Optineurin functions for optimal immunity

Optineurin (OPTN) was identified 20 years ago in a yeast-two-hybrid screen with a viral protein known to inhibit the cytolytic effects of tumor necrosis factor. Since then, OPTN has been identified as a ubiquitin-binding protein involved in many signaling pathways and cellular processes, and mutations in the OPTN gene have been associated with glaucoma, Paget's disease of bone and neurodegenerative pathologies. Its role in autophagy, however, has attracted most attention in recent years and may explain (some of) the mechanisms behind the disease-associated mutations of OPTN. In this brief review, we focus on the role of OPTN in inflammation and immunity and describe how this may translate to its involvement in human disease

Relationships of proactive behaviour with job-related affective well-being and anticipated retirement age: an exploration among older employees in Belgium

Developed countries throughout the world are challenged with the ageing of their labour force. In these societal contexts, low employment rates and early labour market exits of older employees are at stake, as well as arrangements for retirement, financial household considerations and mutual obligations between generations. Although proactive behaviour has been extensively studied, no research has addressed the proactive behaviour of older employees themselves when facing (re)hiring and retention versus early retirement. For the first time, this study tests the relationships of proactive behaviour with job-related affective well-being and anticipated retirement age in a sample of employees aged 50+ (N = 89) in Belgium. The findings are obtained by using a self-report questionnaire. Statistical analysis includes correlation and regression analysis. Major findings are that (i) proactive older employees feel energetic, enthusiastic, inspired, at ease, relaxed and satisfied; and (ii) later retirement is anticipated when experiencing positive affective well-being at study

Monitoring data in R with the lumberjack package

Monitoring data while it is processed and transformed can yield detailed insight into the dynamics of a (running) production system. The lumberjack package is a lightweight package allowing users to follow how an R object is transformed as it is manipulated by R code. The package abstracts all logging code from the user, who only needs to specify which objects are logged and what information should be logged. A few default loggers are included with the package but the package is extensible through user-defined logger objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Statistical Softwar

Measuring Competences in School-leaver Surveys

The measurement of competences is a relatively new topic in the economic science. In the past, economists have usually measured worker competences by educational background, tenure, or other simple quantifiable indicators. In the transition from the industrial to the knowledge economy, however, this classical approach has become rather unsatisfactory. Individual labour market performance is no longer dependent on just the individual’s initial education, since todays labour market requires continuous learning and development throughout the career. Employability has become a key concept in the knowledge economy, and the traditional lifetime employment career in a single firm has been replaced by what has been termed the protean career (Hall and Moss, 1998). In such a career, the person, not the firm, is the managing agent. In order to measure or predict career success, uni-dimensional indicators such as educational background that economists have used in the past are no longer sufficient. In the modern economy, skills and knowledge are the main factors in production, and the measurement of competences is a logical step in determining and predicting individual labour market success more accurately and reliably.education, training and the labour market;

Genetic relationships between A20/TNFAIP3, chronic inflammation and autoimrnune disease

A20 [also known as TNFAIP3 (tumour necrosis factor a-induced protein 3)] restricts and terminates inflammatory responses through modulation of the ubiquitination status of central components in NF-kappa B (nuclear factor kappa B), IRF3 (interferon regulatory factor 3) and apoptosis signalling cascades. The phenotype of mice with full or conditional A20 deletion illustrates that A20 expression is essential to prevent chronic inflammation and autoimmune pathology. In addition, polymorphisms within the A20 genomic locus have been associated with multiple inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, including SLE (systemic lupus erythaematosis), RA (rheumatoid arthritis), Crohn's disease and psoriasis. A20 has also been implicated as a tumour suppressor in several subsets of B-cell lymphomas. The present review outlines recent findings that illustrate the effect of A20 defects in disease pathogenesis and summarizes the identified A20 polymorphisms associated with different immunopathologies

Real-time, high speed, high resolution, 4D CT at laboratory setups

Performing CT experiments on samples that are morphologically changing shape as a function of time is not straightforward, especially if the modifications happen in a short period of time and the altering structures are relatively small. These kind of experiments are challenging as large amounts of data are generated in a short amount of time and it is difficult to target the right time period where the change of interest can be observed. Additionally, hardware limitations in terms of acquisition speed and sufficient X-ray flux are problematic, especially at laboratory setups. Here we present some CT-results where a time resolution of 1sec is achieved over a period of 2 min using a combination of hard- and software that is specifically designed for high speed, high resolution, 4D CT

The Oosterweel junction revisited.

This paper assesses the Oosterweel junction, a new tunnel under the river Scheldt, that aims to alleviate the congestion on the existing tunnels and on the Ring of Antwerp. The paper uses data from existing studies of the same project to calibrate a simple network model (MOLINO-II). The model is then used to compare alternatives with and without the new tunnel. The alternatives include different combinations of tolls and bans on trucks. The study concludes that the first priority is not to build new capacity but to remove the pricing distortions on the existing capacity. The alternatives that include a pricing reform are the only ones that generate a positive net benefit, almost all scenarios that include the new tunnel have a negative net benefit.

Transport Infrastructure Investment and Demand Uncertainty

In transportation planning there can be long lead times to adapt capacity. This paper addresses two questions. First, in a one mode world (say rail or road), what is the optimal capacity choice when faced with uncertain demand, long lead times and congestion. Using a simple analytical model it is shown that when demand is inelastic, it is socially optimal to invest more than if only the expected level of demand is taken into account. In this case it may be beneficial to overinvest in capacity because congestion costs are a convex function of relative use. This result holds with or without optimal tolling. The second question deals with two competing modes and where only one mode has long lead times for capacity while the other has flexible capacity. This is typical for the competition between High Speed Rail and air for the medium distance trips (500 to 1000 km), or for the competition between inland waterways and trucks for freight. We find that overinvestment is less justified because the substitute mode can more easily absorb the high demand outcomes.transport infrastructure, uncertainty, investments