Being attuned to intergroup differences in mergers: The role of aligned leaders for low-status groups

The present research focused on responses of low-status group members to a merger with a high-status group. A study was conducted (N = 153) in which the alignment of the leader for the merged group (ingroup vs. outgroup) and leader behavior (equality, outgroup favoritism, ingroup favoritism, complementarity) were manipulated. The authors predicted that the leader, by his or her behavior, would play an important role in defining the new relationship between premerger groups. Overall, low-status ingroup leaders were evaluated more positively than high-status outgroup leaders. Ingroup leaders were evaluated more favorably and were more likely to engender a common identity in the merged group than were outgroup leaders when leaders behaved in an ingroup-favoring or complementary fashion. In contrast, evaluations of ingroup and outgroup leaders did not differ when the leader stressed equality or was outgroup favoring. The findings demonstrate the important role leaders can play in accentuating or de-emphasizing premerger status differences.

Reconstruction of the regulatory network for Bacillus subtilis and reconciliation with gene expression data

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb. 2016.00275

Iglesia argentina y memoria de las víctimas de la última dictadura militar. Revisión del discurso y de la praxis eclesial de reconciliación, a partir de determinados aportes de la Escuela de Frankfurt y de la Nueva Teología Política. Argentine Church and Memory of the Victims of the Military Dictatorship. Review of the Ecclesiastic Discourse and Praxis of Reconciliation.

En el marco de la recuperación de la memoria en relación con los hechos de la última dictadura militar es importante determinar los motivos ideológico-teológicos y prácticos que dificultaron una oposición significativa por parte de la jerarquía de la iglesia a la violación de los derechos humanos, e individualizar los argumentos que impulsaron un discurso y una praxis de reconciliación que privilegió el olvido de las víctimas y apoyó acríticamente los «proyectos de olvido», como la ley de punto final, entre otros. Para analizar dichos discursos y praxis se recurre principalmente a Johann Metz, quien, vinculado a la Escuela de Frankfurt, propone una razón anamnética del sufrimiento ajeno. La originalidad del proyecto es doble, por su contenido y por su enfoque: la confrontación del «servicio de reconciliación» eclesial con la «memoria de las víctimas». Hipótesis de trabajo: el discurso y la praxis eclesial en relación al «servicio de reconciliación» realizado por el Episcopado argentino a partir de 1981, pone de manifiesto: primero, que siguieron vinculados a la idea de "nación católica" (Zanatta 1996, Dri 1997, Esquivel 2004), lo que dificultó, junto a otros factores, la visibilización de las víctimas; segundo, a su vez, analizados a la luz de los aportes filosófico-teológicos mencionados, muestran una notable carencia en la valoración de la memoria de las víctimas, esperable en una reconciliación. Objetivo general: realizar un análisis crítico de los discursos y prácticas institucionales oficiales de la Iglesia católica en Argentina en relación con la memoria de las víctimas de la última dictadura militar. Objetivos específicos: confrontar las experiencias eclesiales argentinas recientes, y sus conceptualizaciones y tipos de argumentación, con una tradición de pensamiento que en relación al acontecimiento del Holocausto sitúa en el centro de la reflexión temas como el de la memoria, el sufrimiento de las víctimas, y un modo peculiar de tratamiento de los hechos históricos; además, individualizar y analizar los argumentos que dificultaron la búsqueda de la justicia y la memoria de las víctimas. Metodología y etapas. 1° Etapa: analizar y sistematizar algunos aspectos de las teorías del conocimiento histórico y de la razón comunicativa en determinadas obras de Benjamin, Bloch y Habermas; posteriormente, precisar la apropiación conceptual de las categorías histórico-filosóficas de dichas corrientes llevada a cabo por Metz para elaborar su «memoria de las víctimas». 2° Etapa: revisar el discurso y la praxis eclesial a partir de 1981 a la luz del marco teórico ya estudiado. Será necesario, por una parte, detenerse en las declaraciones eclesiales oficiales referidas al retorno de la democracia, a las leyes de punto final y obediencia debida, como así también, en el reconocimiento y pedido de perdón por las culpas del pasado.

Value of allogeneic versus autologous stem cell transplantation and chemotherapy in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and secondary acute myeloid leukemia. Final results of a prospective randomized European Intergroup Trial.

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is usually considered the only curative treatment option for patients with advanced or transformed myelodysplastic syndromes in complete remission, but post-remission chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation are potential alternatives, especially in patients over 45 years old. DESIGN AND METHODS: We evaluated, after intensive anti-leukemic remission-induction chemotherapy, the impact of the availability of an HLA-identical sibling donor on an intention-to treat basis. Additionally, all patients without a sibling donor in complete remission after the first consolidation course were randomized to either autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation or a second consolidation course consisting of high-dose cytarabine. RESULTS: The 4-year survival of the 341 evaluable patients was 28%. After achieving complete remission, the 4-year survival rates of patients under 55 years old with or without a donor were 54% and 41%, respectively, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.81 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.49-1.35) for survival and of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.42-1.06) for disease-free survival. In patients with intermediate/high risk cytogenetic abnormalities the hazard ratio in multivariate analysis was 0.58 (99% CI, 0.22-1.50) (P=0.14) for survival and 0.46 (99% CI, 0.22-1.50) for disease-free survival (P=0.03). In contrast, in patients with low risk cytogenetic characteristics the hazard ratio for survival was 1.17 (99% CI, 0.40-3.42) and that for disease-free survival was 1.02 (99% CI, 0.40-2.56). The 4-year survival of the 65 patients randomized to autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation or a second consolidation course of high-dose cytarabine was 37% and 27%, respectively. The hazard ratio in multivariate analysis was 1.22 (95% CI, 0.65-2.27) for survival and 1.02 (95% CI, 0.56-1.85) for disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a donor and candidates for allogeneic stem cell transplantation in first complete remission may have a better disease-free survival than those without a donor in case of myelodysplastic syndromes with intermediate/high-risk cytogenetics. Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation does not provide longer survival than intensive chemotherapy.

The serine repeat antigen (SERA) gene family phylogeny in Plasmodium: the impact of GC content and reconciliation of gene and species trees.

Plasmodium falciparum is the parasite responsible for the most acute form of malaria in humans. Recently, the serine repeat antigen (SERA) in P. falciparum has attracted attention as a potential vaccine and drug target, and it has been shown to be a member of a large gene family. To clarify the relationships among the numerous P. falciparum SERAs and to identify orthologs to SERA5 and SERA6 in Plasmodium species affecting rodents, gene trees were inferred from nucleotide and amino acid sequence data for 33 putative SERA homologs in seven different species. (A distance method for nucleotide sequences that is specifically designed to accommodate differing GC content yielded results that were largely compatible with the amino acid tree. Standard-distance and maximum-likelihood methods for nucleotide sequences, on the other hand, yielded gene trees that differed in important respects.) To infer the pattern of duplication, speciation, and gene loss events in the SERA gene family history, the resulting gene trees were then "reconciled" with two competing Plasmodium species tree topologies that have been identified by previous phylogenetic studies. Parsimony of reconciliation was used as a criterion for selecting a gene tree/species tree pair and provided (1) support for one of the two species trees and for the core topology of the amino acid-derived gene tree, (2) a basis for critiquing fine detail in a poorly resolved region of the gene tree, (3) a set of predicted "missing genes" in some species, (4) clarification of the relationship among the P. falciparum SERA, and (5) some information about SERA5 and SERA6 orthologs in the rodent malaria parasites. Parsimony of reconciliation and a second criterion--implied mutational pattern at two key active sites in the SERA proteins-were also seen to be useful supplements to standard "bootstrap" analysis for inferred topologies.

Women's work histories in Italy: education as investment in reconciliation and legitimacy?

Within pre-enlargement Europe, Italy records one of the widest employment rate gaps between highly and poorly educated women, as well one of the largest differences in the share, among working women, of public sector employment. Building on these stylized facts and using the Longitudinal Survey of Italian Households (ILFI), we investigate the working trajectories of three cohorts of Italian women born between 1935 and 1964 and observed from their first job until they are in their forties. We use mainly, but not exclusively, event history analysis in order to identify the main factors that influence entry into and exit from paid work over the life course. Our results suggest that in the Italian context, where employment protection policies have also been used as surrogate measures to favour reconciliation between family and work, and where traditional gender norms still persist, education is so important for women's employment decisions because it represents an investment in 'reconciliation' and 'work legitimacy' over and above investment in human capital.

Cost-effectiveness of temozolomide for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme: a report from the EORTC 26981/22981 NCI-C CE3 Intergroup Study.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme versus initial radiotherapy alone from a public health care perspective. METHODS: The economic evaluation was performed alongside a randomized, multicenter, phase 3 trial. The primary endpoint of the trial was overall survival. Costs included all direct medical costs. Economic data were collected prospectively for a subgroup of 219 patients (38%). Unit costs for drugs, procedures, laboratory and imaging, radiotherapy, and hospital costs per day were collected from the official national reimbursement lists based on 2004. For the cost-effectiveness analysis, survival was expressed as 2.5 years restricted mean estimates. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was constructed. Confidence intervals for the ICER were calculated using the Fieller method and bootstrapping. RESULTS: The difference in 2.5 years restricted mean survival between the treatment arms was 0.25 life-years and the ICER was euro37,361 per life-year gained with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from euro19,544 to euro123,616. The area between the survival curves of the treatment arms suggests an increase of the overall survival gain for a longer follow-up. An extrapolation of the overall survival per treatment arm and imputation of costs for the extrapolated survival showed a substantial reduction in ICER. CONCLUSIONS: The ICER of euro37,361 per life-year gained is a conservative estimate. We concluded that despite the high TMZ acquisition costs, the costs per life-year gained are comparable to accepted first-line treatment with chemotherapy in patients with cancer.