Chief Justice Waite and the Twin Relic : Reynolds v. United States

In the landmark case of Reynolds v. United States, the United States Supreme Court held that a general law prohibiting polygamy did not abridge the religious freedom of members of the Mormon faith guaranteed by the first amendment. The author here explores the background of Chief Justice Waite\u27s opinion in Reynolds v. United States: the tenets and development of the Mormon faith in the United States, the character of the Waite Court, and the sources and development of Chief Justice Waite\u27s opinion in the case

Structural Basis for Apoptosis Inhibition by Epstein-Barr Virus BHRF1

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with human malignancies, especially those affecting the B cell compartment such as Burkitt lymphoma. The virally encoded homolog of the mammalian pro-survival protein Bcl-2, BHRF1 contributes to viral infectivity and lymphomagenesis. In addition to the pro-apoptotic BH3-only protein Bim, its key target in lymphoid cells, BHRF1 also binds a selective sub-set of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bid, Puma, Bak) expressed by host cells. A consequence of BHRF1 expression is marked resistance to a range of cytotoxic agents and in particular, we show that its expression renders a mouse model of Burkitt lymphoma untreatable. As current small organic antagonists of Bcl-2 do not target BHRF1, the structures of it in complex with Bim or Bak shown here will be useful to guide efforts to target BHRF1 in EBV-associated malignancies, which are usually associated with poor clinical outcomes

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

Seasonal decline in reproductive performance varies with colony size in the fairy martin, Petrochelidon ariel

Reproductive success within populations often varies with the timing of breeding, typically declining over the season. This variation is usually attributed to seasonal changes in resource availability and/or differences in the quality or experience of breeders. In colonial species, the timing of breeding may be of particular importance because the costs and benefits of colonial breeding are likely to vary over the season and also with colony size. In this study, we examine the relationship between timing of breeding and reproductive performance (clutch size and nest success) both within and between variable sized colonies (n∈=∈18) of fairy martins, Petrochelidon ariel. In four of these colonies, we also experimentally delayed laying in selected nests to disentangle the effects of laying date and individual quality/experience on reproductive success. Within colonies, later laying birds produced smaller clutches, but only in larger colonies. The general seasonal decline in nest success was also more pronounced in larger colonies. Late laying birds were generally smaller than earlier laying birds, but morphological differences were also related to colony size, suggesting optimal colony size also varies with phenotype. Experimentally delayed clutches were larger than concurrently produced non-delayed clutches, but only in larger colonies. Similarly, delayed clutches were more likely to produce fledglings, particularly later in the season and in larger colonies. We suggest that the reduced performance of late breeding pairs in larger colonies resulted primarily from inexperienced/low quality birds preferring to settle in larger colonies, possibly exacerbated by an increase in the costs of coloniality (e.g., resource depletion and ectoparasite infestations) with date and colony size. These findings highlight the importance of phenotype-related differences in settlement decisions and reproductive performance to an improved understanding of colonial breeding and variation in colony size

Seasonal decline in reproductive performance varies with colony size in the fairy martin, Petrochelidon ariel

Reproductive success within populations often varies with the timing of breeding, typically declining over the season. This variation is usually attributed to seasonal changes in resource availability and/or differences in the quality or experience of breeders. In colonial species, the timing of breeding may be of particular importance because the costs and benefits of colonial breeding are likely to vary over the season and also with colony size. In this study, we examine the relationship between timing of breeding and reproductive performance (clutch size and nest success) both within and between variable sized colonies (n = 18) of fairy martins, Petrochelidon ariel. In four of these colonies, we also experimentally delayed laying in selected nests to disentangle the effects of laying date and individual quality/experience on reproductive success. Within colonies, later laying birds produced smaller clutches, but only in larger colonies. The general seasonal decline in nest success was also more pronounced in larger colonies. Late laying birds were generally smaller than earlier laying birds, but morphological differences were also related to colony size, suggesting optimal colony size also varies with phenotype. Experimentally delayed clutches were larger than concurrently produced non-delayed clutches, but only in larger colonies. Similarly, delayed clutches were more likely to produce fledglings, particularly later in the season and in larger colonies. We suggest that the reduced performance of late breeding pairs in larger colonies resulted primarily from inexperienced/low quality birds preferring to settle in larger colonies, possibly exacerbated by an increase in the costs of coloniality (e.g., resource depletion and ectoparasite infestations) with date and colony size. These findings highlight the importance of phenotype-related differences in settlement decisions and reproductive performance to an improved understanding of colonial breeding and variation in colony size.12 page(s