In many animals, exaggerated sex-typical male traits are preferred by females, and may be a signal of both past and current disease resistance. The proposal that the same is true in humans--i.e., ...that masculine men are immunocompetent and attractive--underpins a large literature on facial masculinity preferences. Recently, theoretical models have suggested that current condition may be a better index of mate value than past immunocompetence. This is particularly likely in populations where pathogenic fluctuation is fast relative to host life history. As life history is slow in humans, there is reason to expect that, among humans, condition-dependent traits might contribute more to attractiveness than relatively stable traits such as masculinity. To date, however, there has been little rigorous assessment of whether, in the presence of variation in other cues, masculinity predicts attractiveness or not.
The relationship between masculinity and attractiveness was assessed in two samples of male faces. Most previous research has assessed masculinity either with subjective ratings or with simple anatomical measures. Here, we used geometric morphometric techniques to assess facial masculinity, generating a morphological masculinity measure based on a discriminant function that correctly classified >96% faces as male or female. When assessed using this measure, there was no relationship between morphological masculinity and rated attractiveness. In contrast, skin colour--a fluctuating, condition-dependent cue--was a significant predictor of attractiveness.
These findings suggest that facial morphological masculinity may contribute less to men's attractiveness than previously assumed. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that current condition is more relevant to male mate value than past disease resistance, and hence that temporally fluctuating traits (such as colour) contribute more to male attractiveness than stable cues of sexual dimorphism.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
"Treatable traits" have been proposed as a new paradigm for the management of airway diseases, particularly complex disease, which aims to apply personalised medicine to each individual to improve ...outcomes. Moving new treatment approaches from concepts to practice is challenging, but necessary. In an effort to accelerate progress in research and practice relating to the treatable traits approach, the Treatable Traits Down Under International Workshop was convened in Melbourne, Australia in May 2018. Here, we report the key concepts and research questions that emerged in discussions during the meeting. We propose a programme of research that involves gaining international consensus on candidate traits, recognising the prevalence of traits, and identifying a potential hierarchy of traits based on their clinical impact and responsiveness to treatment. We also reflect on research methods and designs that can generate new knowledge related to efficacy of the treatable traits approach and consider multidisciplinary models of care that may aid its implementation into practice.
Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic inflammatory disorder that is commonly treated with glucocorticoids. An imprecise understanding of the immunologic changes underlying sarcoidosis has limited therapeutic ...progress. Here in this open-label trial (NCT03910543), 10 patients with cutaneous sarcoidosis are treated with tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor. The primary outcome is the change in the cutaneous sarcoidosis activity and morphology instrument (CSAMI) activity score after 6 months of treatment. Secondary outcomes included change in internal organ involvement, molecular parameters, and safety. All patients experience improvement in their skin with 6 patients showing a complete response. Improvement in internal organ involvement is also observed. CD4
T cell-derived IFN-γ is identified as a central cytokine mediator of macrophage activation in sarcoidosis. Additional type 1 cytokines produced by distinct cell types, including IL-6, IL-12, IL-15 and GM-CSF, also associate with pathogenesis. Suppression of the activity of these cytokines, especially IFN-γ, correlates with clinical improvement. Our results thus show that tofacitinib treatment is associated with improved sarcoidosis symptoms, and predominantly acts by inhibiting type 1 immunity.
Retrogressive thaw slumps are one of the most dramatic thermokarst landforms in periglacial regions. This study investigates the impacts of one stable and two active thaw slumps on the geochemistry ...of streams in the Stony Creek watershed (Peel Plateau, NWT, Canada). The objective of this study is to elucidate the geochemical processes associated with ground ice ablation in retrogressive thaw slumps and the geochemical evolution of slump runoff to streams. This is accomplished by describing the geochemical composition of runoff across active mega-slumps, impacted and pristine tundra streams, as well as that of the ice-rich permafrost exposed in the slump headwalls. In the Stony Creek watershed, runoff derived from active and stable thaw slumps is characterized by a Ca(Mg)–SO4 geochemical facies with conductivity and solute concentrations approximately one order of magnitude higher than in pristine streams. The elevated solute concentrations in the slump runoff are directly related to thawing of highly weatherable Late Pleistocene age ice-rich and solute-rich permafrost exposed in the headwalls of slumps, which has solute concentrations nearly 100 times higher than those measured in the uppermost 1–2m (i.e., above the early Holocene thaw unconformity). An examination of ionic relations revealed a strong relation between Ca2+ and SO42− and (Ca2++Mg2+)–SO42−, suggestive that sulfate dissolution is the main process responsible for the geochemical composition of slump impacted streams. Thaw slumps significantly impact the geochemistry of streams, by increasing their solute load well above that of pristine streams along any reach of impacted streams. Unlike shallow active layer disturbances, the thaw slumps can degrade permafrost to depths of 10m or more and the impacts of abundant slump activity on stream geochemistry can be detected at the 10^2km2 watershed-scale.
•Runoff from thaw slumps in Stony Creek watershed is characterized by a Ca(Mg)–SO4 geochemical facies.•Geochemistry of impacted streams reflects mixing of high-salinity slump runoff and low-salinity streams.•Cumulative effect of slumps is discernable at the 10^2km2 watershed-scale of the Peel River.
Constraining the multiple climatic, lithological, topographic, and geochemical variables controlling isotope variations in large rivers is often challenging with standard statistical methods. Machine ...learning (ML) is an efficient method for analyzing multidimensional datasets, resolving correlated processes, and exploring relationships between variables simultaneously. We tested four ML algorithms to elucidate the controls of riverine δ7Li variations across the Yukon River Basin (YRB). We compiled (n = 102) and analyzed new samples (n = 21), producing a dataset of 123 river water samples collected across the basin during the summer including δ7Li and extracted environmental, climatological, and geological characteristics of the drainage area for each sample from open-access geospatial databases. The ML models were trained, tuned, and tested under multiple scenarios to avoid issues such as overfitting. Random Forests (RF) performed best at predicting δ7Li across the basin, with the median model explaining 62 % of the variance. The most important variables controlling δ7Li across the basin are elevation, lithology, and past glacial coverage, which ultimately influence weathering congruence. Riverine δ7Li has a negative dependence on elevation. This reflects congruent weathering in kinetically-limited mountain zones with short residence times. The consistent ranking of lithology, specifically igneous and metamorphic rock cover, as a top feature controlling riverine δ7Li modeled by the RFs is unexpected. Further study is required to validate this finding. Rivers draining areas that were extensively covered during the last glacial maximum tend to have lower δ7Li due to immature weathering profiles resulting in short residence times, less secondary mineral formation and therefore more congruent weathering. We demonstrate that ML provides a fast, simple, visualizable, and interpretable approach for disentangling key controls of isotope variations in river water. We assert that ML should become a routine tool, and present a framework for applying ML to analyze spatial metal isotope data at the catchment scale.
Display omitted
•We test four ML algorithms to predict δ7Li across the Yukon River Basin (YRB).•Of the algorithms tested, Random Forests perform best.•Partial dependence plots allow for visualization of modeled relationships.•Topography, lithology, and glacial history are key controls of δ7Li across the YRB.•We share a framework to apply ML to analyze and interpret spatial metal isotope data.
Copolymerisation of a sorbitol‐derived bis‐carbonate with simple diamines, including cadaverine that was sustainably produced from lysine, under solvent‐free conditions was shown to produce rigid ...foams. Thermogravimetric analysis carried out in tandem with infrared spectroscopy of the released gases confirmed that the foaming agent was carbon dioxide produced during the polymerisation process itself. Such a bio‐based foam, being made under mild conditions from stable, benign precursors, with no toxic isocyanates, has great potential application for both thermal insulation and packaging.
A bis‐carbonate derived from sorbitol, which is both non‐toxic and bio‐derived, and pentamethylene diamine produced by the decarboxylation of lysine, are polymerised to form a polyhydroxyurethane. The polymerisation releases carbon dioxide, resulting in a sustainable self‐foaming material made entirely without the use of isocyanates or blowing agents.
Summary
Denitrification transforms nitrogen applied as fertilizer and emits N2O, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Very little is known about the identities of abundant and active denitrifiers in ...agricultural soils. We coupled DNA stable‐isotope probing (DNA‐SIP) with flow‐through reactors (FTRs) to detect active agricultural soil denitrifiers. The FTRs were incubated with nitrate and 13C6‐glucose under anoxic conditions and sampled at multiple time points. Labelled DNA from active microorganisms was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting, amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Taxonomic representation of heavy fractions was consistent across sites and time points, including Betaproteobacteria (71%; Janthinobacterium, Acidovorax, Azoarcus and Dechloromonas), Alphaproteobacteria (8%; Rhizobium), Gammaproteobacteria (4%; Pseudomonas) and Actinobacteria (4%; Streptomycetaceae). Most nitrite‐reductase reads from heavy DNA annotated to the copper‐containing form (nirK). Assigned taxonomies of active denitrifiers based on reads matching the nirK gene were comparable to those obtained through nitric oxide (norB) and RNA polymerase (rpoB) annotations but not the nitrous oxide reductase gene (nosZ). Analysis of recovered metagenomes from heavy DNA demonstrated extensive nirK sequence family diversity, including novel taxonomic groups that are not captured by existing primers.
Background:
Genome‐wide microarray expression analysis creates a comprehensive picture of gene expression at the cellular level. The aim of this study was to investigate differential intestinal gene ...expression in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and controls with subanalysis of confirmed CD susceptibility genes, associated pathways, and cell lineage.
Methods:
In all, 172 biopsies from 53 CD and 31 control subjects were studied. Paired endoscopic biopsies were taken at ileocolonoscopy from five specific anatomical locations including the terminal ileum (TI) for RNA extraction and histology. The 41,058 expression sequence tags were analyzed using the Agilent platform.
Results:
Analysis of all CD biopsies versus controls showed 259 sequences were upregulated and 87 sequences were downregulated. Upregulated genes in CD included SAA1 (fold change FC +7.5, P = 1.47 × 10−41) and REGL (FC +7.3, P = 2.3 × 10−16), whereas cellular detoxification genes including‐SLC14A2 (FC‐2.49, P = 0.00002) were downregulated. In the CD TI biopsies diubiquitin (FC+11.3, P < 1 × 10−45), MMP3 (FC+7.4, P = 1.3 × 10−11), and IRTA1 (FC‐11.4, P = 4.7 × 10−12) were differentially expressed compared to controls. In the colon SAA1 (FC+6.3, P = 5.3 × 10−8) was upregulated and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) (FC‐2.3, P = 2.7 × 10−6) was downregulated comparing noninflamed CD and control biopsies, and the colonic inflammatory CD signature was characterized by downregulation of the organic solute carriers‐SLC38A4, SLC26A2, and OST alpha. Of CD susceptibility genes identified by genome‐wide association scan IL‐23A, JAK2, and STAT3 were upregulated in the CD group, confirming the dysregulation of Th17 signaling.
Conclusions:
These data characterize the dysregulation of a series of specific inflammatory pathways highlighting potential pathogenic mechanisms as well as areas for translation to therapeutic targets. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010)
ABSTRACT
The management of severe asthma is complex. Multidimensional assessment (MDA) of specific traits has been proposed as an effective strategy to manage severe asthma, although it is supported ...by few prospective studies.
We aimed to systematically review the literature published on MDA in severe asthma, to identify the traits included in MDA and to determine the effect of MDA on asthma‐related outcomes.
We identified 26 studies and classified these based on study type (cohort/cross‐sectional studies; experimental/outcome studies; and severe asthma disease registries). Study type determined the comprehensiveness of the assessment. Assessed traits were classified into three domains (airways, co‐morbidities and risk factors). The airway domain had the largest number of traits assessed (mean ± SD = 4.2 ± 1.7) compared with co‐morbidities (3.6 ± 2.2) and risk factors (3.9 ± 2.1). Bronchodilator reversibility and airflow limitation were assessed in 92% of studies, whereas airway inflammation was only assessed in 50%. Commonly assessed co‐morbidities were psychological dysfunction, sinusitis (both 73%) and gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD; 69%). Atopic and smoking statuses were the most commonly assessed risk factors (85% and 86%, respectively).
There were six outcome studies, of which five concluded that MDA is effective at improving asthma‐related outcomes. Among these studies, significantly more traits were assessed than treated.
MDA studies have assessed a variety of different traits and have shown evidence of improved outcomes. This promising model of care requires more research to inform which traits should be assessed, which traits should be treated and what effect MDA has on patient outcomes.
Hypersaline spring water (TDS ∼ 85 g/L) and gas are escaping from the top of a calcite travertine mound on Anticosti Island. This mound is located in the Chaloupe River area above the Jupiter Fault ...which cuts through the Ordovician formations in the subsurface, including the oil and gas-rich Macasty Shale Formation. The Cl content is approximately 3 times that of seawater, but the geochemical profile indicates it to be a Paleozoic basin brine (geogenic He = 2E–7 cc/cc) evaporatively enriched beyond halite saturation (Br:Cl molar ratio = 0.0022 ± 0.00013) that has been diluted by some 73 ± 6% with meteoric waters. Measurable tritium (3.4 TU) indicates this to be a mixture of modern and Holocene recharge. The radioiodine (
129
I < 10 million atoms/L) is a three-component mixture of geogenic and post-nuclear contributions with low levels in pre-nuclear Holocene recharge. Degassing at the vent (1% to 2% CO
2,
P
CO2
= 0.02 atm, >90% CH
4
) provokes calcite precipitation and travertine mound formation. Methane comprises a thermo-catalytic component and a biogenic component produced at depth in the organic-rich Macasty Formation by reduction of surface-derived dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC; a
14
C = 3.5 pMC), producing enriched δ
13
C
DIC
values recorded in the travertine. The occurrence of basin-derived brine and gas discharging in association with the surface expression of the Jupiter fault implies that this fault provides a pathway for deep circulation of meteoric waters, likely driven by the relief on the island.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
