The bank lending channel: an empirical assessment of measures to stimulate bank lending in the European Union

This thesis first examines the role of banks in the transmission mechanism of monetary policy by focusing on the eight European new member States of Central and Eastern Europe over the 2004-2013 period. We specifically investigate the influence of monetary policy changes on bank lending activity and if this potential influence is contingent on bank characteristics, such as banks’ size, capital, liquidity, risk factor and market power. Moreover, we focus on the prospective role of banks in the monetary policy transmission mechanism in order to reveal any clear trends in banks’ lending behaviour during the 2008-2011 financial crisis. Secondly, we investigate the impact of a protracted period of low monetary policy rates on loosening of banks’ credit standards regarding enterprises, households and consumer loans through concentrating on the nine Eurozone countries involved since the initiation of the Euro area Bank Lending Survey in the three distinct time frames of pre- (2002Q4-2008Q3), mid- (2008Q4-2010Q4) and post- (2011Q1-2014:Q4) financial crisis. Furthermore, we test the fundamental concept of the risk taking channel by examining excessive risk-taking behaviour by banks in stressed vs. non-stressed countries of the Eurozone. In an additional analysis, the efficacy of the European Central Bank’s 3 year Long-Term Refinancing Operations is evaluated in great depth in order to determine whether banks’ credit standards have been softened and the degree to which demand for loans has increased. Thirdly, we explore the financing structure of bank lending constrained Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the eleven Eurozone countries by utilising firm-level data over the period of 2009 to 2014. We estimate if bank lending constrained firms demonstrate relatively more usage or requests for alternative financing. Additionally, a comprehensive investigation is presented by unveiling the impact and determinants of various financing constraints including credit lines, bank loans, trade credit and other lending on Eurozone firms. Furthermore, the notion of discouraged borrowers originally formulated by Kon and Storey (2003) is empirically evaluated. Finally, we present the conclusion of our research by further outlining its limitations and prospective scope for future studie

Conserved genes and pathways in primary human fibroblast strains undergoing replicative and radiation induced senescence

Additional file 3: Figure S3. Regulation of genes of Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy pathway during senescence induction in HFF strains Genes of the “Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy” pathway which are significantly up- (green) and down- (red) regulated (log2 fold change >1) during irradiation induced senescence (120 h after 20 Gy irradiation) in HFF strains. Orange color signifies genes which are commonly up-regulated during both, irradiation induced and replicative senescence

Low serum insulin values in children with multiple lesions of granuloma annulare: A prospective study

Background The relationship between granuloma annularae (GA) and diabetes mellitus (DM) is controversial. Objective To investigate the relationship between multiple lesions of GA and carbohydrate metabolism in children. Subjects and methods Fifteen children (seven boys, eight girls, mean age 4.8 years) with five or more lesions of GA were evaluated. A personal and family history of DM or other autoimmune diseases was obtained and the glycaemic and insulin response during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was determined. Thirteen children with a negative personal and family history of DM served as controls for the OGTT and 100 other children as ‘clinical controls’. Results At the 30-min sampling of the OGTT the mean insulin values were comparable in GA children and controls (P=0.1), while the mean glucose values were significantly higher in GA children than in controls (P=0.005). All other insulin values during the OGTT were significantly lower in GA children than in controls, while all other glucose values were comparable in GA children and controls with all indices applied. Eleven out of 15 GA children had a positive family history of DM (73.3% vs. 16% of the clinical controls; P<0.0001). Conclusion Multiple lesions of GA in children are associated with significantly lower serum insulin values than in controls and mildly impaired glucose tolerance

Comparative meta-analysis of transcriptomics data during cellular senescence and in vivo tissue ageing

Several studies have employed DNA microarrays to identify gene expression signatures that mark human ageing; yet the features underlying this complicated phenomenon remain elusive. We thus conducted a bioinformatics meta-analysis on transcriptomics data from human cell-and biopsy-based microarrays experiments studying cellular senescence or in vivo tissue ageing, respectively. We report that coregulated genes in the postmitotic muscle and nervous tissues are classified into pathways involved in cancer, focal adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, MAPK signalling, and metabolism regulation. Genes that are differentially regulated during cellular senescence refer to pathways involved in neurodegeneration, focal adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, proteasome, cell cycle, DNA replication, and oxidative phosphorylation. Finally, we revealed genes and pathways (referring to cancer, Huntington's disease, MAPK signalling, focal adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, oxidative phosphorylation, and metabolic signalling) that are coregulated during cellular senescence and in vivo tissue ageing. The molecular commonalities between cellular senescence and tissue ageing are also highlighted by the fact that pathways that were overrepresented exclusively in the biopsy-or cell-based datasets are modules either of the same reference pathway (e.g., metabolism) or of closely interrelated pathways (e.g., thyroid cancer and melanoma). Our reported meta-analysis has revealed novel age-related genes, setting thus the basis for more detailed future functional studies. © 2015 Konstantinos Voutetakis et al

National data on the epidemiology of IDDM in Greece: Cases diagnosed in 1992

OBJECTIVE - To detect the incidence, geographic distribution, and seasonal variation of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (iddm) in all of Greece. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - One hundred and thirty-seven children (75 boys and 62 girls) up to 14.9 years of age were diagnosed with IDDM in Greece in 1992. RESULTS - The age-adjusted incidence of IDDM in Greece in 1992 was 6.25/100,000 population (boys: 6.17/100,000; girls: 6.28/100,000). There was a significant pubertal peak. The incidence of IDDM was significantly higher in metropolitan (10.0/100,000) than in rural (4.21/100,000), semirural (748/100,000), or urban areas (5.36/100,000) of Athens. There was a marginal difference between rural and semirural areas. No significant seasonal variation in the incidence of IDDM was observed. CONCLUSIONS - We conclude that the incidence of IDDM in Greece is among the five lowest in Europe. An impressive clustering of cases was observed in the Athens metropolitan area compared with the rural and semirural areas, an observation that possibly underlines the importance of environmental factors (stressful situations, infections, dietary habits, and others) in the expression of IDDM

CD90/Thy-1, a cancer-associated cell surface signaling molecule

CD90 is a membrane GPI-anchored protein with one Ig V-type superfamily domain that was initially described in mouse T cells. Besides the specific expression pattern and functions of CD90 that were described in normal tissues i.e. neurons, fibroblasts and T cells, increasing evidences are currently highlighting the possible involvement of CD90 in cancer. This review first provides a brief overview on CD90 gene, mRNA and protein features and then describes the established links between CD90 and cancer. Finally, we report newly uncovered functional connections between CD90 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling and discuss their potential impact on cancer development. © 2019 Sauzay, Voutetakis, Chatziioannou, Chevet and AVRIL

Network analysis in aged C. elegans reveals candidate regulatory genes of ageing

Ageing is a biological process guided by genetic and environmental factors that ultimately lead to adverse outcomes for organismal lifespan and healthspan. Determination of molecular pathways that are affected with age and increase disease susceptibility is crucial. The gene expression profile of the ideal ageing model, namely the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans mapped with the microarray technology initially led to the identification of age-dependent gene expression alterations that characterize the nematode's ageing process. The list of differentially expressed genes was then utilized to construct a network of molecular interactions with their first neighbors/interactors using the interactions listed in the WormBase database. The subsequent network analysis resulted in the unbiased selection of 110 candidate genes, among which well-known ageing regulators appeared. More importantly, our approach revealed candidates that have never been linked to ageing before, thus suggesting promising potential targets/ageing regulators. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V

A single center’s experience with total arterial revascularization and spiral aneurysmorrhaphy for ischemic cardiac disease

The restoration of left ventricular (LV) geometry in combination with coronary artery bypass grafting for the treatment of ischemic cardiac disease remains controversial. We hereby present the experience of our center with total arterial myocardial revascularization (TAMR) and spiral aneurysmorrhaphy for ischemic heart disease. A retrospective analysis of 101 patients with advanced cardiovascular disease who underwent TAMR and spiral aneurysmorrhaphy was performed. Spiral aneurysmorrhaphy is a modification of the linear aneurysmorrhaphy and was applied to patients who had a LV aneurysm with a diameter of less than 5 cm. Peri-operative and in-hospital data were retrieved. The majority of the patients were male (87.13%) with a mean age of 63.1 years. Mean pre-operative ejection fraction (EF) was 35.7% ranging between 20 and 65%. An average of 3.23 grafts was required per patient. Early mortality was 6.93% (one intra-operative and six in-hospital deaths). Addition of concomitant valve surgery was associated with prolonged total operative, cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp time (p < 0.001), increased need for blood (p = 0.012) and plasma (p = 0.038), longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay (p = 0.045) and higher rate of post-operative cerebrovascular accident (p = 0.011). Furthermore, patients with a pre-operative EF between 30 and 50% had a shorter ICU stay (p = 0.045) and LoS (p = 0.029) compared with patients with EF <30%. Early mortality and post-operative complication rates following this combined procedure are in consistency with the relevant available data suggesting its feasibility regardless of the EF or addition of concomitant surgeries. Data from the follow-up of these patients are required to examine the long-term efficacy of this surgical modality. © 2018, Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature

Increased Frequency of HLA B 17 Antigen in Girls with Turner Syndrome and their Fathers

HLA-A, -B and -DR antigen distribution was studied in 49 girls with Turner Syndrome (TS), in 43 of their parents, as well as in 433 controls. No increased frequency of DR3, DR4 was found in our group. However, an increased frequency of HLA B 17 antigen was disclosed (18.3% in TS versus 6.4% in the controls, p<0.001 and Pc<0.01). Furthermore, the HLA B 17 antigen was of paternal origin in 77.7% of the cases . The interpretation of the present findings is quite difficult. Most likely, the findings are related to the chromosomal abnormality rather than to autoimmunity. It is quite possible that genes within the region of class I genes create unfavorable circumstances leading to the loss of the sex chromosome or, alternatively, genes in this region confer protection and prevent miscarriage of the affected fetus