SMOKE ON THE PORCH

Smoking cannabis in the home increases odds of detectable levels in children

Reducing in-home cannabis smoking could substantially reduce children’s exposure to cannabis smoke, which contains toxic chemicals including known carcinogens

University of California - San Diego

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Researchers at University of California San Diego analyzed cannabis smoking practices in San Diego County to assess whether in-home smoking was associated with cannabis detection in children. The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2025, online edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, found that in-home cannabis smoking increased the odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke.

Smoking is the most common method of cannabis use and is known to generate emissions that are harmful to those exposed. Cannabis is often smoked indoors, putting non-smokers such as children at risk for exposure.

“While the long-term health consequences of cannabis smoke are not yet well known, cannabis smoke contains carcinogens, respiratory irritants, and other harmful chemicals,” said John Bellettiere, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego. “In our analysis, the odds of detectable cannabis in children were five times higher in households with reported in-home cannabis smoking. This exposure to toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens, could have long-term health effects in these children.”

The research team analyzed in-home cannabis smoking practices in San Diego County to quantify the relationship between in-home cannabis smoking and cannabis biomarker detection in resident children’s urine. The youngest child in each of the 275 households enrolled in the study was tested, at a median age of three years.

Investigators found that among households reporting in-home cannabis smoking, 69% had a child with detectable cannabis biomarker levels compared to 24% in households not reporting in-home cannabis smoking. Because a large percentage of participants were recruited from low-income households enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program from 2012 through 2015, findings of the study are not necessarily generalizable to the broader U.S. population, cautioned Bellettiere.

“As young children spend most of their time at home, reducing in-home cannabis smoking could substantially reduce their exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals found in cannabis smoke,” said Osika Tripathi, Ph.D., M.P.H., a recent graduate of the UC San Diego – San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health.

“As evidence regarding the health effects of cannabis grows, adopting strategies from the tobacco control playbook, such as comprehensive smoke-free laws and policies, could safeguard children’s health,” continued Bellettiere. “Determining the long-term health risks of second-hand cannabis smoke exposure is the absolutely essential next step.”

The study was funded, in part, by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (grant # R01HL103684), the National Institutes of Health (grant #T32HL079891-11, grant #T32 GM084896), the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (awards # T31KT1501, #T33PC6863, #T32PT6244, #T32PT6042 and #T32IR5208), the National Cancer Institute (#K01 CA234317), the San Diego State University/ UC San Diego Comprehensive Cancer Center Partnership (#U54 CA132384 and #U54 CA132379), and the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Advancing Minority Aging Research at UC San Diego (#P30 AG059299).

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.55963 

Exposure to secondhand cannabis smoke among children

JAMA Network

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About The Study:

 In this cross-sectional study, in-home cannabis smoking was associated with significantly increased odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke, as assessed by urinary cannabinoid biomarkers. As young children spend most of their time at home, reducing in-home cannabis smoking could substantially reduce their exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals found in cannabis smoke. 

Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Osika Tripathi, PhD (otripath@health.ucsd.edu) and John Bellettiere, PhD (jbellettiere@health.ucsd.edu).

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.55963)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication. 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

Medically recommended vs nonmedical cannabis use among US adults

JAMA Psychiatry

About The Study: The results of this study showed that adults ages 18 to 49 reporting medical-only or medical-nonmedical cannabis use vs nonmedical-only use had higher prevalence of cannabis use disorder at all severity levels and reported more frequent cannabis use. These findings suggest that medically recommended cannabis is not associated with reduced addiction risk compared with nonmedical use.

Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Nora D. Volkow, M.D., email nvolkow@nida.nih.gov.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4475)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time

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Journal

JAMA Psychiatry

 Secret of effective learning: Retrieving information in different ways

SWPS University

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How to learn effectively? It is important to retrieve the material we learn from memory at certain intervals, but that is not all. For even better results, it is best to do it in different ways, scientists argue in a paper published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Human memory is complex and depends on many factors, which is why the results of individual scientific studies are not always easy to translate into practical tips for effective learning. Nevertheless, previous studies suggest that learning is most effective when we retrieve the material from memory instead of simply re-reading it, and when learning sessions are spread over time, and not, for example, accumulated during one evening before an exam [1,2]. 

Is it possible to learn even more effectively?

Ewa Butowska-Buczyńska from the Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw at SWPS University, Maciej Hanczakowski and Katarzyna Zawadzka from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and Paulina Kliś, a USWPS graduate, decided to find out whether the process of memorising could be additionally supported. It turns out that it is possible. This requires so-called variable learning, which involves introducing variety into the way we memorise. This means learning about a given phenomenon from different perspectives, in different contexts and in many ways. In addition, the process of retrieval should also be varied, that is, take place in response to different, not identical, cues leading to the correct answer.

In the paper "The role of variable retrieval in effective learning" published in PNAS, the authors describe a series of experiments in which they asked the participants to learn foreign (Finnish) words. The words were embedded in sentences presented in participants' native language, e.g., "Dad is sweeping the lattia" (Finnish: floor). During the study, each foreign word was presented multiple times, either in the same sentence ("Dad is sweeping the lattia" x5) or in different sentences (e.g. "Dad is sweeping the lattia.", "A dog is lying on the lattia.", "A child is playing on the lattia". "There's a carpet on the lattia.", "A cat is sliding on the lattia."). Better memory performance for translations of foreign words was achieved when, during learning, participants were presented with different sentences rather than the same sentence over and over again. The benefits of this method of acquiring knowledge were observed both immediately after the study phase and after 24 hours.

Interestingly, the participants were convinced that it was easier for them to memorise foreign words when they learned them using always the same sentences, which was inconsistent with their actual test results. This is called a metacognitive illusion - a false belief in the effectiveness of certain learning conditions, which may ultimately lead to choosing less effective ways of learning.

Memory welcomes a challenge

The idea of learning different facets of information in each learning session is not new; it is considered crucial for long-term memory [3]. It can be compared to creating multiple paths to memorised information, which can then be used to retrieve the information from memory. The more such paths we create while learning, the greater the chance of effectively retrieving the information we are looking for, when, for example, during an exam we are asked a question that only fits one of the possible paths.

Such a diverse way of learning, where we are not limited to a single aspect of the to-be-learned information, is a challenge for our memory. It therefore requires more effort than learning in a constant and repetitive way, but this effort helps with acquiring knowledge. Therefore, we can say that some difficulty in the learning process is desirable. If we want our knowledge to be useful, i.e., accessible in different circumstances and in response to different cues or questions on a test, we should enrich our study sessions with the following difficulties: retrieving previously learned information (instead of reading it multiple times), spreading learning over a period of time (instead of accumulating it in a single learning session), and retrieving information from memory in different ways (and not in response to the same cue), explains the study co-author, Ewa Butowska-Buczyńska, PhD, from the Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw, USWPS.

The authors of the paper suggest that the results of their research can be used to develop guidelines for effective learning. They emphasise, however, that the research to date is limited to specific experimental conditions and further work is needed to promote this way of learning on a larger scale.

 

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[1] J. Dunlosky, K. A. Rawson, E. J. Marsh, M. J. Nathan, D. T. Willingham, Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychol. Sci. Public Interest 1, 4–58 (2013)

[2] S. K. Carpenter, S. C. Pan, A. C. Butler, The science of effective learning with spacing and retrieval practice. Nat. Rev. Psychol. 1, 496–511 (2022)

[3] W. K. Estes, Towards a statistical theory of learning. Psychol. Rev. 57, 94–107 (1955)

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Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2413511121 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The role of variable retrieval in effective learning

SOLVING TWO PROBLEMS AT ONCE

Novel model advances microfiber-reinforced concrete research

Higher Education Press

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image: 

(a) Load and constraint; (b) coarse aggregate distribution; (c) parallel fiber distribution in tension direction; (d) random fiber distribution.

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Credit: Lei Shen et al.

Researchers from Hohai University, Northwestern University, and Politecnico di Milano have introduced a pioneering mesoscale mechanical discrete model, LDPM-MicroF, to simulate the fracture behavior of micro fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC), as reported in Engineering.

Microfibers, with diameters less than 100 µm, are crucial in preventing early shrinkage cracking and reducing pore pressure during fires. However, formulating an accurate mechanical constitutive law for micro-FRC has been challenging due to difficulties in understanding physical principles and the high computational cost of existing models with numerous randomly oriented fibers.

The LDPM-MicroF model addresses these issues by defining an equivalent fiber diameter coefficient. This innovation allows it to balance modeling accuracy and computational efficiency, making it capable of simulating the mechanical responses of engineered cementitious composites. Through this model, the unimodal variation in tensile strength caused by increasing microfiber dosage can be quantitatively reproduced and explained.

In direct tension tests, the model’s validity was verified using concrete samples with micro-polypropylene (PP) fibers. By controlling the equivalent fiber diameter coefficient (rf), the model demonstrated good agreement with experimental results in both parallel and randomly oriented fiber distributions. In splitting tension tests of steel fiber and micro-PP FRC, LDPM-MicroF accurately predicted the strength changes. For micro-PFRC, the splitting tensile strength initially increased and then decreased with increasing PP fiber volume fraction, which was successfully captured by the model. In four-point bending tests of micro-basalt FRC, the model reproduced the observed cracking patterns and the unimodal strength variation.

Moreover, in the tension test of engineered cementitious composites (ECC), LDPM-MicroF showed its ability to handle high microfiber dosages. By setting an appropriate rf, the model could simulate the test while significantly reducing computation time.

This research provides new insights into the mechanical properties of micro-FRC. It distinguishes between the areas of fiber intersection and effective matrix on crack surfaces and considers the “near-field effect” of microfibers. These contributions enhance the understanding of micro-FRC and offer valuable tools for future research and engineering applications in the field of cementitious composites.

The paper “Mesoscale Mechanical Discrete Model for Cementitious Composites with Microfibers,” authored by Lei Shen, Linfeng Hu, Giovanni Di Luzio, Maosen Cao, Lei Xu, Gianluca Cusatis. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.017. For more information about the Engineering, follow us on X (https://twitter.com/EngineeringJrnl) & like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringJrnl).

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Journal

Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.017 

Article Title

Mesoscale Mechanical Discrete Model for Cementitious Composites with Microfibers

 

Interpreting metamaterials from an artistic view

Higher Education Press

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image: 

The copper itself can only show a strong reflection when a light beam is incident onto it. However, once the copper is made into wire and split-ring resonators (SRRs), which respectively have negative permittivity and permeability values, the composed metamaterial exhibits negative refraction, which is a phenomenon that does not exist in nature.

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Credit: Jingbo Sun

Two leading experts in the field of metamaterials from Tsinghua University co-authored a review article on this emerging scientific field in Engineering recently. Unlike traditional review articles, the authors interpret metamaterials from an artistic perspective. By drawing parallels with art, they reflect on significant achievements made over the past two decades and offer insights into the future development of the field. Their work introduces readers to the novel concept of metamaterials as “the art in materials science.”

Metamaterials refer to artificially engineered materials composed of structural units designed to exhibit extraordinary properties not found in natural materials. Although the field has only developed for just over 20 years, it has expanded into numerous areas of physics and significantly influenced engineering applications. The two scholars compare metamaterials to the “art of materials science” because research in this field is inherently creative. Just as art comes from life but goes beyond it, metamaterials are composed of natural materials but can exhibit properties beyond those found in nature. The article emphasizes that the key to metamaterials research lies in achieving the “meta”—a process akin to artistic creation, breaking conventions, embracing freedom, and fully leveraging human ingenuity to design materials with extraordinary, enhanced properties, and super functionalities. On a micro level, the design methods and concepts exhibited during the development of metamaterials, as well as the overarching development patterns observed over its thriving 20-year history on macro level, show remarkable similarities to the evolution of artistic creation. From a results perspective, metamaterials have enabled realizations of concepts that had existed only in the realm of art for millennia but were previously unattainable—such as the “invisibility cloak.” Finally, the authors provide an outlook on the future development of metamaterials, addressing foundational research, intelligent systems, artificial intelligence, and engineering applications. They stress the necessity of advancing metamaterials toward practical applications while addressing existing challenges. The article proposes transitioning metamaterials from “art pieces” to “craftworks”—from intricate laboratory creations to industrial-scale mass production. This transformation is expected to revolutionize productivity and drive societal progress.

The paper “Metamaterials: The Art in Materials Science,” authored by Jingbo Sun, Ji Zhou. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2024.12.011. For more information about the Engineering, follow us on X (https://twitter.com/EngineeringJrnl) & like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringJrnl).

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Journal

Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.eng.2024.12.011 

Article Title

Metamaterials: The Art in Materials Science

 

Global top ten engineering achievements 2024

Higher Education Press

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Engineering technology is an important engine driving the development of human society. At present, the global round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is greatly intensifying, and the development of engineering technology has entered an unprecedented period of active innovation. The deep integration of scientific and technological advancement with industrial innovation is accelerating. Breakthroughs are continuously being made in fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, aerospace, new energy, and new materials, and epoch-making achievements are emerging in engineering innovation, causing profound changes worldwide.

As the flagship journal of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), Engineering has joined with the CAE’s Global Engineering Frontier Research Consulting Project Team to organize the selection of the Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements every year since 2021, in order to promote the progress of engineering technology, lead technological innovation in engineering, and foster the spirit of engineering technology. Through expert recommendations, public voting, and comprehensive judgment, major innovative achievements in engineering technology that have been completed and verified to be effective in a global scope within the past five years are selected, with the aims of guiding the global community’s attention to engineering technology and creating an atmosphere that respects and advocates for technological innovation in engineering.

This year’s Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements include accomplishments at the cutting edge of engineering technology that can lead the direction of technological development, such as the Sora video model; the latest successes in the system integration of innovative engineering technology, such as the Chang’e 6 mission’s sampling and return from the far side of the Moon and a high-temperature gas-cooled-reactor nuclear power station that achieves combined heat and power generation; and achievements setting the development direction for new, high-quality production forces that can give birth to new industries and new momentum, such as autonomous vehicles and flexible displays. These innovative achievements in engineering technology are rapidly transforming into actual productive forces, bringing far-reaching and extensive impacts to many aspects of the world’s economic and social development.

A brief introduction to the Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements 2024 is provided below.

1. CAR-T cell therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy, a form of immunotherapy for treating malignant tumors, uses genetic engineering technology to modify patients’ T cells so that the cells can recognize and attack tumor cells. Since the first CAR-T cell therapy, KYMRIAH, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017, several CAR-T cell therapies have been approved for marketing globally and have demonstrated significant advantages in treating hematological malignancies. CAR-T therapy is a cutting-edge approach for treating cancer and other serious diseases, marking the arrival of the era of cell therapy.

2. Chang’e 6

On June 25, 2024, China’s Chang’e 6 lunar mission successfully returned to Earth using a semi-ballistic skip-entry method, marking the first time in human history that samples have been collected from the far side of the Moon. This mission, which lasted 53 days, went through 11 stages including Earth–Moon transfer, lunar braking, orbiting the Moon, landing, sampling on the Moon’s surface, ascending from the Moon, rendezvous, sample transfer, waiting in lunar orbit, Moon–Earth transfer, and re-entry recovery. Chang’e 6 brought back 1935.3 g of samples from the far side of the Moon; these samples provide direct evidence for the study of the Moon’s early evolution and offer a new perspective on understanding the geological differences between the far and near sides of the Moon.

3. LEO satellite constellation

On May 23, 2019, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carried 60 low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites into space in one launch, marking the beginning of the deployment of the Starlink LEO Internet constellation project. The goal of Starlink is to build a high-capacity, low-latency, space-based communication system to provide high-speed Internet services worldwide. As of August 6, 2024, Starlink has launched 6851 satellites in 184 batches, making it the largest satellite constellation in human history. With their unique orbital advantages and technical characteristics, LEO satellite constellations are gradually becoming an important part of the global communication network.

4. Flexible displays

Flexible displays are ultra-thin, ultra-light, and bendable display products made using flexible substrates. They are widely used in fields such as consumer electronics, automotives, and medicine. In 2023, the global market size for flexible display monitors reached 37.89 billion USD, with Samsung, LG Display, BOE, and TCL CSOT being among the world’s foremost manufacturers of flexible displays. With their unique appeal, flexible displays are leading a new revolution in the design of consumer electronic products, disruptively expanding the usage scenarios and boundaries of electronic products and providing users with unprecedented portability and infinite possibilities for design creation.

5. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power station

On December 6, 2023, the demonstration project of the world’s first modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor nuclear power station, located in Shidao Bay, Shandong, China, completed a 168 h continuous operation assessment, marking the commencement of its official commercial operation. The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor adopts a modular design, with inherent safety, high power-generation efficiency, strong environmental adaptability, and a wide range of uses. It can achieve the co-generation of heat and electricity, providing high-parameter industrial steam at 300–500 °C, and is internationally recognized as an advanced type of fourth-generation nuclear reactor technology, with broad application prospects.

6. Smart factories

As an advanced form of modern manufacturing, smart factories integrate manufacturing and information technologies to achieve digital, networked, and intelligent production and management throughout the entire product life cycle. This significantly improves production efficiency and product quality, reduces energy consumption, enhances supply chain collaboration and user interaction, and drives manufacturing toward flexibility, autonomy, and personalization. Companies such as Siemens, General Motors, and BMW have smart factories that represent the highest level of intelligent manufacturing in the world, leading the arrival of a revolution global manufacturing.

7. Autonomous vehicles

Autonomous driving refers to the ability of a vehicle to perceive and interact with its surroundings, make decisions autonomously, and operate at the level of a human driver. Supported by artificial intelligence and other technologies, autonomous driving is making a leap forward from rule-oriented to end-to-end intelligence, approaching the level of fully autonomous driving. With companies such as Tesla, Waymo, Baidu Apollo, and SenseTime leading in commercialization and technological innovation, autonomous driving is widely used in logistics transportation, public transportation, shared mobility, and other areas. As a foreseeable disruptive technology, autonomous driving will profoundly change the way we travel.

8. Surgical robots

Surgical robots typically consist of multiple interactive components such as a control console, robotic arms, and a high-definition visual system. They offer higher control precision, stability, and operational flexibility, enabling surgeons to perform more complex and less invasive surgeries and thereby reducing surgical trauma, shortening recovery time, and improving both the overall quality of surgery and patient treatment outcomes. Since the beginning of 21st century, significant progress has been made in global surgical robot technology, with the emergence of systems such as da Vinci, Versius, Hugo RAS, and Surgix. As an innovative technology in the field of medicine, surgical robots are expected to usher in a new era of healthcare.

9. The Sora video-generation artificial intelligence model

On February 16, 2024, OpenAI released the Sora video-generation artificial intelligence model. By learning the association between content-aligned text sentences and image/video data, Sora can simulate and reconstruct complex phenomena depicted in videos of the physical world. It elevates artificial intelligence content generation from text to multimodal content and has been hailed as a “video world simulator.” The innovation represented by Sora raises the generalization capability of artificial intelligence to a new level.

10. Ultra-large wind power generation equipment

Against the backdrop of the global energy transition, innovation in wind power technology is accelerating, and ultra-large wind power generation equipment is continuously being updated toward larger capacity, higher hub height, and longer blades. Onshore wind power equipment with a single capacity of over 10 MW and offshore wind power equipment with a single capacity of over 15 WM are rapidly emerging. Companies such as Goldwind, Vestas, and General Electric hold a leading position in the global research and development, and production of ultra-large wind power generation equipment. The rapid development of this technology provides important support for global wind energy development and advances the world’s energy transition.

On the occasion of the official release of the Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements 2024, we offer our warm congratulations to the scientists and engineers who have made significant contributions to the research and development, construction, and operation of the selected achievements! Your outstanding work has given rise to great projects and has promoted economic and social development and human progress. We greatly appreciate the support given to Engineering during the selection process from domestic and foreign experts, scholars, and engineers, and the colleagues from the selecting teams for each topic area; we also express our gratitude to the Selection Committee for the Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements of Engineering.

The paper “Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements 2024,” authored by Junzhi Cui, Jian-Feng Chen. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.007. For more information about the Engineering, follow us on X (https://twitter.com/EngineeringJrnl) & like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EngineeringJrnl).

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Journal

Engineering

DOI

10.1016/j.eng.2024.11.007 

Article Title

Global Top Ten Engineering Achievements 2024