Saturday, November 26, 2022

Development of the next generation of microscopes

UIT THE ARCTIC UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY

Florian Ströhl — IMAGE: : FLORIAN STRÖHL INITIALLY GOT THE IDEA A FEW YEARS AGO. "I BUILT THE VERY FIRST PROTOTYPE BY HAND. IT TOOK FOREVER, SINCE I HAD TO DO EVERYTHING MANUALLY. THEREFORE, I WAS VERY RELIEVED WHEN IT YIELDED RESULTS AND PROVIDED GREAT IMAGES," SAYS STRÖHL. view more
CREDIT: KJETIL RYDLAND/UIT

To observe living cells through a microscope, a sample is usually squeezed onto a glass slide. It then lies there calmly and the cells are observable. The disadvantage is that this limits how the cells behave and it only produces two-dimensional images.

Researchers from UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) have now developed what they are referring to as the next generation microscope. The new technology can take pictures of much larger samples than before, while living and working in a more natural environment.

A major development

The technology provides 3D images where researchers can study the smallest details from several angles, clearly and visibly, sorted into different layers and all layers are in focus.

3D microscopes do already exist, but they work slowly and give poorer results. The most common type works by recording pixel after pixel in series, which are then assembled into a 3D image. This takes time and often they can't handle more than 1-5 shots a minute. It's not very practical if what you're going to photograph something that moves.

“With our technology, we can manage around 100 full frames per second. And we believe it is possible to increase this number. This is just what we have demonstrated with our prototype," says Florian Ströhl, researcher at UiT.

The new microscope is a so-called multifocus microscope, which provides completely clear images, sorted into different layers, where you can study the cells from all angles.

“It’s a big deal. The fact that we manage to get all this in one take, it is a huge development," says Ströhl.

Can see behind objects

Ströhl explains that we are not talking about 3D in the form most of us know it.
While in a traditional 3D image you will be able to perceive some kind of depth, with the new technology you are also be able to see behind objects.

Ströhl uses an example where you see a jungle scene in 3D at the cinema.

“In a normal 3D image, you can see that the forest has a depth, that some leaves and trees are closer than others. With the same technology used in our new 3D microscope, you are also able to see the tiger hiding behind the bushes. You are able to see and study several layers independently," says Ströhl.

Now you do not use a microscope to look for tigers in the jungle, but for researchers this can be an important tool when looking for answers in the minutest details.

Studying heart cells – while they beat

Ströhl has collaborated with researchers and doctors from the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) in the development of this technology.

Among other things, they work to understand and develop better treatment methods for various heart diseases.

Studying a living human heart is challenging, both for technical reasons and not least for ethical reasons. Thus, researchers have used stem cells that are manipulated so that they mimic heart cells.
In this way, they can grow organic tissue that behaves as it would in a human heart, and they can study and test this tissue to understand more about what is happening.

This tissue is almost like a small lump of live meat, about 1 cm in size. This makes for a very demanding test situation, where heart cells beat and are in constant motion along it the fact that the sample is too large to study with traditional microscopes.
The new microscope handles this well.

“You have this pumping lump of meat in a bowl, which you want to take microscope pictures of. You want to view at the very smallest parts of this, and you want super high resolution. We have achieved this with the new microscope," says Ströhl.

Formula 1 division

Kenneth Bowitz Larsen heads a large laboratory with advanced microscopes that are used by all the research groups at the Faculty of Health at UiT.
He has tested this new microscope, and is optimistic.

"The concept is brilliant, the microscope they have built does things that the commercial systems do not," Larsen explains.
The laboratory he heads mainly uses commercial microscopes from suppliers such as Zeiss, Nikon, etc.

“Then we also collaborate with research groups like the one Florian Ströhl represents. They build microscopes and test optical concepts, they are in a way like the formula 1 division of microscopy," Larsen says.
Larsen has great faith in the new microscope Ströhl has created.

The commercial microscopes must be usable for all kinds of possible samples, while the microscope Ströhl has developed is more tailored to a specific task.

“It is very photosensitive, and it can depict the specimen in various focuses. It can work its way through the sample and you can view both high and low. And it happens so fast that it can practically be seen in real time. It's an extremely fast microscope," Larsen says.

According to Larsen, the tests so far show that this works well, and he believes this type of microscope can eventually be used on all types of samples where you look at living things that move.

He also sees another advantage with the speed of this microscope.

“Bright lights are not kind to cells. Since this microscope is so fast, it exposes the cells to much shorter illumination and is therefore more gentle," he explains.

The technology is patented

The prototype of the microscope works and is operational. The researchers are currently working on creating an upgraded version that is easier to use, so that more people are able to operate and use the microscope.

The researchers have also applied for a patent and are also looking for industrial partners who will develop this into a microscope that will be available for sale.

In the meantime, the prototype will be made available to local partners who can benefit from the new technology.

"We will also offer it to others in Norway, if they have particularly demanding samples that they want examined," says Ströh

**: The new microscope is a so-called multifocus microscope, which provides completely clear images, sorted into different layers, where you can study the cells from all angles.**
CREDIT
UiT

Florian Ströhl initially got the idea a few years ago. "I built the very first prototype by hand. It took forever, since I had to do everything manually. Therefore, I was very relieved when it yielded results and provided great images," says Ströhl.

CREDIT

Kjetil Rydland/UiT

JOURNAL

Optica

DOI

10.1364/OPTICA.468583

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Lab-produced tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Multifocus microscopy with optical sectioning and high axial resolution

Lung cancer screening dramatically increases long-term survival rate

Reports and Proceedings

THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL / MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

New York, NY (November 22, 2022) — Diagnosing early-stage lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening drastically improves the survival rate of cancer patients over a 20-year period, according to a large-scale international study being presented by Mount Sinai researchers at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

The results show that patients diagnosed with lung cancer at an early stage via CT screening have a 20-year survival rate of 80 percent. The average five-year survival rate for all lung cancer patients is 18.6 percent because only 16 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. More than half of people with lung cancer die within one year of being diagnosed, making it the leading cause of cancer deaths. By the time symptoms appear, it is often too late.

The findings are the latest to demonstrate the importance of routine and early screening in detecting cancers when they are small enough to be cured by surgical removal. Unfortunately, fewer than 6 percent of the people eligible for screening get it.

“While screening doesn’t prevent cancers from occurring, it is an important tool in identifying lung cancers in their early stage when they can be surgically removed,” said the study’s lead author, Claudia Henschke, PhD, MD, Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology and Director of the Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “Ultimately, anyone interested in being screened needs to know that if they are unfortunate enough to develop lung cancer, it can be cured if found early.”

While treatments of more advanced cancers with targeted therapy and immunotherapy have come a long way, the best tool against lung cancer deaths is early diagnosis through low-dose CT screening before symptoms occur, according to the study authors.

“Symptoms occur mainly in late-stage lung cancer,” Dr. Henschke said. “Thus, the best way to find early-stage lung cancer is by enrolling in an annual screening program.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening with low-dose CT in adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history, which equals at least a pack a day for 20 years, and who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.

The study tracked the 20-year survival rate of 1,285 patients who were screened in the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) and who were later diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer. While the overall survival of the participants was 80 percent, the survival rate for the 139 participants with nonsolid cancerous lung nodules and the 155 participants with nodules that had a partly solid consistency was 100 percent. For the 991 participants with solid nodules, the survival rate was 73 percent. For participants with Stage 1A cancers that measured 10 mm or less, the 20-year survival rate was 92 percent.

Dr. Henschke and colleagues have been studying the effectiveness of cancer detection with low-dose CT screening for years. The efforts of the researchers to advance CT screening for early lung disease led to the creation of the I-ELCAP. Started in 1992, this multi-institution, multi-national research program has enrolled more than 87,000 participants from over 80 institutions.

In 2006, the researchers identified a 10-year survival rate of 80 percent for the patients whose cancer was identified by CT screening. For this study, they looked at 20-year survival rates.

“What we present here is the 20-year follow-up on participants in our screening program who were diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently treated,” Dr. Henschke said. “The key finding is that even after this long a time interval they are not dying of their lung cancer. And even if new lung cancers were found over time, as long as they continued with annual screening, they would be OK.”

Co-authors are David F. Yankelevitz, MD, Director of the Lung Biopsy Service at Icahn Mount Sinai; Daniel M. Libby, MD, Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center; James Smith, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical Center; Mark Pasmantier, MD, Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Rowena Yip, MPH, Senior Biostatistician at the I-ELCAP at Icahn Mount Sinai.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: It is consistently ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools," aligned with a U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" Hospital, and top 20 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding and top 5 in the nation for numerous basic and clinical research areas. Newsweek’s “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals” ranks The Mount Sinai Hospital as No. 1 in New York and in the top five globally, and Mount Sinai Morningside in the top 20 globally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Tufts University researchers find link between foods scored higher by new nutrient profiling system and better long-term health outcomes

Diets deemed better by Friedman School’s Food Compass associated with lower risk for disease and death

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TUFTS UNIVERSITY

The idea that what we eat directly affects our health is ancient; Hippocrates recognized this as far back as 400 B.C. But, identifying healthier foods in the supermarket aisle and on restaurant menus is increasingly challenging. Now, researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts have shown that a holistic food profiling system, Food Compass, identifies better overall health and lower risk for mortality.

In a paper published in Nature Communications on November 22, researchers assessed whether adults who ate more foods with higher Food Compass scores had better long-term health outcomes and found that they did.

Introduced in 2021, Food Compass provides a holistic measure of the overall nutritional value of a food, beverage, or mixed meal. It measures 9 domains of each item, such as nutrient ratios, food-based ingredients, vitamins, minerals, extent of processing, and additives. Based on scores of 10,000 commonly consumed products in the U.S., researchers recommend foods with scores of 70 or above as foods to encourage; foods with scores of 31-69 to be eaten in moderation; and anything that scores 30 or below to be consumed sparingly. For this new study, Food Compass was used to score a person’s entire diet, based on the Food Compass scores of all the foods and beverages they regularly consume.

“A nutrient profiling system is intended to be an objective measure of how healthy a food is. If it’s achieving its purpose, then individuals who eat more foods with higher scores should have better health,” said Meghan O’Hearn, a doctoral candidate at the Friedman School and the study’s lead author.

For this validation study, researchers used nationally representative dietary records and health data from 47,999 U.S. adults aged 20-85 who were enrolled between 1999-2018 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Deaths were determined through linkage with the National Death Index (NDI).

Overall, researchers found that the mean Food Compass score for the diets of the nearly 50,000 subjects was only 35.5 out of 100, well below ideal. “One of the most alarming discoveries was just how poor the national average diet is,” said O’Hearn. “This is a call for actions to improve diet quality in the United States.”

When people’s Food Compass diet scores were assessed against health outcomes, multiple significant relationships were seen, even adjusting for other risk factors like age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, income, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, and diabetes status. A higher Food Compass diet score was associated with lower blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, body mass index, and hemoglobin A1c levels; and lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome and cancer. A higher Food Compass diet score was also associated with lower risk of mortality: for each 10-point increase, there was a 7 percent lower risk of death from all causes.

“When searching for healthy foods and drinks, it can be a bit of a wild west,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and dean for policy at the Friedman School. “Our findings support the validity of Food Compass as a tool to guide consumer decisions, as well as industry reformulations and public health strategies to identify and encourage healthier foods and beverages.”

Compared to existing nutrient profiling systems, Food Compass provides a more innovative and comprehensive assessment of nutritional quality, researchers say. For example, rather than measuring levels of dietary fats, sodium, or fiber in isolation, it takes a more nuanced and holistic view, evaluating the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat; sodium to potassium; and carbohydrate to fiber.

Food Compass also boosts scores for ingredients shown to have protective effects on health, like fruits, non-starchy vegetables, beans and legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, seafood, yogurt, and plant oils; and lowers scores for less healthful ingredients like refined grains, red and processed meat, and ultra-processed foods and additives.

Researchers designed Food Compass with the ever-evolving field of nutrition science in mind, and their multidisciplinary team—comprised of researchers with expertise in epidemiology, medicine, economics, and biomolecular nutrition—will continue to evaluate and adapt the tool based on the most cutting-edge nutrition research.

“We know Food Compass is not perfect,” said Mozaffarian. “But, it provides a more comprehensive, holistic rating of a food’s nutritional value than existing systems, and these new findings support its validity by showing it predicts better health.”

These findings are timely given the release of the new U.S. National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. One pillar of this strategy is to “empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices” through measures such as updating food labeling and making it easier to interpret, creating healthier food environments, and creating a healthier food supply.

“This study further validates Food Compass as a useful tool for defining healthy foods. We hope the Food Compass algorithm—publicly available to all—can help guide front-of-pack labeling; procurement choices in workplace, hospital, and school cafeterias; incentive programs for healthier eating in healthcare and federal nutrition programs; industry reformulations; and government policies around food,” said O’Hearn.

Researchers plan to work on a simplified version that requires fewer nutrient inputs, as well as versions tailored to specific conditions such as diabetes and pregnancy or to other nations’ populations. The research team is also interested in adding Food Compass domains based on other aspects of foods, such as environmental sustainability, social justice, or animal welfare.

“We look forward to continuing to find ways to improve the Food Compass system, and to get it to more users to help clear up confusion about healthier choices,” said Mozaffarian.

Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute under award number 2R01HL115189 and Vail Innovative Global Research. Complete information on authors, funders, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper.

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.

JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-022-34195-8

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

22-Nov-2022

Challenging guidelines on pregnancy interval following miscarriage or abortion

Study reviews over 72,000 Norwegian births over eight years

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Challenging guidelines on pregnancy interval following miscarriage or abortion — IMAGE: RESEARCHERS REVIEW GUIDELINES ON PREGNANCY INTERVAL FOLLOWING MISCARRIAGE OR ABORTION. view more
CREDIT: PIXABAY, PEXELS (CC0, HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/PUBLICDOMAIN/ZERO/1.0/)

Conception within three months of a miscarriage or an abortion is not associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, according to new research publishing November 22nd in the open access journal PLOS Medicine. The study suggests that, contrary to current advice, women could attempt pregnancy after a previous miscarriage or induced abortion without elevated perinatal risks and reassures those who want to try again sooner than guidelines recommend.

The World Health Organization recommends waiting six months after miscarriage or abortion before becoming pregnant again to avoid complications in the next pregnancy, yet evidence for this is scarce. Gizachew Tessema of the Curtin School of Population Health, Australia, and colleagues conducted a cohort study with a total of 49,058 births following miscarriage and 23,707 births following abortion in Norway between 2008-2016. They looked at six adverse outcomes: preterm birth, spontaneous preterm birth, small for gestational age, large for gestational age, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

Compared with waiting 6-11 months after miscarriage, there were lower risks of small for gestational age for babies conceived in less than six months and a lower risk of gestational diabetes in women conceiving in under three months. Following abortion there was a slight but non-significant increased risk of small for gestational age for conception in less than three months compared with 6-11 months but the risk of large for gestational age was lower in the group with an interpregnancy interval of 3-5 months.

There was no evidence of higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women with an IPI of greater than 12 months after miscarriages or induced abortions, with the exception of a modest increased risk of gestational diabetes. The authors acknowledge that the study was limited in that it lacked information on potential confounders, including pregnancy intention and health seeking behavior. Additionally, the data only included miscarriages recorded through the healthcare system.

The findings do not support current guidelines to wait six months after miscarriage or abortion, and suggest a need to review these guidelines and provide up to date, evidence based, recommendations for women.

The authors add, “Based on this study and others, we called for a review of the existing World Health Organization recommendations for pregnancy spacing following pregnancy loss.”

#####

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Medicine:

http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004129

Citation: Tessema GA, Håberg SE, Pereira G, Regan AK, Dunne J, Magnus MC (2022) Interpregnancy interval and adverse pregnancy outcomes among pregnancies following miscarriages or induced abortions in Norway (2008–2016): A cohort study. PLoS Med 19(11): e1004129. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004129

Author Countries: Australia, Norway, United States

Funding: see manuscript

JOURNAL

PLoS Medicine

DOI

10.1371/journal.pmed.1004129

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

Acupuncture can relieve lower back/pelvic pain often experienced during pregnancy

And no observable major side effects for newborns of mums-to-be who opted for therapy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

Acupuncture can significantly relieve the lower back and/or pelvic pain frequently experienced by women during their pregnancy, suggests a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

And there were no observable major side effects for newborns whose mums opted for the therapy, the findings indicate, although only a few of the published studies included in the analysis evaluated outcomes, such as premature birth, note the researchers.

Acupuncture is emerging as a potential therapy for various different types of pain, because it doesn’t involve the need for drugs and is considered safe, say the researchers.

Exactly how it might ease pain isn’t clear, but is thought to involve the release of the body’s innate ‘happy’ chemicals—endorphins—plus increases in blood flow to local skin and muscle.

But whether it can ease the debilitating low back and/or pelvic pain experienced by up to 90% of women during their pregnancy remains hotly contested.

To add to the evidence base, the researchers trawled research databases for relevant clinical trials that compared the pain relief afforded to pregnant women given acupuncture, alone or when combined with other therapies, with other/no/dummy treatments, as well as the potential impact on their newborns.

The final analysis included 10 randomised controlled trials, involving 1040 women. Every study was published between 2000 and 2020, and carried out variously in Sweden, the UK, the USA, Spain and Brazil.

The mums-to-be were all healthy, 17 to 30 weeks into their pregnancy on average, and had lower back and/or pelvic pain.

Acupuncture was delivered either by trained acupuncturists, physiotherapists, or midwives. Seven trials described body acupuncture; three described auricular (ear lobe) acupuncture.

All the studies reported the acupuncture points for treatment, needle retention time, and dose. In 7, points usually regarded as contraindicated in pregnancy—’forbidden points’—were used.

Pooled data analysis of the trial results for 9 studies suggested that acupuncture significantly relieved pain during pregnancy.

Of those studies (4) reporting on the potential of acupuncture to restore physical function, the results showed that this was significantly improved.

Quality of life was recorded in 5 studies. When the results of these were pooled, the findings suggested that acupuncture significantly improved this too.

Pooled data analysis of 4 studies indicated that there was a significant difference in overall effects when acupuncture was compared with other or no interventions.

But pooled data analysis of 2 studies reporting on pain relief medication indicated no difference in intake between those given acupuncture and those given nothing.

The adjusted pooled data analysis also suggested that acupuncture is safe, and for the 4 studies reporting on it, that there was no significant difference in health (Apgar) scores of newborns when acupuncture was compared with other intervention(s) or none.

Only one study reported on gestational age and that study wasn’t included in the pooled data analysis. Preterm contractions were reported in 2 studies, but these babies were in good health at birth.

Seven studies recorded other expected minor side effects for the mums-to-be, such as pain, soreness and bleeding at the needle site, and drowsiness. Nevertheless, participants rated acupuncture favourably and most were willing to repeat it, if needed.

The researchers sound a note of caution about their findings, however: the number of included studies was relatively small and their quality variable. What’s more, the design, methodology, outcomes, and participant characteristics differed substantially. And in 2 studies, the drop-out rate exceeded 20% among the comparison group.

Nevertheless, they conclude that acupuncture merits closer attention for its potential to ease pain at a time when it’s preferable to avoid drugs because of their potential side effects for mother and baby.

“Acupuncture significantly improved pain, functional status, and quality of life in women with [lower back/pelvic pain] during the pregnancy. Additionally, acupuncture had no observable severe adverse influences on the newborns,” they write.

“More large-scale and well-designed [randomised controlled trials] are still needed to further confirm these results,” they add.

JOURNAL

BMJ Open

DOI

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056878

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Acupuncture for low back and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

21-Nov-2022

Drinking during pregnancy changes baby’s brain structure

Reports and Proceedings

RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

Drinking During Pregnancy Changes Baby’s Brain Structure — IMAGE: LEFT: FETAL BRAIN POST-INTRAUTERINE ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IN FETUS BETWEEN 25 AND 29 GESTATIONAL WEEKS. NOTE THE SMOOTH CORTEX IN FRONTOPARIETAL AND TEMPORAL LOBES. RIGHT: BRAIN OF MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROL CASE IN FETUS BETWEEN 25 AND 28 GESTATIONAL WEEKS. THE SUPERIOR TEMPORAL SULCUS IS ALREADY BILATERALLY FORMED (RED ARROWS) AND APPEARS DEEPER ON THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE THAN ON THE LEFT. view more
CREDIT: RSNA AND PATRIC KIENAST, M.D.

CHICAGO – A new MRI study revealed that consumption of alcohol even in low to moderate amounts during pregnancy can change the baby’s brain structure and delay brain development. Results of the study will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

“Fetal MRI is a highly specialized and safe examination method that allows us to make accurate statements about brain maturation prenatally,” said study senior author Gregor Kasprian, M.D., associate professor of radiology from the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can expose the fetus to a group of conditions called fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Babies born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders could develop learning disabilities, behavioral problems or speech and language delays.

“Unfortunately, many pregnant women are unaware of the influence of alcohol on the fetus during pregnancy,” said lead author Patric Kienast, M.D., a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Division of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology at the Medical University of Vienna. “Therefore, it is our responsibility not only to do the research but also to actively educate the public about the effects of alcohol on the fetus.”

For the study, researchers analyzed MRI exams of 24 fetuses with prenatal alcohol exposure. The fetuses were between 22 and 36 weeks of gestation at the time of MRI. Alcohol exposure was determined via anonymous surveys of the mothers. The questionnaires used were the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a surveillance project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and health departments, and the T-ACE Screening Tool, a measurement tool of four questions that identify risk drinking.

In fetuses with alcohol exposure, the fetal total maturation score (fTMS) was significantly lower than in the age-matched controls, and the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) was shallower. The STS is involved in social cognition, audiovisual integration and language perception.

“We found the greatest changes in the temporal brain region and STS,” Dr. Kasprian said. “We know that this region, and specifically the formation of the STS, has a great influence on language development during childhood.”

Brain changes were seen in the fetuses even at low levels of alcohol exposure.

“Seventeen of 24 mothers drank alcohol relatively infrequently, with average alcohol consumption of less than one alcoholic drink per week,” Dr. Kienast said. “Nevertheless, we were able to detect significant changes in these fetuses based on prenatal MRI.”

Three mothers drank one to three drinks per week, and two mothers drank four to six drinks per week. One mother consumed an average of 14 or more drinks per week. Six mothers also reported at least one binge drinking event (exceeding four drinks on one occasion) during pregnancy.

According to the researchers, delayed fetal brain development could be specifically related to a delayed stage of myelination and less distinct gyrification in the frontal and occipital lobes.

The myelination process is critical to brain and nervous system function. Myelin protects nerve cells, allowing them to transmit information faster. Important developmental milestones in infants, as rolling over, crawling and language processing are directly linked to myelination.

Gyrification refers to the formation of the folds of the cerebral cortex. This folding enlarges the surface area of the cortex with limited space in the skull, enabling an increase in cognitive performance. When gyrification is diminished, functionality is reduced.

“Pregnant women should strictly avoid alcohol consumption,” Dr. Kienast said. “As we show in our study, even low levels of alcohol consumption can lead to structural changes in brain development and delayed brain maturation.”

It is unclear how these structural changes will affect brain development in these babies after birth.

“To assess this accurately, we need to wait for the children who were examined as fetuses at that time to get a little older, so that we can invite them back for further examinations,” Dr. Kienast said. “However, we can strongly assume that the changes we discovered contribute to the cognitive and behavioral difficulties that may occur during childhood.”

Co-authors are Marlene Stuempflen, M.D., Daniela Prayer, M.D., Benjamin Sigl, M.D., Mariana Schuette, M.D., Ph.D., and Sarah Glatter, M.D., M.M.Sc.

###

Note: Copies of RSNA 2022 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press22.

RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org)

For patient-friendly information on pediatric imaging and MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org.

How you help a child go to sleep is

related to their behavioral development,

finds new study

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FRONTIERS

A group of international researchers examined parental methods to help toddlers sleep across 14 cultures and found that these methods are related to the development of a child’s temperament. The researchers suggested focusing on better sleep-related parenting practices to support positive behavioral development across cultures.

The importance of good sleep during childhood development has been extensively researched. Bad sleep quality and behaviors are detrimental to neurobehavioral functioning, emotional reactivity and regulation, and can pose a risk for future psychopathology.

“Parental sleeping techniques are correlated with children’s sleep quality, and the importance of cultural context in child development has been long recognized,” said corresponding author Ms Christie Pham, of Washington State University.

“We wanted to examine whether cross-cultural differences in parental sleep-supporting strategies account for differences in toddler temperament.”

In a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, Pham and her colleagues studied the effect of different parental sleep-supporting techniques on child temperament across 14 cultures. They hypothesized that passive ways of helping a child fall asleep (eg, cuddling, singing, and reading), but not active methods (eg, walking, car rides, and playing), would be positively related to a child’s temperament.

Child temperament

Child temperament is defined as the way children regulate their behavior and handle their emotions. Different child temperaments can have effects on a child’s mental and physical well-being and can pose a risk for future disorders. Researchers previously defined temperament by three overarching factors:

Surgency (SUR), which reflects positive affect such as smiling and laughter, approach tendencies, activity, and enthusiasm.
Negative Emotionality (NE), which captures overall distress proneness, including in situations eliciting fear, anger, sadness, and discomfort.
Effortful Control (EC), involving attention-based regulatory skills and enjoyment of calm activities.

Each of the factors independently contribute to predicting behavioral, achievement, and interpersonal outcomes, such as behavior problems, social competence, and academic performance.

The international group of researchers asked 841 caregivers across 14 cultures (Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, and the US) to fill in the early childhood behavior questionnaire and a daily activities questionnaire. They were asked to report on their toddler’s (between 17 and 40 months of age, 52% male) temperament and their sleep-supporting parenting techniques, respectively.

“Utilizing linear multilevel regression models and group-mean centering procedures, we assessed the role of between- and within-cultural variance in sleep-supporting practices in relation to temperament,” explained Pham.

Active vs passive sleep support

They found that differences in sleep-supporting methods between cultures and within the same culture were associated with different temperament characteristics. The difference was larger between cultures, meaning that sleeping methods independently contribute to differences in child temperament across cultures.

“Our study shows that a parent’s sleep-supporting techniques are substantially associated with their child’s temperament traits across cultures, potentially impacting their development,” said Pham.

“For example, countries with greater reliance on passive strategies had toddlers with higher sociability scores (higher SUR),” Pham continued.

On the other hand, fussy or difficult temperament (higher NE) was significantly correlated with active sleep techniques.

Overall, passive sleep-supporting techniques were associated with lower NE and higher SUR at the culture level and higher EC at the individual level. Active sleep-supporting techniques were associated with higher NE at an individual level only.

Rank-ordering the extent to which a culture’s sample endorsed using passive techniques, the results show that the US, Finland, and Netherlands top the list and South Korea, Turkey, and China are at the bottom of this distribution. In contrast, rank-ordering for active techniques, the researchers find that Romania, Spain, and Chile top the list while Turkey, Italy, and Belgium are at the bottom of the distribution.

“Our results demonstrate the importance of sleep promotion and suggest that parental sleep practices could be potential targets for interventions to mitigate risk posed by challenging temperament profiles across cultures,” concluded Pham.

JOURNAL

Frontiers in Psychology

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1004082

About 2% of pregnant Canadian individuals self-report using cannabis in pregnancy, with usage associated with higher risk of preterm births, low birthweight newborns, and congenital anomalies, in a multi-region study of 1.28m births

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276824

Article Title: Cannabis use in pregnancy and maternal and infant outcomes: A Canadian cross-jurisdictional population-based cohort study

Author Countries: Canada, USA

Funding: Perinatal Services BC (SL, AH, KD, AP) received funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada through a contract agreement (#4500384537). The funders were members of the National Maternal Cannabis Working group where consensus was achieved through majority vote of 50% plus 1 regarding study design, data collection and analysis, and decision to publish.”

JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0276824

ARTICLE TITLE

Cannabis use in pregnancy and maternal and infant outcomes: A Canadian cross-jurisdictional population-based cohort study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-Nov-2022

The current emergence of monkeypox: The recurrence of another smallpox?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

COMPUSCRIPT LTD

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bsheal.2022.09.004

Since its first confirmation in London on 12 May 2022, many monkeypox cases have been reported worldwide. Noticeably, the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical features of the current emergence have been compared to those of smallpox, a severe contagious disease historically epidemic worldwide for nearly 3,000 years. However, some characteristics of the present outbreak differed from those of previous monkeypox outbreaks. The authors of this article consider if this emergence of monkeypox could cause another global pandemic similar to smallpox or influenza or if it is only the re-emergence of a new strain. To address these questions, they reviewed its virology, transmission, clinical characteristics, experimental diagnosis, and prevention and intervention.

Keywords: Monkeypox, Epidemiology, Clinical characteristics, Vaccine, Drugs, Biosafety

# # # # # #

Biosafety and Health is sponsored by the Chinese Medical Association, managed by National Institute for Viral

Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

For more information, please visit https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biosafety-and-health

Editorial Board: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/biosafety-and-health/about/editorial-board

Biosafety and Health is available on ScienceDirect (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/biosafety-and-health).

Submissions to Biosafety and Health may be made using Editorial Manager®

(https://www.editorialmanager.com/bsheal/default.aspx).

CiteScore: 4.8

ISSN 2590-0536

# # # # # #

Article reference: Tianyu Lu, Zongzhen Wu, Shibo Jiang, Lu Lu, Huan Liu, The current emergence of monkeypox: The recurrence of another smallpox?, Biosafety and Health, 2022, ISSN 2590-0536, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bsheal.2022.09.004

JOURNAL

Biosafety and Health

DOI

10.1016/j.bsheal.2022.09.004

The market reacts to stocks purchased by US senators, with little effect when lawmakers sell stocks

New research in the Strategic Management Journal finds abnormal returns are higher if the senator has direct jurisdiction over the firm.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SOCIETY

Stock purchases by U.S. Senate members generate abnormal returns, according to a study of purchases made by the politicians between 2012 and 2020. The findings, published in the Strategic Management Journal, also suggest that abnormal returns are higher if the senator has direct jurisdiction over the firm by way of committee assignments, along with an increase in abnormal returns if the firm is tied to the senator via lobbying-sponsored legislation and political action committee contributions. However, they found little evidence that stocks traded by Congress members outperform the market.

“Contrary to investors’ perception, we find that stocks sold and purchased by senators experienced negative abnormal returns over the six- to 12-month period following the transaction date,” says study co-author Mirzokhidjon Abdurakhmonov, an assistant professor of management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Also, while the market seems to react to stock purchases by members of Congress, there was little reaction when these politicians sell their stocks.”

Previous studies about Congress members’ stock trades focused on the overall performance of politician-traded stocks, with little attention paid to how investors perceive such trades, prompting Abdurakhmonov and his co-authors to research the topic. What they found was little evidence that stocks traded by Congress members outperform the market — and that the opposite is potentially true. Yes, the market reacts positively to the purchase of stock by a senator, but the researchers’ post-hoc analyses were unable to find a similar effect for the disclosure of stock sales by the senator. This suggests that information about senators’ stock purchases is more valuable to investors than stock sales.

The researchers suggest that to mitigate potential sways in the market caused by politician stock trades, lawmakers' stock holdings should be limited to blind trusts or exchange-traded funds that follow broad stock market indexes and asset classes. And by tying lawmakers' wealth with broad economic indicators of the country, their personal interests would align with national interests. This would increase public trust by reducing the appearance of potential impropriety — as would a ban on trades of stocks that are directly regulated by members of bureaucracy or legislature.

Although firms may not have direct control over if or when a senator invests in a firm, the results suggest that the connection of the firm to the legislator — by way of lobbying the senator's legislative proposals or campaign contributions — does matter. Abdurakhmonov says this makes the case for firms to aim for an expanded breadth of government, because they not only mitigate risks produced by the government, but it helps to generate positive market returns if and when legislators do invest in such firms.

The researchers also found that — while senators were slow to comply with the Stock Trading Act of 2012 — there has been an increase in on-time disclosures: Within the sample time frame studied, most senators disclosed their stock trades within a 36-day window, and more than 90% were reported within the 45-day reporting period.

The Strategic Management Journal, published by the Strategic Management Society, is the world’s leading mass impact journal for research in strategic management.

JOURNAL

Strategic Management Journal

DOI

10.1002/smj.3459

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study