Employment and Compliance with Pandemic Influenza Mitigation Recommendations

Noncompliance may result from job insecurity and financial problems associated with missing work

An assessment of the current account sustainability in Romania

This paper assesses the sustainability of the CA deficits in the New Member States (NMS) of European Union by estimating its structural component based on fundamentals. Using a large sample of panel data, we estimated long term relationships for the CA deficit and its fundamentals using two methods from the literature. The main conclusion of the paper is that in some countries there is an excessive CA deficit which should be adjusted. In the case of Romania, the results are showing that the structural CA could be between 6.3% and 10.9% of GDP, depending on the model used and the econometric procedure. Another important result of the paper is that the main drivers of the CA deficits in NMS are the economic convergence factors

Post Longford gas plant disaster: a study of competence as a major element of safety case analysis in the petrochemical industry

Master of EducationOn the 25th September 1998 two plant operators were killed and a further eight operators were seriously injured when the Longford Gas Plant exploded and caught on fire. The Royal Commission that followed this disaster identified inadequate operator training and operator incompetence as a significant causal factor that contributed to this disaster. This study investigates the nature of process plant operator competence in the petrochemical industry in the `post Longford' environment. This study used qualitative research methods to study operator competence, specifically document analysis and in-depth interviews with plant operators and training managers. Data from the document analysis and interview transcripts were collected and analysed with a view to improving understanding of the factors that contribute to operator competence. The findings of this study indicated that operator competence involves formal learning and also informal and tacit knowledge that is learnt in `communities of practice' where experienced operators mentor and guide less experienced members of the shift team. This study suggests that genuine operator competence involves more than just an ability to manage routine duties but also involves an ability to respond effectively during non-routine situations and plant emergencies - these crises have the potential for catastrophic consequences if poorly managed. This study found that there are significant opportunities to improve the training strategies and the organisational support structures to enhance operator competence. This study has made a number of recommendations to improve the competence of petrochemical plant operators. A theoretical model has also been developed to enhance plant operator competence in the petrochemical industry. Suggestions for future research into the area of plant operator competence have been suggested

Respirator fit of a medium mask on a group of South Africans: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background In South Africa, respiratory protective equipment is often the primary control method used to protect workers. This preliminary study investigated how well a common disposable P2 respirator fitted persons with a range of facial dimensions. Methods Quantitative respirator fit tests were performed on 29 volunteers from different racial, gender and face size groups. Two facial dimensions width (bizygomatic) and length (menton-sellion) were measured for all participants. Results In this study 13.8% of the participants demonstrated a successful fit with the medium sized mask. These included participants from three different racial and both gender groups. The large percentage of failed fit tests (86%) indicates that reliance on off-the-shelf respirators could be problematic in South Africa. Conclusions The limitations of this preliminary study notwithstanding, respirator fit appear to be associated with individual facial characteristics and are not specific to racial/ethnic or gender characteristics.</p

The transcription factor activity gradient (TAG) model: contemplating a contact-independent mechanism for enhancer–promoter communication

How distal cis-regulatory elements (e.g., enhancers) communicate with promoters remains an unresolved question of fundamental importance. Although transcription factors and cofactors are known to mediate this communication, the mechanism by which diffusible molecules relay regulatory information from one position to another along the chromosome is a biophysical puzzle-one that needs to be revisited in light of recent data that cannot easily fit into previous solutions. Here we propose a new model that diverges from the textbook enhancer-promoter looping paradigm and offer a synthesis of the literature to make a case for its plausibility, focusing on the coactivator p300

Detecting molecular interactions in live-cell single-molecule imaging with proximity-assisted photoactivation (PAPA).

Single-molecule imaging provides a powerful way to study biochemical processes in live cells, yet it remains challenging to track single molecules while simultaneously detecting their interactions. Here, we describe a novel property of rhodamine dyes, proximity-assisted photoactivation (PAPA), in which one fluorophore (the 'sender') can reactivate a second fluorophore (the 'receiver') from a dark state. PAPA requires proximity between the two fluorophores, yet it operates at a longer average intermolecular distance than Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). We show that PAPA can be used in live cells both to detect protein-protein interactions and to highlight a subpopulation of labeled protein complexes in which two different labels are in proximity. In proof-of-concept experiments, PAPA detected the expected correlation between androgen receptor self-association and chromatin binding at the single-cell level. These results establish a new way in which a photophysical property of fluorophores can be harnessed to study molecular interactions in single-molecule imaging of live cells