Objective. To investigate the predisposing role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Chinese population.Methods. Polymorphism in the HLA-DRB, DQB, complement component C4, and 21-hydroxylase genes was analyzed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and oligonucleotide probing of in vitrwamplified DNA from 88 Chinese patients with SLE and 69 matched control subjects.Results. HLA-DRwlS and DQwl were significantly more frequent in patients (corrected P < 0.006, relative risk 5.2), but none of the 9 sequence variants of DQwl were increased. The C4A gene deletion usually associated with SLE in Caucasoid and black patients Conclusion. Different MHC haplotypes predispose to lupus in Chinese than in other ethnic groups. Our data suggest that the susceptibility lies at, or telomeric to, the DR locus, and that DRwlS and C4 deletions may act synergistically in conferring disease susceptibility .Susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with the polymorphic genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). In particular, several reports have described increases in the frequencies of HLA-B8, DR2, DR3, and DQwl (la), as well as null alleles of C4A (2,3,5), in different lupus populations. A finding common to several ethnic groups is an increased risk conferred by a 30-kilobase DNA deletion in the MHC class 111 region, encornpassing the C4 gene and the 21-hydroxylase A (CYP2IA) pseudogene, which is usually linked with DR3 in white patients (6)(7)(8) and with DR2 or DR3 in black patients (9). This deletion, however, is not associated with SLE in all populations (10).To investigate the relative contributions of the MHC class I1 and class I11 genes to SLE and its clinical manifestations, we determined DR and DQ genotypes and MHC class 111 gene polymorphisms in a large series of lupus patients and controls of Southern Chinese origin. This population represents an ethnically well-defined and clinically well-characterized study group in which the lupus-susceptibility alleles can be compared with those in other ethnic groups.

Context Understanding the variability and dynamics of ecosystems, as well as their responses to climate or land use change, is challenging for policy makers and natural resource managers. Virtual reality (VR) can be used to render virtual landscapes as immersive, visceral experiences and communicate ecosystem dynamics to users in an effective and engaging way. Objectives To illustrate the potential and believability of VR, a team of landscape ecologists and immersive visualisation researchers modelled a reference Australian Box Gum Grassy Woodland landscape, an endangered eucalypt woodland ecosystem that is difficult to observe in its pre-European colonisation form. Methods We document considerations for designing the immersive virtual landscape, including the creation of animated three-dimensional (3D) plants that alternate between the seasons, and soundscapes that change through the course of a simulated day. We used a heuristic evaluation with experts to assess the potential of immersive VR landscape modeling. Results This cross disciplinary collaboration resulted in a VR experience that was evaluated in a series of meetings by 27 ecologists and managers in biodiversity conservation, many of whom were familiar with Box Gum Grassy Woodlands. 88% of participants stated that the simulation was believable and participants thought that virtual landscapes held great potential for education, public engagement and land management. Conclusions Possible future directions include open-source libraries of ecological 3D models, and the visual simulation of historic landscapes and future climate change scenarios.

At the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, nine patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were treated for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) between January 1987 and December 1988. When they developed PCP all the patients' SLE disease course was active and eight of them were on prednisolone. Four of these eight patients were also receiving cyclophosphamide. Patients who were on more intensive immunosuppressive therapy were found to develop more severe PCP. All the patients except one were treated with high-dose cotrimoxazole. Four patients responded to antipneumocystis treatment and survived, while PCP was responsible for the death of the five non-survivors.