Role of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors in the pathogenesis of psoriasis

Background : Psoriasis is a chronic immune-inflammatory-mediated disease characterized by epidermal hyperplasia and angiogenesis. Recently, vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs, including VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3) were found to be expressed in normal human epidermis and associated with proliferation and migration of keratinocytes. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (sVEGFR1 and sVEGFR2) in psoriatic patients Methods: 100 consenting psoriatic patients(males and females) aged 20-60 years who attended out patients clinic of dermatology in Al-Sadr Medical City in AL-Najaf city -Iraq. Psoriasis area and severity index assessment was done for each patient. Blood samples was collected for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 and receptor 2 measurement. Result: The serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 in addition to receptor 2 were significantly increased in all group of psoriatic patients compared to healthy controls (P<0.001) . Conclusion: The serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 in addition to receptor 2 had significant role in evolution of psoriatic plaque. Keywords: Serum vascular endothelial growth receptor 1, Serum vascular endothelial growth receptor 2,Psoriasis area and severity index, Psoriasis. List of abbreviation: sVEGFR= serum vascular endothelial growth receptor, PASI = Psoriasis area and severity index, SD=standard deviation , ECs=endothelial cells. ELISA= Enzyme Linked Immuno Linked Sorbant Assay

The Impact of Chronic Liver Diseases on the Level of Heart-Type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein (H-FABP) Concentrations

Objectives: Heart-type fatty acid binding-protein (H-FABP) has been reported to be a potential novel biochemical marker for the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The presence of H-FABP in the liver has not been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of chronic liver diseases on the level of H-FABP concentrations. Methods: The effects of chronic liver diseases including infective hepatitis and cirrhosis on the concentration of H-FABP was studied in a small group of patients (n=10, mean age ±SD = 58.33 ± 7.19 years). The serum concentrations of the following markers were measured: H-FABP, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and bilirubin and compared with a reference control group (20 healthy blood donors, mean age ±SD = 63.8 ±8.01). Results: The serum concentrations of these markers in the control group as compared to patients with chronic liver disease were as follows (mean ± SD): H-FABP = 6.86 ±2.21 µg/L versus 6.44 ±3.06 µg/L (p = NS); ALT = 29.8 ±14.7 U/L versus ALT = 198.67 ±122.89 U/L (p < 0.0005) and bilirubin = 9.6 ±4.0 µmol/L versus bilirubin = 100.89 ±87.85 µmol/L (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: These data illustrate clearly that there is no significant interference with the normal concentration of H-FABP in the presence of liver diseases, despite the significant elevation of liver enzymes and proteins. These data may support a useful role of H-FABP for the diagnosis of myocardial injury in patients with liver diseases

Endothelial dysfunction in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, even in the presence of intensive glycemic control. Substantial clinical and experimental evidence suggest that both diabetes and insulin resistance cause a combination of endothelial dysfunctions, which may diminish the anti-atherogenic role of the vascular endothelium. Both insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction appear to precede the development of overt hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, in patients with diabetes or insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction may be a critical early target for preventing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Microalbuminuria is now considered to be an atherosclerotic risk factor and predicts future cardiovascular disease risk in diabetic patients, in elderly patients, as well as in the general population. It has been implicated as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature cardiovascular mortality for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as for patients with essential hypertension. A complete biochemical understanding of the mechanisms by which hyperglycemia causes vascular functional and structural changes associated with the diabetic milieu still eludes us. In recent years, the numerous biochemical and metabolic pathways postulated to have a causal role in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular disease have been distilled into several unifying hypotheses. The role of chronic hyperglycemia in the development of diabetic microvascular complications and in neuropathy has been clearly established. However, the biochemical or cellular links between elevated blood glucose levels, and the vascular lesions remain incompletely understood. A number of trials have demonstrated that statins therapy as well as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors is associated with improvements in endothelial function in diabetes. Although antioxidants provide short-term improvement of endothelial function in humans, all studies of the effectiveness of preventive antioxidant therapy have been disappointing. Control of hyperglycemia thus remains the best way to improve endothelial function and to prevent atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular complications of diabetes. In the present review we provide the up to date details on this subject

APLIKASI METODE LINEAR POLARIZATION RESISTANCE UNTUK MENGUKUR LAJU KOROSI INFRASTRUKTUR PASCA SEPULUH TAHUN TSUNAMI 2004

Musibah gempa dan tsunami yang terjadi pada 26 Desember 2004 yang melanda sebagian wilayah Aceh Besar dan Banda Aceh banyak menyebabkan infrastruktur bangunan beton bertulang yang terendam oleh air laut dalam kurun waktu tertentu. Adanya penetrasi ion-ion klorida yang dapat masuk kedalam pori-pori beton rumah, mengakibatkan rusaknya lapisan pasif sehingga menginisiasi terjadinya korosi. Akibat dari hal tersebut berkurangnya kekuatan beton rumah dalam menahan beban yang nantinya didukung oleh beton tersebut. Penelitian sebelumnya telah mengevaluasi resiko korosi pada infrastruktur bangunan dalam kawasan landaan tsunami dengan menggunakan metodel half-cell potential mapping. Tetapi metode tersebut memiliki kelemahan yang hanya memberikan keluaran berupa risiko korosi, diperlukan metode lain yang mampu memberikan keluaran berupa laju korosi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan dan mengevaluasi laju korosi (corrosion rate) pada baja tulangan dalam beton dari infrastruktur bangunan yang terkena tsunami 2004. Penelitian dilakukan pada lima unit rumah yang berada di wilayah Aceh Besar dan Banda Aceh. Empat unit rumah yang terendam air laut tsunami dan satu unit rumah yang tidak terendam air laut tsunami sebagai pembanding. Setiap rumah di ambil empat sampai lima kolom atau balok untuk dilakukan pengukuran. Pengukuran potensial korosi pada permukaan beton menggunakan half-cell potential meter untuk mencari lokasi yang memiliki risiko korosi paling tinggi. Pada lokasi ini dilakukan pengevaluasian laju korosi menggunakan metode Linear Polarization Resistance (LPR). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan peralatan berhasil di kembangkan dan dapat digunakan untuk mengukur laju korosi. Nilai laju korosi yang didapatkan adalah berkisar dari yang paling rendah yaitu 0,88 ?m/y sampai yang paling tinggi sebesar 5,64 ?m/y. Pencegahan peningkatan potensial korosi pada baja dalam beton perlu dilakukan untuk menghindari kegagalan secara tiba-tiba pada bangunan tersebut dalam kurun waktu tertentu dari aspek korosi

PENGARUH EFIKASI DIRI TERHADAP PERSEPSI DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SECARA INDIVIDUAL DENGAN PERILAKU PEMBELAJARAN DI DALAM TIM SEBAGAI VARIABEL MODERASI PADA KARYAWAN PT.BANK RAKYAT INDONESIA (PERSERO) TBK.CABANG BANDA ACEH

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh efikasi diri terhadap persepsi dalam pembelajaran secara individual dengan perilaku pembelajaran di dalam tim sebagaivariabel moderasi. Penelitian ini juga menambahkan hubungan perilaku pembelajaran didalam tim terhadap persepsi dalam pembelajaran secara individual. Sampel yang digunakandalam penelitian ini adalah Karyawan PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk.CabangBanda Aceh. Peralatan pengumpulan data yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalahkuisioner. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan adalah simple Random Sampling,sebanyak 110 kuesioner disebarkan dan hanya 97 kuesioner yang dapat terkumpulkan.Metode analisis Moderating Regression Analysis (MRA) digunakan sebagai metode analisisuntuk mengetahui pengaruh dari variabel-variabel yang terlibat. Hasil penelitian inimenunjukkan bahwa Efikasi Diri berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Persepsi DalamPembelajaran Secara Individual. Perilaku Pembelajaran Di Dalam Tim berpengaruhsignifikan terhadap Persepsi Dalam Pembelajaran Secara Individual. Selain itu, diperolehbahwa Perilaku Pembelajaran Di Dalam Tim memoderasi pengaruh Efikasi Diri terhadapPersepsi Dalam Pembelajaran Secara Individual karyawan PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia(Persero) Tbk.Cabang Banda Aceh. Kata Kunci: Efikasi Diri, Perilaku Pembelajaran Di Dalam Tim, Persepsi Dalam Pembelajaran Secara Individua

The effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on osteoclast and osteoblast function

Bone remodelling, the process by which the skeleton adapts to environmental changes, is dependent on the actions of osteoclasts that resorb bone and osteoblasts which make new bone matrix. Aberrant remodelling underpins bone loss in several debilitating skeletal diseases such as osteoporosis, metastatic breast cancer and multiple myeloma. Changes in remodelling activity can also arise as a consequence of therapeutic intervention for instance intravenous bisphosphonate treatment is associated with osteochemonecrosis of the jaw and localised osteoradionecrosis is a common side effect of radiotherapy. Hyperbaric oxygen is often used as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of these disorders. HBO involves the administration of 100% oxygen at atmospheric pressures greater than one in sealed chambers. The following studies aimed to evaluate the effect of HBO, hyperoxia, and pressure on RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption from RAW264.7 and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and osteoblast differentiation in vitro. The study also aimed to further examine the effect of HBO on ex vivo osteoclast formation from peripheral blood monocytes obtained from patients undergoing HBO. Daily exposure to HBO for ninety minutes significantly suppressed osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in mouse and human monocytes in normoxic and hypoxic conditions in vitro. The suppressive action of HBO on osteoclast formation was associated with a significant reduction in HIF-1α and RANK mRNA expression and HBO also caused a significant reduction in NFATc1 and DC-STAMP expression. This study has for the first time shown that HBO is able to reduce the ability of precursors to form bone resorbing osteoclast. HBO also suppressed the ability of peripheral blood monocytes to develop into RANKL-induced resorptive osteoclasts. In an ex vivo culture system the suppressive effect of HBO was meditated by an action prior to activation of osteoclast differentiation by RANKL and must therefore be an inhibitory effect on the ability of precursors to differentiate along the osteoclastic lineage. HBO also accelerates the rate of osteoblast differentiation and augments early stages of mineralization and has a more pronounced effect than hyperoxia or pressure alone. HBO enhanced bone nodule formation and ALP activity in human osteoblasts. Furthermore HBO promoted the expression of type I collagen and Runx-2 in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. HBO had a greater effect on these key markers of osteoblast differentiation than hyperoxia or pressure alone. This study suggests that HBO suppresses osteoclast activity and promotes osteoblastic bone formation, which may at least in part mediate its beneficial effects on necrotic bone. This provides evidence supporting the use of HBO as an adjunctive therapy to prevent osteoclast formation in a range of skeletal disorders associated with low oxygen partial pressure. The study also provides further support for the use of HBO in the treatment of skeletal disorders associated with excessive resorption such as osteomyelitis, and also provides a potential mechanism through which short term HBO may help fracture healing.  the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research/Republic of Ira

Ineffective corporate governance: Busyness of internal board monitoring committees

We examine whether the voluntary formation of a Risk Committee (RC) compromises the effectiveness of other monitoring duties carried out by the board members. We argue that adding more monitoring committees increases the board’s internal busyness, which reduces the effectiveness of monitoring by the Audit Committee (AC). Using a sample of financial firms over the period 2007 to 2011 from the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), we find that voluntarily adopting a risk committee impairs the effectiveness of the audit committee, which in turn reduces financial reporting quality. Our findings suggest that multiple layers of monitoring capacity viz-a-viz the existence of both an audit and risk committee may weaken the quality of monitoring provided by the audit committee