Varieties of labour administration in Europe and the consequences of the Great Recession

This article focuses on national public administration activities that relate to employment, social protection and industrial relations. The International Labour Organization (ILO) refers to these activities collectively as ‘labour administration’ and regards the bodies that conduct them within individual countries as together forming national systems of labour administration. This article explores the concept of ‘national system of labour administration’ and considers the potential contribution of comparative institutional analysis in understanding how national systems are organised and change over time. The article also compares the organisation of national labour administration systems in European Union (EU) countries and analyses how these systems have developed since the start of the economic crisis that erupted in 2008

Industrial policy, place and democracy

Industrial policy is a potential vehicle for more participative and democratic forms of policy formation. But in Britain an ademocratic policy culture is transforming into an undemocratic one. This article explores the roots of this in major sea changes in the industrial policy climate of Western Europe, where non-discriminatory and aspatial policy stances are now giving way under pressure to openly discriminatory policies aimed at favoured industries or locations. The British case is contrasted with France, Germany and Italy, and their variety of responses. It is proposed that an extended notion of ‘place’ offers a basis for social dialogue

Cucumis sativus l. Seeds ameliorate muscular spasm-induced gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders by simultaneously inhibiting calcium mediated signaling pathway

Cucumis sativus L. is globally cultivated as an edible vegetable. Besides its nutritional benefits, it is used in traditional medicines against various ailments. The current study was designed to elucidate the multi-target mechanisms of a C. sativus seeds extract against asthma and diarrhea using network pharmacology along with a molecular docking approach. Furthermore, in-vitro and in-vivo experiments were conducted to verify the mechanistic insight of in silico studies. LC-ESIMS/MS was performed to identify the bioactive compounds in the extract; later, some compounds were quantified by HPLC. C. sativus seed. EtOH has kaempferol in higher concentration 783.02 µg/g, followed by quercetin (693.83 µg/g) and luteolin (617.17 µg/g). In silico studies showed that bioactive compounds interfered with asthma and diarrhea-associated target genes, which are members of calcium-mediated signaling to exert a calcium channel blocker activity. The seeds extract exerted a concentration-dependent spasmolytic response on isolated jejunum, trachea, and urinary bladder preparations and caused relaxation of spastic contraction of K+ (80 mM) with suppressed calcium concentration-response curves at dose 0.3 and 1 mg/mL. It also showed antiperistalsis, antidiarrheal and antisecretory activity in animal models. Thus, C. sativus seeds have therapeutic effects by regulating the contractile response through a calcium-mediated signaling pathway

Evaluation of arterial prostheses in a baboon ex vivo shunt: the effect of graft material and flow on platelet deposition.

Surface thrombogenicity is recognized as an important factor in the failure of small caliber vascular prostheses. The baboon ex vivo shunt was developed to study small caliber grafts under controlled conditions at different flow rates. The shunt was created by percutaneous insertion of catheters into the baboon femoral artery and vein. Platelet-graft interactions were studied using autogenous indium 111 labeled platelets. Two graft materials were placed in series and exposed to blood flow for 2 1/2 hours at flow rates of 25 and 200 ml/min. At the end of this period, the grafts were removed for morphologic examination. Platelet adhesion to the grafts, especially with the less thrombogenic materials (PTFE and HUV), was found to be independent of flow rate. PTFE was found to be the least platelet-reactive material, HUV was intermediate, and knitted Dacron was the most thrombogenic surface. Platelet deposition on the flow surface was confirmed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy