Le comité paritaire : anachronisme ou formule d’avenir

Cet article examine le concept paritaire et son application historique dans les relations du travail, ainsi que ses nouvelles applications, particulièrement dans le domaine de la santé et de la sécurité ainsi que celui de la formation des travailleurs.The parity committee, one of the oldest and most neglected institutions in the Québec industrial relations context, is being rediscovered, both for its traditional value and for its ability to meet our new needs. Recent legislation with regard to worker health and safety, and recent proposals by a Government Task Force on adult education both rely heavily on the parity framework. Similarly, new directions being planned for the Collective Agreement Decrees Act give hope for the future of this concept. Given this increase in awareness and interest, the purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of parity and its historical applications in the field of labour relations as well as its new applications in this particular area, and that of worker health and safety, and vocational training. Based on this examination, we will briefly present some observations concerning the successful uses and applications of parity.The parity committee is fundamentally a System of industrial government in which equal numbers of employer and employee representatives discuss issues of mutual concern and exercise joint decision-making powers within a cooperative, not conflictual, framework. The parity committee system operates as a complement to existing institutional arrangements, namely the collective bargaining process, and can be applied at a variety of levels: national, industrial, regional and local; and to a variety of subjects, or any single one.On an organizational level, the parity committee has three important components: a democratic function, an accountability function, and a permanent staff function. On an operational level, certain institutional and individual behaviour pat-terns influence the functioning and quality of the parity committee.In order to function properly a parity committee must respect certain guidelines. Basically, the parties must first recognize and accept each other as partners. Both have to accept the parity formula as an answer to their concerns. They must have institutional and factual equality. The subjects they discuss must be of mutual interest, and essentially non-conflictual in nature. The partners have to be held accountable. They should ensure continuity in their work through some form of permanent staffing.The concept of parity should be introduced gradually, and should not be used as a restrictive or discriminatory regulatory tool. Within a given industrial sector, a multiplicity of committees is to be avoided, though the basic approach should be a decentralized one. Finally, it is essential to remove all possibility of sanctions, in order to oblige the partners to cooperate, rather than engage in warfare.This approach, in turn, will bear positive results. The partners will develop a sense of belonging to a larger entity, and thus satisfy collective as well as egotistical needs. Industry will have given itself a means of attaining greater industrial peace as well as better quality of working life. This will also have a favourable impact on the conventional labour relations scène in Québec, both directly and indirectly, by ad-dressing itself to the problem of unorganized workers. Psychologically, this approach should also increase the self-actualization needs of workers and employers by allowing them to get away from the taxing practice of institutionalized confrontation.This paper basically contends that, as an institution, the parity committee is in-deed suited to play a role in today's context. At its inception in the 1930's, the parity committee was a feasible answer to unfavourable conditions, and the prevalent social doctrine of the Catholic Church with regard to labour relations. With massive industrialization, and all of its inherent advantages and disadvantages, Québec Society needed new institutions, more in line with those of the North American context it was at last participating in. This brought about the general marginalization of the parity committee, though it still survived in a handful of sectors. The System by which it was replaced sought to restore a certain balance in the relationship between employers and employees.In the present context, the balance has been largely attained. In addition, major social and economic changes in our society indicate the urgency of having our social partners cooperate. The concept of parity and its institutionalization is presented not as a panacea, but as a workable and adaptable alternative, capable of meeting today's new requirements. As the concept of parity gains acceptance in various other fields, such as worker health and safety and vocational training however, we should be aware of the need to coordinate these functions to allow them to develop fully

{\beta}-YbAlB4: a critical nodal metal

We propose a model for the intrinsic quantum criticality of {\beta}-YbAlB4, in which a vortex in momentum space gives rise to a new type of Fermi surface singularity. The unquenched angular momentum of the |J = 7/2,m_J = \pm5/2> Yb 4f-states generates a momentum-space line defect in the hybridization between 4f and conduction electrons, leading to a quasi-two dimensional Fermi surface with a k\perp4 dispersion and a singular density of states proportional to E^{-1/2}. We discuss the implications of this line-node in momentum space for our current understanding of quantum criticality and its interplay with topology

The use of thermographic imaging to evaluate therapeutic response in human tumour xenograft models

YesNon-invasive methods to monitor tumour growth are an important goal in cancer drug development. Thermographic imaging systems offer potential in this area, since a change in temperature is known to be induced due to changes within the tumour microenvironment. This study demonstrates that this imaging modality can be applied to a broad range of tumour xenografts and also, for the first time, the methodology’s suitability to assess anti-cancer agent efficacy. Mice bearing subcutaneously implanted H460 lung cancer xenografts were treated with a novel vascular disrupting agent, ICT-2552, and the cytotoxin doxorubicin. The effects on tumour temperature were assessed using thermographic imaging over the first 6 hours post-administration and subsequently a further 7 days. For ICT-2552 a significant initial temperature drop was observed, whilst for both agents a significant temperature drop was seen compared to controls over the longer time period. Thus thermographic imaging can detect functional differences (manifesting as temperature reductions) in the tumour response to these anti-cancer agents compared to controls. Importantly, these effects can be detected in the first few hours following treatment and therefore the tumour is observable non-invasively. As discussed, this technique will have considerable 3Rs benefits in terms of reduction and refinement of animal use.University of Bradfor

A continental-scale validation of ecosystem service models

Faced with environmental degradation, governments worldwide are developing policies to safeguard ecosystem services (ES). Many ES models exist to support these policies, but they are generally poorly validated, especially at large scales, which undermines their credibility. To address this gap, we describe a study of multiple models of five ES, which we validate at an unprecedented scale against 1675 data points across sub-Saharan Africa. We find that potential ES (biophysical supply of carbon and water) are reasonably well predicted by the existing models. These potential ES models can also be used as inputs to new models for realised ES (use of charcoal, firewood, grazing resources and water), by adding information on human population density. We find that increasing model complexity can improve estimates of both potential and realised ES, suggesting that developing more detailed models of ES will be beneficial. Furthermore, in 85% of cases, human population density alone was as good or a better predictor of realised ES than ES models, suggesting that it is demand, rather than supply that is predominantly determining current patterns of ES use. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of ES model validation, even in data-deficient locations such as sub-Saharan Africa. Our work also shows the clear need for more work on the demand side of ES models, and the importance of model validation in providing a stronger base to support policies which seek to achieve sustainable development in support of human well-being

Evidence for involvement of the alcohol consumption WDPCP gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis

Data availability: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its Supplementary Information files).Supplementary Information is available onlikne at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47371-7#Sec25 .A CC BY or equivalent licence is applied to the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) arising from this submission, in accordance with the grant’s open access conditions.Copyright ©.The Author(s) 2023. Biological pathways between alcohol consumption and alcohol liver disease (ALD) are not fully understood. We selected genes with known effect on (1) alcohol consumption, (2) liver function, and (3) gene expression. Expression of the orthologs of these genes in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster was suppressed using mutations and/or RNA interference (RNAi). In humans, association analysis, pathway analysis, and Mendelian randomization analysis were performed to identify metabolic changes due to alcohol consumption. In C. elegans, we found a reduction in locomotion rate after exposure to ethanol for RNAi knockdown of ACTR1B and MAPT. In Drosophila, we observed (1) a change in sedative effect of ethanol for RNAi knockdown of WDPCP, TENM2, GPN1, ARPC1B, and SCN8A, (2) a reduction in ethanol consumption for RNAi knockdown of TENM2, (3) a reduction in triradylglycerols (TAG) levels for RNAi knockdown of WDPCP, TENM2, and GPN1. In human, we observed (1) a link between alcohol consumption and several metabolites including TAG, (2) an enrichment of the candidate (alcohol-associated) metabolites within the linoleic acid (LNA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) metabolism pathways, (3) a causal link between gene expression of WDPCP to liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis. Our results imply that WDPCP might be involved in ALD.R.P. was supported by Rutherford Fund fellowship from the Medical Research Council (MR/R026505/1 and MR/R026505/2). B.A., X.J., and F.O. were supported by Rutherford Fund from Medical Research Council MR/R026505/2. R.M. was funded by the President’s PhD Scholarship from Imperial College London. PE is Director of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health and acknowledges support from the Medical Research Council (MR/S019669/1). PE also acknowledges support from the UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London (UKDRI-5001), Health Data Research UK London (HDRUK-1004231) and the British Heart Foundation Imperial College London Centre for Research Excellence (BHF-RE/18/4/34215). The Airwave Health Monitoring Study was funded by the UK Home Office (780- TETRA, 2003-2018) and is currently funded by the MRC and ESRC (MR/R023484/1) with additional support from the NIHR Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre in collaboration with Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust. R.C.P is supported by the UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI-5001), which receives its funding from UK DRI Ltd, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Work in LMM’s laboratory is supported by the UK Medical Research Council, intramural project MC_UU_00025/3 (RG94521). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the sponsors. We thank Prof. Ulrike Heberlein, (Janelia Research Campus, Virginia, USA) for generously providing us the hppy17-51 fly lines. This research was funded, in whole or in part, by the Medical Research Council (MR/R026505/1 and MR/R026505/2)

Anti-cancer activities of allyl isothiocyanate and its conjugated silicon quantum dots

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), a dietary phytochemical in some cruciferous vegetables, exhibits promising anticancer activities in many cancer models. However, previous data showed AITC to have a biphasic effect on cell viability, DNA damage and migration in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Moreover, in a 3D co-culture of HUVEC with pericytes, it inhibited tube formation at high doses but promoted this at low doses, which confirmed its biphasic effect on angiogenesis. siRNA knockdown of Nrf2 and glutathione inhibition abolished the stimulation effect of AITC on cell migration and DNA damage. The biological activity of a novel AITC-conjugated silicon quantum dots (AITC-SiQDs) has been investigated for the first time. AITC-SiQDs showed similar anti-cancer properties to AITC at high doses while avoiding the low doses stimulation effect. In addition, AITC-SiQDs showed a lower and long-lasting activation of Nrf2 translocation into nucleus which correlated with their levels of cellular uptake, as detected by the intrinsic fluorescence of SiQDs. ROS production could be one of the mechanisms behind the anti-cancer effect of AITC-SiQDs. These data provide novel insights into the biphasic effect of AITC and highlight the application of nanotechnology to optimize the therapeutic potential of dietary isothiocyanates in cancer treatment

Solubilization of Proteins in 2DE: An Outline

Protein solubilization for two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) has to break molecular interactions to separate the biological contents of the material of interest into isolated and intact polypeptides. This must be carried out in conditions compatible with the first dimension of 2DE, namely isoelectric focusing. In addition, the extraction process must enable easy removal of any nonprotein component interfering with the isoelectric focusing. The constraints brought in this process by the peculiar features of isoelectric focusing are discussed, as well as their consequences in terms of possible solutions and limits for the solubilization process

Global distribution and diversity of marine Verrucomicrobia

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Nature Publishing Group for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in The ISME Journal 6 (2012): 1499-1505, doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.3.Verrucomicrobia is a bacterial phylum that is commonly detected in soil but little is known about the distribution and diversity of this phylum in the marine environment. To address this, we analyzed the marine microbial community composition in 506 samples from the International Census of Marine Microbes as well as eleven coastal samples taken from the California Current. These samples from both the water column and sediments covered a wide range of environmental conditions. Verrucomicrobia were present in 98% of the analyzed samples and thus appeared nearly ubiquitous in the ocean. Based on the occurrence of amplified 16S rRNA sequences, Verrucomicrobia constituted on average 2% of the water column and 1.4% of the sediment bacterial communities. The diversity of Verrucomicrobia displayed a biogeography at multiple taxonomic levels and thus, specific lineages appeared to have clear habitat preference. We found that Subdivision 1 and 4 generally dominated marine bacterial communities, whereas Subdivision 2 was confined to low salinity waters. Within the subdivisions, Verrucomicrobia community composition were significantly different in the water column compared to sediment as well as within the water column along gradients of salinity, temperature, nitrate, depth, and overall water column depth. Although we still know little about the ecophysiology of Verrucomicrobia lineages, the ubiquity of this phylum suggests that it may be important for the biogeochemical cycle of carbon in the ocean.We would like to thank the UCI Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (S.F.), the National Science Foundation (OCE-0928544 and OCE-1046297, A.C.M.) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (S.H., D.M.W., M.S.) for supporting the work