Hotel Employer’s perceptions of employing Eastern European employees: a case study of Cheshire, UK

This article examines and reveals hotel employer’s experiences of employing Eastern European workers in Cheshire in the UK. Cheshire has a vibrant and significant visitor economy, with its main tourist destination Chester receiving over 8 million visitors a year and has over 30% of its income generated from the tourism, retail and hospitality sectors. There is almost full employment in many parts of the region and many employers struggle to fill vacant positions, particularly at the lower skill levels. Many visitor economy employers are now reliant on migrant labour from Eastern Europe. The objectives of this study are to examine the experiences of employers of Eastern European employees and to compare and contrast the contribution of Easter European employees and local employees using six key themes. This article analyses the outcome of in-depth, one-to-one interviews with accommodation employers from Cheshire in the north west of England in the UK. The findings suggest that some employers can put forward a number of clear, positive reasons for employing Eastern European workers. These reasons are mainly driven by the migrant workers having certain abilities which British employees lack. On the other hand however, some employers also suggest that Eastern European workers have certain limitations which could have implications for the quality of service delivery. Key words: Migrant workers, quality, employer perception

Enhanced self-administration of the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 in olfactory bulbectomized rats: evaluation of possible serotonergic and dopaminergic underlying mechanisms

Depression has been associated with drug consumption, including heavy or problematic cannabis use. According to an animal model of depression and substance use disorder comorbidity, we combined the olfactory bulbectomy (OBX) model of depression with intravenous drug self-administration procedure to verify whether depressive-like rats displayed altered voluntary intake of the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 (WIN, 12.5 μg/kg/infusion). To this aim, olfactory-bulbectomized (OBX) and sham-operated (SHAM) Lister Hooded rats were allowed to self-administer WIN by lever-pressing under a continuous [fixed ratio 1 (FR-1)] schedule of reinforcement in 2 h daily sessions. Data showed that both OBX and SHAM rats developed stable WIN intake; yet, responses in OBX were constantly higher than in SHAM rats soon after the first week of training. In addition, OBX rats took significantly longer to extinguish the drug-seeking behavior after vehicle substitution. Acute pre-treatment with serotonin 5HT1B receptor agonist, CGS-12066B (2.5-10 mg/kg), did not significantly modify WIN intake in OBX and SHAM Lister Hooded rats. Furthermore, acute pre-treatment with CGS-12066B (10 and 15 mg/kg) did not alter responses in parallel groups of OBX and SHAM Sprague Dawley rats self-administering methamphetamine under higher (FR-2) reinforcement schedule with nose-poking as operandum. Finally, dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of OBX rats did not increase in response to a WIN challenge, as in SHAM rats, indicating a dopaminergic dysfunction in bulbectomized rats. Altogether, our findings suggest that a depressive-like state may alter cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist-induced brain reward function and that a dopaminergic rather than a 5-HT1B mechanism is likely to underlie enhanced WIN self-administration in OBX rats

Bacteremias caused by Escherichia coli in cancer patients — analysis of 65 episodes

AbstractObjectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate risk factors, clinical presentation, outcome and antimicrobial susceptibility in patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia occurring over seven years in a single cancer hospital.Methods: Sixty five episodes of bacteremia from E. coli appearing over seven years from 12,301 admissions in a single cancer institution were retrospectively analyzed.Results: The proportion of bacteremia caused by E. coli among Gram-negative bacteremia was 20.8% (the second most common organism after Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and infection-associated mortality was 17%.The incidence in 1989–1995 varied from 14.3 to 24.7%. The most common risk factors were: solid tumors as the underlying disease (70.7%); central venous catheter insertion (32.3%); prior surgery (46.2%), and prior chemotherapy within 48 h (44.4%). Neutropenia and urinary catheters did not place patients at high risk in any of the subgroups. When we compared the two subgroups of 61 cases of bacteremia — monomicrobial and polymicrobial (when E. coli was isolated from blood culture with another microorganism) — we found that acute leukemia and breakthrough (recurrence while receiving antibiotics) bacteremia were more frequently associated with polymicrobial E. coli bacteremia. There was also a difference in infection-associated mortality: monomicrobial bacteremia due to E. coli only had a significantly lower mortality in comparison with polymicrobial E. coli bacteremia (8.9 vs 35.0%, respectively; P<0.03).Conclusion: The susceptibility of 115 E. coli strains isolated from 65 episodes of bacteremia was stable. Only two episodes caused by quinolone-resistant strains occurred, both in 1995, after six years of using ofloxacin for prophylaxis in neutropenic patients in our hospital. We found that 85.2–91.3% of all strains were susceptible to aminoglycosides, 97.8% to quinolones, and 90–100% to third generation cephalosporins and imipenems.The patients most commonly infected had solid tumors and the mortality was only 17%

PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO MODAFINIL ALTERS LOCOMOTOR BEHAVIOUR AND LEUCOCYTE PHAGOCYTOSIS IN MICE

Background: Modafinil is a psychostimulant drug prescribed mainly for treatment of narcolepsy but is used as a “smart drug” by wide populations to increase wakefulness, concentration and overall mental performance. The aim of this study was to assess potential developmental toxicity of modafinil. Materials and methods: Pregnant female mice were given either saline or modafinil (50 mg/kg orally) from gestational day (GD) 3 to GD 10 and then a challenge dose on the GD 17. The male offspring were treated analogously at the age of 10 weeks. Changes in the spontaneous locomotor/exploratory behaviour and anxiogenic profile in the open-field test were assessed in naïve animals, after an acute and 8th modafinil dose and the challenge dose following a 7-day wash-out period. One month after completion of the behavioural study, the leukocyte phagocytosis was examined by zymosan induced and luminol-aided chemiluminiscence assay in vitro. Results: The most important finding of this study was the immunosuppressing effect on leukocyte activity, hypolocomotion and increased behavioural response to modafinil-induced psychostimulation caused by prenatal exposure to the same drug. We did not detect significantly altered anxiety-related behaviour in any group disregarding the pre- and postnatal treatments. Conclusion: This is the first evidence of developmental toxicity of modafinil which needs to be taken into account as a potential risk factor when modafinil is administered to women who may become or are pregnant

Spectral Karyotyping for identification of constitutional chromosomal abnormalities at a national reference laboratory

Spectral karyotyping is a diagnostic tool that allows visualization of chromosomes in different colors using the FISH technology and a spectral imaging system. To assess the value of spectral karyotyping analysis for identifying constitutional supernumerary marker chromosomes or derivative chromosomes at a national reference laboratory, we reviewed the results of 179 consecutive clinical samples (31 prenatal and 148 postnatal) submitted for spectral karyotyping. Over 90% of the cases were requested to identify either small supernumerary marker chromosomes (sSMCs) or chromosomal exchange material detected by G-banded chromosome analysis. We also reviewed clinical indications of those cases with marker chromosomes in which chromosomal origin was identified by spectral karyotyping. Our results showed that spectral karyotyping identified the chromosomal origin of marker chromosomes or the source of derivative chromosomal material in 158 (88%) of the 179 clinical cases; the identification rate was slightly higher for postnatal (89%) compared to prenatal (84%) cases. Cases in which the origin could not be identified had either a small marker chromosome present at a very low level of mosaicism (< 10%), or contained very little euchromatic material. Supplemental FISH analysis confirmed the spectral karyotyping results in all 158 cases. Clinical indications for prenatal cases were mainly for marker identification after amniocentesis. For postnatal cases, the primary indications were developmental delay and multiple congenital anomalies (MCA). The most frequently encountered markers were of chromosome 15 origin for satellited chromosomes, and chromosomes 2 and 16 for non-satellited chromosomes. We were able to obtain pertinent clinical information for 47% (41/88) of cases with an identified abnormal chromosome. We conclude that spectral karyotyping is sufficiently reliable for use and provides a valuable diagnostic tool for establishing the origin of supernumerary marker chromosomes or derivative chromosomal material that cannot be identified with standard cytogenetic techniques

Theoretical Modeling of Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia by Means of Errors and Corresponding Brain Networks

The current evidence of cognitive disturbances and brain alterations in schizophrenia does not provide the plausible explanation of the underlying mechanisms. Neuropsychological studies outlined the cognitive profile of patients with schizophrenia, that embodied the substantial disturbances in perceptual and motor processes, spatial functions, verbal and non-verbal memory, processing speed and executive functioning. Standardized scoring in the majority of the neurocognitive tests renders the index scores or the achievement indicating the severity of the cognitive impairment rather than the actual performance by means of errors. At the same time, the quantitative evaluation may lead to the situation when two patients with the same index score of the particular cognitive test, demonstrate qualitatively different performances. This may support the view why test paradigms that habitually incorporate different cognitive variables associate weakly, reflecting an ambiguity in the interpretation of noted cognitive constructs. With minor exceptions, cognitive functions are not attributed to the localized activity but eventuate from the coordinated activity in the generally dispersed brain networks. Functional neuroimaging has progressively explored the connectivity in the brain networks in the absence of the specific task and during the task processing. The spatio-temporal fluctuations of the activity of the brain areas detected in the resting state and being highly reproducible in numerous studies, resemble the activation and communication patterns during the task performance. Relatedly, the activation in the specific brain regions oftentimes is attributed to a number of cognitive processes. Given the complex organization of the cognitive functions, it becomes crucial to designate the roles of the brain networks in relation to the specific cognitive functions. One possible approach is to identify the commonalities of the deficits across the number of cognitive tests or, common errors in the various tests and identify their common "denominators" in the brain networks. The qualitative characterization of cognitive performance might be beneficial in addressing diffuse cognitive alterations presumably caused by the dysconnectivity of the distributed brain networks. Therefore, in the review, we use this approach in the description of standardized tests in the scope of potential errors in patients with schizophrenia with a subsequent reference to the brain networks

Aggression, anxiety and vocalizations in animals: GABA A and 5-HT anxiolytics

A continuing challenge for preclinical research on anxiolytic drugs is to capture the affective dimension that characterizes anxiety and aggression, either in their adaptive forms or when they become of clinical concern. Experimental protocols for the preclinical study of anxiolytic drugs typically involve the suppression of conditioned or unconditioned social and exploratory behavior (e.g., punished drinking or social interactions) and demonstrate the reversal of this behavioral suppression by drugs acting on the benzodiazepine-GABA A complex. Less frequently, aversive events engender increases in conditioned or unconditioned behavior that are reversed by anxiolytic drugs (e.g., fear-potentiated startle). More recently, putative anxiolytics which target 5-HT receptor subtypes produced effects in these traditional protocols that often are not systematic and robust. We propose ethological studies of vocal expressions in rodents and primates during social confrontations, separation from social companions, or exposure to aversive environmental events as promising sources of information on the affective features of behavior. This approach focusses on vocal and other display behavior with clear functional validity and homology. Drugs with anxiolytic effects that act on the benzodiazepine-GABA A receptor complex and on 5-HT 1A receptors systematically and potently alter specific vocalizations in rodents and primates in a pharmacologically reversible manner; the specificity of these effects on vocalizations is evident due to the effectiveness of low doses that do not compromise other physiological and behavioral processes. Antagonists at the benzodiazepine receptor reverse the effects of full agonists on vocalizations, particularly when these occur in threatening, startling and distressing contexts. With the development of antagonists at 5-HT receptor subtypes, it can be anticipated that similar receptor-specificity can be established for the effects of 5-HT anxiolytics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46351/1/213_2005_Article_BF02245590.pd

Pharmacodynamics of cannabinoids

&ldquo;Pharmacodynamics of cannabinoids &ldquo;(i.e. a set of biological effects elicited in the living organism by interaction with its biochemical and biophysical functions up to the cellular level) is studied for a long time during both, physiological and pathological conditions. Cannabinoids received their names according to their natural occurrence as constituents of Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana).&nbsp