A New Calmodulin-Binding Protein Expresses in the Context of Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis and Impacts Biomass Properties in Populus

A greater understanding of biosynthesis, signaling and regulatory pathways involved in determining stem growth and secondary cell wall chemistry is important for enabling pathway engineering and genetic optimization of biomass properties. The present study describes a new functional role of PdIQD10, a Populus gene belonging to the IQ67-Domain1 family of IQD genes, in impacting biomass formation and chemistry. Expression studies showed that PdIQD10 has enhanced expression in developing xylem and tension-stressed tissues in Populus deltoides. Molecular dynamics simulation and yeast two-hybrid interaction experiments suggest interactions with two calmodulin proteins, CaM247 and CaM014, supporting the sequence-predicted functional role of the PdIQD10 as a calmodulin-binding protein. PdIQD10 was found to interact with specific Populus isoforms of the Kinesin Light Chain protein family, shown previously to function as microtubule-guided, cargo binding and delivery proteins in Arabidopsis. Subcellular localization studies showed that PdIQD10 localizes in the nucleus and plasma membrane regions. Promoter-binding assays suggest that a known master transcriptional regulator of secondary cell wall biosynthesis (PdWND1B) may be upstream of an HD-ZIP III gene that is in turn upstream of PdIQD10 gene in the transcriptional network. RNAi-mediated downregulation of PdIQD10 expression resulted in plants with altered biomass properties including higher cellulose, wall glucose content and greater biomass quantity. These results present evidence in support of a new functional role for an IQD gene family member, PdIQD10, in secondary cell wall biosynthesis and biomass formation in Populus

The “Other” Side of Wall Street: Banking, Policies, and Adaptive Methods of U.S. Migrant Workers

Migrant farmworkers\u27 social and economic mobility is frequently constrained through the denial of basic resources, such as access to the formal financial sector. This thesis ethnographically examines banking policies as they apply to low-income, mobile, populations that temporarily reside in Florida. It utilizes participant observation, interviews, and participatory mapping with migrant farmworkers. It also considers how policymakers and service providers in the formal and informal financial sectors rationalize control of resources and the effects on mobile populations. Particular attention is paid to adaptive practices in the alternative financial sector – cash checking services, carrying cash, and remittances. By utilizing the lens of activist anthropology and anthropology of policy and incorporating theoretical frameworks of neoliberalism, debt and credit, bare life, and economic socialization theory the thesis explores how society has been shaped around managing debt and building credit. It examines how structural inequities restrict banking resources from those who lack full personhood or citizenship. This thesis uncovers the paradox that while banking is a vital resource in establishing full participation in United States society, it remains largely inaccessible to migrant workers, particularly the undocumented. The financial sectors’ neoliberal model has effectively barred low-income, mobile populations through the erasure of small deposit accounts and increased scrutiny of customers. Migrant workers face corporeal and economic mobility difficulties, which depreciate their low wages even farther. The United States’ current financial industry violates second generation human rights as codified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) [particularly article six], and also in Articles 23-29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) as the Unbanked and underbanked cannot access their own money. I recommend providing better financial literacy education that considers challenges faced by unbanked and underbanked migrant workers and microfinance opportunities to substitute the lack of small-deposit accounts, particularly individual development accounts

The Possible Role of Hormones in the Theory of Mind

Theory of the Mind is the ability to infer what other people are feeling and thinking based on observing them. On average, females tend to have slightly superior Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities (Baron-Cohen, 1995). We tested the hypothesis that ToM would be affected by estrogen levels. Specifically, we measured women before and after starting the use of estrogen-containing oral contraceptives and found that they did not perform statistically better after taking oral contraceptives. These results provide no support for the hypothesis that estrogen is the driving force behind the sex difference in ToM

MOESM6 of Working towards recalcitrance mechanisms: increased xylan and homogalacturonan production by overexpression of GAlactUronosylTransferase12 (GAUT12) causes increased recalcitrance and decreased growth in Populus

Additional file 6. Glycosyl residue composition of (a) alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) and (b–h) wall fractions from stems of field-grown P. deltoides control and PtGAUT12.1-OE transgenic plants. Wall fractions were prepared by sequential extraction of AIR using increasingly harsh reagents: (b) 50 mM ammonium oxalate, (c) 50 mM Na2CO3, (d) 1 M KOH, (e) 4 M KOH, (f) 100 mM sodium chlorite (chlorite) and (g) 4 M KOH post-chlorite (4 M KOH PC). (h) The insoluble pellet remaining after all the extractions. Glycosyl residue composition was determined by GC–MS of trimetylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. Data are mean ± SE of three biological and two technical replicates, n = 5. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001

Anticoagulation in emergency general surgery: Who bleeds more? The EAST multicenter trials ACES study

BACKGROUND: While direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use is increasing in the Emergency General Surgery (EGS) patient population, our understanding of their bleeding risk in the acute setting remains limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of perioperative bleeding complications in patients using DOACs versus warfarin and AP therapy requiring urgent/emergent EGS procedures (EGSPs). METHODS: This was a prospective observational trial, conducted between 2019 and 2022, across 21 centers. Inclusion criteria were 18 years or older, DOAC, warfarin/AP use within 24 hours of requiring an urgent/emergent EGSP. Demographics, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were collected. ANOVA, χ 2 , and multivariable regression models were used to conduct the analysis. RESULTS: Of the 413 patients enrolled in the study, 261 (63%) reported warfarin/AP use and 152 (37%) reported DOAC use. Appendicitis and cholecystitis were the most frequent indication for operative intervention in the warfarin/AP group (43.4% vs. 25%, p = 0.001). Small bowel obstruction/abdominal wall hernias were the main indication for operative intervention in the DOAC group (44.7% vs. 23.8%, p = 0.001). Intraoperative, postoperative, and perioperative bleeding complications and in-hospital mortality were similar between the two groups. After adjusting for confounders, a history of chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR], 4.3; p = 0.015) and indication for operative intervention including occlusive mesenteric ischemia (OR, 4.27; p = 0.016), nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (OR, 3.13; p = 0.001), and diverticulitis (OR, 3.72; p = 0.019) were associated with increased perioperative bleeding complications. The need for an intraoperative transfusion (OR, 4.87; p \u3c 0.001), and intraoperative vasopressors (OR, 4.35; p = 0.003) were associated with increased in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Perioperative bleeding complications and mortality are impacted by the indication for EGSPs and patient\u27s severity of illness rather than a history of DOAC or warfarin/AP use. Therefore, perioperative management should be guided by patient physiology and indication for surgery rather than the concern for recent antiplatelet or anticoagulant use. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and Epidemiologic; Level III

The Emergency Surgery Score accurately predicts the need for postdischarge respiratory and renal support after emergent laparotomies: A prospective EAST multicenter study

The Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) was recently validated as an accurate mortality risk calculator for emergency general surgery. We sought to prospectively evaluate whether ESS can predict the need for respiratory and/or renal support (RRS) at discharge after emergent laparotomies (EL).This is a post hoc analysis of a 19-center prospective observational study. Between April 2018 and June 2019, all adult patients undergoing EL were enrolled. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were systematically collected. In this analysis, patients were excluded if they died during the index hospitalization, were discharged to hospice, or transferred to other hospitals. A composite variable, the need for RRS, was defined as the need for one or more of the following at hospital discharge: tracheostomy, ventilator dependence, or dialysis. Emergency Surgery Score was calculated for all patients, and the correlation between ESS and RRS was examined using the c-statistics method.From a total of 1,649 patients, 1,347 were included. Median age was 60 years, 49.4% were men, and 70.9% were White. The most common diagnoses were hollow viscus organ perforation (28.1%) and small bowel obstruction (24.5%); 87 patients (6.5%) had a need for RRS (4.7% tracheostomy, 2.7% dialysis, and 1.3% ventilator dependence). Emergency Surgery Score predicted the need for RRS in a stepwise fashion; for example, 0.7%, 26.2%, and 85.7% of patients required RRS at an ESS of 2, 12, and 16, respectively. The c-statistics for the need for RRS, the need for tracheostomy, ventilator dependence, or dialysis at discharge were 0.84, 0.82, 0.79, and 0.88, respectively.Emergency Surgery Score accurately predicts the need for RRS at discharge in EL patients and could be used for preoperative patient counseling and for quality of care benchmarking.Prognostic and epidemiological, level III

The Emergency Surgery Score accurately predicts the need for postdischarge respiratory and renal support after emergent laparotomies: A prospective EAST multicenter study

The Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) was recently validated as an accurate mortality risk calculator for emergency general surgery. We sought to prospectively evaluate whether ESS can predict the need for respiratory and/or renal support (RRS) at discharge after emergent laparotomies (EL).This is a post hoc analysis of a 19-center prospective observational study. Between April 2018 and June 2019, all adult patients undergoing EL were enrolled. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were systematically collected. In this analysis, patients were excluded if they died during the index hospitalization, were discharged to hospice, or transferred to other hospitals. A composite variable, the need for RRS, was defined as the need for one or more of the following at hospital discharge: tracheostomy, ventilator dependence, or dialysis. Emergency Surgery Score was calculated for all patients, and the correlation between ESS and RRS was examined using the c-statistics method.From a total of 1,649 patients, 1,347 were included. Median age was 60 years, 49.4% were men, and 70.9% were White. The most common diagnoses were hollow viscus organ perforation (28.1%) and small bowel obstruction (24.5%); 87 patients (6.5%) had a need for RRS (4.7% tracheostomy, 2.7% dialysis, and 1.3% ventilator dependence). Emergency Surgery Score predicted the need for RRS in a stepwise fashion; for example, 0.7%, 26.2%, and 85.7% of patients required RRS at an ESS of 2, 12, and 16, respectively. The c-statistics for the need for RRS, the need for tracheostomy, ventilator dependence, or dialysis at discharge were 0.84, 0.82, 0.79, and 0.88, respectively.Emergency Surgery Score accurately predicts the need for RRS at discharge in EL patients and could be used for preoperative patient counseling and for quality of care benchmarking.Prognostic and epidemiological, level III

Prospective Validation of the Emergency Surgery Score in Emergency General Surgery

BACKGROUND The Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) was recently developed and retrospectively validated as an accurate mortality risk calculator for emergency general surgery. We sought to prospectively validate ESS, specifically in the high-risk nontrauma emergency laparotomy (EL) patient. METHODS This is an Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma multicenter prospective observational study. Between April 2018 and June 2019, 19 centers enrolled all adults (aged \u3e18 years) undergoing EL. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were prospectively and systematically collected. Emergency Surgery Score was calculated for each patient and validated using c-statistic methodology by correlating it with three postoperative outcomes: (1) 30-day mortality, (2) 30-day complications (e.g., respiratory/renal failure, infection), and (3) postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) admission. RESULTS A total of 1,649 patients were included. The mean age was 60.5 years, 50.3% were female, and 71.4% were white. The mean ESS was 6, and the most common indication for EL was hollow viscus perforation. The 30-day mortality and complication rates were 14.8% and 53.3%; 57.0% of patients required ICU admission. Emergency Surgery Score gradually and accurately predicted 30-day mortality; 3.5%, 50.0%, and 85.7% of patients with ESS of 3, 12, and 17 died after surgery, respectively, with a c-statistic of 0.84. Similarly, ESS gradually and accurately predicted complications; 21.0%, 57.1%, and 88.9% of patients with ESS of 1, 6, and 13 developed postoperative complications, with a c-statistic of 0.74. Emergency Surgery Score also accurately predicted which patients required intensive care unit admission (c-statistic, 0.80). CONCLUSION This is the first prospective multicenter study to validate ESS as an accurate predictor of outcome in the EL patient. Emergency Surgery Score can prove useful for (1) perioperative patient and family counseling, (2) triaging patients to the intensive care unit, and (3) benchmarking the quality of emergency general surgery care

The Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) and Outcomes in Elderly Patients Undergoing Emergency Laparotomy: A Post-hoc Analysis of an EAST Multicenter Study

Introduction We sought to evaluate whether the Emergency Surgery Score (ESS) can accurately predict outcomes in elderly patients undergoing emergent laparotomy (EL). Methods This is a post-hoc analysis of an EAST multicenter study. Between April 2018 and June 2019, all adult patients undergoing EL in 19 participating hospitals were prospectively enrolled, and ESS was calculated for each patient. Using the c-statistic, the correlation between ESS and mortality, morbidity, and need for ICU admission was assessed in three patient age cohorts (65–74, 75–84, ≥85 years old). Results 715 patients were included, of which 52% were 65–74, 34% were 75–84, and 14% were ≥85 years old; 51% were female, and 77% were white. ESS strongly correlated with postoperative mortality (c-statistic:0.81). Mortality gradually increased from 0% to 20%–60% at ESS of 2, 10 and 16 points, respectively. ESS predicted mortality, morbidity, and need for ICU best in patients 65–74 years old (c-statistic:0.81, 0.75, 0.83 respectively), but its performance significantly decreased in patients ≥85 years (c-statistic:0.72, 0.64, 0.67 respectively). Conclusion ESS is an accurate predictor of outcome in the elderly EL patient 65–85 years old, but its performance decreases for patients ≥85. Consideration should be given to modify ESS to better predict outcomes in the very elderly patient population