Opportunities and Traps for Trade Unions in European Employment Policy Initiatives:The Case of Social Dialogue on Active Inclusion

After some promise in the 1990s, European unions have grown increasingly disillusioned with regard to the results of EU social policy and EU social dialogue. The paper analyses the extent and reasons of this disillusion by looking at the impact on social dialogue of the Active Inclusion Recommendation launched by the European Commission at the outset of the economic crisis in 2008. The Recommendation led to a tripartite framework agreement at the EU level in 2010 (the only such agreement in a decade), which was then to be implemented at national and regional levels. With a multilevel governance approach, the paper looks at the extent to which social dialogue on Active Inclusion at the EU level, in six EU countries (France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) and six regions (Rhône-Alpes, Lombardy, Lower Silesia, Catalonia, West Sweden and Greater Manchester) within those countries was somehow revitalised. The analysis, looking at both top-down and bottom-up processes and based on documentary analysis and interviews, shows that the initiative displays ambiguities similar to those of typical composite EU principles, such as famously the case of ‘flexicurity’. The multilevel governance of the EU, including the interaction between ‘soft’ employment policies and evolving ‘hard’ Eurogovernance tools, and with poor horizontal and vertical coordination, resulted in multiple distortions of the principle and, over time, to frustration. Unions’ engagement varies by level, country and region, reflecting both traditional national approaches and the local perception of ‘active inclusion’ as an opportunity. Although trade unions were more welcoming of ‘active inclusion’ than they had been for flexicurity, similar related threats and opportunities led to modest achievements and a gradual fading of the idea at the European and national levels, with some more opportunities however at the regional level. The paper concludes that, if trade unions want to engage with the idea of a European Social Model and with Eurogovernance, they could develop stronger networks among regional organisations

Rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis

Evidence continue to accumulate indicating that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) present an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (and death). The risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) in RA are not fully understood. However, a number of possible factors have been described, but more than one may be efficient, such as homocysteine, presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, altered serum levels of selected lipoproteins, and all together may have implications for the atherogenesis observed in these patients. Other factors that may facilitate this process, include corticosteroid use, methotrexate therapy and hormonal factors. However, the relative importance of these specific risk factors for the atherogenesis in this diseases is poorly known. Recent findings indicate that cardiac death is increased in RA patients when compared with subjects without arthritis and that generally, the inflammatory process may contribute to atherosclerosis. In addition, other studies indicate that serum concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines are found elevated at baseline, among patients at risk for future coronary occlusion

Ácidos grasos, esteroles y composiciones porcentuales de semillas de especies (Arachis L.) de cacahuete de Bolivia y Argentina

The oil, protein, ash and carbohydrates contents, iodine value, fatty acid and sterol compositions were studied in seeds of Arachis correntina, A. durannensis, A. monticola, A. batizocoi, and A. cardenasii originating from Bolivia and Argentina. Oil content was greatest in A. batizocoi (mean value 53,35%). The protein level was higher in A. monticola (mean value 29,40%) and A. durannensis (29,13%). Mean value of oleic acid varied between 34,91% (A. durannensis and A. cardenasii) and 42,60% (Arachis correntina), and linoleic acid oscilated between 40,23% (A. correntina) and 45,86% (A. durannensis). The better oleic to linoleic ratio was exhibited by A. correntina (1,06). Iodine value was lower in A. batizocoi (106,0). The sterol composition in the different peanut species showed higher concentration of β-sitosterol (mean values oscilated between 55,70-58,70%) following by campesterol (15,18-16,47%), stigmasterol (10,67- 12,27%) and Δ5-avenasterol (10,80-12,13%).Los contenidos en aceite, proteína, ceniza e hidratos de carbono, índice de acidez, composiciones en ácidos grasos y esteroles fueron estudiadas en semillas de Arachis correntina, A. durannensis, A. Monticola, A. batizocoi, y A. cardenasii originaria de Bolivia y Argentina. El contenido en aceite fue mayor en A. batizocoi (valor medio 53,35%). El nivel de proteína fue más alto en A. monticoia (valor medio 29,40%) y A. durannensis (29,13%). El valor medio del ácido oleico varió entre 34,91% (A. Durannensis y A. cardenasii) y 42,60% (Arachis correntina), y el ácido linoleico osciló entre 40,23% (A. correntina) y 45,86% (A.durannensis). La mejor relación oleico a linoleico fue exhibida por A. correntina (1.06). El índice de iodo fue más bajo en A. batizocoi (106,0). La composición esterólica en las diferentes especies de cacahuetes mostró la más alta concentración de β-sitosterol (los valores medios oscilaron entre 55,70-58,70%) seguido por campesterol (15,18-16,47%), estigmasterol (10,67-12,27%) y Δ5-avenasterol (10,80-12,13%)

Skin Lesion Analyser: An Efficient Seven-Way Multi-Class Skin Cancer Classification Using MobileNet

Skin cancer, a major form of cancer, is a critical public health problem with 123,000 newly diagnosed melanoma cases and between 2 and 3 million non-melanoma cases worldwide each year. The leading cause of skin cancer is high exposure of skin cells to UV radiation, which can damage the DNA inside skin cells leading to uncontrolled growth of skin cells. Skin cancer is primarily diagnosed visually employing clinical screening, a biopsy, dermoscopic analysis, and histopathological examination. It has been demonstrated that the dermoscopic analysis in the hands of inexperienced dermatologists may cause a reduction in diagnostic accuracy. Early detection and screening of skin cancer have the potential to reduce mortality and morbidity. Previous studies have shown Deep Learning ability to perform better than human experts in several visual recognition tasks. In this paper, we propose an efficient seven-way automated multi-class skin cancer classification system having performance comparable with expert dermatologists. We used a pretrained MobileNet model to train over HAM10000 dataset using transfer learning. The model classifies skin lesion image with a categorical accuracy of 83.1 percent, top2 accuracy of 91.36 percent and top3 accuracy of 95.34 percent. The weighted average of precision, recall, and f1-score were found to be 0.89, 0.83, and 0.83 respectively. The model has been deployed as a web application for public use at (https://saketchaturvedi.github.io). This fast, expansible method holds the potential for substantial clinical impact, including broadening the scope of primary care practice and augmenting clinical decision-making for dermatology specialists.Comment: This is a pre-copyedited version of a contribution published in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Hassanien A., Bhatnagar R., Darwish A. (eds) published by Chaturvedi S.S., Gupta K., Prasad P.S. The definitive authentication version is available online via https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3383-9_1

Errores, actitud y desempeño matemático del ingresante universitario

Para conocer los errores matemáticos típicos más frecuentes del ingresante universitario y analizar su vinculación con la actitud afectiva hacia la matemática y su rendimiento, se administró una prueba diagnóstica a 405 alumnos de Ciencias de la Salud que cursan la asignatura matemática en el primer año de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Los alumnos tienen dificultades para: representar números racionales en la recta real (pero no para comparar fracciones); especializar una función; aplicar propiedades de la potenciación; plantear matemáticamente enunciados de problemas; y en menor medida, para resolver ecuaciones lineales. Se observó además que existe correlación entre el desempeño en el primer parcial de la asignatura y el desempeño en la prueba diagnóstica, la opinión del nivel matemático de la escuela, y la representación que tiene de la matemática

Nailfold videocapillaroscopy in systemic sclerosis: diagnostic and follow-up parameters and correlation with both specific serum autoantibodies and subsets of skin involvement

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to demonstrate, by nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC), the existence of diagnostic and follow-up parameters of microvascular damage in systemic sclerosis (SS) (grouped in the "early", "active" and "late" NVC patterns). The presence of the different subsets of skin involvement (limSS and difSS), as well as the role of some specific serum autoantibodies in the expression of the NVC parameters were investigated. Methods: 245 consecutive SS patients were recruited and clinical data assessed. Antinuclear (ANA), antitopoisomerase I (Scl70) and anticentromere (ACA) antibodies were investigated in all patients. Results: Giant capillaries and hemorrhages were confirmed to be the earliest NVC finding in SS (diagnostic parameters). The loss of capillaries, along with ramified capillaries and vascular architectural disorganization were validated as parameters of progression of SS microangiopathy. Really, both Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and SS duration were detected longer in patients with the "late" than in those with the "active" or the "early" NVC pattern. Patients affected by limSS were found to have shorter disease duration, as well as showed more frequently the "early" or the "active" NVC patterns. Conversely, patients affected by the difSS showed longer disease duration and mostly the presence of the "active" or "late" NVC pattern. The Scl70 positivity was lower in the patients showing the "early" than in those with the "active" and the "late" NVC patterns, whereas no significant correlation was found between the Scl70 presence and both RP and SS duration. The ACA positivity was higher in patients showing the "early" NVC pattern, as well as in patients with longer disease duration. Conclusions: This study confirms that the identification of distinct NVC patterns may be useful to evaluate the severity and the stage of the SS microvascular damage. The presence of the Scl70 antibodies seems related to a more rapid progression of the SS microangiopathy. On the contrary, the presence of the ACA seems to be related to a slower progression of the SS microvascular damage. The SS peripheral microangiopathy is similar as in patients with limSS, as in those affected by difSS

Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: the role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce