Make COVID jab free for everyone in India to boost uptake and curb death toll

And expedite approval of foreign vaccines, urge experts

BMJ

Research News

 

The COVID-19 jab should be made free for everyone in India to boost uptake and curb the death toll from the infection, urge experts in a personal view (commentary) published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.

And approval of foreign vaccines already deployed elsewhere around the globe should be speeded up as a matter of urgency, argue the authors from the ICMR-National Institute of Malaria Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.

India is now reporting the largest daily number of COVID-19 infections in the world amid critical shortages of hospital beds, ICU beds, medicines, ventilators, oxygen and healthcare staff.

Despite international aid pouring into the country and emergency use authorisation for several vaccines, poor planning of home-grown vaccine production and deployment means that India doesn't have enough vaccines to go round, say the authors. Only around 3% of the population has been vaccinated.

While there are plans to significantly ramp up production of the Covaxin and Covishield vaccines, the target to vaccinate around 1 billion people may still not be reached this year, warn the authors.

"As any protection conferred by COVID-19 vaccine is expected to take at least 2 weeks after both doses, and with large demands, India will require many more sources of vaccines in the coming days and weeks to stem the current uptick in infections," they write.

Initially, Covid-19 vaccination was available only in government hospitals and centres, free of cost, but to expand coverage, the government has allowed private hospitals to vaccinate.

These charge anything from $3 to $15, meaning that very few people can afford this cost. "Therefore, for stemming COVID-19, vaccinations must be free for all in India," the authors insist.

A further complication is that when the Indian government decided to lower the age criteria for the jab it procured 50% of vaccines for its 36 states specifically for the over 45s, with the other half to be procured by state governments and private hospitals for those aged 18-44.

State governments have therefore been left to negotiate the costs themselves, which are higher than those negotiated by the government. For instance, one dose of Covaxin costs central government around $2, rising to around $5.4 for state governments, and to around $16 for private hospitals, they point out.

"This differential pricing....is likely to be detrimental to public health at this time of grave crisis in India," creating inequitable distribution and potentially sparking public mistrust, they argue.

"For India to stem Covid-19, the nation cannot allow any differential approach for its residents," they write.

And in an attempt to create a vaccination records infrastructure for adults and ensure that no one is missed, the Indian government has mandated pre-registration via a mobile app. But only around a third of people in rural areas have an internet connection, point out the authors. A simple vaccination card may be a better option, they suggest.

The Indian government has committed around $120 million for Covid-19 vaccine research, most of which is being used to scale up vaccine production, with the rest invested in new vaccine candidates, including those against variant strains.

"However, the funding pledged by the government is far from adequate," warn the authors. "This will be concerning in scenarios where a 3rd booster shot is required. Hence, India needs a corpus of funds for the above that covers all future eventualities of vaccine deployment," they argue.

"India may need to reset its vaccine strategies, enhance the competence level of pandemic management and spur the bureaucratic machinery so that vaccine equity can be achieved in a very short span of time," they conclude.

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Externally peer reviewed? Yes

Evidence type: Opinion

Subjects: People

HINDU NATIONALIST -HINDUTVA- CULTURAL HEGEMONY

Most box office hit films suitable for children in India contain alcohol imagery

Much tighter controls needed to protect children and young people from potential harms

BMJ

Research News

 

Most box office hit films screened in India that are suitable for children contain alcohol imagery, finds research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Much tighter controls are needed to protect children and young people from the potential avoidable harms of using alcohol, say the researchers.

In 2016 alcohol consumption led to 2.8 million deaths worldwide, and global alcohol consumption has increased by 38% in the past decade. Although rare among women, nearly one in three men in India now drinks alcohol, getting through an average of 18.3 litres every year.

The average age at which people start drinking it is 21, but 1.3% of 10-17 year olds say they drink alcohol, and research shows that starting early on this road in India is associated with chronic heavy drinking later in adult life.

And exposure to alcohol imagery in films is a significant factor driving uptake of alcohol consumption among young people, as well as the amount they drink, say the researchers.

But there's very little evidence on the content of alcohol imagery in films screened in low income and middle-income countries.

To try and plug this knowledge gap, the researchers coded each 5-minute interval in the 30 top 10 national box office hit films made in India and screened in 2015, 2016, and 2017, according to whether they contained alcohol imagery, defined as any use, actual use, implied use, other alcohol references--and alcohol brand appearances.

The 30 films included 22 (73%) Hindi films and 8 (27%) in regional languages (four Tamil, three Telugu, and one Malayalam).

Seven (23%) were rated suitable for viewing by all ages (U), and 23 (77%) were rated as suitable for viewing by children under 12 subject to parental guidance under 12 (UA).

Alcohol imagery was seen in nearly all (97%) the films, with 195 out of a total of 923 5-minute intervals, and actual alcohol use was seen in 25 (83%) films in 90 (10%) intervals.

The occurrence of these and other categories of alcohol imagery was similar in U rated (38 intervals, 17%) and UA rated films (157 intervals, 23%), and in Hindi (140 intervals, 21%) and local language (55 intervals, 21%) films.

Episodes of alcohol branding occurred in ten 5-minute intervals in five films, one of which was U-rated and one of which was in a regional language.

"This study, to our knowledge the first of its kind in India, demonstrates that alcohol imagery occurred in almost all of this sample of films popular in India, all of which were classified by the [Central Board of Film Certification] in India as suitable either for unrestricted viewing by children (U), or for by children under the age of 12 with parental guidance (UA)," write the researchers.

"Films represent an important source of exposure, not only in terms of the cinema audiences they generate, but also for the potentially wider audiences reached when films are shown on television," they add.

They conclude: "The prudent approach to avoidable risks is to avoid them, and since the inclusion of alcohol imagery in films aimed at children is entirely avoidable, protecting children from future alcohol use and consequent problems justifies more rigorous controls on the alcohol content of films aimed at children and young people in India."

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Externally peer reviewed? Yes

Evidence type: Observational

Subjects: Box office hit films

Parasites may accumulate in spleens of asymptomatic individuals infected with malaria

Study suggests immature red blood cells in spleen are targeted for invasion by P. vivax

PLOS

Research News

 

Malaria, a disease caused mainly by the parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, (P. vivax) is associated with over 400,000 deaths each year. Previously, the spleen was assumed to mostly play a role in parasite destruction, as it eliminates malaria parasites after antimalarial treatment. A study published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Steven Kho and Nicholas Anstey at Menzies School of Health Research, Australia, and international colleagues, suggests that in chronic P. vivax infections, malaria parasites survive and replicate via a previously undetected lifecycle within the spleen.

A large biomass of intact asexual-stage malaria parasites accumulates in the spleen of asymptomatic human subjects infected with Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax). However, the mechanisms underlying this intense reaction are unknown. To better understand the accumulation of malaria parasites in the spleen, researchers examined the spleen tissue in twenty-two individuals naturally exposed to P. vivax and P. falciparum undergoing splenectomy in Papua, Indonesia between 2015-2017. The authors then analysed the density of infection, parasites and immature red blood cells, as well as their distribution throughout the spleen.

The researchers found that the human spleen is a reservoir for immature red blood cells that are targeted by P. vivax for invasion, and that the examined spleens contained a substantial hidden biomass of malaria parasites, with densities hundreds to thousands of times higher than in circulating peripheral blood, suggesting an undetectable endosplenic lifecycle in asymptomatic P. vivax infections. The study had several limitations, such as the small sample size and asymptomatic status of all individuals included in the study. Future research should include acute, symptomatic malaria cases.

According to the authors, "Our findings provide a major contribution to the understanding of malaria biology and pathology and provide insight into P. vivax specific adaptations that have evolved to maximise survival and replication in the spleen".

###

Research Article

Peer reviewed; Observational study; Humans

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003632

Funding: This work was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Program Grant #1037304, Fellowships to NA [#1042072 and #1135820], and 'Improving Health Outcomes in the Tropical North (HOTNORTH): A multidisciplinary collaboration [#1131932], and the Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination), the Paris Ile-de-France Region under « DIM Thérapie génique » and « DIM Maladies Infectieuses » initiatives (awarded to PAB and BH), the French Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), the University of Paris, the Laboratory of excellence GREx, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF OPP1123683), and the « Sauver la Vie Foundation » (to PAB), the Wellcome Trust (Grant #099875 awarded to JRP and Senior Fellowship in Clinical Science awarded to RNP [#200909]), an Australian Government Postgraduate Award Scholarship and OzEMalaR Travel award (awarded to SK), a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award (awarded to MM), the Singapore National Medical Research Council (award to TWY [CSA INV 15nov007]), and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Kho S, Qotrunnada L, Leonardo L, Andries B, Wardani PAI, Fricot A, et al. (2021) Evaluation of splenic accumulation and colocalization of immature reticulocytes and Plasmodium vivax in asymptomatic malaria: A prospective human splenectomy study. PLoS Med 18(5): e1003632. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003632

Study finds that a firm's place in a supply chain influences lending and borrowing

University of Oregon and University of Rochester researchers examined supplier-customer relationships to better understand trade credit

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

Research News

 

EUGENE, Ore. -- June 1, 2021 -- Businesses typically rely on banks and financial markets for financing, but credit provided by suppliers also can play an important role, especially in manufacturing. Yet why firms lend and borrow extensively from each other is still an open question.

In a paper online ahead of print in the Journal of Financial Economics, "Trade Credit and Profitability in Production Networks," Youchang Wu, an associate professor at the University of Oregon, and coauthor Michael Gofman, an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, examined trade credit from a new angle.

They noted that for an average nonfinancial firm in North America, the outstanding amount of trade credit it receives from suppliers is about 21 percent of annual production costs. Moreover, most firms simultaneously borrow from their suppliers and lend to their customers, with the average outstanding amount of trade credit provided to customers at around 15 percent of annual sales.

Previous studies on trade credit, they noted, have focused on a firm's role either as a lender or a borrower of trade credit, ignoring the fact that trade credit flows along supplier-customer links in complex production networks.

Using a comprehensive database of supplier-customer relationships from 2003 to 2018, Wu and Gofman analyzed more than 200,000 supply chains formed by more than 5,600 nonfinancial firms. By locating a firm in the supply chain, their study accounts for a firm's dual role as a supplier and a customer. This novel approach allowed the researchers to uncover new details about trade credit within and across supply chains.

In particular, they found that within the supply chain, more upstream firms borrow more from suppliers, lend more to customers and hold more net trade credit, despite appearing to have weaker financing capacity than more downstream firms.

The length of the supply chains they examined varies significantly.

An example of a longer supply chain is one in which Intermolecular Inc. supplies advanced materials to Micron Technology Inc., which creates computer memory and computer data storage that it provides to Nvidia Corp., which uses them to manufacture graphics cards it supplies to Tesla. In contrast, a short supply chain example is one in which Sensata Technology provides sensors directly to Tesla. In longer supply chains, firms tend to be more profitable, and the increase in trade credit provision from the lower to the upper level of the chain is more gradual.

Both within and across supply chains, the authors noted that there is an almost one-to-one correspondence between the variation in the trade credit a firm provides and the variation in the trade credit it receives. These findings are less consistent with the idea of financially strong firms lending to financially weak firms, an implication of the financing advantage theory.

"Our findings are more consistent with the recursive moral hazard theory of trade credit," said Wu, who teaches in the Department of Finance at the Lundquist College of Business and is the John B. Rogers Research Scholar and coordinator of the UO's finance doctoral program.

"This theory argues that more upstream firms have more severe incentive problems, especially when they are not that profitable, because the quality of their products is revealed only after a long delay," he said. "Thus, more net trade credit provided by upstream firms helps to align incentives."

The authors did, however, find evidence that a firm's provision of trade credit is related to its financial status during an economic downturn. For instance, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, upstream firms experienced a larger decline in profit margins than did downstream firms, and net provision of trade credit dropped significantly, suggesting that financial strength plays a more important role in determining the provision and use of trade credit during a crisis period.

Overall, Wu and Gofman's systematic study highlights variations in trade credit practices across firms, which can help both researchers and practitioners better understand the role of trade credit in production networks as well as examine other economic and financial questions related to supply chains.

###

Links:

Paper in Financial Economics: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2365995

About Youchang Wu: https://business.uoregon.edu/faculty/youchang-wu

Lundquist College of Business: https://business.uoregon.edu/

About Michael Gofman: https://simon.rochester.edu/programs/ptmba/academics/world-class-faculty/faculty-profile/index.aspx?Username=3113880

COVID-19 simulation shows importance of safety efforts during vaccine distribution

Researchers have produced a mathematical simulation that evaluates how many COVID-19 cases could be avoided in North Carolina if more people get vaccinated and follow mask and physical distancing guidelines

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH CARE

Research News

 

IMAGE: GRAPHIC OF SIMULATION RESULTS view more 

CREDIT: UNC SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

CHAPEL HILL, NC - Research published by JAMA Network Open shows how non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) like mask wearing and physical distancing can help prevent spikes in COVID-19 cases as populations continue to get vaccinated. The study, led by Mehul Patel, PhD, a clinical and population health researcher in the department of Emergency Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, focuses on the state of North Carolina. Similar modeling studies have been used in different states, and can serve as guidance to leaders as they make decisions to relax restrictions and safety protocols.

"The computer simulation modeling allows us to look at multiple factors that play a role in decreasing the spread of COVID-19 as vaccines are distributed," Patel said. "We looked at vaccine effectiveness, percent of population vaccinated, and adherence to precautions like mask wearing and physical distancing over a set period of time."

The image from the simulation is a model of multiple scenarios within the state of North Carolina. Knowing that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are more than 90% effective at preventing severe COVID-19, you can follow the black, purple and blue lines to see what could happen if non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) like mask wearing and physical distancing are not followed while communities are vaccinated. Furthermore, the simulation also demonstrates how important it is for as many people as possible to get fully vaccinated.

For example, looking at scenario A1, if 75% of our population gets fully vaccinated and we continue to adhere to NPIs, we see a sustained decline down to very few new COVID cases over a six month period. In contrast, looking at scenario C0, if only 25% of our population gets fully vaccinated and does not adhere to NPIs, we could see a sustained increase in daily COVID cases, peaking around 8,000 before we see another decline. For reference, as of June 1, 2021, 38.9% of the entire North Carolina population has been fully vaccinated.

"As soon as you start relaxing mask wearing and physical distancing with any percent of the population vaccinated, you see an increase in cases," Patel said. "Until we reach around 50% of the population vaccinated, there is more potential to have disease spread if we remove NPIs."

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Innovative surgical simulator is a significant advance in training trauma teams

Study finds Department of Defense-commissioned Advanced Modular Manikin with an integrated platform more realistically simulates trauma scenarios as compared with a standalone simulator that permits performance of isolated tasks

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

Research News

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VIDEO: THE ADVANCED MODULAR MANIKIN ENHANCES SURGICAL TEAM EXPERIENCE DURING A TRAUMA SIMULATION: RESULTS OF A SINGLE-BLINDED RANDOMIZED TRIAL. view more 

CREDIT: AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS

Key takeaways

• The surgical simulator can realistically simulate multiple trauma scenarios at once, compared with traditional simulators that can only simulate one or a limited number of conditions.
• Trauma team members who tested the simulator preferred it for its realism, physiologic responses, and feedback.
• The benefits of this innovative simulator may be able to extend to other surgical procedures and settings.

CHICAGO (June 1, 2021): Simulators have long been used for training surgeons and surgical teams, but traditional simulator platforms typically have a built-in limitation: they often simulate one or a limited number of conditions that require performance of isolated tasks, such as placing an intravenous catheter, instead of simulating and providing opportunities for feedback on the performance of multiple interventions that a trauma victim may require at the same time. To overcome this limitation, the Advanced Modular Manikin (AMM), an innovative simulation platform that allows integration of other simulation devices, was developed and field testing was conducted, with support from the Department of Defense (DoD).

The DoD subcontracted with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Education to conduct field testing of the AMM. The results have been published online in advance of print by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Robert M. Sweet, MD, FACS, MAMSE, of the department of surgery at the University of Washington, served as principal investigator (PI) of the DoD contract to build the AMM. Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE, Director, Division of Education, American College of Surgeons, served as the PI for the subcontract to conduct field testing.

The investigators reported that members of trauma teams at a testing site preferred the integrated AMM platform including a "peripheral" simulator over the "peripheral" simulator alone, in terms of realism, physiologic responses, and feedback they receive on the multiple and overlapping interventions they perform on a simulated trauma patient. Corresponding study author Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD, FACS, FASMBS, FSSH, of the department of surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, described the AMM as "more of a platform rather than a manikin."

The DoD supported development of the AMM through a contract with the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. The goal was to create an open-source simulation platform that permits integration of a number of simulators, known as "peripherals," into a singular, comprehensive training platform. A Steering Committee composed of leaders and staff of the ACS Division of Education and the Research and Development Committee of the ACS-Accredited Education Institutes, along with leaders from the Development Team of the AMM Project created the model for field testing the AMM.

"The AMM platform, along with the 'peripherals,' can help to address the need for more robust simulators that focus on open procedures and interprofessional teamwork," Dr. Sachdeva explained. "The ability to integrate the anatomic and physiologic elements of the simulation is an important advance. The experience with the trauma scenario may readily be extended to other surgical procedures and settings."

Corresponding author Dr. Stefanidis explained that with most traditional simulators, instructors have to manipulate vital signs to respond to specific actions of the learner. He pointed out that the AMM promotes "a learner experience that is more based on the actual physiology of what's happening to the patient." The AMM platform allows different members of the trauma team to perform different tasks concurrently--one inserts a breathing tube, another starts an intravenous line, another performs a splenectomy. "All of these interventions impact the physiology," he said.

The researchers evaluated team experience ratings of 14 trauma teams consisting of 42 individual members who performed tasks on the integrated AMM platform and the standalone "peripheral" simulator. Team experience ratings were higher for the integrated AMM platform as compared with the standalone "peripheral" simulator. Among the team members, surgeons and first responders rated their experience significantly higher than anesthesiologists, who noted higher workload ratings. In focus groups, the team members said they preferred the AMM platform because of its increased realism, and for the way it responded physiologically to their actions and the feedback it provided.

Dr. Stefanidis explained how the AMM can potentially aid in training trauma teams. "Trauma requires exemplary teamwork," he said. "When we see patients who are injured, there are typically multiple providers who take care of them simultaneously--trauma surgeons, emergency room physicians, anesthesiologists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, nurses, respiratory therapists, etc. So, it's extremely important to also be able to train these teams in a low-stress simulation environment, such as by using the AMM, where they can hone their skills, individually and as a team, and perform at their best when faced with the very high-stress clinical environment."

The AMM platform offers other benefits for improving the training and proficiency of trauma teams, said the field study PI, Dr. Sachdeva. "Specific training models could be standardized and the situation made increasingly complex in this safe simulation environment," he said.

CAPTION

The Advanced Modular Manikin Enhances Surgical Team Experience During a Trauma Simulation: Results of a Single-Blinded Randomized Trial.

CREDIT

American College of Surgeons

Study coauthors with Drs. Stefanidis, Sachdeva and Sweet are Rajesh Aggarwal, MBBS, MA (Cantab), PhD, FRCS, FACS, MAMSE, of the Department of Surgery, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia; Robert M. Rush, Jr., MD, FACS, of PeaceHealth St. Joseph's Medical Center, Bellingham, Wash.; Gyusung Lee, PhD, and Patrice G. Blair, MPH of the ACS Division of Education; David Hananel of the Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle; Yoon Soo Park, PhD, of the Department of Medical Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago; and Gordon G. Wisbach, MD, MBA, FACS, CAPT, MC, USN, of the Bioskills and Simulation Training Center, Naval Medical Center, San Diego.

The study authors have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
"FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Citation: The Advanced Modular Manikintm Enhances Surgical Team Experience During a Trauma Simulation: Results of a Single-Blinded Randomized Trial. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2021.04.029.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 80,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org.

Researchers develop prototype of robotic device to pick, trim button mushrooms

PENN STATE

Research News

 

IMAGE: TO DETERMINE FORCES THAT NEEDED TO BE PROGRAMMED INTO THE ROBOTIC PICKER, RESEARCHERS TOOK MUSHROOM-PICKING-DYNAMICS MEASUREMENTS USING FORCE SENSORS AND AN INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UNIT. view more 

CREDIT: PENN STATE

Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a robotic mechanism for mushroom picking and trimming and demonstrated its effectiveness for the automated harvesting of button mushrooms.

In a new study, the prototype, which is designed to be integrated with a machine vision system, showed that it is capable of both picking and trimming mushrooms growing in a shelf system.

The research is consequential, according to lead author Long He, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, because the mushroom industry has been facing labor shortages and rising labor costs. Mechanical or robotic picking can help alleviate those problems.

"The mushroom industry in Pennsylvania is producing about two-thirds of the mushrooms grown nationwide, and the growers here are having a difficult time finding laborers to handle the harvesting, which is a very labor intensive and difficult job," said He. "The industry is facing some challenges, so an automated system for harvesting like the one we are working on would be a big help."

The button mushroom -- Agaricus bisporus -- is an important agricultural commodity. A total of 891 million pounds of button mushrooms valued at $1.13 billion were consumed in the U.S. from 2017 to 2018. Of this production, 91% were for the fresh market, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and were picked by hand, one by one, to ensure product quality, shelf life and appearance. Labor costs for mushroom harvesting account for 15% to 30% of the production value, He pointed out.

Developing a device to effectively harvest mushrooms was a complex endeavor, explained He. In hand-picking, a picker first locates a mature mushroom and detaches it with one hand, typically using three fingers. A knife, in the picker's other hand, is then used to remove the stipe end. Sometimes the picker waits until there are two or three mushrooms in hand and cuts them one by one. Finally, the mushroom is placed in a collection box. A robotic mechanism had to achieve an equivalent picking process.

The researchers designed a robotic mushroom-picking mechanism that included a picking "end-effector" based on a bending motion, a "4-degree-of-freedom positioning" end-effector for moving the picking end-effector, a mushroom stipe-trimming end-effector, and an electro-pneumatic control system. They fabricated a laboratory-scale prototype to validate the performance of the mechanism.

The research team used a suction cup mechanism to latch onto mushrooms and conducted bruise tests on the mushroom caps to analyze the influence of air pressure and acting time of the suction cup.

The test results, recently published in Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, showed that the picking end-effector was successfully positioned to the target locations and its success rate was 90% at first pick, increasing to 94.2% after second pick.

The trimming end-effector achieved a success rate of 97% overall. The bruise tests indicated that the air pressure was the main factor affecting the bruise level, compared to the suction-cup acting time, and an optimized suction cup may help to alleviate the bruise damage, the researchers noted. The laboratory test results indicated that the developed picking mechanism has potential to be implemented in automatic mushroom harvesting.

Button mushrooms for the study were grown in tubs at Penn State's Mushroom Research Center on the University Park campus. Fabrication and experiments were conducted at the Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville. A total of 70 picking tests were conducted to evaluate the robotic picking mechanism. The working pressures of the pneumatic system and the suction cup were set at 80 and 25 pounds per square inch, respectively.

CAPTION

The prototype, which is designed to be integrated with a machine vision system, showed that it is capable of both picking mushrooms with a pneumatic system (top photo) and trimming them (bottom photo).

CREDIT

Penn State

Other Penn State researchers involved in the study were Daeun Choi, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, and John Pecchia, associate research professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology. Research team members also included doctoral students Mingsen Huang, from Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China; and Xiaohu Jiang, from Jilin University, Changchun, China, both visiting Penn State's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

The Penn State Mushroom Research Competitive Grants Program supported this research.

DEPT OF BIO WARFARE

Scientists develop novel therapy for crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus

US ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Research News

 

Army scientists working as part of an international consortium have developed and tested an antibody-based therapy to treat Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), which is carried by ticks and kills up to 60 percent of those infected. Their results are published online today in the journal Cell.

Using blood samples donated by disease survivors, the study's authors characterized the human immune response to natural CCHFV infection. They were able to identify several potent neutralizing antibodies that target the viral glycoprotein--a component of the virus that plays a key role in disease development. Several of these antibodies, administered individually or in combination, protected mice from CCHFV when given prior to virus exposure.

To treat mice that had already been infected, the team created "bispecific" antibodies that combined potency with the ability to bind to two separate sites on the CCHFV glycoprotein. One of these bispecific antibodies, called DVD-121-801, overcame CCHFV infection in mice with just a single dose administered 24 hours after challenge with live virus.

Efforts are underway to develop DVD-121-801 as a potential therapeutic for human patients, according to co-first author Andrew H. Herbert, Ph.D., of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

CCHFV is the most prevalent tick-borne virus that causes human disease, and is endemic in countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Despite its high lethality and widespread distribution, no vaccines or specific treatments are available. It has been designated a priority pathogen by the World Health Organization.

"Rodent models of CCHFV infection are useful in testing and down-selecting neutralizing antibodies," commented Herbert. "However, to advance a lead candidate for therapeutic use, it will be necessary to conduct studies in larger animal models that more faithfully recapitulate human disease."

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In addition to USAMRIID, other institutions participating in the study were Adimab, LLC; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York; Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc.; the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; the University of Texas at Austin; Institut Pasteur in Paris, France; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel; and Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe, Uganda.

About the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases:

For over 50 years, USAMRIID has provided leading edge medical capabilities to deter and defend against current and emerging biological threat agents. The Institute is the only laboratory in the Department of Defense equipped to safely study highly hazardous viruses requiring maximum containment at Biosafety Level 4. Research conducted at USAMRIID leads to medical solutions - vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, information, and training programs - that benefit both military personnel and civilians. Established in 1969, the Institute plays a key role as the lead military medical research laboratory for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. For more information, visit http://www.usamriid.army.mil.

Reference:

Chandran, Kartik et al. "Protective neutralizing antibodies from human survivors of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever." DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.001

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(21)00584-5\

Authors:

J. Maximilian Fels, Daniel P. Maurer, Andrew S. Herbert, Ariel S. Wirchnianski, Olivia
Vergnolle, Robert W. Cross, Dafna M. Abelson, Crystal L. Moyer, Akaash K. Mishra,
Jennifer T. Aguilan, Ana I. Kuehne, Noel T. Pauli, Russell R. Bakken, Elisabeth K.
Nyakatura, Jan Hellert, Gregory Quevedo, Leslie Lobel, Stephen Balinandi, Julius J.
Lutwama, Larry Zeitlin, Thomas W. Geisbert, Felix A. Rey, Simone Sidoli, Jason S.
McLellan, Jonathan R. Lai, Zachary A. Bornholdt, John M. Dye, Laura M. Walker, and Kartik Chandran.

Funding:

This work was supported in part by a National Institutes of Health grant to the Prometheus Center for Excellence in Translational Research, a consortium of academic, industry, and government partners working to develop antibody-based therapies against CCHFV and other highly lethal viruses. A complete list of funding organizations appears in the publicati

 

Analysis reveals global 'hot spots' where new coronaviruses may emerge

Forest fragmentation, agricultural expansion and concentrated livestock production in China and Southeast Asia are bringing humans into closer contact with bats known to carry zoonotic diseases

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY

Research News

 

Berkeley -- Global land-use changes -- including forest fragmentation, agricultural expansion and concentrated livestock production -- are creating "hot spots" favorable for bats that carry coronaviruses and where conditions are ripe for the diseases to jump from bats to humans, finds an analysis published this week by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan) and Massey University of New Zealand.

While the exact origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remain unclear, scientists believe that the disease likely emerged when a virus that infects horseshoe bats was able to jump to humans, either directly through wildlife-to-human contact, or indirectly by first infecting an intermediate animal host, such as the pangolin, sometimes known as the scaly anteater. Horseshoe bats are known to carry a variety of coronaviruses, including strains that are genetically similar to ones that cause COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The new study used remote sensing to analyze land use patterns throughout the horseshoe bat's range, which extends from Western Europe through Southeast Asia. By identifying areas of forest fragmentation, human settlement and agricultural and livestock production, and comparing these to known horseshoe bat habitats, they identified potential hot spots where habitat is favorable for these bat species, and where these so-called zoonotic viruses could potentially jump from bats to humans. The analysis also identified locations that could become easily become hot spots with changes in land use.

"Land use changes can have an important impact on human health, both because we are modifying the environment, but also because they can increase our exposure to zoonotic disease," said study co-author Paolo D'Odorico, a professor of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley. "Every formal land use change should be evaluated not only for the environmental and social impacts on resources such as carbon stocks, microclimate and water availability, but also for the potential chain reactions that could impact human health."

Most of the current hot spots are clustered in China, where a growing demand for meat products has driven the expansion of large-scale, industrial livestock farming. Concentrated livestock production is particularly concerning because the practice brings together large populations of genetically similar, often immune-suppressed animals that are highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, the researchers said.

The analysis also found that parts of Japan, the north Philippines and China south of Shanghai are at risk of becoming hot spots with further forest fragmentation, while parts of Indochina and Thailand may transition into hot spots with increases in livestock production.

"The analyses aimed to identify the possible emergence of new hot spots in response to an increase in one of three land use attributes, highlighting both the areas that could become suitable for spillover and the type of land use change that could induce hot spot activation," said study co-author Maria Cristina Rulli, a professor in hydrology and water and food security at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. "We hope these results could be useful for identifying region-specific targeted interventions needed to increase resilience to coronavirus spillovers."

Human encroachment into natural habitat can also can indirectly increase exposure to zoonotic disease by reducing valuable biodiversity. When forest lands become fragmented and natural habitats are destroyed, species that require very specific habitat to survive, called "specialists," may dwindle or even go extinct. Without competition from specialists, "generalist" species, which are less picky about their habitat, can take over.

Horseshoe bats are a generalist species and have often been observed in areas characterized by human disturbance. Earlier work by Rulli, D'Odorico and study co-author David Hayman has also linked forest fragmentation and habitat destruction in Africa to outbreaks of the Ebola virus.

"By creating conditions that are disadvantageous to specialist species, generalist species are able to thrive," D'Odorico said. "While we are unable to directly trace the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from wildlife to humans, we do know that the type of land use change that brings humans into the picture is typically associated with the presence of these bats who are known to carry the virus."

While China has been a leader in tree planting and other greening efforts over the past two decades, many of the trees have been planted in discontinuous land areas or forest fragments. To tilt the ecological balance back in favor of specialist species, creating continuous areas of forest cover and wildlife corridors are more important than increasing total tree cover.

"Human health is intertwined with environmental health and also animal health," D'Odorico said. "Our study is one of the first to connect the dots and really drill down into the geographic data on land use to see how humans are coming into contact with species that might be carriers."

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Co-authors of the paper also include Nikolas Galli of the Politecnico di Milano and David Hayman of Massey University

This research was supported by the Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation (FEEM), the Cariplo Foundation (SusFeed project 0737 CUP D49H170000300007), Regione Lombardia (RUD0CONV01/ASSO project D44I20002000002), a Royal Society Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellowship RDF-MAU1701 MAU1701, and the Massey University Foundation