiveness by analyzing white names in the 1850 Census.

The names given Blacks in the United States were distinctively African American, Logan said. None of them had roots in Africa. Many of them had Biblical origins, like Abraham and Isaac. Other Black names that appeared more frequently in one or more of the data sets included Titus and Prince.

Results showed a clear increase in the use of Black names over the period of the study. In one data set, 3.17% of enslaved males born between 1770 to 1790 were likely to hold a Black name, but that increased to 4.5% of those born between 1810 and 1830.

And they were truly distinctive from white people. Depending on the data source, enslaved people were more than four to nine times as likely to have a Black name than was a slave owner.

The appearance of distinctively Black names wasn't only the result of more African Americans using them, Logan said.

"Our results suggest a strong decline in the use of Black names among whites over time," he said. "The actions of both Black and white people fed into the process that resulted in distinctive Black names."

For white people born before 1770, more than 4.75% held Black names, but that declined to less than 2% for those born from 1810 to 1830.

Many of the Black names identified in this study were the same that the researchers found in the post-Civil War period, but there were some differences.

"Post-emancipation we found more Blacks being named Master and Freeman, which for obvious reasons were not found in the antebellum era," Logan said.

While this study revealed the existence and growth of Black names in the United States, it can't answer why it happened, Logan said.

"We believe these naming practices could say something about culture, about family, and about social formation among Black people of the time," Logan said.

"But we don't have any records of people talking about it at the time, so we're not sure. We know there's this pattern, but we can't say for sure what it means."

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Contact: Trevon Logan, Logan.155@osu.edu

Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1#@osu.edu

Stressed brain linked to broken heart



EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF CARDIOLOGY

Research News






IMAGE: SCAN OF BRAIN OF SOMEONE WHO DID NOT DEVELOP TTS view more

CREDIT: EUROPEAN HEART JOURNAL

Heightened activity in the brain, caused by stressful events, is linked to the risk of developing a rare and sometimes fatal heart condition, according to research published today (Friday) in the European Heart Journal [1].

The study found the greater the activity in nerve cells in the amygdala region of the brain, the sooner the condition known as Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) can develop. The researchers suggest that interventions to lower this stress-related brain activity could help to reduce the risk of developing TTS; these could include drug treatments or techniques for lowering stress.

TTS, also known as "broken heart" syndrome, is characterised by a sudden temporary weakening of the heart muscles that causes the left ventricle of the heart to balloon out at the bottom while the neck remains narrow, creating a shape resembling a Japanese octopus trap, from which it gets its name. Since this relatively rare condition was first described in 1990, evidence has suggested that it is typically triggered by episodes of severe emotional distress, such as grief, anger or fear, or reactions to happy or joyful events. Patients develop chest pains and breathlessness, and it can lead to heart attacks and death. TTS is more common in women with only 10% of cases occurring in men. [2]

The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls emotions, motivation, learning and memory. It is also involved in the control of the autonomic nervous system and regulating heart function.

"The study suggests that the increased stress-associated neurobiological activity in the amygdala, which is present years before TTS occurs, may play an important role in its development and may predict the timing of the syndrome. It may prime an individual for a heightened acute stress response that culminates in TTS," said Dr Ahmed Tawakol, co-director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA), who led the study.

"We also identified a significant relationship between stress-associated brain activity and bone marrow activity in these individuals. Together, the findings provide insights into a potential mechanism that may contribute to the 'heart-brain connection'."

In the first study to look at brain scans using F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) to assess brain activity before TTS develops, Dr Tawakol and colleagues analysed data on 104 people with an average age of 68 years, 72% of whom were women.

The patients had undergone scans at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, USA) between 2005 and 2019. Most of them had the scans to see if they had cancer and the scans also assessed the activity of blood cells in bone marrow. The researchers matched 41 people who went on to develop TTS between six months and five years after the scan with 63 who did not. The interval between the scan, the onset of TTs, last follow-up or death was an average (median) of 2.5 years for the 104 patients.

Dr Tawakol said: "Areas of the brain that have higher metabolic activity tend to be in greater use. Hence, higher activity in the stress-associated tissues of the brain suggests that the individual has a more active response to stress. Similarly, higher activity in the bone marrow reflects greater bone marrow metabolism. The PET/CT scans produce images that reflect the distribution of glucose metabolism. The brain images thereby yield a map of brain metabolic activity: the higher the values, the greater the activity in those brain regions."

The researchers found that people who went on to develop TTS had higher stress-related amygdalar activity on initial scanning (measured as a ratio of amygdalar activity to activity of brain regions that counter stress) compared to individuals who did not subsequently develop TTS. Further, the higher the amygdalar signal, the greater the risk of developing TTS. Among the 41 patients who developed TTS, the average interval between the scan and TTS was 0.9 months, whereas among the control group of 63 patients, the average interval between the scan and last follow-up or death was 2.9 years.

"It was notable that among the 41 patients who developed TTS, the top 15% with the very highest amygdalar activity developed TTS within a year of imaging, while those with less elevated activity developed TTS several years later," said Dr Tawakol.

He said future studies should investigate whether reducing stress-related brain activity could decrease the chances of TTS recurring among patients who have experienced TTS previously.

"These findings add to evidence of the adverse effect of stress-related biology on the cardiovascular system. Findings such as these underscore the need for more study into the impact of stress reduction or drug interventions targeting these brain regions on heart health. In the meantime, when encountering a patient with high chronic stress, clinicians could reasonably consider the possibility that alleviation of stress might result in benefits to the cardiovascular system."

The process by which stress induces TTS is not well understood but may involve a multi-organ mechanism starting with activation of the stress-sensitive tissues of the brain. This brain activity in turn triggers several further events, including release of stress hormones, activation of the sympathetic nervous system and release of inflammatory cells, each of which can contribute to the development of TTS.

Limitations of the study include that it was a single-centre, retrospective study that consisted mainly of patients with a diagnosis of cancer, a known TTS risk factor, which may limit the generalisability of the findings. The researchers were unable to measure instantaneous changes in brain activity in response to a stressful event that led to TTS and so cannot directly show a causal relationship. Nor were they able to measure changes in activity in other regions of the brain, which could also play a role.




CAPTION

Scan of brain in person who developed TTS

CREDIT

European Heart Journal

An accompanying editorial by researchers not involved with this study has already been published [3].

(ends)

[1] "Stress-associated neurobiological activity associates with the risk for and timing of subsequent Takotsubo syndrome", by Azar Radfar et al. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehab029

[2] TTS affects less than 3% of people who suffer a heart attack and tends to occur between the ages of 60-75.

[3] "Brain-heart connection in Takotsubo syndrome before onset", by Hideaki Suzuki, Satoshi Yasuda, Hiroaki Shimokawa. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehab026




CAPTION

Image of TTS heart showing the classic Japanese octopus trap shape

CREDIT

European Heart Journal

Preservative used in hundreds of popular foods may harm the immune system

New science suggests the FDA should test all food chemicals for safety

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP

Research News

 

WASHINGTON - A food preservative used to prolong the shelf life of Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Cheez-Its and almost 1,250 other popular processed foods may harm the immune system, according to a new peer-reviewed study by Environmental Working Group.

For the study, published this week in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, EWG researchers used data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxicity Forecaster, or ToxCast, to assess the health hazards of the most common chemicals added to food, as well as the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS, which can migrate to food from packaging.

EWG's analysis of ToxCast data showed that the preservative tert-butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, has been found to harm the immune system both in both animal tests and in non-animal tests known as high-throughput in vitro toxicology testing. This finding is of particular concern during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The pandemic has focused public and scientific attention on environmental factors that can impact the immune system," said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG vice president for science investigations and lead author of the new study. "Before the pandemic, chemicals that may harm the immune system's defense against infection or cancer did not receive sufficient attention from public health agencies. To protect public health, this must change."

TBHQ

TBHQ is a preservative that is pervasive in processed foods. It has been used in foods for many decades and serves no function besides increasing a product's shelf life. Using new non-animal test results from ToxCast, EWG found that TBHQ affected immune cell proteins at doses similar to those that cause harm in traditional studies. Earlier studies have found that TBHQ might influence how well flu vaccines work and may be linked to a rise in food allergies.

PFAS

Using ToxCast, EWG analyzed all publicly available studies that show how PFAS migrate to food from packaging materials or processing equipment. This is the first known compilation of available research on PFAS migration from packaging to food. In 2017, nationwide tests showed that many fast-food chains used food wrappers, bags and boxes coated with highly fluorinated chemicals.

Human epidemiological studies show that PFAS suppresses immune function and decreases vaccine efficacy. Recently published research has also found a link between high levels of PFAS in the blood and the severity of Covid-19.

Surprisingly, for most PFAS, the ToxCast results did not match previous animal and human test data. This illustrates the limitations of this new chemical testing method. More research is needed to understand how PFAS harm the immune system.

Food Chemicals Regulation

The Food and Drug Administration's approach to the regulation of food additives does not consider the latest science on the health harms of additives that may be legally added to processed foods manufactured in the U.S. Last year, EWG published Food Additives State of the Science, which highlighted additives known to increase the risk of cancer, harm the nervous system and disrupt the body's hormonal balance.

Chemicals linked to health harms can be legally added to packaged foods because the FDA frequently allows food manufacturers to determine which chemicals are safe. Additives like TBHQ were approved by the FDA decades ago, and the agency does not consider new science to reassess the safety of food chemicals.

"Food manufacturers have no incentive to change their formulas," said Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs at EWG. "Too often, the FDA allows the food and chemical industry to determine which ingredients are safe for consumption. Our research shows how important it is that the FDA take a second look at these ingredients and test all food chemicals for safety."

Less Toxic Food Preservatives

Processed foods can be made without these potentially harmful ingredients, so shoppers should read labels carefully. TBHQ is often, though not always, listed on the ingredient label. It will be listed if it has been added to the product during manufacturing. But it can also be used in food packaging, particularly plastic packaging, in which case it may migrate to food.

EWG's Food Scores database helps consumers find products made with healthier alternatives, and our Healthy Living app allows shoppers to scan products while in stores to choose a better option.

EWG recommends that immunotoxicity testing be prioritized for chemicals in food and food contact materials in order to protect public health from their potential harm to the immune system.

EWG also calls on the FDA to close the regulatory loophole that allows potentially unsafe food additives to remain on the market. The FDA should also promptly review additives like TBHQ to reflect new science.

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Visit http://www.ewg.org for more information.

California's targeted, sector-based policies could reduce diesel emissions nationwide

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

Research News

 

Compared to the rest of the United States, California has drastically reduced emissions of diesel particulate matter (DPM) from diesel-powered vehicles. The state has achieved this by systematically targeting high-emitting sectors with stringent and effective policies that go beyond federal standards. In a Policy Forum, Meagan Schwarzman and colleagues argue that a similar approach to emissions standards could serve as a model for reducing DPM emissions nationwide and improve health in the communities disproportionately impacted by diesel particulate pollution. While diesel is the fuel that drives much of the modern economy, powering trucks, buses, trains, ships and agricultural equipment, diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen and a significant contributor to harmful particulate air pollution in urban areas. Due to these public health impacts, efforts to reduce DPM emissions have been implemented in countries worldwide. Recently, however, the U.S. federal administration has attempted to roll back, weaken or eliminate the policies and standards that govern diesel emissions at the federal level and is moving to limit the ability of individual states to set their own emissions standards that go beyond the federal guidelines. Here, Schwarzman et al. show that California - the U.S.'s most populous state and the world's 5th largest economy - has continued to reduce DPM emissions for more than 30 years by regulating DPM air pollution more stringently than the federal government through targeted, sector-based policy. To understand the impact of California's policies, the authors evaluated DPM emissions data from the Environmental Protection Agency's national emissions inventory to compare mobile-source DPM emissions in California versus in the rest of the U.S. for the period spanning 1990 to 2014. Despite a steady rise in diesel fuel consumption, California reduced overall mobile-source DPM emissions by 78% compared to a 51% reduction in the rest of the U.S. The analysis highlights opportunities for the U.S. to reduce DPM emissions by adopting policies similar to California's. The findings also underscore the need to protect states' authority to set their own emissions standards.