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Biochemistry

Quantifying the Relationship Between Abnormal Liver Function Tests and Liver Breakdown – News-Medical.net

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine has reported on the functional relationship between serum creatine kinase (CK) and liver biochemistry to determine the accuracy of liver function tests in the assessment of rhabdomyolysis.

Image Credits: Manjurul Haque / Shutterstock.com

The research team behind the study found that there was a statistically significant positive linear relationship between creatine kinase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) amongst a range of associations explored.

This provides evidence that the increase in alanine aminotransferase can be anticipated on the basis of peak CK.

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition of muscle breakdown experienced in response to injury. The breakdown of muscle results in the release of cellular contents into the blood. The effects of this are far-ranging, resulting in cardiac arrhythmia and acute kidney injury (AKI) as a result of modified ion levels in the body.

Alongside this effect is the release of enzymes including creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase, and aldolase. A clinical indicator of the severity of rhabdomyolysis is serum CK concentration. Most studies diagnose the syndrome when CK levels are present at five times above the upper limit of normal (1000 U/L).

The relevance of aminotransferases such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) to the diagnosis rhabdomyolysis, however, is underappreciated. Both are transiently increased in rhabdomyolysis, but ALT is a more specific indicator of liver despite both being distributed in other tissues.

ALT is 1-10 times more prevalent in the liver relative to other tissues. Given that adults only possess 20-30 Kg of skeletal muscle mass, relatively small amounts of ALT in the muscle may be detected at scale in the blood in instances where large muscle groups are injured.

The association between abnormal liver tests and rhabdomyolysis is unclear. Implications of this association may be adverse; from the false attribution of elevated aminotransferases to liver injury and invasive liver biopsies. Conversely, a failure to appreciate this association may lead to a missed diagnosis of muscle, rather than liver disease.

In addition, clinical trials of drugs with hepatotoxicity have complicated outcomes when subjects experience elevated serum aminotransferases from exercise-induced muscle damage. This has motivated the need to examine the relationship between liver biochemistry and CK levels in patients with severe rhabdomyolysis.

The group selected 528 patients with pressure injuries, the major mechanism of rhabdomyolysis.

The group found that peak CK and log ALT could be positively correlated among other biomarkers tested. The clinical implications of the relationship between peak CK and ALT are important.

Peak CK can be used to anticipate the increase in ALT in patients suffering from rhabdomyolysis. In cases where ALT lies outside the upper 95% confidence interval of the predicted ALT expected for a given peak CK, liver injury is suspected.

In practice, this would translate as a patient with a peak CK of 100,000 U/L without AKI or chronic liver disease possessing less than a 5% probability of returning an ALT above 200 U/L.

Other variables that showed a negative correlation with log-ALT were also discovered; these included patient age, the severity of AKI and Chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage. Chronic liver disease. Contrastingly the effect of age, AKI and chronic liver disease on log ALT were minor.

Of the other suspected biomarkers of liver disease tested, there was no correlation found between the log-creatine kinase and the log-bilirubin, log-alkaline phosphatase, or log--glutamyl transferase.

This study represents the first to determine the relationship between the variables that are known or assumed to complicate the association between CK and ALT. However, the study was limited by the lack of data on AST. Moreover, in the absence of baseline liver function, it was not possible to determine whether an elevated ALT may be a pre-existing problem in some patients.

In some cases, abnormal ATL was transient and was normalized upon patient discharge. Information concerning the timings of discharge, histological data, and availability of biochemistry was also lacking, limiting data. Most notably, the predicted level of ALT may have been underestimated as previous studies suggest that peak ALT typically occurs 2448 h after peak CK.

Lim, AKH et al. (2020) A Cross-Sectional Study of the Relationship between Serum Creatine Kinase and Liver Biochemistry in Patients with Rhabdomyolysis. J. Clin. Med. Doi: 10.3390/jcm9010081

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Quantifying the Relationship Between Abnormal Liver Function Tests and Liver Breakdown - News-Medical.net

Biochemistry

STEM lab to expand to another course in fall semester Funded by the University System of – News at UNG

When University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty members noticed students leaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, they devised and implemented an innovative lab to retain them.

In a three-hour STEM lab during the spring semesters, freshmen and sophomores learn about biology, chemistry and physics from a trio of faculty members teaching as a team. Students collaborate on real-world issues, conduct research projects and compare their lab work to that done by professional scientists.

"They are learning the techniques that scientists are actually doing in the field," said Dr. Royce Dansby-Sparks, associate professor of chemistry at UNG and one of the faculty members who taught the STEM lab. He has ceased work with it since becoming director of the Honors Program on UNG's Dahlonega Campus. "Students also learn soft skills such as how to work on a team and oral communication skills that they don't learn in a traditional chemistry, biology or physics lab."

Funded by the University System of Georgia's (USG) Complete College Georgia initiative, the STEM lab has proven so effective for five years it is expanding to a full academic year, with STEM 1001 in the fall and STEM 1002 in the spring. Dr. John Leyba, interim dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said the USG STEM IV initiative has awarded $150,000 to UNG for the project.

"The money will allow us to expand the STEM lab to the fall semester," he said. "It also will allow us to add a significant research component this spring."

Leyba explained STEM lab students must find a mentor in biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics and develop a research proposal. Students will present their ideas to a panel of three faculty members near the spring semester's end. The panel will decide to fund some of the projects.

"We will fund probably half of the projects," Leyba said. "This will allow us to pay the student and the professor stipends, and allow us to pay for the supplies for the research for up to two semesters."

Dr. Jeremy Olson, lecturer of chemistry who replaced Dansby-Sparks in the STEM lab, said while the written proposal is required, performing the research is not.

"But they want to do it, and they would get paid to do research," he said, adding it will help students who plan to apply for graduate school. "Very few students have experience writing a research proposal, especially as a freshman."

Dansby-Sparks said research projects conducted in the STEM labs have proven beneficial in more ways than one.

He pointed to the success of UNG alumna Caroline Brown as an example of the impact the STEM lab and undergraduate research can have for students who are trying to find their place in the STEM field. Brown participated in the inaugural STEM lab as a freshman, which is when Dansby-Sparks noticed her aptitude for research.

"Caroline Brown came in as a biology major and she jumped ship to biochemistry," he said. "Now she is getting her Ph.D. in cell biology at Yale University."

The STEM lab also is producing its desired results of retention. Dansby-Sparks said 58 percent of students who participated in STEM lab have remained in STEM fields after four semesters. For students in traditional labs, 42.9 percent remained in STEM fields.

"The students are also self-reflective and indicate they find the context meaningful," Dansby-Sparks said. "They are also ahead of their peers in the junior and senior level."

Leyba explained the STEM lab is also in line with the College of Science and Mathematics expansion plans. Once the two STEM lab courses are established as a sequence for spring and fall semesters, it will be implemented on the Gainesville Campus in 2021 followed by a learning community there.

"All of this has motivated us to apply for funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institution," Leyba said.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a science philanthropy whose mission is to advance basic biomedical research and science education for the benefit of humanity. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United States.

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STEM lab to expand to another course in fall semester Funded by the University System of - News at UNG

Biochemistry

Hassan: Kannadiga involved with vaccine research for coronavirus – Daijiworld.com

Daijiworld Media Network - Hassan (SP)

Hassan, Mar 17: A native of Hassan district has won a place in a team of scientists who are engaged with the task of finding out a vaccine to bring deadly coronavirus under control. He is Mahadesh Prasad from Arkalgud taluk in the district.

Prasad has been a part of the European Task Force for Coronavirus team. Mahadesh was earlier serving in Germany as a scientist. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave a call to scientists from India working elsewhere to return to their motherland, Mahadesh Prasad had returned. Now he is in Belgium.

Mahadesh has been involved with research there. Countries in Europe have formed ten teams to find a vaccine for coronavirus. World Health Organization has formed ten teams to conduct research on this subject. Mahadesh Prasad has made Karnataka proud by securing a place in this team.

Prasad's family members currently live in Mysuru.

Prasad gets credit for being the first ever youngest person to complete PhD in biochemistry in the history of Mysore University. For his achievements at such a young age, he also has been identified as the first young scientist to have bagged five national and international awards for his achievements in the field of research.

Mahadesh bagged Visiting Virology Fellowship Award of Belgium in 2019, Science and Engineering Research Board's Young Scientist Award in 2016, Post Doctoral Fellowship Award of Sweden in 2012, NIH Post Doctoral Fellowship Award from USA in 2010 and DAAD Fellowship Award from Germany in 2009.

Mahadesh has so far presented 16 research papers at the international level on various subjects including biochemistry, virology, stem cell biology, tumour virology, cancer genetics and system vaccinology. The European Council has recognized him as a certified lab animal expert.

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Hassan: Kannadiga involved with vaccine research for coronavirus - Daijiworld.com

Neuroscience

11 Animals That Have Changed the History of Neurological Science – Interesting Engineering

Whatever your views on animal testingfor scientific research, they have helped us make some very real breakthroughs in our understanding in fields like neuroscience. By getting to grips with the basic fundamentals of certain aspects of biology using animal analogs for humans, we have been able to harvest various therapeutic solutions and potential cures for some very serious diseases and disorders.

Most of this was only made possible thanks to the sacrifice made by countless animal stand-ins for human beings. If you don't agree with animal testing, perhaps you could volunteer your own living body (and mind) for research purposes in the future?

Yeah, we thought so.

RELATED: 11 INTERESTING DISCOVERIES OF THE BRAIN OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS

Which animals have had the biggest influence on neurological science?

So, without further ado, here are some of the most important animals in the history of neuroscience. This list is far from exhaustive and is in no particular order.

Rodents, like rats, are one of the most important animals used in a vast swathe of scientific research -- especially in the field of neuroscience. In fact, rats have been used for scientific research for more than 200 years.

After the mid-1980s, when companion animals like cats were phased out, rodents like rats became the go-to animal model for a lot of neuroscientific research.

As instruments became progressively smaller thanks to miniaturization, rats became ideal testbeds for research. Rodents, like rats, also have relatively short lifespans, enabling research into aging and its effects on the nervous system convenient and time-efficient for scientific studies.

Studies on rats have provided insights into neural regeneration, intelligence studies, and many other breakthroughs in science. To date, thirty Noble Prizes in science have been awarded based on research using rats.

While rabbits are primarily used for studying toxicity and safety testing of substances like drugs, chemicals, or medical devices, they have also proved to be vitally important for neuroscientific research.

In fact, one of the earliest scientific breakthroughs came thanks to the work of Louis Pasteur. He is particularly well-renowned for his work on a vaccine for rabies.

This highly contagious infection devastates a host's nervous system and enters the body through being bitten by infected animals or through saliva entering through an open wound.

"When an extract from the spinal column of a rabid dog was injected into healthy animals, symptoms of rabies appeared. By studying the tissues of infected rabbits, Pasteur was able to produce an attenuated form of the virus, which he later used to develop a vaccine against the disease. " - understandinganimalresearch.org.uk.

Much like rats, mice have been a "workhouse" of scientific research, especially in neuroscience. Mice actually form somewhere in the region of 75% of all animal research and, amazingly, have comparable human genes in 98% of their genome.

For the very same reasons as rats are now a very common test animal for research, they are very important to neuroscientific research today.

Mice have very similar reproductive and nervous systems to human beings and suffer from many of the same diseases. From cancer to anxiety, mice are very useful test-animals for finding human treatments for various disorders.

Dogs are not only one of the first domesticated animals, but they have allowed us to make leaps and bounds in our understanding of neuroscience. Apart from research into human-dog bonding, the psychological rehabilitative benefits of dogs with heart-failure patients, research on dogs have helped with some important treatments for major diseases.

One example was a 2012 study into the use of cell transplants for treating spinal cord injury. The trial was conducted on pet dogs with spinal injuries and showed some very interesting results.

Pigs have historically been another important animal in scientific research. With regard to neuroscience, studies on pigs have led to some major breakthroughs in various areas.

One of the most notable was the identification of hypothalamic hormones. Back in the 1950s, research by Roger Guillemain and Andrew von Schally identified that the hypothalamus was responsible for hormonal release from the pituitary gland.

This research was directly transferrable to human beings and allowed researchers and clinicians to make important discoveries into the endocrine system and how it relates to some diseases. They won the Nobel prize for this work in 1977.

Monkeys are another incredibly important group of animals for neuroscientific research. They have a very close similarity to human beings genetically, and physiologically and so are almost perfect analogies for humans.

Some of the most notable neuroscientific breakthroughs from monkey research are significant breakthroughs in our understanding and treatment for Parkinson's disease and tremors. They make near-perfect models for the disorder and have helped develop some essential therapeutic techniques for it.

As an aside, given the current, now confirmed, global pandemic of COVID-19, monkeys, have historically played a major role in identifying and creating vaccines for other coronaviruses like SARS.

Did you know chickens are the closest living relative to certain species of dinosaur? Chickens have also proved to be vitally important for many areas of neuroscientific research. Being vertebrates their developmental process is very similar to our own.

One of the most notable has been the improvement of our understanding of the development of the nervous system.

Primarily how cells migrate and differentiate over time.

Frogs, as it turns out, have helped us understand some fundamental aspects of neuroscience. Studies on frogs helped us, for example, were used to show that nerve impulses affect the heart using a chemical transmission.

This was the first evidence of neurotransmission ever seen.

Studies on them also enabled us to uncover the fact that acetylcholine is responsible for relaying nerve impulses to animals' muscles. Frogs also helped us understand the development of things like the neural plate.

Cats have historically been used for neuroscientific research prior to the mid-1980s. They were ideal test subjects as their size, and their robust nature meant that they could withstand extensive surgery.

They are also large enough to wear or accommodate bulky instrumentation and were also inexpensive animals to breed and keep. But, in the mid-1980s new regulations regarding animal testing substantially increased the economic cost and administrative burden for lab testing on felines.

Public opinion also went against using so-called companion animals in scientific research. After this period, attention shifted more to rodents.

Research on cats has fundamentally improved our understanding of the workings of the nervous system. Most notably, how the visual system needs light to develop as well as the subtle effects of aging on the nervous system.

Ferrets are amazing creatures. They are incredibly smart and, as it turns out, have been instrumental in certain engineering projects including avionics in aircraft.

But, they have also been of great value for expanding our knowledge of neuroscience. Studies on ferrets have allowed us to understand the hypothalamic-pituitary portal system, visual and auditory systems of mammals, including humans.

They have also enabled us to help understand the size of human brains. Ferrets also make great pets, FYI.

And last, but by no means least, is the zebrafish. This incredibly useful little fish is one of the most frequently used model organisms for a lot of genetic and developmental studies.

This is because, primarily, that their embryos or transparent enabling systematic study of them fairly easy. Their entire genetic sequence was also mapped as early as 2011, and their genome has many homologs with that of humans.

With regards to neuroscience, testing on zebrafish has led to some major breakthroughs in our understanding of things like Alzheimer's disease, autism, sleep, heart disease, and some cancers.

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11 Animals That Have Changed the History of Neurological Science - Interesting Engineering

Neuroscience

UCT’s neuroscience centre first of its kind – eNCA

JOHANNESBURG - The University of Cape Town and the Western Cape government are opening a groundbreaking neuroscience centre at Groote Schuur Hospital.

The new institute will fast-track novel treatments for neurological and mental disorders.

This state-of-the-art facility is a first for the continent.

It will focus on diagnosing and treating neurological challenges facing Africans.

READ: Texas hospital livestreams brain surgery on Facebook

Brain health is one of the key things that we need to protect for us to actually develop Africa in any way. Therefore the Neuroscience Institute serves as one of the first institutions that have been set up that can address local issues that affect brain health, said Rachael Dangarembizi, UCT lecturer in Neurophysiology.

The centre was conceived in 2015, and it's expected to be fully operational in May.

The idea is to get academic activities going and bring in people from a range of backgrounds, not only from the medical school and the health science faculty, but also from other campuses, said professor Graham Fieggen, UCT Neuroscience Director.

The facility won't only be treating patients.

It will provide invaluable training to UCT medical students.

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UCT's neuroscience centre first of its kind - eNCA

Neuroscience

New Toolkit May Repair DNA Breaks Linked to Aging and Cancer – Interesting Engineering

Researchers at theUniversities of Sheffield and Oxford have discovered a new toolkit that may help repair DNA breaks that are linked to aging, cancer, and evenmotor neuron disease. The key to this toolkit lies in aprotein called TEX264.

RELATED:WHAT IS DNA COMPUTING, HOW DOES IT WORK, AND WHY IT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL

TEX264 has the capacity toand 'eat' toxic proteins that can stick to DNA and cause it to become damaged. This is key to preventing aging, cancer, and neurological diseases as they are caused by a string of broken DNAs.

"Failure to fix DNA breaks in our genome can impact our ability to enjoy a healthy life at an old age, as well as leave us vulnerable to neurological diseases like Motor Neurone Disease (MND)," saidProfessor Sherif El-Khamisy, Co-Founder and Deputy Director of the Healthy Lifespan Institute at the University of Sheffield and a professor from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Sheffield.

"We hope that by understanding how our cells fix DNA breaks, we can help meet some of these challenges, as well as explore new ways of treating cancer in the future."

Now, scientists hope they can use this new protein not only to protect us against aging andneurological diseases but also to find a new way to treat cancer.

"Our finding of TEX264, a protein that forms the specialized machinery to digest toxic proteins from our DNA, significantly changes the current understanding of how cells repair the genome and so protect us from accelerated ageing, cancer and neurodegeneration. I believe this discovery has a great potential for cancer therapy in the future and we are already pursuing our research in this direction," saidProfessor Kristijan Ramadan from the University of Oxford, who co-led the research.

What do you think of this new protein? A promising step toward a better, healthier life or another discovery that likely won't lead anywhere?

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New Toolkit May Repair DNA Breaks Linked to Aging and Cancer - Interesting Engineering

Neuroscience

Decoding the Future Trajectory of Healthcare with AI – ReadWrite

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting increasingly sophisticated day by day in its application, with enhanced efficiency and speed at a lower cost. Every single sector has been reaping benefits from AI in recent times. The Healthcare industry is no exception. Here is decoding the future trajectory of healthcare with AI.

The impact of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry through machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) is transforming care delivery. Additionally, patients are expected to gain relatively high access to their health-related information than before through various applications such as smart wearable devices and mobile electronic medical records (EMR).

The personalized healthcare will authorize patients to take the wheel of their well-being, facilitate high-end healthcare, and promote better patient-provider communication to underprivileged areas.

For instance, IBM Watson for Health is helping healthcare organizations to apply cognitive technology to provide a vast amount of power diagnosis and health-related information.

In addition, Googles DeepMind Health is collaborating with researchers, clinicians, and patients in order to solve real-world healthcare problems. Additionally, the company has combined systems neuroscience with machine learning to develop strong general-purpose learning algorithms within neural networks to mimic the human brain.

Companies are working towards developing AI technology to solve several existing challenges, especially within the healthcare space. Strong focus on funding and starting AI healthcare programs played a significant role in Microsoft Corporations decision to launch a 5-year, US$ 40 million program known as AI for Health in January 2019.

The Microsoft program will use artificial intelligence tools to resolve some of the greatest healthcare challenges including global health crises, treatment, and disease diagnosis. Microsoft has also ensured that academia, non-profit, and research organizations have access to this technology, technical experts, and resources to leverage AI for care delivery and research.

In January 2020, these factors influenced Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company and MITs School of Engineering to join hands for three years to drive innovation and application of AI in the healthcare industry and drug development.

AI applications are only centered on three main investment areas: Diagnostics, Engagement, and Digitization. With the rapid advancement in technologies. There are exciting breakthroughs in incorporating AI in medical services.

The most interesting aspect of AI is robots. Robots are not only replacing trained medical staff but also making them more efficient in several areas. Robots help in controlling the cost while potentially providing better care and performing accurate surgery in limited space.

China and the U.S. have started investing in the development of robots to support doctors. In November 2017, a robot in China passed a medical licensing exam using only an AI brain. Also, it was the first-ever semi-automated operating robot that was used to suture blood vessels as fine as 0.03 mm.

In order to prevent coronavirus from spreading, the American doctors are relying on a robot that can measure the patients act and vitals. In addition, robots are also being used for recovery and consulting assistance and transporting units. These robots are showcasing significant potential in revolutionizing medical procedures in the future.

Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease prevention and treatment. The precision medication approach allows researchers and doctors to predict more accurate treatment and prevention strategies.

The advent of precision medicine technology has allowed healthcare to actively track patients physiology in real-time, take multi-dimensional data, and create predictive algorithms that use collective learnings to calculate individual outcomes.

In recent years, there has been an immense focus on enabling direct-to-consumer genomics. Now, companies are aiming to create patient-centric products within digitization processes and genomics related to ordering complex testing in clinics.

In January 2020, ixLayer, a start-up based in San-Francisco, launched one of its kind precision health testing platforms to enhance the delivery of diagnostic testing and to shorten the complex relationship among physicians, precision health tests, and patients.

Personal health monitoring is a promising example of AI in healthcare. With the emergence of advanced AI and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), demand for consumer-oriented products such as smart wearables for monitoring well-being is growing significantly.

Owing to the rapid proliferation of smart wearables and mobile apps, enterprises are introducing varied options to monitor personal health.

In October 2019, Gali Health, a health technology company, introduced its Gali AI-powered personal health assistant for people suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). It offers health tracking and analytical tools, medically-vetted educational resources, and emotional support to the IBD community.

Similarly, start-ups are also coming forward with innovative devices integrated with state-of-the-art AI technology to contribute to the growing demand for personal health monitoring.

In recent years, AI has been used in numerous ways to support the medical imaging of all kinds. At present, the biggest use for AI is to assist in the analysis of images and perform single narrow recognition tasks.

In the United States, AI is considered highly valuable in enhancing business operations and patients care. It has the greatest impact on patient care by improving the accuracy of clinical outcomes and medical diagnosis.

Strong presence of leading market players in the country is bolstering the demand for medical imaging in hospitals and research centers.

In January 2020, Hitachi Healthcare Americas announced to start a new dedicated R&D center in North America. Medical imaging will leverage the advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence to bring about next-gen of medical imaging technology.

With a plethora of issues driven by the growing rate of chronic disease and the aging population, the need for new innovative solutions in the healthcare industry is moving on an upswing.

Unleashing AIs complete potential in the healthcare industry is not an easy task. Both healthcare providers and AI developers together will have to tackle all the obstacles on the path towards the integration of new technologies.

Clearing all the hurdles will need a compounding of technological refinement and shifting mindsets. As AI trend become more deep-rooted, it is giving rise to highly ubiquitous discussions. Will AI replace the doctors and medical professionals, especially radiologists and physicians? The answer to this is, it will increase the efficiency of the medical professionals.

Initiatives by IBM Watson and Googles DeepMind will soon unlock the critical answers. However, AI aims to mimic the human brain in healthcare, human judgment, and intuitions that cannot be substituted.

Even though AI is augmenting in existing capabilities of the industry, it is unlikely to fully replace human intervention. AI skilled forces will swap only those who dont want to embrace technology.

Healthcare is a dynamic industry with significant opportunities. However, uncertainty, cost concerns, and complexity are making it an unnerving one.

The best opportunity for healthcare in the near future are hybrid models, where clinicians and physicians will be supported for treatment planning, diagnosis, and identifying risk factors. Also, with an increase in the number of geriatric population and the rise of health-related concerns across the globe, the overall burden of disease management has augmented.

Patients are also expecting better treatment and care. Due to growing innovations in the healthcare industry with respect to improved diagnosis and treatment, AI has gained consideration among the patients and doctors.

In order to develop better medical technology, entrepreneurs, healthcare service providers, investors, policy developers, and patients are coming together.

These factors are set to exhibit a brighter future of AI in the healthcare industry. It is extremely likely that there will be widespread use and massive advancements of AI integrated technology in the next few years. Moreover, healthcare providers are expected to invest in adequate IT infrastructure solutions and data centers to support new technological development.

Healthcare companies should continually integrate new technologies to build strong value and to keep the patients attention.

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The insights presented in the article are based on a recent research study on Global Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare Market by Future Market Insights.

Abhishek Budholiya is a tech blogger, digital marketing pro, and has contributed to numerous tech magazines. Currently, as a technology and digital branding consultant, he offers his analysis on the tech market research landscape. His forte is analysing the commercial viability of a new breakthrough, a trait you can see in his writing. When he is not ruminating about the tech world, he can be found playing table tennis or hanging out with his friends.

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Decoding the Future Trajectory of Healthcare with AI - ReadWrite

Human Behavior

[OPINION] The Pope and single-use plastics – Rappler

What is more urgent and effective: go big or start small?

This is one of the fundamental questions I encounter when addressing the climate crisis. Some would argue that given the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the next decade, the focus should be on pressuring authorities to implement large-scale solutions. Governments must enact policies for phasing out fossil fuels, especially coal, while corporations need to either stop funding environmentally-destructive projects or implement a just transition towards renewable energy development.

While these measures are obviously effective in mitigating and adapting to climate change, the value of the small-scale actions can never be discredited. These actions help create a precautionary culture wherein caring for the planet becomes a habit instead of an incentive, an initiative rather than a reaction. An educated, enabled, and empowered citizenry is also vital for exerting pressure on governments and corporations to instigate shifts in political and socioeconomic models to deal with the climate crisis.

The importance of behavioral change to stop climate change is evident, whether you look at it through a scientific or religious lens.

The religious lens

Pope Franciss encyclical "Laudato Si" is known as a landmark document of the Roman Catholic Church for directly addressing the climate crisis and environmental degradation. Yet at its core, it points to one undeniable fact: that human behavior is at the root of the ecological crisis, and therefore at the heart of solving it.

The Laudato Si calls for the creation of an ecological citizenship, where people are adequately motivated to respond to the call on caring for our common home. This would be brought about by environmental education with a renewed focus on ecological ethics.

Given the challenges of today, education centered on scientific information, raising awareness, and avoiding environmental risks is no longer enough. It also needs a focus on critiquing and shattering the myths we consider as norms of the current modern life, from infinite growth to consumerism. It ultimately points for us to conduct ourselves in a way that is indicative of a lifestyle in harmony within ourselves and with others on Earth.

Activities such as avoiding the use of single-use plastics, minimizing wasteful consumption of food, water, and electricity, using public transportation, and tree-planting and growing have positive impacts in our struggle for protecting our planet. Doing these actions do not just benefit our environment; they also provide personal co-benefits in aspects such as financial savings and better health. (READ: Philippine survey shows 'shocking' plastic waste)

While these acts are done on an individual level, that does not mean they should be misconstrued as modes exclusively for self-improvement. A dilemma with the complexity of the climate crisis requires a societal approach to properly address them. Given their potential positive impacts on the individual and communal levels, such activities are likely to spread and be adopted by different communities.

As Pope Francis states, when done for the right reasons, each of these solutions can be considered as an act of love that reflects our societal responsibility for others and expresses our individual dignity.

The scientific lens

Several scientific reports have also proven the effectiveness of small-scale solutions for mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. A 2018 study by the Center for Behavior and the Environment showed that almost two-thirds of global GHG emissions are associated with both direct and indirect means of human consumption.

It is noteworthy that almost every item we consume is made using resources such as fossil fuels. Therefore, if we start minimizing unnecessary consumption and actively look for alternatives, we are pressuring manufacturers to switch to more environment-friendly production and distribution systems, which in turn reduces consumption of pollutive fossil fuels and other resources. (READ: Single-use plastics, still the environment's number 1 enemy)

Furthermore, implementing small-scale behavioral solutions can reduce GHG emissions by as much as 37% from 2020 to 2050. These solutions involve modifications to activities involving food, agriculture and land management, transportation, and energy and materials.

This is supported by a report by Project Drawdown, a nonprofit organization dedicated to urgently reducing global GHG emissions. It claims that while the solutions to the climate crisis already exist, some of them receive relatively little attention compared to large-scale solutions such as developing more renewable energy resources, especially wind and solar.

This report identified the following as seven of the 10 most effective individual solutions: reduced food waste, health and education, plant-rich diets, refrigerant management, tropical forest restoration (including tree-planting), alternative refrigerants, and improved clean cookstoves. (READ: Sachet away: What's lacking in our plastic laws?)

The expression great things from small beginnings is almost a clich nowadays, but it still applies when it comes to climate and environment action. Everyone needs to be involved in preventing further climate change and environmental degradation. And despite what some people might tell you, accessible and affordable solutions do exist. An act of love could truly go a long way. Rappler.com

John Leo Algo is the Program Manager of Living Laudato Si Philippines and Climate Action for Sustainability Initiative (KASALI). He has been a citizen journalist and feature writer since 2016, focusing on the climate and environment beat. He earned his MS Atmospheric Science degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in December 2018.

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[OPINION] The Pope and single-use plastics - Rappler

Human Behavior

In Maine’s 200 years, man’s impact has altered the animal landscape – Lewiston Sun Journal

A look at the fate of just a few animal species during the 200 years that Maine has been a state tells the larger story of how humans impact wildlife. Whether these animals have vanished, returned, arrived or thrived all have direct or indirect links to human behavior.

Keep in mind, there is also a lot we dont know. Biologists dont have all the data, Noah Perlut, chair of University of New Englands Department of Environmental Studies, pointed out. To take just one example, the breeding bird survey now conducted annually across Maine wasnt even begun until the 1960s.

On the one hand, that is a really rich data set, Perlut said. On the other hand, its nothing compared to how long weve been here. Its not ecologically relevant data.

Here is a glimpse of the fortunes of a few species that roamed the forests, meadows and skies here at the time Maine became a state.

The Departed: Caribou

Since as far back as the 1700, several mammals have been extirpated from Maine or its waters, largely because of over-hunting. They include the gray whale, the eastern cougar (now extinct, although other subspecies of cougars survive in other parts of the country), the gray wolf, the wolverine and the woodland caribou.

In the 1800s, caribou were a source of food that was readily available, said Mark McCollough, the endangered species biologist in Maine with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. So much so, in fact, that they sustained the early settlers in northern Maine. But the last recorded caribou in Maine was shot on Mt. Katahdins Tablelands in 1908, he said.

More than 50 years later, in 1963, the state attempted to reintroduce them. Biologists brought 20 caribou from nearby Newfoundland to Baxter State Park. The project failed, though biologists at the time were not certain why, McCollough said. Portland businessmen funded a similar effort in 1986. Twenty caribou from Newfoundland were taken to Orono to breed. Later, 30 were released in Baxter, this time with radio collars affixed to their necks so scientists could track and study them more closely. Once again, not a single caribou survived. All fell prey to hungry bears or to brainworm, a parasite carried by, but not affecting, white-tailed deer.

It illustrated how difficult it is to try to right some of the wrongs that happened 100 or 200 years ago, McCollough said. If the environment has changed, there are factors that we may not even be aware of, like diseases that were not present 100 years ago.

The Survivor: White-Tailed Deer

Three commonly seen mammals have persisted in Maine at least since the early settlers arrived: moose, bear and white-tailed deer. But only the last has reached extraordinary numbers. In 2019, thestatewide population was estimated between 230,000 and 250,000, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

They live in cities and in deep woods, McCollough said. They live alongside us and benefit from the changes we make to the environment, whether carving out backyards or forestry projects. They like a fragmented forest.

At the turn of the 1800s, when northern Maine was first settled, few deer lived there, McCollough said. Their numbers grew in the next 100 years with the advent of log drives and the arrival of forestry. Such timber practices created new tree growth, providing the deer with the low-lying branches they like to eat. Coupled with urbanization in southern Maine, which fragmented the forests, deer numbers exploded.

Whatever happens with climate change, I have no doubt that deer will still be here 200 years from now, McCollough said.

The Returnee: Peregrine Falcon

Some good news: some of the species that vanished from Maine over the last 200 years have since returned. Typically, humans played a role both in their disappearance and their revival. As hunting practices ended or were curtailed, and as pollutants and insecticides were cleaned up or banned, a few species that roamed Maine historically are repopulating the state.

The fastest bird in the world the peregrine falcon was once extirpated from Maine. The peregrine, which can fly more than 200 mph, nested in the eastern United States until the early 1960s when widespread use of the insecticide DDT pushed the birds to the brink of extinction. The federal government listed them as endangered in 1970. Although DDT was banned in 1972, the raptor is still considered endangered in Maine. Through reintroduction efforts, however, their numbers here have grown.

A total of 153 young peregrines were reintroduced in Maine between 1984 and 1997. Since 2009, Maine has been home to at least 25 nesting pairs, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Efforts by the state to create nesting platforms for the birds are ongoing.

In a lot of regions of the Northeast, peregrine falcons only nested on cliffs, Perlut said. Now they are nesting on bridges and quarries and buildings. That is adding more pairs than maybe were here historically.

The Newcomer: Turkey Vulture

Probably no animal better illustrates the resiliency of a newcomer in Maine than the coyote, which migrated across the country from the western United States in the 1940s. If it can survive in New York Citys Central Park, why not Maine? And it does.

A number of other non-native species have successfully moved here, too, including two species of vultures: the turkey vulture and the black vulture. The first documented breeding pair of turkey vultures arrived in 1970; they are now widespread across the state. In the past few years, there have been reports that black vultures are breeding here, too, Perlut said.

What drew them north? One theory credits urbanization, he said. Others believe birds follow highways, for the opportunity for road kill.

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In Maine's 200 years, man's impact has altered the animal landscape - Lewiston Sun Journal

Human Behavior

Healthier and Happier Without Facebook Reduce Usage to Feel Better All Round – SciTechDaily

People who reduce the time they spend on Facebook smoke less, are more active and feel better all round.

Two weeks of 20 minutes less time per day on Facebook: a team of psychologists from Ruhr-Universitt Bochum (RUB) invited 140 test persons to participate in this experiment. Lucky those who took part: afterward they were more physically active, smoked less and were more satisfied. Symptoms of addiction regarding Facebook usage decreased. These effects continued also three months after the end of the experiment. The group headed by Dr. Julia Brailovskaia published their results in the journal Computers in Human Behavior on March 6, 2020.

The research team recruited 286 people for the study who were on Facebook for an average of at least 25 minutes a day. The average usage time per day was a good hour. The researchers subdivided the test persons into two groups: the control group comprised of 146 people used Facebook as usual. The other 140 people reduced their Facebook usage by 20 minutes a day for two weeks, which is about one third of the average usage time.

Julia Brailovskaia heads the research group at Ruhr-University Bochum. Credit: RUB, Marquard

All participants were tested prior to the study, one week into it, at the end of the two-week experiment, and finally one month and three months later. Using online questionnaires, the research team surveyed the way they used Facebook, their well-being and their lifestyle.

The results showed: participants in the group that had reduced their Facebook usage time used the platform less, both actively and passively. This is significant, because passive use in particular leads to people comparing themselves with others and thus experiencing envy and a reduction in psychological well-being, says Julia Brailovskaia. Participants who reduced their Facebook usage time, moreover, smoked fewer cigarettes than before, were more active physically and showed fewer depressive symptoms than the control group. Their life satisfaction increased. After the two-week period of Facebook detox, these effects, i.e. the improvement of well-being and a healthier lifestyle, lasted until the final checks three months after the experiment, points out Julia Brailovskaia.

According to the researchers this is an indication that simply reducing the amount of time spent on Facebook every day could be enough to prevent addictive behavior, increase well-being and support a healthier lifestyle. Its not necessary to give up the platform altogether, concludes Julia Brailovskaia.

Reference: Less Facebook use More well-being and a healthier lifestyle? An experimental intervention study by Julia Brailovskaia, Fabienne Strse, Holger Schillack and Jrgen Margraf, 6 March 2020, Computers in Human Behavior.DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2020.106332

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Healthier and Happier Without Facebook Reduce Usage to Feel Better All Round - SciTechDaily