bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
REE geochemistry of altered tectonites in the Huize base-metal district, Yunnan, China
Authors: Run-sheng Han , Cong-Qiang Liu , Carranza Emmanuel John M. , Baohong Hou , Zhi-Long Huang , Xue- Kun Wang , Yu-Zhao Hu , Li Lei
Published: May 2012

Hydrothermally altered tectonites (e.g. mylonites, cataclasites) occur in ore-controlling fault zones in the Huize base-metal district. Non-altered wallrocks and altered but non-mineralized tectonites have similar REE characteristics indicating seawater origin of the host carbonate rocks but with significant terrigenous input. Calcite gangues in mineralized (argillaceous/barite-bearing) tectonites and tectonite ores contain the highest REE values and exhibit convex-upward and roughly roof-shaped REE patterns with positive Eu anomalies, which are typical of hydrothermal crustal fluids. Negative Ce and negative La anomalies in calcite gangues imply hydrothermal fluids that previously interacted with marine and terrigenous rocks underlying the carbonate host rocks. Similarities in the REE characteristics of mineralized tectonites with those of the non-altered wallrocks and non-mineralized tectonites support earlier propositions that hydrothermal fluids were derived from the Kunyang Group basement rocks. REE characteristics of mineralized (argillaceous/barite-bearing) tectonites indicate fluid-wallrock interactions during migration of hydrothermal fluids along faults. Convex-upward REE patterns of tectonite ores were likely due to remobilization of early-formed base-metal sulphides whereas convex-upward REE patterns of strongly mineralized tectonites (i.e. with disseminated–massive base-metal sulphides) were likely due to recrystallization of early formed calcite gangues. REE characteristics of altered tectonites due to fluid-rock interactions during fluid migration and metal/mineral remobilization/recrystallization are depicted in Y/Ho–La/Ho, Tb/Ca–Tb/La, and Yb/Ca–Yb/La plots of the data. Migration of hydrothermal fluids along ore-controlling faults was likely induced by seismic pumping associated with tectonic deformation, whereas the remobilization/recrystallization process likely occurred in ‘pressure shadows’ along ore-controlling faults.
Petrological and geochemical characteristics of Egyptian banded iron formations: review and new data from Wadi Kareim
Authors: Khalil K. I. , El-Shazly A. K.
Published: May 2012

The banded iron formations in the eastern desert of Egypt are small, deformed, bodies intercalated with metamorphosed Neoproterozoic volcaniclastic rocks. Although the 13 banded iron deposits have their own mineralogical, chemical, and textural characteristics, they have many similarities, the most notable of which are the lack of sulphide and paucity of carbonate facies minerals, a higher abundance of magnetite over hematite in the oxide facies, and a well-developed banding/lamination. Compared to Algoma, Superior, and Rapitan type banded iron ores, the Egyptian deposits have very high Fe/Si ratios, high Al
2
O
3
content, and HREE-enriched patterns. The absence of wave-generated structures in most of the Egyptian deposits indicates sub-aqueous precipitation below wave base, whereas their intercalation with poorly sorted volcaniclastic rocks with angular clasts suggests a depositional environment proximal to epiclastic influx. The Egyptian deposits likely formed in small fore-arc and back-arc basins through the precipitation of Fe silicate gels under slightly euxinic conditions. Iron and silica were supplied through submarine hydrothermal vents, whereas the low oxidation states were likely maintained in these basins through inhibition of growth of photosynthetic organisms. Diagenetic changes formed magnetite, quartz and other silicates from the precipitated gels. During the Pan-African orogeny, the ore bodies were deformed, metamorphosed, and accreted to the African continent. Localized hydrothermal activity increased Fe/Si ratios.
The CO
2
-rich magmatic-hydrothermal fluid of the Qiyugou breccia pipe, Henan Province, China: implication for breccia genesis and gold mineralization
Authors: Li Nuo , Carranza Emmanuel John M. , Ni Zhiyong , Guo Dongsheng
Published: May 2012

The Qiyugou deposit, in the Xiong’er terrane, Qinling Orogen, is an auriferous breccia pipe developed in continental collision setting. The breccia pipe exhibits variable-sized clasts and clast mixing, which are typical of fluidized breccias. Brecciation, alteration, and gold mineralization are related to granite porphyry emplaced at
c
. 134 Ma. However, the relationships of the CO
2
-rich ore-forming fluids with the tectonic setting, structural control, granite magma evolution, and hydrothermal brecciation have not been clearly discussed. New fluid inclusion data presented in this paper indicate that the formation of the Qiyugou deposit includes: (1) an early stage defined by K-feldspar-epidote-quartz-pyrite assemblage; (2) a middle stage of quartz-polymetallic sulphides; and (3) a late stage typified by quartz-carbonate±adularia. Alteration and mineralization resulted from escape of hot (>320 °C), high-salinity (>40 wt% NaCl eq.) magmatic fluid exsolved during the final stage of crystallization of the granite porphyry. Significant pressure drop from 85–90 to 20–38 MPa resulted in breccia formation and precipitation of quartz, sulphides, and gold. A vapour phase was produced at 355–403 °C due to fluid boiling, and then was cooled and condensed under near-critical conditions to a moderately saline, warm liquid. Aqueous-carbonic inclusions were formed by trapping of heterogeneous fluids unmixed from the original H
2
O-CO
2
-NaCl fluid. Late magmatic-hydrothermal fluid mixed with meteoric fluid, and was cooled and diluted to produce lukewarm, low-salinity fluid that precipitated clear quartz and calcite with little or no mineralization. Our review of the literature suggests that the brecciation and mineralization likely coincided with sinistral transtensive faulting during 140–120 Ma. Therefore, synthesis of the foregoing geochemical information with pertinent geological information from the literature lead us to propose that fluidization and seismic pumping were important in the breccia formation and associated gold mineralization at Qiyugou.
Geochemical and petrological characterization of gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo, Ethiopia: opal formation in an Oligocene soil
Authors: Rondeau Benjamin , Cenki-Tok Bénédicte , Fritsch Emmanuel , Mazzero Francesco , Gauthier Jean-Pierre , Bodeur Yves , Bekele Eyassu , Gaillou Eloïse , Ayalew Dereje
Published: May 2012

Gem opals from Wegel Tena, Wollo Province, Ethiopia, occur in Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrites. They display a unique geochemistry, with some samples yielding the highest Ba concentrations ever recorded. They are generally much richer in chemical impurities than opals from other localities. For example, the sum Al+Fe or the sum Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba are often higher. These geochemical features make them easy to distinguish from other opals worldwide. We observed strong geochemical variations and some good positive correlations in our samples, such as Al+Fe vs. Na+Mg+Ca+K+Ba, Al vs Ca, or Ba vs Ca. This shows that the crystallography of opal has controlled, at least in part, the incorporation of chemical impurities, although opal is not well-crystallized. In addition, the multimodal distributions of several chemical impurities (e.g. U vs Sr, Al vs Ca, Ba vs Ca, etc.) suggest at least two origins of silica: weathering of feldspars and weathering of volcanic glass. In addition, opals from Wegel Tena contain numerous well-preserved microscopic plant fossils. Moreover, their host rock exhibits features typical of pedogenesis (abundant clays, desiccation cracks, and grain size sorting). We propose that the opals at Wegel Tena formed during the Oligocene period when volcanic emissions stopped for a time long enough to allow weathering of ingimbrites and therefore liberation of silica. This accompanied the formation of soil and development of plant life, and some plants were trapped in opal.

Supplementary Material:

The totality of the chemical analyses is available at
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18519
.
Source and evolution of fluids in the Shihu gold deposit, Taihang Mountains, China: evidence from microthermometry, chemical composition and noble gas isotope of fluid inclusions
Authors: Cao Ye , Carranza Emmanuel John M. , Li Shengrong , Yao Meijuan , Zhang Huafeng
Published: May 2012

The well-known Shihu quartz vein-type Au deposit in the Taihang Mountains in the North China Craton (NCC) is hosted by ductile-brittle faults within the Neo-archean–Palaeo-proterozoic Fuping Group metamorphic complex. The deposit exhibit four stages of quartz veins: (1) quartz-K-feldspar-sericite; (2) quartz-pyrite; (3) quartz-polymetallic sulphide; and (4) quartz-carbonate ± pyrite. Three types of ﬂuid inclusions in quartz are recognized in this study. Solid-bearing high-salinity (Type I) ﬂuid inclusions have homogenization temperatures of up to 390 ºC and high salinities of 33–47 wt% NaCl equivalent. Two-phase H
2
O-rich (Type II) fluid inclusions homogenized between 129–396 ºC and have salinities of 1.7–12.5 wt% NaCl equivalent. Two/three-phase CO
2
-rich (Type III) fluid inclusions, which are abundant in auriferous quartz veins, have homogenization temperatures of 205–358 ºC and salinities of 1.63–7.64 wt% NaCl equivalent. Laser Raman spectroscopy and quadrupole mass spectrometry confirmed that the vapour phase in the fluid inclusions is dominated by CO
2
, H
2
S, CH
4
, C
2
H
4
, N
2
and Ar besides H
2
O, whereas the liquid phase is composed of Cl
−
, SO
4
2−
, Na
+
, and K
+
with minor Mg
2+
and Ca
2+
. Fluid inclusions in pyrite associated with quartz ore-stages (2) and (3) have ΣREE values of 0.61–342.17 ppm with negative Ce, Eu and Y anomalies and LREE enrichment relative to HREE, generally indicating a crustal source of ore fluids. Helium isotope studies of fluid inclusions in pyrites associated with quartz ore-stages (2) and (3) yielded
3
He/
4
He ratios of 0.12–0.93 Ra (Ra=1.4×10
−6
for air) and
40
Ar/
36
Ar ratios of 3690–23678. The noble gas data suggest
c
. 10–20% mantle-derived ore fluids, reflecting an increased interaction of ore fluids with surrounding crustal rocks contributing additional
4
He to the fluids. The present data and various information from published works suggest that the Shihu Au deposit was formed during lithospheric thinning or decratonization beneath the Taihang Mountains. The fluids derived from the lower crust, formed due to partial melting and dehydration of the lithospheric mantle, were mixed with magmatic and meteoric waters, and finally precipitated Au and associated metals in the Shihu deposit.
Genotype‐ and Sex‐Specific QT‐RR Relationship in the Type‐1 Long‐QT Syndrome
Authors: Couderc Jean‐Philippe , Xia Xiaojuan , Denjoy Isabelle , Extramiana Fabrice , Maison‐Blanche Pierre , Moss Arthur J. , Zareba Wojciech , Lopes Coeli M.
Published: May 2012

Background

Genotype‐phenotype investigations have revealed significantly larger risk for cardiac events in patients with type 1 long‐QT syndrome (LQT‐1), particularly in adult females, with missense mutation in the cytoplasmic loop (C‐loop) regions of the α subunit of the KCNQ1 gene associated with an impaired ion channel activation by adrenergic stimulus. We hypothesize that the impaired response to increases in heart rate leads to abnormal QT‐RR dynamic profiles and is responsible for the increased cardiac risk for these patients.

Methods and Results

We measured the QT‐RR slope in 24‐hour Holter ECGs from LQT‐1 patients with the mutations associated with impaired adrenergic stimulus (C‐loop, n=18) and compared to LQT‐1 patients with other mutations (non–C‐loop, n=48), and to a healthy control group (n=195). The diurnal QT‐RR slope was less steep in C‐loop mutation patients (0.10±0.05) than in the ECGs from non–C‐loop mutation patients (0.17±0.09,
P
=0.002). For female patients, slower heart rates were associated with prolonged QT and increased QT‐RR slope. Male patients with C‐loop mutations showed an impaired repolarization for shorter range of heart rates than in females, which is consistent with gender differences in triggers for events in this syndrome.

Conclusions

Our observations suggest that the C‐loop LQT‐1 patients have specific impaired adrenergic regulation of the ventricular repolarization. This response to heart rate increases may be useful in identification of high‐risk patients with inherited prolonged QT and may help select an optimal antiarrhythmic therapeutic strategy.

(
J Am Heart Assoc
. 2012;1:e000570 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.112.000570.)
High On‐Aspirin Platelet Reactivity and Clinical Outcome in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease: Results From ASCET (Aspirin Nonresponsiveness and Clopidogrel Endpoint Trial)
Authors: Pettersen Alf‐Åge R. , Seljeflot Ingebjørg , Abdelnoor Michael , Arnesen Harald
Published: May 2012

Background

Patients with stable coronary artery disease on single‐antiplatelet therapy with aspirin are still at risk for atherothrombotic events, and high on‐aspirin residual platelet reactivity (RPR) has been suggested as a risk factor.

Methods and Results

In this randomized trial, the association between platelet function determined by the PFA100 platelet function analyzer system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Germany) and clinical outcome in 1001 patients, all on single‐antiplatelet therapy with aspirin (160 mg/d) was studied. Patients were randomized to continue with aspirin 160 mg/d or change to clopidogrel 75 mg/d. A composite end point of death, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and unstable angina was used. At 2‐year follow‐up, 106 primary end points were registered. The prevalence of high RPR was 25.9%. High on‐aspirin RPR did not significantly influence the primary end point in the aspirin group (13.3% versus 9.9%,
P
=0.31). However, in post hoc analysis, patients with von Willebrand factor levels or platelet count below median values and high on‐aspirin RPR had a statistically significant higher end point rate than that of patients with low RPR (20% versus 7.5%,
P
=0.014, and 18.2% versus 10.8%,
P
=0.039, respectively). The composite end point rate in patients with high on‐aspirin RPR treated with clopidogrel was not different from that of patients treated with aspirin (7.6% versus 13.3%,
P
=0.16).

Conclusions

In stable, aspirin‐treated patients with coronary artery disease, high on‐aspirin RPR did not relate to clinical outcome and did not identify a group responsive to clopidogrel. Post hoc subgroup analysis raised the possibility that high on‐aspirin RPR might be predictive in patients with low von Willebrand factor or platelet count, but these findings will require confirmation in future studies.

Clinical Trial Registration

URL:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
Unique identifier: NCT00222261.

(
J Am Heart Assoc
. 2012;1:e000703 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.112.000703.)
Global Psychological Distress and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation Among Women: The Women's Health Study
Authors: Whang William , Davidson Karina W. , Conen David , Tedrow Usha B. , Everett Brendan M. , Albert Christine M.
Published: May 2012

Background

Symptoms of psychological distress and depression have been associated with risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Their relationship with atrial arrhythmias, however, is less well studied.

Methods and Results

We sought to assess the long‐term relations between psychological distress and risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the Women's Health Study of female health professionals. We measured psychological symptoms with the Mental Health Inventory‐5. Incident AF was assessed annually and verified through medical records. Among 30 746 women without history of cardiovascular disease or AF, 771 cases of AF occurred during a median follow‐up of 125 months (interquartile range, 117–130 months). Global psychological distress was not associated with AF risk in age‐stratified (
P
=0.61 for linear trend) or multivariable proportional‐hazards models that included antidepressant use (
P
=0.34). A proxy measure for depression, consisting of Mental Health Inventory‐5 score <53, antidepressant use, or both, was also not associated with AF risk in multivariable models (hazard ratio=0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.78–1.25;
P
=0.93). In post hoc analyses of individual symptoms from the Mental Health Inventory‐5, positive affect, “feeling happy some/a good bit of the time,” was associated with reduced risk of AF (hazard ratio=0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.49–0.99;
P
=0.04); other depressive and anxious symptoms were not.

Conclusions

In this prospective study of women without known cardiovascular disease, global psychological distress and specific depressive symptoms were unrelated to AF risk.

(
J Am Heart Assoc
. 2012;1:e001107 doi

:
10.1161/JAHA.112.001107
.)
Myocardial Revascularization in New York State: Variations in the PCI‐to‐CABG Ratio and Their Implications
Authors: Ko Wilson , Tranbaugh Robert , Marmur Jonathan D. , Supino Phyllis G. , Borer Jeffrey S.
Published: May 2012

Background

During the past 2 decades, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has increased dramatically compared with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for patients with coronary artery disease. However, although the evidence available to all practitioners is similar, the relative distribution of PCI and CABG appears to differ among hospitals and regions.

Methods and Results

We reviewed the published data from the mandatory New York State Department of Health annual cardiac procedure reports issued from 1994 through 2008 to define trends in PCI and CABG utilization in New York and to compare the PCI/CABG ratios in the metropolitan area to the remainder of the State. During this 15‐year interval, the procedure volume changes for CABG, for all cardiac surgeries, for non‐CABG cardiac surgeries, and for PCI for New York State were −40%, −20%, +17.5%, and +253%, respectively; for the Manhattan programs, the changes were similar as follows: −61%, −23%, +14%, and +284%. The average PCI/CABG ratio in New York State increased from 1.12 in 1994 to 5.14 in 2008; however, in Manhattan, the average PCI/CABG ratio increased from 1.19 to 8.04 (2008 range: 3.78 to 16.2). The 2008 PCI/CABG ratios of the Manhattan programs were higher than the ratios for New York City programs outside Manhattan, in Long Island, in the northern counties contiguous to New York City, and in the rest of New York State; their averages were 5.84, 5.38, 3.31, and 3.24, respectively. In Manhattan, a patient had a 56% greater chance of receiving PCI than CABG as compared with the rest of New York State; in one Manhattan program, the likelihood was 215% higher.

Conclusions

There are substantial regional and statewide differences in the utilization of PCI versus CABG among cardiac centers in New York, possibly related to patient characteristics, physician biases, and hospital culture. Understanding these disparities may facilitate the selection of the most appropriate, effective, and evidence‐based revascularization strategy.

(
J Am Heart Assoc
. 2012;1:e001446 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.112.001446.)
Microparticles Induce Cell Cycle Arrest Through Redox‐Sensitive Processes in Endothelial Cells: Implications in Vascular Senescence
Authors: Burger Dylan , Kwart Dylan G. , Montezano Augusto C. , Read Naomi C. , Kennedy Christopher R.J. , Thompson Charlie S. , Touyz Rhian M.
Published: May 2012

Background

Chronic disease accelerates endothelial dysfunction in aging, a process associated with cell senescence. However, the mechanisms underlying this process are unclear. We examined whether endothelial cell (EC)‒derived microparticles (MPs) facilitate EC senescence and questioned the role of reactive oxygen species in this process.

Methods and Results

Senescence was induced by sequential passaging of primary mouse ECs. Cells retained phenotypic characteristics of ECs from passage 4 through passage 21. Passage 21 ECs exhibited features of senescence, including increased staining of senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase (SA‐βgal), a greater percentage of cells in G
1
/G
0
phase of the cell cycle, and increased phosphorylation of p66
Shc
(
P
<0.05). Microparticle formation from passage 21 ECs was increased versus passage 4 ECs (∼2.2‐fold increase versus passage 4,
P
<0.05), and the Rho kinase inhibitor fasudil blocked this increase. Exposure of passage 4 ECs to MPs shifted cells from a proliferating to a nonproliferating phenotype, as indicated by cell cycle analysis and increased senescence‐associated β‐galactosidase staining. MPs increased EC generation of O
2
●−
(∼2.7‐fold) and H
2
O
2
(∼2.6‐fold), effects blocked by apocynin (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase inhibitor) and rotenone (mitochondrial oxidase inhibitor) but not by allopurinol (xanthine oxidase inhibitor). MPs increased expression of cell cycle proteins p 21 cip1 and p16ink4a and stimulated phosphorylation of p66
Shc
in ECs (
P
<0.05 versus untreated ECs). Pretreatment with the reactive oxygen species scavenger sodium 4,5‐dihydroxybenzene‐1,3‐disulfonate (tiron) abrogated the prosenescent effects of MPs.

Conclusions

MPs promote EC senescence through nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase‒ and mitochondrial‐derived reactive oxygen species. Such redox‐sensitive processes may be important in vascular dysfunction in aging.

(
J Am Heart Assoc
. 2012;1:e001842 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.112.001842.)
The Death of Statutory Union Recognition in the United Kingdom
Authors: Bogg Alan L.
Published: May 2012

This article examines the context to the declining use of statutory recognition machinery to achieve collective bargaining in the UK. It suggests that the prospects for regulatory innovation within the structural confines of the North American Wagner Act model are not promising as a way of reversing this pattern of decline. The article then explores ‘regulatory’ models of collective bargaining as an alternative strategy, and it suggests ways in which the conceptualization of representational legitimacy might be enriched to support such a strategy.
Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2011
Authors: Brigden Cathy
Published: May 2012

In 2011, Australian unions successfully extended collective bargaining in some quarters while, in others, they engaged in lengthy industrial campaigns. At the heart of a number of these campaigns lay the issue of job security and controls over staffing. The challenge to managerial prerogative prompted some unforeseen actions, including lockouts, by employers, the most dramatic example being seen at Qantas. Unexpectedly, this also included an employer preference for arbitration not previously seen under the Fair Work Act 2009. Union activity to increase union density remained a challenge, with the Australian Council of Trade Unions shifting to a campaigning focus in an attempt to identify salient issues confronting members. Relations with the federal government were overall fairly positive, in particular, with some advances made in the area of occupational health and safety. This was in contrast to relations with a number of state governments as a result of their bargaining tactics and strategies.
Major Tribunal Decisions in 2011
Authors: Catanzariti Joseph , Kane Christopher
Published: May 2012

This article examines a number of decisions from 2011 that have further defined the scope and operation of the Fair Work Act 2009. The year 2011 was one in which Fair Work Australia took the dramatic step of terminating industrial action on the basis of a threat to the economy. This article considers that Full Bench decision, and the role of arbitration to resolve that dispute. Further, in a series of decisions dealing with good faith bargaining, Fair Work Australia has continued to demonstrate the common-sense approach it will take to applications under the Fair Work Act. The rights and obligations of bargaining representatives have now been made somewhat clearer. Finally, 2011 saw the adverse action provisions of the Fair Work Act go under the spotlight, including before a Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia, demonstrating the approach the Courts will take to protect the exercise of workplace rights by employees.
Testing Fair Work: Australian Industrial Relations in 2011
Authors: Cooper Rae
Published: May 2012

Industrial relations in 2011 will be remembered by most observers for the dramatic October grounding of the Qantas fleet of aircraft. This followed a long-running bargaining dispute between unions and Qantas management. These events, while significant, overshadowed a number of other important industrial relations milestones and events. For example, the Australian Service Unions’ Equal Remuneration Case was heard and, for the most part, decided in 2011. Throughout the year, Fair Work Australia decided numerous cases that fleshed out the possibilities of the new Act in a number of important areas, including in relation to collective bargaining. At the same time, employer groups criticized the working of the Act, notably in relation to industrial action and the bargaining provisions. In this context, late in 2011, the (new) minister released the terms of reference for a review of the operation of the Act to be undertaken in the first half of 2012.
Recognition at Last: Care Work and the Equal Remuneration Case
Authors: Cortis Natasha , Meagher Gabrielle
Published: May 2012

Despite decades of intervention to promote equal pay, the gender wage gap in Australia persists. A key explanation is that equal pay strategies have had limited capacity to address the subtle, historical undervaluation that keep wages low in highly feminized areas of employment, especially where care work is performed. In this article, we examine a recent attempt to address the undervaluation of care work through a test case of the expanded equal remuneration clause in the Fair Work Act 2009. A highly feminized area of employment, the social and community services industry proved a strategic context for the case. We discuss three significant aspects of the case: the recognition given to the undervaluation of care work; the divergent interests of non-government sector employers and business associations; and strong contestation over who should pay, arising from the government’s third-party role as purchaser of social and community services.
The War Against Public Sector Collective Bargaining in the US
Authors: Freeman Richard B. , Han Eunice
Published: May 2012

The 2008–2009 recession created major budgetary problems in US cities and states. Conservative Republicans who had triumphed in many state elections in 2010 introduced laws to weaken or eliminate public sector bargaining on the grounds that it contributed to the deficits and hampered government responses to the crisis. Unions and their allies fought back in an effort to preserve collective bargaining and unionism in its last stronghold in the country. This article finds that states with public sector bargaining laws have higher debt-to-state gross domestic product (GDP) ratios and slightly higher deficits than states without such laws, but that the dominant cause of the budgetary problem was the recession, and that unions gave sizable wage and benefit concessions to deal with the crisis. The main motivations for the attack appear to be political opportunism and ideological opposition to governments bargaining with their employees. The majority of citizens favored maintaining public sector bargaining. The backlash from unions and their supporters to the attack in two key states, Ohio and Wisconsin, was sufficiently vigorous to suggest that the long-run effects of the war on collective bargaining may boomerang against the opponents of unionization.
Labour Markets and Wages in Australia in 2011
Authors: Jefferson Therese , Preston Alison
Published: May 2012

In a context of international economic uncertainty and uneven domestic economic performance, labour market outcomes showed considerable diversity. Wide-ranging outcomes in employment numbers, patterns of full-time and part-time work, labour utilization, and changes in earnings were evident both across and within industries. Men’s full-time employment appears to be one labour market area that is experiencing particular decline as casualization of the workforce continues and men’s traditional industries of employment experience subdued economic growth. Women’s employment appears to be faring relatively well in terms of growth, but large and persistent gender pay gaps remain evident in particular feminized industries, including financial and insurance services and health and social assistance. Predictions made earlier this decade that population ageing might ensure relative stability in employment among younger workers have not yet been fulfilled. Younger workers continue to experience relatively high levels of unemployment and underutilization, with the immediate employment experiences of younger men being relatively unfavourable compared with younger women in the workforce.
Industrial Legislation in 2011
Authors: McCrystal Shae , Orchiston Tashina
Published: May 2012

Consolidation and industry-specific legislation were two general themes in 2011 federal developments, signifying a shift in the legislative agenda after the implementation of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Starting with the first theme, this article considers: steps towards streamlining federal equality law; the progress and pitfalls in the occupational health and safety harmonization process; and proposed enhancements to the national paid parental leave system, including steps to resolve teething problems caused by the interaction between Paid Parental Leave and Fair Work legislation. Second, we review industry-specific developments. These include: a Bill to introduce a ‘safe rates’ regime and allow for independent contractor collective bargaining in the road transport sector; and a Bill to extend the bulk of Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) protections to textile, clothing and footwear industry contractors and make it easier for these workers to recover unpaid debts across the supply chain. Third, we summarize relevant state developments, which were diverse in focus.
Employer and Employer Association Matters in 2011
Authors: Todd Patricia
Published: May 2012

During 2011, employer associations have been very active in lobbying for legislative change in industrial relations. The changes they are seeking are in line with past policies to diminish collective bargaining and increase managerial control in the workplace. The political and economic contexts have provided opportunities and, with the impending review of the Fair Work Act, encouraged such lobbying for change. While the major employer bodies are adopting similar stances on the need for change, there is diversity in the industrial relations strategies being engaged by employers in individual workplaces.
Personal assistance for disabled people and the understanding of human being
Authors: Mladenov Teodor
Published: May 2012

This paper explores personal assistance – a practice considered crucial for supporting the independence and social inclusion of disabled people. The starting point of the analysis is the presumption that the significance of personal assistance goes well beyond welfare, touching upon existential-ontological issues. In order to uncover these issues, a phenomenological approach is used. The aim is to highlight the understanding of human being which is mediated by an internationally prominent model of personal assistance, to wit, the one promoted by the European Independent Living advocates, as described by Adolf Ratzka (2004a). It is argued that despite its liberal-individualist assertions the scheme described by Ratzka presupposes a distributed, relational understanding of human being. A case study of recent disability-related activism in Bulgaria is developed in order to further substantiate this claim. In conceptual terms, then, the paper adds a fresh perspective to the debates on individualist vs. collectivist approaches to disability equality. This perspective is informed by the phenomenological insights of Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. In policy terms the paper argues for the necessity of promoting and supporting disabled people’s self-organizing, most importantly peer support and advocacy activities.
Premodern Southeast Asia as a Guide to International Relations between Peoples
Authors: Chong Alan
Published: May 2012

Contemporary research on the international relations of Southeast Asia has neglected the latent possibilities of reading non-western indigenous forms of international relations as a contribution to worldwide debates on the nature of international politics. Drawing on one precolonial account of Southeast Asian political practices in the Malay Archipelago, the Sejarah Melayu, this article proposes that Southeast Asians have previously philosophized about “intersocietal relations” in ways that privilege noble prowess, knowledge quests, and hierarchical justice through the interdependence of trade and culture within the region, and with India, China, and the Arab world. These features can still speak to contemporary relations between peoples rather than states and to security issues within borderless regions.
The Oppressive Totality of the Past
Authors: Kopper Ákos
Published: May 2012

Controlling for insecurities depends on a capacity to make inferences on the basis of experiences about the past, yet the use of knowledge about the past for anticipating and predicting future threats is highly problematic. This article examines the problem of governing individuals on the basis of what is available about their past deeds and social networks in governmental and commercial archives. It highlights the tension between administrative and private narratives about individuals, the former being constructed on the basis of minute details collected and stored about individuals since birth, and the latter referring to the accounts individuals offer of themselves. By applying the notions of ipse and idem identity developed by Paul Ricoeur, the article examines the two-way flow between memory and identity and the consequent concern that administrative narratives are blind to the ethical renewal of individuals, to the capacity of Man to extricate himself from the shackles of his past. To prepare the ground, the article considers some inherent limitations of biopolitics, pointing out that although biopolitics was classically concerned to govern both individual bodies and the body politic, administrative and governmental limitations have led states to govern the “average citizen” rather than individuals in their “individuality.”
Off the Map, Beneath Our Feet
Authors: Rosen-Carole Adam
Published: May 2012

The imaginary consolidation of America as a sovereign nation-state situated on a state-centric international topography was and remains predicated on spatializing practices bound up with the ongoing eradication of indigenous people(s) and simultaneous effacement, or at least repression, of the violence of the (neo)colonial encounter. The American nation-state is founded on the all-but-forgotten bodies and worlds of indigenous peoples and is continually secured by a narrative constellation that reduces the decimation of people(s) to a clearing of space on which a sovereign nation could be constructed or within which it could evolve. This article will trace the various techniques of decimating indigenous cultures and bodies that facilitate efforts of nationalist historiography that reduce indigenous cartographies to mere space situated within a narrative trajectory of American national unification.
Children— Democracy and Emancipation
Authors: de Castro Lucia Rabello
Published: May 2012

Modern conceptions of politics are intrinsically related to theories of subjectivity shaped by a teleological narrative expressing claims about instrumental rationality, moral and psychological autonomy, and individualized selfhood. Consequently, children have been considered to be lacking both the credentials necessary to act and participate in politics and the subjective dispositions of proper political subjects. This overwhelming conception of subjectivity as a purposefully and rationally oriented individual produced by a sovereign politics may be contested. Empirical data deriving from recent research on children’s and youth’s participation in schools are presented to show how children and youth effectively manage “to speak” and build a different point of view from those of adults about their school experience. Such research provokes analysis of insidious but unpublicized forms of domination and resistance. The inclusion of children in politics seems to depend on our capacity to overcome taken-for-granted truths about adult-centered society.
The Informal Economy Worldwide: Trends and Characteristics
Authors: Charmes Jacques
Published: May 2012

It has now been more than 40 years since the first attempts of defining and data collection on informal sector and informal employment on a large scale were launched in the early 1970s. Many debates paved the way for the international definition of the informal sector in 1993 and informal employment in 2003. The informal economy is finally a means for conciliating the two concepts and since the mid-1970s, national estimates of size (employment) and contribution (share of gross domestic product [GDP]) of the informal sector, and later on of the informal economy (and of its two major components: informal sector and employment outside the informal sector), have regularly been attempted and gathered on a large scale. This article is the most recent synthesis of these works. It is based on the recent compilations by the Bureau of Statistics of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the National Accounts Section of the United Nations (UN) Statistics Division as well as on original national data. Employment in the informal economy is revealed to be as high as 58–70 per cent of non-agricultural employment at regional level (the informal sector representing from 50 per cent to 80 per cent of the informal economy) and the informal sectors contribution to non-agricultural GDP is from 25 per cent up to 50 per cent.

JEL Classifications: O17, O57, J21
Urban Employment in India: Recent Trends and Patterns
Authors: Chen Martha Alter , Raveendran G.
Published: May 2012

This article explores trends in urban employment in India, with a focus on urban informal employment. The data presented are from three of the recent large-sample rounds of the National Sample Survey which are carried out every five years in India: the 55th Round covering 1999–2000; the 61st Round covering 2004–05; and the 66th Round covering 2009–10. All tables in this article are based on tabulations of the raw data by one of the authors (G. Raveendran). The article reviews trends in urban employment in India, including the marked de-acceleration of employment growth and the marked decline in the female labour force participation rate between 2004–05 and 2009–10. Also, an overview of urban informal employment is presented, which represents 80 per cent of total employment, by employment status and branch of industry as well as four specific groups of informal workers—domestic workers, home-based workers, street vendors and waste pickers—which together represent 33 per cent of total urban employment in India in 2009–10. In the end, we summarise what we know about urban informal employment in India today and over the first decade of the 21st century and conclude with a call for re-envisioning cities in India to allow informal enterprises, activities and workers to operate alongside larger firms, more formal activities and formal workers.

JEL Classifications: J8, E26, D13
The Determinants of Selection into Non-agricultural Self-employment in Ghana
Authors: Heintz James , Pickbourn Lynda
Published: May 2012

Selection into informal employment is frequently theorised as either an individual choice, for example, to avoid taxation or regulation, or as a structural feature of the formal labour market: for example, the rationing of opportunities prevents free entry into formal employment. However, participation in informal employment can also be understood as the outcome of choices made in the context of structural constraints outside the labour market. Such constraints include the distribution of assets, access to education, responsibilities for unpaid care work and social norms, among others. This article uses data from the Fifth Round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 5) to examine the determinants of selection into self-employment in non-agricultural household enterprises. The Fifth Round of the GLSS was administered with a special focus on non-agricultural household enterprises and provides a rich set of information on informal self-employment outside of agriculture. By considering a range of factors at the individual and household levels, the results of the data analysis will present a more nuanced view of participation in informal self-employment.

JEL Classifications: J21, J24, O17, O55
A Segmented Labour Supply Model Estimation for the Construction of a CGE Microsimulation Model: An Application to the Philippines
Authors: Boccanfuso D. , Savard L.
Published: May 2012

Labour market analysis is an important element to understand the inequality and poverty within a given population. The literature reveals that the informal sector is characterised by a great deal of flexibility and is exempt from formal market rigidities on the one hand, but on the other hand, this sector can constitute a trap from which it is difficult to exit for workers active in the sector with low wages. In this article, we aim to identify the main characteristics differentiating the labour supply of workers on the informal and formal market in the Philippines while estimating these two labour supplies, capturing discrete choice or changes in employment status. We use these estimates to construct a labour supply model that can serve as an input for a broader macro–microsimulation model applied to the Philippines. The results of the estimation provide relatively intuitive findings, highlighting some differences between the two markets. We also shed some light on this macro–microsimulation modelling framework that is generally opaque, in describing how to construct a microsimulation model with endogenous discrete choice model linked to a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model.

JEL Classification: C35, O53, J24, C81, O17
Trade, Employment and the Informal Sector: An Agent-based Analysis
Authors: Gibson Bill
Published: May 2012

This article discusses a multi-agent model of the informal sector. An analytical model is first developed to explore the possible range of relationships between formal and informal employment. Data from the agent-based model support protecting formal sector jobs with current account restrictions. It is seen that restrictions on outsourcing can have a positive effect on formal sector activity. Offshoring, that is, relocating to another country, is also considered. When restrictions on offshoring are studied, it is seen that formal sector employment growth is less robust. Unrestricted current and capital account activity produces a steady state with near zero informal activity, while restrictions preserve the informal sector indefinitely.

JEL Classifications: O17, E17, D58
Infection prevention practice: how does experience affect knowledge and application?
Authors: Slyne H , Phillips C , Parkes J
Published: May 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses’ knowledge of infection prevention procedures, the degree to which they were applied correctly, and whether length of service affected either knowledge or application. Nurses with over five years of experience had significantly increased understanding of infection prevention ( p=0.009) and significantly increased application of knowledge to practice ( p=0.001), compared to nurses with five years or less experience. In particular, understanding of hand hygiene and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was poor although application was compliant, while knowledge of care of patients with meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile was poor, which was reflected by substandard application of knowledge to practice. The results of this study suggest that focusing infection prevention education around patients with specific infections, such as MRSA and C. difficile, rather than on individual standard precautions may more effectively increase knowledge and therefore application of infection prevention practices.
White Si–O–C(–H) Particles with Photoluminescence Synthesized by Decarbonization Reaction on Polymer Precursor in a Hydrogen Atmosphere
Authors: Narisawa Masaki , Watase Seiji , Matsukawa Kimihiro , Dohmaru Takaaki , Okamura Kiyohito
Published: May 2012

Colorless white Si–O–C(–H) particles with photoluminescence were synthesized from silicone resin precursor. Pyrolysis of the precursor particles in a hydrogen atmosphere was effective for adjustment of resulting carbon content. Analysis of chemical compositions revealed that the resulting materials contained a small amount of hydrogen with Si, O, and C.
Synthesis and Structure of a Neutral AuI4NiII2 Hexanuclear Complex Containing d-Penicillaminate and 1,2-Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane
Authors: Igashira-Kamiyama Asako , Matsushita Natsuko , Lee Raeeun , Tsuge Kiyoshi , Konno Takumi
Published: May 2012

The 1:1 reaction of [Au2(dppe)(d-Hpen)2] (dppe: 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, d-H2pen: d-penicillamine) with Ni(CH3COO)2·4H2O in ethanol, followed by the vapor diffusion of diethyl ether, gave blue-green crystals of [Au4Ni2(dppe)2(d-pen)4]. This compound showed single-crystal-to-single-crystal conversion on soaking in water, accompanied by the drastic change in complex-molecular arrangements from straight chain to helix structures.
Ratiometric Fluorescence Detection of Anions by an Amide-Based Receptor Bearing Pyrenyl Groups
Authors: Kondo Shin-ichi , Nakajima Shin-ichiro , Unno Masafumi
Published: May 2012

A tetraamide-based receptor 3 bearing two pyrenyl moieties as signaling units was designed and synthesized. Receptor 3 showed enhancement of the monomer emission with a concomitant decrease in the excimer emission upon the addition of relatively basic oxoanions allowing ratiometric measurements to determine the concentration of anions.
Preparation of Er2O3 Nanorod Catalyst without Using Organic Additive and Its Application to Catalytic Dehydration of 1,4-Butanediol
Authors: Sato Fumiya , Yamada Yasuhiro , Sato Satoshi
Published: May 2012

Er2O3 nanorods were successfully prepared with hydrothermal treatment without using organic additives such as surfactant, fatty acid, or alcohol. Er2O3 nanorods were obtained under high temperature and/or long reaction times. Er2O3 nanorods mainly exposed {440} and {400} facets on the surface. Er2O3 nanorods showed excellent catalytic activity compared to commercial Er2O3 nanoparticles in the dehydration of 1,4-butanediol to produce 3-buten-1-ol.
Fabrication of a Highly Sensitive and Selective Ag-doped WO3 Formaldehyde Gas Sensor
Authors: Wang Xinmin , Yu Chengqun , Wu Junxi , Zhang Yidong
Published: May 2012

Ag-doped WO3 nanowhiskers have been successfully synthesized by a simple sol–gel treatment from the precursors W, H2O2, and AgNO3 at room temperature, followed by heat treatment at 400 °C for 1 h. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Obtained results show that the obtained nanowhiskers width is ca. 200 nm with orthorhombic phase under different Ag-doped concentrations. Compared with the pure WO3-based sensor, all of the Ag-doped sensors showed better sensing performance in respect of sensitivity and selectivity. The sensor containing 3.0 mol % Ag exhibited the maximum sensitivity to formaldehyde vapor at 150 °C. A possible mechanism for the influence of Ag on the formaldehyde-sensing properties of Ag-doped WO3 sensors is proposed.
Noncovalent Modification of Carbon Nanotubes with Proteins via Biotinylated Peptides Having a Binary Pattern within the Sequences
Authors: Tomizaki Kin-ya , Kurosawa Takahiro , Kajiyama Makoto , Imai Takahito
Published: May 2012

We describe peptide-based solubilization and functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), in which biotinylated peptides that are physically adsorbed onto the sidewalls of MWNTs can anchor proteins of interest via specific interactions.