Know Your Rights: A Guide to Employment Law for California Workers

The Women\u27s Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University School of Law has written this handbook to help guide California employees who have legal questions regarding their employment. The chapters include broad overviews of different areas of the law. The law changes frequently, and this book contains only basic information. Employees should use this handbook as a starting place for further action and advice; it is not meant to be a substitute for legal counsel

Lettuce

This publication describes types of lettuce and provides instruction for their planting, cultivation, harvesting, storage, and use

Migration and Information Communications Technology Use: A Case Study of Indonesian Domestic Workers in Singapore

This paper explores the use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) among Indonesian Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) working and living in Singapore. Drawing upon a survey (n=201) with Indonesian domestic workers and follow up in-depth interviews (n=38), the paper points to recent changes in the technological landscape in Singapore which have altered FDWs use of ICT. This includes cheaper mobile devices and increasing access to free internet, either at their place of employment or in public space. In turn, we suggest the utilisation of ICT has shaped the migration experiences of women in three key areas. Firstly, it has allowed FDWs to more readily straddle the transnational divide their migration creates by making communication with friends and family an instantaneous and everyday occurrence. Secondly, we show how this access is contingent upon issues of trust and negotiation with employers, who often possess passwords for home-based internet and can place restrictions on their employees’ use of ICT. Thirdly, we show how the use of ICT can provide FDWs with a degree of social empowerment, by allowing them to connect globally to a range of information.DFI

"Getting sicker quicker": does living in a more deprived neighbourhood mean your health deteriorates faster?

Data from the longitudinal West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: Health in the Community was used to examine whether, over a 20 year period, the self-reported health of people living in deprived areas became poorer faster compared to those living in more affluent areas. Three cohorts (born in the early 1930s, 1950s and 1970s) are included, covering 60 years of the life span. Using multilevel growth curve models, a 40% probability of reporting poor health was predicted among residents of more deprived areas at an earlier age (66) compared to those living in more affluent areas (83). Wider area differences were seen for men than for women. Our findings indicate that attempts to reduce area differences in health should start young but also continue throughout the lifespan

An absence of equipoise: Examining surgeons\u27 decision talk during encounters with women considering breast cancer surgery

Shared decision-making is recommended for decisions with multiple reasonable options, yet clinicians often subtly or explicitly guide choices. Using purposive sampling, we performed a secondary analysis of 142 audio-recorded encounters between 13 surgeons and women eligible for breast-conserving surgery with radiation or mastectomy. We trained 9 surgeons in shared decision-making and provided them one of two conversation aids; 4 surgeons practiced as usual. Based on a published taxonomy of treatment recommendations (pronouncements, suggestions, proposals, offers, assertions), we examined how surgeons framed choices with patients. Many surgeons made assertions providing information and advice (usual care 71% vs. intervention 66%; p = 0.54). Some made strong pronouncements (usual care 51% vs. intervention 36%; p = .09). Few made proposals and offers, leaving the door open for deliberation (proposals usual care 21% vs. intervention 26%; p = 0.51; offers usual care 40% vs. intervention 40%; p = 0.98). Surgeons were significantly more likely to describe options as comparable when using a conversation aid, mentioning this in all intervention group encounters (usual care 64% vs. intervention 100%; p\u3c0.001). Conversation aids can facilitate offers of comparable options, but other conversational actions can inhibit aspects of shared decision-making

Assessing medical student knowledge and attitudes about shared decision making across the curriculum: protocol for an international online survey and stakeholder analysis

Introduction: Shared decision making (SDM) is a goal of modern medicine; however, it is not currently embedded in routine care. Barriers include clinicians’ attitudes, lack of knowledge and training and time constraints. Our goal is to support the development and delivery of a robust SDM curriculum in medical education. Our objective is to assess undergraduate medical students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards SDM in four countries. Methods and analysis: The first phase of the study involves a web-based cross-sectional survey of undergraduate medical students from all years in selected schools across the United States (US), Canada and undergraduate and graduate students in the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom (UK), the survey will be circulated to all medical schools through the UK Medical School Council. We will sample students equally in all years of training and assess attitudes towards SDM, knowledge of SDM and participation in related training. Medical students of ages 18 years and older in the four countries will be eligible. The second phase of the study will involve semistructured interviews with a subset of students from phase 1 and a convenience sample of medical school curriculum experts or stakeholders. Data will be analysed using multivariable analysis in phase 1 and thematic content analysis in phase 2. Method, data source and investigator triangulation will be performed. Online survey data will be reported according to the Checklist for Reporting the Results of Internet E-Surveys. We will use the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research for all qualitative data. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved for dissemination in the US, the Netherlands, Canada and the UK. The study is voluntary with an informed consent process. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will help inform the inclusion of SDM-specific curriculum in medical education worldwide

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Directly Phosphorylates and Destabilizes Hedgehog Pathway Transcription Factor GLI1 in Medulloblastoma

The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway regulates cell differen- tiation and proliferation during development by controlling the Gli transcription factors. Cell fate de- cisions and progression toward organ and tissue maturity must be coordinated, and how an energy sensor regulates the Hh pathway is not clear. AMP- activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important sensor of energy stores and controls protein synthe- sis and other energy-intensive processes. AMPK is directly responsive to intracellular AMP levels, inhib- iting a wide range of cell activities if ATP is low and AMP is high. Thus, AMPK can affect development by influencing protein synthesis and other processes needed for growth and differentiation. Activation of AMPK reduces GLI1 protein levels and stability, thus blocking Sonic-hedgehog-induced transcrip- tional activity. AMPK phosphorylates GLI1 at serines 102 and 408 and threonine 1074. Mutation of these three sites into alanine prevents phosphorylation by AMPK. This leads to increased GLI1 protein stability, transcriptional activity, and oncogenic potency