scholarly journals Respiratory Disease Risk of Zoo-Housed Bonobos Is Associated with Sex and Betweenness Centrality in the Proximity Network

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3597
Author(s):  
Jonas R. R. Torfs ◽  
Marcel Eens ◽  
Daan W. Laméris ◽  
Nicky Staes

Infectious diseases can be considered a threat to animal welfare and are commonly spread through both direct and indirect social interactions with conspecifics. This is especially true for species with complex social lives, like primates. While several studies have investigated the impact of sociality on disease risk in primates, only a handful have focused on respiratory disease, despite it being a major cause of morbidity and mortality in both wild and captive populations and thus an important threat to primate welfare. Therefore, we examined the role of social-network position on the occurrence of respiratory disease symptoms during one winter season in a relatively large group of 20 zoo-housed bonobos with managed fission-fusion dynamics. We found that within the proximity network, symptoms were more likely to occur in individuals with higher betweenness centrality, which are individuals that form bridges between different parts of the network. Symptoms were also more likely to occur in males than in females, independent of their social-network position. Taken together, these results highlight a combined role of close proximity and sex in increased risk of attracting respiratory disease, two factors that can be taken into account for further welfare management of the species.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Wei ◽  
Wei Chen

The impact of social network position on innovation has been widely confirmed in past studies. However, research on the time-lag structure of the impact is still insufficient. Within the time window 2010 to 2017, this study constructs a two-mode social network between Chinese listed companies and other participants. To analyze the lag structure of the effect of social network position on innovation, this study uses a panel negative binomial regression model transformed by the Almon polynomial. The results show that a firm does need an advantageous past social network position for innovation. Previous local and global centrality in a social network has a different influence on innovation. For the local centrality indices, degree centrality has a positive impact in the short-term, but has a negative impact in the long-term; the impact of betweenness centrality is not significant in the short-term and is negative in the long run. For the global centrality indices, closeness centrality has a positive influence that decreases with the increase of the time-lag. At the same time, using the method of necessary condition analysis (NCA), this study calculates the bottleneck for a given innovation level. Finally, based on these research conclusions, the theoretical implications and management practice implications are summarized.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 765-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yipeng Sui ◽  
Robert N. Helsley ◽  
Se-Hyung Park ◽  
Xiulong Song ◽  
Zun Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Recent studies have associated endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) exposure with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in humans, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for these associations remain elusive. Many EDCs have been implicated in activation of the nuclear receptor pregnane X receptor (PXR), which acts as a xenobiotic sensor to regulate xenobiotic metabolism in the liver and intestine. Here we report an important role of intestinal PXR in linking xenobiotic exposure and hyperlipidemia. We identified tributyl citrate (TBC), one of a large group of Food and Drug Administration–approved plasticizers for pharmaceutical or food applications, as a potent and selective PXR agonist. TBC efficiently activated PXR and induced PXR target gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, TBC activated intestinal PXR but did not affect hepatic PXR activity. Exposure to TBC increased plasma total cholesterol and atherogenic low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in wild-type mice, but not in PXR-deficient mice. TBC-mediated PXR activation stimulated the expression of an essential cholesterol transporter, Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1), in the intestine. Promoter analysis revealed a DR-4 type of PXR response element in the human NPC1L1 promoter, and TBC promoted PXR recruitment onto the NPC1L1 promoter. Consistently, TBC treatment significantly increased lipid uptake by human and murine intestinal cells and deficiency of PXR inhibited TBC-elicited lipid uptake. These findings provide critical mechanistic insight for understanding the impact of EDC-mediated PXR activation on lipid homeostasis and demonstrate a potential role of PXR in mediating the adverse effects of EDCs on cardiovascular disease risk in humans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Pannullo ◽  
Duncan Lee ◽  
Lucy Neal ◽  
Mohit Dalvi ◽  
Paul Agnew ◽  
...  

2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 870
Author(s):  
Anna Kawalec ◽  
Danuta Zwolińska

The microbiome of the urinary tract plays a significant role in maintaining health through the impact on bladder homeostasis. Urobiome is of great importance in maintaining the urothelial integrity and preventing urinary tract infection (UTI), as well as promoting local immune function. Dysbiosis in this area has been linked to an increased risk of UTIs, nephrolithiasis, and dysfunction of the lower urinary tract. However, the number of studies in the pediatric population is limited, thus the characteristic of the urobiome in children, its role in a child’s health, and pediatric urologic diseases are not completely understood. This review aims to characterize the healthy urobiome in children, the role of dysbiosis in urinary tract infection, and to summarize the strategies to modification and reshape disease-prone microbiomes in pediatric patients with recurrent urinary tract infections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Airoldi ◽  
C. Magnani ◽  
F. Lazzarato ◽  
D. Mirabelli ◽  
S. Tunesi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Neighborhood exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma (MM) in residents who live near asbestos mines and asbestos product plants. The area of Casale Monferrato (Northwest Italy) was impacted by several sources of asbestos environmental pollution, due to the presence of the largest Italian asbestos cement (AC) plant. In the present study, we examined the spatial variation of MM risk in an area with high levels of asbestos pollution and secondly, and we explored the pattern of clustering. Methods A population-based case–control study conducted between 2001 and 2006 included 200 cases and 348 controls. Demographic and occupational data along with residential information were recorded. Bivariate Kernel density estimation was used to map spatial variation in disease risk while an adjusted logistic model was applied to estimate the impact of residential distance from the AC plant. Kulldorf test and Cuzick Edward test were then performed. Results One hundred ninety-six cases and 322 controls were included in the analyses. The contour plot of the cases to controls ratio showed a well-defined peak of MM incidence near the AC factory, and the risk decreased monotonically in all directions when large bandwidths were used. However, considering narrower smoothing parameters, several peaks of increased risk were reported. A constant trend of decreasing OR with increasing distance was observed, with estimates of 10.9 (95% CI 5.32–22.38) and 10.48 (95%CI 4.54–24.2) for 0–5 km and 5–10 km, respectively (reference > 15 km). Finally, a significant (p < 0.0001) excess of cases near the pollution source was identified and cases are spatially clustered relative to the controls until 13 nearest neighbors. Conclusions In this study, we found an increasing pattern of mesothelioma risk in the area around a big AC factory and we detected secondary clusters of cases due to local exposure points, possibly associated to the use of asbestos materials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Hwa Liou ◽  
Alan J. Daly

Leaders’ self-efficacy has recently been identified as a critical component in the success of educational reform. In educational policy and leadership, little attention has been paid to leaders’ self-efficacy beliefs as they go about the implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This study seeks to understand leaders’ CCSS self-efficacy by examining the level of CCSS-focused engagement and the degree of leaders’ network connectedness from a social learning perspective. Findings suggest leaders who report higher levels of CCSS-focused engagement tend to be more efficacious about implementing CCSS. Such a relationship is mediated by leaders’ social network position in providing CCSS advice and work effort recognition to their fellow administrators.


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