Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Scientists have full state of a quantum liquid down cold

New research, using ultracold atoms, reveals particular properties of quantum systems

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

KRb atomchip — IMAGE: IN THE HEART OF THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP SITS THE ATOMCHIP IN A VACUUM CHAMBER IN SCHMIEDMAYER LAB AT THE ATOMINSTITUT OF TU WIEN IN VIENNA. view more
CREDIT: THOMAS SCHWEIGLER

A team of physicists has illuminated certain properties of quantum systems by observing how their fluctuations spread over time. The research offers an intricate understanding of a complex phenomenon that is foundational to quantum computing—a method that can perform certain calculations significantly more efficiently than conventional computing.

“In an era of quantum computing it’s vital to generate a precise characterization of the systems we are building,” explains Dries Sels, an assistant professor in New York University’s Department of Physics and an author of the paper, which appears in the journal Nature Physics. “This work reconstructs the full state of a quantum liquid, consistent with the predictions of a quantum field theory—similar to those that describe the fundamental particles in our universe.”

Sels adds that the breakthrough offers promise for technological advancement.

“Quantum computing relies on the ability to generate entanglement between different subsystems, and that’s exactly what we can probe with our method,” he notes. “The ability to do such precise characterization could also lead to better quantum sensors—another application area of quantum technologies.”

The research team, which included scientists from Vienna University of Technology, ETH Zurich, Free University of Berlin, and the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, performed a tomography of a quantum system—the reconstruction of a specific quantum state with the aim of seeking experimental evidence of a theory.

The studied quantum system consisted of ultracold atoms—slow-moving atoms that make the movement easier to analyze because of their near-zero temperature—trapped on an atom chip.

In their work, the scientists created two “copies” of this quantum system—cigar-shaped clouds of atoms that evolve over time without influencing each other. At different stages of this process, the team performed a series of experiments that revealed the two copies’ correlations.

“By constructing an entire history of these correlations, we can infer what is the initial quantum state of the system and extract its properties,” explains Sels. “Initially, we have a very strongly coupled quantum liquid, which we split into two so that it evolves as two independent liquids, and then we recombine it to reveal the ripples that are in the liquid.

“It’s like watching the ripples in a pond after throwing a rock in it and inferring the properties of the rock, such as its size, shape, and weight.”

An image and a video, along with captions and credits, depicting this process may be accessed from Google Drive.

This research was supported by grants from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-21-1-0236) and the U.S. Army Research Office (W911NF-20-1-0163) as well as the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the German Research Research Foundation (DRG).

The interference between a pair of ultra-cold atomic clouds after free fall.

CREDIT

Bernhard Rauer

JOURNAL

Nature Physics

DOI

10.1038/s41567-023-02027-1

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

ARTICLE TITLE

Verification of the area law of mutual information in a quantum field simulator

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Apr-2023

New biologic effective against major infection in early tests

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NYU LANGONE HEALTH / NYU GROSSMAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Janssen Biotech, Inc. have shown in early tests that a bioengineered drug candidate can counter infection with Staphylococcus aureus – a bacterial species widely resistant to antibiotics and a major cause of death in hospitalized patients.

Experiments demonstrated that SM1B74, an antibacterial biologic agent, was superior to a standard antibiotic drug at treating mice infected with S. aureus, including its treatment-resistant form known as MRSA.

Published online April 24 in Cell Host & Microbe, the new paper describes the early testing of mAbtyrins, a combination molecule based on an engineered version of a human monoclonal antibody (mAb), a protein that clings to and marks S. aureus for uptake and destruction by immune cells. Attached to the mAb are centyrins, small proteins that prevent these bacteria from boring holes into the human immune cells in which they hide. As the invaders multiply, these cells die and burst, eliminating their threat to the bacteria.

Together, the experimental treatment targets ten disease-causing mechanisms employed by S. aureus, but without killing it, say the study authors. This approach promises to address antibiotic resistance, say the researchers, where antibiotics kill vulnerable strains first, only to make more space for others that happen to be less vulnerable until the drugs no longer work.

“To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that mAbtyrins can drastically reduce the populations of this pathogen in cell studies, and in live mice infected with drug-resistant strains so common in hospitals,” said lead study author Victor Torres, PhD, the C.V. Starr Professor of Microbiology and director of the NYU Langone Health Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogen Program. “Our goal was to design a biologic that works against S. aureus inside and outside of cells, while also taking away the weapons it uses to evade the immune system.”

One-third of the human population are carriers of S. aureus without symptoms, but those with weakened immune systems may develop life-threatening lung, heart, bone, or bloodstream infections, especially among hospitalized patients.

Inside Out

The new study is the culmination of a five-year research partnership between scientists at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Janssen to address the unique nature of S. aureus.

The NYU Langone team together with Janssen researchers, published in 2019 a study that found that centyrins interfere with the action of potent toxins used by S. aureus to bore into immune cells. They used a molecular biology technique to make changes in a single parental centyrin, instantly creating a trillion slightly different versions of it via automation. Out of this “library,” careful screening revealed a small set of centyrins that cling more tightly to the toxins blocking their function.

Building on this work, the team fused the centyrins to a mAb originally taken from a patient recovering from S. aureus infection. Already primed by its encounter with the bacteria, the mAb could label the bacterial cells such that they are pulled into bacteria-destroying pockets inside of roving immune cells called phagocytes. That is unless the same toxins that enable S. aureus to drill into immune cells from the outside let it drill out of the pockets to invade from the inside.

In a “marvel of bioengineering,” part of the team’s mAbtyrin serves as the passport recognized by immune cells, which then engulf the entire, attached mAbtyrin, along with its centyrins, and fold it into the pockets along with bacteria. Once inside, the centyrins block the bacterial toxins there. This, say the authors, sets their effort apart from antibody combinations that target the toxins only outside of cells.

The team made several additional changes to their mAbtyrin that defeat S. aureus by, for instance, activating chain reactions that amplify the immune response, as well by preventing certain bacterial enzymes from cutting up antibodies and others from gumming up their action.

In terms of experiments, the researchers tracked the growth of S. aureus strains commonly occurring in US communities in the presence of primary human immune cells (phagocytes). Bacterial populations grew almost normally in the presence of the parental antibody, slightly less well in the presence of the team’s engineered mAb, and half as fast when the mAbtyrin was used.

In another test, 98% of mice treated with a control mAb (no centyrins) developed bacteria-filled sores on their kidneys when infected with a deadly strain of S. aureus, while only 38% of mice did so when treated with the mAbtyrin. Further, when these tissues were removed and colonies of bacteria in them counted, the mice treated with the mAbtyrin had one hundred times (two logs) fewer bacterial cells than those treated with a control mAb.

Finally, the combination of small doses of the antibiotic vancomycin with the mAbtyrin in mice significantly improved the efficacy of the mAbtyrin, resulting in maximum reduction of bacterial loads in the kidneys and greater than 70% protection from kidney lesions.

“It is incredibly important,” said Torres, “that we find new ways to boost the action of vancomycin, a last line of defense against MRSA.”

Along with Torres, authors from the Department of Microbiology at NYU Langone were Rita Chan, Ashley DuMont, Keenan Lacey, Aidan O’Malley, and Anna O'keeffe. The study authors included 13 scientists from Janssen Research & Development (for details see the study manuscript).

This work was supported by Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, under the auspices of an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement with NYU. Torres has recently received royalties and consulting compensation from Janssen and related entities. These interests are being managed in accordance with NYU Langone policies and procedures.

JOURNAL

Cell Host & Microbe

DOI

10.1016/j.chom.2023.04.004

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Multivalent human antibody-centyrin fusion protein to prevent and treat Staphylococcus Aureus infections

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Apr-2023

COI STATEMENT

This work was supported by Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, under the auspices of an exclusive license and research collaboration agreement with NYU. Dr. Torres has recently received royalties and consulting compensation from Janssen and related entities. These interests are being managed in accordance with NYU Langone policies and procedures.

Sugar-sweetened beverages linked with increased risk of premature death for people with type 2 diabetes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Key points:

This is among the first large-scale studies to examine associations between beverage consumption, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality specifically among people living with type 2 diabetes
Those with type 2 diabetes who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages like soda or lemonade had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and/or dying prematurely than those who regularly consumed beverages like coffee, tea, low-fat cow’s milk, and plain water
Each additional daily serving of a SSB was associated with an 8% higher all-cause mortality among those with type 2 diabetes. Replacing one daily serving of a SSB with a healthier beverage was associated with up to an 18% lower risk of all-cause mortality

Boston, MA—High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was associated with an elevated risk of premature death and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Drinking beverages like coffee, tea, low-fat cow’s milk, and plain water was associated with lower risk of dying prematurely.

The study looked specifically at consumption of different beverages among patients with type 2 diabetes. While many prior studies have linked beverage consumption and health outcomes such as cardiometabolic health, weight change, and mortality, those studies have primarily been among the general population.

“Beverages are an important component of our diet, and the quality can vary hugely,” said lead author Qi Sun, associate professor in the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology. “People living with diabetes may especially benefit from drinking healthy beverages—but data has been sparse. These findings help fill in that knowledge gap and may inform patients and their caregivers on diet and diabetes management.”

The study will be published online April 19, 2023 in The BMJ.

The researchers analyzed an average of 18.5 years of health data from 9,252 women participating in the Nurse’s Health Study and 3,519 men participating in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, all of whom had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at baseline or at some point during the study. Every two to four years, the participants reported on how often they consumed SSBs (including sodas, fruit punch, and lemonade), artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), fruit juice, coffee, tea, low-fat cow’s milk, full-fat cow’s milk, and plain water.

The findings showed higher all-cause mortality, and higher incidence of and mortality from CVD, among those who regularly consumed SSBs: Every additional daily serving of a SSB was associated with an 8% higher all-cause mortality. Inversely, all-cause mortality and incidence of and mortality from CVD decreased among those who regularly consumed healthier beverages such as coffee, tea, low-fat cow’s milk, and/or plain water. Replacing one daily serving of a SSB with one serving of coffee was associated with an 18% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 20% lower risk of CVD mortality; tea with 16% and 24% lower risk; plain water with a 16% and 20% lower risk; and low-fat cow’s milk with a 12% and 19% lower risk. Drinking ASBs was also associated with healthier outcomes, but less so: Replacing one daily serving of a SSB with an ASB was associated with an 8% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 15% lower risk in CVD mortality.

“People living with diabetes should be picky about how they keep themselves hydrated,” said Sun. “Switching from sugar-sweetened beverages to healthier beverages will bring health benefits.”

Other Harvard Chan School co-authors included Le Ma, Yang Hu, Derrick Alperet, Vasanti Malik, JoAnn Manson, Eric Rimm, and Frank Hu.

Funding for the study came from the National Institutes of Health grants UM1 CA186107, U01 CA167552, R01 HL034594, R01 HL035464, DK126698, DK120870, and DK119268.

“Beverage consumption and mortality among adults with type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study,” Le Ma, Yang Hu, Derrick J. Alperet, Gang Liu, Vasanti Malik, JoAnn E. Manson, Eric B. Rimm, Frank B. Hu, Qi Sun, BMJ, online April 19, 2023, doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-073406

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training program in public health.

JOURNAL

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj-2022-073406

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Beverage consumption and mortality among adults with type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study,”

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Apr-2023

Swapping sugary drinks for coffee, tea or water linked to fewer deaths in adults with diabetes

Findings highlight role of healthy beverage choices to manage risk, say researchers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

For adults with type 2 diabetes, replacing sugary drinks with coffee, tea, or plain water is linked to lower rates of early death due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other causes, finds research published by The BMJ.

A greater increase in coffee and tea consumption from before to after a diabetes diagnosis was also associated with lower death rates. These findings highlight the potential role of healthy beverage choices in managing risk for adults with type 2 diabetes, say the authors.

In 2021, over 500 million adults worldwide had type 2 diabetes, which carries an increased risk of CVD and premature death, and this number is set to rise to 783 million by 2045.

Diet plays a key role in managing diabetes, but little is known about intake of specific types of beverages in relation to death and CVD among adults with type 2 diabetes.

To fill this knowledge gap, researchers drew on data for 15,486 adults (74% women; average age 61 years) with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes who were part of the Nurses’ Health Study (1980-2018) and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2018) in the United States.

Beverage consumption was assessed using a validated food questionnaire and updated every two to four years. This included sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially sweetened (low-calorie) beverages (ASBs), fruit juice, coffee, tea, low fat and full fat milk, and plain water.

During an average 18.5 years of follow-up, the researchers recorded 3,447 cases of CVD and 7,638 deaths.

After accounting for other lifestyle factors and medical history, they found that participants with the highest intake of SSBs (more than 1 serving a day) had a 20% increased risk of death from any cause compared with participants with the lowest intake (less than 1 serving a month).

In contrast, high intakes of certain beverages (up to 6 servings a day) were associated with lower mortality: 26% lower for coffee, 21% for tea, 23% for plain water, and 12% for low fat milk.

Similar associations were seen between the individual beverages and CVD rates and mortality. In particular, SSB intake was associated with a 25% higher risk of CVD and a 29% higher risk of CVD related mortality, whereas intake of coffee and low fat milk were associated with an 18% and 12% lower risk of CVD, respectively.

Compared with those who did not change their consumption of coffee in the period after a diabetes diagnosis, an 18% lower all cause mortality was seen in those who increased their consumption of coffee. A similar pattern for all cause mortality was also found for tea, and low fat milk.

Replacing SSBs with ASBs was also associated with lower all cause mortality and CVD mortality, and replacing SSBs, ASBs, fruit juice, or full fat milk with coffee, tea, or plain water was consistently associated with lower all cause mortality.

This is an observational study, so can’t establish cause, and the researchers acknowledge that individual beverage consumption may be linked to other dietary and lifestyle risk factors for CVD and mortality among adults with diabetes, and they can’t rule out the possibility that measurement errors or misclassification may have influenced the results.

However, this was a large study with a long follow-up period, high response rates, and detailed and repeated assessments of dietary and lifestyle variables before and after a diabetes diagnosis.

As such, they conclude: “Overall, these results provide additional evidence that emphasises the importance of beverage choices in maintaining overall health among adults with diabetes.” Further studies are warranted to replicate and further explore these important associations, they add.

This new study extends our understanding of the health implications of different beverages to adults with type 2 diabetes, says Nita Forouhi at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, in a linked editorial.

Questions remain, however, such as the effect of adding sugar to coffee or tea, and the impact of other popular drinks, like milkshakes, smoothies, and hot chocolate, she writes. It is also unclear whether the findings apply to different population groups as the study focused on predominantly white US health professionals.

Nevertheless, choice of beverage clearly matters, she says. The case for avoiding sugar sweetened beverages is compelling in the general population, and it is reasonable to shift the focus to drinks that are most likely to have positive health effects: coffee, tea, plain water, and low fat milk, she concludes.

JOURNAL

The BMJ

DOI

10.1136/bmj-2022-073406

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Beverage consumption and mortality among adults with type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Apr-2023

COI STATEMENT

All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the submitted work; JEM has been supported by grants from NIH. FBH has been supported by grants HL60712, HL118264, and DK112940 from NIH and received research support from the California Walnut Commission, honorariums for lectures from Metagenics and Standard Process, and honorariums from Diet Quality Photo Navigation, outside the submitted work; VM has received research support from Canada Research Chairs Program, Connaught New Researcher Award, University of Toronto, and The Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, University of Toronto, received consulting fees from the World Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group, and has held a leadership role in Canadian Institutes of Health Research Advisory Board, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes. No other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work

RACIST, SEXIST MEDICINE

Minority ethnic doctors less likely to get specialty NHS training posts while some specialties show gender bias

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Most minority ethnic groups are less successful than their White British counterparts when applying to specialty training programmes in the NHS, Cambridge researchers have shown. Their analysis, published today in BMJ Open, also found that while female applicants are more successful overall, particular specialities tend to appeal to different genders.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust examined data from applicants to Specialty Training Posts through Health Education England for the recruitment cycle 2021-22 to look at potential disparities in the success of applicants according to gender, ethnicity and disability.

During this period, there were just under 12,500 successful applicants to Health Education England for training posts – a success rate of one in three (32.7%). Overall, females were more successful than males (37.0% versus 29.1%).

The researchers found clear evidence that certain specialities were more attractive to females or to males. Of note, surgical specialities and radiology had the highest proportion of male applicants (65.3% and 64.3% respectively), while obstetrics and gynaecology and public health had the highest proportion of female applicants (72.4% and 67.2% respectively).

Senior author Professor Sharon Peacock, from the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said: “The success by female applicants in many specialties is a positive step towards gender balance, and perhaps reflects existing efforts to address disparities. But the skew in applications and subsequent recruitment by gender, particularly amongst surgical specialities, is concerning.”

Gender disparities are known to have knock-on effects. For example, a lack of female representation contributes towards a male dominated culture, which can then result in fewer female role models to inspire and encourage aspiring female doctors.

The researchers say there are several reasons for these disparities. In surgical specialities, for example, a male-dominated workplace culture, bullying and harassment, few female role models, and career inflexibility, have been suggested as factors that deter females from applying. Female surgeons have reported quality of life and fewer unsocial hours as explanations of why women prefer other clinical specialities, in addition to the fear that working less-than-full-time or taking career breaks is perceived negatively.

Approximately half (50.2%) of the applicants were non-UK graduates. The overall success rate of UK graduates was 44.5%, compared with 22.8% for non-UK graduates.

When it came to minority ethnic groups, after adjusting for country of graduation, applicants from eleven out of fifteen groups (73.3%) were significantly less likely to be successful compared to White British. Those who fared worst were those of Mixed White and Black African ethnicity, who were only half as likely (52%) to be successful as White British applicants.

Dr Dinesh Aggarwal, the study’s first author, also from the Department of Medicine, said: “The data suggests there’s a need to review recruitment policies and processes from a diversity and inclusion perspective. But the issues extend beyond recruitment – doctors from minority ethnic groups can struggle to progress within the NHS and report disproportionately high levels of discrimination from colleagues.

“More than four in ten of the medical and dental workforce in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England are from a minority ethnic group, and ensuring that they are able to work within an inclusive environment, that allows them to thrive and progress, should be a priority.”

Although only a very small proportion of successful applicants (1.4%) declared a disability, they were more likely to be successful (38.6% compared with 32.8% of non-disabled applicants). However, there were no disabled applicants to 22.4% of the specialities, and for a further 36.2% of specialities, no disabled applicants were accepted.

Dr Dinesh Aggarwal added: “It’s encouraging to see a high proportion of acceptances among individuals disclosing a disability. The NHS needs to ensure that application and recruitment processes are accessible and open to adjustments for all disabilities, eliminate any fear of discrimination, and provide assurance that all NHS workplaces will accommodate reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled doctors can carry out their work. This will not only help to encourage more disabled applicants, but also allow disabled clinicians to feel more comfortable disclosing this information.”

Professor Peacock added: “The NHS is the largest employer in the UK and it’s vital that it nurtures diverse talent to benefit patient care. People from diverse backgrounds bring different lived experiences and perspectives, which in turn strengthens the pool of knowledge and skills within the NHS. A lack of workforce diversity can be detrimental to patient care, and research shows that inherent biases can influence how clinicians treat patients.”

Dr Aggarwal is a PhD student at Churchill College. Professor Peacock is a Fellow at St John’s College.

Reference
Aggarwal, D et al. Applications to medical and surgical specialist training in the UK National Health Service, 2021-22: a cross-sectional observational study to characterise the diversity of successful applicants. BMJ Open; 20 April 2023; DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069846

JOURNAL

BMJ Open

DOI

10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069846

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Applications to medical and surgical specialist training in the UK National Health Service, 2021-22: a cross-sectional observational study to characterise the diversity of successful applicants

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Apr-2023

Companies’ zero-deforestation commitments have potential to halve cattle-driven deforestation in Brazilian Amazon

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Cattle-rearing is the biggest cause of tropical deforestation in the Amazon - and the world.

A study has found that some of the world’s largest slaughterhouses reduced cattle-driven deforestation in the Amazon by 15% - equivalent to sparing 7,000km2 of forest from clearance (4.5 times the size of London) - through their commitment to zero-deforestation policies between 2010 and 2018.

If these policies were fully implemented and adopted across all cattle companies operating in the Amazon, 24,000km2 of forest (an area larger than Wales) could have been spared over this time, effectively halving cattle-driven deforestation in Brazil.

Deforestation is the second largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions after fossil fuel use, and the Brazilian Amazon is the world’s deforestation hotspot.

Zero-deforestation commitments are supply chain policies aiming to ensure production of goods does not involve deforestation, by identifying and dropping suppliers who produce on areas recently cleared of natural vegetation. The commitments have been signed by many leading UK beef retailers, including the supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose.

Although the UK imported 60 million tonnes of Brazilian beef in 2017, according to the National Beef Association the UK is 75% self-sufficient for beef. Many British companies are increasingly turning away from Brazilian beef due to the perceived risk of deforestation. But the researchers argue that this is not the best approach.

“We can benefit the climate by eating less meat in general. But when it comes to deforestation, the solution is not to avoid beef from specific countries – because then we lose our power to make a difference in those places,” said Professor Rachael Garrett, Moran Professor of Conservation and Development at the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, senior author of the report.

She added: “If we do eat imported beef, we should buy it from retailers that are trying to improve cattle production systems in Brazil and elsewhere. If enough countries join the UK and EU in purchasing only deforestation-free beef it’s likely to have a positive impact on the planet by reducing deforestation.”

The results are published today in the journal Global Environmental Change.

Due to the complexity of Brazilian supply chains and incomplete availability of public records, it has been challenging until now to determine how much of the cattle in any given region was being purchased by companies with zero-deforestation commitments. This impeded efforts to analyse the effectiveness of zero-deforestation policies linked to beef and leather goods - such as shoes and handbags.

The researchers traced the links between farming regions, slaughterhouses and companies with zero-deforestation commitments in the Brazilian Amazon cattle sector, to see how these links influenced deforestation.

An agreement called G4 is the most widespread and strongly implemented zero-deforestation commitment for cattle in the Brazilian Amazon – accounting for over 99% of cattle exports. The study focused on companies that have adopted the G4 Agreement, and found they were associated with substantial reductions in deforestation.

“We’ve shown that zero-deforestation policies are having an important - and measurable – impact in protecting forests, and that with widespread adoption and rigorous implementation they could achieve a lot more,” said Garrett.

She added: “Even reducing deforestation by 15% is a huge amount. But this result shows that supply chain policies have significant limitations, and we need to couple them with more visionary approaches to help countries like Brazil improve their agricultural systems.”

The researchers say a mix of interventions by the private and public sector is needed to improve cattle-rearing practices and help eliminate deforestation in countries like Brazil.

Public sector interventions could include support for alternative economic activities, and financial incentives or greater pressure to avoid deforestation from the Brazilian government.

“With this evidence, supermarkets can use their influence to help improve Brazilian cattle production. But more needs to be done to improve the rigour of corporate policies and the market coverage of policy adopters, even in relatively well-covered regions such as the Brazilian Amazon,” said Dr Sam Levy at ETH Zurich and New York University, lead author of the report.

Cattle production for beef and leather is the cause of over 70% of all deforestation in the Amazon – much of which is illegal. Zero-deforestation commitments cover 82% of beef exported from the Brazilian Amazon for trade internationally – but a large amount of beef production destined for Brazil’s domestic markets is not covered.

Deforestation causes the loss of diverse animal and plant life, threatens the livelihoods of indigenous groups, and increases inequality and conflict.

In 2021, the COP26 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use committed to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. It was signed by over 100 countries, representing 85% of global forests.

JOURNAL

Global Environmental Change

DOI

10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102671

ARTICLE TITLE

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon could be halved by scaling up implementation of zero-deforestation cattle commitments

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Apr-2023

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy increases risk for flu

A School of Public Health study shows exposure to ultrafine particles during pregnancy enhances the risk for respiratory viral infection.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

During pregnancy, women are more susceptible to severe respiratory infections from multiple viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Additionally, pregnant women are disproportionately affected by influenza, resulting in a more than 10-fold increase in hospitalization risk.

A new study led by Dr. Natalie Johnson, associate professor in the Texas A&M University School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, shows that exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) during pregnancy enhances respiratory viral infection risk. The results of the study were published recently in Particle and Fibre Toxicology.

“We know that air pollution affects the pulmonary immune system, making individuals more susceptible to viral infections,” Johnson said. “We also know pregnant women are already at increased risk for severe flu. Surprisingly, studies have not interrogated the combined effects of pregnancy, air pollution and influenza. Our findings demonstrate the need to further study these interactions in order to prevent short and perhaps long-term impacts on maternal health.”

In the study, Johnson and her co-authors point out that there are several physiological characteristics that explain maternal susceptibility to viral infection. Among those are increased cardiac output and decreased tidal volume — the amount of air that moves in or out of the lungs with each respiratory cycle — as well as immunological changes such as selective modulation of immune cell subsets to protect the developing fetus.

The research team also highlights that vaccination compliance during pregnancy is generally below 50 percent, despite vaccination against influenza being safe and effective, leading to increased risk for developing respiratory infection.

As a result, air pollution, which is a worldwide environmental health issue, is responsible for one in nine deaths with an annual premature mortality of more than 7 million. A mixture of gases and tiny airborne particulate matter, which is categorized as UFPs, are critical to recognize and identify, especially to protect vulnerable populations.

The research team says these findings support future clinical and regulatory interventions for protecting pregnant women and controlling UFPs. According to the researchers, it is imperative that pregnant women in urban cities, where influenza and UFPs are more prevalent, are provided vaccinations and preventive measures limiting UFP exposure to protect maternal health.

“Air pollution is a pervasive environmental health issue,” Johnson said. “Strategies to protect the most vulnerable, like pregnant women, are of high priority to decrease adverse health effects.”

Additional authors include Nicholas L. Drury, Texas A&M Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Texas A&M Department of Nutrition; Toriq Mustapha, Texas A&M Department of Environmental and Occupational Health; Ross A. Shore, Texas A&M Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Jiayun Zhao, Texas A&M Department of Chemistry; Gus A. Wright, Texas A&M Department of Veterinary Pathobiology; Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann, University of Florida Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine; Susanne U. Talcott, Texas A&M Department of Nutrition; Annette Regan, University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions; Robert M. Tighe, Duke University Department of Medicine; and Renyi Zhang, Texas A&M Department of Chemistry and Texas A&M Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

By Tim Schnettler, Texas A&M University School of Public Health

JOURNAL

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

DOI

10.1186/s12989-023-00521-1

ARTICLE TITLE

Maternal exposure to ultrafine particles enhances influenza infection during pregnancy

Immediate carbon cuts, common marine heatwave terminology urged

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA

Over the past two hundred years, the ocean and atmosphere have been accumulating massive amounts of carbon dioxide as factories, automobiles, airplanes, and more churn out the powerful greenhouse gas. Two articles published recently in Nature by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa oceanographers provide a reality check on the limitations of carbon dioxide removal and a warning that marine heatwaves need clear definitions so communities can adapt.

Carbon dioxide removal is not the golden ticket

In all the scenarios assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nations around the world must dramatically and rapidly reduce their dependence on fossil fuels in order to limit global warming to 1.5–2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Further, the paths to limit warming also require the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, using methods that are still in the early stages of development.

However, David Ho, oceanography professor at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), wrote in his recent Nature article, “We must stop talking about deploying [carbon dioxide removal] as a solution today, when emissions remain high — as if it somehow replaces radical, immediate emission cuts. We have to shift the narrative as a matter of urgency.”

This is critical, he points out, over the next few years, as pressure mounts to develop technology-based climate solutions. Instead, Ho advocates for rapid decarbonization of global energy systems, especially since the effectiveness of carbon dioxide removal depends on emissions being low.

“Humanity has never removed an atmospheric pollutant at a global, continental or, even, regional scale — we have only ever shut down the source and let nature do the clearing up,” he wrote, in a warning about not relying on carbon dioxide removal in case it does not work. “We must slow the carbon clock to a crawl before we can turn it back.”

Clarifying marine heatwaves

In the same issue of Nature, Malte Stuecker and Brian Powell, professors in the SOEST Department of Oceanography, and their co-authors, all members of the U.S. NOAA Marine Ecosystem Task Force, identified the need for clearer definitions of marine heatwaves so coastal communities could adapt to these events and resource managers can better prioritize mitigation strategies.

“Clearly communicating baselines for assessing ocean warming is essential for understanding extreme events and how they will affect marine ecosystems and livelihoods in the future,” the co-authors wrote.

The researchers highlight that the term ‘marine heatwave’ is currently being used to refer to two different phenomena – short lasting extreme events and long-term warming trends. They note that the communication breakdown is “having real-world consequences” and worry that “the public might become desensitized to the real threat of marine heatwaves.”

When it comes to changes in surface ocean temperature, the authors recommend using the phrase ‘long-term temperature trends’ to describe the relatively slow changes in ocean temperature that occur over decades or longer – primarily due to anthropogenic greenhouse gasses increasing.

In contrast, they recommend only using the term ‘marine heatwave’ to describe ocean temperature changes that are transient and extremely warm relative to the expected conditions for a given place and time, as defined by an evolving, recent climatological reference period.

Finally, use of the term ‘total heat exposure’ is recommended to describe the combination of long-term warming and marine heatwaves.

The paper notes, “by adopting our suggested ocean temperature communication framework, scientists will be able to better equip marine resource decision makers to assess and prepare for risks associated with different types of ocean temperature change.”

These publications highlight the complexities and also the need for accuracy and data-driven decision-making as community members, resource managers, innovators, politicians and investors all come to the table to ensure a more stable climate path for future generations.

JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/d41586-023-00924-2

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Marine heatwaves need clear definitions so coastal communities can adapt

Paul Hessburg receives Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award

Grant and Award Announcement

USDA FOREST SERVICE - PACIFIC NORTHWEST RESEARCH STATION

Paul Hessburg received the International Association for Landscape Ecology-North America Chapter’s 2023 Distinguished Landscape Ecologist Award. The annual award recognizes major scientific contributions to landscape ecology, honors scientists who have played a pivotal role in shaping the field, and is the organization’s highest honor.

Hessburg is a senior research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station based at the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Laboratory. He was honored for a highly diverse career that has "greatly enhanced the capacity of landscape practitioners to develop strategies and tactics to restore landscapes and adapt them to climate change." His contributions to major landscape assessment projects, including the Northwest Forest Plan science synthesis and Interior Columbia River Basin Ecosystem Management Project, also were noted.

Hessburg—who holds a Ph.D. from Oregon State University in forest entomology and pathology—has authored more than 230 publications, amassing more than 12,000 citations. He also has given more than 800 scientific and professional talks and more than 150 presentations to the public on the importance of fire in western ecosystems.

He received the award at the annual conference of the International Association for Landscape Ecology-North America chapter held in Riverside, California, in March.

The USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station--headquartered in Portland, Ore.--generates and communicates scientific knowledge that helps people make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. The station has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and about 300 employees. Learn more online at https://ww w.fs.usda.gov/research/pnw.