Unions and Job Queuing in Mexico's Maquiladoras

The U.S.-Mexico border region has experienced substantial economic growth over the last two decades; nonetheless, employment and wage growth has been uneven across the border cities with a high maquiladora presence. We hypothesize that these growth differences can be traced to relative labor union power. Using microdata from the 1998 National Urban Employment Survey, we find evidence of job queuing in Mexico’s maquiladoras. Queuing seems to be stronger in cities with powerful labor unions such as Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo, but it is weaker in cities where union strength is minimal such as Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana.Union

Wealth Effects Of Bank Mergers And Acquisitions In Asian Emerging Markets

Through analysis of stock responses to two different types of banking M&A deals, specifying M&A and diversifying M&A, we find that specifying M&A deals incur positive cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) in both two-day and three-day windows without controlling for firm size. Diversifying M&A deals incur positive CAR in two different event windows. However, the differences between the two windows are not statistically significant. Contrary to previous studies on M&A in the banking industry of developed markets, the results of our study indicate that markets do not distinguish among various types of M&A deals in the banking industry around the date of announcement. Diversifying M&A generate positive three-day CARs but they are not significantly better than specifying M&A

Trabajadores mayores con discapacidad: Diferencias de satisfacción laboral en el sector público y el sector privado en Europa

Análisis de las diferencias en satisfacción laboral de las personas mayores con y sin discapacidad europeas (entre 50 y 64 años) que se encuentran empleadas en el sector público o privado. Usando los datos suministrados por la Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) para los años 2004 y 2007, se estiman ecuaciones de satisfacción laboral con técnicas de panel para los trabajadores del sector público y sector privado, las cuales incluyen variables relacionadas con el grado de discapacidad del trabajador (es decir, no discapacitado, discapacitado no limitado y discapacitado limitado). Los resultados muestran que aunque los trabajadores discapacitados limitados en sus actividades diarias están menos satisfechos que los no discapacitados y no limitados en ambos sectores, éstos poseen unos mayores niveles de satisfacción laboral cuando trabajan en el sector público que cuando lo hacen en el sector privado. Desde un punto de vista de políticas públicas es necesario diseñar y acometer medidas y acciones que contribuyan a mejorar los niveles de satisfacción laboral de los trabajadores mayores con discapacidad, en especial entre aquellos que están limitados en sus actividades diarias.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Knowledge, attitude, belief and behavior of the Bagmati River users in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

To add to the existing state of knowledge, the present paper will list out the existence of other unidentified factors that may have a bearing on health outcomes. The relatively new branch of KABB (knowledge, attitude, belief and behavioral) studies tries to locate any differences, if they exist, in the awareness of the population about better health and behavioral practices. This paper seeks to understand the potential role being played by cultural and religious practices in explaining the inconsistency in individual’s knowledge and behavior

Placental fatty acid transfer: a key factor in fetal growth

The functionality of the placenta may affect neonatal adiposity and fetal levels of key nutrients such as long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fetal macrosomia and its complications may occur even in adequately controlled gestational diabetic (GDM) mothers, suggesting that maternal glycemia is not the only determinant of fetal glycemic status and wellbeing. We studied in vivo the placental transfer of fatty acids (FA) labeled with stable isotopes administered to 11 control and 9 GDM pregnant women (6 treated with insulin). Subjects received orally &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-palmitic, &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-oleic, and &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-linoleic acids and &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-docosahexaenoic acid (&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA) 12 h before an elective caesarean section. FA were quantified by gas chromatography and &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C enrichments by gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-FA concentration was higher in total lipids of maternal plasma in GDM patients versus controls, except for &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA. Moreover, &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA showed a lower placenta/maternal plasma ratio in GDM patients versus controls and a significantly lower cord/maternal plasma ratio. Other FA ratios studied were not different between GDM and controls. A disturbed &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA placental uptake occurred in GDM patients treated with diet or insulin, while the latter also had lower &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA levels in the venous cord. The tracer study pointed towards an impaired placental DHA uptake as a critical step, while the transfer of other &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-FA was less affected. Patients with GDM treated with insulin could also have a greater fetal fat storage, which may have contributed to the reduced &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C-DHA in the venous cord observed. The DHA transfer to the fetus was reduced in GDM pregnancies compared to controls. This might have an influence on fetal neurodevelopment and long-term consequences for the child.</jats:p

Divergences in Macrophage Activation Markers Soluble CD163 and Mannose Receptor in Patients With Non-cirrhotic and Cirrhotic Portal Hypertension

IntroductionMacrophages are involved in development and progression of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension. The macrophage activation markers soluble (s)CD163 and soluble mannose receptor (sMR), are associated with portal hypertension in patient with liver cirrhosis but never investigated in patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. We hypothesized higher levels in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension than patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. We investigated sCD163 and sMR levels in patients with portal hypertension due to idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with and without cirrhosis.MethodsWe studied plasma sCD163 and sMR levels in patients with IPH (n = 26), non-cirrhotic PVT (n = 20), patients with cirrhosis without PVT (n = 31) and with PVT (n = 17), and healthy controls (n = 15).ResultsMedian sCD163 concentration was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.24–1.83) mg/L in healthy controls, 1.96 (95% CI: 1.49–2.56) in patients with non-cirrhotic PVT and 2.16 (95% CI: 1.75–2.66) in patients with IPH. There was no difference between non-cirrhotic PVT patients and healthy controls, whereas IPH patients had significantly higher levels than controls (P &lt; 0.05). The median sCD163 was significantly higher in the cirrhotic groups compared to the other groups, with a median sCD163 of 6.31 (95% CI: 5.16–7.73) in cirrhotics without PVT and 5.19 (95% CI: 4.18–6.46) with PVT (P &lt; 0.01, all). Similar differences were observed for sMR.ConclusionSoluble CD163 and sMR levels are elevated in patients with IPH and patients with cirrhosis, but normal in patients with non-cirrhotic PVT. This suggests that hepatic macrophage activation is more driven by the underlying liver disease with cirrhosis than portal hypertension

Anticoagulant therapy for splanchnic vein thrombosis : an individual patient data meta-analysis

Robust evidence on the optimal management of splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is lacking. We conducted an individual-patient meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of anticoagulation for SVT. Medline, Embase, and clincaltrials.gov were searched up to June 2021 for prospective cohorts or randomized clinical trials including patients with SVT. Data from individual datasets were merged, and any discrepancy with published data was resolved by contacting study authors. Three studies of a total of 1635 patients were included. Eighty-five percent of patients received anticoagulation for a median duration of 316 days (range, 1-730 days). Overall, incidence rates for recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), major bleeding, and mortality were 5.3 per 100 patient-years (p-y; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.1-5.5), 4.4 per 100 p-y (95% CI, 4.2-4.6), and 13.0 per 100 p-y (95% CI, 12.4-13.6), respectively. The incidence rates of all outcomes were lower during anticoagulation and higher after treatment discontinuation or when anticoagulation was not administered. In multivariable analysis, anticoagulant treatment appeared to be associated with a lower risk of recurrent VTE (hazard ratio [HR], 0.42; 95% CI, 0.27-0.64), major bleeding (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.74), and mortality (HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.17-0.31). Results were consistent in patients with cirrhosis, solid cancers, myeloproliferative neoplasms, unprovoked SVT, and SVT associated with transient or persistent nonmalignant risk factors. In patients with SVT, the risk of recurrent VTE and major bleeding is substantial. Anticoagulant treatment is associated with reduced risk of both outcomes.peer-reviewe