Comments on the Properties of Mittag-Leffler Function

The properties of Mittag-Leffler function is reviewed within the framework of an umbral formalism. We take advantage from the formal equivalence with the exponential function to define the relevant semigroup properties. We analyse the relevant role in the solution of Schr\"odinger type and heat-type fractional partial differential equations and explore the problem of operatorial ordering finding appropriate rules when non-commuting operators are involved. We discuss the coherent states associated with the fractional Sch\"odinger equation, analyze the relevant Poisson type probability amplitude and compare with analogous results already obtained in the literature.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Pensiuni in Romania: Rediscovering and Reinventing the Countryside through Tourism

Rural tourism is a long-established practice in the industrialised West, but it is a comparatively recent and on-going development in postsocialist contexts. This thesis examines the development of rural tourism in Romania and draws on fieldwork carried out in one of the oldest and most popular destinations of the country, as well as in a newer and less visited location. As homestays are central to rural tourism, my research has an extensive focus on what happens with guesthouses and their owners. Countryside tourism is a practice grounded in a discourse that praises images of unspoilt nature, close-knit communities, material and cultural heritage and natural healthy food. Discourses about rurality also suggest that for city dwellers, village stays in their own countries can provide a way of getting in touch with their national identity, building, at the same time a sense of belonging. In Romania, such discourses are promoted by NGOs, state institutions and tour operators that aim to develop rural tourism. In spite of their efforts, in the destinations that I studied, rural tourism has strayed away from the ideal model. Instead of bucolic cottages inspired by the vernacular architecture of the region, hosts welcome their guests into large, modern villas equipped with state-of-the art amenities. Tourists too show a strong concern with material aspects of their accommodation, they rarely venture in outdoor pursuits and have little interest in notions of ‘heritage’ or ‘traditions’. My findings show that the lived experiences of local entrepreneurs have shaped worldviews that in many respects are at odds with the ideal models and best tourism practices promoted by various institutions. I also show how hosts and guests share similar notions of achievement and success and how this has turned rural tourism into a house-centred event. In explaining why discourses have little grounding in reality, I pay close attention to the economics of tourism, trying to understand guesthouses as businesses interlinked both with the wider forces of the market and with the socio-economic history of rural Romania. I show how the development of pensiuni was influenced by specific material and social constraints, arguing that a long history of living under oppressive regimes actually endowed locals with qualities that made them ready to embark on entrepreneurial pursuits. I also examine how kinship can be both a catalyst for growth and a factor that contributes to the stagnation or decline of businesses. Most notably, however, it was the unstable and burdensome legislative environment that had perhaps the strongest impact over the evolution of guesthouses, determining over half of the owners to stay in the shadow economy. My findings raise questions about the effectiveness and utility of many of the norms currently imposed on tourist entrepreneurs and I conclude by discussing a few ways in which institutions could respond better to the needs of guesthouse owners

Interleukin-6 and its considerable role in the pathogenesis of thyrotoxicosis-related disturbances of bone turnover in postmenopausal women

Background: Thyrotoxicosis is more frequent in postmenopausal women than in the general population, effectively accelerating bone turnover. Interleukin-6 has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of bone disorders. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess the role of IL-6 and its soluble receptor in the pathogenesis of thyrotoxicosis-related disturbances of bone turnover in oestrogen-deficient women. Material and methods: The study was carried out in 40 subjects with toxic nodular goitre in three groups: Group 1 &#8212; 13 premenopausal females, mean age 36 &#177; 15 years (PremTx&#8594;PremEu); Group 2 &#8212; 12 postmenopausal females, mean age 66 &#177; 14 years (PostTx&#8594;PostEu); and Group 3 &#8212; 15 males, mean age 45 &#177; 21 years (MTx&#8594;MEu). Overt thyrotoxicosis and euthyreosis after treatment with thyrostatics were confirmed by thyrotropin, free thyroxine and free triiodothyronin concentrations. Serum levels of bone turnover markers: TRACP5b and osteocalcin as well as serum IL-6 and IL-6sR were determined using ELISA kits. Results: TRACP5b/osteocalcin quotient was significantly elevated in the PostTx females compared to the PremTx women (p < 0.02). There was a positive correlation between serum TRACP5b and osteocalcin in the studied patients (R = 0.45, p < 0.001). Levels of serum IL-6 values were significantly elevated in PostTx: 3.0 (2.14&#8211;6.40) and MTx: 2.24 (1.60&#8211;5.10), compared to PremTx females: 1.39 (0.96&#8211;2.14) (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05 respectively). There were significant positive correlations between IL-6 and IL-6sR concentrations (R = 0.22, p < 0.05) and between IL-6sR and TRACP5b serum levels (R = 0.23, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that interleukin-6 plays a considerable role in the pathogenesis of thyrotoxicosis-related disturbances of bone turnover in oestrogen-deficient women. (Pol J Endocrinol 2011; 62 (4): 299&#8211;302)Wstęp: Nadczynność tarczycy występuje częściej u kobiet po menopauzie w porównaniu z populacją ogólną, skutecznie przyspieszając obrót kostny. Wykazano, że interleukina 6 (IL-6) odgrywa istotną rolę w regulacji obrotu kostnego. Uwzględniając ten fakt, celem obecnej pracy była próba oceny roli IL-6 i jej rozpuszczalnego receptora w patogenezie zaburzeń obrotu kostnego w przebiegu tyreotoksykozy u kobiet po menopauzie. Materiał i metody: Badanie przeprowadzono u 40 osób z nadczynnym wolem guzkowym w 3 grupach: 1 &#8212; 13 kobiet przed menopauzą w wieku 36 &#177; 15 lat (PremTx&#198;PremEu), 2 &#8212; 12 kobiet po menopauzie w wieku 66 &#177; 14 lat (PostTx&#198;PostEu) i 3 &#8212; 15 mężczyzn w wieku 45 &#177; 21 lat (MTx&#198;MEu). Stan czynnościowy tarczycy potwierdzono oznaczeniem TSH, fT3 i fT4 w surowicy. Markery obrotu kostnego: TRACP5b i osteokalcyna oraz IL-6 i IL-6sR w surowicy, oznaczono zestawami ELISA. Wyniki: Iloraz TRACP5b/osteokalcyna był istotnie zwiększony u kobiet PostTx w porównaniu z grupą PremTx (p < 0,02). Stwierdzono dodatnią korelację między TRACP5b i osteokalcyną (R = 0,45, p < 0,001). Stężenie IL-6 było istotnie zwiększone w grupie PostTx: 3,0 (2,14&#8211;6,40) i MTx: 2,24 (1,60&#8211;5,10) w porównaniu z odnotowanym u kobiet z grupy PremTx: 1,39 (0,96&#8211;2,14) (odpowiednio: p < 0,01 i p < 0,05). Wykazano istotną dodatnią korelację pomiędzy IL-6 i IL-6sR (R = 0,22, p < 0,05) oraz pomiędzy IL-6sR i TRACP5b (R = 0,23, p < 0,05). Wnioski: Podsumowując, wyniki obecnej pracy wskazują, że IL-6 odgrywa ważną rolę w patogenezie zaburzeń obrotu kostnego w przebiegu tyreotoksykozy u kobiet po menopauzie. (Endokrynol Pol 2011; 62 (4): 299&#8211;302

Serum interleukin-16 and RANTES during treatment of Graves&prime; orbitopathy with corticosteroids and teleradiotherapy

Introduction: To assess the usefulness of circulating IL-16 and RANTES measurements as markers of Graves&prime; orbitopathy (GO) activity and to estimate the role of these cytokines in GO pathogenesis. Material and methods: 42 individuals were divided into four groups: Group 1 comprised 15 euthyroid patients with clinical symptoms of GO who underwent corticosteroid therapy consisting of intravenous infusions of methylprednisolone (MP) and teleradiotherapy (TR); Group 2 comprised ten patients with hyperthyroid GD (Gtx); Group 3 comprised ten patients with GD in euthyreosis (Geu); and Group 4 comprised seven healthy volunteers age- and sex-matched to Groups 1&#8211;3. Serum samples were collected 24 hours before the first dose of MP, 24 hours after the first dose of MP, before TR, and at the end of therapy. Serum IL-16 and RANTES were determined by ELISA and TSH-Rab by RIA. Results: Serum IL-16 levels in patients with GO were significantly elevated at the end of therapy: 346 pg/mL (257&#8211;538) compared to IL-16 values before treatment: 250 ng/mL (211&#8211;337) and to the control group. RANTES serum concentrations did not significantly differ between studied groups, and immunosuppressive treatment did not influence its level. A negative correlation between TSH-Rab and RANTES was found in all studied groups (R = &#8211;0.32, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Our data suggests that IL-16 may exert an immunoregulatory effect in Graves&prime; orbitopathy. Serum measurements of both IL-16 and RANTES may be clinically useful; however, establishing their place in the diagnostics and treatment monitoring of GO needs further research. (Pol J Endocrinol 2012; 63 (2): 92&#8211;96)Wstęp: Ocena przydatności oznaczania krążącej IL-16 i RANTES jako wskaźników aktywności GO oraz określenie roli tych cytokin w patogenezie GO. Materiał i metody: 42 osoby w 4 grupach: 1 &#8212; 15 pacjentów z klinicznymi objawami orbitopatii w eutyreozie (GO), którzy poddali się leczeniu kortykosteroidami przy zastosowaniu podawanego dożylnie metylprednizolonu (MP) i teleradioterapii (TR); 2 &#8212; 10 pacjentów z chorobą Gravesa w nadczynności (Gtx); 3 &#8212; 10 pacjentów z chorobą Gravesa w eutyreozie (Geu); 4 &#8212; 7 zdrowych ochotników dobranych pod względem płci i wieku do grup 1.&#8211;3. Próbki krwi pobrano 24 h przed MP, 24 h po 1. dawce MP, przed TR i po zakończeniu leczenia. Stężenia IL-16 i RANTES w surowicy oznaczono metodą ELISA, a TSH-Rab &#8212; metodą RIA. Wyniki: Stężenie IL-16 w surowicy u pacjentów z GO było istotnie wyższe po zakończeniu terapii &#8212; 346 pg/ml (257&#8211;538) w porównaniu z wartością IL-16 przed leczeniem &#8212; 250 ng/ml (211&#8211;337) i w odniesieniu do grupy kontrolnej. Stężenie RANTES w surowicy nie różniło się istotnie między badanymi grupami i leczenie immunosupresyjne nie wpłynęło na jej wartość. Wykazano ujemną korelację między TSH-Rab i RANTES we wszystkich badanych grupach (R = &#8211;0,32; p < 0,01). Wnioski: Uzyskane dane wskazują, że IL-16 może wywierać immunomodulujący wpływ na przebieg orbitopatii. Zarówno oznaczenia IL-16, jak i RANTES w surowicy mogą być przydatne klinicznie, jednak ustalenie ich miejsca w diagnostyce i monitorowaniu leczenia GO wymaga dalszych badań. (Endokrynol Pol 2012; 63 (2): 92&#8211;96

Increased percentage of L-selectin+ and ICAM-1+ peripheral blood CD4+/CD8+ T cells in active Graves' ophthalmopathy.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the percentage of CD4+/CD8+ peripheral T cells expressing CD62L+ and CD54+ in patients with Graves' disease and to assess if these estimations could be helpful as markers of active ophthalmopathy. The study was carried out in 25 patients with Graves' disease (GD) divided into 3 groups: 1/ 8 patients with active Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) (CAS 3-6, GO complaints pound 1 year), 2/ 9 patients with hyperthyroid GD without symptoms of ophthalmopathy (GDtox) and 3/ 8 patients with euthyroid GD with no GO symptoms (GDeu). The control group consisted of 15 healthy volunteers age and sex matched to groups 1-3. The expression of lymphocyte adhesion molecules was evaluated by using three-color flow cytometry. In GO group the percentage of CD8+CD54+, CD8+CD62L+, CD4+CD54+ and CD4+CD62L+ T cells was significantly higher as compared to controls (

Circulating monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in women with gestational diabetes.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) has been implicated as a key factor in the recruitment and activation of peripheral blood leukocytes in atherosclerotic lesions and adipose tissue. Elevated levels of circulating MCP-1 have been found in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as with coronary artery disease. In this study we compared serum MCP-1 concentrations between pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and non-pregnant healthy women. The group studied consisted of 62 patients with GDM (mean age 30.1 +/- 5.0 years) at 29.0 +/- 3.5 week of gestation, 64 pregnant women with NGT (mean age 30.0 +/- 4.7 years) at 29.2 +/- 2.9 week of gestation and 34 non-pregnant healthy women (mean age 29.8 +/- 4.7 years). Serum MCP-1 concentration was measured using an enzyme - linked immunosorbent assay. Median MCP-1 concentrations did not differ significantly between women with GDM (median 342.3 [interquartile range 267.9-424.4] pg/ml) and NGT (338.0 [274.7-408.2] pg/ml), but were markedly lower than those found in non-pregnant women (485.2 [409.6-642.4] pg/ml,

Clusters of Glycemic Response to Oral Glucose Tolerance Tests Explain Multivariate Metabolic and Anthropometric Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery in Obese Patients

Glycemic responses to bariatric surgery are highly heterogeneous among patients and defining response types remains challenging. Recently developed data-driven clustering methods have uncovered subtle pathophysiologically informative patterns among patients without diabetes. This study aimed to explain responses among patients with and without diabetes to bariatric surgery with clusters of glucose concentration during oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs). We assessed 30 parameters at baseline and at four subsequent follow-up visits over one year on 154 participants in the Bialystok Bariatric Surgery Study. We applied latent trajectory classification to OGTTs and multinomial regression and generalized linear mixed models to explain differential responses among clusters. OGTT trajectories created four clusters representing increasing dysglycemias that were discordant from standard diabetes diagnosis criteria. The baseline OGTT cluster increased the predictive power of regression models by over 31% and aided in correctly predicting more than 83% of diabetes remissions. Principal component analysis showed that the glucose homeostasis response primarily occurred as improved insulin sensitivity concomitant with improved the OGTT cluster. In sum, OGTT clustering explained multiple, correlated responses to metabolic surgery. The OGTT is an intuitive and easy-to-implement index of improvement that stratifies patients into response types, a vital first step in personalizing diabetic care in obese subjects

Role of interleukin-6 on RANKL-RANK/osteoprotegerin system in hypothyroid ovariectomized mice.

Postmenopausal women frequently develop hypothyroidism. Estrogen depletion is accompanied by an increase of IL-6, accelerating bone turnover. The influence of hypothyroidism on bone metabolism in postmenopausal women is poorly understood. The aim of the study was an attempt to clarify the role of interleukin-6 on RANKL-RANK/osteoprotegerin system in hypothyroid ovariectomized mice. The study was performed on 56, 12-13 weeks old, female mice: C57BL/6J (wild-type; WT) and C57BL/6JIL6-/-Kopf (IL-6 knock-out; IL6KO). The mice were randomly divided into 8 groups with 7 mice in each one: 1/ WT controls, 2/ IL6KO controls, 3/ WT hypothyroid mice, 4/ IL6KO hypothyroid mice, 5/ WT ovariectomized, 6/ IL6KO ovariectomized, 7/ WT ovariectomized hypothyroid mice and 8/ IL6KO ovariectomized hypothyroid mice. Experimental model of menopause was produced by bilateral ovariectomy carried out in 8-9 weeks old mice. Experimental model of hypothyroidism was induced by propylthiouracyl administration in driking water. The serum levels of TRACP 5b, osteocalcin, OPG and RANKL were determined by ELISA. Serum RANKL concentrations were elevated significantly in all groups of ovariectomized mice as compared to respective controls, but in a minor degree in IL6KO hypothyroid mice as compared to wild-type animals. Moreover sRANKL values were significantly lower in IL6KO as compared to WT controls and IL6KO PTU injected mice. Osteoprotegerin serum levels were decreased in all IL-6 deficient mice and in a highest degree in sham-operated hypothyroid mice. To sum up, the results of the present study suggest that estrogens deficit is a strong stimulus for RANKL-RANK/OPG pathway that breaks an inhibitory influence of hypothyroidism even in IL-6 deficient mice

Interleukin-6 is not essential for bone turnover in hypothyroid mice.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of several bone diseases characterized by an imbalance between bone resorption and formation. The aim of the study was to estimate serum markers of bone turnover: osteoclast-derived tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase form 5a (TRACP 5b) and osteocalcin in IL-6-deficient mice to assess the role of IL-6 in bone metabolism in hypothyroidism in mice. C57BL/6J (wild-type; WT) and C57BL/6J(IL6-/-Kopf) (IL-6 knock-out; IL6KO) mice randomly divided into 4 groups with 10 in each one: 1/ WT mice in hypothyroidism (WT-ht), 2/ WT controls, 3/ IL6KO mice with hypothyroidism (IL6KO-ht) and 4/ IL6KO controls. Experimental model of hypothyroidism was induced by intraperitoneal injection of propylthiouracyl. The serum levels of TRACP 5b and osteocalcin were determined by ELISA. Serum concentrations of TRACP 5b (median and interquartile ranges) were significantly decreased in both groups of mice with hypothyroidism: WT (3.2 (2.5-4.7) U/l) and IL6KO (2.6 (1.8-3.5) U/l) as compared to the respective controls. Similarly, serum osteocalcin levels were significantly reduced in both groups of mice in experimental hypothyroidism: WT (25.8 (23.0-28.2) ng/ml) and IL6KO (21.5(19.0-24.6) ng/ml) in comparison to the respective controls. There were no significant differences in bone turnover markers between IL6KO and WT mice both in hypothyroid and control animals. The results of the present study suggest that IL-6 does not play an important role in bone turnover in both euthyroid and hypothyroid mice