Bureaucratizing the Atlantic Revolution: The "Saskatchewan Mafia" in the New Brunswick Civil Service, 1960-1970

Louis J. Robichaud recognized at the time of his election as premier in 1960 that bureaucratic modernization was urgently needed to translate the political gains of the "Atlantic Revolution" into workable social and economic programs in New Brunswick. To provide leadership in civil service reform, Robichaud recruited seven ex-Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation bureaucrats who became known as the "Saskatchewan Mafia." This article uses their experiences to explore the bureaucratization of the Atlantic Revolution, and argues that this group played a crucial role in the transformation of New Brunswick’s political bureaucracy and thus in the modernization of the province as a whole. Résumé Lors de son élection comme premier ministre en 1960, Louis J. Robichaud reconnaissait qu’il était urgent de moderniser l’appareil bureaucratique afin que les gains politiques de la « Révolution atlantique » se traduisent par des programmes sociaux et économiques réalisables au Nouveau-Brunswick. Pour exercer le leadership dans la réforme de la fonction publique, Robichaud recruta sept anciens fonctionnaires sous le gouvernement de la Co-operative Commonwealth Federation de la Saskatchewan, que l’on appela la « Saskatchewan Mafia ». À partir de leurs expériences, cet article explore la bureaucratisation de la Révolution atlantique et fait valoir que ce groupe a joué un rôle crucial dans la transformation de la bureaucratie politique du Nouveau-Brunswick et, par conséquent, dans la modernisation de l’ensemble de la province

Defining BMP functions in the hair follicle by conditional ablation of BMP receptor IA

Using conditional gene targeting in mice, we show that BMP receptor IA is essential for the differentiation of progenitor cells of the inner root sheath and hair shaft. Without BMPRIA activation, GATA-3 is down-regulated and its regulated control of IRS differentiation is compromised. In contrast, Lef1 is up-regulated, but its regulated control of hair differentiation is still blocked, and BMPRIA-null follicles fail to activate Lef1/β-catenin–regulated genes, including keratin genes. Wnt-mediated transcriptional activation can be restored by transfecting BMPRIA-null keratinocytes with a constitutively activated β-catenin. This places the block downstream from Lef1 expression but upstream from β-catenin stabilization. Because mice lacking the BMP inhibitor Noggin fail to express Lef1, our findings support a model, whereby a sequential inhibition and then activation of BMPRIA is necessary to define a band of hair progenitor cells, which possess enough Lef1 and stabilized β-catenin to activate the hair specific keratin genes and generate the hair shaft

Loss of TGFβ Signaling Destabilizes Homeostasis and Promotes Squamous Cell Carcinomas in Stratified Epithelia

SummaryAlthough TGFβ is a potent inhibitor of proliferation, epithelia lacking the essential receptor (TβRII) for TGFβ signaling display normal tissue homeostasis. By studying asymptomatic TβRII-deficient stratified epithelia, we show that tissue homeostasis is maintained by balancing hyperproliferation with elevated apoptosis. Moreover, rectal and genital epithelia, which are naturally proliferative, develop spontaneous squamous cell carcinomas with age when TβRII is absent. This progression is associated with a reduction in apoptosis and can be accelerated in phenotypically normal epidermis by oncogenic mutations in Ras. We show that TβRII deficiency leads to enhanced keratinocyte motility and integrin-FAK-Src signaling. Together, these mechanisms provide a molecular framework to account for many of the characteristics of TβRII-deficient invasive SQCCs

Focal adhesion kinase modulates tension signaling to control actin and focal adhesion dynamics

In response to αβ1 integrin signaling, transducers such as focal adhesion kinase (FAK) become activated, relaying to specific machineries and triggering distinct cellular responses. By conditionally ablating Fak in skin epidermis and culturing Fak-null keratinocytes, we show that FAK is dispensable for epidermal adhesion and basement membrane assembly, both of which require αβ1 integrins. FAK is also dispensible for proliferation/survival in enriched medium. In contrast, FAK functions downstream of αβ1 integrin in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics and orchestrating polarized keratinocyte migration out of epidermal explants. Fak-null keratinocytes display an aberrant actin cytoskeleton, which is tightly associated with robust, peripheral focal adhesions and microtubules. We find that without FAK, Src, p190RhoGAP, and PKL–PIX–PAK, localization and/or activation at focal adhesions are impaired, leading to elevated Rho activity, phosphorylation of myosin light chain kinase, and enhanced tensile stress fibers. We show that, together, these FAK-dependent activities are critical to control the turnover of focal adhesions, which is perturbed in the absence of FAK

Intestinal microbiota influences clinical outcome and side effects of early breast cancer treatment.

The prognosis of early breast cancer (BC) relies on cell autonomous and immune parameters. The impact of the intestinal microbiome on clinical outcome has not yet been evaluated. Shotgun metagenomics was used to determine the composition of the fecal microbiota in 121 specimens from 76 early BC patients, 45 of whom were paired before and after chemotherapy. These patients were enrolled in the CANTO prospective study designed to record the side effects associated with the clinical management of BC. We analyzed associations between baseline or post-chemotherapy fecal microbiota and plasma metabolomics with BC prognosis, as well as with therapy-induced side effects. We examined the clinical relevance of these findings in immunocompetent mice colonized with BC patient microbiota that were subsequently challenged with histo-compatible mouse BC and chemotherapy. We conclude that specific gut commensals that are overabundant in BC patients compared with healthy individuals negatively impact BC prognosis, are modulated by chemotherapy, and may influence weight gain and neurological side effects of BC therapies. These findings obtained in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings warrant prospective validation

Talking Tax to Social Policy Historians

When it comes to the links between taxation and social policy, the growth of the welfare state, funded by income tax, is the obvious starting point. But in Give and Take, Tillotson goes far beyond the obvious. In her hands, the tax system has complex “welfare effects.” Looking through the tax lens, Tillotson gives us fresh perspectives on the origins, politics, and consequences of social welfare programs, as well as the negotiation of social citizenship rights and obligations. In this essay, I also suggest Give and Take points us towards a relatively unexplored set of questions about the history of social policy in twentieth-century Canada, namely how the tax system and especially tax expenditures have been used to achieve social policy objectives.Quand il est question des liens entre la fiscalité et la politique sociale, la croissance de l’État-providence financé par l’impôt sur le revenu est le point de départ évident. Mais dans Give and Take, Tillotson va bien au-delà de ce qui est manifeste. D’après elle, le régime fiscal a des « effets de bien-être » complexes. En regardant à travers la lentille fiscale, Tillotson nous offre des nouvelles perspectives sur les origines, les politiques et les conséquences des programmes d’aide sociale, ainsi que sur la négociation des droits et obligations de la citoyenneté sociale. Dans cet essai, je propose également que Give and Take nous oriente vers un ensemble de questions relativement inexplorées sur l’histoire de la politique sociale au Canada au XXe siècle, à savoir comment le système fiscal et surtout les dépenses fiscales ont été utilisés pour atteindre des objectifs de politique sociale