A Study of Wage Contour Determinants For Northern Minnesota

This paper reports the findings of a study designed to profile wages and employment in northern Minnesota. Because of differences in the structure of the local economy and differences in the composition of the labor force, we hypothesized that studies done for other regions as well as national studies might produce misleading information if applied to northern Minnesota. The study is based on responses to 1400 mail surveys distributed in 1983 in four cities in northern Minnesota: Bemidji, Brainerd, Fergus Falls, and Grand Rapids. We found some surprising differences between the workforces in the four cities. Our overall impression was of an older, stable workforce characterized by long-term attachment to geographical location and occupation. The workforce is heavily concentrated in the service sector and has a smaller number of workers in manufacturing than the national figures would predict. Earnings in the region are somewhat below the nation\u27s norm. Finally, the region\u27s workforce is traditional in the sense that it reflects historical male/ female wage differentials and tends toward occupational segregation by sex

Tourism policy and destination marketing in developing countries: the chain of influence

Tourism marketers including destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and international tour operators play a pivotal role in destination marketing, especially in creating destination images. These images, apparent in tourist brochures, are designed to influence tourist decision-making and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of a “chain of influence” in destination marketing and image-making, suggesting that the content of marketing materials is influenced by the priorities of those who design these materials, e.g. tour operators and DMOs. A content analysis of 2,000 pictures from DMO and tour operator brochures revealed synergies and divergence between these marketers. The brochure content was then compared to the South African tourism policy, concluding that the dominant factor in the chain of influence in the South African context is in fact its organic image

Anti-influenza Hyperimmune Immunoglobulin Enhances Fc-functional Antibody Immunity during Human Influenza Infection

BACKGROUND: New treatments for severe influenza are needed. Passive transfer of influenza-specific hyperimmune pooled immunoglobulin (Flu-IVIG) boosts neutralising antibody responses to past strains in influenza-infected subjects. The effect of Flu-IVIG on antibodies with Fc-mediated functions, which may target diverse influenza strains, is unclear. METHODS: We studied the capacity of Flu-IVIG, relative to standard IVIG, to bind to Fc receptors and mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in vitro. The effect of Flu-IVIG infusion, compared to placebo infusion, was examined in serial plasma samples from 24 subjects with confirmed influenza infection in the INSIGHT FLU005 pilot study. RESULTS: Flu-IVIG contains higher concentrations of Fc-functional antibodies than IVIG against a diverse range of influenza hemagglutinins. Following infusion of Flu-IVIG into influenza-infected subjects, a transient increase in Fc-functional antibodies was present for 1-3 days against infecting and non-infecting strains of influenza. CONCLUSIONS: Flu-IVIG contains antibodies with Fc-mediated functions against influenza virus and passive transfer of Flu-IVIG increases anti-influenza Fc-functional antibodies in the plasma of influenza-infected subjects. Enhancement of Fc-functional antibodies to a diverse range of influenza strains suggests that Flu-IVIG infusion could prove useful in the context of novel influenza virus infections, when there may be minimal or no neutralising antibodies in the Flu-IVIG preparation

Fc engineered ACE2-Fc is a potent multifunctional agent targeting SARS-CoV2

Joining a function-enhanced Fc-portion of human IgG to the SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor ACE2 produces an antiviral decoy with strain transcending virus neutralizing activity. SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and Fc-effector functions of ACE2-Fc decoy proteins, formatted with or without the ACE2 collectrin domain, were optimized by Fc-modification. The different Fc-modifications resulted in distinct effects on neutralization and effector functions. H429Y, a point mutation outside the binding sites for FcγRs or complement caused non-covalent oligomerization of the ACE2-Fc decoy proteins, abrogated FcγR interaction and enhanced SARS-CoV-2 neutralization. Another Fc mutation, H429F did not improve virus neutralization but resulted in increased C5b-C9 fixation and transformed ACE2-Fc to a potent mediator of complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) expressing cells. Furthermore, modification of the Fc-glycan enhanced cell activation via FcγRIIIa. These different immune profiles demonstrate the capacity of Fc-based agents to be engineered to optimize different mechanisms of protection for SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other viral pathogens

Standardised data on initiatives—STARDIT: Beta version

Background and objective: There is currently no standardised way to share information across disciplines about initiatives, including fields such as health, environment, basic science, manufacturing, media and international development. All problems, including complex global problems such as air pollution and pandemics require reliable data sharing between disciplines in order to respond effectively. Current reporting methods also lack information about the ways in which different people and organisations are involved in initiatives, making it difficult to collate and appraise data about the most effective ways to involve different people. The objective of STARDIT (Standardised Data on Initiatives) is to address current limitations and inconsistencies in sharing data about initiatives. The STARDIT system features standardised data reporting about initiatives, including who has been involved, what tasks they did, and any impacts observed. STARDIT was created to help everyone in the world find and understand information about collective human actions, which are referred to as ‘initiatives’. STARDIT enables multiple categories of data to be reported in a standardised way across disciplines, facilitating appraisal of initiatives and aiding synthesis of evidence for the most effective ways for people to be involved in initiatives. This article outlines progress to date on STARDIT; current usage; information about submitting reports; planned next steps and how anyone can become involved. Method: STARDIT development is guided by participatory action research paradigms, and has been co-created with people from multiple disciplines and countries. Co-authors include cancer patients, people affected by rare diseases, health researchers, environmental researchers, economists, librarians and academic publishers. The co-authors also worked with Indigenous peoples from multiple countries and in partnership with an organisation working with Indigenous Australians. Results and discussion: Over 100 people from multiple disciplines and countries have been involved in co-designing STARDIT since 2019. STARDIT is the first open access web-based data-sharing system which standardises the way that information about initiatives is reported across diverse fields and disciplines, including information about which tasks were done by which stakeholders. STARDIT is designed to work with existing data standards. STARDIT data will be released into the public domain (CC0) and integrated into Wikidata; it works across multiple languages and is both human and machine readable. Reports can be updated throughout the lifetime of an initiative, from planning to evaluation, allowing anyone to be involved in reporting impacts and outcomes. STARDIT is the first system that enables sharing of standardised data about initiatives across disciplines. A working Beta version was publicly released in February 2021 (ScienceforAll.World/STARDIT). Subsequently, STARDIT reports have been created for peer-reviewed research in multiple journals and multiple research projects, demonstrating the usability. In addition, organisations including Cochrane and Australian Genomics have created prospective reports outlining planned initiatives. Conclusions: STARDIT can help create high-quality standardised information on initiatives trying to solve complex multidisciplinary global problems

Importance of Preoperative Imaging in Acetabular Revision Surgery - A Case Report

Acetabular defects, particularly as a result of protrusion of acetabular components into the hemipelvis, may cause serious complications during revision procedures as a result of iatrogenic injury to surrounding anatomical structures. In these challenging cases, we advocate the utilisation of preoperative three dimensional imaging. MRI and CT- imaging offer superior understanding of the three-dimensional quality of bony defects and the relationship of implants to important anatomical structures. Appropriate preoperative planning may also prevent major complications during the removal of the pre-existing hardware, prior to re-implantation of implants. Potential complications include injury of nerves, blood vessels and other intrapelvic structures

The Rare Anaphylaxis-Associated FcγRIIa3 Exhibits Distinct Characteristics From the Canonical FcγRIIa1

FcγRIIa is an activating FcγR, unique to humans and non-human primates. It induces antibody-dependent proinflammatory responses and exists predominantly as FcγRIIa1. A unique splice variant, we designated FcγRIIa3, has been reported to be associated with anaphylactic reactions to intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) therapy. We aim to define the functional consequences of this FcγRIIa variant associated with adverse responses to IVIg therapy and evaluate the frequency of associated SNPs. FcγRIIa forms from macaque and human PBMCs were investigated for IgG-subclass specificity, biochemistry, membrane localization, and functional activity. Disease-associated SNPs were analyzed by sequencing genomic DNA from 224 individuals with immunodeficiency or autoimmune disease. FcγRIIa3 was identified in macaque and human PBMC. The FcγRIIa3 is distinguished from the canonical FcγRIIa1 by a unique 19-amino acid cytoplasmic insertion and these two FcγRIIa forms responded distinctly to antibody ligation. Whereas FcγRIIa1 was rapidly internalized, FcγRIIa3 was retained longer at the membrane, inducing greater calcium mobilization and cell degranulation. Four FCGR2A SNPs were identified including the previously reported intronic SNP associated with anaphylaxis, but in only 1 of 224 individuals. The unique cytoplasmic element of FcγRIIa3 delays internalization and is associated with enhanced cellular activation. The frequency of the immunodeficiency-associated SNP varies between disease populations but interestingly occurred at a lower frequency than previously reported. None-the-less enhanced FcγRIIa3 function may promote a proinflammatory environment and predispose to pathological inflammatory responses

Polypharmacy among anabolic-androgenic steroid users: A descriptive metasynthesis

Background: As far as we are aware, no previous systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative/descriptive literature on polypharmacy in anabolic-androgenic steroid(s) (AAS) users has been published. Method: We systematically reviewed and synthesized qualitative/descriptive literature gathered from searches in electronic databases and by inspecting reference lists of relevant literature to investigate AAS users' polypharmacy. We adhered to the recommendations of the UK Economic and Social Research Council's qualitative research synthesis manual and the PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 50 studies published between 1985 and 2014 were included in the analysis. Studies originated from 10 countries although most originated from United States (n = 22), followed by Sweden (n = 7), England only (n = 5), and the United Kingdom (n = 4). It was evident that prior to their debut, AAS users often used other licit and illicit substances. The main ancillary/supplementary substances used were alcohol, and cannabis/cannabinoids followed by cocaine, growth hormone, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), amphetamine/meth, clenbuterol, ephedra/ephedrine, insulin, and thyroxine. Other popular substance classes were analgesics/opioids, dietary/nutritional supplements, and diuretics. Our classification of the various substances used by AAS users resulted in 13 main groups. These non-AAS substances were used mainly to enhance the effects of AAS, combat the side effects of AAS, and for recreational or relaxation purposes, as well as sexual enhancement. Conclusions: Our findings corroborate previous suggestions of associations between AAS use and the use of other licit and illicit substances. Efforts must be intensified to combat the debilitating effects of AAS-associated polypharmacy