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Background: Type II sucrose transporters (SUTs) are more selective than type I SUTs. Results: OsSUT1 was modified using gene shuffling. Variants were selected for the ability to transport the fluorescent ␤-glucoside esculin. Conclusion: Replacement of five amino acids conferred substrate specificity typical of type I SUTs. Significance: The first loop and top of TMS2 and TMS5 are involved in controlling substrate specificity in SUTs.

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Background Structural racism contributes to racial disparities in adverse perinatal outcomes. We sought to determine if structural racism is associated with adverse outcomes among Black preterm infants postnatally. Methods Observational cohort study of 13,321 Black birthing people who delivered preterm (gestational age 22–36 weeks) in California in 2011–2017 using a statewide birth cohort database and the American Community Survey. Racial and income segregation was quantified by the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) scores. Multivariable generalized estimating equations regression models were fit to test the association between ICE scores and adverse postnatal outcomes: frequent acute care visits, readmissions, and pre- and post-discharge death, adjusting for infant and birthing person characteristics and social factors. Results Black birthing people who delivered preterm in the least privileged ICE tertiles were more likely to have infants who experienced frequent acute care visits (crude risk ratio [cRR] 1.3 95% CI 1.2–1.4), readmissions (cRR 1.1 95% CI 1.0–1.2), and post-discharge death (cRR 1.9 95% CI 1.2–3.1) in their first year compared to those in the privileged tertile. Results did not differ significantly after adjusting for infant or birthing person characteristics. Conclusion Structural racism contributes to adverse outcomes for Black preterm infants after hospital discharge. Impact statement Structural racism, measured by racial and income segregation, was associated with adverse postnatal outcomes among Black preterm infants including frequent acute care visits, rehospitalizations, and death after hospital discharge. This study extends our understanding of the impact of structural racism on the health of Black preterm infants beyond the perinatal period and provides reinforcement to the concept of structural racism contributing to racial disparities in poor postnatal outcomes for preterm infants. Identifying structural racism as a primary cause of racial disparities in the postnatal period is necessary to prioritize and implement appropriate structural interventions to improve outcomes.

A recent shift in public attention to racism, racial disparities, and health equity have resulted in an abundance of calls for relevant papers and publications in academic journals. Peer-review for such articles may be susceptible to bias, as subject matter expertise in the evaluation of social constructs, like race, is variable. From the perspective of researchers focused on neonatal health equity, we share our positive and negative experiences in peer-review, provide relevant publicly available data regarding addressing bias in peer-review from 12 neonatology-focused journals, and give recommendations to address bias and knowledge gaps in the peer review process of health equity research.

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