Reduction in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in Beijing following China's clean air actions

Science China Press

 

image: 

Temporal trends of sources, ambient levels, and human exposure to PAHs following China’s clean air actions.

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Credit: ©Science China Press

PAHs are among the most important hazardous compounds present ubiquitously in the environment. As the largest emitter of PAHs, China accounted for over one fifth of the global PAHs emissions in 2007 – most of these emissions occurred in close proximity to general population (e.g., vehicular emissions). Substantial evidence has documented the presence of high levels of PAHs exposure in China, which was associated with a range of adverse health effects such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases and birth defects. While most of these studies were conducted before 2013, China has implemented the toughest-ever national clean air policies (i.e., APPCAP) in 2013-2017, followed by another national clean air plan of BSDW in 2018-2020. These efforts have unprecedentedly changed the anthropogenic emissions of combustion sources in China, but to what extent these actions have changed population exposure to PAHs is unknown.

In this study, a multidisciplinary team consisting of researchers from Peking University, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Duke University has continuously monitored the ambient PAHs levels in Beijing from 2014 to 2021 and apportioned their major sources. The results indicated a remarkable decline of 96.6% in ambient PAH concentrations over 8 years. Greater reduction in PAHs concentrations was observed during the APPCAP phase owing to >80% emission reductions in traffic exhaust, coal combustion, and biomass burning. However, the decrease in ambient PAHs slowed down during the BSDW phase, because the reduction in coal and biomass emission were offset by flattened emissions from traffic sources. Furthermore, the results also supported the effectiveness of the clean heating renovation in 2017 in mitigating PAHs pollution, as evidenced by the drastic decrease in coal-originated PAHs during heating seasons from 2017 to 2018.

The team also bio-monitored PAHs exposure among five panels of UCLA students who traveled from Los Angeles to Beijing for 10 weeks in the summers of 2014-2018. The results indicated that the students’ exposure to PAHs were not changed in Los Angeles from 2014 to 2018, however, the PAHs exposure decreased by 52.3% in Beijing from 2014 to 2018, in associations with ambient concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2). These results provide direct evidence demonstrating that air pollution control measures reduced human exposure to airborne toxins such as PAHs.

In this study, the team determines the effectiveness of air pollution control measures in reducing PAHs exposure using a natural experiment among international travelers, which allowed the use a country without such policies as control. Furthermore, the 8-year ambient monitoring also illustrated the changes of emission and ambient concentrations of PAHs, as two intermediate steps linking policy with human exposure. Taken together, this study provides compelling evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of long-term air pollution control in reducing human exposure to PAHs. The unprecedented reduction in ambient PAH levels (by 97%) from 2014 to 2021 also highlights the need for future studies on the health effects of contemporary low-level PAH pollution in China.

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Journal

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2024.08.015 

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration decreased by half after passing through the digestive tract of the marine worm

The purification ability of the marine worm in degrading PAHs in Tokyo Bay mud

Toho University

 

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Red circles in (A) and (B) show the location of the Yoro tidal flat. The dashed ellipse in (C) shows the sampling area, from where the fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E were collected; reduced mud (RM) was collected from RM1, RM2, and RM3. (D) Image of the Yoro tidal flat (July 19, 2023).

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Credit: Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki

Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki and their research team from the Department of Environmental Science at the Faculty of Science, Toho University, discovered that the marine worm Marphysa sp. E (sensu Abe et al. 2019), an annelid living in the tidal flat sediments of Tokyo Bay, rapidly decreased the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic environmental pollutants, by ingesting and excreting organic-rich reduced mud containing high concentrations of PAHs. The PAH concentration was halved within two hours.

 

Key Points:

• The annelid Marphysa sp. E selectively ingests and excretes reduced organic mud, which contains high concentrations of PAHs, persistent organic environmental pollutants.

• While the PAH concentration in the feces of the worms decreases by 46% within two hours, the concentration in the reduced mud decreases by only 8% during the same period.

• For the rapid degradation of PAHs, the reduced organic mud must pass through the digestive tract of the marine worm .

• The significant degradation of PAHs in worms’ feces appears to be linked to the microorganisms or enzymes present in the digestive tract of the marine worm . Marphysa sp. E is thought to play a significant role in the purification of tidal flat environments through its feeding and excretion behaviors.

 

Research Overview:
Benthic organisms living in tidal flat sediments are believed to contribute to material circulation in sediment environments by burrowing and feeding. A previous study reported that the feces of the annelid Marphysa sp. E , which resides in the tidal flat sediments of Tokyo Bay, contained high concentrations of PAHs that were halved within two hours of excretion. The study findings also revealed that the PAHs in the worms’ feces originated from reduced organic mud scattered in tidal flat sediments. Marphysa sp. E selectively ingested and excreted this reduced organic mud, which contained high concentrations of PAHs. The halving of the PAH concentration observed in worm feces within two hours was extremely rapid compared to the general half-life of PAHs in sediments, which ranges from several weeks to several months. However, whether this degradation activity could be attributed to the passage of the reduced organic mud through the digestive tract of Marphysa sp. E or if the reduced mud itself had degradation activity remained unclear. In this study, we examined the time-course changes in PAH concentrations in feces and reduced organic mud using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), followed by a statistical analysis. The results showed that such a rapid decrease in the PAH concentration did not occur in the reduced mud itself; rather, it occurred when the mud passed through the digestive tract of Marphysa sp. E . Based on these findings, we concluded that Marphysa sp. E contributes to the environmental purification of Tokyo Bay by ingesting and excreting reduced organic mud containing high concentrations of PAHs.

 

Title:
Changes in the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E and reduced mud in the Yoro tidal flat, Japan

(A) Reduced mud (marked by red dashed lines) is a black sediment with high viscosity scattered over a large area of the tidal flat. (B) A mound of fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E excreted on the surface of the tidal flat.

Credit

Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki

Live coloration of Marphysa sp. E sensu Abe et al. (2019). (A) entire body, with its head towards right, (B) magnification of anterior end.
Source: Yuichiro Osaka, Satoshi Abe, Hirokazu Abe, Masaatsu Tanaka, Mayu Onozato, Kenji Okoshi, Atsuko Nishigaki, “Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Fecal Pellets of a Marphysa Species (Annelida: Eunicidae) in the Yoro Tidal Flat, Japan,” Zoological Science, 40(4), 292-299 (2023).

Changes in the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E and reduced mud.

Credit

Atsuko Nishigaki

From left: Dr. Kenji Okoshi, Mr. Yuichiro Osaka, Dr. Mayu Onozato, Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki

Credit

Dr. Kenji Okoshi, Mr. Yuichiro Osaka, Dr. Mayu Onozato, Dr. Atsuko Nishigaki

DOI:
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116977

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Journal

Marine Pollution Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116977 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Changes in the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fecal pellets of Marphysa sp. E and reduced mud in the Yoro tidal flat, Japan

 

Smartphones can alert us to wildfires and extreme weather conditions

New study from Tel Aviv University:

Tel-Aviv University

 

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Tel Aviv University 

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Credit: Tel Aviv University

 

A new study from Tel Aviv University has found that the smartphones we all carry in our pockets could help collect weather data from the public to provide early warnings for extreme weather, such as wildfires.

 

The researchers explain that all smartphones are equipped with multiple micro-sensors capable of collecting important environmental data, such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, magnetic field, light, sound, location, acceleration, gravity, and more. These data help us find our way or define our location, they warn us when the battery overheats or the device absorbs moisture - all in real time, without saving the data.  The researchers demonstrated that smart use of such data could support early warnings for severe wildfire events, especially since millions or even billions of data points are collected worldwide every day by our smartphones. Today, early warning systems in remote forested areas typically lack data due to the absence of weather stations in remote locations. The public, however, take their smartphones everywhere, with each phone containing sophisticated micro-sensors that operate continuously in the background, but these data are normally lost and not saved.  However, many companies have started to collect smartphone data to use for various purposes, with user consent. The researchers believe that this huge data source (as of 2024, there are over 7 billion smartphones worldwide) could aid in forecasting extreme weather and natural disasters.

 

Prof. Colin Price and PhD student Hofit Shachaf from the Department of Geophysics in the Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Tel Aviv University used data collected from the global public via the WeatherSignal app (OpenSignal) to develop a methodology for assessing wildfire risk based solely on smartphone data collected by the public. The results were recently published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS).

 

One key parameter determining the likelihood of a wildfire is the moisture content in vegetation (essentially the fuel available for the fire) - which, in turn, is determined by the temperature and relative humidity of the surrounding air. Both the temperature and relative humidity can be easily obtained from the public's smartphones.

 

Hofit Shachaf explains: “We developed an index based on VPD (vapor pressure deficit), which reflects the dryness of the vegetation based on environmental parameters (temperature and humidity) . In hot and dry atmospheric conditions more moisture is drawn from the plants, due to enhanced evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration) that essentially facilitates ignition of fires. In cooler, more humid air, forests do not usually catch fire since their moisture level is too high. Previous studies have also used VPD to predict wildfire risk levels - though the data for these calculations is mostly obtained from local weather stations. The novelty of our study is the utilization of data collected from smartphones, without their users' active participation, to calculate VPD over large areas and at high spatial and temporal resolutions - providing important insights into wildfire risk evaluation.”

 

However, smartphone data do contain errors. The temperature reading might reflect the air conditioning in your office, while the humidity sensor might identify moisture when the user is taking a shower. But the huge amount of data collected from smartphones allows us to remove outliers in the data set.  Furthermore, since the micro-sensors are not calibrated before they are put in our phones, it was necessary to first calibrate the local smartphone data against commercial meteorological stations. This procedure turned out to be relatively straightforward, with just a single calibration needed to correct a smartphone's readings. After calibrating or “training” the device, the researchers analyzed two major wildfire events: fires in Israel in November 2016 and the massive fire in Portugal in July 2013. The results were surprising, with smartphone data collected from the public showing significant VPD anomalies before and during these major fires.

 

Hofit Shachaf adds: “It’s surprising, but even though each smartphone has its own errors and biases, with large amounts of data from many smartphones, we can average out the errors and still retain useful data. The large volume of data helps overcome issues associated with individual smartphones.”

 

Global smartphone coverage has increased by about 30% in the last five years. As their global density continues to grow, data collected from smartphones could eventually offer better spatial resolution than traditional meteorological networks - especially in urban areas where natural disasters like fires and floods, can have a significant impact. Moreover, in low-income countries lacking meteorological infrastructures, smartphones could provide useful data for monitoring extreme weather conditions. Prof. Price concludes: “Given the rapid increase in the number of smartphones worldwide, we propose utilizing this data source to provide better early warnings to the public and disaster managers about impending natural disasters. Better early warnings could prevent natural hazards from becoming natural disasters.”

 

Link to the article:

https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/24/3035/2024/

 

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Journal

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

DOI

10.5194/nhess-24-3035-2024 

 

New study reveals a fiber diet may delay a type of blood cancer

Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to present the latest advances in blood cancer during The American Society of Hematology 2024 annual meeting

Meeting Announcement

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Today researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) reported results from the first ever clinical trial to show that a high fiber plant based dietary intervention may delay progression to multiple myeloma, a type of rare, incurable blood cancer affecting the bone marrow. The study enrolled 20 participants with a precancerous blood disorder and an elevated body mass index (BMI) at risk for developing multiple myeloma. They received 12 weeks of high fiber plant-based meals and 24 weeks of coaching. Two participants with progressing disease prior to study showed a significant improvement of their disease progression trajectory. Additionally, at one year after enrollment, none of the participants had progressed to multiple myeloma. MSK myeloma specialist and NUTRIVENTION study lead, Urvi Shah, MD, presented these findings at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego, California.

"This study showcases the power of nutrition—specifically a high fiber plant-based diet—and unlocks a better understanding of how it can lead to improvements in the microbiome and metabolism to build a stronger immune system,” said Dr. Shah. “These findings further support how we as physicians can empower patients, especially those with precancerous conditions, with knowledge on reducing their cancer risk through dietary changes.”

Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer and typically arises from precursor conditions called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering (symptomless) myeloma. Recent studies have shown an increased risk of multiple myeloma in individuals with poor diet quality and reduced intake of plant foods. Additionally, individuals with these conditions and an elevated body mass index (BMI) are twice as likely to progress to multiple myeloma as people with these conditions and a normal BMI. With this information, researchers have been looking for ways to intervene before these conditions can progress to cancer.

During the study, participants were encouraged to eat as much as they wanted if it was whole plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. With these dietary changes there were significant improvements in quality of life, insulin resistance, gut microbiome health and inflammation. On average, participants lost eight percent of their body weight after 12 weeks. Following these positive results, Dr. Shah is currently enrolling for a larger, multi-center study with 150 participants called NUTRIVENTION-3.

These findings were confirmed in a smoldering myeloma mouse model where 44% of mice fed the high fiber diet did not progress to myeloma compared to the standard diet where all mice progressed to myeloma.

Funding for this trial was provided by the American Society of Hematology, the National Cancer Institute, the Allen Foundation Inc, the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation, the Solomon Fund, the Italian Association for Cancer Research, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Keto diet metabolite may power up CAR T cells to kill cancer

Laboratory studies reveal a potentially low-tech intervention to improve personalized cell therapy

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

SAN DIEGO – A simple dietary supplement may provide a new approach to boost CAR T cell function, according to a study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center. While the approach needs to be assessed in clinical trials, the early research, shared in a press briefing today at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 4), hints at a potentially cost-effective strategy to improve CAR T cell function and cancer-fighting abilities.   

CAR T cell therapy is a personalized treatment approach, pioneered at Penn Medicine, that reprograms patients’ own immune cells to kill their cancer.

“Thousands of patients with blood cancers have been successfully treated with CAR T cell therapy, but it still doesn’t work for everyone,” said co-lead author Shan Liu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow who presented the study at ASH. “We took an outside-the-box approach to improve CAR T cell therapy, by targeting T cells through diet rather than further genetic engineering.”

Liu co-led the study with Puneeth Guruprasad, PhD, who earned his PhD at Penn and is now a medical student in the Perelman School of Medicine. The lead authors worked under the mentorship of co-senior authors Marco Ruella, MD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology, a researcher with the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and the scientific director of Penn Medicine’s Lymphoma Program; and Maayan Levy, PhD, an assistant professor of Microbiology.

CAR T cells prefer BHB as a fuel source

First, the research team tested the effect of several different diets, including ketogenic, high-fiber, high-fat, high-protein, high cholesterol, and a control diet, on CAR T cell’s tumor-fighting capabilities using a mouse model of diffuse-large B-cell lymphoma. They found improved tumor control and survival in the mice receiving a ketogenic diet compared to all other diets. In subsequent studies, they found higher levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), a metabolite produced by the liver in response to a ketogenic diet, was a key mediator of this effect.

The research builds on previous work from Levy’s team, which found that BHB strongly suppressed the growth of colorectal tumors in lab experiments.

“Our theory is that CAR T cells prefer BHB as a fuel source rather than standard sugars in our body, such as glucose,” Guruprasad said. “So, increasing the levels of BHB in the body gives the CAR T cells more power to take out the cancer cells.”

Translational studies in patient samples and healthy volunteers

Next, the research team tested a BHB supplement combined with CAR T cell therapy in laboratory models of human cancer (on a standard diet); the results showed complete obliteration of the cancer in the vast majority of mice and resulted in higher CAR T cell expansion and activation. To see if BHB, which occurs naturally at various level in our bodies, had a similar effect in humans, the team assessed blood samples from patients who had recently received CAR T cell therapy and found that greater BHB levels were associated with better CAR T cell expansion in patients. They also looked at T cells of healthy volunteers who took a BHB supplement and found similar changes in how normal T cells generated energy after exposure to BHB.

Past studies across several cancer types have looked at the impact of dietary interventions, such as a high-fiber diet, on the response to cancer immunotherapy, however the mechanism behind the BHB effect in this study appears to stem from metabolic changes in the blood, rather than via the gut microbiome, as in the case of a high-fiber diet.

Next steps and potential impact

The theory that BHB supplementation could improve response to CAR T cell therapy is being tested in a Phase I clinical trial at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center.

“We’re talking about an intervention that is relatively cheap and has low toxicity potential,” Levy said. “If the clinical trial data pans out, I’m excited to think about how a fairly simple approach like this could be combined with dietary interventions or other, more traditional approaches, to enhance the anti-cancer effect.”

The clinical trial, led by principal investigator Elise Chong, MD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology, will soon begin enrolling patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma who are receiving commercially available anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy as part of their treatment.

“As a physician and scientist, I share my patients’ excitement for potential new strategies to better treat their cancer, and I’m thrilled to see this research move from the lab bench to translational studies and now to a clinical trial,” Ruella said. “However, we want to emphasize that, at this point, the research is still preliminary, and we’re not making any dietary or supplement recommendations to patients based on this study until we have definitive clinical evidence.”

The study was partly funded by the Penn-CHOP Microbiome Core.

Liu will present the findings during the Plenary Scientific Session on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. PT in the San Diego Convention Center Hall B.

Patients interested in clinical trials at the Abramson Cancer Center can search open clinical trials here or call 1-855-216-0098 to speak with a clinical trial navigator.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.

The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.

 

A sickle cell first: Base editing, a new form of gene therapy, leaves patient feeling ‘more than fine’

Boston Children's Hospital

Though he doesn’t remember it, Branden Baptiste had his first sickle cell crisis at age 2. Through elementary school, he was in and out of the hospital with pain episodes, not knowing why. As he got older, he learned he had sickle cell disease: His red blood cells were forming sickle shapes and getting stuck in his blood stream, preventing oxygen from reaching his tissues.

“From age 12, things skyrocketed,” says Branden, now 20. “I was in the hospital every other month with crises.” He estimates he missed 60 days of school every year.

In sixth grade, Branden had to have his left hip replaced because of damage to his hip joint, another complication of his illness. His right hip was replaced not long after. In 2020, at age 17, he suffered a life-threatening complication: acute chest syndrome, or ACS. Branden’s sickled cells were clumping and blocking blood vessels in his lungs. Terrified, he called an ambulance.

“I thought everything was over. I couldn’t breathe. If I inhaled a little bit, it felt like something was stabbing my lung,” Branden recalls. Four more ACS episodes struck that year, causing Branden to miss his entire junior year of high school. The worst episode landed him in the intensive care unit.

“Sickle cell disease has a broad spectrum of severity, and the severity and frequency of complications can wax and wane,” says Matthew Heeney, MD, Branden’s long-time hematologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Unfortunately, Branden was quickly acquiring many of the chronic complications of sickle cell disease, including organ dysfunction affecting his kidneys, lungs, joints, and eyes.”

 

Choosing base editing gene therapy

Around that time, potentially curative gene therapies for sickle cell disease were becoming available. Heeney, then director of Boston Children’s Sickle Cell Disease Program, offered Branden two options. One, a clinical trial called GRASP, would treat his cells with a virus carrying instructions for his red blood cells to make a fetal form of hemoglobin. (Unlike “adult” hemoglobin, fetal hemoglobin doesn’t cause sickling.)

But a new trial called BEACON, led at Boston Children’s by Heeney and sponsored by Beam Therapeutics, could enroll Branden immediately. The trial is testing base editing — the most precise form of gene therapy yet developed — as a way to boost fetal hemoglobin production.

In contrast to conventional gene editing strategies that create a cut or break in the double strand of DNA, base editing uses enzymes to correct a single misspelled “letter” of a gene, as explained in this video. Branden would be the first person in the world to receive base editing for sickle cell disease, and among the first to receive this method of gene therapy for any condition.

Branden agreed to take the gamble. His symptoms, especially ACS, had become unbearable. He wanted them gone so he could get on with life.

“I was like, ‘Why am I still in high school? By this time I should be a sophomore in college,’” he says.

 

A journey with many steps

Over the course of 2023, Branden came to Boston Children’s for a series of tests to ensure he could withstand the rigors of gene therapy treatment. By October 2023, he was ready. The first step was to collect blood stem cells from his blood, which required Branden to stay at Boston Children’s for several days, on two occasions. The precious stem cells were then delivered to a special facility to undergo base editing treatment.

But before Branden could receive his base-edited cells, he needed chemotherapy to kill off the diseased blood stem cells in his bone marrow and make room for the treated cells. He was readmitted to Boston Children’s in late November 2023, and was finally infused with his genetically treated cells on December 5.

A change in a single DNA base (A, C, T, or G) could be enough to cure Branden’s sickle cell disease. 

The next step was to wait for the treated cells to settle into Branden’s bone marrow and start producing blood cells. This kept him in the hospital for several more weeks.

“I was fine. I was bored,” Branden says. “I was waiting for my blood to build back.” When his Mom, brother, sister, girlfriend, and girlfriend’s family weren’t keeping him company, he passed the time with his PlayStation and watching all eight seasons of the Netflix drama Suits.

“The nurses were super nice to me and treated me like a friend,” he says. “Everyone in the Stem Cell Transplant clinic was mad nice and super funny.”

 

‘I’m operating in every way possible’

Branden surprised and delighted his family by arriving home on Christmas Eve — well ahead of schedule.

“Everyone was like, ‘What?’” he says. “Initially, I been told I would be in the hospital for two months, and then I got out in 20 days. Everyone was shocked, even the doctors were shocked.”

Branden has felt good ever since his infusion and says he’s off all his sickle cell medication. “In my opinion, I’m perfect. I never felt fine before — before, ‘fine’ was moderate pain I could take deep breaths through. Now I’m more than fine. I’m operating in every way possible.”

He finished high school in January and plans to attend community college this fall, then transfer to a four-year school to study civil engineering. Until then, he plans to work, and recently got a job at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as an airport security officer.

“I feel good enough to work there,” Branden says. “I never worked a serious job before because of how much I’m in the hospital.”

Another big change in Branden’s life: He can now exercise. “I used to always try to exercise, but every little movement would cause joint pain, and exhaustion would also cause pain,” he says. “Now I’m going to the gym every day, doing cardio and weight lifting.”

Branden will be monitored closely by Boston Children’s Gene Therapy Program for the next 15 years. The BEACON trial is still continuing. Early findings are encouraging: In an initial group of treated patients, base editing appeared safe, boosted fetal hemoglobin levels, and improved anemia. Heeney presented these results December 7 at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

"The treatment has been truly transformative for Branden,” Heeney says. “Not only are his blood counts and markers of disease activity essentially normalized, but he can now complete daily activities that most take for granted and tackle new experiences previously beyond his reach. It is a joy to see him setting goals that seemed unfathomable just a year or two ago.”

 

Disclosure: Matthew Heeney, MD has received financial compensation as a consultant for Beam Therapeutics.

Observation of new electric field signals strong potential for assorted devices: new research at City University of Hong Kong

Communications and Institutional Research Office, City University of Hong Kong

 

image: 

Professor Ly (back row, fourth from left) and her research team.

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Credit: City University of Hong Kong

HONG KONG (8 December 2024)—A new vortex electric field with the potential to enhance future electronic, magnetic and optical devices has been observed by researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) and local partners.

The research, published in Science, is highly valuable as it can upgrade the operation of many devices, including strengthening memory stability and computing speed. With further research, the discovery of the vortex electric field can even later impact the fields of quantum computing, spintronics, and nanotechnology.

“Previously, generating a vortex electric field required expensive thin film deposition techniques and complex procedures. However, our research has demonstrated that a simple twist in bilayer 2D materials can easily induce this vortex electric field,” said Professor Ly Thuc Hue of the Department of Chemistry and a core member of the Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films at CityUHK.  

To achieve a clean interface, researchers typically synthesised bilayers directly. However, it is challenging to maintain freedom in twisting angles, particularly for low-angle twists. Professor Ly’s team invented the innovative ice-assisted transfer technique, which she explains has been crucial for achieving a clean interface between bilayers, allowing them to manipulate and create twisted bilayers freely.

Unlike previous studies that focused on twist angles smaller than 3 degrees, the team’s technique allowed them to create a broad spectrum of twist angles ranging from 0 to 60 degrees, by leveraging both synthesis and artificial stacking through ice-assisted transfer.

Versatile Applications

The groundbreaking discovery of the new vortex electric field in the twisted bilayer has also created a 2D quasicrystal, potentially enhancing future electronic, magnetic and optical devices. Quasicrystals are desirable irregularly ordered structures due to their low heat and electric conductivity, making them ideal for high-strength surface coatings such as in frying pans.

According to Professor Ly, these structures can have a versatile range of applications as the vortex electric field generated differs depending on the angle of the twist. The quasicrystals can result in a more stable memory effect for electronic devices, ultrafast mobility and speed for computing, dissipationless polarisation switching, novel polarisable optical effects, and advancements in spintronics.

Discovery of a New Technique

The team overcame many difficulties on their path to making the new observation. First, they had to find a way to establish a clean interface between bilayers. This led them to discover a new technique that uses ice as a transfer material, a first in this field. By synthesising and transferring 2D materials using a thin sheet of ice, the team achieved clean interfaces that were easy to manipulate. Compared to other techniques, this ice-assisted transfer technique is more effective, less time-consuming, and more cost-effective.

They then had to overcome the challenge of analysing the material. They finally made the discovery through the use of four-dimensional transmission electron microscopy (4D-TEM) and collaboration with other researchers. In one of their many stages of testing, the twisted bilayer 2D structure was created, and the new vortex electric field was observed.

Looking to the Future

Considering the extensive range of applications for twist angles, the team looks forward to continuing to develop their research based on the new observation and exploring its full potential.

The next steps for their study will focus on manipulating the material further, such as testing if stacking more layers is possible, or to see if the same effect can be generated from other materials. Having patented their ice-assisted transfer technique, the team looks forward to seeing if other discoveries can be generated globally with the help of their technique now that it is possible to achieve clean bilayer interfaces without extensive and expensive procedures.

“This study had the potential to ignite a new field focused on twisting vortex fields in nanotechnology and quantum technology,” Professor Ly concluded, emphasising that the discovery, though still in the early stages in terms of application, could be a major game-changer in device applications such as memory, quantum computing, spintronics and sensing devices.

The paper titled "Polar and quasicrystal vortex observed in twisted-bilayer molybdenum disulfide" was published recently in Science.

The corresponding authors of this paper are Professor Ly, Professor Zhao Jiong and Professor Yang Ming from the Department of Applied Physics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Other collaborators include Professor Lee Chun-Sing from the Department of Chemistry, CityUHK and Professor Lau Shu Ping from the Department of Applied Physics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adp7099 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Polar and quasicrystal vortex observed in twisted-bilayer molybdenum disulfide

  

Caption

The quasicrystal by 30 degree twist of bilayer MoS2 and the atomic scheme of twist bilayers MoS2, which led to the generation of the electric vortex field and the creation of the 2D quasicrystal.

Credit

City University of Hong Kong

 

Could online technology be a clue as to why boys in Norway are outperforming girls in learning English as a second language?

New study uses data of more than a million children

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Taylor & Francis Group

Bucking conventionality, boys in Norway are making early gains in reading English as a second language and even outperforming girls at age 10 and 13 – a new a study of more than one million students suggests.

Publishing their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, experts from the University of Oslo propose the perhaps unexpected results might be explained by online gaming and experiences with other digital technologies such as YouTube – with English being the language of the internet.

“Our findings show boys were not experiencing a general improvement in language proficiency but rather an improvement specific to the English language,” says lead author Professor Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør, whose team’s findings demonstrate girls did better than the boys in learning their native tongue.

“The indication is that gender differences in how students interact with English in contexts outside school could explain the difference in the gender gap development.”

“While first/official languages are acquired through interacting with most aspects of daily life, additional languages are much more context-specific,” co-author Professor Lisbeth M. Brevik, from Oslo’s Department of Teacher Education and School Research, adds.

And the context proposed is gaming online; engaging with YouTube; and watching films. Recent, existing surveys carried out in Norway into social media use among children demonstrate nearly two thirds of boys report gaming many times a week, compared with only a minority of girls. In addition, boys more often than girls reported using English for playing online games, engaging with YouTube and watching films.

“Survey evidence provides a potential explanation,” says Professor Brevik.

“The explanation suggests that language use through technology and interest (in this technology) has the potential to influence language acquisition. It may also play a role in closing the gender gap we typically observe today.”

Since 2000, international trends have identified large and consistent gender gaps in favour of girls for reading literacy in a first language.

However, language proficiency in English as a second language among males exceeded that of females in 2021 for the first time since 2014. This is according to standardised English test results, the EF SET which is used worldwide for English proficiency certification.

The aim of this study was to investigate development of gender gaps over time in learning English as a second language, compared with language proficiency in Norwegian learned as a native language.

The researchers analyzed test and exam results from 2007 and 2018 from 1.1 million students in Norway at different stages of education. National education registries covering the entire Norwegian student population were used.

For English proficiency, the authors focused on language as measured by national tests including for vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension. They also analyzed high-stakes overall achievement and exam grades at age 15, defined as written and oral English language proficiency results graded by teachers and external assessors.

For Norwegian, the researchers compared national test results among boys and girls for reading proficiency as well as high-stakes overall achievement and exam grades.

The national tests for English and Norwegian were for 10-year-olds born between 1997 and 2008; and for those aged 13 born between 1991 and 2002. The high-stakes tests were for 15-year-olds born from 1991 to 2002.

The development of gender gaps was also investigated using data from the same students and measured at age 10, 13 and 15.

Results showed little difference initially between genders in the national English test performance at age 10. However, the authors found a gradual shift in favour of boys, with males outperforming females in 2018 test results. Yet girls consistently outperformed boys in high stakes overall achievement and exam grades in English at age 15 throughout the time period (2007-2018).

As for Norwegian, girls outperformed boys for all types of tests with the greatest difference at age 15 for high stakes overall achievement and exam grades, indicating that boys were not experiencing a general increase in language proficiency.

Interestingly though, while boys increased their test scores compared to girls for ages 10 and 13 in English, a comparison of English to Norwegian showed that boys had a relative improvement for all tests, also those given at age 15.

“This finding indicates that boys’ earlier gains in English language proficiency may also have translated into more comprehensive high-stakes achievement measures but not sufficiently to decrease the gender gap. The way both English and Norwegian is measured in lower secondary school may contribute to the continuing trend of boys falling further behind in the education system,” explains Professor Brevik.

Concluding, the team recommends that in addition to improving the assessment of English, more knowledge on gender differences in second or additional languages – particularly those related to the different domains of language proficiency – will be “important”.

Limitations of the research include that the tests for English and Norwegian are not exactly the same and do not measure across the same domains. Therefore, the authors explain, “we should be cautious when drawing true conclusions from their comparison”.

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Journal

Assessment in Education Principles Policy and Practice

DOI

10.1080/0969594X.2024.2423151 

Article Title

Gender gaps in English as a second language over time: a shift in favour of boys