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New approach to help ease poor countries’ debt burden Many face having national credit rating downgraded Aston University expert coins the term the ‘credit rating impasse’ in new book. An Aston University financial regulation expert has suggested a new approach to help ease poor countries’ debt burden. Currently many poorer countries face having their credit rating downgraded if they ask private investors for loans. Dr Daniel Cash, senior lecturer in law and founder of the Credit Rating Research Initiative, has suggested that a temporary change to the way ratings are decided could help these countries avoid a damaging credit rating, which would prevent them borrowing money in the future. His theory is explored in his new book Sovereign Debt Sustainability: Multilateral Debt Treatment and the Credit Rating Impasse. The study details the history of multilateral debt treatment in Africa, whilst also looking at the impact of the pandemic. When vulnerable countries try to negotiate new lending terms with their lenders their credit rating is immediately downgraded, in some cases they could be labelled as in default - failing to repay a loan. Dr Cash calls this situation the ‘credit rating impasse’. To avoid this happening, he argues that other factors should be temporarily taken into account, making it easier for them to borrow money in the future to spend on improvements such as healthcare or infrastructure. The UN has identified 54 developing economies with severe debt problems. While accounting for little more than 3% of the global economy, they represent 18% of the world’s population, and more than 50% of people living in extreme poverty. The book sets out a new framework which could be used to overlie the existing credit rating system. The book suggests considering factors such as ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) – which indicates a country’s impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is. Taking ESG and sustainability factors into account indicates if a nation has the potential to grow while benefiting the environment and communities. Dr Cash said: “The credit rating impasse is a systemic problem, and a cure is needed to prevent the bankruptcy of countries around the world. “Lower-income states are being forced to prioritise debt payments over public spending on healthcare or access to food. “Instead, they should be offered help to enable borrowing to make vital improvements.” The book is free to read via Open Access Book and was funded by the Open Society Foundations (OSF).
High quality biodiesel produced from microalgae ‘fed’ on leftover coffee grounds Breakthrough in the microalgal cultivation system Could decrease reliance on palm oil to produce biofuel. Two Aston University researchers have produced high-quality biodiesel after ‘feeding’ and growing microalgae on leftover coffee grounds. Dr Vesna Najdanovic, senior lecturer in chemical engineering and Dr Jiawei Wang were part of a team that grew algae which was then processed into fuel. In just the UK, approximately 98 million cups of coffee are drunk each day, contributing to a massive amount of spent coffee grounds which are processed as general waste, often ending up in landfill or incineration. However the researchers found that spent coffee grounds provide both nutrients to feed, and a structure on which the microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris sp.) can grow. As a result, they were able to extract enhanced biodiesel that produces minimal emissions and good engine performance, and meets US and European specifications. The study, Enhancing growth environment for attached microalgae to populate onto spent coffee grounds in producing biodiesel, appears in the November 2022 issue of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Up till now, algae has been grown on materials such as polyurethane foam and nylon that don’t provide any nutrients. However, the researchers found that microalgal cells can grow on the leftover coffee without needing other external nutrients. They also found that exposing the algae to light for 20 hours a day, and dark for just four hours days created the best quality biodiesel. Dr Najdanovic said: “This is a breakthrough in the microalgal cultivation system. “Biodiesel from microalgae attached to spent coffee grounds could be an ideal choice for new feedstock commercialisation, avoiding competition with food crops. “Furthermore, using this new feedstock could decrease the cutting down of palm trees to extract oil to produce biofuel. “In southeast Asia this has led to continuous deforestation and increased greenhouse gas emissions.” The research was developed in collaboration with colleagues from Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, South Africa and India. Their work was supported by the 2020-21 Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) block grant funded by the UK Research and Innovation (Aston University).
Evidence that behaviour follow a two-step process when we’re in a crowd We are likely to imitate the crowd first and think independently second Findings will increase understanding of how humans make decisions based on others’ actions. An Aston University computer scientist has used artificial intelligence (AI) to show that we are not as individual as we may like to think. In the late 1960s, famous psychologist Stanley Milgram demonstrated that if a person sees a crowd looking in one direction, they’re likely to follow their gaze. Now, Dr Ulysses Bernardet in the Computer Science Research Group at Aston University , collaborating with experts from Belgium and Germany, has found evidence that our actions follow a two-step process when we’re in a crowd. Their results, Evidence for a two-step model of social group influence, published in iScience show that we go through a two-stage process, where we’re more likely to imitate a crowd first and think independently second. The researchers believe their findings will increase the understanding of how humans make decisions based on what others are doing. To test this idea the academics created an immersive virtual reality (VR) experiment set in a simulated city street. Each of the 160 participants was observed individually as they watched a movie within the virtual reality environment that had been created for the experiment. As they watched the movie, 10 computer-generated ‘spectators’ within the VR simulated street were operated by AI to attempt to influence the direction of the gaze of the individual participants. During the experiment, three different sounds such as an explosion were played coming from either the left or right of the virtual street. At the same time, a number of the ‘spectators’ looked in a specific direction, not always in the direction of the virtual blast or the other two sounds. The academics calculated a direct, and an indirect, measure of gaze-following. The direct measure was the proportion of trials in which participants followed the gaze of the crowd. The indirect measure took into account the reaction speed of participants dependent on whether they were instructed to look in the same or opposite direction as the audience. The experiment’s results support the understanding that the influence of a crowd is best explained by a two-step model. Dr Bernardet, said: “Humans demonstrate an initial tendence to follow others – a reflexive, imitative process. But this is followed by a more deliberate, strategic processes when a person will decide whether to copy others around them, or not. “One way in which groups affect individuals is by steering their gaze. “This influence is not only felt in the form of social norms but also impacts immediate actions and lies at the heart of group behaviours such as rioting and mass panic. “Our model is not only consistent with evidence gained using brain imaging, but also with recent evidence that gaze following is the manifestation of a complex interplay between basic attentional and advanced social processes.” The researchers believe their experiments will pave the way for increased use of VR and AI in behavioural sciences.
Research suggests nutrition education should be on the curriculum of all medical students as well as other healthcare professionals Association for Nutrition develops new curriculum ready for medical students Aston University is one of the pioneers in delivering and embedding nutrition education as part of its medical school undergraduate programme. All healthcare professionals should study a curriculum of nutrition education during their studies in order to help better support public health – new paper suggests. Nutritional researchers from Aston University, with colleagues from other universities and leading nutritional groups, worked with the Association of Nutrition (AfN) to help develop a curriculum that can be rolled out amongst all undergraduate medical school students with potential for modules to be taught to other healthcare professional courses. The paper jointly published in the British Journal for Nutrition and BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health examined the development of a new curriculum aimed at undergraduate medical students and made recommendations on its roll out nationally, with a view to it subsequently being implemented into other healthcare courses. The AfN Undergraduate Curriculum in Nutrition for medical doctors has been designed to be presented to medical students as an integral part of their general undergraduate training, making it clear how nutrition interrelates with the study of other systems and contributes to an inclusive understanding of health and disease. Dr Duane Mellor, clinical dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston Medical School at Aston University and co-author on the paper, said: “At present, lifestyle related health problems from living with obesity, through to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and several cancers can all be linked to diet across our communities. Whereas in hospitals around a third of patients coming in can be undernourished. “Nutrition and food play a key role to both keeping us healthy and helping to manage disease, which is why it is imperative we educate our future doctors and other health professionals about the role of nutrition in patient care.” The paper sets out not only the need for nutrition education and the gaps, but how it can be included as part of what is already a very busy and content heavy curriculum. It builds on areas of the curriculum where nutrition could even be used to help teach concepts such as epidemiology. It highlights how historically medical education along with the education of many health professionals not specialising in nutrition often have only a few hours of teaching on the subject. Dr Glenys Jones, deputy chief executive at the Association for Nutrition, who led the curriculum development project and is co-author on the recent paper, said: “Nutrition is a key and modifiable determinant of health and wellbeing, therefore it is essential our future medical and healthcare professionals are equipped to be able to identify when nutrition could be involved in a patient’s condition in order for this to form part of their care. “The curriculum is not designed to turn our doctors into nutritionists or dietitians, but to give them the knowledge and skills to be able to think about whether nutrition could be playing a role and having the confidence and knowledge of who, when and how to refer on to suitable nutrition professionals when this is needed.” Aston University is a pioneer in the key area of nutrition education of the future healthcare workforce. As one of few UK universities with a dietitian or nutritionist as part of the teaching team within its medical school, these skills are now being developed to benefit the training of other health professionals. Dr Mellor added: “As one of a few dietitians and nutritionists embedded into the teaching team at Aston Medical School, we have been able to integrate nutrition across our curriculum. “It is great to be able to highlight how nutrition links to the basic science areas such as biochemistry through to how you can encourage a patient to think about changing their diet in clinical skills". Aston University has also started to explore with the Association for Nutrition the potential need for nutrition education in other professions. From this an outline of a core curriculum for nutrition for a range of health professionals is in development. Dr Mellor also plans to work with colleagues to further develop nutrition teaching at Aston University, thus helping students across subjects such as optometry and pharmacy to gain a better understanding of nutrition and how it impacts on their areas of expertise. For more information about Aston Medical School please visit our website.
Winner of the 2022 Rosalind Franklin Essay Prize announced
Aston Medical School students compete for prestigious prize in essay writing competition Prize launched in honour of the renowned chemist, Rosalind Franklin This year’s theme is ‘Are there limits to freedom of expression in a medical school?’ The winner of this year’s Aston Medical School Rosalind Franklin Essay Prize has been announced as Shoheb Hassan, a 3rd year medical student. The annual essay writing competition is held in memory of the pioneering chemist Rosalind Franklin who was a chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Rosalind’s work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA: RNA, viruses, coal and graphite. The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Are there limits to freedom of expression in a medical school?’ The essays submitted were a reflective and personal perspective on freedom of expression within a medical school. This year’s winner Shoheb Hassan said: “I am so pleased and honoured to be awarded first prize. I sincerely enjoyed reflecting on the topic about freedom of expression in a medical school. I express my gratitude to Dr Daniel Franklin for this opportunity and I hope that upcoming students will benefit from their reflections just as much as I did.” Aston Medical School's Rosalind Franklin Essay Prize was conceived and funded by Dr Daniel Franklin in 2020. Daniel is a nephew of Rosalind Franklin and an alumnus of Aston University, graduating twice: once in 1981 with a PhD and again in 2013, when he was awarded an honorary degree. The judging panel included Daniel and staff from Aston Medical School. Daniel, who has been executive editor of The Economist since 2003, said: "Once again, the quality of the essays produced by Aston Medical School students was truly impressive and reflects their ability to reflect deeply and imaginatively about matters of medical education." The winning essay receives a prize of £750 and the runner up is awarded £250. For more information about Aston Medical School please visit our website.
Drop! Cover! Hold On! Are you prepared for International Shakeout Day this Thursday?
Drop! Cover! Hold On! That’s what the more than 43 million people around the world who participate in International Shakeout Day will do on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 10:20 a.m. The National Earthquake Information Center now estimates 20,000 quakes – an intense shaking of the Earth’s surface caused by the crust’s constantly moving tectonic plates – occur each year across the globe. That’s approximately 55 per day! The death toll – about 20,000 each year, according to Business Insider – is magnified by a lack of preparation for this natural but deadly phenomenon. Great Shakeout drills around the world – including the Great SouthEast ShakeOut, which consists of states along the East Coast from Maryland to Florida – aim to minimize the loss of human life. University of Mary Washington's Grant Woodwell, a Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at UMW’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, is an expert in seismology, the branch of science concerned with earthquakes and related phenomena. A structural geologist, he studies how the crust of the earth deforms, such as during earthquakes, and teaches a UMW class on plate tectonics. If you’re a journalist looking for an expert to speak about earthquakes for this year’s International Shakeout Day, contact Dr. Woodwell. Simply click his icon now and we'll arrange an interview today.
• Menopause: Continuing the Conversation will premiere at 12 noon on 18 October • The news-style programme features key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles • It includes a film of Aston University staff telling their own stories. Aston University has joined forces with the British Menopause Society and ITN’s bespoke production hub, ITN Business, to contribute to a programme which raises awareness of the menopause for World Menopause Day. Menopause: Continuing the Conversation features key industry interviews and news-style reports, along with sponsored editorial profiles. It is anchored by television presenter and journalist Louise Minchin and will premiere at 12 noon on 18 October 2022 on the British Menopause Society's YouTube channel. The programme takes a holistic look – from lifestyle to changes in workplace policy - to support and empower women embarking on the perimenopause and beyond. Staff from Aston University tell their own stories in a film which forms part of the programme. World Menopause Day is held every year on 18 October. The day was designated by the International Menopause Society (IMS) to raise awareness of the menopause and to support options to improve health and wellbeing for women in mid-life and beyond. The theme for World Menopause Day 2022 is cognition and mood. According to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), three out of five working women between the ages of 45 and 55 who are experiencing menopause symptoms say it has a negative impact on them at work, nearly two-thirds of women surveyed said they were less able to concentrate, more than half said they experience more stress, 30 per cent of women said they had taken sick leave because of their symptoms and only a small minority said they told their managers about the real reason for taking sick leave. Beth Lloyd, associate director of organisational development at Aston University, said: “We are excited to announce our involvement in a news-style programme Menopause: Continuing the Conversation in partnership with ITN Business and the British Menopause Society for World Menopause Day. “Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue. It can impact on colleagues both directly or indirectly. Awareness on this topic is fundamental to reduce the stigma attached to it so that more people will talk openly about it so it can begin to be normalised and people can get the support they need. “Aston University has taken a proactive approach to raising awareness of the topic including hosting a range of workshops for managers and staff, introducing menopause mentors and creating an informal networking group. Our hope is that these activities will create a truly inclusive workplace and achieve our goal of becoming a recognised menopause friendly employer.”
Can you be hacked while using your mobile device? In a word, yes — here’s how to protect your data
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and being aware of all your devices is as important as ever before. Most people are online every day, which opens themselves up to a threat of being hacked. Whether it be a mobile device, laptop, or personal computer, everyone needs to have cyber awareness. Steven Weldon, director of the Cyber Institute at Augusta University’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences said many straightforward things that can be done to protect devices, such as having lock screens, making sure operating systems are up to date and simply recognizing how, when and where devices are being used. “Smart phones today are probably the most capable computing device that we have and we have it on us all the time,” said Weldon. “The data that can be extracted from these devices can be put together to build a pattern of life on us: where we go, what we do and when we do it. All of this data is potentially at risk if we’re not being careful about who gets access to our smart phones. That’s a great reason to lock the screen and require at least a password or pin to unlock the phone.” Gokila Dorai, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences, suggests using biometrics to enhance security. “I would strongly recommend for women, young adults even teenagers, if it’s possible for you to have biometrics as a way to unlock your device, then go for that. These unique ways of unlocking a device would add a layer of protection,” said Dorai. Dorai is one of the growing experts in the field of mobile forensics and her research projects are federally funded. In addition, several SCCS faculty are mentoring undergraduate and graduate students working on cutting edge research related to mobile device security and digital forensics. She also suggested adding a two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security. When out in the public, it’s easy to connect a mobile device to an unprotected Wi-Fi network. Doing so could open up sites you visit to a hacker. Weldon suggests people should be careful of what apps are used when on public Wi-Fi, since they may expose a lot of personally identifiable information. His suggestion is to use a virtual private network to help protect data that’s being transmitted and received. “We should recognize the data on our smart phones and protect them accordingly,” added Weldon. “Recognizing the value and sensitivity of the data on our smart phones can guide us in how we protect these devices. We may not think as much about the security and privacy of our smart phones as we do about our laptops and desktops. When we think about everything we use our smartphones for, how ubiquitous they are in our lives, we come to realize just how central they are to today’s lifestyle in the digital age.” It’s tough to identify when a mobile device has been hijacked, so both Weldon and Dorai suggest paying close attention to any unusual behavior, even small things such as a battery draining faster than usual. Both are indicators you may need to take corrective actions. Dorai added the government can do more to protect a person’s privacy. “With the introduction of more and more Internet of Things devices in the market, with several different manufacturers, there’s a lot of user data that’s actually getting exchanged. These days, the most valuable thing in the world is data. So stricter measures are required,” she said. She indicated it needs to be a collaborative effort between industry, academia, government, and practitioners to come together and work on ideas to strengthen security. “Yes we want security. We are willing to put up with a little bit of friction for additional security. We want it easy and we generally want it free,” said Weldon. “We don’t read licensing agreements, but we would generally be willing to take certain actions, make certain tradeoffs, to be more secure.” One other major concern are apps in general. While Google Play Store and Apple routinely remove some apps that may be out of date or have security vulnerabilities, they may still be running on a user’s device. “Mobile applications may also hide from you in plain sight in the sense the app icons may not be showing up on the screen, but still they are running in the background,” added Dorai. In essence, the device user is the first line of defense. Taking all the necessary steps to prevent a third party from getting your information is of the utmost importance in the digital age. “I believe a big part of it this discussion is about user awareness. We want that free app but that app is asking for a lot of permissions. There’s an old saying in cybersecurity: if you are not paying for the product, you are the product. There’s also another saying: if it’s smart, it’s vulnerable,” said Weldon. Are you a reporter covering Cybersecurity Awareness Month? If so - then let us help with your stories. Steven Weldon is the Director of Cyber Institute at the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University and is an expert in the areas of cellular and mobile technology, ethics in computer science, scripting and scripting and automation. Gokila Dorai is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University and is an expert in the areas is mobile/IoT forensics research. Both experts are available for interviews - simply click on either icon to arrange a time today.
Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment to host third in a series of livestreamed public lectures This episode of Molecules to Minds will explore Dr Laura Shapiro’s research into how children’s experiences of learning to read impacts on how they learn in the future The one-hour livestream will be followed by a Q&A and round table discussion Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment (IHN) will host a livestreamed public lecture in the series Molecules to Minds on Aston University’s digital channel Aston Originals on Thursday 3 November 2022. Dr Laura Shapiro, a reader in psychology, will present her lecture ‘From gobbledygook to goblins: how a child learns to crack the written code’. Laura will reveal the hurdles and fortunes on the journey from spoken to written language and will discuss how our experience of learning to read changes the way we learn forever. Dr Shapiro's research focuses on the causes and consequences of children’s language and literacy development and is shaped both by fundamental scientific questions and by the concerns of practitioners and policymakers. The lecture will be co-presented with James McTaggart from the Highland Council, Scotland and hosted by Professor Jackie Blissett, co-director of IHN. Laura said: “Most adults take reading for granted, yet for a beginner reader, writing is just gobbledygook. The ability to crack the written code underpins all subsequent learning and provides the key to discovering new worlds and fictional friends.” After the livestreamed lecture, Dr Shapiro and guests will host a Q&A and round table discussion, where audience members can address researchers with their questions. The panel includes a variety of guests: James Cook, headteacher at Cawdor Primary, Scotland, Roxanne Mahroof, a parent and Dr Pamela Wadende a senior lecturer in education at Kisii University, Kenya. Dr Shapiro added: “Being able to read is like a key to the adult world: it underpins our ability to learn. Our research shows that strong language skills are needed to learn to read, and the journey to mastery is a long one. “The good news is that getting better at reading helps you learn more from each thing you read, and in turn spurs you to read more widely. Warning: reading can be addictive.” The lecture is targeted at anyone interested in literacy development in children and young people, including academics, teachers, parents and young people themselves. The livestream will take place at 16:00 – 17:00 BST on Thursday 3 November on the Aston Originals YouTube channel. To register for this event please visit our Eventbrite page.
ChristianaCare Spins Out CorriXR Therapeutics, New Gene Editing Start-Up
Commercial biotechnology venture will harness the power of gene editing to revolutionize patient care with faster, more accurate diagnoses ChristianaCare today announced it has spun out its first commercial biotechnology private start-up company, named CorriXR Therapeutics. CorriXR Therapeutics (pronounced Cor-ix-er; from Galician meaning to correct or edit) will use CRISPR gene editing technology to develop new, clinically relevant oncologic therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need, starting with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Its close relationship with ChristianaCare and the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute uniquely positions it to research and develop innovative, patient-centered therapies. The new start-up company has been boosted with $5 million in seed financing from ChristianaCare and Brookhaven Bio. “We are excited to spin out CorriXR Therapeutics, which has an enormous opportunity to use the incredible power of gene editing to revolutionize patient care by delivering faster and more accurate diagnoses, targeting treatments and preventing genetic disorders,” said Janice Nevin, M.D., MPH, ChristianaCare president and CEO. The company has developed unique CRISPR/Cas biomolecular tools that disable the genome of a tumor cell but not the genome of a healthy cell, which enables target selectivity. CorriXR Therapeutics will license technology from the Gene Editing Institute and work closely with its scientific researchers and clinical oncologists at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. The Gene Editing Institute’s integrated bench-to-bedside approach connects leading-edge science to patient care. “CorriXR Therapeutics is the next phase of the Gene Editing Institute’s evolution and impact as an incubator for groundbreaking technology in a patient-first approach to research,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., chief executive officer of CorriXR Therapeutics. “The novel way we are using CRISPR-directed gene editing technology in solid tumors, beginning with a hard-to-treat form of lung cancer, has enormous promise as a treatment option to improve the lives of people with life-threatening disease.” The CorriXR Therapeutics team includes experienced biotechnology executives and world-renowned scientists and clinicians. The executive team is led by Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., chief executive officer, and Brian Longstreet, chief operating officer. Kmiec is also the executive director and chief scientific officer of ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in the fields of molecular medicine and gene editing, having discovered many of the molecular activities that regulate the efficiency of human gene editing. Longstreet, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, is a seasoned pharma and biotechnology industry veteran with over 30 years’ experience, beginning at Schering-Plough and then Merck & Co. Recently, he has helped to build start-up biotechnology companies. Earlier this year, ChristianaCare restructured its Gene Editing Institute into a wholly owned subsidiary, which positions it to advance research to develop therapies using CRISPR gene editing technology and to fast-track discoveries for commercial application. The new structure also enables it to expand its educational outreach using its CRISPR in a Box™ educational toolkit and to develop its analytic software program, DECODR™. The Gene Editing Institute originated in ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute in 2015.
