Search results for "Barrier"
showing 10 items of 678 documents
Behavioral aspects of the European carbon market
2016
TEMA: El tema de esta tesis doctoral está basado en el campo de las finanzas del comportamiento en donde se proponen teorías basados en la psicología para explicar las anomalías del mercado de valores. Dentro de las finanzas del comportamiento, se supone que la estructura de la información y las características de los participantes del mercado influyen sistemáticamente en las decisiones de inversión de los individuos, así como en los resultados del mercado. Así pues, durante todo el estudio se analizaran ciertos comportamientos psicológicos que podrían afectar al comportamiento del mercado del carbono europeo y que de demostrarse su presencia alteraría la racionalidad de dicho mercado finan…
An impaired alveolar-capillary barrier in vitro : effect of proinflammatory cytokines and consequences on nanocarrier interaction.
2009
The alveolar region of the lung is an important target for drug and gene delivery approaches. Treatment with drugs is often necessary under pathophysiological conditions, in which there is acute inflammation of the target organ. Therefore, in vitro models of the alveolar-capillary barrier, which mimic inflammatory conditions in the alveolar region, would be useful to analyse and predict effects of novel drugs on healthy or inflamed tissues. The epithelial cell line H441 was cultivated with primary isolated human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs) or the endothelial cell line ISO-HAS-1 on opposite sides of a permeable filter support under physiological and inflammatory condi…
Dysfunction of Torr causes a Harlequin-type ichthyosis-like phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster
2019
AbstractPrevention of desiccation is a constant challenge for terrestrial organisms. Land insects have an extracellular coat, the cuticle, that plays a major role in protection against exaggerated water loss. Here, we report that the ABC transporter Torr - a human ABCA12 paralog - contributes to the waterproof barrier function of the cuticle in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. We show that the reduction or elimination of Torr function provokes rapid desiccation. Torr is also involved in defining the inward barrier against xenobiotics penetration. Consistently, the amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons that are involved in cuticle impermeability decrease markedly when Torr activity is redu…
Is Oxidative Stress the Link Between Cerebral Small Vessel Disease, Sleep Disruption, and Oligodendrocyte Dysfunction in the Onset of Alzheimer’s Dis…
2021
Oxidative stress is an early occurrence in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and one of its proposed etiologic hypotheses. There is sufficient experimental evidence supporting the theory that impaired antioxidant enzymatic activity and increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) take place in this disease. However, the antioxidant treatments fail to stop its advancement. Its multifactorial condition and the diverse toxicological cascades that can be initiated by ROS could possibly explain this failure. Recently, it has been suggested that cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) contributes to the onset of AD. Oxidative stress is a central hallmark of CSVD and is depicted as …
Use of Super Paramagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers in Brain and Ear: State of the Art and Challenges
2021
International audience; Drug delivery and distribution in the central nervous system (CNS) and the inner ear represent a challenge for the medical and scientific world, especially because of the blood–brain and the blood–perilymph barriers. Solutions are being studied to circumvent or to facilitate drug diffusion across these structures. Using superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), which can be coated to change their properties and ensure biocompatibility, represents a promising tool as a drug carrier. They can act as nanocarriers and can be driven with precision by magnetic forces. The aim of this study was to systematically review the use of SPIONs in the CNS and the inner e…
Synergistic effects of neurons and astrocytes on the differentiation of brain capillary endothelial cells in culture
2003
Brain capillary endothelial cells form a functional barrier between blood and brain, based on the existence of tight junctions that limit paracellular permeability. Occludin is one of the major transmembrane proteins of tight junctions and its peripheral localization gives indication of tight junction formation. We previously reported that RBE4.B cells (brain capillary endothelial cells), cultured on collagen IV, synthesize occludin and correctly localize it at the cell periphery only when cocultured with neurons. In the present study, we describe a three-cell type-culture system that allowed us to analyze the combined effects of neurons and astrocytes on differentiation of brain capillary …
Sepsis-associated encephalopathy
2012
Summary Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is defined as a diffuse or multifocal cerebral dysfunction induced by the systemic response to the infection without clinical or laboratory evidence of direct brain infection. Its pathogenesis is multifactorial. SAE generally occurs early during severe sepsis and precedes multiple-organ failure. The most common clinical feature of SAE is the consciousness alteration which ranges from mildly reduced awareness to unresponsiveness and coma. Diagnosis of SAE is primarily clinical and depends on the exclusion of other possible causes of brain deterioration. Electroencephalography (EEG) is almost sensitive, but it is not specific for SAE. Computed To…
Entry Barriers of Small and Medium-sized Software Firms in the Japanese Market
2007
The Japanese software market size was 131,773 million U.S. dollars in 2004. Due to limited domestic software production, Japan is highly dependent on imported software products. Despite the market potential for foreign software firms in Japan, almost no research exists on what kind of challenges foreign software firms encounter when they are entering the market. To fill this gap, this paper investigates the entry barriers of small and medium-sized software firms in the Japanese market by using a multi case-study. The findings suggest that most of the barriers are firm-specific and mainly related to firms’ resources and capabilities to operate in the market. The entry barriers encountered al…
EMU and the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue: Trade Interdependence between Mediterranean and Euro-area Countries
2009
Economic interdependence and trade encourage international dialogue and represent a base for reducing international conflicts. Hence, international co-operation for the reduction of barriers to trade and capital flows can be important not only in inducing economic progress, but also in promoting peace (Polachek and Siegle 2006). In this respect, the introduction of the euro represents an epochal event for both the participants in the single European currency and for their external partners, and in particular those in neighbouring regions. However, whilst a large body of literature has focused on analysing the first, in particular, with respect to the impact of the euro on intra-regional tra…
Microbiome and Diseases: Hepatic Disorders
2018
Intensive research efforts aim to understand the multifaceted molecular mechanisms underlying disease onset and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD). Taken together, NAFLD and ALD are the most common liver diseases worldwide, and universally accepted therapies other than lifestyle interventions either focusing on weight reduction and physical exercise or alcohol abstinence are lacking. During the last decade, alterations of intestinal microbiota composition and intestinal barrier function leading to an increased translocation of bacterial endotoxin and of metabolites originating from an altered intestinal microbiome are emerging as …