Social mobility in 20th century, Switzerland

The study of social mobility enables us to assess the extent to which a given society is "open". Addressing this issue is particularly crucial in our democratic societies, where it is expected that the place of individuals in society should no longer be determined at birth, but rather by individual quality. The present inquiry investigates this issue in the context of Switzerland, a country characterised by specific institutional settings, notably through the close association its educational system shares with the labour market. Through a detailed empirical analysis based on robust statistical analyses carried out from a unique tailor-made dataset, I demonstrate that Swiss society has not become more open throughout the twentieth century. Although some barriers have lost some salience, Swiss society has overall remained extremely rigid. In particular, because it channels individuals into highly segmented tracks very early on, the Swiss educational system does not attenuate social background differences. Thus, Switzerland is found in a particular configuration where an individual's place in society is highly determined not only by his or her educational attainment, but also by his or her social background. In other words, Switzerland constitutes a sort of "non-meritocratic meritocracy". - L'étude de la mobilité sociale permet d'évaluer dans quelle mesure une société donnée est « ouverte ». S'intéresser à cette question est particulièrement crucial dans nos sociétés démocratiques, où il est attendu que la place des individus ne soit plus déterminée à la naissance, mais plutôt par les qualités individuelles. La présente étude examine cette question dans le cadre de la Suisse, un pays aux caractéristiques institutionnelles spécifiques, particulièrement de part le lien étroit que son système éducatif entretien avec le marché du travail. A travers une analyse empirique détaillée fondée sur des analyses statistiques robustes menées à partir d'un jeu de données unique construit sur-mesure, je démontre que la société suisse n'est pas devenue plus ouverte au cours du 20ème siècle. Même si certaines barrières ont perdu de l'importance, dans son ensemble, la société suisse est restée extrêmement rigide. En particulier, parce qu'il oriente très tôt les individus dans des filières fortement segmentées, le système éducatif suisse n'atténue pas les différences entre milieux sociaux. Ainsi, la Suisse se trouve dans une configuration particulière où, d'une part, la place d'un individu dans la société est hautement déterminée par son niveau d'étude et, d'autre part, par son origine sociale. En d'autres termes, la Suisse apparaît comme une sorte de « méritocratie non-méritocratique ».

A new method for geoelectrical investigations underwater

A new electrical method is proposed for determining the apparent resistivity of multi-earth layers located underwater. The method is based on direct current geoelectric sounding principles. A layered earth model is used to simulate the stratigraphic target. The measurement array is of pole-pole type; it is located underwater and is orientated vertically. This particular electrode configuration is very useful when conventional electrical methods cannot be used, especially if the water depth becomes very important. The calculated apparent resistivity shows a substantial quality increase in the measured signal caused by the underwater targets, from which little or no response is measured using conventional surface electrode methods. In practice, however, different factors such as water stratification, underwater streams or meteorological conditions complicate the interpretation of the field results. A case study is presented, where field surveys carried out on Lake Geneva were interpreted using the calculated apparent resistivity master-curves.

Ultrastructure of the membrane attack complex of complement: detection of the tetramolecular C9-polymerizing complex C5b-8.

The ultrastructure of the membrane attack complex (MAC) of complement had been described as representing a hollow cylinder of defined dimensions that is composed of the proteins C5b, C6, C7, C8, and C9. After the characteristic cylindrical structure was identified as polymerized C9 [poly(C9)], the question arose as to the ultrastructural identity and topology of the C9-polymerizing complex C5b-8. An electron microscopic analysis of isolated MAC revealed an asymmetry of individual complexes with respect to their length. Whereas the length of one boundary (+/- SEM) was always 16 +/- 1 nm, the length of the other varied between 16 and 32 nm. In contrast, poly(C9), formed spontaneously from isolated C9, had a uniform tubule length (+/- SEM) of 16 +/- 1 nm. On examination of MAC-phospholipid vesicle complexes, an elongated structure was detected that was closely associated with the poly(C9) tubule and that extended 16-18 nm beyond the torus of the tubule and 28-30 nm above the membrane surface. The width of this structure varied depending on its two-dimensional projection in the electron microscope. By using biotinyl C5b-6 in the formation of the MAC and avidin-coated colloidal gold particles for the ultrastructural analysis, this heretofore unrecognized subunit of the MAC could be identified as the tetramolecular C5b-8 complex. Identification also was achieved by using anti-C5 Fab-coated colloidal gold particles. A similar elongated structure of 25 nm length (above the surface of the membrane) was observed on single C5b-8-vesicle complexes. It is concluded that the C5b-8 complex, which catalyzes poly(C9) formation, constitutes a structure of discrete morphology that remains as such identifiable in the fully assembled MAC, in which it is closely associated with the poly(C9) tubule.