bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical significance of weak interleukin‐35 expression in patients with psoriasis
Authors: Li Tengda , Gu Mingli , Liu Peng , Liu Yun , Guo Jie , Zhang Weiwei , Qian Cheng , Deng Anmei 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTCD4+T cells and their related cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, a chronic, recurrent, inflammatory skin disease. The role of IL‐35, an immunosuppressive cytokine involved in many autoimmune diseases, in the pathogenesis of psoriasis is unclear. In this study IL‐35 expression and its clinical significance in patients with psoriasis were evaluated. Protein and mRNA levels of specified markers were measured by ELISA and qRT‐PCR, respectively. It was found that plasma IL‐35 concentrations were lower in patients with psoriasis than in healthy individuals (Z = −6.525, P < 0.0001). mRNA titers of Ebi3 and p35 were lower in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with psoriasis than in those from healthy individuals (Z = −5.078, P < 0.0001; Z = −2.609, P = 0.009, respectively). The areas under the receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curves for IL‐35, Ebi3 and p35 in patients with psoriasis versus controls were 0.86, 0.78 and 0.64, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that, in patients with psoriasis, plasma IL‐35 expression correlated negatively with concentrations of INF‐γ, tumor necrosis factor‐alpha, IL‐23, −17, and −22, and the Psoriasis Activity and Severity Index and positively with concentrations of transforming growth factor beta and IL‐10 . In summary, IL‐35 may mediate pathogenesis of psoriasis by influencing expression of Th1/Th17/Treg‐related cytokines and may therefore be a putative target for monitoring or treating psoriasis.
Sickness‐induced lethargy can increase host contact rates and pathogen spread in water‐limited landscapes
Authors: Franz Mathias , Kramer‐Schadt Stephanie , Greenwood Alex D. , Courtiol Alexandre 
Published: May 2018

AbstractSevere infections in vertebrates commonly elicit sickness behaviour that includes anorexia and lethargy. Intuitively, sickness‐induced lethargy (SIL) should reduce contact among hosts. Therefore, for directly transmitted pathogens, sickness behaviour should reduce pathogen spread. However, there are indications that the relationship betweenSILand host contact rates can be reversed under specific social conditions.Here, we used an agent‐based model to investigate the possibility that the nonsocial environment can also impact the relationship betweenSILand host contact rates.Our results demonstrate that in water‐limited landscapes,SILcan increase host contact rates and associated pathogen spread. Based on our results, we hypothesize that a sickness‐induced increase in contact rates should be particularly likely and most pronounced in animals that are highly water dependent such as African buffaloes living in savanna environments.In the context of virulence evolution, our findings contradict the expectation that the direct transmission of pathogens generally favours the evolution of reduced pathogen virulence compared to vector‐ and water‐borne transmission. Instead, our findings suggest that the opposite effect is possible in water‐limited landscapes: compared to vector‐ and water‐borne transmission, direct transmission can favour the evolution of increased virulence.Our findings could be relevant in contexts other than direct transmission in water‐limited landscapes. For example, in addition to aggregating around limited water sources, sick individuals might aggregate at, or around, limited food sources, which could facilitate the spread of pathogens with different transmission modes. Therefore, sickness‐induced behavioural changes could critically affect the transmission of many pathogens in different environmental contexts.Aplain language summaryis available for this article.
50‐year anniversary of Lloyd's “mean crowding”: Ideas on patchy distributions
Authors: Wade Michael J. , Fitzpatrick Courtney L. , Lively Curtis M. 
Published: May 2018

Abstract

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Monte B. Lloyd's “Mean Crowding” (1967) paper, in which he introduced a metric that accounts for an individual's experience of conspecific density.

Mean crowding allows ecologists to measure the degree of spatial aggregation of individuals in a manner relevant to intraspecific competition for resources.

We take the concept of mean crowding a step beyond its most common usage and that it has a mathematical relationship to many of the most important concepts in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Mean crowding, a first‐order approximation of the degree of nonrandomness in a distribution, can function as a powerful heuristic that can unify concepts across disciplines in a more general way that Lloyd originally envisioned.
Previous exposure to myxoma virus reduces survival of European rabbits during outbreaks of rabbit haemorrhagic disease
Authors: Barnett Louise K. , Prowse Thomas A. A. , Peacock David E. , Mutze Gregory J. , Sinclair Ron G. , Kovaliski John , Cooke Brian D. , Bradshaw Corey J. A. 
Published: May 2018

Abstract

Exploiting synergies among diseases or parasites could increase the efficacy of biological control of invasive species. In Australia, two viruses were introduced to control European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus: myxoma virus in 1950 and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus in 1995. While these biological controls caused initial declines of >95% in affected populations, and despite recurring outbreaks of both diseases, rabbits remain a problem in many areas.

We used 18 years of capture–mark–recapture, dead recovery, and antibody assay data from a sentinel population in South Australia to test whether these two diseases interact to modify the survival of individual wild rabbits. We compared four joint, multistate, dead‐recovery models to test the hypotheses that rabbit haemorrhagic disease and myxoma viruses have synergistic (i.e., previous exposure to one virus affects survival during outbreaks of the other virus) or additive effects (i.e., previous exposure to one virus does not affect survival during outbreaks of the other virus).

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease outbreaks reduced the survival of individuals with no immunity by more than half during the 58‐day capture‐trip intervals, i.e., from 0.86–0.90 to 0.37–0.48. Myxomatosis outbreaks had a smaller effect, reducing survival to 0.74–0.82; however, myxomatosis outbreaks were more prolonged, spanning more than twice as many trips.

There was considerable information‐theoretic support (wAICc = 0.69) for the model in which exposure to myxomatosis affected survival during rabbit haemorrhagic disease outbreaks. Rabbits previously exposed to myxoma virus had lower survival during rabbit haemorrhagic disease outbreaks than rabbits never exposed to either virus. There was negligible support for the model in which previous exposure to rabbit haemorrhagic disease affected survival in myxomatosis outbreaks (wAICc < 0.01).

Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that biological control agents can have a greater impact than single‐pathogen challenge studies might suggest. Introducing additional biological control agents might therefore increase the mortality of rabbits beyond the additive effects of individual biological controls. Furthermore, our results show that by understanding and exploiting disease synergies, managers could increase the efficacy of biological controls for other invasive animals.
Asset Location, Timing Ability and the Cross‐Section of Commercial Real Estate Returns
Authors: Ling David C. , Naranjo Andy , Scheick Benjamin 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThis study examines the sensitivity of equity REIT returns to time‐varying MSA allocations of REIT property portfolios. Using a large sample of individual commercial property holdings, we find significant cross‐sectional and time variation in REIT geographic exposures and the ability of these exposures to explain the cross‐section of REIT returns. We further find evidence consistent with REIT managers being able, on average, to time allocation decisions ahead of MSA outperformance. This effect is most prevalent in non‐gateway markets, varies significantly across MSAs and over time, and is concentrated in financially flexible firms with a more diversified geographic portfolio.
Detection of Enterotoxin Genes and Methicillin‐Resistance inStaphylococcus aureusIsolated from Water Buffalo Milk and Dairy Products
Authors: Saka Erdem , Terzi Gulel Goknur 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe aim of this study was to analyze the presence of genes encoding staphylococcal enterotoxins and methicillin resistance inStaphylococcus aureusisolates obtained from water buffalo milk and dairy products. A total of 200 samples (100 raw milk, 50 clotted cream, and 50 cheese samples) was collected from different dairy farms and smallholders in Samsun, Turkey. All samples were analyzed using the standard procedure EN ISO 6888‐1 and isolates were confirmed for the presence of the target 16S rRNA specific forStaphylococcusgenus specific andnucgene specific forS. aureusspecies by PCR.S. aureuswas identified in 30 of 100 milk (30%), 9 of 50 clotted cream (18%), and 17 of 50 cheese (34%) samples. A total of 99 isolates was confirmed asS. aureus. Genotypic methicillin resistance was evaluated using PCR for themecAgene. Out of 99 isolates, nine (9%) were found to be methicillin resistant (mecAgene positive). Twelve out of 99 (12%)S. aureusisolates were found positive for one or more genes encoding the enterotoxins. The gene coding for enterotoxin,sea, was the most frequent (five isolates, 41.6%), followed bysec(two isolates, 16.6%),sed(1 isolates, 8.3%) andsee(1 isolate, 8.3%). While three isolates (25%) contained bothsecandsed, none of the samples was positive forseb. In conclusion, the presence ofsegene‐positive and methicillin‐resistantS. aureusin buffalo milk and products revealed that consumption of these products is a potential risk of foodborne infection in this region.Practical ApplicationEnterotoxigenic and methicillin‐resistantS. aureus (MRSA) in milk and dairy products is an important public health problem. Especially in traditional dairy products, Staphylococcal enterotoxins may cause food poisoning due to consumption of raw or unpasteurized milk products.
Low FT3 is a valuable predictor of severe acute pancreatitis in the emergency department
Authors: Yang Wei Qiang , Yang Qian , Chen Wan Jun , Zhang Xiao Bin , Xu Qing Qing , Qiao Yun , Xu Xin Hui , Liu Li , Lu Xiao Ye , Zhu Chang Qing 
Published: May 2018

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between serum levels of thyroid hormones and disease severity at the early stage of acute pancreatitis (AP).METHODSCohort data from 172 patients with AP attending the Emergency Department of our hospital from 2012 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Patients were categorized into mild (MAP), moderately severe (MSAP) and severe AP (SAP) groups based on the disease severity. The MSAP and SAP groups were combined into a non‐MAP group for analysis. The predictive values of C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels, Ranson score, APACHE II score and serum thyroid hormone levels were analyzed.RESULTSIn total, 76 (44.2%), 85 (49.4%) and 11 (6.4%) patients were included in the MAP, MSAP and SAP groups, respectively. The free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels were significantly lower in the combined non‐MAP group than in the MAP group. The tetraiodothyronine (T4) levels were significantly lower in the SAP group than in the MAP and MSAP groups (P = 0.002). Logistic regression analysis revealed that a low FT3 level was an independent risk factor for the incidence of non‐MAP (P = 0.004). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and sensitivity of FT3 were 0.729 and 88.2%, respectively, which were higher than those of CRP, Ranson and APACHE II scores.CONCLUSIONMonitoring FT3 levels in the early stage of AP is helpful for evaluating disease severity and predicting the incidence of non‐MAP, making it a useful tool for guiding AP treatment.
Fatty liver mediated by peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐α DNA methylation can be reversed by a methylation inhibitor and curcumin
Authors: Li Yu Yuan , Tang Dan , Du Yan Lei , Cao Chuang Yu , Nie Yu Qiang , Cao Jie , Zhou Yong Jian 
Published: May 2018

OBJECTIVEOur studies in vitro and in vivo aimed to investigate the influence of DNA methylation of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor‐α (PPAR‐α) gene in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis and to observe whether the DNA methylation inhibitor 5‐Aza‐2'‐deoxycytidine (5‐Aza‐CdR) and the herbal medicine curcumin might reverse the effect both in vivo and in vitro.METHODSSteatotic hepatocyte model of cell lines and NAFLD rat models were established following protocols documented in previous studies. Subsequently, the models received 5‐Aza‐CdR and curcumin treatment. Morphological, histological and laboratory variables in each group were determined by routine methods, including PPAR‐α mRNA expression by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), PPAR‐α protein expression by Western blot and DNA methylation by pyrosequencing.RESULTSThe steatotic hepatocyte model and NAFLD rat model were completely established. The expressions of PPAR‐α mRNA and protein were significantly lower in the steatotic hepatocyte and NAFLD rat model groups than in the controls (P < 0.05). The mean DNA methylation levels of the PPAR‐α gene were significantly higher in the two steatotic model groups than in the controls, especially at several CpG sites (P < 0.05). 5‐Aza‐CdR and curcumin treatment significantly reversed the DNA methylation levels, increased PPAR‐α mRNA and protein expression, and improved lipid accumulation in the two steatotic models (P < 0.05).CONCLUSIONSDNA methylation at the PPAR‐α gene is involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and is possibly reversible by 5‐Aza‐CdR and curcumin. Curcumin may be a promising candidate for NAFLD therapy.
Negative association between serum aryl hydrocarbon receptor concentrations and β‐cell function in patients with no history of diabetes undergoing coronary angiography
Authors: Wang Jun‐Sing , Lee Wen‐Jane , Lee I‐Te , Lin Shih‐Yi , Lee Wen‐Lieng , Liang Kae‐Woei , Lin Shing‐Jong , Sheu Wayne Huey‐Herng 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of the present study was to investigate the association between serum aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) levels and insulin resistance and β‐cell function in patients undergoing coronary angiography with no history of diabetes.MethodsPatients with no history of diabetes who had undergone coronary angiography underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 2–4 weeks after discharge from hospital; blood samples were collected for measurements of glucose, insulin, and AhR. Patients’ glucose regulation status was determined on the basis of the OGTT. Insulin resistance was assessed using the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR). β‐Cell function was assessed using the insulinogenic index (IGI).ResultsThe study included 473 patients (mean (±SD) age 61 ±12 years, 81.8% male, mean body mass index 26.1 ±3.6 kg/m2). Overall, mean serum AhR concentrations were 25.1 ±12.2 pg/mL. Patients with normal glucose tolerance had a lower serum AhR concentrations than patients with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes (23.4 ±10.8 vs 26.2 ±13.2 and 26.9 ±12.3 pg/mL, respectively; P = 0.029). Linear regression analysis revealed that serum AhR concentrations were not associated with HOMA‐IR, but were negatively associated with IGI after adjustment for several confounders, including HOMA‐IR (β = −0.162; 95% confidence interval − 0.302, −0.022; P = 0.023).ConclusionsIn patients with no history of diabetes, serum AhR concentrations were negatively associated with β‐cell function, independent of several confounders, including insulin resistance.
Optimal body mass index cut‐off points for prediction of incident diabetes in a Chinese population
Authors: Ma Hao , Wu Xiaoyan , Guo Xiaoyu , Yang Jianjun , Ma Xiaohui , Lv Mengfan , Li Ying 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundThe current body mass index (BMI) classifications have been established based on the risk of obesity‐related conditions, but not specifically on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this study was to identify the optimal BMI cut‐off points for assessing incident T2DM risk in the Chinese population.MethodsThe longitudinal study cohort consisted of 8735 non‐diabetic participants aged 20–74 years at baseline, with a mean follow‐up period of 6.0 years. Body mass index, 2‐h plasma glucose after a 75‐g oral glucose tolerance test, and HbA1c were measured at baseline and follow‐up.ResultsDuring the follow‐up period, 825 participants were diagnosed with T2DM. In multivariable Cox regression analyses, after adjusting for covariates, a strong positive association between BMI and incident T2DM was found in the whole population; however, when stratified by age groups (20–39, 40–59, and 60–74 years), the risk associations between BMI and incident T2DM decreased with increasing age and were no longer evident in the 60–74 years group (Pinteraction < 0.001). The optimal BMI cut‐off points for predicting T2DM risk for men and women were 25.5 and 24.4 kg/m2, respectively, in the 20–39 years group, and 23.5 and 23.0 kg/m2, respectively, in the 40–59 years group. There was no predictive performance of BMI in the 60–74 years group for either sex.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the performance of BMI in predicting T2DM risk was best in subjects of younger age and decreased with age. Age‐ and sex‐specific BMI cut‐off points should be considered for T2DM risk stratification in the Chinese population.
Evaluation of redundancy analysis to identify signatures of local adaptation
Authors: Capblancq Thibaut , Luu Keurcien , Blum Michael G. B. , Bazin Eric 
Published: May 2018

AbstractOrdination is a common tool in ecology that aims at representing complex biological information in a reduced space. In landscape genetics, ordination methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) have been used to detect adaptive variation based on genomic data. Taking advantage of environmental data in addition to genotype data, redundancy analysis (RDA) is another ordination approach that is useful to detect adaptive variation. This study aims at proposing a test statistic based on RDA to search for loci under selection. We compare redundancy analysis to pcadapt, which is a nonconstrained ordination method, and to a latent factor mixed model (LFMM), which is a univariate genotype–environment association method. Individual‐based simulations identify evolutionary scenarios where RDA genome scans have a greater statistical power than genome scans based on PCA. By constraining the analysis with environmental variables, RDA performs better than PCA in identifying adaptive variation when selection gradients are weakly correlated with population structure. In addition, we show that if RDA and LFMM have a similar power to identify genetic markers associated with environmental variables, the RDA‐based procedure has the advantage to identify the main selective gradients as a combination of environmental variables. To give a concrete illustration of RDA in population genomics, we apply this method to the detection of outliers and selective gradients on an SNP data set of Populus trichocarpa (Geraldes et al., ). The RDA‐based approach identifies the main selective gradient contrasting southern and coastal populations to northern and continental populations in the north‐western American coast.
Performance Measure Aggregation in Multi‐Task Agencies
Authors: Şabac Florin , Yoo Junwook 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTIn multi‐task environments, the efficiency of aggregating managerial performance information and the degree of customization/standardization are closely related. Aggregation without information loss (i.e., statistically sufficient) requires at least as many measures as there are effective tasks (which arise through a task aggregation process analogous to that applied to homogeneous activities in activity‐based costing) and can be used uniformly for evaluation across similar jobs. Aggregation without economic loss (i.e., economically sufficient) can be achieved with a single performance measure but requires customization even across similar jobs. The main implication is that job complexity, the number of aggregate performance measures, and the degree of customization in performance measurement are interrelated. In particular, at the same level of performance measure aggregation, we predict highly customized performance evaluation in complex multi‐task jobs and standardized (uniform) performance evaluation only in simpler jobs with fewer tasks. We discuss additional empirical implications in the conclusion.
Th2 cytokines orchestrate the secretion of MUC5AC and MUC5B in IL‐5‐positive chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
Authors: Zhang Y. , Derycke L. , Holtappels G. , Wang X. D. , Zhang L. , Bachert C. , Zhang N. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundMucin over‐secretion is a significant characteristic of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Th2 cytokines and MUC5AC or MUC5B, and the mechanism of mucin over‐secretion in the type‐2 inflammatory endotype of CRSwNP.MethodsMain Th‐cell cytokines, associated mediators, and mucins were determined in the homogenates of nasal polyp samples from 21 CRSwNP patients and inferior turbinate samples from 8 controls, by ELISA or UniCAP system. Secretion of MUC5AC and MUC5B was measured in the supernatants of IL‐5, IL‐4, or IL‐13 primed nasal polyp fragments. Co‐localization of MUC5AC, MUC5B, and IL‐4 receptor α (IL‐4Rα) in CRSwNP and controls was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Gene expression of IL‐4Rα in the samples was measured by real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction.ResultsBaseline protein levels of the Th2‐cytokines IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐13, and mucins MUC5AC and MUC5B were significantly higher in the IL‐5(+) CRSwNP group, compared to control and IL‐5(−) CRSwNP groups. MUC5AC and MUC5B secretions were significantly increased in IL‐4‐ or IL‐13‐primed, but not IL‐5‐primed fragments of nasal polyps. Immuno‐stained serial sections demonstrated that IL‐4Rα was widely expressed in the epithelium and submucosal glands in control and nasal polyp tissues. Gene expression of IL‐4Rα was elevated in nasal polyp tissues, specifically in the IL‐5(+) CRSwNP group.ConclusionsIn type‐2 inflammatory nasal polyps, characterized by the tissue expression of IL‐5, MUC5AC and MUC5B are overexpressed. Both IL‐4 and IL‐13 may upregulate mucin expression via IL‐4Rα, which is also overexpressed in IL‐5(+) CRSwNP.
Lack of fit tests based on sums of ordered residuals for linear models
Authors: Hattab Mohammad W. , Christensen Ronald 
Published: May 2018

SummaryChristensen & Lin () suggested two lack of fit tests to assess the adequacy of a linear model based on partial sums of residuals. In particular, their tests evaluated the adequacy of the mean function. Their tests relied on asymptotic results without requiring small sample normality. We propose four new tests, find their asymptotic distributions, and propose an alternative simulation method for defining tests that is remarkably robust to the distribution of the errors. To assess their strengths and weaknesses, the Christensen & Lin () tests and the new tests were compared in different scenarios by simulation. In particular, the new tests include two based on partial sums of absolute residuals. Previous partial sums of residuals tests have used signed residuals whose values when summed can cancel each other out. The use of absolute residuals requires small sample normality, but allows detection of lack of fit that was previously not possible with partial sums of residuals.