Circulatory cytokeratin 17, marginal zone B1 protein and leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein-1 as biomarkers for disease severity and fibrosis in systemic sclerosis patients

IntroductionSystemic sclerosis (Ssc) is a multiorgan debilitating autoimmune disease that associates the triad: vascular involvement, tissue fibrosis and profound immune response alterations. Numerous previous studies focused on identification of candidate proteomic Ssc biomarkers using mass-spectrometry techniques and a large number of candidate Ssc biomarkers emerged. These biomarkers must firstly be confirmed in independent patient groups. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of cytokeratin 17 (CK17), marginal zone B1 protein (MZB1) and leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein-1 (LRG1) with clinical and biological Ssc characteristics. Material and methodsSerum CK17, MZB1 and LRG1 were assessed in samples of the available Ssc biobank comprising of samples from 53 Ssc patients and 26 matched age and gender controls. ResultsCirculatory CK17, LRG1 and MZB1 concentrations were increased in Ssc patients. Cytokeratin 17 is independently associated with Ssc disease activity. Patients with pulmonary fibrosis expressed higher LRG1 and MZB1 concentrations. Serum MZB1 concentrations were also associated with extensive skin fibrosis. ConclusionsSerum CK17, MZB1 and LRG1 were confirmed biomarkers for Ssc. LRG1 seems a good biomarker for pulmonary fibrosis, while MZB1 is a good biomarker for extensive skin fibrosis. CK17 proved to be independently associated with Ssc disease severity, higher CK17 values being protective for a more active disease

IMPORTANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN ROMANIAN ECONOMY

The market economy has reduced the number of large enterprises and has determinated the emergence ofa special class like small and medium-sized enterprises. Those companies play a special role in the nationaleconomy, especially through the fact that attract about 65% of employees in Romania, makes significantinvestments, takes approximately 30% of gross value added in the national economy, operates mainly in servicesactivity, are flexible, concerned with development and have the ability to adopt new technologies. The SMEsector has been affected by the crisis, but not in the same measure as large enterprises. This fact is demonstratedby the economic and financial indicators that I have analised, in 2011 SME beeing able to overcome the crisisand to achieve higher performance than in the years before crisis. The SME sector is considered the most activesector of the modern economy, plays a important role in the economic structure of our country, helping to ensureeconomic and social development as it is shown by the strong bond that exist between the GVA in SME sectorand total GVA added to the national economy, demonstrated in the calculations that I have made in this study

PRAGMATIC APPROACH UPON THE INSTITUTIONAL EDUCATIONAL VERBALINTERACTION

The present paper intends to analyze the institutional educational verbal interaction from the pragmatics point of view, as pragmatics is that linguistic discipline focused on the dialogized communication performed by real speakers: the teacher (instructor, trainer) and his students. I was interested in emphasizing the type of verbal; interaction established during this special form of communication, the way the principles of communication are kept or broken during the dialogue between teacher and student, different types of discourse performed by the teacher while discussing with his students. I was also interested in underlining the role of the deictic elements (especially the subjective ones) in the communication performed within the didactic process of teaching-learning. The present paper intends to outline the importance of pragmatics in achieving an efficient teaching-learning process for the both sides implied: both for the teachers who will succeed in teaching easier their subject matters, and for the students who will understand faster the theoretic concepts and thus will be able to turn them into efficient and useful knowledge for their future career. Owing to my university teaching experience, I have faced lots of situations when pragmatics helped me out. In this paper I will focus my attention upon my didactic activities performed when teaching the Romanian language for foreign students (as I also teach Pragmatics, Advertising and Politic Discourse to the Romanian students of my Faculty). The present paper contains four parts as it follows: introduction, literature review, case study and conclusions (accompanied by limitations of the paper and recommendations)

An Agent Based Approach of Collective Foraging

In this paper the behaviour of a bee colony is modeled as a society of communicating agents acting in parallel and synchroniz-ing their behaviour. Two computational models for defining the agents behaviour are introduced and compared and tools developed for these models are briefly illustrated.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología TIC2002-04220-C03-0

Integration testing of heterotic systems

Computational theory and practice generally focus on single-paradigm systems, but relatively little is known about how best to combine components based on radically different approaches (e.g. silicon chips and wetware) into a single coherent system. In particular, while testing strategies for single-technology artefacts are generally well developed, it is unclear at present how to perform integration testing on heterotic systems: can we develop a test-set generation strategy for checking whether specified behaviours emerge (and unwanted behaviours do not) when components based on radically different technologies are combined within a single system? In this paper, we describe an approach to modelling multi-technology heterotic systems using a general-purpose formal specification strategy based on Eilenberg's X-machine model of computation. We show how this approach can be used to represent disparate technologies within a single framework, and propose a strategy for using these formal models for automatic heterotic test-set generation. We illustrate our approach by showing how to derive a test set for a heterotic system combining an X-machine-based device with a cell-based P system (membrane system)

Design of a decision support system for improving air quality assessment

Establishing a system that allows the transition from environmental and traffic monitoring to environmental management at the personal level has become a necessity. Such a system will improve the life quality, reduce health costs and increase the support of vulnerable groups (i.e., the elderly, children). ESTABLISH project aims to advance an innovative platform which allows converting environmental (sensor) data into actionable information for users to provide a healthier and safer environment thereby improving the quality of life. Smart adaptive services providing real-time feedback tailored to specific user and application needs will be developed by combining networked sensors and other data sources with adaptive models. This paper will present the on-going research within the ESTABLISH project related to the development of a decision support component which assesses the air quality. Based on real-time monitoring and quantification methods, and certain types of notifications for risk groups and general populations, the proposed system links pollutant concentrations to individual health risks. The proposed decision support for air quality assessment is structured on two components. The first component is represented by the comparison with the limit values provided by the legislation, and the second is the forecast of near-real-time air pollution episodes (based on trigger values). Thus, for each pollutant considered (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO) the frequency of pollutants concentrations measurement, the averaging periods according to the legislation, the averaging period and the limit values used for the notification component were established

Critical role of interleukin (IL)-17 in inflammatory and immune disorders: An updated review of the evidence focusing in controversies

Interleukin 17 (IL-17) is a proinflammatory cytokine that has been the focus of intensive research because of its crucial role in the pathogenesis of different diseases across many medical specialties. In this context, the present review in which a panel of 13 experts in immunology, dermatology, rheumatology, neurology, hematology, infectious diseases, hepatology, cardiology, ophthalmology and oncology have been involved, puts in common the mechanisms through which IL-17 is considered a molecular target for the development of novel biological therapies in these different fields. A comprehensive review of the literature and analysis of the most outstanding evidence have provided the basis for discussing the most relevant data related to IL-17A blocking agents for the treatment of different disorders, such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, cardiovascular disorders, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, uveitis, hematological and solid cancer. Current controversies are presented giving an opening line for future research.This work was supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Spain

IL-17 and Th17 cells in systemic sclerosis: a comprehensive review

T cells (especially T helper cells) seem to be strongly associated with systemic sclerosis pathogenesis. Th17-IL-17 axis was proved to be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple autoimmune diseases. By performing a comprehensive research of the literature indexed in PubMed database, the current review summarizes current knowledge related to Th17 and IL-17 in systemic sclerosis. While there is promising data suggesting inhibition of Tregulatory and Th1 signals on one hand and promotion of Th17 and Th2 signals on the other, studies that include prospective and integrated analysis of Tregulatory, Th17, Th1, Th2 (cells and derived cytokines) on the same cohort of Ssc patients are warranted