Saturday, June 01, 2024

 NOCTURNA

Study links sleep apnea treatment and happier, healthier relationships



Couples demonstrated more satisfaction and less conflict with sleep apnea treatment



AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE





DARIEN, IL – A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting demonstrates that when individuals with obstructive sleep apnea use their positive airway pressure machine more regularly, it benefits their relationship with their partner.

Results show that greater adherence to PAP therapy was associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction and lower levels of relationship conflict. Higher sleep efficiency among patients also was associated with higher levels of relationship satisfaction as reported by both the patient and their partner.

“Recognizing that sleep and sleep disorders have an impact on the quality of a relationship could be a powerful motivator for those affected with sleep apnea to adhere to treatment,” said lead author Wendy Troxel, who is a senior behavioral scientist with RAND and licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of Utah, where the study was conducted.  “We developed a couples-based treatment called ‘We-PAP’ in recognition of the fact that couples’ sleep is a shared experience and to help patients and partners overcome challenges to adhering PAP together.”

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, nearly 30 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea, a chronic disease that involves the repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep. Snoring is one of the most recognizable symptoms of sleep apnea and is often a nuisance to bed partners. A common treatment for sleep apnea is PAP therapy, which uses mild levels of air pressure, provided through a mask, to keep the throat open during sleep.

The study involved 36 couples comprising patients initiating PAP treatment for sleep apnea and their partners.  Objective PAP therapy adherence data were recorded over three months. Sleep duration and efficiency were estimated using actigraphy. Relationship satisfaction and conflict were self-reported.

Troxel noted that it is essential to consider the importance of sleep when evaluating relationship status.

“No one is at their best when they aren’t sleeping,” Troxel said. “In an age where we see couples going through ‘sleep divorces,’ and roughly 50% of marriages end in actual divorce, recognizing how healthy sleep can contribute to healthy relationships is imperative.”

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Wednesday, June 5, during SLEEP 2024 in Houston. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the AASM and the Sleep Research Society.

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Abstract TitleBreathing Easy Together: How Positive Airway Pressure Adherence Benefits Both Patients and Partners

Abstract ID: 0569

Poster Presentation Date: Wednesday, June 5, from 10-10:45 a.m., CDT, Board 217

Presenter: Wendy Troxel, Ph.D.

About the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC

The APSS is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The APSS organizes the SLEEP annual meeting each June (sleepmeeting.org).

About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Established in 1975, the AASM advances sleep care and enhances sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 12,000 accredited sleep centers and individuals, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who care for patients with sleep disorders. As the leader in the sleep field, the AASM sets standards and promotes excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (aasm.org).

About the Sleep Research Society 

The SRS is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).

Table set for October’s UN summit on achieving vital targets, goals of global biodiversity plan



Finance, high tech biology, Indigenous Peoples’ engagement, greater world cooperation, aligning national and global ambitions, topped agenda during global negotiations in Nairobi



UN CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Representative of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's 196 Parties meeting in Nairobi 

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THE UN CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY’S SUBSIDIARY BODY ON IMPLEMENTATION (SBI 4) CONCLUDED ITS 9-DAY MEETING ON 29 MAY 2024, ANNOUNCING PROGRESS ON SEVERAL FRONTS IN WORLDWIDE EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE THE AMBITIOUS TARGETS FOR 2030 AND GOALS AGREED TO IN THE KUNMING-MONTREAL GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY FRAMEWORK (THE BIODIVERSITY PLAN) IN DECEMBER, 2022.

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CREDIT: UN CBD




Nairobi, 30 May 2024 – Addressing finance, high tech biology, Indigenous Peoples’ engagement and more, negotiators have set the table for talks at the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 16, Cali, Colombia, Oct. 21-Nov. 1). 

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI 4) concluded its 9-day meeting on 29 May 2024, announcing progress on several fronts in worldwide efforts to achieve the ambitious targets for 2030 and goals agreed to in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (The Biodiversity Plan) in December, 2022.

Actions to “Invest and Collaborate for Nature” – achieve Goal D of the Plan – were central to the SBI’s discussions, with recommendations forwarded to COP 16 on resource mobilization and technical and scientific cooperation.

The financial ambitions set out in the Plan include investing US$ 200 billion a year from all sources, and reforming US$ 500 billion in harmful subsidies. 

At SBI, governments considered parameters for their own national biodiversity finance plans, the role of multilateral development banks, existing UN initiatives, and private finance.

Discussions were also held on the workings of a possible Global Biodiversity Fund, including the role of the Global Environment Facility.

Technical and scientific cooperation to support implementation of the Convention and its Protocols, and the Biodiversity Plan were also considered, and a draft decision for adoption at COP16 was agreed.

The Bureau of the Conference of the Parties selected 18 regional organizations worldwide to foster and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation as countries harness science, technology and innovation to help halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

These subregional support centres will also promote technology transfer among countries, including through joint research programmes and joint technology development ventures, acting as “one-stop service centres” offering wide-ranging resources to help meet Biodiversity Plan targets.  The centres are expected to help expand, scale-up and accelerate efforts such as the existing Bio-Bridge initiative.

Implementation of the Biodiversity Plan at national levels is to be shaped by National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans that translate The Plan’s 23 action targets into national priorities.  In Nairobi, governments agreed this exercise is to be completed by COP 16 or submit aligned national targets.

The meeting also looked at the ways that the contributions of stakeholders such as indigenous peoples and local communities, women, youth, business and civil society, can also be tracked and included. 

Said Chirra Achalendar Reddy, chair of SBI 4: “I thank the Parties for their commitment to implementation of the Convention as demonstrated by their engagement during the negotiations this week.  While we have many issues to resolve at COP 16, the foundation is laid for our discussions in Cali, Colombia, later this year.”

“Part of the ambition of the Biodiversity Plan lies in the calls for resource mobilization and technical and scientific cooperation” said David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention.  “While many issues need to be resolved at COP 16, the engagement of Parties and stakeholders on all these issues is encouraging.”

“The approval of the subregional technical support centres is a great step towards ensuring that developing countries get the support they need to achieve this ambitious Biodiversity Plan.”

SBI 4 also dealt with the effectiveness of the procedures of the Convention and its Protocols, Communication, Education and Public Awareness, cooperation with other conventions and international organizations, and the assessment, review of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from them.

SBI 4 (21–29 May) built on the constructive momentum generated by the 26th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 26, 13–18 May).

 

About the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Opened for signature in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and entering into force in December 1993, the CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.

With 196 Parties, the CBD has near universal participation among countries. The CBD seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders including indigenous peoples and local communities, youth, women, NGOs, sub-national actors, and the business community.

The Nagoya Protocol entered into force 12 October 2014. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources. More information on the Nagoya Protocol and traditional knowledge can be found on the Traditional Knowledge programme of work webpage. 

The Cartagena Protocol, entered into force 11 September 2003. is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.

SBI 4 Meeting documents can be found at https://www.cbd.int/conferences/nairobi-2024/sbi-04/documents 

https://www.cbd.int/conferences/nairobi-2024/media

 

More information:

David Ainsworth, Information Officer, david.ainsworth@un.org

Website: www.cbd.int

Twitter: @UNBiodiversity

Facebook: www.facebook.com/UNBiodiversityConvention

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/unbiodiversity

 

APPC scholars find knowledge a factor in closing black-white COVID-19 vaccination gap




ANNENBERG PUBLIC POLICY CENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA




Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Americans were more hesitant to take the Covid-19 vaccine than were White Americans. As the pandemic went on, however, the disparity in vaccination rates between Black and White adults declined. In a paper titled “What Caused the Narrowing of Black-White COVID-19 Vaccination Disparity in the US? A Test of 5 Hypotheses,” published in the current issue of the Journal of Health Communication, researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania assessed explanations for the positive change.

Using April 2021 to July 2022 data from the Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey, a national panel of over 1,800 U.S. adults, the team, led by APPC research director Dan Romer, assessed potential explanations including: increased trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to pro-vaccination messages in the media, awareness of Covid-inflicted deaths among personal contacts, and improved access to vaccines. None of these factors explained the decline in disparity, however. Only increased knowledge about Covid-19 vaccination made a difference. Knowledge about the Covid vaccine among Black Americans increased over time, and this increase was associated with their receipt of the vaccine.

“Black Americans became less skeptical of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine as time proceeded, which appeared in our data to be an important contributor to increased vaccination rates among them,” said Romer. 

In the initial wave of the survey, in April 2021, Black respondents were more likely to believe various forms of misinformation about Covid vaccines, such as that the vaccines are responsible for thousands of deaths and that the vaccines can change someone’s DNA. By the end of the survey period, knowledge about the vaccine among Black Americans had increased significantly.

It is noteworthy that national efforts by Black members of such organizations as the National Academy of Medicine sought to encourage Covid vaccination in the Black community by endorsing the safety and need for the vaccines. Better information about the vaccines also may have been transmitted within the Black community through religious organizations and local Black newspapers that supported the effort to increase vaccination coverage.

These findings could have important implications for future efforts to encourage vaccination, as they suggest that “exposure to knowledge about vaccine safety and efficacy from trusted sources” can matter.

“Reducing misinformation about vaccination for Covid and vaccines in general is a promising strategy going forward, as the risk of infection from Covid and other diseases will not go away,” said Romer.

Along with Romer, the authors of the study include APPC data analyst Shawn Patterson Jr., Adolescent Risk and Health Communication Institute director Patrick E. Jamieson, and APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson.

“What Caused the Narrowing of Black-White COVID-19 Vaccination Disparity in the US? A Test of 5 Hypotheses” was published in the Journal of Health Communication on May 17, 2024 (DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2024.2354360).

 

Four advances that curd change your next cheese tasting


AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY





To become cultured throughout National Dairy Month in June, or specifically on National Cheese Day (June 4), food lovers can embrace their passion and pick up something gouda to eat. These udderly tasty products come from cows, buffalo, goats, sheep — and even plants. Despite thousands of years spent maturing this culinary staple, researchers continue to moove forward with cheese advancements. Some can be found in these four papers published in ACS journals. Reporters can request free access to these papers by emailing newsroom@acs.org.

  1. Adding whey protein into a semihard cheese. Traditional semihard cheeses don’t incorporate whey protein, a potentially functional ingredient for cheesemaking. So, a pilot study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry tested adding whey protein to a semihard Edam-type cheese by mixing high heat-treated milk (208 degrees F), which contained denatured whey proteins, into the pasteurized milk (treated at 162 F) used for cheesemaking. The team found that the new cheeses ripened slower and were firmer, though they also tasted slightly more bitter and had a sandier consistency than cheeses made at the same time without the high-heat milk.
  2. A probiotic cottage cheese. Scientists encapsulated probiotic microbes in edible microcapsules and added them to cottage cheese, creating a more healthful product. The cottage cheese with microbes encapsulated in a 1% sodium alginate and 1% carrageenan gum coating produced a pleasant-tasting semisoft dairy product, which panelists preferred to versions containing higher proportions of sodium alginate. The researchers report additional nutritional analyses and sensory test results for the new functional cheese in the open access journal ACS Omega 
  3. Mimicking cheesy scents with plants. To produce a natural cheese-like aroma, researchers evaluated how two fungi-fermented soy or sunflower proteins with coconut oil. The odor compounds produced by both fungi were similar to multiple animal milk-derived cheese samples. Therefore, fungal fermentation could be a sustainable way to produce natural cheese-like aromas for plant-based cheese alternatives, the researchers say in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
  4. Leftover goat milk fats from buttermaking. Milk fats in the whey left over from making goat cheese or butter could be a functional ingredient in infant formula. Of three methods to collect these fats, a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry suggests that adding rennet to the liquid left over from making goat butter creates a product with the best composition, including the greatest abundance of phospholipids, gangliosides and omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA. Using this material to enrich other foods could have positive effects on a consumer’s health, the authors conclude.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

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New Jersey’s cash bail reform reduced incarceration without increasing gun violence, Drexel study says




DREXEL UNIVERSITY




New Jersey’s 2017 cash bail reform law — which eliminated financial barriers to avoiding pretrial detention — successfully reduced the state’s jail population without increasing gun violence, according to a study published this month in JAMA Network Open from researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and Boston University.

“We know that removing financial barriers to pretrial release can reduce mass incarceration and related health inequities without sacrificing community safety,”  said Jaquelyn Jahn, PhD, an assistant professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health. “This paper offers another metric to discredit the argument against meaningful cash bail reform by showing that there were no increases to gun violence in the three years after New Jersey’s bail reform policy was implemented.”

The authors looked at data on rates of gun deaths from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics and on fatal and nonfatal shooting numbers from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive from 2014 to 2019. The research team used 36 states that did not pass bail reform as a control group, and controlled for other factors that may influence violence, such as gun law restrictions, rates of gun ownership, and state senate majority partisanship.

Before New Jersey’s 2017 cash bail law, about 38% of the state’s pretrial population were in jail — while legally innocent and awaiting a trial — solely because they could not afford bail. The law was successful at substantially decreasing the pretrial population in the years since it was passed: 8,899 people were detained before their court date in 2015, but that number dropped to 4,976 people in 2019.

Unlike previous studies that looked at rearrest and reincarceration rates, the current study measured how violence and health outcomes changed at the community level since bail reform was enacted. A 2023 study in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics found no evidence that cash bail has an effect on a defendants likelihood of re-arrest or show up for their trial.

“Our research shows that reducing pretrial detention has no measurable impact on firearm violence, suggesting we can significantly reduce the criminal legal system's footprint without harming community safety,” said co-principal investigator Jessica T. Simes, PhD, an associate professor in Boston University’s School of Arts and Sciences.

The U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Despite this, a 2022 report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights noted that from 1970 to 2015, there was a 433% increase in the number of people who had been detained pretrial, and more than six out of 10 defendants were detained before their trial due to an inability to afford bail.

Cash bail policies also fuel racial and socioeconomic disparities in pretrial detention rates and higher bail costs for men and for Black and LatinX defendants. The same 2022 report also noted study findings that Black defendants had  bail amounts that were set at 35% higher than white men and Latino men faced bail amounts that were 19% higher than those of white men.

Proponents of ending cash bail say the policy may help close the gap in racial disparities in incarceration. Of the 1.2 million people incarcerated in the United States, 32% are Black, while Black Americans make up 12.1% of the overall U.S. population, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“Reducing pretrial detention helps keep families and communities intact, and potentially avoids many of the inequitable health consequences of jail for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones,” said Jahn. “And, programs that reduce gun violence by investing in communities help address racist histories of disinvestment. These and other measures must be prioritized to stem pervasive gun violence in communities across the United States.”

The authors noted that New Jersey has a uniquely comprehensive gun law environment, in addition to cash bail reform, but said the findings can help inform policy debates about bail reform nationwide. However, they also noted that New Jersey’s policy is not without important critique, especially related to racial inequities in outcomes of the state’s pretrial risk assessment tool, which considers factors like other charges or past convictions.

“The public conversation often assumes a link between gun violence levels and what’s happening in the criminal legal system, whether it’s policing, prosecution, or incarceration. This study is important because it directly contradicts that assumption,” said senior author Jonathan Jay, DrPH, JD, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health.  

Research for this paper was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evidence4Action program and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (grant K01MD016956).

The article, “Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey’s Cash Bail Reform,” is available here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818885.

ROBOTICS

Designing environments that are robot-inclusive


SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
Overview image 

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE DIGITAL TWIN SYSTEM PROPOSED FOR EVALUATING ROBOT-INCLUSIVITY IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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CREDIT: SUTD




Humans and robots are increasingly interacting within built environments such as cities, buildings, walkways, and parks. Offering adaptability, cost-effectiveness, and scalability, robots are gradually being integrated into various aspects of everyday life, from manufacturing to healthcare to hospitality.

“Ensuring that robots can navigate and operate effectively within built environments is crucial for their widespread adoption and acceptance,” said Associate Professor Mohan Rajesh Elara from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

To have fully autonomous service robots operate in human environments, however, is still a distant goal. Spatial limitations in the built environment restrict a robot’s performance capability. In designing robot-inclusive environments, robot interaction within a built environment must be examined. The current methods used for this involve real-life testing and physical experiments that are costly, time-consuming, and labour-intensive.

To address these limitations, Assoc Prof Mohan and his SUTD team explored an innovative approach in their paper ‘Enhancing robot inclusivity in the built environment: A digital twin-assisted assessment of design guideline compliance’. Here, they demonstrate a novel methodology utilising digital twins to establish the usefulness of built environment design guidelines for robots. They also model some robot archetypes and environments as digital twins to examine robot behaviour within the environments.

A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical object in a virtual version of its environment. “The digital twin approach offers several key advantages, including the ability to simulate real-world scenarios, enable virtual testing of robot interactions, and provide insights into compliance with design guidelines before physical implementation,” said Assoc Prof Mohan. Moreover, using digital twins allows real-time monitoring, hazard identification, and training a robot’s algorithm before deployment.

In the study, Assoc Prof Mohan uses digital twins to analyse the robot-friendliness of the built environment and prepare for robot deployment. The methodology used is divided into three phases: documentation, digitisation, and design analysis.

First, on-site documentation of the environment is necessary for the simulation. It can be done via direct data collection, laser scanning, or photogrammetry techniques. Ideally performed during the building’s design process, direct data collection uses Building Information Modelling (BIM)—a process of generating and managing digital representations of the building. When a building has already been constructed, laser scanning or photogrammetry techniques can be used to generate point cloud data for processing.

Second, digitisation focuses on making the built environment’s digital model suitable for the robot simulation software. In this step, point cloud data will be reconstructed into a digital space and used to generate three-dimensional (3D) models of the built environment.

Finally, the digital model is designed and analysed. Using the digitised model of the environment in the robot simulation software, the behaviours and interactions of various robots are tested within the environment. Virtual scenarios are made based on existing design guidelines of built environments, and the robots are assessed on their navigation, path planning, and interaction with the surrounding.

In one case study, Assoc Prof Mohan used digital twins to test four different cleaning robots in six different environments that adhered to Accessibility Design Guidelines. Of the four robots, one completed the most goals and performed the best in the simulated environments. It is important to note that robot inclusiveness does not always translate to robot performance efficiency. However, an inclusive environment does promote better accessibility for robots, allowing them to complete their tasks properly.

With robots increasingly being used in urban applications such as cleaning, logistics, and building maintenance, this study’s findings will help improve design guidelines for built environments to accommodate robots. Better design guidelines will allow the seamless integration of robots into human-centric spaces and their enhanced efficiency in various applications.

“The findings could shape future space design by emphasising flexibility, adaptability, and accessibility to accommodate robot interactions,” Assoc Prof Mohan adds.

In the future, the research team aims to extend the current methods and autonomously generate the infrastructure modifications required to improve the accessibility of mobile robots through the use of design, AI and technology. Assoc Prof Mohan also hopes to develop a set of design guidelines and recommendations for building robot-friendly infrastructure.