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A group of Australian scientists has created the world's first computer model that can accurately predict the movements of baby coral trout across the Great Barrier Reef. The study confirms the importance of fish larvae produced in no-take zones for the health of fish populations within nearby fishing zones.

Tracking the lives of thousands of tiny baby fish is no easy task. But knowing where they'll settle and spend their lives as adults is invaluable data for the fishing industry and reef managers.

The accuracy of the model was tested in a recent study--led by Dr Michael Bode from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at James Cook University (JCU)--that validates the computer predictions with field data.

This is a world-first achievement, combining the movement of ocean currents in and around the Great Barrier Reef with the genetic and behavioural data of fish.

"The study is a unique conservation collaboration between marine biologists, geneticists, and recreational fishers," Dr Bode said.

"This was a major field effort combined with some clever genetic work that involved matching baby fish to their parents to understand their movement," co-author Dr Hugo Harrison, also from Coral CoE at JCU, said. "The behaviour of fish in their first few weeks after hatching can really influence where they eventually settle."

The study focussed on coral trout, Plectropomus maculatus, which is one of the most valuable species of fish regularly caught on the Great Barrier Reef.

To test the computer model's predictions 1,190 juvenile and 880 adult fish were tracked--from spawning locations to settlement--across the reef for two years.

The computer model recreates the movements of baby fish across space and time by considering what depth the coral trout swim at, how fast they swim, and how they orient themselves as they grow older.

The results highlighted the interconnectedness of reefs, and how important no-take zones are when considering future adult fish populations.

"Our results prove that the Great Barrier Reef's no-take zones are connected with invisible threads," Dr Bode said.

"Knowing how reefs are connected to one another means fishers and managers alike can identify which areas are likely to be most productive and need protecting," Dr Harrison said. "It's the babies from these protected areas that will continue to restock fish populations on neighbouring reefs where fishing is allowed."

Dr Bode said establishing the accuracy of these models is an important breakthrough.

"Our match between models and data provides reassuring support for using them as decision-support tools, but also directions for future improvement."

Researchers reveal previously undiscovered hot spots on the surface of bacteria's critical enzyme, which could guide novel approaches to antibiotic design.

Researchers have identified key sections of a bacterial enzyme that could be targeted with new drugs to inhibit the spread of some bacterial infections. A team of scientists from Hokkaido University in Japan, Duke University in the U.S. and The Catholic University of Korea recently published their findings in the journal Nature Communications.

"Drug-resistant bacterial infections have claimed the lives of millions of people worldwide," said Satoshi Ichikawa of Hokkaido University's Center for Research and Education on Drug Discovery, a member of the research team. "Because of the emergence of global antibiotic resistance, scientists are constantly searching for new antibacterial compounds."

One attractive yet unexplored target for new antibiotics is an enzyme called MraY that aids the formation of the bacterial cell wall -- an essential component for all bacteria. Five types of natural products have been discovered to have inhibitory activities against MraY. However, exactly what goes on between the inhibitors and MraY on the molecular level has been unclear, hindering drug development.

To get a closer look at these interactions, the researchers analysed the crystal structures of three types of nucleoside inhibitors that target MraY - liposidomycin/caprazamycin, capuramycin, and mureidomycin. Each type of MraY inhibitor has a distinct chemical structure and inhibition mechanism. The scientists used X-ray crystallography, a technique used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, to analyse how the inhibitors bind to and interact with MraY.

The structures revealed previously unknown spots on MraY's surface where inhibitors bind to the enzyme as part of the interference process. Specifically, the researchers found all three types of nucleoside inhibitor bind to one region on MraY's surface, called the uridine binding pocket, in a similar manner. However, they each form different interactions with at least two other MraY binding sites. These binding sites and pocket could be possible targets for new antibiotics designed to behave like the inhibitors.

"Our work can guide new approaches to MraY-targeted antibiotic design," says Satoshi Ichikawa. "By using this knowledge of how the compounds bind to and interact with MraY, it would be possible to design an MraY inhibitor that targets a novel combination of binding sites, with improved pharmacological properties and therapeutic potential."

Bottom Line: A population-based study using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan suggests hearing loss is associated with risk of dementia. The study included 8,135 patients with newly diagnosed hearing loss and an equal number of individuals without hearing loss for comparison. Among the 16,270 study participants, 1,868 developed dementia. Patients with hearing loss had a higher risk of dementia, especially those 45 to 64 years old. Six coexisting conditions also were associated with dementia risk in the present study. The authors caution causal inferences cannot be drawn from their findings.

Authors:

Authors: Charles Tzu-Chi Lee, Ph.D., of the National Taiwan Normal University, and Chin-Mei Liu, Ph.D., of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, both in Taipei

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8112)

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

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is the new online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. Every Wednesday and Friday, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

Researchers at Siberian Federal University, together with colleagues from the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), discovered new properties of material based on palladium, which can increase the performance of solar cells.

Palladium diselenide is a promising material whose properties have not yet been fully studied. For example, it was reported that its two-dimensional form can be effective in photocatalysis - the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to sunlight, which can be used to produce ecological fuel. Researchers have recently learned how to synthesize single- and double-layered versions of the PdSe2 composition, but the strengths and weaknesses of these materials remained unknown until recently. The researchers used high-precision calculation methods for the first time and managed to study the electronic and optical properties of single- and two-layer material based on palladium diselenide in detail, which, as it turned out, can absorb solar energy more efficiently than silicon-based material used in solar batteries.

""The material demonstrates higher conversion rates of solar energy into electrical energy due to a wider spectrum of energy absorption compared to silicon-based elements used today as semiconductors, and therefore can significantly increase the efficiency of solar cells. Palladium diselenide (PdSe2) can be used as an independent material for solar cell elements in the construction of spacecraft and artificial Earth satellites, since the material efficiency in most cases justifies the costs in the space industry"", -- says one of the researchers from Siberian Federal University Artem Kuklin.

To carry out high-precision calculations of material properties, scientists used the Akademik Matrosov supercomputer, located in Matrosov Institute for System Dynamics and Control Theory of the Siberian Branch of the RAS.

""The share of "solar" energy will steadily increase in Russia due to the high environmental friendliness and relative cheapness of this method. Today in our country there are 10 "solar" stations with a total capacity of about 100 MW, which is 0.04% of the total installed capacity of the Russian power system. In Yakutia, the cost of electricity from diesel generators is very expensive and here solar installations can significantly reduce the cost of energy supply. Our goal is to develop more advanced materials so that the efficiency of solar cells increases"", -- says Artem Kuklin.

The results of scientific work were published in the journal Physical Review. The researchers plan to continue their work exploring the effect of defects on its properties and the probability of their formation. Having learned to manage defects, scientists will be able to create material with predictable characteristics.

Patients who suffer from tinnitus, a perceived noise or ringing in the ears, and hyperacusis, extreme sensitivity to noise, could be at heightened risk for thoughts of suicide and self-harm because of their childhood history of parental mental illness.

A new study, published in the American Journal of Audiology, is the first to examine the relationship between parental mental illness such as anxiety, depression and anger in childhood and the risk of suicidal and self-harm ideations in adults who suffer from these debilitating hearing disorders.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University, the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Guildford, United Kingdom, and the Lech-Mangfall-Hospital Agatharied in Hausham, Germany, alert clinicians who treat patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis to consider the patients' parental mental health illnesses and screen for suicidal and self-harm ideations, especially in those who also suffer from depression.

Results of the study reveal that among patients seeking help for their tinnitus and hyperacusis, poor parental mental health was associated with the risk of suicidal and self-harm ideations across the life span. The two variables associated with the risk of suicidal and self-harm ideations were patients' childhood history of parental mental illness and their current depression level.

"If the history of parental mental illness in childhood significantly increases the risk of suicidal and self-harm ideations in this population, then it would be important to screen for them in order to make timely onward referrals to mental health services," said Ali Danesh, Ph.D., co-author, a professor of communication science and disorders in FAU's College of Education, a professor of clinical biomedical sciences in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine, and a member of FAU's Brain Institute (I-BRAIN), one of the university's four research pillars. "Although most people who are bothered by tinnitus seek medical help, once they are informed that there is no definitive cure, they often choose to self-manage their symptoms and do not seek further professional help, despite the fact that a high percentage of tinnitus cases are manageable indeed."

Results show that 46 of 292 patients in the study, or approximately 16 percent of the patients, expressed that they were bothered by suicidal and self-harm ideations within the last two weeks. Furthermore, about 39 percent of the patients reported that, while they were growing up during the first 18 years of their life, their parent(s) were suffering from a mental illness. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant relationship between suicidal and self-harm ideations and the history of parental mental illness. About 40 percent of the patients with tinnitus also suffered from depression.

The relationship between childhood history of parental mental illness and the suicidal and self-harm ideations remained significant throughout the study. This finding suggests that, even taking into account the impact of depression, which is known to be associated with suicidal risk, the childhood history of parental mental illness has a screening value in identifying patients who may be at risk for developing suicidal and self-harm ideations.

"Inquiring about suicidal inclinations can help patients talk about their intentions and feel better understood, which in turn may reduce the risk of suicidal behavior," said Hashir Aazh, Ph.D., senior author and a tinnitus and hyperacusis specialist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, United Kingdom, who co-authored the study with Danesh and Michael Landgrebe, M.D., Ph.D., in the Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at Lech-Mangfall-Hospital Agatharied. "Audiology departments play a major role in offering therapy and support for patients experiencing tinnitus and hyperacusis. Audiologists who are involved in rehabilitation and treating these hearing disorders should be aware of the factors that predict suicidal and self-harm ideations in this population."

There is currently no absolute cure for tinnitus, and managing this condition or hyperacusis often is an interdisciplinary endeavor that involves an audiologist, otolaryngologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or primary care physician. Intervention may address a patient's concerns regarding thoughts and emotions, sleep, concentration, and hearing. One of the key interventions offered to patients who experience hyperacusis disability is cognitive behavioral therapy, which typically is delivered by audiologists who specialize in tinnitus and hyperacusis rehabilitation. Use of sound generator devices combined with counseling and correction of hearing loss also are extremely helpful.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, tinnitus affects an estimated 32 percent of the U.S. population, and the prevalence increases to 70 to 85 percent in the hearing-impaired population. Worldwide, tinnitus affects about 360 million people. It is estimated that about 2 percent of the adult population have some degree of hyperacusis.

Tsukuba, Japan - Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive autoimmune disease most frequently characterized by pain, swelling, and stiffness in joints. Increased numbers of follicular helper T cells have been observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but the functions of these cells have been unclear.

In a new study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, a research team led by experts from the University of Tsukuba investigated the role of follicular helper T cells, a type of immune cell that guides the adaptive immune response, in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. They found that OX40-expressing follicular helper T cells contributed to inflammation by regulating a chemical modification of autoantibodies known as sialylation.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that causes pain, reduced quality of life, and increased mortality in affected patients. Although the symptoms and risk factors for the disease are well-known, the underlying mechanisms that lead to initial onset of disease are unknown, and current effective treatments place patients at risk of developing infections.

"Sialylation of autoantibodies has been shown to contribute to the onset of experimental arthritis in mice, through a subset of T helper cells," says Isao Matsumoto, corresponding author on the study. "Because OX40-expressing (IL-17-producing) follicular helper T cells are present at increased proportions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we suspected that these cells may play a role in sialylation that promotes the development of rheumatoid arthritis."

In the study, increased numbers of OX40-expressing (IL-17-producing) follicular helper T cells were found during the onset of experimental arthritis, accompanied by autoantibodies with an increased ability to activate immune cells in vitro. Analysis of the autoantibodies revealed that changes in sialylation caused this increased inflammatory potential, suggesting that the process of sialylation may provide a useful drug target for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

"Our analyses revealed that the interaction between OX40 on the surface of follicular helper T cells and OX40L on antibody-producing B cells led to reduction of sialylation on autoantibodies in mice," says lead author Izumi Kurata. "We found that blocking this interaction could reduce autoimmune inflammation while preserving immune interactions necessary for controlling potential infections."

In addition to blocking the interaction between cells that could lead to increased inflammation via autoantibodies, the researchers found that this blocking strategy could reduce the numbers of follicular helper T cells in mice, which may contribute to extended resolution of arthritis symptoms.

Comparing a living cell to a virus is a bit like comparing the Sistine Chapel to a backyard dog house. Lacking the intricate machinery of living cells, viruses represent biology stripped down to an extreme level. They are the true minimalists of the biological world.

Nevertheless, the field of virology is brimming with unanswered questions about these architecturally simple, yet mysterious entities. In new research, Arvind Varsani, a molecular virologist at Arizona State University, joins a prestigious international team to explore a particular class of viruses, ferreting out genetic fragments revealing the complexities of viral evolution.

The new study examines the evolutionary dynamics of circular Rep-encoding single-stranded (CRESS) DNA viruses. The findings show that this broad class of single-stranded DNA viruses, which infect all three cellular domains of life, have acquired their genetic components through complex evolutionary processes not traceable to a single ancestral event. Rather, viruses are obsessive borrowers, appropriating genetic material from many sources, including bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic cells as well as circular parasitic replicons, known as plasmids, and other mobile genetic elements, such as transposons.

When a group of mobile elements--like CRESS DNA viruses-- arise from more than a single common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group, they are known as polyphyletic. The phenomenon is common in the viral world, presenting both challenges and opportunities for researchers, as the definitions, taxonomies and evolutionary trajectories of this vast domain are reconsidered, with the help of powerful new techniques.

A better understanding of the promiscuous sharing of genetic information between different viruses and cell-derived genetic snippets may one day improve efforts to control these parasitic entities, some of which have had devastating effects on human wellbeing and crop yield.

Such explorations also hold the potential to shed new light on the origins of earth's earliest life, and resolve the question of how cell-based life came to co-exist with the planet's staggering array of viruses (dubbed the virome).

"Over the last decade we have been discovering viruses in various ecosystems using metagenomic approaches and as a result populating the CRESS DNA virus databases," Varsani says. "This has paved the way for a global analysis for CRESS DNA viruses yielding insights into the origin of these and other related viruses."

Varsani is a researcher at the Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, and the Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics as well as ASU's School of Life Sciences.

He teams up with Darius Kazlauskas, Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania; Eugene V. Koonin, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and Mart Krupovic, Department of Microbiology, Institut Pasteur, France.

The new research appears in the current issue of the journal Nature Communications.

A world of viruses

Recent research into environmental genomics has shown that the most abundant biological entities on earth are viruses, with virus particles outnumbering cells by one to two orders of magnitude. They display extraordinary diversity and have adapted themselves to virtually all earthly environments. They may also be considered the most successful biological players in terms of their growth potential, abundance, biodiversity, adaptability and impact.

Viruses consist of nucleic acid--either RNA or DNA-- surrounded by a protective shell, known as the capsid. The job description of every virus is simple: enter a living cell, hijack its metabolic machinery and make progeny.

Viruses differ markedly from cells belonging to the bacterial, eukaryotic and archaeal realms, particularly in terms of their modes of replication. While all cellular life relies on double-stranded DNA inheritance, viruses can be single- or double-stranded and make use of either DNA or RNA as their genetic material. Further, their genomes can be either circular or linear, consisting of single or multiple molecules. Viruses lack a single common ancestor and indeed, not a single gene is conserved across the entire virome, making viruses a sort of genetic collage.

Viral metagenomics, sometimes referred to as shotgun sequencing, has opened a new window on the viral world. It enables researchers like Kazlauskas, Koonin, Krupovic and Varsani to explore complex viral communities without any prior knowledge of the viruses present in the environmental sample. The technique is useful for investigating the spectacular global diversity of viruses, many of which are difficult or impossible to cultivate under laboratory conditions.

Success through selfishness

Among the viruses illuminated through viral metagenomics are the CRESS DNA viruses. Once believed to be rare, such viruses have since been uncovered in soils, deep-sea vents, Antarctic lakes and ponds, wastewater samples, oceans and hot springs. CRESS DNA viruses are part of a vast and diverse viral supergroup that is of critical importance, both medically and economically.

CRESS DNA viruses can be identified through a specific protein enzyme, known as Rep. This protein plays a crucial role in the genome replication mechanism common to CRESS DNA viruses as well as diverse circular plasmids found in bacteria and archaea. Researchers have recently noted that the rep gene is conserved in all CRESS DNA viruses. Among their biological tasks is the cutting and rejoining of single-stranded DNA segments--activity essential to the replication mechanism known as rolling circle replication.

The rolling circle process begins when the Rep protein nicks one of the strands in the dsDNA form of the viral genome, initiating the replication sequence. The loose single strand created by the nick is elongated with the help of a host DNA polymerase, using the un-nicked strand as a template.

Eventually, the newly synthesized single strand of DNA completely dissociates from the original double-stranded form and its ends are joined together into a new single-stranded circle, with the help of Rep. A complementary strand can then form, creating a new double-stranded unit (See Figure 1). The process allows for the rapid synthesis of multiple copies of circular DNA.

Recombination of various functional modules from distinct viral and plasmid groups, derived from across the virosphere is a ceaseless process that is constantly generating new ssDNA viruses. The current study examines sequence similarities between various CRESS DNA viruses and non-viral replicons, such as plasmids, combined with phylogenetic tools used to explore their evolutionary relationships.

The results reveal three distinct evolutionary events contributing to the genetic composition of CRESS-DNA viruses. An intriguing kinship appears to exist between CRESS-DNA viruses and rolling circle plasmids found in bacteria, archaea and some eukaryotes. The new results help to illuminate the expanding galaxy of ssDNA viruses that replicate using the rolling-circle mechanism, among these, the CRESS-DNA viruses.

"It is remarkable to see all these evolutionary connections between viruses and non-viral selfish replicons, which once were considered to be unrelated," Krupovic says. "As a result, the general mechanisms of virus evolution as well as the global organization of the vast viral world start to unravel."

What The Study Did: Data from two long-term study groups including nearly 125,000 health professionals in the U.S. were used to evaluate the association between intake of vitamin A, through diet and supplementation, and risk of cutaneous squamous cell cancer during a follow-up period of more than 26 years.

Authors: Eunyoung Cho, Sc.D., of Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, is the corresponding author

(doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2019.1937)

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

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Japan -- As the largest organ of the human body our skin is astounding. It protects us from infection, endures radiation, senses temperature, and is flexible enough to withstand our everyday activities. What holds this all together is the protein we all know and love: collagen.

In a paper published in Scientific Reports a team from Japan found for the first time that collagen in the skin is organized in a mesh-like structure, and that elastic fibers -- the connective tissue found in skin -- follows the same orientation.

Since the 1960s, researchers have debated whether skin collagen was arranged randomly or had some kind of ordered orientation -- information vital to understand its pliability for further clinical use.

Due to the skin's pliable nature, researchers inferred that collagen and elastic fibers have some sort of geometric orientation like a rhomboidal net. However, studies failed to demonstrate any organization, which is attributed to the tightly packed nature and complex intertwining of collagen fibers.

"Because the fibers are so tightly packed, it was impossible to determine if their orientation is ordered or random," explains first author Susumu Saito of Kyoto University's School of Medicine. "So, we developed a way to essentially stretch a skin sample on a 2D plane that increases the inter-fiber space of the collagen but retains its core structure."

Using multiphoton microscopy, a technique used to observe living tissue in fine detail, the team found clear evidence that the collagen fibers were arranged in a mesh-like lattice, and not in the clear geometric orientation as previously hypothesized. They even found that the connective tissue know as elastic fibers were also distributed in the same way, something that was previously unobserved.

"There was little information on how elastic fibers and collagen fibers in the skin related to each other. However, it was believed that the recoiling force of elastic fibers leads to the contraction of collagen," explains Saito.

Understanding the geometric organization of fibers in the skin can lead to better insight into the mechanisms underlying human skin pliability that can be applied for future medical use in skin grafts and transplantation.

The team intends to further their research by uncovering the relationship between the collagen network and elastic tissues, and hopes their new technique will be utilized to study the fibrous microarchitecture in other connective tissue networks.

The brains of people with excellent general knowledge are particularly efficiently wired. This was shown by neuroscientists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin using magnetic resonance imaging. "Although we can precisely measure the general knowledge of people and this wealth of knowledge is very important for an individual's journey through life, we currently know little about the links between general knowledge and the characteristics of the brain," says Dr. Erhan Genç from the Department of Biopsychology in Bochum. The team describes the results in the European Journal of Personality on 28 July 2019.

Brain images and knowledge test

The researchers examined the brains of 324 men and women with a special form of magnetic resonance imaging called diffusion tensor imaging. This makes it possible to reconstruct the pathways of nerve fibres and thus gain an insight into the structural network properties of the brain. By means of mathematical algorithms, the researchers assigned an individual value to the brain of each participant, which reflected the efficiency of his or her structural fibre network.

The participants also completed a general knowledge test called the Bochum Knowledge Test, which was developed in Bochum by Dr. Rüdiger Hossiep. It is comprised of over 300 questions from various fields of knowledge such as art and architecture or biology and chemistry. The team led by Erhan Genç finally investigated whether the efficiency of structural networking is associated with the amount of general knowledge stored.

The result: People with a very efficient fibre network had more general knowledge than those with less efficient structural networking.

Linking pieces of information

"We assume that individual units of knowledge are dispersed throughout the entire brain in the form of pieces of information," explains Erhan Genç. "Efficient networking of the brain is essential in order to put together the information stored in various areas of the brain and successfully recall knowledge content."

An example: To answer the question of which constants occur in Einstein's theory of relativity, you have to connect the meaning of the term "constant" with knowledge of the theory of relativity. "We assume that more efficient networking of the brain contributes to better integration of pieces of information and thus leads to better results in a general knowledge test," says the Bochum-based researcher.

Researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocesses Technology (QIBEBT) in China have made headway toward more sustainable and economic fuel production by developing a biochemical approach to allow more control over the conversion of natural gas into potable liquid fuel.

The study appeared on July 15 in ACS Catalysis, a journal published by the American Chemical Society.

"The bioconversion of natural gas into liquid fuel has attracted much attention as a promising approach in recent years," said CONG Zhiqi, an author on the paper. "However, the selective hydroxylation of methane -- the main component of natural gas -- has been one of the major challenges for the scientific community." CONG is a professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Biofuels and the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology in the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocesses Technology.

Methane and propane, another component of natural gas, are organic molecules called alkanes. Consisting solely of carbon and hydrogen atoms, alkanes need to be significantly processed before they can be used in fuel. The process includes introducing oxygen and hydrogen, called hydroxyl groups, into the alkane. The atoms rearrange themselves, producing an alcohol that can be used as fuel, such as ethanol.

The process is indirect due to how selective alkanes are when reacting to the hydroxyl catalysts. Researchers have worked on engineering an enzyme that would uniformly speed along the small alkanes reaction to hydroxyl groups needed to produce fuel.

According to Cong, this has been a long-standing issue because of the inability to directly hydroxylate small alkanes. With current processing, some alkanes are too reactive and renders the resulting fuel useless.

In an effort to control which alkanes react and to what degree, CONG and his team focused on several protein variants of P450 monooxygenase, which help the process of introducing hydroxyl groups into alkane molecules. There are more than 41,000 variants of the enzyme, all of which can cause different levels of reaction.

The researchers achieved controllable selective hydroxylation of propane through what CONG calls an artificial P450 system driven by hydrogen peroxide. The system consists of a dual-function small molecule (DFSM), hydrogen peroxide and variants of an engineered P450 enzyme called P450BM3. The engineered P45BM3 is primed to react to the hydrogen peroxide, and the DFSM holds the enzyme and hydrogen peroxide together, allowing the reaction to occur.

The reaction continues over to the propane, successfully converting the alkanes into alcohols that can be turned into fuel. They found the system had comparable or better catalytic properties than the only known peroxide-dependent natural enzyme of small alkanes, depending on which variant of P450BM3 they used.

In engineering the variants, the researchers replaced the substrates on the part of the enzyme that bonds with the hydrogen peroxide with more reactive versions. This helped otherwise inert carbon bonds break apart and bond with other available atoms.

"This study gave the first example of direct small alkane hydroxylation by the peroxide-driven P450BM3 variants. This substantially expands the synthetic toolbox toward the development of a practical catalyst for fuel processing," CONG said.

The researchers are now researching the specific molecular mechanisms of the reactions, and plan to use that information to develop similar systems for use with other natural gas components, such as methane.

"We hope we can further tune the enzyme for use in methane oxidation, as well," CONG said.

The rise in temperature and precipitation levels in summer in northern Japan has negatively affected the growth of conifers and resulted in their gradual decline, according to a 38-year-long study in which mixed forests of conifers and broad-leaved trees were monitored by a team of researchers from Hokkaido University.

The findings demonstrate how climate change has changed the forests' demography and caused a directional change in the region, from being sub-boreal conifer-dominated to cool-temperate broad-leaved tree dominated.

Climate change as evidenced by, for example, an increase in the number of downpours and super typhoons, is impacting our daily lives. Forest ecosystems around the world are not exempt from this, but there are many issues to still clarify, such as species-specific responses to climate change and their mechanisms.

The present study published in Forest Economy and Management is only one among several studies conducted based on a long-term monitoring of data. The researchers investigated more than eight thousand individual trees in 17.5-hectare primeval reserve areas (Osashima and Panke) inside Hokkaido University's Nakagawa Experimental Forest situated in Hokkaido in northern Japan from 1979 to 2016. The team monitored their growth rates, mortality and recruitment (the process by which seeds establish themselves in an area and grow into mature individuals) rates and then analyzed the influence by climate change.

According to the study, the rise in temperature and precipitation levels has negatively affected the growth of three coniferous species, Abies sachalinensis, Picea glehnii, and Picea jezoensis, over the years while positively affecting broad-leaved trees such as Magnolia obovata. Furthermore, the mortality of large conifers was strongly affected by a powerful typhoon in 2004. Due to these factors, the ratio of conifers in the Osashima primeval reserve area has decreased by nearly 20 percent from 55 percent. Tsutomu Hiura of the research team warns, "If climate change accelerates, these primeval mixed forests are likely to become broad-leaved tree forests in the future."

"Shifts in species composition could bring about major changes in the ecological systems of mixed forests, such as their roles in carbon storage, quality water provision, biodiversity maintenance and wood supply. In order to devise measures that help us adapt to climate change, it is essential to analyze the state of forests from the perspective of their ecological functions and services (benefits to humans)," Tsutomu Hiura commented.

HOUSTON - (July 31, 2019) - In the surgical setting, the concept "to err is human" could potentially be a matter of life and death. In an effort to identify surgical errors that could be prevented, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine conducted a comprehensive analysis of surgeries that resulted in adverse events over a six-month period and found that more than half were caused by human performance deficiencies. Their report appears today in the journal JAMA Network Open.

"Human error is considered inevitable, so the focus on reducing bad outcomes in medicine has been to build systems to mitigate the risks of human error," said Dr. Todd Rosengart, chair and professor of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor and senior author of the paper. "There has been far less focus on teaching medical staff how to deal with their own human deficiencies or cognitive biases."

At Baylor, as at many medical centers, surgery residents, fellows and faculty hold weekly conferences to review procedures that resulted in adverse events and identify what mistakes may have been made and what could have been done differently. Investigators in this study used this conference to conduct a case-by-case analysis in real time to analyze the human errors associated with adverse outcomes.

Researchers collected data from three adult teaching hospitals over six months, during which time more than 5,300 surgical operations were performed. Out of these procedures, adverse events occurred in 188 cases. Adverse events included death, major complications (infection, bleeding, neurological outcome) or non-routine events, such as hospital readmission. Of the 188 adverse event cases, human performance deficiencies were identified in 106, or more than 50 percent of cases.

"There are approximately 17 million surgical procedures performed in the United States each year. If the adverse outcome rate is about 5 percent and half of those are due to human error, as seen in our cohort and reported in other studies, it would mean that about 400,000 adverse outcomes could be prevented each year," said Rosengart, who also serves as president of the Society of Surgical Chairs.

Consistent with these findings, Rosengart and his colleagues found no significant differences in adverse events between the three hospitals or between different surgical service lines in their study, suggesting their outcomes are not unique to one institution.

Researchers created a classification system in which they identified five categories of human performance deficiencies:

1. Planning or problem solving

2. Execution

3. Rules violation

4. Communication

5. Teamwork

Within these categories, subcategories were identified to further interpret the most common types of errors that were occurring. The researchers found that more than half of the human performance deficiencies were cognitive errors, such as lack of attention, lack of recognition and cognitive bias.

"Errors related to communication, teamwork and system-based errors were much lower than expected," said Dr. James Suliburk, associate professor of surgery at Baylor and first author of the paper. "This means our efforts to optimize communication, teamwork and system-related safety in our work culture have succeeded - the data suggests that further strategies for improvement of quality and safety based on system improvement may not solve the problem or be the greatest opportunity for improvement anymore."

Rosengart suggests the answer may be in cognitive training of medical staff to recognize cognitive pitfalls.

"Instead of adding another checklist, we want to train people to be more in touch with their vulnerability to human performance deficiency," he said. "We have to train people to listen to the voice in the back of their head."

Surgeons and researchers at Baylor College of Medicine plan to use the information collected in their study to create a simulation-training course focused on avoiding cognitive errors.

"We're taking a completely different approach. Humans are imperfect, but we can make them a little bit more perfect than they are now. We're not focusing exclusively on building more systems around humans, we're going to focus on the humans," Rosengart said.

Engineers have for the first time created a simulator mimicking the mechanical behaviour of the human torso - which could lead to innovations in the design of medical back supports.

It allows researchers to test different back brace designs and configurations without needing to test them on people - removing significant logistical and ethical issues.

The simulator includes a male torso-shaped mechanical test rig, alongside computer simulation models. It includes an artificial additively manufactured (also referred to as 3D Printed) spine and rib cage, created using modified CAD models derived from CT scans of a human spine, and a torso with geometries and other properties that closely resemble and behave like human tissues.

The rig also allows for different spine configurations and deformities, such as scoliosis, to be modelled and tested with different back braces without causing discomfort to human testers.

Researchers can use the rig to collect data on the reduction of flexion, extension, lateral bending and torsion each back brace design provides.

Although human testing of back braces would eventually be required, it will be further down the design process to help optimise comfort and muscle engagement.

Dr David Cheneler, part of the Lancaster University team of Engineers that created the simulator, said: "Back braces have been used as both medical and retail products for decades, however existing designs can often be found to be heavy, overly rigid, indiscrete and uncomfortable.

"Our simulator enables new back braces to be developed that are optimised to constrain particular motions but allowing for other movements. It could also help with the design of braces and supports with targeted restriction of movement, which would be beneficial to some conditions and helping to reduce the risk of muscle-loss."

The researchers tested the rig with two novel back brace designs, an existing medical back brace as well as a weightlifting belt.

Jon Harvey, who recently graduated with a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Lancaster University and who worked on the back brace project, said: "This is an excellent example of how engineering research can have wide reaching impact, not only in industry, but also in the quality of life of a population. It also shows how research is used to enhance engineering education at Lancaster University."

"Dangerous Pastures: Deadly Grass Puts Horses at Risk" - Such dire warnings on the websites of horse owners and horse lovers may cause people to see their environment in a whole new light. Because what they once considered the epitome of pristine nature, green meadows of grass gently swaying in the wind, is actually home to numerous toxic substances that can be lethal for horses, cattle and sheep.

Scientists from the Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology of the University of Würzburg have teamed up with US researchers to find out whether this is also true for Germany. To accomplish this, PhD student Veronika Vikuk and Professor Jochen Krauß, her mentor, analysed the toxicity of 13 grass species in three German regions. Their results published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology reveal that toxic substances are also found in German grasses. However, there is little risk of mass poisoning of grazing animals. And the risk can be further reduced by taking some simple measures.

A fungus produces the toxins

Strictly speaking, it is not the grass itself that endangers the lives of horses and other grazing animals: "Grass species can form a symbiosis with fungal endophytes of the genus Epichloë. These fungi are capable of producing so-called alkaloids that can be poisonous to grazing livestock," Veronika Vikuk describes the problem. Endophytes are fungi that live within a plant and are usually not visible from the outside. Both partners benefit from the symbiotic relationship: The grass host provides nutrients for the endophyte and the endophyte helps protect the plant from drought stress and pests. When danger is imminent, the forage grass can encourage the fungus to step up toxin production to prevent animals from eating the plant.

"We have learned of this symbiosis mainly through poisoning incidents of grazing livestock such as sheep or cattle in New Zealand, Australia and North America," Jochen Krauß explains. Around 100,000 animals are believed to have died as a result of toxic grasses in Australia in 2002; the annual costs for the farmers are estimated at two billion dollars. But not everyone considers the fungus to be a threat. Turfgrass breeders welcome the symbiosis of certain turf varieties and special fungi because it increases stress tolerance and boosts yield. For this reason, some grass seeds are deliberately infected with special endophytes.

Toxins discovered in five grass species

In Europe, reports of such poisoning incidents of grazing livestock have been rare so far," Veronika Vikuk says and she adds that previously little had been known about the infection rates of different grass species in Germany and the type of toxins produced. The study published by an international team of researchers has changed that. For the first time, it provides a comprehensive overview of infection rates and alkaloid production in grasses infected with Epichloë fungi in Germany. The study found that five of the 13 grass species tested are infected with various Epichloë fungi. They produce substances that are poisonous to insects and vertebrates. The researchers are still figuring out how high the toxin concentrations are and whether they are already life-threatening for the animals.

In its study, the international team of researchers determined the presence or absence of different genes required to produce the alkaloids. Subsequently, they analysed which toxins are actually produced in the laboratory to assess the potential toxicity. They believe that this method is well suited to evaluate the endophyte status on pastures and check it on a regular basis to avoid livestock poisoning in the future.

Higher diversity reduces the risk

In one aspect, however, Vikuk and Krauß give the all-clear: "We were able to show that the start gene for the production of ergovaline, a substance that is poisonous to vertebrates, is largely absent in perennial ryegrass in Germany and that the substance is actually not produced," Vikuk says. This piece of information should be of particular interest to seed developers seeking to harness the benefits of fungal infection while avoiding the negative impacts on grazing livestock. This does not apply to lolitrem B, another vertebrate poison found in perennial ryegrass, which is present in toxic concentrations.

The scientists believe that the risk of poisoning for horses, cattle or sheep can be reduced with relatively little effort: "Farmers should increase the diversity on their pastures and avoid monocultures, especially of perennial ryegrass," Jochen Krauß says. Mass poisoning of livestock occurs mostly in areas where the animals are forced to feed on the toxic grass because there are no alternatives. On meadows which are home to a variety of different plant species, the animals can switch to other grasses and thereby avoid high toxin levels.

More diversity is also recommended in view of global warming. After all, grasses that live in a symbiosis with fungal endophytes have an advantage over grass species not infected by the fungus as our climate becomes warmer and drier due to their higher stress tolerance. If no measures are taken, the scientists fear that the risk of poisoning for grazing animals will rise in Germany, too, as a result of climate change.