University of Naples Federico II

About: University of Naples Federico II is a education organization based out in Naples, Campania, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 29291 authors who have published 68803 publications receiving 1920149 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II & Naples University.

Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight and obesity

Abstract: Low-grade inflammation is a characteristic of the obese state, and adipose tissue releases many inflammatory mediators. The source of these mediators within adipose tissue is not clear, but infiltrating macrophages seem to be especially important, although adipocytes themselves play a role. Obese people have higher circulating concentrations of many inflammatory markers than lean people do, and these are believed to play a role in causing insulin resistance and other metabolic disturbances. Blood concentrations of inflammatory markers are lowered following weight loss. In the hours following the consumption of a meal, there is an elevation in the concentrations of inflammatory mediators in the bloodstream, which is exaggerated in obese subjects and in type 2 diabetics. Both high-glucose and high-fat meals may induce postprandial inflammation, and this is exaggerated by a high meal content of advanced glycation end products (AGE) and partly ablated by inclusion of certain antioxidants or antioxidant-containing foods within the meal. Healthy eating patterns are associated with lower circulating concentrations of inflammatory markers. Among the components of a healthy diet, whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and fish are all associated with lower inflammation. AGE are associated with enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation. SFA and trans-MUFA are pro-inflammatory, while PUFA, especially long-chain n-3 PUFA, are anti-inflammatory. Hyperglycaemia induces both postprandial and chronic low-grade inflammation. Vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoids decrease the circulating concentrations of inflammatory markers. Potential mechanisms are described and research gaps, which limit our understanding of the interaction between diet and postprandial and chronic low-grade inflammation, are identified.

PLS Path Modeling: From Foundations to Recent Developments and Open Issues for Model Assessment and Improvement

Abstract: In this chapter the authors first present the basic algorithm of PLS Path Modeling by discussing some recently proposed estimation options. Namely, they introduce the development of new estimation modes and schemes for multidimen- sional (formative) constructs, i.e. the use of PLS Regression for formative indicators, and the use of path analysis on latent variable scores to estimate path coefficients Furthermore, they focus on the quality indexes classically used to assess the perfor- mance of the model in terms of explained variances. They also present some recent developments in PLS Path Modeling framework for model assessment and improve- ment, including a non-parametric GoF-based procedure for assessing the statistical significance of path coefficients. Finally, they discuss the REBUS-PLS algorithm that enables to improve the prediction performance of the model by capturing unob- served heterogeneity. The chapter ends with a brief sketch of open issues in the area that, in the Authors' opinion, currently represent major research challenges.

Echo Chamber or Public Sphere? Predicting Political Orientation and Measuring Political Homophily in Twitter Using Big Data

Abstract: This paper investigates political homophily on Twitter. Using a combination of machine learning and social network analysis we classify users as Democrats or as Republicans based on the political content shared. We then investigate political homophily both in the network of reciprocated and nonreciprocated ties. We find that structures of political homophily differ strongly between Democrats and Republicans. In general, Democrats exhibit higher levels of political homophily. But Republicans who follow official Republican accounts exhibit higher levels of homophily than Democrats. In addition, levels of homophily are higher in the network of reciprocated followers than in the nonreciprocated network. We suggest that research on political homophily on the Internet should take the political culture and practices of users seriously.

Multiple common variants for celiac disease influencing immune gene expression

Abstract: We performed a second-generation genome-wide association study of 4,533 individuals with celiac disease (cases) and 10,750 control subjects. We genotyped 113 selected SNPs with P(GWAS) < 10(-4) and 18 SNPs from 14 known loci in a further 4,918 cases and 5,684 controls. Variants from 13 new regions reached genome-wide significance (P(combined) < 5 x 10(-8)); most contain genes with immune functions (BACH2, CCR4, CD80, CIITA-SOCS1-CLEC16A, ICOSLG and ZMIZ1), with ETS1, RUNX3, THEMIS and TNFRSF14 having key roles in thymic T-cell selection. There was evidence to suggest associations for a further 13 regions. In an expression quantitative trait meta-analysis of 1,469 whole blood samples, 20 of 38 (52.6%) tested loci had celiac risk variants correlated (P < 0.0028, FDR 5%) with cis gene expression.