A lone developer from the company that provided aerodynamic analysis for the cars in the PlayStation game Gran Turismo has applied the tooling to demonstrate the spread of germs with and without wearing a mask

Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Dr Peter Lam welcomes the new 2020-21 Budget, including the additional HK$150 million funding to the HKTDC to help Hong Kong businesses find new opportunities and to help the...

John R. White
May 1, 2014; 27:82-86
From Research to Practice

(University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering) Three Nick Holonyak Jr., Micro and Nanotechnology Lab (HMNTL) faculty members received NSF Rapid Response Research (RAPID) program grants, all of which aim to shorten the amount of time it takes to process a COVID-19 test with less false negatives. Current tests can take as long as five days for results to be.

β-1,3-d-Glucan is a ubiquitous glucose polymer produced by plants, bacteria, and most fungi. It has been used as a diagnostic tool in patients with invasive mycoses via a highly-sensitive reagent consisting of the blood coagulation system of horseshoe crab. However, no method is currently available for measuring β-1,6-glucan, another primary β-glucan structure of fungal polysaccharides. Herein, we describe the development of an economical and highly-sensitive and specific assay for β-1,6-glucan using a modified recombinant endo-β-1,6-glucanase having diminished glucan hydrolase activity. The purified β-1,6-glucanase derivative bound to the β-1,6-glucan pustulan with a KD of 16.4 nm. We validated the specificity of this β-1,6-glucan probe by demonstrating its ability to detect cell wall β-1,6-glucan from both yeast and hyphal forms of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans, without any detectable binding to glucan lacking the long β-1,6-glucan branch. We developed a sandwich ELISA-like assay with a low limit of quantification for pustulan (1.5 pg/ml), and we successfully employed this assay in the quantification of extracellular β-1,6-glucan released by >250 patient-derived strains of different Candida species (including Candida auris) in culture supernatant in vitro. We also used this assay to measure β-1,6-glucan in vivo in the serum and in several organs in a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. Our work describes a reliable method for β-1,6-glucan detection, which may prove useful for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections.

The developing nervous system is remarkably sensitive to environmental signals, including disruptive toxins, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PBDEs are an environmentally pervasive class of brominated flame retardants whose neurodevelopmental toxicity mechanisms remain largely unclear. Using dissociated cortical neurons from embryonic Rattus norvegicus, we found here that chronic exposure to 6-OH–BDE-47, one of the most prevalent hydroxylated PBDE metabolites, suppresses both spontaneous and evoked neuronal electrical activity. On the basis of our previous work on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) (MEK) biology and our observation that 6-OH–BDE-47 is structurally similar to kinase inhibitors, we hypothesized that certain hydroxylated PBDEs mediate neurotoxicity, at least in part, by impairing the MEK–ERK axis of MAPK signal transduction. We tested this hypothesis on three experimental platforms: 1) in silico, where modeling ligand–protein docking suggested that 6-OH–BDE-47 is a promiscuous ATP-competitive kinase inhibitor; 2) in vitro in dissociated neurons, where 6-OH–BDE-47 and another specific hydroxylated BDE metabolite similarly impaired phosphorylation of MEK/ERK1/2 and activity-induced transcription of a neuronal immediate early gene; and 3) in vivo in Drosophila melanogaster, where developmental exposures to 6-OH–BDE-47 and a MAPK inhibitor resulted in offspring displaying similarly increased frequency of mushroom-body β–lobe midline crossing, a metric of axonal guidance. Taken together, our results support that certain ortho-hydroxylated PBDE metabolites are promiscuous kinase inhibitors and can cause disruptions of critical neurodevelopmental processes, including neuronal electrical activity, pre-synaptic functions, MEK–ERK signaling, and axonal guidance.

(Carnegie Mellon University) Intelligent tutoring systems have been shown to be effective in helping to teach certain subjects, such as algebra or grammar, but creating these computerized systems is difficult and laborious. Now, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have shown they can rapidly build them by, in effect, teaching the computer to teach.

(University of Massachusetts Lowell) UMass Medical School and UMass Lowell will perform a key role in a new National Institutes of Health initiative aimed at speeding innovation, development and commercialization of COVID-19 testing technologies via their Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies collaboration.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today welcomed the promulgation of the Meteorological Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2020-2035) by the China Meteorological Administration.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the promulgation of the plan would further strengthen meteorological co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in areas such as data sharing, scientific research and innovation, and training of meteorological personnel.

Such co-operation would in turn enhance the meteorological services in the three places, it added.

The relevant co-operation initiatives will benefit the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) in its development of fine-scale meteorological monitoring, warning and forecasting services, and will further enhance Hong Kong's capability in forecasting extreme weather events, the statement said, adding the HKO will take forward the initiatives in collaboration with the relevant authorities in Guangdong and Macau.

The full text of the meteorological plan is available on the China Meteorological Administration's website. It can also be accessed via the Hong Kong SAR Government's Greater Bay Area and HKO websites.

(University of Houston) A University of Houston biomedical researcher is developing a new device to treat babies with blood disorders, because current technology is designed for adults. The ability to perform lifesaving leukapheresis safely and effectively in these most vulnerable pediatric patients will significantly increase their access to highly effective cell-based therapies.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government welcomes the promulgation of the Meteorological Development Plan ...

(Paul Scherrer Institute) Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have collaborated with British economists to study how energy consumption by Swiss industry develops depending on energy pricing. To this end, they examined in particular the prices and consumption of both electricity and natural gas over the past decades. One result: For the most part, price increases have only long-term effects on energy consumption.

(Carnegie Mellon University) A new study developed a model of regulation in which the probability of a stricter standard being enacted increased with the proportion of firms in an industry that could meet the standard. The study found that regulations that consider the proportion of firms that can meet the new standard can motivate the development of a new green technology more effectively than regulations that do not consider this factor.

(Simon Fraser University) SFU professor Caroline Colijn’s research and data modelling to map the spread of COVID-19 in British Columbia has helped her procure funding from Genome B.C., a non-profit research organization that leads genomics innovation on Canada’s West Coast.

(University of Massachusetts Lowell) A UMass Lowell researcher investigating how to identify damage in wind turbines before they fail has received $1.4 million to develop a solution.

(University of Tsukuba) Researchers from the University of Tsukuba have revealed that pectin, a carbohydrate found in plant cell walls, plays a vital part in the development of female reproductive tissues of rice plants. It was found that the presence of a gene involved in pectin modification increased plant fertility relative to a modified plant with the gene removed. These findings could have major implications in crop variety development and genetic modification.

(Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) Oil pollution is known to cause lethal and sublethal responses on coral communities in the short-term, but its long-term effects have not been widely studied. The Bahia Las Minas oil spill, which contaminated about 40 square kilometers (about 15 square miles) near the Smithsonian's Galeta Point Marine Laboratory in Colon and became the largest recorded near coastal habitats in Panama, served as an opportunity to understand how coral reefs in tropical ecosystems recover from acute contamination over time.

A new study led by The Royal Marsden involving Imperial will use artificial intelligence (AI) to help cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Martha Mitchell Funnell
Oct 1, 2007; 20:221-226
Articles

Barbara J. Anderson
Jan 1, 2004; 17:
Articles

He's celebrating 10 years of dancing both competitively and in the street, and the co-founder of Unruly Skankaz, Devon Brown, says he is looking to expand the brand. The once three-member male dance group has grown to five, he told THE WEEKEND...

The SBDC offers resources and guidance to Harlem’s small businesses amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

The developing nervous system is remarkably sensitive to environmental signals, including disruptive toxins, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PBDEs are an environmentally pervasive class of brominated flame retardants whose neurodevelopmental toxicity mechanisms remain largely unclear. Using dissociated cortical neurons from embryonic Rattus norvegicus, we found here that chronic exposure to 6-OH–BDE-47, one of the most prevalent hydroxylated PBDE metabolites, suppresses both spontaneous and evoked neuronal electrical activity. On the basis of our previous work on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) (MEK) biology and our observation that 6-OH–BDE-47 is structurally similar to kinase inhibitors, we hypothesized that certain hydroxylated PBDEs mediate neurotoxicity, at least in part, by impairing the MEK–ERK axis of MAPK signal transduction. We tested this hypothesis on three experimental platforms: 1) in silico, where modeling ligand–protein docking suggested that 6-OH–BDE-47 is a promiscuous ATP-competitive kinase inhibitor; 2) in vitro in dissociated neurons, where 6-OH–BDE-47 and another specific hydroxylated BDE metabolite similarly impaired phosphorylation of MEK/ERK1/2 and activity-induced transcription of a neuronal immediate early gene; and 3) in vivo in Drosophila melanogaster, where developmental exposures to 6-OH–BDE-47 and a MAPK inhibitor resulted in offspring displaying similarly increased frequency of mushroom-body β–lobe midline crossing, a metric of axonal guidance. Taken together, our results support that certain ortho-hydroxylated PBDE metabolites are promiscuous kinase inhibitors and can cause disruptions of critical neurodevelopmental processes, including neuronal electrical activity, pre-synaptic functions, MEK–ERK signaling, and axonal guidance.

Guan-Da Syu
Apr 17, 2020; 0:R120.001936v1-mcp.R120.001936
Review

We take you through the steps to clear your old devices from Sophos Central, so you've got more time to focus on the devices that matter.

Invitation Only Research Event

Event participants

Abdul Rahman Alageli, Associate Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House
Emaddedin Badi, Non-Resident Scholar, Middle East Institute
Tim Eaton, Senior Research Fellow, MENA Programme Chatham House
Valerie Stocker, Independent Researcher

17 March 2020

This paper explores armed group–community relations in Libya and the sources of revenue that have allowed armed groups to grow in power and influence. It draws out the implications for policy and identifies options for mitigating conflict dynamics.

Webinar Research Event

Event participants

Mohammed Masbah, Director, Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis; Associate Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House
Moderator: Lina Khatib, Director, MENA Programme, Chatham House

Background: Accurate definition of the extent and severity of left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) infection may facilitate therapeutic decision making and targeted surgical intervention. Here, we explore the value of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for guidance of patient management. Methods: Fifty-seven LVAD-carrying patients received 85 whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT scans for the work-up of device infection. Clinical follow-up was obtained over a period of up to two years. Results: PET/CT showed various patterns of infectious involvement of the 4 LVAD components: driveline entry point (77% of cases), subcutaneous driveline path (87%), pump pocket (49%) and outflow tract (58%). Driveline smears revealed staphylococcus or pseudomonas strains as the underlying pathogen in a majority of cases (48 and 34%, respectively). At receiver-operating characteristics analysis, an ¹⁸F-FDG standardized uptake value (SUV) >2.5 was most accurate to identify smear-positive driveline infection. Infection of 3 or all 4 LVAD components showed a trend towards lower survival vs infection of 2 or less components (P = 0.089), while involvement of thoracic lymph nodes was significantly associated with adverse outcome (P = 0.001 for nodal SUV above vs below median). Finally, patients that underwent early surgical revision within 3 months after PET/CT (n = 21) required significantly less inpatient hospital care during follow-up when compared to those receiving delayed surgical revision (n = 11; p<0.05). Conclusion: Whole-body ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT identifies the extent of LVAD infection and predicts adverse outcome. Initial experience suggests that early image-guided surgical intervention may facilitate a less complicated subsequent course.

Recently, N-(4-¹⁸F-fluorobenzoyl)-interleukin-2 (¹⁸F-FB-IL2) was introduced as PET tracer for T-cell imaging. However, production is complex and time-consuming. Therefore, we developed two radiolabeled interleukin-2 (IL-2) variants, namely aluminum ¹⁸F-fluoride-(restrained complexing agent)-IL-2 (¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2) and ⁶⁸Ga-gallium-(1,4,7-triazacyclononane-4,7-diacetic acid-1-glutaric acid)-IL-2 (⁶⁸Ga-Ga-NODAGA-IL2) and compared their in-vitro and in-vivo characteristics with ¹⁸F-FB-IL2. Methods: Radiolabeling of ¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2 and ⁶⁸Ga-Ga-NODAGA-IL2 was optimized and stability was evaluated in human serum. Receptor binding was studied with activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs). Ex-vivo tracer biodistribution in immunocompetent BALB/cOlaHsd (BALB/c) mice was performed at 15, 60 and 90 min after tracer injection. In-vivo binding characteristics were studied in severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) mice inoculated with activated hPBMCs in Matrigel. Tracer was injected 15 min after hPBMCs inoculation and a 60-min dynamic PET scan was acquired, followed by ex-vivo biodistribution studies. Specific uptake was determined by co-injection of tracer with unlabeled IL2 and by evaluating uptake in a control group inoculated with Matrigel only. Results: ⁶⁸Ga-Ga-NODAGA-IL2 and ¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2 were produced with radiochemical purity >95% and radiochemical yield of 13.1±4.7% and 2.4±1.6% within 60 and 90 min, respectively. Both tracers were stable in serum, with >90% being intact tracer after 1h. In-vitro, both tracers displayed preferential binding to activated hPBMCs. Ex-vivo biodistribution studies in BALB/c mice showed higher uptake of ¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2 than ¹⁸F-FB-IL2 in liver, kidney, spleen, bone and bone marrow. ⁶⁸Ga-Ga-NODAGA-IL2 uptake in liver and kidney was higher than ¹⁸F-FB-IL2 uptake. In-vivo, all tracers revealed uptake in activated hPBMCs in SCID mice. Low uptake was seen after a blocking dose of IL2 or in the Matrigel control group. In addition, ¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2 yielded highest contrast PET images of target lymph nodes. Conclusion: Production of ¹⁸F-AlF-RESCA-IL2 and ⁶⁸Ga-Ga-NODAGA-IL2 is simpler and faster than ¹⁸F-FB-IL2. Both tracers showed good in-vitro and in-vivo characteristics with high uptake in lymphoid tissue and hPBMC xenografts.

The majority of epithelial tumors recruits fibroblasts and other non-malignant cells and activates them into cancer-associated fibroblasts. This often leads to overexpression of the membrane serine protease fibroblast-activating protein (FAP). It has already been shown that DOTA-bearing FAP inhibitors (FAPIs) generate high contrast images with PET/CT scans. Since SPECT is a lower cost and more widely available alternative to PET, ^99mTc-labeled FAPIs represent attractive tracers for imaging applicable in a larger number of patients. Furthermore, the chemically homologous nuclide 188Re is available from generators, which allows FAP-targeted endoradiotherapy. Methods: For the preparation of ^99mTc tricarbonyl complexes, a chelator was selected whose carboxylic acids can easily be converted into various derivatives in the finished product. This enabled a platform strategy based on the original tracer. The obtained ^99mTc complexes were investigated in vitro by binding and competition experiments on FAP-transfected HT-1080 (HT-1080-FAP) and/or on mouse FAP expressing (HEK-muFAP) and CD26-expressing (HEKCD26) HEK cells and characterized by planar scintigraphy and organ distribution studies in tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, a first-in-man application was done in two patients with ovarian and pancreatic cancer, respectively. Results: ^99mTc-FAPI-19 showed specific binding to recombinant FAP-expressing cells with high affinity. Unfortunately, liver accumulation, biliary excretion and no tumor uptake were observed in the planar scintigraphy of a HT-1080-FAP xenotranplanted mouse. To improve the pharmacokinetic properties hydrophilic amino acids were attached to the chelator moiety of the compound. The resulting ^99mTc-labeled FAPI tracers revealed excellent binding properties (up to 45 % binding; above 95 % internalization), high affinity (IC50 = 6.4 nM to 12.7 nM), and significant tumor uptake (up to 5.4 %ID/g) in biodistribution studies. The lead candidate ^99mTc-FAPI-34 was applied for diagnostic scintigraphy and SPECT of patients with metastasized ovarian and pancreatic cancer for follow-up to therapy with ⁹⁰Y-FAPI-46. ^99mTc-FAPI-34 accumulated in the tumor lesions also shown in PET/CT imaging using ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-46. Conclusion: ^99mTc-FAPI-34 represents a powerful tracer for diagnostic scintigraphy, especially in cases where PET imaging is not available. Additionally, the chelator used in this compound allows labeling with the therapeutic nuclide 188Re which is planned for the near future.

A data-driven method for respiratory gating in PET has recently been commercially developed. We sought to compare the performance of the algorithm to an external, device-based system for oncological [¹⁸F]-FDG PET/CT imaging. Methods: 144 whole-body [¹⁸F]-FDG PET/CT examinations were acquired using a Discovery D690 or D710 PET/CT scanner (GE Healthcare), with a respiratory gating waveform recorded by an external, device based respiratory gating system. In each examination, two of the bed positions covering the liver and lung bases were acquired with duration of 6 minutes. Quiescent period gating retaining ~50% of coincidences was then able to produce images with an effective duration of 3 minutes for these two bed positions, matching the other bed positions. For each exam, 4 reconstructions were performed and compared: data driven gating (DDG-retro), external device-based gating (RPM Gated), no gating but using only the first 3 minutes of data (Ungated Matched), and no gating retaining all coincidences (Ungated Full). Lesions in the images were quantified and image quality was scored by a radiologist, blinded to the method of data processing. Results: The use of DDG-retro was found to increase SUVmax and to decrease the threshold-defined lesion volume in comparison to each of the other reconstruction options. Compared to RPM-gated, DDG-retro gave an average increase in SUV_max of 0.66 ± 0.1 g/mL (n=87, p<0.0005). Although results from the blinded image evaluation were most commonly equivalent, DDG-retro was preferred over RPM gated in 13% of exams while the opposite occurred in just 2% of exams. This was a significant preference for DDG-retro (p=0.008, n=121). Liver lesions were identified in 23 exams. Considering this subset of data, DDG-retro was ranked superior to Ungated Full in 6/23 (26%) of cases. Gated reconstruction using the external device failed in 16% of exams, while DDG-retro always provided a clinically acceptable image. Conclusion: In this clinical evaluation, the data driven respiratory gating technique provided superior performance as compared to the external device-based system. For the majority of exams the performance was equivalent, but data driven respiratory gating had superior performance in 13% of exams, leading to a significant preference overall.

Research Event

Event participants

Hon Bruno Nabagné Kone, Minister of Construction, Housing and Urban Planning, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Invitation Only Research Event

Event participants

Denise Brown, United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic
Chair: Ben Shepherd, Consulting Fellow, Africa Programme, Chatham House

Research Event

Event participants

HE Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana
Chair: Dr Alex Vines OBE, Managing Director, Ethics, Risk & Resilience; Director, Africa Programme, Chatham House

Research Event

Event participants

Dr Hafez Ghanem, Vice President for Africa, World Bank
Chair: Elizabeth Donnelly, Deputy Director, Africa Programme, Chatham House

Research Event

7 May 2020 , Volume 96, Number 3

29 August 2019

Research Event

Event participants

Takehiko Nakao, President, Asian Development Bank
Chair: Champa Patel, Head, Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House

7 May 2020 , Volume 96, Number 3