Introduction: Autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis affect millions of people worldwide. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) contains polymorphisms associated with these autoimmune diseases. Two of these functional polymorphisms are found upstream of the IRF5 gene. rs2004640, which is a single nucleotide polymorphism and the CGGGG insertion/deletion (indel) were studied. IRF5 uses four different promoters for its four first exons: 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D. Each promoter was analyzed, including functional differences due to the autoimmune-risk polymorphisms.Results: IRF5 promoters were analyzed using ChIP-Seq data (ENCODE database) and the FactorBook database to define transcription factor binding sites. To verify promoter activity, the promoters were cloned into luciferase plasmids. Each construct exhibited luciferase activity. Exons 1A and 1D contain putative PU.1 and NFkB binding sites. Imiquimod, a Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) ligand, was used to activate these transcription factors. IRF5 levels were doubled after imiquimod treatment (p < 0.001), with specific increases in the 1A promoter (2.2-fold, p = 0.03) and 1D promoter (2.8-fold, p = 0.03). A putative binding site for p53, which affects apoptosis, was found in the promoter for exon 1B. However, site-directed mutagenesis of the p53 site showed no effect in a reporter assay.Conclusion: The IRF5 exon 1B promoter has been characterized, and the responses of each IRF5 promoter to TLR7 stimulation have been determined. Changes in promoter activity and gene expression are likely due to specific and distinct transcription factors that bind to each promoter. Since high expression of IRF5 contributes to the development of autoimmune disease, understanding the source of increased IRF5 levels is key to understanding autoimmune etiology.

A flow rate of 40 mL/min was determined to be most efficient during the grooving step of cataract surgery. Further increases in flow rate showed no statistically significant improvement in efficiency, and with only 17% improvement flow rates less than 40 mL/min might be almost as efficient and might be safer.

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine optimal bottle height, vacuum, aspiration rate, and power settings of the Oertli CataRhex 3 ® phacoemulsification machine. Methods Porcine lens nuclei were hardened with formalin and cut into 2.0 mm cubes. Lens cubes were emulsified using the easyTip ® 2.2 mm at 30°. Fragment removal time (efficiency) and fragment bounces off the tip (chatter) were measured. Settings tested included bottle height of 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm; aspiration rate of 40, 45, and 50 mL/min; vacuum of 400, 500, and 600 mmHg; and power of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100%. Results Efficiency and chatter increased in a linear fashion with increasing vacuum to 600 mmHg ( P =0.017, P =0.046, respectively). The most efficient aspiration rate was 50 mL/min, although this finding lacked statistical significance ( P =0.66). Increasing power increased efficiency up to 80% without increasing chatter ( P =0.042, P =0.71, respectively). Compared to all other power settings, chatter was increased at 100% ( P =0.014). Conclusion The most efficient machine settings were vacuum at 600 mmHg, aspiration rate at 50 mL/min, and power at 80%.