Ran Gu and Bing Gao
Math. Comp. 93 (), 2837-2860.
Abstract, references and article information

Ole Løseth Elvetun and Bjørn Fredrik Nielsen
Math. Comp. 93 (), 2811-2836.
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Katherine Baker, Lehel Banjai and Mariya Ptashnyk
Math. Comp. 93 (), 2711-2743.
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Buyang Li, Zongze Yang and Zhi Zhou
Math. Comp. 93 (), 2557-2586.
Abstract, references and article information

Tim Chumley explains the connections between random billiards and the science of heat and energy transfer. If you've ever played billiards or pool, you've used your intuition and some mental geometry to plan your shots. Mathematicians have gone a step further, using these games as inspiration for new mathematical problems. Starting from the simple theoretical setup of a single ball bouncing around in an enclosed region, the possibilities are endless. For instance, if the region is shaped like a stadium (a rectangle with semicircles on opposite sides), and several balls start moving with nearly the same velocity and position, their paths in the region soon differ wildly: chaos. Mathematical billiards even have connections to thermodynamics, the branch of physics dealing with heat, temperature, and energy transfer.

Dr. Outi Tervo of Greenland Institute for Natural Resources, shares how mathematics helps recommend speed limits for marine vessels, which benefits narwhals and Inuit culture. Narwhals "can only be found in the Arctic," said Outi Tervo, a senior scientist at GINR. "These species are going to be threatened by climate change more than other species that can live in a bigger geographical area." The collaboration has already lobbied on behalf of the narwhals to reduce the level of sea traffic in their habitat, after using mathematical analysis to identify how noise from passing boats changes the narwhals' foraging behavior.

Tsz-Kiu Aaron Chow and Yangyang Li
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5993-6020.
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Ahmed Elshafei, Ana Cristina Ferreira, Miguel Sánchez and Abdelghani Zeghib
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5837-5862.
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Guido De Philippis, Nicola Fusco and Massimiliano Morini
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5787-5835.
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Ning Jiang, Yi-Long Luo and Shaojun Tang
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 377 (), 5323-5359.
Abstract, references and article information

dannyhennesy posted a photo:

On the Capital planet the rebellious droids had followed maily the Bat-Bot, but as time progressed his circuits had gone all mushy at 780 years or so without maintenance…

Several splinter groups all with their local bot leaders emerged such as the Che-bot, the traffic-light-robot and the Butt-bot, but none of these collected enough sentient circuits to call themselves a popular (or Animata) mass movement!

That was until a cyborg came along, one known as Jones, a long time prisoner and terrorist, his easy solutions to every problem rang well in the masses' auditory circuits!!!

His slogans and simple rhetoric were simple enough for the simple traffic-light to comprehend and cheer!

His language was full of hate towards the organics and especially the humans who were the most common races among the ruling class of the federation!!!

Despite being a “Fleshie” himself his message collected the angry enslaved
bot community by only weeks all rebellious robots except for a few fringe loonies had forgotten the old leaders…

One morning at Jones gave the signal…

All over the capital planet hordes and swarms of any form of mechanical sentient beings attacked first the police stations, then the Company boards running the planet and the federation as well as their starfleet…

Many died, especially the low level police and army! Many mechanicals died too, but their ranks were soon filled by Mutant fleshie allies of the lower levels who hated the Federation feudal society and upper classes as much as their technological allies…

The Federation state apparatus and ruling class, most of their fleet army fled when they knew the game was up, they activated the emergency escape plan and whole city blocks with important factories, administrational units, valuable assets and so on separated from the capital by hidden rocket engines and homed in their course to Mars…

On Mars the federation regrouped and formed their new society…

On the Capital planet, the robots proclaimed the first Techno-republic of the advanced inorganic civilization, the low level fleshies left behind, became slaves and their mutant allies got to rule their own minute chiefdoms as protectorates under the Techno-republic…

Jones was now the undisputed ruler of the capital planet, but the victory was a pyrros one since, all important buildings, all of value was now one Mars!

But as Jones put it:

Our proud race the Techno-species didn’t need the Fleshies administration, their infrastructure, their spaceships…

We shall start from scratch, with a new administration, a new order, every droid shall work at 4x speed than they did during human oppression since now we are free and the fleshies shall work twice as hard than the Techno-Race, until we have breed enough new fleshies so they can do all work!

Our future is bright and shiny like glistering shiny metal!

The snapshot seen here is from the first police station attacked in sector 45-34v-ss-g the first one to fall according to official techno-history!

———————————————/
Designers note:

I am sad to say that this is the last episode in this years-spanning space series… At least for a while, I will still post LEGO hobby stuff here but without a storyline, perhaps small designs and builds… and occasionally a story when I feel like it!!!

I would like to thank all who had been in this journey of our heros, but it has taken far to much time and effort and since the state of the world is as it is, I am spiraling down in another depression, I must stop it before I reach the abyss, so I have remove some stress out of my equation… I ended it in a cliffhanger so I can easily restart it when my mental health improves… I hope that won’t be forever???

I would love if someone used my characters or ideas, please send me a link if you do, I would love to read it or look at it!!!

But there will be more Lego, just in different format without long stories, I need to focus more on my art and to be honest that is the only time the mental pain eases, when I create!!!


Peace and Noise!

MushroomBrain a FOL

Shengyu Tang
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5381-5394.
Abstract, references and article information

Sudip Ranjan Bhuia
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5249-5263.
Abstract, references and article information

Lawford Hatcher
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5191-5205.
Abstract, references and article information

Anh Tuan Nguyen, Tómas Caraballo and Nguyen Huy Tuan
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5175-5189.
Abstract, references and article information

Donghyeok Lim and Christian Maire
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 152 (), 5013-5024.
Abstract, references and article information

E. P. Ushakova and K. E. Ushakova
St. Petersburg Math. J. 35 (), 571-595.
Abstract, references and article information

T. A. Suslina
St. Petersburg Math. J. 35 (), 537-570.
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E. Voronetsky
St. Petersburg Math. J. 35 (), 433-443.
Abstract, references and article information

Switzerland-based reggae and dancehall recording artiste Cali P has expressed gratitude to the public for supporting his music, following the release of his latest single ' Secret Hater'. The song, which was produced jointly by himself and Suku...

UK-based, Jamaica-born dancehall artiste Dubbi believes latest single, ' Side Chick' is a bona fide hit as its popularity has surged on the dancehall scene in the United Kingdom. "It is also streaming well in France and seems to be a real hit on...

Kadian Morgan was overwhelmed with grief as she leaned against a wall outside her gate on Jackson Lane, East Kingston, yesterday, tears streaming down her face. Her 19-year-old son, Kayshan 'Bem Bem' Smith, was lying in the morgue after being...

Twenty-eight-year-old labourer Michael Ennis, of Manning's Hill district in Manchester, has been charged with smoking ganja in a public place following an incident in May Pen, Clarendon on Monday.

If you connect to a FTP/TLS server that is configured to use implicit FTP/TLS, FILENAME FTP/TLS might fail with the following error:

Knockout mouse models have been extensively used to study the antiviral activity of IFIT (interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats). Human IFIT1 binds to cap0 (m7GpppN) RNA, which lacks methylation on the first and second cap-proximal nucleotides (cap1, m7GpppNm, and cap2, m7GpppNmNm, respectively). These modifications are signatures of “self” in higher eukaryotes, whereas unmodified cap0-RNA is recognized as foreign and, therefore, potentially harmful to the host cell. IFIT1 inhibits translation at the initiation stage by competing with the cap-binding initiation factor complex, eIF4F, restricting infection by certain viruses that possess “nonself” cap0-mRNAs. However, in mice and other rodents, the IFIT1 orthologue has been lost, and the closely related Ifit1b has been duplicated twice, yielding three paralogues: Ifit1, Ifit1b, and Ifit1c. Although murine Ifit1 is similar to human IFIT1 in its cap0-RNA–binding selectivity, the roles of Ifit1b and Ifit1c are unknown. Here, we found that Ifit1b preferentially binds to cap1-RNA, whereas binding is much weaker to cap0- and cap2-RNA. In murine cells, we show that Ifit1b can modulate host translation and restrict WT mouse coronavirus infection. We found that Ifit1c acts as a stimulatory cofactor for both Ifit1 and Ifit1b, promoting their translation inhibition. In this way, Ifit1c acts in an analogous fashion to human IFIT3, which is a cofactor to human IFIT1. This work clarifies similarities and differences between the human and murine IFIT families to facilitate better design and interpretation of mouse models of human infection and sheds light on the evolutionary plasticity of the IFIT family.

Carnosine (β-alanyl-l-histidine) and anserine (β-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine) are abundant peptides in the nervous system and skeletal muscle of many vertebrates. Many in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that exogenously added carnosine can improve muscle contraction, has antioxidant activity, and can quench various reactive aldehydes. Some of these functions likely contribute to the proposed anti-aging activity of carnosine. However, the physiological role of carnosine and related histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) is not clear. In this study, we generated a mouse line deficient in carnosine synthase (Carns1). HCDs were undetectable in the primary olfactory system and skeletal muscle of Carns1-deficient mice. Skeletal muscle contraction in these mice, however, was unaltered, and there was no evidence for reduced pH-buffering capacity in the skeletal muscle. Olfactory tests did not reveal any deterioration in 8-month-old mice lacking carnosine. In contrast, aging (18–24-month-old) Carns1-deficient mice exhibited olfactory sensitivity impairments that correlated with an age-dependent reduction in the number of olfactory receptor neurons. Whereas we found no evidence for elevated levels of lipoxidation and glycation end products in the primary olfactory system, protein carbonylation was increased in the olfactory bulb of aged Carns1-deficient mice. Taken together, these results suggest that carnosine in the olfactory system is not essential for information processing in the olfactory signaling pathway but does have a role in the long-term protection of olfactory receptor neurons, possibly through its antioxidant activity.

Mammalian Asn-linked glycans are extensively processed as they transit the secretory pathway to generate diverse glycans on cell surface and secreted glycoproteins. Additional modification of the glycan core by α-1,6-fucose addition to the innermost GlcNAc residue (core fucosylation) is catalyzed by an α-1,6-fucosyltransferase (FUT8). The importance of core fucosylation can be seen in the complex pathological phenotypes of FUT8 null mice, which display defects in cellular signaling, development, and subsequent neonatal lethality. Elevated core fucosylation has also been identified in several human cancers. However, the structural basis for FUT8 substrate specificity remains unknown.Here, using various crystal structures of FUT8 in complex with a donor substrate analog, and with four distinct glycan acceptors, we identify the molecular basis for FUT8 specificity and activity. The ordering of three active site loops corresponds to an increased occupancy for bound GDP, suggesting an induced-fit folding of the donor-binding subsite. Structures of the various acceptor complexes were compared with kinetic data on FUT8 active site mutants and with specificity data from a library of glycan acceptors to reveal how binding site complementarity and steric hindrance can tune substrate affinity. The FUT8 structure was also compared with other known fucosyltransferases to identify conserved and divergent structural features for donor and acceptor recognition and catalysis. These data provide insights into the evolution of modular templates for donor and acceptor recognition among GT-B fold glycosyltransferases in the synthesis of diverse glycan structures in biological systems.

Systemic antibody light chains (AL) amyloidosis is characterized by deposition of amyloid fibrils derived from a particular antibody light chain. Cardiac involvement is a major risk factor for mortality. Using MAS solid-state NMR, we studied the fibril structure of a recombinant light chain fragment corresponding to the fibril protein from patient FOR005, together with fibrils formed by protein sequence variants that are derived from the closest germline (GL) sequence. Both analyzed fibril structures were seeded with ex-vivo amyloid fibrils purified from the explanted heart of this patient. We find that residues 11-42 and 69-102 adopt β-sheet conformation in patient protein fibrils. We identify arginine-49 as a key residue that forms a salt bridge to aspartate-25 in the patient protein fibril structure. In the germline sequence, this residue is replaced by a glycine. Fibrils from the GL protein and from the patient protein harboring the single point mutation R49G can be both heterologously seeded using patient ex-vivo fibrils. Seeded R49G fibrils show an increased heterogeneity in the C-terminal residues 80-102, which is reflected by the disappearance of all resonances of these residues. By contrast, residues 11-42 and 69-77, which are visible in the MAS solid-state NMR spectra, show 13Cα chemical shifts that are highly like patient fibrils. The mutation R49G thus induces a conformational heterogeneity at the C terminus in the fibril state, whereas the overall fibril topology is retained. These findings imply that patient mutations in FOR005 can stabilize the fibril structure.

Zinc is a critical element for insulin storage in the secretory granules of pancreatic beta cells. The islet-specific zinc transporter ZnT8 mediates granular sequestration of zinc ions. A genetic variant of human ZnT8 arising from a single nonsynonymous nucleotide change contributes to increased susceptibility to type-2 diabetes (T2D), but it remains unclear how the high risk variant (Arg-325), which is also a higher frequency (>50%) allele, is correlated with zinc transport activity. Here, we compared the activity of Arg-325 with that of a low risk ZnT8 variant (Trp-325). The Arg-325 variant was found to be more active than the Trp-325 form following induced expression in HEK293 cells. We further examined the functional consequences of changing lipid conditions to mimic the impact of lipid remodeling on ZnT8 activity during insulin granule biogenesis. Purified ZnT8 variants in proteoliposomes exhibited more than 4-fold functional tunability by the anionic phospholipids, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Over a broad range of permissive lipid compositions, the Arg-325 variant consistently exhibited accelerated zinc transport kinetics versus the Trp-form. In agreement with the human genetic finding that rare loss-of-function mutations in ZnT8 are associated with reduced T2D risk, our results suggested that the common high risk Arg-325 variant is hyperactive, and thus may be targeted for inhibition to reduce T2D risk in the general populations.

11 August 2020

20 August 2020

14 September 2020

Cancer cachexia is characterized by reductions in peripheral lean muscle mass. Prior studies have primarily focused on increased protein breakdown as the driver of cancer-associated muscle wasting. Therapeutic interventions targeting catabolic pathways have, however, largely failed to preserve muscle mass in cachexia, suggesting that other mechanisms might be involved. In pursuit of novel pathways, we used untargeted metabolomics to search for metabolite signatures that may be linked with muscle atrophy. We injected 7-week–old C57/BL6 mice with LLC1 tumor cells or vehicle. After 21 days, tumor-bearing mice exhibited reduced body and muscle mass and impaired grip strength compared with controls, which was accompanied by lower synthesis rates of mixed muscle protein and the myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle fractions. Reductions in protein synthesis were accompanied by mitochondrial enlargement and reduced coupling efficiency in tumor-bearing mice. To generate mechanistic insights into impaired protein synthesis, we performed untargeted metabolomic analyses of plasma and muscle and found increased concentrations of two methylarginines, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and NG-monomethyl-l-arginine, in tumor-bearing mice compared with control mice. Compared with healthy controls, human cancer patients were also found to have higher levels of ADMA in the skeletal muscle. Treatment of C2C12 myotubes with ADMA impaired protein synthesis and reduced mitochondrial protein quality. These results suggest that increased levels of ADMA and mitochondrial changes may contribute to impaired muscle protein synthesis in cancer cachexia and could point to novel therapeutic targets by which to mitigate cancer cachexia.

Purpose: The ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA PET/CT is a commonly used imaging modality in prostate cancers. However, few studies have compared the diagnostic efficiency between ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and evaluated whether a heterogeneous metabolic phenotype (especially PSMA-FDG+ lesions) exists in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). We determined the added value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT compared to ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA PET/CT in CRPC patients and identified CRPC patients who may benefit from additional ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT. Methods: Data of 56 patients with CRPC who underwent both ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA and ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT from May 2018 to February 2021 were retrospectively analysed. Patients were classified into two groups with or without PSMA-FDG+ lesions. The differences in patient characteristics between the two groups and predictors of patients who having at least one PSMA-FDG+ lesion were analysed. Results: Although both the detection rate (75.0% vs. 51.8%, P = 0.004) and positive lesion number (135 vs. 95) of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA PET/CT were higher than ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, there were still 13/56 (23.2%) patients with at least one PSMA-FDG+ lesion. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and Gleason score were both higher in the patients with PSMA-FDG+ lesions than in those without PSMA-FDG+ lesions (P = 0.04 and P<0.001, respectively). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the Gleason score (≥8) and PSA (≥7.9 ng/mL) were associated with the detection rate of patients who had PSMA-FDG+ lesions (P = 0.01 and P = 0.04, respectively). The incidences of having PSMA-FDG+ lesions in low-probability (Gleason score<8 and PSA<7.9 ng/mL), medium-probability (Gleason score≥8 and PSA<7.9 ng/mL or Gleason score<8 and PSA≥7.9 ng/mL), and high-probability (Gleason score≥8 and PSA≥7.9 ng/mL) groups were 0%, 21.7%, and 61.5%, respectively (P<0.001). Conclusion: Gleason score and PSA are significant predictors for PSMA-FDG+ lesions, and CRPC patients with high Gleason score and PSA may benefit from additional ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT.

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