Researchers propose process to detect and contain emerging diseases

The team will gather information in Africa on zoonotic diseases that can jump from animals to humans, like COVID-19 and HIV.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Research News

 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A University of Arkansas biologist is part of a global team of researchers developing a strategy to detect and intercept diseases emerging from wildlife in Africa that could eventually infect humans.

Assistant professor Kristian Forbes, along with colleagues from Africa, Europe and North America, have proposed a four-part approach to detect and contain zoonotic diseases, those that begin in animals but spillover into humans, like COVID-19 and HIV.

"A lot of research effort to prepare against the threat of novel disease emergences of wildlife viruses has been to identify unknown viruses in wildlife that might someday infect humans," Forbes said. "These efforts have been very successful for identifying new viruses; indeed, thousands have been discovered, but we don't currently have the tools to know which of them pose the most immediate risks to human health."

To enable fast detection of new zoonotic disease outbreaks, the team proposes a system of procuring and screening samples from hospital patients with fevers of unknown origin, analyzing samples from suspicious fatalities of unknown cause, testing blood serum in high-risk or sentinel groups and analyzing samples that have already been collected and archived. The team outlined their approach in a recent article published in the journal The Lancet Microbe.

None of these methods are new, Forbes said. But to date they have not been combined into a continent-wide program aimed at rapid detection.

"Given limitations to the current model for preventing disease emergences, our article focuses on a coordinated and widespread strategy for early detection so that novel disease outbreaks can be intercepted before they potentially become global pandemics."

###

What pandemic messaging around changing holiday rituals gets wrong

A new experimental study by Berkeley Haas researchers offers insight on why it's so difficult to get people to alter holiday rituals, and how public officials might send more effective messages.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Research News 

In the midst of the raging coronavirus pandemic, we're faced with agonizing decisions about whether to forgo treasured holiday rituals. Many people have defied health officials, putting themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19 or spreading the disease in order to uphold their family traditions in person.

A new paper by two researchers at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business sheds light on the psychology of rituals--and why health officials may have to do more than just tell people not to gather in order to be effective.

That's because coming together to exchange gifts on Christmas isn't just about getting presents; it's a symbol of love. Eating turkey on Thanksgiving isn't just a shared meal; it's an expression of gratitude. "We view rituals as more important than regular types of group activities because they reflect the values of the group," says Dan Stein, a Berkeley Haas doctoral student and lead author on the paper.

"When people alter activities that are more ritualistic, it elicits stronger moral outrage," says Juliana Schroeder, an assistant professor in the Haas Management of Organizations Group and the paper's co-author. Pitting pandemic social distancing against the values of love and togetherness represented by the holidays creates moral conflict for many people. "If messages from officials to social distance are going to be successful, they must come up with a response to these strong group values."

The paper, forthcoming in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, examines the psychology of rituals through experiments that drive home just how strongly people feel about traditions and resist even minor changes. It was co-written by Harvard Business School professors Francesca Gino and Michael Norton along with Nicholas Hobson, founder of The Behaviorist consulting firm.

In one experiment, the researchers asked Berkeley undergraduate students to rate 15 holidays according to how ritualistic they were. They then asked them to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 how angry and frustrated they would feel if the U.S. government "moved celebrations for the holiday one week forward," and also how immoral and inappropriate it would be to change the date. The more ritualistic the holiday, the higher it scored on both scales, signifying stronger "moral outrage" about altering it. Christmas and New Year's scored above 5 on both scales, while Columbus Day scored as a 2 on both.

In other experiments, they found that altering a ritual elicits moral outrage even if a person has a good reason for doing so. When they asked participants--all U.S. citizens--how they would feel if they saw another citizen remaining seated rather than standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, participants reported outrage even when they were told the person was sitting to show solidarity with Americans with disabilities. Participants expressed even more outrage, however, when told that the person was sitting to protest U.S. values--indicating that the reason for the change was important--and they were also upset if told that the person had forgotten to stand. Their irritation only subsided when they were told the person was injured and physically unable to stand.

Even changes that might make a ritual safer elicit moral outrage, they found. In another experiment, the researchers asked Jewish participants how they would feel if a circumcision ceremony--a highly ritualized event occurring the same way for thousands of years--was done in a hospital rather than at a temple. Over 80% of respondents agreed that a hospital ceremony would be safer, and yet they also reported more anger about the suggestion of moving the circumcision ceremony to a hospital rather than keeping it the same, even if it was riskier.

"People don't want to have to pit one sacred value against another," Stein says. "While medical safety represents the sacred value of life in Judaism, circumcision stands for a literal blood covenant with God. That creates an uncomfortable conflict in people's minds."

In fact, the researchers found that the study participants who were most committed to U.S. values expressed the most outrage about changing holiday traditions. "We theorize that moral outrage is functional in the long-run because it can help a group protect its sacred rituals," Stein says. "We need those people who are committed for the group to survive, but our research suggests that trying to tell people, 'By not practicing your ritual, you'll save lives,' might not be effective for everyone."

The challenge for families trying to stay safe during the pandemic is how to alter rituals in ways that keep their values intact, even if getting together physically isn't possible. "This research suggests that to reduce outrage when altering rituals, you should try to change them in ways that still allow people to celebrate group values," says Schroeder. "That's what people are getting upset about when the ritual is altered--and that's the thing that needs to be maintained."

###

Evolution of a killer: How African Salmonella made the leap from gut to bloodstream

UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL

Research News

 

IMAGE: AFRICAN SALMONELLA ELECTRON MICROSCOPE IMAGE view more 

CREDIT: DR SIAN OWEN AND DR ROCIO CANALS

University of Liverpool scientists have exploited the combined power of genomics and epidemiology to understand how a type of Salmonella bacteria evolved to kill hundreds of thousands of immunocompromised people in Africa.

Bloodstream infections caused by a drug-resistant type of Salmonella Typhimurium called ST313 are a major public health concern in Africa, where the disease is endemic and causes ~50,000 deaths each year. What was missing was an understanding of the timing of the major evolutionary events that equipped African Salmonella to cause bloodstream infections in humans.

In a new paper published in Nature Microbiology, a team of researchers from the UK, France and Malawi, sampled two comprehensive collections of Salmonella isolates from African patients with bloodstream infections, spanning 1966 to 2018, to piece together the evolutionary journey of the Salmonella over 50 years of human infections in Africa, including the discovery of a new lineage of antibiotic-susceptible ST313.

The study was led by Professor Jay Hinton at the University of Liverpool, who has been researching Salmonella for more than 30 years and leads the 10,000 Salmonella Genomes Project - a worldwide effort to understand the epidemiology, transmission and virulence of invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonellosis.

Professor Hinton said: "Through a remarkable team effort we have removed some of the mystery about the evolution of African Salmonella. We hope that by learning how these pathogens became able to infect the human bloodstream we will be better prepared to tackle future bacterial epidemics."

In the study, scientists sequenced the genomes of 680 Salmonella isolates, from archives kept by the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust (MLW) clinical research programme and the Institute Pasteur, and used them to uncover the timeline of crucial genetic events responsible for the infection of immunocompromised humans by S. Typhimurium ST313. Mutations that influenced gene function during the evolution of ST313 were identified for the first time.

The team also discovered a new antibiotic-susceptible lineage of ST313 that emerged in Malawi in 2016 and is closely related to Salmonella variants that cause stomach infections in the United Kingdom and Brazil. The researchers speculate that changes in antibiotic usage in Malawi between 2002 and 2015 could have created a window of opportunity for the emergence of this new antibiotic-susceptible ST313 lineage.

Dr Caisey Pulford, who carried out much of the research as part of her PhD, said: "By combining the power of genomic analysis with epidemiology, clinical observations and functional insights, we have shown the value of using an integrated approach to link scientific research with public health."

###

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Liverpool, University of Malawi, Queens University Belfast, Institut Pasteur, the Earlham Institute and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust (MLW) Clinical Research Programme.

Crikey! Massive prehistoric croc emerges from South East Queensland

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE 'SWAMP KING' WAS ONE INTIMIDATING CROC. view more 

CREDIT: THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

A prehistoric croc measuring more than five metres long - dubbed the 'swamp king' - ruled south eastern Queensland waterways only a few million years ago.

University of Queensland researchers identified the new species of prehistoric croc - which they named Paludirex vincenti - from fossils first unearthed in the 1980s.

UQ PhD candidate Jorgo Ristevski, from UQ's School of Biological Sciences, said they named the species after Geoff Vincent who discovered the giant fossilised skull near the town of Chinchilla.

"In Latin, 'Paludirex' means 'swamp king', and 'vincenti' honours the late Mr Vincent," he said.

"For several years the fossilised skull was on display in the Queensland Museum, before it was donated to the Chinchilla Museum in 2011.

"The 'swamp king' was one intimidating croc.

"Its fossilised skull measures around 65 centimetres, so we estimate Paludirex vincenti was at least five metres long.

"The largest crocodylian today is the Indo-Pacific crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, which grows to about the same size.

"But Paludirex had a broader, more heavy-set skull so it would've resembled an Indo-Pacific crocodile on steroids."

Paludirex was one of the top predators in Australia a few million years ago, capable of preying on giant prehistoric marsupials.

"The waterways of the Darling Downs would once have been a very dangerous place because of it," Mr Ristevski said.

Mr Ristevski's supervisor, Dr Steve Salisbury, said various species of prehistoric crocodylians had existed in Australia.

"Crocs have been an important component of Australia's fauna for millions of years," Dr Salisbury said.

"But the two species we have today -- Crocodylus porosus and Crocodylus johnstoni -- are only recent arrivals, and were not part of the endemic croc fauna that existed here from about 55 million years ago.

"Whether Paludirex vincenti went extinct as a result of competition with species like Crocodylus porosus is hard to say.

"The alternative is that it went extinct as the climate dried, and the river systems it once inhabited contracted - we're currently investigating both scenarios."

The research has been published in the open access journal PeerJ DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10466

CAPTION

Skull pieces of Paludirex vincenti.

CREDIT

Jorgo Ristevski

 

New curriculum improves students' understanding of electric circuits in schools

Researchers at universities in Frankfurt and Tübingen have developed and empirically evaluated a new teaching concept for teaching secondary physics

GOETHE UNIVERSITY FRANKFURT

Research News

 

FRANKFURT / TÜBINGEN. Life without electricity is something that is no longer imaginable. Whether it be a smartphone, hair-dryer or a ceiling lamp - the technical accomplishments we hold dear all require electricity. Although every child at school learns that electricity can only flow in a closed electric circuit, what is actually the difference between current and voltage? Why is a plug socket a potential death-trap but a simple battery is not? And why does a lamp connected to a power strip not become dimmer when a second lamp is plugged in?

Research into physics education has revealed that even after the tenth grade many secondary school students are not capable of answering such fundamental questions about simple electric circuits despite their teachers' best efforts. Against this backdrop, Jan-Philipp Burde, who recently became a junior professor at the University of Tübingen, in the framework of his doctoral thesis supervised by Prof. Thomas Wilhelm at Goethe University, developed an innovative curriculum for simple electric circuits, which specifically builds upon the everyday experiences of the students. In contrast to the approaches taken to date, from the very outset the new curriculum aims to help students develop an intuitive understanding of voltage. In analogy to air pressure differences that cause an air stream (e.g. at an inflated air mattress), voltage is introduced as an "electric pressure difference" that causes an electric current. A comparative study with 790 school pupils at secondary schools in Frankfurt showed that the new curriculum led to a significantly improved understanding of electric circuits compared to traditional physics tuition. Moreover, the participating teachers also stated that using the new curriculum fundamentally improved their teaching.

###

The two researchers from Frankfurt and Tübingen have now published a detailed description of the theoretical considerations underlying the teaching concept in the renowned international journal Physical Review Physics Education Research in the framework of the "Focused Collection: Theory into Design". The German Society for Chemistry and Physics Education (GDCP) awarded its "GDCP-Nachwuchspreis", a prize presented each year for the best dissertation or post-doctoral thesis in chemistry and physics education in the German-speaking region, to Burde for his dissertation. As of the winter semester 2019/20 Burde was appointed to a junior professorship for Physics Education Research supported by the Vector Foundation at the University of Tübingen. On the basis of his work a cross-border consortium encompassing the Universities Tübingen, Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Dresden, Graz and Vienna has been constituted with the objective of making the subject of "simple electric circuits" more interesting and more comprehensible by embedding the topic in contexts from daily life.

Picture download:

http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/95652319
Caption: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jan-Philipp Burde, University of Tübingen.
Photo: Friedhelm Albrecht for University of Tübingen

http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/95652342
Caption: Prof. Dr. Thomas Wilhelm, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt.
Photo: Felix Richter

Prenatal testing has halved the number of babies born with Down syndrome in Europe

As European countries roll out new noninvasive prenatal screening, it's important for them to have accurate estimates of babies currently being born with Down syndrome

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

Research News

 

BOSTON -- The growth of prenatal screening in Europe has reduced the number of babies being born per year with Down syndrome (DS) by an average of 54%, according to a new study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and international Down syndrome organizations. In research published in 2016, the same team found that 33% fewer babies with DS per year were born in the United States as a result of pregnancy terminations.

The researchers spent three years collecting data from multiple registries and databases in every country in Europe to estimate the number of babies being born with DS and the overall number of people with DS in the population. "People with DS were being counted sporadically, inconsistently, or not at all, depending on the country," says Brian G. Skotko, MD, MPP, a medical geneticist at MGH and senior author. "But without an accurate estimate, it's impossible for policymakers and advocacy organizations to determine how many resources and support services are needed for its Down syndrome population." The researchers applied statistical modeling to create estimates in countries where there were gaps in data. "These data are as close to accurate as possible," says Skotko. The data are laid out in both the study and an associated fact sheet.

Equally important, however, was for the study to establish a baseline of DS birth rates and pregnancy termination rates ahead of widespread adoption of new noninvasive prenatal screenings (NIPS). The new screening tests can detect the likelihood of a chromosomal condition in a fetus as early as nine weeks of gestation, after which an expectant couple can elect to pursue definitive genetic testing. As NIPS becomes widely available, fewer babies with DS are expected to be born.

NIPS was introduced in the U.S. in 2011 but has yet to be widely covered by national health care systems in European countries. "Countries that are grappling with funding decisions for NIPS should certainly be having deep discussions about its impact on the country's Down syndrome population," says Skotko, who has a 40-year-old sister with DS. Countries also must create an adequate infrastructure of support and information so that expectant couples can make informed decisions about NIPS and subsequent pregnancies.

The researchers discovered a wide variation in DS birth rates among European regions. From 2011 to 2015, Southern Europe had the highest reduction in DS births due to pregnancy terminations (71%), followed by Northern Europe (51%) and Eastern Europe (38%). There were, however, considerable differences among countries, ranging from no reduction in the percentage of babies being born with DS in Malta, where pregnancy termination is highly restricted, to an 83% reduction in Spain.

Pregnancy terminations related to DS are influenced by multiple factors. Some nations, such as Denmark, provide free access to prenatal screening, whereas there may be cost barriers for couples in other countries. A country's religious and cultural mores also play a role, as does a country's policies about the way expectant couples are counseled about prenatal screening and DS. Parents' decisions might also be influenced by the opportunities that exist for people with DS to live fulfilling, productive lives within a country. "In the U.S., people with Down syndrome have great opportunities to get an education, to fall in love, and to find satisfying jobs," says Skotko.

The modeling study also estimated the number of people with DS currently living in each country. The decreasing number of DS births is offset by people with DS living longer than ever--to an average age of around 60 in countries with resource-rich health care systems. In Europe there were 27% fewer people living with DS in the overall population in 2015 (and 21% fewer people with DS in the U.S)as a consequence of elective pregnancy termination from previous years.

Skotko and his international colleagues hope that the European and U.S. studies will pave the way for governments and DS organizations to work together and share best practices on thoughtful approaches to implementing NIPS and to supporting couples who receive a prenatal DS diagnosis. "Massachusetts, for example, has an outstanding network of parents who are willing to talk about their lived experiences of raising children with Down syndrome to expectant couples," says Skotko. "That nonprofit has trained parent groups in Brazil, Japan and elsewhere so they don't have to reinvent the wheel."

The researchers are planning a similar modeling study in Australia and New Zealand, and they will continue to update each country's data to measure the impact of different prenatal testing policies and of NIPS as it becomes more widely available. This research is unfunded; Skotko and his colleagues have volunteered their time to do these analyses. "We just feel it is so important to provide countries with accurate numbers of their citizens with Down syndrome," says Skotko.

###

Brian Skotko, MD, MPP, is the Emma Campbell Endowed Chair on Down Syndrome and director of the Down Syndrome Program at MGH. Gert de Graaf, PhD, is the education and science officer of the Dutch Down Syndrome Foundation and the paper's first author. Co-author Frank Buckley is CEO of the Down Syndrome Education International and Down Syndrome Education USA.

About the Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The Mass General Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than $1 billion and comprises more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 30 institutes, centers and departments. In August 2020, Mass General was named #6 in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospital

Low-income preschoolers exposed to nurturing care have with higher IQ scores later on

UM School of Medicine researchers find lower IQ scores in impoverished children can be mitigated with responsive care and learning opportunities

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Research News

 

IMAGE: THIS MODEL ILLUSTRATES THE PROPOSED ASSOCIATION BETWEEN EARLY CUMULATIVE ADVERSITIES IN CHILDHOOD AND BENEFITS IN ADOLESCENCE THAT MIGHT BE MODIFIED BY NURTURING CARE IN THE HOME; THE RESEARCHERS FOUND ONLY... view more 

CREDIT: REPRINTED FROM THE LANCET CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH, HTTP://WWW.THELANCET.COM/JOURNALS/LANCHI/ARTICLE/PIIS2352-4642(20)30309-6/FULLTEXT , ANGELA C B TRUDE ET ALEFFECTS OF RESPONSIVE CAREGIVING AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES DURING PRE-SCHOOL AGES ON THE ASSOCIATION OF...

Preschoolers living in impoverished communities who have access to a nurturing home environment have significantly higher intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in adolescence compared to those raised without nurturing care. That is the finding of a new international study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers, which examined data from more than 1600 children from Brazil and South Africa who were followed from birth through their teenage years. Results were published this week in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

The researchers analyzed data from long-running studies conducted in Brazil and South Africa to assess whether children exposed to early adversities (such as extreme poverty, low birth weight, or pre-term birth) could reach their full learning potential by experiencing responsive caregiving and opportunities to learn in their home. They found that prenatal and early life adversities matter throughout life. Adolescents who had been exposed to multiple adversities early in life had lower IQ scores, were more likely to have difficulties adjusting socially and psychologically, and achieved a lower physical height compared to adolescents exposed to fewer adversities. They also found that being raised in a nurturing environment could significantly counteract the detrimental effect of early adversities on IQ and help children achieve their full intellectual potential.

"We found that adolescents who were raised in nurturing environments had IQ scores that were on average 6 points higher than those who were not. This is a striking difference that has profound implications by increasing the intelligence of entire communities," said study corresponding author Maureen Black, PhD, the John A Scholl and Mary Louise Scholl Endowed Professor of Pediatrics at UMSOM. "A nurturing environment also led to better growth and fewer psycho-social difficulties in adolescence, but it did not mitigate the effects of early adversities on growth and psycho-social difficulties."

Globally, more than 250 million children younger than 5 years are at risk of not reaching their developmental potential because of adversities that co-occur early in life and accumulate with age. In the U.S, almost one in five children are raised in poverty and 15 percent do not complete high school, with higher rates for children in Black and Hispanic families. Exposing these children to a nurturing environment, whether at home or in daycare or pre-school settings, can lead to cognitive benefits that last into adolescence and beyond.

"I think our findings could apply to communities here in the U.S. where children are hungry, living in poverty or lacking in access to medical care," Dr. Black said.

Added study lead author Angela Trude, PhD, a post-doctoral fellow in the UMSOM Department of Pediatrics, "Parents want to provide nurturing environments and we need to help them." She said this includes interacting with young children in a positive way such as reading children's books from the library, singing songs together, and playing games with numbers and letters. Children who engage in age-appropriate chores with adult supervision like picking up toys and clearing the table gain skills and feel good about helping.

"Get children involved in friendly activities as much as possible rather than parking them in front of a screen," Dr. Black said. "Children love to learn and in a nurturing environment they can grow into adolescents and adults with the abilities to care for themselves, their families, and their communities."

###

The research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"As the world continues to suffer through a global pandemic, we must not let our youngest children fall through the cracks," said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "This research highlights the importance of nurturing caregivers, both at home and at school to help children lead more productive lives as adults."

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $563 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System ("University of Maryland Medicine") has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

Child care facilities can be safe and are essential: new Case Western Reserve study

Researchers outline recommendations to maintain safety standards during the pandemic

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Cleveland - Child care programs can be safe within the context of low community transmission of COVID-19, according to new research from Case Western Reserve University, based on data from child care programs throughout Ohio.

The study took place from Aug. 15 to Nov. 20, during a timeframe of relatively low community transmission of COVID-19. The team found COVID-19 infection rates at child care programs have been low as a result of:

• clear and comprehensive state guidelines for mitigating transmission within child care settings;
• streamlined reporting of cases to monitor trends;
• resources to support adherence to state guidelines; and
• high compliance with these guidelines by child care workers and families.

The Case Western Reserve study was funded by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) and supported by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The study relied on a sample of child care facilities that mirrors a mix of urban, suburban, and rural settings found across the country, offering insight into child care experiences nationally.

Additional findings from the ongoing study will provide another look as community transmission rates rise, with data collection continuing until the end of December. These new findings will be released in early 2021.

"We all have seen reports from across the country of vast numbers of parents--mostly women--dropping out of the workforce during the pandemic to care for their children as schools and child care facilities closed," said Darcy Freedman, professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of the Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health, who served as the principal investigator of the study. "How to reopen and stay open safely is important to tens of thousands of families across the state and hundreds of thousands of families across the country."

The findings show that child care programs in Ohio may have had higher readiness to handle COVID-19 than other sectors of the economy because of already-existing standards designed to promote safe and healthy environments, Freedman said. These, combined with statewide infection control guidelines adopted with high compliance by child care workers and families, resulted in lower levels of COVID-19 transmission within child care settings during the study's initial phase through early November.

But Freedman cautioned that additional supports, such as steady access to affordable personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitizing materials, may be needed for child care programs to remain vigilant as the COVID-19 epidemic continues.

Case Western Reserve researchers note that public health officials anticipate that even with the distribution of a vaccine, communities across the country may continue to see consistent low to moderate community transmission rates through 2021.

From the start of the pandemic in March 2020 until Nov. 13, less than 1% of all COVID-19 cases in Ohio were among child care workers and children affiliated with child care programs, based on incident reporting from child care programs to ODJFS. During most of the study's timeframe, COVID-19 positivity rates in Ohio were below the 5% threshold used to establish low risk of community transmission. COVID-19 positivity rates in Ohio began rising above 5% starting Oct. 20.

"Maintaining safety within child care programs requires capacity for staff and families to fully adhere to mitigation strategies, both within child care programs and outside in the community," Freedman said.

More than 6,000 child care programs are licensed in the state. Pre-pandemic, these facilities cared for more than 500,000 children each day. The Case Western Reserve survey of parents participating in this study noted that shuttering child care programs due to COVID-19 transmission would have the following results:

• Nearly 75% of families would have to reduce their work hours.
• More than half of families--59%--would need one person in the household to leave the workforce to stay home with children.

Key recommendations based on the study findings:

• Maintain child care capacity to fully comply with COVID-19 mitigation strategies;
• Develop a supply chain for affordable personal protective equipment and cleaning materials, allowing child care programs to uphold rigorous hygiene and sanitizing procedures;
• Standardize communication about COVID-19 disseminated through child care programs;
• Expand workforce pipeline for child care staffing during the pandemic.

###

About the study:

The study is based on statewide incident reporting of COVID-19 from all child care programs and more in-depth analysis among a sample of 46 child care programs operating in the 10 Ohio counties that account for about two-thirds of all child care programs statewide. These programs are located in: Ashtabula, Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Lucas, Montgomery, Stark and Summit counties. Data were collected from child care staff, administrators and parents or family caregivers from Aug. 15 - Nov. 20, 2020.

About Case Western Reserve University:

Case Western Reserve University is one of the country's leading private research institutions. Located in Cleveland, we offer a unique combination of forward-thinking educational opportunities in an inspiring cultural setting. Our leading-edge faculty engage in teaching and research in a collaborative, hands-on environment. Our nationally recognized programs include arts and sciences, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing and social work. About 5,100 undergraduate and 6,700 graduate students comprise our student body. Visit case.edu to see how Case Western Reserve thinks beyond the possible.

Community-based COVID-19 testing site highlight importance of understanding the virus'

One in four kids tested positive, with minorities impacted at higher rate

CHILDREN'S NATIONAL HOSPITAL

Research News

 

WASHINGTON - (December 18, 2020) A new study looking at the results of testing children for COVID-19 through a Children's National Hospital community-based testing site found that one in four patients had a positive test. The findings, reported online Dec. 18 in The Journal of Pediatrics, reinforce that children and young adults are impacted by the virus more than originally believed, and that the continued understanding of their role in transmitting COVID-19 is essential to getting the virus under control.

Of the 1,445 patients tested at the specimen collection site for SARS-CoV-2 virus between March 21 and May 16, 2020, the median age was 8 years old, and more than 34% of positive patients were Hispanic, followed by non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic white. The daily positivity rate increased over the study period, from 5.4% during the first week to a peak of 47.4% in May. Children and adolescents were referred to the testing site because of risk of exposure or mild symptoms.

"We knew that community-based testing sites were key in minimizing exposure risk to other patients and health care workers, preserving PPE, centralizing specimen collection services, mitigating acute care site overcrowding and informing our community of the burden caused by this disease," says Joelle Simpson, M.D., medical director of Emergency Preparedness at Children's National.

Drive-through/walk-up testing sites outside of a traditional acute care setting have emerged around the world to meet the need for testing mildly ill or asymptomatic individuals. In March, Children's National Hospital opened a drive-up/walk-up location - one of the first exclusively pediatric testing sites for the virus in the U.S. -- where primary care doctors in the Washington, D.C., region could refer young patients for COVID-19 specimen collection and testing.

"At first, children were not the target of testing initiatives, but it is clear that making testing available to pediatric patients early was a very important part of the pandemic response," says Meghan Delaney, D.O., M.P.H., chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children's National. "Not only can children get severe disease, they can be part of positive clusters with the adults they live with. The knowledge we have gained by testing many thousands of children over the pandemic has provided key information."

Compared with non-Hispanic white children and after adjustments for age, sex and distance of residence from specimen collection site, minority children had a higher likelihood of infection.

"We wanted to identify the features of children tested at this site who did not require acute medical care and be able to compare demographic and clinical differences between patients who tested positive and negative for COVID-19," says Dr. Simpson.

Patients with COVID-19 exposure and symptoms were more likely to have a positive test than patients without symptoms. This supports contact tracing for symptomatic cases and testing as an important tool in detecting and containing community spread, according to the study's findings. Although most patients were referred because they lived with a family member with high risk for exposure or infection, this was not associated with positive test results.

"The impact of this virus is broad and affects planning for children, especially as schools and childcare centers work to reopen," Dr. Simpson says. "In order to guide the development of measures to control the ongoing pandemic, we need better understand the transmission potential of these mildly symptomatic or well children and young adults."

###

Media contact:
Ariana Perez | ariana.perez@childrensnational.org | 301-244-6731

About Children's National Hospital

Children's National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., celebrates 150 years of pediatric care, research and commitment to community. Volunteers opened the hospital in 1870 with 12 beds for children displaced after the Civil War. Today, 150 years stronger, it is among the nation's top 10 children's hospitals. It is ranked No. 1 for newborn care for the fourth straight year and ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. Children's National is transforming pediatric medicine for all children. In 2020, construction will be complete on the Children's National Research & Innovation Campus, the first in the nation dedicated to pediatric research. Children's National has been designated three times in a row as a Magnet® hospital, demonstrating the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C., metropolitan area, including the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Children's National is home to the Children's National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and is the nation's seventh-highest NIH-funded children's hospital. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels.

For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Chemical composition of wild potato relative contributes to its resistance to pathogen

AMERICAN PHYTOPATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Research News

IMAGE: COLONIZATION AND MULTIPLICATION OF PECTOBACTERIUM BRASILIENSE PB1692 view more 

CREDIT: JANAK R. JOSHI, LINXING YAO, AMY O. CHARKOWSKI, AND ADAM L. HEUBERGER

Potato is the most consumed vegetable crop worldwide. However, despite its importance, potato production is severely affected by high susceptibility to a wide range of microbial pathogens, such as bacteria from the genus Pectobacterium, which cause various devastating diseases in potato and produce important economic losses.

Even though resistance to Pectobacterium species is limited within cultivated potato varieties, it is known that a potato wild relative (S. chacoense) is resistant to them; however, until recently, the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon remained unknown.

In a recent study published in the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (MPMI) journal, scientists from Colorado State University (CSU) revealed that metabolites from S. chacoense contribute to disease resistance by altering the pathogenic behavior of Pectobacterium brasiliense, rather than inhibiting its growth or killing it.

"We tested if chemicals extracted from the wild potato affect the behavior of the bacterium and found that these inhibited their ability to produce the enzymes that degrade plant cell walls. The chemicals also intercepted their ability to communicate with each other. To use a battle analogy, the wild potato plant chemicals intercepted the bacteria's missiles, they cut off their radio communications, and together this encouraged the bacteria to remain friendly neighbors," explained Adam Heuberger, a CSU Associate Professor involved in the research.

"This wild potato is also resistant to insects, viruses, and fungi. The question is always why, and then how, we can translate this information to improve society. There is much to learn by studying wild relatives of food and ornamental plants," Heuberger added.

###

For more information about this research, read "Metabolites from Wild Potato Inhibit Virulence Factors of the Soft Rot and Blackleg Pathogen Pectobacterium brasiliense" published in MPMI in November.

Water and genes flow between the two largest Baltic salmon rivers

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

Research News

 

IMAGE: JUVENILE SALMON FROM THE TORNIO RIVER. view more 

CREDIT: VILLE VÄHÄ

Salmon from upstream reaches of the two northernmost Baltic rivers are different from downstream salmon. A recent study found that upstream salmon from the large Tornio and Kalix Rivers in Finland and Sweden are genetically distinct and migrate at different times and ages than their downstream counterparts. However, there seems to be no such distinction between salmon from these two neighbouring rivers.

Traffic is busy below the surface of the Baltic Sea and rivers flowing into it. Starting in early summer, mature salmon migrate from the sea into their home rivers to spawn. The study by the University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) found that salmon destined to spawn far upstream entered the Tornio (Torne in Swedish) River at an earlier date during their spawning migration.

Morever, salmon heading to the upper parts of the river system had almost always spent more than one year at the sea. This is relevant for fisheries, as salmon grow larger the more time they spend at sea. Old and large salmon are particularly prized catches, and essential for the stocks' wellbeing: large salmon produce the most offspring. How to preserve this kind of diversity is an important consideration in the management and conservation of the largest wild Baltic salmon stocks.

"Salmon that entered the Tornio River earliest in the summer appeared to be mostly on their way to the upper reaches. This suggests that there is good reason to study and closely follow how fishing early in the season may affect the upstream populations," says lead author of the article Antti Miettinen, from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki.

Sal­mon don't fol­low bor­ders

The Tornio River acts as the border between Finland and Sweden, whereas the neighbouring Kalix River is located entirely in Sweden. These rivers host by far the largest remaining wild Baltic salmon stocks.

Surprisingly, the study found no clear genetic differences separating salmon from the two rivers. This may partly be explained by the rivers being connected to each other by one of the largest bifurcations in the world. About half of the water from the Swedish Torne River flows into the Kalix River through the bifurcation. From the salmon's perspective, it makes the rivers one vast system to navigate in. In practice, salmon and their genes have a way of reaching the other river.

"The bifurcation and intriguing genetic similarity between salmon from these rivers highlight the significance of cross-border collaboration in conserving and managing this important salmon stock," Miettinen says.

###

The research was funded by fishing license revenues from the Tornio/Torne River, The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, The Swedish Research Council Formas, The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, The Betty Väänänen Fund from The Kuopio Naturalists' Society (KLYY), The Raija and Ossi Tuuliainen Foundation (Raija ja Ossi Tuuliaisen Säätiö), and The Baltic Sea Fund from The Finnish Foundation for Nature Conservation (Suomen Luonnonsuojelun Säätiö).