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Malaria has had a major effect on the human genome, with many protective polymorphisms--such as the sickle-cell trait--having been selected to high frequencies in malaria-endemic regions.sup.1,2. The blood group variant Dantu provides 74% protection against all forms of severe malaria in homozygous individuals.sup.3-5, a similar degree of protection to that afforded by the sickle-cell trait and considerably greater than that offered by the best malaria vaccine. Until now, however, the protective mechanism has been unknown. Here we demonstrate the effect of Dantu on the ability of the merozoite form of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to invade red blood cells (RBCs). We find that Dantu is associated with extensive changes to the repertoire of proteins found on the RBC surface, but, unexpectedly, inhibition of invasion does not correlate with specific RBC-parasite receptor-ligand interactions. By following invasion using video microscopy, we find a strong link between RBC tension and merozoite invasion, and identify a tension threshold above which invasion rarely occurs, even in non-Dantu RBCs. Dantu RBCs have higher average tension than non-Dantu RBCs, meaning that a greater proportion resist invasion. These findings provide both an explanation for the protective effect of Dantu, and fresh insight into why the efficiency of P. falciparum invasion might vary across the heterogenous populations of RBCs found both within and between individuals. The rare blood group Dantu is known to protect against severe malaria, and a mechanism is proposed here: Dantu red blood cells have a high membrane tension that prevents invasion by malaria parasites., Author(s): Silvia N. Kariuki [sup.1] , Alejandro Marin-Menendez [sup.2] , Viola Introini [sup.3] , Benjamin J. Ravenhill [sup.4] , Yen-Chun Lin [sup.3] , Alex Macharia [sup.1] , Johnstone Makale [sup.1] [...]

There are three pure Internet banks in Taiwan and Line Bank accounts for more than 90% market share of pure Internet banking. In addition, despite the increasing viability of pure Internet banking, customers continue using existing banking services and results in only 10.16% of all kinds of banking services. To explore why consumers prefer one bank over others and why consumers hesitate to adopt pure Internet banking, this study considers status quo bias (habitual usage) and trust transfer in the context of LINE Bank, a company that provides its customers with comprehensive pure Internet banking services. We also theorize that intimacy with service personnel leads to the habitual usage of existing banking services, and trust in the LINE app and trust in LINE Pay affect customers' trust in LINE Bank. We also suggest that habitual usage can also reduce trust and moderates the relationship between trust in LINE Bank and usage intention. Survey data from 403 active LINE Pay and Line app users confirm that both trust in the LINE app and trust in LINE Pay exhibit positive effects on trust in LINE Bank, which in turn positively affects usage intention. In addition, intimacy enhances habitual usage, which has a negative effect on trust in LINE Bank, has a direct and negative effect on usage intention, and at the same time adversely moderates the relationship between trust in LINE Bank and usage intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the relationship between the prevalence of antinuclear antibody (ANA) ‐associated rheumatic diseases (AARD) and the presence of dense fine speckled (DFS) and homogeneous patterns in ANA tests. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled adult patients with either a DFS or homogeneous pattern in their ANA test. A mixed pattern was defined as the presence of more than one pattern reported in the test. The presence of anti‐DFS70 antibodies and other common autoantibodies were detected using EUROLINE ANA Profile 23. A 1:2 propensity score matching was applied to control for demographic and other interfering factors. Results: A total of 59 patients with a DFS pattern were enrolled and compared with a matched homogeneous group. The DFS group had a significantly lower prevalence of AARD (3.4% vs. 16.9%, p =.008) and the subgroup with anti‐DFS70 antibodies showed an even lower prevalence (2% vs. 20%, p =.002). Among the 33 patients with monospecific anti‐DFS70 antibodies, five had a mixed pattern, and all patients with common autoantibodies had an isolated DFS pattern. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that patients with a DFS pattern in their ANA test may have a lower prevalence of AARD compared with those with a homogeneous pattern. However, an isolated DFS pattern in ANA testing does not necessarily indicate the presence of monospecific anti‐DFS70 antibodies or AARD. Confirmatory testing for the monospecific anti‐DFS70 antibody is mandatory to exclude AARD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]