Union Effects on Product and Technological Innovation

We present theoretical and empirical evidence challenging early studies that found unions were detrimental to workplace innovation. Under our theoretical model, unions prefer product innovation to labour-saving technological process innovation, thus making union wage bargaining regimes more conducive to product innovation than competitive pay setting. We test the theory with population-representative workplace data for Britain and Norway. We find strong support for the notion that local bargaining leads to product innovation, either alone or together with technological innovation

Travelling waves in wound healing

We illustrate the role of travelling waves in wound healing by considering three different cases. Firstly, we review a model for surface wound healing in the cornea and focus on the speed of healing as a function of the application of growth factors. Secondly, we present a model for scar tissue formation in deep wounds and focus on the role of key chemicals in determining the quality of healing. Thirdly, we propose a model for excessive healing disorders and investigate how abnormal healing may be controlled

Automatic Detection of Seizures with Applications

There are an estimated two million people with epilepsy in the United States. Many of these people do not respond to anti-epileptic drug therapy. Two devices can be developed to assist in the treatment of epilepsy. The first is a microcomputer-based system designed to process massive amounts of electroencephalogram (EEG) data collected during long-term monitoring of patients for the purpose of diagnosing seizures, assessing the effectiveness of medical therapy, or selecting patients for epilepsy surgery. Such a device would select and display important EEG events. Currently many such events are missed. A second device could be implanted and would detect seizures and initiate therapy. Both of these devices require a reliable seizure detection algorithm. A new algorithm is described. It is believed to represent an improvement over existing seizure detection algorithms because better signal features were selected and better standardization methods were used

Bilateral Vallecular Cysts as a Cause of Dysphagia: Case Report and Literature Review

Cysts of the vallecula are rare, accounting for 10.5% to 20.1% of all laryngeal cysts. Vallecular cysts may present with diverse symptoms affecting the voice, airway, and swallowing. We describe the evaluation and treatment of a 70-year-old woman who presented with dysphagia caused by large bilateral vallecular cysts

Clostridium difficile infection among veterans health administration patients

OBJECTIVETo report on the prevalence and incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) from 2009 to 2013 among Veterans Healthcare Administration patientsDESIGNA retrospective descriptive analysis of data extracted from a large electronic medical record (EMR) databaseSETTINGData were acquired from VHA healthcare records from 2009 to 2013 that included outpatient clinical visits, long-term care, and hospitalized care as well as pharmacy and laboratory information.RESULTSIn 2009, there were 10,207 CDI episodes, and in 2013, there were 12,143 CDI episodes, an increase of 19.0%. The overall CDI rate increased by 8.4% from 193 episodes per 100,000 patient years in 2009 to 209 episodes per 100,000 patient years in 2013. Of the CDI episodes identified in 2009, 58% were identified during a hospitalization, and 42% were identified in an outpatient setting. In 2013, 44% of the CDI episodes were identified in an outpatient setting.CONCLUSIONThis is one of the largest studies that has utilized timely EMR data to describe the current CDI epidemiology at the VHA. Despite an aging population with greater burden of comorbidity than the general US population, our data show that VHA CDI rates stabilized between 2011 and 2013 following increases likely attributable to the introduction of the more sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). The findings in this report will help establish an accurate benchmark against which both current and future VA CDI prevention initiatives can be measured.Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(9):1038–1045</jats:sec

Comparison of musculoskeletal disorder health claims between construction floor layers and a general working population

OBJECTIVES: Compare rates of medical insurance claims for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) between workers in a construction trade and a general worker population to determine if higher physical exposures in construction lead to higher rates of claims on personal medical insurance. METHODS: Health insurance claims between 2006 and 2010 from floor layers were frequency matched by age, gender, eligibility time, and geographic location to claims from insured workers in general industry obtained from MarketScan. We extracted MSD claims and dates of service from six regions of the body: neck, low back, knee, lower extremity, shoulder, and distal arm, and evaluated differences in claim rates. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of floor layers (n=1,475) experienced musculoskeletal claims compared to 39% of MarketScan members (p<0.001). Claim rates were higher for floor layers across all body regions with nearly double the rate ratios for the knee and neck regions (RR: 2.10 and 2.07). The excess risk was greatest for the neck and low back regions; younger workers had disproportionately higher rates in the knee, neck, low back, and distal arm. A larger proportion of floor layers (22%) filed MSD claims in more than one body region compared to general workers (10%; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Floor layers have markedly higher rates of MSD claims compared to a general worker population, suggesting shifting of medical costs for work-related MSD to personal health insurance. The occurrence of disorders in multiple body regions and among the youngest workers highlights the need for improved work methods and tools for construction workers

Gender differences in the union wage premium? A comparative case study

Trade unions have changed from male-dominated to majority-female organizations. We use linked employer-employee surveys for Norway and Britain to examine whether, in keeping with a median voter model, the gender shift in union membership has resulted in differential wage returns to unionization among men and women. In Britain, while only women receive a union wage premium, only men benefit from the increased bargaining power of their union as indicated by workplace union density. In Norway, however, both men and women receive a union wage premium in male-dominated workplaces; but where the union is female-dominated, women benefit more than men. The findings suggest British unions continue to adopt a paternalistic attitude to representing their membership, in contrast to their more progressive counterparts in Norway

The ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury. X. Quantifying the Star Cluster Formation Efficiency of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

We study the relationship between the field star formation and cluster formation properties in a large sample of nearby dwarf galaxies. We use optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and from ground-based telescopes to derive the ages and masses of the young (t_age < 100Myr) cluster sample. Our data provides the first constraints on two proposed relationships between the star formation rate of galaxies and the properties of their cluster systems in the low star formation rate regime. The data show broad agreement with these relationships, but significant galaxy-to-galaxy scatter exists. In part, this scatter can be accounted for by simulating the small number of clusters detected from stochastically sampling the cluster mass function. However, this stochasticity does not fully account for the observed scatter in our data suggesting there may be true variations in the fraction of stars formed in clusters in dwarf galaxies. Comparison of the cluster formation and the brightest cluster in our sample galaxies also provide constraints on cluster destruction models.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, Accepted to Ap

A mathematical model for fibro-proliferative wound healing disorders

The normal process of dermal wound healing fails in some cases, due to fibro-proliferative disorders such as keloid and hypertrophic scars. These types of abnormal healing may be regarded as pathologically excessive responses to wounding in terms of fibroblastic cell profiles and their inflammatory growth-factor mediators. Biologically, these conditions are poorly understood and current medical treatments are thus unreliable. In this paper, the authors apply an existing deterministic mathematical model for fibroplasia and wound contraction in adult mammalian dermis (Olsenet al., J. theor. Biol. 177, 113–128, 1995) to investigate key clinical problems concerning these healing disorders. A caricature model is proposed which retains the fundamental cellular and chemical components of the full model, in order to analyse the spatiotemporal dynamics of the initiation, progression, cessation and regression of fibro-contractive diseases in relation to normal healing. This model accounts for fibroblastic cell migration, proliferation and death and growth-factor diffusion, production by cells and tissue removal/decay. Explicit results are obtained in terms of the model processes and parameters. The rate of cellular production of the chemical is shown to be critical to the development of a stable pathological state. Further, cessation and/or regression of the disease depend on appropriate spatiotemporally varying forms for this production rate, which can be understood in terms of the bistability of the normal dermal and pathological steady states—a central property of the model, which is evident from stability and bifurcation analyses. The work predicts novel, biologically realistic and testable pathogenic and control mechanisms, the understanding of which will lead toward more effective strategies for clinical therapy of fibro-proliferative disorders

Mathematical modelling of extracellular matrix dynamics using discrete cells: Fiber orientation and tissue regeneration

Matrix orientation plays a crucial role in determining the severity of scar tissue after dermal wounding. We present a model framework which allows us to examine the interaction of many of the factors involved in orientation and alignment. Within this framework, cells are considered as discrete objects, while the matrix is modelled as a continuum. Using numerical simulations, we investigate the effect on alignment of changing cell properties and of varying cell interactions with collagen and fibrin