COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent global need to control air pollution

AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY

Research News

 

IMAGE: COVID-19 HEALTH EFFECTS ARE A WAKE-UP CALL TO CONTROL AIR POLLUTION. view more 

CREDIT: ATS

April 06, 2021-- A new commentary published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society provides an exhaustive examination of published research that discusses whether air pollution may be linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes. The studies that the authors examined look at several potential disease mechanisms, and also at the relationship between pollution, respiratory viruses and health disparities.

In "COVID-19 Pandemic: A Wake-Up Call for Clean Air," Stephen Andrew Mein, MD, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, and colleagues discuss several ways that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need to address the global problem of air pollution through sustainable local and national policies to improve respiratory health and equity worldwide. More than 91 percent of the world's population lives in areas that exceed the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines and more people are impacted by worsening air quality each year.

The commentary focuses on the health effects of ambient air pollution. Ambient air pollution consists of potentially harmful pollutants, such as small particles and toxic gases, emitted by industries, households, cars and trucks. International studies have shown that exposure to these pollutants worsens viral respiratory infections and new studies are showing a similar association with ambient pollution and COVID-19 outcomes.

"There are a multitude of studies showing that exposure to higher long-term ambient air pollution is associated with both increased risk of infection and death from COVID-19," Dr. Mein said. "Historically, air pollution has been linked with worse outcomes, including higher mortality, due to other respiratory viruses like influenza."

He added, "Research that we examined on pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic has found similar detrimental effects. New research on COVID-19 adds further evidence of the adverse effects of ambient air pollution and the urgent need to address the public health crisis of pollution."

One of the most prominent studies that the authors examined, in which COVID-19 mortality was modeled, found that each small (1 ?g/m3) increase in long-term fine inhalable particle (PM2.5) exposure was associated with an 8 percent increase in mortality during the pandemic. Another study concluded that air pollution has contributed 15 percent to COVID-19 mortality worldwide.

"The studies we reviewed evaluated whether long-term, ambient air pollution exposure that occurred years prior to the pandemic was associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes," Dr. Mein stated.

The exact mechanisms for the association between long-term pollution and poor COVID-19 outcomes are not fully known. However, scientists have suggested several theories. Long-term exposure to air pollution may impair the immune system, leading to both increased susceptibility to viruses and more severe viral infections.

Higher air pollution exposure is associated with higher rates of heart disease and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, which are known to be risk factors for severe disease and death from COVID-19. These chronic effects would have occurred prior to the reported reductions in air pollution since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A major point of the authors' commentary is that improved air quality (due to less travel and industrial activity) during the pandemic may have reduced morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases. "Research evaluating associations between the dramatic reduction in ambient air pollution during the global lockdowns and health care utilization for respiratory conditions would further confirm the impact of ambient air pollution on non-communicable diseases and the need to reduce air pollution to improve overall health."

The authors also noted that much of the research about ambient air pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic is just emerging. "While the primary association between air pollution and COVID-19 outcomes has been generally consistent, there is still much research to be done. In particular, there is a need for studies that adjust for individual-level risk factors, since current studies have been restricted to county or municipal-level exposure and outcome data. Research also needs to be conducted to evaluate whether air pollution is contributing to the stark differences in COVID-19 outcomes among minority groups."

Racially and ethnically diverse communities are more likely to be located in areas closer to industrial pollution such as PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, and to work in types of businesses that expose them to more air pollution. These inequalities in residential and occupational air pollution exposure may be one of the causes of the stark disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic along racial and ethnic lines.

In conclusion, the authors state, "The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the widespread health consequences of ambient air pollution, including acute effects on respiratory immune defenses and chronic effects that lead to higher risk of chronic cardiopulmonary disease and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These chronic health effects likely explain the higher COVID-19 mortality among those exposed to more air pollution. The pandemic has also provided a glimpse into the health benefits of cleaner air. As we emerge from this devastating public health crisis, COVID-19 is a wakeup call for the need to adopt stricter air quality standards and end our tolerance for pollution in disadvantaged neighborhoods. As part of our post-COVID-19 recovery, we must clean up the air to improve respiratory health and equality worldwide

 

First air quality profile of two sub-Saharan African cities finds troubling news

Pollution up to 5 times over international guidelines

EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: STUDY AUTHOR DAN WESTERVELT SETS UP AN AIR-QUALITY MONITOR IN KINSHASA, CAPITAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. view more 

CREDIT: COURTESY DAN WESTERVELT

Ambient air pollution is a global public health crisis, causing more than 4.9 million premature deaths per year around the world. In Africa, it has surpassed AIDS as the leading cause of premature death. According to one study, air pollution--specifically, fine particulate matter (PM2.5)--may cause at least as many as 780,000 premature deaths annually in Africa and worsen a significant number of diseases, including asthma, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, are both large metropolises. However, neither Kinshasa (population 14. 3 million) nor Brazzaville (population 2.4 million) have had comprehensive air quality monitoring programs. There are no national ambient air quality standards in either country, according to an analysis done by the UN Environment Programme.

A new study, led by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory atmospheric scientist Daniel Westervelt and Columbia University undergraduate student Celeste McFarlane, has yielded the first-ever multi-year ambient PM2.5 dataset in Kinshasa and Brazzaville. The team deployed a cadre of low-cost sensors and interpreted data in the context of changing weather and changing human activity related to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. The study was supported by two local universities and their scientists in both cities, and is published online on Aerosol and Air Quality Research.

What it shows is concerning. During the investigation, which began in March 2018, researchers found PM2.5 is highest during the dry season--June, July, and August--when it is up to five times higher than World Health Organization guidelines. It is lower in the remaining months, thanks in part to rainfall, but even then, it is more than four times higher than WHO guidelines.

"Average PM2.5 concentrations suggest unhealthy levels of human exposure, which, over time, can lead to cardiopulmonary problems and premature death," said Westervelt.

The study also found that last year's stay-at-home and lockdown directives in response to COVID-19 corresponded to a 40% decrease in PM2.5.

"We were able to demonstrate that it is possible to robustly characterize air quality in African megacities using well-calibrated, relatively simple, cheap devices," Westervelt said.

He added that given the health risks from air pollution, this data is urgently needed to draw attention to the problem. Researchers hope this study will lead to more concerted efforts to characterize sources of air pollution and develop strategies to mitigate the negative health impacts.

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Study collaborators include: Columbia University, Department of Chemical Engineering; Ecole Régionale postuniversitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoire tropicaux (ERAIFT) Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo; World Bank Group; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Département de chimie, Université Marien Ngouabi, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Washington State Department of Ecology; Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley; 9OSU-EFLUVE - Observatoire Sciences de l'Univers-Enveloppes Fluides de la Ville à l'Exobiologie, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, France; NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow; Goddard Space Flight Center; Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University; Kigali Collaborative Research Centre, Kigali, Rwanda; and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Scientist contact: Dan Westervelt: danielmw@ldeo.columbia.edu

More information: Kevin Krajick, Senior editor, science news, The Earth Institute kkrajick@ei.columbia.edu 212-854-9729

The Earth Institute, Columbia University mobilizes the sciences, education and public policy to achieve a sustainable earth. http://www.earth.columbia.edu.

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is Columbia University's home for Earth science research. Its scientists develop fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution and future of the natural world, from the planet's deepest interior to the outer reaches of its atmosphere, on every continent and in every ocean, providing a rational basis for the difficult choices facing humanity. http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu | @LamontEarth

A new type of battery that can charge ten times faster than a lithium-ion battery created

Moreover, it is safer in terms of potential fire hazards and has a lower environmental impact

ST. PETERSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF THE CHEMICAL FORMULA OF THE NEW POLYMER view more 

CREDIT: ANATOLIY A. VERESHCHAGIN

It is difficult to imagine our daily life without lithium-ion batteries. They dominate the small format battery market for portable electronic devices, and are also commonly used in electric vehicles. At the same time, lithium-ion batteries have a number of serious issues, including: a potential fire hazard and performance loss at cold temperatures; as well as a considerable environmental impact of spent battery disposal.

According to the leader of the team of researchers, Professor in the Department of Electrochemistry at St Petersburg University Oleg Levin, the chemists have been exploring redox-active nitroxyl-containing polymers as materials for electrochemical energy storage. These polymers are characterised by a high energy density and fast charging and discharging speed due to fast redox kinetics. One challenge towards the implementation of such a technology is the insufficient electrical conductivity. This impedes the charge collection even with highly conductive additives, such as carbon.

Looking for solutions to overcome this problem, the researchers from St Petersburg University synthesised a polymer based on the nickel-salen complex (NiSalen). The molecules of this metallopolymer act as a molecular wire to which energy-intensive nitroxyl pendants are attached. The molecular architecture of the material enables high capacitance performance to be achieved over a wide temperature range.

'We came up with the concept of this material in 2016. At that time, we began to develop a fundamental project "Electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries based on organometallic polymers". It was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. When studying the charge transport mechanism in this class of compounds, we discovered that there are two keys directions of development. Firstly, these compounds can be used as a protective layer to cover the main conductor cable of the battery, which would be otherwise made of traditional lithium-ion battery materials. And secondly, they can be used as an active component of electrochemical energy storage materials,' explains Oleg Levin.

The polymer took over three years to develop. In the first year, the scientists tested the concept of the new material: they combined individual components to simulate the electrically conducting backbone and redox-active nitroxyl-containing pendants. It was essential to make certain that all parts of the structure worked in conjunction and reinforced each other. The next stage was the chemical synthesis of the compound. It was the most challenging part of the project. This is because some of the components are extremely sensitive and even the slightest error of a scientist may cause degradation of the samples.

Of the several polymer specimens obtained, only one was found to be sufficiently stable and efficient. The main chain of the new compound is formed by complexes of nickel with salen ligands. A stable free radical, capable of rapid oxidation and reduction (charge and discharge), has been linked to the main chain via covalent bonds.

'A battery manufactured using our polymer will charge in seconds - about ten times faster than a traditional lithium-ion battery. This has already been demonstrated through a series of experiments. However, at this stage, it is still lagging behind in terms of capacity - 30 to 40% lower than in lithium-ion batteries. We are currently working to improve this indicator while maintaining the charge-discharge rate,' says Oleg Levin.

The cathode for the new battery has been fabricated - a positive electrode for use in chemical current sources. Now we need the negative electrode - the anode. In fact, it does not have to be created from scratch - it can be selected from the existing ones. Paired together they will form a system that, in some areas, may soon supersede lithium-ion batteries.

'The new battery is capable of operating at low temperatures and will be an excellent option where fast charging is crucial. It is safe to use - there is nothing that may pose a combustion hazard, unlike the cobalt-based batteries that are widespread today. It also contains significantly less metals that can cause environmental harm. Nickel is present in our polymer in a small amount, but there is much less of it than in lithium-ion batteries,' says Oleg Levin.

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Low-cost technology reduces the cost and carbon footprint of pressurized irrigation

UNIVERSITY OF CÓRDOBA

Research News

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS FROM THE AGRONOMY DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF CORDOBA

Innovation and advances in technology have facilitated agricultural activity in recent years, as traditional irrigation techniques have been supplanted by pressure-basedones, improving water efficiency but increasing energy dependence. This drives up the Agriculture sector's energy costs, some of the highest in the European Union.

With the aim of increasing the energy efficiency of irrigation, researchers at the Hydraulics and Irrigation Group with the María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence,at the Department of Agronomy of the University of Cordoba (DAUCO), Juan Antonio Rodríguez Díaz and Jorge García Morillo, have field-tested a low-cost technology that takes advantage of the excess pressure on the grid to generate energy. This technology has made it possible, on the farm where it was installed, to forego the diesel generator that was used to power filtering equipment, fertilizer injector pumps and other devices necessary for irrigation, rendering the gridself-sufficient and operating on clean energy. The annual savings for the farmer came to €2,400, and his carbon footprint was reduced by up to 9 tons of CO2 thanks to the complete elimination of the diesel generator.

These results are achieved through the installation of hydraulic pumps that work as turbines, known as a PAT (Pump as Turbine). The water moves the impeller and generates electricity, like a small hydroelectric power plant, but one cheaper than traditional turbines for small power levels, since the production of hydraulic pumps is much greater, impacting their price.

The researchers used the EPANET hydraulic model to perform a theoretical analysis of the pressures that would be present on this network, determining the most unfavourable situations and the point where the turbine should be installed. Once the system was evaluated, it was put into operation in the field, where this kind of technology is very novel. Flow fluctuations in irrigation are very great. In order to adapt to this, a series of control elements were implemented in the design so that the turbine would always receive the optimum flow rates and adequate pressure to deliver high performance.

According to Jorge García, "another important innovation is the telemetry system, which measures and records the main hydraulic and electrical variables in real time and allows the plant to be monitored via the Web, and its performance to be analysed".

In this way, farmers in off-grid areas with excess pressure can generate their own electricity and reduce the energy dependence of their irrigation systems, or even make their facilities self-sufficient. This is clean and cheap energy, adding value to the final product by slashing the carbon footprint, "something even more important for farmers than the economic savings related to energy",notes Juan Antonio Rodríguez.

The agricultural community, represented by the Association of Irrigation Communities of Andalusia (FERAGUA) is very interested in the advantage of eliminating diesel generators and achieving energy autonomy through renewable energy with this technology developed as part of the European REDAWN project, of which both the University of Cordoba and FERAGUA are partners. The plant was installed at the Finca Cortijo Calonge, which belongs to the Community of Irrigators of the Genil River's Left Bank.

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Aquatic invasive species cause damage worth billions of dollars

First global study on economic costs of aquatic invasive species published

HELMHOLTZ CENTRE FOR OCEAN RESEARCH KIEL (GEOMAR)

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE COMB JELLYFISH MNEMIOPSIS LEIDYI ORIGINATES FROM THE AMERICAN EAST COAST. IT WAS INTRODUCED INTO THE BLACK SEA IN THE EARLY 1980S. AS A RESULT, ANCHOVY STOCKS THERE DECLINED DRASTICALLY.... view more 

CREDIT: CORNELIA JASPERS, GEOMAR/DTU AQUA

The global movement of goods and people, in its modern form, has many unwanted side effects. One of these is that animal and plant species travel around the world with it. Often they fail to establish themselves in the ecosystems of the destination areas. Sometimes, however, due to a lack of effective management, they multiply to such an extent in the new environment that they become a threat to the entire ecosystem and economy. Thousands of alien species are currently documented worldwide. A quarter of them are in highly vulnerable, aquatic habitats.

So far, research has mainly focused on the ecological consequences of these invasions. In a first global data analysis, 20 scientists from 13 countries led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have now compiled the economic costs caused specifically by aquatic invaders. "We come to the conclusion that invasive aquatic species that have established themselves in their new habitats have cost at least 345 billion US dollars since the 1970s," says Dr Ross Cuthbert from GEOMAR. He is lead author of the study, which has now been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Economic costs occur, for example, when invasive species decimate commercially exploited fish stocks, spread deadly diseases or damage infrastructures. "Good examples include invasive mussels that clog intake pipes of factories, power plants or water treatment plants. Or, alien parasites that cause catastrophic declines in commercial fisheries," explains Dr Cuthbert.

For the study, the team used cases recorded in the existing literature and standardized them in a comprehensive database. Invertebrates (62%) accounted for the largest proportion of costs that could be detected in this way, followed by vertebrates (28%) and plants (6%). The largest costs were reported in North America (48 %) and Asia (13 %) and were mainly due to damages to resources such as physical infrastructures, healthcare systems and fisheries. Worryingly, over ten-times less was spent on management actions, such as prevention of future invasions, than damages.

"However, our figures are vastly underestimated due to knowledge gaps. Costs were never reported for many countries and known damaging invasive species, especially in Africa and Asia. So, we can assume that the damages are actually much higher," Dr Cuthbert points out. A comparison with the costs caused by invaders on land confirms this assumption. While aquatic species make up a quarter of the documented invasive species, the economic costs they cause comprise only a twentieth of what is known for terrestrial species.

The team also identified a clear trend that costs have increased significantly in recent years. In 2020 alone, they amounted to at least 23 billion US dollars.

"So, the costs of aquatic invaders are significant, but probably under-reported. Costs have increased over time and are expected to continue to increase with future invasions," Dr Cuthbert summarises the study. The team of authors therefore calls for increased and improved cost reporting by managers, practitioners and researchers to reduce knowledge gaps. It also urges more money to be invested in invasion management and prevention. "This would be money well spent to prevent and limit current and future damage," Dr Cuthbert emphasises.

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Houston flooding polluted reefs more than 100 miles offshore

Flower Garden Banks fouled by runoff from 2017's Harvey and 2016's Tax Day floods

RICE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: RICE UNIVERSITY MARINE BIOLOGISTS (FROM LEFT) LAUREN HOWE-KERR, AMANDA SHORE AND ADRIENNE CORREA PREPARE FOR A RESEARCH DIVE AT THE FLOWER GARDEN BANKS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY IN OCTOBER 2018. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO BY CARSTEN GRUPSTRA/RICE UNIVERSITY

HOUSTON - (April 6, 2021) - Runoff from Houston's 2016 Tax Day flood and 2017's Hurricane Harvey flood carried human waste onto coral reefs more than 100 miles offshore in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, according to a Rice University study.

"We were pretty shocked," said marine biologist Adrienne Correa, co-author of the study in Frontiers in Marine Science. "One thing we always thought the Flower Garden Banks were safe from was terrestrial runoff and nutrient pollution. It's a jolt to realize that in these extreme events, it's not just the salt marsh or the seagrass that we need to worry about. Offshore ecosystems can be affected too."

The Flower Garden Banks sit atop several salt domes near the edge of the continental shelf about 100 miles from the Texas and Louisiana coast. Rising several hundred feet from the seafloor, the domes are topped with corals, algae, sponges and fish. Each bank, or dome-topped ecosystem, is separated by miles of open ocean. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, which was recently expanded, protects 17 banks.

Correa and colleagues sampled sponges at the sanctuary in 2016, 2017 and 2018. They showed samples collected after extreme storm flooding in 2016 and 2017 contained E. coli and other human fecal bacteria. They also used a catalog of E. coli genetic markers contributed by Rice environmental engineer and co-author Lauren Stadler to show that E. coli on sponges in 2017 came from Harvey floodwaters.

Lead author Amanda Shore, who conducted the research while a Rice Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in Correa's lab, said many studies have shown nearshore reefs can be harmed by pollutants that are washed into the ocean by rainfall over land. But marine biologists generally assume ecosystems far from shore are safe from such dangers.

"This shows perhaps they aren't protected from severe events," said Shore, an assistant professor of biology at Farmingdale State College in New York. "And these events are increasing in frequency and intensity with climate change."

Correa said, "That's the other piece of this. There actually was a massive flooding event in 2015 with the Memorial Day flood. Dips in salinity after that event were detected at surface buoys offshore, but nobody looked or sampled out at the Flower Garden Banks. Nobody imagined you would see something like this 160 kilometers out."

In April 2016, widespread flooding occurred in the Houston area when a severe storm dropped more than 17 inches of rain in some places in less than 24 hours. Three months after the flood, recreational divers reported murky waters and dead and dying organisms at East Flower Garden Bank. Marine biologists, including study co-author Sarah Davies of Boston University, arrived two weeks later to investigate.

Shore and co-authors Carsten Grupstra, a Rice graduate student, and Jordan Sims, a Rice undergraduate, analyzed samples from the expedition, including tissue collected from sponges. Shore said sponges are indicators of water quality because they "are basically filtering seawater to catch organic material to use as food."

She said previous studies have shown sponges have a microbiome, a population of bacteria that normally live in and on these animals. In this study, Shore characterized the microbiomes on two species: giant barrel sponges, or Xestospongia muta, and orange elephant ear sponges, or Agelas clathrodes. It was the first time the species' microbiomes had been assayed at Flower Garden Banks, and Correa said that was one reason it took so long to understand what happened in the flood years.

Correa said, "In 2016, we saw differences between sponge bacteria at a location that showed signs of death and a location that didn't show signs of death, but we couldn't get at the cause of the differences because we had no baseline data. We thought we'd be able to get the baseline data -- the normal year -- the next year in 2017. But then there was another disaster. We couldn't get a normal sample in a no-flood year until 2018."

Shore joined Correa's lab in 2018, helped collect samples that year and analyzed the microbiomes from each year.

Correa said, "There was a big change in community composition, a shift of the team players, on the sponges that were most affected in 2016. Then, following Harvey in 2017 there was also a shift, but less water made it out there that year, and we think it was less stressful. We didn't see dead and dying organisms like we had the previous year."

Harvey, the most intense rainfall event in U.S. history, dropped an estimated 13 trillion gallons of rain over southeast Texas in late August 2017. The researchers said Harvey posed a greater potential threat to the Flower Garden Banks, by far, than the 2016 flood. So why did reefs fare better in 2017?

"Because we got lucky with ocean currents," Shore said. "Instead of going straight out from Galveston Bay and over the Flower Garden Banks, the water ended up turning a bit and going down the Texas coast instead."

Harvey's runoff still sideswiped the banks. Research buoys at the reefs measured a 10% drop in salinity in less than a day on Sept. 28, and Correa's team found genetic evidence that fecal pollution gathered from the banks in October originated in Harvey floodwaters in Houston.

Correa said the story in 2016 was more complicated.

"There was an upwelling event that brought nutrients and cooler waters up from the deep to the top part of the Flower Garden Banks," she said. "Fresh water is less dense than salt water, and we think the floodwaters came at the surface and sort of sat there like a lens on top of the salt water and kept oxygen from mixing in from the top. The combination of this surface event and the nutrients coming up from the bottom contributed to a bacterial bloom that drew down so much oxygen that things just asphyxiated."

The big question is whether pollution from extreme storms poses a long-term threat to the Flower Garden Banks. Correa said the answer could come from an investment in research that follows the health and microbiomes of individual sponges and corals on the reef over time. She said her group at Rice and her collaborators are committed to learning as much as they can about the reefs, and they are determined to support efforts to conserve and protect them.

CAPTION

Marine biologist Amanda Shore works with samples during a research cruise to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in October 2018.

CREDIT

Photo by Carsten Grupstra/Rice University

Study co-authors also include Lauren Howe-Kerr of Rice; Shawn Doyle, Kathryn Shamberger and Jason Sylvan of Texas A&M University; and Lory Santiago-Vazquez and Michael Grimes of the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (1800914, 1800905, 1800904, 1800913), an Early-Career Research Fellowship from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2000009651) and Rice University.

The DOI of the Frontiers in Marine Science paper is: 10.3389/fmars.2021.608036

The paper is available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.608036/

VIDEO is available at:

https://youtu.be/POPcfhy2Rrc

High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-n1192-lg.jpg
CAPTION: The coral reefs of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary are about 100 miles from the Texas coast. (Photo by G.P. Schmahl/NOAA)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-barrel-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Giant barrel sponges, or Xestospongia muta, were studied by Rice University marine biologists investigating the impact of extreme storms on coral reefs of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Photo courtesy of NOAA)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-cheeto-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Orange elephant ear sponges, or Agelas clathrodes, were studied by Rice University marine biologists investigating the impact of extreme storms on coral reefs of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (Photo courtesy of NOAA)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-lhkasac943-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Rice University marine biologists (from left) Lauren Howe-Kerr, Amanda Shore and Adrienne Correa prepare for a research dive at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in October 2018. (Photo by Carsten Grupstra/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-ACdive-med.jpg
CAPTION: Marine biologist Adrienne Correa, an assistant professor of biosciences at Rice University, prepares for a research dive at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in August 2016. (Photo courtesy of Jason Sylvan/TAMU)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/04/0406_RUNOFF-as425-lg.jpg
CAPTION: Marine biologist Amanda Shore works with samples during a research cruise to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in October 2018. (Photo by Carsten Grupstra/Rice University)

CAPTION

Rice University marine biologist Adrienne Correa, an assistant professor of biosciences, prepares for a research dive at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in August 2016.

CREDIT

Photo by Jason Sylvan/TAMU

This release can be found online at news.rice.edu.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

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People with HIV at high risk for intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence found to be associated with riskier behaviors associated with elevated transmission of HIV, increased depression and anxiety, and poor adherence to HIV treatment, scientists report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

ELSEVIER

Research News

 

Ann Arbor, April 6, 2021 - New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that one in four adults with HIV in the United States has experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), which disproportionately affects women and LGBT populations. Further, people with HIV who experienced IPV in the past 12 months were more likely to engage in behaviors associated with elevated HIV transmission risk, were less likely to be engaged in routine HIV care and more likely to seek emergency care services and have poor HIV clinical outcomes. The findings are reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier.

Lead Investigator Ansley B. Lemons-Lyn, MPH, and colleagues from the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in Atlanta, GA, USA, used data from the Medical Monitoring Project, an annual survey used to produce national estimates of sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics of adults diagnosed with HIV. Analysts estimated the prevalence of respondents who had ever experienced IPV and those who experienced IPV within the last 12 months and compared that with sociodemographic information, behavioral characteristics, clinical outcomes, and the use of emergency or inpatient medical services in the past year.

Among individuals with HIV, 26.3 percent had at least one experience of IPV. Significant differences were found by race/ethnicity and age; 35.6 percent of women, 28.9 percent of transgender people, and 23.2 percent of men had experienced IPV. There were also significant differences based on gender and sexual identity. Although women overall experienced the highest prevalence of IPV, bisexual women experienced the highest proportion (51.5 percent) compared with all gender and sexual identity groups.

Overall, 4.4 percent of people with HIV had experienced IPV in the last 12 months. Statistically significant differences were found by sociodemographic characteristics, such as age and gender/sexual identify but not by race/ethnicity or gender identity. The study found that compared with individuals with HIV who did not experience IPV in the last 12 months, those who did engaged in riskier behavior such as binge drinking, use of injection drugs, and transactional sex. They were more likely to report not receiving additional needed services.

These findings suggest that screening people with HIV for IPV and linking them to services, not only during HIV testing but also during routine HIV care, is important. A higher proportion of individuals reporting IPV in the last 12 months were not receiving HIV medical care, were not taking antiretroviral therapy, and were more likely to miss HIV-related medical appointments. They were also more likely to have more than one emergency room visit or hospital admission in the past 12 months.

The study suggests that when IPV is identified, the safety and health of people with HIV can be improved with supportive services. IPV is preventable, especially when efforts begin early. The investigators note that most IPV and protection programs are tailored for heterosexual women. Given the extent to which the study found risk to other gender/sexual identity groups and racial/ethnic minorities, investigators suggest that programming should be tailored for marginalized groups.

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Misogynistic tweets correlate with violence against women

Places where there are a lot of misogynistic tweeting going on are likely to have a lot of domestic violence as well, a study by UNSW has found

IMAGE: THE UNSW STUDY IS THE FIRST TO USE BIG DATA TO PREDICT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FROM MISOGYNISTIC TWEETS ACROSS A TWO-YEAR PERIOD. view more 

CREDIT: DAVE AKSHAR ON UNSPLASH

UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Research News

 

Areas with a relatively greater amount of misogynistic tweets have higher incidences of domestic and family violence, a UNSW study has found.

The study, published in Psychological Science, not only found this connection with domestic and family violence carried over from one year to the next, but also occurred despite the 'usual suspects' of domestic violence, such as alcohol and inequality.

Examples of misogynistic tweets identified by the researchers included, "Women are all bitches," "Whore had it coming," and, "Make me a sandwich, slut."

"We found that misogynistic social media may not be harmless," Professor Tom Denson from UNSW's School of Psychology said.

"It contributes to norms of violence toward women and a hostile worldview that may slip into real-world violence.

"I imagine a lot of people are fairly flippant about what is posted on social media.

"This study suggests caution about posting misogynistic hate speech as even if the person who posts is not violent, such posts seem to create an atmosphere where violence toward women may be more likely."

The UNSW study is the first to use big data to predict domestic violence from misogynistic tweets across a two-year period.

"There is a growing interest in using big data to help address social problems such as criminality," Prof. Denson said.

The research team compiled all of the data reported by local law enforcement agencies in the US to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on arrests for domestic and family violence during a two-year period (2013 - 2014).

They also collected data on a number of population-level characteristics that are known to influence domestic and family violence, such as the availability of alcohol, income inequality, gender inequality, and population size.

"We then collected Twitter data from 2013-2014," Prof. Denson said.

"Twitter makes a randomly selected 1% of their tweets publicly available.

"We coded those tweets for misogynistic content using automated methods and used a geolocation algorithm to locate the origin of the tweets, which we were able to do with a pretty high degree of spatial specificity based on US Census Bureau defined areas."

The researchers ended up with tweets from 827 areas in 47 American states.

"We then combined the data sets and used the number of misogynistic tweets in each area to examine the relationship between misogynistic tweets and domestic and family violence arrests, while controlling for things like alcohol availability, population, and inequality."

The research is part of a growing number of studies examining the extent to which social media can be used to learn more about criminal offending, co-author and PhD candidate at UNSW School of Psychology, Siobhan O'Dean said.

"Other studies have used social media to predict theft, public disorder during right-wing events, and violence and arrests during the 2015 Black Lives Matter protests," Ms O'Dean said.

"Our research contributes to this imperative by finding out how social media can help determine where domestic and family violence is likely to occur.

"That information could be useful for not only law enforcement but also public health interventions which may intervene to counteract norms of misogynistic violence."

The researchers said future research using big data could examine the relationship between misogynistic social media directed toward proponents of the MeToo movement and Women's Marches with subsequent decreases or increases in violence against women.

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Read the study in Psychological Science.