Solidaires, unitaires et démocratiques: social movement unionism and beyond?

A contribution to a Special Issue on trade union renewal that focuses on this topic in relation to the radical French trade union Solidaires, Unitaires et Démocratiques (SUD)

The implications of an invasive species on the reliability of macroinverterbrate biomonitoring tools used in freshwater ecological assessments.

Invasive species represent one of greatest threats to aquatic biodiversity globally and are widely acknowledged to be instrumental in modifying native community structure. Despite this, little is known about how the increasing range expansion of invasive taxa may affect routine biomonitoring tools widely employed to measure or quantify environmental quality in lotic systems. This study examined the impact of an invasive freshwater crayfish on commonly employed riverine macroinvertebrate biomonitoring tools (scores and indices) designed to respond to a range of stressors. Data from long term monitoring sites on both ‘control’ and invaded rivers in England were examined to assess changes to biomonitoring scores following invasion by signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). Results indicate that routine biomonitoring tools used to quantify potential ecological stressors which are weighted by abundance, such as the Lotic-invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE) score and Proportion of Sediment-sensitive Invertebrates (PSI), were subject to significant inflation following invasion. In contrast, indices based simply on the presence of taxa, such as the Average Score Per-Taxon (ASPT - a derivative of BMWP), displayed no changes compared to control rivers; or in the case of the Biological Monitoring Working Party Score (BMWP), NTAXA and EPT richness, no consistent pattern following invasion. Season had a significant effect on the interaction of crayfish and LIFE and PSI scores. Autumn samples were subject to statistical inflation following crayfish invasion whilst Spring samples exhibited no significant change. The results suggest that care should be taken when interpreting routine macroinvertebrate biomonitoring data where non-native crayfish are present, or in instances where their presence is suspected

A note on the use of sensitivity analysis to explore the potential impact of declining institutional care utilisation on disability prevalence

Many health and disability surveys are conducted using the non-institutionalised population as a sampling frame. Consequently, it is possible that changes in the utilisation of institutional care could account for all or part of any change in the observed prevalence of functional limitation, disability or other health state, based on samples from the non-institutionalised population. Using conditional probability arguments, I present an adjustment formula for computing health state prevalences for the non-institutionalised population under a scenario in which health state prevalences are held constant except for movement into the non-institutionalised population of individuals who would formerly have been in institutional care. By comparing the adjusted prevalence with observed non-institutionalised health state prevalences the contribution of changes in institutionalisation to observed changes in the non-institutionalised health state prevalence can be assessed

The effect of polar lipids on tear film dynamics

In this paper we present a mathematical model describing the effect of polar lipids on the evolution of a precorneal tear film, with the aim of explaining the interesting experimentally observed phenomenon that the tear film continues to move upwards even after the upper eyelid has become stationary. The polar lipid is an insoluble surface species that locally alters the surface tension of the tear film. In the lubrication limit, the model reduces to two coupled nonlinear partial differential equations for the film thickness and the concentration of lipid. We solve the system numerically and observe that the presence of the lipid causes an increase in flow of liquid up the eye. We further exploit the size of the parameters in the problem to explain the initial evolution of the system

Does self-monitoring reduce blood pressure? Meta-analysis with meta-regression of randomized controlled trials

Introduction. Self-monitoring of blood pressure (BP) is an increasingly common part of hypertension management. The objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the systolic and diastolic BP reduction, and achievement of target BP, associated with self-monitoring. Methods. MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, database of abstracts of clinical effectiveness, the health technology assessment database, the NHS economic evaluation database, and the TRIP database were searched for studies where the intervention included self-monitoring of BP and the outcome was change in office/ambulatory BP or proportion with controlled BP. Two reviewers independently extracted data. Meta-analysis using a random effects model was combined with meta-regression to investigate heterogeneity in effect sizes. Results. A total of 25 eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (27 comparisons) were identified. Office systolic BP (20 RCTs, 21 comparisons, 5,898 patients) and diastolic BP (23 RCTs, 25 comparisons, 6,038 patients) were significantly reduced in those who self-monitored compared to usual care (weighted mean difference (WMD) systolic −3.82 mmHg (95% confidence interval −5.61 to −2.03), diastolic −1.45 mmHg (−1.95 to −0.94)). Self-monitoring increased the chance of meeting office BP targets (12 RCTs, 13 comparisons, 2,260 patients, relative risk = 1.09 (1.02 to 1.16)). There was significant heterogeneity between studies for all three comparisons, which could be partially accounted for by the use of additional co-interventions. Conclusion. Self-monitoring reduces blood pressure by a small but significant amount. Meta-regression could only account for part of the observed heterogeneity

Using the Concept of Health Literacy to Understand How People Living with Motor Neurone Disease and Carers Engage in Healthcare: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

The growing body of information-seeking and decision-making literature in motor neurone disease (MND) has not yet explored the impact of health literacy. Health literacy relates to the skills people have to access, understand, and use health information and is influenced by motivation to engage with healthcare. We aimed to better understand how people affected by MND engage in healthcare by examining longitudinal interview data using the construct of health literacy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 persons living with MND and 15 carers recruited from a specialist MND clinic using maximum variation sampling. Transcripts were deductively coded using a framework of health literacy behaviours. The analysis used a matrix-based approach for thematic analysis of longitudinal data. People living with MND and carers sought nuanced information dependent on their priorities and attitudes. Information uptake was influenced by perceived relevancy and changed over time. Time allowed opportunity to reflect on and understand the significance of information provided. The findings indicate that persons living with MND and carers benefit when information and consultations are adapted to meet their communication needs. The results highlight the potential benefits of gaining an early understanding of and accommodating the communication needs, personal preferences, and emotional readiness for information for persons living with MND and their carers

The Grizzly, April 30, 1982

Speakers Announced for Graduation • New Tuition Plan Announced • Letters to the Editor • Aims for 1982-86 Present Concern for Administration • Japanese Exchange Students Visit in August • President\u27s Corner • Women\u27s Club Continues to Support Campus • An Ursinus Friday Night • Students Direct One Act Plays • USGA Notes • Sports Profile: Jeff Grassie • Lacrosse Skids • UC Track and Field Heads to MAC • Tough Luck Bears Lose 4-1 • Women\u27s Tennis Eliminated From MAC • Penn State Dumps Women\u27s Lacrossehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1080/thumbnail.jp

MYOD-1 in normal colonic mucosa : role as a putative biomarker?

Background DNA methylation of promoter-associated CpG islands of certain genes may play a role in the development of colorectal cancer. The MYOD-1 gene which is a muscle differentiation gene has been showed to be significantly methylated in colorectal cancer which, is an age related event. However the role of this gene in the colonic mucosa is not understood and whether methylation occurs in subjects without colon cancer. In this study, we have determined the frequency of methylation of the MYOD-1 gene in normal colonic mucosa and investigated to see if this is associated with established colorectal cancer risk factors primarily ageing. Results We analysed colonic mucosal biopsies in 218 normal individuals and demonstrated that in most individuals promoter hypermethylation was not quantified for MYOD-1. However, promoter hypermethylation increased significantly with age (p < 0.001 using regression analysis) and this was gender independent. We also showed that gene promoter methylation increased positively with an increase in waist to hip (WHR) ratio – the latter is also a known risk factor for colon cancer development. Conclusions Our study suggests that promoter gene hypermethylation of the MYOD-1 gene increases significantly with age in normal individuals and thus may offer potential as a putative biomarker for colorectal cancer

Transcriptomics and proteomics show that selenium affects inflammation, ctoskeleton, and cancer pathways in human rectal biopsies

Epidemiologic studies highlight the potential role of dietary selenium (Se) in colorectal cancer prevention. Our goal was to elucidate whether expression of factors crucial for colorectal homoeostasis is affected by physiologic differences in Se status. Using transcriptomics and proteomics followed by pathway analysis, we identified pathways affected by Se status in rectal biopsies from 22 healthy adults, including 11 controls with optimal status (mean plasma Se = 1.43 μM) and 11 subjects with suboptimal status (mean plasma Se = 0.86 μM). We observed that 254 genes and 26 proteins implicated in cancer (80%), immune function and inflammatory response (40%), cell growth and proliferation (70%), cellular movement, and cell death (50%) were differentially expressed between the 2 groups. Expression of 69 genes, including selenoproteins W1 and K, which are genes involved in cytoskeleton remodelling and transcription factor NFκB signaling, correlated significantly with Se status. Integrating proteomics and transcriptomics datasets revealed reduced inflammatory and immune responses and cytoskeleton remodelling in the suboptimal Se status group. This is the first study combining omics technologies to describe the impact of differences in Se status on colorectal expression patterns, revealing that suboptimal Se status could alter inflammatory signaling and cytoskeleton in human rectal mucosa and so influence cancer risk

The long-term effects of invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) on instream macroinvertebrate communities

Non-native species represent a significant threat to indigenous biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. It is widely acknowledged that invasive crayfish species may be instrumental in modifying benthic invertebrate community structure, but there is limited knowledge regarding the temporal and spatial extent of these effects within lotic ecosystems. This study investigates the long term changes to benthic macroinvertebrate community composition following the invasion of signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, into English rivers. Data from long-term monitoring sites on 7 rivers invaded by crayfish and 7 rivers where signal crayfish were absent throughout the record (control sites) were used to examine how invertebrate community composition and populations of individual taxa changed as a result of invasion. Following the detection of non-native crayfish, significant shifts in invertebrate community composition were observed at invaded sites compared to control sites. This pattern was strongest during autumn months but was also evident during spring surveys. The observed shifts in community composition following invasion were associated with reductions in the occurrence of ubiquitous Hirudinea species (Glossiphonia complanata and Erpobdella octoculata), Gastropoda (Radix spp.), Ephemeroptera (Caenis spp.), and Trichoptera (Hydropsyche spp.); although variations in specific taxa affected were evident between regions and seasons. Changes in community structure were persistent over time with no evidence of recovery, suggesting that crayfish invasions represent significant perturbations leading to permanent changes in benthic communities. The results provide fundamental knowledge regarding non-native crayfish invasions of lotic ecosystems required for the development of future management strategies