Laplace approximation of J factors for rigid base and rigid basepair models of DNA cyclization.

We apply the Laplace approximation to a mathematical formulation of DNA cyclization J factors, leading to a formula that involves energies of local minima of the DNA energy, factors coming from the Hessian of the energy near each minimum, and geometric factors arising from the orientational portion of J. The approximation is derived in a quite general setting that encompasses both rigid base and rigid basepair models common in the literature. The approximation is applied to several families of 200-400 bp DNA, some relatively straight (fragments of λ-phage) and others quite bent (constructs that include up to 10 A tracts).

Nurse bees regulate the larval nutrition of developing workers (Apis mellifera) when feeding on various pollen types.

Nutrition has been identified as a key driver of colony health and productivity. Yet, in honey bees, relatively little is known about how the vast variety of natural pollen sources impact larval development. The impact of the nutritional quality of 4 naturally occurring pollen sources, of importance to the Western Australian beekeeping industry, was tested on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.

Barriers to mental health service use among people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose/objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing health inequities for people with disabilities (PWD), including disparities in mental health needs and service use. The present study investigated prospective predisposing, enabling, and illness-related correlates of mental health service need and use among PWD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research Method/design: Data were collected online at two time points: October-December 2020 and October-December 2021.

Narrative identity among people with disabilities in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic: The interdependent self.

This study examines narrative identity among a large, diverse sample of people with disabilities (PWDs) in the United States during the "second wave" of the Covid-19 pandemic (October-December 2020). The study relied on abductive analyses, combining a purely inductive phase of inquiry followed by two rounds of investigation that filtered inductive insights through three theoretical lenses: social-ecological theory, the theory of narrative identity, and perspectives from the interdisciplinary field of disability studies. The central result was the identification of a particular configuration of self, one that was demonstrably interdependent with both immediate interpersonal contexts and with broader cultural contexts.

Predicting depression and anxiety among adults with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose/objective: Emerging research has highlighted sources of magnified stress and trauma for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to others in the general population. However, little research has examined the mental health impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities in relation to disability-related stigma, social isolation, and demographic characteristics. The present study therefore sought to identify predictors of depression and anxiety symptoms among U.

GSK2256294 Decreases sEH (Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase) Activity in Plasma, Muscle, and Adipose and Reduces F2-Isoprostanes but Does Not Alter Insulin Sensitivity in Humans.

[Figure: see text].

Park Visitors' Place Attachment and Climate Change-related Displacement: Potential Shifts in Who, Where, and When.

Visitation to parks will change with increasing climate changes. We examined how place attachment may influence different types of climate-induced displacement at both the park and park system level. Previous research suggests that visitors who have greater place attachment to parks within a system may be more likely to tolerate changed environmental conditions before they are displaced from the system entirely or change their choice of park or time of visit within it.

An "oasis within a desert," but the desert remains: Clubhouse members' experiences of social belonging and societal oppression.

Persons living with mental health challenges are at increased risk of stigma, social isolation, and social exclusion. Due to its emphasis on member participation and community, the clubhouse model of mental health may help address these issues. In this study, we examined experiences of social belonging and of various social determinants of mental health among members attending a psychosocial clubhouse.

Primary Aldosteronism Decreases Insulin Secretion and Increases Insulin Clearance in Humans.

Primary aldosteronism is a frequent cause of resistant hypertension and is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus. Aldosterone impairs insulin secretion in isolated islets, and insulin secretion is increased in aldosterone synthase-deficient mice. We hypothesized that treatment for primary aldosteronism increases insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in humans.

Public acceptability of development in the Northern Forest of Vermont, USA-The influence of wildlife information, recreation involvement, and demographic characteristics.

Increasing development such as roads and houses will alter future landscapes and result in biological, social, and economic trade-offs. Managing development requires information on the public's acceptability of development and understanding which factors shape acceptability. In this study, we examined three questions: 1) What is the public's acceptability of development? 2) Is acceptability of development influenced by wildlife information? and 3) Is the maximum amount of acceptable development influenced by views about wildlife, involvement in outdoor recreation, and demographic factors? We conducted a visual-preference survey of 9,000 households in Vermont, USA that asked about acceptable levels of development, acceptability of wildlife, involvement in recreation, and individual and town demographics.

Quantifying the impact of simple DNA parameters on the cyclization J-factor for single-basepair-addition families.

We use Monte Carlo simulation to quantify the change in cyclization J-factor within a dramatically simplified model of DNA that involves parameters for uniform stiffnesses, intrinsic twist, and intrinsic bending (including nonplanar bending). Plots of J versus DNA length over multiple periods of helical repeat are fit to a simple functional form in order to project the behavior of J over a broad range of these model parameters. In some instances, this process allows us to find families of DNA molecules (within our model) with quite different material properties, but very similar plots of J versus length, so similar as to likely to be indistinguishable by experiments.

Self-starting optical-electrical-optical homodyne clock recovery for phase-modulated signals.

We propose a novel self-homodyne optical-electrical-optical clock recovery technique for binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) signals using commercial optical and electrical components. We present the principle of operation as well as a proof-of-concept experiment for a 10.7 Gb/s BPSK signal clock recovery transmitted over a dispersion-compensated link of 20 km of single-mode fiber.

Sequence-Dependent Persistence Lengths of DNA.

A Monte Carlo code applied to the cgDNA coarse-grain rigid-base model of B-form double-stranded DNA is used to predict a sequence-averaged persistence length of l = 53.5 nm in the sense of Flory, and of l = 160 bp or 53.5 nm in the sense of apparent tangent-tangent correlation decay.

Renal disease related to Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: incidence, pathology and clinical outcomes.

The incidence and prognostic impact of nephropathy related to Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) is currently unknown. We performed a retrospective study to assess biopsy-confirmed WM-related nephropathy in a cohort of 1391 WM patients seen at a single academic institution. A total of 44 cases were identified, the estimated cumulative incidence was 5·1% at 15 years.

Transcriptome sequencing reveals a profile that corresponds to genomic variants in Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

Whole-genome sequencing has identified highly prevalent somatic mutations including MYD88, CXCR4, and ARID1A in Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). The impact of these and other somatic mutations on transcriptional regulation in WM remains to be clarified. We performed next-generation transcriptional profiling in 57 WM patients and compared findings to healthy donor B cells.

Practical and cost-effective high-fidelity optical carrier dissemination using coherent communication techniques.

We report a unidirectional frequency dissemination scheme for high-fidelity optical carriers deployable over telecommunication networks. For the first time, a 10 Gb/s Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) signal from an ultra-narrow linewidth laser was transmitted through a field-installed optical fibre with round-trip length of 124 km between Cork City and town of Clonakilty, without inline optical amplification. At the receiver, using coherent communication techniques and optical injection-locking the carrier was recovered with noise suppression.

The effect of minimum impact education on visitor spatial behavior in parks and protected areas: An experimental investigation using GPS-based tracking.

The unmanaged impacts of recreation and tourism can often result in unacceptable changes in resource conditions and quality of the visitor experience. Minimum impact visitor education programs aim to reduce the impacts of recreation by altering visitor behaviors. Specifically, education seeks to reduce impacts resulting from lack of knowledge both about the consequences of one's actions and impact-minimizing best practices.

Diagnostic schemes for reducing epidemic size of African viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

Introduction: Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) outbreaks, with high mortality rates, have often been amplified in African health institutions due to person-to-person transmission via infected body fluids.  By collating and analyzing epidemiological data from documented outbreaks, we observed that diagnostic delay contributes to epidemic size for Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

Methodology: We used a susceptible-exposed-infectious-removed (SEIR) model and data from the 1995 outbreak in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo, to simulate Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemics.

Four-wave mixing for clock recovery of phase modulated optical OFDM superchannel.

We simulate and experimentally demonstrate a novel all-optical clock recovery technique for a BPSK OFDM superchannel. Four-wave mixing in SOAs is used to strip the modulation from the superchannel sub-carriers, two of which are filtered and beat together in a photodiode to recover the clock.

All-optical phase discrimination using SOA.

We describe the first experimental demonstration of a novel all-optical phase discrimination technique, which can separate the two orthogonal phase components of a signal onto different frequencies. This method exploits nonlinear mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) to separate a 10.65 Gbaud QPSK signal into two 10.

A mutation in MYD88 (L265P) supports the survival of lymphoplasmacytic cells by activation of Bruton tyrosine kinase in Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MYD88) L265P somatic mutation is highly prevalent in Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and supports malignant growth through nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). The signaling cascade(s) by which MYD88 L265P promotes NF-κB activation in WM remain unclear. By lentiviral knockdown or use of a MYD88 inhibitor, decreased phosphorylation of the NF-κB gatekeeper IκBα and survival occurred in MYD88 L265P-expressing WM cells.