Assessment of gene-covariate interactions by incorporating covariates into association mapping

The HLA region is considered to be the main genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis. Previous research demonstrated that HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding the shared epitope are specific for disease that is characterized by antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP). In the present study, we incorporated the shared epitope and either anti-CCP antibodies or rheumatoid factor into linkage disequilibrium mapping, to assess the association between the shared epitope or antibodies with the disease gene identified. Incorporating the covariates into the association mapping provides a mechanism 1) to evaluate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions and 2) to dissect the pathways underlying disease induction/progress in quantitative antibodies

Hydrogen Production from an Ethanol Reformer Via Thermal Management Over Various Catalysts

AbstractThis study carried out hydrogen production by reforming of ethanol. In this experiment the parameters were, including ethanol supply rate, O2/EtOH (Oxygen/Ethanol molar ratio), catalysts (Fe, Co, Ni, Pt, Pd, Rh and Ru), and the reforming temperature was provided with heat re-circulation, H2+CO concentration were analyzed. First, for this system the commercialized catalysts was adopted to a suitable range of flow rate. The experimental results indicated that the optimal (H2+CO) concentration of 43.41% can be obtained by using rhodium (Rh). Additionally, in this system the reforming performance of Rh and Ru catalysts with energy-saving methods were compared against its original system. The experimental results obtained demonstrated that the conversion efficiency of ethanol, concentration of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, could be enhanced by means of heat insulation and heat recycling. The reforming performance satisfactorily was greater by using Ru catalyst than that by Rh catalyst

Alternative Complement Pathway Is Activated and Associated with Galactose-Deficient IgA1 Antibody in IgA Nephropathy Patients

BackgroundGalactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) and alternative complement pathway activation are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Nevertheless, the relationships between alternative pathway activation and disease activity or Gd-IgA1 level remains unclear.MethodsNinety-eight biopsy-diagnosed IgAN, twenty-five primary focal segmental sclerosis (FSGS) patients and forty-two healthy individuals were recruited in this study. Among them, fifty IgAN patients received immunosuppression. Follow-up blood samples at 1 and 3~6 months after immunosuppression were collected. Plasma levels of complement C5a, factor Ba and Gd-IgA1 were measured and analyzed. Immunostaining for complement was performed in twenty-five IgAN and FSGS patients.ResultsAt baseline, IgAN patients had higher levels of plasma C5a, factor Ba and Gd-IgA1 than control subjects. Gd-IgA1 levels positively correlated with plasma C5a and factor Ba. In addition, levels of factor Ba and Gd-IgA1 were positively associated with proteinuria and negatively associated with renal function. Immunostaining revealed positive staining for factor Bb and C3c in glomeruli in IgAN patients, but not in FSGS patients. At baseline, patients receiving immunosuppression had more severe proteinuria and higher factor Ba. After 6 months, eGFR declined and proteinuria persisted in patients without immunosuppression. In contrast, patients who received immunosuppression exhibited decreased plasma levels of C5a, factor Ba, and Gd-IgA1 as early as 1 month after treatment. Proteinuria decreased and renal function also remained stable 6 months after immunosuppression.ConclusionsOur results indicate a close relationship between alternative complement pathway activation, Gd-IgA1 concentration and clinical severity of IgAN. Level of complement factor B may be a potential marker for disease activity and therapeutic target in IgAN patients

Acute presentation of a solitary caecal diverticulum: a case report

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Introduction: Solitary caecal diverticulitis is a rare cause of abdominal pain in Caucasian patients. The condition is often misdiagnosed and only correctly identified on exploration for suspected acute appendicitis. Our aim is to improve awareness of this condition amongst surgical trainees to ensure that its first encounter is not in the operating theatre. We review the role of pre-operative radiological imaging in this condition and the wide and controversial management options are als

Oxidized-monolayer Tunneling Barrier for Strong Fermi-level Depinning in Layered InSe Transistors

In 2D-semiconductor-based field-effect transistors and optoelectronic devices, metal-semiconductor junctions are one of the crucial factors determining device performance. The Fermi-level (FL) pinning effect, which commonly caused by interfacial gap states, severely limits the tunability of junction characteristics, including barrier height and contact resistance. A tunneling contact scheme has been suggested to address the FL pinning issue in metal-2D-semiconductor junctions, whereas the experimental realization is still elusive. Here, we show that an oxidized-monolayer-enabled tunneling barrier can realize a pronounced FL depinning in indium selenide (InSe) transistors, exhibiting a large pinning factor of 0.5 and a highly modulated Schottky barrier height. The FL depinning can be attributed to the suppression of metal- and disorder-induced gap states as a result of the high-quality tunneling contacts. Structural characterizations indicate uniform and atomically thin surface oxidation layer inherent from nature of van der Waals materials and atomically sharp oxide-2D-semiconductor interfaces. Moreover, by effectively lowering the Schottky barrier height, we achieve an electron mobility of 2160 cm$^2$/Vs and a contact barrier of 65 meV in two-terminal InSe transistors. The realization of strong FL depinning in high-mobility InSe transistors with the oxidized monolayer presents a viable strategy to exploit layered semiconductors in contact engineering for advanced electronics and optoelectronics

Task-Switching Performance Improvements After Tai Chi Chuan Training Are Associated With Greater Prefrontal Activation in Older Adults

Studies have shown that Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) training has benefits on task-switching ability. However, the neural correlates underlying the effects of TCC training on task-switching ability remain unclear. Using task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a numerical Stroop paradigm, we investigated changes of prefrontal brain activation and behavioral performance during task-switching before and after TCC training and examined the relationships between changes in brain activation and task-switching behavioral performance. Cognitively normal older adults were randomly assigned to either the TCC or control (CON) group. Over a 12-week period, the TCC group received three 60-min sessions of Yang-style TCC training weekly, whereas the CON group only received one telephone consultation biweekly and did not alter their life style. All participants underwent assessments of physical functions and neuropsychological functions of task-switching, and fMRI scans, before and after the intervention. Twenty-six (TCC, N = 16; CON, N = 10) participants completed the entire experimental procedure. We found significant group by time interaction effects on behavioral and brain activation measures. Specifically, the TCC group showed improved physical function, decreased errors on task-switching performance, and increased left superior frontal activation for Switch > Non-switch contrast from pre- to post-intervention, that were not seen in the CON group. Intriguingly, TCC participants with greater prefrontal activation increases in the switch condition from pre- to post-intervention presented greater reductions in task-switching errors. These findings suggest that TCC training could potentially provide benefits to some, although not all, older adults to enhance the function of their prefrontal activations during task-switching

Participation of Children with Disabilities in Taiwan: The Gap between Independence and Frequency

BackgroundIndependence and frequency are two distinct dimensions of participation in daily life. The gap between independence and frequency may reflect the role of the environment on participation, but this distinction has not been fully explored.MethodsA total of 18,119 parents or primary caregivers of children with disabilities aged 6.0-17.9 years were interviewed in a cross-sectional nationwide survey with the Functioning Scale of the Disability Evaluation System - Child version (FUNDES-Child). A section consisting of 20 items measured the children’s daily participation in 4 environmental settings: home, neighborhood/community, school, and home/community. Higher independence and frequency restriction scores indicated greater limitation of participation in daily activities. Scores for independence, frequency and independence-frequency gaps were examined across ages along with trend analysis. ANOVA was used to compare the gaps across settings and diagnoses for children with mild levels of severity of impairment.FindingsA negative independence-frequency gap (restriction of frequency was greater than that of independence) was found for children with mild to severe levels of impairment. A positive gap (restriction of independence was greater than that of frequency) was found for children with profound levels of severity. The gaps became wider with age in most settings of children with mild impairment and different diagnoses. Widest negative gaps were found for the neighborhood/community settings than for the other three settings for children with mild to severe impairment.ConclusionsChildren’s participation and independence-frequency gaps depend not only on the severity of their impairments or diagnoses, but also on their age, the setting and the support provided by their environment. In Taiwan, more frequency restrictions than ability restrictions were found for children with mild to moderate severity, especially in the neighborhood/community setting, and increased with age. Further identification of environmental opportunities that positively impact frequency of participation is needed

Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2007

Division of STD Prevention."December 2008."Also available via the World Wide Web as an html or an Acrobat .pdf file (7.3 MB, 194 p.).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2007. At lanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; December 2008

Association of combination antiretroviral therapy with risk of neurological diseases in patients with HIV/AIDS in Taiwan: a nested case-control study

Heterogeneous neurocognitive impairment remains an important issue, even in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), with an incidence ranging from 15% to 65%. Although ART drugs with higher penetration scores to the central nervous system (CNS) show better HIV replication control in the CNS, the association between CNS penetration effectiveness (CPE) scores and neurocognitive impairment remains inconclusive. To explore whether ART exposure is associated with the risk of neurological diseases among patients with HIV/AIDS, this study in Taiwan involved 2,571 patients with neurological diseases and 10,284 matched, randomly selected patients without neurological diseases between 2010 and 2017. A conditional logistic regression model was used in this study. The parameters for ART exposure included ART usage, timing of exposure, cumulative defined daily dose (DDD), adherence, and cumulative CPE score. Incident cases of neurological diseases, including CNS infections, cognitive disorders, vasculopathy, and peripheral neuropathy, were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Odds ratios (ORs) for the risk of neurological diseases were conducted using a multivariate conditional logistic regression model. Patients with a history of past exposure (OR: 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.22–2.32), low cumulative DDDs (< 2,500) (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.15–1.42), low adherence (0 < adherence (ADH) ≤ 0.8) (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.30–1.64), or high cumulative CPE scores (>14) (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.14–1.57) had a high risk of neurological diseases. When stratified by classes of ART drugs, patients with low cumulative DDDs or low adherence had a high risk of neurological diseases, including NRTIs, PIs, NNRTIs, INSTIs, and multi-drug tablets. Subgroup analyses also suggested that patients with low cumulative DDDs or low adherence had a high risk of neurological diseases when they had high cumulative CPE scores. Patients with high cumulative DDDs or medication adherence were protected against neurological diseases only when they had low cumulative CPE scores (≤ 14). Patients may be at risk for neurological diseases when they have low cumulative DDDs, low adherence, or usage with high cumulative CPE scores. Continuous usage and low cumulative CPE scores of ART drugs may benefit neurocognitive health in patients with HIV/AIDS