Immunologic work up of subjects who didn't respond appropriately to a rabies post exposure prophylaxis

Background New recommendations for rabies postexposure prophylaxis (rPEP) were published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization in 2010. In view of these new recommendations, the adequacy of rPEP among patients consulting the travel clinic of the University Hospital of Lausanne has been investigated and 6,8% of patients have been identified as non-responders with the new rPEP regimen. In this study we have selected the non-responders for a complete immunologic work up. Method Clinical and paraclinical immunologic investigations have been done to the non- responders patients. Those investigations have been conducted to look for an increased susceptibility to infections and an immunodeficiency. The investigations included a clinical evaluation, a full blood count, measurement of the immunoglobulin levels, a numeration of the subpopulations of the lymphocytes, a HIV test and an evaluation of the humoral response to tetanus, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B vaccinations. A lymphocyte proliferation assay with rabies antigen was performed to assess the cellular immune response. Results 9 subjects with rabies antibody titers ≤0,5 IU/ml after an rPEP with 4 doses were included in this study (=non-responders). 8/9 of these non-responders had an unremarkable medical history. 9/9 of them had normal paraclinical tests that did not suggest an immunodeficiency. The results of the lymphocyte proliferation assay with rabies antigen showed a significant correlation between the level of the humoral and cellular response. Conclusion These results suggest that a 4 dose intramuscular rPEP elicits in some patients a relatively poor humoral and cellular response, even in the absence of any immunosuppression. A serology on day 21 of the rPEP seems therefore useful to identify the patients who don't respond appropriately. Those non-responders should receive additional doses until they reach an antibody titer above 0.5 IU/ml.

Quality in work and aggregate productivity

We explore the relationship between quality in work and aggregate productivity in regions and sectors. Using recent Spanish aggregate data for the period 2001-2006, we find that quality in work may be an important factor to explain productivity levels in sectors and regions. We use two alternatives definitions of quality in work: one from survey data and the other from a social indicators approach. We also use two different measurements of labour productivity to test the robustness of our results. The estimates are run using a simultaneous equation model for our panel of data, and find important differences between high tech and low tech sectors: a positive relationship between quality in work and productivity in the former case, and a negative relationship in the latter. Consequently, on the one hand we see that quality in work is not only an objective per se, but may also be a production factor able to increase the wealth of regions; on the other hand, at the aggregate level, we may also find that high productivity levels coincide with lower quality in work conditions.

Improving the effectiveness of supply chain development work – an expert role perspective

This study focuses to the intersection of three sets of activities in a company: expert work, development work and supply chain management, SCM. Experts and expert work represent a set of individuals whose efficiency and impact this study is intended to improve, while development work defines the set of organizational activities to focus on. SCM as an expertise area acts as the platform on which this study is built. The study has two aims. Firstly, it aims to derive a model helping an SCM expert to increase the effectiveness of expert work in development tasks by understanding the encountered organizational situations and processes better, reflecting his/her past and future actions to organizational processes and selecting and adjusting the processes and contents of his/her work accordingly. Secondly, it aims to develop applicable approaches and methods to understand, evaluate and manage the organizational processes and situations in development work. The integrative model on approaches and methods to improve the effectiveness of development processes is split to two aggregate dimensions: technical performance of the developed solution and consumption of resources of the development process. Six potential approaches and methods aiming at helping in the management of organizational dimensions are presented in enclosed publications. The approaches focus on three subtasks of development work: decision making, implementation and change, and knowledge accumulation. The approaches and methods have been tested in case studies representing typical development processes in the area of supply chain management. As a result, four suggestions are presented. Firstly, SCM experts are advised to consider the SCM development work to be consisting of development processes. Secondly, inside these processes they should identify and evaluate the risk of difficult decision-making related to organizational factors. Thirdly, they are prompted for an active role in implementation and change, supporting the implementation through whole process. Finally, the development should be seen in a holistic view, taking into account the stage of knowledge and organizational issues related to it, and adopt a knowledge development strategy.

Cumulative Costs of Caries Prevention and Treatment in Children - with Special Reference to Work Division and Cohort Effect

Lapsen karieshoidon kustannuskertymän muutokset ja karieshoidon toimintakäytäntöjen yhteys kustannuksiin Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli mitata terveyskeskuksessa hoidettavien lasten karieshoidon kumulatiivisia kustannuksia ja verrata niitä kahden erilaisen toimintatavan välillä. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin lasten hampaiden terveyttä. Tutkimus tehtiin julkisen palvelutuottajan näkökulmasta. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin Kemin ja Tornion terveyskeskusten suun terveydenhuollon potilaskertomuksista. Kemin kohortit 1980, 1983 ja 1986 (n = 600) ja Tornion kohortit 1980 ja 1992 (n = 400) edustivat perinteistä ja Kemin kohortit 1989, 1992 ja 1995 (n = 600) uutta toimintatapaa työnjaon ja ehkäisyn ajoituksen suhteen. Kohortteja ja kaupunkeja verrattiin hampaiden terveyden (dmft/DMFT = 0 ja dmft ja DMFT keskiarvot 5 ja 12 vuoden iässä) ja voimavarojen käytön suhteen. Panoskäyttö johdettiin käyntimäärien avulla laskennallisen työajan kautta. Kustannuskertymät muodostettiin käyttämällä henkilöstömenoista laskettuja suorittajakohtaisia yksikkökustannuksia. Panoskäytön ja yksikkökustannusten kautta muodostettiin kustannuskertymät. Kustannusten ja terveysvaikutusten suhteita arvioitiin kustannus-vaikuttavuusanalyysissä. Suuhygienistien työpanosta hyödyntävällä varhaisen ehkäisyn toimintamallilla saavutettiin vähäisemmin kustannuksin alle kouluiässä parempi ja kouluiässä yhtä hyvä hammasterveys kuin perinteisellä, enemmän hammaslääkärien työpanokseen perustuvalla tavalla. Karieksen hoitoon liittyvien käyntien määrä oli nuorimmissa syntymävuosikohorteissa pienempi kuin vanhimmissa kohorteissa. Käynnit hammaslääkärissä vähenivät eniten. Toimintatavalla oli merkittävä vaikutus lapsen karieshoidon kokonaiskustannuksiin. Herkkyysanalyysin mukaan karieshoidon kustannukset olivat työnjakoa hyödyntämällä kolmanneksen pienemmät, kuin jos hoidon suorittajana olisi ollut ainoastaan hammaslääkäri-hoitaja työpari. Lasten karieshoidon kustannusvaikuttavuus kohentui molemmissa terveyskeskuksissa nuoremmissa kohorteissa vanhempiin verrattuna. Suun terveydenhuollon potilaskertomuksia olisi hyödynnettävä toiminnan kehittämisessä. Varhaisen ehkäisyn avulla voitaisiin kaikkien suun terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilöiden työpanos kohdentaa kustannustehokkaasti.

The institutional vs. the academic definition of the quality of work life. What is the focus of the European Commission?

In recent years, we have seen how the quality of work life has been focused and defined by the European Commission (EC). In our study we compare the EC definition with the academic one and try to see how close they are. We also analyse the possibility of applying the institutional definition to the Spanish case through the development of specific indicators. Our main conclusions are that QWL is increasingly important for policy makers. In addition, it is essential to have objective indicators and to conduct surveys in order to reliably measure QWL.

Factors Affecting Consumer’s Illicit Purchase of Copyrighted Digital Work

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) technology has revolutionized file exchange activities besides enhancing processing power distribution. As such, this technology which is nowadays made freely available to all internet users also imposes a threat as it enables the illegal distribution of copyrighted digital work. P2P technology continuously evolves in a greater pace than copyright legislation, leading to compatibility gaps between the applicability of copyright law and the illicit file sharing and downloading. Such issues give high incentives to consumers to practise piracy using P2P systems with a low perception of risk towards prosecution, leading to substantial losses for copyright owners. This study focuses on developing insights for content owners on consumer behaviour towards piracy in Finland, where quantitative analyses are assessed using a data set based on a survey conducted by the Helsinki Institute for IT. The research approach investigates the significance of three fundamental areas in relation to evaluate consumer behaviour as: environmental-related factors, innovation-related factors and consumer-related. each of these are integrates concepts derived in previous theoretical models such as the technology acceptance model, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behaviour, the issue-risk-judgement model and the Hunt & Vitell’s model.

The construction of infant and primary school teachers’ identity during their initial professional development and first years of work (Identidoc). Summary, main results and contributions

Educators who are currently beginning their professional career at any level of the educationalsystem and who will likely have to work during the next thirty to forty years will be takingpart in the education of individuals who, with the permission of prophets and doomsayers,will live part of their lives in the 22nd century. That long but simple statement causes a bit ofvertigo as well as a good amount of reflection on the part of we educators who were trainedin the 20th century, are working in the 21st century, and are responsible for preparing peopleto build a tomorrow that is already today (Millán and Sancho, 1995). This is the starting pointof our research groups’ interest in exploring how men and women who have graduated fromteacher education programs with specializations in infant and primary education learn to beteachers, and how they establish and position themselves as teachers during their university studies and the first years of their professional life...

The construction of infant and primary school teachers’ identity during their initial professional development and first years of work (Identidoc). Summary, main results and contributions

Educators who are currently beginning their professional career at any level of the educationalsystem and who will likely have to work during the next thirty to forty years will be takingpart in the education of individuals who, with the permission of prophets and doomsayers,will live part of their lives in the 22nd century. That long but simple statement causes a bit ofvertigo as well as a good amount of reflection on the part of we educators who were trainedin the 20th century, are working in the 21st century, and are responsible for preparing peopleto build a tomorrow that is already today (Millán and Sancho, 1995). This is the starting pointof our research groups’ interest in exploring how men and women who have graduated fromteacher education programs with specializations in infant and primary education learn to beteachers, and how they establish and position themselves as teachers during their university studies and the first years of their professional life...

The construction of infant and primary school teachers’ identity during their initial professional development and first years of work (Identidoc). Summary, main results and contributions

Educators who are currently beginning their professional career at any level of the educationalsystem and who will likely have to work during the next thirty to forty years will be takingpart in the education of individuals who, with the permission of prophets and doomsayers,will live part of their lives in the 22nd century. That long but simple statement causes a bit ofvertigo as well as a good amount of reflection on the part of we educators who were trainedin the 20th century, are working in the 21st century, and are responsible for preparing peopleto build a tomorrow that is already today (Millán and Sancho, 1995). This is the starting pointof our research groups’ interest in exploring how men and women who have graduated fromteacher education programs with specializations in infant and primary education learn to beteachers, and how they establish and position themselves as teachers during their university studies and the first years of their professional life...

The construction of infant and primary school teachers’ identity during their initial professional development and first years of work (Identidoc). Summary, main results and contributions

Educators who are currently beginning their professional career at any level of the educationalsystem and who will likely have to work during the next thirty to forty years will be takingpart in the education of individuals who, with the permission of prophets and doomsayers,will live part of their lives in the 22nd century. That long but simple statement causes a bit ofvertigo as well as a good amount of reflection on the part of we educators who were trainedin the 20th century, are working in the 21st century, and are responsible for preparing peopleto build a tomorrow that is already today (Millán and Sancho, 1995). This is the starting pointof our research groups’ interest in exploring how men and women who have graduated fromteacher education programs with specializations in infant and primary education learn to beteachers, and how they establish and position themselves as teachers during their university studies and the first years of their professional life...

The effects of social networks on work-team effectiveness

This is a study of team social networks, their antecedents and outcomes. In focusing attention on the structural configuration of the team this research contributes to a new wave of thinking concerning group social capital. The research site was a random sample of Finnish work organisations. The data consisted of 499 employees in 76 teams representing 48 different organisations. A systematic literature review and quantitative methods were used in conducting the research: the former primarily to establish the current theoretical position on the relationships among the variables and the latter to test these relationships. Social network analysis was the primary method used in identifying the social-network relations among the work-team members. The first and key contribution of this study is that it relates the structuralnetwork properties of work teams to behavioural outcomes, attitudinal outcomes and, ultimately, team performance. Moreover, it shows that addressing attitudinal outcomes is also important in terms of team performance; attitudinal outcomes (team identity) mediated the relationship between the team’s performance and its social network. The second contribution is that it examines the possible antecedents of the social structure. It is thus one response to Salancik’s (1995) call for a network theory in that it explains why certain network characteristics exist. Itdemonstrates that irrespective of whether or not a team is heterogeneous in terms of age or gender, educational diversity may protect it from centralisation. However, heterogeneity in terms of gender turned out to have a negative impact on density. Thirdly, given the observation that the benefits of (team) networks are typically theorised and modelled without reference to the nature of the relationships comprising the structure, the study directly tested whether team knowledge mediated the effects of instrumental and expressive network relationships on team performance. Furthermore, with its focus on expressive networks that link the workplace to a more informal world, which have been rather neglected in previous research, it enhances knowledge of teams andnetworks. The results indicate that knowledge sharing fully mediates the influence of complementarities between dense and fragmented instrumental network relationships, thus providing empirical validation of the implicit understanding that networks transfer knowledge. Fourthly, the study findings suggest that an optimal configuration of the work-team social-network structure combines both bridging and bonding social relationships.

El juego y su estructura interna en relación con el trabajo de la condición física en primaria = Games and their internal structure in relation to the work of physical condition in Primary Education

One of the methodological resources that teachers use in a generalised way in Physical Education classes is the game. Inthis article we define the concept of game and analyse the characteristics of their internal structure. On the other hand welook at the concepts of physical condition and conditional skills and describe the objectives of its work in Primary Education.Finally, we relate these concepts and propose two practical examples of modifying the internal structure of the game so asto produce variations in the implied conditional skills

Mission and development : Finnish Pentecostal, Lutheran and Orthodox mission agencies in development work in Kenya 1948 - 1989

År 1974 började den finska regeringen kanalisera pengar för utvecklingssamarbete genom medborgarorganisationer. Tre år senare och fram till år 1988 beviljade regeringen ett speciellt anslag specifikt för missionsorganisationers utvecklingsprojekt. De finska pingstvännerna, lutheranerna och de ortodoxa utvidgade samtliga sitt sociala arbete i Kenya med statens stöd. Deras projekt var likadana: alla byggde läroanstalter, utvecklade Kenyas hälsoservice och sysselsatte kenyaner. Olikheterna mellan pingstvännerna, lutheranerna och de ortodoxa blev tydliga genom diverse problem som de mötte inom ramen för utvecklingssamarbetet. Den finska pingströrelsen bestod av självständiga församlingar, och pingstvännerna måste omvandla sin takorganisation, Suomen Vapaa Ulkolähetys, så att utvecklingsprojekt blev en viktig gren av dess verksamhet. Lutheranerna som till en början hade sänt missionärer för att arbeta i den kenyanska kyrkans tjänst började i medlet av 1970-talet i ökande grad bygga sociala anstalter med statens pengar. Ett problem var att statens stöd varade endast för en begränsad tid och att den lutherska kyrkan i Kenya inte hade råd att överta dessa anstalter och täcka deras löpande kostnader i framtiden. De finska ortodoxa, för sin del, igångsatte sociala projekt i samarbete med de ortodoxa i Kenya. Under några år fick de dock lära sig att de inte kunde driva självständiga utvecklingsprojekt i Patriarkens i Alexandria maktsfär. Den finska ortodoxa missionen blev tvungen att underkasta sig ärkebiskopen i Nairobi. År för år beviljade den finska regeringen större anslag för missionsorganisationernas utvecklingsprojekt och statens ansvar för kostnaderna ökade från 50% till 60% år 1984. Intressant nog mottog både lutheranerna och de ortodoxa mindre statliga pengar för utvecklingssamarbete år 1989 än 1984. Däremot växte pingstvännernas utvecklingssamarbete i Kenya under hela 1980-talet. Eftersom pingstvännerna inte ville använda sina medlemmarnas pengar (som var avsedda för missionsverksamhet) till sociala projekt täckte de sin andel i utvecklingskostnaderna med pengar från utanförstående. Pingstvännerna utvecklade en omfatttande komersiell och även industriell verksamhet för att samla in pengar för sina utvecklingsprojekt.