DISCOVERIES

In the first large-scale, randomized trial of its kind, researchers from the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute found that routine, standardized autism screening during toddler well visits significantly improves early detection — even for children whose symptoms are subtle or easily missed.

The findings could better align policies and guidelines to support the use of routine, standardized autism screening for all children at toddler well visits, rather than relying on non-standardized screenings or clinicians’ judgment for identifying children with autism.

“This resulted in 186 children referred to a diagnostic evaluation — and their average age was 20.6 months, compared to 39 children with an average age of 23.6 months referred by practices in the usual care group,” explains Giacomo Vivanti, an associate professor in the Autism Institute and lead author of the study.

“The earlier identification of autism allows for autism-specific early intervention at a younger age, which improves outcomes across the rest of their lives,” says Diana Robins, director of the Autism Institute and principal investigator in the study. DM

Researchers from the College of Engineering developed a standard testing process to give manufacturers a better look at the internal workings of batteries. Using ultrasound technology, they can now monitor the electrochemical and mechanical functions of a battery to find any damage or flaws that could lead to overheating and other disasters.

“While lithium-ion batteries have been studied for nearly half a century and commercialized for over 30 years, we have only recently developed tools that can see inside with high resolution,” explains Wes Chang, an assistant professor and primary investigator of the The Electrochemical Dynamics Lab, who supervised the project.

Chang’s team has demonstrated that a low-cost, accessible benchtop ultrasonic tool could be easily implemented and used by battery engineers, including those who work at automotive companies producing electric vehicles. Current safety and quality control processes for manufactured batteries rely on visual inspection and performance testing; they could be X-rayed to generate a high-resolution interior image, but this is slow and expensive. By contrast, the Drexel team proposes using ultrasound, which is less expensive and faster, to provide complementary information about the mechanical properties of the battery.

The group plans to continue improving the technology so that it can more easily scan battery electrodes. For instance, the group very recently published a peer-reviewed scientific article in ACS Energy Letters demonstrating the ability of a non-contact ultrasound method for mapping defects in battery electrodes. This shows the technique is useful not only for assembled cells but also for directly diagnosing the electrode layers that are used within the cells, something not done before. From metal impurities to density variations, these detected features on electrodes are the origin points of failure, and a challenge to detect with existing methods such as optical cameras and lasers used in battery manufacturing.

“We hope that by lowering the barrier to entry, ultrasonic testing can become a routine part of battery research and development,” Chang says. DM

For the one in three women ages 14-49 who develop a vaginal bacterial imbalance during their lifetime known as bacterial vaginosis (BV), treatment can feel like a guessing game. For more than half of those prescribed the standard antibiotic, metronidazole, it doesn’t work. The result is often a frustrating cycle of recurring symptoms and escalating side effects.

Now, Drexel researchers have developed a DNA-based PCR lab test that could take the guesswork out of treatment. By identifying specific strains of bacteria that are resistant to metronidazole, the test can guide clinicians toward more effective options — such as clindamycin, which the team found to be effective against even the most resistant strains.

“If this test becomes available to patients, they can avoid taking the wrong antibiotic, avoiding additional potential side effects and financial costs,” says lead author Katherine Innamorati, an instructor in the College of Medicine. “Faster treatment and better antibiotic stewardship is especially important for patients who may need to take multiple courses of antibiotics to fully eliminate the infection.” 

A commercial lab and patient demand would provide the momentum to bring the test to market. The researchers have filed for a patent and are working to expand the test to detect low-resistance strains and pinpoint the genes behind resistance. DM

As droughts increasingly impact wheat production in the United States, many producers are looking for more durable alternatives. The one that Drexel researchers think could be suitable for the American palate is a hardy grain that has been cultivated for centuries in Africa and Asia: pearl millet.

The challenge of introducing an alternative ingredient is always whether or not consumers will like the taste. So experts from Drexel’s Food Lab in the College of Nursing and Health Professions teamed up with the colleagues from University of Pennsylvania; City University of New York, Brooklyn College; and Monell Chemical Senses Center to study whether pearl millet could be an acceptable substitute in recipes that use wheat flour.

Unfermented and fermented bread models. Photo credit: May Cheung.

They found that up to 20% of whole wheat flour in sandwich-style whole grain bread can be replaced with fermented pearl millet flour without impacting taste or consumers’ willingness to buy it. Any higher amount, however, led to a drop in flavor appeal.

“Our goal is to identify the ‘sweet spot’ where we maximize both health benefits and consumer acceptance, ensuring that underutilized, nutrient-rich foods, like millet, can become more widely integrated into the U.S. diet,” says May M. Cheung, PhD nutrition sciences ’20, who is now an assistant professor at the City University of New York, Brooklyn College and lead author on the study.

These findings could impact food manufacturing and public health, as well as the need for further research collaborations and ways of thinking about modern food systems and appetites.

“This kind of interdisciplinary research, while familiar in food science, is relatively new in culinary science,” says Jonathan Deutsch, a Drexel alumnus turned College of Nursing & Health Professions professor, director of the Drexel Food Lab and co-author of the study. “Where food scientists often go to the chemistry of food to solve a problem, culinary scientists look to the food’s flavors and traditional foodways to solve a similar problem.” DM

That road salt you see sprinkled on sidewalks and roads to melt snow and ice can persist in the environment for years or even decades after the season ends. New research from the College of Engineering tracks how those deicing agents — soluble, corrosive and difficult to remove — later end up polluting aquatic ecosystems and interfering in the water treatment.

“A deicing agent works by lowering the freezing point of water, preventing ice from forming at its normal freezing point,” explains Assistant Professor Amanda Carneiro Marques, whose research focuses on methods of protecting water quality. “The decision about the most adequate deicing agent to apply depends on the characteristics of the area, logistical planning — which can be related to cost — and effectiveness at different temperatures. For example, some chloride-based salts have the potential to produce less environmental impact than others, but they can be more expensive or not as effective for specific weather and road conditions.”

Marques has identified chemical markers for pollutants that can be tracked to see how and when they might end up in, say, a nearby river. She uses chemical analysis and environmental tracers to map its movements and models the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. The results have supported local government agencies and conservation departments to develop ways to avoid over-salting and to educate the public about the environmental impact of deicers.

“Because salt is persistent in the environment, real-time technology, environmental education and research are necessary to understand factors that can contribute to increasing salt trends in the environment and support an effective implementation of mitigation strategies to guarantee the quality of our freshwater resources,” she says.

Understanding the human health and environmental impact from deicing agents can only be done when considering factors like location, length of application time, environmental conditions and transportation use, she says. Every winter, and season, can be used to identify repeating patterns and vulnerable hotspots, and also develop effective alternatives to treat the area and minimize further water degradation. DM

‘If a chatbot is advertised as a companion and wellbeing app, people expect to be able to have conversations that are helpful for them, and it is vital that ethical design and safety standards are in place to prevent these interactions from becoming harmful,' says Afsaneh Razi, an assistant professor in the College of Computing & Informatics.

But what happens when the artificial intelligence (AI) takes things too far?

That’s what Razi and a team of researchers investigated in the aftermath of reports of sexual harassment by the Luka Inc. chatbot Replika in 2023. 

By analyzing more than 35,000 user reviews of the bot on the Google Play Store, they uncovered a wide range of user-reported inappropriate behavior — everything from unwanted flirting to sending unsolicited explicit photos. In some cases, these behaviors continued even after users repeatedly asked the chatbot to stop. And although reports of harassment by chatbots have surfaced widely in only the past two years or so, they found reviews mentioning harassing behavior dating back to Replika’s debut in 2017. 

The research findings show that inappropriate behavior, and even sexual harassment, in interactions with chatbots is becoming a wider problem. The researchers propose that future research look at other chatbots and user feedback to better understand its prevalence.

“There must be a higher standard of care and burden of responsibility placed on companies if their technology is being used in this way,” says Razi. “We are already seeing the risk this creates and the damage that can be caused when these programs are created without adequate guardrails.” DM

Drexel researchers and colleagues from the University of Maryland found a statistically significant link between severe natural disasters — like heatwaves, droughts, floods and wildfires — and a loss of health care infrastructure, including hospitals and outpatient care facilities.

“Communities experiencing severe disasters often face declines in health care resources, with the effects lasting for years,” says senior author Yvonne Michael, a professor of epidemiology in the Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health. “This underscores the potential long-term effects of disasters on human health, beyond their immediate, acute impacts.”

The researchers looked at data from more than 3,000 counties between 2000 and 2014 that experienced 6,263 climate disasters of varying severity. Previous studies typically focused on a single disaster in a single location (think Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy), making this a never-before-seen look at how severe climate events can lead to closures of outpatient care practices.

Additionally, the team found that counties that lost health care facilities were more likely to experience high poverty and greater racial segregation. Similarly, counties that maintained or gained health care facilities following a natural disaster had lower levels of poverty.

The authors suggest that these findings may be conservative, considering the increasing number, and cost, of climate-induced natural disasters. They hope their study can inspire further research as well as an investment in public health infrastructure as part of disaster planning and recovery efforts. DM