AI can take over key management roles in scientific research

ESMT BERLIN

 

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PORTRAIT OF HENRY SAUERMANN AND MAXIMILIAN KOEHLER

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CREDIT: ESMT BERLIN

Researchers Maximilian Koehler, PhD candidate at ESMT, and Henry Sauermann, professor of strategy at ESMT, explore the role of AI, not as a “worker” performing specific research tasks such as data collection and analysis, but as a “manager” of human workers performing such tasks. Algorithmic management (AM) suggests a significant shift in the way research projects are conducted and can enable projects to operate at larger scale and efficiency.

With the complexity and scope of scientific research rapidly increasing, the study illustrates that AI can not only replicate but also potentially surpass human managers by leveraging its instantaneous, comprehensive, and interactive capabilities. Investigating algorithmic management in crowd and citizen science, Koehler and Sauermann discuss examples of how AI effectively performs five important managerial functions: task division and allocation, direction, coordination, motivation, and supporting learning.

The researchers investigated projects through online documents; by interviewing organizers, AI developers, and project participants; and by joining some projects as participants. This allowed the researchers to identify projects that use algorithmic management, to understand how AI performs management functions, and to explore when AM might be more effective.

The growing number of use cases suggests that the adoption of AM could be a critical factor in improving research productivity. “The capabilities of artificial intelligence have reached a point where AI can now significantly enhance the scope and efficiency of scientific research by managing complex, large-scale projects,” states Koehler.

In a quantitative comparison with a broader sample of projects, the study also reveals that AM-enabled projects are often larger than projects that do not use AM and are associated with platforms that provide access to shared AI tools. This suggests that AM may enable projects to scale but also requires technical infrastructures that stand-alone projects may find difficult to develop. These patterns point towards changing sources of competitive advantage in research and may have important implications for research funders, digital research platforms, and larger research organizations such as universities or corporate R&D labs.

Although AI can take over important management functions, this does not mean that principal investigators or human managers will become obsolete. Sauermann notes, “If AI can take over some of the more algorithmic and mundane functions of management, human leaders could shift their attention to more strategic and social tasks such as identifying high-value research targets, raising funding, or building an effective organizational culture.”

For more information on this research, please contact Maximilian Koehler. The study “Algorithmic Management in Scientific Research,” published in the journal Research Policy, can be viewed here.

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About ESMT Berlin

ESMT Berlin is a leading global business school with its campus in the heart of Berlin. Founded by 25 global companies, ESMT offers master, MBA, and PhD programs, as well as executive education on its campus in Berlin, in locations around the world, online, and in online blended format. Focusing on leadership, innovation, and analytics, its diverse faculty publishes outstanding research in top academic journals. Additionally, the international business school provides an interdisciplinary platform for discourse between politics, business, and academia. ESMT is a non-profit private institution of higher education with the right to grant PhDs and is accredited by AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, and ZEvA. It is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion across all its activities and communities. esmt.berlin

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JOURNAL

Research Policy

DOI

10.1016/j.respol.2024.104985 

Trust your doctor: Study shows human medical professionals are more reliable than artificial intelligence tools

New research in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine puts the accuracy of advice given by large language models to the test

ELSEVIER

 

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TOOLS ARE NOT RELIABLE ENOUGH TO BE SUBSTITUTED FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN PROVIDING ACCURATE MEDICAL INFORMATION, RESEARCH IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE SHOWS. FINAL ASSESSMENTS FOUND 28.6% OF CHATGPT-4'S ANSWERS ACCURATE, 28.6% INACCURATE, AND 42.8% PARTIALLY ACCURATE BUT INCOMPLETE. BARD PERFORMED BETTER, WITH 53.6% OF ANSWERS ACCURATE, 17.8% INACCURATE, AND 28.6% PARTIALLY ACCURATE.

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CREDIT: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Ann Arbor, April 2, 2024 – When looking for medical information, people can use web search engines or large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT-4 or Google Bard. However, these artificial intelligence (AI) tools have their limitations and can sometimes generate incorrect advice or instructions. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, assesses the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated advice against established medical standards and finds that LLMs are not trustworthy enough to replace human medical professionals just yet.

Andrei Brateanu, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, says, "Web search engines can provide access to reputable sources of information, offering accurate details on a variety of topics such as preventive measures and general medical questions. Similarly, LLMs can offer medical information that may look very accurate and convincing, when in fact it may be occasionally inaccurate. Therefore, we thought it would be important to compare the answers from LLMs with data obtained from recognized medical organizations. This comparison helps validate the reliability of the medical information by cross-referencing it with trusted healthcare data."

In the study 56 questions were posed to ChatGPT-4 and Bard, and their responses were evaluated by two physicians for accuracy, with a third resolving any disagreements. Final assessments found 28.6% of ChatGPT-4's answers accurate, 28.6% inaccurate, and 42.8% partially accurate but incomplete. Bard performed better, with 53.6% of answers accurate, 17.8% inaccurate, and 28.6% partially accurate.

Dr. Brateanu explains, "All LLMs, including ChatGPT-4 and Bard, operate using complex mathematical algorithms. The fact that both models produced responses with inaccuracies or omitted crucial information highlights the ongoing challenge of developing AI tools that can provide dependable medical advice. This might come as a surprise, considering the advanced technology behind these models and their anticipated role in healthcare environments."

This research underscores the importance of being cautious and critical of medical information obtained from AI sources, reinforcing the need to consult healthcare professionals for accurate medical advice. For healthcare professionals, it points to the potential and limitations of using AI as a supplementary tool in providing patient care and emphasizes the ongoing need for oversight and verification of AI-generated information.

Dr. Brateanu concludes, "AI tools should not be seen as substitutes for medical professionals. Instead, they can be considered as additional resources that, when combined with human expertise, can enhance the overall quality of information provided. As we incorporate AI technology into healthcare, it's crucial to ensure that the essence of healthcare continues to be fundamentally human.”

 

 

 

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2024.02.006 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Accuracy of Online Artificial Intelligence Models in Primary Care Settings

Study: AI writing, illustration emits hundreds of times less carbon than humans

While energy use is much lower, tech should not replace humans, authors argue

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

LAWRENCE — With the evolution of artificial intelligence comes discussion of the technology's environmental impact. A new study has found that for the tasks of writing and illustrating, AI emits hundreds of times less carbon than humans performing the same tasks. That does not mean, however, that AI can or should replace human writers and illustrators, the study’s authors argue.

Andrew Torrance, Paul E. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Law at KU, is co-author of a study that compared established systems such as ChatGPT, Bloom AI, DALL-E2 and others completing writing and illustrating to that of humans. 

Like cryptocurrency, AI has been subject to debate about the amount of energy it uses and its contributions to climate change. Human emissions and environmental impact have long been studied, but comparisons between the two have been scant. The authors conducted a comparison and found that AI systems emit between 130 and 1,500 times less CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per page of text generated than human writers and illustration systems between 310 and 2,900 times less CO2e per image than humans.

“I like to think of myself as driven by data, not just what I feel is true. We’ve had discussions about something that appears to be true in terms of AI emissions, but we wanted to look at the data and see if it truly is more efficient,” Torrance said. “When we did it, the results were kind of astonishing. Even by conservative estimates, AI is extremely less wasteful.”

The study, co-written with Bill Tomlinson, Rebecca Black and Donald Patterson of the University of California-Irvine, was published in the journal Nature. 

To calculate the carbon footprint of a person writing, the researchers consulted the Energy Budget, a measure that considers the amount of energy used in certain tasks for a set period of time. For example, it is well established how much energy a computer with word processing software uses per hour. When multiplied by the average time it takes a person to write a page of text, on average, 250 words, an estimate can be arrived at. Using the same amount of energy used by the CPUs that operate AI such as ChatGPT, which can produce text much faster, produces an estimate for AI.

Researchers also considered per capita emissions of individuals in the United States and India. Residents of the former have approximate annual emissions of 15 metric tons CO2e per year, while the latter is an average of 1.9 metric tons. The two nations were chosen as they have the highest and lowest respective per capita environmental impact of countries with population higher than 300 million, and to provide a look at different levels of emissions in different parts of the world in comparison to AI.

Results showed that Bloom is 1,400 times less impactful than a U.S. resident writing a page of text and 180 times less impactful than a resident of India.

In terms of illustration, results showed that DALL-E2 emits approximately 2,500 times less CO2e than a human artist and 310 times less than an India-based artist. Figures for Midjourney were 2,900 times less for the former and 370 times less for the latter.

As technologies improve and societies evolve, those figures are almost certain to change as well, Torrance said.

The authors wrote that carbon emissions are only one factor to consider when comparing AI production to human output. As the technologies exist now, they are often not capable of producing the quality of writing or art that a human can. As they improve, they hold the potential to both eliminate existing jobs and create new ones. Loss of employment has potential for substantial economic, societal and other forms of destabilization. For those and other reasons, the authors wrote, the best path forward is likely a collaboration between AI and human efforts, or a system in which people can use AI to be more efficient in their work and retain control of final products.

Legal issues such as the use of copyrighted material in training sets for AI must be considered, the authors wrote, as does the potential for an increase in artificially produced material to result in an increase in the energy it uses and resulting emissions. Collaboration between the two is the most beneficial use of both AI and human labor, the authors wrote.

“We don’t say AI is inherently good or that it is empirically better, just that when we looked at it in these instances, it was less energy consumptive,” Torrance said.

The research was conducted to improve understanding of AI and its environmental impact and to address the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals of ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, the researchers wrote.

For their part, the authors have begun to use AI as an aid in producing drafts for some of their writing,  but they also agree on the necessity of carefully editing, and adding to, such drafts manually.

“This is not a curse, it’s a boon,” Torrance said of AI. “I think this will help make good writers great, mediocre writers good and democratize writing. It can make people more productive and can be an empowerment of human potential. I’m hugely optimistic that technology is getting better in most respects and lightening the effects we have on the Earth. We hope this is just the beginning and that people continue to dig into this issue further.”

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-54271-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The carbon emissions of writing and illustrating are lower for AI than for humans

From data to decisions: AI and IoT for earthquake prediction

KEAI COMMUNICATIONS CO., LTD.

 

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PROPOSED INTEGRATED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE WITH MULTIPLE DATA SOURCES USED FOR AI AND ML EARTHQUAKE MODEL PREDICTION.

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CREDIT: PWAVODI JOSHUA, ET AL

The study of earthquake remains a main interest worldwide as it is  one of the least predictable natural disasters. In a new review published in the KeAi journal Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences, a tea, of researchers from France and Turkey explored the role of conventional tools like seismometers and GPS in understanding earthquakes and their aftermath.

“These tools have provided invaluable insights into various seismic parameters, such as ground deformation and displacement waves. However, they face several limitations, including the inability to predict earthquakes in real-time, challenges with temporal data resolution, and uneven spatial coverage,” explains Joshua Pwavodi, lead author of the review. “Despite their historical significance, these tools struggle to distinguish seismic signals from environmental noise.”

Nevertheless, the authors note that recent advancements in AI and IoT have significantly addressed some of these limitations. AI methodologies have proven instrumental in identifying intricate patterns and complex relationships within historical seismic data. By leveraging AI, unique insights into seismic patterns across diverse geological locations have been gained.

“Both classical and advanced machine learning techniques have contributed to the development of robust early warning systems and decentralized prediction models. IoT devices have also played a crucial role by enabling seamless data transmission for real-time monitoring,” adds Pwavodi.

The versatility of IoT devices enhances data accessibility and storage, creating a dynamic network for earthquake prediction. However, challenges such as computational complexity, data quality, and interpretability persist. A major limitation is the integration of primary hydrogeological measurements into AI model training. Monitoring hydrogeological data, including pore-fluid pressures and fluid flow, is often costly. Tools like the Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kits (CORKs) provide in-situ measurements of these parameters, but data transmission is not always in real-time, unlike IoT systems.

“To address these challenges, we proposed a comprehensive approach that integrates diverse datasets, including seismic, GPS, meteorological, and IoT sensor data,” says Pwavodi. “By combining these datasets, researchers can develop more robust earthquake prediction models that account for various contributing factors.”

Specifically, the authors suggest integrating IoT devices with tools like Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kits (CORKs) to enable real-time transmission of hydrogeological measurements influencing earthquakes. This real-time data, combined with other datasets, can be used to construct predictive AI models capable of providing real-time earthquake predictions.

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Contact the author: Pwavodi Joshua, Hwodye Technology, France, Email: pwavodi@hwodye.com

The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 100 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

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JOURNAL

Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences

DOI

10.1016/j.aiig.2024.100075 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The Role of Artificial Intelligence and IoT in Prediction of Earthquakes: Review

Researchers propose new step in tectonic squeeze that turns seafloor into mountains

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

 

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THE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE ROCAS VERDES BASIN, A BACK-ARC BASIN IN PATAGONIA, AS DESCRIBED BY RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN IN A STUDY PUBLISHED IN GEOLOGY. PANELS B AND C ILLUSTRATE THE BASIN-CLOSURE PROCESS, IN WHICH AN UNDERLYING PORTION OF THE OCEANIC CRUST IS THRUST INTO A MAGMA CHAMBER (B) AND BREAKS OFF AHEAD OF CONTINENTAL CRUST (C). THE LAST TWO PANELS (C AND D) SHOW THE OCEANIC PLATE AND CONTINENTAL PLATE COLLIDING TOGETHER – SQUEEZING THE BASIN TOGETHER INTO THE ANDES MOUNTAINS OF PATAGONIA THAT WE SEE TODAY. 

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CREDIT: FERNANDO REY ET AL

Scientists use tiny minerals called zircons as geologic timekeepers. Often no bigger than a grain of sand, these crystals record chemical signatures of the geological environment where they formed. In a new study led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin, researchers used them to describe what could be an overlooked step in a fundamental tectonic process that raises seafloors into mountains.  

In a study published in the journal Geology, the researchers describe zircons from the Andes mountains of Patagonia. Although the zircons formed when tectonic plates were colliding, they have a chemical signature associated with when the plates were moving apart.  

The researchers think that the unexpected signature could be explained by the mechanics of underlying tectonic plates that hasn’t yet been described in other models. This missing step involves a sort of geologic juicing in a magma chamber where zircons form before they reach the surface, with oceanic crust entering the chamber ahead of continental crust.  

“If you put some oceanic basin below this magma, you have a change in the composition of this magma as it’s incorporated,” said the study’s lead author Fernando Rey, a doctoral student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “This is something that was not documented before this study.”

This theory of oceanic magma mixing is important because it could represent a transitional step in the formation of back arc basins – an important geological structure that shapes landscapes, geologic records and helps regulate the planet’s climate.  

These basins form between oceanic and continental tectonic plates, opening up as the plates move apart and closing as they come back together. While the opening of the basin creates oceanic crust, its closing squeezes the crust into mountains – bringing a geologic record of Earth history to the surface where humans can more easily access it, said coauthor Matt Malkowski, an assistant professor at the Jackson School’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. What’s more, the weathering of the ocean crust is a major driver of natural carbon dioxide storage.
“This is the Earth’s way of sequestering carbon. Very effective on its own, but it may take hundreds of thousands if not millions of years,” said Malkowski.

Malkowski collected the zircons examined in the study from rock and sediment samples at a field site in Patagonia. The samples captured the entire record of the back arc basin, called the Rocas Verdes Basin, from opening to closing.

When Rey started analyzing the chemical signatures of the zircons, nothing looked out of place at first. The zircons associated with an opening basin had the expected signature. However, when he started examining zircons associated with the closing of the basin, the signature didn’t undergo the expected chemical shift – known to scientists as a “pull down” because of the way data plotting the isotope ratios goes from steadily rising to falling down.  

When that pull down signature didn’t show up until 200 million years later, appearing in zircons that formed 30 million years ago when the basin was already well into its closure phase, Rey and his collaborators hypothesized a scenario that could help explain the data.

In their paper, they propose a model where the same tectonic forces that squeeze the oceanic crust into mountains could be underthrusting parts of that crust and pushing it toward the magmatic chamber where the zircons are formed – influencing the chemical signatures recorded in the crystals during the early to middle stages of closure. As the continents continue to squeeze together, the oceanic crust is eventually replaced by continental crust, the source of the pulldown signal.

The researchers think this transitional phase where zircons are juiced by oceanic crust could be part of back arc basins around the world. But there’s a good reason why it hasn’t been observed before, said Rey. Most back arc basins close faster than Patagonia did – in a few million years rather than tens of millions of years – meaning a shorter window of time in which these zircons can form.   

Now that scientists have discovered this zircon signal in Patagonia, they can start looking for signs of it in zircons from other places. Rey is currently analyzing zircons from the Sea of Japan – a modern back arc basin that’s in the early stages of closure – to see if there’s signs of oceanic crust influencing the zircon signature.

This research adds to a record of discovery about back arc basins at UT Austin, said Malkowski. Professor Ian Dalziel authored a well-known Nature paper in 1974 that first recognized the Andes of Patagonia as forming due to back arc basin closure. 

“Here we are 50 years later, and we’re still learning new things about these rocks,” Malkowski said.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and UT Austin.

Fernando Rey, a doctoral candidate at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, posing with the Lower Zapata formation in the Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. 

CREDIT

Jacqueline Epperson.

Jacqueline Epperson, a doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin, posing close to a fault propagation fold in the outcrops of the Lower Zapata formation in the Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

CREDIT

Fernando Rey

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JOURNAL

Geology

DOI

10.1130/G51918.1 

ARTICLE TITLE

Detrital isotopic record of a retreating accretionary orogen: An example from the Patagonian Andes

ARTICLE PUBLICATI

Majority of people with heart disease consume too much sodium

Study finds patients on average consume more than twice the recommended daily amount of sodium with little variation across socioeconomic groups

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY

Individuals with heart disease stand to gain the most from a low-sodium diet but, on average, consume over twice the recommended daily sodium intake, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session.

Sodium is an essential nutrient, but consuming too much can raise blood pressure, which damages blood vessels and forces the heart to work harder. Excess sodium can also cause the body to retain fluid, exacerbating conditions like heart failure. The current U.S. Dietary Guidelines put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends most adults limit their sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg/day, which is equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of table salt. For individuals with cardiovascular diseases, the limit is even lower at 1,500 mg/day, according to guideline recommendations from the ACC and the American Heart Association.

This new study found that among a sample of more than 3,100 people with heart disease, 89% consumed more than the recommended daily maximum of 1,500 mg of sodium and, on average, study participants consumed more than twice this amount. Limiting sodium intake is a fundamental lifestyle modification shown to reduce the likelihood of subsequent major adverse cardiovascular events, researchers said. Their findings underscore the challenges many people face in keeping within recommended sodium limits, regardless of other factors such as socioeconomic status.

“Estimating sodium quantities in a meal can be challenging,” said Elsie Kodjoe, MD, MPH, an internal medicine resident at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in Athens, Georgia and the study’s lead author. “Food labels aid in dietary sodium estimation by providing sodium quantities in packaged food. Yet, adhering to a low sodium diet remains challenging even for individuals with cardiovascular disease who have a strong incentive to adhere.”

The study used data from patients diagnosed with a heart attack, stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease or angina who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2009–2018.

Researchers estimated sodium intake based on questionnaires in which participants were asked to report everything they had consumed in 24 hours. According to the results, study participants with cardiovascular disease consumed an average of 3,096 mg of sodium per day, which is slightly lower than the national average of 3,400 mg/day reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The relatively small difference in sodium intake suggests that people with cardiovascular disease are not limiting their intake very much compared with the general population and are also consuming more than double what is recommended,” Kodjoe said. “To make it easier for patients to adhere to dietary guidelines, we need to find more practical ways for the general public to estimate dietary sodium levels or perhaps consider a reduction in the sodium content of the food we consume right from the source.”

The researchers also compared sodium intake among people in different socioeconomic groups, but they did not find any significant differences between wealthier and less affluent participants after accounting for age, sex, race and educational attainment.

Individuals can take proactive measures to lower their sodium intake, Kodjoe said. This includes preparing more meals at home where they have greater control over the sodium content and paying close attention to food labels, particularly targeting foods with sodium levels of 140 mg or less per serving. Researchers suggested that better education around the benefits of limiting sodium could also help motivate more people to follow the recommendations.

“Cardiovascular disease is real, and it is the number one cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide according to the World Health Organization,” Kodjoe said. “Adhering to sodium guidelines is one of the easier strategies individuals could readily adopt to reduce hospitalizations, health care costs, morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease.”

One limitation of the study is that sodium intake was estimated based on food recall questionnaires, rather than 24-hour urine sodium measurements, which is considered the gold standard method. NHANES has included 24-hour urine sodium measurements in its data gathering methods in recent survey cycles, so future studies using this data could provide a more accurate assessment of sodium intake among people with cardiovascular disease.  

For more information on reducing sodium, visit CardioSmart.org/Sodium.

Kodjoe will present the study, “The Impact of Income to Poverty Ratio on Sodium Intake Among Adults with Cardiovascular Disease,” on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 3:15 p.m. ET / 19:15 UTC in Hall B4-5.

ACC.24 will take place April 6-8, 2024, in Atlanta, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC24 for the latest news from the meeting.

Want to cut US heart risks? Get more people into primary care, study suggests

Most care to address the “Essential Eight” risk factors for heart disease and stroke happens in general-care settings, but many with high risk don’t go

MICHIGAN MEDICINE - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

When someone has a heart attack or a stroke, specialized care can give them the best chance of surviving.

But when it comes to preventing those problems in the first place, most essential care happens in general primary care clinics, a new study suggests. Or it doesn’t happen at all, if someone can’t, won’t or doesn’t take the time to see a primary care doctor or nurse practitioner.

The study finds that a majority of people with any of these key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, and the majority of those taking medication to control four of those measures, saw only a primary care clinician in the past year, compared with those who saw a cardiologist alone or in addition to seeing a primary care provider.

The study focuses on seven of what the American Heart Association calls “Life’s Essential Eight” controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, very high body mass index, tobacco use, low exercise and sleep problems such as insomnia. The data source used in the study doesn’t include information about the eighth risk factor, healthy food intake.

The study also finds that large percentages of people with these major cardiovascular risk factors didn’t see either type of health care provider in the past year, even if they said they were taking medications to control their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar or stop smoking.

More than 50% of all tobacco users, 44% of those who say they have low levels of physical activity, and 38% of those with severe obesity said they hadn’t seen a primary care provider or cardiologist in the last year. Even among those taking medication to control cardiovascular risk factors, 15% to 20% said they hadn’t seen any provider in the past year.

The study is published in Circulation: Quality and Outcomes by a team from Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medical center, OhioHealth, and Weill Cornell Medicine.

 They used data from more than 66,000 adults interviewed in-depth about their health and health care in the last year, through the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey conducted by the federal government.

Lead author Jeremy Sussman, M.D., M.Sc., and co-author Madeline Sterling, M.D., M.P.H., serve on the American Heart Association’s Primary Care Science Committee, which is working on a report on the role of primary care in cardiovascular health.

“As a society we need to recognize that preventing common conditions requires providers who can see patients often, and see the whole patient, which is the role of primary care,” said Sussman, a general internist and associate professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine. “While cardiovascular care guidelines are often written by specialists and subspecialists, this study shows that access to primary care is crucial to preventing or delaying some of the most common causes of death in the nation.”

The current crisis in access to primary care for American adults does not bode well for making inroads on the “Essential Eight,” Sussman notes. That crisis is caused by both a shortage of, and uneven distribution of, physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who choose to practice general internal medicine, family medicine and geriatrics.

Long waits for appointments, and inability to find a provider who is accepting new patients, could delay identification and management of cardiovascular risk factors, including starting new preventive medications or adjusting doses to control risk factors appropriately.

People who should make sure to see a primary care provider at least once a year – even just via a telehealth appointment – include those who have already been prescribed an antihypertensive medication to bring down high blood pressure, a diabetes drug to bring down blood sugar, a statin to control cholesterol or a prescription quit-smoking medication.

Regular checkups can help ensure they’re getting the most preventive power out of these medicines.

But even if they’re not taking medication, most adults with at least one cardiovascular risk factor on the “Essential Eight” list should be seeing a primary care provider regularly, Sussman said.

“Primary care providers today can manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, most cases of diabetes, and tobacco cessation without having to refer to a specialist, though of course specialists play a key role in more complex prevention cases and post-incident care,” he said. “They can also be important entry routes to nutrition counseling, weight management and exercise programs, and sleep disorders diagnosis and treatment.”

Policy measures to enhance access to primary care by training more providers and incentivizing them to practice in shortage areas, and efforts to support primary care providers in managing cardiovascular risk factors, will be important, the authors say. But in the immediate timeframe, they urge individuals with any of these risk factors to request an appointment with their clinic or seek one out if they don’t have a regular primary care provider.

In addition to Sussman and Sterling, who is a general internist and researcher at Weill Cornell, the study team includes author Michael Johansen, M.D., a family medicine physician with OhioHealth who trained at U-M.

Sussman is a member of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, the VA Center for Clinical Management Research, and the Division of General Medicine.

The AHA committee that Sussman and Sterling serve on is a joint subcommittee of the Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research, and the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing.

Clinical Care for Life’s Essential 8 by Medical Specialty in the United States, an Observational Cohort Study, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, DOI:10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.123.010498  https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.123.010498

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JOURNAL

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes

DOI

10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.123.010498 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Clinical Care for Life’s Essential 8 by Medical Specialty in the United States, an Observational Cohort Study

Mapping heart health: AI illuminates neighborhood impact on well-being

Study leverages Google Street View to assess links between environment and cardiovascular outcomes

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY

Is the view from your doorstep mostly trees and sky or buildings and grass? The answer could influence your cardiovascular health, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session. Using an analysis of Google Street View images powered by machine learning, researchers found people living in surroundings rich in sidewalks, trees and clear sky saw a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiac events.

“A lot of research has shown that environmental factors strongly affect our health. If we can find a way to stratify this risk and provide interventions before cardiovascular events happen, then we could save a lot of lives,” said Zhuo Chen, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland and the study’s lead author. “Our study shows that with advanced computer vision algorithms and AI, we now have the ability to quantify the built environment more effectively and efficiently. If we can assess the individual’s risk at a granular level, we could provide more personalized interventions.”

The study is part of a growing body of research investigating how greenspace and the built environment influences cardiovascular risk. Previous studies have used a variety of approaches to quantify environmental features, with mixed results. By combining Google Street View images with robust segmentation methods for analyzing “vertical greenspace”—the view along the skyline and not only on the ground—this study offers a more nuanced and granular perspective on the environment at the level of individual streets rather than averaging across entire counties or ZIP codes.

The researchers used a machine learning algorithm trained to distinguish between trees, grass, sky, sidewalks, buildings and roads to analyze Google Street View images of the residences of nearly 50,000 study participants. Participants were part of a program that provides free and low-cost coronary artery calcium tests (a non-invasive screening method to assess heart disease risk), mostly in northeastern Ohio.

Over a median follow-up period of about 27 months, approximately 2,000 of the patients had experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease. By analyzing participants’ built environment, researchers found that people living in areas with more sidewalks were 9% less likely to suffer major cardiac events than people living in places with fewer or no sidewalks. In addition, people living in places that scored highly for vertical greenspace—trees and clear sky—were 5% less likely to suffer these events than people in areas that scored low for this metric. These associations were independent from each other.

To account for other factors known to influence heart health, the researchers adjusted the models for age, race, sex, social vulnerability, median household income, fine particle air pollution, noise and cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

“The method and the data source that we’re using here is cheap, open source and publicly available,” Chen said. “It can assess anywhere there are Google Street View cars on the road and really provide a refined metric of the environment.”

The results showed no association between the presence of grass and the risk of cardiovascular events, further bolstering the results of previous studies that found a closer association between trees and cardiovascular health than just grass. However, Chen said that trees alone were not found to have an association with cardiovascular outcomes. Rather, it is the combination of trees and clear sky that together appeared to be a better indicator of vertical greenspace. To refine this metric, the researchers incorporated depth information into the machine learning algorithm.

The study design did not allow for the determination of a causal relationship between environmental features and heart disease, Chen said. It also did not include data on residents’ physical activity or travel behaviors, limiting the ability of researchers to directly examine the mechanisms linking greenspace, walkability and cardiovascular outcomes. In addition, researchers said the cohort consisted mostly of individuals in northeast Ohio, which may limit generalizability of the findings to other areas.

Nevertheless, by refining methods for assessing environmental features at scale, Chen said the work can offer useful insights for addressing an important public health issue at the intersection of environment and personal health.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that if we plant more trees or build more sidewalks, we’ll reduce cardiovascular risk,” Chen said. “But it still gives us preliminary suggestions and indicators that can help us become aware of ways to change behaviors or neighborhood planning in the future to [potentially] lower cardiovascular risk.”

Chen will present the study, “Residential Vertical Greenspace and Sidewalks Impacts on Cardiovascular Risk: Insights from Deep Learning-Enhanced Google Street View,” on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 3:15 p.m. ET / 19:15 UTC in Hall B4-5.

Heart health declines rapidly after menopause

Study shows women quickly catch up to men in terms of cardiovascular risk; underscores the need for increased awareness and screening

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY

A woman’s cardiovascular risk can rise sharply after she goes through menopause, quickly catching up to men of a similar age and health profile, according to new findings presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session. Researchers said the study underscores the importance of recognizing and addressing early warning signs of heart disease risk in women as they lose the protective effects of estrogen after menopause.

“This is a unique study cohort of only post-menopausal statin users that signals that post-menopausal women may have risk of heart disease that is on par with males,” said Ella Ishaaya, MD, an internal medicine physician at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, and the study’s lead author. “Women are underscreened and undertreated, especially post-menopausal women, who have a barrage of new risk factors that many are not aware of. This study raises awareness of what those risk factors are and opens the door to indicating the importance of increased screening for coronary artery calcium (CAC).”

In the study, post-menopausal women underwent heart scans to assess their CAC score, a measure of plaque buildup—fat, calcium and other substances—in the heart’s arteries. CAC levels are assessed with a quick, non-invasive scan similar to an X-ray. A higher CAC score indicates a higher risk of a heart attack or other cardiac events.

Researchers analyzed data from 579 post-menopausal women who were taking statins to control their cholesterol and had undergone two CAC scans at least one year apart. Participants did not have heart disease at the time of the first scan. To compare CAC changes in men and women, each female participant was matched with a male of a similar profile in terms of age, race, statin use, blood pressure and diabetes status.

Researchers divided the participants into three groups with CAC levels of 1–99, 100–399, and 400 or higher at baseline. Between their first and second heart scan, women with baseline CAC of 1–99 saw their CAC rise by a median of eight points, double the median of four seen in their male counterparts. Similarly, women with baseline CAC of 100–399 saw their CAC rise by a median of 31 points, about double the median of 16 seen in males. There was no significant difference between sexes for those with baseline CAC of 400 or higher.

The findings suggest plaque buildup is accelerated in post-menopausal women compared to men, indicating that many women experience a steep rise in the risk of heart problems. Ishaaya said this is likely related to the drop in estrogen that women experience during menopause. Estrogen has long been known to have a protective effect on heart health, but researchers said many women and even many clinicians are not aware of what it means to lose that protection during menopause. 

“After menopause, women have much less estrogen and shift to a more testosterone-heavy profile,” Ishaaya said. “This affects the way your body stores fat, where it stores fat and the way it processes fat; it even affects the way your blood clots. And all of those [changes] increase your risk for developing heart disease.”

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, but women’s cardiovascular risk has traditionally been undertreated because women tend to develop heart disease at an older age than men and may experience different and sometimes more subtle symptoms.

Based on these results, researchers suggested post-menopausal women should talk to their doctor about heart disease risk factors and follow up on any recommended tests or monitoring. More women may benefit from heart scans when compared to the number of women currently receiving them, Ishaaya said.

Since all the women in the study were taking statins but many still saw a substantial rise in CAC, the results may also indicate that statins are not sufficient to keep plaque buildup in check for this population, Ishaaya said. Future studies could investigate the effectiveness of statins or other therapies in reducing plaque burden in post-menopausal women, she said.

ACC/American Heart Association guidelines recommend considering a heart scan to assess CAC when a person’s risk level is ambiguous or borderline based on standard risk factors. In the U.S. and many other countries, CAC scoring is most used to determine recommendations for statins for intermediate-risk and asymptomatic patients.

Visit CardioSmart.org/CAC to learn more about coronary artery calcium.

Ishaaya will present the study “CAC Progression in Men and Women: Is There an Inflection at Menopause?” on Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 12:15 p.m. ET / 16:15 UTC in Hall B4-5.

ACC.24 will take place April 6-8, 2024, in Atlanta, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC24 for the latest news from the meeting.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at ACC.org.

 

The role of pollinators in the evolution of flowers with various sexual forms

Scientists have shown that Darwin’s theories of precise pollination in heterostylous plants hold true on a large scale

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE

Researchers Violeta Simón, Marcial Escudero and Juan Arroyo, from the Department of Botany at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Seville, led a study in which, in collaboration with researchers from four other countries, they demonstrate Darwin’s hypothesis of precise pollination across all angiosperms (flowering plants).

In heterostylous species there are two (sometimes three) types of flowers, called morphs, which differ according to the location of their sexual organs. The L-morph has the stigma (female sex organs) higher and the anthers (male sex organs) below. And in the S-morph they are the other way around. Darwin proposed that this system evolved to promote cross-pollination (between different individuals, to increase the vigour of their progeny) through a mechanism of precise pollination between the male and female sex organs of each morph, on different parts of the pollinator’s body.

This hypothesis of precise pollination hinges on the presence of floral traits and pollinators that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, so that pollen is accurately deposited and transferred.

“We conducted a comprehensive review of the presence of heterostyly in all angiosperm genera and found many more cases than had been reported in recent literature reviews on the subject. We then collected more than 10,000 data about floral morphology and pollinators across many heterostylous and non-heterostylous species, and placed these data into a mega-phylogeny of all angiosperms to find whether the evolution of heterostyly is associated with floral traits and pollinators that promote precise pollination,” explains researcher Violeta Simón.

By looking at the correlations between heterostyly, floral traits and pollinators, the researchers found that heterostyly does indeed evolve in flower lineages with a narrow floral tube and long proboscis pollinators such as butterflies and moths. These pieces fit together to allow pollen to be transferred precisely from one morph to another, as Darwin predicted.

“Heterostyly has been used as a model for studies of floral evolution since Darwin’s time, but such an ambitious study on a macroevolutionary scale has never before been undertaken. We believe it will be a seminal work for many researchers in this field,” says the researcher Simón. It is worth stressing that this research group has been studying this plant reproductive mechanism for almost 30 years, and is a leader in the role of ecology in its evolution.

This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the agreement 897890, grant PID2021-122715NB-I00 DiversiChrom funded by MCIN/AEI/ and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”.

 

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-45118-0 

ARTICLE TITLE

Convergent evolutionary patterns of heterostyly across angiosperms support the pollination-precision hypothesis

Scientists gain insight into a buzzing spring pollinator that plays a significant role in the almond industry

US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE

April 2, 2024

The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), in collaboration with the Ecological Forestry Applications Research Centre in Spain and North Dakota State University, conducted a comparison of the physiological and molecular processes involved in the summer and winter dormancy of Osmia lignaria, also known as blue orchard bee or orchard mason bee.

This analysis of gene expression is believed to be the first to compare the dormancy periods of this species in their natural habitat, and more importantly, it led to sequencing the first draft genome of this important pollinator for the almond industry.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, North America has 140 species of Osmia. Osmia lignaria, a solitary bee, follows a one-year lifecycle that includes two periods of dormancy. During summer, the bee develops to the prepupal stage (the stage of larva after its final molt), pauses, then finishes to developing to the adult stage before winter. Adult bees slow their metabolic activity while overwintering [second dormancy]. When spring arrives, adult bees emerge from dormancy and become highly active in pollination. Although this species does not produce honey, it is very effective in pollinating almond trees due to cross-pollination among different varieties, which leads to higher crop yields.

Osmia ribifloris is one of several relatives of the blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria). These bees are effective pollinators for almond trees due to the way they cross-pollinate among different varieties, leading to higher crop yields. (Photo by Photo by Jack Dykinga)

“This species inhabits a wide latitudinal range in North America, with populations in the north having different developmental rates and lengths of dormancy periods than those in southern populations,” said Alex Torson, a computational biologist with ARS’ Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Research in Fargo, North Dakota.

“In the future, we can use the genome presented in this study to start comparing the genomes of individuals from these different geographic populations. If these differences in development and dormancy can be traced to their genetics, then we could develop managed populations from different geographic locations, and time the characteristics of those populations with peak floral blooms for different types of crops.” 

By aligning their emergence with the timing of crops, it would allow for better management and pollination, as this bee species emerges in the spring and is a significant pollinator of almond trees due to how it pollinates.

Understanding how this lifecycle occurs has become increasingly important due to changes in environmental conditions. A better understanding of the evolutionary relationships among populations of this species will be critical for developing managed populations we can use for pollination services.

The study is available in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

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JOURNAL

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.ibmb.2024.104074 

ARTICLE TITLE

Metabolic and transcriptomic characterization of summer and winter dormancy in the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria