Self-reactive IgE and anti-IgE therapy in autoimmune diseases

Growing evidence indicates the pathogenic role of autoreactive IgE in autoimmune diseases. Incidence of autoimmune and allergic diseases in the industrialized countries is consistently icreasing, thus leading to concerted efforts to comprehend the regulation of IgE-mediated mechanisms. The first reports of a presence of IgE autoantibodies in patients with autoimmune diseases have been published a long time ago, and it is now recognized that self-reactive IgE can mediate inflammatory response in bullous pemhigoid, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic urticaria, and atopic dermatitis. The advances in understanding the pathomechanisms of these disorders brought to a successful use of anti-IgE strategies in their management. The present review discusses the current state of knowledge on the IgE-mediated autoimmunity and anti-IgE treatment, and pave the way for further exploration of the subject

Coexistence of surface diffusion mechanisms: jump and exchange for W on W(100)

The thermally-activated coexistence of two diffusion mechanisms, adatom jump and exchange, is a phenomenon that has important potential application in fabrication of quantum dot based devices. If one can initiate the occurrence of a particular diffusion mechanism by changing the temperature, then it is possible to control the moment when an adatom is incorporated into the surface layer. The buried adatom could then serve as a nucleation center for growth of a nanostructure. This dissertation shows the first experimental evidence for the temperature-activated coexistence of two surface diffusion mechanisms, the adatom jump and adatom exchange, observed in a W on W(100) system. The adatom exchange was identified as the primary diffusion mechanism, and it is activated on a time scale of seconds at temperatures around 650 K. The occurrence of the secondary diffusion mechanism, adatom jump, was observed on a time scale of seconds at temperatures around 700 K. The experiments were conducted using a Field Ion Microscope (FIM) under Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) conditions (~ 10-11 Torr). The activation energy for the exchange in a W on W(100) system was found to be 1.6 ± 0.24 eV. For the jump, the activation energy was estimated as ~2.1 eV. These values are in very good agreement with results from Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations

Exploitation problems and diagnostic of heat recovery steam boiler OU-192

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) use exhaust gases from gas turbine (GT), which in basic systems are ejected to environment as discharge loss, for steam generation in Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). Higher unit efficiency achieved inter alia by using in boiler low and high pressure circuit allow to greater use of turbine exhaust gases enthalpy. Modular design solutions with tight structure, preferred on construction site, may be a problematic for maintenance services during operation and overhauls. This paper presents general operational problems of HRSG as well as detailed solutions for boiler OU-192. We discuss scope and results of diagnostic tests required to assess technical condition of the pressure elements, after 100 000 hours operation, with the support of the software LM System PRO

Skin barrier function in primary and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome patients

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease. A large percentage of patients with SS suffer from dry skin, the cause and pathogenesis of which in this group of patients remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to investigate skin barrier function in patients with SS. Measurements of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and hydration of stratum corneum (corneometry, CM) were performed in 30 female patients with SS (17 with primary SS and 13 with secondary SS), 20 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 14 healthy controls. There were no statistically significant differences in TEWL values between the three investigated groups, while CM values were significantly decreased in patients with AD when compared with patients with SS and the healthy controls. Based on the obtained results, skin barrier function and hydration in patients with SS showed no functional alterations. </p

Skin barrier function in primary and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome patients

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease. A large percentage of patients with SS suffer from dry skin, the cause and pathogenesis of which in this group of patients remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to investigate skin barrier function in patients with SS. Measurements of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and hydration of stratum corneum (corneometry, CM) were performed in 30 female patients with SS (17 with primary SS and 13 with secondary SS), 20 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and 14 healthy controls. There were no statistically significant differences in TEWL values between the three investigated groups, while CM values were significantly decreased in patients with AD when compared with patients with SS and the healthy controls. Based on the obtained results, skin barrier function and hydration in patients with SS showed no functional alterations. </p

History, Radicalism, and the New Left: Studies on the Left, 1959-1967

Studies on the Left was an academic journal formed by graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in early 1958, and first published at Thanksgiving 1959. Designed as an outlet for young radicals to build ‘An Intellectual Community Committed to the Radicalism of Disclosure,’ it’s most influential scholarly contribution was the theory of corporate liberalism, which concluded that alternatives to capitalism in the United States had failed to take root because the leaders of the largest corporations in the Progressive Era (1896-1920) had worked together with government and labour unions to co-opt reform. They did so in order to preserve the corporate system of accumulation - a system predicated on the stabilisation, rationalisation, and continued expansion of the existing political economy, and the sublimation of radical alternatives. Alarmed by the conclusions reached in their historical work, the editors used Studies for a dual purpose; to further investigate the nature of the corporate liberal society, and ‘to help lay the theoretical basis for the emergence of a new radical politics' in the United States. Studies published articles on the issues of Cuban Revolution, the Sino-Soviet split, the history of the American Socialist Party, the New Left, and the effect of Senator McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade on ‘academic freedom,’ all within the context of exploring the potential for intellectuals to rival labour as an agency for radical societal change. This thesis, the first extended study of Studies, examines the motivations and influences of the editors and the debates that they spawned. Over an eight-year period, Studies gained a reputation for being the “theoretical organ” of the New Left, its analysis of domestic and foreign politics inspiring a new generation of students to think politically and intellectually. Academics have usually studied the New Left as a succession of movements rather than an intellectual episode, and comparatively little has been done to examine academic influences on the movement. With this in mind, this thesis will explore the intellectual issues that Studies grappled with in its attempt to provide a relevant platform for young radicals, while assessing its influence in effecting change

Fiduciary duties of the board of directors' members as a part of corporate governance on the ground of the US law.

Niniejsza praca magisterska podejmuje tematykę obowiązków powierniczych ciążących na członkach rady dyrektorów w spółkach amerykańskich. Analizie zostały poddane nie tylko same zobowiązania, ale i cała struktura korporacyjna oraz funkcja dyrektora sama w sobie. Podstawowym celem pracy jest ukazanie jak duży wpływ na spółkę ma prawidłowe i rzetelne wykonywanie obowiązków powierniczych przez członków rady dyrektorów. Ponadto, obowiązki powiernicze dyrektorów stanowią podstawę dla ukazania szczególnych relacji jakie poprzez te zobowiązania łączą spółkę z dyrektorami oraz dyrektorów z managerami i wspólnikami. Przy analizie i opisie obowiązków powierniczych dyrektorów kluczowy był dla mnie praktyczny aspekt ich stosowania, stąd przewaga informacji istotnych z punktu widzenia law in action nad teoretycznymi rozważaniami charakterystycznymi dla law in books. Niniejsze opracowanie, ze względu na ubogi zakres literatury fachowej w języku polskim z zakresu tej tematyki, powstało niemalże wyłącznie na podstawie anglojęzycznych książek (bądź artykułów) autorów amerykańskich oraz orzeczeń sądów federalnych i stanowych różnego szczebla.This master thesis describes a problem of the fiduciary duties lie on the directors of corporations in the USA. Not only directors' obligations but also whole structure of a corporation and directors' position in itself is analised. The fundamental aim of this thesis is to show how important for the corporation is doing by the directors in properly and fair way. In addition, fiduciary duties help to show the special relationships existing between directors and managers or directors and shareholders. In the whole process of analysis of the directors' fiduciary duties, the most important for me are the practical aspects of applying them. For this reason I focuse on the information relevant in terms of the law in action doctrine more than the law in books. This thesis, because of the lack of professional literature in Polish about fiduciary duties of directors in the USA, was prepared almost only on the basis of English language books (or articles) written by American authors and court rulings of state and federal courts in the USA