Management and Employees’ Collaboration: Is the Norwegian Work Life Model Suited for All?

Norway’s work life is known for its strong emphasis on the collaboration between employees, unions and managers. This article explores two case studies: two companies who are part of the same group of companies with the same owners, who are introducing broad collaboration. The same process was used to change employees’ participation in the development processes, but the results were different for each company. In this article we explore the factors that influence the implementation of broad collaboration between employees, unions and managers in the light of the Norwegian work life model and of the regional traditions. When introducing new collaboration patterns between managers, union and employees in a company, it is important to take regional traditions into consideration. One of the companies succeeded in implementing direct manager-employee collaboration, and the other company failed to implement broad collaboration. This article explores the reasons behind the different results. It further explores the experience from the two cases, and asks the question is the Norwegian work life model suited for all? The article suggests strategies for how to create an environment for broad collaboration in companies that have no such tradition.     

Macroinvertebrate community structure and related environmental variables in two forks of the Virgin River, Utah

Using multivariate analysis techniques, we analyzed variation in the structure of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in the North Fork and East Fork of the Virgin River in and above Zion National Park in concert with a number of naturally occurring and anthropogenic environmental variables. Correspondence analysis revealed that the community structure in the 2 streams was markedly different despite occurring in areas similar in topography, elevation, and terrestrial vegetation cover. Subsequent analyses of the 2 streams separately using canonical correspondence analysis to test for strength of association of environmental variables with variations in benthic macroinvertebrate community structure revealed that communities in the East Fork of the Virgin River were more associated with nitrogen-related variables influenced by agricultural and urban activities along the river and that communities in the North Fork were most strongly associated with naturally occurring physical variables.     

Fibrinolytic activity in the closed ductus arteriosus

Zusammenfassung Im obliterierenden Ductus arteriosus vom Schwein, Kaninchen und Meerschweinchen erscheinen Zonen von intensiver fokaler fibrinolytischer Aktivität, die charakteristisch für neugebildetes vaskularisiertes Bindegewebe im Wundheilungsgebiet sind.     

Aggression by polyembryonic wasp soldiers correlates with kinship but not resource competition

Kin selection theory predicts that individuals will show less aggression and more altruism towards relatives. However, recent theoretical developments suggest that with limited dispersal, competition between relatives can override the effects of relatedness. The predicted and opposing influences of relatedness and competition are difficult to approach experimentally because conditions that increase average relatedness among individuals also tend to increase competition. Polyembryonic wasps in the family Encyrtidae are parasites whose eggs undergo clonal division to produce large broods. These insects have also evolved a caste system: some embryos in a clone develop into reproductive larvae that mature into adults, whereas others develop into sterile soldier larvae that defend siblings from competitors. In a brood from a single egg, reproductive altruism by soldiers reflects clone-level allocation to defence at the cost of reproduction, with no conflict between individuals. When multiple eggs are laid into a host, inter-clone conflicts of interest arise. Here we report that soldier aggression in Copidosoma floridanum is inversely related to the genetic relatedness of competitors but shows no correlation with the level of resource competition.     

Competition induces adaptive shifts in caste ratios of a polyembryonic wasp

An important transition in insect life-history evolution was the shift from a solitary existence to living in groups comprising specialized castes. Caste-forming species produce some individuals that reproduce and others with worker functions that have few or no offspring. Morphologically specialized castes are well known in eusocial species like ants and termites, but castes have also evolved in less-studied groups like thrips, aphids and polyembryonic wasps. Because selection acts at both the individual and the colony level, ratios of investment in different castes are predicted to vary with environmental factors like competition and resources. However, experimental evidence for adaptive shifts in caste ratios is limited owing to the experimental difficulty of manipulating factors thought to influence caste ratios, and because some species produce behaviourally flexible castes that switch tasks in response to colony needs. Unlike other caste-forming species, the broods of polyembryonic wasps develop clonally, so that increased production of one caste probably results in decreased production of the other. Here we show that the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma floridanum alters caste ratios in response to interspecific competition. Our results reveal a distinct trade-off by C. floridanum between reproduction and defence, and show experimentally that caste ratios shift in an adaptive manner.     

低碳锰钢中周期性带状组织

用扫描电镜和电子探针研究了低碳锰钢中的周期性带状组织，结果表明，在全部研究用钢中，钢锭经热轧后均出现这种组织，其严重程度随钢的成分而异，并随坯带加工顺序而增加，带状组织与锰的显微偏析等因素有关，适当的调整碳锰以及形成模跨铁素体带的转变产物可降低带状组织的严重程度。     

Structural basis of latency in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.

Human plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is the fast-acting inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator and urokinase and is a member of the serpin family of protease inhibitors. Serpins normally form complexes with their target proteases that dissociate very slowly as cleaved species and then fold into a highly stable inactive state in which the residues that flank the scissile bond (P1 and P1';) are separated by about 70 A. PAI-1 also spontaneously folds into a stable inactive state without cleavage; this state is termed 'latent' because inhibitory activity can be restored through denaturation and renaturation. Here we report the structure of intact latent PAI-1 determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction to 2.6 A resolution. The three-dimensional structure reveals that residues on the N-terminal side of the primary recognition site are inserted as a central strand of the largest beta sheet, in positions similar to the corresponding residues in the cleaved form of the serpin alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor (alpha 1-PI). Residues C-terminal to the recognition site occupy positions on the surface of the molecule distinct from those of the corresponding residues in cleaved serpins or in the intact inactive serpin homologue, ovalbumin, and its cleavage product, plakalbumin. The structure of latent PAI-1 is similar to one formed after cleavage in other serpins, and the stability of both latent PAI-1 and cleaved serpins may be derived from the same structural features.     

Trail pheromone of the red imported fire antSolenopsis invicta (Buren)

Summary Z,Z,Z-Allofarnesene (2Z, 4Z, 6Z)-2,6,10-trimethyl-2, 4, 6, 10-dodecatetraene) was identified as the trail pheromone of the red imported fire ant by comparing chromatographic and spectral properties of the pheromone obtained from ant Dufour's glands with those of synthetic compounds.Approved as TA 16297 by the director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Supported by the Texas Department of Agriculture Interagency Contract IAC-0459 (79-81).