A new system developed by chemical engineers at MIT could provide a way of continuously removing carbon dioxide from a stream of waste gases, or even from the air. The key component is an electrochemically assisted membrane whose permeability to gas can be switched on and off at will, using no moving parts and relatively little energy.

Fast and reliable internet access is fundamental for research and development activity around the world. Seamless connectivity is a privilege we often take for granted. But in developing nations, technological limitations can become stumbling blocks to efficient communication and cause significant disadvantages.

The R number has crept up to 1.3-1.5, with growth of the epidemic still widespread.

• In a study, doctors randomly received ‘nudges’ to prescribe statins in their patients’ electronic health records
• The nudges flagged patients with heart disease or those who were at risk for it
• Statin therapy can reduce major adverse cardiovascular events like heart attacks

Prescriptions of cholesterol-lowering statins for heart disease patients rose significantly when doctors were prompted to choose whether or not to order them, according to a new study.

It included 82 cardiologists and more than 11 000 patients. Doctors randomly received one of two “nudges”, or notifications, in their patients’ electronic health records.

One was a “passive choice” notification to which doctors would navigate. The other was an “active choice” notification to prescribe a certain dose of statins that doctors needed to accept or dismiss.

The nudges flagged patients with heart disease or those who were at risk for it. Each nudge also suggested the best dose of statins based on patients’ information.

Active choice prompts

Some doctors didn’t receive any nudge and acted as a control group in the six-month study.

Among doctors who received active nudges, there was a four percentage point increase in optimal statin prescribing in patients with heart disease, according to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study.

However, there was no significant difference in prescribing rates for those patients at risk of heart disease but did not yet have it.

“Active choice prompts are used commonly in electronic health records, but they often are not rigorously tested head-to-head against other approaches,” said senior author Dr Mitesh Patel, director of Penn Medicine’s Nudge Unit.

Reduction in cardiovascular events

“By systematically testing these interventions we can build upon the approaches that do work and turn off the ones that don’t,” he said in a university news release.

First author Dr Srinath Adusumalli said active choice prompts led to small increases in prescribing statins for patients at highest risk – those who already had plaque buildup in their arteries.

“These are the types of patients who stand to benefit the most from statin therapy with regard to reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, like a heart attack, and mortality,” said Adusumalli, an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine.

The study findings were published in the journal JAMA Cardiology.

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Where people live and the jobs they do are more likely to explain the differences, research shows.

• A Chinese patient developed an acute glaucoma attack soon after recovering from Covid-19
• This indicates that the new coronavirus may infect the eyes
• It is, however, still uncertain whether any lingering virus in patients’ eye tissue will cause problems

Covid-19 is primarily a respiratory infection, but experts have suspected the virus can also infiltrate the eyes. Now, scientists have more direct evidence of it.

The findings are based on a patient in China who developed an acute glaucoma attack soon after recovering from Covid-19. Her doctors had to perform surgery to treat the condition, and tests of her eye tissue showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2.

The case offers proof that “SARS-CoV-2 can also infect ocular tissues in addition to the respiratory system,” the doctors reported in the 8 October online edition of the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

“It’s been suspected that the eyes can be a source of both ‘in’ and ‘out'” for the novel coronavirus, said Dr Aaron Glatt, a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Another big unknown

That’s why healthcare workers protect their eyes with goggles or face shields, he noted.

It’s not possible to say whether the patient in this case contracted SARS-CoV-2 via her eyes, according to Glatt. But that is a possibility – whether through viral particles in the air or by touching her eyes with a virus-contaminated hand, he said.

Another big unknown is whether any lingering virus in patients’ eye tissue will cause problems.

According to Dr Grace Richter, an ophthalmologist at the University of Southern California’s Roski Eye Institute in Los Angeles, “It’s too early to know what having this virus floating around in the eye means for ocular health.”

At this point, Richter said, limited eye problems have been seen with Covid-19: A small number of patients develop conjunctivitis (“pink eye”), where the white part of the eye and inside of the eyelid become swollen, red and itchy.

The patient in this case suffered acute angle-closure glaucoma – a serious condition in which pressure in the eyes suddenly rises due to fluid buildup. It requires prompt treatment to relieve the pressure, sometimes with surgery to restore the eye’s normal fluid movement.

Richter was doubtful the coronavirus directly caused the eye complication. In general, certain anatomical features of the eye make some people vulnerable to acute angle-closure glaucoma, and it can be triggered by medications, she explained.

Vision loss in both eyes

Richter speculated that since the patient was hospitalised and likely received various drugs, that might have been the cause.

That is possible, agreed Dr Sonal Tuli, a clinical spokeswoman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and chairwoman of ophthalmology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in Gainesville.

Tuli said the patient’s case is “interesting”, but leaves open a number of questions. One is whether the virus present in the eye tissue is actually infectious.

The patient was a 64-year-old woman who was hospitalised for Covid-19 on 31 January. Eighteen days later, her symptoms had fully resolved, and throat swabs turned up negative for SARS-CoV-2.

About a week later, though, she developed pain and vision loss in one eye, and then in her other eye a few days afterwards, according to the report by Dr Ying Yan and colleagues at the General Hospital of the Central Theater Command in Wuhan, China.

Importance of eye protection

The patient landed in the hospital again, where she was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma and cataract. Medication failed to bring down her eye pressure, so her doctors performed surgery – taking tissue samples in the process.

Tests of those samples turned up evidence that SARS-CoV-2 had invaded the eye tissues, Yan’s team reported.

While it’s not clear how the virus got into the patient’s eyes, the experts agreed the case underscores the importance of eye protection. For healthcare providers, that means goggles and face shields; for the average person, it’s regular hand-washing and keeping the hands away from the eyes.

“I think people don’t realise how often they touch their eyes,” Tuli said.

That advice will reduce the chance of any virus, including cold and flu bugs, from coming into contact with the eyes, she noted.

While that may be enough in most cases, people caring for someone with Covid-19 at home may want to be extra cautious, Tuli suggested. Wearing eye protection in addition to a mask is a “good idea”, she said.

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Drug manufacturer Gilead has questioned the findings, from a clinical study by the WHO.

• The creative process is good for our health
• This is because when we’re focused on a fun activity, we’re not thinking any negative thoughts 
• Activities like drawing or playing music can put us in a very pleasant state of ‘flow’

Maybe it was the meme that pointed out how Shakespeare used his time in quarantine to write “King Lear”. Maybe it was all those photos of sourdough bread in your social media feed. Maybe you’re just bored.

Whatever the spark – you’re ready to take on a hobby.

Good idea, experts say.

Mentally healthy

“The process of being creative does a whole bunch of really good things for us,” physically and mentally, said James C. Kaufman, professor of educational psychology at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

Kaufman, who has written extensively about creativity, said there are many reasons why a stimulating hobby can help us. The first is pretty simple: it’s fun.

That’s mentally healthy, Kaufman said, because when we’re focused on such an activity, “we’re not thinking about any negative thoughts or fears or worries.”

At its best, a creative activity such as drawing or playing music can put you in a state of “flow”, where you’re intensely caught up in what you’re doing. “This is not shockingly different from what they call runner’s high, or what mountain climbers say they feel.”

Some activities, such as writing with an emphasis on a narrative, as in a journal or blog, can lower harmful stress by helping us organise our thinking, he said. “It helps put all these different thoughts, as if they were loose clothing, onto coat hangers. And it frees up space in our brain.”

Providing structure

That’s not the only way hobbies can help us, researchers say. A 2015 study in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that engaging in leisure activities improved mood and stress levels and lowered heart rates. In 2017, a small study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that pleasant leisure activities lowered the blood pressure of Alzheimer’s disease caregivers.

And that’s important in the middle of a pandemic, said Jeanine Parisi, an associate scientist in the department of mental health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. “Everything seems a little out of control. Activities are the one thing that could provide structure and give you back a sense of personal control.”

Parisi’s colleague Michelle Carlson, a professor who leads a Johns Hopkins lab devoted to brain health, said the precise mechanism of what’s going on in our brains when we’re happily engaged in an activity isn’t clear. But some of the effects are.

She led a small study published in 2015 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia of older adults who volunteered to mentor young students in Baltimore. Compared to the adults not enrolled in the programme, the participants saw growth in both the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain related to executive function, behaviour and thinking – and to the hippocampus, which is important to memory.

Others’ research has found benefits from all kinds of pandemic-safe activities: gardening, spending time outdoors, playing a musical instrument, even knitting. And of course, anything that increases physical activity is crucial for heart health and also can help with brain health, Carlson said.

Overwhelmed by the options? Carlson and Parisi have done research indicating that mixing things up might actually be a great idea. Women in their study who participated in a greater variety of activities over nearly a decade had a lower risk of impaired memory and other cognitive problems.

Take baby steps

“By doing a variety of activities, you’ll expose your brain and body to different things,” Parisi said. “If you meditate, that may be good for stress reduction and relaxation. If you do some puzzles or reading or writing, that may be more cognitively stimulating. And, if you take walks, that is more physically engaging. By doing all of these, you’re really tapping into the whole brain and body.”

Beyond that, Kaufman said, a good hobby is something that lives in the sweet spot of being not so easy that it’s not engaging, but not so challenging that you give up quickly.

And if you’re doing something creative, remember the benefit doesn’t come from the quality of your work, he said. Put another way – we’re not all Shakespeare, and most of us will not be producing “King Lear”. To expect otherwise adds stress that can negate the benefits of the activity, Kaufman said.

So, don’t be afraid to take baby steps, Parisi said. “Even with physical activity, you don’t have to go from being a couch potato to running a 5K. All you need to do is take one more step than you did the previous day.”

As you do the activity, “you’re building confidence, you’re making it part of your identity,” she said. “It’s giving you a sense of control and pride. That feeling of, ‘Wow! I did that!”

^{American Heart Association Newscovers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved.}

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• Many people only start worrying about their immune systems in the run-up to winter
• This can lead to an over-dependence on multivitamins and supplements
• Instead, we should be eating a balanced, wholesome diet the whole year round to keep our immune systems in top shape

There’s a global belief that we need to strengthen our immune systems for the colder months – a trend that is  quickly forgotten and sadly neglected during the warmer seasons.

This unbalanced approach to health and immunity has led us to what could be an over-dependence on multivitamins and supplements in a time where nutritional “fads” are at an all-time high.

In fact, what we really need is a well-balanced approach to health and nutrition. We can’t quickly supercharge our immune system in the approach to winter, while neglecting it for the rest of the year. Rather, we should be eating a balanced, wholesome diet the whole year round to keep our immune systems in top shape. 

Conflicting ideas

This advice is especially pertinent during the coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19 has been a wakeup call for many South Africans, and besides stockpiling hand sanitiser and disposable face masks, they flocked to Dr Google for the most effective ways to protect themselves against the coronavirus and boost their immunity.

Community and Whatsapp groups were abuzz with Covid-19 prevention tips: hot water and lemon, zinc and vitamin C, colloidal silver, holding a hairdryer up to the nose and blowing in hot air to “kill” the virus, etc. 

While there are – and will always be – conflicting ideas behind what foods and supplements are best for a normal, functioning immune system, there are a few key facts we should all keep in mind to stay healthy, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many intricate systems

You cannot and should not try to “boost” your immune system over a short period of time. It is more important and effective to focus on achievable and sustainable year-round immunity by making good decisions in terms of your overall health, wellbeing, and nutritional health. 

This is possible by consuming a healthy and varied diet, getting enough rest, and enjoying regular physical activity. 

Superfoods are good for us, but aren’t a cure-all.

A healthy, balanced diet filled with essential nutrients our bodies need to function is all that is required to build our immune system’s natural defences against bacteria, germs, and viruses. Our bodies have many intricate and interconnected systems. The healthiest (not to mention easiest and more affordable) way to put our bodies in a position to deal with illness is to focus on a varied nutritional plan that meets all our nutritional needs.

Trust your gut

Good gut health is an important component of your body’s ecosystem. Gut health plays a huge role on your overall health, and a healthy gut contributes to a strong immune system, healthy heart, good brain health, improved moods, better sleep patterns, and effective digestion. 

Good bacteria in the gut are also essential for a healthy and active immune system. 

There is an array of supplements said to protect and restore the good bacteria in your gut. This is, however, best achieved through natural means by including naturally fermented foods in your diet like yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, sourdough bread and some cheeses. By incorporating these foods in your daily meals, you will notice an improvement in your gut due to the natural probiotics and supporting properties provided by these foods. 

Supplementing during times of increased risk

There is nothing wrong with considering a multivitamin or bringing certain vitamins and supplements into your daily routine. This should, however, not necessary if you are consuming a balanced and nutritionally varied diet. 

Even so, it is not uncommon for people to experience deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, and in such cases, people may need to take supplements to assist with alleviating the deficiency. Supplementation should, however, be done under the guidance of a medical professional – and preferably only when a deficiency has been diagnosed.  

In terms of food supplements, there has been a steep rise in the consumption of vitamin D and C, as well as zinc during the Covid-19 pandemic. These supplements cannot, however, protect us from being infected with Covid-19. The role that these supplements play lies in their ability to aid the immune system’s optimal functioning and our body’s ability to maintain its strength. 

Food for thought

As we continue to learn about Covid-19 and how the virus operates, we will continue to be inundated with reports and research citing supplements that are able to “combat the virus”. The issue is that too little scientifically proven information is available to make these claims. For now, the focus should instead be on identifying and changing the bad habits that have put our immune systems in a less than optimal state. 

We should have a more holistic approach to our health, combining exercise, rest, relaxation, and social activities that fuel both the body and the mind.

The take-home message

Aim for moderation instead of overdoing things in a shotgun approach, and make sure you incorporate all food groups in your meals, including fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbohydrates, dairy, and healthy snacks. This means including a “rainbow” of foods on your lunch and dinner tables: 

• For reds, think tomatoes, which are full of the antioxidant lycopene that may help reduce the risks of  certain types of cancer. 

• For purples, go for blueberries, blackberries, grapes and beetroot, rich in anthocyanins, which show powerful antioxidant activity in the body

• Don’t forget about browns, the colours of wholegrains, which are nutrient powerhouses and provide fibre to keep you regular. 

• Whites like onions, leeks and garlic contain quercetin, which has both anti-inflammatory and antihistamine activity for overall health and wellbeing.  

• There’s a good reason why our mothers always told us to “eat your greens”. Spinach, asparagus and cabbage are full of with folic acid which supports immune function. 

• And finally, yellows and oranges, which are typically full of carotenoids that help lower the risks of certain types of cancer and eye disease. 

*Arthur Ramoroka is company Nutritionist at Tiger Brands and a registered dietitian. 

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Arthur Ramoroka

Divisions between No 10 and local leaders in England are “very dangerous”, a Sage scientist says.