New study from Japan shows SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant is highly transmissible and infectious

Team led by Japanese researchers characterizes the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant and assesses its danger to global public health

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

 

IMAGE: THE SARS-COV-2 OMICRON XBB.1.5 VARIANT SPREADS RAPIDLY AND IS MORE INFECTIOUS THAN ITS HISTORIC PRECURSOR view more 

CREDIT: KEI SATO FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, JAPAN

COVID-19 has caused significant global panic after its rapid emergence more than 3 years ago. Although we now have highly effective vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, scientists continue to study emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in order to safeguard public health and devise global preventive strategies against emerging variants. A team led by Japanese researchers has recently discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, prevalent in the Western hemisphere, has high transmissibility and infectivity.  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. Although scientists have designed novel vaccines to counter COVID-19, they are constantly on the lookout for emerging variants that can bypass vaccine resistance and potentially jeopardize global public health. A team led by Japanese researchers has recently been successful in characterizing the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, which was first detected in October 2022. Their findings were published on January 31, 2023 in volume 23 of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Says senior author Prof. Kei Sato from the Division of Systems Virology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan, “Because the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant can spread more rapidly than previous variants and has a potential to cause the next epidemic surge, we should carefully monitor it to safeguard public health.”      

While studying emerging variants of the SARs-CoV-2 Omicron lineage, the research team made a startling discovery: the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant has a novel mutation in the spike (S) protein—the protein that anchors the virus firmly to the human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor, thus facilitating the invasion of human cells. The serine-to-proline amino acid mutation noted at residue no. 486 in the S protein is virologically concerning because of a variety of reasons. 

Sharing his concerns, first author Keiya Uriu from the Division of Systems Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Tokyo, Japan, says, “In late 2022, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BQ.1 and XBB lineages, characterized by amino acid substitutions in the S protein and increased viral fitness, had become predominant in the Western and Eastern Hemisphere, respectively. In 2022, we elucidated the characteristics of a variety of newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. At the end of 2022, the XBB.1.5 variant, a descendant of XBB.1 that acquired the S:S486P substitution, emerged and was rapidly spreading in the USA.”

To gain mechanistic insights into the infectivity, transmissibility, and immune response associated with XBB.1.5, the team conducted a series of experiments. For instance, upon conducting epidemic dynamics analysis—statistical modeling that facilitates the analysis of the general characteristics of any epidemic—the team realized that the relative effective reproduction number (Re) of XBB.1.5 was 1.2-fold greater than that of the parental XBB.1. This indicated that an individual with the XBB.1.5 variant could infect 1.2 times more people in the population than someone with the parental XBB.1 variant. Moreover, the team also realized that, as of December 2022, XBB.1.5 was rapidly outcompeting BQ.1.1, the predominant lineage in the United States. 

Co-first-author Jumpei Ito from the Division of Systems Virology, remarks, “Our data suggest that XBB.1.5 will rapidly spread worldwide in the near future.”

The team also studied the virological features of XBB.1.5 to determine how tightly the S protein of the new variant interacts with the human ACE2 receptor. To this end, the researchers conducted a yeast surface display assay. The results showed that the dissociation constant (KD) corresponding to the physical interaction between the XBB.1.5 S receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the human ACE2 receptor is significantly (4.3-fold) lower than that for XBB.1 S RBD. “In other words, the XBB.1.5 variant binds to human ACE2 receptor with very high affinity,” explains Shigeru Fujita from the Division of Systems Virology.

Further experiments using lentivirus-based pseudoviruses also showed that XBB.1.5 had approximately 3-fold higher infectivity than XBB.1. These results suggest that XBB.1.5 exhibits a remarkably strong affinity to the human ACE2 receptor, which can be attributed to the S486P substitution.

The study by Prof. Sato and his team led to another important discovery from an immunization perspective. The XBB.1.5 S protein was found to be highly resistant to neutralization antibodies elicited by breakthrough infection with the BA.2/BA.5 subvariants. In other words, patients with prior infection from the BA.2/BA.5 subvariants may not show robust immunity against XBB.1.5, increasing their chances of infection and disease. 

“The results of our virological experiments explain why the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant has a higher transmissibility than past variants: This variant acquired strong binding ability to human ACE2 while maintaining a higher ability to escape from neutralizing antibodies,” says Yusuke Kosugi from the Division of Systems Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Contributing members of The Genotype to Phenotype Japan (G2P-Japan) Consortium conclude, “The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant does show enhanced transmissibility. Although few cases have been detected in the Eastern hemisphere, it could become a looming threat. Imminent prevention measures are needed.”

Thanks to the research team for the early warning! Meanwhile, we must continue adopting safe practices to defend ourselves from XBB.1.5. 
 

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JOURNAL

The Lancet Infectious Diseases

DOI

10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00051-8 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Enhanced transmissibility, infectivity and immune resistance of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant

Tune in, wash hands: COVID-19 TV coverage added momentum to hand hygiene boom

Researchers from Osaka University fortuitously find COVID-19 skyrocketed hand hygiene compliance, and the amount of network TV coverage of the pandemic was connected with that rise

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OSAKA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: COMPLIANCE OF HAND HYGIENE AMONG VISITORS AT THE ENTRANCE HALL OF THE HOSPITAL. view more 

CREDIT: 2023, ASAKO MIURA, THE IMPACT OF TELEVISION ON-AIR TIME ON HAND HYGIENE COMPLIANCE BEHAVIORS DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL

Osaka, Japan – Long before COVID-19, washing and sterilizing hands were known to help prevent the spread of infections such as influenza, and hand hygiene practices were especially important in high-risk areas, such as hospitals. So it was something of a public health boon that COVID-19 abruptly increased hand hygiene awareness. A new study also found that media coverage of the pandemic had a knock-on effect.

The study, from Japan’s Osaka University, gained unique insight on how COVID-19’s onset and media coverage of the novel virus raised hand hygiene compliance from 5% to over 70% in a matter of months. The study’s researchers tracked whether TV coverage related to such compliance and sought correlations between hand hygiene and newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. They published their findings in the American Journal of Infection Control.

“We were routinely monitoring hospital visitors’ use of hand sterilizer in December 2019 because of the influenza season,” explains lead author Daiichi Morii. “The timing just happened to correspond with the pandemic onset. That let us compare hand hygiene compliance before, during, and after the onset.” As another research variable, TV coverage was used as a symbol of the degree of social concern about COVID-19, and looked at its correlation with compliance.

Visitors were observed to see whether they voluntarily used alcohol spray on their hands upon entering hospital premises. During the baseline observation period in December 2019, just 5.3% of the observed visitors sanitized their hands. On January 28, 2020, the number rose modestly to 7.6%. Then, as COVID-19 quickly emerged, things took a dramatic shift – compliance rose to near 70% by August 2020 and remained at 70%–75% until October 2021, before very gradually declining.

At the same time, the researchers wanted to examine how the level of societal concern affected hand hygiene compliance. “Media coverage can have a strong psychological impact and affect public concern,” notes co-author Asako Miura. “So we looked at on-air time covering COVID-19 on Japan’s national public TV broadcaster, NHK, in the region where the hospital is located. The time spiked at 7.7 hours/day in May 2020, and then varied depending on the infection trend.”

The researchers ran mathematical simulations to pair TV coverage with compliance, and found a strong statistical correlation – an added hour of news coverage increased compliance the next day by around 1%. They also tracked the trends in newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, but found no correlation with hand hygiene compliance.

Despite the huge increase in hand hygiene compliance when there’s an epidemic onset, and the evident role media plays in that compliance, complacency can set in. People hear the same warnings over and over, as the authors note, and grow tired of them. More research is therefore needed into how to maintain the positive impacts seen in this study. That maintenance could lead to a future with less infectious disease, and clean hands.

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The article, “The impact of television on-air time on hand hygiene compliance behaviors during COVID-19 outbreak,” was published in the American Journal of Infection Control at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2023.03.001.

About Osaka University

Osaka University was founded in 1931 as one of the seven imperial universities of Japan and is now one of Japan's leading comprehensive universities with a broad disciplinary spectrum. This strength is coupled with a singular drive for innovation that extends throughout the scientific process, from fundamental research to the creation of applied technology with positive economic impacts. Its commitment to innovation has been recognized in Japan and around the world, being named Japan's most innovative university in 2015 (Reuters 2015 Top 100) and one of the most innovative institutions in the world in 2017 (Innovative Universities and the Nature Index Innovation 2017). Now, Osaka University is leveraging its role as a Designated National University Corporation selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to contribute to innovation for human welfare, sustainable development of society, and social transformation.

Website: https://resou.osaka-u.ac.jp/en

Number of newly confirmed cases in the Osaka Prefecture.

The on-air time of COVID-19 related news.

CREDIT

2023, Asako Miura, The impact of television on-air time on hand hygiene compliance behaviors during COVID-19 outbreak, American Journal of Infection Control

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Infection Control

DOI

10.1016/j.ajic.2023.03.001 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The impact of television on-air time on hand hygiene compliance behaviors during COVID-19 outbreak

World’s strongest MRI investigates COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue impacts on the brain

In a world-first, Griffith University researchers have used an ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) to investigate how COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) mirror the same effects on the brain structure.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GRIFFITH UNIVERSIT

 

IMAGE: DR KIRAN THAPALIYA AND A PATIENT USING THE MRI (7T) view more 

CREDIT: GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

In a world-first, Griffith University researchers have used an ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) to investigate how COVID-19 and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) mirror the same effects on the brain structure.

 

Dr Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Director of Griffith’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases and also works at the university’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, said the purpose of the study was to demonstrate the potential consistencies between the ME/CFS and Long COVID patients.

 

“We primarily used the 7T MRI to research the brainstem and its sub regions as it helps to resolve brain structures more precisely to discover abnormalities that other MRIs aren’t able to detect,” Dr Marshall-Gradisnik said.

 

Lead author Dr Kiran Thapaliya said the 7T MRI showed the brainstem was significantly larger in ME/CFS and Long COVID patients compared to those who did not suffer from the same ailments.

 

“It also showed similar volumes of the brainstem in patients which could be the reason Long COVID patients exhibit all common core symptoms of ME/CFS,” Dr Thapaliya said.

 

“We also discovered smaller midbrain volumes were associated with more severe breathing difficulty in ME/CFS and Long COVID patients.

 

“Therefore, brainstem dysfunction in ME/CFS and Long COVID patients could contribute to their neurological, cardiorespiratory symptoms, and movement disorder.”

 

The 7T MRI used in the study is one of only two in Australia.

 

The research was funded by the Stafford Fox Medical Research Foundation and ME Research UK and the findings ‘Brainstem volume changes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and Long COVID patients’ have been published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Studies show that up to 43% of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 do not recover fully and develop long COVID in all cohorts, even in young adults, students, and children.

 

Recent studies showed that 13-58% of long COVID patients met ME/CFS and symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, pain, and autonomic dysfunction are similar in ME/CFS and long COVID patients.

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Neuroscience

DOI

10.3389/fnins.2023.1125208 

 

Propeller advance paves way for quiet, efficient electric aviation

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS AT CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SWEDEN, HAVE DEVELOPED A PROPELLER DESIGN OPTIMISATION METHOD THAT PAVES THE WAY FOR QUIET AND EFFICIENT ELECTRIC AVIATION. view more 

CREDIT: CHRISTINA SICOLI ON UNSPLASH

Electrification is seen as having an important role to play in the fossil-free aviation of tomorrow. But electric aviation is battling a trade-off dilemma: the more energy-efficient an electric aircraft is, the noisier it gets. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a propeller design optimisation method that paves the way for quiet, efficient electric aviation.

In recent years, electrification has been described as having an important role in reducing emissions from future aviation. Due to the challenges posed by longer ranges, interest is chiefly focused on electric propeller planes covering shorter distances. Propellers connected to electric motors are considered the most efficient propulsion system for regional and domestic flights.

But while airplanes are electric, propellers cause another kind of emission – noise. The noise from the propeller blades wouldn’t just disturb air passengers. Future electric aircraft will need to fly at relatively low altitudes, with noise disturbance reaching residential areas and animal life.

Battling a trade-off dilemma

This is where the research community faces a dilemma. The ambition of developing electric aircraft that are both quiet and energy-efficient is somewhat thwarted by a trade-off problem.

“We can see that the more blades a propeller has, the lower the noise emissions. But with fewer blades, propulsion becomes more efficient and the electric aircraft can fly for longer. In that sense, there is a trade-off between energy efficiency and noise. This is something of an obstacle for electric aircrafts that are both quiet and efficient,” explains Hua-Dong Yao, Associate Professor and researcher in fluid dynamics and marine technology at Chalmers University of Technology.

An optimised design for quiet and efficient propellers

But now, Hua-Dong Yao and his research colleagues may be one step closer to a solution. They have succeeded in isolating and exploring the noise that occurs at the tip of the propeller blades, or “tip vortices”, a known but less well-explored source of noise. In isolating this noise, the researchers were able to fully understand its role in relation to other noise sources generated by propeller blades. By adjusting a range of propeller parameters, such as pitch angle, chord length and number of blades, the team found a way to optimise the propeller design and even out the trade-off effect between efficiency and noise. The method, described in the study published in the journal Aerospace, can now be used in the design process of quieter propellers for future electric aircraft.

“Modern aircraft propellers usually have two to four blades, but we’ve found that by using six blades designed using our optimisation framework, you can develop a propeller that’s both relatively efficient and quiet. The propeller achieves a noise reduction of up to 5-8 dBA* with only a 3.5 per cent thrust penalty, compared to a propeller with three blades. That’s comparable to the noise reduction of someone going from speaking in a normal conversation voice to the sound you would perceive in a quiet room,” says Hua-Dong Yao.

* A-weighted decibel (dBA or dB(A)) is an expression of the relative loudness of sounds as perceived by the human ear. A-weighting gives more value to frequencies in the mid-range of human hearing and less value to frequencies at the edges as compared to a flat audio decibel measurement. A-weighting is the standard for determining hearing damage and noise pollution.
 

More about the scientific publication

• The study Blade-Tip Vortex Noise Mitigation Traded-Off against Aerodynamic Design for Propellers of Future Electric Aircraft was published in the journal Aerospace.
• The authors are Hua-Dong Yao, Zhongjie Huang, Lars Davidson, Jiqiang Niu and Zheng-Wei Chen.
• The researchers are active at Chalmers University of Technology, Volvo Cars, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China.
• The research project has been funded by the Transport Area of Advance at Chalmers University of Technology.
• Link to the study: https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9120825

For more information, please contact:

Hua-Dong Yao, Associate Professor and researcher in fluid dynamics and marine technology, Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
huadong.yao@chalmers.se, +46 31 772 14 05

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JOURNAL

Aerospace

DOI

10.3390/aerospace9120825 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Blade-Tip Vortex Noise Mitigation Traded-Off against Aerodynamic Design for Propellers of Future Electric Aircraft

Community health workers can help protect pregnant women and their babies from malaria

An implementation science project conducted in four sub-Saharan African countries shows that community-based interventions significantly increased the number of women receiving preventive antimalarial treatment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BARCELONA INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (ISGLOBAL)

Community health workers can make a great difference in increasing the number of pregnant women who receive life-saving preventive antimalarial treatment, according to a study conducted in four sub-Saharan African countries and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by “la Caixa” Foundation. The findings, published in The Lancet Global Health, will help to guide malaria control strategies in pregnant women and improve maternal and infant health in malaria-endemic countries.

Malaria during pregnancy puts the health of both mother and child at risk. In 2020, an estimated 11.6 million pregnancies in Africa were exposed to malaria infection, resulting in 11% of neonatal deaths and 20% stillbirths. For this reason, the WHO recommends that pregnant women receive three doses of the antimalarial drug sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) during their antenatal visits if they live in areas with high to moderate malaria transmission. However, the proportion of eligible women receiving this intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) remains unacceptably low in many countries.

An innovative, community-based approach

The Unitaid-funded TIPTOP project (Transforming Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Optimal Pregnancy), co-led by Jhpiego and Clara Menéndez, Director of ISGlobal’s Maternal, Child and Reproductive Health Initiative, took an innovative “no missed opportunity” approach to increase IPTp coverage: using community health workers, who have been shown to improve the uptake of health interventions such as childhood immunizations. This implementation science project took place in took place in Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique and Nigeria between 2017-2022. Collaboration with WHO and Medicines Malaria Venture were a mainstay throughout the project life. 

“This study is the largest implementation project carried out in collaboration with the countries’ ministries of health, in which we simultaneously evaluated the impact of community health workers on IPTp coverage and antenatal care attendance,” explains Raquel González, TIPTOP senior epidemiologist and lead author of the study. In the project, community health workers identified pregnant women in the community, provided the required SP doses to eligible women and referred them to the health facility for antenatal care. More than 18,000 women participated in 32 household surveys over three years to assess IPTp coverage before, during, and after the community-based delivery approach.

The results show that IPTp coverage increased significantly after the community-based implementation in all study countries, ranging from 133.6% in Madagascar to 473% in Nigeria, where coverage increased from 12.7% to 31.8%. Importantly, the approach did not reduce antenatal care attendance. On the contrary, it increased slightly in most study areas.  

“These results are robust and will help to inform malaria control strategies,” says Clara Menéndez. Approximately 10,000 pregnant women and 200,000 of their newborns die each year from malaria, which means that increasing IPTp uptake through community health workers can save thousands of maternal and infant lives in African countries.

“We’re delighted to see these community-led approaches making a difference in the lives of thousands of pregnant women. Beyond achieving targets, TIPTOP has underscored the critical role community health workers play in supporting the health of women, where they live,” said Elaine Roman, TIPTOP Project Director. “This offers promise and opportunity well beyond life of project; providing a sustainable and trustworthy pathway to improve the health of women across a range of challenges.”

 

Reference

González R, Manun’Ebo MF, Meremikwu M, et al. The impact of community delivery of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy on its coverage:  a quasi-experimental evaluation in four sub-Saharan African countries. Lancet Glob Health 2023; 11: e566–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/PIIS2214-109X(23)00051-7

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JOURNAL

The Lancet Global Health

DOI

10.1016/PIIS2214-109X(23)00051-7 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The impact of community delivery of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy on its coverage: a quasi-experimental evaluation in four sub-Saharan African countries

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

14-Mar-2023

High blood caffeine level might curb amount of body fat and type 2 diabetes risk

Exploration of potential role of calorie free caffeinated drinks may now be warranted, say researchers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

A high blood caffeine level might curb the amount of body fat a person carries and their risk of type 2 diabetes, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

In light of their findings, the potential role of calorie free caffeinated drinks for lowering the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes is probably now worth exploring, say the researchers.

Previously published research indicates that drinking 3-5 daily cups of coffee, a rich source of caffeine, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, note the researchers. An average cup of coffee contains around 70–150 mg caffeine.

But most of the published research to date has concerned observational studies, which can’t reliably establish causal effects, because of the other potentially influential factors involved, point out the researchers.

What’s more, it’s difficult to disentangle any specific effects of caffeine from the other compounds included in caffeinated drinks and foods, they add.

To try and overcome these issues, the researchers used Mendelian randomisation to find out what effect higher blood caffeine levels have on body fat and the long term risks of type 2 diabetes and major cardiovascular diseases—coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, and irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).

Mendelian randomisation is a technique that uses genetic variants as proxies for a particular risk factor—in this case blood levels of caffeine—to obtain genetic evidence in support of a particular outcome—in this study, weight (BMI) and type 2 diabetes risk.

The researchers looked at the role of two common genetic variants of the CYP1A2 and AHR genes in nearly 10,000 people of predominantly European ancestry, who were taking part in 6 long term studies. The CYP1A2 and AHR genes are associated with the speed of caffeine metabolism in the body.

People who carry genetic variants associated with slower caffeine metabolism drink, on average, less coffee, yet have higher levels of caffeine in their blood than people who metabolise it quickly to reach or retain the levels required for its stimulant effects. 

The results of the analysis showed that higher genetically predicted blood caffeine levels were associated with lower weight (BMI) and body fat. 

Higher genetically predicted blood caffeine levels were also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.  

The researchers then used Mendelian randomisation to further explore the extent to which any effect of caffeine on type 2 diabetes risk might principally be driven by the concurrent weight loss.

The results showed that weight loss drove nearly half (43%) of the effect of caffeine on type 2 diabetes risk.

No strong associations emerged between genetically predicted blood caffeine levels and the risk of any of the studied cardiovascular disease outcomes.

The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including the use of only two genetic variants, and the inclusion of only people of European ancestry.

But caffeine is known to boost metabolism, increase fat burning, and reduce appetite, they explain. And a daily intake of 100 mg has been estimated to increase energy expenditure by around 100 calories a day, which could consequently lower the risk of developing obesity.

“Our mendelian randomisation finding suggests that caffeine might, at least in part, explain the inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes,” write the researchers.

“Randomised controlled trials are warranted to assess whether non-caloric caffeine containing beverages might play a role in reducing the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes,” they conclude.

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JOURNAL

BMJ Medicine

DOI

10.1136/bmjmed-2022-000335 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Appraisal of the causal effect of plasma caffeine on adiposity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease: two sample mendelian randomisation study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

14-Mar-2023

Mild fever helps clear infections faster, new study suggests

Research on fish shows waiting before reaching for medications may be beneficial for humans.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

 

IMAGE: USING A CUSTOM SWIM CHAMBER TO STUDY HOW FISH RESPONDED BEHAVIOURALLY TO FEVER, RESEARCHERS DANIEL BARREDA, AMRO SOLIMAN, FARAH HADDAD AND THEIR TEAM FOUND THAT MILD FEVER HELPED THE FISH CLEAR THEIR BODIES OF INFECTION RAPIDLY, CONTROLLED INFLAMMATION AND REPAIRED TISSUE DAMAGE. view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

It may be better to let a mild fever run its course instead of automatically reaching for medication, new University of Alberta research suggests.

Researchers found that untreated moderate fever helped fish clear their bodies of infection rapidly, controlled inflammation and repaired damaged tissue. “We let nature do what nature does, and in this case it was very much a positive thing,” says immunologist Daniel Barreda, lead author on the study and a joint professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Science.

Moderate fever is self-resolving, meaning that the body can both induce it and shut it down naturally without medication, Barreda explains. The health advantages of natural fever to humans still have to be confirmed through research, but the researchers say because the mechanisms driving and sustaining fever are shared among animals, it is reasonable to expect similar benefits are going to happen in humans.

That suggests we should resist reaching for over-the-counter fever medications, also known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, at the first signs of a mild temperature, he says. “They take away the discomfort felt with fever, but you’re also likely giving away some of the benefits of this natural response.” 

The study helps shed light on the mechanisms that contribute to the benefits of moderate fever, which Barreda notes has been evolutionarily conserved across the animal kingdom for 550 million years. “Every animal examined has this biological response to infection.”

For the study, fish were given a bacterial infection and their behaviour was then tracked and evaluated using machine learning. Outward symptoms were similar to those seen in humans with fever, including immobility, fatigue and malaise. These were then matched to important immune mechanisms inside the animals.

The research showed that natural fever offers an integrative response that not only activates defences against infection, but also helps control it.The researchers found that fever helped to clear the fish of infection in about seven days — half the time it took for those animals not allowed to exert fever. Fever also helped to shut down inflammation and repair injured tissue. 

“Our goal is to determine how to best take advantage of our medical advances while continuing to harness the benefits from natural mechanisms of immunity,” says Barreda.

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JOURNAL

eLife

DOI

10.7554/eLife.83644 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Fever integrates antimicrobial defences, inflammation control, and tissue repair in a cold-blooded vertebrate

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

14-Mar-2023

Digitalisation, innovation and focus on quality are related to revenue growth

Organisations can be lean, agile or service-oriented, but not all at once, claim the Kaunas University of Technology researchers in a recently published monograph.

Book Announcement

KAUNAS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: PROF MANTAS VILKAS, RESEARCHER AT SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, KAUNAS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY view more 

CREDIT: KTU

Organisations can be lean, agile or service-oriented, but not all at once, claim the Kaunas University of Technology researchers in a recently published monograph. According to the authors, the digitalisation and innovation are the organisational capabilities related to financial revenue growth. The findings are based on empirical research of 500 industrial companies operating in Lithuania.

The organisational models or templates, such as lean and agile have become common terms in management literature and practice. In recent years, enabled by the digital transformation, a new, service-oriented template for organising industrial companies emerged. Adherence to an organisational template can have a positive impact on an organisation’s finances and increase its symbolic performance in the eyes of stakeholders.

“You may think about the adoption of an organisational template as some kind of institutional logic. For example, if a company adheres to a sustainability institutional logic, it applies the practices related to sustainability in all its activities. The adoption of a trendy organisational template may increase the legitimacy of the company’s activities in the eyes of interested parties; this may result in attracting more orders, media attention, and more talented employees,” says Mantas Vilkas, professor at Kaunas University of Technology School of Economics and Business.

Are all organisational templates similarly impactful in the eyes of interested parties? Is it possible for companies to adopt several templates? Which of the templates is the most related to a company’s financial performance?

“Our study revealed that the companies, which are aimed at high quality in their production, achieve higher financial growth. You may know that quality and cost optimisation are major characteristics of lean organisations. However, which company would claim it does not seek high product quality? On the other hand, developing such capabilities as digitalisation and innovation, although associated with agile and service-oriented companies, is beneficial to all organisations,” says Vilkas, a co-author of the monograph Organizational Models for Industry 4.0.

The Pandemic highlighted the importance of the industry sector

In the recent monograph, partly based on pan-European industry research, the scientists focus on the Lithuanian industry landscape. According to Vilkas, although the industry is the largest sector in Lithuania, creating 22 per cent of the gross domestic product, there is still a lack of research in this field.

“Therefore, political and organisational decisions tend to be based on imitation and expert intuition rather than evidence, in Lithuania. We aim to grow the body of research, to push the frontiers of knowledge in this field further, which would lead to evidence-based decisions by organisations and policymakers,” says Vilkas.

There are around 8 thousand industry organisations in Lithuania, employing 20 per cent of the workforce. Around 65 per cent of production is exported. Also, the industry sector accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the country’s R&D spending.

KTU researchers based their findings on empirical research from 500 industry organisations, operating in Lithuania – a dynamic, interesting and very important sector, according to Vilkas.

“Pandemic highlighted its importance – while all activity in the services sector stalled, the industry continued generating stable income, both for the state and its employees,” says Vilkas.

Lean practices are the most popular

The monograph aimed to discuss the prevalence and potential benefits of popular organisational templates – lean (the main goal of this template – is to achieve high quality with low production costs), agile (ultimate goal – mass individualisation of products) and service-oriented (main focus of these organisations are not the products themselves, but supporting services).

The study revealed that lean methods are the most prevalent, with 50 per cent of Lithuanian industry organisations applying them. 20 per cent of the organisations adhere to the practices associated with agile, and less than 5 per cent have adopted service-oriented organisational templates. The majority of them were engineering companies.

“Lean practices are most often used by food companies comparing to other sectors; the size of the company is an indicator for using lean methods – larger organisations tend to use them more. Digital innovations are more frequently adopted by large engineering companies comparing with companies from other sectors and of different size. Services are more widely provided by engineering organisations, which customise their products,” says Vilkas.

Being lean does not mean that you cannot innovate

Despite being based on Lithuanian data, the monograph explores topics that are important in a global context. For example, the recent emergence of a service-oriented organisational model raised the question if it is possible for an organisation to adopt several models at once.

“Essentially, the answer to that question is no, it is not recommended. Although certain practices in the three models partially overlap, their goals are different and it may be very complicated to reconcile them. While it might be possible for a lean organisation to become agile in later stages of its development, the adherence to a service-oriented template is a choice that the organisation needs to make in its initial stage,” believes Vilkas.

Thus, relying on the findings, the authors of the monograph discourage companies from becoming lean-agile or lean-agile-service-oriented and choose a single model instead. However, being known as a lean company does not preclude the possibility of developing competencies related to other models, such as agile-related innovation or agile and service-oriented-related digitalisation. In contrast, research shows that innovative companies such as Toyota achieve unprecedented innovations without stopping being role models for lean, the authors claim.

“Our research shows that financial growth is related to an organisation’s quality performance, and its capabilities to innovate. Digitalisation competencies allow to achieve higher productivity across all organisational models,” says Vilkas, adding that the study revealed large companies being more prone to digital innovations.

Young countries adopt digital innovations faster

According to Vilkas, the Lithuanian industry’s digitalisation level is average compared to other European countries. However, evidence from other research suggests that organisations in young countries, including Lithuania, are acquiring digitalisation capabilities faster. While on average for, say, a German or a Swiss company it may take around 16 years to acquire certain digital capabilities, in Lithuania, this may take 11 years. Vilkas says that in some cases, international companies even establish their digitalisation departments in Lithuania, which then transfer their practices to the headquarters in other countries.

“That’s not to say that Lithuanian manufacturing sector will prevail in Europe, because certain countries are established producers of final products and have historically strong presence in different markets, but I believe that Lithuanian companies are adopting digital innovations faster,” says Vilkas, a researcher at Kaunas University of Technology, School of Economics and Business.

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DOI

10.1007/978-3-031-14988-7 

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