UofL researchers are unmasking an old foe’s tricks to thwart new diseases

Research team awarded grants for further research on plague-causing bacteria

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE

 

IMAGE: 

MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY PROFESSOR MATTHEW LAWRENZ, RIGHT, AND DOCTORAL STUDENT KATELYN SHENEMAN HAVE RECEIVED NEW RESEARCH FUNDING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW BACTERIA CAN OUTMANEUVER THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. UOFL PHOTO.

view more 

CREDIT: UOFL PHOTO.

When the body encounters bacteria, viruses or harmful substances, its innate immune cells, neutrophils, assemble at the site to combat the invader.

Bacteria and viruses have ways to avoid these defenses, however. Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes bubonic and pneumonic plague, for example, can hide from the immune system, allowing it to replicate in the body unhindered until it can overwhelm the host. This ability allowed Y. pestis to spread bubonic plague across Europe in the 14th Century, killing a third of the European population.

While plague may not be a serious threat to human health in modern times, researchers at the University of Louisville are studying Y. pestis to better understand its ability to evade the immune system and apply that understanding to control other pathogens.

“If you look at human plague, people don’t show symptoms right away even though they have an active infection because the bacteria is hiding from the immune system. Then all of a sudden there is a lot of bacteria, the immune system is overwhelmed and in the case of pneumonic plague, the individual dies from pneumonia,” said Matthew Lawrenz, professor in the UofL Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Neutrophils are the immune system’s first responders, sending out protein molecules to summon other neutrophils to attack and destroy the invader. Among the first molecules sent out by neutrophils to signal an infection are Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) lipid molecules. Y. pestis interferes with the immune response by suppressing the LTB4 signals. Lawrenz has received a new $2.9 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how Y. pestis blocks LTB4. Ultimately, he expects this understanding will lead to ways to prevent Y. pestis from blocking the signals and hopefully, apply that understanding to other types of infections.

“This historic pathogen is really good at manipulating the immune system, so we use it as a tool to better understand how white blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages respond to bacterial infection,” Lawrenz said. “In this project, we are using Yersinia to better understand why LTB4 is so important to controlling plague. This understanding would apply to almost any infection of the lungs or other areas, and it probably could apply to viruses also.”

A member of the UofL Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Lawrenz has been studying plague bacteria for nearly two decades. His previous work includes discoveries of how Y. pestis acquires iron and zinc to overcome a host’s defense mechanism known as nutritional immunity and has increased understanding of how Y. pestis inhabits spaces within host macrophages to hide from the immune system.

Confocal microscopy images taken in the Lawrenz lab of neutrophils (blue) and Yersinia pestis (red). UofL photo.

CREDIT

UofL photo.

Katelyn Sheneman, a doctoral student in Lawrenz’s lab, also has received a prestigious $100,000 research award for trainees from the NIH. This grant will fund her research to understand how Y. pestis changes the contents of extracellular vesicles, cellular containers produced by immune cells that contain proteins, lipids such as LTB4 and other components. These vesicles are released into the bloodstream to communicate to other cells what is happening in their part of the body, such as an infection.

“My project is looking at how Y. pestis alters the number of vesicles being produced, what is being packaged in them and how other cells are responding to them,” Sheneman said. “We have some good evidence that pestis is able to manipulate the production of these vesicles, so we are going to look at the role the vesicles play in pulmonary infection and how that influence contributes to overall systemic infection.”

Since there is no effective vaccine against infection by Y. pestis and it has the potential to be used as a bioweapon, Lawrenz and Sheneman study Y. pestis in UofL’s Biosafety Level 3 facilities at the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, part of a network of 12 regional and 2 national biocontainment laboratories for studying infectious agents. Biosafety Level 3 facilities are built to exacting federal safety and security standards in order to protect researchers and the public from exposure to the pathogens being investigated. 

 

Soil fungi may help explain the global gradient in forest diversity

New study offers twist on established explanation, introduces effects of beneficial soil fungi in addition to pathogens

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY

A paper published in Nature Communications Biology contributes to the growing appreciation for the outsize role that microbes play in everything from human digestion to crop yields: Microbes in the soil—fungi in this case—appear to be influencing forest diversity on a global scale.

Forests on Earth exhibit a marked gradient from the equator toward the poles: Tropical forests near the equator tend to include a large number of different species, whereas forests nearer the poles support less plant diversity.

One explanation for this phenomenon maintains that soil pathogens, including bacteria and fungi, help create this gradient. Species-specific pathogens accumulate near adult trees, and their abundance can diminish the success of juveniles growing near their parents, thus promoting species diversity. This effect is stronger in warm, wet climates, contributing to the greater diversity in forests near the equator.

However, a new study led by Camille Delavaux, a lead scientist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, adds a twist to this established story. Mycorrhizal fungi—soil fungi that form mutually beneficial relationships with the majority of plant roots globally—appear to be counteracting the effects of harmful soil pathogens in ways that influence global patterns of forest diversity.

“This paper provides an additional mechanism that may help explain why forest compositional diversity differs with latitude, and a little more about how microbes may regulate patterns of diversity across the planet,” says Matthew Baker, professor of geography and environmental systems at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a co-author on the new study.

Microbes influence tree diversity

Both major classes of these mutualistic fungi, ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal, may improve juvenile survival. However, Delavaux and colleagues’ paper found that ectomycorrhizal fungi have a more pronounced effect. Ectomycorrhizal fungi form a sheath around plant roots, which researchers believe may directly protect the plants against pathogens. Ectomycorrhizae are more common at higher latitudes, and they are also more likely to be specialists supporting a single tree species. 

Arbuscular fungi are more common near the equator, and they may offer less protection against pathogens. They are also less likely to specialize with a particular tree species. That means they are more likely to encourage different tree species to grow nearby. 

The new paper found initial evidence for both the diversity-promoting effects of arbuscular fungi and the diversity-reducing effects of ectomycorrhizal fungi, “which seems to suggest that these mechanisms could very well play a role in driving patterns of global biodiversity in tree species,” Baker explains. 

The research team’s findings taken together with previous understanding of these fungi may explain well-known patterns of forest tree diversity associated with latitude. “And that’s exciting,” Baker says. “Global patterns of biodiversity may not result solely from antagonistic relationships between trees and their pathogens, but also from symbiotic relationships with fungi in soils.”

A global network for forest science

“These findings were only possible because of an impressive global network of forest plots administered by the Smithsonian Institution’s Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) Network,” Delavaux explains. To be a member of the network, researchers at ForestGEO sites must commit to inventorying the trees in their plots every five years, which entails recording the size and precise coordinates of every tree within the plot boundaries with a diameter of at least one inch. Some sites also collect data on wildlife, soil microbiota, and more using standardized protocols established by the network. The current study used data from 43 of 77 global ForestGEO plots, including a plot on UMBC’s main campus.

The network “reflects the willingness of people in the scientific community to pool resources for the greater good,” Baker says. In UMBC’s case, student volunteers, led by graduate student Anita Kraemer, collected the vast majority of the data.

Different forests, different microbes

UMBC’s two 6.25-hectare (about 15-acre) plots are unique in other ways: They were the first urban, temperate ForestGEO plots when they joined the network in 2012 at the initiative of Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems and a co-author on the new paper, and graduate student Jonathan Dandois. Dandois completed his Ph.D. in geography and environmental systems in 2013 and is now the Geographic Information Systems manager at Johns Hopkins University.

The UMBC plots include forest edges (adjacent to campus facilities like tennis courts, parking lots, and a swimming pool) and contain a variety of exotic species in addition to native plants. As a result, the plots’ species diversity per unit area exceeds other temperate forests and rivals some of the tropical forest plots in the network. Those observations have fueled Baker’s recent work on urban forests.

The new findings on the role of fungi in global forest structure may be just the beginning of understanding how microbes drive global biodiversity patterns. “The scientific community is very much in the learning stage about appreciating the diversity of different types of soil microbes and their distribution over the planet,” Baker says, “and investigators like Dr. Delavaux are expanding our understanding.”

Delavaux is excited about pursuing related work moving forward. “Future research will leverage the available tree census data and generate additional microbial genetic sequencing data from 30 plots to directly link the microbiome to plant community structure,” she says.

---

JOURNAL

Communications Biology

DOI

10.1038/s42003-023-05410-z 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Mycorrhizal feedbacks influence global forest structure and diversity

 

UC Davis Health creates road map to diversify health care workforce

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - DAVIS HEALTH

How can health care systems increase diversity and inclusion in their workforce?

UC Davis Health, recognized by Forbes as a "Best Employer in California", has developed a road map for increasing workforce diversity across the industry. While California banned the consideration of race or ethnicity in hiring at public institutions in 1996, UC Davis Health has since come up with a holistic outreach and local recruitment plan that has proven effective. And that approach is now receiving global attention through a new case study published in New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst’s January 2024 issue.

The case study provides a step-by-step guide for medical centers and institutions that seek to diversify their health care workforces. It presents some of UC Davis Health’s successful recruitment efforts as a community-anchored institution.

“Evidence shows that UC Davis Health continues to distinguish itself as a national leader in workplace diversity and health equity while training the next generation of health care providers and research innovators,” said David Lubarsky, chief executive officer and vice chancellor for human health sciences at UC Davis Health. Lubarksy is also a co-author on the paper. “Those trainees are our future. They see firsthand how DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) enriches all patient care and they will become ambassadors for equity wherever they work.”

UC Davis Health has received many national awards for diversity, health equity and community engagement.

Diversifying the workforce through locally anchored hiring strategy

Diversifying a workforce requires commitment from the executive leadership team and their direct reports at every hiring level. The objective is to create a workplace where everyone belongs.

For this reason, the UC Davis Health Talent Acquisition team within the Department of Human Resources has focused on cultivating a diverse and local workforce through strategic outreach efforts.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion are core tenets of our recruitment strategies,” said Lyndon Huling, interim lead for Talent Acquisition Unit and co-author of the case study. “We implement those values in our approach to outreach. We know that a diverse and local workforce cultivates innovation, improves patient outcomes and makes UC Davis Health an employer of choice.”

A 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment identified 10 ZIP codes within a 20-minute commute of UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento with the greatest socioeconomic and health needs. In response, UC Davis Health pledged to hire and invest in the communities within these ZIP codes.

The Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HEDI) led this initiative and collaborated with human resources to prioritize local hiring from these neighborhoods. They initiated the Anchor Institution Mission (AIM) for community health. AIM represents UC Davis Health’s commitment to leverage its economic and human power to improve the local community’s health and well-being.

“We wanted to use our presence in the community to increase local hiring," said Victoria Ngo, co-first author of the case study and postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis Health. “Targeting outreach to local Sacramento neighborhoods of concern is just one way the anchor institution mission is focusing its efforts in reducing disparities in the long term.”

The AIM initiative draws upon the university’s ability and willingness to address complex problems like poverty through innovation, collaboration and community building.

“Tackling poverty and other social determinants of health is a daunting task. Yet, it is very near and dear to the heart and mission of UC Davis as a land grant and health care institution,” said co-first author Hendry Ton, associate vice chancellor for HEDI. He is also a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the UC Davis School of Medicine. “We are taking a vital step towards becoming an enduring community partner trusted for our commitment to the well-being of California's diverse communities. We hope this work inspires other organizations to do the same.”

Dedicated DEI leaders were involved in the design and implementation of outreach, recruitment, hiring and onboarding efforts for new employees from the AIM communities. The process included educating UC Davis Health leadership, managers and staff about the benefits of local hiring. Hiring new employees from these communities went from 12% in its pre-implementation year to 15% in the first year of implementation, then to 17% in its second year.

“Our AIM initiative generates meaningful connections between our local communities and our employee teams. This dynamic defines why UC Davis Health is a foundational pillar in Northern California and a trusted partner to many — especially those who have historically lacked access to care, education and employment,” Lubarsky added.

Future steps for UC Davis Health

UC Davis Health aims to employ 20% of its employees from AIM communities to meet the needs of tomorrow’s diverse communities. Achieving this goal requires mission-based, community-partnered hiring practices and further development of employee retention and advancement programs.

This means:

• Ongoing assessment and support for an inclusive work environment
• Programs that enhance a sense of belonging, particularly for underrepresented groups
• More career development and mentorship for entry-level employees
• More opportunities for staff to create and maintain meaningful connections with their local communities

“Significant work remains to be done, and we will meet this challenge,” Lubarsky said. “We are continuing to develop innovative ways to cultivate an inclusive environment for patients, employees and students.”

 

---

JOURNAL

NEJM Catalyst

DOI

10.1056/CAT.23.0261 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

ARTICLE TITLE

Using Social Determinants to Diversify the Health Care Workforce: UC Davis Health’s Playbook

 

PTSD, depression, and anxiety nearly doubles in Israel in aftermath of Hamas attack

Peer-Reviewed Publication

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER

A study conducted by researchers at Ruppin Academic Center in Israel and Columbia University documents the broad impact on the mental health of Israelis, both Jews and Arabs, with sharp increases in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety in the aftermath Hamas' attack in October.

The study, published in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine  Jan. 5, 2023, found the prevalence of probable PTSD, depression, and anxiety in the weeks following the attacks (29% for PTSD, 42%-44% for depression and GAD, respectively), almost doubling the prevalence recorded two months before the attack.

“The prevalences of PTSD, depression, and anxiety are considerably higher than those reported in previous studies focusing on terrorist events, such as the 9/11 attacks and other attacks,” said Yossi Levi-Belz, PhD, a professor of clinical psychology and chair the Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide and Mental Pain Studies at the Ruppin Academic Center in Israel who led the study.

The escalation of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict began Oct. 7 with Hamas’ attacks on civilians in Southern Israel that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in 240 being seized as hostages. The terrorist attack was followed by all-out war between the militant Palestinian group and Israeli forces, which followed more than a decade of relative calm across the Gaza-Israeli border. 

The nationwide cohort study, according to the researchers, addressed limitations of previous research by using prospective study design to evaluate the impact of the attack. The researchers employed a wide range of probable outcome measures including PTSD, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), assessing a cohort of Israeli citizens, both Jews and Arabs, twice, 6-7 weeks before the attack and 5-6 weeks after the attacks.

Since the beginning of the conflict 240,000 Israeli civilians have evacuated their homes and 129 Israelis are still held hostage.  The ground war in Gaza has also taken a heavy toll on Palestinians.  The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said that more than 20,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the war. 

Numerous studies have documented that traumatic events like war and armed conflicts can cause an alarming spike in post-traumatic stress and depression. Symptoms of PTSD were the most common health effect of the 9/11 attacks. Up to 20% of adults (link is external and opens in a new window)directly exposed to the disaster or injured in the attack had PTSD symptoms five to six years after the attack. Ten years after the attacks, 15% of the 70,000 enrollees in the World Trade Center Health Registry(link is external and opens in a new window) reported depression and 10% reported both depression and PTSD.

Study coauthor Yuval Neria, PhD, professor of clinical medical psychology (in psychiatry and epidemiology) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and director of the PTSD Research and Treatment program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), said the findings underline the crucial importance of conducting an immediate assessment of those exposed to severe trauma that taking into account pre-attack psychological difficulties and psychiatric 'diagnoses' in the aftermath of such a large-scale trauma. 

“Moreover, nation leaders and policymakers should consider taking steps to allocates all resources to facilitate evidence-based treatments of affected civilians,” Dr. Neria added. “Early to mid-term interventions must be made accessible to citizens as a whole, with the aim of promoting self- and community efficacy, connectedness, and hope immediately after the attacks and during a massive military confrontation for both Israelis and Arab populations." 

---

JOURNAL

EClinicalMedicine

DOI

10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102418 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

PTSD, depression, and anxiety after the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel: a nationwide prospective study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Jan-2024

 

Global scientific network highlights plant genera named for women

Researchers enhanced the known genera linked to women by twenty-fold

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

A network of scientists across the globe have identified more than 700 plant genera named for women. This is a nearly twenty-fold increase in the number of genera linked to women before the group started working on the list. 

The project, which aimed to highlight the contribution of women to botany, was the result of social media conversations about plants named for people.  

What began as a simple question about how many and which plant genera were named for women evolved into a global network of scientists who built a dataset of plant genera named in honor of women. The group, which met virtually for over two years, also worked to improve data easily available about these genera that have information publicly available through the global resource Wikidata. 

The results, which included a dataset of 728 plant genera named for women and female beings (mythological), were recently published in a paper entitled, “Creating a multi-linked dynamic dataset: a case study of plant genera named for women.”  

“Our motivation for this research was not only to highlight the names of plant genera named after women, but to look at the roles and lives of these women, many with fascinating stories, and to better recognize the contribution to science of this historically marginalized group,” said Missouri Botanical Garden Curator Dr. Carmen Ulloa. 

Ulloa is one of eight co-authors of the paper that represents a multidisciplinary group of female experts from around the world with an interest in diversity and inclusion in science. Other authors involved in this research are from the Natural History Museum, London, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Cambridge University Herbarium, and from Wellington, New Zealand.  

Historically, women were often excluded from scientific professions, the paper explains, and one way that is plainly visible is in  eponymy, or the practice of naming taxa for people. Like streets, monuments, and parks, plant names at all levels – species, genus, family, etc. – can be named for people. The group specifically focused on the names of flowering plant genera, as there are roughly 16,000 known genera compared to 450,000 known plant species.  

The group deliberately did not compare the number of names honoring women to those named for men with the intention of amplifying women’s contributions to the history and development of science. Their research found that many of the contributions of women honored were in unpaid roles, such as a supportive spouse, or obscured among a collection team and “whose role in the discovery of a new plant genus has been historically overlooked,” explained Ulloa. 

It also created a dataset that can be used by other researchers looking to build upon the work. The team deliberately used a push-pull method so that existing resources were constantly updated in an Open Science approach as work proceeded. 

“Taking this Open Science approach has ensured we have amplified the contribution of women to the field of botany,” the paper explains. “We hope to inspire others to use our methods and workflows to empower their own research and follow-up studies on under-represented and under-acknowledged groups in science.” 

# # #    

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 165 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display. 

 

 

---

JOURNAL

Biodiversity Data Journal

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Creating a multi-linked dynamic dataset: a case study of plant genera named for women

FREE TRADE THE HIGHEST STAGE OF IMPERIALISM
Brookfield to buy ATC India for $2.5 billion, become country's top telecom tower firm

Nandan Mandayam
Thu, January 4, 2024

A telecommunications tower managed by American Tower is seen in Golden


By Nandan Mandayam

(Reuters) -Brookfield Asset Management will buy American Tower Corp's (ATC) loss-making Indian operations for $2.5 billion, it said Friday, becoming the country's largest operator of telecom towers amid booming demand for data and wider use of 5G services.

The acquisition is the biggest of Brookfield's three telecom-related deals in the roughly four years the Canadian company has been present in India, the world's second-largest market by number of subscribers.

ATC, on the other hand, will exit India after nearly 17 years. Its fortunes have floundered due to the struggles of top client Vodafone Idea and it recently wrote down the value of the business by $322 million.

Brookfield, whose so-called anchor client is Reliance Industries' Jio, will be in "a better position to manage the challenge that ATC had with high exposure to Vodafone Idea," said Vivekanand S, an analyst at Ambit Capital Research.

Jio and Vodafone Idea compete with Bharti Airtel in the Indian telecom market where, according to an Ericsson report, the number of 5G subscribers will quadruple by 2027, accounting for 40% of the total base, from 11% in 2023.

Airtel is the anchor client of Indus Towers, the current market leader with roughly 193,000 towers. Brookfield has around 157,000 towers and ATC operates some 77,000 towers.

The presence of Airtel, said Vivekanand, means Brookfield's deal to buy ATC will not threaten Indus Towers.

Indus Towers became India's biggest telecom towers company in late 2020 when it merged with Bharti Infratel, then a unit of Airtel, to form a $14.6-billion giant. Brookfield's latest deal is the largest in the space since then.

Bharti Airtel currently owns about 48% of Indus and Vodafone Idea owns roughly 3%.

Indus's shares rose 5.5% in afternoon trading on Friday, while Bharti Airtel's shares were little changed. ($1 = 83.2150 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam, Yagnoseni Das and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Savio D'Souza)

American Tower (AMT) to Wrap Up ATC India Operations for $2.5B

Zacks Equity Research
Fri, January 5, 2024

American Tower Corporation AMT recently entered into an agreement with Data Infrastructure Trust (“DIT”), an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management BAM, to divest 100% of its equity interests in its India-based operations — ATC India. DIT presently houses Brookfield’s telecom tower businesses in India via Summit Digitel and Crest Digitel.

The company’s latest move marks the completion of its earlier announced strategic review of its operations in India.

Based on the exchange rates as of Jan 4, 2024, the total cash proceeds that American Tower will receive at closing aggregate around INR 210 billion or $2.5 billion. The cash proceeds are inclusive of a $2 billion enterprise value on the ATC India operations and a ticking fee that accrues from Oct 1, 2023, to the date of closing. The transaction is expected to materialize in the second half of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approvals.

The proceeds from the deal are expected to be utilized by American Tower to repay its existing debt. In addition, the sum related to the enterprise value assumes the repayment of existing intercompany debt and the repayment, or assumption, of the existing India term loan by DIT.

Pursuantly, the real estate investment trust (REIT) will hold back the full economic benefit associated with the optionally converted debentures issued by Vodafone Idea Limited (“VIL”) and will be entitled to receive future payments related to existing ATC India receivables.

American Tower’s decision to wrap up its ATC India operations comes after VIL, in early 2023, said that it would not be able to resume full payments of the contractual obligations that it owed the company and would instead continue to make partial payments. VIL is American Tower’s largest customer in India and accounted for around 3.2% of its total revenues for the year ended Dec 31, 2022. Finally, in the third quarter of 2023, VIL made full payments of its contractual obligations that were due to American Tower.

With respect to this development, AMT recorded goodwill impairments of $322 million during the nine months ended Sept 30, 2023.

American Tower’s move to reduce its exposure to a challenging business environment in India is likely to be beneficial to its top-line growth in the long run. With a portfolio of roughly 225,000 communications sites worldwide as of Sep 30, 2023, and unmatched geographic diversification of its sites, American Tower remains strategically positioned to capture the incremental demand from global 4G and 5G deployment efforts, growing wireless penetration and spectrum auctions.

Analysts seem bullish on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company. The recent estimate revision trend for 2024 funds from operations (FFO) per share indicates a favorable outlook for the company, with estimates moving marginally northward over the past month.

The company’s shares have appreciated 35% in the past three months compared with its industry’s growth of 19.8%.

Zacks Investment Research


Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

India probes DHL, FedEx, UPS for alleged antitrust practices, price collusion

Aditya Kalra
Fri, January 5, 2024

NEW DELHI (Reuters) —India's antitrust body is investigating domestic units of global delivery companies, such as Germany's DHL, U.S.-based United Parcel Service and FedEx, for alleged collusion on discounts and tariffs, documents seen by Reuters showed.

It is the latest such scrutiny for the logistics industry, some dating back to 2015, when France levied fines amounting to $735 million on 20 companies, including FedEx and DHL, for secretly colluding to increase prices.

In recent weeks, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has begun reviewing hundreds of thousands of emails as it investigates the fees companies charged for airport services, according to government documents and three sources.

Its inquiry began in Oct. 2022 after the Federation of Indian Publishers complained that DHL, FedEx, UPS and Dubai's Aramex, along with some domestic firms, were deciding charges together and controlling customer discounts.

Such actions, if proved, violate Indian antitrust laws.

The publisher said company executives exchanged commercially sensitive information regarding volumes, charges and discounts on courier and storage services offered at airports, before deciding on rates, the documents stated.

They "appear to be sharing commercially sensitive information amongst themselves ... for taking joint or collective decision to arrive at tariffs", the CCI said in an early assessment that led to the broader inquiry.

The antitrust watchdog did not respond to a request from Reuters seeking comment.

In a statement, FedEx categorically denied the accusations in the complaint but told Reuters it was co-operating with the CCI, while adding that it was committed to legal compliance. DHL also said it was co-operating fully and always maintained legal compliance.

UPS said it could not give details of an "an ongoing, non-public investigation" but was co-operating with the watchdog.

Aramex and the Indian complainant did not respond to Reuters queries.

Reuters is first to report the details of the investigation. The watchdog keeps confidential details of antitrust cases involving accusations of price collusion and cartel actions.

A finding of cartelization could bring a fine of up to three times the profit in each year the fee was fixed by the companies, or 10% of annual revenue for each year of violation, whichever is greater.

E-commerce boom boosts demand

Many companies are bullish about prospects in a market for courier, express and parcel delivery services expected to grow 17% each year to reach $18.3 billion by 2029, as an e-commerce boom fuels demand, says research firm Mordor Intelligence.

In 2022, DHL said it would invest $547 million to expand its warehousing and workforce in India, which it called a priority market. Last month, a FedEx unit invested $100 million to set up a technology and digital innovation centre.

DHL planes

Most companies being investigated submitted emails to the watchdog in response to notices sent after it identified key executives involved in the alleged misconduct, the documents showed.

Investigators have sought more time, until March, to study all the evidence, before preparing an internal report.

The watchdog's 2022 review showed that charges for airport services by courier companies were decided at meetings, before being made "mandatory" for all participants in a pact, the documents showed.

The complainant group also alleged that some companies set a fuel surcharge of 17% to 22%, citing rising prices of fuel, but did not cut them subsequently when those prices eased, during the travels curbs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Such conduct appears to emanate out of coordination or collusion," the CCI said in one document.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

ARCHAEOLOGY

‘Semi-buried boulders’ near 3,000-year-old Italy village stumped experts — until now

Moira Ritter
Fri, January 5, 2024 

About 50 years ago, archaeologists began exploring the ancient ruins of a 3,000-year-old island village in Italy. Initial investigations included aerial photographs, which showed peculiar “semi-buried boulders” on the outskirts of the settlement.

Experts have struggled to determine why the boulders were there — until now.

A new study found that the boulders were once part of a “complex” fortification system, serving as a first layer of defense for the already enclosed village, according to a study published in the January volume of the Journal of Applied Geophysics.

An aerial photo from 1968 showing the boulders outside of the village.


The remnants of the wall were discovered outside the village of Faraglioni, which was established on the volcanic island of Ustica around 1400 B.C., archaeologists said. The village was mysteriously abandoned around 1200 B.C.

Experts consider the site one of the best-preserved Mediterranean settlements of the Bronze Age, according to a Jan. 5 release from the Austria Press Agency. The village had a sophisticated urban layout, with dozens of huts lining narrow streets.

The village was positioned on the edge of a cliff, so one side was naturally protected by the cliffside and ocean. The inland edge of the village was guarded by a “massive fortified wall” that is still standing, archaeologists said.

The village’s inner “enclosing” wall spans about 820 feet, experts said.

Researchers said the “mighty curved” wall is about 820 feet long and 13 feet tall. It resembles a “fish hook” and connects to the huts through a passage.

The peculiar boulders were found about 20 feet from the standing inner wall, “discontinuously” following the same structure and shape of the inner wall, the study said. Archaeologists also discovered the remains of a tower between the standing wall and the boulders that appears to be connected to both structures.

A graphic shows the interior wall on the left and the remains of the exterior wall on the right.

A tower found between the ruins of the two walls.

Using photographs and various survey methods, it was determined that the boulders were actually remnants of an exterior wall that likely served as a first defense for the huge Bronze Age settlement, according to experts.

Archaeologists used non-invasive methods to study the boulders.

“The defensive system of the Faraglioni Middle Bronze Age village at Ustica consisted of two main elements: a large peripheral outwork, and an internal wall reinforced by buttresses, both having an arched design and mutually distant (19 to 22 feet),” archaeologists said. “Their construction was aimed at isolating the marine terrace and the village from the Tramontana plain.”

Archaeologists said the defense system’s purpose was likely two-fold: It defended the village while also establishing the settlement’s borders and creating a social structure.

Ustica is an island north of Sicily, which is in southern Italy.

Google Translate was used to translate a release from the Austria Press Agency.

Dig at ancient cemetery reveals colorful masks and artifacts. See the finds from Egypt

Aspen Pflughoeft
Thu, January 4, 2024 

Forgotten by time and obscured by the desert, a collection of ancient burials — and their treasures — went unnoticed in Egypt. Not anymore.

A joint team of Egyptian and Japanese archaeologists excavated part of the Saqqara archaeological site and unearthed an ancient cemetery, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a Jan. 4 Facebook post.

The cemetery included several burials, a tomb and a poorly preserved coffin, archaeologists said. Several of the graves had colorful masks that represented the deceased person’s face.


One of the burials found at the Saqqara site.


Photos show several of these burial masks and one skeleton next to the mask of its face.


One of the burial masks found at the Saqqara site.

Archaeologists also found several other artifacts including religious pendants, or amulets, statues of goddesses, vases and pieces of pottery at the cemetery, the release said.


A burial masks found at the Saqqara site.

The graves and their contents spanned several ancient eras, archaeologists said.

The cemetery and its oldest finds dated to the Second Dynasty, a period that ended over 4,600 years ago, according to the World History Encyclopedia. The most recent finds dated to the Ptolemaic era, a period that ended about 2,000 years ago.

One of the burials found at Saqqara.

The Saqqara archaeological site is about 5 miles long and the cemetery of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, according to Britannica. The site includes the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the burial site of a king who ruled over 4,500 years ago.

One of the skeletons found at Saqqara.

Excavations are ongoing.

The Saqqara archaeological site is about 15 miles southwest of Cairo.

Google Translate was used to translate the Facebook post from Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Ancient Egyptian teenager died while giving birth to twins, mummy reveals

Sascha Pare
Thu, January 4, 2024 

Two photographs show the mummy's incised abdomen and the fetus' head lodged in the pelvic cavity.


The ancient remains of an unborn fetus found in the headless mummy of an Egyptian teenager shows she died while giving birth to twins, a new study confirms.

When archaeologists excavated and unwrapped the mummy in 1908, they discovered the bandaged body of a fetus and the remains of a placenta wedged between the girl's legs. Field notes from the time reveal the researchers concluded the fetus was related to the mummified female — a girl between 14 and 17 years old who lived in ancient Egypt sometime between the Late Dynastic (from around 712 to 332 B.C.) and Coptic period (between A.D 395 and 642). Researchers incised the mother's abdomen and found the fetus' skull stuck in the birth canal, indicating the girl had died from complications during childbirth.

But it wasn't until a century later that researchers discovered a second fetus, this time mysteriously lodged in the girl's chest.

"This is the first mummy of its kind discovered," said study lead author Francine Margolis, a U.S.-based independent archaeologist. While there are many known burials of women who died in childbirth in the archaeological record, "there has never been one found in Egypt," Margolis told Live Science in an email.

Related: Ancient Egyptian children were plagued with blood disorders, mummies reveal

In 2021, researchers announced the discovery of a pregnant Egyptian mummy, but other experts challenged the results and concluded the woman wasn't pregnant when she died in a 2022 study.


A picture of the mummy with a fetus lodged between its legs.

Margolis first studied the mummy excavated in 1908 while writing her master's thesis in anthropology at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. on female pelvic morphology in 2019. "I CT scanned her to obtain her pelvic measurements," Margolis said. "That is when we discovered the second fetus."

The 3D images showed that the remains of a fetus, which no previous records mentioned, had become lodged in the girl's chest. Margolis and David Hunt, co-author of the new study and an anthropologist at GWU, X-rayed the mummy to obtain a clearer picture of the fetal remains.

"When we saw the second fetus we knew we had a unique find and a first for ancient Egyptian archaeology," Margolis said.

An X-ray scan of the mummy's torso showing the remains of a fetus.

For the new study, published Dec. 21 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the researchers re-examined the mummy's torso and the external fetus to confirm the teenager's cause of death. They also reviewed and compiled notes and photographs taken during the 1908 excavations.

Margolis and Hunt found that the girl died in labor after the head of the first fetus became trapped in the birth canal, she said. The head of a fetus exiting the womb during childbirth is usually tucked to its chest to enable passage through the pelvis, according to the study. The researchers think that in this case, the fetus' head was untucked in a position that was too broad to get through and became stuck.

Results from the 2019 analysis showed the mother stood around 5 feet tall (1.52 meters) and weighed between 100 and 120 pounds (45 to 55 kilograms). Her small size and young age may have contributed to her unsuccessful delivery of the twins, the researchers noted in the new study.

The missing head of the mummy, photographed in 1908.

The mother's mummified head is missing, which limits the researchers' knowledge of her health, Margolis said. "If we found her head and her teeth are present, destructive testing on teeth and hair could provide information on her diet and metabolic stress she was experiencing during her life," she said.

RELATED STORIES

—Ancient Egyptian cemetery holds rare 'Book of the Dead' papyrus and mummies

—Stunning CT scans of 'Golden Boy' mummy from ancient Egypt reveal 49 hidden amulets

—Egyptian mummies covered in gold are rare, and we may have just found the oldest

It's also unclear how the remains of the second fetus ended up in the girl's chest. The researchers suggested the diaphragm and other tissues likely dissolved during the mummification process, enabling the small body to migrate upward.

Childbirth in ancient Egypt is poorly documented, according to the study, but existing records suggest twins were undesirable. A papyrus from the third intermediate period (1070 to 713 B.C.), known as the Oracular Amuletic Decree, offered mothers a spell intended to prevent twin births.

Just as Tesla loses the EV crown, Elon Musk’s biggest market in Europe pulls the rug out from under him



Christiaan Hetzner
Fri, January 5, 2024 

A fresh crisis may be brewing for Elon Musk in Europe.

Tesla’s demanding CEO recently had to tackle the vexing problem of a widening labor union strike in Sweden affecting its Scandinavian operations.

Now it seems as if demand is starting to soften across key parts of the continent at a time when Warren Buffett–backed BYD eclipsed Tesla globally for the very first time in the fourth quarter.

Sales of Tesla cars in Germany, home to its only European manufacturing plant, plunged a breathtaking 77% in December year on year according to government data, capping off a disastrous fourth quarter in its largest market in the region.

Normally Tesla expects to increase monthly sales not just on an annual basis—which is typically a given—but even sequentially, in other words from one period to the next. This kind of hyperbolic growth is how it justifies a $750 billion market value on par with its next nine largest rivals combined.

A year-on-year sales decline for Musk’s carmaker is therefore an unusual occurrence to say the least, let alone one as severe as December's.

In fact, those four weeks proved so damaging they managed to wipe out the brand’s entire gains in Germany it had previously accumulated through November. This left Tesla nursing a 9% contraction in annual volumes even as the country’s electric car market itself expanded at an 11% rate in 2023



The news wasn't any better in the U.K., where both November and December proved exceptionally weak, leading to a 9% annual drop for the year.

For a growth stock that boasts disruptive technology, shrinking (especially when the rest of your competitors are not) ought to prove a humbling new experience for Musk.

Fortunately for the company, China is a far larger market and Tesla has been on a tear in the fourth quarter, helping push global sales to a new record of 1.8 million vehicles last year.
Model 3 refresh could soon offer some respite

Part of the reason sales cratered in Germany and the UK last month can be chalked up to buyers delaying their purchase after the Model 3 received a facelift, dubbed “Highland”.

At six-and-a-half years old now reaching an age where most cars are due for replacement, Tesla's entry sedan received some touch-ups to give it a fresher look and EV customers likely held off in anticipation.

This temporary lull should then turn into tailwinds once the vehicle is available in larger numbers as Tesla’s Shanghai plant in China ramps up production and exports.

The shocking drop of nearly 80% year on year in Germany is also mitigated somewhat by a high comparison figure from December 2022, when customers were still rushing to take advantage of government subsidies worth as much as €6,000 per car before they were cut to €4,500 at the start of 2023.

Finally, the entrepreneur encountered fresh obstacles thrown in his path by Germany’s fractious and bumbling tripartite coalition in Berlin.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz had planned to scrap all EV subsidies entirely at the start of this year, but a budget crisis prompted him to advance plans by two weeks as his finance ministry scrounged for every saved penny.

The announcement came essentially overnight, catching buyers off guard and infuriating the entire car industry.

Nevertheless, Musk may have a growing problem on his hands. The Tesla CEO already took a costly first step by shutting down his Model Y production line in Germany entirely for two weeks in December to keep inventories under control.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com