The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a slow-moving tropical mode that produces a planetary-scale envelope of convective storms. By exciting Rossby waves, the MJO creates teleconnections with far-reaching impacts on extratropical circulation and weather. Although recent studies have investigated the response of the MJO to anthropogenic warming, not much is known about potential changes in its teleconnections. Here, we show that the MJO teleconnection pattern in boreal winter will likely extend further eastward over the North Pacific. This is primarily due to an eastward shift in the exit region of the subtropical jet, to which the teleconnection pattern is anchored, and assisted by an eastward extension of the MJO itself. The eastward-extended teleconnection enables the MJO to have a greater impact downstream on the Northeast Pacific and North American west coast. Over California specifically, the multi-model mean projects a 54% increase in MJO-induced precipitation variability by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario.

Based on sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) from satellite altimeter and microwave radiometer datasets, this study investigates atmospheric responses to oceanic eddies in four subdomains of the North Pacific Ocean with strongest eddy activity: Kuroshio Extension (KE), Subtropical Front (SF), California Coastal Current (CC) and Aleutian Islands (AI). Analyses show that anticyclonic eddies cause sea surface temperature, surface wind speed and precipitation rate to increase in all four subdomains, and vice versa. Through a further examination of the regional dependence of atmospheric responses to oceanic eddies, it is found that the strongest and the weakest surface wind speed responses (in winter and summer) are observed in the KE and AI region, respectively. For precipitation rate, seasonal variation of the atmospheric responses to oceanic eddies is strongest in winter and weakest in summer in the KE, CC and AI regions, but stronger in summer in the SF area. The reasons for such regional dependence and seasonality are the differences in the strength of SST anomalies, the vertical kinetic energy flux and atmospheric instability in the four subdomains.

AbstractBackgroundOptimal nutrition for lactating mothers is importance for mother and infants’ health and well-being. We determined the nutrient intake and dietary changes during the first 3-month of lactation, and its potential effect on health and disease risk.MethodPersonal interviews were conducted to collect a 24h diet recall questionnaire from 199 healthy lactating women in the postpartum days 2, 7, 30, 90 and healthy 58 non-pregnant women served as the controls.ResultsWe found in lactating women (1) the mean daily energy and carbohydrate intake was lower than that of the Chinese Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI, 2600 Kcal, 357.5 ~ 422.5g) by 11% ~ 17% and 33% ~ 49%, respectively; (2) the fat intake increased from 3% to 13%, which was 9 ~ 77% higher than the RNI (57 ~ 86.7g); (3) the protein intake exceeded the RNI of 85g by 32 ~ 53%; (4) the total calories consumed from carbohydrate (39%-44%), fat (34% ~ 42%) and protein (20%-23%) failed to meet Chinese RNI (5) the intake of vitamin C, B1, folate, zinc, dietary fiber, and calcium was 5% ~ 73% lower than the RNI while vitamin B2, B3, E, iron and selenium intake was 20% to 3 times higher than the RNI. Nutrient intake in the control group was lower for all nutrients than the recommended RNI.ConclusionLactating women on a self-selected diet did not meet the Chinese RNI for many important micronutrients, which may influence the nutritional composition of breast milk and thus impact the potential health of mothers and infants. RNI should consider the regional dietary habits and culture. A single national RNI is not applicable for all of China. Nutritional education into the community is needed.

Microorganisms can transfer electrons directly to extracellular acceptors, during which organic compounds are oxidized to carbon dioxide. One of these microbes, Geobacter sulfurreducens, is well known for the metallic-like conductivity of its type IV pili. However, there is no consensus on what the mechanism for electron transfer along these conductive pili is. Based on the aromatic distances and orientations of our predicted models, the mechanism of electron transfer in the Geobacter sulfurreducens (GS) pili was explored by quantum chemical calculations with Marcus theory of electron transfer reactions. Three aromatic residues from the N-terminal α-helix of the GS pilin subunit are packed together, resulting in a continuous pi-pi interaction chain. The theoretical conductance (4.69 μS/3.85 μS) of the predicted models is very similar to that in the experiments reported recently (3.40 μS). These findings offer a new concept that the GS pili belongs to a new class of proteins that can transport electrons through pi-pi interaction between aromatic residues and also provide a valuable tool for guiding further researches of these conductive pili, to investigate their roles in biogeochemical cycling, and potential applications in biomaterials, bioelectronics, and bioenergy.

Partition and transportation of drug in the plasma membrane of a mammalian cell are the prerequisite for its function on target protein. Therefore, comprehensive understanding of the physicochemical properties and mechanism behind these complex phenomena is crucial in pharmaceutical research. By using the state-of-art molecular simulations with polarization effect implicitly or explicitly included, we studied the permeation behavior of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), a broad-spectrum modulator for a number of membrane proteins. We showed that the protonation state and therefore the polarity of the drug is critical for its partition, and that the drug is likely to switch between different protonation states along its permeation pathway. By changing the degrees of freedom, protonation further affects the thermodynamic of the permeation pathway of 2-APB, leading to different entropic contributions. A survey on 54 analog structures with similar backbone to 2-APB showed that delicate balance between entropy and polarity plays an important role in drugs potency.

Monosomy 7 and del(7q) are among the most common and poorly understood genetic alterations in myelodysplastic neoplasms and acute myeloid leukemia. Chromosome band 7q22 is a minimally deleted segment in myeloid malignancies with a del(7q). However, the rarity of second hit mutations supports the idea that del(7q22) represents a contiguous gene syndrome. We generated mice harboring a 1.5 Mb germline deletion of chromosome band 5G2 syntenic to human 7q22 that removes Cux1 and 27 additional genes. Hematopoiesis is perturbed in 5G2+/del mice but they do not spontaneously develop hematologic disease. Whereas alkylator exposure modestly accelerated tumor development, the 5G2 deletion did not cooperate with KrasG12D, NrasG12D, or the MOL4070LTR retrovirus in leukemogenesis. 5G2+/del mice are a novel platform for interrogating the role of hemopoietic stem cell attrition/stress, cooperating mutations, genotoxins, and inflammation in myeloid malignancies characterized by monosomy 7/del(7q).

Information regarding postdiagnostic dairy intake and prostate cancer survival is limited. We evaluated intake of total, high-fat and low-fat dairy after prostate cancer diagnosis in relation to disease-specific and total mortality. We included 926 men from the Physicians' Health Study diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer between 1982 and 2000 who completed a diet questionnaire a median of 5 years after diagnosis and were followed thereafter for a median of 10 years to assess mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate associations between dairy intake and prostate cancer specific and all-cause mortality. During 8,903 person-years of follow-up, 333 men died, 56 due to prostate cancer. Men consuming ≥3 servings/day of total dairy products had a 76% higher risk of total mortality and a 141% higher risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality compared to men who consumed less than 1 dairy product/day (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21, 2.55, ptrend  < 0.001 for total mortality; HR = 2.41, 95% CI: 0.96, 6.02, ptrend  = 0.04 for prostate cancer-specific mortality). The association between high-fat dairy and mortality risk appeared to be stronger than that of low-fat dairy, but the difference between them was not statistically significant (p for difference = 0.57 for prostate cancer-specific mortality and 0.56 for total mortality). Among men without metastases when diagnosed, higher intake of dairy foods after prostate cancer diagnosis may be associated with increased prostate cancer-specific and all-cause mortality.

Purpose

Diet after prostate cancer diagnosis may impact disease progression. We hypothesized that consuming saturated fat after prostate cancer diagnosis would increase risk of mortality, and consuming vegetable fat after diagnosis would lower the risk of mortality.

Methods

This was a prospective study among 926 men with non-metastatic prostate cancer in the Physicians' Health Study who completed a food frequency questionnaire a median of 5 years after diagnosis and were followed for a median of 10 years after the questionnaire. We examined post-diagnostic saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fat, as well as animal and vegetable fat, intake in relation to all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results

We observed 333 deaths (56 prostate cancer deaths) during follow-up. Men who obtained 5 % more of their daily calories from saturated fat and 5 % less of their daily calories from carbohydrate after diagnosis had a 1.8-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.81; 95 % CI 1.20, 2.74; p value 0.005) and a 2.8-fold increased risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (HR 2.78; 95 % CI 1.01, 7.64; p value 0.05). Men who obtained 10 % more of their daily calories from vegetable fats and 10 % less of their daily calories from carbohydrates had a 33 % lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.67; 95 % CI 0.47, 0.96; p value 0.03).

Conclusions

Among men with non-metastatic prostate cancer, saturated fat intake may increase risk of death and vegetable fat intake may lower risk of death.

Men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer have a long life expectancy, and many die of unrelated causes. It is therefore important to know to what extent post-diagnostic diet may affect disease-specific and overall mortality. A total of 926 men participating in the Physicians' Health Study diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer completed diet questionnaires for a median of 5.1 years after diagnosis, and were followed thereafter to assess mortality for a median of 9.9 years since questionnaire completion. Two post-diagnostic dietary patterns were identified: a Prudent pattern, characterized by higher intake of vegetables, fruits, fish, legumes, and whole grains; and a Western pattern, characterized by higher intake of processed and red meats, high-fat dairy and refined grains. Cox regression was used to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). During 8,093 person-years of follow-up, 333 men died, 56 (17%) of prostate cancer. The Western pattern was significantly related to a higher risk of prostate cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. Comparing men in the highest versus the lowest quartile of the Western pattern, the HRs were 2.53 (95% CI, 1.00-6.42; Ptrend = 0.02) for prostate cancer-specific mortality and 1.67 (95% CI, 1.16-2.42; Ptrend = 0.01) for all-cause mortality. The Prudent pattern was associated with a significantly lower all-cause mortality (HRQuartile 4 vs. Quartile 1: 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.93; Ptrend = 0.02); the relationship with prostate cancer-specific mortality was inverse but not statistically significant. A post-diagnostic Western dietary pattern was associated with higher prostate cancer-specific and all-cause mortality, whereas a Prudent dietary pattern was related to lower all-cause mortality after prostate cancer diagnosis.