A rendi hitelrendszerek felbomlása és újjászületése = The Dissolution and Rebirth of the Credit Systems in the Society of Orders

Mivel a rendi korszak hitelrendszerei lokálisak, nem vállalkoztunk országos áttekintésre. Három terepen (Szabolcs, Pest, Zala) törekedtünk feltárni a 19. század folyamatait. A kutatás eredményeit az AETAS 2010. 2. számában, a „Régi hitelrendszerek” című blokkban tettük közzé. Az egyik alapforrást az ún. intabulációs könyvek jelentették, amelyek révén a folyamatokat az 1850-es évekig lehet nyomon kísérni (Somorjai Szabolcs Pest-megye, Bácskai Vera Buda és Pest, Kövér György a Szabolcs-megyei Kállay-család betáblázásait elemezte). A század második felét Kiss Zsuzsanna a Zala-megyei nemesi pénztár adósain, Eőry Gabriella pedig négy fővárosi kaszinóépítkezés példáján vizsgálta. A statisztikákban meg nem ragadható mindennapi hitelezési gyakorlatot Kövér György Kállay Béni, Balogh János Mátyás pedig egy altiszt naplói alapján rekonstruálta. Kutatásunk személyi bázisa az ELTE Társadalom- és Gazdaságtörténeti Doktori Programjára épült. Kiss Zsuzsanna szülési szabadsága idején átmeneti helyettesítését így megoldhattuk, s a résztvevők körének kiszélesítésével gazdagodtak a kutatási eredmények. A korábbi összképnél a modern hitelrendszerhez vezető átmenetről mind strukturálisan, mind a szereplőket illetően sokszínűbb és életszerűbb leírás áll ma rendelkezésre. | Since the credit systems of the society of orders were local, we planned to unfold the typical long durée processes of the 19th century at three research spots (in the county of Szabolcs; Zala; and Pest). The results of our research were published in the periodical AETAS (2010/2) under the title: „Old Credit Systems”). One of the basic sources were the so called intabulation (mortgage) records, which allow us to follow the processes up to the 1850’s (Szabolcs Somorjai analyzed the intabulation books of the county of Pest, Vera Bácskai used the ones of Buda and Pest, György Kövér examined the intabulations of Szabolcs county and that of the Kállay-family). As for the second half of the 19th century: Zsuzsanna Kiss researched the debtors of the Noble County Cassa of Zala, while Gabriella Eőry studied four examples of erecting municipal casinos. Credit transactions of everyday lives that are not embraced in official statistics were demonstrated on the example of Béni Kállay (by György Kövér), and on the basis of a clerk’s diaries by János Mátyás Balogh. Our research was based on the members of the ELTE Social- and Economic History Doctoral Programme. While being on maternity leave Zsuzsanna Kiss was temporarily substituted, that – by the widening the circle of contributing researchers – resulted in the enrichment of our project’s outcomes

α-Lipoic acid induces Endoplasmic Reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis in hepatoma cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer and a major cause of adult death. The current treatments for HCC suffer from drug resistance and poor prognosis; therefore, novel therapeutic agents are urgently needed. Phytochemicals have been proposed to treat a range of cancers. Among them, α-lipoic acid (α-LA), a naturally synthesized antioxidant found in various dietary animal and plant sources, prevents oxidant-mediated cell death in normal cells while inducing apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. Previously, we demonstrated that the treatment of hepatoma cells with α-LA induced apoptosis, which was preceded by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of the p53 protein, a known inducer of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Several studies have shown that ROS-induced apoptosis is associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) activation. Herein, we investigated if α-LA-induced apoptosis in hepatoma cell lines was ER stress- and UPR-mediated by gene expression profiling analyses. UPR and ER stress pathways were the most up-regulated after treatment with α-LA. This finding, which has been confirmed by expression analyses of ER- and UPR-associated proteins, provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind the anti-tumoral action of α-LA on hepatoma cells

Current translational potential and underlying molecular mechanisms of necroptosis

Cell death has a fundamental impact on the evolution of degenerative disorders, autoimmune processes, inflammatory diseases, tumor formation and immune surveillance. Over the past couple of decades extensive studies have uncovered novel cell death pathways, which are independent of apoptosis. Among these is necroptosis, a tightly regulated, inflammatory form of cell death. Necroptosis contribute to the pathogenesis of many diseases and in this review, we will focus exclusively on necroptosis in humans. Necroptosis is considered a backup mechanism of apoptosis, but the in vivo appearance of necroptosis indicates that both caspase-mediated and caspase-independent mechanisms control necroptosis. Necroptosis is regulated on multiple levels, from the transcription, to the stability and posttranslational modifications of the necrosome components, to the availability of molecular interaction partners and the localization of receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) and mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL). Accordingly, we classified the role of more than seventy molecules in necroptotic signaling based on consistent in vitro or in vivo evidence to understand the molecular background of necroptosis and to find opportunities where regulating the intensity and the modality of cell death could be exploited in clinical interventions. Necroptosis specific inhibitors are under development, but >20 drugs, already used in the treatment of various diseases, have the potential to regulate necroptosis. By listing necroptosis-modulated human diseases and cataloging the currently available drug-repertoire to modify necroptosis intensity, we hope to kick-start approaches with immediate translational potential. We also indicate where necroptosis regulating capacity should be considered in the current applications of these drugs

A utilização das redes sociais na modalidade EJA

O presente trabalho analisa a inserção e a importância das redes sociais no ambiente escolar da Educação de Jovens e Adultos (EJA). Tem como premissa a necessidade de inserir as redes sociais dentro de um contexto escolar a fim de que os alunos saibam como utilizá-las a seu favor na obtenção de informações, evitando a disseminação de notícias falsas (Fake News). Foram aplicados quatro questionários, ao longo de 3 anos, com alunos do ensino médio, da modalidade EJA, do Colégio de Aplicação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (CAp-UFRGS). Foi constatado que o uso das redes sociais é importante devido a presença no contexto social dos alunos, e deve ter como propósito o ensino conscientizador e crítico sobre a obtenção de informações

Arabidopsis subtilases promote defense-related pectin methylesterase activity and robust immune responses to botrytis infection

Plants involve a fine modulation of pectin methylesterase (PME) activity against microbes. PME activity can promote the cell wall stiffening and the production of damage signals able to induce defense responses and plant resistance to pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying PME activation during disease remain largely unknown. In this study, we explored the role of subtilases (SBTs) as PME activators in Arabidopsis immunity. By using biochemical and reverse genetic approaches, we found that the expression of SBT3.3 and SBT3.5 influences the induction of defense-related PME activity and resistance to the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Arabidopsis sbt3.3 and sbt3.5 knockout mutants showed decreased induction of PME activity and increased susceptibility to the fungus. SBT3.3 expression was stimulated by oligogalacturonides. Overexpression of SBT3.3 overactivated PME activity during fungal infection and enhanced resistance to B. cinerea. A negative correlation was observed between SBT3.3 expression and cell wall methyl ester content in the genotypes analyzed after B. cinerea infection. Increased expression of defense-related genes, including PAD3, CYP81F2 and WAK2, was also revealed in SBT3.3 overexpressing lines. We also demonstrated that SBT3.3 and pro-PME17 are both secreted into the cell wall using distinct protein secretion pathways and different kinetics. Our results propose SBT3.3 and SBT3.5 as modulators of PME activity in Arabidopsis against Botrytis to promptly boost immunity limiting the growth-defense trade-off

The social protection of workers in the platform economy

This study investigates the social protection of workers in the platform economy at the request of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee. The report reviews literature and previous research on the platform economy with the aims of defining it and developing a typology for understanding its nature. It discusses the growth and drivers of the platform economy, as well as benefits and challenges for workers, reporting findings from 50 interviews conducted with expert stakeholders in eight European countries and from an original survey of 1,200 platform workers. It dissects the different normative layers that need to be considered when looking at the challenges of social protection of platform workers from a legal perspective. Finally, the report draws conclusions and makes recommendations concerning arrangements for the provision of social protection for workers in this growing sector of the economyEste estudio investiga la protección social de los trabajadores en la economía de plataforma a petición de la Comisión de Empleo y Asuntos Sociales del Parlamento Europeo. El informe revisa la literatura y las investigaciones previas sobre la economía de plataforma con el objetivo de definirla y desarrollar una tipología para comprender su naturaleza. Discute el crecimiento y los motores de la economía planificada, así como los beneficios y los desafíos para los trabajadores, y presenta los resultados de 50 entrevistas realizadas a expertos de ocho países europeos y de una encuesta original de 1.200 trabajadores de la plataforma. Disecciona los diferentes estratos normativos que deben considerarse cuando se analizan los retos de la protección social de los trabajadores de las plataformas desde una perspectiva jurídica. Por último, el informe extrae conclusiones y formula recomendaciones relativas a las disposiciones para la provisión de protección social para los trabajadores de este creciente sector de la economía

Derivation of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell line lacking DMD exons 49 and 50 (CCMi001DMD-A-3, ∆ 49, ∆ 50)

Abstract Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by abnormalities in the dystrophin gene and is clinically characterised by childhood muscle degeneration and cardiomyopathy. We produced an induced pluripotent stem cell line from a DMD patient's dermal fibroblasts by electroporation with episomal vectors containing: hL-MYC, hLIN28, hSOX2, hKLF4, hOCT3/4. The resultant DMD iPSC line (CCMi001DMD-A-3) displayed iPSC morphology, expressed pluripotency markers, possessed trilineage differentiation potential and was karyotypically normal. MLPA analyses performed on DNA extracted from CCMi001DMD-A-3 showed a deletion of exons 49 and 50 (CCMi001DMD-A-3, ∆ 49, ∆ 50)

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from a Becker muscular dystrophy patient carrying a deletion of exons 45-55 of the dystrophin gene (CCMi002BMD-A-9 ∆45-55)

Abstract Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) is a dystrophinopathy caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene on chromosome Xp21. BMD mutations result in truncated semi-functional dystrophin isoforms. Consequently, less severe clinical symptoms become apparent later in life compared to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dermal fibroblasts from a BMD patient were electroporated with episomal plasmids containing reprogramming factors to create the induced pluripotent stem cell line: CCMi002BMD-A-9 that showed pluripotent markers, were karyotypically normal and capable of trilineage differentiation. MLPA analyses performed on DNA extracted from CCMi002BMD-A-9 showed an in-frame deletion of exons 45 to 55 (CCMi002BMD-A-9 Δ45-55)

Glutamine Starvation Affects Cell Cycle, Oxidative Homeostasis and Metabolism in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Cancer cells adjust their metabolism to meet energy demands. In particular, glutamine addiction represents a distinctive feature of several types of tumors, including colorectal cancer. In this study, four colorectal cancer cell lines (Caco-2, HCT116, HT29 and SW480) were cultured with or without glutamine. The growth and proliferation rate, colony-forming capacity, apoptosis, cell cycle, redox homeostasis and metabolomic analysis were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test (MTT), flow cytometry, high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques. The results show that glutamine represents an important metabolite for cell growth and that its deprivation reduces the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. Glutamine depletion induces cell death and cell cycle arrest in the GO/G1 phase by modulating energy metabolism, the amino acid content and antioxidant defenses. Moreover, the combined glutamine starvation with the glycolysis inhibitor 2-deoxy-D-glucose exerted a stronger cytotoxic effect. This study offers a strong rationale for targeting glutamine metabolism alone or in combination with glucose metabolism to achieve a therapeutic benefit in the treatment of colon cancer

In, Against and Beyond Precarity: Work in Insecure Times

In this Foreword to the special issue ‘In, Against and Beyond Precarity’ the guest editors take stock of the existing literature on precarity, highlighting the strengths and limitations of using this concept as an analytical tool for examining the world of work. Concluding that the overstretched nature of concept has diluted its political effectiveness, the editors suggest instead a focus on precarization as a process, drawing from perspectives that focus on the objective conditions, as well as subjective and heterogeneous experiences and perceptions of insecure employment. Framed in this way, they present a summary of the contributions to the special issue spanning a range of countries and organizational contexts, identifying key drivers, patterns and forms of precarization. These are conceptualized as implicit, explicit, productive and citizenship precarization. These forms and patterns indicate the need to address precariousness in the realm of social reproduction and post-wage politics, while holding these in tension with conflicts at the point of production. Finally, the guest editors argue for a dramatic re-think of current forms of state and non-state social protections as responses to the precarization of work and employment across countries in both the Global ‘North’ and ‘South’