Managerial competencies of female and male managers in the Swedish construction industry

The construction industry is one of the most male dominated industries around the world, not only when it comes to workers, but also as regards managers. Only 5% of the managers in the Swedish construction industry are women. The managerial competencies of individuals working as managers in the Swedish construction industry are researched to get a clearer understanding of the situation, and to investigate if this lack of balance between male and female managers has to do with differences in managerial competence. The management development questionnaire provided by Human Resource Development Press was sent to 143 managers in the Swedish construction industry and 112 respondents (44 women and 68 men) assessed themselves in 20 competencies, resulting in a response rate of 78%. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that female and male managers possess equal managerial competencies in 17 of the 20 competencies. Male managers rated themselves as having better managerial competency than females in two of the 20 competencies, namely ‘resilience’ and ‘decision making’. Female managers rated themselves as having better managerial competency than males in ‘sensitivity’, which follows the social norm of what is expected of a woman. It was also found that both groups scored high in decision making, reflecting traditional virtues of construction managers as decisive and active. The most important result is not the differences but the many similarities between women and men working as managers in the construction industry. Thus, it is concluded that female managers are as competent as male managers in the Swedish construction industry

Destructive effects of murine arthritogenic antibodies to type II collagen on cartilage explants in vitro

Certain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to type II collagen (CII) induce arthritis in vivo after passive transfer and have adverse effects on chondrocyte cultures and inhibit self assembly of collagen fibrils in vitro. We have examined whether such mAbs have detrimental effects on pre-existing cartilage. Bovine cartilage explants were cultured over 21 days in the presence of two arthritogenic mAbs to CII (CIIC1 or M2139), a non-arthritogenic mAb to CII (CIIF4) or a control mAb (GAD6). Penetration of cartilage by mAb was determined by immunofluorescence on frozen sections and correlated with changes to the extracellular matrix and chondrocytes by morphometric analysis of sections stained with toluidine blue. The effects of mAbs on matrix components were examined by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM). A possible role of Fc-binding was investigated using F(ab)(2 )from CIIC1. All three mAbs to CII penetrated the cartilage explants and CIIC1 and M2139, but not CIIF4, had adverse effects that included proteoglycan loss correlating with mAb penetration, the later development in cultures of an abnormal superficial cellular layer, and an increased proportion of empty chondrons. FTIRM showed depletion and denaturation of CII at the explant surface in the presence of CIIC1 or M2139, which paralleled proteoglycan loss. The effects of F(ab)(2 )were greater than those of intact CIIC1. Our results indicate that mAbs to CII can adversely affect preformed cartilage, and that the specific epitope on CII recognised by the mAb determines both arthritogenicity in vivo and adverse effects in vitro. We conclude that antibodies to CII can have pathogenic effects that are independent of inflammatory mediators or Fc-binding

Role of endogenous and exogenous female sex hormones in arthritis and osteoporosis development in B10.Q-ncf1*/* mice with collagen-induced chronic arthritis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is an often-used murine model for human rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Earlier studies have shown potent anti-arthritic effects with the female sex hormone estradiol and the selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) raloxifene in CIA in DBA/1-mice. B10.Q-ncf1^*/*mice are B10.Q mice with a mutated Ncf1 gene. In B10.Q-ncf1^*/*mice, CIA develops as a chronic relapsing disease, which more accurately mimics human RA. We investigated the role of endogenous and exogenous sex steroids and raloxifene in the course of this model of chronic arthritis. We also examined whether treatment would prevent the development of inflammation-triggered generalized osteoporosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Female B10.Q-ncf1^*/*mice were sham-operated or ovariectomized, and CIA was induced. 22 days later, when 30% of the mice had developed arthritis, treatment with raloxifene, estradiol or vehicle was started, and the clinical disease was evaluated continuously. Treatment was continued until day 56 after immunization. At termination of the experiment (day 73), bone mineral density (BMD) was analyzed, paws were collected for histological examination, and sera were analyzed for markers of cartilage turnover and pro-inflammatory cytokines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Raloxifene and estradiol treatment, as well as endogenous estrogen, decreased the frequency of arthritis, prevented joint destruction and countered generalized osteoporosis. These effects were associated with lower serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study to show that raloxifene and estradiol can ameliorate established erosive arthritis and inflammation-triggered osteoporosis in this chronic arthritis model. We propose that treatment with raloxifene could be a beneficial addition to the treatment of postmenopausal RA.</p

An open effectivenesstudy of guided self-help in primary care

I denna studie utvärderades effekterna av en individanpassad vägledd självhjälpsbehandling för primärvårdspatienter meddepressiva symtom, och i förekommande fall annan psykisk ohälsa såsom ångestproblematik. Uppsatsen avsåg även att iexplorativt syfte undersöka hur behandlare och patienter upplevt behandlingsmetoden. Uppsatsen var en del i ett större projektsom beräknades pågå fram till 2012. Urvalsgruppen i denna studie var de 39 patienter som erbjöds behandlingsstart senast 11februari 2011. Behandlingseffekterna beräknades dels utifrån de 24 patienter som vid tiden för datainsamling genomfört minst trebehandlingskapitel, och dels de 13 patienter som avslutat behandlingen och fyllt i eftermätningar. Patienternas omdömen ombehandlingen inhämtades med hjälp av en utvärderingsenkät och behandlarna ombads att bidra med sina erfarenheter ochförbättringsförslag via ett frågeformulär.Resultaten visar att behandlingen har måttlig till stor effekt på depressionssymtom och måttlig effekt på ångestsymtom för deprimärvårdspatienter som genomgår den. Av de 14 patienter som fyllde i utvärderingen var majoriteten huvudsakligen nöjda ellermycket nöjda med sin behandling. Av behandlarnas svar framgick enhälligt att de önskar att internetbehandling ska finnas kvarinom Norrköpings primärvård som ett komplement till annan psykologisk behandling. Det avsevärda bortfallet av deltagare istudien pekar på att behandlingsformatet inte passar alla primärvårdspatienter. Angelägna frågor för framtida forskning är attutröna vilken subgrupp av primärvårdspatienter som är bäst betjänta av behandling via internet, samt att göra effectivenesstudiermed en jämförelsegrupp som får treatment as usual

An open effectivenesstudy of guided self-help in primary care

I denna studie utvärderades effekterna av en individanpassad vägledd självhjälpsbehandling för primärvårdspatienter meddepressiva symtom, och i förekommande fall annan psykisk ohälsa såsom ångestproblematik. Uppsatsen avsåg även att iexplorativt syfte undersöka hur behandlare och patienter upplevt behandlingsmetoden. Uppsatsen var en del i ett större projektsom beräknades pågå fram till 2012. Urvalsgruppen i denna studie var de 39 patienter som erbjöds behandlingsstart senast 11februari 2011. Behandlingseffekterna beräknades dels utifrån de 24 patienter som vid tiden för datainsamling genomfört minst trebehandlingskapitel, och dels de 13 patienter som avslutat behandlingen och fyllt i eftermätningar. Patienternas omdömen ombehandlingen inhämtades med hjälp av en utvärderingsenkät och behandlarna ombads att bidra med sina erfarenheter ochförbättringsförslag via ett frågeformulär.Resultaten visar att behandlingen har måttlig till stor effekt på depressionssymtom och måttlig effekt på ångestsymtom för deprimärvårdspatienter som genomgår den. Av de 14 patienter som fyllde i utvärderingen var majoriteten huvudsakligen nöjda ellermycket nöjda med sin behandling. Av behandlarnas svar framgick enhälligt att de önskar att internetbehandling ska finnas kvarinom Norrköpings primärvård som ett komplement till annan psykologisk behandling. Det avsevärda bortfallet av deltagare istudien pekar på att behandlingsformatet inte passar alla primärvårdspatienter. Angelägna frågor för framtida forskning är attutröna vilken subgrupp av primärvårdspatienter som är bäst betjänta av behandling via internet, samt att göra effectivenesstudiermed en jämförelsegrupp som får treatment as usual

Reactive Oxygen Species Produced by the NADPH Oxidase 2 Complex in Monocytes Protect Mice from Bacterial Infections

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inherited disorder characterized by recurrent life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections. CGD results from defective production of reactive oxygen species by phagocytes caused by mutations in genes encoding the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) complex subunits. Mice with a spontaneous mutation in Ncf1, which encodes the NCF1 (p47(Phox)) subunit of NOX2, have defective phagocyte NOX2 activity. These mice occasionally develop local spontaneous infections by Staphylococcus xylosus or by the common CGD pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Ncf1 mutant mice were more susceptible to systemic challenge with these bacteria than were wild-type mice. Transgenic Ncf1 mutant mice harboring the wild-type Ncf1 gene under the human CD68 promoter (MN+ mice) gained the expression of NCF1 and functional NOX2 activity specifically in monocytes/macrophages, although minimal NOX2 activity was also detected in some CD11b(+)Ly6G(+) cells defined as neutrophils. MN+ mice did not develop spontaneous infection and were more resistant to administered staphylococcal infections compared with MN- mice. Most strikingly, MN+ mice survived after being administered Burkholderia cepacia, an opportunistic pathogen in CGD patients, whereas MN- mice died. Thus, monocyte/macrophage expression of functional NCF1 protected against spontaneous and administered bacterial infections. The Journal of Immunology, 2012, 188: 5003-5011