Transport noise is a major problem in Europe, with over 100 million people living in areas where road traffic noise exceeds levels greater than 55dB, the health-based threshold set by the EU. A new study by the University of Oxford and the University of Leicester has found a connection between traffic noise and obesity. Long-term exposure to road traffic noise, such as living near a motorway or on a busy road, was associated with an increase in body mass index and waist circumference, which are key markers of obesity. The study was published today in the journal Environmental Research.
‘While modest, the data revealed an association between those living in high traffic-noise areas and obesity, at around a 2% increase in obesity prevalence for every 10dB of added noise,’ says lead author Dr Samuel Yutong Cai, a senior epidemiologist at the University of Oxford. ‘The association persisted even when we accounted for a wide range of lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and diet, as well as when taking into account socio-economic status of both individuals and the overall area. Air pollution was also accounted for, especially those related to traffic.’
New Approach to Treating Osteoarthritis Advances
Injections of a natural “energy” molecule prompted regrowth of almost half of the cartilage lost with aging in knees, a new study in rodents shows.
The study results revolve around the long-established idea that machines within animal and human cells turn the sugars, fats, and proteins we eat into energy used by the body’s millions of cells. The molecule most used to store that energy is called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Along with this central role in metabolism, adenosine also helps signal other cells and serves as a building block of genetic material, and so is central to the growth of human tissue.
Previous research had shown that maintaining supplies of adenosine, known to nourish the chondrocyte cells that make cartilage, also prevented osteoarthritis in similar animal models of the disease.
Published online in the journal Scientific Reports on August 10, the study rodents received 8 weekly injections of adenosine, which prompted regrowth rates of cartilage tissue between 50 percent and 35 percent as measured by standard laboratory scores.
Release date: 10 August 2020
Source: NYU Langone Health / NYU School of Medicine
COVID-19 study confirms low transmission in educational settings
The rate of COVID-19 transmission in New South Wales (NSW) educational settings was extremely limited during the first wave of COVID-19, research findings published today in The Lancet Journal of Child and Adolescent Health have shown.
Researchers from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and the University of Sydney released their preliminary findings from this work from January to April 2020.
Release date: 4 August 2020
Source: University of Sydney
Long-term exposure to traffic noise may impact weight gain in the UK population
Transport noise is a major problem in Europe, with over 100 million people living in areas where road traffic noise exceeds levels greater than 55dB, the health-based threshold set by the EU. A new study by the University of Oxford and the University of Leicester has found a connection between traffic noise and obesity. Long-term exposure to road traffic noise, such as living near a motorway or on a busy road, was associated with an increase in body mass index and waist circumference, which are key markers of obesity. The study was published today in the journal Environmental Research.
‘While modest, the data revealed an association between those living in high traffic-noise areas and obesity, at around a 2% increase in obesity prevalence for every 10dB of added noise,’ says lead author Dr Samuel Yutong Cai, a senior epidemiologist at the University of Oxford. ‘The association persisted even when we accounted for a wide range of lifestyle factors, such as smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and diet, as well as when taking into account socio-economic status of both individuals and the overall area. Air pollution was also accounted for, especially those related to traffic.’
Release date: 17 August 2020
Source: University of Oxford
Is COVID-19 Transmitted Through Breast Milk? Study Suggests Not Likely
The study, published August 19, 2020 in the online edition of JAMA , examined 64 samples of breast milk collected by the Mommy’s Milk Human Milk Research Biorepository from 18 women across the United States infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although one sample tested positive for viral RNA, subsequent tests found that the virus was unable to replicate, and thus unable to cause infection in the breastfed infant.
Release date: 19 August 2020
Source: University of California – San Diego
USC scientists identify the order of COVID-19’s symptoms
Knowing which symptoms appear first will help doctors identify COVID-19 patients sooner and make better treatment decisions.
USC researchers have found what appears to be the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms first appear: fever, cough and muscle pain, then nausea and/or vomiting, then diarrhea.
Knowing the order of COVID-19’s symptoms may help patients seek care promptly or decide promptly to self-isolate, the scientists say. It also could help doctors rule out other illnesses or plan how to treat patients, according to the study led by doctoral candidate Joseph Larsen and his colleagues with faculty advisers Peter Kuhn and James Hicks at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience’s Convergent Science Institute in Cancer.
The scientific findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
Release date: 13 August 2020
Source: University of Southern California
Opioid Use Can Trigger Deafness
Opioid receptors in the inner ear can cause partial or full hearing loss, says Rutgers study.
Opioid use, particularly in high doses, can cause deafness, according to Rutgers researchers.
The study, published in The Journal of Medical Toxicology, reviewed records from the New Jersey Poison Control Center, based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, from 1999 to 2018 to determine the association between opioid use and degrees of hearing loss.
Release date: 17 August 2020
Source: Rutgers University
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spreads more indoors at low humidity
Leipzig/New Delhi. The airborne transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 via aerosol particles in indoor environment seems to be strongly influenced by relative humidity. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig and the CSIR National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi from the analysis of 10 most relevant international studies on the subject. Therefore, they recommend controlling the indoor air in addition to the usual measures such as social distancing and masks. A relative humidity of 40 to 60 percent could reduce the spread of the viruses and their absorption through the nasal mucous membrane. To contain the COVID-19 pandemic, it is therefore extremely important to implement standards for indoor air humidity in rooms with many people, such as hospitals, open-plan offices or public transport, writes the research team in the scientific journal Aerosol and Air Quality Research.
Release date: 20 August 2020
Source: Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)
Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs are equally effective for diagnosing COVID-19
Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs collected by healthcare providers are equally effective for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study conducted by ARUP Laboratories and University of Utah (U of U) Health.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, represents one of the largest prospective specimen type comparisons to date, said Julio Delgado, MD, MS, ARUP chief medical officer. Other studies, including one from the Yale School of Public Health, have reached similar conclusions but with markedly fewer patients and specimens.
Researchers also found that specimens self-collected from the front of the nose are less effective than deep nasal swabs for virus detection. This finding prompted a subsequent study that has not yet been published in which researchers learned they could improve the sensitivity of anterior nasal swab testing to 98% by combining an anterior nasal swab with a swab collected from the back of the throat.
Release date: 20 August 2020
Source: University of Utah Health
Possible therapeutic treatment for COVID-19
Pathogenic coronaviruses are a major threat to global public health, as shown by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or SARS-CoV; Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, known as MERS-CoV; and the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection.
The study, “3C-like protease inhibitors block coronavirus replication in vitro and improve survival in MERS-CoV-infected mice,” appears in the Aug. 3 issue of the prestigious medical journal Science Translational Medicine. It reveals how small molecule protease inhibitors show potency against human coronaviruses. These coronavirus 3C-like proteases, known as 3CLpro, are strong therapeutic targets because they play vital roles in coronavirus replication.
Release date: 03 August 2020
Source: Kansas State University
Blood test could diagnose baby brain damage just hours after birth
An early blood test could detect which babies deprived of oxygen at birth are at risk of serious neurodisabilities like cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
The prototype test looks for certain genes being switched on and off that are linked to long-term neurological issues. Further investigations of these genes may provide new targets for treating the brain damage before it becomes permanent.
The team behind the test, led by Imperial College London researchers in collaboration with groups in India, Italy and the USA, have published their findings today in the journal Scientific Reports.
Release date: 04 August 2020
Source: Imperial College London