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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 11:23am

This is selfishness at its peak!

Government interventions can reduce deadly air pollution in South Asia, study finds

Air pollution, driven in large part by practices like crop burning, contributes to 2 million deaths a year in South Asia and persists as a public health emergency. But a new study co-led by Brown University researcher Gemma Dipoppa found that government incentives may be able to curb the illegal practice of crop burning, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

In South Asia, farmers often burn leftover material from harvesting crops to clear their fields for the next planting season. The method is efficient and cost-effective but has devastating effects on air quality and health and contributes to 40% to 60% of the total air pollution in the region during the winter harvest season.

This is a very clear health emergency, and researchers wondered, 'Why isn't the government able to address this challenge, which is visible and extremely damaging for people?'

They  decided to study the aspect of government intervention and in particular the administration of the state that is in charge of reducing air pollution from a big-picture point of view.

Through their analysis of a decade of wind, fire and health data from satellites and surveys, Dipoppa and Gulzar found that government officials in India and Pakistan were more likely to reduce crop residue burning when its negative effects were felt in their own jurisdictions rather than outside of them: crop-burning fires increased by 15% when wind was most likely to direct pollution to neighboring jurisdictions and decreased by 14.5% when it polluted their own, the study found.

The researchers found that government-led actions against burning, such as fines for those violating the law, deterred future polluters and reduced fires by an additional 13%, a finding that contradicted a common perception that the widespread problem is impossible to control.

"Government officials are already acting on this issue, but they are doing it only in times and places where it is incentive-compatible for them, including when the pollution affects their own jurisdictions and not neighboring areas, the researchers conclude.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 2, 2024 at 10:35am

Scientists successfully reverse liver fibrosis in mice

Cirrhosis, hepatitis infection and other causes can trigger liver fibrosis—a potentially lethal stiffening of tissue that, once begun, is irreversible. For many patients, a liver transplant is their only hope. However, new research may offer patients a glimmer of hope. Scientists who worked on this say they've successfully reversed liver fibrosis in mice.

Reporting in the journal Nature Communications, the team say they've discovered a genetic pathway that, if blocked, might bring fibrosis to a halt.

The three genes involved in this fibrotic process are called FOXM1, MAT2A and MAT2B.

The new  findings suggest that blocking any of these gene-produced proteins might be useful in treating this condition.

FOXM1, is present in liver cells called hepatocytes and can trigger liver cancer, inflammation and fibrosis if it becomes overactive. The two other genes, MAT2A and MAT2B, are active within a second kind of liver cell called stellate cells, which also play a role in fibrosis. All three genes code for different proteins necessary for the fibrotic process, the scientists explained.

Scientists discovered that these proteins 'talk' with each other inside liver cells. They even influence nearby cells through extracellular vesicles—fat molecules filled with genetic fragments, proteins and other biological materials that act as messengers between cells. Working together, that is how these proteins stimulate each other, driving liver inflammation and fibrosis

What if production of even one of the proteins produced by the genetic trio was interrupted?

To find out, the research group first induced liver inflammation and fibrosis in lab mice.

They then treated those mice with a substance known as FDI-6 that blocks the protein produced by the FOXM1 gene.

The result was impressive: Not only did this therapy put a halt to further fibrosis, it seemed to reverse some of the stiff fibrotic scarring of the mouse liver tissue that had already taken place.

The team noted that mice and humans share all three of the genes that are the focus of this research. Still they stressed that only further research can determine if treatments like FDI-6 might help people.

 Bing Yang et al, The role of forkhead box M1-methionine adenosyltransferase 2 A/2B axis in liver inflammation and fibrosis, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52527-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 11:31am

The link between hepatitis and kidney damage

The hepatitis E virus affects the liver. But infected liver cells secrete a viral protein that reacts with antibodies in the blood and may form complexes that can damage the filter structure of the kidneys, as researchers have shown for the first time.

The hepatitis E virus infects some 70 million people every year. This infection is the most common form of acute hepatitis and a major global health problem.

In the majority of cases, the infection is asymptomatic or mild. However, sometimes it not only involves serious damage to the liver, but also to the kidneys.

The infected liver cells produce an excess of a viral protein that can bind with other viral proteins to form a viral envelope. Because the virus's genetic material replicates to a far lesser extent, the vast majority of the envelopes remain empty when they are secreted by the liver cells. This is how they enter the bloodstream, where they are detected by the immune system, which then forms antibodies that stick to the viral proteins.

These viral envelope-antibody complexes are then deposited in the filter structures of the kidneys, known as the glomeruli. If the complexes accumulate more quickly than they are removed, they can damage the glomeruli, triggering what is known as glomerulonephritis—a pattern of damage that in the worst case can lead to kidney failure.

The researchers discovered this mechanism when they were examining the cause of death of a patient who had received a new kidney years earlier. From the patient's medical record, it was clear that his chronic hepatitis E had not been diagnosed straight away. This is not uncommon as the disease still receives too little attention in some parts of the world.

This  discovery will help to raise awareness of hepatitis E and its link to kidney damage. 

 Anne-Laure Leblond et al, HEV ORF2 protein-antibody complex deposits are associated with glomerulonephritis in hepatitis E with reduced immune status, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53072-0

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 11:11am

What is unusual is that women who are generally overweight and gain a lot of weight during pregnancy usually have an increased risk of giving birth to large babies. This also applies to women who develop gestational diabetes.

On average, women with PCOS have higher BMIs, gain more weight during pregnancy, and 25 percent develop gestational diabetes. However, the outcome is the opposite: these women give birth to babies who are smaller than average. We still don't know why, but we see that the placenta is affected in these women.
Even though the placenta in these women is smaller in size, it seems to deliver more nutrients relative to the baby's body weight compared to a normal placenta. It is a placenta in overdrive.
The placenta delivers nutrients to the baby through the umbilical cord. In women with PCOS, we see that the placenta is generally smaller in size. At the same time, it must provide everything the baby needs, so it has to work very hard to meet these demands. Sometimes, however, the placenta can't keep up, which can lead to placental insufficiency and, in rare cases, fetal death.
There are no definitive answers tot eh question "why"?
Previously, researchers thought the cause was linked to the high levels of male sex hormones, but they have not been able to fully connect the two. Researchers also know that women with PCOS have a slightly different immune profile during pregnancy.
The researchers have also followed up on some of the children when they were 7 years old. They saw that the children born to mothers with PCOS generally had more central obesity, meaning they were larger around the waist.

Other studies have shown that children born to mothers with PCOS are at higher risk of developing overweight and obesity at a young age. Research has also shown that low birth weight is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.
We see differences in children as early as seven or eight years old, where children born to mothers with PCOS have a larger waist circumference and higher BMI.

Maren Sophie Aaserud Talmo et al, Growth Restriction in the Offspring of Mothers With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.30543

**

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 11:06am

Obesity combined with polycystic ovary syndrome in mothers poses risk to children

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity are at a higher risk of giving birth to smaller babies in terms of birth weight, length, and head circumference, according to a recent study conducted.

 

One in eight women is affected by the hormone disorder PCOS. PCOS is commonly characterized by elevated levels of male sex hormones, infrequent or irregular menstrual periods, and the formation of small cysts on the ovaries.

In the study, 390 children born to women with PCOS were compared to around 70,000 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).

The researchers found that on average, the babies born to mothers with PCOS weighed less, were shorter, and had a smaller head circumference  at birth. This was particularly the case when the mothers were obese, meaning they had a BMI over 30.

The findings are published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

PCOS is a disease that follows women throughout their lives and can trigger different metabolic diseases and problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Women with PCOS are generally more likely to develop overweight and obesity.

In women of normal weight who have PCOS, researchers only find that their children have a lower birth weight compared to women who do not have PCOS. Instead, the group of children born to mothers with obesity stands out the most. These babies weigh less, are shorter and have a smaller head circumference. Obesity places an additional burden on mothers who have PCOS as well as their children.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 10:42am

Causal relationship seen between GERD and hypertension

There is a positive causal relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and hypertension, according to a study published online Sept. 23 in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.

Researchers  investigated the causal  between GERD and hypertension using a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.

The researchers reported that a total of 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms strongly associated with GERD were screened out, and the inverse variance weighting suggested a causal relationship between GERD and hypertension (odds ratio, 1.057). A similar relationship was seen using a weighted median (odds ratio, 1.051). No heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy was seen, suggesting a robustness of the outcome.

"Although the specific mechanism was not elucidated, this study provides another perspective on the risk factors for the development of hypertension," the authors write. "Timely diagnosis and treatment of GERD can significantly improve and reduce the development of associated hypertension and deserves further research and application."

Weige Li et al, Study of the causal relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease and hypertension through two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2024.1326348

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 10:21am

Low sugar intake in utero and in early childhood found to significantly reduce risk of midlife chronic disease

A low-sugar diet in utero and in the first two years of life can meaningfully reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, a new study has found, providing compelling new evidence of the lifelong health effects of early-life sugar consumption.

Published in Science, the study finds that children who experienced sugar restrictions during their first 1,000 days after conception had up to 35% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and as much as 20% less risk of hypertension as adults. Low sugar intake by the mother prior to birth was enough to lower risks, but continued sugar restriction after birth increased the benefits.

 Tadeja Gracner et al, Exposure to sugar rationing in the first 1000 days of life protected against chronic disease, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adn5421

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 10:16am

Scientists engineer 'glowing' gel to improve eye surgery

Cataracts—a condition that causes clouding of the eye's lens and deteriorating vision—will affect nearly everyone who lives long enough. Now  scientists have pioneered a new color-changing hydrogel that could reduce complications from cataract surgery, one of the world's most commonly performed procedures.

During cataract surgery, doctors remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial one. The procedure requires injecting a clear hydrogel to keep the eye inflated and protect the cornea. However, incomplete removal of this gel can lead to increased eye pressure, pain, and even long-term vision loss.

Researchers have created a clear gel that turns fluorescent green under blue light, allowing surgeons to verify complete removal following surgery. This innovation could enhance both the safety and efficiency of cataract surgery and other eye procedures, according to the researchers.

Now, when surgeons finish up a case, they can rest assured that all the gel has been removed versus beforehand when they just had to do their best and hope they'd gotten it all.

Their results were featured on the cover of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

 Erick E. Rocher et al, Fluorescein-conjugated hyaluronic acid enables visualization of retained ophthalmic viscosurgical device in anterior chamber, Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (2024). DOI: 10.1097/j.jcrs.0000000000001503

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 10:01am

It's time to rewrite the textbooks: 

Chemists just broke a 100-year-old rule

I love this!

Chemists have found a big problem with a fundamental rule of organic chemistry that has been around for 100 years—it's just not true. And they say, It's time to rewrite the textbooks.

Organic molecules, those made primarily of carbon, are characterized by having specific shapes and arrangements of atoms. Molecules known as olefins have double bonds, or alkenes, between two carbon atoms. The atoms, and those attached to them, ordinarily lie in the same 3D plane. Molecules that deviate from this geometry are uncommon.

The rule in question, known as Bredt's rule in textbooks, was reported in 1924. It states that molecules cannot have a carbon-carbon double bond at the ring junction of a bridged bicyclic molecule, also known as the "bridgehead" position. The double bond on these structures would have distorted, twisted geometrical shapes that deviate from the rigid geometry of alkenes taught in textbooks.

Olefins are useful in pharmaceutical research, but Bredt's rule has constrained the kind of synthetic molecules scientists can imagine making with them and prevented possible applications of their use in drug discovery.

A paper published by scientists in the journal Science has invalidated that idea. They show how to make several kinds of molecules that violate Bredt's rule, called anti-Bredt olefins, or ABOs, allowing chemists to find practical ways to make and use them in reactions.

People aren't exploring anti-Bredt olefins because they think they can't (very bad for science).

"We shouldn't have rules like this—or if we have them, they should only exist with the constant reminder that they're guidelines, not rules. It destroys creativity when we have rules that supposedly can't be overcome", say the scientists.

What this study shows is that contrary to one hundred years of conventional wisdom, chemists can make and use anti-Bredt olefins to make value-added products.

There's a big push in the pharmaceutical industry to develop chemical reactions that give three-dimensional structures like these because they can be used to discover new medicines.

Luca McDermott et al, A solution to the anti-Bredt olefin synthesis problem, Science (2024). DOI: 10.1126/science.adq3519. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq3519

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 1, 2024 at 8:59am

Part 2

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