by Taylor Griggs

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Good morning, Portland! There's rain on the menu for today, but you probably didn't need me to tell you that. Hopefully you know how to layer for November in Portland by now. Anddddd that's all the small talk we have time for this morning, so chop chop. It's news time. 

IN LOCAL NEWS: 

• Portland City Council is set to vote today on a five-year contract renewal for the Downtown Portland Clean & Safe district, as well as a major expansion of the service area it covers and a fee hike. A couple weeks ago, when this item was first brought to the council, many Portlanders testified against the contract renewal. Now, four incoming city councilors (Mitch Green, Sameer Kanal, Tiffany Koyama Lane and Angelita Morillo)—along with community organizations and dozens of residents, have penned a letter to the current City Council asking them to postpone the contract renewal. 

Why the negativity for Clean & Safe? Well, as an excellent new article from our Courtney Vaughn details, the Clean & Safe district is overseen by an organization that has significant overlap in its management with the Portland Metro Chamber, AKA the Portland Business Alliance. The new contract would funnel a good portion of the $58 million contract to the Metro Chamber, which they will spend on lobbying efforts for private business interests. The program is also convoluted and lacks oversight, and it contributes majorly to the criminalization of homeless people in downtown Portland. So there's a lot wrong with it. Read the article for more of the details, and stay tuned for City Council's decision today. 

• The Portland Auditor's Office has released a much-anticipated (by me, at least) report on the Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) Vision Zero Action Plan, which the city adopted in 2016 in an effort to eliminate traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries. But in the eight years since the Vision Zero plan was adopted (and been updated twice), traffic crash deaths have increased in Portland, especially in the last four years. In 2023, 69 people were killed in traffic crashes on Portland streets. Given the current reality, it's understandable that people are questioning how effective the Vision Zero program is. 

While the Auditor's Office isn't seeking an overhaul of the program, the report recommends PBOT makes several key changes to improve Vision Zero outcomes. The audit report says PBOT should create a better project evaluation system, install more speed cameras, and use more qualitative data to determine the most equitable safety projects. According to PBOT, most of the concerns expressed in the audit report have already been addressed in the most recent Vision Zero update.

PBOT leaders did say they are hopeful more traffic safety improvements will be possible when Portland finally (fully) transitions to its new, less-siloed form of government in January. The report just came out this morning, so there hasn't been much in the way of community response yet, but I'm sure it will spark some Thoughts, capital "T." 

•  On a related note, the World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims is this Sunday, an annual day to honor the many lives lost prematurely to traffic violence. Community organizations Families for Safe Streets, BikeLoud PDX, and Oregon Walks will join PBOT, elected leaders, and community members for a gathering at Portland City Hall. Find out more about the event here. 

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A post shared by Families for Safe Streets PDX (@fss_pdx)

• Here's a painful fact, courtesy of a new investigation from OPB and ProPublica: Despite President Biden's repeated promises to save old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, the Bureau of Land Management is allowing timber companies to log such forests now more than in the last 10 years. Biden's BLM is on track to log 47,000 acres of public lands during his four years in office— about the same amount that Trump oversaw during his first term in office. And, get this: This is after Biden made an executive order to protect mature and old-growth forests in 2022! Considering the rare beauty of these forests—and, more importantly, their importance to ecosystems and ability to mitigate carbon emission—this is very unfortunate. The Biden administration hasn't answered for the BLM's actions, or if they're planning to take steps to further protect old growth forests in preparation for the next Trump administration. Let's hope he makes some changes while he still can, because we all know Trump will be a lot worse. 

• Rene Gonzalez, after losing his bid for mayor, is seeking donations of up to $579 because his campaign is in debt. I wonder if anyone will pay him. 

Stealing this from the other site because y’all need to see it. Anyone gonna donate $579 to Rene Gonzalez’s failed campaign for mayor??? @pradapdx.bsky.social

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— Taylor Griggs (@taylorgriggs.bsky.social) November 12, 2024 at 5:11 PM

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: 

• President-elect Donald Trump (ouch) has asked Vivek Ramaswamy (ouch again) and Elon Musk (commentary unnecessary here) to lead a new government agency that he plans to create in order to regulate federal spending. The new agency will be called the Department of Government Efficiency, which just happens to create the acronym DOGE, a reference to the Shiba Inu meme of the mid-2010s and the joke cryptocurrency by the same name that Musk promoted. Apparently, a Department of Government Efficiency needs to be run by two people. I hope I am adequately conveying my tone of contempt here. 

As ridiculous as this all is, it's also extremely bad. Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy's plan is to fire thousands of federal employees, cut necessary regulations, and ultimately destroy many of the most crucial components of the federal government. All we can do is hope that SOME Republicans in Congress (we don't need all of them!) will realize how idiotic this is and block Trump's attempt to create a new government agency, which he can't do without congressional approval. Or can he? The limit to this idiocy knows no bounds.

However, given these men's volatility—which is replicated in many others in Trump's sphere—it does seem pretty likely that they'll all be in a huge fight by the time Trump takes office. I do think there are some major catfights on the horizon, if that gives you any comfort in these trying times. 

fundamentally this is what Trump administrations are all about: the guys. there will be new guys every week. they will startle you, you'll be astounded by them, and then as quickly as they appeared they will fade into an indistinguishable mass, leaves on the forest floor.

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— Peter (@notalawyer.bsky.social) November 12, 2024 at 4:39 PM

• Here's something that will NOT give you comfort in these trying times: Despite the hope last year would mark a global carbon dioxide emissions peak, humans are burning more fossil fuels this year than we did last year. The world is on track to put 0.8 percent more carbon into the atmosphere than in 2023. Though this is not surprising, it IS actually crazy behavior from humanity (and let me be clear, it's a tiny minority of humans leading the charge on this, though a substantially larger minority are eagerly/mindlessly participating in burning fossil fuels at a rate incompatible with the future of life on this planet). Good thing we will have strong climate leadership in the White House come January. NOT!!!! 

• One way people are attempting to #resist Elon Musk after he helped Trump get into office and will now seemingly play a key role in his administration? Leaving Twitter, AKA X, the social media site he bought and ruined. Bluesky may be the place to be now. (I am finding it much more pleasant.) 

In the week since the U.S. presidential election, Elon Musk has used X, the social media platform he owns, to reiterate his support for President-elect Donald Trump. Some of X’s users have decided they want to post elsewhere. Among the largest beneficiaries of that desire is Bluesky. nyti.ms/48JtYAt

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) November 12, 2024 at 10:46 PM

• Okay, here's some actual good news: The U.S. House voted down a bill that would've helped Trump censor and persecute his political opponents. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act had previously received bipartisan support, but after Trump was elected, some Democratic lawmakers (and The Intercept) raised alarm bells. The bill would give the U.S. Treasury Department complete authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deems are "terrorist supporting organizations," which Trump could use to enable the destruction of nonprofits that the future president doesn't politically align with. WHEW. 

• Finally, please watch this video of a little boy and his crow friend. ???????? Bye bye! 

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A post shared by Dogs | Puppies | Family (@yourpaws.global)

Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency whose mascot is a super-cute dog that muses things like “much wow,” has been surging in value since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week.

Leading dog-themed cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE), has been the biggest winner of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, alongside Bitcoin (BTC). The memecoin has surged roughly 140% since November 5, the election day.  DOGE Surges 15% In Under 24 Hours After Trump Announces D.O.G.E On Wednesday, DOGE saw its price surge by an additional 15% [...]

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to target "massive waste and fraud."

Cryptocurrency markets are trading higher as meme coins Pepe and Dogwifhat were listed for trading on Coinbase COIN. Notable Statistics: - IntoTheBlock data shows large transaction volume increased by 18.7% and daily active addresses growing by 7.8%. Transactions greater than $100,000 are up from…

Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head an effort, dubbed DOGE, to reduce wasteful federal spending. Here's what it's about.

Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency Dogecoin spiked by as much as 20% Wednesday after the Tesla mogul was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” — or DOGE. The meme coin, which features an image of a Shiba Inu breed dog and was created…

Bitcoin continued to make records as supportive inflation numbers raised the market's expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. What Happened: The world's largest cryptocurrency sailed above $93,000 during U.S. trading hours Wednesday, before a sharp correction into the…

Donald Trump has not even taken the oath of office yet and already has violated the Constitution for the united States of America. Yes, you read that correctly. Trump recently established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Heading this newly established department will be Vivek Ramaswamy, former ineligible presidential candidate, and Elon Musk, head of …

Elon Musk frequently references "Doge," an internet meme from the 2010s based on a photo of a Shiba Inu dog with Comic Sans text overlaid on top.

The viral video features young Vivek Ramaswamy, then an 18-year-old student at St Xavier High School, reflecting on his journey through high school.

The viral video features young Vivek Ramaswamy, then an 18-year-old student at St Xavier High School, reflecting on his journey through high school.

Are you not entertained?

President-elect Trump has tapped Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to lead what he's calling the "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE. Still, only Congress can create a new federal agency.

Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency whose mascot is a super-cute dog that muses things like "much wow," has been racing higher in value since Donald Trump won the presidential election last week. It got another bump after Trump named Tesla's Elon Musk as one of the heads of a new "Department of Government Efficiency," which is not a government agency but does have the acronym DOGE.

US President-elect Donald Trump selects Elon Musk to assist with government cost-cutting as part of his push to ‘dismantle’ bureaucracy upon his return to the White House next year

அமெரிக்க அதிபராக டொனால்டு டிரம்ப் வெற்றிபெற்றுள்ள நிலையில், அடுத்த சில வாரத்தில் பதவியேற்க உள்ளார். இந்த இடைப்பட்ட காலத்தில் தனது குடியரசு கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களில் யாருக்கு எந்த பொறுப்பு என்பதைத் தொடர்ந்து முடிவெடுத்து வரும் வேளையில், தேர்தலுக்கு முன்பில் இருந்தே அதிகம் பேசப்பட்ட DOGE அமைப்பின் தலைவராக எலான் மஸ்க்- விவேக் ராமசாமி ஆகியோரை நியமித்துள்ளார் டிரம்ப்.

அமெரிக்க அதிபராக டொனால்டு டிரம்ப் வெற்றி பெற்றதில் பலரும் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தாலும், அதிகாரத்திற்கு வருவதற்கு முன்பே அவருடைய செயல்பாடுகள் பலரையும் வியப்பில் ஆழ்த்தியுள்ளது. இதில் முக்கியமாக டிரம்ப் நேற்று வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கை. அமெரிக்க பொருளாதாரம் சுமார் 35 டிரில்லியன் டாலர் மதிப்பிலான கடனில் மூழ்கியிருப்பது பெரும் விமர்சனத்திற்கு உள்ளானது. இந்த இமாலய கடன் சுமையைக் களைய டொனால்டு

Vivek Ramaswamy has gained attention with his old high school graduation speech video after being appointed to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

Volkswagen Group (VW) and Tesla rival Rivian have launched a joint venture, with the German car giant increasing its investment in the partnership. The two companies say the deal is […]

The post VW and Rivian launch joint venture, Elon Musk to lead ‘DOGE’ appeared first on ShinyShiny.

Margex Adds Dogecoin

President-elect Trump is appointing Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an effort to cut government spending, eliminate regulations and restructure federal agencies. To give you an idea of how clownish the project already is, they're calling it the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Dogecoin is the name of a cryptocoin created as a joke to mock crytocurrency speculation. People bought it for the lulz and it's currently worth 39 cents.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Elon Musk will head a new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency ("DOGE").

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has named Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E). The initiative aims to streamline government operations and cut wasteful government spending.  Trump Appoints Elon Musk And Vivek Ramaswamy To Head D.O.G.E And Cut $2 Trillion In Government [...]

Dogecoin shot higher on Tuesday night, extending its postelection surge after President-elect Donald Trump formally announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which he referred to as "DOGE" in his statement. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, former Republican…

Investing.com-- Bitcoin fell from record highs on Wednesday, retreating as optimism over a Donald Trump presidency now appeared to be cooling, with focus turning to upcoming U.S. inflation data for more cues. Major meme token Dogecoin also retreated on Wednesday after a stellar run-up to…

In an X post, Musk said that all Department of Government Efficiency actions will be posted online for maximum transparency.

DOGE trades at premium on Upbit and Bithumb relative to Binance. - The price differential is still noticeably lower than the previous bull market peaks. Today is just that day as Koreans seem to be jumping into the DOGE market, driving prices higher and creating a noticeable premium on local…

President-elect Donald Trump, on Tuesday, greenlit the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, the acronym which almost sounds like a parody of the cryptocurrency known as Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE). As the department promises to restructure federal agencies and reduce…

Dogecoin has experienced a significant surge in value since last month, with impressive price gains continuing today as it trades… Continue reading Dogecoin at the Edge of a Major Breakout – Could $2 Be Possible with Bitcoin Dominance Holding Strong?

The post Dogecoin at the Edge of a Major Breakout – Could $2 Be Possible with Bitcoin Dominance Holding Strong? appeared first on ReadWrite.

Oktawia Nilsson
Nov 17, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000920v1-jlr.RA120000920
Research Articles

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is essential for the transportation of cholesterol between peripheral tissues and the liver. However, specific mutations in Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) are responsible for a late-onset systemic amyloidosis, the pathological accumulation of protein fibrils in tissues and organs. Carriers of these mutations do not exhibit increased cardiovascular disease risk despite displaying reduced levels of ApoA-I/ HDL-cholesterol. To explain this paradox, we show that the HDL particle profile of patients carrying either L75P or L174S ApoA-I amyloidogenic variants a higher relative abundance of the 8.4 nm vs 9.6 nm particles, and that serum from patients, as well as reconstituted 8.4 and 9.6 nm HDL particles (rHDL), possess increased capacity to catalyze cholesterol efflux from macrophages. Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism and hydrogen-deuterium exchange revealed that the variants in 8.4 nm rHDL have altered secondary structure composition and display a more flexible binding to lipids compared to their native counterpart. The reduced HDL-cholesterol levels of patients carrying ApoA-I amyloidogenic variants are thus balanced by higher proportion of small, dense HDL particles and better cholesterol efflux due to altered, region-specific protein structure dynamics.

Evdokia Menelaou
Aug 8, 2012; 32:10925-10939
BehavioralSystemsCognitive

Elon Musk, alongside Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the 'Department of Government Efficiency' in the Donald Trump-led US government.

डोनाल्ड ट्रंप ने ऐतिहासिक जीत के बाद चुनाव के दौरान दिए 'सेव अमेरिका' के नारे में जमीन पर उतारने की तैयारी शुरू कर दी है. लगातार वह बाइडेन सरकार (Biden Government) पर फिजूलखर्ची के आरोप लगाते चले आ रहे थे. ट्रंप ने बाइडेन सरकार की कई नीतियों की आलोचना भी की थी. साथ ही अवैध इमीग्रेशन के विरोध में सख्त कदम उठाने का भी लोगों से वादा किया है. अब सरकार ने बनने वाली और डोनाल्ड ट्रंप सरकार गठन की प्रक्रिया पूरी कर रहे हैं. उन्होंने सबसे पहले यह बता दिया है कि उनकी सरकार के काम करने का थीम क्या होगा. 

1. Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE to clean up US bureaucracy: Trump  India Today
2. Trump’s 'Manhattan Project' of government reform: Musk and Ramaswamy to lead efficiency crusade  The Times of India
3. Democrat Senator's 'efficient' dig at Elon Musk-Vivek Ramaswamy heading DOGE  India Today
4. Donald Trump picks Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  The Hindu
5. A dope for DOGE (and Dogecoin): Trump taps Musk in efficiency team, crypto fans rejoice  The Economic Times

Organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 and OATP1B3 are important hepatic transporters. We previously identified OATP1B3 being critically implicated in the disposition of abiraterone. We aimed to further investigate the effects of abiraterone on the activities of OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 utilizing a validated endogenous biomarker coproporphyrin I (CP-I). We used OATP1B-transfected cells to characterize the inhibitory potential of abiraterone against OATP1B-mediated uptake of CP-I. Inhibition constant (K_i) was incorporated into our physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to simulate the systemic exposures of CP-I among cancer populations receiving either our model-informed 500 mg or clinically approved 1000 mg abiraterone acetate (AA) dosage. Simulated data were compared with clinical CP-I concentrations determined among our nine metastatic prostate cancer patients receiving 500 mg AA treatment. Abiraterone inhibited OATP1B3-mediated, but not OATP1B1-mediated, uptake of CP-I in vitro, with an estimated K_i of 3.93 μM. Baseline CP-I concentrations were simulated to be 0.81 ± 0.26 ng/ml and determined to be 0.72 ± 0.16 ng/ml among metastatic prostate cancer patients, both of which were higher than those observed for healthy subjects. PBPK simulations revealed an absence of OATP1B3-mediated interaction between abiraterone and CP-I. Our clinical observations confirmed that CP-I concentrations remained comparable to baseline levels up to 12 weeks post 500 mg AA treatment. Using CP-I as an endogenous biomarker, we identified the inhibition of abiraterone on OATP1B3 but not OATP1B1 in vitro, which was predicted and observed to be clinically insignificant. We concluded that the interaction risk between AA and substrates of OATP1Bs is low.

Cannabinoid and opioid receptor activities can be modulated by a variety of post-translational mechanisms including the formation of interacting complexes. This study examines the involvement of endogenous and exogenous chaperones in modulating the abundance and activity of cannabinoid CB₁ receptor (CB₁R), opioid receptor (DOR), and CB₁R-DOR interacting complexes. Focusing on endogenous protein chaperones, namely receptor transporter proteins (RTPs), we examined relative mRNA expression in the mouse spinal cord and found RTP4 to be expressed at higher levels compared with other RTPs. Next, we assessed the effect of RTP4 on receptor abundance by manipulating RTP4 expression in cell lines. Overexpression of RTP4 causes an increase and knock-down causes a decrease in the levels of CB₁R, DOR, and CB₁R-DOR interacting complexes; this is accompanied by parallel changes in signaling. The ability of small molecule lipophilic ligands to function as exogenous chaperones was examined using receptor-selective antagonists. Long-term treatment leads to increases in receptor abundance and activity with no changes in mRNA supporting a role as pharmacological chaperones. Finally, the effect of cannabidiol (CBD), a small molecule ligand and a major active component of cannabis, on receptor abundance and activity in mice was examined. We find that CBD administration leads to increases in receptor abundance and activity in mouse spinal cord. Together, these results highlight a role for chaperones (proteins and small molecules) in modulating levels and activity of CB₁R, DOR, and their interacting complexes potentially through mechanisms including receptor maturation and trafficking.

1. Vivek Ramaswamy’s special message to Elon Musk after Donald Trump's 'DOGE' announcement  Hindustan Times
2. Trump’s 'Manhattan Project' of government reform: Musk and Ramaswamy to lead efficiency crusade  The Times of India
3. Donald Trump picks Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  The Hindu
4. Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE to clean up US bureaucracy: Trump  India Today
5. Vivek Ramaswamy trends on Google after Trump nominates him to lead efficiency department  The Indian Express

Elon Musk, alongside Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the 'Department of Government Efficiency' in the Donald Trump-led US government.