Broadening without Intensification: The Added Value of the European Social and Sectoral Dialogue

The framework of the European social dialogue (ESD) has enabled interest organizations at the European level to conclude agreements on a wide range of social policy issues. This applies both at the inter-sectoral level and within the various sectors, and has led in the last few decades to the creation of a large number of joint texts. This article addresses the issue of the added value of these results for the parties concluding them. It is argued that the ESD does not constitute a system of industrial relations at the European level, but serves as an alternative lobbying channel for the social partners involved

L' Etica

L' Etica / B. Spinoza ; esposta e commentata da Piero Martinetti. - Torino : Paravia, 1928. - XII, 150 p. : ritr. ; 20 cm

A comparison, by sweep sampling, of the arthropod fauna of secondary vegetation in Michigan, England and Costa Rica

1.  Six 800-sweep samples of English and Michigan (“old field”) secondary vegetation arthropods are compared with Costa Rican samples taken in the same way. 2.  Parasitic Hymenoptera and spiders accounted for a larger proportion of the arthropod fauna in the mid-latitude than the tropical samples. 3.  In one English field, the seasonal change in insect numbers was 88% of that recorded over all the seasonal and elevational changes examined in Costa Rica. Furthermore, the difference in the total dry weights of the arthropod fauna between December and July was similar to the difference found between the wet and dry seasons in tropical secondary vegetation (also similar to the difference between day and night values during the dry season). 4.  Aphids and Psyllidae were far more abundant in the English site than in the Costa Rican mainland sites. 5.  In mid-summer, the English field had far more arthropods in it than did any of the tropical sites sampled.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73688/1/j.1365-2311.1975.tb00551.x.pd

Colonization of Extramammary Sites with Mastitis-Associated S. aureus Strains in Dairy Goats.

Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus), a major mastitis pathogen in dairy goats, is classified as a contagious pathogen. Although previous research has shown that extramammary body sites can be colonized with S. aureus, it is unknown whether these sites are reservoirs for intramammary infections. The aim of this research was to determine whether extramammary sites can be colonized with mastitis-associated S. aureus strains in dairy goats. Milk samples were collected from 207 primiparous goats and from 120 of these goats, extramammary site samples (hock, groin, nares, vulva and udder) were collected from a large commercial dairy goat herd in the Netherlands during four sampling visits. Extramammary site swabs and milk samples were (selectively) cultured and S. aureus isolates were spa genotyped. The prevalence of colonization of the extramammary sites at goat level was 51.7% and the prevalence of S. aureus intramammary infections was 7.2%. The nares were colonized most frequently (45%), while the groin area was colonized the least (2.5%). Six spa genotypes were identified in this herd and there was no significant difference in the distribution of spa genotypes between the milk or the extramammary sites ( p = 0.141). Both in the extramammary sites and in the milk, spa genotypes t544 (82.3% and 53.3%) and t1236 (22.6% and 33.3%) were the dominant genotypes. These results show that in goats, extramammary sites, particularly the nares, are frequently colonized with mastitis-associated S. aureus strains. Extramammary sites may, thus, be a source of S. aureus intramammary infections that are not targeted by the intervention measures aimed at preventing transmission from infected udder glands