Mapping The Financial Services Sector After Brexit

The Brexit vote has removed the ability of multinational banks to access the European single market through their London headquarters, forcing them to establish European bases. This article analyzes the drivers of these location decisions. A model created by examining publicized plans suggests that the main factors influencing choices are office space costs, corporate tax rate, business climate, payroll tax rate, quality of life, and housing costs. Results suggest that Frankfurt, Germany, is the most attractive city

Aspirin-Exacerbated Asthma: Avoiding Challenge Is Still Challenging

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Krisnice i Zeleni Jure u karlovačkoj okolici u XIX stoljeću

Radi se o »Obrednim popijevkama« 1. Ivanjska pjesma (Krisnice). Autoru je poznat same tekst što su ga pjevale građanke Krisnice, djevejke od 15-18 god., pa i mlađe. 2. Na Jurjevo su pjevali seoski mladići pa selima i gradu. Jedan je nosio visoku mladu brezu, narešenu rupcima i šarenim papirima, dvojica su nosila u ruci dugačku kitu iz brezova granja, a Zeleni Juraj bio je u košu, isprepletenom granjem od vrbe i jagnjeda

Release of Type 2 Cytokines by Epithelial Cells of Nasal Polyps

Background. T2 inflammation of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) may be influenced by epithelial cytokines release (TSLP, IL-25, and IL-33). We investigated the release of TSLP, IL-25, and IL-33 by epithelial CRSwNP cells compared to epithelial sinus mucosa cells of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). Methods. IL-25, IL-33, and TSLP were measured by ELISA in the supernatant of cell cultures derived by CRSwNP (9 patients, 6 atopic) and CRSsNP (7 patients, 2 atopic) in baseline condition and following stimulation with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (DP), Aspergillus fumigatus (AF), and poly(I:C). Results. CRSwNP epithelial cells released increased levels of IL-25 (from 0.12 ± 0.06 pg/ml to 0.27 ± 0.1 pg/ml, p<0.01) and TSLP (from 0.77 ± 0.5 pg/ml to 2.53 ± 1.17 pg/ml, p<0.001) following poly(I:C) stimulation, while CRSsNP epithelial cells released increased levels of IL-25 and IL-33 following AF and DP stimulation, respectively (IL-25: from 0.18 ± 0.07 pg/ml to 0.51 ± 0.1 pg/ml, p<0.001; IL-33: from 2.57 ± 1.3 pg/ml to 5.7 ± 3.1 pg/ml, p<0.001). Conclusions. CRSwNP epithelial cells release TSLP and IL-25 when stimulated by poly(I:C) but not by DP or AF, suggesting that viral infection may contribute to maintain and amplify the T2 immune response seen in CRSwNP

Eosinophils Target Therapy for Severe Asthma: Critical Points

Asthma is a chronic and heterogeneous disease, which is defined as severe disease whenever it requires treatment with a high dose of inhaled corticosteroids plus a second controller and/or systemic corticosteroids to prevent it from becoming ‘‘uncontrolled’’ or if it remains ‘‘uncontrolled’’ despite this therapy. Severe asthma is a heterogeneous condition consisting of phenotypes such as eosinophilic asthma, which is characterized by sputum eosinophilia, associated with mild to moderate increase in blood eosinophil count, frequently adult-onset, and associated with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in half of the cases. Eosinophilic asthma is driven by T2 inflammation, characterized, among the others, by interleukin-5 production. IL-5 plays a key role in the differentiation, survival, migration, and activation of eosinophils, and it has become an appealing therapeutic target for eosinophilic asthma. In recent years two monoclonal antibodies (mepolizumab and reslizumab) directed against IL-5 and one monoclonal antibody directed against the alpha-subunit of the IL-5 receptor (benralizumab) have been developed. All these IL-5 target drugs have been shown to reduce the number of exacerbation in patients with severe asthma selected on the basis of peripheral blood eosinophil count. There are still a number of unresolved issues related to the anti-IL5 strategy in eosinophilic asthma, which are here reviewed. These issues include the effects of such therapy on airway obstruction and asthmatic symptoms, the level of baseline eosinophils that predicts a response to treatment, the relationship between blood and airway eosinophilia, and, perhaps most importantly, how to elucidate the pathogenetic role played by eosinophils in the individual patient with severe eosinophilic asthma