Exploring Facets of Trust and Religiosity in Organ Donation for Black and White Americans.

This study examines how Black and White Americans perceive two facets of trust (trust in medical doctor and trust in medical care for racial group) and two facets of religiosity (religious service attendance and religious norms regarding organ donation) in relation to the topic of organ donation. Two hundred and one participants (N = 201) were surveyed across the United States using the Qualtrics survey company. Bivariate analyses found donor status was not related to religious service attendance (r = - .

Room-Temperature Columnar Liquid Crystals from Twisted and Macrocyclic 9,9'-Bifluorenylidene Mesogen with Ambipolar Carrier Transport Properties.

We herein report the synthesis and characterization of a series of twisted and conjugated 9,9'-bifluorenylidene () derivatives and a ladder-shaped cyclic dimer () bearing eight long alkoxy chains at peripheral positions. These contorted aromatics formed hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline mesophases over a wide temperature range, including room temperature. Ambipolar carrier transport properties with electron and hole mobility values of approximately 10 and 10 cm V s, respectively, were achieved for the derivatives forming a monodomain orientation at ambient temperature.

Cumulative Colorism in Criminal Courts.

A growing literature documents skin color stratification in punishment, whereby darker-skinned individuals fare worse than their lighter-skinned counterparts. Virtually all of this research has focused on colorism operating through direct channels. Utilizing a novel dataset linking the mugshots and court records of 6931 felony defendants from Miami-Dade County (Florida) from 2012 to 2015, we show that colorism in punishment, particularly for Hispanics, operates through indirect mechanisms - in addition to direct channels.

DDD-028: A potent, neuroprotective, non-opioid compound for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a painful, chronic ailment that affects a large segment of diabetic population worldwide. Current medications such as pregabalin or duloxetine treat only the pain symptom associated with DN, but not the underlying nerve damage. DDD-028 (1) is a small molecule that displays potent pain-relieving activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rodent model of DN.

Self-Identified Stage in Recovery and Substance-Use Behaviors among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and People with Opioid Use Disorder.

Opioid use among pregnant and postpartum women and people (PPWP) has significant health repercussions. This study explores how substance-use behaviors may vary by stage in recovery among PPWP with opioid use disorder (OUD). We recruited 29 PPWP with OUD.

Stimulant use, HIV, and immune dysregulation among sexual minority men.

Background: Sexual minority men (SMM) report high rates of stimulant use (e.g., crystal methamphetamine, cocaine) and HIV infection.

Limited reproductive interference despite high rates of heterospecific pollen transfer among co-occurring bat-pollinated Burmeistera.

Premise: Many tropical plants are bat-pollinated, but these mammals often carry copious, multispecific pollen loads making bat-pollinated plants susceptible to heterospecific pollen deposition and reproductive interference. We investigated pollen transfer between sympatric bat-pollinated Burmeistera species and their response to heterospecific pollen deposition from each other.

Methods: We quantified conspecific and heterospecific pollen deposition for two populations of B.

Identifying drivers of increasing opioid overdose deaths among black individuals: a qualitative model drawing on experience of peers and community health workers.

Background: Black individuals in the USA face disproportionate increases in rates of fatal opioid overdose despite federal efforts to mitigate the opioid crisis. The aim of this study was to examine what drives increases in opioid overdose death among Black Americans based on the experience of key stakeholders.

Methods: Focus groups were conducted with stakeholders providing substance use prevention services in Black communities in St.

Phase transitions in evolutionary dynamics.

Sharp changes in state, such as transitions from survival to extinction, are hallmarks of evolutionary dynamics in biological systems. These transitions can be explored using the techniques of statistical physics and the physics of nonlinear and complex systems. For example, a survival-to-extinction transition can be characterized as a non-equilibrium phase transition to an absorbing state.

Feasibility and acceptability of texting school-aged adolescents to assess daily substance use among community-based black and white youth.

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is well-suited to measure adolescent substance use. Previous research with adolescents, particularly racially minoritized adolescents, has predominantly provided mobile devices to participants as a strategy to reduce structural barriers to technology access. This report examined feasibility and acceptability of a text-message-delivered EMA protocol to adolescents' personal phones.

Forb composition gradients and intra-annual variation in a threatened Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie.

Grasslands are among the most threatened and least protected terrestrial biome. Grassland forbs: (1) account for most of the floral diversity; (2) are not well studied because they have been overshadowed by grass-centered research; and (3) have been a major source for biodiversity loss. The Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie (PNB) of North America is one of the most endangered grasslands on earth.

Opioid Use Disorder and COVID-19: Treatment and Recovery Factors among Vulnerable Populations at the Intersection of Two U.S. Epidemics.

Social inequities made some sociodemographic groups - including those of older age, minoritized race/ethnicity, and low socioeconomic status - disproportionately vulnerable to morbidity and mortality associated with the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic. Given shared vulnerability to these public health crises, it is critical to understand how COVID-19 impacts substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery among people with these characteristics. The current study examined COVID-19's perceived impact on treatment factors and psychosocial outcomes by sociodemographic vulnerability.

Perceptions of Parents' Mental Health and Perceived Stigma by Refugee Youth in the U.S. Context.

Refugees are at an increased risk of mental health problems due to the multiple traumas experienced. Mental health help-seeking and utilization remains low among resettled refugees in the US, however, with stigma as a major barrier. The goal of this paper was to explore second-generation youth's perceptions of parents' mental health and perceived stigma.

Genome-wide ultraconserved elements resolve phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history among Neotropical leaf-nosed bats in the genus Anoura (Phyllostomidae).

AnouraGray, 1838 are Neotropical nectarivorous bats and the most speciose genus within the phyllostomid subfamily Glossophaginae. However, Anoura species limits remain debated, and phylogenetic relationships remain poorly known, because previous studies used limited Anoura taxon sampling or focused primarily on higher-level relationships. Here, we conduct the first phylogenomic study of Anoura by analyzing 2039 genome-wide ultraconserved elements (UCEs) sequenced for 42 individuals from 8 Anoura species/lineages plus two outgroups.

Recent Advances in Stereocontrolled Mannosylation: Focus on Glycans Comprising Acidic and/or Amino Sugars.

The main focus of this review is to describe accomplishments made in the stereoselective synthesis of β-linked mannosides functionalized with carboxyls or amines/amides. These ManNAc, ManA and ManNAcA residues found in many glycoconjugates, bacterial polysaccharides, and alginates have consistently captured interest of the glycoscience community both due to synthetic challenge and therapeutic potential.

Defying Thermodynamics: Stabilization of Alane Within Covalent Triazine Frameworks for Reversible Hydrogen Storage.

The highly unfavorable thermodynamics of direct aluminum hydrogenation can be overcome by stabilizing alane within a nanoporous bipyridine-functionalized covalent triazine framework (AlH @CTF-bipyridine). This material and the counterpart AlH @CTF-biphenyl rapidly desorb H between 95 and 154 °C, with desorption complete at 250 °C. Sieverts measurements, Al MAS NMR and Al{ H} REDOR experiments, and computational spectroscopy reveal that AlH @CTF-bipyridine dehydrogenation is reversible at 60 °C under 700 bar hydrogen, >10 times lower pressure than that required to hydrogenate bulk aluminum.

The evolutionary history of vines in a neotropical biodiversity hotspot: Phylogenomics and biogeography of a large passion flower clade (Passiflora section Decaloba).

Because of their extraordinary flower and leaf morphology, passion flowers (Passifloraceae) have fascinated naturalists since their discovery. Within the large, diverse (600 species) genus Passiflora is an especially enigmatic and species-rich (120 spp.) subclade, Section Decaloba, which occurs in the Neotropics and has its center of diversity in Andean montane forests.

Comparative genomic insights into culturable symbiotic cyanobacteria from the water fern .

Species of the floating, freshwater fern form a well-characterized symbiotic association with the non-culturable cyanobacterium , which fixes nitrogen for the plant. However, several cyanobacterial strains have over the years been isolated and cultured from from all over the world. The genomes of 10 of these strains were sequenced and compared with each other, with other symbiotic cyanobacterial strains, and with similar strains that were not isolated from a symbiotic association.

COVID-19 and the differential dilemma.

The conundrums of choosing candidate genes, via differential expression between treated and mock specimens, are tackled by Ghandikota et al. in this issue of in their efforts to tease out genetic patterns that are characteristic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.