Employment trends in Indonesia over 1996-2009: Casualization of the labour market during an era of crises, reforms and recovery

The East Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 hit Indonesia hard, resulting in a winding back of the substantial economic and social gains made during the previous two decades. However, that crisis did not result in a large fall in employment and a commensurate rise in unemployment; rather, the economic contraction of over 13 per cent was accompanied by considerable transitions within employment,namely, from formal sector to informal and agricultural employment, particularly among women. The years following were characterized by slow growth and weak formal job creation, which has often been attributed to such factors as rigid labour regulations, especially the enactment of the Manpower Law in 2003. The economic and labour market situation in Indonesia only began to consistently improve over the last five years, notably during the boom years leading up to the global financial crisis. During this period, unemployment fell from its 2005 peak and employment increased. When the global financial crisis spread in late 2008 to emerging economies like Indonesia, it was expected that these countries would be severely affected. However, in contrast to the East Asian financial crisis, Indonesia proved to be rather resilient despite the fact that exports collapsed by almost 18 per cent from 2008 to 2009. This paper presents estimates that confirm the milder labour market impact of the most recent crisis. At the same time, the move towards more flexible and less protected forms of employment, as reflected by the increase in casualization, notably among the less-skilled, appear to be part of longer term trends. In this respect, labour market regulations, notably the Manpower Law of 2003, may have contributed to this trend, but the Law alone is not the main problem for employers in Indonesia. Overall, despite the apparent resilience to the global financial crisis, Indonesia continues to face a number of substantial challenges at both the macroeconomic and labour market level.employment / unemployment / labour force participation / employment status / economic recession / economic recovery / trend / Indonesia

Attenuation of guanine oxidation via DNA-mediated electron transfer in a crowded environment using small cosolutes

Guanine oxidation induced by photoirradiation on a pyrene-modified oligonucleotide was investigated under molecular crowding using small cosolutes such as glycerol. The efficiency of guanine photooxidation was suppressed in accordance with the increase in the concentration of glycerol. The results of photooxidation experiments using fully matched and mismatched DNA showed that guanine decomposition was mainly caused by DNA-mediated electron transfer (ET) in glycerol mixed solutions, as well as in diluted aqueous buffer solutions. Multiple factors can contribute to the suppression of guanine oxidation in crowded environments. However, our experimental results indicated that the attenuation of the DNA-mediated ET process suppressed guanine oxidation. On the other hand, experiments using ethylene glycol showed that guanine decomposition efficiency varies depending on the surrounding solvent. These results suggested that changes in the characteristics of the surrounding medium affect the DNA fluctuation, dominating DNA-mediated ET

Removal of Large Wharton’s Duct Salivary Stones Using a CO2 Laser: A Report of Two Cases

Introduction: Salivary stones inside the Wharton’s duct adjacent to the mylohyoid muscle are often removed by a little incision of the mouth floor under local anesthesia. However, in the case of relatively large salivary stones, a large incision is required, which is commonly accompanied by hemorrhage and the need for surgical hemostasis, resulting in prolonged surgery. Furthermore, troublesome sequelae such as ranula and lingual nerve paralysis can occur after surgical procedures.Methods: Two patients who had relatively large salivary stones (>1 cm diameter) in the Wharton’s duct was underwent incision of the mouth floor soft tissues with a CO2 laser.Results: In both patients, the stone was removed in a few minutes without causing abnormal bleeding, nerve injury, or sublingual gland disorders and was completely healed.Conclusion: We report the usefulness and safety of the CO2 laser in two patients with relatively large salivary stones, who underwent successful surgical removal. DOI: 10.34172/jlms.2021.1

Retro-mode imaging of fibrovascular membrane in proliferative diabetic retinopathy after intravitreal bevacizumab injection

The F10 is a new commercially available scanning laser confocal ophthalmoscope (SLO) that can perform multiple functions. We determined the usefulness of noninvasive evaluation of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) pathologies before and after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (IVB) using the new indirect viewing system of the retro-mode function of the F10 SLO, and compared the images histologically with surgically excised fibrovascular membrane from two cases. In PDR, neovascular vessels in fibrovascular membrane were clearly seen with the retro-mode, even after IVB and without blood flow. The F10 SLO may be useful in evaluating neovascular vessels in fibrovascular membrane in PDR and for determining the precise retinal changes in diabetic retinopathy

Gastroesophageal reflux-associated chronic cough in an adolescent and the diagnostic implications: a case report

A 15-year-old girl was referred with a 2-year history of perennial non-productive cough, which had been preceded by Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and subsequent asthma. Symptoms were only partially responsive to anti-asthma treatment including an inhaled corticosteroid and a leukotriene receptor antagonist. The patient's BMI was 27.8; she had gained over 10 kg in the previous two years. Typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were not evident except for belch. Coughing worsened on eating and rising from bed. Although esophagography failed to disclose reflux esophagitis, esophageal pH monitoring revealed significant acid reflux. Asthma was considered well controlled. Treatment with the proton-pump inhibitor rabeprazole resulted in disappearance of cough. Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (FSSG) score, a questionnaire evaluating the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, was initially high but normalized after treatment. Capsaicin cough sensitivity also diminished with treatment

Attenuated Sensory Deprivation-induced Changes of Parvalbumin Neuron Density in the Barrel Cortex of FcγRllB-deficient Mice

Recent studies have demonstrated the important role of immune molecules in the development of neuronal circuitry and synaptic plasticity. We have detected the presence of FcγRllB protein in parvalbumin- containing inhibitory interneurons (PV neurons). In the present study, we examined the appearance of PV neurons in the barrel cortex and the effect of sensory deprivation in FcγRllB-deficient mice (FcγRllB-/-) and wild-type mice. There was no substantial difference in the appearance of PV neurons in the developing barrel cortex between FcγRllB-/- and wild-type mice. Sensory deprivation from immediately after birth (P0) or P7 to P12-P14 induced an increase in PV neurons. In contrast, sensory deprivation from P7 or P14 to P28, but not from P21 to P28, decreased PV neurons in wild-type mice. However, sensory deprivation from P0 or P7 to P12-P14 did not increase PV neurons and sensory deprivation from P7 or P14 to P28 did not decrease or only modestly decreased PV neurons in FcγRllB-/- mice. The results indicate that expression of PV is regulated by sensory experience and the second and third postnatal weeks are a sensitive period for sensory deprivation, and suggest that FcγRllB contributes to sensory experience-regulated expression of PV

Transcorneal three-port vitrectomy without conjunctival incision.

Background: Although widely accepted, pars plana vitrectomy is difficult to perform when patients have a large filtering bleb. We describe technical details of 25-gauge transcorneal vitrectomy and the clinical outcomes. Methods: We performed 25-gauge transcorneal vitrectomy on seven eyes of seven patients (female: male, 4:3; age, 39 to 77 years; mean, 66.1 years) between January 2005 and February 2007. Phacoemulsification via a corneal incision was followed by continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis (CCC) of the posterior capsule. We used a notched contact lens to perform 25-gauge transcorneal vitrectomy. Results: Four patients with idiopathic ERM and three with secondary ERM were treated by 25-gauge vitrectomy. Postoperative visual acuity was good in most of them and the cell density of the corneal endothelium was maintained. Conclusion: These advantages of this procedure are that the conjunctiva and ocular surface can be completely maintained and vitreous incarceration can be avoided. Thus, 25-gauge vitrectomy might be particularly suitable for treating glaucoma with a filtering bleb. (158 words/200 words

Prevalence and clinical manifestations of gastro-oesophageal reflux-associated chronic cough in the Japanese population

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is one of the most common causes of chronic cough in Western countries, responsible for 10 to 40% of cases. In Japan, however, GOR-associated chronic cough (GOR-CC) has been rarely reported and its clinical manifestation including frequency of concomitant reflux laryngitis is poorly known. We have analyzed prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients who were diagnosed as having GOR-CC among adult patients with chronic cough (≥ 8 weeks) who visited our asthma and cough clinic over a period of 19 months. Diagnosis of GOR-CC was based on the response of coughing to a proton-pump inhibitor (lansoprazole™) and/or positive results of 24 h ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring. Laryngeal involvement was based on symptoms or objective diagnosis by specialists. GOR-associated chronic cough was diagnosed in 7.1% (8 of 112) of chronic cough patients. In addition to the demographic data which were consistent with the characteristics of patients with GOR-CC in the Western populations, including gender (6 females), age (mean ± SE, 56.9 ± 5.8 years), duration of cough (9.9 ± 3.3 months), lack of gastrointestinal symptoms (3 of 8) and complication with other causes of cough (5 of 8), we found the standard range of body mass index (23.9 ± 1.5 kg/m(2)) and high incidence of concomitant reflux laryngitis (5 of 8) in the present 8 patients. Among 4 patients who could stop treatment with temporal resolution of cough, cough recurred in 3 patients, 1 week to 8 months after the discontinuation. In conclusion, GOR-CC is a less frequent cause of chronic cough in Japan than in Western countries. Signs or symptoms of laryngitis may be important as clues to suspicion of GOR-CC