• Title/Summary/Keyword: fight control

Search Result 51, Processing Time 0.025 seconds

IFN-γ: A Crucial Player in the Fight Against HBV Infection?

  • Marine Laure Bettina Hillaire;Philip Lawrence;Brice Lagrange
    • IMMUNE NETWORK
    • /
    • v.23 no.4
    • /
    • pp.30.1-30.18
    • /
    • 2023
  • About 0.8 million people die because of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection each year. In around 5% of infected adults, the immune system is ineffective in countering HBV infection, leading to chronic hepatitis B (CHB). CHB is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, which can lead to patient death. Unfortunately, although current treatments against CHB allow control of HBV infection, they are unable to achieve complete eradication of the virus. Cytokines of the IFN family represent part of the innate immune system and are key players in virus elimination. IFN secretion induces the expression of interferon stimulated genes, producing proteins that have antiviral properties and that are essential to cell-autonomous immunity. IFN-α is commonly used as a therapeutic approach for CHB. In addition, IFN-γ has been identified as the main IFN family member responsible for HBV eradication during acute infection. In this review, we summarize the key evidence gained from cellular or animal models of HBV replication or infection concerning the potential anti-HBV roles of IFN-γ with a particular focus on some IFN-γ-inducible genes.

Trends of Smokeless Tobacco use among Adults (Aged 15-49 Years) in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

  • Sinha, Dhirendra N;Rizwan, SA;Aryal, Krishna K;Karki, Khem B;Zaman, Mostafa M;Gupta, Prakash C
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.16 no.15
    • /
    • pp.6561-6568
    • /
    • 2015
  • Background: Smokeless tobacco (SLT) has long been realized as an important component of the fight for global tobacco control. It still remains a major problem in countries like India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the trends of SLT use in three countries of the SEARO WHO office. Materials and Methods: We used data from national surveys in three countries (Bangladesh, India and Nepal) to estimate trends in prevalence of current SLT use. All available nationally representative data sources were used. Estimates were weighted, age standardized and given along with 95% confidence intervals. Significance of linear trend in prevalence over time was tested using the Cochrane-Armitage test for trend. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We identified three surveys for Bangladesh, three for India and four for Nepal that met the selection criteria (such as Demographic and Health Surveys, WHO-STEPwise approach to Surveillance and Global Adult Tobacco Surveys). A significantly increasing trend was noticed in the prevalence of current SLT use among Bangladeshi men (20.2% to 23%, p=0.03). In India, a similar significantly increasing trend was seen among men (27.1% to 33.4%, p<0.001) and women (10.1% to 15.7%, p<0.001). In Nepal, there was a no significant trend among both men (39.1% to 31.6%, p=0.11) and women (5.6% to 4.7%, p=0.49). Conclusions: In the study countries SLT use has remained at alarmingly high levels. Usage trends do not show any signs of decline in spite of control efforts. Tobacco control measures should focus more on controlling SLT use.

The Kuala Lumpur Qigong Trial for Women in the Cancer Survivorship Phase-Efficacy of a Three-Arm RCT to Improve QOL

  • Loh, Siew Yim;Lee, Shing Yee;Murray, Liam
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.15 no.19
    • /
    • pp.8127-8134
    • /
    • 2014
  • Background: Qigong is highly favoured among Asian breast cancer survivors for enhancing health. This study examined the hypothesis that quality of life (QoL) in the Qigong group is better than the placebo (aerobic) or usual care group. Materials and Methods: A total of 197 participants were randomly assigned to either the 8-week Kuala Lumpur Qigong Trial or control groups in 2010-2011. Measurement taken at baseline and post-intervention included QoL, distress and fatigue. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Kruskal Wallis were used to examine for differences between groups in the measurements. Results: There were 95 consenting participants in this 8week trial. The adherence rates were 63% for Qigong and 65% for the placebo group. The Qigong group showed significant marginal improvement in Quality of life scores compared to placebo (mean difference=7.3 unit; p=0.036), compared to usual care (mean difference=6.7 unit; p=0.048) on Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-Breast measure. There were no significant changes between the placebo and usual care groups in fatigue or distress at post intervention (8-week). Conclusions: Cancer survivors who participated in the Qigong intervention showed slightly better QOL. Follow up studies are greatly needed to evaluate which subgroups may best benefit from Qigong. With a steep rise of cancer survivors, there is an urgent need to explore and engage more cultural means of physical activity to fight side effects of treatment and for cancer control in developing countries.

A Study of the Suppression System based on the Fire Protection System the Korea Cultural Property due to the Forest Fire -About Water Mist System- (산림화재로부터 문화재를 보호하는 소방시설에 관한 연구 -미분무수설비를 중심으로-)

  • Kong, Ha-Sung
    • Fire Science and Engineering
    • /
    • v.21 no.4
    • /
    • pp.44-51
    • /
    • 2007
  • Most of the Korea temples of cultural property are wooden buildings and easy combusted. They are often located in mountain area far away from the city. It is very difficult to approach the fight area. The putting out is very difficult in the initial fire time. And for protecting the cultural property in the long-term continuous fire source there are some restrictions in water source and suppression system. In this paper the initial putting out fire due to the forest fire and the protection of cultural property in the long-term continuous fire source were researched. The improved project about fire control facilities of the Korea cultural property was proposed. In the proposed project the facilities using Water mist which can reduce more loss than existing facilities using water are applied. In view of the topographic position the method of eliminating the energy of combustibles and wall for cutting off the heat in the fire control facilities are also mentioned.

Chracterization of THP-1 Cell Death Induced by Porphyromonas gingivalis Infection

  • Song, YuRi;Kim, SeYeon;Park, Mee Hee;Na, Hee Sam;Chung, Jin
    • International Journal of Oral Biology
    • /
    • v.42 no.1
    • /
    • pp.17-23
    • /
    • 2017
  • Background: Periodontitis is generally a chronic disorder characterized by the breakdown of tooth-supporting tissues. P. gingivalis, a Gram-negative anaerobic rod, is one of the major pathogens associated with periodontitis. Frequently, P. gingivalis infection leads to cell death. However, the correlation between P. gingivalis-induced cell death and periodontal inflammation remains to be elucidated. Among cell deaths, the death of immune cells appears to play a significant role in inflammatory response. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine P. gingivalis-induced cell death, focusing on autophagy and apoptosis in THP-1 cells. Methods: Human acute monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) was used for all experiments. Autophagy induced by P. gingivalis in THP-1 cells was examined by Cyto ID staining. Intracellular autophagic vacuoles were observed by fluorescence microscopy using staining Acridine orange (AO); and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) was used to inhibit autophagy. Total cell death was measured by LDH assay. Cytokine production was measured by an ELISA method. Results: P. gingivalis induced autophagy in an MOI-dependent manner in THP-1 cells, but 3-MA treatment decreased autophagy and increased the apoptotic blebs. P. gingivalis infection did not increase apoptosis compared to the control cells, whereas inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA significantly increased apoptosis in P. gingivalis-infected THP-1 cells. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA also increased total cell deaths and inflammatory cytokine production, including $IL-1{\beta}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$. Conclusion: P. gingivalis induced autophagy in THP-1 cells, but the inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA stimulated apoptosis, leading to increased cell deaths and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Hence, the modulation of cell deaths may provide a mechanism to fight against invading microorganisms in host cells and could be a promising way to control inflammation.

A Detecting Technique for the Climatic Factors that Aided the Spread of COVID-19 using Deep and Machine Learning Algorithms

  • Al-Sharari, Waad;Mahmood, Mahmood A.;Abd El-Aziz, A.A.;Azim, Nesrine A.
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
    • /
    • v.22 no.6
    • /
    • pp.131-138
    • /
    • 2022
  • Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is viewed as one of the main general wellbeing theaters on the worldwide level all over the planet. Because of the abrupt idea of the flare-up and the irresistible force of the infection, it causes individuals tension, melancholy, and other pressure responses. The avoidance and control of the novel Covid pneumonia have moved into an imperative stage. It is fundamental to early foresee and figure of infection episode during this troublesome opportunity to control of its grimness and mortality. The entire world is investing unimaginable amounts of energy to fight against the spread of this lethal infection. In this paper, we utilized machine learning and deep learning techniques for analyzing what is going on utilizing countries shared information and for detecting the climate factors that effect on spreading Covid-19, such as humidity, sunny hours, temperature and wind speed for understanding its regular dramatic way of behaving alongside the forecast of future reachability of the COVID-2019 around the world. We utilized data collected and produced by Kaggle and the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science. The dataset has 25 attributes and 9566 objects. Our Experiment consists of two phases. In phase one, we preprocessed dataset for DL model and features were decreased to four features humidity, sunny hours, temperature and wind speed by utilized the Pearson Correlation Coefficient technique (correlation attributes feature selection). In phase two, we utilized the traditional famous six machine learning techniques for numerical datasets, and Dense Net deep learning model to predict and detect the climatic factor that aide to disease outbreak. We validated the model by using confusion matrix (CM) and measured the performance by four different metrics: accuracy, f-measure, recall, and precision.

Can Panax ginseng help control cytokine storm in COVID-19?

  • Choi, Jong Hee;Lee, Young Hyun;Kwon, Tae Woo;Ko, Seong-Gyu;Nah, Seung-Yeol;Cho, Ik-Hyun
    • Journal of Ginseng Research
    • /
    • v.46 no.3
    • /
    • pp.337-347
    • /
    • 2022
  • Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently a pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 are directly associated with hyper-activation of innate immune response that excessively produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and induce cytokine storm, leading to multi-organ-failure and significant morbidity/mortality. Currently, several antiviral drugs such as Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) and molnupiravir are authorized to treat mild to moderate COVID-19, however, there are still no drugs that can specifically fight against challenges of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Panax ginseng, a medicinal plant widely used for treating various conditions, might be appropriate for this need due to its anti-inflammatory/cytokine/viral activities, fewer side effects, and cost efficiency. To review Panax ginseng and its pharmacologically active-ingredients as potential phytopharmaceuticals for treating cytokine storm of COVID-19, articles that reporting its positive effects on the cytokine production were searched from academic databases. Experimental/clinical evidences for the effectiveness of Panax ginseng and its active-ingredients in preventing or mitigating cytokine storm, especially for the cascade of cytokine storm, suggest that they might be beneficial as an adjunct treatment for cytokine storm of COVID-19. This review may provide a new approach to discover specific medications using Panax ginseng to control cytokine storm of COVID-19.

The Effects of Self-Control, Parental Behaviors, and Marital Conflict on Boys' Aggression in Korean Upper Elementary School Students (초등학생 고학년 남아의 자기통제력, 부모의 양육행동, 부모간 갈등이 공격성에 미치는 영향)

  • Jun, Joo-Ram;Kim, Soon-Ok
    • Journal of Families and Better Life
    • /
    • v.30 no.2
    • /
    • pp.101-120
    • /
    • 2012
  • This research was conducted in order to find out the effects of boys' self-control, their parents' behaviors and marital conflict on boys' aggression. Subtypes of aggression in the present research consist of dimensions of the functions and forms (proactive-overt, proactive-relational, reactive-overt, reactive-relational). The participants of this study were 237 boys in the fifth and sixth grades in elementary schools located in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The questionnaires were derived and modified from Lee Hong (2009) for boys' aggression, from Ju So Young and Lee Yang Hee (2008) for boys' self-control, from Jun Joo Ram (2008) and Heo Seung Yeon (2009) for maternal behaviors and from Kang Na Jung (2008) for marital conflict. In order to grasp the general characteristics of the participants, frequency and descriptive statistics were used. Also, Pearson's correlation was applied to the relationships amomg boys' self-control, marital behaviors and marital conflict on boys' aggression. Lastly, the variables that can predict boys' aggression were analyzed through multiple regression analysis by SPSS 19.0. The major results of this study were as follows. This research showed that this model fit well for boys. To summarize the important results, what is interesting in the present study is the effect of the mother's role in rearing their sons. It was found that mothers' criticism, negative behaviors, and excessive interference can cause boys' high level of aggressiveness. Also, having parents who fight frequently was strongly associated with boys' relational aggression. An interesting finding is that the mother's support influenced boys' reactive-overt aggression. Lastly, boys' self-control was highly associated with boys' proactive-relational aggression. This research may contribute to understanding boys' aggression' subtypes. To that end, the current results suggest that the dimensions of the functions and forms may be a useful tool in an effort to inform developmental theory and intervention. Also, this research may provide guidance for the resolution of problems caused by boys' aggression. Lastly, it was found that self- control training and parental education programs might prove beneficial for helping aggressive boys to overcome their aggressive impulses.

Effects of Sagunjatang and Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata on Human Stomach Cancer Cells (사군자탕(四君子湯) 및 사군자탕가반묘(四君子湯加斑猫)가 위암세포에 미치는 영향)

  • Jung, Woo-Young;Ryu, Bong-Ha;Kim, Jin-Sung;Yoon, Sang-Hyub;Ryu, Ki-Won;Sin, Hyeon-Su
    • The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
    • /
    • v.22 no.4
    • /
    • pp.579-587
    • /
    • 2001
  • The efficacy of Sagunja-tang and Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata against the human stomach cancer was examined and molecular biological fight of its actions was studied. In the efficacy test of anti-stomach cancer cells growth using the MTT assay, administration of Sagunja-tang resulted in no significant change of stomach cancer cells growth, with the control group. Administration of Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata resulted in a decrease of stomach cancer cells growth in proportion to the concentration of mylabris phalerata and time, which was significantly different from the control group(significance recognized when p<0.05). In the test using the apoptosis assay, administration of Sagunja-tang showed an increase in apoptosis of human stomach cancer cells, with no significant difference from the control group. Administrating Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata showed an increase in apoptosis of stomach cancer cells in proportion to the concentration of mylabris phalerata and time, which was significantly different from the control group(significance recognized when p<0.05). In the test using the quantitative RT-PCR to examine stomach cancer cells growth and revelation of apoptosis related genes, administrating Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata resulted in a decrease of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptosis gene, in proportiong to concentration. No significant change was examined in the revelation of CDK1, Cdc2, Cyclin D1, PCNA, c-myc, which are genes related to the stomach cancer cells growth, and Bax, Bel-XL, the genes related to apoptosis, and p53. Referring to the results above, Sagunja-tang plus Mylabris phalerata may be considered to have an anti-growth efficacy against human stomach cancer cells, and an inducement efficacy. Therefore, it can be clinically implemented in the human stomach cancer.

  • PDF

Management of Citrus Canker in Argentina, a Success Story

  • Canteros, B.I.;Gochez, A.M.;Moschini, R.C.
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
    • /
    • v.33 no.5
    • /
    • pp.441-449
    • /
    • 2017
  • Citrus canker is an important bacterial disease of citrus in several regions of the world. Strains of Xanthomonas citri type-A (Xc-A) group are the primary pathogen where citrus canker occurs. After Xc-A entered the Northeast of Argentina in 1974, the disease spread rapidly from 1977 to 1980 and then slowed down and remained moving at slow pace until 1990 when it became endemic. Citrus canker was detected in Northwest Argentina in 2002. This paper presents the main steps in the fight of the disease and the management strategies that have been used to control citrus canker at this time. We think the process might be usefull to other countries with the same situation. Results from more than 40 years of research in Northeast (NE) Argentina indicate that we are at the limit of favorable environment for the disease. The severity of citrus canker is greatly affected by the environment and El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon which causes cyclic fluctuations on the disease intensity in the NE region. Weather-based logistic regression models adjusted to quantify disease levels in field conditions showed that the environmental effect was strongly modulated by the distance from a windbreak. Production of healthy fruits in citrus canker endemic areas is possible knowing the dynamics of the disease. A voluntary Integrated Plan to Reduce the Risk of Canker has been in place since 1994 and it allows growers to export unsymptomatic, uninfested fresh fruit to countries which are free of the disease and require healthy, pathogen free fruits. The experience from Argentina can be replicated in other countries after appropriate trials.