Assessing unintended consequences in AI-based neurosurgical training

Machine learning tutors affect learners in unforeseen ways, both positive and negative

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MCGILL UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: A TRAINEE USING A VIRTUAL REALITY NEUROSURGICAL SIMULATOR view more 

CREDIT: THE NEURO (MONTREAL NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE-HOSPITAL)

Virtual reality simulators can help learners improve their technical skills faster and with no risk to patients. In the field of neurosurgery, they allow medical students to practice complex operations before using a scalpel on a real patient. When combined with artificial intelligence, these tutoring systems can offer tailored feedback like a human instructor, identifying areas where the students need to improve and making suggestions on how to achieve expert performance.  

A new study from the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University, however, shows that human instruction is still necessary to detect and compensate for unintended, and sometimes negative, changes in neurosurgeon behaviour after virtual reality AI training.  

In the study, 46 medical students performed a tumour removal procedure on a virtual reality simulator. Half of them were randomly selected to receive instruction from an AI-powered intelligent tutor called the Virtual Operative Assistant (VOA), which uses a machine learning algorithm to teach surgical techniques and provide personalized feedback. The other half served as a control group by receiving no feedback. The students’ work was then compared to performance benchmarks selected by a team of established neurosurgeons.  

Comparing the results, AI-tutored students caused 55 per cent less damage to healthy tissues than the control group. AI-tutored students also showed a 59 per cent reduction in average distance between instruments in each hand and 46 per cent less maximum force applied, both important safety measures.  

However, AI-tutored students also showed some negative outcomes. For example, their dominant hand movements had 50 per cent lower velocity and 45 per cent lower acceleration than the control group, making their operations less efficient. The speed at which they removed tumour tissue was also 29 per cent lower in the AI-tutored group than the control group.   

These unintended outcomes underline the importance of human instructors in the learning process, to promote both safety and efficiency in students.  

“AI systems are not perfect,” says Ali Fazlollahi, a medical student researcher at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre and the study’s first author. “Achieving mastery will still require some level of apprenticeship from an expert. Programs adopting AI will enable learners to monitor their competency and focus their intraoperative learning time with instructors more efficiently and on their individual tailored learning goals. We’re currently working towards finding an optimal hybrid mode of instruction in a crossover trial.” 

Fazlollahi says his findings have implications beyond neurosurgery because many of the same principles are applied in other fields of skills’ training. 

“This includes surgical education, not just neurosurgery, and also a range of other fields from aviation to military training and construction,” he says. “Using AI alone to design and run a technical skills curriculum can lead to unintended outcomes that will require oversight from human experts to ensure excellence in training and patient care.”  

 “Intelligent tutors powered by AI are becoming a valuable tool in the evaluation and training of the next generation of neurosurgeons,” says Dr. Rolando Del Maestro, the study’s senior author. “However, it is essential that surgical educators are an integral part of the development, application, and monitoring of these AI systems to maximize their ability to increase the mastery of neurosurgical skills and improve patient outcomes.” 

This study, published in JAMA Network Open on Sept. 19, 2023, was funded by the Franco Di Giovanni Foundation, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Brain Tumour Research Grant, a Medical Education Research Grant from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital. 

The Neuro  

The Neuro – The Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital – is a bilingual, world-leading destination for brain research and advanced patient care. Since its founding in 1934 by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Wilder Penfield, The Neuro has grown to be the largest specialized neuroscience research and clinical center in Canada, and one of the largest in the world. The seamless integration of research, patient care, and training of the world’s top minds make The Neuro uniquely positioned to have a significant impact on the understanding and treatment of nervous system disorders. In 2016, The Neuro became the first institute in the world to fully embrace the Open Science philosophy, creating the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute. The Montreal Neurological Institute is a McGill University research and teaching institute. The Montreal Neurological Hospital is part of the Neuroscience Mission of the McGill University Health Centre. 

 

 simulator video [VIDEO] | 

simulator video 2 [VIDEO] | 

simulator video 3 [VIDEO] | 

JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.34658 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

AI in Surgical Curriculum Design and Unintended Outcomes for Technical Competencies in Simulation Training

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Sep-2023

COI STATEMENT

Dr Yilmaz, Dr Winkler-Schwartz, Dr Mirchi, Ms Ledwos, and Dr Del Maestro have a US patent for “A Framework For Transparent Artificial Intelligence In Simulation: The Virtual Operative Assistant” application No. PCT/CA2020/050353, international patent No.WO 2020/186348. Dr Fazlollahi reported receiving grants from Healthy Brains Healthy Lives Foundation Fellowship outside the submitted work. Dr Yilmaz reported receiving grants from a Medical Education Research Grant from Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Fonds de recherche du Quebec–Sante for Doctoral studies, and Max Binz Fellowship from McGill University outside the submitted work. Dr Alsayegh reported receiving grants from Mitacs Accelerate outside the submitted work. Dr Del Maestro reported receiving grants from Mitacs Accelerate outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

GEMOLOGY

Argyle study reveals crucial third clue to 

finding new diamond deposits

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CURTIN UNIVERSITY

Curtin University researchers studying diamond-rich rocks from Western Australia’s Argyle volcano have identified the missing third key ingredient needed to bring valuable pink diamonds to the Earth’s surface where they can be mined, which could greatly help in the global hunt for new deposits.

While it is known that for diamonds to form there needs to be carbon deep in the Earth, and for these diamonds to turn pink they must be subjected to forces from colliding tectonic plates, the new study has found the third ingredient needed for the presence of pink diamonds at surface level, which is continents that were ‘stretched’ during continental break-up hundreds of millions of years ago.

Lead researcher Dr Hugo Olierook, from Curtin’s John de Laeter Centre, said the ‘stretching’ of landmasses created gaps in the Earth’s crust through which diamond-carrying magma could rise to the surface.

“By using laser beams smaller than the width of a human hair on rocks supplied by Rio Tinto, we found Argyle to be 1.3 billion years old, which is 100 million years older than previously thought, meaning it would likely have formed as a result of an ancient supercontinent breaking apart,” Dr Olierook said.

“Argyle is located at the point where the Kimberley region and the rest of northern Australia smashed together many years prior, and that sort of collision creates a damaged area or ‘scar’ in the land that will never fully heal.

“While the continent that would become Australia didn’t break up, the area where Argyle is situated was stretched, including along the scar, which created gaps in the Earth’s crust for magma to shoot up through to the surface, bringing with it pink diamonds.

“As long as these three ingredients are present - deep carbon, continental collision and then stretching - then we think it will be possible to find the ‘next Argyle’, which was once the world’s largest source of natural diamonds.”

Dr Olierook said even with the knowledge of these three ingredients, finding another trove of pink diamonds will not be without its challenges.

“Most diamond deposits have been found in the middle of ancient continents because their host volcanoes tend to be exposed at the surface for explorers to find,” Dr Olierook said.

“Argyle is at the suture of two of these ancient continents, and these edges are often covered by sand and soil, leaving the possibility that similar pink diamond-bearing volcanoes still sit undiscovered, including in Australia.”

Co-author and principal geologist Murray Rayner, from Rio Tinto, said the Argyle volcano has produced more than 90 percent of the world’s pink diamonds, making it an unparalleled source of these rare and coveted gems.

“Knowing the Argyle volcano’s age, at 1.3 billion years old, and situated where some of Earth’s earliest continents fragmented, we have significant further insights into the formation of these diamonds,” Rayner said.

The authors are affiliated with the John de Laeter Centre, the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group and the Earth Dynamics Research Group, which sit within Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences. The work was enabled by AuScope and the Australian Government via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

Funded by the Geological Survey of Western Australia, the research paper published in Nature Communications is entitled ‘Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup’ and is available online here.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-40904-8 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Imaging analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup’

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Sep-2023

 

Firearm violence exposure in Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities linked to poorer health

Indirect and direct exposure to firearm violence is harmful to mental and physical health, according to a Rutgers study

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

There is a widening health disparity among Black, American Indian and Alaska Native adults exposed to gun violence, according to Rutgers researchers who say these communities have more mental and physical health issues because they witness or are victimized at a higher rate.

 

In a new study published in Health Affairs Scholar, 3,015 Black and 527 American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults residing in the United States were surveyed between April and May 2023.

Participants were asked whether they were threatened with a firearm, shot with a firearm, had a family or friend shot with a firearm, or witnessed or heard about a shooting. The results found that these circumstances led to poorer mental and physical health, especially when people experienced multiple types of gun violence exposure.

“Communities of color bear the burden of gun violence in the United States. Our research shows that exposure to individual types of firearm violence, like being shot, threatened with a gun, or losing a loved one to gun violence, is linked to poorer mental and physical health among Black and AI/AN adults,” says lead author Daniel Semenza, director of interpersonal violence research of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. “Being exposed to multiple types of gun violence is even more harmful to health.”

Firearm violence is a major public health issue in the United States, and nearly 48,000 people were victims of firearm injury in 2021. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted and exposure to firearm violence is associated with worse mental and physical health, according to the Rutgers study.

Semenza, assistant professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health and in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University-Camden, says reducing gun violence in the U.S. is necessary to make sure that all Americans can live a healthy life.

“Gun violence prevention needs to be an absolute priority in the U.S., not only for its own moral sake, but because gun violence damages the health and well-being of many more people than just the direct victims,” added Semenza.

Moving forward, Semenza says, future researchers need to also investigate how to reduce firearm-related violence and health issues among other groups, including Hispanic, White and Asian Americans.

 

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JOURNAL

Health Affairs Scholar

DOI

10.1093/haschl/qxad036 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Firearm violence exposure and health in 2 national samples of Black and American Indian/Alaska Native adults

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

15-Sep-202

 

Eurosceptics more likely to think of the EU as less democratic than it is, study shows

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

A significant share of voters see the EU as less democratic than it really is and believe the European Commission can steamroll its member states, a new study shows.

The research shows that key channels of legitimation in the EU are not well known by the citizens of large member states. Whether people see themselves only as citizens of their nation, or simultaneously as a European, is linked to what they believe about the EU.

A substantial share of EU voters who took part in the study believed that the members of the European Parliament are not directly elected. Many assumed the European Parliament is unimportant for decision making in Brussels.

Less than half of those who took part in the research knew which powers the EU has and which it does not have.

Some were aware of their gaps in knowledge about EU institutions, but a large number who had gaps in their knowledge also thought they were informed.

Those who said they did not hold a European identity were more likely to assume that the EU is less democratic than it is.  

The research, published in the journal European Union Politics, was carried out by Florian Stoeckel, Jack Thompson and Jason Reifler from the University of Exeter, Vittorio Mérola from Durham University and Benjamin Lyons from the University of Utah.

Professor Stoeckel said: “Not knowing how a complex institution like the EU works is completely understandable but it is problematic when people have the wrong idea about how the institution works and assume the organization is not as democratic as it is or has power over member states that it doesn’t have. Populist parties can mobilize or exploit such misperceptions, or they create them in the first place.”

“Our findings help elucidate the rhetorical value of ‘taking back control’ from Brussels. Indeed, to voters who believe that the European Commission can legislate against the will of a majority of MEPs or member states, European integration is likely to appear like an absolute loss of the sovereignty of the general will, rather than just a transfer of authority to another level.”

Researchers carried out a survey in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, with approximately 1,000 respondents per country, in February 2019. Participants were asked three questions - if MEPs are directly elected by voters; to react to the following statement: ‘the European Commission can issue new laws even when a majority of MPs of the European Parliament objects’ and whether the following statement is correct: ‘the European Commission can issue new laws for the EU even when a majority of member states objects’.

While the exact proportions vary by country and issue, the combined share of the uninformed and misinformed made up more than half of respondents.

For instance, a third (35 per cent) of respondents knew the European Commission cannot pass laws against the will of a majority of Member States. In contrast, 40 per cent of respondents wrongly believed the EC could override the will of member states, while another 25 per cent were uninformed.

Respondents who took part in the study who described their identity in a narrow, national way thought of the EU as an organisation with more unrestricted powers. They are more likely to wrongly believe MEPs are not directly elected and the European Commission can rule over the European Parliament and EU member states. They were less likely to know legislation needs to be approved by a majority of MEPs in order for it to become law.

Substantial portions of the public in all six countries were either uninformed or misinformed. Pooling responses across countries showed 19 per cent held the misperception that MEPs are not directly elected and 21 per cent of respondents answered that they ‘don’t know’.

A total of 22 per cent of respondents said the European Commission could pass laws while overriding the objection of the European Parliament, while 27 per cent of the respondents selected the ‘don’t know’ category.

Only 35 per cent of respondents correctly said that the European Commission cannot pass laws against the will of the member states of the EU, whereas 40 per cent of respondents held a misperception and another 25 per cent of respondents chose ‘don’t know’.

 

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JOURNAL

European Union Politics

DOI

10.1177/14651165231193833 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Public perceptions and misperceptions of political authority in the European Union

 

STUDY: Cancer misinformation on TikTok could be harmful to women’s health

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER

 

VIDEO: MILLIONS OF WOMEN ARE TURNING TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM TIKTOK FOR HEALTH ADVICE RELATED TO GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THAT INFORMATION IS MISLEADING OR DRAMATICALLY INACCURATE, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY PUBLISHED BY THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER – ARTHUR G. JAMES CANCER HOSPITAL AND RICHARD J. SOLOVE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN THE JOURNAL GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY. view more 

CREDIT: THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER – ARTHUR G. JAMES CANCER HOSPITAL AND RICHARD J. SOLOVE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Millions of women are turning to the social media platform TikTok for health advice related to gynecologic cancers, but the majority of that information is misleading or dramatically inaccurate, according to a new study published by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute in the journal Gynecologic Oncology.

Senior study author Laura Chambers, DO, says this highlights the power of social media to feed misinformation that could be harmful to patient health outcomes, but it also presents an opportunity to address gaps less likely to come up during a clinic appointment.

Chambers was interested in learning more about the unspoken concerns of her patients, who are often mothers and young women. She wanted to understand how these patients were using social media, what information they were sharing and how they are consuming that information.

“The intent of this study was to understand the needs of patients that may go unspoken in the clinic but represent gaps in care that need addressed,” says Chambers, an osteopathic physician at the OSUCCC – James. “As doctors, we are focused on treatment toxicities and patient outcomes, but many of our patients are navigating really difficult challenges at home – like figuring out how to show their child love and attention when they are going through fatiguing treatments.”

For this new study, the team systematically searched for the 500 most popular TikTok posts and analyzed the top five hashtags for each related to gynecologic cancer (ovarian, endometrial, cervical and vulvar cancers, as well as gestational trophoblastic disease) for key themes, quality of information and reliability of gynecologic cancer-related content on the social media platform, TikTok. Demographic information, message tone and thematic topics were collected. Educational videos were rated for quality using an established health education information scale. As of August 2022, the top five hashtags for each gynecologic cancer had more than 466 million views. 

The researchers found that, overall, the quality of the information being shared through TikTok was poor and at least 73% of content was inaccurate and of poor educational quality. Racial disparities in gynecologic cancer extended into this social media space.

“This data inspired a lot of questions about where to go next in addressing these inaccuracies and communicating with patients directly, especially focusing on opportunities to create more diverse content to overcome racial and cultural disparities related to treatment of these cancers,” says Chambers.

“The vulnerability shown in social media content around personal cancer journeys is inspiring, but this data really encourages us to ask, as a medical community, how we can provide a care environment that encourages that kind of trust and real conversation with patients? And what can we do, as a broader community, to provide quality health information and support services to patients seeking information about gynecologic cancers?”

Chambers encourages patients who desire a community of like-minded people going through similar experiences to seek out in-person and online support communities sponsored by reputable medical and patient advocacy organizations.

These findings were also presented in two poster presentations at the 2023 Annual Meeting for the Society of Gynecologic Oncology in Tampa, Florida.

Coauthors in this study include Molly Morton, Paulina Haight, Wafa Khadraoui, Floor Backes, Kristin Bixel, David O’Malley and Christa Nagel.

Laura Chambers, DO, studies gynecologic cancer content on TikTok and found the top posts to be of poor educational value. Chambers identified many posts that talked about unregulated substances and supplements to treat cancer with no medical proof. To combat the spread of misinformation on social media apps like TikTok, Chambers has an open dialogue with patients to answer questions.

CAPTION

Laura Chambers, DO, makes educational videos about gynecologic cancer on TikTok for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to prevent the spread of cancer misinformation. She recently published a study that evaluated 500 TikTok posts and found that cancer content already on the app lacked accurate educational value.

CREDIT

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute

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JOURNAL

Gynecologic Oncology

DOI

10.1016/j.ygyno.2023.06.004 

ARTICLE TITLE

"More than a song and dance": Exploration of patient perspectives and educational quality of gynecologic cancer content on TikTok

 

Predictive model could improve hydrogen station availability

NREL researchers offer idea to cut down unscheduled maintenance, boost motorist confidence

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DOE/NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY

Consumer confidence in driving hydrogen-fueled vehicles could be improved by having station operators adopt a predictive model that helps them anticipate maintenance needs, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Colorado State University (CSU).

Stations shutting down for unscheduled maintenance reduces hydrogen fueling availability to consumers and may slow adoption of these types of fuel cell electric vehicles, the researchers noted. The use of what is known as a prognostics health monitoring (PHM) model would allow hydrogen stations to reduce these unscheduled events.

“Motorists expect to be able to fuel their vehicles without any problems. We want to ensure motorists who drive hydrogen-fueled cars have the same experience,” said Jennifer Kurtz, lead author of the new paper, “Hydrogen Station Prognostics and Health Monitoring Model,” which appears in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. “This predictive model can let station operators know in advance when a problem might occur and minimize any disruptions that motorists might experience with hydrogen fueling.”

Co-authored by Spencer Gilleon of NREL and Thomas Bradley of CSU, the article posits the PHM model would improve station availability and consumer confidence.

The availability of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel is low compared to the ubiquity of gasoline, a fact reflected in the number of stations that dispense the low-emission fuel. While California has more than 10,000 gasoline stations, the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership counts just 59 retail hydrogen stations across the state. With relatively few choices, motorists who rely on hydrogen must be confident their needed fuel is available. Station operators must make any necessary repairs to meet the demands of consumers, but they also must investigate the causes of any failures to avoid future problems.

Data from the National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center reveals the single most common reason hydrogen stations shut down for unscheduled maintenance is problems with the dispenser system, which encompasses such items as the hoses and dispenser valves as well as the user interface. By using a data-based PHM, station operators could reduce the frequency of unscheduled maintenance and increase the frequency of preventive maintenance. The researchers have dubbed this particular PHM “hydrogen station prognostics health monitoring,” or H2S PHM.

The H2S PHM calculates the probability a component will continue working without a failure, based on how many fills the station has completed. The model can also be used to estimate the remaining useful life for each of the components, thereby lowering maintenance costs and making the stations more reliable. Using a hypothetical example, the researchers considered a dispenser valve that the H2S PHM has flagged as needing attention. The station operator can then be prepared for upcoming maintenance and schedule a technician to come when demand for hydrogen will be low. That cuts down on the amount of time a station would be unable to fuel vehicles. If the valve were to fail without warning, the station operator would have to call a technician, wait for their arrival and diagnosis of the problem, while at the same time be unable to provide fuel.

Kurtz, the director of NREL’s Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center, noted that limitations exist when applying H2S PHM to the reliability of a hydrogen station. The method would not predict sudden failures, which can be caused by human error. The H2S PHM is also only as good as the available data, and more data is needed.

The Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office funded the research.

NREL is the Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC.

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.08.098 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Hydrogen station prognostics and health monitoring model

 

International research effort to weigh “green ammonia” impact on climate change and environment

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

The U.S. National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada have jointly funded a new global center to address the emerging opportunity and challenge of “green ammonia” to provide clean energy and support food production while mitigating climate change. The Global Nitrogen Innovation Center for Clean Energy and the Environment (NICCEE), spearheaded by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) with key partners in the U.S. (New York University and University of Massachusetts Amherst), Canada (University of Guelph), and the UK (Rothamsted Research), will provide timely and crucial insights associated with the rapidly evolving technological innovation to produce ammonia using renewable energy for clean energy and food production.

“The Global Nitrogen Innovation Center addresses the urgent need to respond to the impending technological innovation to produce ammonia using renewable energy known as ‘green ammonia’,” said Center director Xin Zhang, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “By doing so, we hope to be able to harness the technological innovation of green ammonia production to bolster clean energy initiatives, combat climate change, and secure food supplies for the future, while minimizing risks of unintended consequences.”

The current industrial ammonia production is heavily energy-intensive and primarily dependent on fossil fuels, contributing 1-2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In the agricultural sector, green ammonia technology could lead to decentralization of fertilizer production, enhancing fertilizer use and bolstering food production in countries where nitrogen (N) fertilizer accessibility has been limited, thus improving crop production, economic prosperity, nutrition, and food security. It could also enable farmers in industrialized countries to improve the timing and dosing of fertilizer to better match crop needs and thereby reduce N losses. However, more abundantly available N fertilizer could also exacerbate the current severe environmental problems of N losses to air and water from overuse and inefficient use of N fertilizers.

In the transportation sector, particularly the shipping industry, green ammonia is a viable and promising option to replace traditional fossil fuel, but doing so would likely triple the amount of reactive N that humans introduce to the biosphere, exacerbate coastal pollution, and increase emissions of N2O, which is the third most important greenhouse gas (GHG) and the most abundantly emitted stratospheric ozone depleting substance.

“Climate change and nitrogen pollution are two of the most significant threats facing humanity, and they are inextricably connected. The NICCEE will strengthen connections between the scientific and stakeholder communities that care about both issues and accelerate innovations that are effective and beneficial for actors across agri-food and energy systems," said New York University Professor and Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative David Kanter.

NICCEE will serve as an information hub with state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure to monitor the lifecycle and effects of nitrogen in agriculture-food-energy systems, an innovation platform to facilitate the co-development of technological and socioeconomic solutions with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, and an education center to nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators championing sustainable and climate-smart nitrogen management.

“The advent of green ammonia, depending on how it unfolds, could either contribute to the solution or exacerbate the problem of inefficient N fertilizer use and N loss to the environment. We need to get ahead of the curve of this impending technological transformation so that the impacts of green ammonia will be guided by excellent agronomic and socio-economic research,” said UMCES Professor Eric Davidson.

The international effort involves collaborators from eight countries, across academia, NGOs, international organizations, government, and private companies, and brings together expertise in biogeochemistry and agronomic science, chemical engineering, complex system modeling, environmental sociology, economics, statistics and data science, coastal ecology and equity in the geosciences, science engagement and evaluation, remote sensing, environmental law and policy, atmospheric modeling, sustainability science, life cycle assessment and translational science.    

 “The green ammonia process is to harvest solar energy or other renewable energy supplies to produce ammonia without carbon dioxide emission. For example, sunlight can drive conversion of nitrogen and water to ammonia,” said Nianqiang (Nick) Wu, Co-PI and Armstrong-Siadat Endowed Chair Professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“We are looking forward to working with this transnational and transdisciplinary team to address pressing environmental and energy related issues affecting the global nitrogen cycle. Joining forces with stakeholders and researchers in the US, the UK, Morocco, and beyond will allow us to maximize efforts and find solutions for these pressing issues,” said University of Guelph Professor Claudia Wagner-Riddle, lead partner from Canada.    

“The Center will enable scientists, engineers, farmers, and other agricultural stakeholders to work together to understand and shape the potential of new, promising technologies. By working with stakeholders as partners, we can help to ensure these green fertilizer technologies can and are achieving social, economic and environmental benefits” said UMCES Assistant Research Professor and Senior Social Scientist at The Nature Conservancy Matt Houser.    

“We are delighted to be part of this transnational science programme and to have an opportunity to apply our systems science to better understanding and managing the urgent energy and environmental issues surrounding the need for nitrogen to support production from agroecosystems, but in the context of also needing to reduce trade-offs,” said Professor Adie Collins, science director for Net Zero and Resilient Farming at Rothamsted Research.

The Global Nitrogen Innovation Center for Clean Energy and the Environment is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. U.S. researchers will be supported by the National Science Foundation up to $5 million over four to five years, while foreign researchers will be supported by their respective country's funding agency with a comparable amount of funds.

NICCEE is part of a Global Center initiative by the National Science Foundation to support international, interdisciplinary collaborative research centers focused on assessing and mitigating the impacts of climate change on society, people, and communities. The centers will also create and promote opportunities for students and early-career researchers to gain education and training in world-class research while enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Lead institutions include the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, University of Guelph, Rothamsted Research, New York University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Collaborators include the Africa Plant Nutrition Institute, Agribusiness Council of Indiana, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ammonia Energy Association, Canola Council of Canada, Chinese Agricultural University, Delaware-Maryland 4R Alliance, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Environmental Protection Agency, Fertilizer Canada, FuelPositive, Harbor Launch, International Fertilizer Association (IFA), McGill University, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Nutrien, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Pacific Northwest National Lab, The Mill, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United States Geological Survey, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, University of Manitoba, and University of Saskatchewan.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science leads the way toward better management of Maryland’s natural resources and the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. From a network of laboratories located across the state, UMCES scientists provide sound evidence and advice to help state and national leaders manage the environment and prepare future scientists to the meet the global challenges of the 21st century. www.umces.edu

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WVU bioenergy researcher digging into the root of sustainability

Grant and Award Announcement

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: MISCANTHUS IS A BIOENERGY CROP THAT HOLDS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE FUEL AND CAPTURE CARBON DIOXIDE. JENNIFER KANE, A POSTDOCTORAL STUDENT AT WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, WAS RECENTLY AWARDED A $219,000 GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE TO STUDY HOW MICROBES — LIKE BACTERIA AND FUNGI — INTERACT WITH MISCANTHUS ROOTS TO BOOST THE PLANT’S PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY. view more 

CREDIT: WVU PHOTO

A researcher at West Virginia University is unearthing what facilitates the robust growth of Miscanthus grass, a bioenergy crop that grows well on reclaimed Appalachian mine lands and holds the potential to produce fuel and capture carbon dioxide.

Little is known about what makes the crop so effective, so Jennifer Kane, a plant and soil sciences postdoctoral scholar at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, is studying how microbes — like bacteria and fungi — interact with Miscanthus roots to boost the plant’s productivity and sustainability.

Funded with a $219,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Kane is working with mentors Ember Morrissey and Edward Brzostek who is with the Department of Biology. Kane, a Lester native, will measure the roots, study their chemistry and activity, and connect that data with what’s happening aboveground. Evaluating the system holistically may help researchers understand what conditions enable the plant to prosper.

“We’re trying to connect what’s happening really close to the roots to what’s happening in the whole system,” Kane said. “Some of our results showed that certain root traits —like how many roots are there and what their physical structure is, and even what their tissue chemistry is — explains some of the things we’re seeing in the soil microbiome.”

As Miscanthus photosynthesizes, it brings in carbon from the atmosphere and deposits it underground, where microbes take it up. The microbes, in turn, unlock nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, which the plant could not otherwise access. This trade can occur on or in the roots. Kane said evidence suggests the most active interaction occurs where the roots touch the soil, an area known as the rhizosphere.

“The plant can do some interesting things to manipulate microbes,” Kane said. “For example, they can produce more roots that have more surface area to interact with more microbes. Or they may exude more carbon from aboveground to encourage microbes to release nutrients. So, this dynamic thing is happening, where plants are changing their roots in different ways to get more out of the microbial relationship.”

While Miscanthus doesn’t require fertilizer to flourish, the researchers have been applying different types to plots in the field to study the results. These include both a chemical fertilizer treatment and an organic one made from daimanure. Next, they’ll collect root and soil samples to analyze the fertilizers’ effects on the soil-carbon cycle.

“We’re wondering if that will disrupt these interactions and change how the plants try to get nutrients from the soil and the microbes,” Kane said. “If we just give it to them freely, will they still invest in these relationships with microbes?”

Miscanthus is a good choice for the study, as it takes well to Appalachia’s climate and is robust to common soil challenges. In addition to its fast-growing nature, it withstands the harsh conditions mining may cause on the landscape. Kane is studying sample plots at the WVU Agronomy Farm as well as the Animal Science Farm. The two sites have unique soil characteristics and represent various types of terrain found in Appalachia; the former is a steep slope while the latter sits adjacent to surface mining and has been undermined itself.

Researchers have found that growing miscanthus improves soil conditions.

“We see nutrients and organic matter coming back to the soil, and we think that has a lot to do with this relationship between Miscanthus and the soil microbiome,” Kane said. “Over time, it builds favorable soil characteristics. This all feeds back to the idea that in the long run, with the right infrastructure, we could have this crop on these mine lands and, at minimum, restore some good soil characteristics. But maybe in the future, we’ll be able to use these plants to feed into the economy.”

In addition to the benefits below ground, Miscanthus’ quick growth produces large amounts of biomass with relatively minimal greenhouse gasses, which are released during cultivation, and researchers envision it as a renewable, carbon-negative source of bioenergy.

Morrissey said she believes Kane is an emerging leader in her field. The funding agency, NIFA, is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Jen is an ideal recipient for the USDA postdoctoral fellowship program because she is a productive and creative young scientist who cares deeply about agricultural sustainability,” Morrissey said. “As a Fellow, she will be able to simultaneously research fundamental questions about plant-microbe interactions and gain information to optimize bioenergy crop production on marginal lands in Appalachia.”

Brzostek added that Kane’s research has the potential to transform the understanding of how Miscanthus roots operate, how they engineer microbes in the soil, and how they can grow on infertile soils like abandoned mine lands.

For Kane, the importance of the research hits home.

“I grew up seeing the way Appalachia has been affected by mining,” she said of her youth in Raleigh County. “To see some of these lands not only improve, but potentially going back into a more sustainable energy purpose would be a full circle moment.”