Wednesday, November 06, 2024
Vitamin D during pregnancy boosts children’s bone health even at age seven
University of Southampton
Children whose mothers took extra vitamin D during pregnancy continue to have stronger bones at age seven, according to new research led by the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton (UHS).
Bone density scans revealed that children born to mothers who were given vitamin D supplements during pregnancy have greater bone mineral density in mid-childhood. Their bones contain more calcium and other minerals, making them stronger and less likely to break.
Researchers say the findings, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reinforce the importance of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy as a public health strategy.
Dr Rebecca Moon, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Child Health at the University of Southampton led the analysis. She said: “Our findings show that the benefits of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy persist into mid-childhood.
“This early intervention represents an important public health strategy. It strengthens children’s bones and reduces the risk of conditions like osteoporosis and fractures in later life.”
Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body - minerals essential for bones, teeth and muscle health.
In 2009, researchers launched the MAVIDOS study, recruiting over 1000 women from Southampton, Oxford and Sheffield.
During their pregnancy, the women were randomly allocated to two groups: One group took an extra 1,000 International Units per day of vitamin D. The other took a placebo tablet each day. The pregnant women, and the doctors and midwives looking after them, did not know which group they were in.
Previous research assessed the children’s bone health at four years of age and the results showed that the child’s bone mass was greater in children born to mothers who had had vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy compared with those who had not.
In this latest study, the researchers investigated whether the effects on bone health continued into mid-childhood. The team followed up with 454 children aged six to seven. These children were all born to mothers who took part in Southampton.
The results confirmed that the beneficial effect on children’s bones was similar at ages four and six to seven.
Pregnant women in the UK are now routinely advised to take vitamin D supplements.
The Southampton research team are part of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre (MRC LEC) and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
The MAVIDOS trial has helped the Southampton researchers understand possible mechanisms linking maternal vitamin D supplementation with offspring bone mass. In 2018 they demonstrated that the vitamin D supplementation led to changes in the activity of genes forming part of the vitamin D pathway.
In 2022, they found taking the supplements during pregnancy could substantially reduce the chances of babies up to a year old suffering from atopic eczema.
They also observed that pregnant women given extra vitamin D were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal delivery, or ‘natural’ delivery.
Professor Nicholas Harvey is Director of the University’s MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, Professor of Rheumatology and Clinical Epidemiology and project lead.
He said: “These findings add to the important knowledge generated through the MAVIDOS trial.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the mothers and children involved. Their contributions have advanced our understanding of vitamin D supplementation and its role in supporting strong and healthy bones.”
Pregnancy vitamin D supplementation and offspring bone mineral density in childhood follow-up of a randomized controlled trial is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The research was funded by Versus Arthritis, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Bupa Foundation.
Ends
Contact
Steve Williams, Media Manager, University of Southampton, press@soton.ac.uk or 023 8059 3212.
Notes for editors
- Pregnancy vitamin D supplementation and offspring bone mineral density in childhood follow-up of a randomized controlled trial is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
- For Interviews with Dr Rebecca Moon and Prof Nicholas Harvey please contact Steve Williams, Media Manager, University of Southampton press@soton.ac.uk or 023 8059 3212.
Additional information
The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world’s challenges. We are among the top 100 institutions globally (QS World University Rankings 2025). Our academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 22,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through our high-quality education, the University helps students on a journey of discovery to realise their potential and join our global network of over 200,000 alumni. www.southampton.ac.uk
www.southampton.ac.uk/news/contact-press-team.page
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Journal
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Pregnancy vitamin D supplementation and offspring bone mineral density in childhood follow-up of a randomized controlled trial
Article Publication Date
5-Nov-2024
COI Statement
RJM has received travel bursaries from Kyowa Kirin unrelated to this work. EMC has received travel bursaries or lecture fees from Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Thornton and Ross, and UCB, unrelated to this work. KMG has received reimbursement for speaking at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products, and is part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott Nutrition, Nestec, BenevolentAI Bio Ltd., and Danone, outside the submitted work. MKJ reports consultancy and speaker fees from UCB, Amgen, and Kyowa Kirin. CC reports personal fees from ABBH, Amgen, Eli Lilly, GSK, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, and Takeda, outside the submitted work. NCH reports personal fees, consultancy, lecture fees and honoraria from Alliance for Better Bone Health, AMGEN, MSD, Eli Lilly, Servier, Theramex, Shire, Consilient Healthcare, Kyowa Kirin, and Internis Pharma, outside the submitted work. KAW received Honoraria from Abbott Nutrition unrelated to this work. IS, SRC, and SD declare no conflicts of interest related to the submitted work.
New research may lead to potatoes that are less reliant on nitrogen fertilizers
Wiley
Because nitrogen fertilizers contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are looking for ways to modify agricultural plants so that they rely on less nitrogen. In research published in New Phytologist, investigators have found that blocking a particular protein may achieve this goal in potatoes.
The protein, called Solanum tuberosum CYCLING DOF FACTOR 1 (StCDF1), binds to DNA and plays a key role in regulating tuberization in potatoes. In this latest research, investigators found that StCDF1 modulates nitrogen-related gene expression. Blocking StCDF1 improved plant performance in low nitrogen environments.
“Natural variation in StCDF1 binding to the single potato NITRATE REDUCTASE gene emerges as a promising strategy to reduce potato needs of nitrogen fertilizers, as this gene encodes a limiting step for nitrate reduction and later assimilation,” said co–corresponding author Salomé Prat, Research Professor, of the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics, in Spain.
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.20186
Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal
New Phytologist is an international journal publishing outstanding original research in plant science and its applications. Research falls into five sections: Physiology & Development, Environment, Interaction, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. Topics covered range from intracellular processes through to global environmental change. New Phytologist is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of plant science.
About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Journal
New Phytologist
Article Title
StCDF1: A ‘jack of all trades’ clock output with a central role in regulating potato nitrate reduction activity
Article Publication Date
6-Nov-2024
Microbes in mouth reflect lifestyle choices
New study in Nepal reveals that oral microbiomes differ among traditional foragers, agriculturalists and industrialists, and with behaviors like smoking and diet
Penn State
image:
The research team gathered saliva samples from Nepali people over a range of subsistence strategies— from nomadic hunter gatherers to farmers to industrialized groups.
view moreCredit: Aashish Jha/New York University Abu Dhabi
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lifestyle can shape the composition of beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms within the mouth, according to a new study led by Penn State biologists. The international team revealed how the “oral microbiome” differs over a range of subsistence strategies—from nomadic hunter gatherers to farmers to industrialized groups—and found that lifestyle, as well as specific lifestyle factors like smoking, can shape the microbiome. A paper describing the results appears Nov. 4 in the journal Microbiome.
A healthy oral microbiome, a community of microorganisms live in the mouth, plays an important role in aiding in the digestion of food, immune system support and protecting against invading pathogens, while an unhealthy oral microbiome has been linked to a variety of diseases in humans.
“The oral microbiome has been understudied, and most studies of the oral microbiome have been conducted in Western populations,” said Emily Davenport, assistant professor of biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science and leader of the research team. “Although we have learned a lot from that, microbiomes look different around the world. By studying how the diversity and composition of the oral microbiome varies with lifestyle in a global context, we can improve our knowledge of how the oral microbiome impacts human health.”
In a study of 63 Nepali individuals representing spectrum of dietary practices, the researchers examined how major lifestyle factors like subsistence strategy—how a person obtains the necessities of life like food and shelter—as well as more specific factors and behaviors, like smoking, may be contributing to differences in the microbiomes across populations.
“We know from previous studies that there are differences in the microbiome between individuals that live in highly industrialized, Westernized societies and those that are nomadic hunter gatherers, but there is a broad spectrum of lifestyles between those,” said Erica Ryu, graduate student in biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science and first author of the paper. “Our understanding of these relationships so far has been clouded by geography; it’s difficult to make statements about the impact of lifestyles when you are comparing people in different countries with, for example, different climates, access to medical care, and exposure to diseases. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the oral microbiome of individuals across a range of lifestyles from the same country, Nepal.”
The researchers studied the oral microbiomes of people from groups with a variety of subsistence strategies. These included foragers, who are hunters and gatherers and may not live in one location for the entire year; subsistence farmers who are hunter gatherers from groups that recently settled and began farming in the past 50 years; agriculturalists from groups that have relied on farming for several centuries; industrialists, who are expatriates from Nepal that immigrated to the United States within the last 20 years; as well as a group of industrialists who were born in the same area of the United States for comparison. They also asked a variety of questions about lifestyle, including diet, education, medical practices, and other behaviors.
The researchers sequenced the DNA of the microbes within saliva samples to determine the specific species of bacteria within each individual’s oral microbiome. They found that the composition of species within the oral microbiome tended to follow the gradient of subsistence strategies, with some specific species more prominent in foragers and one species more prominent in the industrialists, suggesting that lifestyle does indeed impact the oral microbiome.
Additionally, the presence of several species of microbes were related to specific lifestyle factors, including smoking, the prominent type of grains in an individual’s diet — barley and maize vs. rice and wheat — and consumption of a plant called nettle. The researchers note that previous research has associated consistent smoking with oral microbiome composition in industrialized populations, and collectively this suggests that smoking habits play an important role in determining the oral microbiome across a variety of lifestyles.
“It makes sense that different microbes might feed on the different grains in a person’s diet, but it’s interesting that we also see an association with sisnu, also called nettle,” Davenport said. “Nettle is a fibrous plant often chewed by the foragers in this study, much like people might chew gum. Given its important role in Nepali cuisine, culture and medicine, it’s interesting to see it is associated with oral microbes.”
The researchers stressed the importance of including lifestyle factors and behaviors in future microbiome studies as well as including populations from around the world.
“We studied populations in Nepal because it offered a unique way to explore the effects of lifestyle while controlling for a variety of other factors like geography that often obscure that effect,” Davenport said. “But it highlights the impact of lifestyle factors that likely play a role in other populations.
“Whenever you make a shift—whether it’s to a different diet or different location or different culture—the microbiome can change too, and it’s important to understand to what extent and how quickly these changes occur,” she added. “Continuing to investigate how oral microbiomes vary across the globe will help improve our understanding of what exactly shapes the microbiome and how that impacts human health.”
In addition to Davenport and Ryu, the research team at Penn State includes Meera Gupta, undergraduate student at the time of the research. The team also includes Yoshina Gautam, Ahmed Shibl, and Aashish Jha from New York University, Abu Dhabi; Diana Proctor from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; Dinesh Bhandari, Sarmila Tandukar, and Jeevan Bahadur Sherchand from the Institute of Medicine in Maharajgunj, Nepal; Guru Prasad Gautam from Tribhuvan University in Nepal; and David Relman from Stanford University.
Funding from the National Institutes of Health, Stanford University, and New York University Abu Dhabi supported this work.
Journal
Microbiome
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Nepali oral microbiomes reflect a gradient of lifestyles from traditional to industrialized
Article Publication Date
4-Nov-2024
Chinese herbal medicine’s potential in preventing dementia
Model mice given extracts and powders show restoration of cognitive and motor functions
Osaka Metropolitan University
image:
These dried seeds of a type of jujube called Ziziphus jujuba Miller var. spinosa hold potential in preventing dementia.
view moreCredit: Osaka Metropolitan University
Attempts to discover a breakthrough dementia drug might be drawing attention these days, but traditional medicinal products can offer hints for preventive medicine.
A research group led by Specially Appointed Professor Takami Tomiyama of Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine has found that administering the dried seeds of a type of jujube called Ziziphus jujuba Miller var. spinosa, used as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, holds promise in restoring cognitive and motor function in model mice.
By administering hot water extracts of Zizyphi spinosi semen to model mice with Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies, the team found that cognitive and motor functions were restored.
Furthermore, when the seeds were simply crushed into powder and administered to the model mice, the team discovered that the cognitive function of the model mice recovered to a level above that of control mice. In addition, the powders apparently suppressed cellular aging in older mice and improved their cognitive function to a similar level as younger mice.
Previously, members of the research team reported separately that the pathology of dementia in model mice improved with cognitive and motor functions restored after using the Hawaiian herb mamaki and the Chinese herb Acorus gramineus.
“The results of our research will hopefully make it possible to develop dementia prevention products that middle-aged and elderly people can take at their own discretion,” Professor Tomiyama suggested.
The findings are currently available as a reviewed preprint in eLife.
###
About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Journal
eLife
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
Animals
Article Title
Simply crushed Zizyphi spinosi semen prevents neurodegenerative diseases and reverses age-related cognitive decline in mice
COI Statement
Takami Tomiyama is a founder of Cerebro Pharma Inc., and Tomohiro Umeda and Ayumi Sakai are/were members of that company. NOMON Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Teijin Ltd. and has the same address as Teijin. Kei Yamana and Ryota Nakajima belong to both NOMON and Teijin. Cerebro Pharma and Teijin funded this study, discussed the research plans and results, and jointly applied for a patent on ZSS. The other authors declare no competing interests.
Groundbreaking study provides new evidence of when Earth was slushy
The planet underwent a massive, rapid melting period after the last global ice age, the new study suggests.
At the end of the last global ice age, the deep-frozen Earth reached a built-in limit of climate change and thawed into a slushy planet.
Results from a Virginia Tech-led study provide the first direct geochemical evidence of the slushy planet — otherwise known as the “plumeworld ocean” era — when sky-high carbon dioxide levels forced the frozen Earth into a massive, rapid melting period.
“Our results have important implications for understanding how Earth's climate and ocean chemistry changed after the extreme conditions of the last global ice age,” said lead author Tian Gan, a former Virginia Tech postdoctoral researcher. Gan worked with geologist Shuhai Xiao on the study, which was released Nov. 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
Deep-frozen Earth
The last global ice age took place about 635 million to 650 million years ago, when scientists believe global temperatures dropped and the polar ice caps began to creep around the hemispheres. The growing ice reflected more sunlight away from the Earth, setting off a spiral of plunging temperatures.
“A quarter of the ocean was frozen due to extremely low carbon-dioxide levels,” said Xiao, who recently was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
When the surface ocean sealed, a chain of reactions stuttered to a stop:
- The water cycle locked up. No evaporation and very little rain or snow.
- Without water, there was a massive slowdown in a carbon-dioxide consuming process called chemical weathering, where rocks erode and disintegrate.
- Without weathering and erosion, carbon dioxide began to amass in the atmosphere and trap heat.
“It was just a matter of time until the carbon-dioxide levels were high enough to break the pattern of ice,” Xiao said. “When it ended, it probably ended catastrophically.”
Plume world
Suddenly, heat started to build. The ice caps began to recede, and Earth’s climate backpedaled furiously toward the drippy and soupy. Over a mere 10 million years, average global temperatures swung from minus 50 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 45 to 48 degrees Celsius).
But the ice didn’t melt and remix with seawater at the same time. The research findings paint a very different world than what we can imagine: vast rivers of glacial water rushing like a reverse tsunami from the land into the sea, then pooling on top of extra salty, extra dense ocean water.
The researchers tested this version of the prehistoric world by looking at a set of carbonate rocks that formed as the global ice age was ending.
They analyzed a certain geochemical signature, the relative abundance of lithium isotopes, recorded within the carbonate rocks. According to plumeworld ocean theory, the geochemical signatures of freshwater would be stronger in rocks formed under nearshore meltwater than in the rocks formed offshore, beneath the deep, salty sea — and that’s exactly what the researchers observed.
The findings bring the limit of environmental change into better focus, said Xiao, but they also give researchers additional insight into the frontiers of biology and the resiliency of life under extreme conditions — hot, cold, and slushy.
Study collaborators include:
- Ben Gill, Virginia Tech associate professor of sedimentary geochemistry
- Morrison Nolan, former graduate student, now at Denison University
- Collaborators from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Maryland at College Park, University of Munich in Germany, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of Nevada at Las Vegas
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Article Publication Date
5-Nov-2024
Firms that read more perform better
New study by the Complexity Science Hub examines the reading habits of employees across millions of companies
[Vienna, November 6, 2024] — “Tell me how you read and I’ll tell you who you are.” By analyzing online reading behavior across millions of firms worldwide, a new study out of the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) connects how much information companies consume and how the consumption relates to their size.
"The way companies consume information is reminiscent of biological organisms. They take in, transmit, and transform information to make decisions. As with organisms, there are important size differences. Larger firms tend to consume information more efficiently but face significant challenges in coordination," says co-author Eddie Lee, from CSH.
The team analyzed a comprehensive dataset of online reading habits from employees across millions of firms worldwide. This dataset, spanning a two-week period, includes major publishers like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Forbes, along with specialized sites such as ITCentral Station and Questex.
“It is the first time that this dataset has been quantitatively analyzed in depth. By getting a closer look on how firms consume information, we discovered new and previously unseen patterns of the knowledge economy,” adds Lee.
Economy of scale
The paper, recently published in Royal Society Open Science, reveals that the volume of information firms consume increases more than proportionally with their size. This suggests an “economy of scale” in news consumption, where larger firms have relatively less capital, sales, and fewer employees for the same amount of reading compared to smaller firms. This presents a fascinating and yet unknown aspect of firms.
Large companies often face coordination challenges, perhaps resulting in repetitive and redundant reading. “Beyond a certain threshold, large companies read a greater number of unique pieces of news, which leads to a greater amount of redundancy,” explains Lee.
In addition, big companies tend to accumulate a broader range of reading interests rather than specializing, according to the study. This finding adds a subtlety to the classical idea of labor specialization because increased specialization does not seem to reduce information demand.
FInancial performance
“We also show that deviations from the typical trends, particularly in terms of excess reading, are strongly correlated with higher future returns and valuations. This indicates that firms that consume more information than typical for their size tend to perform better financially,” adds Lee.
“There is also evidence that such reading patterns are strongly linked to how innovative firms are as well as the diversity of economic activities they engage in,” adds co-author Alan Kwan, from the University of Hong Kong.
“Showing that firm performance is linked to information consumption is very exciting,” evaluates Lee. “The findings suggest that understanding how companies manage information can offer valuable insights into their operation dynamics and financial health.”
About the study
The study "Information consumption and firm size," by Edward D. Lee, Alan P. Kwan, Rudolf Hanel, Anjali Bhatt, and Frank Neffke has been published in Royal Society Open Science.
About CSH
The Complexity Science Hub (CSH) is Europe’s research center for the study of complex systems. We derive meaning from data from a range of disciplines – economics, medicine, ecology, and the social sciences – as a basis for actionable solutions for a better world. Established in 2015, we have grown to over 70 researchers, driven by the increasing demand to gain a genuine understanding of the networks that underlie society, from healthcare to supply chains. Through our complexity science approaches linking physics, mathematics, and computational modeling with data and network science, we develop the capacity to address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
Journal
Royal Society Open Science
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Information consumption and firm size
Article Publication Date
6-Nov-2024
Does work-related stress compromise cardiovascular health?
Wiley
In a large multi-ethnic group of adults in the United States without cardiovascular disease, those with work-related stress were more likely to have unfavorable measures of cardiovascular health. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
For the analysis, investigators assessed data collected between 2000 and 2002 for 3,579 community-based men and women aged 45–84 years enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular health was determined based on seven metrics—smoking, physical activity, body mass index, diet, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose—with each metric contributing zero points, one point, or two points if in the poor, intermediate, or ideal range, respectively, for a range of 0–14 points.
Work-related stress, which was assessed through a questionnaire, was reported by 20% of participants. After adjusting for potentially influencing factors, individuals with work-related stress, had 25% and 27% lower odds of having average (9–10 points) and optimal (11–14 points) cardiovascular health scores, respectively, compared with individuals without work-related stress.
"To address the public health issue of work-related stress and its detrimental effects on cardiovascular health, future research should prioritize the use of longitudinal studies to identify the mechanisms underlying this association,” said first author Oluseye Ogunmoroti, MD, MPH, of Emory University and senior author Erin Michos, MD, MHS, of Johns Hopkins University. “Additionally, conducting thorough workplace intervention studies is essential for the development and implementation of effective stress management strategies that can enhance employee well-being and improve cardiovascular health.”
URL upon publication: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.124.035824
Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal
Journal of the American Heart Association provides a global forum for basic and clinical research articles and timely reviews on cardiovascular disease and stroke. As an open access journal, its content is freely available, accelerating the translation of strong science into effective practice.
About Wiley
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Journal
Journal of the American Heart Association
Article Title
Work-related stress is associated with unfavorable cardiovascular health: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
Article Publication Date
6-Nov-2024
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