The Presence of Essential and Non-Essential Stratum Corneum Proteases: The Vital Need for Protease Inhibitors

Dry skin is one of the most important concerns of consumers worldwide. Despite huge efforts over several decades, the personal care industry still does not offer complete solutions that satisfy the unmet needs of consumers for moisturizing treatments. The paucity of data for the underlying biochemical problems in and the effects of moisturizers on facial skin biology and physiology may partly explain this. Our recent color mapping studies based on bio-instrumental evaluations of skin capacitance and transepidermal water loss have revealed the complexity of facial skin. However, the biomolecular reasons for these subtle differences in the different zones of the face are unknown so far. As the maturation of the stratum corneum is vital for skin moisturization and optimal barrier function, we believe that the protease / proteaseinhibitor balance particularly of the plasminogen system may be key in these processes. Thus, our aim was to develop a specific dual plasmin and urokinase inhibitor for topical application to barrier-impaired skin and demonstrate its efficac

Trends, Persistence, and Volatility in Energy Markets

This paper makes a threefold contribution to the underlying dynamic properties and causal effects of energy prices. Firstly, the paper makes a study of the underlying trends to help identify the time series path of nonrenewable energy resources, which can have far reaching consequences for economists and policy makers alike. The analysis is extended to also determine the persistence of oil price shocks. Secondly, the study examines the causal relation between oil prices and the macroeconomy allowing for nonlinear models that have been recently advocated in the literature. Finally, this study describes the relation between oil prices and agricultural commodities. From a policy perspective, these interrelationships of agricultural and oil prices warrant careful consideration in the context of the recent energy crisis, which may very well continue in the future

Seismic design criteria for CFS steel-sheathed shear walls

The current European earthquake standard EN1998-1 does not provide the seismic design criteria for cold formed steel (CFS) steel-sheathed shear walls, limiting their use as a lateral force resisting system in lightweight steel buildings. In order to overcome this lack of guidelines, a specific study has been performed to extend the applicability of the Effective Strip Method (ESM), given in North American standard AISI S400 to EN1998-1. The method evaluates the shear resistance of steel-sheathed shear walls and it is permitted only in USA & Mexico as an alternative to tabulated shear resistance for predefined wall configurations. In order to further validate its scope of application, it was applied to additional available experimental results of walls tested in Canada. Only for some configurations, the ESM does not give acceptable predictions. Furthermore, the ESM was applied following the European approach, to make its use possible in context of European seismic design methodology. The overstrength factor for the design of non-dissipative elements was evaluated. Based on the results, it is concluded that the ESM could be appropriate for the evaluation of resistance of steel-sheathed shear walls in Eurocodes