Monkeypox: Characterization of post-infectious immune response

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUT PASTEUR

 

IMAGE: HUMAN CELLS INFECTED WITH MPXV (IN GREEN) AMONG UNINFECTED CELLS (NUCLEI IN BLUE). IMAGE TAKEN WITH A CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE. view more 

CREDIT: © MATHIEU HUBERT AND OLIVIER SCHWARTZ, INSTITUT PASTEUR.

In 2022-2023, an outbreak of monkeypox, now known as mpox (caused by the monkeypox virus or MPXV) led to 87,000 human cases in 170 countries[1]. Most cases were reported outside the usual areas in which the virus circulates. Since the outbreak began, surveillance of the virus has been stepped up in Europe, with nearly 5,000 cases being reported in France[2]. Scientists and clinicians from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, Inserm, the VRI and the Paris Public Hospital Network (AP-HP) studied 470 sera from vaccinated or MPXV-infected individuals to elucidate the mechanisms involved and determine correlates of protection against infection or disease severity[3]. They determined the sensitivity of the virus to neutralizing antibodies and analyzed the immune response of these vaccinated or MPXV-infected individuals. The study revealed the role of complement4, a component of the innate immune system, in this response. The findings were published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe on May 4, 2023.

In 2022-2023, an unprecedented epidemic of 87,000 cases of mpox occurred in non-endemic areas, affecting people with no direct link to travel in Central or West Africa, where the virus has historically been present. MPXV is mainly transmitted to humans by rodents, with human-to-human transmission occurring via respiratory droplets or close contact. Symptoms are less severe than those of smallpox, and the case-fatality rate is lower. According to Santé publique France, approximately 5,000 cases of MPXV infection have been reported in France since May 2022.2 MPXV is still circulating at very low levels in non-endemic areas, which is why it is important to improve characterization and analyze the immune response of people infected with the virus or vaccinated with IMVANEX, the third-generation vaccine currently available, initially developed for smallpox.

The research teams worked in collaboration with clinicians, vaccinologists and virologists from three French hospitals (Henri Mondor Hospital in Créteil, La Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and Orléans Hospital) to carry out this multidisciplinary research. The large number of sera analyzed provided good statistical power, meaning that the analysis could be narrowed to subgroups of patients based on various criteria such as age.

In this study, published in Cell Host & Microbe, the leading journal on interactions between microbes and the immune system, the scientists studied the sensitivity of MPXV to neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) generated after infection with the virus and/or vaccination with IMVANEX. The IMVANEX vaccine has been used as pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis in high-risk populations, but its effectiveness is not yet well characterized. To analyze the sensitivity of the virus, the team of scientists developed two cellular tests to quantify neutralizing antibodies, using either the attenuated virus as a vaccine (MVA) or an MPXV strain isolated in a recently infected individual.

The study demonstrated the role of complement,[4] already known for other poxviruses, and the neutralizing activity of the antibodies generated by infection or vaccination. Robust levels of anti-MVA antibodies were detected after infection, vaccination with the historic smallpox vaccine, or administration of IMVANEX or another MVA-based vaccine candidate. MPXV was minimally sensitive to neutralization in the absence of complement. The addition of complement from sera enhanced detection of individuals with antibodies and increased their level of anti-MPXV antibodies. Four weeks after infection, anti-MVA and -MPXV NAbs were observed in 94% and 82% of individuals, respectively. Two doses of IMVANEX generated anti-MVA and -MPXV NAbs that were detectable in 92% and 56% of vaccinees, respectively.

The highest level of antibodies was found in individuals born before 1980 (who had therefore been vaccinated for smallpox), whether after infection or after administration of IMVANEX, highlighting the impact of historic smallpox vaccination on immune responses to infection or administration of IMVANEX. This suggests that a sort of hybrid immunity was generated in infected individuals who were vaccinated in childhood.

The number of MPXV infections has been constantly on the rise since mass vaccination for smallpox was discontinued in the 1980s. "The neutralization assays developed in connection with this research may help define correlates of protection against infection or disease severity. The assays can also be used to conduct epidemiological surveys, assess the duration of protection conferred by previous infection or by authorized and candidate vaccines, and analyze the use of immunotherapeutic intervention. The assays represent useful tools to understand the mechanisms of multiplication of MPXV and its effects on public health, and to optimize patient treatment," commented Olivier Schwartz, Head of the Institut Pasteur's Virus and Immunity Unit and last author of the study.

To find out more about mpox, see the fact sheet at pasteur.fr

 

Summary of the main points of the study 

CAPTION

Development of two poxvirus seroneutralization assays using MVA or MPXV. Complement enhances neutralizing activity of antibodies (NAbs). Historic smallpox vaccination increases the level of antibodies induced by infection or MVA vaccination.

CREDIT

(c) Institut Pasteur

[1] WHO figures.

[2] Santé publique France. Mpox (MPXV): the latest situation in France at April 27, 2023.

[3] This study was supported by ANRS | Emerging Infectious Diseases, which provided samples for research.

[4] Complement is a system of proteins in serum that contributes to the body's defense. It is involved in mechanisms to eliminate pathogens. Institut Pasteur scientist Jules Bordet was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1919 for his research on the role of the complement system and antibodies.

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JOURNAL

Cell Host & Microbe

DOI

10.1016/j.chom.2023.05.001 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Complement-dependent mpox virus-neutralizing antibodies in infected and vaccinated individuals

 

800-year-old mathematical trick could help with lunar navigation

The navigation systems that can be used on the surface of the Moon to plan future journeys

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY

Kamilla Cziráki, a geophysics student at the Faculty of Science of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), has taken a new approach to researching the navigation systems that can be used on the surface of the Moon to plan future journeys. Together with Professor Gábor Timár, head of the Department of Geophysics and Space Sciences, they calculated the parameters used in the Earth's GPS system for the Moon using the method of mathematician Fibonacci, who lived 800 years ago. Their findings have been published in the journal Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica. Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica.

Now, as humanity prepares to return to the Moon after half a century, the focus is on possible methods of lunar navigation. It seems likely that the modern successors to the lunar vehicles of the Apollo missions will now be assisted by some form of satellite navigation, similar to the GPS system on Earth. In the case of the Earth, these systems do not take into account the actual shape of our planet, the geoid, not even the surface defined by sea level, but a rotation ellipsoid that best fits the geoid. Its intersection is an ellipse that is furthest from the Earth's centre of mass at the equator and closest to it at the poles. The radius of the Earth is just under 6400 kilometres, and the poles are about 21.5 kilometres closer to the centre than the equator.

Why is the shape of the ellipsoid that best fits the Moon interesting, and what parameters can be used to describe it? Why is it interesting that, compared to the Moon's mean radius of 1737 kilometres, its poles are about half a kilometre closer to its centre of mass than its equator? If we want to apply the software solutions tried and tested in the GPS system to the Moon, we need to specify two numbers, the semi-major and the semi-minor axis of this ellipsoid, so that the programmes can be easily transferred from the Earth to the Moon.

The Moon rotates more slowly, with a rotation period equal to its orbital period around the Earth. This makes the Moon more spherical. It is almost a sphere, but not quite. Nevertheless, for the mapping of the Moon that has been done so far, it has been sufficient to approximate the shape of a sphere, and those who have been more interested in the shape of our celestial companion have used more complex models.

Interestingly, the approximation of the Moon's shape with a rotating ellipsoid has never been done before.

The last time such calculations were made was in the 1960s by Soviet space scientists, using data from the side of the Moon visible from Earth.

Kamilla Cziráki, a second-year geosciences student specialising in geophysics, worked with her supervisor, Gábor Timár, head of the Department of Geophysics and Space Sciences, to calculate the parameters of the rotating ellipsoid that best fit the theoretical shape of the Moon. To do this, they used a database of an existing potential surface, called the lunar selenoid, from which they took a height sample at evenly spaced points on the surface and searched for the semi-major and semi-major axes that best fit a rotation ellipsoid. By gradually increasing the number of sampling points from 100 to 100,000, the values of the two parameters stabilised at 10000 points.

One of the main steps of the work was to investigate how to arrange N points uniformly on a spherical surface, with several possible solutions; Kamilla Cziráki and Gábor Timár chose the simplest one, the so-called Fibonacci sphere. The Fibonacci spiral can be implemented with very short and intuitive code, and the foundations of this method were laid by the 800-year-old mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci. The method has also been applied to the Earth as a verification, reconstructing a good approximation of the WGS84 ellipsoid used by GPS.

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JOURNAL

Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica

DOI

10.1007/s40328-023-00415-w 

ARTICLE TITLE

Parameters of the best fitting lunar ellipsoid based on GRAIL’s selenoid model

FIAT LUX 

Lights could be the future of the internet and data transmission

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Fast data transmissions could be delivered in homes and offices through light-emitting diodes (LED) bulbs, complementing existing communication technologies and networks.

The future’s new internet technologies are being rapidly refined by academics and LED-based communication links are expected to be extensively used in numerous emerging services and scenarios, including Light-fidelity (Li-Fi), underwater communications, moderate- to high-speed photonic interconnects and various ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) devices.

A new study led by the University of Surrey and University of Cambridge has investigated how to release high-speed photonic sources using metal-halide perovskites. These are semiconductors being researched with LEDs for their excellent optoelectronic properties and low-cost processing methods.

Dr Wei Zhang, lead corresponding author of the study and associate professor at University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute, said:

“Billions of IoT connected devices have the potential to add significant value to industry and the global economy. In this market costs and compatibility are often prioritised over data transmission speed and scientists are looking for alternative ways to reduce energy consumption per bit and improve compactness while simultaneously working on improving the speed of data connection.

“In our study we have made a huge leap forward and shown how metal-halide perovskites could provide a cost-efficient and powerful solution to make LEDs which have enormous potential to increase their bandwidths into the gigahertz levels. The insights gained from this research will undoubtedly shape the future of data communication.

“Moreover, our investigations will accelerate the development of high-speed perovskite photodetectors and continuous wave pumped perovskite lasers, thus opening up new avenues for advancements in optoelectronic technologies.”

Hao Wang, co-first author and Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge, said:

“We provided the first study to elucidate the mechanisms behind achieving high-speed perovskite LEDs, which represents a significant step toward the realisation of perovskite light sources for next-generation data communications. The ability to achieve solution-processed perovskite emitters on silicon substrates also paves the way for their integration with micro-electronics platforms, presenting new opportunities for seamless integration and advancement in the field of data communications.”

The research published in the journal Nature Photonics was a collaborative project with the support over 10 laboratories and research institutes from Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Warwick, UCL, EMPA and UESTC.

###

Notes to Editors:

• Dr Wei Zhang is available for interview upon request
• Contact the University press office via mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Photonics

DOI

10.1038/s41566-023-01242-9 

ARTICLE TITLE

High-bandwidth perovskite photonic sources on silicon.

UK and Europe join forces for construction of largest ever European Solar Telescope

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

**Images available**

• Nine European countries, including the UK, have today (25 July 2023) joined forces to commit to the construction of the European Solar Telescope (EST)
• The EST will be the biggest solar telescope ever constructed in Europe and aims to provide unparalleled new insights into the phenomena of space weather
• The University of Sheffield will lead a consortium of UK universities that will help to develop designs for the construction of the large-aperture solar telescope
• The first light of the EST is planned for 2028-2029

Construction of the largest ever solar telescope built in Europe, designed to provide unparalleled insight into the phenomena of space weather, will be supported by the University of Sheffield, it has been announced today (25 July 2023).

Launched in 2008, the European Solar Telescope (EST) project aims to provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These events determine so-called ‘space weather’, which can lead to geomagnetic storms on earth - seen as the northern lights - and have a strong influence on our technological society.

Leading the United Kingdom Universities Consortium (UKUC), the University of Sheffield today signed the deed of the EST’s Canary Foundation in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. The agreement sees six UK universities, including Aberystwyth, Belfast, Durham, Exeter and Glasgow, along with a further six European countries, commit to the construction of the telescope at the world-renowned El Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, at La Palma in Spain.

Professor Robertus von Fay-Siebenburgen, from the University of Sheffield’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, will be a principal investigator for the UKUC project. He said: “The EST will be the biggest ground-based solar telescope constructed in Europe and will keep its European partners at the forefront of solar physics research, so it's fantastic that so many UK partners have been able to come together to join the EST Canary Foundation today.

“This kind of unrivalled research infrastructure will provide European astronomers and plasma-astrophysicists with an extraordinary tool for observing the Sun and its space weather, one that will pave the way for scientific advancements in some of the world’s biggest and most important challenges, such as the development of green fusion energy.

“By being able to study the physical processes happening in the solar chronosphere in such detail for the first time, we will gain new insight into how the heating mechanisms occur that underpin the plasma heating processes. Learning from how nature does it will help us explore how to replicate the process for the benefit of humankind.”

One of the EST’s primary objectives is to improve understanding of the Sun by observing its magnetic fields in unprecedented detail. Once operational, it will be able to uncover signals currently hidden in the noise and reveal the existence of unknown, tiny magnetic structures.

The optical configuration and instrumentation of EST have been meticulously designed to study the magnetic and dynamic coupling of the solar atmosphere, and capture the interactions between the different atmospheric layers of the Sun.

Additionally, a comprehensive set of instruments will be installed to enable simultaneous observations across multiple wavelengths. This unique capability will give the EST a higher efficiency compared to existing or future telescopes, whether ground-based or space-borne.

The University of Sheffield will be developing designs for the capability of the project to process the vast amounts of data produced by the telescope. It is estimated to produce a petabyte of data per day, roughly equivalent to the amount of data used to store more than 220,000 DVD films. Sheffield will be responsible for how the project can handle and analyse some of this data, which, at the moment, few scientific projects around the world come close to doing. This means that entirely new capabilities are needed to conduct research on such a scale.

The preliminary design phase of the telescope, which was funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, has recently been completed. After a construction period of six years, the EST’s first light - or becoming operational - is planned for 2028-2029.

The establishment of the EST Foundation today marks a crucial milestone in advancing the project towards the construction phase. One of the primary objectives of the Foundation is to create a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), which will bring together the national ministries of the partner countries. The EST ERIC will be the legal entity responsible for overseeing all aspects of the construction and operation of this large research infrastructure.

Professor Lyndsay Fletcher, of the University of Glasgow’s School of Physics and Astronomy, was part of the team responsible for defining the telescope requirements. She said: “The University of Glasgow has a long history of world-leading research in solar physics, and I very much welcome our investment towards bringing this exciting new facility into being. 

“Our research into solar flares and prominences stands to benefit enormously, since the innovative design of the telescope means that it is optimised for measuring the Sun’s magnetic field, which governs these energetic phenomena. Novel instrumentation, recording the Sun’s structure and dynamics with four times the spatial detail of any existing solar telescope in Europe will lead to a step-change in understanding of energetic events on our nearest star.”

For more information about the project, please visit: www.est-east.eu

ENDS

Media contact: Rebecca Ferguson, Media & PR Officer, 0114 222 3670, r.l.ferguson@sheffield.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

• Members of the EST Foundation
  Astronomický Ústav AV ČR, V. V. I. (Czech Republic)
  Leibniz-Institut für Sonnenphysik KIS (Germany)
  Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften (Germany)
  Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)
  Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain)
  Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Spain)
  Università della Svizzera Italiana (Switzerland)
  Stockholms Universitet (Sweden)
  University of Sheffield (UK), representing the United Kingdom Universities Consortium (Aberystwyth, Durham, Exeter, Glasgow, Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast)

Invasive species prosper in favorable habitats and from a lack of local predators

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV

SDE BOKER, Israel, July 25, 2023 -- Lower parasitism and predation in urban habitats may contribute to the invasion success of brown widow spiders. Dr. Monica Mowery and colleagues at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev compared egg sac parasitism in the urban invasive brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, to the desert white widow spider, L. pallidus. Denser white widow sites were more heavily parasitized, while extremely dense brown widow populations had very low rates of parasitism. In a transplant experiment, they found no parasitism of either species in the urban habitat, and lower predation of white widow spider egg sacs in the urban habitat, which indicates that an urban habitat protects the invasive spiders from predators and parasites.

“Our results suggest that habitat plays a key role in changing interactions with predators and parasites, and in particular that urban species may benefit from a lower abundance of predators in their habitat,” explains Dr. Mowery, a postdoctoral fellow at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

The study was published recently in the journal Oecologia.

The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is an urban invasive species found in warm climates worldwide. To investigate variation in host and parasitoid density, the authors measured spider density and parasitism rates across the Negev over the course of a year. The authors found that brown widows thrive at extremely high densities, as close as 10 cm from one web to the next, yet they had very low rates of parasitism by a common natural enemy, a parasitoid wasp that attacks spider egg sacs. In contrast, white widow spiders living at high density in the Negev Desert were heavily parasitized.

To test the effects of habitat experimentally, the authors transplanted spider webs with egg sacs of both species between urban and natural desert habitats. In addition to higher egg sac parasitism in natural sites, they found more predation of white widow spider egg sacs in the desert habitat, likely by birds, spiders, or ants. No egg sacs of the invasive brown widow were preyed upon in the field transplant experiment, which suggests that the invasive species may not be recognized as prey by local predators.

Colonizing an urban, fragmented habitat provides benefits to invasive species, and may allow them to persist in new environments with a lower risk of mortality from predators.

Additional researchers included Valeria Arabesky, Tamir Rozenberg, Prof. Yael Lubin, and Dr. Michal Segoli from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Funding was provided by a Zuckerman STEM Postdoctoral fellowship to Dr. Monica Mowery.

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JOURNAL

Oecologia

DOI

10.1007/s00442-023-05378-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Invasive brown widow spiders avoid parasitism despite high densities

 

Glyphosate impairs learning in bumblebees

What impacts do agrochemicals have on the ongoing global insect decline? Biologists at the University of Konstanz have found out that aversive learning is impaired in bumblebees exposed to glyphosate.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ

“With global insect decline going on at alarming rates, we have to examine the contribution of agrochemicals more closely, going beyond mere assessment of mortality rates,” says Morgane Nouvian, biologist and fellow at the Zukunftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study for early career researchers) at the University of Konstanz. With Anja Weidenmüller and James J. Foster she investigated the impact of long-term exposure to glyphosate on locomotion, phototaxis – that is the movement in response to light – and learning abilities in bumblebees. For the researchers, non-lethal effects on fitness are equally important to insect conservation as lethal ones, as they can reduce an individual’s chances at reproduction and survival.

A year ago, Weidenmüller had discovered that the collective thermal behaviour of bumblebee colonies that have been chronically exposed to glyphosate is affected when resources become scarce. Studying their ability to regulate the temperature of their brood, she found that these bumblebees cannot keep their brood warm for as long. And she warned that if they cannot maintain the necessary brood temperature, their brood will develop more slowly, or not at all.

Absence of aversive learning
In their current study, the biologists tested over 400 bumblebee workers. The Konstanz scientists demonstrate that bumblebees chronically exposed to glyphosate cannot associate a possible threat (aversive stimulus) with a visual cue during a differential learning task. “As far as we can see, they don’t learn at all anymore,” Nouvian sums up. In contrast, a control group of bumblebees that had not been exposed to glyphosate showed good aversive learning abilities. “The ability to associate a noxious stimulus with particular cues is a fundamental pre-requisite for survival,” says Nouvian and explains: “Through this adaptive behaviour, animals have a better chance of avoiding encounters with poisons, predators and parasites. This is why the learning impairment that we have demonstrated, caused by exposure to glyphosate, could substantially increase the mortality rate of foragers. Such depletion of the workforce would have an obvious impact on colony success, although this remains to be confirmed experimentally.”

As for the experiments on locomotion and phototaxis, glyphosate exposure slightly reduced the bumblebees’ walking speed but only while they habituated to the training apparatus, and left the phototactic drive largely unaffected. However, it reduced attraction to ultraviolet light if compared to blue light. In their study, the biologists warn that even a slight shift in UV sensitivity could have broad implications for these pollinators, potentially affecting their navigation and their foraging efficiency.

Risk assessment put to test
Glyphosate is currently approved for use in the EU until 15 December 2023, when decision-making on the Glyphosate Renewal Group’s (GRG) application for renewal is to be finalised according to information from the European Community website. On 6 July 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a press release concluding it “did not identify any critical areas of concern in its peer review of the risk assessment of the active substance glyphosate in relation to the risk it poses to humans and animals or the environment”. At the same time, EFSA reported “some data gaps […] as issues that could not be finalised or outstanding issues […]”.

Concluding their study, the scientists proposed their assay – the so-called yAPIS, a fully automated, high throughput apparatus – as a method to investigate the impact of agrochemicals on insects, especially pollinators, more systematically. In particular, this approach could complement the mortality rates assessments that are currently used to evaluate the toxicity of agrochemicals, by providing data about their potential non-lethal effects.

 

Key facts

• M. Nouvian, J.J. Foster and A. Weidenmüller, Glyphosate impairs aversive learning in bumblebees, Science of the Total Environment (2023),
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165527

• Biologists Morgane Nouvian, James J. Foster and Anja Weidenmüller conducted their study at the Cluster of Excellence “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour” at the University of Konstanz
• The study was funded by the Institute for Advanced Study for early career researchers (Zukunftskolleg) and the Cluster of Excellence "Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour" at the University of Konstanz, and the German Research Foundation (DFG)

 

 

Note to editors:
You can download an image here:

LINK

Caption: Morgane Nouvian, biologist and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study for early career researchers (Zukunftskolleg) at the University of Konstanz

Copyright: Nicolas Buenaventura

 

 

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JOURNAL

Science of The Total Environment

DOI

10.1016/j 

ARTICLE TITLE

Glyphosate impairs aversive learning in bumblebees

 

Ground-breaking e-scooter study shows surface transitions as most common hurdle

A historic study has provided first-time insights on electric scooters.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

VIRGINIA TECH

 

IMAGE: VTTI CONDUCTED THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE NATURALISTIC DRIVING STUDY OF ELECTRIC SCOOTER RIDERS. PHOTO BY JACOB LEVIN FOR VIRGINIA TECH. view more 

CREDIT: VIRGINIA TECH

A historic study has provided first-time insights on electric scooters.

In September 2019, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) began the first large-scale naturalistic driving study of electric scooter, also known as e-scooter, riders. Over the span of 18 months, 50 scooters, equipped with forward-facing cameras and other research equipment, collected over 9,000 miles of data from over 200,000 rides on Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. Deployment of the scooters began in August 2019. After being removed from campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were redeployed in August 2021 through the academic year.

“The e-scooter deployment at Virginia Tech collected the largest naturalistic e-scooter data set known to date and quantified the safety risks associated with behavioral, infrastructure, and environmental factors,” said Elizabeth White, programs and business manager for VTTI. “This was a very exciting research program to be a part of, and our collaboration with many departments on campus was invaluable to ensuring a safe deployment.

White was the lead researcher of the team that included six other Virginia Tech researchers and other industry experts. The results were recently published in published in the Journal of Safety Research.

Utilizing VTTI’s proprietary data acquisition system (DAS), researchers found that infrastructure-related factors, the behaviors of e-scooter riders and other around them, and environmental factors all created risk for e-scooter users. They found loss of control related to infrastructure was the greatest contributor, to all crash- and near-crash events, equating to 47 percent. In total, infrastructure caused 67 percent of incidents, followed by the presence of other road users at 19 percent and rider behavior at 14 percent.

Transitions from surfaces, such as moving from gravel or dirt to grass, proved to be the riskiest. Those riders were almost 60 times more likely to have a crash or near-crash experience. This was supported by data showing that riding off a designated path, or off-road, made users nearly 25 times more likely to experience such issues compared to those who rode on a shared-use path.

uring the study, there were no crashes between an e-scooter and a moving vehicle captured. Conflicts with other road users were shown to be more avoidable through evasive maneuvers when compared to infrastructure-related events. Researchers believe this is likely caused by riders misjudging the terrain or infrastructure or a lack of skill in navigating those obstacles.

VTTI pioneered DAS in the 1990s and it is frequently used by researchers to provide an in-depth look at driver behaviors. These systems allowed rider behavior, interactions with other road users, and other valuable safety data to be recorded and analyzed for various trends. To date, it has been used on everything from e-scooters to semi-trucks. For the e-scooter study, devices did not film the rider, just the riding behavior in order to maintain rider privacy. Riders also were limited to the Blacksburg campus.

To improve safety for riders, the research team recommends all riders engage in an educational outreach program that discusses the significant risks associated with infrastructure, behavior, and environmental factors. Meanwhile, VTTI and its partners will continue to study ways to improve safety around Blacksburg and beyond.

“We are in continued conversations with campus stakeholders to determine the future of micromobility on the Virginia Tech campus,” said White.

More information on the origins of the research can be found online.

The project was funded in part by the Safety Through Disruption, a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers program. The research was conducted in partnership with Ford and Spin.

Ford later sold off Spin.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Safety Research

COI STATEMENT

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022437523000178?via%3Dihub

 

New study sheds light on awareness and preferences for bioplastics in Japan

Despite complex consumer preferences for bioplastics in Japan, adoption of these materials could be enhanced through educational interventions

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: A NEW STUDY EXAMINES CONSUMERS’ FAMILIARITY WITH BIOPLASTICS IN JAPAN, THEIR PREFERENCES FOR BIOPLASTIC PRODUCTS, AND THE EFFECT OF EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS ON THEIR PREFERENCES. view more 

CREDIT: TAKURO UEHARA FROM RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY, JAPAN

Non-biodegradable plastics are major contributors to land and marine pollution, destroying habitats and causing harm to both flora and fauna. Hence, the switch to bioplastics is imperative to ensure sustainability. The success of environmental initiatives aimed at increasing bioplastic adoption critically hinges on understanding consumer behavior. However, consumer preferences and perceptions around bioplastics, particularly in Japan and other Asian countries,  are not well understood.

A recent study published online on July 10, 2023 in the Journal of Cleaner Production attempted to find answers to questions surrounding Japanese consumers’ preferences for bioplastics. “So far, attempts to improve bioplastic adoption in Japan have been hindered by a lack of clarity on the factors influencing consumer preferences. We attempted to shed light on these factors in our comprehensive large-scale study,” explains Professor Takuro Uehara from the College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, who led the study.

The goal of the study was three-fold: understanding how familiar consumers in Japan are with bioplastics, revealing their preferences for bioplastics based on different factors, and examining how educational interventions affect their choices. To achieve this, the researchers surveyed over 12,000 respondents using questions focused on three products — 500 mL PET water bottles, three-color ballpoint pens, and 500 mL shampoo bottles. The respondents were divided into two groups: the treatment group, who were educated on the basic distinctions between bio-based and biodegradable plastics, and the control group, who did not receive educational interventions. Then, the researchers performed discrete choice experiments and text mining based on responses from these 12,000 participants.

Their findings yielded interesting insights, particularly highlighting a common trend among Japanese consumers and their European counterparts, which is a limited comprehension of the distinctions between bio-based, biodegradable, and bioplastics. Surprisingly, most respondents were unaware of the fact that not all bioplastics are biodegradable and bio-based. This demonstrated the need to improve consumer awareness regarding the characteristics and environmental impact of bioplastics.

Another important finding was the complexity of consumer preferences for bioplastics in Japan and the influence of general perceptions and personal values on these preferences. Notably, the preference for bioplastics among these consumers was not unconditional. In fact, most consumers were not in favor of using biomass in any of the three products. Among the different types of feedstock, they preferred sugarcane over wood chips, and favored waste cooking oil the least. This was likely owing to their greater emphasis on quality than on the trade-offs of biomass feedstock.

Nevertheless, there were several key factors the respondents considered valuable in their preference for bioplastics. These included the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, which was the most valued attribute across all three products in both the control and treatment groups. Another key factor was biodegradability, which was associated with positive responses from participants. Significantly, the respondents expressed a preference for domestic products, although the reasons were generally related to safety, quality, and reliability rather than environmental considerations.

Finally, the findings showed that educational interventions can influence consumer decisions, increasing their willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly products, including those with better feedstock incorporation and those enabling reductions in CO2 emissions. For example, after learning that bioplastics can be fossil-based, respondents gave greater value to products with reduced CO2 emissions. Interestingly, this preference was only significant for water bottles, suggesting that consumers were more sensitive to water bottles — that tend to be less durable — than to the other two products.

Overall, the findings provide a picture of the kinds of products Japanese consumers prefer and the attributes they focus on while making choices surrounding bioplastics. Prof. Uehara comments, “Our results will help Japanese industries and governments understand the type of bioplastics that would be preferred and accepted by consumers, giving them an impetus to develop more such products and improve bioplastic use.” He adds, “Information dissemination can influence consumer preference for bioplastic products, which highlights the importance of awareness campaigns.” 

The findings from Prof. Uehara and his group could serve as a foundational roadmap for increasing bioplastic use in Japan and mark a significant step in Japan’s transformation into a bioeconomy.

 

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Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137979

 

About Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Ritsumeikan University is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan. Its main campus is in Kyoto, where inspiring settings await researchers. With an unwavering objective to generate social symbiotic values and emergent talents, it aims to emerge as a next-generation research university. It will enhance researcher potential by providing support best suited to the needs of young and leading researchers, according to their career stage. Ritsumeikan University also endeavors to build a global research network as a “knowledge node” and disseminate achievements internationally, thereby contributing to the resolution of social/humanistic issues through interdisciplinary research and social implementation.

Website: http://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/

 

About Professor Takuro Uehara from Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Takuro Uehara is a Professor at the College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University. His research deals with a range of subjects, including social-ecological modeling, economic valuation of nature, sustainability, resilience, relational values, and marine plastic pollution.

He obtained his doctoral degree in Systems Science: Economics from Portland State University. He has authored research papers in leading journals, including Ecological Economics, Ecology and Society, Ecosystem Services, Journal of Environmental Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, People and Nature, Science of The Total Environment, and Sustainability Science.

 

Funding information
This study was funded by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan [JPMEERF21S11920].

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JOURNAL

Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI

10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137979 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Consumer preferences and understanding of bio-based and biodegradable plastics

 

BU perspective: Obesity associated with consumption of ultra-processed food along with thousands of potential environmental toxins

If validated, new hypothesis could impact obesity-related diseases

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

(Boston)—World-wide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, according to the World Health Organization. Numerous causes of obesity have been hypothesized including increased dietary fat, carbohydrate or ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, inactivity, hyperlipidemia and hyperinsulinemia. Based on these hypotheses, solutions have been sought that involved decreasing consumption of suspected agents. Well-controlled studies have shown that increased consumption of UPF is associated with increased food consumption and weight gain while decreasing UPF consumption in the same subjects was associated with weight loss. However, these studies do not identify a specific cause of obesity since the diets include multiple variables.

In a new perspective, Barbara E. Corkey, PhD, professor emeritus of medicine and biochemistry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, presents an alternative testable and actionable hypothesis/model about the cause of obesity. If validated, it could indicate clear steps to reverse obesity.

Humans vary in the efficiency with which they burn and store nutrients in response to overeating. Some people waste more energy when they overeat and store less. Those individuals tend not to gain weight easily. Humans also vary in their reaction to food deprivation. Some conserve energy better than others and when they diet, they don’t lose weight easily. “These are normal variations and we are each a bit different, due to genetics, but we respond to the same signals,” said Corkey.

Her hypothesis postulates that obesogens (certain chemical compounds that are hypothesized to disrupt normal development and the balance of lipid metabolism) which have entered the environment in the last 50 years, generate misinformation in our bodies, such as inappropriate insulin secretion or hunger, that lead to obesity. Obesogens, she believes, can generate changes in redox state (a normal signal of either excess or the need for energy) that are unrelated to energy needs but falsely stimulate hunger or fuel storage when not needed

“The increasing incidence of obesity correlates with heightened consumption of UPF along with thousands of potential environmental toxins including some derived from fertilizers, insecticides, plastics and air pollutants. Identifying these agents would allow us to remove them or inhibit their ability to generate misinformation,” said Corkey.

Corkey’s model, if validated, could impact many if not all obesity-related diseases. Her paper examines readily available ways to test her model. She believes the best outcome from this work would be identification of obesogens and their removal. The second best outcome would be treatments that block their effect on the body’s normal regulatory mechanisms for insulin secretions.
 

These findings are published by the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

 

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JOURNAL

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rstb.2022.0210 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Reactive oxygen species: role in obesity and mitochondrial energy efficiency

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

24-Jul-2023