Susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus has been linked to a region on chromosome 2q. Fine-mapping of this locus, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in patients ...with lupus, traces the association to a single variant of the gene
STAT4,
which encodes a transcription factor activated by cytokines.
Fine mapping of a region on chromosome 2q, in patients with rheumatoid arthiritis and in patients with lupus, traces an association to a single variant of the gene
STAT4,
which encodes a transcription factor activated by cytokines.
Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common cause of adult inflammatory arthritis and is associated with considerable disability and early mortality.
1
Studies of twins clearly show a genetic contribution to disease susceptibility,
2
and the siblings of patients with seropositive, erosive rheumatoid arthritis have an estimated risk of developing the disease of between 5 and 10 times that of the general population.
3
The highly polymorphic
HLA
region is a major contributor to genetic risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
4
Several other genes associated with more modest risks have recently been identified, including the Arg620→Trp variant of the intracellular phosphatase gene
PTPN22
.
5
,
6
However, . . .
The structural and magnetic properties of Bi
0.5
La
0.5
Fe
1−
x
Cr
x
O
3−
δ
(
x
= 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40) compounds synthesized by a solid-state reaction method have been investigated. ...Rietveld refinement of x-ray and neutron powder diffraction data revealed a nonpolar orthorhombically distorted perovskite
Pnma
structure with long-range G-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in the studied samples. It was observed that substitution by Cr strongly influenced the morphology, crystalline, and magnetic properties of the samples. Interestingly, Cr doping led to an abrupt increase in the crystallite size from 31 nm for
x
= 0 to 740 nm for
x
= 0.40. This size change was accompanied by a decrease of microstrain by about twofold and a sudden change of the structural parameters. Magnetization measurements indicated the coexistence of ferromagnetic (FM) clusters with long-range AFM order. It was established that Cr doping leads to a suppression of the magnetic states. More interestingly, all of the samples demonstrated a spontaneous large exchange bias (EB) effect at room temperature, which is of great interest from the viewpoint of practical applications. The EB effect originates from pinning of uncompensated spins at the interfaces between FM clusters and the AFM matrix.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Diabetes and obesity are chronic diseases that are a burden to low- and middle-income countries. We conducted this systematic review to understand gene-diet interactions affecting the Southeast Asian ...population's risk of obesity and diabetes. The literature search was performed on Google Scholar and MEDLINE (PubMed) search engines independently by four reviewers who evaluated the eligibility of articles based on inclusion criteria. Out of 19,031 articles, 20 articles examining gene-diet interactions on obesity and/or diabetes-related traits met the inclusion criteria. Three (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore) out of eleven Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have conducted studies on gene-diet interactions on obesity and diabetes. From the 20 selected articles, the most common interactions were observed between macronutrients and genetic risk score (GRS) on metabolic disease-related traits in the Malay, Chinese, and Indian ethnicities. Overall, we identified 29 significant gene-diet interactions in the Southeast Asian population. The results of this systematic review demonstrate ethnic-specific gene-nutrient interactions on metabolic-disease-related traits in the Southeast Asian population. This is the first systematic review to explore gene-diet interactions on obesity and diabetes in the Southeast Asian population and further research using larger sample sizes is required for better understanding and framing nutrigenetic approaches for personalized nutrition.
We present a catalog of galaxy clusters selected via their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signature from 2500 deg super(2) of South Pole Telescope (SPT) data. This work represents the complete sample ...of clusters detected at high significance in the 2500 deg super(2) SPT-SZ survey, which was completed in 2011. A total of 677 (409) cluster candidates are identified above a signal-to-noise threshold of xi = 4.5 (5.0). Ground- and space-based optical and near-infrared (NIR) imaging confirms overdensities of similarly colored galaxies in the direction of 516 (or 76%) of the xi > 4.5 candidates and 387 (or 95%) of the xi > 5 candidates; the measured purity is consistent with expectations from simulations. Of these confirmed clusters, 415 were first identified in SPT data, including 251 new discoveries reported in this work. We estimate photometric redshifts for all candidates with identified optical and/or NIR counterparts; we additionally report redshifts derived from spectroscopic observations for 141 of these systems. The mass threshold of the catalog is roughly independent of redshift above z ~ 0.25 leading to a sample of massive clusters that extends to high redshift. The median mass of the sample is M sub(500c)(rho sub(crit)) ~3.5 x 10 super(14) M sub(middot in circle) h super(-1) sub(70), the median redshift is z sub(med) = 0.55, and the highest-redshift systems are at z > 1.4. The combination of large redshift extent, clean selection, and high typical mass makes this cluster sample of particular interest for cosmological analyses and studies of cluster formation and evolution.
BRCA testing services are now offered by various healthcare providers, thus it is important to evaluate whether the implementation of cancer risk management (CRM) strategies varies by service ...provider. Using a registry‐based sample of 795 female BRCA mutation carriers, we explored the association between uptake of CRM strategies with duration of genetic counseling (GC) sessions, provider type, and other demographic and clinical variables. All participants completed a baseline questionnaire. Information about uptake of CRM strategies was collected for a subset of 438 participants who completed additional questions. Summary statistics and Pearson chi‐squared analysis were used to examine the associations between demographic and clinical variables with service delivery factors and with the uptake of various CRM strategies. Overall uptake of CRM strategies was high across all provider types. However, GC sessions were longer when provided by a genetics professional than by another provider (p < 0.001). Furthermore, higher frequencies of uptake of most CRM strategies were associated with longer GC sessions and when testing was performed by a genetics professional. Identification of factors to optimize delivery of these specialized GC services is important to maximize implementation of CRM strategies in BRCA carriers.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Teaching computer programming language remotely presents particular difficulties due to its requirement for abstract and logical thinking. There is a dearth of research specifically examining the ...potential factors that determine student performance when distance self-learning is conducted for programming language education. This study aims to determine the influencing factors to conduct successful programming education on distance self-learning to help novice students effectively. The study is underlined by a concept map-based approach. A quasi-experimental approach was used to collect data from seventy-eight students. By utilizing factor analysis, this study proposes nine determinant factors of distance self-learning performance, namely educational architecture, knowledgeability, expectation insight, engagement tools, good organization, technological accessibility, assignment familiarity, advantageous tool, and assistance feature. This work suggested determinant factors that can predict student learning performance to motivate meaningful distance self-learning and construct their knowledge in programming education.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Aims
Global angiographic scores have been developed to determine the extent of myocardium jeopardized by significant coronary stenosis. We adapted these scores to quantify the anatomic area at risk ...during acute myocardial infarction. We used contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (CMR) infarct imaging to measure the portion of myocardium that developed necrosis within the so defined angiographic area at risk.
Methods and results
In 83 subjects presenting for primary percutaneous intervention, the myocardium at risk was estimated angiographically using the Myocardial Jeopardy Index (BARI) and a modified version of the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) scores. CMR was performed within a week to measure infarct size, infarct endocardial surface area (infarct-ESA), and infarct transmurality. As infarct transmurality increased, the infarct size closely approximated the myocardium at risk by angiography. In 35 subjects with transmural infarcts, the area at risk by BARI and APPROACH scores matched the infarct size (r = 0.90 and r = 0.92, P < 0.001). Additionally, BARI and APPROACH scores matched the infarct-ESA in all subjects independently of collateral flow and time to reperfusion (r = 0.90 and r = 0.87, P < 0.001). The presence of early reperfusion, collaterals, or both was associated with a progressive decrease in infarct transmurality (P < 0.001 for trend) with no difference in the infarct-ESA.
Conclusion
The myocardium at risk of infarction can be determined angiographically as validated in subjects with transmural myocardial infarcts. Salvage provided by early reperfusion or collaterals occurs by limiting infarct transmurality, thereby the extent of endocardial infarct involved also allows estimation of the myocardium at risk in patients presenting with STEMI.
The adiabatic evolution of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a key prediction of standard cosmology. We study deviations from the expected adiabatic evolution of the CMB ...temperature of the form T(z) = T0(1 + z)1 - ... using measurements of the spectrum of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with the South Pole Telescope (SPT). We present a method for using the ratio of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal measured at 95 and 150 GHz in the SPT data to constrain the temperature of the CMB. We demonstrate that this approach provides unbiased results using mock observations of clusters from a new set of hydrodynamical simulations. We apply this method to a sample of 158 SPT-selected clusters, spanning the redshift range 0.05 < z < 1.35, and measure α=0.017..., consistent with the standard model prediction of α = 0. In combination with other published results, we find α = 0.005 ± 0.012, an improvement of ~10 per cent over published constraints. This measurement also provides a strong constraint on the effective equation of state in models of decaying dark energy w... = -0.994 ± 0.010. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
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