New records to the flora of Uzbekistan (Middle Asia)

The Republic of Uzbekistan is a Central Asian country with rich native flora. The territory belongs to the Irano-Turanian region in the Ancient Mediterranean floristic subkingdom of Holarctic. The flora of Uzbekistan accounts over 4300 species of vascular plants including large numbers of endemic species, but the check-list is still incomplete. Presented here ten new records to the flora of Uzbekistan, were found during the field studies and examination of herbarium collections preserved at TASH

Referral System: An Assessment of Primary Health Care Centres in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria

Background: An effective referral system ensures a close relationship between all levels of the health system and helps to ensure patients receive the best possible care close to home. There appears to be a weak link of referral system in chain of continuity of care across the levels of health care in Nigeria placing huge demands on secondary and tertiary levels of care for health care service provision. In view of this, this study was conducted to assess the level of practice of referral and factors influencing it among health workers in PHCs in Plateau state North central Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 228 frontline health care workers in PHCs. SPSSS version 20 was used for data analysis, adjusted odds ratio as well as 95% confidence interval were used in this study with a p-value of le 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The respondentsrsquo mean age was 38.0 plusmn 9 years with slight above half 116 (54.2%) having good understanding of the concept of referral and mostnbsp 77.6% had referred at least a case within the last one month. nbspFactors such as good understanding of the concept of referral (AOR = 6.2 95% Cl = 1.4556 ndash 8.7991) and availability of referral system (AOR = 8.4 95% Cl = 2.1168 ndash 15.5450) were predictors of the practice of referral. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the level of practice of referral among cadres of health care workers at PHCs level with significant need for improvement

Genetic Diversity of Bali Cattle in Barru Regency Based on Phenotype Characteristics and Microsatelite DNA Identifier

Sapi Bali is one of Indonesia germplasm, which has great potential to be developed as a national meat suppliers. Barru regency, South Sulawesi province is one of the purification center of Bali cattle in Indonesia. This study aimed to determine the genetic characteristics of Bali cattle in Barru regency based on identification of phenotype qualitative (horn shape and color of feathers) and quantitative traits (body size), as well as the identifier of microsatellite DNA diversity, in particular HEL9 and INRA035loci. Bali cattle phenotype characterization was done by identifying the typical qualitative properties owned by Bali cattle, as well as a quantitative trait such as body weight, body length, chest circumference and height. Blood samples were collected from about 80 heads of Bali cattle (35 males and 45 females). Extraction of genomic DNA using a DNA extraction kit (GeneJet Genomic DNA Extraction). PCR technique was then used to amplify DNA in microsatellite HEL9 and INRA035loci. Genetic diversity was calculated based on the frequency of alleles and genotypes, observed heterozygosity (Ho), expectated heterozygosity (He) and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The results showed that the predominant form of horns in males were silak bajeg while the females were silak manggulgangsa, while the percentage of normal color pattern (typical of Bali cattle) was 92.5% and the color pattern deviates ie. 7.5%. In HEL9 locus, alleles found were A and B with only AB genotype(100%). While at the INRA035 locus,were found three alleles ie. A (0.4813), B (0.50) and C (0.0187), with the most common genotype were AB (0.96). Based on shape horn and feather color, the phenotype characteristic  of Bali cattle in the Barru regency were quite diverse, but the genetic diversity of DNA microsatellite observed quite low with only found two alleles (A and B) at HEL9 and 3 alleles (A, B and C ) at the INRA035 locus

A mechanism for the inhibition of DNA-PK-mediated DNA sensing by a virus

The innate immune system is critical in the response to infection by pathogens and it is activated by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) binding to pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). During viral infection, the direct recognition of the viral nucleic acids, such as the genomes of DNA viruses, is very important for activation of innate immunity. Recently, DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a heterotrimeric complex consisting of the Ku70/Ku80 heterodimer and the catalytic subunit DNA-PKcs was identified as a cytoplasmic PRR for DNA that is important for the innate immune response to intracellular DNA and DNA virus infection. Here we show that vaccinia virus (VACV) has evolved to inhibit this function of DNA-PK by expression of a highly conserved protein called C16, which was known to contribute to virulence but by an unknown mechanism. Data presented show that C16 binds directly to the Ku heterodimer and thereby inhibits the innate immune response to DNA in fibroblasts, characterised by the decreased production of cytokines and chemokines. Mechanistically, C16 acts by blocking DNA-PK binding to DNA, which correlates with reduced DNA-PK-dependent DNA sensing. The C-terminal region of C16 is sufficient for binding Ku and this activity is conserved in the variola virus (VARV) orthologue of C16. In contrast, deletion of 5 amino acids in this domain is enough to knockout this function from the attenuated vaccine strain modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). In vivo a VACV mutant lacking C16 induced higher levels of cytokines and chemokines early after infection compared to control viruses, confirming the role of this virulence factor in attenuating the innate immune response. Overall this study describes the inhibition of DNA-PK-dependent DNA sensing by a poxvirus protein, adding to the evidence that DNA-PK is a critical component of innate immunity to DNA viruses

Impact of complex NOTCH1 mutations on survival in paediatric T-cell leukaemia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Molecular alterations occur frequently in T-ALL and the potential impact of those abnormalities on outcome is still controversial. The current study aimed to test whether <it>NOTCH1 </it>mutations and additional molecular abnormalities would impact T-ALL outcome in a series of 138 T-ALL paediatric cases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>T-ALL subtypes, status of <it>SIL-TAL1 </it>fusion, ectopic expression of <it>TLX3</it>, and mutations in <it>FBXW7</it>, <it>KRAS</it>, <it>PTEN </it>and <it>NOTCH1 </it>were assessed as overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) prognostic factors. OS and EFS were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The frequencies of mutations were 43.5% for <it>NOTCH1</it>, while <it>FBXW7</it>, <it>KRAS </it>and <it>PTEN </it>exhibited frequencies of 19.1%, 9.5% and 9.4%, respectively. In 78.3% of cases, the coexistence of <it>NOTCH1 </it>mutations and other molecular alterations was observed. In multivariate analysis no statistical association was revealed between <it>NOTCH1 </it>mutations and any other variable analyzed. The mean length of the follow-up was 68.4 months and the OS was 50.7%. <it>SIL-TAL1 </it>was identified as an adverse prognostic factor. <it>NOTCH1 </it>mutation status was not associated with outcome, while the presence of <it>NOTCH1 </it>complex mutations (indels) were associated with a longer overall survival (<it>p </it>= 0.031) than point mutations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>NOTCH1 </it>mutations alone or in combination with <it>FBXW7 </it>did not impact T-ALL prognosis. Nevertheless, complex <it>NOTCH1 </it>mutations appear to have a positive impact on OS and the <it>SIL-TAL1 </it>fusion was validated as a negative prognostic marker in our series of T-ALL.</p

Nature futures for the urban century : Integrating multiple values into urban management

There is an emerging consensus that the health of the planet depends on the coexistence between rapidly growing cities and the natural world. One strategy for guiding cities towards sustainability is to facilitate a planning process based on positive visions for urban systems among actors and stakeholders. This paper presents the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF), a framework for scenario building for cities that is based on three Nature Futures perspectives: Nature for Nature, Nature for Society, and Nature as Culture. Our framework engages stakeholders with envisioning the three Nature Futures perspectives through four components using participatory methods and quantitative models: identification of the socio-ecological feedbacks in cities, assessment of indirect impacts of cities on biodiversity, development of multi-scale indicators, and development of scenarios. Stakeholders in cities may use this framework to explore different options for integrating nature in its various manifestations within urban areas and to assess how different community preferences result in various cityscapes and distribution of associated benefits from nature among urban dwellers across multiple scales

Relationship between peripheral airway function and patient-reported outcomes in COPD: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health status, dyspnea and psychological status are important clinical outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) measured by spirometry, the standard measurement of airflow limitation, has only a weak relationship with these outcomes in COPD. Recently, in addition to spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS) measuring lung resistance (R) and reactance (X) is increasingly being used to assess pulmonary functional impairment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We aimed to identify relationships between IOS measurements and patient-reported outcomes in 65 outpatients with stable COPD. We performed pulmonary function testing, IOS, high-resolution computed tomography (CT), and assessment of health status using the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), dyspnea using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale and psychological status using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We then investigated the relationships between these parameters. For the IOS measurements, we used lung resistance at 5 and 20 Hz (R5 and R20, respectively) and reactance at 5 Hz (X5). Because R5 and R20 are regarded as reflecting total and proximal airway resistance, respectively, the fall in resistance from R5 to R20 (R5-R20) was used as a surrogate for the resistance of peripheral airways. X5 was also considered to represent peripheral airway abnormalities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>R5-R20 and X5 were significantly correlated with the SGRQ and the MRC. These correlation coefficients were greater than when using other objective measurements of pulmonary function, R20 on the IOS and CT instead of R5-R20 and X5. Multiple regression analyses showed that R5-R20 or X5 most significantly accounted for the SGRQ and MRC scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>IOS measurements, especially indices of peripheral airway function, are significantly correlated with health status and dyspnea in patients with COPD. Therefore, in addition to its simplicity and non-invasiveness, IOS may be a useful clinical tool not only for detecting pulmonary functional impairment, but also to some extent at least estimating the patient's quality of daily life and well-being.</p