The Politics of Expedience: Evanston, Illinois, and the Fight for Reparations

In March 2021, the city council in Evanston, Illinois, began distributing reparations funds to Black residents in the form of $25,000 housing grants. In doing so, Evanston became the first city in the United States to provide publicly funded reparations to Black people for generations of racist policies, including redlining. Why did the reparations program first emerge in Evanston? This article provides an in-depth look at the politics of the policy design process and describes the unique political circumstances that allowed this historic policy to pass with near-unanimous support. As communities throughout the United States consider how to deliver reparations to Black Americans, the debate over Evanston’s ordinance serves as a cautionary tale for how ambitious historic policies may become watered down when political expedience trumps the political insights of Black residents

Glycosylation-mediated phenylpropanoid partitioning in Populus tremuloides cell cultures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phenylpropanoid-derived phenolic glycosides (PGs) and condensed tannins (CTs) comprise large, multi-purpose non-structural carbon sinks in <it>Populus</it>. A negative correlation between PG and CT concentrations has been observed in several studies. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the relationship is not known.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Populus </it>cell cultures produce CTs but not PGs under normal conditions. Feeding salicyl alcohol resulted in accumulation of salicins, the simplest PG, in the cells, but not higher-order PGs. Salicin accrual reflected the stimulation of a glycosylation response which altered a number of metabolic activities. We utilized this suspension cell feeding system as a model for analyzing the possible role of glycosylation in regulating the metabolic competition between PG formation, CT synthesis and growth. Cells accumulated salicins in a dose-dependent manner following salicyl alcohol feeding. Higher feeding levels led to a decrease in cellular CT concentrations (at 5 or 10 mM), and a negative effect on cell growth (at 10 mM). The competition between salicin and CT formation was reciprocal, and depended on the metabolic status of the cells. We analyzed gene expression changes between controls and cells fed with 5 mM salicyl alcohol for 48 hr, a time point when salicin accumulation was near maximum and CT synthesis was reduced, with no effect on growth. Several stress-responsive genes were up-regulated, suggestive of a general stress response in the fed cells. Salicyl alcohol feeding also induced expression of genes associated with sucrose catabolism, glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. Transcript levels of phenylalanine ammonia lyase and most of the flavonoid pathway genes were reduced, consistent with down-regulated CT synthesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Exogenous salicyl alcohol was readily glycosylated in <it>Populus </it>cell cultures, a process that altered sugar utilization and phenolic partitioning in the cells. Using this system, we identified candidate genes for glycosyltransferases that may mediate the glycosylation, and for transporters that mediate the subcellular compartmentalization of sugars and phenolic glycosides. The suspension cells appear to represent a facile system for dissecting the regulation of phenolic carbon partitioning, and in turn, its effects on growth in <it>Populus</it>.</p

Multiple, distinct intercontinental lineages but isolation of Australian populations in a cosmopolitan lichen-forming Fungal Taxon, Psora decipiens (Psoraceae, Ascomycota)

Multiple drivers shape the spatial distribution of species, including dispersal capacity, niche incumbency, climate variability, orographic barriers, and plate tectonics. However, biogeographic patterns of fungi commonly do not fit conventional expectations based on studies of animals and plants. Fungi, in general, are known to occur across exceedingly broad, intercontinental distributions, including some important components of biological soil crust communities (BSCs). However, molecular data often reveal unexpected biogeographic patterns in lichenized fungal species that are assumed to have cosmopolitan distributions. The lichen-forming fungal species Psora decipiens is found on all continents, except Antarctica and occurs in BSCs across diverse habitats, ranging from hot, arid deserts to alpine habitats. In order to better understand factors that shape population structure in cosmopolitan lichen-forming fungal species, we investigated biogeographic patterns in the cosmopolitan taxon P. decipiens, along with the closely related taxa P. crenata and P. saviczii. We generated a multi-locus sequence dataset based on a worldwide sampling of these taxa in order to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and explore phylogeographic patterns. Both P. crenata and P. decipiens were not recovered as monophyletic; and P. saviczii specimens were recovered as a monophyletic clade closely related to a number of lineages comprised of specimens representing P. decipiens. Striking phylogeographic patterns were observed for P. crenata, with populations from distinct geographic regions belonging to well-separated, monophyletic lineages. South African populations of P. crenata were further divided into well-supported sub-clades. While well-supported phylogenetic substructure was also observed for the nominal taxon P. decipiens, nearly all lineages were comprised of specimens collected from intercontinental populations. However, all Australian specimens representing P. decipiens were recovered within a single well-supported monophyletic clade consisting solely of Australian samples. Our study supports up to 10 candidate species-level lineages in P. decipiens, based on genealogical concordance and coalescent-based species delimitation analyses. Our results support the general pattern of the biogeographic isolation of lichen-forming fungal populations in Australia, even in cases where closely related congeners have documented intercontinental distributions. Our study has important implications for understanding factors influencing diversification and distributions of lichens associated with BSC.This research was funded, in part, by a start-up grant from BYU College of Life Sciences to SL; MarW’s and MatW’s work was done within the European Soil Crust Project SCIN (Büdel et al., 2014) funded by the ERA-Net BiodivERsA program, with the national funder The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)

Reduced Upper Limb Recovery in Subcortical Stroke Patients With Small Prior Radiographic Stroke

Background: Research imaging costs limit lesion-based analyses in already expensive large stroke rehabilitation trials. Despite the belief that lesion characteristics influence recovery and treatment response, prior studies have not sufficiently addressed whether lesion features are an important consideration in motor rehabilitation trial design.Objective: Using clinically-obtained neuroimaging, evaluate how lesion characteristics relate to upper extremity (UE) recovery and response to therapy in a large UE rehabilitation trial.Methods: We reviewed lesions from 297 participants with mild-moderate motor impairment in the Interdisciplinary Comprehensive Arm Rehabilitation Evaluation (ICARE) study and their association with motor recovery, measured by the UE Fugl-Meyer (UE-FM). Significant lesion features identified on correlational and bivariate analysis were further analyzed for associations with recovery and therapy response using longitudinal mixed models.Results: Prior radiographic stroke was associated with less recovery on UE-FM in participants with motor impairment from subsequent subcortical stroke (−5.8 points) and in the overall sample (−3.6 points), but not in participants with cortical or mixed lesions. Lesion volume was also associated with less recovery, particularly after subcortical stroke. Every decade increase in age was associated with 1 less point of recovery on UE-FM. Response to specific treatment regimens varied based on lesion characteristics. Subcortical stroke patients experienced slightly less recovery with higher doses of upper extremity task-oriented training. Participants with cortical or mixed lesions experienced more recovery with higher doses of usual and customary therapy. Other imaging features (leukoaraiosis, ischemic vs. hemorrhagic stroke) were not significant.Conclusions: ICARE clinical imaging revealed information useful for UE motor trial design: stratification of persons with and without prior radiographic stroke may be required in participants with subcortical stroke, the majority of motor rehabilitation trial participants. Most of the prior radiographic strokes were small and cortically-based, suggesting even minor prior brain injury remote to the acute stroke lesion may limit spontaneous and therapy-related recovery. Lesion location may be associated with response to different therapy regimens, but the effects are variable and of unclear significance

Naming and outline of Dothideomycetes-2014 including proposals for the protection or suppression of generic names

Article 59.1, of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN; Melbourne Code), which addresses the nomenclature of pleomorphic fungi, became effective from 30 July 2011. Since that date, each fungal species can have one nomenclaturally correct name in a particular classification. All other previously used names for this species will be considered as synonyms. The older generic epithet takes priority over the younger name. Any widely used younger names proposed for use, must comply with Art. 57.2 and their usage should be approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF). In this paper, we list all genera currently accepted by us in Dothideomycetes (belonging to 23 orders and 110 families), including pleomorphic and nonpleomorphic genera. In the case of pleomorphic genera, we follow the rulings of the current ICN and propose single generic names for future usage. The taxonomic placements of 1261 genera are listed as an outline. Protected names and suppressed names for 34 pleomorphic genera are listed separately. Notes and justifications are provided for possible proposed names after the list of genera. Notes are also provided on recent advances in our understanding of asexual and sexual morph linkages in Dothideomycetes. A phylogenetic tree based on four gene analyses supported 23 orders and 75 families, while 35 families still lack molecular data

FungalTraits:A user-friendly traits database of fungi and fungus-like stramenopiles

The cryptic lifestyle of most fungi necessitates molecular identification of the guild in environmental studies. Over the past decades, rapid development and affordability of molecular tools have tremendously improved insights of the fungal diversity in all ecosystems and habitats. Yet, in spite of the progress of molecular methods, knowledge about functional properties of the fungal taxa is vague and interpretation of environmental studies in an ecologically meaningful manner remains challenging. In order to facilitate functional assignments and ecological interpretation of environmental studies we introduce a user friendly traits and character database FungalTraits operating at genus and species hypothesis levels. Combining the information from previous efforts such as FUNGuild and Fun(Fun) together with involvement of expert knowledge, we reannotated 10,210 and 151 fungal and Stramenopila genera, respectively. This resulted in a stand-alone spreadsheet dataset covering 17 lifestyle related traits of fungal and Stramenopila genera, designed for rapid functional assignments of environmental studies. In order to assign the trait states to fungal species hypotheses, the scientific community of experts manually categorised and assigned available trait information to 697,413 fungal ITS sequences. On the basis of those sequences we were able to summarise trait and host information into 92,623 fungal species hypotheses at 1% dissimilarity threshold

Ευρετικές προσεγγίσεις του μοναδιάστατου προβλήματος πακετοποίησης

Article 59.1, of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICN; Melbourne Code), which addresses the nomenclature of pleomorphic fungi, became effective from 30 July 2011. Since that date, each fungal species can have one nomenclaturally correct name in a particular classification. All other previously used names for this species will be considered as synonyms. The older generic epithet takes priority over the younger name. Any widely used younger names proposed for use, must comply with Art. 57.2 and their usage should be approved by the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi (NCF). In this paper, we list all genera currently accepted by us in Dothideomycetes (belonging to 23 orders and 110 families), including pleomorphic and non-pleomorphic genera. In the case of pleomorphic genera, we follow the rulings of the current ICN and propose single generic names for future usage. The taxonomic placements of 1261 genera are listed as an outline. Protected names and suppressed names for 34 pleomorphic genera are listed separately. Notes and justifications are provided for possible proposed names after the list of genera. Notes are also provided on recent advances in our understanding of asexual and sexual morph linkages in Dothideomycetes. A phylogenetic tree based on four gene analyses supported 23 orders and 75 families, while 35 families still lack molecular data

Social Movements and International Relations: A Relational Framework

Social movements are increasingly recognized as significant features of contemporary world politics, yet to date their treatment in international relations theory has tended to obfuscate the considerable diversity of these social formations, and the variegated interactions they may establish with state actors and different structures of world order. Highlighting the difficulties conventional liberal and critical approaches have in transcending conceptions of movements as moral entities, the article draws from two under-exploited literatures in the study of social movements in international relations, the English School and Social Systems Theory, to specify a wider range of analytical interactions between different categories of social movements and of world political structures. Moreover, by casting social movement phenomena as communications, the article opens international relations to consideration of the increasingly diverse trajectories and second-order effects produced by social movements as they interact with states, intergovernmental institutions, and transnational actors