The Global Financial Crisis, Work and Employment: Ten Years On

The global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009 resulted in the most severe recession the world has encountered since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Although the GFC had very uneven effects around the world, including those on work and employment, it also highlighted the interconnectedness of different national orders, and the continued importance of national institutions in shaping policy choices and responses at the country level. At the organisational or firm level, the GFC also highlighted the tensions between external forces and a challenging macroeconomic environment on the one hand, versus actor agency and strategic choice on the other. At the individual level we can also consider the implications of the GFC for organisational actors including trade unions, workers and managers. Finally, there are important questions regarding the legacy of crisis in the medium and long term. This introductory article offers a review of these themes, before introducing the articles in this special issue on the impact and legacy of the global financial crisis on work and employment ten years on

The transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans to ivermectin exposure identifies novel genes involved in the response to reduced food intake

We have examined the transcriptional response of Caenorhabditis elegans following exposure to the anthelmintic drug ivermectin (IVM) using whole genome microarrays and real-time QPCR. Our original aim was to identify candidate molecules involved in IVM metabolism and/or excretion. For this reason the IVM tolerant strain, DA1316, was used to minimise transcriptomic changes related to the phenotype of drug exposure. However, unlike equivalent work with benzimidazole drugs, very few of the induced genes were members of xenobiotic metabolising enzyme families. Instead, the transcriptional response was dominated by genes associated with fat mobilization and fatty acid metabolism including catalase, esterase, and fatty acid CoA synthetase genes. This is consistent with the reduction in pharyngeal pumping, and consequential reduction in food intake, upon exposure of DA1316 worms to IVM. Genes with the highest fold change in response to IVM exposure, cyp-37B1, mtl-1 and scl-2, were comparably up-regulated in response to short–term food withdrawal (4 hr) independent of IVM exposure, and GFP reporter constructs confirm their expression in tissues associated with fat storage (intestine and hypodermis). These experiments have serendipitously identified novel genes involved in an early response of C. elegans to reduced food intake and may provide insight into similar processes in higher organisms

Interpersonal and affective dimensions of psychopathic traits in adolescents : development and validation of a self-report instrument

We report the development and psychometric evaluations of a self-report instrument designed to screen for psychopathic traits among mainstream community adolescents. Tests of item functioning were initially conducted with 26 adolescents. In a second study the new instrument was administered to 150 high school adolescents, 73 of who had school records of suspension for antisocial behavior. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor structure (Impulsivity α = .73, Self-Centredness α = .70, Callous-Unemotional α = .69, and Manipulativeness α = .83). In a third study involving 328 high school adolescents, 130 with records of suspension for antisocial behaviour, competing measurement models were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The superiority of a first-order model represented by four correlated factors that was invariant across gender and age was confirmed. The findings provide researchers and clinicians with a psychometrically strong, self-report instrument and a greater understanding of psychopathic traits in mainstream adolescents

A Large Double-ring Disk Around the Taurus M Dwarf J04124068+2438157

Planet formation imprints signatures on the physical structures of disks. In this paper, we present high-resolution (∼50 mas, 8 au) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of 1.3 mm dust continuum and CO line emission toward the disk around the M3.5 star 2MASS J04124068+2438157. The dust disk consists of only two narrow rings at radial distances of 0.″47 and 0.″78 (∼70 and 116 au), with Gaussian σ widths of 5.6 and 8.5 au, respectively. The width of the outer ring is smaller than the estimated pressure scale height by ∼25%, suggesting dust trapping in a radial pressure bump. The dust disk size, set by the location of the outermost ring, is significantly larger (by 3σ) than other disks with similar millimeter luminosity, which can be explained by an early formation of local pressure bump to stop radial drift of millimeter dust grains. After considering the disk’s physical structure and accretion properties, we prefer planet-disk interaction over dead zone or photoevaporation models to explain the observed dust disk morphology. We carry out high-contrast imaging at the L ′ band using Keck/NIRC2 to search for potential young planets, but do not identify any source above 5σ. Within the dust gap between the two rings, we reach a contrast level of ∼7 mag, constraining the possible planet below ∼2-4 M Jup. Analyses of the gap/ring properties suggest that an approximately Saturn-mass planet at ∼90 au is likely responsible for the formation of the outer ring, which can potentially be revealed with JWST

π+\pi^+ photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to n \pi^+$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV. Where available, the results obtained here compare well with previously published results for the reaction. Agreement with the SAID and MAID analyses is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been made up to 2.7 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations. With the addition of these cross sections to the world data set, significant changes have occurred in the high-energy behavior of the SAID cross-section predictions and amplitudes.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure

Methods for specifying the target difference in a randomised controlled trial : the Difference ELicitation in TriAls (DELTA) systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega

High-statistics differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega have been measured using the CLAS at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass (CM) energies from threshold up to 2.84 GeV. Results are reported in 112 10-MeV wide CM energy bins, each subdivided into cos(theta_CM) bins of width 0.1. These are the most precise and extensive omega photoproduction measurements to date. A number of prominent structures are clearly present in the data. Many of these have not previously been observed due to limited statistics in earlier measurements

Kin Selection and the Evolution of Social Information Use in Animal Conflict

Animals often use social information about conspecifics in making decisions about cooperation and conflict. While the importance of kin selection in the evolution of intraspecific cooperation and conflict is widely acknowledged, few studies have examined how relatedness influences the evolution of social information use. Here we specifically examine how relatedness affects the evolution of a stylised form of social information use known as eavesdropping. Eavesdropping involves individuals escalating conflicts with rivals observed to have lost their last encounter and avoiding fights with those seen to have won. We use a game theoretical model to examine how relatedness affects the evolution of eavesdropping, both when strategies are discrete and when they are continuous or mixed. We show that relatedness influences the evolution of eavesdropping, such that information use peaks at intermediate relatedness. Our study highlights the importance of considering kin selection when exploring the evolution of complex forms of information use

Influences of polymorphic variants of DRD2 and SLC6A3 genes, and their combinations on smoking in Polish population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polymorphisms in dopaminergic genes may influence cigarette smoking by their potential impact on dopamine reward pathway function. <it>A1 </it>allele of <it>DRD2 </it>gene is associated with a reduced dopamine D2 receptor density, and it has been hypothesised that <it>A1 </it>carriers are more vulnerable to smoking. In turn, the 9-repeat allele of dopamine transporter gene (<it>SLC6A3</it>) has been associated with a substantial reduction in dopamine transporter, what might result in the higher level of dopamine in the synaptic cleft, and thereby protective role of this allele from smoking. In the present study we investigated whether polymorphic variants of <it>DRD2 </it>and <it>SLC6A3 </it>genes and their combinations are associated with the smoking habit in the Polish population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Genotyping for <it>Taq</it>I<it>A </it>polymorphism of <it>DRD2 </it>and <it>SLC6A3 </it>VNTR polymorphism was performed in 150 ever-smokers and 158 never-smokers. The association between the smoking status and smoking phenotypes (related to the number of cigarettes smoked daily and age of starting regular smoking), and genotype/genotype combinations was expressed by ORs together with 95% CI. Alpha level of 0.05, with Bonferroni correction whenever appropriate, was used for statistical significance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At the used alpha levels no association between <it>DRD2 </it>and <it>SLC6A</it>3 genotypes and smoking status was found. However, <it>A1 </it>allele carriers reported longer abstinence periods on quitting attempts than non-carriers (p = 0.049). The ORs for heavier smoking were 0.38 (0.17-0.88), p = 0.023, and 0.39 (0.17-0.88), p = 0.021 in carriers compared to non-carriers of <it>A1 </it>or <it>*9 </it>allele, respectively, and the OR for this smoking phenotype was 8.68 (2.47-30.46), p = 0.0005 for the <it>A1</it>-/<it>9</it>- genotype combination, relatively to the <it>A1</it>+/<it>9</it>+. Carriers of <it>*9 </it>allele of <it>SLC6A3 </it>had over twice a lower risk to start smoking before the age of 20 years compared to non-carriers (sex-adjusted OR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.22-0.89; p = 0.0017), and subjects with <it>A1-/9- </it>genotype combination had a higher risk for staring regular smoking before the age of 20 years in comparison to subjects with <it>A1+/9+ </it>genotype combination (sex-adjusted OR = 3.79; 95% CI:1.03-13.90; p = 0.003).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Polymorphic variants of <it>DRD2 </it>and <it>SLC6A3 </it>genes may influence some aspects of the smoking behavior, including age of starting regular smoking, the level of cigarette consumption, and periods of abstinence. Further large sample studies are needed to verify this hypothesis.</p

No effect of 24 h severe energy restriction on appetite regulation and ad libitum energy intake in overweight and obese males

Background/Objectives: Long-term success of weight loss diets might depend on how the appetite regulatory system responds to energy restriction (ER). This study determined the effect of 24 h severe ER on subjective and hormonal appetite regulation, subsequent ad libitum energy intake and metabolism. Subjects/Methods: In randomised order, eight overweight or obese males consumed a 24 h diet containing either 100% (12105 (1174 kJ; energy balance; EB) or 25% (3039 (295) kJ; ER) of estimated daily energy requirements (EER). An individualised standard breakfast containing 25% of EER (3216 (341) kJ) was consumed the following morning and resting energy expenditure, substrate utilisation and plasma concentrations of acylated ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-17–36), glucose-dependant insulinotropic peptide (GIP1–42), glucose, insulin and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were determined for 4 h after breakfast. Ad libitum energy intake was assessed in the laboratory on day 2 and via food records on day 3. Subjective appetite was assessed throughout. Results: Energy intake was not different between trials for day 2 (EB: 14946 (1272) kJ; ER: 15251 (2114) kJ; P=0.623), day 3 (EB: 10580 (2457) kJ; 10812 (4357) kJ; P=0.832) or day 2 and 3 combined (P=0.693). Subjective appetite was increased during ER on day 1 (P0.381). Acylated ghrelin, GLP-17–36 and insulin were not different between trials (P>0.104). Post-breakfast area under the curve (AUC) for NEFA (P<0.05) and GIP1–42 (P<0.01) were greater during ER compared with EB. Fat oxidation was greater (P<0.01) and carbohydrate oxidation was lower (P<0.01) during ER, but energy expenditure was not different between trials (P=0.158). Conclusions: These results suggest that 24 h severe ER does not affect appetite regulation or energy intake in the subsequent 48 h. This style of dieting may be conducive to maintenance of a negative EB by limiting compensatory eating behaviour, and therefore may assist with weight loss