History Behind The Hashtag: The Historical Roots of the Black Lives Matter Movement

It began as a hashtag. Generated by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin in July of 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement emerged as an online response to claims of police brutality and racial discrimination. By August, 2014, the movement had transferred from the screen to the streets as demonstrators filled Ferguson, Missouri to protest the killing of Michael Brown. Subsequent reports of racial profiling and police killings only added fuel to the movement’s fire and its message quickly captured national attention. The apparent spontaneity in which the Black Lives Matter movement developed is belied, however, by the long history of racial injustice in the United States and the protest movements that have sought to respond to oppression. In an effort to understand this centuries-old story, this team examined the historical roots of the Black Lives Matter movement in the areas of politics and law, culture, organized responses, and violence. Specifically, this project sought to explore the Black Lives Matter movement within the context of the Brown v. Board court decision, the media, the women’s sit-in movement, and the 1967 Buffalo riots

A role for monoubiquitinated FANCD2 at telomeres in ALT cells

Both Fanconi anemia (FA) and telomere dysfunction are associated with chromosome instability and an increased risk of cancer. Because of these similarities, we have investigated whether there is a relationship between the FA protein, FANCD2 and telomeres. We find that FANCD2 nuclear foci colocalize with telomeres and PML bodies in immortalized telomerase-negative cells. These cells maintain telomeres by alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). In contrast, FANCD2 does not colocalize with telomeres or PML bodies in cells which express telomerase. Using a siRNA approach we find that FANCA and FANCL, which are components of the FA nuclear core complex, regulate FANCD2 monoubiquitination and the telomeric localization of FANCD2 in ALT cells. Transient depletion of FANCD2, or FANCA, results in a dramatic loss of detectable telomeres in ALT cells but not in telomerase-expressing cells. Furthermore, telomere loss following depletion of these proteins in ALT cells is associated with decreased homologous recombination between telomeres (T-SCE). Thus, the FA pathway has a novel function in ALT telomere maintenance related to DNA repair. ALT telomere maintenance is therefore one mechanism by which monoubiquitinated FANCD2 may promote genetic stability

Impact of Optimized Breastfeeding on the Costs of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants

To estimate risk of NEC for ELBW infants as a function of preterm formula and maternal milk (MM) intake and calculate the impact of suboptimal feeding on NEC incidence and costs

Characterization of Enzyme Activity in Pineapple

Bromelain is an enzyme or group of enzymes found in the fruit and stem of pineapples, Ananas comosus. Bromelain extract contains a mixture of proteases and several other substances in smaller quantities. Bromelain is currently produced and sold as a dietary aid and as a relief for arthritis, but this group of chemicals is believed to have much more potential. Many research studies suggest that enzymes found in pineapples and other fruits have medicinal uses. This research is focused on the extraction and characterization of active enzymes from pineapple. After extraction of proteins from pineapple juice, we used SDS-PAGE analysis to demonstrate the proteolytic activity of these enzymes

Acrylate-Induced β-H Elimination in Coordination Insertion Copolymerizaton Catalyzed by Nickel.

Polar monomer-induced β-H elimination is a key elementary step in polar polyolefin synthesis by coordination polymerization but remains underexplored. Herein, we show that a bulky neutral Ni catalyst, 1Ph, is not only a high-performance catalyst in ethylene/acrylate copolymerization (activity up to ∼37,000 kg/(mol·h) at 130 °C in a batch reactor, mol % tBA ∼ 0.3) but also a suitable platform for investigation of acrylate-induced β-H elimination. 4Ph-tBu, a novel Ni alkyl complex generated after acrylate-induced β-H elimination and subsequent acrylate insertion, was identified and characterized by crystallography. A combination of catalysis and mechanistic studies reveals effects of the acrylate monomer, bidentate ligand, and the labile ligand (e.g., pyridine) on the kinetics of β-H elimination, the role of β-H elimination in copolymerization catalysis as a chain-termination pathway, and its potential in controlling the polymer microstructure in polar polyolefin synthesis

The Effect of Exercise on Pain in People with Cancer:A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

Introduction: Cancer-related pain is common and undertreated. Exercise is known to have a pain-relieving effect in non-cancer pain. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to evaluate (1) the effect of exercise on cancer-related pain in all cancers, and (2) whether the effect of exercise differed according to exercise mode, degree of supervision, intervention duration and timing (during or after cancer treatment), pain types, measurement tool and cancer type. Methods: Electronic searches were undertaken in six databases to identify exercise studies evaluating pain in people with cancer, published prior to 11 January 2023. All stages of screening and data extraction were conducted independently by two authors. The Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised trials (RoB 2) was used and overall strength of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Meta-analyses were performed overall and by study design, exercise intervention and pain characteristics. Results: In total, 71 studies reported in 74 papers were eligible for inclusion. The overall meta-analysis included 5877 participants and showed reductions in pain favouring exercise (standardised mean difference − 0.45; 95% confidence interval − 0.62, − 0.28). For most (&gt; 82%) of the subgroup analyses, the direction of effect favoured exercise compared with usual care, with effect sizes ranging from small to large (median effect size − 0.35; range − 0.03 to − 1.17). The overall strength of evidence for the effect of exercise on cancer-related pain was very low. Conclusion: The findings provide support that exercise participation does not worsen cancer-related pain and that it may be beneficial. Better pain categorisation and inclusion of more diverse cancer populations in future research would improve understanding of the extent of benefit and to whom. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021266826.</p