Culture

Socioeconomic inequalities in premature deaths in Canada have increased over the last 25 years, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"Although premature mortality rates have declined over time in Canada, those with lower levels of income and education have not benefitted equally from these overall improvements," says Dr. Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Institute for Work and Health, Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors. "As a result of these uneven gains, socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality have increased in Canada."

To understand how socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality have changed, researchers analyzed data on adults aged 25-74 years using the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts, which links information from Canada's long-form Census to the Canadian Mortality Database. The study covered the period between 1991 and 2016. Key metrics were socioeconomic status, measured using household income and education, and cause of death.

The relative risk of premature death associated with having a lower income or lower level of education increased steadily over the study period. For example, whereas men in the lowest income group were 110% more likely to die prematurely than their richer counterparts in 1991, they were 180% more likely to die prematurely in 2016. That inequality also increased for lower-income women, who were 70% more likely to die prematurely than their richer counterparts in 1991, but 150% more likely to die prematurely in 2016.

The findings are consistent with those of other international studies that showed increasing mortality gaps between the rich and poor in the United States and Europe.

"We believe that health inequalities are getting worse because underlying social and economic inequalities are getting worse," says Dr. Shahidi. "To resolve health inequalities, governments should pursue policies that will reduce the extent of social and economic inequality in our society, such as raising the minimum wage, improving job security, increasing social assistance rates, and improving access to benefits such as Employment Insurance."

"Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in premature and avoidable mortality in Canada, 1991-2016" is published September 28, 2020.

With the summer heat becoming increasingly unbearable and prolonged over the years due to climate change, the cooling load in the summertime has also been on the rise. Insulation is currently the primary solution for blocking heat from entering a building, but by applying an additional material that can delay heat penetration, it can suppress the indoor temperature from rising and in turn lower the cooling load of the building.

A research team in Korea has developed a new material for buildings walls that can help reduce the penetration of heat from the outside. The team directed by Dr. Sarng Woo Karng from the National Research Agenda Division of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) revealed that they have successfully lowered heat penetration through building walls by applying a phase change material (PCM).

PCMs refer to materials that absorbs or releases heat from/to the surrounding area but does not change temperature during phase change. One of the most common types is paraffin oil, which is used to make candles. A solid PCM absorbs heat as it transitions into liquid phase, so by using a case to hold it when it is in liquid phase without causing any leakage, it is possible to apply them to a building wall to block heat from entering inside.

The problem is, however, PCMs do not melt evenly from the outside toward the inside during phase transition from solid to liquid. To be more specific, PCMs turn into liquid starting from the outermost layer, and the parts that are hot move upward, while the parts that are still relatively cool move downward. Thus, while the upper part may have completely melted, the lower part will have not, and as a result, heat will penetrate into the building through the area where the PCM is in liquid phase. Ultimately, the PCM becomes ineffective in controlling the indoor temperature and is rendered useless.

Dr. Karng's team addressed the non-uniform phase change with bubble injections. By injecting bubbles into bottom part of the PCM during phase transition enabled uniform circulation of the PCM in liquid phase. As a result, the PCM melted from the area closest to the envelope in a uniform manner, and heat penetration was inhibited across the building wall until the entire PCM melted.

Dr. Karng said, "We expect that the insulating wall using the PCM bubble generator used in this study will contribute to reducing the amount of energy used to heat or cool a building. Insulation techniques using PCMs helps reduce heat penetration, in combination with the building insulating material, and it can also be used as the outer walls of zero-energy buildings."

Researchers have shown that over the past two thousand years, volcanoes have played a larger role in natural temperature variability than previously thought, and their climatic effects may have contributed to past societal and economic change.

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, used samples from more than 9000 living and dead trees to obtain a precise yearly record of summer temperatures in North America and Eurasia, dating back to the year 1 CE. This revealed colder and warmer periods that they then compared with records for very large volcanic eruptions as well as major historical events.

Crucial to the accuracy of the dataset was the use of the same number of data points across the entire 2000 years. Previous reconstructions of climate over this extended period have been biased by over-representation of trees from more recent times.

The results, reported in the journal Dendrochronologia, show that the effect of volcanoes on global temperature changes is even greater than had been recognised, although the researchers stress that their work in no way diminishes the significance of human-caused climate change.

Instead, the researchers say, the study contributes to our understanding of the natural causes and societal consequences of summer temperature changes over the past two thousand years.

"There is so much we can determine about past climate conditions from the information in tree rings, but we have far more information from newer trees than we do for trees which lived a thousand years or more ago," said Professor Ulf Büntgen from Cambridge's Department of Geography, the study's lead author. "Removing some of the data from the more recent past levels the playing field for the whole 2000-year period we're looking at, so in the end, we gain a more accurate understanding of natural versus anthropogenic climate change."

Comparing the data from tree rings against evidence from ice cores, the researchers were able to identify the effect of past volcanic eruptions on summer temperatures.

Large volcanic eruptions can lower global average temperatures by fractions of a degree Celsius, with strongest effects in parts of North America and Eurasia. The main factor is the amount of sulphur emitted during the eruption that reaches the stratosphere, where it forms minute particles that block some sunlight from reaching the surface. This can result in shorter growing seasons and cooler temperatures, that lead in turn to reduced harvests. Conversely, in periods when fewer large eruptions occurred, the Earth is able to absorb more heat from the Sun and temperatures rise.

"Some climate models assume that the effect of volcanoes is punctuated and short," said Büntgen. "However, if you look at the cumulative effect over a whole century, this effect can be much longer. In part, we can explain warm conditions during the 3rd, 10th and 11th centuries through a comparative lack of eruptions."

Reconstructed summer temperatures in the 280s, 990s and 1020s, when volcanic forcing was low, were comparable to modern conditions until 2010.

Compared with existing large-scale temperature reconstructions of the past 1200-2000 years, the study reveals a greater pre-industrial summer temperature variability, including strong evidence for the Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) in the 6th and 7th centuries.

Then, working with historians, the scientists found that relatively constant warmth during Roman and medieval periods, when large volcanic eruptions were less frequent, often coincided with societal prosperity and political stability in Europe and China. However, the periods characterised by more prolific volcanism often coincided with times of conflict and economic decline.

"Interpreting history is always challenging," said Dr Clive Oppenheimer, the lead volcanologist of the study. "So many factors come into play - politics, economics, culture. But a big eruption that leads to widespread declines in grain production can hurt millions of people. Hunger can lead to famine, disease, conflict and migration. We see much evidence of this in the historical record.

"We knew that large eruptions could have these effects, especially when societies were already stressed, but I was surprised to see the opposite effect so clearly in our data - that centuries with rather few eruptions had warmer summers than the long-term average."

The new temperature reconstructions provide deeper insights into historical periods in which climactic changes, and their associated environmental responses, have had an outsized impact on human history. This has clear implications for our present and future. As climate change accelerates, extreme events, such as floods, drought, storms and wildfires, will become more frequent.

"Humans have no effect on whether or not a volcano erupts, but the warming trend we are seeing right now is certainly related to human activity," said Büntgen. "While nothing about the future is certain, we would do well to learn how climate change has affected human civilisation in the past."

During the process of natural selection and evolution, many animals and plants, such as snakes, scorpions and sea anemones, have acquired the ability to produce venom, which is regarded as their strong weapon for self-defense and predation. Toxic peptides extracted from venom can specifically plays a key role in Acid-Sensing Ion Channel (ASIC), cell membrane surface receptors and proteins intensively involved in life activities. The interactions between venom and target proteins present the advantages of high specification and high affinity, in which venom has been treated as molecular tools to research in protein structures and their physiological functions for drug development.

On September 11th, 2020, a research group from University of Science and Technology of China, led by TIAN Changlin, in cooperation with LIU Lei's research group from Tsinghua University, initially resolved the hASIC1a and freeze electron structure of the compound of hASCI1a and Mambalgin1 through freeze electron microscopic technology. Also, the two research groups applied 19F-NMR and electrophysiological function analysis of patch clamp into use, uncovering the structural mechanism of polypeptide combination and hASIC1a inhibition. This result has been published on eLife with the title of "Structural Insights into Human Acid-sensing Ion Channel 1a Inhibition by Snake Toxin Mambalgin1".

In 2014, Tian Changlin Lab successfully produced Mambagin 1 venom and resolved its solution structure by NMR methods. However, it was still in question that how Mambalgin could specifically recognize and inhibit the mechanism of activity in human ASIC.

The compound structure of hASC1a/mambalgin1 shows that this kind of venom polypeptides are bonded to the outward of hASIC1a through electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction, having revised the former hypothesis of interaction between venom and ASIC. Further studies showed that Mambalgin1 selectively bonded closed ASCI and locked it in closed conformation. Even the concentration of protons elevates, ASIC can hardly switch to the open state. Therefore, the author put forwarded the concept of "closed-state trapping" mechanism, where Mambalgin1 could achieve ASIC activity inhibition. This would prepare the foundation for polypeptide medicine development.

Sept. 22, 2020-- A new Viewpoint piece published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines the ways in which COVID-19 disproportionately impacts historically disadvantaged communities of color in the United States, and how baseline inequalities in our health system are amplified by the pandemic. The authors also discuss potential solutions.

In "COVID-19 Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Acute Care and Critical Illness Survivorship," Ann-Marcia Tukpah, MD, MPH, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and co-authors discuss how the legacies of structural racism, unequal resource investment and systems that perpetuate health disparities disproportionately impact individuals from the African American, Latinx, and Navajo Nation communities.

"We hope to draw attention to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on pre-existing health care disparities and inequities, with a focus on long-term care access," said Dr. Tukpah. "We also hope to spark discussion of how individual clinicians and health care systems can mitigate disparities, while recognizing the ultimate need for changes in health policy."

People in communities of color often have sub-par clinical care experiences, such as little to no access to specialty care physicians, and differences in rates of diagnostic testing. In many states, resources for COVID-19 treatment are allocated based on probability of survival.

These states rely on Crisis Standards of Care (CSCs) to prioritize treatment. "Some states with developed CSCs that consider comorbidities may not rely on validated comorbidity indices, such as the Charlson Comorbidity Index," the authors state. "Instead, vague language like 'major conditions with death likely within five years' are used. This sort of vague language opens the door to implicit biases playing a prominent role in decision making regarding resource allocation."

The broader question is whether basing care decisions on whether someone has comorbidities may lead to denial of lifesaving care to racial and ethnic minorities, as members of these groups may have these comorbid health conditions. The authors point out, "These groups tend to have poorer access to care and more comorbidities--such as Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease-- at baseline. In addition, it is unclear whether a low chance of five-year survival should dictate whether certain resources are provided, as a person's number of accomplishments, amount of quality family time, and contributions to society can be significant during these five years. Ultimately, even our best prediction models do not have 100 percent accuracy. There will likely be no complete way to mitigate/eradicate disparities in triage and care allocation, but input by represented stakeholders and a process integrating equity and justice principles will be important."

Solutions to address these inequalities include implementing a racial or socioeconomic correction factor. Since priority scoring processes are subject to implicit bias, and may lack adequate representation of affected individuals, training is essential in order to ascertain ethical and equity values. Hospital triage and ethics committees need to communicate and monitor one another.

The authors state: "As pulmonologists and intensivists, applying an equity lens to our health care delivery, we are concerned by a COVID-19 cycle: In general, racial/ethnic minority patients have higher rates of public-facing occupations, suffer more from vulnerable conditions/chronic medical problems and have less insurance coverage. They also face higher rates of infection. If ethnic and racial minority patients present for acute care delivery and comorbidities are considered in their access to scarce resources, they may not be able to access potentially life-saving interventions. If they are then COVID-19 survivors, they face greater challenges to recovery, from logistical destination issues (access to long-term care) to symptom resolution or progression (because of the underlying chronic conditions or other patient-specific or care-related factors). Therefore, we want to continue to ask: How do we break this risk cycle?"

With concerns of a second surge of COVID-19 during the upcoming influenza season, preparing for both acute and post-acute/survivorship care in the most equitable and ethical manner is critical. "Given that about half of insurance coverage is through employer-based plans coupled with now high rates of unemployment, there are significant concerns about exacerbating already existing access disparities," said Dr. Tukpah. "Various public policies might be considered. Robust data should be collected about transfer rates for post-acute destinations and outcomes. Support for funding to expand available facilities (including specialized post-acute treatment facilities), provision of coverage mechanisms for unemployed patients (similar to the CARES Act condition for uninsured patients) and development of frameworks that recognize the challenges a surge can create for discharge destinations will be important initial considerations. There is already active discussion about possible state and federal acute care protections in the literature and we hope this will be extended to the post-acute setting."

She concluded, "Empowering people and communities (with information and tools) to engage in their own health care outcomes is also critical to how we deliver health care. Additionally, individual physicians can be advocates for improved care, quality and delivery -- from recognizing implicit bias to contributing to coordinated accessible care, to leading change within their health care systems."

New light is being shed on a little-known role of Y chromosome genes, specific to males, that could explain why men suffer differently than women from various diseases, including Covid-19.

The findings were published this month in Scientific Reports by Université de Montréal professor Christian Deschepper, director of the Experimental Cardiovascular Biology research unit of the Montreal Clinical Research Institute.

"Our discovery provides a better understanding of how male genes on the Y chromosome allow male cells to function differently from female cells," said Deschepper, the study's lead author, who is also an associate professor at McGill University.

"In the future, these results could help to shed some light on why some diseases occur differently in men and women."

Genes that females lack

Humans each have 23 pairs of chromosomes, including one pair of sex chromosomes. While females carry two X sex chromosomes, males carry one X and one Y chromosome. This male chromosome carries genes that females lack. Although these male genes are expressed in all cells of the body, their only confirmed role to date has been essentially limited to the functions of the sex organs.

In his study, Deschepper performed a genetic manipulation that inactivated two male genes on the Y chromosome, altering several signalling pathways that play important roles in certain functions of non-sex organ cells. For example, under stress, some of the affected mechanisms could influence the way in which cells in human hearts defend themselves against aggressions such as ischemia (reduced blood supply) or mechanical stress.

In addition, the study showed that these male genes performed their regulatory functions in a way that was unusual compared to the mechanisms generally used by most other genes on the non-sex chromosomes. Thus, instead of specifically activating certain genes by direct action at the genome level, the Y chromosome seems to affect cellular functions by acting on protein production.

The discovery of these differences in function may explain in part why the functions of male Y chromosome genes have so far been poorly understood, said Deschepper.

Males differ from females in the manifestation, severity and consequences of most diseases. A recent example of this duality is Covid-19, which has a mortality rate twice as high in men than in women.

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have found that although male and female birds have an almost identical set of genes, they function differently in each sex through a mechanism called alternative splicing.

Males and females of the same bird species can be strikingly different. For example, in addition to fundamental differences in reproduction, the sexes can show profound variation in behavior, colouration, metabolism, disease incidence and life history. The team wanted to understand how these remarkable differences develop despite males and females sharing mostly the same DNA.

Thea Rogers, PhD student at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study, said: "One notable example of differences between male and female birds is in the peafowl, peacocks have magnificent plumage, whereas the female peahen is relatively dull. The peacock's long tail and bright colours evolved to help them attract mates, but having such eye-catching looks can come with negatives such as making them more noticeable to predators.

"Features like this are beneficial to the males but may not be beneficial for females, so birds must find a way to evolve different characteristics. We predicted that the secret to these differences must lie in understanding how the same genes are expressed and function differently in males and females."

The team studied the genomes of multiple bird species to understand how they expressed these different qualities in males and females.

Genes encode proteins, large complex molecules which drive processes in the body and are responsible for the function and structure of the body's tissues. Before genes can be used to make proteins, their DNA sequence is transcribed into RNA, an intermediary molecule that contains the instructions for making proteins.

The scientists found that males and females differ in how bits of RNA are stitched together, meaning that the same gene can produce a large number of distinct proteins and functions depending on which sex the gene is expressed in. This process is called alternative splicing.

Dr Alison Wright, a researcher at the University of Sheffield and senior author of the study, said: "It is likely that this genetic process is really important for generating biodiversity, not only in birds but across the whole animal kingdom."

What The Study Did: Researchers investigated the association between race and COVID-19 after accounting for age, sex, socioeconomic status and comorbidities.

Authors: L. Silvia Muñoz-Price, M.D., Ph.D., of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.21892)

Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Sharing a home with a pet appeared to act as a buffer against psychological stress during lockdown, a new survey shows.

Most people who took part in the research perceived their pets to be a source of considerable support during the lockdown period. (23 March - 1 June, 2020)

The study - from the University of York and the University of Lincoln - found that having a pet was linked to maintaining better mental health and reducing loneliness. Around 90 per cent of the 6,000 participants who were from the UK had at least one pet. The strength of the human-animal bond did not differ significantly between species with the most common pets being cats and dogs followed by small mammals and fish.

More than 90 per cent of respondents said their pet helped them cope emotionally with the lockdown and 96 per cent said their pet helped keep them fit and active.

However, 68 per cent of pet owners reported having been worried about their animals during lockdown, for example due to restrictions on access to veterinary care and exercise or because they wouldn't know who would look after their pet if they fell ill.

Lead author, Dr Elena Ratschen from the Department of Health Sciences University of York said: "Findings from this study also demonstrated potential links between people's mental health and the emotional bonds they form with their pets: measures of the strength of the human-animal bond were higher among people who reported lower scores for mental health-related outcomes at baseline.

"We also discovered that in this study, the strength of the emotional bond with pets did not statistically differ by animal species, meaning that people in our sample felt on average as emotionally close to, for example, their guinea pig as they felt to their dog.

"It will be important to ensure that pet owners are appropriately supported in caring for their pet during the pandemic."

Co-author, Professor Daniel Mills from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Lincoln said: "This work is particularly important at the current time as it indicates how having a companion animal in your home can buffer against some of the psychological stress associated with lockdown. However, it is important that everyone appreciates their pet's needs too, as our other work shows failing to meet these can have a detrimental effect for both people and their pets."

Dr Ratschen added: "While our study showed that having a pet may mitigate some of the detrimental psychological effects of the Covid-19 lockdown, it is important to understand that this finding is unlikely to be of clinical significance and does not warrant any suggestion that people should acquire pets to protect their mental health during the pandemic."

More than 40% of UK households are estimated to own at least one pet.

The study also showed that the most popular interaction with animals that were not pets was birdwatching. Almost 55 per cent of people surveyed reported watching and feeding birds in their garden.

(Boston)--Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were vitamin D sufficient, with a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D of at least 30 ng/mL (a measure of vitamin D status), had a significant decreased risk for adverse clinical outcomes including becoming unconscious, hypoxia (body starved for oxygen) and death. In addition, they had lower blood levels of an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein) and higher blood levels of lymphocytes (a type of immune cell to help fight infection).

"This study provides direct evidence that vitamin D sufficiency can reduce the complications, including the cytokine storm (release of too many proteins into the blood too quickly) and ultimately death from COVID-19," explained corresponding author Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics and molecular medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.

A blood sample to measure vitamin D status (measured serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) was taken from 235 patients were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. These patients were followed for clinical outcomes including clinical severity of the infection, becoming unconscious, having difficulty in breathing resulting in hypoxia and death. The blood was also analyze for an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein) and for numbers of lymphocytes. The researchers then compared all of these parameters in patients who were vitamin D deficient to those who were vitamin D sufficient.

In patients older than 40 years they observed that those patients who were vitamin D sufficient were 51.5 percent less likely to die from the infection compared to patients who were vitamin D deficient or insufficient with a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 30 ng/mL.

Holick, who most recently published a study which found that a sufficient amount of vitamin D can reduce the risk of catching coronavirus by 54 percent, believes that being vitamin D sufficient helps to fight consequences from being infected not only with the corona virus but also other viruses causing upper respiratory tract illnesses including influenza. "There is great concern that the combination of an influenza infection and a coronal viral infection could substantially increase hospitalizations and death due to complications from these viral infections."

According to Holick this study provides a simple and cost-effective strategy to improve one's ability to fight the corona virus and reduce COVID-19's adverse clinical outcomes, including requiring ventilator support, overactive immune response leading to cytokine storm and death. "Because vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is so widespread in children and adults in the United States and worldwide, especially in the winter months, it is prudent for everyone to take a vitamin D supplement to reduce risk of being infected and having complications from COVID-19."

A paper just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that adherence to infection control processes, especially proper wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cohorting strategies, such as grouping residents based on their risk of infection or whether they tested positive for COVID-19, was significantly associated with declines in weekly infection and mortality rates.

Lewis A. Lipsitz, M.D., Director of the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Chief Academic Officer at Hebrew SeniorLife, was the lead author on the report, which analyzed the process and outcome of Massachusetts' novel state-wide COVID-19 infection control program developed to stem the rate of infection among vulnerable nursing home populations.

In April 2020, Massachusetts nursing homes became a hotspot for COVID-19 infections and associated deaths. In response, Governor Charles Baker allocated $130 million in additional nursing home funding for two months. Funding was contingent on compliance with a new set of care criteria, which included mandatory testing of all residents and staff, and a 28-point infection control check-list. The 28 items included:

six core (must-pass) competencies related to cohorting of COVID-19 cases;

closing of congregate spaces;

training and demonstrated proficiency in the donning and removal of PPE;

proper wearing of PPE;

the presence of appropriate infection control policies; and

the ability of staff to recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

Within two days of the Governor's announcement, Hebrew SeniorLife and the Massachusetts Senior Care Association collaborated to rapidly organize a Central Command Committee and five teams responsible for:

infection control consultation and training;

PPE procurement; and

staffing, testing, and data management.

Eighty nursing homes with previous infection control deficiencies, and 43 additional facilities that failed an initial State Executive Office of Health and Human Services audit, were deemed "special focus" for on-site and virtual consultations, and all Massachusetts facilities were offered weekly webinars and answers to questions regarding infection control procedures. The facilities were also informed by the Massachusetts Senior Care Association of available resources for the acquisition of PPE and back-up staff, and the Massachusetts National Guard was mobilized to provide universal testing.

Review and analysis of data collected from the program showed both resident and staff infection rates in special focus facilities rapidly declined to the same low level in both groups after facilities put recommended infection control interventions in place. For example, special focus resident infection rates declined from 10 percent (May 17) to approximately 0 percent (July 5).

"Massachusetts' innovative program was unprecedented in this country," said Dr. Lipsitz. "It helped long-term care providers increase their knowledge of, and access to, best infection control practices and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread for both residents and staff."

Lou Woolf, President and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife said, "We hope to see this intervention replicated in other states, appropriately funded, and sustained in all nursing homes, so that future waves of COVID-19, and other pandemics, can be prevented or mitigated."

"This study shows the importance of prioritizing surveillance testing, funding for wages, and PPE for nursing homes so that we can protect both our staff and our residents," said Tara Gregorio, President of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. "Until a vaccine is approved and available widely, these remain our best defenses against COVID-19."

Detergents, shampoos, soaps and other everyday items sometimes contain a group of chemicals called phthalates, which are often used to enhance products and add flexibility to plastics. However, mounting research has shown a link between phthalates and effects on hormones in humans, laboratory animals and wildlife, which is why phthalates are increasingly being replaced with other chemicals, such as a compound called DINCH.

In collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyzed urine samples from pregnant women to look for the presence of DINCH, which is short for di(isononyl)cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate. They found concentrations of DINCH in most of the urine samples but no evidence of effects in lab assays on two hormones, progesterone and estrogen. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Chemosphere.

Phthalates are often called plasticizers and can be found not only in personal care products to help them maintain a gel-like consistency but also in garden hoses, inflatable toys and medical tubing. "They are used to provide flexibility in plastics. Think of a rubber ducky and how squishy it is. That's because of phthalates in vinyl," said NIST researcher John Kucklick.

However, phthalates can disrupt the hormonal or endocrine system, which may cause pregnancy loss, infertility and harmful effects on the delivery of a baby.

As a result, many manufacturers have replaced phthalates with chemicals such as DINCH, another type of plasticizer, but less is known about the effects of this chemical compound on humans. DINCH has been used since 2002 in commercial products such as toys, medical devices and food packaging.

"People are exposed to different compounds, and we find out about some of them, such as phthalates, which are being replaced by industry," said NIST researcher Jessica Reiner. "We may or may not know a lot of information about these new compounds, but studies like this one are always looking to understand if they're a good substitute compared with other ones."

Once DINCH enters the human body, it is processed and broken down into compounds called metabolites and excreted in the urine. The researchers collected urine samples over a period of four years from a total of 100 pregnant women living in the Charleston, South Carolina, area who planned to deliver at the Medical University of South Carolina medical center. The samples were then analyzed to check for DINCH metabolites.

Plasticizers are found everywhere, and it is challenging to measure the compound by itself because of all the possible contamination sources in the lab. "So, we look at the metabolites that have gone through a person, and they're only found in urine and not found anywhere else. It's much easier to measure than the unmetabolized compound," said Kucklick.

At the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, NIST researchers analyzed urine samples for three DINCH metabolites using liquid chromatography (a technique that separates a sample into its individual parts) and tandem mass spectroscopy (which measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions). Results showed that one type of DINCH metabolite, OH-MINCH, was detected in 98% of the urine samples. But the concentration levels of the metabolite were low and 275 times less than the most prevalent phthalate metabolite, monoethyl phthalate, suggesting that levels of human exposure to DINCH are smaller. But researchers weren't just looking at concentration levels of DINCH.

Another aspect of the study was to analyze DINCH exposure by race. Of the 100 pregnant women, half were African American, while the others were Caucasian. Concentrations of OH-MINCH were 50% higher in African American women compared to Caucasian women, which was consistent with a 2017 study that looked at phthalate levels, led by Abby Wenzel, a NIST postdoctoral researcher at the time.

Researchers hypothesized the difference in concentration levels could be attributed to the type of personal care products that African American women use compared with Caucasian women and that these products are also replacing phthalates with DINCH. But further follow-up studies are needed to understand the reasons for this discrepancy, the researchers said.

The researchers did not find evidence that the DINCH metabolites interfered with regulating the signaling of specific hormones required for pregnancy. Using a method called transactivation assay, they added the metabolites to chemical receptors in test tubes for two types of hormones: estrogen, which is involved in sexual reproduction, and progesterone, which is involved in pregnancy. The researchers monitored whether the DINCH metabolites acted in ways similar to the hormones or interfered with the regulation of the hormones. No effects were observed in this study, but, according to Kucklick, that doesn't mean they aren't there.

This work may lay the foundation for future standard reference materials that could benefit research by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is also studying these compounds, especially phthalates in urine. Another area of interest is how DINCH works in the body. But more immediately, additional testing and analysis needs to be conducted to make sure the use of DINCH does not have long-term consequences.

"We're always trying to learn about the chemicals we don't know about. It's good to understand what we're being exposed to and what some of the downsides of what these chemicals might be," said Kucklick.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A politically engaged electorate is key to any thriving democracy, but not everyone participates in elections and other political activities. New research found that people who are narcissistic may also be more politically active.

In a series of studies performed in the United States and Denmark, researchers found that people with higher levels of narcissism -- a trait combining selfishness, entitlement and a need for admiration -- were also more likely to participate in politics. This could include contacting politicians, signing petitions, donating money, and voting in midterm elections, among other things.

Peter Hatemi, distinguished professor of political science at Penn State, said the findings may give insight into how and why certain political candidates succeed in elections.

"It is hard not to think that those high in narcissism taking part in the political process appears to have some role in the current state of our democracy," Hatemi said. "If people who are more interested in their own personal gain and status take a greater part in elections, then we can expect candidates to emerge who reflect their desires -- narcissism begets narcissism."

According to the researchers, previous work has shown that higher levels of narcissism are linked with behaviors that could be harmful to functioning democracies -- for example, shifting focus from civic responsibility toward a person's own self-interest and gratification. Higher narcissism in the general public has been connected with more conflict and civic strife, in addition to less cooperation, compromise, and forgiveness.

Hatemi said that in the current political climate in the U.S., more people are becoming politically active -- but this mobilization is not evenly distributed among personality types.

For their studies, the researchers gathered a variety of data. They conducted two nationally representative surveys: one in the U.S. and one in Denmark, with 500 and 2,450 participants in each, respectively. There was a third, web-based U.S. study with 2,280 participants.

In all three studies, participants were asked about their voting history and political participation, which included attending demonstrations or meetings, contacting politicians or the media, and donating money. Narcissism was measured with a questionnaire in which participants were asked to choose between two statements that could apply to them. For example, "I insist upon getting the respect that is due me" vs. "I usually get the respect that I deserve."

The researchers found that narcissism was associated with higher participation in early politics, like contacting decision makers and publicizing their opinions. People with higher narcissism were also more likely to vote in midterm elections. The researchers said that because people with higher levels of narcissism are literally speaking out more, their voices could be more likely to be heard.

Breaking the results down further, the researchers found that the traits of superiority and authority/leadership were related to higher participation. Self-sufficiency, however, was associated with less participation.

"The general picture is that individuals who believe in themselves, and believe that they are better than others, engage in the political process more," Hatemi said. "At the same time, those individuals who are more self-sufficient are also less likely to take part in the political process. This means that policies and electoral outcomes could increasingly be guided by those who both want more but give less."

Hatemi said that while it's difficult to pinpoint a solution, finding ways to increase political engagement among a more diverse electorate while reducing an overrepresentation of narcissism would be a good start.

"Successful democratic functioning requires trust in institutions, efficacy, and engagement in the democratic process," Hatemi said. "If those who are more narcissistic are the most engaged, and the political process itself is driving up narcissism in the public, in my opinion, the future of our democracy could be in jeopardy."

Self-discipline, high achievement and diligence linked to better cognitive resilience

People can function well in spite of neuropathology in brain

Evidence shows path to optimize function in old age

CHICAGO --- Our aging brains collect tangles and sticky plaques that can interfere in our cognition and memory. But some older adults with this neuropathology have more cognitive resilience than others, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

The reason: their personalities.

Personality traits were associated with cognitive resilience, which is the ability to better live with the neuropathology in the brain that causes dementia. Individuals with a greater tendency toward self-discipline, organization, diligence, high achievement and motivation -- a trait known as higher conscientiousness -- was associated with greater resilience.

Individuals with higher neuroticism -- a greater tendency towards anxiety, worry, moodiness and impulsivity -- were more likely to have worse cognitive function than expected given the amount of neuropathology detected at autopsy.

The study was published Sept. 24 in Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.

"These findings provide evidence that it is possible for older adults to live with the neuropathology associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias while maintaining relatively healthy levels of cognitive function," said lead study author Eileen Graham, a research assistant professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"Our study shows personality traits are related to how well people are able to maintain their cognitive function in spite of developing neuropathology," Graham said. "Since it is possible for personality to change, both volitionally and through interventions, it's possible that personality could be used to identify those who are at risk and implement early interventions to help optimize function throughout old age."

Personality and other factors that promote cognitive resilience may be particularly important in the context of stress (like the COVID-19 pandemic) and this is an important area of future research, Graham noted.

This is believed to be one of the first studies showing an individual's personality traits are linked to how well they are able to sustain their cognitive function as they age. These findings lend credence to the idea that personality can be leveraged to help individuals maintain their cognitive function when they may otherwise be vulnerable to neurodegeneration.

The data was collected at Rush University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Individuals contributed annual psychosocial self-report survey and clinical data. At study enrollment they also consented to donating their brains for post-mortem autopsy. Study participants contributed years of rich data on their psychological and cognitive functioning while they were living, as well as autopsy data after they died.

Consumers always look for good quality products, above all in fresh food like vegetables. But how do we measure the quality of fresh spinach before it gets on the market nowadays? The most commonly used methods to analyze vegetable quality are slow, costly and destructive. They require choosing several samples from the same batch, to be analyzed later at a laboratory. In order to carry out different kinds of analyses, the product must be destroyed, so an entire harvest cannot be used.

A University of Cordoba team sought to find a solution to this issue by proposing the use of a non-invasive kind of technology: near infrared spectroscopy, abbreviated to NIRS. Though its use is widespread in many fields, such as in the food sector, it is also used in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceutics and even biomedicine.

"This technique is based on light interacting with a product in order to gather information about its physical-chemical make-up, its structure and even parameters related to its sensorial characteristics", explains researcher Dolores Pérez Marín who, along with María Teresa Sánchez, leads a line of research studying the use of NIRS sensors as applied to fruit and vegetables. Research groups PAIDI AGR-128 and AGR-193 have been working together on this line of research for years. In particular, this study was performed within the framework of Irina Torres Rodríguez's doctoral thesis research, in partnership with the industrial sector.

The aim of this study was to develop prediction models for parameters linked to food quality and safety of spinach, by means of using a portable NIRS micro instrument, which is very small in size, that allows researchers to analyze the product directly in the field, as well as at reception and processing points the product passes through. "The results are very positive", says Dolores Pérez Marín. "They show this technology's ability to directly analyze vegetables in the farm field or within the industry, in order to determine the characteristics related to quality as well as food safety".

As far as quality is concerned, the product's soluble solid content was studied, which helps plan the best harvest date at the point when a suitable level has been reached. Also, nitrate content was analyzed as well, which allows farmers to set appropriate fertilizer amounts for each crop. This is of utmost interest for the product's food safety, given that European regulations have established a maximum level of nitrates that can be present in vegetables depending on if they will be used for baby food, consumed fresh or will be processed.

The study concludes, therefore, that NIRS spectroscopy offers ideal features in order to provide answers to current needs in quality control in the food sector. It is fast, accurate, environmentally friendly, affordable and non-destructive. "In fact, this knowledge is receiving quite a lot of interest within the sector. There is already a company that is using this technology provided by UCO", the researcher comments.

This research team continues to make progress in the use of new instruments and applications on other food products. The use of NIRS technology within the food industry is a very new topic that could revolutionize quality control systems. Specifically, its use as a non-directed method, an approach that does not look for a particular component, as traditional lab analyses do, but rather tries to find out if the product is different from set standards, will undoubtedly enable us to stay one step ahead of future food crises.