The Determinants of Strike Activity: An Interindustry Analysis

Cet article consiste dans une adaptation du modèle Chamberlain-Kuhn en matière de couts entre un accord et un désaccord en vue d'expliquer l'incidence et la durée des grèves en tant que fonctions des seuls facteurs économiques. Le but recherche est de vérifier le modèle plutôt que d'expliquer le fait même de la grève. On y expose diverses variables relatives aux couts d'un accord, aux couts d'un désaccord et aux objectifs relies à l'augmentation des salaires dans la période précédant les négociations tant de la part des syndicats que de la part des employeurs. On y a fait un effort afin de s'assurer que les résultats obtenus en regard de ces variables sous formes d'équations réduites alors que les mesures de l'incidence de la grève sont utilisées comme variables dépendantes, ne prêtent pas à équivoque. On a retenu dix-huit variables auxquelles furent ajoutées quelques variables de contrôle. Si presque toutes les variables utilisées dans l'opération donnent les résultats attendus, cela confirme la valeur du modèle; sinon, les résultats doivent être considères comme la réfutation dudit modèle. Les données ont été tirées d'un échantillonnage regroupe (dix-sept industries manufacturières) sur plus de cinq ans (1971-1975). Les grèves analysées furent choisies à partir de statistiques circonstanciées de manière à ne comprendre que des grèves survenues à l'occasion de la renégociation des conventions collectives. On a utilise deux variables dépendantes: le nombre de grèves (une mesure d'incidence) et les jours personnes perdus divises par le nombre de travailleurs touches (mesure de durée). Les résultats ont indique que, selon la forme de vérification utilisée, le modèle a failli à expliquer l'incidence des grèves, mais qu'il a réussi davantage à en expliquer la durée, lorsqu'il y avait eu grève. Ceci signifie que les facteurs d'ordre économique ne suffisent pas à expliquer l'incidence, mais qu'ils sont plus valables pour expliquer la durée des grèves, conclusion contraire aux résultats de la plupart des études qui se fondent sur des séries chronologiques.The paper presents an adaptation of a Chamberlain-Kuhn costs of agreement-costs of disagreement model explaining strike incidence and duration as functions of economic factors. The emphasis is on testing this model, rather than «explaining» strike activity. The results indicate the economic model fails to explain strike incidence, but does better at explaining strike duration, given incidence

The lethal giant larvae tumour suppressor mutation requires dMyc oncoprotein to promote clonal malignancy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neoplastic overgrowth depends on the cooperation of several mutations ultimately leading to major rearrangements in cellular behaviour. Precancerous cells are often removed by cell death from normal tissues in the early steps of the tumourigenic process, but the molecules responsible for such a fundamental safeguard process remain in part elusive. With the aim to investigate the molecular crosstalk occurring between precancerous and normal cells <it>in vivo</it>, we took advantage of the clonal analysis methods that are available in <it>Drosophila </it>for studying the phenotypes due to <it>lethal giant larvae </it>(<it>lgl</it>) neoplastic mutation induced in different backgrounds and tissues.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that <it>lgl </it>mutant cells growing in wild-type imaginal wing discs show poor viability and are eliminated by Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK)-dependent cell death. Furthermore, they express very low levels of dMyc oncoprotein compared with those found in the surrounding normal tissue. Evidence that this is a cause of <it>lgl </it>mutant cells elimination was obtained by increasing dMyc levels in <it>lgl </it>mutant clones: their overgrowth potential was indeed re-established, with mutant cells overwhelming the neighbouring tissue and forming tumourous masses displaying several cancer hallmarks. Moreover, when <it>lgl </it>mutant clones were induced in backgrounds of slow-dividing cells, they upregulated dMyc, lost apical-basal cell polarity and were able to overgrow. Those phenotypes were abolished by reducing dMyc levels in the mutant clones, thereby confirming its key role in <it>lgl</it>-induced tumourigenesis. Furthermore, we show that the <it>eiger</it>-dependent Intrinsic Tumour Suppressor pathway plays only a minor role in eliminating <it>lgl </it>mutant cells in the wing pouch; <it>lgl</it>^-/-clonal death in this region is instead driven mainly by dMyc-induced Cell Competition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide the first evidence that dMyc oncoprotein is required in <it>lgl </it>tumour suppressor mutant tissue to promote invasive overgrowth in larval and adult epithelial tissues. Moreover, we show that dMyc abundance inside <it>versus </it>outside the mutant clones plays a key role in driving neoplastic overgrowth.</p

Dietary intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of myocardial infarction in coronary artery disease patients with or without diabetes mellitus: a prospective cohort study

Background: A beneficial effect of a high n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) intake has been observed in heart failure patients, who are frequently insulin resistant. We investigated the potential influence of impaired glucose metabolism on the relation between dietary intake of n-3 LCPUFAs and risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods: This prospective cohort study was based on the Western Norway B-Vitamin Intervention Trial and included 2,378 patients with coronary artery disease with available baseline glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and dietary data. Patients were sub-grouped as having no diabetes (HbA1c <5.7%), pre-diabetes (HbA1c ≥5.7%), or diabetes (previous diabetes, fasting baseline serum glucose ≥7.0, or non-fasting glucose ≥11.1 mmol/L). AMI risk was evaluated by Cox regression (age and sex adjusted), comparing the upper versus lower tertile of daily dietary n-3 LCPUFA intake. Results: The participants (80% males) had a mean age of 62 and follow-up of 4.8 years. A high n-3 LCPUFA intake was associated with reduced risk of AMI (hazard ratio 0.38, 95%CI 0.18, 0.80) in diabetes patients (median HbA1c = 7.2%), whereas no association was observed in pre-diabetes patients. In patients without diabetes a high intake tended to be associated with an increased risk (hazard ratio1.45, 95%CI 0.84, 2.53), which was significant for fatal AMI (hazard ratio 4.79, 95%CI 1.05, 21.90) and associated with lower HbA1c (mean ± standard deviation 4.55 ±0.68 versus 4.92 ±0.60, P = 0.02). No such differences in HbA1c were observed in those with pre-diabetes or diabetes. Conclusions: A high intake of n-3 LCPUFAs was associated with a reduced risk of AMI, independent of HbA1c, in diabetic patients, but with an increased risk of fatal AMI and lower HbA1c among patients without impaired glucose metabolism. Further studies should investigate whether patients with diabetes may benefit from having a high intake of n-3 LCPUFAs and whether patients with normal glucose tolerance should be careful with a very high intake of these fatty acids.publishedVersio

Multidrug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis treatment regimens and patient outcomes: an individual patient data meta-analysis of 9,153 patients.

Treatment of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is lengthy, toxic, expensive, and has generally poor outcomes. We undertook an individual patient data meta-analysis to assess the impact on outcomes of the type, number, and duration of drugs used to treat MDR-TB

Social Salience and the Sociolinguistic Monitor: A Case Study of ING and TH-fronting in Britain

This article examines the role of social salience, or the relative ability of a linguistic variable to evoke social meaning, in structuring listeners’ perceptions of quantitative sociolinguistic distributions. Building on the foundational work of Labov et al. (2006, 2011) on the “sociolinguistic monitor” (a proposed cognitive mechanism responsible for sociolinguistic perception), we examine whether listeners’ evaluative judgments of speech change as a function of the type of variable presented. We consider two variables in British English, ING and TH-fronting, which we argue differ in their relative social salience. Replicating the design of Labov et al.’s studies, we test 149 British listeners’ reactions to different quantitative distributions of these variables. Our experiments elicit a very different pattern of perceptual responses than those reported previously. In particular, our results suggest that a variable’s social salience determines both whether and how it is perceptually evaluated. We argue that this finding is crucial for understanding how sociolinguistic information is cognitively processed

New perspectives on the renal slit diaphragm protein podocin

Podocin is a critical component of the glomerular filtration barrier, its mutations causing recessive steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. A GenBank analysis of the human podocin (NPHS2) gene resulted in the possible existence of a new splice variant of podocin in the kidney, missing the in-frame of exon 5, encoding the prohibitin homology domain. Using RT–polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting followed by sequence analysis, we are for the first time able to prove the expression of a novel podocin isoform (isoform 2), exclusively and constitutively expressed in human podocytes. Furthermore, we reveal singular extrarenal podocin expression in human and murine testis. Our data show the Sertoli cells of the seminiferous tubules to be the origin of testicular podocin. Confocal laser microscopy illustrates the co-localization of podocin with filamentous actin within Sertoli cells, suggesting a role of podocin in the blood/testis barrier. These results led to the rationale to examine podocin expression in testes of men with Sertoli cell-only syndrome, a disorder characterized by azoospermia. Interestingly, we observed a complete down-regulation of podocin mRNA in Sertoli cell-only syndrome, indicating a possible role of podocin in the pathogenesis of this germinal aplasia. Men with Sertoli cell-only syndrome show normal renal podocin expression, suggesting an alternate regulation of the testicular promoter. Our findings may change the perception of podocin and give new insights into the ultrastructure of glomerular slit diaphragm and the blood/testis barrier

Multicenter evaluation of the clinical utility of laparoscopy-assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Background and Aims The obesity epidemic has led to increased use of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). These patients have an increased incidence of pancreaticobiliary diseases yet standard ERCP is not possible due to surgically altered gastroduodenal anatomy. Laparoscopic-ERCP (LA-ERCP) has been proposed as an option but supporting data are derived from single center small case-series. Therefore, we conducted a large multicenter study to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and outcomes of LA-ERCP. Methods This is retrospective cohort study of adult patients with RYGB who underwent LA-ERCP in 34 centers. Data on demographics, indications, procedure success, and adverse events were collected. Procedure success was defined when all of the following were achieved: reaching the papilla, cannulating the desired duct and providing endoscopic therapy as clinically indicated. Results A total of 579 patients (median age 51, 84% women) were included. Indication for LA-ERCP was biliary in 89%, pancreatic in 8%, and both in 3%. Procedure success was achieved in 98%. Median total procedure time was 152 minutes (IQR 109-210) with median ERCP time 40 minutes (IQR 28-56). Median hospital stay was 2 days (IQR 1-3). Adverse events were 18% (laparoscopy-related 10%, ERCP-related 7%, both 1%) with the clear majority (92%) classified as mild/moderate whereas 8% were severe and 1 death occurred. Conclusion Our large multicenter study indicates that LA-ERCP in patients with RYGB is feasible with a high procedure success rate comparable with that of standard ERCP in patients with normal anatomy. ERCP-related adverse events rate is comparable with conventional ERCP, but the overall adverse event rate was higher due to the added laparoscopy-related events

Moving in the anthropocene: global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements

Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission