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PCHRD BSP Awardees share initiatives in health R&D for the New Normal during the annual BSP Convention

With the theme Agham at Teknolohiya: Sandigan ng Kalusugan, Kabuhayan, Kaayusan at Kinabukasan, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) held an online forum last 17 November 2020 to provide updates on the recent technologies and researches in the areas of health, agriculture, aquatic, industry, energy, and emerging technologies.

During the online forum, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) hosted the breakout session for the “New Normal in Health” where PCHRD Balik Scientist Awardees discussed various studies and initiatives to guide the public into the new normal brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PCHRD Balik Scientists who were able to share their studies are Dr. Raymond Francis Sarmiento from the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila, Dr. Thomas Neil Pascual from the DOST – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI), Dr. Jhalique Jane Fojas from the Harvard University, and Dr. Romulo De Castro from the University of San Agustin.

Dr. Sarmiento discussed the importance of having a strong information system in his presentation on “Digital Platforms and Interoperability of COVID-19 Information Systems.” Information systems play a critical role in managing data and other information at the speed the situation requires. In the Philippines, several information systems such as the Feasibility Analysis of Syndromic Surveillance using Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler (FASSSTER) were able to guide the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) in their real-time decision making on what effective interventions should be placed in order manage the pandemic. Since then, the Department of Health (DOH) has been reporting significantly lesser viral transmission each day.

Dr. Pascual shared his insights on “Enhancing Nuclear Medicine Service and Research Capacity in the Philippines.” In his presentation, he revealed that the recent investment of DOST on the establishment of the Nuclear Medicine Research Development and Innovation Center (NMRDIC) in Diliman, Quezon City, which is a research based Cylotron and PET/CT imaging facility can address both the burden of COVID-19 and cancer by providing research opportunities for improved clinical management of patients and by making the procedure both accessible and affordable to even more Filipinos

Dr. Fojas talked about “Microfluidics: Towards POC Medicine and COVID-19.” Lab-on-a-chip devices, which often use microfluidics, provide more cost-effective disease detection and many other uses, from monitoring to treatment. In her discussion, Dr. Fojas revealed that one of the successful applications of microfluidics is on the Zika Virus Detection Device which is a point of care diagnostic tool that was able to accurately detect the virus from patients faster and at a cheaper price compared to the usual testing method. Dr. Fojas believes that the same concepts used in the device can also be utilized for other viruses like COVID-19 to aid in the testing and management of the virus.

Dr. De Castro presented “Informatics Response to COVID-19.” His team from the University of San Agustin Center for Informatics (CFI) was able to develop the “COVID-19 Toolkit”, an information system to assist local governments, private organizations, and health decision makers across the Philippines in their response to COVID-19. This toolkit contains guidelines, recommendations, data, estimation tools and support, and informatics tools for contract tracing and monitoring. Currently, the CFI is collaborating with research partners from UP Diliman, UP Manila, UP Visayas, and the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) to offer free epidemiological modeling services to the Local Government Units (LGUs).

The session was facilitated and moderated by Dr. Arnulfo Rosario, a PCHRD Balik Scientist Awardee and a former research fellow under the Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at Atlanta, Georgia. To date, Dr. Rosario is the Project Director and Senior Lecturer in the Medical Informatics Unit at UP Manila.

Another PCHRD Balik Scientist, Dr. Gerard Dumancas from the Louisiana State University, did a presentation on “Teaching Innovations in the New Normal: Perspective from a Liberal Arts University in the United States” for the breakout session on the “New Normal in Education.”

The Balik Scientist Program (BSP) was established in 1975 to encourage foreign-based Filipinos to return to the country and impart their knowledge and expertise for the advancement of research and development in the country, as well as address development gaps. The program was institutionalized back in June 2018 through the Republic Act 11035 also known as the Balik Scientist Act. From 1975 to 2019, a total of 533 have become recipients of the BSP, sharing their expertise in the areas of agriculture, industry, and health sectors.

To know more about the BSP, visit their website at https://bspms.dost.gov.ph/

Source: http://pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6612-pchrd-bsp-awardees-share-initiatives-in-health-r-d-for-the-new-normal-during-the-annual-bsp-convention

DOST-PCHRD joins the 16th National Biotechnology Week Celebration

With the theme “Bioteknolohiya: Pagbangon at Pag-asa tungo sa matatag na Komunidad, Kapaligiran, at Ekonomiya,” the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) is set to join this year’s virtual celebration of the 16^th National Biotechnology Week (NBW) by featuring various biotech-related research projects and technologies in health from November 23 to 27, 2020.

The 16th NBW aims to emphasize the positive impact of biotechnology on the various sectors of society as the Filipinos strive to proactively respond to the changing times brought about by different global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The biotech-related researches to be featured under the health sector are:

Field Implementation Study of a Locally Developed Diagnostic Kit for the Detection of Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)

The project aims to develop mechanisms for rapid assessment, validation, and deployment of the GenAmplify™ COVID-19 RT-PCR Detection Kit and to facilitate the capacity building of health professionals who will utilize the kit in regional hospitals.

Biosurveillance of COVID-19 in the Philippines through Whole Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from Patients

The objective of this project is to determine the strains of Sars Cov2 present in individuals who tested positive for the virus through genomic sequencing, correlate them with environmental conditions and identify their possible geographic origin in order to provide a better and deeper understanding of the spread of the virus in aid of tracing and containment of the disease.

IMP-XDP: Investigations on the Molecular Pathogenesis of X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism

This research aims to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the molecular basis of X-linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP), which is a genetic form of a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects men of Filipino descent almost exclusively. The earliest symptoms are usually parkinsonian, including resting tremor, slowness of movement, rigidity, poor balance, and a shuffling gait.

Development of Rapid Diagnostic for Detecting Lamivudine Resistance

The third part of three interrelated projects to determine and characterize HIV drug resistance in the Philippines, the development of a rapid diagnostic test for lamivudine and other antiretroviral drug resistance in HIV will ensure that treatment failure and development of further drug resistance will be prevented by detecting resistance early and preserving the limited antiretroviral agents that they have.

Development of Low-Cost Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Simultaneous Detection of Paragonimus westermani and Mycobacterium tuberculosis using RPA Technology

This project hopes to provide a proof of concept data on a better but cheaper alternative diagnostic tool to simultaneously detect Paragonimus westermani, an organism that causes infection resembling pneumonia or stomach flu, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is an agent of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Philippines using isothermal amplification, lateral flow immunoassay and detection using nanogold technology.

By virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1414, NBW is annually celebrated every last week of November. Headed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) this year, the event is co-organized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippine, Departments of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Interior and Local Government, and Trade and Industry.

DOST-PCHRD encourages everyone to participate in the week-long celebration and to attend the virtual opening ceremony on November 23, 2020 by registering through https://bit.ly/16thNBWOpening.

Source: http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6609-dost-pchrd-joins-the-16th-national-biotechnology-week-celebration

PRC warns public vs. leptospirosis

MANILA – After successive typhoons submerged many areas in Luzon, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) reminded the public to take extra caution to prevent leptospirosis.

“We are preparing a standard campaign that I know our kababayan can simply follow. We are taking the next steps to secure the people from leptospirosis,” PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said in a news release issued on Tuesday.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection transmitted by many animals, such as rodents and other vermin. Animal wastes such as urine and feces may contain leptospira spirochetes bacteria, especially from rats, which contaminate the soil, water, and vegetation.

Non-specific symptoms or signs of a person having leptospirosis can be fever, muscle pain, and headache.

In some cases, calf-muscle pain and reddish eyes are the symptoms. Severe cases can result in liver or kidney failure, with the brain being affected. Noticeable signs can be a yellowish body discoloration, dark-colored urine and light stools, low urine output, and severe headache.

The Red Cross urged health institutions, communities, health workers, and local individuals to check if any of these signs and symptoms are present among households.

To prevent leptospirosis, PRC advised the public to avoid swimming or wading in potentially contaminated water or flood water; use boots and gloves, or any proper protection available when exposed to flooded waters; drain potentially contaminated water; control rodents in the household by using traps or poison designed for rats; and, maintain cleanliness in the house.

Aside from these measures, PRC mobilized its health services to reach out to the communities.

Health campaigns are sent to evacuation centers, while information materials are distributed to concerned institutions accordingly. (PR)

Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1122142

Novel drug target for the control of cancer metastasis

Researchers led by Ludwig Chicago Co-director Ralph Weichselbaum and Ronald Rock of the University of Chicago have identified in preclinical studies a potential drug target for curtailing cancer metastasis.

Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes how a compound named 4-hydroxyacetophenone (4-HAP) activates a specific protein motor in cells and so monkey-wrenches biomechanical processes essential to cell motility. It also demonstrates in a mouse model that targeting this protein motor undermines the metastasis of colon cancer cells.

"Metastasis is a major problem in cancer and accounts for about 90% of cancer deaths," said Weichselbaum. "The overall goal here was to find something that reduces the metastatic burden to improve outcomes of cancer therapy."

For a cancer cell to establish a metastatic growth, it must first break out of the tumor in which it resides, slip into a blood or lymph vessel, drift to a new region of the body, climb out of the vessel, creep into another organ and plant itself firmly in the new tissue. To do all that, it has to squeeze, wriggle and crawl through the molecular stuffing between the cellular layers of various tissues. Each step of metastasis thus requires a good deal of shapeshifting, which is accomplished by molecular motors that reorganize the dynamic protein skeleton of the cell and drive the cellular protrusions -- or lamellipodia -- that enable its crawl.

Researchers have long sought to block metastasis by targeting the biochemical signaling pathways that switch on these processes. Such efforts have, however, been met with limited success because multiple signaling pathways control cell motility, and cancer cells invariably find ways around the blockade of any one pathway.

The researchers thus turned their attention to the recipients of all those signals -- the protein motors that dynamically remodel the protein skeleton of the migrating cell. Among these are a set of protein motors known as non-muscle myosins, which are critical to establishing the shape of a cell, anchoring it in place and forming and stretching its lamellipodia as it crawls.

In the current study, the researchers first established in cell culture experiments that 4-HAP disrupts the ability of colon cancer cells to invade, migrate and plant themselves at new sites.

Co-authors on the paper at Johns Hopkins University had previously shown that the molecule inhibits the motility of pancreatic cancer cells by targeting nonmuscle myosins. In an elegant series of subcellular molecular tracking experiments, Rock's lab demonstrated that 4-HAP specifically exerts its effects through the activation of non-muscle myosin 2 (NM2C).

NM2C helps control the stiffness of cells and organizes components of the cellular skeleton known as actin filaments. Weichselbaum, Rock and colleagues hypothesize that NM2C's abnormal activation essentially freezes it on certain types of actin filaments, gumming up the machinery of cellular motility.

The researchers also show that when colon cancer cells are injected into the spleen in a mouse model for liver metastasis, dosing the animals with 4-HAP significantly reduces the burden of tumors in the liver compared to untreated counterparts.

"Our next step is going to be to combine NM2C activation in animals with radiotherapy or chemotherapy," says Weichselbaum. "We're excited because, although 4-HAP is not suited to human use, we have shown that NM2C is likely to be a druggable target for the control of metastasis."

The researchers also plan to evaluate other non-muscle myosins as potential drug targets and pin down the precise mechanisms by which NM2C activation disrupts cellular motility.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200824165619.htm

Journal Reference:

Darren S. Bryan, Melinda Stack, Katarzyna Krysztofiak, Urszula Cichoń, Dustin G. Thomas, Alexandra Surcel, Eric S. Schiffhauer, Michael A. Beckett, Nikolai N. Khodarev, Lai Xue, Elizabeth C. Poli, Alexander T. Pearson, Mitchell C. Posner, Douglas N. Robinson, Ronald S. Rock, Ralph R. Weichselbaum. 4-Hydroxyacetophenone modulates the actomyosin cytoskeleton to reduce metastasis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020; 202014639 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014639117

Positive outlook predicts less memory decline

Senior couple on bench | Credit: © BillionPhotos.com / stock.adobe.com

Senior couple on bench (stock image).

We may wish some memories could last a lifetime, but many physical and emotional factors can negatively impact our ability to retain information throughout life.

A new study published in the journal Psychological Science found that people who feel enthusiastic and cheerful -- what psychologists call "positive affect" -- are less likely to experience memory decline as they age. This result adds to a growing body of research on positive affect's role in healthy aging.

A team of researchers analyzed data from 991 middle-aged and older U.S. adults who participated in a national study conducted at three time periods: between 1995 and 1996, 2004 and 2006, and 2013 and 2014.

In each assessment, participants reported on a range of positive emotions they had experienced during the past 30 days. In the final two assessments, participants also completed tests of memory performance. These tests consisted of recalling words immediately after their presentation and again 15 minutes later.

The researchers examined the association between positive affect and memory decline, accounting for age, gender, education, depression, negative affect, and extraversion.

"Our findings showed that memory declined with age," said Claudia Haase, an associate professor at Northwestern University and senior author on the paper. "However, individuals with higher levels of positive affect had a less steep memory decline over the course of almost a decade," added Emily Hittner, a PhD graduate of Northwestern University and the paper's lead author.

Areas of future research might address the pathways that could connect positive affect and memory, such as physical health or social relationships.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Association for Psychological Science. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201029135501.htm

Journal Reference:

Emily F. Hittner, Jacquelyn E. Stephens, Nicholas A. Turiano, Denis Gerstorf, Margie E. Lachman, Claudia M. Haase. Positive Affect Is Associated With Less Memory Decline: Evidence From a 9-Year Longitudinal Study. Psychological Science, 2020; 095679762095388 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620953883