Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed before symptoms emerge

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LUND UNIVERSITY

A large study led by Lund University in Sweden has shown that people with Alzheimer's disease can now be identified before they experience any symptoms. It is now also possible to predict who will deteriorate within the next few years. The study is published in Nature Medicine, and is very timely in light of the recent development of new drugs for Alzheimer's disease.

It has long been known that there are two proteins linked to Alzheimer’s – beta-amyloid, which forms plaques in the brain, and tau, which at a later stage accumulates inside brain cells. Elevated levels of these proteins in combination with cognitive impairment have previously formed the basis for diagnosing Alzheimer's.

“Changes occur in the brain between ten and twenty years before the patient experiences any clear symptoms, and it is only when tau begins to spread that the nerve cells die and the person in question experiences the first cognitive problems. This is why Alzheimer's is so difficult to diagnose in its early stages”, explains Oskar Hansson, senior physician in neurology at Skåne University Hospital and professor at Lund University.

He has now led a large international research study that was carried out with 1,325 participants from Sweden, the US, the Netherlands and Australia. The participants did not have any cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study. By using PET scans, the presence of tau and amyloid in the participants' brains could be visualized. The people in whom the two proteins were discovered were found to be at a 20-40 times higher risk of developing the disease at follow-up a few years later, compared to the participants who had no biological changes.

“When both beta-amyloid and tau are present in the brain, it can no longer be considered a risk factor, but rather a diagnosis. A pathologist who examines samples from a brain like this, would immediately diagnose the patient with Alzheimer's”, says Rik Ossenkoppele, who is the first author of the study and is a senior researcher at Lund University and Amsterdam University Medical Center.

He explains that Alzheimer’s researchers belong to two schools of thought – on one hand, those who believe that Alzheimer's disease cannot be diagnosed until cognitive impairment begins. There is also the group that he himself and his colleagues belong to – ​​who say that a diagnosis can be based purely on biology and what you can see in the brain.

“You can, for example, compare our results to prostate cancer. If you perform a biopsy and find cancer cells, the diagnosis will be cancer, even if the person in question has not yet developed symptoms”, says Rik Ossenkoppele.

Recently, positive results have emerged in clinical trials of a new drug against Alzheimer's, Lecanemab, which has been evaluated in Alzheimer's patients. Based on this, the study from Lund University is particularly interesting, say the researchers:

“If we can diagnose the disease before cognitive challenges appear, we may eventually be able to use the drug to slow down the disease at a very early stage. In combination with physical activity and good nutrition, one would then have a greater chance of preventing or slowing future cognitive impairment. However, more research is needed before treatment can be recommended for people who have not yet developed memory loss”, concludes Oskar Hansson.

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JOURNAL

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1101/2022.05.23.22275241v1 

ARTICLE TITLE

Amyloid and tau PET-positive cognitively unimpaired individuals are at high risk for future cognitive decline

WAIT, WHAT?!

Synthetic black holes radiate like real ones

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM

 

IMAGE: TO MAKE A SYNTHETIC BLACK HOLE, JUST TAKE A CHAIN OF ATOMS (GREEN), AND CHANGE HOW EASY IT IS FOR AN ELECTRON TO JUMP BETWEEN EACH ATOMIC SITE, REPRESENTED HERE BY THE COLOUR AND WIDTH OF THE BLUE INTERATOMIC BONDS. THE VARIED BOND STRENGTH IN THE LOWER CHAIN MIMICS THE WARPING OF SPACETIME IN THE PRESENCE OF A BLACK HOLE. THIS WAY, THE INCREDIBLE PHYSICS OF BLACK HOLES CAN BE EXPLORED IN A LAB ON EARTH. view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM, INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, packing so much mass into so little space that nothing – not even light – can escape their gravitational pull once it gets close enough. Understanding black holes is key to unravelling the most fundamental laws governing the cosmos, because they represent the limits of two of the best-tested theories of physics: the theory of general relativity, which describes gravity as resulting from the (large-scale) warping of spacetime by massive objects, and the theory of quantum mechanics, which describes physics at the smallest length scales. To fully describe black holes, we would need to stitch these two theories together and form a theory of quantum gravity.

Radiating black holes

To achieve this goal, we might want to look at what manages to escape from black holes, rather than what gets swallowed. The event horizon is an intangible boundary around each black hole, beyond which there is no way of getting out. However, Stephen Hawking famously discovered that every black hole must emit a small amount of thermal radiation due to small quantum fluctuations around its horizon.

Unfortunately, this radiation has never been directly detected. The amount of Hawking radiation coming from each black hole is predicted to be so small, it is impossible to detect (with current technology) among the radiation coming from all other cosmic objects.

Alternatively, could we study the mechanism underlying the emergence of Hawking radiation right here on Earth? This is what researchers from the University of Amsterdam and IFW Dresden set out to investigate. And the answer is an exciting “yes”.

Black holes in the lab

“We wanted to use the powerful tools of condensed matter physics to probe the unattainable physics of these incredible objects: black holes,” says author Lotte Mertens.

To do so, the researchers studied a model based on a one-dimensional chain of atoms, in which electrons can “hop” from one atomic site to the next. The warping of spacetime due to the presence of a black hole is mimicked by tuning how easily electrons can hop between each site.

With the right variation of hopping probability along the chain, an electron moving from one end of the chain to the other will behave exactly like a piece of matter approaching the horizon of a black hole. And, analogous to Hawking radiation, the model system has measurable thermal excitations in the presence of a synthetic horizon.

Learning by analogy

Despite the lack of actual gravity in the model system, considering this synthetic horizon gives important insight into the physics of black holes. For instance, the fact that the simulated Hawking radiation is thermal (meaning the system appears to have a fixed temperature) only for a specific choice of spatial variation of the hopping probability, suggests that real Hawking radiation may also only be purely thermal in certain situations.

Additionally, the Hawking radiation only occurs when the model system starts out without any spatial variation of hopping probabilities, mimicking flat spacetime without any horizon, before being changed into one hosting a synthetic black hole. The emergence of Hawking radiation therefore requires a change in the warping of spacetime, or a change in how an observer looking for the radiation is perceiving this warping.

Finally, Hawking radiation requires some part of the chain to exist beyond the synthetic horizon. This means that the existence of the thermal radiation is intricately connected to the quantum-mechanical property of entanglement between objects on either side of the horizon.

Because the model is so simple, it can be implemented in a range of experimental setups. This could include tuneable electronic systems, spin chains, ultracold atoms or optical experiments. Bringing black holes to the lab can bring us one step closer to understanding the interplay between gravity and quantum mechanics, and on our way to a theory of quantum gravity.

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DOI

10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.043084 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Thermalization by a synthetic horizon

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Nov-2022

CANADA

Environmental group takes federal government to court over piping plover habitat

Environmental advocates are taking the federal government to court over new rules to protect the habitat of an endangered shorebird species known as the piping plover.


 piping plover 

Ecojustice Canada, representing the Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists and the East Coast Environmental Law Association, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 31 seeking a judicial review of a habitat protection strategy mapped out by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

The suit argues Ottawa previously tabled a recovery strategy to protect the plover, which it describes as being in accordance with the federal Species At Risk Act. According to the statement of claim, that strategy identified 212 entire beaches across Atlantic Canada and Quebec as critical habitat for the small, sand-coloured birds.

But an amended strategy released in September changes the way the critical habitat is identified, the suit alleges.

"The minister has adopted a 'bounding box' approach to critical habitat identification that fails to clearly describe the location or boundaries of plover critical habitat," the statement reads. "Instead, the amended recovery strategy maps out locations containing critical habitat using grid squares and identifies critical habitat, not as the entirety of each square, but as any areas within those squares that possess certain vaguely described 'biophysical attributes.'"

Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an email they are "diligently working on a response" to a question about the lawsuit and "in the process of consulting with our subject-matter experts."

Ecojustice lawyer Sarah MacDonald said the 2012 plover recovery strategy did a "really good job" of identifying critical habitats and was "very clear" that entire beaches had to be protected. The strategy identified beaches by name and through global positioning system co-ordinates, she said.

But the amended version, she argued, made changes that weaken its effectiveness.

"Instead of saying that an entire beach is critical habitat, what they now do is they set out these what they call grid squares, these one-by-one kilometre squares that cover these beaches," MacDonald said.

Related video: Environmental groups concerned with splitting of Alberta ministries
Duration 1:58  View on Watch

"It leaves huge sections of the beach vulnerable to the activities that we know are harmful to plovers and their habitat, like residential development and pollution and that sort of thing."

The lawsuit calls the ministry’s decision neither justified nor intelligible."

"The amended Recovery Strategy does not identify critical habitat to the greatest extent possible, or with any degree of geographic precision," the statement of claim reads. "Further, the description of critical habitat in the amended Recovery Strategy is too vague to support the Minister's duties to protect critical habitat or to support enforceable legal protections for that habitat. This undermines SARA 's ability to provide meaningful protection."

Macdonald said the groups are hoping the court strikes down portions of the new recovery strategy and reverts to the original version.

Piping plovers are tiny birds found only in North America with two subspecies — one that breeds on the Canadian prairies and another along the Atlantic coast.

They were listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act in 2003, according to the lawsuit. Between 2006 and 2016, the Canadian plover population declined another 30 per cent to 174 breeding pairs.

The lawsuit argues human activities like housing and urban development, pollution from industrial activities, mining and quarrying pose serious, ongoing threats to plover habitat.

Bob Bancroft, president of Nature Nova Scotia, says plovers are drawn to naturally caused disturbances on the beaches where they live.

"The plovers like to nest in the disturbed areas where they have pebbles and gravel and sand," he said. "An event like (recent post-tropical storm) Fiona happens after the breeding season, and next spring depending on how the particular beach is oriented and how much of it has been disturbed, they will pick one of the areas that has been disturbed."

MacDonald agreed, noting plover habitats change with disruptions and saying entire beaches should be protected in order to allow the birds to safely follow their natural nesting instincts.

"It absolutely doesn't make any sense (to have certain protected spots)," she said. "And so we really hope that this lawsuit will help the government see that."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2022.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

Study explored the impact of the Russian invasion on mental health in Ukraine 2014

Adolescents in war-region experienced high war trauma and daily stress

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TURKU

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety were more likely in adolescents exposed to war than those living outside the war-affected region in Ukraine. The unique study conducted by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry of the University of Turku is the largest epidemiological study using standardised measures that examined the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war 2014 on the mental health of adolescents.

The cross-sectional study included 2,766 adolescents living in the war-torn Donetsk region and the more peaceful Kirovograd region of Ukraine at the time of the study. The study was based on data collected from September 2016 to January 2017, that is, more than two years after Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014.

“This study showed that adolescents in war-region had experienced high war trauma and daily stress. Of adolescents living in war region, 60% had witnessed armed attacks, 14% were victims of violence and 30% were forced to leave their homes,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Sanju Silwal from the University of Turku in Finland.

Adolescents in the Donetsk region were more than four times more likely to have PTSD than in Kirovograd region, just over three times more likely to have severe anxiety and nearly three times more likely to have moderately severe or severe depression.

The study also found elevated rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents living in the non-war-affected region.

Non-violent war trauma can influence mental health in the same way as direct war violence

Increased risk for PTSD was associated with not only exposure to violence but also to non-violent trauma caused by the war, including forced relocation and loss of social support.

“Back in 2016, most of the adolescents in the Donetsk region continued living with their intact families, did not lose family members, and did not have to leave their homes. This is important, as maintaining social support with family and friends protects against the development of PTSD. However, the current situation is worse when adolescents in the whole of Ukraine are experiencing a full-scale invasion by Russia and many families are forced to flee their homes. We can expect that a large number of adolescents will have a very high level of psychological distress and many might develop mental disorders,” says Professor Andre Sourander from the University of Turku and continues:  

“During war, adolescents are exposed to atrocities, organised violence, loss of social networks and resettlement during crucial phases of their physical, emotional, social and cognitive development. The psychological impact that the war in Ukraine will have on adolescents cannot be understated and countries that accept refugees also need to be aware of the need to provide them with timely and effective mental health services.”

This article is a part of the larger study which will also examine the impact of current war situation on the mental health of Ukrainian children and adolescents.

The study was conducted in the INVEST Research Flagship Centre. INVEST is an Academy of Finland Flagship and a Joint Research Centre of the University of Turku and Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare. INVEST aims at providing a new model for the welfare states that is more equal, better targeted to problem groups, more anticipatory as well as economically and socially sustainable.

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JOURNAL

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

DOI

10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.845. 

ARTICLE TITLE

Impact of the Russian Invasion on Mental Health of Adolescents in Ukraine

Everyone's been wrong about inflation, and it's costing workers in salary negotiations

jzinkula@insider.com (Jacob Zinkula) - Markets Insider

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifying at a hearing of the Senate banking committee. 

Inflation eased in October, but it stayed well ahead of most workers' year-over-year pay increases.

Many Americans expected inflation to cool sooner and quicker than it has.

That miscalculation is one of the factors working against them during salary negotiations.

Americans keep waiting for inflation to return to normal levels. But that wait has taken longer than expected, and it could be among the reasons wages have fallen well behind inflation over the past year.

The Consumer Price Index rose 7.7% in October versus a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Thursday morning. That's a big slowdown from previous months, but it still marks faster price growth than Americans had seen for decades before the coronavirus pandemic.

While American workers are experiencing the strongest wage growth in many years, fueled by strong demand for labor, inflation has continued to overpower pay gains for most workers. Average hourly earnings, for instance, rose 4.7% in October, continuing to trail even the slower inflation rate.

"Wage growth has not been beating inflation. So if anything, wage growth is actually pulling down on inflation," the EPI economist Elise Gould previously told Insider.

Several things have held back workers in their salary negotiations, including the decline of unions, stagnant minimum wages, globalization, and perhaps even some corporate greed. But another key factor could be that American workers and their employers have continued to underestimate how much prices will rise in the future — and therefore how much of a raise workers will need to keep up.

As the economics writer Noah Smith posed in a recent blog post, "If both employers and employees think inflation is going to die down in a couple months, maybe they'll keep getting surprised when inflation fails to die down, with the result that wages keep undershooting inflation."

When prices first began to spike, there was speculation that wages weren't keeping up because most Americans negotiate salary increases only once a year. But now that inflation has been at least 5% for 18 consecutive months, there's been ample time for employers — many of whom have seen rising profits — to raise wages. But wages haven't kept up, and it could partially come down to some people underestimating how big of a raise workers would need.

An October New York Fed paper found that as inflation rose in 2022, Americans' expectations for future price growth "unexpectedly fell." The authors speculated that once "extraordinary circumstances" like the pandemic and the war in Ukraine normalized, many people believed there would be a "sharp fall" in inflation as well.

Even as inflation begins easing, that sharp fall hasn't materialized yet.

For instance, when inflation reached 5% in May 2021, respondents in an ongoing New York Fed survey of roughly 1,300 Americans expected inflation to be 4% a year later. It was 8.6%. In October 2021, respondents projected 5.7% inflation a year later, compared with the 7.7% just reported.

One-year-ahead inflation expectations topped out at 6.8% in June and fell to 5.4% as of September, the lowest level since September 2021.

Perhaps Americans' most recent projections will prove correct. But if their prior miscalculations led them to demand a smaller pay bump than they otherwise might have, they'll ultimately come out behind.

Workers have finally had the power to demand higher wages

Among the key reasons workers have seen their pay rise at all is the ongoing labor shortage. Despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool the economy, the unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low, and there are still well over 10 million job openings. Employers in need of workers are generally willing to pay more.

With demand for labor so high, some experts have wondered why Americans' wages haven't grown by even more. For instance, the Fed's concerns about a "wage-price spiral," in which inflation leads workers to demand higher wages leading to more spending and even higher inflation, has yet to come to pass. Wages have continued to lag behind inflation.

One explanation could be, at least in part, widespread expectations that inflation would prove transitory.

As long as the unemployment rate remains low, job openings remain high, and a severe recession is avoided, Americans may still have the leverage to push for the pay they've missed out on. But economic conditions could change on a dime; workers won't be able to capitalize on these conditions forever.

"One of the threats of allowing the unemployment rate to rise is that not only you could have millions of people lose their jobs, but also workers — even who have their jobs — lose some of that leverage to be able to build up their wages, because they're less scarce," the EPI's Gould previously told Insider.

There's evidence companies miscalculated as well when it comes to forecasting inflation.

Insufficient pay is among the reasons workers have joined the Great Resignation in droves over the past few years. Despite the Fed's efforts to cool the labor market, 4.1 million workers called it quits in September, well above pre-pandemic levels. Businesses continuing to grapple with labor shortages, evidenced by the millions of job openings, may have lost fewer employees if they'd simply paid them more. As the economy slows, not every business will be able to support further wage hikes, but if they can, this may be their best option to get these workers back.

While wages not keeping up with inflation is a bad thing for Americans' bank accounts, it could ultimately help ease inflation further in the year ahead. And if this results in the Fed slowing its pace of rate hikes — and a severe recession is avoided — perhaps it will be a fair tradeoff for some workers.

Boebert Colorado House seat may come down to recount against Democratic challenger

Thomas Phippen - Yesterday - FOX

The unexpectedly tight race between incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert and her Democratic challenger Adam Frisch could head to a recount if the current margins hold.

Boebert, who won election to the House of Representatives in 2020 after defeating former GOP Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primaries, was ahead by just over 1,100 votes on Saturday afternoon, according to election data from The Associated Press.

The margin of Boebert's lead is within recount territory under Colorado election laws. The state conducts a mandatory recount if the margin of victory is within half a percentage point, and in the most recent tally on Saturday, Boebert led with 50.17% of the vote to Frisch's 49.83%.

BOEBERT INCHES AHEAD AS COLORADO VOTES CONTINUE TO BE TALLIED

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is seen on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, June 16, 2022. 

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

A recount in the race could take several weeks to complete. Under Colorado law, the recount must be completed 35 days after the general election, which would be Dec. 13 this year.

In a tweet Saturday, Frisch said the race is still waiting on thousands of ballots from active duty military service members, and acknowledged the likelihood of a recount in the race.

"Looks like we are likely heading to a recount as the margin of this race is so close," Frisch said. "We are still waiting on thousands of ballots to come in from overseas and the military as well as those that need signature and technical verification."



Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., addresses attendees to the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, July 23, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. Boebert is seeking reelection in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District in the Nov. 8, 2022 election. 

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File

Frisch also said the ballots may not come in until next week, and asked for donations to his campaign to "make sure every valid ballot is counted."

Frisch did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Boebert "As this race comes down to every last vote, I need you to help us ensure we have the resources to finish what we started!" Boebert tweeted Friday. "I told you all year, the Left would do everything that they possibly could to get rid of me," she added.

Boebert outraised Frisch in the general election campaign by a large margin, bringing in nearly $6.6 million compared to Frisch's $3.7 million as of mid October, according campaign finance filings.

Frisch ran against the Trump-endorsed Republican firebrand by painting himself as a moderate choice, calling Boebert "part of the MAGA extremism."

Boebert, who founded Shooters Restaurant in Rifle, Colorado — which became famous for its gun-toting waitresses — campaigned on her conservative message, and criticized Frisch for being out of touch with most voters in the district, which includes mostly rural towns in the west and southwest of Colorado. Frisch is a former member of the city council in Aspen, Colorado, home to ski resorts and a retreat for wealthy families from across the globe.

First conference for female physicists at Goethe University inspires almost 1000 participants worldwide

Kick-off for international "WOW Physics!" conference a resounding success

Meeting Announcement

GOETHE UNIVERSITY FRANKFURT

 

IMAGE: ONLINE CONFERENCE: WOW PHYSICS! WOMEN OF THE WORLD IN PHYSICS! view more 

CREDIT: GOETHE UNIVERSITY

FRANKFURT. Women still constitute a minority when it comes to the field of physics; in Germany, only about 13% of physics professors are female, and the situation is not much better in other Western countries. There are many reasons for this, one of which is certainly the lack of role models. Giving them a stage and making the work of female physicists visible worldwide was the goal of this week's "WOW Physics! – Women in the World of Physics!" conference. The international event was held online, and made its debut at Frankfurt’s Goethe University. Following the opening remarks by Germany’s Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Hessian Minister for Science and the Arts Angela Dorn, Goethe University President Prof. Enrico Schleiff emphasized the importance of the conference’s format: "The incredibly high number of participants illustrates the enormous importance and the outstanding contribution made by women in physics, and in the natural sciences in general! It gives us a sense of how important such events and support measures are, and how significant such networking events can be, especially in this field."

At 950, the number of participants exceeded the expectations of the conference organizers. "We are completely overwhelmed by this response and by the enthusiasm with which the event was received by the participants," says Laura Sagunski, professor at Goethe University’s Institute for Theoretical Physics and conference initiator. She and her team were able to attract several renowned female scientists from all subfields of physics, who gave lectures at the 3-day event.  Among those presenting their research were Laura H. Greene, who serves as one of the advisors to the U.S. president, and Melissa Franklin, who was involved in the discovery of the heaviest elementary particle known to date. Since numerous students and even pupils had registered for the conference, the aim was to present the content in the most comprehensible way possible. 

There was also room for non-scientific topics: Dorothée Weber-Bruls, for instance, recounted her path to becoming a patent attorney, which she started during her doctorate in physics, with intermediate stops at television and in management consulting. As president of Germany’s Physical Society (Physikalischer Verein: Gesellschaft für Bildung und Wissenschaft) – the first woman to hold the position in the association’s near 200-year history – physics education is a topic that is especially close to her heart: "My goal is to spark interest in the subject and to nurture talent." The conference also included a roundtable discussion on the paths taken by different women in science. The session was moderated by Jessica Wade, who is best known for her contributions to Wikipedia about scientists from underrepresented groups – a commitment that was recently awarded with the prestigious British Empire Medal. In addition to the challenges the panelists encountered at various career stages, the debate also offered practical tips. As a result, participants are able to make their virtual way not only home but potentially also into a future in physics, armed with both new knowledge as well as a large dose of encouragement.

Administrative fellowship programs may reinforce gender disparities in healthcare leadership

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH

November 11, 2022 – While administrative leadership programs positively impact the career paths of individual leaders, male leaders benefit more from these programs than female leaders do, according to a longitudinal study featured in the November/December issue of Journal of Healthcare Management (JHM), an official publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

The study looked at the value of administrative fellowship programs on career attainment as well as whether career attainment differs by gender. Findings indicate that “although fellowships can accelerate career progression for both men and women, the effect is significantly stronger for men, suggesting that, in aggregate, there is some risk that fellowships may be widening the leadership gender gap, rather than attenuating it,” write Julie Robbins, PhD, The Ohio State University, along with Brooke Z. Graham, MBA, MS, James Madison University, Andrew N. Garman, PsyD, Rush University, Randa Smith Hall, MBA, MHSA, University of Alabama-Birmingham, and Jeffrey Simms, MSPHA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the November issue of the Journal of Healthcare Management (JHM).

Diverse leadership can lead to higher quality of care

While women account for nearly 80% of the total healthcare workforce in the United States (and 70% globally), they represent just 30% of C-suite positions. Further, a recent survey reported 86% of women in healthcare believe change is needed to increase women in senior leadership positions. Many experts and analysts believe women leaders—and more diverse leadership in general—are critical for an efficient healthcare organization that provides high-quality care to patients from all backgrounds.

Administrative fellowship programs are highly selective and designed to help graduates move directly into healthcare leadership positions, offering practical experience as well as professional networking opportunities. Many programs focus on increasing gender diversity, yet there are few studies of the programs’ impact on career progression and on gender disparities in leadership.

The research team set out to uncover whether there is a difference in career attainment between female and male graduates, between those who graduated from an administrative fellowship program and those who did not, and between female and male administrative fellows.

Demographic and career attainment data were collected in 2018 from historical records, alumni databases, and career resources of the graduating classes of 2013, 2008, and 1998 from 15 administrative fellowship programs. The sample included 689 student records.

Closing the gender gap in healthcare leadership requires career-supporting strategies and initiatives

Among the findings, women were found to be a slight majority of graduates across the three graduating classes. Those who began their careers in administrative fellowships increased to 38% in 2013. Further, 52% of graduates across the three classes held senior management or executive positions as of 2018. Finally, while beginning a healthcare career in an administrative fellowship appears to accelerate career attainment for both women and men, the effect is significantly stronger for men.

While additional studies and efforts are needed, the authors believe “this research can help early careerists and especially women better understand their career planning steps and developmental opportunities to reach leadership positions.” It is clear that administrative fellowship programs are a valuable vehicle for leadership development.

The article goes on to suggest that administrative fellowship program directors can help reduce this gender gap by, for example, re-designing programs to be more equitable, further expanding program access to women, and tracking program application patterns by gender.

Read [Closing the Gender Gap in Healthcare Leadership: Can Administrative Fellowships Play a Role?]

DOI: 10.1097/JHM-D-21-00314

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About the Journal of Healthcare Management

The Journal of Healthcare Management (JHM) is an official journal of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Published bimonthly, JHM is a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to providing healthcare leaders with the information they need to manage complex healthcare issues and to make effective strategic decisions. JHM provides a forum for discussion of current trends and presentation of new research as applied to healthcare management.

About the American College of Healthcare Executives

The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of more than 48,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. ACHE's mission is to advance its members and healthcare leadership excellence. ACHE offers its prestigious FACHE® credential, signifying board certification in healthcare management. ACHE's established network of 76 chapters provides access to networking, education and career development at the local level. In addition, ACHE is known for its magazine, Healthcare Executive, and its career development and public policy programs. Through such efforts, ACHE works toward its vision of being the preeminent professional society for leaders dedicated to improving health.

The Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives was established to further advance healthcare management excellence through education and research. The Foundation of ACHE is known for its educational programs, including the annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership, which draws more than 4,000 participants and groundbreaking research. Its publishing division, Health Administration Press, is one of the largest publishers of books and journals on health services management, including textbooks for college and university courses. For more information, visit www.ache.org.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2021 annual revenues of €4.8 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Healthcare Management

Molecular fingerprint behind beautiful pearls revealed

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PEARLS WITHIN A PEARL OYSTER SHELL. PEARL OYSTERS ARE IMPORTANT PRODUCTS IN JAPAN, AS THEY PRODUCE BEAUTIFUL PEARLS THAT ARE SOUGHT AFTER FOR NECKLACES, EARRINGS, AND RINGS. view more 

CREDIT: K. MIKIMOTO & CO., LTD, PEARL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Highlights 

• Pearl oysters are an important animal for farming in Japan as they produce the beautiful pearls, which are of economic value.
• But, in the last 20 years, a combination of different factors, such as disease, has seen production of akoya pearl drop from around 70,000kg/year to just 20,000kg/year.
• To find out more about their underlying genetics and with the hopes of discovering resilient strains, researchers have constructed a high-quality, chromosome-scale genome of a pearl oyster.
• By using advanced technology, the researchers constructed the genome of not just one set of chromosomes, but two, revealing unexpected diversity of the gene repertoire within an individual.  
• One very important finding was that a variaty of genes responsible for immunity were found, which hints that a resilient strain of oysters might be possible to culture. 

Press release

Pearl oysters are an important aquaculture animal in Japan, as they produce the beautiful pearls that are sought after for necklaces, earrings, and rings. In the early 1990s, this aquaculture industry was bringing in around 88bn yen annually. But, in the last 20 years, a combination of new diseases and red tides has seen production of Japan’s pearls drop from around 70,000kg a year to just 20,000kg. Now, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), in collaboration with a number of other research institutes including K. MIKIMOTO & CO., LTＤ, Pearl Research Institute and Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, have constructed a high-quality, chromosome-scale genome of pearl oysters, which they hope can be used to find resilient strains. The research was published recently in DNA Research.

“It’s very important to establish the genome,” said one of the two first authors, Dr. Takeshi Takeuchi, staff scientist in OIST’s Marine Genomics Unit. “Genomes are the full set of an organism’s genes—many of which are essential for survival. With the complete gene sequence, we can do many experiments and answer questions around immunity and how the pearls form.”  

In 2012, Dr. Takeuchi and his collaborators published a draft genome of the Japanese pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, which was one of the first genomes assembled of a mollusk. They continued genome sequencing in order to establish a higher quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly.   

Dr. Takeuchi went on to explain that the oyster’s genome is made up of 14 pairs of chromosomes, one set inherited from each parent. The two chromosomes of each pair carry nearly identical genes, but there can be subtle differences if a diverse gene repertoire benefits their survival.  

Traditionally, when a genome is sequenced, the researchers merge the pair of chromosomes together. This works well for laboratory animals, which normally have almost identical genetic information between the pair of chromosomes. But for wild animals, where a considerable number of variants in genes exist between chromosome pairs, this method leads to a loss of information.

 In this study, the researchers decided not to merge the chromosomes when sequencing the genomes. Instead, they sequenced both sets of chromosomes—a method that is very uncommon. In fact, it’s probably the first research focused on marine invertebrates to use this method.

As pearl oysters have 14 pairs of chromosomes, they have 28 in total. OIST researchers Mr. Manabu Fujie and Ms. Mayumi Kawamitsu used state-of-the-art technology to sequence the genome. The other first author, Dr. Yoshihiko Suzuki, former Postdoctoral Scholar in OIST’s Algorithms for Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics and now at the University of Tokyo, and Dr. Takeuchi reconstructed all 28 chromosomes and found key differences between the two chromosomes of one pair—chromosome pair 9. Notably, many of these genes were related to immunity.

“Different genes on a pair of chromosomes is a significant find because the proteins can recognize different types of infectious diseases,” said Dr. Takeuchi.

He pointed out that when the animal is cultured, there is often a strain that has a higher rate of survival or produces more beautiful pearls. The farmers often breed two animals with this strain but that leads to inbreeding and reduces genetic diversity. The researchers found that after three consecutive inbreeding cycles, the genetic diversity was significantly reduced. If this reduced diversity occurs in the chromosome regions with genes related to immunity, it can impact the immunity of the animal.

“It is important to maintain the genome diversity in aquaculture populations,” concluded Dr. Takeuchi.

This research was supported by grants from the Project of the Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, a special scheme project on advanced research and development for next-generation technology.

Comment by Prof. Shugo Watabe (Visiting Professor at the Kitasato University, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo)

Cultured pearls were developed for the first time in the world 130 years ago by Kokichi Mikimoto in Japan. Even today, they are the second most exported marine product produced in Japan, after scallops. However, the history of pearl aquaculture in Japan has been a battle against diseases in the aquaculture environment. The damage caused by the red discoloration disease, which emerged in 1996, was particularly severe. The production of cultured pearls in Japan has declined significantly. In recent years, the pearl-farming industry is once again facing major problems due to the spread of diseases caused by viruses. Although the details of the causes of diseases and countermeasures have not been established, it has been pointed out that pearl cultivation in Japan may be suffering from genetic deterioration due to inbreeding of pearl oysters with superior traits, which makes it difficult to respond to various environmental changes and the emergence of pathogens. The findings of this research have shed light on this concern of pearl cultivation in Japan, and are of great industrial significance. Furthermore, many of the genes involved in the immune system have also been identified. This also provides insight into the mystery of pearl formation itself, as to why pearl oysters can form a nacreous layer in response to an externally introduced foreign object. Akoya pearls produced by Japanese pearl oysters attract people from all over the world with their unique and graceful luster, which is not seen in pearls produced from other pearl oyster species. The present study is expected to be the beginning of the genetic elucidation of this characteristic.

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JOURNAL

DNA Research

DOI

10.1093/dnares/dsac035 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

A high-quality, haplotype-phased genome reconstruction reveals unexpected haplotype diversity in a pearl oyster

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Nov-2022

U$

Workplace cafeteria study finds no evidence that physical activity calorie-equivalent labelling changes food purchasing

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

 

IMAGE: PACE LABELS ALONGSIDE MENUS IN A WORKPLACE CAFETERIA view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

An experiment carried out across ten workplace cafeterias found no significant change in the overall number of calories purchased when food and drink labels showed the amount of physical activity required to burn off their calories. 

More than three in five UK adults are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. A major factor that contributes to this is excess energy intake – in other words, eating too many calories. Measures that can help reduce energy intake could help tackle the obesity problem.

In the UK, adults eat as many as a third of their meals out of home, including in workplace cafeterias, and these meals are often much higher in calories than meals eaten at home. Since April 2022 calorie labelling is now required on food and drink served out of the home in businesses employing 250 or more people. While many people welcome this information, evidence for its effectiveness in reducing calories purchased or consumed is limited in quantity and quality. For example, two previous studies conducted by the authors in nine worksite cafeterias found no evidence for  an effect of simple calorie labelling (kcal) on calories purchased. 

Another option is to show the amount of exercise required to burn off these calories – so-called PACE (physical activity calorie-equivalent) labels – for example, a 1014kcal ‘large battered haddock’ portion would take upwards of five hours walking (278 minutes) to burn off. A recent systematic review – a type of study that brings together existing evidence – concluded that PACE labels may reduce energy selected from menus and decrease the energy consumed when compared with simple calorie labels or no labels, but only one of the 15 studies reviewed was in a ‘real world’ setting.

To explore whether PACE levels can make a difference in real world settings, researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Behaviour and Health Research Unit carried out an experiment across 10 workplace cafeterias in England over a 12 week period in 2021. Their results are published today in PLOS Medicine.

The team collected baseline sales data for a period of business-as-usual for the cafeterias ahead of the experiment. During this period, most labels and menus featured only the product name and price, though some products included standardised front-of-pack nutrition labels on branded and in-house products.  During the intervention period the ten cafeterias included calorie information and PACE labels alongside food and drinks items and on items including hot meals, sandwiches, cold drinks and desserts. These labels displayed the minutes of walking that would be needed to burn off the calories in the product. 

The team found no evidence that including PACE labels resulted in an overall change in energy purchased from labelled items. However, there was a great deal of variability, with one cafeteria reporting a fall per transaction of 161kcal and another an increase of 69kcal, while five of the cafeterias reported no significant change.

First author Dr James Reynolds from the School of Psychology, Aston University, who carried out the research while at Cambridge, said: “Although we found that showing the amount of exercise required to burn off calories made little difference to the number of calories purchased – and, we can assume, eaten and drunk – there was considerable variability between cafeterias. This suggests that other factors may have influenced the effectiveness of these labels, such as the type of food sold in the cafeteria or the characteristics of those using them.”  

The number of calories purchased from items that did not feature the PACE labels did not change and the labels made little difference to the revenue for the cafeterias – just a small increase of 3p per transaction.

Senior author Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, said: “This is the largest study in a real world setting to look at the impact of PACE labels on food and drink purchases, examining 250,000 transactions across 10 worksite cafeterias. The findings suggest that PACE labels, contrary to expectations, may have little or no impact on the food people buy in worksite cafeterias.”

Reference
Reynolds, JP et al. Evaluation of physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labels’ impact on energy purchased in cafeterias: a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial. PLOS Med; 8 Nov 2022; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004116

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JOURNAL

PLoS Medicine

DOI

10.1371/journal.pmed.1004116 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Evaluation of physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labels’ impact on energy purchased in cafeterias: a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Nov-2022