19 REBYU KONTRA COVID-19: Kalipunan ng mga Panunuring-aklat sa Agham Panlipunan, Teolohiya, at Panitikan

hindi malabong maisip ng ilan na kawalang-saysay, kung hindi man pagaaksaya ng panahon, ang paglilimbag ng isang akda na nagsusulong sa kahalagahan ng pagbabasa ng mga aklat at pagkatuto pang ibang paksa na di-hamak na mas napapanahon at mas dapat pagtuunan ng pansin sa gitna ng isang pandaigdigang krisis? Kahawig din nito ang isyung kinaharap ni C.S. Lewis noong panahon ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig. Makabuluhan pa ba ang pagaaral at pagkatuto sa gitna ng isang digmaang kahit kailan ay maaaring kumitil sa buhay nila at ng kanilang mga minamahal? Sa isang panayam sa Oxford noong 1939 ay ganito ang naging tugon ni Lewis sa katanungang ito

Characterizing Emerging Canine H3 Influenza Viruses.

The continual emergence of novel influenza A strains from non-human hosts requires constant vigilance and the need for ongoing research to identify strains that may pose a human public health risk. Since 1999, canine H3 influenza A viruses (CIVs) have caused many thousands or millions of respiratory infections in dogs in the United States. While no human infections with CIVs have been reported to date, these viruses could pose a zoonotic risk. In these studies, the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) network collaboratively demonstrated that CIVs replicated in some primary human cells and transmitted effectively in mammalian models. While people born after 1970 had little or no pre-existing humoral immunity against CIVs, the viruses were sensitive to existing antivirals and we identified a panel of H3 cross-reactive human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) that could have prophylactic and/or therapeutic value. Our data predict these CIVs posed a low risk to humans. Importantly, we showed that the CEIRS network could work together to provide basic research information important for characterizing emerging influenza viruses, although there were valuable lessons learned

Whole-genome sequencing of chronic lymphocytic leukemia identifies subgroups with distinct biological and clinical features

The value of genome-wide over targeted driver analyses for predicting clinical outcomes of cancer patients is debated. Here, we report the whole-genome sequencing of 485 chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients enrolled in clinical trials as part of the United Kingdom's 100,000 Genomes Project. We identify an extended catalog of recurrent coding and noncoding genetic mutations that represents a source for future studies and provide the most complete high-resolution map of structural variants, copy number changes and global genome features including telomere length, mutational signatures and genomic complexity. We demonstrate the relationship of these features with clinical outcome and show that integration of 186 distinct recurrent genomic alterations defines five genomic subgroups that associate with response to therapy, refining conventional outcome prediction. While requiring independent validation, our findings highlight the potential of whole-genome sequencing to inform future risk stratification in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Suring Supling: Panitikang Pambata bilang Kasangkapan ng Pagbabalik-loob sa Egalitaryong Sistema ng Sinaunang Pamayanang Pilipino

Mula pa lamang sa pagkabata ng babae’t lalaki, naitakda na ng lipunan ang kanilang mga gampanin, ang mga dapat nilang gawin, at ang mga dapat nilang iwasan. Kadalasang binibigyan ang mga batang lalaki ng bola, bisikleta, laruang sasakyan, baril-barilan, taotauhang sundalo, at iba pang mga bagay na humuhulma sa kanila upang maging maliksi at aktibo. Samantala, ang pangkaraniwan namang binibili para sa mga batang babae ay mga manyika, doll house, at mga laruang pangbahay-bahayan tulad ng laruang crib, washing machine, duyan, luto-lutuan, at iba pa. Nakatutulong naman ang mga ito upang maging pasibo ang mga batang babae, at para na rin maihanda sila sa mga gawaing-bahay sa hinaharap bilang ina

Genetic and Demographic Insights into the Decline of a Captive Population of the Endangered Hawaiian Tree Snail Achatinella fuscobasis (Achatinellinae)

Hawaiian tree snails in subfamily Achatinellinae have experienced drastic population declines and range reductions as a result of habitat destruction, overcollection, and introduced predators. In 1991, 11 in dividuals from one of the last remaining populations of Achatinella fuscobasis, a federally listed species, were brought to the University of Hawai‘i’s tree - snail captive - rearing facility. After increasing in population size to 441 snails in 2005, the population subsequently declined to only 120 snails by 2014, a 73 % reduction. In this study, we assessed demographic and genetic changes that occurred in the captive - bred population of A. fuscobasis. Demographic data were compared to genetic data collected from 11 microsatellite markers for the F1 to F3 generations to investigate the role bottle neck effects such as loss of genetic diversity and in breeding may have had on the population decline. Demographic measures such as juvenile survival and survival to maturity remained constant for the F1 and F2 generations, and significantly decreased in the F3 generation. There was no difference in genetic diversity measures such as allelic richness, gene diversity, and observed heterozygosity among generations, but all generations were characterized by low genetic diversity and high inbreeding. The drastic population decline appears to have been due to stochastic demographic dynamics characteristic of small populations, with bottle neck effects that occurred be fore the founding of the ex situ population acting in synergy with factors such as disease

Demographic and genetic factors in the recovery or demise of ex situ populations following a severe bottleneck in fifteen species of Hawaiian tree snails

Wild populations of endangered Hawaiian tree snails have declined precipitously over the last century due to introduced predators and other human impacts. Life history traits, such as very low fecundity (<5 offspring per year across taxa) and maturity at approximately four years of age have made recovery difficult. Conservation efforts such as in situ predator-free enclosures may increase survival to maturity by protecting offspring from predation, but no long-term data existed prior to this study demonstrating the demographic and genetic parameters necessary to maintain populations within those enclosures. We evaluated over 20 years of evidence for the dynamics of survival and extinction in captive ex situ populations of Hawaiian tree snails established from wild-collected individuals. From 1991 to 2006, small numbers of snails (<15) from fifteen species were collected from the wild to initiate captive-reared populations as a hedge against extinction. This small number of founders resulted in a severe bottleneck in each of the captive-reared populations.We identified key demographic parameters that predicted population recovery from this bottleneck. Species with captive populations that produced between two and four offspring per adult per year and had 20–50% of those offspring survive to maturity recovered to numbers above 100 individuals, and maintained viable populations following a decline that occurred between 2009 and 2014. Those populations that had less than two offspring per adult per year and less than 20% survival to maturity did not reach 100 individuals in captivity, and many of these populations died out during the recent decline. We suggest that small reductions in fitness may contribute to extirpation in taxa with inherently low fecundity, by keeping populations below a threshold number essential to long-term recovery. Future ex situ populations should be founded with no less than 15 adults, and maintained in conditions closely approximating the temperature and humidity of source locations to optimize fitness. Permanent translocations of wild populations for conservation purposes will be more likely to succeed with greater than 100 adults, and should be limited to locations with a similar climate to source locations

Teleoperated Robotic Arm (ToRA)

The Teleoperated robot control system allows humans to operate at a certain distance. It is composed of a master device used by the operator and a slave device which follows the commands of the operator. In dangerous and hostile environments, teleoperation systems are implemented so that a person can perform a task from a different location where it is safe. This study focuses on constructing a teleoperated robot arm control system composed of a master-slave configuration of simulation control by a computer and a robot arm that would be able to mimic the movements of a human arm. The virtual manipulator which is the master is simulated while the robot arm, equipped with motors, is used as representation of the slave in the master-slave configuration. The virtual manipulator makes use of kinematic equations to provide the correct position and orientation of the virtual arm. The path planning implementation for the movement of the arm is a direct, straight path using best first search in the workspace through comparisons of Euclidian distances. The P.I.D. control system minimized the steady state error and improved system response. The combination of actuators placed on the joints of the arm, forearm and wrist covers a total of four (4) degrees of freedom of the robotic arm

Microscopic Colitis and Medication Use

Background The incidence of microscopic colitis (MC) is increasing, but its etiology remains unknown. Case reports and limited controlled data suggest that commonly prescribed drugs may be triggers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of selected medication use [Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), and Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)] in patients with MC compared to ‘random controls’ and ‘diarrhea controls.' Methods All patients were selected from primary care practices of a university health system during 2002 to 2007. Patients with biopsy proven lymphocytic or collagenous colitis were identified as cases. Diarrhea controls consisted of a 10:1 random sample of patients with chronic diarrhea and normal colon biopsies. Ten random controls were matched to each case on sex and index date (date of biopsy proven diagnosis). Drugs prescribed within the year prior to the index date were collected from the electronic medical record system. Results 26 cases (median age 68.9 yrs), 259 random, and 259 diarrhea controls were identified. The adjusted ORs for PPI, SSRI, and statin prescription within 12 months of diagnosis of MC between cases and diarrhea controls were 0.28 (0.07-1.07), 0.87 (0.28-2.64), 1.12 (0.34-3.71) respectively. Use of PPI and statins was less common in MC patients than in random controls ( P < 0.05 for both comparisons). Conclusions While prior data suggest that PPIs, statins, and SSRIs may be etiologically related to MC, our study found no increased association with these drugs