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The production and consumption of online news are usually under a bursty temporal pattern. However, little is known about the psychological and cognitive impacts of such bursty consumption of online news. The study employs a 2 (filled-interval length) × 2 (empty-interval length) × 2 (empty-interval burstiness) mixed design experiment to examine how temporal characteristics in online news consumption influence audiences’ cognition and retention. Specifically, three temporal characteristics in online news consumption—filled-interval length, empty-interval length, and empty-interval burstiness—are controlled in the experiment. We instructed fifty-two participants to read a sequence of health-related news posts under various temporal settings while tracking their eye movements. The results showed that (1) empty-interval length increased retention, (2) empty-interval burstiness increased retention but did not have a main effect on cognitive load, and (3) filled-interval length, empty-interval length, and burstiness jointly influence cognitive overload and retention level. The study highlights the holistic perspective in considering the information exposure effect, thus revealing the complex relationship between temporal information characteristics and cognitive reactions and offering empirical suggestions to improve information system design.

Bacterial infection is one known etiology of prostatic inflammation. Prostatic inflammation is associated with prostatic collagen accumulation and both are linked to progressive lower urinary tract symptoms in men. We characterized a model of prostatic inflammation using transurethral instillations of Escherichia coli UTI89 in C57BL/6J male mice with the goal of determining the optimal instillation conditions, understanding the impact of instillation conditions on urinary physiology, and identifying ideal prostatic lobes and collagen 1a1 prostatic cell types for further analysis. The smallest instillation volume tested (50 µL) distributed exclusively to the bladder, 100- and 200-µL volumes distributed to the bladder and prostate, and a 500-µL volume distributed to the bladder, prostate, and ureter. A threshold optical density of 0.4 E. coli UTI89 in the instillation fluid was necessary for significant ( P < 0.05) prostate colonization. E. coli UTI89 infection resulted in a low frequency, high volume spontaneous voiding pattern. This phenotype was due to exposure to E. coli UTI89, not catheterization alone, and was minimally altered by a 50-µL increase in instillation volume and doubling of E. coli concentration. Prostate inflammation was isolated to the dorsal prostate and was accompanied by increased collagen density. This was partnered with increased density of protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C+, procollagen type I-α1+ copositive cells and decreased density of α2-smooth muscle actin+, procollagen type I-α1+ copositive cells. Overall, we determined that this model is effective in altering urinary phenotype and producing prostatic inflammation and collagen accumulation in mice.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) control numerous biological processes, including epigenetic regulation, gene expression, proliferation and metabolism. However, the detailed biological mechanisms by which lncRNAs regulate cellular processes are still poorly understood. We identified a set of growth regulator non-coding RNAs based on data mining of CRISPR/Cas9 screens and high-throughput sequencing studies from patient normal and tumor cells. We hypothesized that growth regulator lncRNAs play a role in cancer development by recruiting effector proteins to regulate gene expression. In our screen, the Growth Regulator Antisense 1 RNA (GRAS1) was identified as a key factor controlling growth in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Loss of GRAS1 resulted in altered expression of genes involved in DNA repair, cell cycle progression, and p53 and NF-ΚB signaling pathways. Extensive DNA damage occurred within 48 hours after GRAS1 knockdown, with a significant increase in the number of γH2AX loci visualized by immunofluorescence assay. We used RNA antisense purification combined with mass spectrometry to identify the NF-ΚB activating protein (NKAP) as the top directly interacting partner of GRAS1 lncRNA. NKAP stability decreased after GRAS1 knockdown, and this phenotype could be reversed with proteasome inhibition. Further, RelA levels were decreased in GRAS1 knockdown cells. We found that GRAS1 lncRNA binds and stabilizes NKAP to enable survival and protect against DNA damage in lung cancer cells. Citation Format: Tong Su, Bobby Kong, Jonathan Zhu, Colleen A. McHugh. GRAS1 long non-coding RNA binds and stabilizes NF-kB activating protein to protect lung cancer cells from DNA damage. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 3745.

The public agenda is an ecosystem in which public issues interact and compete to gain public attention. Whether this ecosystem is primarily competitive or cooperative is an unsettled question in the literature on agenda-setting. This study employs an ecological approach to explicate interissue relationships. It quantifies the nature and evolution of the issue ecosystem and examines the roles of the value orientations of issues and of individuals’ education levels and political partisanship in interissue relationships. The study compiled and analyzed the Gallup Most Important Problem polls in the United States from 1958 to 2020. The findings indicate that the issue ecosystem of the American public is essentially competitive and that the balance of competition and cooperation has remained unchanged over time. The interaction between public issues involving materialistic values was more likely to be competitive and the interaction between issues involving postmaterialistic values was more likely to be cooperative.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in controlling regulatory networks critical for gene expression, cellular growth, and development. Altered expression of lncRNAs are associated with tumor progression in multiple types of human cancers, but the mechanisms by which lncRNAs may control growth and proliferation in cancer cells remain unknown in most cases. Development of interventions targeting non-coding RNA regulation of cell growth would open new avenues for cancer treatment. To identify growth regulatory pathways controlled by non-coding RNAs, we used proteomics and genomics tools to study the effect of changes in lncRNA expression levels in human cancer cell lines. First, we identified five growth regulator lncRNAs based on data mining of CRISPR/Cas9 screens and high throughput sequencing studies from patient tumor and normal cells. These lncRNAs have been associated with progression and metastasis in breast, lung and colon cancers. We hypothesized that growth regulator lncRNAs play a role in cancer development by recruiting effector proteins to regulate gene expression. Next, we evaluated the cellular growth phenotype for each lncRNA in overexpression and knockdown strains using multiple established cancer cell lines. We analyzed cellular transcriptome changes after lncRNA perturbation using high-throughput RNA sequencing. Finally, RNA-protein interactions for each growth regulator lncRNA were identified using an RNA hybridization capture method paired with mass spectrometry that enables purification of direct and specific endogenous RNA-binding proteins. Using this combination of transcriptomics and proteomics data, we discovered that perturbation of growth regulator lncRNAs results in dysregulation of growth signaling pathways and increased expression of p53. We are currently identifying the sequence and structure determinants of RNA-protein complex formation to uncover the mechanisms of action of lncRNAs in controlling cancer cell growth. Citation Format: Tong Su, Bobby Kong, Calvin Huang, Jonathan Zhu, Colleen McHugh. Long non-coding RNA control of cancer cell growth [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1533.

This study describes a class of cellulosic nanomaterials, cellulosic nano whiskers (CNWs), and demonstrates scaled-up production with acid recovery using less expensive equipment made of common stainless steel rather than glass-lined steel. CNWs produced using concentrated maleic acid (MA) hydrolysis followed by mechanical fibrillation have morphology similar to MA-produced cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and sulfuric-acid-produced CNCs (S-CNCs) but differ in crystallinity. Applications of CNWs as a substitute for CNCs for which morphology and surface charge, rather than crystallinity, are the pertinent characteristics are presented. The tested CNW suspensions have a wider viscosity range of 0.001 to 1000 Pa.s over a variety of shear rates of 0.01 to 1000 1/s compared to S-CNCs of 0.001 to 0.1 Pa.s and are better suited for applications such as rheology modification and 3D printing. This study proposes CNWs as a less expensive and more sustainable replacement for CNCs in applications that do not require crystalline properties.

The INT0116 trial was a milestone study and laid the foundation for the adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) associated to concurrent chemotherapy (CT) for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC) after gastrectomy. However, it is still controversial whether adding RT to CT could further benefit D2-dissected GC patients. The ARTIST trial indicated that the addition of RT to CT did not have a positive impact on disease-free survival (DFS). Nevertheless, in a subgroup of 396 patients with positive pathological lymph nodes, combined treatment with RT was superior to CT alone. A similar randomized Chinese trial confirmed the superiority of adding RT to CT in terms of DFS for patients with D2 lymphadenectomy. However, several previous randomized studies provided inconsistent results with the benefits of combined treatment of RT and CT. The inconsistent results of several studies may be due to the differences between tumor epidemiology, treatment policies, and treatment outcomes. During the past decade, major progress in accurate target delineation utilizing RT technology has been observed. However, even though the use of adjuvant RT doubled after the INT-0116 trial results became public, the fraction of patients receiving adjuvant RT was still low according to the SEER database. The low rate of adjuvant RT can partially be explained by concern over toxicity while undergoing RT. Several studies have also defined the specific location of locoregional recurrence for postoperative RT in GC, but these studies are still limited. A number of retrospective studies demonstrated that the most prevalent nodal recurrence was outside the D2 dissection field. In order to overcome the restricted nature of a retrospective study and provide more individual radiation field determination, additional large-scale prospective multicenter studies are required to evaluate the optimal RT target.

In the study of fake news spreading, it is essential to know how different types of spreaders differ in terms of their characteristics, interconnections, and cascading flow. The fake news graph analyzer (FNGA) is an open-source software that provides the required computations for such extended analyses on large graphs. Moreover, FNGA generates data for graph visualizations. Also, FNGA is designed to consider the spreading of both fake and true news simultaneously in the graph, leading to a variety of confrontational patterns. FNGA facilitates future research on fake news and the diffusion of any contagion within a graph of entities.

A novel approach for biorefining is proposed and the proof of concept is accomplished. Catalytic oxygen atom transfer from non-oxidant lignin to cellulose or hemicellulose by organic chemicals is reported. As expected, the catalytic reaction is a novel method for the selective and quantitative hydrolytic depolymerization of lignocelluloses into liquid products in a one-pot reaction. Lignin is converted quantitatively into small molecular aromatics, simultaneously, cellulose and hemicellulose are converted quantitatively into small organic acids with lactic acid up to 50%. Small molecular aromatics can be converted into diesel blend via one-step methylation. Neither black tar formation nor gasification is observed in the catalytic oxygen atom transfer reactions, conversion of biomass to products is quantitative.

Chiral bis(pyridyl)ethanediols and their corresponding dioxolanes have reversed optical rotation. The observed property of these chemicals could consummate the CP-light destruction hypothesis for the appearance of pure chiral molecules for the evolution of chirality. Because bis(aryl)ethanediols are photolabile protecting groups, the diols and their corresponding dioxolanes might be potentially very small molecular switches.Read Complete Article at ijSciences: V52016061051 AND DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18483/ijSci.1051

Islet neogenesis-associated protein (INGAP) was discovered in the partially duct-obstructed hamster pancreas as a factor inducing formation of new duct-associated islets. A bioactive portion of INGAP, INGAP104–118peptide (INGAP-P), has been shown to have neogenic and insulin-potentiating activity in numerous studies, including recent phase 2 clinical trials that demonstrated improved glucose homeostasis in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Aiming to improve INGAP-P efficacy and to understand its mechanism of action, we cloned the full-length protein (rINGAP) and compared the signaling events induced by the protein and the peptide in RIN-m5F cells that respond to INGAP with an increase in proliferation. Here, we show that, although both rINGAP and INGAP-P signal via the Ras/Raf/ERK pathway, rINGAP is at least 100 times more efficient on a molar basis than INGAP-P. For either ligand, ERK1/2 activation appears to be pertussis toxin sensitive, suggesting involvement of a G protein-coupled receptor(s). However, there are clear differences between the peptide and the protein in interactions with the cell surface and in the downstream signaling. We demonstrate that fluorescent-labeled rINGAP is characterized by clustering on the membrane and by slow internalization (≤5 h), whereas INGAP-P does not cluster and is internalized within minutes. Signaling by rINGAP appears to involve Src, in contrast to INGAP-P, which appears to activate Akt in addition to the Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 pathway. Thus our data suggest that interactions of INGAP with the cell surface are important to consider for further development of INGAP as a pharmacotherapy for diabetes.

To evaluate the quality of public discussion about social movements on Twitter and to understand the structural features and evolution of longitudinal discussion networks, we analyze tweets about the Occupy Wall Street movement posted over the course of 16 days by investigating the relationship between inequality, emotion, and the stability of online discussion. The results reveal that (1) the discussion is highly unequal for both initiating discussions and receiving conversations; (2) the stability of the discussion is much higher for receivers than for initiators; (3) the inequality of online discussions moderates the stability of online discussions; and (4) on an individual level, there is no significant relationship between emotion and political discussion. The implications help evaluate the quality of public discussion, and to understand the relationship between online discussion and social movements.