CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M WHY VACCINES ARE LATE

Joe Biden cancels trip to Baltimore vaccine manufacturer Emergent after report exposed company's 'undercutting' tactics that put US stockpile in jeopardy

President Biden canceled a Wednesday trip to Baltimore to visit vaccine facility
Cancellation came after report on the company charged its practices put the Strategic National Stockpile in jeopardy during the COVID pandemic

Biden was scheduled to visit Emergent Bio Solutions with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck to talk about their merger to make COVID vaccine

But now that meeting will happen at the White House

The New York Times reported on Saturday the government spent half of the stockpile's budget on Emergence's anthrax vaccine

Those purchases left it short of cash to buy PPE, masks and ventilators

By EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 9 March 2021

President Joe Biden canceled a Wednesday trip to Baltimore to visit a vaccine manufacturer after a scathing report on the company charged its practices put the Strategic National Stockpile in jeopardy during the COVID pandemic.

Biden was scheduled to visit Emergent Bio Solutions with the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck to talk about their historic partnership to produce more COVID-19 vaccines. The White House announced the visit on Friday.

But on Monday, the White House said the meeting between the president and the CEOs would take place at the White House instead.

'We just felt it was a more appropriate place to have the meeting,' press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday at her daily briefing of the change.

President Joe Biden canceled a Wednesday trip to Baltimore to visit a vaccine manufacturer after a scathing report on the company

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that last year the government paid Emergent $626 million for products, including vaccines, to combat a terrorist attack using anthrax.

Emergent is a Maryland-based company that manufacturers vaccines, including COVID vaccines for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Throughout most of the last decade, the U.S. government spent nearly half of the stockpile's half-billion-dollar annual budget on Emergent's anthrax vaccines, The Times found.

The stockpile has been Emergence's most reliable customer over the years for its anthrax vaccines.

But those anthrax purchases left the government with less money to buy supplies - including personal protective gear, N95 face masks and ventilators - during the COVID pandemic.

'The administration is going to undertake a comprehensive review and audit of the National Stockpile,' Psaki said.


Emergent is a Maryland-based company that manufacturers vaccines, including COVID vaccines for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson - Biden was to visit it with the CEOs of Johnson and Johnson and Merck

The New York Times reported on Saturday the government spent half of the stockpile's budget on Emergence's anthrax vaccine leaving it short of cash when it came to buying supplies to combat COVID-19

The stockpile kept enough anthrax vaccines to cover 10 million people and the vaccines need to be replaced every two years as they expire. But The Times investigation found Emergent corned the anthrax market by undercutting competition, hiring former federal officials for its board and having a large lobbying budget.

'You can't protect people from anthrax for less than the cost of a latte,' Nina DeLorenzo, a senior vice president of Emergent, told The Times.

She also defended the company's focus on the government as its main customer pointing out the commercial market is too small to sustain the market and businesses need the government contracts to stay in business.

'The capabilities must be maintained, or they are in danger of being lost, leaving the country vulnerable to threats,' she said. 'When almost no one else would invest in preparing to protect the American public from grave threats, Emergent did, and the country is better prepared today because of i

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Trader gets painted stones instead of $36m of copper

A commodities trader was given painted stones instead of $36m (£26m) of copper from a Turkish supplier in a fraudulent deal last summer.

Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Group says it's been the victim of cargo fraud following its purchase of 10,000 tons of copper blister.

When the cargoes started arriving in China, it found containers full of painted stones instead.

The bizarre case happened despite security and inspection controls.

Last year, Mercuria agreed to buy the copper blister, an impure form of the metal, for delivery to China. About 6,000 tonnes was loaded for shipment in more than 300 containers on eight vessels.

But before its journey from a port near Istanbul, the copper was switched with paving stones, spray-painted to resemble the semi-refined metal.

Mercuria, one of the five-biggest oil traders in the world, is seeking redress in Turkish and UK courts against the copper supplier Bietsan Bakir.

Turkish police have taken a number people into custody in relation to the faux-copper scheme.

Watch the moment Mark Telling finds out he's been a victim of fraud

"Suspects have been taken under custody who are thought to be involved in the various parts of this organised crime against Mercuria," the company said in a statement while thanking the Istanbul Financial Crimes Department.

Seals broken

It appears the copper was initially loaded into the first shipment of containers, before being surveyed by an inspection company. Seals used to prevent fraud were fixed to the containers.

But the containers were opened and the copper replaced with paving stones, Istanbul law firm KYB told media. The fraudsters switched between fake and real container seals to avoid detection.

With the vessels at sea, Mercuria paid $36m over five installments.

The fraud wasn't discovered until the ships began arriving in the Chinese port of Lianyungang later that month.

"There has been a criminal investigation petition by the buyer against the seller and two intermediaries," Turkish police said in a statement. "It's been determined that the incident is the outcome of fraud perpetrated in an organised manner."

In cases of non-delivery a trader could make a claim against a cargo's insurance policy. But Mercuria found that just one out of seven contracts used by the Turkish company to insure the cargo was real. The rest had been forged.

Bietsan Bakir, the Turkish firm which sold Mercuria the copper, did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by Reuters. More hearings on the case are expected this week.

Winchcombe meteorite: Cotswold town reacts to space rock discovery

Imagine hearing a thud and then discovering outside your home the most valuable space rock ever to fall in the UK.

Well, that's what happened to Rob and Cathryn Wilcock, and their daughter Hannah.

They, and the other residents of Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, react to being at the centre of a major scientific discovery.

A fireball, a driveway and a priceless meteorite
Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent
@BBCAmoson Twitter

Hannah, Rob and Cathryn are celebrating an extraordinary find

"We're still pinching ourselves - to believe that this actually happened on our drive!"

Rob Wilcock, his wife Cathryn and daughter Hannah are astounded to find themselves at the centre of a major scientific discovery.

It was their property in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, that was hit by the most valuable space rock ever to fall on the UK.

The meteorite has had British scientists in raptures of joy.

It's a carbonaceous chondrite - a dark stony material that retains unaltered chemistry from the formation of our Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and, as such, could give us fresh insights on how the planets came into being.

The first thing the Wilcock family knew about it was when they heard a dull thud outside their house on the night of Sunday 28 February.

Winchcombe meteorite is first UK find in 30 years

"When I heard it drop, I stood up and looked out the window to see what was there," recalled Hannah. "But because it was dark I couldn't see anything.

"It was only the next morning when we went out that we saw it on the drive - a bit like a kind of splatter. And in all honesty, my original thought was - has someone been driving around the Cotswolds lobbing lumps of coal into people's gardens?" she told BBC News.

"Either that or someone had upturned a barbecue tray," chimed in Cathryn.

Scientists knew fragments of a meteorite must be in the Gloucestershire area. Their cameras had recorded the rock coming through the atmosphere that Sunday night, creating a huge fireball in the process.

media caption"It blows your mind": The people of Winchcombe react to the meteorite discovery

Imagery from multiple angles allowed researchers to narrow the drop zone, and when they went on the media to make an appeal on the Monday, they hoped one or two people might come forward with an interesting find.

In fact, they were inundated with pictures. Most had nothing to do with meteorites, but when Open University planetary scientist Richard Greenwood looked at the Wilcocks' picture, he was blown away.

"It was one of those moments when your legs start going wobbly. I saw this thing; it was like a splat across [the Wilcocks'] drive; and it had all these rays coming off it; and I just thought - that is a meteorite. It was instantaneous," he said.




With all the hullabaloo that was bound to follow the discovery, Rob's initial reaction was to try to stay out of the limelight - to be anonymous.

But when he thought it through a little more, Rob said the three of them recognised they should talk about what had happened to them.

"We've been wrestling with the question of whether we should talk about it, and in the end we decided we should. There seems to be such a lot of genuine public interest in the find," Rob told BBC News.

 Thousands of people reported seeing the fireball

"We're absolutely thrilled that something that's going to be so valuable to science, to the human understanding of the world and of the Solar System has happened, and that we can be a small part in it."

The family have donated the meteorite remains to the national collection held by the Natural History Museum in London. They were determined the rock should not go to a dealer, but to science.

The last meteorite fall to be picked up in the UK was 30 years ago. That was an "ordinary chondrite" - a common type of space rock.

The Winchcombe meteorite is far more valuable. Studying its chemistry - and what it can tell us about the conditions that went into building the planets - will keep scientists busy for years.

As for the small Gloucestershire market town - it's now firmly on the map.

"We always felt that the Cotswolds is a wonderful place to live. But now the whole world seems to know about us," reflected one local resident on Tuesday afternoon.

Sea level rise is impacting populous coastal areas four times faster than global average, study says

By Jackson Dill and Brandon Miller, CNN 
3/9/2021

Coastal communities are experiencing sea level rise four times worse than global water rise, according to a new study released Monday.

© ARYA/AFP/Getty Images This aerial picture shows people rowing a raft over a flooded road in Jakarta on February 20, 2021, following heavy overnight rains. The combination of so many people and the multitude of rivers has made this city especially prone to relative sea level rise.

Groundwater pumping, extraction of materials from the ground and sediment production are all happening near the coasts and that is causing the land to actually sink -- compounding the effects of a rising sea level.

It is no coincidence that these are the same locations where people live, worsening the impacts and increasing the vulnerability.

Many of the largest, most populated cities in the world are built along the deltas of major rivers, where there is the added exposure of rivers connecting to the ocean.

Much of the coast is uninhabited by people, but where there is civilization, there tends to be a greater rise in water levels.

According to the study, it quantifies "global-mean relative sea-level rise to be 2.5 mm per year over the past two decades. However, as coastal inhabitants are preferentially located in subsiding locations, they experience an average relative sea-level rise up to four times faster at 7.8 to 9.9 mm per year."


Coastal lands are sinking


This is the first ever study that factors in land subsidence into current sea level rise observations globally.

"We've actually quantified (sea level rise) and are able to get the relative magnitude. And it's surprising -- it's surprisingly large. We're making the point that climate change is bad and climate induced sea level rise is bad," Robert Nicholls, lead author of this research and director of the UK's Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, told CNN.

"But we have this additional process that is making things even worse. And of course, these things add up. It doesn't really matter whether the sea rises or the land sinks, the people living on the coast still have the same impacts."

Sea level rise is happening in many parts of the world. Where the land is rising, sea level rise is not as significant. Not as many people live where the land is rising, however.

But where the land sinks, the relative rise of the sea is higher -- and unfortunately that is where people tend to live. In fact, more than one in five people live along the coastline where the sea level is increasing at 10 mm (or 0.4 inches) or more per year, despite the fact that it encompasses less than 1% of the world's coastline.

© Provided by CNN This global map shows the average relative sea level rise rate in millimeters per year, and is weighted for population (second map). The map is divided into 23 different coastal regions, and the shadings are based on how sea levels are currently rising every year. When weighting the data to population opposed to coastal length (first map), the sea level rise is greater because of human activity that promotes subsidence and loss of elevation. Portions of Asia are experiencing the highest rate of water rise when factoring in both the length average and population average. Source: Nature Climate Change, March 2021

In other parts of the world, like parts of the southeastern US, geological changes are not big contributors.

"There's places where the land isn't really moving much at all," said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami who was not a part of the study. "And you really are just seeing the effects of ocean levels increasing."

One of the biggest contributors to this subsidence is river deltas.

"Deltas are where rivers bring sediment to the sea," Nicholls said. "And the weight of the sediment plus the compression with the sediment causes consolidation ... So you don't get (rising land) with the deltas, you just get sinking and that can be exacerbated by groundwater withdrawal and drainage."

"Rapid rates of subsidence in deltas and especially cities on deltas are also human-caused, mostly due to groundwater pumping, also oil and gas extraction, and sediment resupply prevented by upstream dams, flood defenses, sand extraction or mining."

Scientists have already been aware of the implications of human-linked climate change to sea level rise, but now there is research that investigates rising and lowering land also caused by humans.

"The process that we're really talking about here is fundamentally down to where people choose to live. And then the fact that they actually made the subsidence worse."

There is a natural cause of the rising and sinking lands, however. According to the study, the melting ice sheets during the ice age thousands of years ago lead to and is still causing rising land near Hudson Bay in Canada.

Asia experiencing highest rate of sea level rise

Coastal sections of Asia have been the most impacted by sea level rise in relation to land subsidence. That's because there is a prevalence of deltas and very populous cities.

"South, Southeast and East Asia is noteworthy, as these regions collectively contain 71% of the global coastal population below 10 m in elevation," according to the research.

"In Jakarta, subsidences of over 10 centimeters per year -- It may be even locally faster than that. You can get very, very large changes, but in very small areas," Nicholls said. "But they're important because lots of people live there."

The map below highlights just a few of the many rivers and canals within Jakarta. The combination of so many people and the multitude of rivers has made this city especially prone to relative sea level rise.

In the US, cities like New Orleans, which is near the Mississippi River delta, are also sinking. This correlates with one of the highest rises in relative sea level in the country.

According to NOAA, the greatest relative sea level rise has been measured near coastal Louisiana and southeastern Texas.

"A place where the combined effects of sinking land and sea level rise is in the northern Gulf Coast areas, like coastal Louisiana," said McNoldy, of the University of Miami.

In Galveston, Texas, sea levels have risen 6.62 mm per year or about one-quarter of an inch per year during the time period of 1957 to 2011. NOAA said this is "equivalent to a change of 2.17 feet in 100 years."

When asked what can be done about this issue, Nicholls said mitigating the threats of climate change is most crucial.

"I think the important thing is we have a great effort, and rightly so, to actually mitigating climate change and the Paris Agreement," Nicholls said.

The report also says reducing groundwater withdrawal and managing deltas can reduce land subsidence.

First Nations say Alberta review of coal project inadequate, seek federal involvement


EDMONTON — Two of southern Alberta's largest First Nations have asked the federal government to step into an environmental review of a coal mine proposed for the Rocky Mountains.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

In a letter to federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, the Siksika and Kainai say the review planned by Alberta's energy regulator of the Montem Resources Tent Mountain proposal falls far short.

"The proposed provincial review by the Alberta Energy Regulator is insufficient to appropriately identify the impacts to areas of federal jurisdiction, including on Kainai’s rights," says the letter from Chief Roy Fox.

An Alberta Energy spokesman said Tuesday that Alberta maintains jurisdiction over its natural resources.

Australia-based Montem plans an open-pit mine in the Crowsnest Pass that would straddle the Alberta-British Columbia boundary. The area was mined until 1983 and Montem planned to rely on previously issued approvals for its project.

In January, the Alberta Energy Regulator ruled Montem's plans required a new review. The company has since set out draft terms of reference for it.

The Kainai and Siksika have compiled a long list of concerns over those terms.

They point out that the Tent Mountain plan is to extract 4,925 tonnes of coal per day, a whisker shy of the 5,000-tonne level that would automatically trigger a federal review.

"Skirting just below the thresholds for federal designation," wrote Siksika Chief Ouray Crowfoot.

He noted that Tent Mountain would be right beside another mine being assessed, North Coal's Michel project.

"(Tent Mountain's) proximity to the threshold and the significant coal development in the area gives rise to the need for a federal review," Crowfoot wrote.

At least four other mines are being considered in the immediate area and the totality of potential coal expansion needs to be considered, said Fox.

"The cumulative impact of this activity has the potential to significantly and adversely impact the ecological integrity of the area and Kainai’s ability to use this area for the practice of their Aboriginal and Treaty rights."

The First Nations say the mine would fall under the Livingston-Porcupine Hills land-use plan, in which watershed protection is supposed to be the highest priority.

They are concerned about downstream contamination from selenium and say Montem has acknowledged water is already highly allocated.

"The proponent states that these water quality concerns may be mitigated, and even improved, by a modern water management regime ... but this remains to be seen," wrote Fox.

"Kainai’s experience is that modern water management regimes for coal projects have not been effective."

The First Nations say the mine would affect several areas of federal jurisdiction, including fish habitat, migratory birds and endangered species. They say Ottawa should step in because the mine would affect British Columbia, as well as downstream water users in Saskatchewan.

They add Alberta's review plans make no mention of treaty rights. The Alberta Energy Regulator is barred by law from considering constitutional questions.

The Kainai and Siksika point out there is little land left in the area where they can conduct traditional cultural practices that haven't already been affected by mining, energy, forestry, agriculture or settlement. They take issue with Montem's argument that since the proposed mine site is already disturbed, further work shouldn't be a problem.

"The baseline data should not reflect a previously disturbed mine that operated for decades, but the site before mining began," Fox wrote. "This will give an accurate picture of what the impacts of mining on the site have been."

Kavi Bal of Alberta Energy said federal involvement isn't needed.

"The province has the constitutional jurisdiction to regulate and develop its natural resources," he wrote in an email. "Any proposed projects must go through an intensive regulatory process ... that includes both consultation and engagement with the First Nations and Metis."

Bal pointed out that Montem has been previously told by the federal assessment agency that no federal review would be required.

Nevertheless, Environment Canada spokeswoman Moira Kelly wrote in an email that the First Nation requests are being considered.

"The agency will prepare a recommendation for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change," she said.

Among other factors, the agency will consider how close a proposal is to a trigger threshold, cumulative and cross-border effects, whether the project is being assessed by another government and impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

Ottawa is currently involved in assessments of five other coal projects in the region.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2021.

— Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Citizens and scientists release 28-year record of water quality in Buzzards Bay

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

Research News

 

IMAGE: AERIAL VIEW OF THE KNOB AND QUISSETT HARBOR IN WOODS HOLE, MASS., WITH GREATER BUZZARDS BAY IN THE DISTANCE. BUZZARDS BAY IS APPROXIMATELY 28 MILES LONG BY 8 MILES WIDE... view more 

CREDIT: FISH HAWK FILMS

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- A long-lasting, successful relationship between scientists at the MBL Ecosystems Center and the citizen-led Buzzards Bay Coalition has garnered a long-term record of water quality in the busy bay that lies west of Woods Hole. That record has already returned tremendous value and last week, it was published in Scientific Data, a Nature journal.

"We hope getting this data out will encourage scientists to use it to test new hypotheses and develop new insights into Bay health," said Rachel Jakuba, science director of the Buzzards Bay Coalition and lead author of the journal article.

Since 1992, a large and dedicated team of citizen volunteers, dubbed Baywatchers, has been collecting water samples from more than 200 sites along the coast of Buzzards Bay. The samples have been analyzed at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) since 2008 under the direction of Chris Neill, a former MBL scientist who is now at Woodwell Climate Research Center, and MBL Senior Research Assistant Richard McHorney. The goal is to document the effects of nitrogen pollution in the Bay, including low oxygen levels that threaten marine life, in order to inform policies to improve Bay health.

"Baywatchers data directly influence policy by documenting impaired waters, making the public aware of long-term water quality trends, and importantly, documenting how water quality improves when communities upgrade water infrastructure, like fixing antiquated wastewater treatment plants," said Neill. "They also show the Bay's waters are warming rapidly."

The main sources of nitrogen pollution in the 430-square-mile Bay are private septic systems and underperforming wastewater treatment plants. Collaborations such as the MBL-Buzzards Bay Coalition's are essential to move science toward societal solutions.

"Scientists can provide information on the causes and consequences of excess nitrogen loading and suggest alternatives, while citizens groups can push for action and help bring together citizens, regulators, and policy makers to achieve a solution," said MBL Ecosystems Director Anne Giblin. Giblin and MBL Senior Scientist Ivan Valiela were among a group of scientists who helped the Coalition formulate and establish the Baywatchers program in the early 1990s.

Baywatchers data have been used to identify nearly 30 bodies of water around the Bay that do not meet federal standards under the Clean Water Act, evaluate wastewater discharge permits, support the development of targets for reduction of nitrogen pollution, and develop strategies for reaching those goals. And the Baywatchers program itself elevates public awareness and generates support for actions to control nutrient pollution and improve water quality.

"With a program like Baywatchers, every one of those citizen volunteers not only collects samples, they go out and talk to their friends about the nitrogen issue. That is a huge public education benefit. By making sure those volunteers are well educated in the scientific facts, you get this tremendous informal education program going," Giblin said.

Baywatchers is one of the largest and longest-running water quality monitoring programs in the country, and its dataset on water quality in Buzzards Bay keeps growing.

"Over the past 30 years, the Coalition has prioritized our commitment to comprehensive water quality monitoring above all else - placing sound science at the core of our work and successes in restoring and protecting the Bay. It is a function that continues to develop as we expand the density of our monitoring stations, parameters measured, methods for collection, and scientific collaborations. Making our entire dataset available through peer-reviewed publication is an important step and I'm indebted to the many scientists, citizens, and funders who got us to this milestone," said Rasmussen.

CAPTION

From left, The southeastern Massachusetts coast; Buzzards Bay; The Elizabeth Islands, Woods Hole and Falmouth, Mashpee and Bourne; Vineyard Sound and Martha's Vineyard, from the International Space Station in 2003.

CREDIT

Image courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center

The Baywatchers Monitoring Program has been funded by the Buzzards Bay Coalition primarily through contributions from the organization's members and private foundations, legislative support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago

Study finds brain's 'wiring insulation' as major factor of age-related brain deterioration

UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE IMAGE DEPICTS MYELIN (CYAN) AND SPECIALISED BRAIN STEM CELLS OLIGODENDROCYTE PROGENITOR CELLS (OPCS) IN THE GREY AND WHITE MATTER OF THE BRAIN. MYELIN IS AN INSULATION PRODUCED BY CELLS... view more 

CREDIT: DR ANDREA RIVERA

A new study led by the University of Portsmouth has identified that one of the major factors of age-related brain deterioration is the loss of a substance called myelin.

Myelin acts like the protective and insulating plastic casing around the electrical wires of the brain - called axons. Myelin is essential for superfast communication between nerve cells that lie behind the supercomputer power of the human brain.

The loss of myelin results in cognitive decline and is central to several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. This new study found that the cells that drive myelin repair become less efficient as we age and identified a key gene that is most affected by ageing, which reduces the cells ability to replace lost myelin.

The study, published this week in the journal Ageing Cell, is part of an international collaboration led by Professor Arthur Butt at the University of Portsmouth with Dr Kasum Azim at the University of Dusseldorf in Germany, together with Italian research groups of Professor Maria Pia Abbracchio in Milan and Dr Andrea Rivera in Padua.

Professor Butt said: "Everyone is familiar with the brain's grey matter, but very few know about the white matter, which comprises of the insulated electrical wires that connect all the different parts of our brains.

"A key feature of the ageing brain is the progressive loss of white matter and myelin, but the reasons behind these processes are largely unknown. The brain cells that produce myelin - called oligodendrocytes - need to be replaced throughout life by stem cells called oligodendrocyte precursors. If this fails, then there is a loss of myelin and white matter, resulting in devastating effects on brain function and cognitive decline. An exciting new finding of our study is that we have uncovered one of the reasons that this process is slowed down in the aging brain."

Dr Rivera, lead author of the study while he was in University of Portsmouth and who is now a Fellow at the University of Padua, explained: "By comparing the genome of a young mouse brain to that of a senile mouse, we identified which processes are affected by ageing. These very sophisticated analysis allowed us to unravel the reasons why the replenishment of oligodendrocytes and the myelin they produce is reduced in the aging brain.

CAPTION

The image depicts myelin (Cyan), OPCs (Magenta) and cell nuclei in blue in the Corpus Callosum of the brain. The Corpus callosum is one of the biggest tracts of white matter and it connects the left and right hemisphere of the brain together. It is also one of the white matter tracts affected by aging.

CREDIT

Dr Andrea Rivera

"We identified GPR17, the gene associated to these specific precursors, as the most affected gene in the ageing brain and that the loss of GPR17 is associated to a reduced ability of these precursors to actively work to replace the lost myelin."

The work is still very much ongoing and has paved the way for new studies on how to induce the 'rejuvenation' of oligodendrocyte precursor cells to efficiently replenish lost white matter.

Dr Azim of the University of Dusseldorf said: "This approach is promising for targeting myelin loss in the aging brain and demyelination diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. Indeed, we have only touched the tip of the iceberg and future investigation from our research groups aim to bring our findings into human translational settings."

Dr Rivera performed the key experiments published in this study while at the University of Portsmouth and he has been awarded the prestigious MSCA Seal of Excellence @UniPD Fellowship to translate these findings and investigate this further in the human brain, in collaboration with Professors Raffele De Caro, Andrea Porzionato and Veronica Macchi at the Institute of Human Anatomy of the University of Padua.

The study was funded by grants from the BBSRC and MRC to Professor Butt, together with the UK and Italian MS Societies (to Professors Butt and Abbracchio, respectively), and the Swiss National Funds Fellowship and German Research Council (Dr Azim). Dr Andrea Rivera was supported by an Anatomical Society PhD Studentship (with Professor Butt), and the MSCA Seal of Excellence @UniPD (Dr Rivera).

Dr Emma Gray, Assistant Director of Research at the MS Society, said: "MS can be relentless and painful, and there are sadly still no treatments to stop disability progression. We can see a future where no one has to worry about MS getting worse but, for that to happen, we need to find ways to repair damaged myelin. This research sheds light on why cells that drive myelin repair become less efficient as we age, and we're really proud to have helped fund it. By improving our understanding of ageing brain stem cells, it gives us a new target to help slow the progression of MS, and could have important implications for future treatment."

CAPTION

The image shows a special type of stem cells called oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) (White). These cells generate another type of brain cell called oligodendrocyte throughout life. Oligodendrocytes produce myelin (Red) which is a substance that promotes efficient transmission of a nerve cell impulse by insulating axons: the part of neurons that transmit the information. The image is of the striatum and a part of corpus callosum (top right).

CREDIT

Dr Andrea Rivera

Study: Prisoners with mental illness much more likely to be placed in solitary confinement

#ABOLISHPRISON 

#SOLITARYISTORTURE

CRIME AND JUSTICE RESEARCH ALLIANCE

Research News

 

Past studies on whether incarcerated people with mental illness are more likely to be placed in solitary confinement have yielded mixed results. A new study examined the issue in one state's prisons, taking into account factors related to incarcerated men and the facilities where they were imprisoned. It found that having a mental illness was associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of being placed in extended solitary confinement.

The study, by researchers at Florida State University (FSU), appears in Justice Quarterly, a publication of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

"Our findings provide new information on how mental illness shapes experiences for incarcerated men, and more broadly, on how the criminal justice system responds to people with mental illness," explains Sonja Siennick, professor of criminology and criminal justice at FSU, who led the study. "The bottom line is that incarcerated people with mental illness appear to garner differential responses from the prison system."

Solitary confinement--placing incarcerated people in isolation cells for 22 to 24 hours a day--is controversial. While some argue that it helps with safety, others suggest it is unethical and poses psychological risks, especially for prisoners with mental illness. This study focused on extended periods of solitary confinement that last for months.

Researchers studied 155,018 men who entered prisons in a large state on or after July 1, 2007, and were released on or before December 31, 2015. The men were assessed within 60 days of their arrival to determine if they met criteria for psychiatric diagnosis. More than 15,000 of the men were diagnosed with a mental health condition. These men were matched with a control group of the same size--men who had equivalent personal characteristics and were housed in similar facilities but who were not diagnosed with a mental health condition.

The study used propensity score matching, a technique that estimates the effect of an intervention, to assess whether the incarcerated men with mental illness were more likely to be placed in extended solitary confinement than the similar incarcerated men without mental illness. Researchers considered characteristics of both the individual prisoners and the facilities in which they were incarcerated. For the men, these included prior arrests and convictions, recidivism, victimization in prison, age, race/ethnicity, education, alcohol and drug use, family and romantic relationships, and other demographics. For the facilities, these included distance from the incarcerated man's home and information related to the inmate population (e.g., average age, race/ethnicity, percentage in solitary confinement, percentage receiving mental health care) as well as the correctional staff.

The study found that one percent of all of the men were placed in extended solitary confinement after 60 days. It also found that prisoners with mental illness were up to 170 percent more likely to be placed for extended periods of time in solitary, depending on their diagnosis. This increased risk is higher than identified by previous research. The higher risk was present for a variety of mental health disorders (including bipolar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, psychotic antisocial personality disorder, and other personality disorders, but not disorders related to anxiety, impulse control, and post-traumatic stress), and only partially explained by prison misconduct, the authors note.

Incarcerated men placed in solitary confinement were separated from the general population for months; placed alone in a cell for 23 hours a day; and restricted from using the telephone, having visitors, and receiving other privileges. Reasons for placements included safety concerns, problems with institutional adjustment, and possessing or trafficking contraband such as weapons and drugs.

Among the study's limitations, according to the authors, are that differences in how men and women are housed in the facilities studied prevented a complete examination of women; however, the researchers note that the main results for women were substantively similar to those for men. In addition, because most prisoners in the state serve sentences of less than three years, the study's findings may not generalize to people who are incarcerated for longer periods.

Also, the study examined state prisons and not jails, so the association of mental illness with solitary confinement could differ between these settings. Finally, because a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was published midway through the study and included changes to criteria for mental illness, men admitted later in the study could have been diagnosed differently than men admitted earlier.

"Our results suggest that the association between mental illness and solitary confinement is not simply a matter of more violent behavior by this population," says Mayra Picon, a doctoral student in criminology and criminal justice at FSU, who coauthored the study. "Rather, incarcerated men with mental illness may have more difficulty adjusting to prison and its rules, resulting in more punitive responses by prison staff.

"Treatment, officer training, and related initiatives may help offset negative consequences for incarcerated people with mental illness, but first, we must develop a better understanding of the intersection of mental illness and corrections," she added.

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The research was supported by the National Institute of Justice.

Mothers rebuild: Solutions to overcome

COVID-19 challenges in academia

MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: AMY MARCARELLI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT MICHIGAN TECH, SEES DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION THROUGH HER LENS AS AN ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGIST. SHE IS ONE OF 13 CO-AUTHORS ON A PAPER... view more 

CREDIT: SARAH ATKINSON/MICHIGAN TECH

Over the summer and fall, paper after paper revealed that mothers are one of the demographics hardest hit by the pandemic. From layoffs and leaving careers to do caretaking, to submission rate decreases and additional service projects, the data were clear, but the follow up less so. Many of the problems are not new and will remain after the pandemic. But a new paper, published this week in PLOS Biology, outlines methods to help solve them.

"In the spirit of the well-worn adage 'never let a good crisis go to waste,' we propose using these unprecedented times as a springboard for necessary, substantive and lasting change," write the 13 co-authors, led by researchers from Boston University and hailing from seven institutions, including Michigan Technological University, University of Connecticut, and University of Houston - Clear Lake. The team's goal: Solutions for retaining mothers in science during and after COVID-19, especially parents who are Black, Indigenous or people of color.

"The news was reporting these studies as if they were a surprise," said Robinson Fulweiler from Boston University, one of the lead authors alongside Sarah Davies, also of Boston University. Fulweiler adds, "There's already been a lot of data gathered about this issue. But there have been no solutions. Our level of frustration peaked. We decided we need to make a plan to fix things."

The paper offers specific solutions to different groups that can enact change:

• Mentors: Know university parental leave policies, support and model a "healthy work-life teeter-totter" and keep mentees with child care duties engaged and involved in lab, department and multi-institution activities.

• University administrators: Look up 500 Women Scientists, rethink tenure procedures and timelines, listen, provide course releases and avoid making "gender- or race-neutral policies because the effects of the pandemic are not neutral across race or gender."

• Scientific societies: Consider how to keep parts of virtual conferences with lower costs, expand governing board diversity, expand networking opportunities and continue supporting early-career members, especially researchers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

• Publishers: Expand editorial boards and, during the pandemic, incentivize submissions through fee waivers for mothers with child care duties and keep extending deadlines for review and revisions.

• Funding agencies: Streamline paperwork, ask for COVID disruption statements and look into supplemental and short-term bridge awards.

Mothers in the Pandemic

Amy Marcarelli, associate professor of biological sciences at Michigan Tech, helped lead the paper's section addressing professional societies. When the pandemic hit -- and Marcarelli had less than five days to shift all her classes and research to remote formats -- she was wrapping up a two-year strategic planning process with the Society for Freshwater Science that included a deep dive into effective and fair practices for diversity, equity and inclusion. She sees the work through her lens as an ecosystem ecologist.

"Some of my most recent work has been around cascading and indirect effects and how effects viewed on short time scales may have very different outcomes at long time scales," Marcarelli said. "What I've learned from that research is that you can't abstract a single characteristic of an organism and expect that to explain its ecological role. And [in academia] we try so often to treat ourselves as researchers -- and not as mothers and partners and daughters and leaders -- and that's to the detriment of all of us. It's to the detriment of us as individuals but it's also to the detriment of our academic system because if we don't treat people as whole people then we fail them."

Marcarelli emphasizes that she feels like she has been lucky during the pandemic; she secured tenure several years ago, her kid is older, Michigan K-12 schools reopened in September, and her mom, who was furloughed, helped with spring schooling and summer child care. While the extra service projects and retooling research, instruction and life were not easy, Marcarelli recognizes that not everyone's situation has been like hers.

The most pressing change Marcarelli sees is to rethink tenure extensions: "We have to figure out how to make motherhood and tenure compatible, not just extend tenure -- it's not a solution." She adds that the greatest challenge will be money. "These are inequities, but they are not inequities that everybody sees. And during a time of what is going to be an extended budget crisis in a lot of higher ed, that's going to be the hardest part. But it's the part that has to be solved because good intentions only get us so far."

Marcarelli says the conversation that sparked the PLOS Biology article started on Twitter, a lively back-and-forth on how to shift the dialogue to a solutions mindset.

"At the same time, several of us were working on big service activities around how to improve conditions for all different axes of diversity in our departments and universities, in our societies," she said. "We had invested a lot of thinking and real work that was going into small reports and small-scale documents that weren't going to be read widely."

The team's service work, lived experiences and hope informed the PLOS Biology paper as much as their research and collaboration.

"Part of the motivation for writing this article is that in some ways the pandemic provides a window into why this is important, why we need to do the hard work of dismantling these systems," Marcarelli said. "Quite frankly, it's an opportunity."

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Collaborators

"While the data are clear that mothers are being disproportionally impacted by COVID-19, many groups could benefit from these strategies. Rather than rebuilding what we once knew, let us be the architects of a new world."

Robinson Fulweiler and Sarah Davies, Boston University

Jennifer Biddle, University of Delaware

Amy J. Burgin, University of Kansas

Emily Cooperdock and Carley Kenkel, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Torrence Hanley, Northeastern University

Amy Marcarelli, Michigan Technological University

Catherine Matassa, University of Connecticut

Talea Mayo, Emory University

Lory Santiago-Vazquez, University of Houston - Clear Lake

Nikki Traylor-Knowles, University of Miami

Maren Ziegler, Justus Liebig University Giessen

#IWD

Re-envisioning the nursing PhD degree

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF NURSING

Research News

 

PHILADELPHIA (March 9, 2021) - The PhD degree prepares nurse scientists to advance knowledge through research that improves health, translates into policy, and enhances education. However, as the role of the nurse has changed, and health care has grown more complex, there is a need to re-envision how PhD programs can attract, retain, and create the nurse-scientists of the future and improve patient care.

To begin the dialog about the future of PhD education in research-intensive schools, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) invited 41 educational, governmental, professional, and philanthropic institutions to a summit in 2019. During the summit, participants collaborated on re-envisioning how nursing PhD programs can successfully advance nursing science and situate research-focused nursing PhD graduates for success in academia and beyond. An upcoming issue of the Journal of Professional Nursing features manuscripts from that forum, which offer a broader, overall strategy for informing stakeholder groups that shape nursing PhD programs in research-intensive institutions.

"This synthesis of discussions, considerations, and challenges affecting research-focused doctoral programs of nursing serve as a basis and catalyst for further discussion and action to ensure PhD research-focused programs are preparing successful nurse scientists of the future," says Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing.

"Re-envisioning of research doctorate programs is urgently needed to ensure the advancement of science and the development of new knowledge to situate our graduates for success - in academia and beyond," says Julie A. Fairman, PhD, RN, FAAN, Endowed Chair, Nightingale Professor in Honor of Nursing Veterans. Villarruel and Fairman were guest editors of the issue.

Advancing Nursing Science Through Re-envisioned PhD Programs

PhD programs, in general, remain fairly traditional in approach and scope, instigating few changes in programmatic offerings and moving existing curriculum online. The Penn Nursing summit in 2019 was held to address these issues.

The article "Invitational Summit: Re-envisioning Research-Focused PhD Programs of the Future" shares the questions used to survey the summit attendees before the program and the responses. The article outlines the challenges facing research-intensive nursing PhD programs, emerging innovations within programs, and suggested changes to re-envision the future education of nurse scientists.

Fairman and Villarruel co-authored the article with Kathleen McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA, Professor Emerita of Cardiovascular Nursing at Penn Nursing; and Nicholas A. Giordano, Assistant Professor, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.

Approaching Doctoral Nursing Education in Novel Ways

The rapid growth of science and the need to prepare the next generation of nurse scientists call for innovative approaches in educating and supporting them throughout their careers. Aside from curricular changes, a new PhD education model for nurses should include new approaches to mentoring, funding, and networking supports. Equally important are rigorous process and outcome measures for innovations to inform changes to doctoral programs.

The article "Innovations in PhD Education to Prepare Nurse Scientists for the Future" outlines those recommendations and includes the need to structure faculty development earlier in professorial careers, develop team models of advisement, and longitudinal follow-up of alumni graduates from PhD programs to examine the effectiveness of innovations.

Villarruel co-authored the article with Marion E. Broome, Duke University School of Nursing; and Hilaire J. Thompson, University of Washington School of Nursing.

Advancing Nursing Science Through PhD Programs

Nurses are well-positioned to be groundbreaking researchers, scientists, leaders, and innovators to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Thoughtful consideration is required about the preparation of PhD nurse scientists to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skill sets to meet the needs of society and to ensure the relevance and competitive status of nursing science.

The article "PhD Programs and the Advancement of Nursing Science" outlines three aspects of PhD education and nursing science. These include examining important elements to support nurse scientist development; identifying key gaps in science that the discipline needs to address in educating the next generation of nurse scientists; and preparing nurse scientists for the competitive funding environment.

Authors of the article include Therese S. Richmond, PhD, RN, FAAN, Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Research & Innovation at Penn Nursing; Paule V. Joseph, of the National Institute of Nursing Research; and Linda McCauley of the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.

Leveraging Insight from Funders and Sponsors

Re-envisioning PhD education at research-intensive institutions to produce the nurse scientists of the future is imperative for the discovery of solutions for current and complex health care challenges facing the country. Philanthropic funders and sponsors of PhD nursing education have important insights into how investments in PhD education have direct and positive impacts on health care and bring important perspectives to emerging roles for PhD-prepared nurses.

The article, "Emerging Roles for Research Intensive Ph.D.-Prepared Nurses as Leaders and Innovators: Views from Funders/Sponsors" reports on the ideas these funders shared, including the importance of increasing the focus on formal leadership preparation and training in innovation.

Co-authors of the article include Nancy A. Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor & Chair of the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences; MaryJoan Ladden, formerly of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Elizabeth Madigan, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing; Ahrin Mishan, Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation; and Wanda Montalvo, Jonas Nursing & Veterans Healthcare.

Preparing Nurses for Nontraditional Career Paths

Advancing the health of patients and communities depends on preparing the next generation of nurse scientists to pursue career trajectories outside of traditional academic institutions. Redesigning nursing PhD curricula must include preparation for careers in many sectors of health care, professional organizations, government, or industry.

During the summit, executives from health systems and organizations shared their career trajectories, experiences, and perspectives for revamping PhD curriculum and offered educational experiences to broaden the scope of academic rigor to inspire and prepare future nurse scientists for nontraditional research positions in practice. Their thoughts regarding why research-intensive PhD programs must address the PhD study milestones to enable their graduates to be competitive in seeking positions in emerging roles outside of academic institutions and recommendations for achieving these milestones are included in the article "Emerging Roles for Research Intensive PhD Prepared Nurses: Beyond Faculty Positions."

Rosemary C. Polomano, PhD, RN, FAAN, Associate Dean for Practice Professor of Pain Practice, is the lead author of the article. Co-authors include Nicholas A. Giordano, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing; Suzanne Miyamoto, American Academy of Nursing; Deborah Trautman, American Association of Colleges of Nursing; Sheila Kempf, Penn Medicine Princeton Health; and Paula Milone Nuzzo, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Pedagogical Innovations in PhD Nursing Education

Over the past decade there have been numerous innovations in PhD programs that have redesigned the curricula and delivery of research-focused doctoral nursing education. The article, "Opportunities and Challenges Presented by Recent Pedagogical Innovations in Doctoral Nursing Education," explores core issues resulting from key program changes such as expanding both 3-year and PhD programs and BSN to PhD programs. This paper makes the case for a national effort to evaluate the effects of these program modifications on the development of nurse scientists and, ultimately, the nursing discipline. Understanding the impact of pedagogical innovations will inform ongoing improvements essential to educate the next generation of nurse scientists to conduct high quality research in an increasingly multidisciplinary environment.

Authors of the article include Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology & Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health; Peggy Compton, PhD, RN, FAAN, van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing; Nicholas A. Giordano, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing; Paule V. Joseph, National Institute of Nursing Research; Carol Ann Romano, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; and Mariann R. Piano, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

PhD Programs of the Future

Over the last 20 years, the number of research-focused doctoral programs in nursing has nearly doubled--from 78 programs in 1999 to 145 programs in 2019. Yet, despite this significant increase in programs, the number of students pursuing the PhD (or equivalent programs) in nursing has declined over the past five years.

From recruiting strategies and subject areas to evaluation methods and funding, discussions at both the Penn Nursing summit and the AACN Doctoral Education Conference authors identified opportunities for improving research-focused doctoral programs for nurses. The article "From Vision to Action: Next Steps In Designing PhD Programs of the Future" synthesizes those discussions and outlines next steps in refining doctoral education in general and in research-focused programs in particular.

Villarruel is lead author with co-authors Fairman and Deborah Trautman, American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

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About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world's leading schools of nursing. For the sixth year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University and is consistently ranked highly in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of best graduate schools. Penn Nursing is ranked as one of the top schools of nursing in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through innovation in research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Instagram.