The Empirical Analysis of Cigarette Tax Avoidance and Illicit Trade in Vietnam, 1998-2010

Illicit trade carries the potential to magnify existing tobacco-related health care costs through increased availability of untaxed and inexpensive cigarettes. What is known with respect to the magnitude of illicit trade for Vietnam is produced primarily by the industry, and methodologies are typically opaque. Independent assessment of the illicit cigarette trade in Vietnam is vital to tobacco control policy. This paper measures the magnitude of illicit cigarette trade for Vietnam between 1998 and 2010 using two methods, discrepancies between legitimate domestic cigarette sales and domestic tobacco consumption estimated from surveys, and trade discrepancies as recorded by Vietnam and trade partners. The results indicate that Vietnam likely experienced net smuggling in during the period studied. With the inclusion of adjustments for survey respondent under-reporting, inward illicit trade likely occurred in three of the four years for which surveys were available. Discrepancies in trade records indicate that the value of smuggled cigarettes into Vietnam ranges from $100 million to $300 million between 2000 and 2010 and that these cigarettes primarily originate in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, and Australia. Notable differences in trends over time exist between the two methods, but by comparison, the industry estimates consistently place the magnitude of illicit trade at the upper bounds of what this study shows. The unavailability of annual, survey-based estimates of consumption may obscure the true, annual trend over time. Second, as surveys changed over time, estimates relying on them may be inconsistent with one another. Finally, these two methods measure different components of illicit trade, specifically consumption of illicit cigarettes regardless of origin and smuggling of cigarettes into a particular market. However, absent a gold standard, comparisons of different approaches to illicit trade measurement serve efforts to refine and improve measurement approaches and estimates.     

Multiomic Metabolic Enrichment Network Analysis Reveals Metabolite–Protein Physical Interaction Subnetworks Altered in Cancer

Metabolism is recognized as an important driver of cancer progression and other complex diseases, but global metabolite profiling remains a challenge. Protein expression profiling is often a poor proxy since existing pathway enrichment models provide an incomplete mapping between the proteome and metabolism. To overcome these gaps, we introduce multiomic metabolic enrichment network analysis (MOMENTA), an integrative multiomic data analysis framework for more accurately deducing metabolic pathway changes from proteomics data alone in a gene set analysis context by leveraging protein interaction networks to extend annotated metabolic models. We apply MOMENTA to proteomic data from diverse cancer cell lines and human tumors to demonstrate its utility at revealing variation in metabolic pathway activity across cancer types, which we verify using independent metabolomics measurements. The novel metabolic networks we uncover in breast cancer and other tumors are linked to clinical outcomes, underscoring the pathophysiological relevance of the findings.     

Retention of low-fitness genotypes over six decades of admixture between native and introduced tiger salamanders

Background  

Introductions of non-native tiger salamanders into the range of California tiger salamanders have provided a rare opportunity to study the early stages of secondary contact and hybridization. We produced first- and second-generation hybrid salamanders in the lab and measured viability among these early-generation hybrid crosses to determine the strength of the initial barrier to gene exchange. We also created contemporary-generation hybrids in the lab and evaluated the extent to which selection has affected fitness over approximately 20 generations of admixture. Additionally, we examined the inheritance of quantitative phenotypic variation to better understand how evolution has progressed since secondary contact.     

Introduced plants in the indigenous Pharmacopoeia of Northern South America

The intellectual property rights debate focuses on the flow of germplasm from developing tropical countries to developed temperate nations. Few investigators have addressed the converse. We discuss the abundance and importance of introduced plants in pharmacopoeias of northern South America. Introduced species commonly are employed as medicines throughout the region and include at least 216 Eurasian, North American, African, and Pacific species. Among the Shuar of lowland Ecuador, four introduced plants (Citrus aurantium, Cymbopogon citratus, Saccharum officinarum, and Zingiber officinale) are included in their most commonly prescribed remedies. The widespread use of introduced plants is due, in part, to the medicinal value of plants whose primary use is for food (e.g., Musa X paradisiacal Similarly, many introduced ornamentals also have therapeutic value (e.g., Hedychium coronarium). Other species have been introduced specifically as medicines (e.g., Aloe vera). Restrictions on the flow of germplasm and plant knowledge may protect the economic interests of governments and national industry. If applied bilaterally, however, constraints on the movement of plants will limit the continued evolution of traditional medicinal systems in areas where they are most needed.     

‘Mild mitochondrial uncoupling’ induced protection against neuronal excitotoxicity requires AMPK activity

The preconditioning response conferred by a mild uncoupling of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ_m) has been attributed to altered reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial Ca^2 + uptake within the cells. Here we have explored if altered cellular energetics in response to a mild mitochondrial uncoupling stimulus may also contribute to the protection. The addition of 100 nM FCCP for 30 min to cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) induced a transient depolarization of the Δψ_m, that was sufficient to significantly reduce CGN vulnerability to the excitotoxic stimulus, glutamate. On investigation, the mild mitochondrial ‘uncoupling’ stimulus resulted in a significant increase in the plasma membrane levels of the glucose transporter isoform 3, with a hyperpolarisation of Δψ_m and increased cellular ATP levels also evident following the washout of FCCP. Furthermore, the phosphorylation state of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) (Thr 172) was increased within 5 min of the uncoupling stimulus and elevated up to 1 h after washout. Significantly, the physiological changes and protection evident after the mild uncoupling stimulus were lost in CGNs when AMPK activity was inhibited. This study identifies an additional mechanism through which protection is mediated upon mild mitochondrial uncoupling: it implicates increased AMPK signalling and an adaptive shift in energy metabolism as mediators of the preconditioning response associated with FCCP-induced mild mitochondrial uncoupling.     

An Arabidopsis lipid map reveals differences between tissues and dynamic changes throughout development

Mass spectrometry is the predominant analytical tool used in the field of plant lipidomics. However, there are many challenges associated with the mass spectrometric detection and identification of lipids because of the highly complex nature of plant lipids. Studies into lipid biosynthetic pathways, gene functions in lipid metabolism, lipid changes during plant growth and development, and the holistic examination of the role of plant lipids in environmental stress responses are often hindered. Here, we leveraged a robust pipeline that we previously established to extract and analyze lipid profiles of different tissues and developmental stages from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We analyzed seven tissues at several different developmental stages and identified more than 200 lipids from each tissue analyzed. The data were used to create a web-accessible in silico lipid map that has been integrated into an electronic Fluorescent Pictograph (eFP) browser. This in silico library of Arabidopsis lipids allows the visualization and exploration of the distribution and changes of lipid levels across selected developmental stages. Furthermore, it provides information on the characteristic fragments of lipids and adducts observed in the mass spectrometer and their retention times, which can be used for lipid identification. The Arabidopsis tissue lipid map can be accessed at http://bar.utoronto.ca/efp_arabidopsis_lipid/cgi-bin/efpWeb.cgi .