It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (KAUST)
IMAGE: GALLIUM OXIDE-BASED DEVICES CAN OPERATE IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS OUTER SPACE, WHERE IT CAN WITHSTAND HIGH TEMPERATURES AND RADIATION WITHOUT SERIOUS DEGRADATION.view more
Among the many hazards encountered by space probes, exposure to radiation and huge temperature swings pose particular challenges for their electronic circuits. Now KAUST researchers have invented the first ever flash memory device made from gallium oxide, a material that can withstand these harsh conditions far better than conventional electronics[1].
Gallium oxide is a semiconductor — although it is usually a poor conductor of electricity, incorporating certain impurities can enable it to carry an electrical current. It offers many advantages over silicon, the semiconductor used in most computer chips. For example, gallium oxide can support high currents and voltages with low energy losses, and it is easy to grow into high-quality films using low-cost techniques.
Above all, though, it is tough. “Gallium oxide-based devices have become a prominent choice to operate in adverse environments, especially in space exploration, because it can withstand high temperatures and radiation without serious degradation,” says Ph.D. candidate Vishal Khandelwal, one member of the team behind the work.
Transistors and diodes can already be built from gallium oxide. But for gallium oxide electronics to flourish, researchers needed to prove that the material could also be used in memory devices.
The team’s device is a type of transistor containing a layer known as a floating gate, which captures electrons to store data. This basic design is already used in conventional flash memory devices. Instead of using silicon, though, the new device contains a layer of gallium oxide just 50 nanometers thick. Above the gallium oxide is a minuscule fragment of titanium nitride, encased in a very thin layer of insulating material, which serves as the floating gate.
To program data into the floating gate, the researchers apply a positive voltage pulse that sends electrons from the gallium oxide through the insulator and into the floating gate, where they are trapped. A negative voltage can erase the data by sending the electrons back into the gallium oxide. The location of these electrons affects how well the gallium oxide conducts electricity, which can be used to read the state of the memory device.
Gallium oxide has an unusually wide band gap — a measure of the energy needed to free its electrons — which means that there is a large difference between the device’s programmed and erased states, even at a high operating temperature. This property helps to make the memory very stable, and the prototype device could retain its data for more than 80 minutes.
For now, programming and erasing the device requires relatively long voltage pulses of about 100 milliseconds, which the team hopes to shorten. “Further development in gallium oxide material quality and device design will give better memory properties for practical extreme-environment applications,” says Xiaohang Li, who leads the team.
Social determinants of health —the social conditions in which people grow up, live and work— can influence the risk of contracting AIDS and the mortality associated with the disease. This is the main conclusion of a new study carried out by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and published in The Lancet Regional Health.
The research team evaluated a cohort of 28.3 million people, representative of the low-income Brazilian population, based on data collected between 2007 and 2015. This is the largest evaluation of social determinants of health and AIDS in Brazil to date. The researchers concluded that social determinants related to poverty and social vulnerability are strongly associated with a higher burden of AIDS. Specifically, individuals who are black, economically disadvantaged, and lack access to education, are disproportionately affected by the burden of the disease.
"The results of the study show that social determinants of health play an important role in the burden of HIV/AIDS in a highly unequal country like Brazil. The whole chain of events related to the disease, whether it is the risk of becoming infected, developing advanced disease or dying from it, is influenced by these factors," says Davide Rasella, ISGlobal researcher and lead author of the study.
Despite Brazil's pioneering response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, being the first middle-income country to offer free antiretroviral treatment to all people living with the disease and widespread free HIV testing, the mortality rate from the disease in Brazil in 2020 was 6 per 100,000inhabitants. Of the new infections registered in Latin America in 2020, almost half (48%) were recorded in Brazil.
The lower the wealth, the higher the AIDS incidence and mortality
According to the results of the study, lower wealth was strongly associated with higher AIDS incidence and mortality. Specifically, people with lower wealth were 55% more likely to become infected and 99% more likely to die. "Lower wealth may be closely related to social exclusion and food insecurity, which are potential barriers to early diagnosis and to starting or adhering to HIV/AIDS treatment," says Rasella.
Lower levels of education were also associated with higher AIDS incidence and mortality. Illiterate people were 46% more likely to become ill and 176% more likely to die than those with higher education. This can be explained by factors such as lack of access to health information, risky sexual behaviour and difficulty in accessing health care. Previous studies have shown that people with lower levels of education are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour, to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS late, and to have poorer access to and adherence to treatment.
In addition, black people had a 53% higher risk of AIDS and a 69% higher risk of death than those who identified as white or Asian. This increased risk could be a consequence of structural racism, including racial health inequalities in access to and quality of health services. "Structural racism in Brazil, as in many other parts of the world, also manifests itself in poorer living conditions, which expose people to worse HIV/AIDS outcomes," notes Rasella.
The effects of cash transfer programmes
Of the total participants in the evaluated cohort, 64.75% were beneficiaries of the Bolsa Família cash transfer programme. Individuals who received the Bolsa Família cash transfer for less than two years had a higher risk of developing HIV/AIDS than those who did not meet the eligibility criteria for the programme. A protective effect was also observed for long-term receipt, with those who received the benefit between 5 and 10 years or for more than 10 years having a lower risk of becoming ill and dying from the disease.
"This may be due to the poverty-reducing effect of the programme's subsidies and the requirements for receiving these benefits, such as visiting health services and attending school for children and adolescents. This brings families closer to the services that provide diagnosis and health education," argues Rasella.
Implications for prevention programmes
The results of the study highlight the need to invest in public health policies to expand access and ensure equity in health care, prioritising people with greater social vulnerability. "Our study has important implications for HIV/AIDS prevention and control programmes in other low- and middle-income countries. The results provide further evidence of the need to reduce social inequalities by focusing on key health determinants that affect HIV/AIDS," says the ISGlobal researcher.
"Without the implementation of meaningful interventions to reduce inequalities, there is a risk that the current increase in poverty rates and social vulnerability will reverse the progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS in recent decades and hinder the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals related to this disease," concludes Rasella.
Reference
Lua I, F. Silva A, S. Guimarães N, et al., Rasella D. The effects of social determinants of health on acquired immune deficiency syndrome in a low-income population of Brazil: a retrospective cohort study of 28.3 million individuals. The Lancet Regional Health. Volume 24, 100554, August 2023. 10.1016/j.lana.2023.100554
The effects of social determinants of health on acquired immune deficiency syndrome in a low-income population of Brazil: a retrospective cohort study of 28.3 million individuals
Teeth could preserve antibodies hundreds of years old, study finds
Teeth could be capable of preserving antibodies for hundreds of years, allowing scientists to investigate the history of infectious human diseases, a new study has found.
Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system as a natural response to infectious organisms like viruses and bacteria. Their job is to recognise those microbes so that the immune system can attack them and clear them from the body.
In the new paper, published by iScience, antibodies extracted from 800 year-old medieval human teeth were found to be stable and still able to recognise viral proteins.
The study, led by Professor Robert Layfield and research technician Barry Shaw from the School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, in collaboration with Professor Anisur Rahman and Dr Thomas McDonnell from the Department of Medicine at University College London, expands the study of ancient proteins, referred to as palaeoproteomics, potentially allowing experts to analyse how human antibody responses developed through history.
Palaeoproteomics can reach back into deep time with ancient proteins already successfully recovered and identified after preservation in 1.7-million year old dental enamel from an ancient rhinoceros and an ostrich eggshell more than 6.5 million years old. In this new study, the authors also found preliminary evidence that, like the medieval human teeth, mammoth bones nearly 40,000 years old appear to preserve stable antibodies.
Professor Layfield explained:“In discovery science we come to expect the unexpected, but the realisation that intact, functional antibodies can be purified from skeletal remains in the archaeological record was quite astonishing. Some ancient proteins were known to be stable, but these tend to be ‘structural’ proteins such as collagens and keratins, that are pretty inert.”
Professor Rahman added: “Antibodies are different because we are able to test whether they can still do their job of recognising viruses or bacteria even after hundreds of years. In this case we found that antibodies from medieval teeth were able to recognise Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever. In future it could be possible to look at how antibodies from ancient specimens react to diseases present during those periods, such as the Black Death.”
IMAGE: THE UNIQUE FLAVOR OF SOURDOUGH BREADS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO JUST 21 KEY TASTE AND AROMA COMPOUNDS.view more
CREDIT: LAURA ECKRICH
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 16, 2023 — A few years ago, amid lockdown boredom, it seemed like everyone was perfecting their sourdoughs. A simple, fermented mixture of flour and water, the bread is powered by microbes that provide its one-of-a-kind tangy flavor. For over a hundred years, sourdough bread has been synonymous with San Francisco, where today, scientists will report that they’ve identified and quantified 21 key chemical compounds that make this bread taste and smell so unique. They’ve also compared the levels of the compounds in different breads.
The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2023 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person Aug. 13–17, and features about 12,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.
Sourdough breads have existed for centuries, dating back to ancient Egypt — well before they hit their recent peak of popularity in 2020. Unlike other wheat or white breads, which often rely on baker’s yeast to rise, sourdough breads use a “starter” — a living colony of bacteria and wild yeast that causes the bread’s dough to rise through fermentation. Since the microbes come from the air of the local environment, certain places are reportedly home to the best loaves. For example, San Francisco’s unique foggy climate is said to help make its sourdoughs so famously delicious.
Even though these breads are common, little work has been done to understand what chemical compounds provide their characteristic taste and smell. This knowledge could be important to bakers who need to control the quality of their breads, preventing them from becoming too sour, and it could also help them create more consistent sourdoughs for consumers to enjoy. So, Thomas Hofmann’s team at the Technical University of Munich wanted to apply an updated version of a technique known as “sensomics” to sourdough bread crumb — the soft inside part of a loaf. Hofmann currently serves as editor-in-chief of ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
“With sensomics, you can take just a few key compounds and completely recreate the characteristic taste of a food,” says Laura Eckrich, a graduate student in Hofmann’s lab, who is presenting the work at the meeting. The approach involves chromatography, mass spectrometry and similar methods. The team has applied the method previously to other foods to isolate all the flavor-active compounds and to determine their structures and concentrations, as well as how they contribute to taste. The team has used this knowledge to re-engineer the flavor profile of various foods from the bottom up.
Hofmann’s team isolated, identified and quantified the flavor compounds in sourdough bread crumb, and then determined which ones were the most important. The resulting 10 key “tastants” and 11 key “odorants” were then combined into a sourdough “essence,” the flavor of which was confirmed by a human sensory panel. The key taste compounds include salt, which is directly added to the dough, as well as acetic and lactic acid, produced during fermentation. After these experiments, they applied a technique called “unified flavor quantitation,” which was previously developed by Hofmann’s team, to the sourdough bread. For the first time, this technique allowed them to analyze these unique taste and aroma compounds simultaneously.
The team then used the method in brand-new studies to quantify the concentrations of these compounds in different types of bread. They collected both yeast-based and sourdough breads from local bakeries and supermarkets made with either rye or wheat flours. Though key sourdough compounds, including lactic and acetic acids, were found in the yeast-based breads, they were present in much smaller amounts. These results confirmed the importance of the fermentation process to the sourdough’s special flavor.
Next on the researchers’ plates was an analysis of the best way to reduce the salt content in breads. They addressed this issue by unevenly distributing saltier doughs throughout a dough mixture. Since breads, especially sourdoughs, can contribute significantly to one's daily salt intake, the method could help reduce the amount of sodium while maintaining the bread’s unique taste.
Ultimately, the team says their discoveries should be welcome news for the baking industry. “This was the first time the key taste and aroma compounds of bread crumb were elucidated using the sensomics approach, and we hope what we learned will help bakers create the best sourdough breads they can,” says Eckrich.
The researchers acknowledge support and funding from the German Research Foundation.
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Title Flavor elucidation and simultaneous quantitation of key tastants and odorants of sourdough bread crumb
Abstract Sourdough bread is highly appreciated for its unique taste and aroma. As a scientific basis, it is essential to identify the key compounds that contribute significantly to the flavor of bread crumb in order to investigate the influence of different ingredients and production parameters. By means of the sensomics approach, ten tastants and eleven odorants were identified as the key flavor compounds of sourdough bread crumb and verified by recombination and omission experiments. Based on this, a sensitive, high-throughput ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method using stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) was developed, validated, and applied. By derivatization with 3-nitrophenylhydrazine (3-NPH), this method allows the simultaneous quantification of both non-volatile key tastants as well as volatile key odorants in bread crumb. The knowledge obtained about the key taste and aroma compounds and the quantitation method can be utilized to control and optimize the flavor of bread and to acquire objective and independent information about the flavor quality of breads.
Spectrum of apps shrinks after ban on personalized ads
First empirical study on impact of targeted advertising ban
A ban on using apps to collect data in order to personalize advertising would significantly reduce the spectrum of available apps and the number of updates, according to a study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) based on the ban concerning Android apps for children. The findings can assist companies in defining their business models and policymakers when regulating targeted advertising.
Most smartphone apps are free. The providers finance them with advertising, often with what is referred to as targeted advertising: The apps evaluate data such as usage behavior and the user's location and even photos and messages in order to display advertisements custom-tailored to the individual user. This practice draws criticism as a violation of privacy, and there have been many calls to ban it. The EU Digital Services Act will tighten regulations on targeted advertising starting in 2024, and there are similar plans in the USA. Companies are objecting to restrictions and argue that without the income generated by personalized advertising, it would be impossible to continue offering many apps and there would be no incentive to develop new products.
Prof. Jens Foerderer and Tobias Kircher of the Professorship for Innovation and Digitalization at the TUM Campus Heilbronn have for the first time conducted an empirical investigation of how the disappearance of by personalized advertising would impact the spectrum of available apps. In their study they analyzed the effects of a 2019 ban of targeted advertising which Google instituted in its Play Store affecting Android apps intended for children. The researchers compared the situation one year before and ten months after the ban.
Number of new apps reduced by one third
The study shows that after the ban on personalized advertising, fewer new apps came on the market, more apps than before were abandoned and fewer updates for existing apps were offered than before:
The number of new apps published per provider fell by more than one third.
The probability that an app would be taken off the market rose by more than 10 percent.
The providers deployed 17 percent fewer updates. This figure includes not only further developments of the apps, but also maintenance and security updates.
The researchers found this development with almost all providers. The trend was especially pronounced with small and young companies, i.e. primarily with start-ups. The only exception was extraordinarily popular apps on which the companies apparently focused their continuing development efforts. The researchers assume that a similar drop in the number of available apps would follow a ban on targeted advertising for apps intended for adults.
"Find out what users would be willing to pay for"
"Better data protection for smartphone apps is an important step, especially for children," says Jens Foerderer. "The question is: How do we find a way out of the trap that consumers are used to using apps for free, and the companies base their business models on personalized advertising? And how can we do that without reducing the number of available innovative apps which can be very useful to the consumer? Our findings can serve both policymakers and business as a basis for decision making."
Companies should make proper advance preparations for possible legal regulation. "Companies will have to expect serious impacts on their revenues in case of a ban on targeted advertising," says Tobias Kircher. "They should therefore find out as soon as possible which of their app functions users would be willing to pay for. And more: They should develop strategies to increase consumer willingness to pay."
IMAGE: A COMBINATION OF GENETIC HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT DETERMINE HOW A PERSON PERCEIVES NATURE. THIS IS THE FINDING OF A NEW STUDY BY RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG AND SLU.view more
CREDIT: VALMIR ABREU BRAZ JUNIOR
Humans have a positive view of nature. But is this due to an approach we have learned while growing up, or is it something we are born with? The answer is ‘Both’, according to researchers at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Our love of nature is highly individual and should influence how we plan our cities, say the researchers.
It is well known that nature has a positive effect on people. In cities in particular, studies have shown that trees and other greenery contribute to people’s wellbeing. However, experts do not agree on the reasons behind this phenomenon, known as biophilia.
Some believe that it is natural for humans to feel an automatic positive attachment because human development has occurred in nature. Others argue that there is no evidence for this, and that influences during our childhood determine how we view nature.
A wide range of factors involved
Researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) have reviewed several studies within this field that examine both innate factors and what individuals experience during their lives, primarily as children. In a new scientific article, the researchers conclude that both heredity and environment influence an individual’s attitude to nature, but that a wide range of factors also influence how love of nature is expressed.
“We have been able to establish that many people have an unconscious positive experience of nature,” says Bengt Gunnarsson, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at the University of Gothenburg. “But the biophilia hypothesis should be modified to link the variation in individuals’ relationships with nature to an interaction between heredity and environmental influence.”
Nature mean different things
This is because people react differently to nature. In a Japanese study, subjects were asked to walk in a forest and in a city while their heartbeat was measured. This showed that positive emotions while walking in a forest increased in 65% of people. Thus, far from everyone had a positive perception of nature. Another environmental psychology study found that research subjects are unconsciously drawn to nature instead of cities, and that this attraction was reinforced in those whose childhood was rich in nature.
“An additional study on identical and non-identical twins showed that a genetic component influences an individual’s positive or negative relationship with nature,” continues Bengt. “But the study also highlighted the importance of environment in terms of attitudes towards nature.”
Moreover, nature can mean completely different things to different people. Some enjoy parks with lawns and planted trees, while others prefer being in the wilderness. The researchers believe that this variation is also determined by both heredity and environment.
“So it’s important that we don’t standardise nature when planning greenery in our towns and cities,” adds Marcus Hedblom, a researcher at SLU and co-author of the article. “We shouldn’t replace wild greenery with a park and assume that it will be good for everyone.”
Urban nature brings many benefits
In today’s urban planning, densification has been a common way to achieve a more sustainable city. This can sometimes come into conflict with efforts to offer nature in cities. A large number of studies suggest that urban parks and green spaces contribute to increased physical activity and recovery from stress. The greenery in our cities is also important in other respects. Trees can clean the air and provide shade to create a tolerable urban climate on hot days.
“There are probably quite a large number of people who do not have such positive feelings towards nature, partly due to hereditary factors,” concludes Bengt. “Future studies that dig deeper into the interactions between hereditary and environmental factors are essential if we are to understand what shapes individuals’ relationships with nature. But we have to remember that we are all different, and take that into account when planning for different natural areas in towns and cities. Let people find their own favourite green spaces!”
IMAGE: SKULL AND A LIFE-RECONSTRUCTION OF SAUROSUCHUSview more
CREDIT: JORDAN BESTWICK, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
The apex predators that roamed the earth 230 million years ago had a much weaker bite than previously thought, and likely couldn’t crunch through bone to consume the entirety of their kills.
In a new study published in TheAnatomical Record, palaeontologists from the University of Birmingham have recreated the original skull anatomy of Saurosuchus, a Late Triassic reptile that is the distant relative of modern crocodiles. Saurosuchus was thought to be an apex predator due to its size and diet, standing at between 5-8 metres in length and weighing over 250 kg.
However, the latest analysis of the skulls of the reptile and comparisons with the later well-known dinosaur Allosaurus found that despite their similar skull strengths, the earlier crocodile relative Saurosuchus had a much weaker bite than the dinosaurs that followed it. Saurosuchus would have had a bite with the force of 1015–1885 N, equivalent to modern crocodiles called gharials.
For comparison:
Allosaurus: 3,572 N
Saltwater crocodiles have a bite force of ~16,000 N
Tyrannosaurus rex: 17,000-35,000 N
Dr Jordan Bestwick, vertebrate palaeobiologist at the University of Birmingham and corresponding author of the paper said:
“We found that Saurosuchus actually had an incredibly weak bite for its size and thus predated animals in very different ways compared to later evolving dinosaurs. In fact, despite being one of the bigger lizards and an apex predator, the Saurosuchus had a bite that was on a par with the relatively measly bite of the gharial, and much less powerful than more fearsome crocs and alligators around today.
“You would still would have liked to leave Saurosuchus well alone, but they likely fed only on the soft fleshy bits of their kills as their bite wouldn’t have enabled them to crunch up bones.”
Careful eaters
Despite their relative size, Saurosuchus would have been a careful diner that used their back teeth to remove the flesh from their kills, the study suggests.
In contrast to later dinosaurs, the feeding behaviour of Saurosuchus is likely due to a weak bite and a more rectangular skull shape. Also these earlier reptiles had thinner bones in their noses compared to the later Allosaurus.
Dr Stephan Lautenschlager, Associate Professor in Palaeobiology at the University of Birmingham and senior author of the paper said:
“The Saurosuchus would certainly have been a fearsome reptile until it sat down to eat its prey, and we can see how evolutionary details in the skulls of these massive apex predators necessitated significant differences in eating behaviour. While dinosaurs that followed in the Jurassic period would have eaten the vast majority of their kills, Saurosuchus may have left more complete carcasses, which would have provided a secondary meal for carrion-feeding animals too.”
Molly Fawcett, co-author of the paper said:
“It is truly amazing how similar the skulls of top predators in the Triassic period (the time before the domination of the dinosaurs) look compared to the well-known carnivorous dinosaurs such as the T. rex. However, unexpectedly we found that the bite power of these Triassic predators were far weaker compared to the post-Triassic dinosaurs”.
A step-by-step process of the restoration of the skull
Functional morphology of the Triassic apex predator Saurosuchus galilei (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) and convergence with a post-Triassic theropod dinosaur
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
16-Aug-2023
Expropriation expert increasingly important, but hardly enshrined in law
Since the Rutte 3 government considered expropriating farmers to reduce nitrogen emissions in 2021, the issue of expropriation has played a prominent role in current affairs. But what is involved in expropriation proceedings, and how is the amount of compensation determined? Sam Schuite studied the role of damages experts in expropriation procedures and related procedures such as planning damage and compensation for loss, and will be defending his PhD thesis on that research at Radboud University on 30 August.
If the government expropriates land, or if a new zoning plan causes damage to citizens (so-called ‘planning damage’), some compensation must be provided. This type of process goes through a court (in the case of expropriation) or an administrative body (in the case of planning damage), which hires a damages expert to advise on the amount of compensation. Experts are quite common in law, but the role they play in expropriation or planning damage is unique, according to Schuite's research.
“In regular civil law, experts are often called in to provide the judge with expertise that the judge does not have. In an expropriation case, on the other hand, the expert also provides legal advice,” Schuite explains. “In expropriation and compensation for loss law, these damages experts actually play two roles at once: they advise the judge or administrative body both on the valuation aspects of the case, and on the legal aspects. This makes these experts’ opinion quite influential, as it serves as a kind of ‘outline judgment’ and can be directly adopted by the court.”
1811
“This is remarkable because the role and position of damages experts is actually hardly defined or anchored in law,” says Schuite. The lawyer examined the special position of these experts. “For example, should the nitrogen problem actually be ‘solved’ by means of expropriation, the experts will play an important role in that process. Legally, however, there is relatively little regulation around their appointment and position. Expropriation experts have existed in the Netherlands since 1811, when the first expropriation law was introduced. Almost immediately, experts began to brand themselves as a core player in expropriation cases, assuming control of much of the process.”
Later, the system in which damages experts play a central role in damage assessment was even ‘ext
