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Genetics

Study finds THC rises in hemp due to genetics, not growing conditions – New Food

Researchers from Cornell University studied hemp from two sites to determine whether the difference in growing conditions affected THC levels.

As the hemp industry grows, producers face the risk of cultivating a crop that can become unusable and illegal if it develops too much of the psychoactive chemical THC, according to researchers from Cornell University. The researchers have determined that a hemp plants propensity to go hot become too high in THC is determined by genetics, not as a stress response to growing conditions, which is said to be contrary to popular belief.

[People thought] there was something about how the farmer grew the plant something about the soil, the weather getting too hot, or drought, said Larry Smart, Horticulture Professor and senior author of the study, but our evidence from this paper is that fields go hot because of genetics, not because of environmental conditions.

Smart and his team conducted field trials at two sites, studying the genetics and chemistry of 217 hemp plants. They found that differences in growing conditions between the sites had no significant influence on which chemicals the plants produced. But when they compared the CBD (cannabidiol) and THC levels of each of the plants against their genomes, they found very high correlation between their genetics and the chemicals they produced.

Jacob Toth, first author of the paper and a doctoral student in Smarts lab, developed a molecular diagnostic to demonstrate that the hemp plants in the study fell into one of three genetic categories: plants with two THC-producing genes; plants with two CBD-producing genes; or plants with one gene each for CBD and THC.

To minimise the risk of plants going hot, hemp growers ideally want plants with two CBD-producing genes, the researchers explained.

While conducting the research, the team also discovered that as many as two-thirds of the seeds they obtained of one hemp variety which were all supposed to be low-THC hemp produced THC above legal limits.

The researchers explained that they hope their work will help address this problem by providing breeders with easy-to-use genetic markers that can be utilised much earlier on seedlings and both sexes of plants.

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Study finds THC rises in hemp due to genetics, not growing conditions - New Food

Genetics

Why do we stutter? Scientists study genetic causes and treatment options – WLNS

About 3 million Americans are affected by stuttering, a speech disorder that involves sounds that are repeated or held for too long.

Scientists are learning about what causes people to stutter, and genes tell a big part of the story.

Researchers are still working to fully understand what causes stuttering, but they do know that it often runs in families. Its 15 times more likely that a sibling of a person who stutters will stutter than a random person in the population, explains Dr. Dennis Drayna, an National Institutes of Health expert on the genetics of communication disorders

Stuttering affects about 1 in 20 children with many able to outgrow the disorder on their own or with the help of a professional called a speech-language pathologist.

However, about 2025% of children who stutter will continue into adulthood, says Drayna. This condition is known as persistent developmental stuttering. Overall, about 1% of adults stutter, and its much more common in men than women.

By studying families with multiple people who stutter, Drayna has identified several genes that can cause stuttering. Mutations in these genes have now been found in people around the world who stutter and these studies suggest that genes likely play a role for many people who stutter.

All the genes identified so far are involved intracellular trafficking, a process inside the cell that helps direct things in the cell to their proper locations. Problems with intracellular trafficking have recently been recognized in other neurological disorders, like Parkinsons and Alzheimers disease. But more research is needed to understand how it impacts speech and stuttering.

For those who stutter, communicating with others can be difficult which affects relationships, self-esteem, and quality of life as well as leading them to avoid talking. Stuttering often gets worse if theyre feeling tired or anxious.

People with stuttering know exactly what they want to say. Theyre just unable to say it at the rate they would like, Drayna said.

Its common for people who stutter to be able to speak without stuttering when in a low-stress environment, according to NIH. For example, they may have no problem speaking fluently with a pet, baby, or singing in a group.

Scientists are also using brain imaging scans to better understand brain activity in people who stutter which may help show why some children outgrow stuttering as well as hopefully lead to better treatments one day.

For now, treatment for stuttering involves therapy, aimed at making speech smoother or avoiding issues that worsen stuttering, with a speech-language pathologist.

Does your child stutter? Six tips for parents

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Why do we stutter? Scientists study genetic causes and treatment options - WLNS

Genetics

Precision Medicine in Primary Care: Bespoke. Genetic and Genomic. And Maybe Not Ready. – Managed Care magazine

Say precision medicine and people think of personalized cancer treatment. But this innovation has already begun to revolutionize primary care tooeven though the jury is still out, in many cases, on whether it makes a clear difference in outcomes.

Just what precision (alias personalized) medicine is isnt always spelled out precisely. But usually it is discussed as prevention or treatment that takes into account individual differences among patients, most often genetic differences. Some people expand the concept to consider individual differences in environment and lifestyle.

In adult primary care, two subsets of precision medicine have attracted the most attention recently: predictive genetic testing and pharmacogenomics.

Predictive genetic testing is what it sounds like: A genetic test that forecasts a persons chance of getting a disease. The term is also applied to germline genetic tests that provide some indication of the predisposition being passed down to offspring. Proponents see predictive genetic testing for certain inherited conditions as a way to unearth risks in people who can then get early treatment or take preventive steps to head off serious and possibly costly conditions. Actor Angelina Jolie put BRCA testing as a predictive genetic test into the public consciousness with her announcement in 2013 that she underwent a double mastectomy after testing positive for a BRCA mutation.

Pharmacogenomics studies show how a persons genes can affect his or her response to medications. Ideally, pharmacogenomic (sometimes called pharmacogenetic) results could end some of the trial and error with drugs and help providers and patients choose the most effective drug right off the bat.

Where federal dollars are concerned, precision medicine has already stepped out of the cancer box. In 2015, President Barack Obama committed $215 million to precision medicine research, including a genomic study of more than a million Americans to extend precision medicine from cancer to other diseases. A year later, the 21st Century Cures Act expanded this funding to $1.5 billion over the next 10 years.

Aided by a multibillion-dollar genomic testing industry, some providers have started testing precision medicine beyond oncology. In 2018, Geisinger Health System in central Pennsylvania made a splash by announcing that it would add DNA sequencing to routine primary care. A small number of other hospitals are starting to monetize these tests. In August 2019, STAT reported that a handful of academic medical centers, including Brigham and Womens Hospital and the Mayo Clinic, have started elective genome sequencing clinics for generally healthy patients willing to pay hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in cash for a genetic workup.

Skeptics see carts preceding horses; solid evidence that routine genetic testing results in better outcomes is lacking. As one genome-sequencing clinic leader conceded in the STAT article, such testing can lead to expensive follow-up testing. Not surprisingly, payers have been reluctant to cover sequencing tests of various kinds.

Regulators have breathed life into some kinds of testing and poured cold water on others. Last year, 23andMe was the first testing company to get FDA approval to market a direct-to-consumer genetic test for three (of the more than 1,000 known) BRCA gene mutations linked to increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. But in April 2019, the agency issued a warning letter to Inova Health System in Northern Virginia to stop marketing pharmacogenomics tests it claimed could predict patients responses to antidepressants, opioids, and other drugs. The FDA said it was unaware of data to support these claims.

A survey published two years ago in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that clopidogrel, a blood thinner, was the medication most commonly tested for a druggene interaction, followed by simvastatin and warfarin. Nearly 40 academic medical centers and community health systems testing ways to implement pharmacogenomics in clinical practice were surveyed.

Some evidence suggests that traditional screening methods may not identify everyone at risk for certain inherited conditions. In a study published in Science three years ago, researchers at Geisinger and Regeneron (which manufactures Praluent, a drug used to treat familial hypercholesterolemia) found that only about one in four people carrying the familial hypercholesterolemia gene variant met the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network criteria (widely used diagnostic criteria) for genetic testing. Still, evidence for the clinical utility of many pharmacogenomic or predictive genetic tests is pretty scanty at this point.

Right now, for the average primary care provider, there are a relatively limited number of situations where pharmacogenomic testing is clearly beneficial to outcomes in a way thats dramatic, says Greg Feero, MD, a faculty member at Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency and a former senior advisor to the director of the NIHs genomics research division.

For predictive genetic testing, there are a few notable exceptionshereditary breast and ovarian cancer, Lynch syndrome, and familial hypercholesterolemiaif certain criteria such as family history of the condition are met. The CDC has designated genomics applications for these conditions as Tier 1, the highest tier on its evidence-based ranking system of genomic applications by their potential for a positive public health impact.

In a 2017 editorial published in American Family Physician, Vinay Prasad, MD, and Adam Obley, MD, of Oregon Health and Science University said that rigorous meta-analyses havent yet shown that genotype-guided dosing for warfarin, clopidogrel, or antidepressant selection is better than usual care. Prasad is a well-known critic of what he sees as the proliferation of medical treatments and therapies without good evidence behind them. We need to know on a broad scale that [these tests] improve outcomes for patients, and dont just reassure physicians theyre choosing a better drug, Obley tells Managed Care.

Prasad and Obley also argued in their editorial that without further proof of improved outcomes, routine genetic testing could just fuel more inappropriate care. Guidelines carve out clear boundaries for who should get tested because there are scenarios in which the risks and benefits of preventive measures arent known, they said, noting that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises against genetic testing for BRCA mutations in women without a family history of BRCA-related cancers.

A small pilot study suggests that genetic testing in primary care may not lead to improved outcomes. In 2017, The Annals of Internal Medicine published the first randomized trial of whole-genome sequencing in primary care. Gene variants were found in 20% of the participants whose genomes were sequenced. But six months later none of them had improved outcomes.

The test produces lots of information, says Obley, who wasnt involved in the study. But its not clear that any patient was managed differently in a way that improved their health.

Without evidence supporting the clinical utility of routine pharmacogenomics or genetic testing, most payers are unwilling to cover them. Some exceptions exist, such as employers that offer routine genetic testing as an employee benefit. In a blog post published in 2018, Color Genomics touted Visa and the German software company SAP as customers. Medicare covers pharmacogenomic testing of two gene variants that predict warfarin responsiveness for beneficiaries enrolled in a randomized, controlled clinical study that meets certain standards.

The high cost of genetic testing has been cited as another reason insurance coverage is limited, but payers may not budge even as testing gets cheaper. The cost of doing the test itself has been declining quite rapidly, says Kathryn Phillips, a health economics professor at University of CaliforniaSan Francisco who researches personalized medicine access, quality, and reimbursement. She has disclosed in recent studies that she is a paid consultant for Illumina, a DNA sequencing company. But she says its hardand its going to take longerto figure out where to use genetics in primary care in healthy populations, and [for insurers] to pay for it.

The current state of evidence and bleak reimbursement prospects havent deterred early adopters from embracing precision medicine in primary care. For Megan Mahoney, MD, chief of general primary care at Stanford Medicine, precision medicine begins with going after data on key determinants of healthnot just genes, but also environmental factors, social determinants, and health behaviors.

In a yearlong pilot of 50 patientsmore than half of whom were at risk for cardiovascular conditionsStanford Medicine care teams created personalized care plans to prevent and manage chronic illness. The plans leveraged data from several sources, including genetic-risk assessments and genetic testing for the three CDC Tier 1 conditions and remote monitoring devices.

Before the pilot, which ended in 2018, Stanford did not offer routine genetic testing in primary care. So far, that hasnt changed. But Stanford is making the genetic-risk assessment tested in the pilot available to its primary care providers, hoping it can increase screening rates for the Tier 1 conditions, says Mahoney. Studies show that many primary care providers are uncomfortable evaluating and addressing genetic risk. Five patients in the pilot discovered through the genetic risk screening that theyre at high risk for breast cancer, demonstrating that this type of tool can help to identify previously unknown risks.

Post-pilot, Stanford is also offering patients with poorly controlled blood pressure connection to a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure cuff and health coaching as part of a larger study. Genetic testing has dominated the discussion of precision medicine in primary care, but Stanfords experience shows that it isnt the only way to tailor preventive care to individual patients needs.

Even if clinical utility is ultimately shown, folding precision medicine into primary care will likely follow the path of many new developments in medicine: There will be some early adopters, but most practices will have a wait-and-see and depends-on-the-reimbursement attitude.

Educating doctors on how to interpret, use, and communicate genetic testing results to patients will be one of the biggest hurdles. Theyll be learning on the job, says Susanne Haga, associate professor of internal medicine at Duke Universitys medical school, who leads educational activities in genetics and genomics for the Duke Center for Applied Genomics. An obstacle course of other possible barriers awaits: the limited number of certified genetic counselors, concerns about privacy and genetic discrimination, and the potential for the lack of diversity in genomic data sets to exacerbate disparities in care.

Still, Haga sees the convergence of three factors that will force the health care systems hand and usher in precision medicine in primary care: patients increasing ability to influence decisions about their care, the declining cost of testing, and a critical mass of people, numbering in the millions, who will have had their DNA sequenced in genome programs such as Geisingers or several national genomics research initiatives.

Its coming, she says, one way or another.

Originally posted here:
Precision Medicine in Primary Care: Bespoke. Genetic and Genomic. And Maybe Not Ready. - Managed Care magazine

Biochemistry

Back Mountain students named to dean’s list at The University of Scranton – The Dallas Post

SCRANTON Back Mountain residents were among more than 1,600 students named to The University of Scrantons Deans List for the 2019 fall semester. The deans list recognizes students for academic excellence. A student must have a grade point average of 3.5 or better with a minimum number of credit hours during the semester to make the deans list.

Recognized students are:

Amanda M. Danishanko, of Wyoming, a freshman biochemistry, cell, molecular biology major

Ivy J. Fox, of Dallas, a freshman biology major

Kyle B. Hromisin, of Dallas, a freshman biochemistry major

Lindsey X. Jorda, of Shavertown, a freshman biochemistry, cell, molecular biology major

Michael Quinnan, of Shavertown, a freshman biochemistry, cell, molecular biology major

Caroline E. Ries, of Tunkhannock, a freshman international studies major

Ethan M. Zawatski, of Dallas, a freshman biology major

Eric R. Wisdo, of Tunkhannock, a sophomore biochemistry major

Jacob S. Ridilla, of Shavertown, a junior physics major

Jake D. Selingo, of Shavertown, a junior chemistry major

Ashley C. Spencer, of Tunkhannock, a junior biology major

Kyle Zaboski, of Wyoming, a junior strategic communication major

Madeline J. Grant, of Dallas, a senior criminal justice major

Jared J. Fernandez, of Tunkhannock, a freshman nursing major

Gianna M. Scotti, of Tunkhannock, a sophomore occupational therapy major

Rachel A. Fernandez, of Tunkhannock, a junior occupational therapy major

Caroline N. Banas, of Dallas, a senior nursing major

Olivia R. Mennig, of Dallas, a senior nursing major

Samantha L. Pollick, of Wyoming, a senior nursing major

Nicole C. Cavanaugh, of Dallas, a junior accounting major

Maxwell J. Kneeream, of Wyoming, a junior accounting major

Alissa A. Zamber, of Tunkhannock, a senior accounting major

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Back Mountain students named to dean's list at The University of Scranton - The Dallas Post

Biochemistry

Fake doctor tried to kill his family when he feared his secret would be exposed – Telegraph.co.uk

A failed medical student who spent up to a decade pretending he was a qualified doctor attempted to murder his family when he feared his secret would be exposed, a court heard yesterday.

Satya Thakor, 35, was jailed for 28 years for trying to kill his mother-in-law, wife and two other relatives during a stabbing rampage at a home in Wraysbury, Berks.

Reading Crown Court heard Thakor met his wife Nisha while studying biochemistry at a university in London. After failing his exams to qualify as a doctor, he lied by saying he had passed and kept up the pretence for up to a decade.

The court heard he visited a library every day to read medical books so that he sounded professional to his family and that he often pretended to work night shifts.

In May last year, Thakor realised his deception was about to be uncovered when his wife suggested a dream holiday to Los Angeles with their daughter and, because he had not been earning money, he could not provide the necessary funds.

He decided instead to buy some time by killing his mother-in-law, the court heard.

On May 14 last year, Thakor attacked his mother-in-law Gita Laxman with a knife while also trying to cover her head with a pillow. The woman's screams alerted Nisha who found her husband trying to attack her mother.

The court heard that Thakor then lunged at his wife and tried to stab her in the neck, successfully knifing her at least once and then again in the leg as she fell to the floor trying to kick him away.

He went on to stab his brother-in-law, Primal Laxman (corr), who tried to intervene, before going into a room where Rishika Laxman, his sister-in-law, was sleeping. He stabbed her too, Judge Dugdale was told.

In December, Thakor was convicted of three counts of attempted murder in relation to his wife, his mother-in-law and his brother-in-law. He was convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to Rishika Laxman.

Judge Paul Dugdale, sentencing, said: "You chose an extreme act of violence to get out of the difficulty that you were in. You could have stopped it as the madness that it was and as the idiotic decision that it was, but you chose not to."

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Fake doctor tried to kill his family when he feared his secret would be exposed - Telegraph.co.uk

Biochemistry

Bruins go to downtown Los Angeles to share the big potential of the very small – UCLA Newsroom

Los Angeles has a well-earned reputation as a world center for arts and entertainment but thats just one part of the picture according to Paul Weiss, UCLA distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry. He told a downtown Los Angeles audience that he believes that the same restless creative energy also drives the research community on campus.

Weiss was speaking as part of a new collaboration between UCLA and MindshareLA; that partnership is a key component of UCLAs commitment to share the knowledge its scholars are creating with people in communities beyond Westwood. The night served as the kickoff for a yearlong, four-event series, called Vision 2020.

We have this pressure on us here that if youre not doing something a little crazy and going out on a limb, youre not doing your job, said Weiss, a member and former director of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. Its a very different environment than the typical conservative academic places that many of us have seen in our training.

Weiss, who also is a distinguished professor of bioengineering and of materials science and engineering, relates this atmosphere of ingenuity and freedom to the sometimes-surprising collaborations hes part of as a nanoscientist, connecting with everyone from neuroscientists to transplant surgeons.

The potential of interdisciplinary work involving nanoscience explorations at the scale of billionths of a meter was a theme that cropped up repeatedly during It Came from Nanospace , an evening of presentations and hands-on experiences produced by UCLA and MindshareLA. Weiss was among four from UCLA who were featured in the Feb. 1 event at the Cross Campus office space in downtown Los Angeles, to a crowd of about 275 attendees.

Weiss, who holds a UC Presidential Chair and is founding editor-in-chief of the journal ACS Nano, shared highlights of his own activities as a leader in his field, from his work while at IBM on a microscope capable of imaging individual atoms to his involvement with ambitious public research initiatives launched during the Obama era. He also discussed the part that nanoscience itself an interdisciplinary field encompassing chemistry, physics, engineering and more is playing in tackling problems in other fields.

It Came from Nanospace began with a presentation by Adam Stieg, a UCLA research scientist and an associate director of CNSI. He provided a brief and engaging history of computing, leading up to a new paradigm hes exploring in his own research with UCLA distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry James Gimzewski: nanoscale devices physically and functionally modeled after certain aspects of the human brain. Potential future devices based on this approach wouldnt separate processing and memory, as contemporary computers do, and as a result are expected to operate with much greater energy efficiency.

Stieg noted that such interdisciplinary work fits naturally with nanoscience.

As much as nano is a thing of scale it absolutely is it ultimately becomes something of thinking, where we have to think differently about what we expect, because things dont behave as we would expect them to at the smallest of scales, he said.

We need to expect to see the unexpected, he continued, and to think creatively about how to leverage and harness these unique properties, and in many cases that requires talking across disciplines that we normally wouldnt.

Marc Roseboro/UCLA

Attendees enjoy the It Came from Nanospace event, which combined presentations and hands-on experiences in downtown Los Angeles.

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After a musical interlude, the attendees heard from Clarice Aiello, UCLA assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and a member of CNSI. She discussed her investigations into the quantum behavior behind chemical sensors in nature such as those that underlie birds ability to use faint signals from Earths magnetic field to guide their migration.

The question that my group and other groups are trying to answer is, Can quantum physics be established or refuted to account for relevant biological phenomena, and importantly be manipulated and controlled for technological and therapeutic advantage? said Aiello, who leads the Quantum Biology Tech Lab at UCLA, known as QuBIT.

She spoke about recent discoveries about cryptochrome, a protein found in the retinas of birds that is believed to be the key to their magnetic sense. She also provided examples of potential applications for knowledge about these kinds of quantum-based biochemical reactions: drugs that protect from the harmful effects of radiation, magnetic therapies that correct metabolic disorders and quantum computers that work at room temperature instead of requiring extreme cold.

Aiello echoed the importance of collaborations across scientific fields.

I really think that by joining forces we can actually solve a lot of more-interesting problems than if we are just restricted to our own disciplines, she said.

Attendees also enjoyed musical performances and hands-on experiences such as Noise Aquarium, an art installation by Victoria Vesna, professor of design media arts and director of the UCLA Art|Sci Center, which is a collaboration between the design media arts department in the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture and CNSI.

The interactive installation provided participants with an immersive virtual reality trip beneath the oceans surface, where they had close encounters with enlarged projections of plankton collectively the largest source of oxygen in our atmosphere and experienced the underwater noise pollution that results from human activities such as sonar navigation and fracking.

A collaboration involving artists and scientists in Vienna, the installation uses three-dimensional scans of the microscopic plankton, as well as actual sounds recorded in the ocean. Noise Aquarium, which evolved from a linear video that has been presented to audiences around the globe, is meant to bring awareness to issues such as climate change and pollution.

MindshareLA is an event series and mecca for entrepreneurs, designers, technologists and other creative, forward-thinking Angelenos seeking inspiration and connection. It has hosted 150 events and spawned numerous successful companies and countless relationships.

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Bruins go to downtown Los Angeles to share the big potential of the very small - UCLA Newsroom

Biochemistry

Preventing childhood trauma and reducing its long-term effects – Iowa Now

WhenCorinne Peek-Asawas an undergraduateatthe University of New Mexico,the idea of becoming anepidemiologist wasnton herradar.

In fact, she says,It was through a series of fortuitous events that I discovered what Iloved.

After graduating with a degree in biochemistry, Peek-Asa went to medical school thinking it would align with her interests in public health andresearch.

But duringclinical rotations,Peek-Asasoonrealizedshe didnt want to focusonpatient care.After transitioningtoforensic pathology,sheworkedin a medical examiners officecollecting tumorsfora cancer study and met a publichealth researcher whogave herthe opportunity to assist witha studyonpedestriansinNew MexicosPueblopopulation.

I didnt know it at the time, but I was really seeking something interdisciplinary,something that looks intocomplex problems thatrequirea lot of fields to solve, she says.SoI quit med school, applied foragraduateprogram in epidemiology, and it was very much afit.

Peek-Asa earneda masters in public health and a PhDfrom the University of California, Los Angeles, where she trained as an epidemiologist to investigate patterns and causes of injury.Specializingin implementing andanalyzingprevention programs and policies, Peek-Asais interested inthe larger goal of reducing thelong-termnegative health outcomesthat traumatic injuries cancause.

Anassociate dean for research in the University of Iowa College of Public Health and professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health,Peek-Asadirects IowasInjury Prevention Research Center (IPRC)and is an appointed member of the National Academy of Medicines Global Violence PreventionForum.

Peek-Asa will deliver Iowas 37th annual Presidential Lecture, Violence, Syndemics, and the Biology of Trauma, on Feb.16.

Why is childhood trauma so important to the research youll be focusing on in yourlecture?

Were learning about how trauma and violence in early childhood not only impact your development but can do so in a way that sets you up for many different health problems. So this leads to the question, if we can prevent extreme childhood adversity, traumatic stress, and abuse, can we show a lifelong trajectory of improved health? We need to look at a lot of outcomes, and the framework that takes this approach is called asyndemic.

Adverse childhood events, or ACEs, are traumatic experiences that impact brain development, causing a cascade of reactions that influence long-term health. These types of trauma can include emotional abuse and neglect, physical and sexual violence, household violence, substance abuse, mental illness, and even parental separation or divorce. Increasinglyall over the world, but especially in the U.S.ACEs are being recognized for their damaging impact on brain development. This concept is recognized as the biology of trauma. In short, the brain will organize around the most common and intense experiences, turning them into a baseline, defining what is normal. We know that people with six or more ACEs have a life expectancy 20 years shorter than those withnone.

How does a syndemic differ from an epidemic, and how does one unfold? Are we experiencing any syndemics in theU.S.?

As we know, an epidemic is a health problem affecting a large number of people that has increased beyond what was anticipated. In addition to the current opioid epidemic in our country, were also dealing with an epidemic of suicides and substance use. According to a report from the nonprofit Trust for Americas Health, this can actually be seen as a larger epidemic of despair. Were seeing increases in substance abuse, alcohol, and violence, and recognizing that theres an underlying epidemic of despair leading tothese.

A syndemic is a cluster of related epidemicssynergistic epidemicswhich are epidemics that have related causal factors and outcomes and involve larger socialdeterminants.

Another component of a syndemic is that the underlying causal factors interact with each other. So, for example, a child who falls off of their bike, then gets exposed to a cold virus at the same time is not experiencing interacting causal factors. Instead, imagine a child who is a victim of abuse: suffering from that abuse leads to having a depressed immune system, which then leads them to being susceptible to infectious disease. So, the risk factors are not just paralleltheyinteract.

Adverse childhood experiences, which have health implications so early in life, are a component of many violence syndemics. Childhood adversity, for example, is an underlying element in many of the diseases of despairsubstance use, alcohol use, and suicide. The work we do at the Injury Prevention Research Center is pushing the boundaries of how we can address some of the larger social determinants of these violence syndemics. For example, policies in the workplace can reduce the risk for homicide and suicide and can support a trauma-informed environmentone that is sensitive to the past experiences that might be predicting current health andbehavior.

What sparked your interest in syndemics, and how do you see it being most useful in your areas ofresearch?

The component of syndemics that most interests me has to do with cultural and social determinants. In other words, the nexus of adverse childhood experiences and substance use is concentrated in populations of people with limited access to health care, lower education levels, less access to resources, and fewer social connections. From a public health standpoint, its important to address these connections to social inequity and poverty. And that can include changing the way we design our studies to think about these broader contexts. For example, we have done some studies in Romania showing that when the country joined the European Union, new roads were built in ways that did not accommodate pedestrians, especially those who had some physical limitations, like the elderly; they were having challenges getting across the road. It became clear that safety had not been a priority in decisions about transportationinfrastructure.

So the syndemic framework is helpful in that it shows us were not going to solve the problem by installing lights, adding more stop signs or crosswalks, or having police do more patrols. Were only going to solve the problem by building roads that accommodate all users, and by making health and safety a priority in transportation decisions. This approach, called Health in All Policy, is becoming a higher priority everywhere from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the WorldBank.

What kinds of shifts in public health, or society at large, might be required to see more effective prevention orintervention?

We need to invest in early childhood injury intervention and prevention programs, and to think much more about health outcomes as a life trajectory. When we think about adverse childhood experiences and their ties to future substance use, we need to realize that a systems-oriented solution goes far beyond helping addicted people in rehab; a systemicapproach will prevent the adverse childhood experiences. How do we as a society think about preventing child abuse? Thats a really hard question because its such a complex issue. Abuse isoften

intergenerational. It can be hard to detect. So, while were working on answers to this question, I want us to do our work thinking more in the big picture, focus on prevention, and how it can fit into these thorny societalissues.

What does being selected for the Presidential Lecture mean toyou?

Its a wonderful opportunity to show how much of the work the UI does in this area of public health and how it truly impacts the community, how much it helps the populations not just in Iowa but all over theworld.

Academics are passionate about their research, so to have the opportunity to showcase itand that others are interested in itmeans a lot to me as well as to my team. Its really a greathonor.

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Preventing childhood trauma and reducing its long-term effects - Iowa Now

Biochemistry

‘Married at First Sight’: Which Season 10 Couple Was the First to Have Sex on Their Honeymoon? – Sahiwal Tv

The concern of whenever (and also if) to own intercourse is often asignificant subject on Lifetimes Marriedat First Sight. After all, even though the partners register with legallymarry strangers whove been hand-picked for all of them by three specialists, they dontunderstand one another after all. Many partners feel uncomfortable with each other atinitially, leaving some cast users to battle about sex,attraction, and chemistry.

The five new partners on Married at First Sight Season 10 are not any exclusion. While some partners got personal right-away on the vacation in Panama, other people had knock-down battles about getting actual. On the Jan. 29 episode, Trouble in Paradise, two partners had intercourse, whilst the various other three struggled using the concept of getting personal.

MekaJones and Michael Watson fought over intercourse significantly more than some of the various other Season10 couples. While Meka wished to develop a friendship and a difficult linkprior to getting actual, she stated Michael wasnt for a passing fancy web page.

According to Meka, Michaelgave her an ultimatum about making love prior to the end of this vacation ifshe performednt need a separation.

While soothing when you look at the resort share using the various other brides, the Marriedat First Sight star reported, So essentially, he informed my loved ones and pals,like seemed them into the attention and informed all of them, I are diligent with intercourse. Sex isinstead of my mindIm gonna allow her to make the lead. And he then actually states tomyself, If we dont have intercourse on our vacation, then Im maybe not gonna desire to be inthis marriage.

Things got so incredibly bad involving the few which they invested initial day or two of these vacation in split resort rooms, just getting collectively for some embarrassing conversations.

BrandonReid and Taylor Dunklin had plentyof problems on the Panamanian vacation. Brandon also invested the next timeof these relationship offering their partner the hushed therapy because she recorded himsnoring as a tale.

Still, their particular actual destination appeared to be truth be told there. Taylor informedone other spouses which they hadnt had intercourse yet, but she thought biochemistry. Itsjust already been kisses. Kisses and cuddles, she said.

Brandon included that, as they hadnt gotten personal however, he hoped it could occur shortly. We havent crossed that bridge yet, but were so comfortable already, the Married at First Sight star informed one other grooms. I mean, were walking around the room naked, were holding hands. I dont know, tonight might be my lucky night.

KatieConrad and Derek Sherman had great biochemistry on the wedding, plus theyrapidly became initial Married at First Sight Season 10 few to ownintercourse on the vacation.

Weve made progress, Katie stated slyly to another spousesfrom the 2nd days the vacation. We came really, very near. Wereincrease the strain.

We havent had sex yet. But you will find certainly some powerfulcuddles, theres some PDA, you know? Derek told one other grooms through theexact same discussion. Going forward the rest of the week, I hope it happens.

It looks like Derek rapidly got their desire, while he ready candle lights,rose petals, wine and dessert for Katies 26th birthday. As they fed one anotherduring sex, Derektold Katie, Im happy it was you that walked down the aisle.

Romance, it appears, performed the secret. The MAFS couple wokeup on time four of these relationship and launched theyd had intercourse. So we did athing, they said. Id intercourse with my hubby. Im experiencing very good aboutit. Yep, feeling good! Katie uncovered.

At dinner using the various other partners, Katie joked about her birthday sex with Derek, declaring, Happy birthday to me! A happy man right there, Taylor laughed because they toasted initial couples consummation of these relationship. I was wondering why you were glowing today, Brandon joked.

JessicaStuder and Austin Hurd appeared drawn to one another right from the start,therefore its perhaps not astonishing that the Married at First Sight couple had intercourse ontheir particular vacation.

The other wives gushed to Jessica that she and Austin wereadorable together. Still, Jessica reported on the 3rd days marriage that shedjust had kisses and cuddles together with her spouse to date. But youve got such a grinon the face, reveal about these kisses and cuddles! Mindy joked, hintingthat the few had significant biochemistry.

The next day, however, Austin and Jessica stated that they had consummated the relationship. Were adults. Were married. Things happen, Jessica stated coyly over one cup of wine. Austin informed Lifetime manufacturers that they had already been personal together with a powerful destination to one another.

Meanwhile, MindyShiben and Zach Justice werent nearly since happy. Zach accepted to Mindywhich he performednt feel biochemistry or a spark together with her, leaving her heartbrokenabout their not enough actual destination to her.

While Mindy and Zach fundamentally kissed, Zach informed one othergrooms from the 2nd days the vacation which they hadnt also come near toperforming a great deal more.

I cant utilize intercourse as a response to generate a destination, and I alsocant put it to use as a method to bridging a space to some thing, the Married atFirst Sight celebrity informed their fellow MAFS husbands. At this aspect, wehave actuallynt crossed that connection after all.

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'Married at First Sight': Which Season 10 Couple Was the First to Have Sex on Their Honeymoon? - Sahiwal Tv

Biochemistry

Coronavirus outbreak brings work of Flinn-Brown Fellow Jessica Rigler into the public eye – Flinn Foundation

By Brian PowellFlinn Foundation

Amember of the Arizona State University communitylast monthbecamethe first confirmed caseof the2019NovelCoronavirusinArizona and one of the first in the United Statesas theoutbreakexpanded beyond central China.

The state agency at the forefrontof thisidentificationand responseisthe Arizona Department of Health Services,whose assistant director overseeing the division of public health preparednessisFlinn-Brown FellowJessica Rigler.Rigler,who has worked at ADHS since 2008 and in her current role since 2018,is responsible for leading the states preparedness fora possibleinfectious diseaseoutbreakandsharing critical information with the public.

One of the most exciting aspects ofmy jobis the ability to work with our public health team to respond to disease outbreaks, Rigler says. Its incredibly fulfilling to have a role in protecting Arizonans from infectious diseases and to provide them with information they need to know to stay healthy.

In thismost recentinstance,shes shared informationwith the mediaabout thelocal2019NovelCoronaviruscaseand how Arizonans can help prevent the spread of all respiratory viruses.She has previouslyledpublichealthresponsesand public messagingpertainingto theZika virus, opioid prevention,the 2014 Ebola outbreak,vaccines,the West Nile virus,andthe recentHepatitis Aoutbreakin Arizona.

As a state-agency executive, Rigler serves in one of theintendeddestinations for Flinn-Brown Fellows, who arecompetitivelyselectedeach yearby the Flinn FoundationsArizona Center for Civic Leadershipfor its flagshipFlinn-Brown Academy.

My heart has been on the policy side and Im really passionate about continuing to further our policy goals to improve the health of Arizona, Rigler says. Im working to promote the fact that we needto incorporatehealth intoall of ourpoliciesandI feel working at the state levelisthe best place to do that.

As part of her role, Rigler providespublic healthinformation to the Arizona Legislature,helpsinformADHS policy direction, andchampionspublic health issues such asimproving vaccination coverage to counteractthe impact ofrisingvaccine exemptions.

Thedivision ofpublichealthpreparednessthat Rigler manages, with approximately 300 employees and an annual budget of more than $75 million,overseespublic healthemergencypreparedness,epidemiology anddisease control, state laboratory services for newborn screeningand identification of infectious diseases and chemical contaminants, the certification of first respondersand ambulance services,public healthstatistics,and the statesimmunizationprogram.

I know how Im going to start the day, but I never know how its going to end, Rigler says.

Rigler, an Arizona native, has a biochemistry degree from University of California, San Diego,and a masters degree in public health from Emory UniversityinAtlanta,and iscertifiedin infection control andprevention.Rigler considered working as a lab scientist, butinstead chose public health because shewanted to impact health while interacting with people.

Riglersaid shewas encouraged to apply forthe Flinn-Brown AcademybyDiana Gomez,theYuma Countydirector of public health.

Rigler said her selection hasled to new connectionswithhealth expertsas well asleaders oforganizations that could result in future partnerships.She alsolearnedhow the states public health agency fits intothe broader statewide policy landscape.

It was a fantastic experience for me, and I was able to get a broader view of key topics that impact policy-making in the stateand I better understood how we are competing against a number of different priorities,Rigler says.Service in an executiverole at astate agency or university, like Rigler,is one of the five destinations for Flinn-Brown Fellows as they expand theircivic leadership. The others arepublicservice asastate-level elected official, policy advisor, state board or commission member, andstatewide organization executive.More than 350 Fellows, from both urban and rural communities,are members of theFlinn-Brown Network.

The Arizona Center for Civic Leadershipat theFlinn Foundationcompetitively selectsabout 25 Fellows for each Flinn-Brown cohort. The 2020 Flinn-Brown Academy, featuring 14 full-day seminars including theannualFlinn-Brown Convention, will begin in August.

Theapplicationfor the 2020 Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy will open in early April.

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Coronavirus outbreak brings work of Flinn-Brown Fellow Jessica Rigler into the public eye - Flinn Foundation

Biochemistry

Nebraska in the national news: January 2020 – IANR News

University of NebraskaLincoln faculty members shared their expertise on Iran and fermented foods with prominent media outlets in January. The stories were among 35-plus featuring Husker faculty, staff, students, centers and programs during the month.

Rupal Mehta, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for a Jan. 4 New York Times article on the United States drone-strike assassination of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Irans top military leader, and what it might mean for the Middle East. Mehta said the strike could send a message to the surviving members of Suleimanis network. But when the U.S. has killed high-ranking members of terrorist organizations, she said, their replacements have tended to be more extreme not less.

Mehta also participated in a live interview on the topic Jan. 6 on BBC Radios Up All Night. (The interview begins at 2:35:05.) She said she thought it was too early to tell whether the assassination would impact Irans nuclear ambitions or whether the killing strengthened or weakened Tehran.

From what weve been able to gather, both from intelligence sources and from the ripple effects including U.S. troops being asked to leave Iraq, the suspension of U.S. coalition against ISIS forces and a relatively robust response from the Iranian population in support of the Iranian government this has potentially strengthened Iran , she said.

Robert Hutkins, Khem Shahani Professor of Food Science, was interviewed for a Jan. 8 Washington Post article on fermented foods being trendy but not necessarily probiotics. He said that most microbes including fungi and bacteria in fermented foods have not been characterized or defined, let alone tested in clinical trials to see if they offer probiotic health benefits.

However, fermented foods offer plenty of other benefits. Fermentation helps preserve food by suppressing microbes that might make people sick. Cheese and yogurt are among the best sources of calcium in the human diet, Hutkins said, and fermented vegetables such as kimchi and sauerkraut contain B vitamins and vitamin C.

Even when there are no live microbes left in a finished food, Hutkins said, dead microbes can still boost the foods nutritional value such is the case with sourdough bread. Fermentation also enhances the digestibility of some foods.

For example, lactose-intolerant individuals can consume yogurt, even though it contains lactose, because the yogurt microbes provide the lactase enzyme needed to digest that lactose, Hutkins said. Lactose-intolerant individuals can usually also consume aged cheese, because the lactose is removed during fermentation.

More coverage:

Matt Spangler, animal science, wrote a recent column offering advice for bull sale season. The High Plains Journal and Western Livestock Journal ran the column.

Chigozie Obiomas second novel, An Orchestra of Minorities, was named a top-20 book to read in 2020 by E! News on Jan. 3. Obioma is an assistant professor of English at Nebraska.

A 2017 study by Bruce Johnson, emeritus professor of agricultural economics at Nebraska, and Anil Giri, assistant professor of agribusiness management at the University of Central Missouri, was cited in a Jan. 6 Rapid City Journal article on retail sales in South Dakota. The study showed that a towns population is the biggest factor affecting retail draw.

New research by Melanie Trenhaile-Granneman, animal science graduate student, suggests that sows undergo changes in structure over time. Farm Journals Pork magazine highlighted the research in a Jan. 7 article.

Justin Gus Hurwitz, law, testified Jan. 8 during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on dark patterns or deceptive internet practices. He suggested that the Federal Trade Commission could have untapped abilities to address misinformation that harms consumers. "If we already have an agency that has power, let's see what it's capable of," he said. CNET published a Jan. 8 article on the hearing.

Amy Schmidt, biological systems engineering, has developed a program called the iAMResponsible Project, aimed at educating consumers, agricultural producers and others on the risks associated with antimicrobial resistance and strategies to mitigate those risks. Scientia published a Jan. 8 article on the program.

Dana Fritz, art, was interviewed about her photo series Views Removed for a Jan. 8 Lenscratch article.

A team of researchers from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have identified two major genes associated with bovine congestive heart failure in beef feedlot cattle. The study is the first to confirm genetic risk factors associated with BCHF. A Business Wire story on the research appeared in more than 120 media outlets. Brian Vander Ley, assistant professor and veterinary epidemiologist at Nebraska, and co-principal investigator on the project, was interviewed for the story.

Xiao Cheng Zeng, chemistry, and colleagues at Peking University have discovered surprising quirks in Nebraska Ices normally hexagonal configuration. Physics World published a Jan. 14 article on the research.

Dave Annis, dining director at the university, was interviewed for a Jan. 15 Food Management article on food-service operators struggling to find labor to fill open positions. He said he now has 40% more students working for him than he did 10 years ago because they each work fewer hours.

Stephen Baenziger, agronomy and horticulture, has been awarded a research grant from the Brewers Association a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers. Baenzigers project is titled Building a Winter Malting Barley Market for the Great Plains. A GlobeNewswire story on the associations 2020 grant recipients appeared in about a dozen media outlets.

Peter Sutter, electrical and computer engineering; Eli Sutter, mechanical and materials engineering; and colleagues have developed a nano-engineering technique that could aid in the exploration and scalability of next-gen electronics. Technology.org ran a Jan. 16 article on the research.

John Wunder, emeritus professor of history, was interviewed for a Jan. 17 NBCNews.com article on a new monument in Albuquerque, New Mexico, commemorating a 19th century landmark civil rights case that allowed Chinese individuals to testify in an American court for the first time. Wunder is the author of the book Gold Mountain Turned to Dust: Essays on the Legal History of the Chinese in the Nineteenth-Century American West, which details the case.

Peter Wagner, Earth and atmospheric sciences and biological sciences, was quoted in a Jan. 18 Nature article on a new supercomputer analysis of Earths fossil record. The analysis shows a clearer history of life during the early Palaeozoic era, allowing researchers to pinpoint the rise and fall of species during diversifications and mass extinctions to within about 26,000 years. Wagner was not involved in the work, but wrote an essay accompanying the study.

Frans von der Dunk, space law, was interviewed for a Jan. 18 Civilized article on whether people can legally smoke cannabis on the moon. He said the legality would depend on the origin of the spacecraft. "Space isnt part of any country, but there is a concept that allows states to exercise control over registered spaceships, which almost qualify as a floating territory of the flag state, he said.

Von der Dunk was also the featured guest on the Jan. 29 episode of the Spacewalks, Money Talks podcast. He discussed his work and the current state of space law.

The universitys Outdoor Adventure Center is now offering hunting equipment rentals to the public. USA Today highlighted the program in its 50-states feature Jan. 20.

Nebraska Extensions On-Farm Research Network has earned a $1.2 million On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials grant from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Natural Resource Conservation Service to help corn and wheat growers across Nebraska use new technologies to more precisely apply nitrogen fertilizer to their crops. Stories on the grant appeared in the Fence Post, Growing America, High Plains Journal and Rural Radio Network.

Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension educator, was interviewed for a Jan. 21 Beef magazine article on the cattle birthing process. He said it is a complex process. Weather conditions, the environment the cattle are in and the disposition of the cow can all contribute or take away from the success of the event," he said.

A new study co-authored by Kalu Osiri, international business, suggests that using Facebook at work can have a negative effect on project success, whereas LinkedIn has a positive effect. Tech Xplore published a Jan. 21 article on the research.

Bill Moos, Nebraska athletic director, and Josephine Potuto, Larson Professor of Constitutional Law and faculty athletic representative at Nebraska, discussed the dynamics between an AD and FAR for the Jan. 21 AthleticDirectorU podcast.

Matt Joeckel, Nebraska state geologist, director of the Conservation and Survey Division and senior associate director of the School of Natural Resources, was interviewed for a Jan. 22 Outdoor Enthusiast Lifestyle blog entry on the Dakota Formation. Joeckel said the formation has yielded some of the earliest fossil flowers and fructifications from angiosperms.

A recent study by Husker political scientists was cited in a Jan. 23 USA Today opinion piece about engaging in tough conversations. According to the study, nearly 40% of Americans said politics had caused them stress, while one in five reported that a friendship had been damaged as a result of a political argument. The study was authored by Kevin Smith and John Hibbing, both political science, and Matthew Hibbing, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Merced.

The study was also cited in a Jan. 23 Mens Health article titled How to stay sane in a crazy election year. According to the study, about one in five people reported doing or saying something they regretted as a result of feelings related to politics; another 20% said politics had negatively affected their relationships with friends and family.

Researchers from the University of NebraskaLincoln, Stanford University, Puerto Rico and Germany recently used record-intense X-rays to capture dynamics of isocyanide hydratase that were previously only hypothesized, a feat that could point the way to doing the same with other enzymes. Husker researchers involved with the study included Mark Wilson, Javier Seravalli and Peter Madzelan, all biochemistry; Medhanjali Dasgupta, biochemistry graduate student; David Berkowitz and Virendra Tiwari, both chemistry; and doctoral alumnus Gregory Applegate, chemistry. Technology.org ran a Jan. 23 article on the research. Technology.org ran a Jan. 23 article on the research.

Steven Barlow, special education and communication disorders; Greg Bashford, biological systems engineering; and graduate students have created a device that opens new circulatory pathways in the critical few minutes after a stroke has occurred. BTN.com published a Jan. 24 article on the new technology.

Michael Sealy, mechanical and materials engineering, is using 3D printers to develop dissolvable surgical implants. The research was mentioned in a Jan. 24 3DPrint.com article.

Preliminary research from the University of NebraskaLincoln suggests a connection between the spread of trees in the Great Plains and an increase in the size and frequency of large wildfires. The research was highlighted in a Jan. 27 Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World article. Victoria Donovan, a postdoctoral research associate in agronomy and horticulture, was interviewed for the story.

Elham Tavakoli and Shayan Kaviani, graduate students in chemical and biomolecular engineering, and colleagues have developed a new approach for synthesizing organic Legos that can be easily connected to make new materials. Stories on the research appeared on Phys.org, Science Codex and a few other websites.

The U.S. Drought Monitor produced jointly by the university's National Drought Mitigation Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture was cited in a Jan. 30 Associated Press story on Californias winter snowpack being below average after a dry January. The Jan. 30 monitor showed more than 34% of California as abnormally dry, up from less than 4% a week earlier. The AP story was picked up by Bakersfield.com, the SF Gate and several other media outlets.

Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews. If you have additions to this list, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.

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Nebraska in the national news: January 2020 - IANR News