Time Variation in the Dynamics of Worker Flows: Evidence from the US and Canada

VAR methods have been used to model the inter-relationships between inflows and outfl ows into unemployment and vacancies using tools such as impulse response analysis. In order to investigate whether such impulse responses change over the course of the business cycle or or over time, this paper uses TVP-VARs for US and Canadian data. For the US, we find interesting differences between the most recent recession and earlier recessions and expansions. In particular, we find the immediate effect of a negative shock on both in ow and out flow hazards to be larger in 2008 than in earlier times. Furthermore, the effect of this shock takes longer to decay. For Canada, we fi nd less evidence of time-variation in impulse responses.

Immunological system and Schistosoma mansoni: co-evolutionary immunobiology. What is the eosinophil role in parasite-host relationship?

Schistosomes, ancestors and recent species, have pervaded many hosts and several phylogenetic levels of immunity, causing an evolutionary pressure to eosinophil lineage expression and response. Schistosoma mansoni adult worms have capitalized on the apparent adversity of living within the mesenteric veins, using the dispersion of eggs and antigens to other tissues besides intestines to set a systemic activation of several haematopoietic lineages, specially eosinophils and monocytes/macrophages. This activation occurs in bone marrow, spleen, liver, lymph nodes, omental and mesenteric milky spots (activation of the old or primordial and recent or new lymphomyeloid tissue), increasing and making easy the migration of eosinophils, monocytes and other cells to the intestinal periovular granulomas. The exudative perigranulomatous stage of the periovular reaction, which present hystolitic characteristics, is then exploited by the parasites, to release the eggs into the intestinal lumen. The authors hypothesize here that eosinophils, which have a long phylogenic story, could participate in the parasite - host co-evolution, specially with S. mansoni, operating together with monocytes/ macrophages, upon parasite transmission.

Clinical and immunological consequences of human T cell leukemia virus type-I and Schistosoma mansoni co-infection

Human T cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) infection is associated with spontaneous T cell activation and uncontrolled lymphocyte proliferation. An exacerbated type-1 immune response with production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) is significantly higher in patients with myelopathy associated to HTLV-I than in HTLV-I asymptomatic carriers. In contrast with HTLV-I, a chronic Schistosoma mansoni infection is associated with a type-2 immune response with high levels of interleukin (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10) and low levels of IFN-gamma. In this study, clinical and immunological consequences of the HTLV-I and S. mansoni infection were evaluated. The immune response in patients with schistosomiasis co-infected with HTLV-I showed low levels of IL-5 (p < 0.05) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultures stimulated with S. mansoni antigen (SWAP) and decreased SWAP-specific IgE levels when compared with patients with only schistosomiasis (p < 0.05). Liver fibrosis was mild in all HTLV-I co-infected patients. Immunological response was also compared in individuals who had only HTLV-I infection with those who were co-infected with HTLV-I and helminths (S. mansoni and Strongyloides stercoralis). In patients HTLV-I positive co-infected with helminths the IFN-gamma levels were lower than in individuals who had only HTLV-I. Moreover, there were fewer cells expressing IFN-gamma and more cells expressing IL-10 in individuals co-infected with HTLV-I and helminths. These dates indicate that HTLV-I infection decrease type 2-response and IgE synthesis and are inversely associated with the development of liver fibrosis. Moreover, helminths may protect HTLV-I infected patients to produce large quantities of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-gamma.

Influence of GB virus C on IFN-γ and IL-2 production and CD38 expression in T lymphocytes from chronically HIV-infected and HIV-HCV-co-infected patients

This study was designed to assess the effect of GB virus (GBV)-C on the immune response to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in chronically HIV-infected and HIV- hepatitis C virus (HCV)-co-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. A cohort of 159 HIV-seropositive patients, of whom 52 were HCV-co-infected, was included. Epidemiological data were collected and virological and immunological markers, including the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin (IL)-2 by CD4, CD8 and Tγδ cells and the expression of the activation marker, CD38, were assessed. A total of 65 patients (40.8%) presented markers of GBV-C infection. The presence of GBV-C did not influence HIV and HCV replication or TCD4 and TCD8 cell counts. Immune responses, defined by IFN-γ and IL-2 production and CD38 expression did not differ among the groups. Our results suggest that neither GBV-C viremia nor the presence of E2 antibodies influence HIV and HCV viral replication or CD4 T cell counts in chronically infected patients. Furthermore, GBV-C did not influence cytokine production or CD38-driven immune activation among these patients. Although our results do not exclude a protective effect of GBV-C in early HIV disease, they demonstrate that this effect may not be present in chronically infected patients, who represent the majority of patients in outpatient clinics.

Doing Intersectionality: Repertoires of Feminist Practices in France and Canada

Intersectionality has been adopted as the preferred term to refer to and to analyze multiple axes of oppression in feminist theory. However, less research examines if this term, and the political analyses it carries, has been adopted by women's rights organizations in various contexts and to what effect. Drawing on interviews with activists working in a variety of women's rights organizations in France and Canada, I show that intersectionality is only one of the repertoires that a women's rights organization might use to analyze the social experience and the political interests of women situated at the intersection of several axes of domination. I propose a typology of four repertoires that activists use to reflect on intersectionality and inclusiveness. Drawing on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the interview data, I show that hegemonic repertoires about racial or religious identity in one national context shape the way activists and organizations understand intersectionality and its challenges. The identity of organizations, as well as their main function (advocacy or providing service), also shape their understanding of intersectional issues.

Migrating concepts: Immigrant integration and the regulation of religious dress in France and Canada

Religion in general, and Islam in particular, has become one of the main focal points of policy-making and constitutional politics in many Western liberal states. This article proposes to examine the legal and political dynamics behind new regulations targeting individual religious practices of Muslims. Although one could presuppose that church-state relations or the understanding of secularism is the main factor accounting for either accommodation or prohibition of Muslim religious practices, I make the case that the policy frame used to conceptualize the integration of immigrants in each national context is a more significant influence on how a liberal state approaches the legal regulation of individual practices such as veiling. However, this influence must be assessed carefully since it may have different effects on the different institutional actors in charge of regulating religion, such as the Courts and the legislature. To assess these hypotheses I compare two countries, France and Canada, which are solid examples of two contrasting national policy frames for the integration of immigrants.

Comparison of the site distribution of melanoma in New Zealand and Canada

A comparison of the site distribution of cutaneous malignant melanoma in New Zealand and Canada was performed. This series deals with 41,331 incident cases registered between 1968 and 1990 and is the largest to date to evaluate the influence of age and gender on the site distribution of melanoma. Site-specific, age-standardized rates per unit surface area and relative tumour density were assessed by gender and country and differences compared with statistical techniques adapted to this context. The age-standardized rates for all sites were higher in New Zealand than in Canada, the ratio being 3.2 for men and 3.8 for women. Occurrence of melanoma was denser for chronically than intermittently exposed sites in both New Zealand and Canada. The highest incidence rate per unit area was for the ears in men which was more than 5 times the rate for the entire body in each country. For each gender, melanomas were relatively commoner on the trunk and the face in Canada, and on the lower limbs in New Zealand. The variations in the site distribution were similar in each country and consistent with the effect of differential patterns of sun exposure between genders. Our results show that the levels of risk of melanoma between phenotypically comparable populations exposed to different amount of UV radiation vary in a site-specific manner, especially for intermittently exposed sites. This suggests that both environmental conditions and lifestyle factors influence the site distribution of melanoma in these two populations.

Survival in soil and detection of co-transformed Trichoderma harzianum by nested PCR

The objective of this work was to evaluate the survival of two Trichoderma harzianum co-transformants, TE 10 and TE 41, carrying genes for green fluorescent protein (egfp) and for resistance to benomyl, during four weeks in a contained soil microcosm. Selective culture media were used to detect viable fungal material, whose identity was confirmed by the observation of the fluorescent phenotype by direct epifluorence microscopy. PCR using two nested primer pairs specific to the egfp gene was also used to detect the transformed fungi. Although it was not possible to reliably detect the egfp gene directly from soil extracts, an enrichment step involving selective culture of soil samples in liquid medium prior to DNA extraction enabled the consistent detection of the T. harzianum co-transformants by nested PCR for the duration of the incubation period.

MHC Class II Transactivator Is an In Vivo Regulator of Osteoclast Differentiation and Bone Homeostasis Co-opted From Adaptive Immunity.

The molecular networks controlling bone homeostasis are not fully understood. The common evolution of bone and adaptive immunity encourages the investigation of shared regulatory circuits. MHC Class II Transactivator (CIITA) is a master transcriptional co-activator believed to be exclusively dedicated for antigen presentation. CIITA is expressed in osteoclast precursors, and its expression is accentuated in osteoporotic mice. We thus asked whether CIITA plays a role in bone biology. To this aim, we fully characterized the bone phenotype of two mouse models of CIITA overexpression, respectively systemic and restricted to the monocyte-osteoclast lineage. Both CIITA-overexpressing mouse models revealed severe spontaneous osteoporosis, as assessed by micro-computed tomography and histomorphometry, associated with increased osteoclast numbers and enhanced in vivo bone resorption, whereas osteoblast numbers and in vivo bone-forming activity were unaffected. To understand the underlying cellular and molecular bases, we investigated ex vivo the differentiation of mutant bone marrow monocytes into osteoclasts and immune effectors, as well as osteoclastogenic signaling pathways. CIITA-overexpressing monocytes differentiated normally into effector macrophages or dendritic cells but showed enhanced osteoclastogenesis, whereas CIITA ablation suppressed osteoclast differentiation. Increased c-fms and receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) signaling underlay enhanced osteoclast differentiation from CIITA-overexpressing precursors. Moreover, by extending selected phenotypic and cellular analyses to additional genetic mouse models, namely MHC Class II deficient mice and a transgenic mouse line lacking a specific CIITA promoter and re-expressing CIITA in the thymus, we excluded MHC Class II expression and T cells from contributing to the observed skeletal phenotype. Altogether, our study provides compelling genetic evidence that CIITA, the molecular switch of antigen presentation, plays a novel, unexpected function in skeletal homeostasis, independent of MHC Class II expression and T cells, by exerting a selective and intrinsic control of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vivo. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Off-Diagonal Magnetoimpedance Dependence of Magnetostriction and Anisotropy in Co-Based and Fe-Based Amorphous Ribbons

The object of this work is the comparison of domain structure and off-diagonal magnetoimpedance effect in amorphous ribbons with different magnetostriction coefficient. The Co66Fe4Ni1Si15B14 and Fe80B20 samples were obtained by melt-spinning. During the quenching procedure a 0.07 T transverse magnetic field was applied to some of the samples. Domain patterns obtained by the Bitter technique confirm that the differences on the samples are related to the different anisotropy and magnetostriction coefficient, and the quenching procedure. Small changes on the anisotropy distribution and the magnetostriction coefficient can be detected by the off-diagonal impedance spectra as a consequence of the different permeability values of the samples

Lanthanum based high surface area perovskite-type oxide and application in CO and propane combustion

The perovskite-type oxides using transition metals present a promising potential as catalysts in total oxidation reaction. The present work investigates the effect of synthesis by oxidant co-precipitation on the catalytic activity of perovskite-type oxides LaBO3 (B= Co, Ni, Mn) in total oxidation of propane and CO. The perovskite-type oxides were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption (BET method), thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (ATG-DTA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Through a method involving the oxidant co-precipitation it's possible to obtain catalysts with different BET surface areas, of 33-44 m²/g, according the salts of metal used. The characterization results proved that catalysts have a perovskite phase as well as lanthanum oxide, except LaMnO3, that presents a cationic vacancies and generation for known oxygen excess. The results of catalytic test showed that all oxides have a specific catalytic activity for total oxidation of CO and propane even though the temperatures for total conversion change for each transition metal and substance to be oxidized.

The influence of the season of the year and of dilution on the development of swine manure and wood shaves co-composting

The objective of this research was to study the influence of factors related to the proper management of pig manure (lower dilution) and the season of the year in the progress of the co-composting of pig manure with wood shavings and in the final quality of the compost resulting from the treatments. In the first experiment, two types of swine manure were used: a diluted one (2% Dry Matter - DM), typical from the management usually used in Brazil, and a more concentrated one (6% DM). The manures were incorporated into the wood shavings (6L:1kg) over the course of four weeks. The development of composting was accompanied by monitoring of temperatures inside the piles and the emission of CO2 and CH4 gases during 65 days, including the period of incorporation. The results showed that the diluted manure does not provide the minimum conditions for starting the process. After the incorporation period, any biomass heating was observed and neither the aerobic or anaerobic respiration of the microorganisms, resulting in a compost with low quality. In the second experiment, which evaluated composting in winter and summer during 85 days, it was found that the heat exchange with the environment influences the temperature generated within the piles. The lower temperatures significantly reduced the methanogenesis on the biomass.

The purpose of consumer co-operation: implications for the management and governance of co-operatives

Extant research on consumer co-operation has acknowledged that the corporate purpose of consumer co-operatives deviates significantly from the purpose of investor-owned firms (IOFs – the dominant form in market economies and in theory development in the field of business economics) and also suggested that the management of consumer co-operatives differs from the management of IOFs. Despite this, there is a scarcity of research focusing on the management of consumer co-operatives in general and the ways this different purpose manifests in their management in particular. In other words, research on consumer cooperatives has only started to discover the importance of identifying the premises of these organizations and generating management and organization theories that take them into account. The overall objective of this study is to map out some of the implications that the purpose of consumer co-operation has for the management and governance of consumer co-operatives. To put it more precisely, by combining interview data gathered from Finnish consumer cooperatives (S Group, OP Bank Group and POP Bank) and extant literature, this study aims to generate or elaborate on definitions and outlines of the features that co-operative purpose poses for the strategic management, governance and managerial competence needed for consumer co-operatives. The study consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic, methods and publications, as well as discusses the overall outcomes. The second part consists of four publications that address the research questions from different viewpoints. The analyses of this study indicate that due to the purpose of consumer co-operation, the roles of locality and regionality become emphasized in their management. While locality and regionality are potential sources of competitive advantage for consumer co-operatives, geographic boundness sets significant boundary conditions for the strategic management of these organizations. Further, the purpose of consumer co-operation may pose several challenges to governance and set specific competence demands for the managers of these organizations. Associating the observations from various streams of research on management and governance with the purpose of consumer co-operation and examining these issues further, the thesis contributes to elaboration of theory in the field. While the thesis is by no means comprehensive (but instead reflects a co-operative research project in its early stages), it does shed light on some key ideas of management and governance and offers leads to theory and, thereby, will prove useful to elaborators, disseminators and appliers of knowledge on co-operation.