Is there a Common European Business Cycle? New Insights from a Frequency Domain Analysis

To assess the synchronization of business cycles in Europe we extract the cyclical component of industrial production in five European countries using the filter of Baxter and King (1999). The hypothesis of a joint business cycle is tested by using the frequency domain common cycle test suggested by Breitung and Candelon (2000). The common cycle hypothesis is clearly rejected for U.K. data whereas some weak evidence for a joint cyclical pattern is found for France, The Netherlands, Austria and Germany. Zusammenfassung Gibt es einen gemeinsamen europäischen Konjunkturzyklus? Neue Erkenntnisse durch eine Spektralanalyse Um die Synchronität der Konjunkturzyklen in Europa zu bewerten, wird die Zykluskomponente der Industrieproduktion in fünf europäischen Ländern identifiziert, indem der Baxter-King-Filter (1999) angewendet wird. Die Hypothese eines gemeinsamen Konjunkturzyklus wird durch einen Test auf einen gemeinsamen Zyklus im Frequenzbereich nach Breitung und Candelon (2000) überprüft. Ein gemeinsamer Konjunkturzyklus muss demnach für Großbritannien klar zurückgewiesen werden, wohingegen einige schwache Anzeichen für ein gemeinsames Konjunkturmuster für Frankreich, die Niederlande, Österreich und Deutschland gefunden werden konnten

Simultaneous non-negative matrix factorization for multiple large scale gene expression datasets in toxicology

Non-negative matrix factorization is a useful tool for reducing the dimension of large datasets. This work considers simultaneous non-negative matrix factorization of multiple sources of data. In particular, we perform the first study that involves more than two datasets. We discuss the algorithmic issues required to convert the approach into a practical computational tool and apply the technique to new gene expression data quantifying the molecular changes in four tissue types due to different dosages of an experimental panPPAR agonist in mouse. This study is of interest in toxicology because, whilst PPARs form potential therapeutic targets for diabetes, it is known that they can induce serious side-effects. Our results show that the practical simultaneous non-negative matrix factorization developed here can add value to the data analysis. In particular, we find that factorizing the data as a single object allows us to distinguish between the four tissue types, but does not correctly reproduce the known dosage level groups. Applying our new approach, which treats the four tissue types as providing distinct, but related, datasets, we find that the dosage level groups are respected. The new algorithm then provides separate gene list orderings that can be studied for each tissue type, and compared with the ordering arising from the single factorization. We find that many of our conclusions can be corroborated with known biological behaviour, and others offer new insights into the toxicological effects. Overall, the algorithm shows promise for early detection of toxicity in the drug discovery process

Confidence Intervals for Diffusion Index Forecasts and Inference for Factor-Augmented Regressions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73839/1/j.1468-0262.2006.00696.x.pd

Interleukin 25 regulates type 2 cytokine-dependent immunity and limits chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract

The cytokine interleukin (IL) 25 has been implicated in the initiation of type 2 immunity by driving the expression of type 2 cytokines such as IL-5 and IL-13, although its role in the regulation of immunity and infection-induced inflammation is unknown. Here, we identify a dual function for IL-25: first, in promoting type 2 cytokine-dependent immunity to gastrointestinal helminth infection and, second, in limiting proinflammatory cytokine production and chronic intestinal inflammation. Treatment of genetically susceptible mice with exogenous IL-25 promoted type 2 cytokine responses and immunity to Trichuris. IL-25 was constitutively expressed by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the gut of mouse strains that are resistant to Trichuris, and IL-25–deficient mice on a genetically resistant background failed to develop a type 2 immune response or eradicate infection. Furthermore, chronically infected IL-25(−/−) mice developed severe infection-induced intestinal inflammation associated with heightened expression of interferon-γ and IL-17, identifying a role for IL-25 in limiting pathologic inflammation at mucosal sites. Therefore, IL-25 is not only a critical mediator of type 2 immunity, but is also required for the regulation of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract