BACKGROUND In animal models cis-palmitoleic acid (9-hexadecenoic acid; 161n-7c), a lipokine, improves insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and lipoprotein profiles; in humans trans-palmitoleic acid (161n-7t) has been associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. The response to dose-escalation of supplements containing cis- and trans-palmitoleic acid has not been evaluated. OBJECTIVES We examined dose-escalation effects of oral supplementation with seabuckthorn oil and seabuckthorn oil augmented in 161n-7t on serum phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). METHODS Thirteen participants (7 women and 6 men; age 48 ± 16 y, BMI 30.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2) participated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover, dose-escalation trial of unmodified seabuckthorn oils relatively high in 161n-7c (380, 760, and 1520 mg 161n-7c/d) and seabuckthorn oils augmented in 161n-7t (120, 240, and 480 mg 161n-7t/d). Each of the 3 escalation doses was provided for 3 wk, with a 4-wk washout period between the 2 supplements. At the end of each dosee of supplementation with these fatty acids to test potential clinical effects in humans.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02311790. Copyright © The Author(s) 2020.STUDY OBJECTIVES Previous studies were inconsistent with regard to the association of sleep dysfunction on the brain’s gray matter volume (GMV). The current study set out to investigate if there is a moderating effect of sex on the relationship between sleep quality in healthy individuals and GMV. METHODS We applied voxel-based morphometry in 1074 young adults of the “Human Connectome Project”. An analysis of variance with the factors “sleep quality” (good/ poor according to the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, cutoff >5) and “sex” (male, female) on GMV was conducted. Additionally, linear relationships between sleep quality and GMV were tested. RESULTS The analysis of variance yielded no main effect for sleep quality, but an interaction between sex and sleep quality for the right superior frontal gyrus. Post-hoc t-tests showed that female good sleepers in comparison to female poor sleepers had larger GMV in the right parahippocampal gyrus extending to the right hippocampus (whole brain FWE-corrected), as well as smaller GMV in the right inferior parietal lobule (whole brain FWE-corrected) and the right inferior temporal gyrus (whole brain FWE-corrected). There were no significant effects when comparing male good sleepers to male poor sleepers. Linear regression analyses corroborated smaller GMV in the right parahippocampal gyrus in women with poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS Poor sleep quality was associated with altered GMV in females, but not in males. Future studies are needed to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the sex differences in the association of sleep quality and brain differences found in this study. © Sleep Research Society 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.DNA ligase I and DNA ligase III/XRCC1 complex catalyze the ultimate ligation step following DNA polymerase (pol) β nucleotide insertion during base excision repair (BER). Pol β Asn279 and Arg283 are the critical active site residues for the differentiation of an incoming nucleotide and a template base and the N-terminal domain of DNA ligase I mediates its interaction with pol β. Here, we show inefficient ligation of pol β insertion products with mismatched or damaged nucleotides, with the exception of a Watson-Crick-like dGTP insertion opposite T, using BER DNA ligases in vitro. Moreover, pol β N279A and R283A mutants deter the ligation of the promutagenic repair intermediates and the presence of N-terminal domain of DNA ligase I in a coupled reaction governs the channeling of the pol β insertion products. selleck products Our results demonstrate that the BER DNA ligases are compromised by subtle changes in all 12 possible noncanonical base pairs at the 3′-end of the nicked repair intermediate. These findings contribute to understanding of how the identity of the mismatch affects the substrate channeling of the repair pathway and the mechanism underlying the coordination between pol β and DNA ligase at the final ligation step to maintain the BER efficiency. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.BACKGROUND The evaluation of large-scale public health policy interventions often relies on observational designs where attributing causality is challenging. Logic models-visual representations of an intervention’s anticipated causal pathway-facilitate the analysis of the most relevant outcomes. We aimed to develop a set of logic models that could be widely used in tobacco policy evaluation. METHODS We developed an overarching logic model that reflected the broad categories of outcomes that would be expected following the implementation of tobacco control policies. We subsequently reviewed policy documents to identify the outcomes expected to result from the implementation of each policy and conducted a literature review of existing evaluations to identify further outcomes. The models were revised according to feedbacks from a range of stakeholders. RESULTS The final models represented expected causal pathways for each policy. The models included short-term outcomes (such as policy awareness, compliance and social cognitive outcomes), intermediate outcomes (such as changes in smoking behaviour) and long-term outcomes (such as mortality, morbidity and health service usage). CONCLUSIONS The use of logic models enables transparent and theory-based planning of evaluation analyses and should be encouraged in the evaluation of tobacco control policy, as well as other areas of public health. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.Subsidence of implants into bone is a major source of morbidity. The underlying mechanics of the phenomenon are not clear, but are likely related to interactions between contact stresses and the underlying porous trabecular bone structure. To gain insight into these interactions, we studied the penetration of 3D-printed indenters with systematically varying geometries into Sawbones® foam substrates and isolated the effects of contact geometry from those of overall contact size and area. When size, contact area, and indented material stiffness and strength are controlled for, we show that resistance to penetration is in fact a function of topology only. Indenters with greater line contact lengths support higher subsidence loads in compression. These results have direct implications for the design of implants to resist subsidence into bone. Copyright (c) 2020 by ASME.