Bacterial sensors send a jolt of electricity when triggered

Rice labs’ Nature paper introduces groundbreaking bioelectronic devices

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RICE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PUCKLIKE BIOELECTRONICS DESIGNED AT RICE UNIVERSITY CONTAIN PROGRAMMABLE BACTERIA AND ARE ATTACHED TO AN ELECTRODE THAT DELIVERS A SIGNAL WHEN THEY DETECT A TARGET CONTAMINANT, ENABLING REAL-TIME SENSING. view more 

CREDIT: BRANDON MARTIN/RICE UNIVERSITY

HOUSTON – (Nov. 2, 2022) – When you hit your finger with a hammer, you feel the pain immediately. And you react immediately.

But what if the pain comes 20 minutes after the hit? By then, the injury might be harder to heal. 

Scientists and engineers at Rice University say the same is true for the environment. If a chemical spill in a river goes unnoticed for 20 minutes, it might be too late to remediate.

Their living bioelectronic sensors can help. A team led by Rice synthetic biologists Caroline Ajo-Franklin and Jonathan (Joff) Silberg and lead authors Josh Atkinson and Lin Su, both Rice alumni, have engineered bacteria to quickly sense and report on the presence of a variety of contaminants. 

Their study in Nature shows the cells can be programmed to identify chemical invaders and report within minutes by releasing a detectable electrical current. 

Such “smart” devices could power themselves by scavenging energy in the environment as they monitor conditions in settings like rivers, farms, industry and wastewater treatment plants and to ensure water security, according to the researchers.

The environmental information communicated by these self-replicating bacteria can be customized by replacing a single protein in the eight-component, synthetic electron transport chain that gives rise to the sensor signal.

“I think it’s the most complex protein pathway for real-time signaling that has been built to date,” said Silberg, director of Rice’s Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Ph.D. Program. “To put it simply, imagine a wire that directs electrons to flow from a cellular chemical to an electrode, but we’ve broken the wire in the middle. When the target molecule hits, it reconnects and electrifies the full pathway.”

“It’s literally a miniature electrical switch,” Ajo-Franklin said. 

“You put the probes into the water and measure the current,” she said. “It’s that simple. Our devices are different because the microbes are encapsulated. We’re not releasing them into the environment.” 

The researchers’ proof-of-concept bacteria was Escherichia coli, and their first target was thiosulfate, a dichlorination agent used in water treatment that can cause algae blooms. And there were convenient sources of water to test: Galveston Beach and Houston’s Brays and Buffalo bayous.

They collected water from each. At first, they attached their E. coli to electrodes, but the microbes refused to stay put. “They don’t naturally stick to an electrode,” Ajo-Franklin said. “We’re using strains that don’t form biofilms, so when we added water, they’d fall off.”

When that happened, the electrodes delivered more noise than signal. 

Enlisting co-author Xu Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in Ajo-Franklin’s lab, they encapsulated sensors into agarosein the shape of a lollipop that allowed contaminants in but held the sensors in place, reducing the noise. 

“Xu’s background is in environmental engineering,” Ajo-Franklin said. “She didn’t come in and say, ‘Oh, we have to fix the biology.’ She said, ‘What can we do with the materials?’ It took great, innovative work on the materials side to make the synthetic biology shine.”

With the physical constraints in place, the labs first encoded E. coli to express a synthetic pathway that only generates current when it encounters thiosulfate. This living sensor was able to sense this chemical at levels less than 0.25 millimoles per liter, far lower than levels toxic to fish.

In another experiment, E. coli was recoded to sense an endocrine disruptor. This also worked well, and the signals were greatly enhanced when conductive nanoparticles custom-synthesized by Su were encapsulated with the cells in the agarose lollipop. The researchers reported these encapsulated sensors detect this contaminant up to 10 times faster than the previous state-of-the-art devices. 

The study began by chance when Atkinson and Moshe Baruch of Ajo-Franklin’s group at Berkeley Lawrence National Laboratory set up next to each other at a 2015 synthetic biology conference in Chicago, with posters they quickly realized outlined different aspects of the same idea.

“We had neighboring posters because of our last names,” said Atkinson. “We spent most of the poster session chatting about each other’s projects and how there were clear synergies in our interests in interfacing cells with electrodes and electrons as an information carrier.” 

“Josh’s poster had our first module: how to take chemical information and turn it into biochemical information,” Ajo-Franklin recalled. “Moshe had the third module: How to take biochemical information and turn it into an electrical signal.

“The catch was how to link these together,” she said. “The biochemical signals were a little different.”

“We said, ‘We need to get together and talk about this!’” Silberg recalled. Within six months, the new collaborators won seed funding from the Office of Naval Research, followed by a grant, to develop the idea.

“Joff’s group brought in the protein engineering and half of the electron transfer pathway,” Ajo-Franklin said. “My group brought the other half of the electron transport pathway and some of the materials efforts.” The collaboration ultimately brought Ajo-Franklin herself to Rice in 2019 as a CPRIT Scholar.

“We have to give so much credit to Lin and Josh,” she said. “They never gave up on this project, and it was incredibly synergistic. They would bounce ideas back and forth and through that interchange solved a lot of problems.” 

“Each of which another student could spend years on,” Silberg added.

“Both Josh and I spent several years of our Ph.D.s working on this, with the pressure of graduating and moving on to the next stage of our careers,” said Su, a visiting graduate student in Ajo-Franklin’s lab after graduating from Southeast University in China. “I had to extend my visa multiple times to stay and finish the research.”

Silberg said the design’s complexity goes far beyond the signaling pathway. “The chain has eight components that control electron flow, but there are other components that build the wires that go into the molecules,” he said. “There are a dozen-and-a-half components with almost 30 metal or organic cofactors. This thing’s massive compared to something like our mitochondrial respiratory chains.” 

All credited the invaluable assistance of co-author George Bennett, Rice’s E. Dell Butcher Professor Emeritus and a research professor in biosciences, in making the necessary connections.

Silberg said he sees engineered microbes performing many tasks in the future, from monitoring the gut microbiome to sensing contaminants like viruses, improving upon the successful strategy of testing wastewater plants for SARS-CoV-19 during the pandemic.

“Real-time monitoring becomes pretty important with those transient pulses,” he said. “And because we grow these sensors, they’re potentially pretty cheap to make.” 

To that end, the team is collaborating with Rafael Verduzco, a Rice professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering who leads a recent $2 million National Science Foundation grant with Ajo-Franklin, Silberg, bioscientist Kirstin Matthews and civil and environmental engineer Lauren Stadler to develop real-time wastewater monitoring.

“The type of materials we can make with Raphael takes this to a whole new level,” Ajo-Franklin said. 

Silberg said the Rice labs are working on design rules to develop a library of modular sensors. “I hope that when people read this, they recognize the opportunities,” he said.

Silberg is the Stewart Memorial Professor of BioSciences and a professor of bioengineering at Rice. Ajo-Franklin is a professor of biosciences. Atkinson is a visiting National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Aarhus University, Denmark, and has an affiliation with the University of Southern California. Su is a postdoctoral research associate and a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

The research was supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0014462), the Office of Naval Research (0001418IP00037, N00014-17-1-2639, N00014-20-1-2274), the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (RR190063), the National Science Foundation (1843556), the Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program (DE SC0014664), the Lodieska Stockbridge Vaughn Fellowship and the China Scholarship Council Fellowship (CSC-201606090098).

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Pucklike devices designed by Rice University scientists and engineers contain multitudes of programmable bacteria that can detect contaminants and report their presence in real time. The bacteria release an electrical signal when triggered.

Rice University synthetic biologists Caroline Ajo-Franklin and Joff Silberg and their labs have developed programmable bacteria that sense contaminants and release an electronic signal in real time.

Rice University postdoctoral researcher Xu Zhang prepares a water sample for testing with programmable bacteria that test for contaminants and release an electronic signal for detection in real time.

CREDIT

Brandon Martin/Rice University

Read the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05356-y.

This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/bacterial-sensors-send-jolt-electricity-when-triggered.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Rice lab grows macroscale, modular materials from bacteria: https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/rice-lab-grows-macroscale-modular-materials-bacteria

Switch-in-a-cell electrifies life: https://news2.rice.edu/2018/12/17/switch-in-a-cell-electrifies-life-2/

Bacterial ‘bully’ could improve food production: https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/bacterial-bully-could-improve-food-production

Living sensor research wins federal backing: https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/living-sensor-research-wins-federal-backing

Labs give ancient proteins new purpose: https://news2.rice.edu/2019/07/01/labs-give-ancient-proteins-new-purpose-2/

‘Bloggers’ and ‘spies’ will clarify marine processes: https://news2.rice.edu/2018/05/18/bloggers-and-spies-will-clarify-marine-processes-2/

Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Ph.D. Program: https://sspb.rice.edu

Silberg Lab: https://www.silberglab.org

Ajo-Franklin Lab: https://cafgroup.rice.edu

Polymer Engineering Laboratory (Verduzco): http://verduzcolab.blogs.rice.edu

Bennett Lab: http://www.bioc.rice.edu/~gbennett/

Video: 

https://youtu.be/0aiASaZikPo

Produced by Brandon Martin/Rice University

Images for download:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2022/10/1107_SENSORS-1-web.jpg

Pucklike bioelectronics designed at Rice University contain programmable bacteria and are attached to an electrode that delivers a signal when they detect a target contaminant, enabling real-time sensing. (Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2022/10/1107_SENSORS-2-web.jpg

Pucklike devices designed by Rice University scientists and engineers contain multitudes of programmable bacteria that can detect contaminants and report their presence in real time. The bacteria release an electrical signal when triggered. (Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2022/10/1107_SENSORS-3-web.jpg

Xu Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University, pulls a water sample from Houston’s Buffalo Bayou for testing with engineered living microbes designed to detect contaminants. When the microbes find evidence of a target contaminant, they release an electrical signal that can be read almost immediately. (Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University) 

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2022/10/1107_SENSORS-4-web.jpg

Rice University synthetic biologists Caroline Ajo-Franklin and Joff Silberg and their labs have developed programmable bacteria that sense contaminants and release an electronic signal in real time. (Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2022/10/1107_SENSORS-5-web.jpg

Rice University postdoctoral researcher Xu Zhang prepares a water sample for testing with programmable bacteria that test for contaminants and release an electronic signal for detection in real time. (Credit: Brandon Martin/Rice University)

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 4,240 undergraduates and 3,972 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-022-05356-y 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Real-time environmental monitoring of contaminants using living electronic sensors

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2022

COI STATEMENT

J.J.S., J.T.A., and G.N.B. have submitted a patent application (No 16/186,226) covering the use of fragmented proteins as chemical-dependent electron carriers, entitled “Regulating electron flow using fragmented proteins.”

Peatlands as climate tipping points

Researchers decipher the history and sensitivity of the largest tropical peatland in Congo

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MARUM - CENTER FOR MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN

 

IMAGE: DR. JOHANNA MENGES (MARUM, BREMEN) SAMPLING A PEAT CORE IN THE CUVETTE CONGOLAISE DURING THE 2022 EXPEDITION. PHOTO: MÉLANIE GUARDIOLA, CEREGE view more 

CREDIT: MÉLANIE GUARDIOLA, CEREGE

Not only seas and oceans sequester carbon from the atmosphere, but also peatlands. They are considered to contain the largest terrestrial carbon stores. Plant remains, and thus carbon, that break down in areas covered with water are stored under oxygen-poor conditions as long as the peat remains covered with water. Peatlands, therefore, can only function as a carbon sink if the swamps do not dry out, for example, as a result of climate change or due to human activities such as agriculture, peat mining or road construction.

The Congo Basin is one of the largest river basins in the world. It is largely characterized by tropical forests, but in the central basin, known as the Cuvette, swamp forests predominate. Until the year 2000, it was believed that the area was only rain forest. Around that time, however, satellite observations revealed that the land under the trees is covered by water. Mapping in 2017 discovered that this area contains the world’s largest peatland complex, covering more than 167,600 square kilometers, which is more than four times the area of Baden-Württemberg. At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021, 1.5 billion US dollars were committed to promote the preservation of this unique ecosystem, in part by the European Union and Germany.

Dr. Enno Schefuß of MARUM – the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, has long been studying the Congo Basin and its importance for the global carbon cycle. He led a sampling expedition to the area in the spring of 2022. The ongoing German-French cooperative project is financed in part by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG). He and his colleagues are now studying the sensitivity of this unique ecosystem in relation to climate change. “Almost nothing is known about the origin and history of this peatland area, or about its carbon dynamics,” says Enno Schefuß, one of the main authors of the Nature article. “But this knowledge is crucial for evaluating the susceptibility of the ecosystem to climate change and providing information about the impacts of logging, oil exploration and agriculture.”

Dating of the peat cores reveals a pattern that is consistently repeated in the region. Between around 7,500 and 2,000 years ago, there was a phase during which the peat was highly condensed. Geochemical analyses have shown that peat was being deposited during that time, but it decomposed and lost most of its carbon. The peat that now exists from that time interval is merely a remnant of the original peat, which was several meters thick. At the same time, in marine sediments off the coast of the Congo River, refractory, i.e. non-degraded parts of the older peat were deposited. This input of terrestrial organic material into the ocean by rivers is an important component of the global carbon cycle, which is a focus of research within the “Ocean Floor” Cluster of Excellence at MARUM.

What happened? “Using the technique of paleohydrological reconstruction, which allows the inference of precipitation conditions in the past, we concluded that the swamp dried out during this phase,” Schefuß reports. “We were able to obtain estimates of the amount of rainfall before, during and after the phase of decomposition.” It is interesting to note that the decomposition affected not only the peat formed during that time, but also older peat layers beneath it. “It could be said that the degradation ‘burned-down’ into the peat.”

Using modern climate data, the precise peat distribution, and the reconstruction of rain patterns, Schefuß and his colleagues were able to determine the conditions of peat formation, the decomposition conditions, and the present-day situation. Prior to the decomposition phase, the rainfall conditions were similar to today’s tropical swamps in North and South America, Asia and Oceania. During the decomposition, the rainfall averaged around one meter less each year. It was only about 2,000 years ago that the situation became sufficiently stabilized for the peat to start forming again. The peat swamps in tropical Africa today, however, exist under significantly drier climate conditions than are found in other tropical swamps. The authors of the study thus conclude that it is precariously close to a tipping point.

“As scientists, it is our task to produce robust data that will empower policy makers to protect vulnerable ecosystems while enabling sustainable development,” explains Schefuß. “Our results show that the peat in the tropical Congo Basin is close to the tipping point from being a carbon sink to becoming a carbon source, but also that it is resilient and can recover under favorable conditions. I would strongly emphasize the need for improving assessments of the vulnerability of these species- and carbon-rich ecosystems to climate change in the 21st century through continued research involving local colleagues, in order to predict their future development.”

 

MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the seafloor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the oceans and the seabed significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, resulting in the creation of unique biological systems. MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society, the marine environment, and in accordance with the sustainability goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data to make it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperation with companies and industrial partners is carried out in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.

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JOURNAL

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3 

ARTICLE TITLE

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2022

Climate change could trigger the Congo peatlands to release billions of tons of carbon

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

 

IMAGE: CONGO BASIN PEATLANDS EXPEDITION, FROM 2018 view more 

CREDIT: GREENPEACE/KEVIN MCELVANEY

Climate change could trigger the Congo peatlands to release billions of tonnes of carbon  

• New research finds the peatlands are fragile and vulnerable to drought  

• As the peatlands dry, the peat decomposes and releases carbon dioxide which accelerates global warming 

• Study says this process has already happened once in the peatlands history - and could happen again 

New research published in Nature today (Wed, Nov 2) reveals that the world’s largest tropical peatland turned from being a major store of carbon to a source of damaging carbon dioxide emissions as a result of climate change thousands of years ago. 

Around the time that Stonehenge was built, 5,000 years ago, the climate of central Congo began to dry leading to the peatlands emitting carbon dioxide.  The peatlands only stopped releasing carbon and reverted back to taking carbon out of the atmosphere when the climate got wetter again in the past 2,000 years, according to a major international study co-coordinated by the University of Leeds.   

Scientists involved in the study are warning that if modern-day global heating produces droughts in the Congo region, history could repeat itself, dangerously accelerating climate change. 

If that were to happen, up to 30 billion tonnes of carbon could be released from the peatlands into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. That is equivalent to the global emissions from fossil fuel burning over a three-year period.  

Professor Simon Lewis, from the University of Leeds and University College London, a senior author of the study, said: “Our study brings a brutal warning from the past. If the peatlands dry beyond a certain threshold they will release colossal quantities of carbon to the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change.  

“There is some evidence that dry seasons are lengthening in the Congo Basin, but it is unclear if these will continue. But evidence from our study shows that drier conditions have existed in the past and did trigger a breakdown of the peatlands as a store of carbon. 

“This is an important message for world leaders gathering at the COP27 climate talks next week. If greenhouse gas emissions drive the central Congo peatlands to become too dry, then the peatlands will contribute to the climate crisis rather than protect us.” 

Warnings from the past 

The Congo peatlands in central Africa are the world’s largest tropical peatlands complex, occupying an area of 16.7 million hectares, bigger than England and Wales combined. 

Congolese and European scientists took peat samples from beneath the remote swamp forests of central Congo. By analysing plant remains, the researchers were able to build a record of the vegetation and rainfall in the central Congo basin over the last 17,500 years when the peat began to form. 

Waxes from plant leaves, which were preserved in the peat, were used to calculate rainfall levels at the time the plant was living. 

The findings - Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin - paint a picture of a drier climate developing in central Africa, which began around 5,000 years ago.  

At the most intense period of drought, rainfall was reduced by at least 800 mm a year. This caused the water table in the Congo peatlands to drop, exposing older layers of peat to the air, causing oxidation and release of carbon dioxide.  

Ghost interval in the peat record 

Between 7,500 and 2,000 years ago, the peat layers either decomposed or never accumulated. The researchers described this as the “ghost interval”. This same ghost interval was found in peat samples from hundreds of kilometres away in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) indicating it happened across the whole peatland region. 

Dr Yannick Garcin, from the National Research Institute for Sustainable Development of France and lead author of the study, said: “The peat samples show us that there was a period of around 5,000 years when there was almost no build-up of peat, less than 0.1 mm per year.  

“The samples also reveal what the rainfall and vegetation was like when the peat was formed. Together they give a picture of a drying climate that got progressively drier until about 2,000 years ago.  

“This drought led to a huge loss of peat, at least 2 metres. The drought flipped the peatland to a huge carbon source as the peat decomposed. This decomposition only stopped when the drought stopped allowing peat to start accumulating again.” 

Peatlands are ‘vulnerable’ 

The scientists warn that while the peatlands are currently largely intact and managed sustainably by local people, they are vulnerable.   

Apart from the threat of the peatlands getting drier from climate change, the region is subject to additional pressures which could cause damage to the fragile peatland ecosystem, from draining the peatland for industrial-scale agriculture, logging, and oil exploration. 

Professor Corneille Ewango, from the University of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and who led the expeditions to collect the peat samples from the DRC, said: “This is another astonishing finding about the peatlands. They are more vulnerable than we thought, and everyone must play their role in protecting them.  

“Polluting countries must cut their carbon emissions fast, to limit the possibility of droughts pushing the peatlands past their tipping point. The DRC will also need to strengthen protection of the peatlands. At stake is one of the most wildlife and carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth.”   

END

  

Congo basin peatlands expedition, from 2018

CREDIT

Greenpeace/Kevin McElvaney.

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JOURNAL

Nature

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2022

Volunteers in COVID-19 human challenge trials are genuinely altruistic, not desperate for money or lacking understanding of the risks

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

 

IMAGE: SELECTIONS WERE NOT RANKED, AND TOTAL PERCENTAGES ADD TO 300% BECAUSE EACH PARTICIPANT SELECTED 3 OPTIONS. THE TWO MOST COMMONLY SELECTED OPTIONS WERE “I WANTED TO HELP OTHERS AND POTENTIALLY SAVE LIVES” (95.9%) AND “I WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROGRESS OF MEDICINE” (79.2%). view more 

CREDIT: MARSH ET AL., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)

Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0275823

Article Title: Characterizing altruistic motivation in potential volunteers for SARS-CoV-2 challenge trials

Author Countries: USA, UK

Funding: This study was supported by 1Day Sooner in the form of a grant as part of the Open Philanthropy Project, and in the form of salaries for authors SMR, VS, & JM. This study was also supported by 1Day Sooner in the form of additional financial support for MP. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. This study was also supported by National Science Foundation in the form of grants for MM, NE (2039320) and AAM (1729406). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Participants in volunteer and control groups were surveyed on their engagement with a range of altruistic behaviors, including blood donation, significant charitable donations and organ/marrow donor status. (IMAGE)

PLOS

CAPTION

Volunteers were significantly more likely than controls to have participated in all but one of the altruistic behaviors.

CREDIT

Marsh et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0275823 

ARTICLE TITLE

Characterizing altruistic motivation in potential volunteers for SARS-CoV-2 challenge trials

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2022

COI STATEMENT

The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following competing interests: SMR and VS were employees of 1Day Sooner at the time of this study. JM is a current employee of 1Day Sooner. NE and AAM are on the Board of Advisors for 1Day Sooner. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare.

Neuroscientific evidence induces study participants to recommend longer sentences for convicted criminals if they think prison is for rehabilitation or public protection, but shorter sentences if prison is considered punishment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

 

IMAGE: THE STUDY FOUND THAT NEUROSCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE DOES NOT NECESSARILY LEAD TO MITIGATED OR AGGRAVATED SENTENCES, BUT RATHER THAT IT INTERACTS WITH SOCIETY’S REASONS FOR INCARCERATION. view more 

CREDIT: EMILIANO BAR, UNSPLASH, CC0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/PUBLICDOMAIN/ZERO/1.0/)

Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0276237

Article Title: The effect of neuroscientific evidence on sentencing depends on how one conceives of reasons for incarceration

Author Countries: USA

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

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JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0276237 

ARTICLE TITLE

The effect of neuroscientific evidence on sentencing depends on how one conceives of reasons for incarceration

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2022

COI STATEMENT

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Fast-food rubbish solution in sustainable seaweed-based wrapper

Flinders lab works with European company on new project

Business Announcement

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: FLINDERS UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS MR PENG SU, LEFT, CHANAKA MUDUGAMUWA AND DR ZHONGFAN JIA TESTING THE BIOPOLYMER COATING FOR POTENTIAL USE IN FAST-FOOD AND OTHER WRAPPERS. PHOTO COURTESY FLINDERS UNIVERSITY. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO COURTESY FLINDERS UNIVERSITY.

Flinders University materials researchers and pioneering German biomaterials developer one • fıve are using seaweed extracts to develop next-generation biopolymer coating materials that could solve packaging waste dilemmas for the fast-food industry.  

The new non-pollutive biomaterials are designed to replace conventional fossil-based plastic coatings used in grease-resistant fast-food packaging.  

Grease-resistant paper is typically coated with plastic and other environmentally harmful chemicals, such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), but the new prototype coating meets the functional requirements of conventional grease-resistant packaging materials while also presenting an environmentally circular solution.  

The result represents a landmark achievement in creating next-generation sustainable and ecologically responsible biopolymer. 

“We are able to reduce harmful plastic pollution with this product, and we are also using feedstock that is environmentally regenerative,” says Claire Gusko, one • fıve Co-Founder.   

“Seaweed cultivation helps to naturally rehabilitate marine environments, reduce greenhouse gases, and mitigate coastal erosion. It’s important for us to use sustainable inputs upstream to ensure our products are environmentally safe, from cradle to grave.”  

This development – which took extracts from certain seaweeds, added modifications and formed degradable bioplastic films – has been led by Dr Zhongfan Jia, a lead researcher from the Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and research colleague Mr Peng Su in association with the Flinders Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development. 

“The seaweed extracts have a similar structure to the natural fibres from which paper is made,” says Dr Jia. “Our novel specialist treatments boost the grease-resistance feature of the seaweed via simple modifications while not affecting biodegradability nor recyclability of the coated paper.” 

Biomass for the new coating formulation is made from natural polymers extracted from seaweeds that are native to the South Australian coastline – which provided a key reason why the Flinders University researchers studied it for more broad scientific application. These extracts are transformed through a proprietary processing methodology to produce functional biopolymer sheets that can be cut or coated onto various surfaces, depending on the application.   

Flinders University and one • fıve are now working towards transferring laboratory-scale processing to produce industrially-relevant volumes of the natural polymer coating.  

This initiative aims to have a transformative impact on the global packaging and plastics industry by significantly reducing reliance on highly pollutive conventional plastic.  

About one • fıve (pronounced: one point five): This biomaterials discovery, development and scale-up company was founded in Hamburg in late 2020 by former infarm executives Martin Weber and Claire Gusko. They provide customised, cleaner, and circular packaging solutions in record time; designed to drop into existing consumer packaging value chains to create a measurable, positive impact on the environment. With a mission to accelerate the transformation of the global packaging supply chain, one • fıve's team of 30 interdisciplinary team members has raised over 10 million Euros in funding to date. Their initial focus is fibre-based packaging solutions for leading FMCG brand owners and packaging converters. one • fıve is a member of industry-leading packaging alliances 4evergreen and Verpackung mit Zukunft. 

About the Flinders Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development: Launched in 2007, this centre conducts world-leading research and applies the latest bioprocess technologies on Australia’s marine bioresources – up to 95% of which are not found anywhere else in the world – to spawn marine bioproduct innovations in food production, health and nutrition, and fuel and energy alternatives. 

Study reveals manual cleaning of medical instruments exposes staff and surrounding environment to potentially contaminated fluids

Findings reinforce importance of engineering controls and appropriate PPE use to protect processing personnel and reduce contamination risks

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ASSOCIATION FOR PROFESSIONALS IN INFECTION CONTROL

Arlington, Va., October 13, 2022 – A new study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) shows that manual cleaning of reusable medical instruments generates substantial splash more than seven feet from the source. The findings reinforce the importance of engineering controls and appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of contamination for both processing personnel and their facilities.

“This study confirms that technicians working in sterile processing departments are at risk for exposure to water droplets that may contain blood, tissue and other patient fluids,” said Cori L. Ofstead, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, and the paper’s lead author. “Even in a sterile processing department optimally designed to reduce potential exposures, we were surprised by the abundance of droplets generated during the performance of instrument processing steps that were completed in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions for use.”

The study expands upon a pilot project completed by Ofstead and colleagues in 2021 - the first real-world evaluation of PPE effectiveness for sterile processing personnel – which concluded that personnel who process reusable medical instruments and equipment may be exposed to tissue, blood, and other patient fluids even when wearing recommended PPE. Previous research has demonstrated a link between contamination disseminated from sinks and healthcare facility outbreaks.

The current study was conducted at a large, urban academic medical center, within a new sterile-processing department that had been designed to optimize workflow and prevent cross-contamination. To quantify the amount of splash generated during manual processing activities, characterize droplet dispersal patterns, and assess PPE effectiveness, researchers engaged experienced, certified processing personnel to conduct simulated processing of a gastrointestinal endoscope and an ultrasound probe following manufacturers’ instructions for use (IFU). Prior to the simulations, moisture-detection paper was affixed to the PPE of technicians working at the sink and stationed 3-4 feet away, as well as environmental surfaces, including the department floors.

Following completion of the cleaning tasks, researchers measured the quantity of droplets generated as well as the extent of dispersal. Results show that every processing cycle generated splash at some point, with droplets detected up to 7.25 feet away from the processing sink. Some activities, particularly rinsing the ultrasound probe per IFU, generated substantial splash that exposed the environment and equipment near the sink, as well as the processing technician performing the cleaning. The technician at the sink was exposed to droplets from head to toe during most activities and extensive droplets were detected on gowns and shoe covers worn by technicians 3-4 feet away.

Beyond the implications for individuals in and around the processing sinks, splash represents a potential contamination source for other staff and patients in healthcare facilities. Standards state that liquids can act as a vehicle for the transfer of microorganisms. In the current study, transporting wet endoscopes dispersed droplets on a 15-foot path from the sink to the automated endoscope reprocessor.

“This study is instructive for infection preventionists and workplace safety professionals, providing a backdrop against which they should review Sterile Processing Department workflows and evaluate whether additional infection prevention or engineering control measures are needed to best protect workers and others in their facilities,” said Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, 2022 APIC president. “It also reinforces the critical importance of a safety culture that supports workers -- including processes and training that facilitate appropriate usage of PPE, such as sufficient time to doff and re-don PPE during the course of reprocessing instruments -- for adequate protection from moisture strikethrough.”

About APIC

Founded in 1972, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is the leading association for infection preventionists and epidemiologists. With more than 15,000 members, APIC advances the science and practice of infection prevention and control. APIC carries out its mission through research, advocacy, and patient safety; education, credentialing, and certification; and fostering development of the infection prevention and control workforce of the future. Together with our members and partners, we are working toward a safer world through the prevention of infection. Join us and learn more at apic.org.

About AJIC

As the official peer-reviewed journal of APIC, The American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) is the foremost resource on infection control, epidemiology, infectious diseases, quality management, occupational health, and disease prevention. Published by Elsevier, AJIC also publishes infection control guidelines from APIC and the CDC. AJIC is included in Index Medicus and CINAHL. Visit AJIC at ajicjournal.org.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

“Splash generation and droplet dispersal in a well-designed, centralized high-level disinfection unit,” by Cori L. Ofstead, Krystina M. Hopkins, Frank E. Daniels, Abigail G. Smart, and Henry P. Wetzler, was published online in AJIC on October 13, 2022. The article may be found online at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.08.016

AUTHORS

Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH (Corresponding author: cori@ofsteadinsights.com)

Ofstead & Associates, Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA

 

Krystina M. Hopkins, MPH

Ofstead & Associates, Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA

 

Frank E. Daniels, MSHA, CFER, CER, AGTS, CSPDT, CSPM

Virginia Commonwealth University Health, Richmond, VA, USA

 

Abigail G. Smart, MPH

Ofstead & Associates, Inc., St. Paul, MN

 

Harry P. Wetzler, MD MSPH

Ofstead & Associates, Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Infection Control

DOI

10.1016/j.ajic.2022.08.016 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Splash generation and droplet dispersal in a well-designed, centralized high-level disinfection unit

COI STATEMENT

This study was supported in part by a research grant from Healthmark Industries, which also provided droplet-detection paper. Healthmark was not involved in designing or conducting the study, interpreting the findings, or preparing this manuscript. CLO, KMH, AGS, and HPW have received research grants, study materials, educational materials, or consulting contracts from 3M Company, Ambu, Boston Scientific Corporation, Cleanis, Fortive/Advanced Sterilization Products, Healthmark Industries, Pentax, and Steris/Cantel/Medivators. FED has participated on an advisory board for Fortive/Advanced Sterilization Products. Conflicts of interest: None to report.

U$A

Two out of five adults who use cigarettes smoke menthol

An FDA ban on menthol would have a widespread public health impact especially among minority groups with over 80 percent of Black smokers using menthol

Peer-Reviewed Publication

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Menthol use has increased over the past decade among U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes, according to a study released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and The City University of New York. Menthol use is much more common among adult smokers who are younger, from racial/ethnic minoritized groups and with mental health problems. The results are published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Menthol use was common among approximately two out of five cigarette smokers overall. Over 80 percent of Black smokers preferred menthol in 2020, which is stable relative to prior reports. “That approximately 50 percent of smokers who were Hispanic, female, ages 18-25 and 26-34, lesbian/gay and adults with mental health problems, used menthol in 2020 is higher than previously reported and suggests use has expanded across all segments of the population of adults who smoke cigarettes,” noted said Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School.

Canada and the United Kingdom have banned menthol as a characterizing flavor while action in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been lacking although the Center for Tobacco Products announced its intention to issue a product standard that would ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes. However, given the regulatory process required to issue a product standard and the potential for tobacco industry litigation, menthol cigarettes will likely remain on the market for a considerable amount of time, note experts.

“Our results suggest that banning menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could have a widespread impact on public health, especially among younger people and marginalized groups,” said Goodwin.

To estimate trends in menthol use among adults who smoke cigarettes by sociodemographic, mental health and substance use variables, the researchers analyzed nationally representative annual, data from 128,327 individuals ages 18 and older residing in the U.S. from the 2008-2019 and 2020 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Depression was assessed using the DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive episode.

There was a significant overall increase in menthol cigarette use among adults smoking cigarettes from 34 percent in 2008 to 41 percent in 2019.  In 2020, 43 percent of adults who smoked cigarettes in the past-month used menthol. Menthol use was most common among Black adults (80 percent). Over 50 percent of Hispanic, female, young (ages 18-34), lesbian/gay, with serious psychological distress, and with cigar use also used menthol. Menthol use grew more rapidly among adults, among Hispanics, light cigarette users (1-5 per day) and those who smoked cigars.

A notable finding was the increase and majority menthol use among Hispanic adults over the study period (34 percent in 2008 to 48 percent in 2019) and 51 percent in 2020, with a more rapid increase among Hispanic compared with Non-Hispanic white smokers. “Until now there was a lack of research in this area,” observes Goodwin, who offers a number of possible explanations for the increased popularity of menthol cigarettes among Hispanic smokers. “For one, there is evidence of greater marketing of menthol cigarettes to Hispanic adults.”

“Our study shows persistent and unmitigated inequities in menthol use among tobacco use disparity group members in particular,” said Goodwin. “Data from 2020 demonstrate that the increase in menthol use among smokers over the past decade was broadly evident across subgroups.”

Co-authors are Ollie Ganz and Cristine Delnevo, Rutgers University School of Public Health; Andrea H Weinberger, Yeshiva University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Philip H Smith, Miami University; and Katarzyna Wyka, The City University of New York.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the fourth largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.mailman.columbia.edu.

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JOURNAL

Nicotine & Tobacco Research