TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given a paragraph from the research paper and your task is to generate a suitable title for the research paper based on the given paper. Under 100 words is a good title length.
PROBLEM: The immunostimulatory effects of oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN) containing unmethylated CpG dinucleotides (CpG-ODN) in certain base contexts have been extensively studied in man and mice. One major action is their ability to trigger production of massive amounts of interferon-a (IFN-a) by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC), also referred to as natural IFN-a/b producing cells (NIPC). The present study using porcine PBMC activated by CpG-ODN or plasmid DNA revealed a considerable variation in the IFN-a production in response to various CpG-ODN constructs. Several phosphodiester ODNs, such as 5 0 TTTTCAATTCGAAGATGAAT 3 0 (ODN H), and the plasmid pcDNA3 all required pre-incubation with lipofectin in order to induce IFN-a. Intact unmethylated CpGs were also important, because methylation or substitution of the cytosines and CpG-inversion strongly reduced the IFN-a induction by single-or double-stranded forms of ODN H. Certain CpG-ODNs that contained flanking phosphorothioate or phosphodiester poly-G sequences were potent inducers of IFN-a without pre-incubation with lipofectin, for instance the ODN 2216 (5 0 GGGGGACGATCGTCGGGGGG 3 0 ). While poly-G sequences have been suggested to increase uptake of ODNs by cells, they did not obviate the need for lipofectin when added to the ODN H. However, they resulted in up to five-fold increases of the IFN-a levels caused by ODN H upon lipofection, indicating other enhancing effects of poly-G sequences on the induction of IFN-a. The identity of the IFN-a producing cells (IPC) stimulated by CpG-ODN or plasmid DNA was studied by means of flow cytometry using combined staining for intracellular IFN-a and surface markers. Approximately 1-3 IPC/10 3 PBMC were detected, compared to only 3 IPC/10 4 PBMC stimulated by Aujeszky's disease virus. The IPC frequencies were confirmed by detection of IFN-a mRNA positive cells by in situ hybridisation. The IPC induced by CpG-ODN or plasmid DNA had a similar phenotype, expressing CD2 and CD4 and intermediate levels of MHC class II and the myeloid marker SWC3, but not the markers of T and B cells or

SOLUTION: Characteristics of oligodeoxyribonucleotides that induce interferon (IFN)-a in the pig and the phenotype of the IFN-a producing cells monocytes (CD3, CD21 and CD14)

PROBLEM: Influenza has been well documented to significantly contribute to winter increase of mortality in the temperate countries, but its severity in the subtropics and tropics was not recognized until recently and geographical variations of disease burden in these regions remain poorly understood. In this study, we applied a standardized modeling strategy to the mortality and virology data from three Asian cities: subtropical Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and tropical Singapore, to estimate the disease burden of influenza in these cities. We found that influenza was associated with 10.6, 13.4 and 8.3 deaths per 100,000 population in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. The annual rates of excess deaths in the elders were estimated highest in Guangzhou and lowest in Singapore. The excess death rate attributable to A/H1N1 subtype was found slightly higher than the rates attributable to A/H3N2 during the study period of 2004-2006 based on the data from Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Our study revealed a geographical variation in the disease burden of influenza in these subtropical and tropical cities. These results highlight a need to explore the determinants for severity of seasonal influenza.

SOLUTION: Influenza associated mortality in the subtropics and tropics: Results from three Asian cities

PROBLEM: The rat (Rattus norvegicus) is used in a broad field of biomedical research, and numerous animal models for human diseases have been developed. The rat genetic map, however, remains poorly documented. Hedrich (1990) described a rat linkage map consisting of 13 groups, of which only 6 were assigned to chromosomes. Levan and coworkers (1991, 1992) collected mapping information from the literature, including their own works. Their tables and figures contain gene chromosomal assignments, cytogenetical localizations, and comparisons of the rat G-banding pattern with those of mice and humans, but do not include any information about gene orders or distances. Recently, an informative rat genetic linkage map has been reported by Serikawa and colleagues (1992b). It is based on the segregation of 125 polymorphic markers in seven rat backcrosses and two F 2 crosses, and all of the linkage groups are assigned to particular chromosomes. The linkage map and the information on microsatellite markers became a great help for genetic studies with rat models for human diseases. Since then, a considerable amount of new data for the rat linkage map has appeared in several publications. We, therefore, have collected mapping data published up to the middle of 1993, including our recent reports, and have summarized it here in a list of mapped loci. This genetic map, constructed by combining several linkage data, and two comparative maps for mouse or human homologous rat genes should be very informative to many researchers working on genetic studies in rats, mice, or humans. Rat genetic linkage map

SOLUTION:
Special Report A rat genetic linkage map and comparative maps for mouse or human homologous rat genes