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This study explores how energy price inflation affects supply chain pressures under different levels of political uncertainty. Using local projection impulse-response functions, we examine the effects of oil price shocks under two regimes: one with above-average levels of political uncertainty and another with below-average uncertainty. While previous research has focused on the direct macroeconomic impacts of oil price shocks, particularly on firm costs and consumer prices, this study highlights the effects of these shocks on supply chain disruption as a whole. Our findings indicate that heightened political uncertainty significantly amplifies the impact of oil price shocks on supply chain pressures, causing notable and persistent disruptions. Conversely, when political stability is high, the response of supply chains to the same shocks is minimal, suggesting that a stable political environment fosters greater resilience in supply chains.

By May 15, 2020, all 50 states had announced plans to reopen their economies. These plans emerged on the heels of an increasing awareness that COVID-19 had hit minority communities particularly hard, especially Black communities. Despite constituting only 13% of the US population, Blacks have made up 24% of the deaths from COVID-19 nationally, rendering them at least twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than are other groups.1 A recent survey from Johns Hopkins University and the American Community Survey indicated that the death rate for predominantly Black counties is sixfold higher than the rate in predominantly White counties.1The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minority communities has been partly attributed to the racial composition of the workers in economic sectors deemed essential, including home health care, nursing homes, and community food and housing services. In these sectors, where employees are likely to come into contact with COVID-19 (i.e., high-contact jobs), Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to be employed than are Whites.2 Data from a recent McKinsey Report2 show examples from critical economic sectors where the laborers are predominantly people of color. For example, in jobs such as psychiatric aid, nursing assistant, and orderly, Blacks make up more than twice their relative proportion of the broader US population (i.e., 13%). Because it is difficult for these jobs to be performed remotely, racial minorities have shouldered more than their share of essential labor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their communities have been disparately endangered as a result.

Cilia dysfunction underlies a class of human diseases with variable penetrance in different organ systems. Across eukaryotes, intraflagellar transport (IFT) facilitates cilia biogenesis and cargo trafficking, but our understanding of mammalian IFT is insufficient. Here we perform live analysis of cilia ultrastructure, composition and cargo transport in native mammalian tissue using olfactory sensory neurons. Proximal and distal axonemes of these neurons show no bias towards IFT kinesin-2 choice, and Kif17 homodimer is dispensable for distal segment IFT. We identify Bardet–Biedl syndrome proteins (BBSome) as bona fide constituents of IFT in olfactory sensory neurons, and show that they exist in 1:1 stoichiometry with IFT particles. Conversely, subpopulations of peripheral membrane proteins, as well as transmembrane olfactory signalling pathway components, are capable of IFT but with significantly less frequency and/or duration. Our results yield a model for IFT and cargo trafficking in native mammalian cilia and may explain the penetrance of specific ciliopathy phenotypes in olfactory neurons. Loss of olfactory function is one of the many symptoms of the ciliopathy Bardet–Biedl syndrome. Williams et al . show that Bardet–Biedl proteins are components of intraflagellar transport particles within cilia, and directly visualize their trafficking in native mammalian olfactory neurons.

Research suggests that documentation can actually influence clinical decision making. The normative use of race in documentation therefore demands interrogation.

Background: While mindfulness-based interventions targeted toward parents (and families) in the U.S. offer promise for the treatment and prevention of youth psychological disorders, current research has established the underrepresentation of diverse participants in the research literature. The full extent of inequalities in the demographics of participation in parent mindfulness intervention is less understood. Objective: This study aimed to utilize a narrative literature review approach to examine and describe the degree to which research on mindful parenting interventions is inclusive of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities, non-clinical samples (no diagnosed disorder), cultural adaptions, and skills specific to parenting. Methods: An electronic database search of US-based studies was undertaken for empirical studies that primarily focused on parent mindfulness interventions, which reported outcomes related to either parenting behaviors or child mental health outcomes. After a full-text review, the search resulted in 34 articles. A narrative literature review of the 34 studies was conducted to assess the inclusion of BIPOC communities, non-clinical samples, cultural adaptions, and skills specific to parenting. Results: This review found notable gaps in the degree to which mindful parenting research (1) included BIPOC populations in study samples; (2) focused on non-clinical samples; (3) adapted interventions to align with the cultural needs of participants; and (4) included the application of mindfulness to enhancing knowledge, skills, and behaviors specific to parenting. Conclusions: Given these gaps in the parent mindfulness literature, greater research attention is needed on mindful parenting interventions targeted toward BIPOC communities with no clinical diagnoses, interventions optimized by cultural adaptations, and explicit applications to parenting.

Producer price inflation has long been considered a leading indicator for consumer price inflation. However, the evidence supporting the cost-push theory of inflation over extended periods is inconclusive and lacks direct quantification. To address this gap, we employ structural break and causality tests, regression analysis, and local projection impulse-response functions. Our analysis allows us to precisely identify instances when producer prices lead consumer prices and quantify short-run and long-run pass-through rates. We find relatively robust evidence of a producer price pass-through rate between 8 and 12%. However, there are significant periods where unidirectional pass-through does not hold. Local projections reveal that producer price pass-through is small but persistent in states where producer prices lead consumer prices, and larger but shorter-lived in states where there is no causal directionality. Our findings enhance the understanding of producer price pass-through to consumer inflation, providing valuable insights for policymakers and market participants interested in accurately forecasting and managing inflationary pressures.

Development of the mammalian brain requires precise molecular changes across diverse cell lineages. While single-cell RNA abundances in the developing brain have been characterized by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), single-cell protein abundances have not been characterized. To address this gap, we performed mass cytometry on the whole brain at embryonic day (E)11.5–E12.5 and the telencephalon, the diencephalon, the mesencephalon and the rhombencephalon at E13.5–postnatal day (P)4 from C57/BL6 mice. Using a 40-antibody panel to analyze 24,290,787 cells from two to four biological replicates per sample, we identify 85 molecularly distinct cell clusters from distinct lineages. Our analyses confirm canonical molecular pathways of neurogenesis and gliogenesis, and predict two distinct trajectories for cortical oligodendrogenesis. Differences in protein versus RNA expression from mass cytometry and scRNA-seq, validated by immunohistochemistry and RNAscope in situ hybridization (ISH), demonstrate the value of protein-level measurements for identifying functional cell states. Our findings show the utility of mass cytometry as a scalable platform for single-cell profiling of brain tissues. In recent years, valuable mRNA-based developmental atlases of the mouse brain have been made available. Here, the authors use single-cell mass cytometry to build a protein-based single-cell profiling of the developing embryonic and postnatal mouse brain.

Abstract Dried blood spots (DBS) are widely utilized as part of universal newborn screening and as a means of transporting samples from field sites. We use DBS from African field sites to assess for rare maternal-fetal cell exchange during pregnancy known as microchimerism. We aimed to develop a protocol to maximize the quantity of high-quality genomic DNA (gDNA) extracted from DBS. The total gDNA yield obtained from control DBS utilizing a Qiagen-based protocol and a Chelex® 100 resin-based protocol was first compared. Variations of the Chelex® protocol were subsequently tested to develop an optimized protocol. The gDNA was quantified by qPCR targeting the human beta-globin gene. DNA yield for a given experimental condition was normalized to a Chelex® control performed on the same day, and the total yields were compared using a Student’s t-test. The control Chelex® protocol yielded 590% more DNA than the QIAamp® DNA Blood Mini Kit . The absolute efficiency of the control Chelex® protocol was 54%, compared to an absolute efficiency of 9% for the QIAamp® DNA Blood Mini Kit. Modification of the Chelex® protocol to include a second heat precipitation from the same DBS increased the gDNA yield by 29% (P < 0.001). Our optimized protocol including this modification increased the absolute efficiency of extraction to 68%. The gDNA extracted using the Chelex® protocol was stable through repeated freeze–thaw cycles. In a mock microchimerism experiment, rare donor alleles at a frequency of 10 in 100 000 could be identified in gDNA from DBS extracted using the optimized Chelex® protocol. Our findings may be of significance for a diverse range of applications that utilize DBS and require high-quality DNA, including newborn screening programs, pathogen and drug resistance screening from remote field sites, forensics, and rare allele detection.

With a renewed focus on medical professionalism, an opportunity exists to better define its standards and application to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce given the important association between interprofessional behavior and patient care. To examine the context of how professionalism is operationalized and perceived in diverse health care work and learning environments. A qualitative mixed-methods analysis of survey data collected from February to April 2015, was conducted followed by analysis of narrative data collected in June 2017. The setting was 2 health systems and 4 health professional and graduate schools. Participants were faculty, trainees, staff, and students (3506 survey respondents and 52 narratives) affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Data analysis was conducted in 2018 and 2019. Independent variables included the following respondent characteristics: gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, position, generational age group, length of employment at institution, disability status, belief system or religion, and primary site of work or study. Survey questions were used to assess participants' perception and experiences of professionalism in the workplace as measured by a 5-point Likert-type scale. For the survey, there were 3506 respondents from a pool of 18 550 potential respondents (18.9% response rate). Of 3506 survey respondents, 2082 of 3231 (64.4%) were women, 331 of 3164 (10.5%) identified as gender or sexual minority groups, and 360 of 3178 (11.3%) were non-Hispanic Black individuals. In adjusted analyses, women compared with men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4-2.3) and Asian individuals (aOR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.7-2.3) and Hispanic individuals (aOR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4-2.7) compared with non-Hispanic White individuals were more likely to value institutional professionalism. In addition, gender identity and sexual minority groups compared with heterosexual respondents (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.8) and non-Hispanic Black individuals compared with non-Hispanic White individuals (aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4) were statistically significantly more likely to consider changing jobs because of unprofessional behavior at work. The qualitative analysis of narratives revealed that marginalized populations (including but not limited to women, gender and sexual minority groups, racial/ethnic minority groups, those who identify as having a disability, and religious minority groups) reported (1) greater infringements on their professional boundaries, as well as increased scrutiny over their professional actions, and (2) a tension between inclusion vs assimilation. The findings of this study highlight the need for health care organizations to revisit how they define and operationalize professionalism to improve inclusivity.

Precisely controlled development of the somatosensory system is essential for detecting pain, itch, temperature, mechanical touch and body position. To investigate the protein-level changes that occur during somatosensory development, we performed single-cell mass cytometry on dorsal root ganglia from C57/BL6 mice of both sexes, with litter replicates collected daily from embryonic day 11.5 to postnatal day 4. Measuring nearly 3 million cells, we quantified 30 molecularly distinct somatosensory glial and 41 distinct neuronal states across all timepoints. Analysis of differentiation trajectories revealed rare cells that co-express two or more Trk receptors and over-express stem cell markers, suggesting that these neurotrophic factor receptors play a role in cell fate specification. Comparison to previous RNA-based studies identified substantial differences between many protein–mRNA pairs, demonstrating the importance of protein-level measurements to identify functional cell states. Overall, this study demonstrates that mass cytometry is a high-throughput, scalable platform to rapidly phenotype somatosensory tissues.Somatosensory neurons detect pain, temperature and touch. Keeler et al. constructed a single-cell, protein-level atlas of nearly 3 million cells from the mouse dorsal root ganglia, covering 13 days of embryonic and postnatal development.