Modeling lunar calendar effects in taiwan

The three most important Chinese holidays, Chinese New Year, the Dragon- boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Holiday have dates determined by a lunar calendar and move between two solar months. Consumption, production, and other economic behavior in countries with large Chinese population including Taiwan are strongly affected by these holidays. For example, production accelerates before lunar new year, almost completely stops during the holidays and gradually rises to an average level after the holidays. This moving holiday often creates difficulty for empirical modeling using monthly data and this paper employs an approach that uses regressors for each holiday to distinguish effects before, during and after holiday. Assuming that the holiday effect is the same for each day of the interval over which the regressor is nonzero in a given year, the value of the regressor in a given month is the proportion of this interval that falls in the month. Bell and Hillmer (1983) proposed such a regressor for Easter which is now extensively used in the U.S. and Europe. We apply the Bell and Hillmer's method to analyze ten important series in Taiwan, which might be affected by moving holidays. AICC and out-of-sample forecast performance were used for selecting number of holiday regressors and their interval lengths. The results are further checked by various diagnostic checking statistics including outlier detection and sliding spans analysis. The empirical results support this approach. Adding holiday regressors can effectively control the impact of moving holidays and improves the seasonal decomposition. AICC and accumulated forecast error are useful in regressor selection. We find that unemployment rates in Taiwan have holiday effects and seasonal factors cannot be consistently estimated unless the holiday factor is included. Furthermore, as the unemployment is rising, the magnitude of holiday and seasonal factor are decreasing. Finally, we find that holiday factors are generally smaller than seasonal factors but should not be ignored.lunar new year, moving holiday, seasonal adjustment, X12-ARIMA

Neonatal Natural Killer Cell Function: Relevance to Antiviral Immune Defense

Neonates are particularly susceptible to various pathogens compared to adults, which is attributed in part to their immature innate and adaptive immunity. Natural killer cells provide first-line innate immune reactions against virus-infected cells without prior sensitization. This review updates phenotypic and functional deficiencies of neonatal cells compared to their adult counterparts and their clinical implications

Enterovirus specific anti-peptide antibodies

Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) is the main causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) which is generally regarded as a mild childhood disease. In recent years, EV71 has emerged as a significant pathogen capable of causing high mortalities and severe neurological complications in large outbreaks in Asia. A formalin-inactivated EV71 whole virus vaccine has completed phase III trial in China but is currently unavailable clinically. The high cost of manufacturing and supply problems may limit practical implementations in developing countries. Synthetic peptides representing the native primary structure of the viral immunogen which is able to elicit neutralizing antibodies can be made readily and is cost effective. However, it is necessary to conjugate short synthetic peptides to carrier proteins to enhance their immunogenicity. This review describes the production of cross-neutralizing anti-peptide antibodies in response to immunization with synthetic peptides selected from in silico analysis, generation of B-cell epitopes of EV71 conjugated to a promiscuous T-cell epitope from Poliovirus, and evaluation of the neutralizing activities of the anti-peptide antibodies. Besides neutralizing EV71 in vitro, the neutralizing antibodies were cross-reactive against several Enteroviruses including CVA16, CVB4, CVB6, and ECHO13

Co-regulatory expression quantitative trait loci mapping: method and application to endometrial cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies have helped identify the genetic determinants of gene expression. Understanding the potential interacting mechanisms underlying such findings, however, is challenging.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We describe a method to identify the <it>trans-</it>acting drivers of multiple gene co-expression, which reflects the action of regulatory molecules. This method-termed <it>co-regulatory expression quantitative trait locus </it>(creQTL) <it>mapping</it>-allows for evaluation of a more focused set of phenotypes within a clear biological context than conventional eQTL mapping.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Applying this method to a study of endometrial cancer revealed regulatory mechanisms supported by the literature: a creQTL between a locus upstream of STARD13/DLC2 and a group of seven IFNβ-induced genes. This suggests that the Rho-GTPase encoded by STARD13 regulates IFNβ-induced genes and the DNA damage response.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Because of the importance of IFNβ in cancer, our results suggest that creQTL may provide a finer picture of gene regulation and may reveal additional molecular targets for intervention. An open source R implementation of the method is available at <url>http://sites.google.com/site/kenkompass/</url>.</p

Bilateral Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysms with Diffuse Intracranial Calcification : Report of One Case

A 15-year-old girl with voice hoarseness and neck soreness for 4 months had a pulsating mass, sized 3×5 cm, adjacent to the right mastoid process . Physical examination revealed normal blood pressure recordings in 4 limbs and no stigmata of Marfan syndrome. Examination of the oral cavity showed bulging of the right pharyngeal wall medially, and the tongue deviated to the right at protrusion. Laboratory workups including complete blood counts, biochemistry, electrolytes, serological and immunological surveys revealed nothing particular. Echocardiography disclosed mild aortic dilatation. Computed tomography of the head and neck revealed bilateral carotid aneurysms with extensive intracranial calcification. The saccular aneurysm over the left internal carotid artery was resected, and end-to-end anastomosis of the left imternal carotid artery was performed. The giant occluded right carotid aneurysm was left unmanaged. The combination of bilateral carotid aneurysms and intracranial calcification has not been reported. The etiologies are discussed and a causal relationship between these two conditions is postulated.# 0238

Race with virus evolution: The development and application of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been urgently developed around the world. On the basis of the mRNA vaccine technology developed previously, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines were promptly tested in animals, advanced to clinical trials, and then authorized for emergency use in humans. The administration of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines has successfully reduced the hospitalization and mortality caused by the viral infection, although the virus continuously evolves with its transmission. Therefore, the development of mRNA vaccine technology, including RNA modification and delivery systems, is well recognized for its contribution to moderating the harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientists who developed these technologies, Katalin Karikó, Drew Weissman, and Pieter Cullis, were awarded the 2022 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science. In this review, we summarize the principles, safety and efficacy of as well as the immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Since mRNA vaccine approaches could be practical for the prevention of infectious diseases, we also briefly describe mRNA vaccines against other human viral pathogens in clinical trials

Effect of Interleukin-15 on CD11b, CD54, and CD62L Expression on Natural Killer Cell and Natural Killer T-Like Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Adhesion molecules may play an important role in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. We investigated the effect of interleukin- (IL-) 15 on CD11b, CD54, and CD62L expression on natural killer (NK) cells, T cells, and CD56+CD3+ NKT-like cells from SLE subjects and healthy controls. SLE patients had decreased circulating NK cells and NKT-like cells compared to controls. NK cells from SLE patients showed higher CD11b and CD62L expression compared to controls. IL-15 enhanced CD11b and CD54 but downregulated CD62L expression on NK cells from SLE patients. Similar observations were found for T cells and NKT-like cells. NK cells from SLE patients expressed higher CD56 than controls; both could be further enhanced by IL-15. IL-15 also enhanced CD56 expression of NKT-like cells from SLE patients. A greater degree of IL-15 induced downregulation of CD62L on NKT-like cells noted in SLE patients compared to controls. The percentage of CD11b expressing NK cells and the % inhibition of CD62L expression on NKT-like cells by IL-15 correlated with serum anti-dsDNA levels in SLE patients, respectively. Taken together, we demonstrated the dysfunctional NK and NKT-like cells in SLE patients with regard to CD11b and CD62L expression and their response to IL-15