SUMMARY Current methods for comparing RNA secondary structures are based on tree representations and exploit edit distance or alignment algorithms. Most of them can only process structures without pseudoknots. To overcome this limitation we introduce ASPRAlign, a Java tool that aligns particular algebraic tree representations of RNA. These trees neglect the primary sequence and can handle structures with arbitrary pseudoknots. A measure of comparison, called ASPRA distance, is computed with a worst-case time complexity of O (n2) where n is the number of nucleotides of the longer structure. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION ASPRAlign is implemented in Java and source code is released under the GNU GPLv3 license. Code and documentation are freely available at https//github.com/bdslab/aspralign. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data and examples are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author(s) (2020). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email journals.permissions@oup.com.Importance Government efforts to lower drug costs and other legislative and regulatory initiatives may be counteracted by campaign donors and lobbyists in the pharmaceutical and health product industry. Objective To review how much money the pharmaceutical and health product industry spent on campaign contributions and lobbying in the US from 1999 to 2018 at the federal and state levels. Design and Setting Analysis of federal-level and state-level data obtained from the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics, respectively. These nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations track federal and state campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures by individuals and groups. Exposures Lobbying expenditures and contributions to political campaigns. Main Outcomes and Measures Total spending, inflation adjusted to 2018 dollars using the US Consumer Price Index, on lobbying and campaign contributions by year, source, and state. Results From 1999 to 2018, the pharmaceutical and health ps in 9 other states. In years in which key state referenda on reforms in drug pricing and regulation were being voted on, there were large spikes in contributions to groups that opposed or supported the reforms. Conclusions and Relevance From 1999 to 2018, the pharmaceutical and health product industry spent large sums of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to influence legislative and election outcomes. These findings can inform discussions about how to temper the influence of industry on US health policy.AIMS We aimed to investigate whether left atrial (LA) markers from cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) were able to predict atrial fibrillation (AF) in elderly patients with risk factors for stroke. METHODS AND RESULTS At baseline, 203 participants with stroke risk factors but without history of AF underwent advanced CMR and received an implantable loop recorder. During a median of 40 (37-42) months of continuous monitoring, incident AF was detected in 79 patients (39%). With regards to CMR markers, a steep increase in incidence rate of AF was seen with LA maximum volume (LAmax) above 55 mL/m2, LA minimum volume (LAmin) above 30 mL/m2, LA total emptying fraction (LA TEF) below 45%, LA active emptying fraction (LA AEF) below 37%, LA strain S below 25%, LA strain A below 17%, and LA strain rate A above -1.7 s-1. After multivariate adjustment, the above-mentioned CMR markers remained associated with AF incidence hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) 1.25 (1.06-1.48) and 1.51 (1.22-1.87) per 10 mL/m2 increase of LAmax and LAmin, respectively, 1.49 (1.26-1.76) and 1.46 CI (1.25-1.71) per 5% decrease in LA TEF and LA AEF, respectively, 1.23 (1.05-1.44) and 1.56 (1.18-2.06) per 5% decrease in LA strain S and A, respectively, and 2.06 (1.31-3.23) per s-1 increase in LA strain rate A. In prediction analyses, LA functional indices increased area under the receiver operating characteristic curve significantly. CONCLUSION The risk of AF, including asymptomatic AF, increases significantly with increasing LA volumes and worsening LA function. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email journals.permissions@oup.com.The self-assembly of gold nanorods (AuNRs) of different sizes with a block copolymer (BCP) is studied. Polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) films containing P2VP functionalized AuNRs are solvent annealed resulting in a BCP morphology of vertical P2VP cylinders in a PS matrix. At the surface of the PS-b-P2VP films long AuNRs are found in the bridging and vertical states. The bridging state is where the long axis of the AuNR is parallel to the film surface, the AuNR is embedded in the film, and each end of the AuNR is at the top of nearest neighbor P2VP cylinders. The vertical state is where the AuNR is localized within a vertical P2VP cylinder, the AuNR long axis is perpendicular to the film surface and the upper tip of the AuNR is at the film surface. Short AuNRs were found in the bridging and vertical states as well as in a state not observed for the long AuNRs, the centered state. The centered state is where an AuNR has its long axis parallel to the film surface, is embedded in the film, and is centered over a vertical P2VP cylinder.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/c-178.html  Hybrid particle-field theory (HPFT) simulations modeling the experimental system predict that for the long AuNRs only the bridging state should be observed while for the short AuNRs only the bridging and centered states should be observed. Possible explanations for why the vertical state is observed in experiments despite being thermodynamically unfavorable in simulations are discussed. HPFT simulations also show that when a nanorod is in the bridging state the two cylinders it bridges remain intact and extend from the nanorod to the substrate. Further, the minority block of the BCP is shown to wet the bottom of the bridging nanorod. The bridging state is very promising for the future development of self-assembled nanoscale devices.The difference between the oxidative susceptibility of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) esterified into triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipids (PL) and the effects of polyphenolic antioxidants on such susceptibility in dried seafood were investigated. Lipid fractions containing TAG and PL were extracted from dried scallops stored for various times, and their fatty acid contents were determined. The changes in contents of four representative PUFAs, including α-linolenic acid (ALA), arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) esterified into TAG or PL, were used to fit kinetic models to obtain the reaction rate constant (k), which reflects the oxidation rates of different lipid classes. The results indicated that the oxidation of PUFAs (ALA, AA, EPA, and DHA) esterified into TAG or PL at two storage temperatures (15 °C and 25 °C) followed the first-order kinetic model, and TAG had a greater oxidation rate than PL under the experimental conditions. The results further showed that natural phenolics could effectively inhibit the oxidation of PUFAs esterified into PL and TAG, while retaining the nutritional value of dried scallops during long term storage.