Addressing the research gap: access to care hinders genetic discovery in systemic lupus erythematosus patients throughout the African diaspora.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune condition that disproportionately impacts non-White ethnic and racial groups, particularly individuals in the African diaspora who experience heightened incidence, prevalence, and adverse outcomes. Genetic and epigenetic factors play significant roles in SLE risk, however these factors neither explain the whole of SLE risk nor the stark racial disparities we observe. Moreover, our understanding of genetic risk factors within African ancestry populations is limited due to social and environmental influences on research participation, disease presentation, and healthcare access.

Signaling and transcriptional dynamics underlying early adaptation to oncogenic BRAF inhibition.

A major contributor to poor sensitivity to anti-cancer kinase inhibitor therapy is drug-induced cellular adaptation, whereby remodeling of signaling and gene regulatory networks permits a drug-tolerant phenotype. Here, we resolve the scale and kinetics of critical subcellular events following oncogenic kinase inhibition and preceding cell cycle re-entry, using mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics and RNA sequencing to capture molecular snapshots within the first minutes, hours, and days of BRAF kinase inhibitor exposure in a human -mutant melanoma model of adaptive therapy resistance. By enriching specific phospho-motifs associated with mitogenic kinase activity, we monitored the dynamics of thousands of growth- and survival-related protein phosphorylation events under oncogenic BRAF inhibition and drug removal.

Observation of topological frequency combs.

On-chip generation of optical frequency combs using nonlinear ring resonators has enabled numerous applications of combs that were otherwise limited to mode-locked lasers. Nevertheless, on-chip frequency combs have relied predominantly on single-ring resonators. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of a novel class of frequency combs, the topological frequency combs, in a two-dimensional lattice of hundreds of ring resonators that hosts fabrication-robust topological edge states with linear dispersion.

Assessment of SLE activity for acute clinical decision-making: use of a colour-coded threat-level approach for the non-rheumatologist.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity indices are widely applied in academic centres and for research protocols but are often not part of usual care in busy under-resourced clinical settings especially where non-rheumatologists are involved in SLE management. We developed a simplified activity index based on the established knowledge and experience of SLE in our hospital and further applied a treatment guideline to assist in acute clinical decision-making. The index is colour-coded for easy reference and categorizes clinical complications in order of the severity of the threat they pose to the patient.

High-Density, Targeted Monitoring of Tyrosine Phosphorylation Reveals Activated Signaling Networks in Human Tumors.

Tyrosine phosphorylation (pTyr) plays a pivotal role in signal transduction and is commonly dysregulated in cancer. As a result, profiling tumor pTyr levels may reveal therapeutic insights critical to combating disease. Existing discovery and targeted mass spectrometry-based methods used to monitor pTyr networks involve a tradeoff between broad coverage of the pTyr network, reproducibility in target identification across analyses, and accurate quantification.

Light-regulated allosteric switch enables temporal and subcellular control of enzyme activity.

Engineered allosteric regulation of protein activity provides significant advantages for the development of robust and broadly applicable tools. However, the application of allosteric switches in optogenetics has been scarce and suffers from critical limitations. Here, we report an optogenetic approach that utilizes an engineered Light-Regulated (LightR) allosteric switch module to achieve tight spatiotemporal control of enzymatic activity.

An integrative proteogenomics approach reveals peptides encoded by annotated lincRNA in the mouse kidney inner medulla.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are intracellular transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides and lack protein-coding information. A subclass of lncRNA known as long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are transcribed from genomic regions that share no overlap with annotated protein-coding genes. Increasing evidence has shown that some annotated lincRNA transcripts do in fact contain open reading frames (ORFs) encoding functional short peptides in the cell.

'Walk this way': results from a pilot randomised controlled trial of a health coaching intervention to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in people with serious mental illness.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death among people with serious mental illness (SMI). Sedentary behaviour (SB) is an independent risk factor for CVD and mortality and people with SMI are highly sedentary. We developed a health coaching intervention called 'Walk this Way' to reduce SB and increase physical activity (PA) in people with SMI and conducted a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its feasibility and acceptability.

Patch use in the arctic ground squirrel: effects of micro-topography and shrub encroachment in the Arctic Circle.

We investigated the roles of vegetation structure, micro-topographic relief, and predator activity patterns (time of day) on the perception of predatory risk of arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii), an abundant pan-Arctic omnivore, in Arctic Circle tundra on the North Slope of Alaska, where tundra vegetation structure has been predicted to change in response to climate. We quantified foraging intensity by measuring the giving-up densities (GUDs) of the arctic ground squirrels in experimental foraging patches along a heath-graminoid-shrub moist tundra gradient. We hypothesized that foraging intensity of arctic ground squirrels would be greatest and GUDs lowest, where low-stature vegetation or raised micro-topography improves sightlines for predator detection.

A topological quantum optics interface.

The application of topology in optics has led to a new paradigm in developing photonic devices with robust properties against disorder. Although considerable progress on topological phenomena has been achieved in the classical domain, the realization of strong light-matter coupling in the quantum domain remains unexplored. We demonstrate a strong interface between single quantum emitters and topological photonic states.

Electron microscopic observations of Rb particles and pitting in Xe spin-exchange optical pumping cells.

High-volume production of hyperpolarized Xe by spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) has historically fallen short of theoretical predictions. Recently, this shortfall was proposed to be caused by the formation of alkali metal clusters during optical pumping. However, this hypothesis has yet to be verified experimentally.

The spectrum of neuropsychiatric lupus in a Black Caribbean population: a report of the Barbados National Lupus Registry.

Objective The objective of this study was to examine neuropsychiatric lupus in a Black Caribbean population. Methods We reviewed Barbados National Lupus Registry patients with ≥4 American College of Rheumatology criteria and a diagnosis of neuropsychiatric lupus using the American College of Rheumatology 19 case definitions. Results From 366 patients with four or more American College of Rheumatology criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus, 55 (15%) had evidence of neuropsychiatric lupus.

Experimental Air Warming of a , Vogel Dominated Tropical Pasture Affects Soil Respiration and Nitrogen Dynamics.

Warming due to global climate change is predicted to reach 2°C in tropical latitudes. There is an alarming paucity of information regarding the effects of air temperature on tropical agroecosystems, including foraging pastures. Here, we investigated the effects of a 2°C increase in air temperature over ambient for 30 days on an established tropical pasture (Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil) dominated by the legume Vogel, using a T-FACE (temperature free-air controlled enhancement) system.

Responses of temperate forest productivity to insect and pathogen disturbances.

Pest and pathogen disturbances are ubiquitous across forest ecosystems, impacting their species composition, structure, and function. Whereas severe abiotic disturbances (e.g.

Comparison of the systemic lupus erythematosus activity questionnaire and the systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index in a black barbadian population.

In Barbados, use of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) is limited by the unavailability of serologic markers. The SLE Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) excludes laboratory measurements and is therefore more accessible. Here, we investigate the agreement between the SLAQ, the SLEDAI, and the physician global assessment (PGA).

Ecosystem-level controls on root-rhizosphere respiration.

Recent advances in the partitioning of autotrophic from heterotrophic respiration processes in soils in conjunction with new high temporal resolution soil respiration data sets offer insights into biotic and environmental controls of respiration. Besides temperature, many emerging controlling factors have not yet been incorporated into ecosystem-scale models. We synthesize recent research that has partitioned soil respiration into its process components to evaluate effects of nitrogen, temperature and photosynthesis on autotrophic flux from soils at the ecosystem level.

High-risk variants of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in patients with discoid lupus erythematosus: a case series.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of non-melanotic skin cancer, may develop in long-standing discoid lesions, especially those that are depigmented and located in sun-exposed areas. The clinical course of this complication may be aggressive, with early metastases and a risk of mortality. We report three cases demonstrating this emerging trend of secondary squamous cell carcinoma in discoid lesions as the incidence of this secondary malignancy in other diseased skin lesions is on the decline.