Google Trends Search Information Related to Breastfeeding in the U.S.

[EN] Given the importance of breastfeeding to maternal and infant health, we employed Google Trends to examine U.S. mothers’ search engine use for information related to breastfeeding. We conducted an analysis of the use of the Google search engine related to the broad topic of ‘breastfeeding”, as well as patterns for more specific terms related to breastfeeding. Given the significant role that breastfeeding pain plays in influencing breastfeeding persistence, we examined patterns in mothers’ use of Google to seek information related to breastfeeding pain and how that compares to other breastfeeding topics. We also examined diurnal patterns in these searches as well as state-level characteristics that predict search intensity. We found that searches related to breastfeeding have increased over time and that searches related to breastfeeding pain were the most common. Mothers’ searches tended to occur late at night and were more likely to occur in relatively unpopulated states and for states with lower income. The findings illustrate how Google Trends can be analyzed to highlight the concerns of new mothers in real-time and how such data can  reveal how mothers use the internet to seek out help, guidance, and support for issues related to breastfeeding.Fabes, R.; Bodman, D.; Van Vleet, B.; Martin, C. (2022). Google Trends Search Information Related to Breastfeeding in the U.S. En 4th International Conference on Advanced Research Methods and Analytics (CARMA 2022). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 41-48. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2022.2022.15030414

Maximum entropy model for business cycle synchronization

The global economy is a complex dynamical system, whose cyclical fluctuations can mainly be characterized by simultaneous recessions or expansions of major economies. Thus, the researches on the synchronization phenomenon are key to understanding and controlling the dynamics of the global economy. Based on a pairwise maximum entropy model, we analyze the business cycle synchronization of the G7 economic system. We obtain a pairwise-interaction network, which exhibits certain clustering structure and accounts for 45% of the entire structure of the interactions within the G7 system. We also find that the pairwise interactions become increasingly inadequate in capturing the synchronization as the size of economic system grows. Thus, higher-order interactions must be taken into account when investigating behaviors of large economic systems

Resource discovery and the politics of fiscal decentralization

If the central government is a revenue maximizing Leviathan then resource discovery and democratization should have a discernible impact on the degree of fiscal decentralization. We systematically explore this effect by exploiting exogenous variation in giant oil and mineral discoveries and permanent democratization. Using a global dataset of 77 countries over the period 1970 to 2012 we find that resource discovery has very little effect on revenue decentralization but induces expenditure centralization. Oil discovery appears to be the main driver of centralization and not minerals. Resource discovery leads to centralization in locations which have not experienced permanent democratization. Tax and intergovernmental transfers respond most to resource discovery shocks and democratization whereas own source revenue, property tax, educational expenditure, and health expenditure do not seem to be affected. Higher resource rent leads to more centralization and the effect is moderated by democratization

Mycolactone-dependent depletion of endothelial cell thrombomodulin is strongly associated with fibrin deposition in Buruli ulcer lesions

A well-known histopathological feature of diseased skin in Buruli ulcer (BU) is coagulative necrosis caused by the Mycobacterium ulcerans macrolide exotoxin mycolactone. Since the underlying mechanism is not known, we have investigated the effect of mycolactone on endothelial cells, focussing on the expression of surface anticoagulant molecules involved in the protein C anticoagulant pathway. Congenital deficiencies in this natural anticoagulant pathway are known to induce thrombotic complications such as purpura fulimans and spontaneous necrosis. Mycolactone profoundly decreased thrombomodulin (TM) expression on the surface of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMVEC) at doses as low as 2ng/ml and as early as 8hrs after exposure. TM activates protein C by altering thrombin's substrate specificity, and exposure of HDMVEC to mycolactone for 24 hours resulted in an almost complete loss of the cells' ability to produce activated protein C. Loss of TM was shown to be due to a previously described mechanism involving mycolactone-dependent blockade of Sec61 translocation that results in proteasome-dependent degradation of newly synthesised ER-transiting proteins. Indeed, depletion from cells determined by live-cell imaging of cells stably expressing a recombinant TM-GFP fusion protein occurred at the known turnover rate. In order to determine the relevance of these findings to BU disease, immunohistochemistry of punch biopsies from 40 BU lesions (31 ulcers, nine plaques) was performed. TM abundance was profoundly reduced in the subcutis of 78% of biopsies. Furthermore, it was confirmed that fibrin deposition is a common feature of BU lesions, particularly in the necrotic areas. These findings indicate that there is decreased ability to control thrombin generation in BU skin. Mycolactone's effects on normal endothelial cell function, including its ability to activate the protein C anticoagulant pathway are strongly associated with this. Fibrin-driven tisischemia could contribute to the development of the tissue necrosis seen in BU lesions

Interaction of triosephosphate isomerase from the cell surface of Staphylococcus aureus and α-(1→3)-mannooligosaccharides derived from glucuronoxylomannan of Cryptococcus neoformans

The glycolytic enzyme triosephosphate isomerase (TPI; EC 5.3.1.1) of Staphylococcus aureus is a candidate adhesion molecule for the interaction between the bacterium and the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. TPI may recognize the mannan backbone of glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) of C. neoformans. We purified TPI from extracts of S. aureus surface proteins to investigate its binding by surface plasmon resonance analysis. The immobilized TPI reacted with GXM in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the interactions between staphylococcal TPI and α-(1→3)-mannooligosaccharides derived from GXM were examined. The oligosaccharides exhibited binding with TPI; however, monomeric mannose did not. Differences in the slopes of the sensorgrams were observed between oligosaccharides with an even number of residues versus those with an odd number. A heterogeneous ligand-parallel reaction model revealed the existence of at least two binding sites on TPI. The enzymic activities of TPI were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by α-(1→3)-mannooligosaccharides larger than triose. The binding of TPI and α-(1→3)-mannotriose near the substrate-binding site was predicted in silico (AutoDock 3.05). An oligosaccharide of size equal to or greater than triose could bind to the site, affecting enzymic activities. Moreover, affinities were indicated, especially for biose and tetraose, to another binding pocket, which would not affect enzymic activity. These data suggest a novel role for TPI, in addition to glycolysis, on the surface of S. aureus

Quorum Sensing and Bacterial Social Interactions in Biofilms

Many bacteria are known to regulate their cooperative activities and physiological processes through a mechanism called quorum sensing (QS), in which bacterial cells communicate with each other by releasing, sensing and responding to small diffusible signal molecules. The ability of bacteria to communicate and behave as a group for social interactions like a multi-cellular organism has provided significant benefits to bacteria in host colonization, formation of biofilms, defense against competitors, and adaptation to changing environments. Importantly, many QS-controlled activities have been involved in the virulence and pathogenic potential of bacteria. Therefore, understanding the molecular details of quorum sensing mechanisms and their controlled social activities may open a new avenue for controlling bacterial infections

A large ground-based observing campaign of the disintegrating planet K2-22b

We present 45 ground-based photometric observations of the K2-22 system collected between 2016 December and 2017 May, which we use to investigate the evolution of the transit of the disintegrating planet K2-22b. Last observed in early 2015, in these new observations we recover the transit at multiple epochs and measure a typical depth of <1.5%. We find that the distribution of our measured transit depths is comparable to the range of depths measured in observations from 2014 and 2015. These new observations also support ongoing variability in the K2-22b transit shape and time, although the overall shallowness of the transit makes a detailed analysis of these transit parameters difficult. We find no strong evidence of wavelength-dependent transit depths for epochs where we have simultaneous coverage at multiple wavelengths, although our stacked Las Cumbres Observatory data collected over days-to-months timescales are suggestive of a deeper transit at blue wavelengths. We encourage continued high-precision photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of this system in order to further constrain the evolution timescale and to aid comparative studies with the other few known disintegrating planets

Special cases : moons, rings, comets, trojans

Non-planetary bodies provide valuable insight into our current under- standing of planetary formation and evolution. Although these objects are challeng- ing to detect and characterize, the potential information to be drawn from them has motivated various searches through a number of techniques. Here, we briefly review the current status in the search of moons, rings, comets, and trojans in exoplanet systems and suggest what future discoveries may occur in the near future.Comment: Invited review (status August 2017