Aquatic insects in restored streams need more rocks to lay their eggs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

 

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A CADDISFLY EGG MASS SITS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF A PROTRUDING ROCK.

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CREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAD TAYLOR, NC STATE UNIVERSITY.

Likening it to providing more runways at busy airports, researchers at North Carolina State University found in a new study that adding protruding rocks to restored streams can help attract female aquatic insects that lay their eggs on the rock bottoms or sides. 

More eggs that hatch into larval insects is great news for stream restoration because the re-establishment of organisms, such as insects, is often slower than expected in restored streams, says Brad Taylor, associate professor of applied ecology at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the research. A thriving population of stream insects generally portends good water quality, overall stream health, and provides food for fish, amphibians, reptiles, and even birds, he adds.

Most stream insects use rocks protruding above the water as runways to land on, then crawl underwater and attach their eggs to the underside of the rocks. Because restored streams sometimes fail to regain their abundance of aquatic insects even decades following restoration, researchers were interested in testing whether increasing egg-laying habitat   the rock landing areas   would increase the abundance and diversity of insect eggs and larvae. 

Taylor and NC State graduate student Samantha Dilworth selected 10 restored streams in northwestern North Carolina and added protruding rocks   gathered near the streams   to five of them; the other five restored streams did not receive additional rocks.

The results showed that the streams with added protruding rocks had almost twice as many egg masses compared to the untreated streams. After adding rocks, egg numbers in treated streams were similar to those in undisturbed streams downstream of state parks and national forests.

"This study was a successful proof of concept: adding rocks to restored streams enhances the abundance and diversity of stream insect eggs," Taylor said. 

The researchers also discovered that some rocks were more attractive to females and received most of the eggs; many rocks receive few or no eggs.

"The insects are really putting all their eggs in one basket, so to speak, or onto a few rocks," Taylor says. "A future goal is to figure out how and why females select specific rocks, so that any rocks added to streams get used, because moving large rocks around a stream is hard work."  

The study also showed that the response of the larval stages of streams insects was weaker than expected based on the increase in eggs in restored streams.

"We can restore aquatic insect eggs by adding rocks, but we didn t see a consistent increase of the larval insect stages," Taylor said. "The second year of the study was one of the wettest in recent years, so a lot of the rocks rolled. Insects in restored streams with no added rocks also declined, while those with added rocks did not change or increased, but not as much as expected.

"We observed that many rocks rolled, which could have caused eggs to be crushed or exposed to air where they would dry out and die. These sources of egg mortality may explain the weaker increase of larval insects, as some eggs may have never hatched into larvae. Also, higher larval mortality in restored streams could have been caused by factors unrelated to disturbance of the rock egg-laying runways. For example, priority or primacy effects by established insects or other organisms could be excluding newly arriving insects, food resources could be limiting larval insects, or other disturbances of larval habitats could be occurring."

Taylor plans to follow up with research on how best to stabilize protruding rocks using hydrologic modeling to determine the best locations. To extend the runway metaphor, what will make rocks more like O'Hare International Airport runways than a local grass or gravel airstrip?

"If we can get this information to restoration practitioners, they can add rocks that are both more attractive to female insects and stable," Taylor said. "This will make restoration efforts more cost efficient and effective. There are miles of restored streams, so there are lots of rocks needed. We want to make sure every rock gets eggs." 

The study appears in Ecological Applications. The study was funded by the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality.

-kulikowski-

Note to editors: The paper abstract follows.

"Facilitating the recovery of insect communities in restored streams by increasing oviposition habitat"

Authors: Samantha Dilworth and Brad W. Taylor, NC State University

Published: Dec. 10, 2023 in Ecological Applications

DOI: 10.1002/eap.2939

Abstract: Recruitment limitation is known to influence species abundances and distributions. Recognition of how and why it occurs both in natural and in designed environments could improve restoration. Aquatic insects, for instance, rarely re-establish in restored streams to levels comparable to reference streams even years post restoration. We experimentally increased oviposition habitat in five out of ten restored streams in western North Carolina to test whether insect egg laying habitat was limiting insect populations in restored streams. A main goal was to test whether adding oviposition habitat in the form of rocks that partially protrude above the water surface could be used to increase the abundance and richness of stream insect eggs and larval insects in restored streams. Adding egg-laying habitat enhanced several response variables (e.g., protruding rocks, number of eggs, egg masses, egg morphotype richness, and oviposition habitat stability) to levels similar to those found in reference streams. Following the addition of protruding rocks, egg mass abundance increased by 186 % and richness increased by 77 % respectively in restored-treated streams. Densities of larval insects that attached their eggs to protruding rocks showed an overall pattern consistent with treatment effects due to the combination of non-significant and significant increases of several taxa and not just one taxon. Our results indicate that these stream insect populations are limited by oviposition habitat and that adding egg-laying habitat alleviated this component of recruitment limitation. However, the weaker larval response indicates that additional post-recruitment factors, such as egg or larval mortality, may still be limiting a full recovery of larval insect abundances in these restored streams. This study shows the importance of integrating information from animal life histories, ecology, and geomorphology into restoration practices to improve the recovery of aquatic insects, which are commonly used to assess water quality and the biological efficacy of stream restoration.

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JOURNAL

Ecological Applications

DOI

10.1002/eap.2939 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Facilitating the recovery of insect communities in restored streams by increasing oviposition habitat

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Dec-2023

 

Ultra-hard material to rival diamond discovered

Scientists have solved a decades-long puzzle and unveiled a near unbreakable substance that could rival diamond, as the hardest material on earth, a study says

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

Scientists have solved a decades-long puzzle and unveiled a near unbreakable substance that could rival diamond, as the hardest material on earth, a study says.

Researchers found that when carbon and nitrogen precursors were subjected to extreme heat and pressure, the resulting materials – known as carbon nitrides – were tougher than cubic boron nitride, the second hardest material after diamond.

The breakthrough opens doors for multifunctional materials to be used for industrial purposes including protective coatings for cars and spaceships, high-endurance cutting tools, solar panels and photodetectors, experts say.

Materials researchers have attempted to unlock the potential of carbon nitrides since the 1980s, when scientists first noticed their exceptional properties, including high resistance to heat.

Yet after more than three decades of research and multiple attempts to synthesize them, no credible results were reported.

Now, an international team of scientists – led by researchers from the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions at the University of Edinburgh and experts from the University of Bayreuth, Germany and the University of Linköping, Sweden – have finally achieved a breakthrough.

The team subjected various forms of carbon nitrogen precursors to pressures of between 70 and 135 gigapascals – around one million times our atmospheric pressure – while heating it to temperatures of more than one and a half thousand degrees celsius.  

To identify the atomic arrangement of the compounds under these conditions, the samples were illuminated by an intense X-ray beam at three particle accelerators – the European Synchrotron Research Facility in France, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Germany and the Advanced Photon Source based in the United States.

Researchers discovered that three carbon nitride compounds were found to have the necessary building blocks for super-hardness.

Remarkably, all three compounds retained their diamond-like qualities when they returned to ambient pressure and temperature conditions.

Further calculations and experiments suggest the new materials contain additional properties including photoluminescence and high energy density, where a large amount of energy can be stored in a small amount of mass.

Researchers say the potential applications of these ultra-incompressible carbon nitrides is vast, potentially positioning them as ultimate engineering materials to rival diamonds.

The research, published in Advanced Materials, was funded by the UKRI FLF scheme and European research grants.

Dr Dominique Laniel, Future Leaders Fellow, Institute for Condensed Matter Physics and Complex Systems, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, said: “Upon the discovery of the first of these new carbon nitride materials, we were incredulous to have produced materials researchers have been dreaming of for the last three decades. These materials provide strong incentive to bridge the gap between high pressure materials synthesis and industrial applications.”

Dr Florian Trybel, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, University of Linköping, said: “These materials are not only outstanding in their multi-functionality, but show that technologically relevant phases can be recovered from a synthesis pressure equivalent to the conditions found thousands of kilometres in the Earth’s interior. We strongly believe this collaborative research will open up new possibilities for the field.”

For further information please contact: Rhona Crawford, Press and PR Office, 07876391498 rhona.crawford@ed.ac.uk

 

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JOURNAL

Advanced Materials

DOI

10.1002/adma.202308030 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

 

Growing use of hemp-derived alternative cannabis products containing CBD, Delta-8-THC, CBG, CBN

A lack of regulation around CBD, Delta-8 and other cannabinoids could open up consumers for harm

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MICHIGAN MEDICINE - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Cannabis use for medicinal or recreational purposes is now permitted is most states in the U.S. Many of the products sold in dispensaries contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (better known as “THC”), and are thus classified as Schedule I drugs, making them illegal under federal law.

However, there is a parallel market for products derived from hemp—defined as cannabis containing less that 0.3 percent THC—spurred in part by the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which removed hemp-derived cannabinoids from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

A new U-M study published in JAMA Network Open examines past-year use of some of these hemp-derived cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), Delta 8-THC, cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN).

“While the de-scheduling of hemp products initially opened up the market for CBD products, it also applies to the 100-plus cannabinoids also found in the plant. That means, as with CBD, all of them can follow that same path and be sold in gas stations, as ingredients in cosmetics, as well as in dispensaries—there will likely be substantial proliferation of some of these compounds,” said Kevin Boehnke, Ph.D. of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center and the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Using a census-representative sample of adults from the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) AmeriSpeak panel, Boehnke and his colleagues examined knowledge of and past-year use of the most popular hemp derived cannabinoids.

Overall, 72% participants heard of CBD, while fewer had heard of delta-8-THC (41%), CBG (18%), or CBN (17%). Similarly, 21% reported using CBD in the past year, compared with 12% for delta-8-THC, 5% for CBG, and 4% for CBN. Furthermore, people living in states without legal medical or recreational cannabis laws had higher rates of using delta-8-THC.

“Delta-8-THC purportedly has quite similar effects to delta-9-THC (better known as THC). In other words, there is a loophole where people in states without legal cannabis can get high legally on delta-8-THC. It makes sense then that people who don’t have access to regulated markets would be more likely to use it,” said Boehnke.

However, use of these alternative cannabinoids is concerning, says Boehnke, because these products are largely unregulated and have inadequate safety testing for contaminants like pesticides and solvents. Further, many may not contain the amounts listed on the label.

“Not only are people with medical conditions being sold products with uncertain therapeutic effects, but these products may contain contaminants that are harmful,” said Boehnke. He adds that without a basic framework ensuring adequate laboratory testing for safety, alternative cannabinoid products could be putting people, especially young people, at risk.

Additional authors include Adrianne R. Wilson-Poe PhD, Tristin Smith MPH, Michael R. Elliott PhD, and Daniel J. Kruger PhD.

Paper cited: “Past-year use prevalence of cannabinoids CBD, CBG, CBN, and delta-8-THC in the United States,” JAMA Network Open, http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47373?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=121323

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

ARTICLE TITLE

Past-year use prevalence of cannabinoids CBD, CBG, CBN, and delta-8-THC in the United States

New leadership to take Illinois’ Center for Digital Agriculture into the future

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

 

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LEFT TO RIGHT: JOHN REID, MATTHEW HUDSON, VIKRAM ADVE, AND CHRISTINA TUCKER

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

URBANA, Ill. -- After five trailblazing years, the Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a new executive director, John Reid, who plans to support CDA’s growth across all dimensions of use-inspired research, translation of research into practice, and education and workforce development. 

Reid is affiliated with the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and The Grainger College of Engineering as a research professor in agricultural and biological engineering and computer science. He brings more than 35 years of technology leadership experience in industry and academia and a commitment to translating innovation research into practice. Reid’s research spans precision agriculture technologies, agricultural robotics and automation, and the deployment of embodied AI in agriculture, construction, and marine applications. 

“I'm thrilled to announce John Reid's arrival as executive director. As the center has expanded significantly, it's become apparent that dedicated leadership is now essential,” said Matthew Hudson, scientific co-director of the CDA, professor in the Department of Crop Sciences in ACES, and science integration chair for the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation. “This strategic shift will facilitate continued growth and prosperity for the center.”

Reid has been affiliated with CDA since 2022, and has served as a strategic advisor on the agricultural machinery industry, prepared competitive grants aligned with the CDA mission, and built foundational elements for an industry partner program, among other accomplishments. 

“My vision for the CDA is to strategically expand our use-inspired research and catalyze the transition towards a circular bioeconomy through cutting-edge AI and digital ag technologies,” Reid said. “Simultaneously, we will establish robust industry partnerships and enhance education programs to cultivate a diverse and skilled workforce, ensuring CDA's leadership in shaping the future of agriculture.”

Reid’s appointment is just one of several leadership changes at the CDA. Founding co-directors Vikram Adve and Matthew Hudson will continue to serve the center as scientific co-directors and Christina Tucker will add director of operations to her title as associate director of education.

“I’m excited to be handing over the reins of CDA to John Reid. John brings tremendous expertise in digital agriculture, both in academia and industry, and his broad perspective and strong leadership experience will take CDA to new heights,” said Adve, the Donald B. Gillies professor in computer science. “Working with Matt to launch CDA and establish a strong foundation for the center over the initial years has been both exhilarating and humbling. Bringing in John and Christina will free me to focus on the scientific vision and growth of the center along with Matt, and to continue leading the AIFARMS National AI Institute within CDA.”

In her role as associate director of education, Tucker dedicated herself to building the center’s educational offerings, launching the first 100% online Master of Engineering in Digital Agriculture program, developing a federally funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program, and fostering a collaborative partnership with Tuskegee University. She hopes to continue expanding the reach of these programs in her new role. 

“After being involved in the center’s educational activities for the last two years, I’m excited to take the next step and get more involved with the overall vision of the center. The multidisciplinary approach of CDA and the success of these academic and industry partnerships will be vital to sustainably feeding the world for years to come,” Tucker said. “I look forward to connecting with our faculty affiliates to grow our research and outreach efforts.” 

The CDA, which was founded in 2018 and launched in October 2019, is a collaboration between the College of ACES, Grainger Engineering, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at Illinois. Its founding recognized the increasing interdependence of computer science, digital technologies, and engineering with traditional agronomy, livestock management, and workforce development. 

Five years in, CDA has made significant strides in its mission to help agricultural producers, researchers, and industries keep pace with the ways technology is transforming how we feed and support a growing population. The center will celebrate its fifth anniversary at its upcoming annual conference planned for March 6, 2024. Those interested in learning more about CDA’s initiatives, collaborations, programs, and research projects are invited to attend. Join CDA’s mailing list to stay up-to-date on center opportunities, conferences, events, and offerings.

 

Applications open for School of Advanced Science on Precision Livestock Farming

The school will help students to master the technical and theoretical aspects of PLF, a cutting-edge approach to raising sustainability in agriculture; submissions will be accepted until 20, 2024

Meeting Announcement

FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO

 

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THE SCHOOL WILL HELP STUDENTS TO MASTER THE TECHNICAL AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF PLF

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CREDIT: ESPCA-PLF

The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Precision Livestock Farming (SPSAS-PLF) will be held on October 15-24, 2024, at the São Paulo State University’s School of Agricultural and Veterinarian Sciences (FCAV-UNESP) in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. 

Reporters are invited to register for the scientific sessions and short courses, which will present state-of-art science and results of new research.

The emergence of Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) in recent years has been a game-changer in the pursuit of sustainable solutions for livestock production. PLF aims to optimize production management by monitoring and controlling aspects such as animal productivity, environmental impacts, and animal health and welfare in a continuous and automated way.

By means of in-depth courses on Machine Learning, Statistical Tools, and Database Systems, the School’s program seeks to empower graduate students and early-career researchers to face some of PLF’s biggest challenges: processing vast amounts of collected information and developing a multidisciplinary-based clinical eye for the interpretation of biological responses – a critical step in harnessing the full potential of PLF. Also, practical applications of PLF in Brazil and abroad will be showcased by means of engaging workshops.

The discussions on the School will benefit greatly from the participation of internationally renowned scientists as speakers, including Guilherme Rosa, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA); João Rebouças Dorea, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA); Noelia Escriche, from the University Politehnica of Valencia (Spain); Masoomeh Taghipoor, from the Université Paris-Saclay (France); Yang Zhao, from the University of Tennessee (USA); Tomas Norton, from the University of Ku Leuven (Belgium), and others.

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is supporting the event through its São Paulo School of Advanced Science Program (SPSAS http://espca.fapesp.br/home). Approximately 100 applicants will be selected (50 Brazilian residents and 50 foreign residents); the selection process will be based on the letter of motivation, abstract of the research project, supervisor recommendation letter, academic transcript, and the applicant’s CV.

The applicant’s country of origin will also be taken into consideration, in order to include participants from all continents. Organizing and scientific committee aim to achieve gender equality in the group of selected applicants.

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows living outside São Paulo state can apply to receive financial support to cover the cost of air travel, accommodation and meals.

Applications must be submitted by January 20, 2024.

Find more and apply at: https://sites.google.com/unesp.br/plfschool/applications.

 

Most american parents plan to vaccinate their children against the “tripledemic,” new study finds

However, growing vaccine hesitancy leads researchers to predict excessive, preventable illnesses this fall and winter

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

 

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DR. SIMON F. HAEDER

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CREDIT: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The first national study of its kind suggests that most parents of infants and young children in the United States plan to have their children vaccinated against influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), despite increasing opposition to the practice. In addition, 40 percent intend to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19.

The study asked parents about their intention to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, influenza and RSV — the so-called “tripledemic” that experts predict for this fall and winter. The study was conducted by Dr. Simon F. Haeder, an associate professor of health policy and management in the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Haeder also conducted the first national study on vaccine mandates for kindergarten through 12th grade students, finding that most Americans overwhelmingly support them.

Haeder developed an online survey that was given to 5,035 parents across the United States this Sept. 27 and 28. For each of the three vaccines, respondents were asked about a number of disease-specific issues that are commonly used in research on vaccine hesitancy. First, for example, they were asked if they were concerned about their child getting the respective disease, answering using a five-point scale. Haeder also accounted for the increasing politicization of vaccines by asking about political preferences and controlled for demographic factors such as race and ethnicity, gender, age and income.

A statistical analysis found that about 40 percent of parents intended to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, 63 percent against influenza and 71 percent against RSV.

“Interestingly, these results aligned with the results of our survey of pet owners, although those were not as politically polarizing,” Haeder said. “In this case, parents made the decision because they were concerned about these diseases, they trusted health providers and their children were previously vaccinated. Those who were opposed said they were concerned about vaccine safety and necessity, and believed they lacked information about the vaccines.”

While vaccination hesitancy or outright refusal was thrust into the national spotlight after COVID-19 and its vaccination emerged nearly simultaneously in late 2019, Haeder said the issue was a growing concern even prior to that, primarily surrounding the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) and HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines.

“From a public health perspective, vaccine hesitancy has a ripple effect that extends beyond the individuals involved, even though they might tragically become ill or even die from a preventable disease,” Haeder said. “Low vaccination rates place marginalized communities, such as people living in poverty, and vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, at greater risk for contracting a disease. To prevent a disease outbreak, we need high vaccination rates across the entire population.”

This makes vaccine requirements for school-age children especially important in containing the spread of a disease, for example, since this group overall is healthier than other groups and has fewer preventive visits with doctors, and thus would be less likely to get vaccinated without a mandate.

“Now, with the newly developed antibody immunization against RSV, in addition to vaccines against influenza and COVID-19, we have a unique opportunity to avoid illness and death this fall and winter,” Haeder said. “But vaccine hesitancy—along with the elimination of COVID-19 funding and a belief that the pandemic is behind us—make it likely that the United States will experience an excessive amount of preventable illness from COVID-19, influenza and RSV this fall and winter.”

By Ann Kellett, Texas A&M University School of Public Health

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JOURNAL

Vaccine

DOI

10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.11.004 

ARTICLE TITLE

Assessing parental intention to vaccinate against COVID-19, influenza, and RSV in the United States in late 2023

 

Large study presents evidence for behavioral sciences in policymaking

Peer-Reviewed Publication

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

A new global study led by Kai Ruggeri, PhD, at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health involving over 80 collaborators from more than 30 countries underscores the crucial role of behavioral sciences in formulating policy decisions, while also asserting the need for clear standards for what evidence gets used in policy decisions. The findings are published in the journal Nature.

In April 2020, a group of researchers published a highly influential paper with 19 policy recommendations around COVID-19 based on insights from the behavioral sciences. The paper was a large collaboration of over 40 experts, led by Jay Van Bavel of New York University and Robb Willer of Stanford, and was cited thousands of times by governments, researchers, and public figures. Its recommendations covered topics such as official messaging on social distancing, how to get a vaccine once they were available, and the need to work within communities to create real impact. Now, Ruggeri et al.’s new paper in Nature evaluates evidence since the first paper’s publication supports its claims and their applicability for policymaking.

“Governments around the world formulated pandemic policy strategies explicitly on the basis of the behavioral concepts highlighted in the 2020 paper by Jay J. Van Bavel et al.,” says Ruggeri, a professor health policy and management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Given concerns over a lack of public trust in science, particularly in the context of COVID-19, we believed it was important to evaluate the evidence for public policy recommendations, in a way that promotes transparency and builds trust.”

Two independent teams of 72 experts—including both the 2020 paper’s authors, as well as an independent team of evaluators—reviewed 747 pandemic-related research articles to assess the extent to which claims in the original paper provided valid policy guidance. They treated studies conducted (and replicated) in real-world settings across large populations in multiple settings as the highest level, and flagged arguments that were not backed by empirical evidence.

Alex Haslam, PhD, professor of psychology from the University of Queensland in Australia and study co-author, says, “In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about the limitations of psychological and behavioral science, especially in the face of the so-called ‘replication crisis.’ As a counterpoint to this, what this research showed is that there is a core of good theory in these fields that provides a strong basis for both scientific prediction and public policy. This theory may not always be flashy, but it is the bedrock of good social science, and this study confirms that it is something we can rely on for guidance when we need it.”

The study finds evidence for 18 of 19 claims in the 2020 paper, including those related to sense of identity and community connectedness, leadership and trust, public health messaging, social cohesion, and misinformation. Of the 18, the 2020 paper correctly identified 16 relevant behavioral concepts during the pandemic as well as likely barriers to mitigating spread of the disease and social challenges that would be faced by policymakers. The researchers found no effect for two proposed policies related to effective public messaging (that messages should emphasize benefits to the recipient, and that they should focus on protecting others). Notably, the team found no evidence to review for one high-profile recommendation in the 2020 paper, which suggested the phrasing “physical distancing” is preferable to “social distancing.”

The most strongly supported claims were the importance of interventions to combat misinformation and polarization, which proved to be vital for ensuring adherence to public health guidelines. Research also underlined the point that, to be effective, messaging needs to emanate from trusted leaders and to emphasize positive social norms.

Public health interventions that received the most attention were not necessarily the ones best supported by the most evidence. For example, handwashing was widely promoted as a strategy for stopping the spread of COVID, yet study effects were small to null, particularly compared to masking, isolation, distancing, and vaccines.

Regarding masking, early guidelines in some countries suggested the practice would not minimize COVID-19, but subsequent evidence pointed to the effectiveness of masking. Likewise, research also undermined guidance on the impacts of school closures and disinfecting surfaces. “While there are understandable pressures to issue guidelines quickly during a crisis, making policy decisions without adequate evidence can be costly in many ways,” says study co-author Katherine Baicker, PhD, Provost of the University of Chicago. “As new scientific evidence comes in over time, some people may view evolving policy guidance as a sign of incompetence—or even conspiracy—undermining trust in expertise. Policymakers must balance the need for expedience with the need for robust evidence and credibility.”

The new study also identifies several domains missing from the 2020 paper. These included threat and risk perception, the role of inequality and racism, skepticism toward science, incentivizing behaviors beyond simply describing benefits (e.g., by providing financial rewards for vaccination) and the absence of clear leadership. 

Finally, the research team provides recommendations to help researchers and policymakers respond to future pandemics and disasters. These include the need to study global populations, to do more field testing, and to be more specific in formulating testable questions. “The value of field testing what really works to change health behaviors can’t be overstated, and the strongest conclusions we’ve been able to draw in this article were often thanks to partnerships researchers forged with local governments and healthcare providers to carefully evaluate what actually adds value in the middle of a crisis,” says study co-author Katy Milkman, PhD, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers also encourage scientists to forge more alliances with policymakers and decisionmakers—in local government, hospitals, schools, the media, and beyond.

“This work has the potential to increase transparency and build trust in science and public health, and to directly inform the development of tools and knowledge for the next pandemic or other crisis. Researchers can be a viable source of policy advice in the context of a crisis, and our recommendations point to ways to further improve this role of social and behavioral science,” says study co-senior author Robb Willer, PhD, professor of sociology at Stanford University.

“This new paper rigorously evaluated policy recommendations from our original team to see if they were accurate, using large amounts of evidence and a new team of independent reviewers from around the globe. In addition to confirming the vast majority of our original claims, it sets a new gold standard for evaluating evidence when policy decisions, particularly urgent ones, must be made,” says Jay Van Bavel, PhD, professor of psychology, New York University, lead author of the landmark 2020 article, and co-senior author of the new paper.

 A full list of authors is available in the study article. 

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-023-06840-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

A synthesis of evidence for policy from behavioural science during COVID-19

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Dec-2023

Senior physicians may care for fewer patients with Medicaid and from racial/ethnic minorities than junior physicians

 NEWS RELEASE 13-DEC-2023

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Key points:

• Using health care claims from two independent national data sets, researchers found that within the same practice, more senior physicians saw fewer patients with lower-paying Medicaid insurance and fewer minority patients than their less experienced colleagues.
• This trend did not apply to non-office-based physicians, such as emergency medicine physicians and radiologists, who do not see patients by scheduled appointment.
• The study provides evidence for a known but little-studied practice in which physician seniority acts as an institutional mechanism for racial and economic segregation and marginalized patients face limited access to more experienced health care providers.

Boston, MA—Senior physicians may avoid seeing racial minorities and lower paying Medicaid-insured patients compared to junior physicians in the same practice, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“It’s a widely known ‘secret’ that in some practices, the older doctors push patients with lower-paying insurance, and by extension patients of minority races to the more junior doctors in their clinic. But this is rarely discussed openly,” said lead author Michael Barnett, associate professor of health policy and management. “Our study finds evidence to back up this hidden practice, which raises concerns of a two-tiered system by physician seniority that promotes racial and economic segregation.”

The study will be published on December 13, 2023, in JAMA Network Open.

The researchers used 2017 claims data from athenahealth and 2021 claims data from Medicare— representing over 134 million patients and nearly 200,000 physicians—to analyze the differences between patients seen by the most junior physicians versus patients seen by the most senior physicians. The researchers classified the physicians by practice type—cognitive (primary care or endocrinology, for example); procedural (any surgical or procedural specialty); or non-office-based (emergency medicine or radiology, for example)—and evaluated the patient panels within each group.

The study found gaps between the patient panels of junior and senior physicians in cognitive and procedural specialties, broken down by patient insurance type as well as race and ethnicity. Within the athenahealth data, senior cognitive physicians saw 1.6% fewer Medicaid patients and 1.2% fewer patients from racial/ethnic minorities compared to their junior counterparts; senior procedural physicians saw 2.9% fewer Medicaid patients and 1.7% fewer patients from racial/ethnic minorities. The same trends were observed in the Medicare data, validating that these findings were not a result of one particular data source. While the largest discrepancies were observed between procedural physicians, there were no significant discrepancies observed between non-office-based physicians, who do not see patients on scheduled visits.

The researchers said the lack of discrepancy in non-office-based physicians’ patient panels suggests that other specialties may exercise discretion in which patients are booked with whom. Cognitive and procedural specialists may be dissuaded by Medicaid’s lower reimbursement rates or higher administrative burden, and as such take on fewer of these patients. Since Medicaid patients are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities, this could lead to racial disparities as well. The researchers noted that patient choice may also play a role in the gaps.

“It’s far from clear that senior physicians provide higher quality care than junior physicians,” Barnett said. “But in my experience as a primary care physician, many patients want to see a more experienced physician. Our study suggests that patients may encounter barriers on who they can see, even in the same practice, based on who they are and what insurance they can afford. Addressing these barriers and widening patient access to all kinds and levels of physicians is essential to a more equitable health care system.”

“Differences by Physician Seniority in Race and Ethnicity and Insurance Coverage of Treated Patients,” Hannah T. Neprash, David C. Chan, Ateev Mehrotra, Michael L. Barnett, JAMA Network Open, December 13, 2023, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47367

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47367 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Differences by Physician Seniority in Race and Ethnicity and Insurance Coverage of Treated Patients

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Dec-2023