Do Not Take Peace for Granted: Adam Smith\u27s Warning on the Relation Between Commerce and War

Is trade a promoter of peace? Adam Smith, one of the earliest defenders of trade, worries that commerce may instigate some perverse incentives, encouraging wars. The wealth that commerce generates decreases the relative cost of wars, increases the ability to finance wars through debts, which decreases their perceived cost, and increases the willingness of commercial interests to use wars to extend their markets, increasing the number and prolonging the length of wars. Smith, therefore, cannot assume that trade would yield a peaceful world. While defending and promoting trade, Smith warns us not to take peace for granted

Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) and Adipose-Derived Stem Cell (ADSC) Therapy in the Treatment of Genital Lichen Sclerosus: A Comprehensive Review

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis mostly localized in the genital area, characterized by vulvar alterations that can severely impact a patient's quality of life. Current treatment modalities often provide incomplete relief, and there is a need for innovative approaches to manage this condition effectively. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) have emerged as potential regenerative therapies for LS, offering promising results in clinical practice. This comprehensive review explores the utilization of PRP and ADSC therapy in the treatment of genital LS, highlighting their mechanisms of action, safety profiles, and clinical outcomes. PRP is a blood product enriched in growth factors and cytokines, which promotes tissue regeneration, angiogenesis, and immune modulation. ADSC regenerative potential relies not only in their plasticity but also in the secretion of trophic factors, and modulation of the local immune response. Numerous studies have reported the safety of PRP and ADSC therapy for genital LS. Adverse events are minimal and typically involve mild, self-limiting symptoms, such as transient pain and swelling at the injection site. Long-term safety data are encouraging, with no significant concerns identified in the literature. PRP and ADSC therapy have demonstrated significant improvements in LS-related symptoms, including itching, burning, dyspareunia, and sexual function. Additionally, these therapies enable many patients to discontinue the routine use of topical corticosteroids. Several studies have explored the efficacy of combining PRP and ADSC therapy for LS. In combination, PRP and ADSCs seem to offer a synergistic approach to address the complex pathophysiology of LS, particularly in the early stages. The use of PRP and ADSC therapy for genital lichen sclerosus represents a promising and safe treatment modality. These regenerative approaches have shown significant improvements in LS-related symptoms, tissue trophism, and histological features. Combination therapy, which harnesses the synergistic effects of PRP and ADSCs, is emerging as a preferred option, especially in early-stage LS cases. Further research, including randomized controlled trials and long-term follow-up, is warranted to elucidate the full potential and mechanisms of PRP and ADSC therapy in the management of genital LS. These regenerative approaches hold great promise in enhancing the quality of life of individuals suffering from this challenging condition

Insights from a Case of Good’s Syndrome (Immunodeficiency with Thymoma)

Immunodeficiency with thymoma was described by R.A. Good in 1954 and is also named after him. The syndrome is characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia associated with thymoma and recurrent infections, bacterial but also viral, fungal and parasitic. Autoimmune diseases, mainly pure red cell aplasia, other hematological disorders and erosive lichen planus are a common finding. We describe here a typical case exhibiting all these clinical features and report a detailed immunophenotypic assessment, as well as the positivity for autoantibodies against three cytokines (IFN-alpha, IL-6 and GM-CSF), which may add to known immune abnormalities. A review of the published literature, based on case series and immunological studies, offers some hints on the still unsolved issues of this rare condition

Inhibition of LPS-Induced Inflammatory Response of Oral Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Presence of Galectin-3

Galectin-3 (GAL-3) is a beta-galactoside binding lectin produced by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and other cell sources under inflammatory conditions. Several studies have reported that GAL-3 exerts an anti-inflammatory action, regulated by its natural ligand GAL-3 BP. In the present study, we aimed to assess the GAL-3 mediated regulation of the MSC function in an LPS-induced inflammation setting. Human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) were stimulated in vitro with LPSs; the expression of TLR4, NFκB p65, MyD88 and NALP3 were assessed in the hGMSCs via immunofluorescence imaging using confocal microscopy, Western blot assay, and RT-PCR before and after the addition of GAL-3, both alone and with the addition of its inhibitors. LPSs stimulated the expression of TLR4, NFκB p65, MyD88 and NALP3 in hGMSCs, which was inhibited by GAL-3. The addition of either GAL3-BP or the antibody to GAL-3 were able to revert the GAL-3-mediated effects, restoring the expression of TLR4, NFκB p65, MyD88 and NALP3. GAL-3 induces the downregulation of the LPS-induced inflammatory program in MSCs

Virtual Functions Placement with Time Constraints in Fog Computing: a Matching Theory Perspective

This paper proposes two virtual function (VFs) placement approaches in a Fog domain. The considered solutions formulate a matching game with externalities, aiming at minimizing both the worst application completion time and the number of applications in outage, i.e., the number of applications with an overall completion time greater than a given deadline. The first proposed matching game is established between the VFs set and the Fog Nodes (FNs) set by taking into account the ordered sequence of services (i.e., chain) requested by each application. Conversely, the second proposed method overlooks the applications service chain structure in formulating the VF placement problem, with the aim at lowering the computation complexity without loosing the performance. Furthermore, in order to complete our analysis, the stability of the reached matchings has been theoretically proved for both the proposed solutions. Finally, performance comparisons of the proposed MT approaches with different alternatives are provided to highlight the superior performance of the proposed methods

Involvement of caspace-3 in the cleavage of terminal transferase.

To investigate the in vivo role of caspase-3 in Terminal Transferase metabolism DMSO-treated RPMI-8402, a human pre-T cell line was used. In DMSO treated samples3H-dGTP incorporation and TdT phosphorylation occurs after 4 hours of treatment. After 8 hours cells undergo TdT proteolysis in addition to its inactivation. The cleavage of TdT into 32- and 58-KDa proteolytic fragments occurred simultaneously with the activation of Caspase-3, but preceded changes associated with the apoptotic process described after 48 hours of treatment. The Caspase-3 peptide inhibitor V, used as a specific inhibitor, prevented TdT proteolysis prolonging its activity and rescued cells from apoptosis. Our experiments suggest that TdT is a nuclear substrate for Caspase-3, the main apoptotic effector protease in many cell types, and that the cleavage of TdT represents a primary step in a signal cascade leading to pre-T cell apoptosis

Equivalent-voltage approach for modeling low-frequency dispersive effects in microwave FETs

In this paper, a simple and efficient approach for the modeling of low-frequency dispersive phenomena in FETs is proposed. The method is based on the definition of a virtual, nondispersive associated device controlled by equivalent port voltages and it is justified on the basis of a physically-consistent, charge-controlled description of the device. Dispersive effects in FETs are accounted for by means of an intuitive circuit solution in the framework of any existing nonlinear dynamic model. The new equivalent-voltage model is identified on the basis of conventional measurements carried out under static and small signal dynamic operating conditions. Nonlinear experimental tests confirm the validity of the proposed approach

Capsular polysaccharide induction of apoptosis by intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms

A purified microbial capsular polysaccharide of Cryptococcus neoformans, glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), induces Fas ligand (FasL) upregulation on macrophages and, as a consequence, apoptosis of lymphocytes. The mechanisms that lead to lymphocyte apoptosis in both in vitro and in vivo systems were investigated by cytofluorimetric analysis and Western blotting experiments. Caspase 8 cleaves caspase 3 in two different pathways: directly as well as indirectly by activation of Bcl-2 interacting domain, which initiates caspase 9 cleavage. Therefore, the caspase 8 and caspase 9 pathways cooperate in an amplification loop for efficient cell death, and noteworthily we provide evidence that they are both activated in one single cell. Furthermore, both activation of GXM-mediated caspase 8 and apoptosis were also found in in vivo systems in an experimental model of murine candidiasis. Collectively, our data show that GXM-induced apoptosis involves, in a single cell, a cross-talk between extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. Such a finding offers opportunities for the therapeutic usage of this polysaccharide in appropriate clinical settings for taming T-cell responses