Premature fruit softening, a major physiological problem of persimmon in subtropical Australia.

Premature or abnormal softening of persimmon fruit within 3-7 days after harvest is a major physiological problem of non-astringent persimmon cultivars grown in subtropical regions of Australia. Up to 30% of consignments may soften rapidly frequently overnight, often resulting in the flesh becoming very soft, completely translucent, and impossible to handle. Incidence of premature soft fruit can vary with season and production location. To study the incidence of this problem, we conducted surveys of fruit harvested from five environmentally-diverse regions of Australia over a two-year period. We found wide variation in the rate of both premature softening and normal softening with differences of up 37 days between orchards in percentage of fruit reaching 50% soft. We found that the rate of fruit softening was exacerbated by lower calcium concentrations at fruit set, shorter fruit development periods and heavier rainfall during the fruit development period. The implications of our findings, in terms of orchard management, export and domestic marketing strategies are discussed.

Officer guards and inmates, including Norbert Pollock, of the Boergermoor Labor Camp; Germany.

Viehhandler (cattle dealer) Norbert Pollock of Ruethen, Westpflahlen (standing center in dark pants, white t-shirt and cap)

Haifa - Labor Sanatorium

Digital image

Chapter 1: Precarious creativity: Global media, local labor

In most parts of the world, screen media workers—actors, directors, gaffers, and makeup artists—consider Hollywood to be glamorous and aspirational. If given the opportunity to work on a major studio lot, many would make the move, believing the standards of professionalism are high and the history of accomplishment is renowned. Moreover, as a global leader, Hollywood offers the chance to rub shoulders with talented counterparts and network with an elite labor force that earns top-tier pay and benefits. Yet despite this reputation, veterans say the view from inside isn’t so rosy, that working conditions have been deteriorating since the 1990s if not earlier. This grim outlook is supported by industry statistics that show the number of good jobs has been shrinking as studios outsource production to Atlanta, London, and Budapest, among others...

Essays on Labor Market Frictions, Technological Change and Macroeconomic Fluctuations

The dissertation consists of an introductory chapter and three essays that apply search-matching theory to study the interaction of labor market frictions, technological change and macroeconomic fluctuations. The first essay studies the impact of capital-embodied growth on equilibrium unemployment by extending a vintage capital/search model to incorporate vintage human capital. In addition to the capital obsolescence (or creative destruction) effect that tends to raise unemployment, vintage human capital introduces a skill obsolescence effect of faster growth that has the opposite sign. Faster skill obsolescence reduces the value of unemployment, hence wages and leads to more job creation and less job destruction, unambiguously reducing unemployment. The second essay studies the effect of skill biased technological change on skill mismatch and the allocation of workers and firms in the labor market. By allowing workers to invest in education, we extend a matching model with two-sided heterogeneity to incorporate an endogenous distribution of high and low skill workers. We consider various possibilities for the cost of acquiring skills and show that while unemployment increases in most scenarios, the effect on the distribution of vacancy and worker types varies according to the structure of skill costs. When the model is extended to incorporate endogenous labor market participation, we show that the unemployment rate becomes less informative of the state of the labor market as the participation margin absorbs employment effects. The third essay studies the effects of labor taxes on equilibrium labor market outcomes and macroeconomic dynamics in a New Keynesian model with matching frictions. Three policy instruments are considered: a marginal tax and a tax subsidy to produce tax progression schemes, and a replacement ratio to account for variability in outside options. In equilibrium, the marginal tax rate and replacement ratio dampen economic activity whereas tax subsidies boost the economy. The marginal tax rate and replacement ratio amplify shock responses whereas employment subsidies weaken them. The tax instruments affect the degree to which the wage absorbs shocks. We show that increasing tax progression when taxation is initially progressive is harmful for steady state employment and output, and amplifies the sensitivity of macroeconomic variables to shocks. When taxation is initially proportional, increasing progression is beneficial for output and employment and dampens shock responses.

Obstetric and gynaecological aspects of HIV infection

The purpose of the present study was to examine the outcome of pregnancies among HIV-infected women in Helsinki, use of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) among HIV-infected women and the prevalence and risk factors of cytological and histologically proven cervical lesions in this population. Between 1993 and 2003 a total of 45 HIV-infected women delivered 52 singleton infants. HIV infection was diagnosed during pregnancy in 40% of the mothers. Seventeen of the mothers received antiretroviral (ARV) medication prior to pregnancy and in 34 cases, the medication was started during pregnancy. A good virological response (i.e. HIV RNA load <1000/mL during the last trimester) to ARV medication was achieved in 36/40 (90%) of the patients in whom HI viral load measurements were performed. Of the infants, 92% were born at term, and their mean (±SD) birth weight was 3350±395 g. The Caesarean section rate was low, 25%. All newborns received ARV medication and none of the infants born to mothers with pre-delivery diagnosis of maternal HIV infection were infected. The safety and advantages of the LNG-IUS were studied prospectively (n=12) and retrospectively (n=6). The LNG-IUS was well tolerated and no cases of PID or pregnancy were noted. Menstrual bleeding was reduced significantly during use of the LNG-IUS; this was associated with a slight increase in haemoglobin levels. Serum oestradiol concentrations remained in the follicular range in all subjects. The key finding was that genital shedding of HIV RNA did not change after the insertion of the LNG-IUS. The mean annual prevalence of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) was 15% and that of high-grade SIL was 5% among 108 systematically followed HIV-infected women during 1989 2003. A reduced CD4 lymphocyte count was associated with an increased prevalence of SIL, whereas duration of HIV infection, use of ARV medication and HI viral load were not. The cumulative risk of any type of SIL was 17% after one year and 48% after five years among patients with initially normal Pap smears. The risk of developing SIL was associated with young age and a high initial HI viral load. During the follow-up 51 subjects (n=153) displayed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), (16% CIN1 and 18% CIN 2-3). Only one case of cancer of the uterine cervix was detected. Pap smears were reliable in screening for CIN. Both nulliparity (p<0.01) and bacterial vaginosis (p<0.04) emerged as significant risk factors of CIN. In conclusion, a combination of universal antenatal screening and multidisciplinary management allows individualized treatment and prevents vertical transmission of HIV. Use of the LNG-IUS is safe among HIV-infected women and cervicovaginal shedding of HIV RNA is not affected by use of the LNG-IUS. The risk of cervical pre-malignant lesions is high among HIV-infected women despite systematic follow-up.

Preterm delivery and selected biomarkers : phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-8 – in cervical fluid

Premature delivery is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The incidence of premature deliveries has increased around the world. In Finland 5.3%, or about 3,000 children per year are born prematurely, before 37 weeks of gestation. The corresponding figure in the United States is about 13%. The morbidity and mortality are highest among infants delivered before 32 weeks of gestation - about 600 children each year in Finland. Approximately 70% of premature deliveries are unexplained. Preterm delivery can be caused by an asympto-matic infection between uterus and the fetal membranes, such can begin already in early pregnancy. It is difficult to predict preterm delivery, and many patients are therefore unnecessarily admitted to hospital for observation and exposed to medical treatments. On the other hand, the high risk women should be identified early for the best treatment of the mother and preterm infant. --- In the prospective study conducted at the Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital two biochemical inflammation related markers were measured in the lower genital tract fluids of asymp-tomatic women in early and mid pregnancy in an order to see whether these markers could identify women with an increased risk of preterm delivery. These biomarkers were phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8). The study involved 5180 asymptomatic pregnant women, examined during the first and second ultrasound screening visits. The study samples were taken from the vagina and cervicix. In addition, 246 symptomatic women were studied (pregnancy weeks 22 – 34). The study showed that increased phIGFBP-1 concentration in cervical canal fluid in early pregnancy increased the risk for preterm delivery. The risk for very premature birth (before 32 weeks of gestation) was nearly four-fold. Low MMP-8 concentration in mid pregnancy increased the risk of subsequent premature preterm rupture of fetal membranes (PPROM). Significantly high MMP-8 concentrations in the cervical fluid increased the risk for prema-ture delivery initiated by preterm labour with intact membranes. Among women with preterm contractions the shortened cervical length measured by ultrasound and elevated cervical fluid phIGFBP-1 both predicted premature delivery. In summary, because of the relatively low sensitivity of cervical fluid phIGFBP-1 this biomarker is not suitable for routine screening, but provides an additional tool in assessing the risk of preterm delivery. Cervical fluid MMP-8 is not useful in early or mid pregnancy in predicting premature delivery because of its dual role. Further studies on the role of MMP-8 are therefore needed. Our study confirms that phIGFBP-1 testing is useful in predicting pre-term delivery.

Workers are doing it for themselves? Local labor solidarity in precarious times

Historically, organized labor has played a fundamental role in guaranteeing basic rights and privileges for screen media workers and defending union and guild members (however unevenly) from egregious abuses of power. Yet, despite the recent turn to labor in media and cultural studies, organized labor today has received only scant attention, even less so in locations outside Hollywood. This presentation thus intervenes in two significant ways: first, it acknowledges the ongoing global ‘undoing’ of organized labor as a consequence of footloose production and conglomeration within the screen industries, and second, it examines a case example of worker solidarity and political praxis taking shape outside formal labor institutions in response to those structural shifts. Accordingly, it links an empirical study of individual agency to broader debates associated with the spatial dynamics of screen media production, including local capacity, regional competition, and precariousness. Drawing from ethnographic interviews with local film and television workers in Glasgow, Scotland, I consider the political alliance among three nascent labor organizations in the city: one for below-the-line crew, one for facility operators, and (oddly enough) one for producers. Collectively, the groups share a desire to transform Glasgow into a global production hub, following the infrastructure developments in nearby cities like Belfast, Prague, and Budapest. They furthermore frame their objectives in political terms: establishing global scale is considered a necessary maneuver to improve local working conditions like workplace safety, income disparity, skills training, and job access. Ultimately, I argue these groups are a product of an inadequate union structure and outdated policy vision for the screen sector , once-supportive institutions currently out of sync with the global realities of media production. Furthermore, the groups’ advocacy efforts reveal the extent to which workers themselves (in additional to capital) can seek “spatial fixes” to suture their prospects to specific political and economic goals. Of course, such activities manifest under conditions outside of the workers’ control but nevertheless point to an important tension within capitalist social relations, namely that the agency to reshape the spatial relationships in their own lives recasts the geography of labor in terms that aren’t inherent or exclusive to the interests of global capital.

Long-term results of obstetric brachial plexus surgery

Background: Brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP) most often occurs as a result of foetal-maternal disproportion. The C5 and C6 nerve roots of the brachial plexus are most frequently affected. In contrast, roots from the C7 to Th1 that result in total injury together with C5 and C6 injury, are affected in fewer than half of the patients. BPBP was first described by Smellie in 1764. Erb published his classical description of the injury in 1874 and his name became linked with the paralysis that is associated with upper root injury. Since then, early results of brachial plexus surgery have been reasonably well documented. However, from a clinical point of view not all primary results are maintained and there is also a need for later follow-up results. In addition most of the studies that are published emanate from highly specialized clinics and no nation wide epidemiological reports are available. One of the plexus injuries is the avulsion type, in which the nerve root or roots are ruptured at the neural cord. It has been speculated whether this might cause injury to the whole neural system or whether shoulder asymmetry and upper limb inequality results in postural deformities of the spine. Alternatively, avulsion could manifest as other signs and symptoms of the whole musculoskeletal system. In addition, there is no available information covering activities of daily living after obstetric brachial plexus surgery. Patients and methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study on all patients who had undergone brachial plexus surgery with at least 5 years of follow-up. An incidence of 3.05/1000 for BPBP was obtained from the registers for this study period. A total of 1706 BPBP patients needing hospital treatment out of 1 717 057 newborns were registered in Finland between 1971 and 1997 inclusive. Of these BPBP patients, 124 (7.3%) underwent brachial plexus surgery at a mean age of 2.8 months (range: 0.4―13.2 months). Surgery was most often performed by direct neuroraphy after neuroma resection (53%). Depending on the phase of the study, 105 to 112 patients (85-90%) participated in a clinical and radiological follow-up assessment. The mean follow up time exceeded 13 years (range: 5.0―31.5 years). Functional status of the upper extremity was evaluated using Mallet, Gilbert and Raimondi scales. Isometric strength of the upper limb, sensation of the hand and stereognosis were evaluated for both the affected and unaffected sides then the differences and their ratios were calculated and recorded. In addition to the upper extremity, assessment of the spine and lower extremities were performed. Activities of daily living (ADL), participation in normal physical activities, and the use of physiotherapy and occupational therapy were recorded in a questionnaire. Results: The unaffected limb functioned as the dominant hand in all, except four patients. The mean length of the affected upper limb was 6 cm (range: 1-13.5 cm) shorter in 106 (95%) patients. Shoulder function was recorded as a mean Mallet score of 3 (range: 2―4) which was moderate. Both elbow function and hand function were good. The mean Gilbert elbow scale value was 3 (range: -1―5) and the mean Raimondi hand scale was 4 (range:1―5). One-third of the patients experienced pain in the affected limb including all those patients (n=9) who had clavicular non-union resulting from surgery. A total of 61 patients (57%) had an active shoulder external rotation of less than 0° and an active elbow extension deficiency was noted in 82 patients (77%) giving a mean of 26° (range: 5°―80°). In all, expect two patients, shoulder external rotation strength at a mean ratio 35% (range: 0―83%) and in all patients elbow flexion strength at a mean ratio of 41% (range: 0―79%) were impaired compared to the unaffected side. According to radiographs, incongruence of the glenohumeral joint was noted in 15 (16%) patients, whereas incongruence of the radiohumeral joint was found in 20 (21%) patients. Fine sensation was normal for 34/49 (69%) patients with C5-6 injury, for 15/31 (48%) with C5-7 and for only 8/25 (32%) of patients with total injury. Loss of protective sensation or absent sensation was noted in some palmar areas of the hand for 12/105 patients (11%). Normal stereognosis was recorded for 88/105 patients (84%). No significant inequalities in leg length were found and the incidence of structural scoliosis (1.7%) did not differ from that of the reference population. Nearly half of the patients (43%) had asynchronous motion of the upper limbs during gait, which was associated with impaired upper limb function. Data obtained from the completed questionnaires indicated that two thirds (63%) of the patients were satisfied with the functional outcome of the affected hand although one third of all patients needed help with ADL. Only a few patients were unable to participate in physical activities such as: bicycling, cross-country skiing or swimming. However, 71% of the patients reported problems related to the affected upper limb, such as muscle weakness and/or joint stiffness during the aforementioned activities. Incongruity of the radiohumeral joints, extent of the injury, avulsion type injury, age less than three months of age at the time of plexus surgery and inexperience of the surgeon was related to poor results as determined by multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Most of the patients had persistent sequelae, especially of shoulder function. Almost all measurements for the total injury group were poorer compared with those of the C5-6 type injury group. Most of the patients had asymmetry of the shoulder region and a shorter affected upper limb, which is a probable reason for having an abnormal gait. However, BPBP did not have an effect on normal growth of the lower extremities or the spine. Although, participation in physical activities was similar to that of the normal population, two-thirds of the patients reported problems. One-third of the patients needed help with ADL. During the period covered by this study, 7.3% BPBP of patients that needed hospital treatment had a brachial plexus operation, which amounts to fewer than 10 operations per year in Finland. It seems that better results of obstetric plexus surgery and more careful follow-up including opportunities for late reconstructive procedures will be expected, if the treatment is solely concentrated on by a few specialised teams.