The New Democratic Party and Labor Political Action in Canada

[Excerpt] Political humorist Barry Crimmins recently remarked that the Perot phenomenon in the last Presidential election showed the depressing state of U.S. politics. Who would have thought/\u27 shrugged Crimmins, that the development of a third party would reduce political choice? Many U.S. union progressives have envied their Canadian counterparts\u27 success in building an enduring labor-based political party—the New Democratic Party (NDP). They look to Canada and the NDP as proof that labor and democratic socialist ideas can win a wide hearing and acceptance in North America. As U.S. activists learn about Canada\u27s more progressive labor laws, the national system of universal publicly funded single-payer health care coverage, and the more generous and extensive entitlement programs, they naturally look to labor\u27s political power and the role of the labor-supported New Democratic Party in winning many of these reforms and promoting progressive social change in Canada. Yet most activists in the U.S. know little about the 33-year history of the NDP, the struggles that took place within the Canadian labor movement over the party\u27s creation, and the continuing evolution of the relationship between organized labor and the party. Americans tend to be particularly puzzled by Canadian labor activists\u27 critical attitude towards Canada\u27s labor party. News of developments from north of the border over the last few years has been particularly confounding. The NDP is currently the provincial government in three out of 10 provinces —Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan —which together account for approximately 50% of Canada\u27s population and more than half of the country\u27s gross domestic product. Yet in spite of this powerful provincial base, in last fall\u27s federal election, the party suffered its worst defeat since it was founded—polling a mere 6% of the popular vote and dropping from 43 to nine seats in the House of Commons. This dramatic dive in the federal party\u27s fortunes also reflects growing labor dissatisfaction with NDP provincial governments. For the first time in three decades, the Canadian Labour Congress and many of the provincial labor federations are reconsidering their relationship to the NDP. For Americans interested in labor political action and the role of labor parties, these Canadian discussions have great relevance

Evaluation of a programme of transferable skills development within the PhD: views of late stage students

Recent years have seen an increasing emphasis placed upon the development of transferable skills within PhD degree programmes. This paper reports on steps taken to evaluate a programme of transferable skills development at a research intensive university in the UK, focussing on the views of late stage PhD students in the science, engineering and medical disciplines. It shows that most students report a positive impact from having taken part in transferable skills initiatives and that they have a positive attitude towards them. Participants report an enduring positive impact on their behaviour and consider that the training meets their perceived needs as they progress as researchers. However, amongst the population as a whole, there were differences in views. For example, it was found that females, overseas students and those mainly motivated to do the PhD by career-related reasons attach the greatest importance to such opportunities to develop transferable skills

Mobilising and organising for large scale change in healthcare: 'The Right Prescription: A Call to Action on the use of antipsychotic drugs for people with dementia'

This study sought to explore the use of a mobilising and organising methodology as an approach to large scale change. We have chosen as an example of a mobilising and organising approach to change in action, the work of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement to support the Department of Health Quality Improvement Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme, through acting as an enabler for a work stream which focuses on the prescribing of antipsychotic medication in people with dementia - part of the medicines management QIPP work stream. The aim of this study is to identify key components, and areas of achievement, within the call to action, to tell the story of how this approach has evolved to respond to the challenges inherent within the English NHS, to identify how this approach might be utilised by others and to identify lessons for the future implementation of such an approach within the public secto

AXONAL TRANSPORT AND TURNOVER OF PROLINE- AND LEUCINE-LABELED PROTEIN IN THE GOLDFISH VISUAL SYSTEM

The suitability of radioactively labeled proline as a marker of axonally transported protein in the goldfish visual system is further investigated and compared with another amino acid, leucine, in double-label experiments. Intraocularly injected proline is incorporated into protein in the eye S times more efficiently than is leucine, while local labeling of brain protein from precursor which has left the eye and entered the blood, (observed in the ipsilateral optic tectum) is five- to eight-fold less from proline than from leucine. The difference is attributed to the superior transport of leucine, an essential amino acid, into the brain from the blood. Once in the brain, the apparent rates of incorporation of the two amino acids are similar. Proline- or leucine-labeled, axonally transported proteins have a longer apparent half-life in the brain than do proteins labeled from intracranial injection of the precursors. By either route, proline-labeled proteins have a longer apparent half-life than leucine-labeled proteins. It is proposed that proline, released from protein breakdown is reutilized to a greater extent than is leucine.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65647/1/j.1471-4159.1974.tb10757.x.pd

Global Perspectives on Labour Education into the New Millennium

No abstract available

Human Tra2 proteins jointly control a CHEK1 splicing switch among alternative and constitutive target exons

Alternative splicing—the production of multiple messenger RNA isoforms from a single gene—is regulated in part by RNA binding proteins. While the RBPs transformer2 alpha (Tra2α) and Tra2β have both been implicated in the regulation of alternative splicing, their relative contributions to this process are not well understood. Here we find simultaneous—but not individual—depletion of Tra2α and Tra2β induces substantial shifts in splicing of endogenous Tra2β target exons, and that both constitutive and alternative target exons are under dual Tra2α–Tra2β control. Target exons are enriched in genes associated with chromosome biology including CHEK1, which encodes a key DNA damage response protein. Dual Tra2 protein depletion reduces expression of full-length CHK1 protein, results in the accumulation of the DNA damage marker γH2AX and decreased cell viability. We conclude Tra2 proteins jointly control constitutive and alternative splicing patterns via paralog compensation to control pathways essential to the maintenance of cell viability

Association of chromosome 22q11 deletion with isolated anomalies of aortic arch laterality and branching

AbstractOBJECTIVESThe purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of chromosome 22q11 deletions in patients with isolated anomalies of the aortic arch and its branches.BACKGROUNDChromosome 22q11 deletions are often present in patients with certain forms of congenital cardiovascular disease, including tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus and interruption of the aortic arch. Among patients with these anomalies, chromosome 22q11 deletion is more common in those with abnormal aortic arch laterality or branching.METHODSWe studied 66 patients with isolated anomalies of the aortic arch and no associated intracardiac defects for deletions within chromosome 22q11, using fluorescence in situ hybridization with the cosmid probe N25 (D22S75). Arch anomalies included: double aortic arch (n = 22); right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery (n = 28); right aortic arch with mirror-image branching and a vascular ring formed by a left-sided ductus from the descending aorta (n = 5); right aortic arch with mirror-image branching and no vascular ring (n = 4); and left aortic arch with aberrant right subclavian artery (n = 7). In addition, four patients had a cervical aortic arch, four had aortic coarctation and six had hypoplasia/atresia of the proximal pulmonary arteries.RESULTSChromosome 22q11 deletions were found in 16 patients (24%) across the full spectrum of anomalies studied. Among the morphologic variables analyzed, only hypoplasia/atresia of the proximal pulmonary arteries correlated with the deletion (p = 0.03). Among patients with a double arch, the frequency of chromosome 22q11 deletion was higher in those with an atretic minor arch than it was in those with a patent minor arch (p = 0.02).CONCLUSIONSChromosome 22q11 deletion is associated with isolated anomalies of laterality or branching of the aortic arch in 24% of cases in our series. These findings should alert the clinician to consider deletion screening in patients with isolated anomalies of the aortic arch

Managing soil carbon and nitrogen for productivity and environmental quality

Includes bibliographical references (pages 774-775).In this study, we investigated the impact of cropping system management on C and N pools, crop yield, and N leaching in a long-term agronomic experiment in Southwest Michigan. Four management types, conventional (CO), integrated fertilizer (IF), integrated compost (IC), and transitional organic (TO) were applied to two crop sequences, a corn (Zea mays L.)–corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation and continuous corn, which were grown with and without cover crops in the IF, IC, and TO managements. Using compost as a fertility source and reducing the use of herbicides and other chemicals resulted in long-term changes in soil organic matter pools such TO ≥ IC > IF ≥ CO for total C and N and for the labile C and N measured through aerobic incubations at 70 and 150 d. Mineralizable N varied within the rotation, tending to increase after soybean and decrease after corn production in all systems. Corn yield was closely associated with 70-d N mineralization potential, being greatest for first-year corn with cover and least for continuous corn without cover under all management types. Although the TO and IC systems produced the lowest yield for second-year or continuous corn, the combination of soybean and wheat plus red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) always supported high yield for first-year corn. Fall nitrate level and nitrate leaching were higher for commercially fertilized corn than for any other crop or for compost-amended corn