China’s Weibo: is faster different?

The popularization of microblogging in China represents a new challenge to the state’s regime of information control. The speed with which information is diffused in the microblogosphere has helped netizens to publicize and express their discontent with the negative consequences of economic growth, income inequalities and official corruption. In some cases, netizen led initiatives have facilitated the mobilization of online public opinion and forced the central government to intervene to redress acts of lower level malfeasance. However, despite the growing corpus of such cases, the government has quickly adapted to the changing internet ecology and is using the same tools to help it maintain control of society by enhancing its claims to legitimacy, circumscribing dissent, identifying malfeasance in its agents and using online public opinion to adapt policy and direct propaganda efforts. This essay reflects on microblogging in the context of the Chinese internet, and argues that successes in breaking scandals and mobilizing opinion against recalcitrant officials should not mask the reality that the government is utilizing the microblogosphere to its own advantage

Forecasting Tunisian type 2 diabetes prevalence to 2027: validation of a simple model.

BACKGROUND: Most projections of type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence are simply based on demographic change (i.e. ageing). We developed a model to predict future trends in T2D prevalence in Tunisia, explicitly taking into account trends in major risk factors (obesity and smoking). This could improve assessment of policy options for prevention and health service planning. METHODS: The IMPACT T2D model uses a Markov approach to integrate population, obesity and smoking trends to estimate future T2D prevalence. We developed a model for the Tunisian population from 1997 to 2027, and validated the model outputs by comparing with a subsequent T2D prevalence survey conducted in 2005. RESULTS: The model estimated that the prevalence of T2D among Tunisians aged over 25 years was 12.0% in 1997 (95% confidence intervals 9.6%-14.4%), increasing to 15.1% (12.5%-17.4%) in 2005. Between 1997 and 2005, observed prevalence in men increased from 13.5% to 16.1% and in women from 12.9% to 14.1%. The model forecast for a dramatic rise in prevalence by 2027 (26.6% overall, 28.6% in men and 24.7% in women). However, if obesity prevalence declined by 20% in the 10 years from 2013, and if smoking decreased by 20% over 10 years from 2009, a 3.3% reduction in T2D prevalence could be achieved in 2027 (2.5% in men and 4.1% in women). CONCLUSIONS: This innovative model provides a reasonably close estimate of T2D prevalence for Tunisia over the 1997-2027 period. Diabetes burden is now a significant public health challenge. Our model predicts that this burden will increase significantly in the next two decades. Tackling obesity, smoking and other T2D risk factors thus needs urgent action. Tunisian decision makers have therefore defined two strategies: obesity reduction and tobacco control. Responses will be evaluated in future population surveys

The Role of Medical Language in Changing Public Perceptions of Illness

This study was designed to investigate the impact of medical terminology on perceptions of disease. Specifically, we look at the changing public perceptions of newly medicalized disorders with accompanying newly medicalized terms (e.g. impotence has become erectile dysfunction disorder). Does using “medicalese” to label a recently medicalized disorder lead to a change in the perception of that condition? Undergraduate students (n = 52) rated either the medical or lay label for recently medicalized disorders (such as erectile dysfunction disorder vs. impotence) and established medical conditions (such as a myocardial infarction vs. heart attack) for their perceived seriousness, disease representativeness and prevalence. Students considered the medical label of the recently medicalized disease to be more serious (mean = 4.95 (SE = .27) vs. mean = 3.77 (SE = .24) on a ten point scale), more representative of a disease (mean = 2.47 (SE = .09) vs. mean = 1.83 (SE = .09) on a four point scale), and have lower prevalence (mean = 68 (SE = 12.6) vs. mean = 122 (SE = 18.1) out of 1,000) than the same disease described using common language. A similar pattern was not seen in the established medical conditions, even when controlled for severity. This study demonstrates that the use of medical language in communication can induce bias in perception; a simple switch in terminology results in a disease being perceived as more serious, more likely to be a disease, and more likely to be a rare condition. These findings regarding the conceptualization of disease have implications for many areas, including medical communication with the public, advertising, and public policy

Aromatic hydrocarbons as ozone precursors before and after outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis in the Pearl River Delta region, south China

Author name used in this publication: Chan, LoyinAuthor name used in this publication: Frank S. C. Lee2011-2012 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of human acute myeloid leukemia

Accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00262-015-1762-9The use of peptide vaccines, enhanced by adjuvants, has shown some efficacy in clinical trials. However, responses are often short-lived and rarely induce notable memory responses. The reason is that self-antigens have already been presented to the immune system as the tumor develops, leading to tolerance or some degree of host tumor cell destruction. To try to break tolerance against self-antigens, one of the methods employed has been to modify peptides at the anchor residues to enhance their ability to bind major histocompatibility complex molecules, extending their exposure to the T-cell receptor. These modified or analogue peptides have been investigated as stimulators of the immune system in patients with different cancers with variable but sometimes notable success. In this review we describe the background and recent developments in the use of analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia describing knowledge useful for the application of analogue peptide treatments for other malignancies

Immuno-epidemiology of human Schistosoma haematobium infection: preferential IgG3 antibody responsiveness to a recombinant antigen dependent on age and parasite burden

BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a major parasitic disease affecting over 200 million people in the developing world with a further 400 million people at risk of infection. The aim of this study was to identify a single antigen from adult Schistosoma haematobium worms and subsequently use this antigen to study the development of schistosome-acquired immunity in a human population. METHODS: The full-length cDNA sequence of a S. haematobium protein, a putative orthologue of the S. mansoni tegumental antigen Sm13, was obtained from a cDNA library of adult S. haematobium worms and named Sh13 following a small-scale expressed sequence tags (EST) project. The recombinant Sh13 protein expressed in E. coli, was used to investigate immuno-epidemiological patterns in 147 Zimbabweans (7–18 years old) exposed to S. haematobium. RESULTS: Sequence analysis of the full-length cDNA sequence of the S. haematobium protein Sh13, indicated that the protein has an N-terminal signal peptide and encodes an 85-amino acid mature protein with a highly conserved predicted transmembrane domain (86 % identity with the S. mansoni tegumental antigen Sm13). The recombinant Sh13 protein was used in ELISA assays to determine the reactivity of sera from the study participants. Antibody responses against Sh13 were predominantly IgG3 isotype compared to responses against crude worm antigens which were predominantly IgG1 and IgG4. The relationship between anti-Sh13 IgG3 levels and infection intensity varied significantly with host age. The youngest children (7–10 years old) had relatively low levels of both infection and anti-Sh13 IgG3. In older children (11–12 years old) rising infection levels were accompanied by a significant increase in anti-Sh13 IgG3 levels. Subsequently, infection intensity declined significantly in 13–18 year olds but levels of the antibody continued to rise. The changing relationship between infection intensity and anti-Sh13 IgG3 levels with host age is consistent with the profile of a protective immune response predicted from theoretical work. CONCLUSION: We have identified and characterised a novel S. haematobium antigen Sh13, a putative tegumental protein, and shown that it is recognised predominantly by IgG3 antibodies from people infected with/exposed to S. haematobium parasites. We have also shown that, the anti-Sh13 IgG3 response is maximal in older individuals with the lowest infection intensity, and that the age profile of the relationship between anti-Sh13 IgG3 and infection intensity is consistent with that predicted by theoretical work for a protective response stimulated by and directed against adult worms

Effect of D222G Mutation in the Hemagglutinin Protein on Receptor Binding, Pathogenesis and Transmissibility of the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus

Influenza viruses isolated during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic generally lack known molecular determinants of virulence associated with previous pandemic and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses. The frequency of the amino acid substitution D222G in the hemagglutinin (HA) of 2009 H1N1 viruses isolated from severe but not mild human cases represents the first molecular marker associated with enhanced disease. To assess the relative contribution of this substitution in virus pathogenesis, transmission, and tropism, we introduced D222G by reverse genetics in the wild-type HA of the 2009 H1N1 virus, A/California/04/09 (CA/04). A dose-dependent glycan array analysis with the D222G virus showed a modest reduction in the binding avidity to human-like (α2-6 sialylated glycan) receptors and an increase in the binding to avian-like (α2-3 sialylated glycan) receptors in comparison with wild-type virus. In the ferret pathogenesis model, the D222G mutant virus was found to be similar to wild-type CA/04 virus with respect to lethargy, weight loss and replication efficiency in the upper and lower respiratory tract. Moreover, based on viral detection, the respiratory droplet transmission properties of these two viruses were found to be similar. The D222G virus failed to productively infect mice inoculated by the ocular route, but exhibited greater viral replication and weight loss than wild-type CA/04 virus in mice inoculated by the intranasal route. In a more relevant human cell model, D222G virus replicated with delayed kinetics compared with wild-type virus but to higher titer in human bronchial epithelial cells. These findings suggest that although the D222G mutation does not influence virus transmission, it may be considered a molecular marker for enhanced replication in certain cell types.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)United States. National Institutes of Health (merit award R37 GM057073-13)Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technolog

Induction of Cytoplasmic Rods and Rings Structures by Inhibition of the CTP and GTP Synthetic Pathway in Mammalian Cells

Background: Cytoplasmic filamentous rods and rings (RR) structures were identified using human autoantibodies as probes. In the present study, the formation of these conserved structures in mammalian cells and functions linked to these structures were examined. Methodology/Principal Findings: Distinct cytoplasmic rods (,3–10 mm in length) and rings (,2–5 mm in diameter) in HEp-2 cells were initially observed in immunofluorescence using human autoantibodies. Co-localization studies revealed that, although RR had filament-like features, they were not enriched in actin, tubulin, or vimentin, and not associated with centrosomes or other known cytoplasmic structures. Further independent studies revealed that two key enzymes in the nucleotide synthetic pathway cytidine triphosphate synthase 1 (CTPS1) and inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2) were highly enriched in RR. CTPS1 enzyme inhibitors 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine and Acivicin as well as the IMPDH2 inhibitor Ribavirin exhibited dose-dependent induction of RR in.95 % of cells in all cancer cell lines tested as well as mouse primary cells. RR formation by lower concentration of Ribavirin was enhanced in IMPDH2-knockdown HeLa cells whereas it was inhibited in GFP-IMPDH2 overexpressed HeLa cells. Interestingly, RR were detected readily in untreated mouse embryonic stem cells (.95%); upon retinoic acid differentiation, RR disassembled in these cells but reformed when treated with Acivicin