bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Topical corticosteroid inhibits interleukin‐4, ‐5 and ‐13 in nasal secretions following allergen challenge
Authors: Erin E. M. , Zacharasiewicz A. S. , Nicholson G. C. , Tan A. J. , Higgins L. A. , Williams T. J. , Murdoch R. D. , Durham S. R. , Barnes P. J. , Hansel T. T. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Cytokines and chemokines produced by allergen‐reactive T‐helper type 2 (Th2) cells may be pivotal to the pathophysiology of allergic disorders.Objective
This study was performed to assess the effect of 7 days of topical corticosteroid on nasal allergen challenge (NAC) in terms of eosinophils, cytokines and chemokines obtained by nasal lavage and filter paper methods.Methods
Patients with grass pollen seasonal‐allergic rhinitis (n=13) out of season received nasal challenge following matched placebo (twice daily into each nostril for 7 days) and fluticasone propionate (100 μg twice daily into each nostril for 7 days). Chemokine and cytokine levels were analysed using a sensitive automated bead immunoassay system at intervals up to 8 h after NAC.Results
Levels of cytokines and chemokines from filter paper were generally higher than from nasal lavage. Fluticasone propionate caused a reduction in symptoms, total leukocyte counts and eosinophils, and abrogation of IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐6 and IL‐13 responses in the filter paper taken in the late phase (P<0.05 for IL‐4 and IL‐13, P<0.01 for IL‐5 and IL‐6). Levels of chemokines (eotaxin, RANTES, MCP‐1, MIP‐1α, IL‐8 and IP‐10) were also reduced in the late phase (P<0.01 at 8 h). However, levels of IL‐2, IL‐3, IL‐7, IL‐12 (p40 and p70), ‐15, TNF‐α, IFN‐γ and GM‐CSF were not affected.Conclusion
Fluticasone propionate has selective inhibitory effects on Th2 cytokine synthesis following nasal challenge, while also decreasing release of chemokines, but not affecting levels of Th1 cytokines.
Expression of CXCR6 and its ligand CXCL16 in the lung in health and disease
Authors: Morgan A. J. , Guillen C. , Symon F. A. , Huynh T. T. , Berry M. A. , Entwisle J. J. , Briskin M. , Pavord I. D. , Wardlaw A. J. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Chemokine receptors (CR) play an important role in T cell migration, but their contribution to lung trafficking is unclear.Objective
We hypothesized that if a particular CR was involved in T cell homing its expression would be enriched on lung T cells compared with peripheral blood T cells (PBT).Methods
We have measured the CR expression on BAL T cells from patients with sarcoid, other interstitial lung diseases (ILD), asthma and healthy volunteers.Results
Of 14 CR studied in sarcoid, CXCR6 expression was the most markedly increased in the lung compared with the blood, a finding that was also seen in ILD patients. A striking although lesser increase was also seen in asthmatics and healthy controls. Analysis of expression of the CXCR6 ligand, CXCL16, by immunohistochemistry suggested that alveolar macrophages (AM) were the major source of CXCL16 in the lung. AM expressed mRNA for CXCL16 and released nanogram quantities after adhesion to plastic as shown by RT‐PCR, Western blotting and ELISA. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from all subjects contained large amounts of CXCL16. The full‐length CXCL16 was the predominant isoform in AM lysates, supernatants and BAL.Conclusion
This data suggests that CXCR6 and CXCL16 may play a role in T cell recruitment to the lung.
Agents causing occupational asthma in Finland in 1986–2002: Cow epithelium bypassed by moulds from moisture‐damaged buildings
Authors: Piipari R. , Keskinen H. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Occupational asthma is an avoidable form of asthma. In Finland, the diagnosis of occupational asthma entitles substantial compensation to the employee. The diagnostics are based on symptoms, exposure assessment, allergologic investigations, follow‐up of peak expiratory flow (PEF) at work and at home and, in many cases, specific challenge tests.Objective
To study the causative agents of occupational asthma in Finland.Methods
The causative agents and the numbers of new occupational asthma cases notified to the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) during 1986–2002 are reported.Results
The number of occupational asthma cases increased from 1986 until 1995, after which a downward trend, stabilizing during the last few years, has been observed. The majority of the cases (59%) in the beginning of the period (1986–1990) were associated with agriculture, but the percentage has fallen thereafter (42% of the cases in 1998–2002) along with the fall in the total number of cases. Since 1995, indoor moulds from water‐damaged buildings have caused an increasing number of cases and have become the most important causative agents (0.5% cases, in 1986–1990 and 18% of the cases in 1998–2002). Chemicals have caused 10–30% of the cases, a decreasing number since 1990. The most important chemicals causing occupational asthma have been diisocyanates and welding fumes, followed by hairdressing chemicals and formaldehyde.Conclusions
The number of occupational asthma cases in Finland reached its height in the mid‐1990s. The decrease in the number of total cases is because of the decrease in agriculture‐associated cases, reflecting the number of employees in agriculture‐associated occupations, which has greatly decreased since Finland joined the EU in 1995. An epidemic of mould‐induced asthma, affecting mostly white‐collar employees working in moisture‐damaged buildings, has taken place since 1995.
Chlamydia pneumoniae infection enhances cellular proliferation and reduces steroid responsiveness of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells via a tumor necrosis factor‐α‐dependent pathway
Authors: Cho Y. S. , Kim T.‐B. , Lee T.‐H. , Moon K.‐A. , Lee J. , Kim Y.‐K. , Lee K.‐Y. , Moon H.‐B. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Although epidemiological studies have found an association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and severe asthma, the causality and underlying mechanism are largely unknown. We hypothesized that C. pneumoniae infection increases the proliferation and enhances the survival of immune and inflammatory cells, resulting in reduced responsiveness to corticosteroids and suggesting that the underlying mechanism is related to a TNF‐α‐dependent pathway.Methods
Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured in vitro in the presence or absence of C. pneumoniae infection. Responsiveness to corticosteroids was assayed by adding dexamethasone, and the underlying mechanism was investigated by treating cells with infliximab that is a chimeric anti‐TNF‐α monoclonal antibody. Cellular proliferation and apoptosis was assessed by thymidine uptake and counting apoptotic cells using flow cytometry.Results
Cellular proliferation was significantly higher in C. pneumoniae‐infected PBMCs than in uninfected PBMCs, which is more prominent in Th2‐dominant microenvironment. The anti‐proliferative and pro‐apoptotic effect of corticosteroid were significantly reduced in C. pneumoniae‐infected PBMCs compared with uninfected PBMCs. The proliferative effect of C. pneumoniae infection and the reduced response to corticosteroid were effectively reversed by blocking the TNF‐α pathway at least partially.Conclusion
C. pneumoniae infection enhanced the proliferation and survival of immune and inflammatory cells, resulting in steroid resistance. The reversal of these phenomena by the TNF‐α inhibitor suggests that TNF‐α may play an important role in the induction of steroid dependence or resistance. A TNF‐α inhibitor may therefore be a candidate agent for managing steroid‐dependent or ‐resistant severe asthma.
Parity and decreased use of oral contraceptives as predictors of asthma in young women
Authors: Jenkins M. A. , Dharmage S. C. , Flander L. B. , Douglass J. A. , Ugoni A. M. , Carlin J. B. , Sawyer S. M. , Giles G. G. , Hopper J. L. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Asthma is more prevalent among males in childhood, but females report higher rates in adulthood. The reasons are unknown; although it has been hypothesized that hormonal factors may explain this sex‐dependent risk of adult‐onset asthma.Objective
To determine whether a woman's reproductive history or use of oral contraceptives is associated with adult‐onset asthma.Methods
In 1991–1993, we surveyed 681 women aged 29–32 years randomly sampled from participants first surveyed at age 7 years by the 1968 Tasmanian Asthma Survey, a study of all children born in 1961 and attending school. Current asthma was defined as reporting asthma or wheezy breathing in the past 12 months.Results
In women who did not have asthma or wheezy breathing by age 7 years, 13% had current asthma. The risk of current asthma in these who were parous increased with the number of births (odds ratio (OR) 1.50 per birth, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–2.23 P=0.04) while women with one birth were at a lower risk than nulliparous women (OR 0.46 95% CI 0.2–1.06, P=0.07). Independent of parity, the risk decreased by 7% (95% CI 0–13%) per year of oral contraceptive pill use in all women. In women who did have asthma or wheezy breathing by age 7 years, neither reproductive history nor oral contraceptive pill use predicted current asthma.Conclusion
Our observation that parity and decreased oral contraceptive use predict asthma in women, is consistent with the hypothesis that the asthma that develops after childhood is in part a response to endogenous and exogenous female hormones. This may be due to alterations of cytokine responses by the pregnant state, triggering adult‐onset asthma in women.
Artemisia and Ambrosia hypersensitivity: co‐sensitization or co‐recognition?
Authors: Asero R. , Wopfner N. , Gruber P. , Gadermaier G. , Ferreira F. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
Ragweed and mugwort have nearly identical flowering periods. Clinical and serological studies showed that ragweed and mugwort sensitization are often associated and this poses relevant clinical problems in patients for whom specific immunotherapy is warranted.Objective
To establish whether the concurrent ragweed and mugwort pollen hypersensitivity is the result of co‐sensitization or of co‐recognition by using purified recombinant allergens.Methods
Sensitization to ragweed and mugwort pollen was assessed by skin prick test (SPT) in all patients reporting allergic symptoms in August and September. IgE reactivity of sera from 42 patients (26 Amb+/Art+, 14 Amb+/Art−, and two Amb−/Art+) to ragweed and mugwort pollen extract as well as to several recombinant ragweed (rAmb a 1, rAmb a 5, rAmb a 6, rAmb a 8, rAmb a 9, and Amb a 10) and mugwort (rArt v 1, rArt v 4, rArt v 5, rArt v 6, and three EF‐hand calcium‐binding protein) allergens was detected by dot‐blot and ELISA analyses.Results
IgE reactivity of 372 weed pollen‐allergic patients was studied. Mugwort reactivity was strongly associated with ragweed hypersensitivity: only 10/147 (7%) mugwort‐hypersensitive patients were not sensitized to ragweed, whereas 225/362 (62%) ragweed‐hypersensitive patients were not sensitized to mugwort. In vitro, 90% of ragweed‐allergic patients reacted with rAmb a 1. Reactivity to other ragweed allergens ranged between 20% and 35%. Forty‐six percent of the mugwort‐sensitized patients recognized rArt v 1%, 25% reacted to Art v 4, Art v 5, and Art v 6, and 7% recognized the three‐EF hand calcium‐binding protein. Immunoblot inhibition experiments showed that pre‐incubation with ragweed pollen extract only weakly decreased IgE reactivity to mugwort allergens.Conclusion
Patients showing both ragweed‐ and mugwort‐positive SPT and/or RAST are co‐sensitized. Future studies will establish whether IgE reactivity translates into clinical symptoms and, hence, if co‐sensitized patients should undergo specific immunotherapy with extracts of both mugwort and ragweed pollen.
Towards profiling the gene expression of fibroblasts from atopic dermatitis patients: human 8K complementary DNA microarray
Authors: Park Y.‐D. , Lyou Y.‐J. , Lee K.‐J. , Lee D.‐Y. , Yang J.‐M. 
Published: March 2006

SummaryBackground
High‐throughput technologies, including DNA‐chip array, have been used to search for the genes that are dysregulated in human diseases. The atopic dermatitis (AD)‐associated genes are gradually being reported; however, the differentially altered gene expression profiles of atopic fibroblasts have not been well elucidated.Objective
We wanted to gain more insights into AD and to find candidate genes, especially in regards to the role of fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of AD.Methods
cDNA microarray (8K) profiling of the primary cultured AD patients‐derived fibroblasts was conducted by a pooling method of the recruited 22 normal controls, the 10 extrinsic type (ADe) patients and the 10 intrinsic type (ADi) patients. SAM analysis of the microarray results (2‐fold cut‐off) was conducted to select the candidate genes. Quantification by real‐time PCRs confirmed the array data in the randomized paired samples (normal vs. ADe n=10; normal vs. ADi n=10).Results
We listed the 22 up‐regulated and 95 down‐regulated genes in the AD fibroblasts. Real‐time PCR results showed that several genes such as hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2), TNF‐α‐induced protein 6 (TNFAIP6) and IL‐8 were matched with the array results with statistical significance.Conclusion
These results suggest gene expression profiles that are associated with AD and this implied that fibroblasts may play important roles in the AD pathogenesis. We provided new insights into three candidate genes such as HAS2, TNFAIP6 and IL‐8 with respect to their involvement in AD disease.
Validation of a randomization procedure to assess animal habitat preferences: microhabitat use of tiger sharks in a seagrass ecosystem
Authors: HEITHAUS MICHAEL R. , HAMILTON IAN M. , WIRSING AARON J. , DILL LAWRENCE M. 
Published: March 2006

Summary

Tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier are important predators in a variety of nearshore communities, including the seagrass ecosystem of Shark Bay, Western Australia. Because tiger sharks are known to influence spatial distributions of multiple prey species, it is important to understand how they use habitats at a variety of spatial scales. We used a combination of catch rates and acoustic tracking to determine tiger shark microhabitat use in Shark Bay.
Comparing habitat‐use data from tracking against the null hypothesis of no habitat preference is hindered in Shark Bay, as elsewhere, by the difficulty of defining expected habitat use given random movement. We used randomization procedures to generate expected habitat use in the absence of habitat preference and expected habitat use differences among groups (e.g. males and females). We tested the performance of these protocols using simulated data sets with known habitat preferences.
The technique correctly classified sets of simulated tracks as displaying a preference or not and was a conservative test for differences in habitat preferences between subgroups of tracks (e.g. males vs. females).
Sharks preferred shallow habitats over deep ones, and preferred shallow edge microhabitats over shallow interior ones. The use of shallow edges likely increases encounter rates with potential prey and may have profound consequences for the dynamics of Shark Bay's seagrass ecosystem through indirect effects transmitted by grazers that are common prey of tiger sharks.
Females showed a greater tendency to use shallow edge microhabitats than did males; this pattern was not detected by traditional analysis techniques.
The randomization procedures presented here are applicable to many field studies that use tracking by allowing researchers both to determine overall habitat preferences and to identify differences in habitat use between groups within their sample.
Effects of food availability on temporal activity patterns and growth of Atlantic salmon
Authors: ORPWOOD JAMES E. , GRIFFITHS SIÂN W. , ARMSTRONG JOHN D. 
Published: March 2006

Summary

Patterns of sheltering and activity are of fundamental importance in the ecology of animals and in determining interactions among predators and prey. Balancing decreased mortality risk when sheltering with increased feeding rate when exposed is believed to be a key determinant of diel patterns of sheltering in many animals.
Despite lower foraging efficiency at night than during the day, Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr are nocturnal during winter and at low summer temperatures. Nocturnal activity also occurs at warm water temperatures during summer, but little is known about the functional significance of this behaviour.
This study aimed to determine: (1) the preferred activity and shelter pattern of Atlantic salmon parr during warm summer months, and (2) their response to variations in food availability when balancing growth rate (G) and mortality risk (M), as expressed through time out of shelter. We differentiated among four potential responses to reduced food availability: (1) no response; (2) G decreases but M remains constant; (3) G remains constant but M increases; and (4) G decreases and M increases.
Time exposed from shelter was inversely related to food availability. Fish subject to high food availability were significantly less active during the day than those with restricted rations. However, food availability had no significant effect on the extent to which fish were active at night. There was no evidence of variation in growth rate with food availability.
Salmon were predominantly nocturnal at high ration levels, consistent with their previously reported behaviour during winter. Rather than switching to diurnal behaviour at high temperatures per se, as previously was supposed, it appears that the fish are diurnal only to the extent needed to sustain a growth rate, and this extent depends on food availability.
Atlantic salmon parr modulate the amount of time they are active rather than growth when responding to variations in food availability over an order of magnitude.
Modelling ecological niches with support vector machines
Authors: DRAKE JOHN M. , RANDIN CHRISTOPHE , GUISAN ANTOINE 
Published: March 2006

SummaryThe ecological niche is a fundamental biological concept. Modelling species’ niches is central to numerous ecological applications, including predicting species invasions, identifying reservoirs for disease, nature reserve design and forecasting the effects of anthropogenic and natural climate change on species’ ranges.A computational analogue of Hutchinson's ecological niche concept (the multidimensional hyperspace of species’ environmental requirements) is the support of the distribution of environments in which the species persist. Recently developed machine‐learning algorithms can estimate the support of such high‐dimensional distributions. We show how support vector machines can be used to map ecological niches using only observations of species presence to train distribution models for 106 species of woody plants and trees in a montane environment using up to nine environmental covariates.We compared the accuracy of three methods that differ in their approaches to reducing model complexity. We tested models with independent observations of both species presence and species absence. We found that the simplest procedure, which uses all available variables and no pre‐processing to reduce correlation, was best overall. Ecological niche models based on support vector machines are theoretically superior to models that rely on simulating pseudo‐absence data and are comparable in empirical tests.Synthesis and applications. Accurate species distribution models are crucial for effective environmental planning, management and conservation, and for unravelling the role of the environment in human health and welfare. Models based on distribution estimation rather than classification overcome theoretical and practical obstacles that pervade species distribution modelling. In particular, ecological niche models based on machine‐learning algorithms for estimating the support of a statistical distribution provide a promising new approach to identifying species’ potential distributions and to project changes in these distributions as a result of climate change, land use and landscape alteration.
Spatial modelling of biodiversity at the community level
Authors: FERRIER SIMON , GUISAN ANTOINE 
Published: March 2006

Summary

Statistical modelling is often used to relate sparse biological survey data to remotely derived environmental predictors, thereby providing a basis for predictively mapping biodiversity across an entire region of interest. The most popular strategy for such modelling has been to model distributions of individual species one at a time. Spatial modelling of biodiversity at the community level may, however, confer significant benefits for applications involving very large numbers of species, particularly if many of these species are recorded infrequently.
Community‐level modelling combines data from multiple species and produces information on spatial pattern in the distribution of biodiversity at a collective community level instead of, or in addition to, the level of individual species. Spatial outputs from community‐level modelling include predictive mapping of community types (groups of locations with similar species composition), species groups (groups of species with similar distributions), axes or gradients of compositional variation, levels of compositional dissimilarity between pairs of locations, and various macro‐ecological properties (e.g. species richness).
Three broad modelling strategies can be used to generate these outputs: (i) ‘assemble first, predict later’, in which biological survey data are first classified, ordinated or aggregated to produce community‐level entities or attributes that are then modelled in relation to environmental predictors; (ii) ‘predict first, assemble later’, in which individual species are modelled one at a time as a function of environmental variables, to produce a stack of species distribution maps that is then subjected to classification, ordination or aggregation; and (iii) ‘assemble and predict together’, in which all species are modelled simultaneously, within a single integrated modelling process. These strategies each have particular strengths and weaknesses, depending on the intended purpose of modelling and the type, quality and quantity of data involved.
Synthesis and applications. The potential benefits of modelling large multispecies data sets using community‐level, as opposed to species‐level, approaches include faster processing, increased power to detect shared patterns of environmental response across rarely recorded species, and enhanced capacity to synthesize complex data into a form more readily interpretable by scientists and decision‐makers. Community‐level modelling therefore deserves to be considered more often, and more widely, as a potential alternative or supplement to modelling individual species.