Sugar Industry Influence on the Scientific Agenda of the National Institute of Dental Research’s 1971 National Caries Program: A Historical Analysis of Internal Documents

Background

In 1966, the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) began planning a targeted research program to identify interventions for widespread application to eradicate dental caries (tooth decay) within a decade. In 1971, the NIDR launched the National Caries Program (NCP). The objective of this paper is to explore the sugar industry’s interaction with the NIDR to alter the research priorities of the NIDR NCP.

Methods and Findings

We used internal cane and beet sugar industry documents from 1959 to 1971 to analyze industry actions related to setting research priorities for the NCP. The sugar industry could not deny the role of sucrose in dental caries given the scientific evidence. They therefore adopted a strategy to deflect attention to public health interventions that would reduce the harms of sugar consumption rather than restricting intake. Industry tactics included the following: funding research in collaboration with allied food industries on enzymes to break up dental plaque and a vaccine against tooth decay with questionable potential for widespread application, cultivation of relationships with the NIDR leadership, consulting of members on an NIDR expert panel, and submission of a report to the NIDR that became the foundation of the first request for proposals issued for the NCP. Seventy-eight percent of the sugar industry submission was incorporated into the NIDR’s call for research applications. Research that could have been harmful to sugar industry interests was omitted from priorities identified at the launch of the NCP. Limitations are that this analysis relies on one source of sugar industry documents and that we could not interview key actors.

Conclusions

The NCP was a missed opportunity to develop a scientific understanding of how to restrict sugar consumption to prevent tooth decay. A key factor was the alignment of research agendas between the NIDR and the sugar industry. This historical example illustrates how industry protects itself from potentially damaging research, which can inform policy makers today. Industry opposition to current policy proposals—including a World Health Organization guideline on sugars proposed in 2014 and changes to the nutrition facts panel on packaged food in the US proposed in 2014 by the US Food and Drug Administration—should be carefully scrutinized to ensure that industry interests do not supersede public health goals.     

“Efforts to Reprioritise the Agenda” in China: British American Tobacco's Efforts to Influence Public Policy on Secondhand Smoke in China

Background

Each year, 540 million Chinese are exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS), resulting in more than 100,000 deaths. Smoke-free policies have been demonstrated to decrease overall cigarette consumption, encourage smokers to quit, and protect the health of nonsmokers. However, restrictions on smoking in China remain limited and ineffective. Internal tobacco industry documents show that transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) have pursued a multifaceted strategy for undermining the adoption of restrictions on smoking in many countries.

Methods and Findings

To understand company activities in China related to SHS, we analyzed British American Tobacco''s (BAT''s) internal corporate documents produced in response to litigation against the major cigarette manufacturers to understand company activities in China related to SHS. BAT has carried out an extensive strategy to undermine the health policy agenda on SHS in China by attempting to divert public attention from SHS issues towards liver disease prevention, pushing the so-called “resocialisation of smoking” accommodation principles, and providing “training” for industry, public officials, and the media based on BAT''s corporate agenda that SHS is an insignificant contributor to the larger issue of air pollution.

Conclusions

The public health community in China should be aware of the tactics previously used by TTCs, including efforts by the tobacco industry to co-opt prominent Chinese benevolent organizations, when seeking to enact stronger restrictions on smoking in public places.     

The Influence of Drivers and Barriers on Urban Adaptation and Mitigation Plans—An Empirical Analysis of European Cities

Cities are recognised as key players in global adaptation and mitigation efforts because the majority of people live in cities. However, in Europe, which is highly urbanized and one of the most advanced regions in terms of environmental policies, there is considerable diversity in the regional distribution, ambition and scope of climate change responses. This paper explores potential factors contributing to such diversity in 200 large and medium-sized cities across 11 European countries. We statistically investigate institutional, socio-economic, environmental and vulnerability characteristics of cities as potential drivers of or barriers to the development of urban climate change plans. Our results show that factors such as membership of climate networks, population size, GDP per capita and adaptive capacity act as drivers of mitigation and adaptation plans. By contrast, factors such as the unemployment rate, warmer summers, proximity to the coast and projected exposure to future climate impacts act as barriers. We see that, overall, it is predominantly large and prosperous cities that engage in climate planning, while vulnerable cities and those at risk of severe climate impacts in the future are less active. Our analysis suggests that climate change planning in European cities is not proactive, i.e. not significantly influenced by anticipated future impacts. Instead, we found that the current adaptive capacity of a city significantly relates to climate planning. Along with the need to further explore these relations, we see a need for more economic and institutional support for smaller and less resourceful cities and those at high risk from climate change impacts in the future.     

Use of biotic indices in semi-enclosed coastal ecosystems and transitional waters habitats—Implications for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive

This study deals with the application of macrozoobenthos-based biotic indices (BI) within the frame of the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. More precisely, this study aimed at assessing the performance of five recently developed methodologies (BI) for the assessment of ecological quality status (EcoQ) in two semi-enclosed, sheltered coastal ecosystems and in one transitional water body situated along the Western French coast, namely Marennes-Oléron Bay, Arcachon Bay, and the Seine Estuary. This study showed that these five indices rarely agreed with each other, describing very different pictures of the overall EcoQ of the three study sites. This work also clearly underlined the limitations of these approaches, notably the dependency of most of these BI and the resulting EcoQ classifications on habitat characteristics, more particularly to natural levels of sediment silt–clay content and the location of stations in the subtidal or the intertidal. The implication of our observations concerning the use of these BI for implementation of the WFD is discussed in terms of definition of habitat-specific reference conditions and necessity to adjust thresholds to the particular habitat occurring in semi-enclosed ecosystems. Meanwhile, the unmodified use of these BI severely impaired accurate assessment of EcoQ and decision-making on the managers’ point of view.     

Analyzing Irregular Working Hours: Lessons Learned in the Development of RAS 1.0—The Representation and Analysis Software

Actual working hours of employees vary widely, especially in the transportation industry. We developed a tool, the RAS (Representation and Analysis Software), to ease the assessment of such irregular hours and the transfer of existing knowledge of proper schedule design to the problem of irregular hours. This article discusses several critical design questions that were addressed during software development in order for it to assess irregular work patterns, including the (1) importance, in spite of a lack of established definitions, of basic concepts like, e.g., night shift, (2) difficulty of modeling and adapting existing knowledge on proper design, and (3) large number of analytical methods and additional data beyond company schedule that are necessary to meet the needs of various research groups. This article describes how the RAS addresses these three issues by illustrating its application to the work schedule of a train driver involved in the Hinton train disaster.     

Expression of HIF-1α and Its Target Genes in the Nanorana parkeri Heart:Implications for High Altitude Adaptation

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha(HIF-1α) and its target genes vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and transferrins(TF) play an important role in native endothermic animals' adaptation to the high altitude environments. For ectothermic animals – especially frogs – it remains undetermined whether HIF-1α and its target genes(VEGF and TF) play an important role in high altitude adaptation, too. In this study, we compared the gene sequences and expression of HIF-1α and its target genes(VEGF and TF) between three Nanorana parkeri populations from different altitudes(3008 m a.s.l., 3440 m a.s.l. and 4312 m a.s.l.). We observed that the c DNA sequences of HIF-1A exhibited high sequence similarity(99.38%) among the three altitudinally separated populations; but with increasing altitude, the expression of HIF-1A and its target genes(VEGF and TF) increased significantly. These results indicate that HIF-1α plays an important role in N. parkeri adaptation to the high altitude, similar to its role in endothermic animals.     

The “Bear” Essentials: Actualistic Research on Ursus arctos arctos in the Spanish Pyrenees and Its Implications for Paleontology and Archaeology

Neotaphonomic studies of large carnivores are used to create models in order to explain the formation of terrestrial vertebrate fossil faunas. The research reported here adds to the growing body of knowledge on the taphonomic consequences of large carnivore behavior in temperate habitats and has important implications for paleontology and archaeology. Using photo- and videotrap data, we were able to describe the consumption of 17 ungulate carcasses by wild brown bears (Ursus arctos arctos) ranging the Spanish Pyrenees. Further, we analyzed the taphonomic impact of these feeding bouts on the bones recovered from those carcasses. The general sequence of consumption that we charted starts with separation of a carcass’s trunk; viscera are generally eaten first, followed by musculature of the humerus and femur. Long limb bones are not broken open for marrow extraction. Bears did not transport carcasses or carcass parts from points of feeding and did not disperse bones appreciably (if at all) from their anatomical positions. The general pattern of damage that resulted from bear feeding includes fracturing, peeling, crenulation, tooth pitting and scoring of axial and girdle elements and furrowing of the upper long limb bones. As predicted from observational data, the taphonomic consequences of bear feeding resemble those of other non-durophagus carnivores, such as felids, and are distinct from those of durophagus carnivores, such as hyenids. Our results have paleontological and archaeological relevance. Specifically, they may prove useful in building analogical models for interpreting the formation of fossil faunas for which bears are suspected bone accumulators and/or modifiers. More generally, our comparative statistical analyses draw precise quantitative distinctions between bone damage patterns imparted respectively by durophagus (modelled here primarily by spotted hyenas [Crocuta crocuta] and wolves [Canis lupus]) and non-durophagus (modelled here by brown bears and lions [Panthera leo]) carnivorans.     

Nanomedicine: Action of Metal Nanoparticles on Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase—Fluorimetric Analysis on the Mechanism for Fibrillogenesis

The incubation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase with the five amyloid peptide fragments [Aβ_17–21; Aβ_25–29; Aβ_29–33; Aβ_33–37; Aβ_25–37] catalyzed the formation of fibrils. The role of neuronal isomer (nNOS) involved the entrapment of free monomers and seed aggregates to initiate the events of nucleation and elongation, critical for the formation of fibrils. It was evident that the hydrophobic nature of Aβ_17–21, the three glycine zipper peptides [Aβ_25–29; Aβ_29–33; Aβ_33–37] and Aβ_25–37 was a trigger in the formation of fibrils and was a force critical in the association of the peptides with the enzyme. Gold and silver nanoparticles (average 4.0 nm) inhibited fibril formation when added to the induced fibrils from nNOS-Aβ incubation. The addition of nNOS and/or Aβ to co-incubated solutions of nanoparticle-Aβ or nanoparticle-nNOS respectively did not prevent fibril formation but reversed it. Three mechanisms for this reversal were proposed: (1) depletion of free Aβ monomer in solution and blocking potential aggregation sites on the nNOS molecule due to large surface area of the nanoparticle (2) hydrophobic interaction between the Aβ peptide and nanoparticle (3) disruption of binary adducts between Aβ-peptides and nNOS by nanoparticles.     

Patients’ Perceptions of Information and Education for Renal Replacement Therapy: An Independent Survey by the European Kidney Patients' Federation on Information and Support on Renal Replacement Therapy

Background

Selection of an appropriate renal replacement modality is of utmost importance for patients with end stage renal disease. Previous studies showed provision of information to and free modality choice by patients to be suboptimal. Therefore, the European Kidney Patients’ Federation (CEAPIR) explored European patients’ perceptions regarding information, education and involvement on the modality selection process.

Methods

CEAPIR developed a survey, which was disseminated by the national kidney patient organisations in Europe.

Results

In total, 3867 patients from 36 countries completed the survey. Respondents were either on in-centre haemodialysis (53%) or had a functioning graft (38%) at the time of survey. The majority (78%) evaluated the general information about kidney disease and treatment as helpful, but 39% did not recall being told about alternative treatment options than their current one. Respondents were more often satisfied with information provided on in-centre haemodialysis (90%) and transplantation (87%) than with information provided on peritoneal dialysis (79%) or home haemodialysis (61%), and were more satisfied with information from health care professionals vs other sources such as social media. Most (75%) felt they had been involved in treatment selection, 29% perceived they had no free choice. Involvement in modality selection was associated with enhanced satisfaction with treatment (OR 3.13; 95% CI 2.72–3.60). Many respondents (64%) could not remember receiving education on how to manage their kidney disease in daily life. Perceptions on information seem to differ between countries.

Conclusions

Kidney patients reported to be overall satisfied with the information they received on their disease and treatment, although information seemed mostly to have been focused on one modality. Patients involved in modality selection were more satisfied with their treatment. However, in the perception of the patients, the freedom to choose an alternative modality showed room for improvement.     

DNA Methylation and Replication: Implications for the “Deletion Hotspot” Region of FMR1

Expansion and hyper-methylation of a CGG repeat tract are the main causes of fragile X syndrome (FRAXA). In some rare instances, FRAXA patients harbor not only an expanded CGG tract, but a deletion encompassing the CGG repeat and flanking sequences as well. Through the use of an SV40 primate replication system, it was possible to determine that CpG methylation and DNA replication may actually mediate the formation of these rare events. Also, the genetically stabilizing AGG interruptions can be lost by replication-mediated CGG deletions.     

An Inducible System for the Hydrolysis and Transport of β-Glucosides in Yeast : I. Characteristics of the β-glucosidase activity of intact and of lysed cells

A strain of bakers'' yeast was isolated which could utilize cellobiose and other β-D-glucosides quantitatively as carbon and energy sources for growth. Cellobiose-grown cells contained a largely cryptic enzyme active against the chromogenic substrate p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucoside. The patent (intact cell) activity of such cells was inhibited by azide and, competitively, by cellobiose; neither agent inhibited the β-glucosidase activity of lysed cells or of extracts. The enzyme induced by growth in cellobiose medium had no affinity for cellobiose as either substrate or inhibitor; its substrate specificity classifies it as an aryl-β-glucosidase. It was concluded that growth in cellobiose also induced the formation of a stereospecific and energy-dependent system whose function determined the rate at which intact cells could hydrolyze substrates of the intracellular β-glucosidase.     

Meeting report of the OECD conference on “Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture—Implications for Health,Environment and Regulation”

Transgenic Research - The “OECD Conference on Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture—Implications for Health, Environment and Regulation” was held on the 28–29 June...     

Actigraphic Analysis of the Sleep–Wake Cycle and Physical Activity Level in Patients with Stroke: Implications for Clinical Practice

Several structures of the central nervous system are essential in the sleep–wake regulation process. This study aimed to identify which actigraphic parameters of the sleep–wake cycle (SWC) are compromised after stroke and determine whether low-level physical activity can influence the expression of sleep-cycle temporal variation, in order to discuss the implications for the clinical practice of patient rehabilitation. The study assessed 22 patients (55?±?12 years) and 24 healthy individuals (57 ± 11 years), of both sexes. The instruments used were the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Actigraphy. Data were analyzed by the student t, Mann–Whitney, and Spearman's correlation tests. Patients' activity level was about 28% lower than that of healthy subjects. Furthermore, we recorded around 10% more activity in the sleep phase compared to the controls, indicating that patients suffer from fragmented sleep (p?<?.001). According to IPAQ classification, we observed that healthy individuals were classified more predominantly as active (66.7%) and patients as irregularly active B (72.8%). A significant correlation was found between IPAQ and total activity (R= ?.25; p= .007) and sleep latency (R= .27; p= .0006). In conclusion, the results obtained show a decrease in activity intensity in the SWC and significant sleep alterations related to greater duration, latency, and fragmentation. It is suggested that, in addition to motor impairments, sleep disorder complaints should be given priority during clinical diagnosis of patients with stroke. (Author correspondence: taniacampos@ufrnet.br)     

Fibrinogen — fibrin transformation: 2. Influence of temperature,pH and of various enzymes on the intermediate structures

Light scattering from fibrin structures, obtained by exposure of fibrinogen to thrombin, Batroxobin (Reptilase) or coagulant fraction extracted from Contortrix venom at 20 and and 37°C, show in every case that rod-like intermediates are formed in the beginning of the aggregation process. The fibrils differ in the extent of branching and in lateral aggregation. Contortrix enzyme causes the highest branching density but the lowest lateral aggregation. Thrombin and Batroxobin give almost identical results. A change of temperature from 20 to 37°C yields an increase in branching density and lateral aggregation for the fibrin structures induced by the two snake venoms. With thrombin, however, the branching density decreases with the elevated temperature while the lateral aggregation strongly increases. Mostly opaque clots are obtained, with the exception of the clots induced by thrombin at 37°C, where a fine or traslucent gel is obtained. A very low extent of branching and translucent gels are also found with thrombin at 20°C and pH 7.3 but at pH 9.5 no correlation between a preferential cleavange of fibrinopeptide B and the lateral aggregation could be detected. The opacity is discussed as being the result of inhomogeneity in both branching and lateral aggregation. A quantitative analysis of the angular dependence of the scattered light indicates that non-activated human fibrinogen exists at least in the two conformations of a long rod, L = 95 ± 5 nm, and a short rod of 47.5 ± 5 nm, with mass fractions of ～ 70 and 30%, respectively. Only the long rod conformation of the monomer is built in the fibril. The model of a pure end-to-end aggregation is shown to be unlikely and the possibility of an overlapping of the monomeric rods over a region of ～ 8 nm is discussed.