Hospital staffing and local pay: an investigation into the impact of local variations in the competitiveness of nurses' pay on the staffing of hospitals in France.

Spatial wage theory suggests that employers in different regions may offer different pay rates to reflect local amenities and cost of living. Higher wages may be required to compensate for a less pleasant environment or a higher cost of living. If wages in a competing sector within an area are less flexible and therefore less competitive this may lead to an inability to employ staff.

B cell lymphoproliferation and organ-directed self-recognition to explain autoimmunity: back to the past.

Autoimmune diseases are characterised by lymphoproliferation in target tissues with B and T lymphocytes often arranged in pseudofollicles, mimicking the structure of peripheral lymph nodes. Target organ tissue damage produces the clinical phenotype which may be diverse ranging from autoimmune endocrinopathies to malabsorption (coeliac disease) to structural damage within bones and joints (rheumatoid arthritis). Recently, B cell depletion has been shown to be effective in many autoimmune conditions suggesting a common pathological origin for these conditions which might be triggered by an autoimmune B cell that has escaped deletion.

Analysis of consultants' NHS and private incomes in England in 2003/4.

Objective: Consultants employed by the NHS in England are allowed to undertake private practice to supplement their NHS income. Until the introduction of a new contract from October 2003, those employed on full-time contracts were allowed to earn private incomes no greater than 10% of their NHS income. In this paper we investigate the magnitude and determinants of consultants' NHS and private incomes.