Maine\u27s Forestry and Logging Industry: Building a Model for Forecasting

From 2000 to 2017, 64% of Maine’s pulp and paper processing mills shut down; these closures resulted in harmful effects to communities in Maine and beyond. One question this research asks is how will key macroeconomic and related variables for Maine’s forestry and logging industry change in the future? To answer this, we forecast key macroeconomic and related variables with a vector error correction (VEC) model to assess past and predict future economic contributions from Maine’s forestry and logging industry. The forecasting results imply that although the contribution of the industry in Maine would likely remain stable due to level prices and a slight increase in output, local Maine communities could be worse off due to decreases in employment and firms. We then incorporated these forecasts into a 3-stage modeling process to analyze how a negative shock to exchange rates from an increase in tariffs could affect Maine’s employment and output. Our results suggest that increased tariffs will reduce output and increase employment volatility in Maine. Rising uncertainty and costs of business operations suggest care should be taken when changing tariffs and trade restrictions, especially when changes to business operations can harm markets and communities

Modulation of 5' splice site selection using tailed oligonucleotides carrying splicing signals

BACKGROUND: We previously described the use of tailed oligonucleotides as a means of reprogramming alternative pre-mRNA splicing in vitro and in vivo. The tailed oligonucleotides that were used interfere with splicing because they contain a portion complementary to sequences immediately upstream of the target 5' splice site combined with a non-hybridizing 5' tail carrying binding sites for the hnRNP A1/A2 proteins. In the present study, we have tested the inhibitory activity of RNA oligonucleotides carrying different tail structures. RESULTS: We show that an oligonucleotide with a 5' tail containing the human β-globin branch site sequence inhibits the use of the 5' splice site of Bcl-xL, albeit less efficiently than a tail containing binding sites for the hnRNP A1/A2 proteins. A branch site-containing tail positioned at the 3' end of the oligonucleotide also elicited splicing inhibition but not as efficiently as a 5' tail. The interfering activity of a 3' tail was improved by adding a 5' splice site sequence next to the branch site sequence. A 3' tail carrying a Y-shaped branch structure promoted similar splicing interference. The inclusion of branch site or 5' splice site sequences in the Y-shaped 3' tail further improved splicing inhibition. CONCLUSION: Our in vitro results indicate that a variety of tail architectures can be used to elicit splicing interference at low nanomolar concentrations, thereby broadening the scope and the potential impact of this antisense technology

Descriptive Analysis of Patient Experience in Shanghai Primary and Tertiary Care Settings

 Context: China has recently undertaken a nationwide healthcare reform of primary care for its citizens. The new Ottawa-Shanghai Joint School of Medicine (OSJSM) entered this context of reform by developing family medicine training centres for its students. Objective: This study seeks to understand patients’ demographic, perceptions of family medicine, and alignment of needs and values towards family medicine to inform the creation of these new centres. Study Design: To this end, a culturally and linguistically appropriate patient experience survey was created and administered at two primary (CaoJiaDu and TangQiao Community Health Centers) and at a tertiary care centre (Renji Hospital). The survey consisted of questions on demographics, frequency of healthcare usage, satisfaction of care, barriers to access, prioritized values and percep­tions of family medicine. It was administered to 400 patients conveniently sampled to have a balance of primary/tertiary settings. Results: Despite common assumptions that Chinese patients may prefer specialist services, this study revealed a 68.3% preference for General Practitioners (GP) over Specialists. There was also overall agreement and preference for values of continuity, comprehen­siveness, and coordination in healthcare. Conclusion: These findings reveal that primary care is present in Shanghai and that the core values of family medicine are desired by a majority of respondents. Further analysis, qualitative corroboration and repeating the study in a wider population may be re­quired for more generalizable conclusions, as this study in its current design was limited by convenience sampling

Roadmap for C9ORF72 in Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Report on the C9ORF72 FTD/ALS Summit

A summit held March 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona (USA) focused on the intronic hexanucleotide expansion in the C9ORF72 gene and its relevance in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; C9ORF72-FTD/ALS). The goal of this summit was to connect basic scientists, clinical researchers, drug developers, and individuals affected by C9ORF72-FTD/ALS to evaluate how collaborative efforts across the FTD-ALS disease spectrum might break down existing disease silos. Presentations and discussions covered recent discoveries in C9ORF72-FTD/ALS disease mechanisms, availability of disease biomarkers and recent advances in therapeutic development, and clinical trial design for prevention and treatment for individuals affected by C9ORF72-FTD/ALS and asymptomatic pathological expansion carriers. The C9ORF72-associated hexanucleotide repeat expansion is an important locus for both ALS and FTD. C9ORF72-FTD/ALS may be characterized by loss of function of the C9ORF72 protein and toxic gain of functions caused by both dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins and hexanucleotide repeat RNA. C9ORF72-FTD/ALS therapeutic strategies discussed at the summit included the use of antisense oligonucleotides, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene silencing and gene delivery, and engineered small molecules targeting RNA structures associated with the C9ORF72 expansion. Neurofilament light chain, DPR proteins, and transactive response (TAR) DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43)-associated molecular changes were presented as biomarker candidates. Similarly, brain imaging modalities (i.e., magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and positron emission tomography [PET]) measuring structural, functional, and metabolic changes were discussed as important tools to monitor individuals affected with C9ORF72-FTD/ALS, at both pre-symptomatic and symptomatic disease stages. Finally, summit attendees evaluated current clinical trial designs available for FTD or ALS patients and concluded that therapeutics relevant to FTD/ALS patients, such as those specifically targeting C9ORF72, may need to be tested with composite endpoints covering clinical symptoms of both FTD and ALS. The latter will require novel clinical trial designs to be inclusive of all patient subgroups spanning the FTD/ALS spectrum

HoxA-11 and FOXO1A Cooperate to Regulate Decidual Prolactin Expression: Towards Inferring the Core Transcriptional Regulators of Decidual Genes

During the menstrual cycle, the ovarian steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone control a dramatic transcriptional reprogramming of endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) leading to a receptive state for blastocyst implantation and the establishment of pregnancy. A key marker gene of this decidualization process is the prolactin gene. Several transcriptional regulators have been identified that are essential for decidualization of ESCs, including the Hox genes HoxA-10 and HoxA-11, and the forkhead box gene FOXO1A. While previous studies have identified downstream target genes for HoxA-10 and FOXO1A, the role of HoxA-11 in decidualization has not been investigated. Here, we show that HoxA-11 is required for prolactin expression in decidualized ESC. While HoxA-11 alone is a repressor on the decidual prolactin promoter, it turns into an activator when combined with FOXO1A. Conversely, HoxA-10, which has been previously shown to associate with FOXO1A to upregulate decidual IGFBP-1 expression, is unable to upregulate PRL expression when co-expressed with FOXO1A. By co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we demonstrate physical association of HoxA-11 and FOXO1A, and binding of both factors to an enhancer region (−395 to −148 relative to the PRL transcriptional start site) of the decidual prolactin promoter. Because FOXO1A is induced upon decidualization, it serves to assemble a decidual-specific transcriptional complex including HoxA-11. These data highlight cooperativity between numerous transcription factors to upregulate PRL in differentiating ESC, and suggest that this core set of transcription factors physically and functionally interact to drive the expression of a gene battery upregulated in differentiated ESC. In addition, the functional non-equivalence of HoxA-11 and HoxA-10 with respect to PRL regulation suggests that these transcription factors regulate distinct sets of target genes during decidualization

Homozygosity for the C9orf72 GGGGCC repeat expansion in frontotemporal dementia

An expanded hexanucleotide repeat in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (c9FTD/ALS). We now report the first description of a homozygous patient and compare it to a series of heterozygous cases. The patient developed early-onset frontotemporal dementia without additional features. Neuropathological analysis showed c9FTD/ALS characteristics, with abundant p62-positive inclusions in the frontal and temporal cortices, hippocampus and cerebellum, as well as less abundant TDP-43-positive inclusions. Overall, the clinical and pathological features were severe, but did not fall outside the usual disease spectrum. Quantification of C9orf72 transcript levels in post-mortem brain demonstrated expression of all known C9orf72 transcript variants, but at a reduced level. The pathogenic mechanisms by which the hexanucleotide repeat expansion causes disease are unclear and both gain- and loss-of-function mechanisms may play a role. Our data support a gain-of-function mechanism as pure homozygous loss of function would be expected to lead to a more severe, or completely different clinical phenotype to the one described here, which falls within the usual range. Our findings have implications for genetic counselling, highlighting the need to use genetic tests that distinguish C9orf72 homozygosity

Phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain : a biomarker of survival for C9ORF72-associated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

As potential treatments for C9ORF72-associated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (c9ALS) approach clinical trials, the identification of prognostic biomarkers for c9ALS becomes a priority. We show that levels of phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain (pNFH) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) predict disease status and survival in c9ALS patients, and are largely stable over time. Moreover, c9ALS patients exhibit higher pNFH levels, more rapid disease progression, and shorter survival after disease onset than ALS patients without C9ORF72 expansions. These data support the use of CSF pNFH as a prognostic biomarker for clinical trials, which will increase the likelihood of successfully developing a treatment for c9ALS