Identifying the potential origin of mucin in primary cutaneous mucinoses: A retrospective study and analysis using histopathology and multiplex fluorescence staining

Background: Primary cutaneous mucinoses (PCM) are rare diseases characterized by dermal or follicular mucin deposits. Objectives: A retrospective study characterizing PCM to compare dermal with follicular mucin to identify its potential origin on a single-cell level. Material and methods: Patients diagnosed with PCM between 2010 and 2020 at our department were included in this study. Biopsy specimens were stained using conventional mucin stains (Alcian blue, PAS) and MUC1 immunohistochemical staining. Multiplex fluorescence staining (MFS) was used to investigate which cells were associated with MUC1 expression in select cases. Results: Thirty-one patients with PCM were included, 14 with follicular mucinosis (FM), 8 with reticular erythematous mucinosis, 2 with scleredema, 6 with pretibial myxedema and one patient with lichen myxedematosus. In all 31 specimens, mucin stained positive for Alcian blue and negative for PAS. In FM, mucin deposition was exclusively found in hair follicles and sebaceous glands. None of the other entities showed mucin deposits in follicular epithelial structures. Using MFS, all cases showed CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, tissue histiocytes, fibroblasts and pan-cytokeratin+ cells. These cells expressed MUC1 at different intensities. MUC1 expression in tissue histiocytes, fibroblasts, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and follicular epithelial cells of FM was significantly higher than the same cell types in the dermal mucinoses (p < 0.001). CD8+ T cells were significantly more involved in expression of MUC1 than all other analysed cell types in FM. This finding was also significant in comparison with dermal mucinoses. Conclusion: Various cell types seem to contribute to mucin production in PCM. Using MFS, we showed that CD8+ T cells seem to be more involved in the production of mucin in FM than in dermal mucinoses, which could indicate that mucin in dermal and follicular epithelial mucinoses have different origins

Trade union strategies in the age of austerity: the Romanian public sector in comparative perspective

This article examines the impact of the economic crisis and its aftermath on collective bargaining, by comparing reactions to austerity policies of trade unions in healthcare and education in Romania. We develop an encompassing theoretical framework that links strategies used by trade unions with power resources, costs and union democracy. In a tight labour market generated by the massive emigration of doctors, unions in healthcare have successfully deployed their resources to advance their interests and obtain significant wage increases and better working conditions. We also show that in the aftermath of the crisis, healthcare trade unions have redefined their strategies and adopted a more militant stance based on a combination of local strikes, strike threats and temporary alliances with various stakeholders. By comparison, we find that unions in the education sector have adopted less effective strategies built around negotiations with governments combined with national-level militancy

Large magnetoresistance by Pauli blockade in hydrogenated graphene

We report the observation of a giant positive magnetoresistance in millimetre scale hydrogenated graphene with magnetic field oriented in the plane of the graphene sheet. A positive magnetoresistance in excess of 200\% at a temperature of 300 mK was observed in this configuration, reverting to negative magnetoresistance with the magnetic field oriented normal to the graphene plane. We attribute the observed positive, in-plane, magnetoresistance to Pauli-blockade of hopping conduction induced by spin polarization. Our work shows that spin polarization in concert with electron-electron interaction can play a dominant role in magnetotransport within an atomic monolayer.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, and supplemental informatio

Ageing and entrepreneurial preferences

Previous research on age and entrepreneurship assumed homogeneity and downplayed age-related differences in the motives and aims underlying enterprising behaviour. We argue that the heterogeneity of entrepreneurship influences how the level of entrepreneurial activity varies with age. Using a sample of 2566 respondents from 27 European countries we show that entrepreneurial activity increases almost linearly with age for individuals who prefer to only employ themselves (self-employers), whereas it increases up to a critical threshold age (late 40s) and decreases thereafter for those who aspire to hire workers (owner-managers). Age has a considerably smaller effect on entrepreneurial behaviour for those who do not prefer self-employment but are pushed into it by lack of alternative employment opportunities (reluctant entrepreneurs). Our results question the conventional wisdom that entrepreneurial activity declines with age and suggest that effective responses to demographic changes require policy makers to pay close attention to the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial preferences

Evidence That a Lipolytic Enzyme—Hematopoietic-Specific Phospholipase C-β2—Promotes Mobilization of Hematopoietic Stem Cells by Decreasing Their Lipid Raft-Mediated Bone Marrow Retention and Increasing the Promobilizing Effects of Granulocytes

Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) reside in the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment and are retained there by the interaction of membrane lipid raft-associated receptors, such as the α-chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the α4β1-integrin (VLA-4, very late antigen 4 receptor) receptor, with their respective specific ligands, stromal-derived factor 1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, expressed in BM stem cell niches. The integrity of the lipid rafts containing these receptors is maintained by the glycolipid glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor (GPI-A). It has been reported that a cleavage fragment of the fifth component of the activated complement cascade, C5a, has an important role in mobilizing HSPCs into the peripheral blood (PB) by (i) inducing degranulation of BM-residing granulocytes and (ii) promoting their egress from the BM into the PB so that they permeabilize the endothelial barrier for subsequent egress of HSPCs. We report here that hematopoietic cell-specific phospholipase C-β2 (PLC-β2) has a crucial role in pharmacological mobilization of HSPCs. On the one hand, when released during degranulation of granulocytes, it digests GPI-A, thereby disrupting membrane lipid rafts and impairing retention of HSPCs in BM niches. On the other hand, it is an intracellular enzyme required for degranulation of granulocytes and their egress from BM. In support of this dual role, we demonstrate that PLC-β2-knockout mice are poor mobilizers and provide, for the first time, evidence for the involvement of this lipolytic enzyme in the mobilization of HSPCs

A molecular insight into algal-oomycete warfare : cDNA analysis of Ectocarpus siliculosus infected with the basal oomycete Eurychasma dicksonii

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

On passion and moral behavior in achievement settings: The mediating role of pride

The Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) distinguishes two types of passion: harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) that predict adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In the present research, we were interested in understanding the role of passion in the adoption of moral behavior in achievement settings. It was predicted that the two facets of pride (authentic and hubristic; Tracy & Robins, 2007) would mediate the passion-moral behavior relationship. Specifically, because people who are passionate about a given activity are highly involved in it, it was postulated that they should typically do well and thus experience high levels of pride when engaged in the activity. However, it was also hypothesized that while both types of passion should be conducive to authentic pride, only OP should lead to hubristic pride. Finally, in line with past research on pride (Carver, Sinclair, & Johnson, 2010; Tracy et al., 2009), only hubristic pride was expected to negatively predict moral behavior, while authentic pride was expected to positively predict moral behavior. Results of two studies conducted with paintball players (N=163, Study 1) and athletes (N=296, Study 2) supported the proposed model. Future research directions are discussed in light of the Dualistic Model of Passion