What is the Impact of FDI in Albanian Economy?

2014 dissertation for MSc in International Accounting and Finance. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. In the last 10 years foreign investments have increased in Albania and have played a significant role in increasing the economic performance of the country. Foreign investments has seen an increase especially after the agreement with the EU in 2006 that open the doors for Albania to attract more FDI as more regulations were put in place to protect foreign investors and their investment. Despite the Global Crisis of 2009-2010 Albania received higher investment from foreign companies on those years

The Gut Microbiome Is Altered in a Letrozole-Induced Mouse Model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have reproductive and metabolic abnormalities that result in an increased risk of infertility, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The large intestine contains a complex community of microorganisms (the gut microbiome) that is dysregulated in humans with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Using a letrozole-induced PCOS mouse model, we demonstrated significant diet-independent changes in the gut microbial community, suggesting that gut microbiome dysbiosis may also occur in PCOS women. Letrozole treatment was associated with a time-dependent shift in the gut microbiome and a substantial reduction in overall species and phylogenetic richness. Letrozole treatment also correlated with significant changes in the abundance of specific Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes previously implicated in other mouse models of metabolic disease in a time-dependent manner. Our results suggest that the hyperandrogenemia observed in PCOS may significantly alter the gut microbiome independently of diet

Constitutively active FOXO1 diminishes activin induction of Fshb transcription in immortalized gonadotropes.

In the present study, we investigate whether the FOXO1 transcription factor modulates activin signaling in pituitary gonadotropes. Our studies show that overexpression of constitutively active FOXO1 decreases activin induction of murine Fshb gene expression in immortalized LβT2 cells. We demonstrate that FOXO1 suppression of activin induction maps to the -304/-95 region of the Fshb promoter containing multiple activin response elements and that the suppression requires the FOXO1 DNA-binding domain (DBD). FOXO1 binds weakly to the -125/-91 region of the Fshb promoter in a gel-shift assay. Since this region of the promoter contains a composite SMAD/FOXL2 binding element necessary for activin induction of Fshb transcription, it is possible that FOXO1 DNA binding interferes with SMAD and/or FOXL2 function. In addition, our studies demonstrate that FOXO1 directly interacts with SMAD3/4 but not SMAD2 in a FOXO1 DBD-dependent manner. Moreover, we show that SMAD3/4 induction of Fshb-luc and activin induction of a multimerized SMAD-binding element-luc are suppressed by FOXO1 in a DBD-dependent manner. These results suggest that FOXO1 binding to the proximal Fshb promoter as well as FOXO1 interaction with SMAD3/4 proteins may result in decreased activin induction of Fshb in gonadotropes

Onboarding via digitale verktøy

Denne bacheloroppgaven omhandler temaet onboarding med fokus på implementering av digitale verktøy i onboardingsprogrammet. Onboarding er en prosess som skal hjelpe den nyansatte å tilpasse seg kunnskaper, ferdigheter og bli sosialt integrert for å bli et etablert medlem av organisasjonen. Et onboardingsprogram er altså en helhetlig måte å ta imot, og ta vare på den nyansatte. Formålet med denne studien har vært å få en større forståelse av hvordan den nyansatte blir påvirket av et onboardingsprogram med digitale verktøy implementert. På bakgrunn av dette har vi valgt problemstillingen: Hvilke betydninger gir det for en nyansatt å gjennomføre et onboardingsprogram med digitale verktøy implementert? Problemstillingen besvarte vi ved hjelp av en deduktiv tilnærming hvor vi gjennomførte dybdeintervjuer i seks ulike virksomheter. Vi har intervjuet både nyansatte som har benyttet seg av digitale verktøy i en onboardingsprosess, ledere og virksomheter som tilbyr dette. Etter gjennomført datainnsamling og analyse av datamateriale kom vi frem til at onboarding praktiseres ulikt i forskjellige virksomheter. Betydninger som rolleavklaring og individuelle onboardingsprogram er avgjørende for et vellykket onboardingsprogram. I tillegg vil et onboardingsprogram med digitale verktøy implementert som starter før første arbeidsdag, bidra til økt produktivitet og motivasjon for de nyansatte

Label-free quantitative proteomics and SAINT analysis enable interactome mapping for the human Ser/Thr protein phosphatase 5

Affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry (AP-MS) represents a powerful and proven approach for the analysis of protein–protein interactions. However, the detection of true interactions for proteins that are commonly considered background contaminants is currently a limitation of AP-MS. Here using spectral counts and the new statistical tool, Significance Analysis of INTeractome (SAINT), true interaction between the serine/threonine protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) and a chaperonin, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), is discerned. Furthermore, we report and validate a new interaction between PP5 and an Hsp90 adaptor protein, stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1; HOP). Mutation of PP5, replacing key basic amino acids (K97A and R101A) in the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) region known to be necessary for the interactions with Hsp90, abolished both the known interaction of PP5 with cell division cycle 37 homolog and the novel interaction of PP5 with stress-induced phosphoprotein 1. Taken together, the results presented demonstrate the usefulness of label-free quantitative proteomics and statistical tools to discriminate between noise and true interactions, even for proteins normally considered as background contaminants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83479/1/1508_ftp.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83479/2/pmic_201000770_sm_SupplInfo.pd

Reinvestigation of aminoacyl-TRNA synthetase core complex by affinity purification-mass spectrometry reveals TARSL2 as a potential member of the complex

10.1371/journal.pone.0081734PLoS ONE812-POLN

Computational and informatics strategies for identification of specific protein interaction partners in affinity purification mass spectrometry experiments

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92060/1/pmic7070.pd