An assessment of China's approach to Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining against international labour standards: should African countries be concerned?

In recent years, the People's Republic of China has been expanding its presence in Africa and developing enterprises across the African continent. China is now one of the largest investors and trading partner in Africa. The impact of this investment on labour standards, and the expectation of Chinese investors in this regard, is likely to be a concern for host countries. The purpose of this study is to consider whether China's approach to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining is compatible with international labour standards, which have been ratified by most African countries. This is achieved by comparing the relevant laws in China, that regulate freedom of association and collective bargaining, against the international standards set by the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Conventions and Recommendations. In particular, the provisions of the Freedom of Association Convention (No. 87) and the Collective Bargaining Convention (No .98), among others, together with the findings of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association, are used to determine an international standards ‘comparator'. The Chinese Labour Law, Trade Union Law and Labour Contract Law are subsequently evaluated against this comparator in order to determine the extent of compliance of the Chinese labour system with international labour standards. The outcome of the comparison shows a broad degree of compliance with international standards relating to the formal recognition in law of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as the identification of vulnerable classes of workers such as women, migrant workers and rural workers. However, two major discrepancies in the Chinese legal system were found: first, in relation to trade unions - the existence of one centralised representative organisation known as the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), with overarching authority, infringes the establishment, autonomy, independence and functioning of smaller grass-roots trade unions. Second, the right to strike was found to be suppressed in China. Ultimately, the Chinese formulation of the right to freedom of association and the exercise thereof is inherently different to the international standards. The right is conceptualised and practiced within the Chinese socialist market economy under the guidance of the Communist Party which is the supreme power in the democratic dictatorship. Therefore, the Chinese experience and understanding of the right to freedom of association and the right to strike may be fundamentally different to African states in terms of its content, ideological underpinning, exercise and enforcement. These findings demonstrate a need for African countries that host Chinese investment to proactively guard against the labour rights violations that may occur due to the differing domestic legal frameworks

Revisiting Theories with Enhanced Higgs Couplings to Weak Gauge Bosons

Based on recent LHC Higgs analyses and in anticipation of future results we revisit theories where Higgs bosons can couple to weak gauge bosons with enhanced strength relative to the Standard Model value. Specifically, we look at the Georgi-Machacek model and its generalizations where higher "spin" representations of SU(2)_L break electroweak symmetry while maintaining custodial SU(2). In these theories, there is not only a Higgs-like boson but partner Higgs scalars transforming under representations of custodial SU(2), leading to a rich phenomenology. These theories serve as a consistent theoretical and experimental framework to explain enhanced couplings to gauge bosons, including fermiophobic Higgses. We focus on the phenomenology of a neutral scalar partner to the Higgs, which is determined once the Higgs couplings are specified. Depending on the parameter space, this partner could have i) enhanced fermion and gauge boson couplings and should be searched for at high mass (> 600 GeV), ii) have suppressed couplings and could be searched for at lower masses, where the Standard Model Higgs has already been ruled out, and iii) have fermiophilic couplings, where it can be searched for in heavy Higgs and top resonance searches. In the first two regions, the partner also has substantial decay rates into a pair of Higgs bosons. We touch briefly on the more model-dependent effects of the nontrivial SU(2)_C multiplets, which have exotic signals, such as a doubly-charged Higgs. We also discuss how the loop induced effects of these scalars tend to reduce the Higgs decay rate to photons, adding an additional uncertainty when extracting the couplings for the Higgs boson.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, revtex4; v2, references adde

A Comparison of Physical Activity Between Home-Based and Centre-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation:A Randomised Controlled Secondary Analysis

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a highly effective intervention for individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Physical activity (PA) has been shown to increase after a centre-based programme, yet it is not clear if a home-based programme can offer the same benefit. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of home-based PR compared with the centre-based PR on the PA levels post 7 weeks of PR and 6 months follow-up.Method: In this study, 51 participants with COPD, of them, 36 (71%) men completed physical activity monitoring with a SenseWear Armband, at three time points (baseline, 7 weeks, and 6 months). The participants were randomly assigned to either centre-based supervised PR (n = 25; 69 ± 6 years; FEV1 55 ± 20% predicted) or home-based PR (n = 26; 68 ± 7 years; FEV1 42 ± 19% predicted) programmes lasting 7 weeks. The home-based programme includes one hospital visit, a self-management manual, and two telephone calls. The PA was measured as step count, time in moderate PA (3–6 metabolic equivalent of tasks [METs]) in bouts of more than 10 min and sedentary time (<2 METs).Results: Home-based PR increased step count significantly more than the centre-based PR after 7 weeks (mean difference 1,463 steps: 95% CI 280–2,645, p = 0.02). There was no difference in time spent in moderate PA was observed (mean difference 62 min: 95% CI −56 to 248, p = 0.24). Sedentary behaviour was also significantly different between the centre and home-based groups. The home group spent 52 min less time sedentary compared with the centre-based (CI −106 to 2, p = 0.039). However, after 6 months, the step count and time spent in moderate PA returned to baseline in both the groups.Conclusion: This study provides an important insight into the role of home-based PR which has the potential to be offered as an alternative to the centre-based PR. Understanding who may best respond from the centre or home-based PR warrants further exploration and how to maintain these initial benefits for the long-term.Trial Registry: ISRCTN: No.: ISRCTN81189044; URL: isrctn.com

Differential effects of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 on atherosclerosis and monocyte/macrophage invasion

AIMS: MMPs contribute to atherosclerotic plaque progression and instability, but the relative potency of their endogenous tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) as protective factors has not been defined. We therefore investigated the impact of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 knockout on atherosclerotic plaque burden and composition in apolipoprotein E-knockout (Apoe(−/−)) mice and studied the underlying effects on monocyte/macrophage behaviour. METHODS AND RESULTS: Analysis of brachiocephalic artery plaques revealed comparable atherosclerotic lesion areas between TIMP-1(−/−) Apoe(−/−) or TIMP-2(−/−) Apoe(−/−) double deficient mice and relevant age-matched, strain-matched Apoe(−/−) controls after 8 weeks of high-fat feeding. However, lesions from TIMP-2(−/−) Apoe(−/−) mice had higher levels of markers associated with plaque vulnerability, including increased macrophage: vascular smooth muscle cell ratios, larger necrotic core areas, reduced collagen contents, increased macrophage proliferation, and apoptosis frequencies, compared with TIMP-1(−/−)Apoe(−/−) and controls. In contrast, TIMP-1(−/−) Apoe(−/−) animals only had a significant reduction in vascular smooth muscle cell content compared with Apoe(−/−) controls. In vitro and in vivo findings implicated heightened monocyte/macrophage invasion in the detrimental effects observed on atherosclerotic plaque composition in TIMP-2(−/−) Apoe(−/−) mice. Moreover, TIMP-2 specifically decreased MMP-14-dependent monocyte/macrophage infiltration into sites of experimentally induced inflammation and established atherosclerotic lesions. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that TIMP-2 plays a greater protective role than TIMP-1 during the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, in part by suppressing MMP-14-dependent monocyte/macrophage accumulation into plaques

Acute systemic inflammation enhances tissue plasminogen activator release in man

Digitalitzat per Artypla

Structure-Free Validation of Residual Dipolar Coupling and Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement Measurements of Disordered Proteins.

Residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) have emerged as valuable parameters for defining the structures and dynamics of disordered proteins by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Procedures for their measurement, however, may lead to conformational perturbations because of the presence of the alignment media necessary for recording RDCs, or of the paramagnetic groups that must be introduced for measuring PREs. We discuss here experimental methods for quantifying these effects by considering the case of the 40-residue isoform of the amyloid β peptide (Aβ40), which is associated with Alzheimer's disease. By conducting RDC measurements over a range of concentrations of certain alignment media, we show that perturbations arising from transient binding of Aβ40 can be characterized, allowing appropriate corrections to be made. In addition, by using NMR experiments sensitive to long-range interactions, we show that it is possible to identify relatively nonperturbing sites for attaching nitroxide radicals for PRE measurements. Thus, minimizing the conformational perturbations introduced by RDC and PRE measurements should facilitate their use for the rigorous determination of the conformational properties of disordered proteins.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ACS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.5b0067

Measuring recovery in Arabic countries: Translation of the self-efficacy for personal recovery scale

Self-efficacy-positive beliefs about one's own competencies and mastery-is associated with better recovery outcomes for people using mental health services. Aim: To translate the Self-Efficacy for Personal Recovery Scale (SEPRS) into Arabic and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version. Methods: An established translation methodology was employed, involving back-translation, comparison, forward-translation, comparison, and piloting. The pre-final version of the Arabic translated scale was tested for clarity with young people with a primary diagnosis of mental health problem. The final Arabic version and standardised measures of hope and loneliness were administered to 119 young people in two rounds. Results: Internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87 in round 1, 0.91 in round 2). Consistent with the English version, a one-factor solution best fitted the data. The correlation between SEPRS and hope was R=0.60 (round 1) and R=0.61 (round 2), indicating convergent validity. The correlation between SEPRS and loneliness was R=-0.52 (round 1) and R=-0.60 (round 2). Correlation between test and retest was R=-0.998 indicated adequate test-retest reliability. Minimal floor and ceiling effects were detected. Conclusion: The use of the Arabic SEPRS with Arabic-speaking samples is supported. Further research to investigate divergent validity is warranted

The Significance of the Location of Mutations for the Native-State Dynamics of Human Lysozyme

peer reviewe