Ethnic Concentration, Cultural Identity and Immigrant Self-Employment in Switzerland

Immigrant self-employment rates vary considerably across regions in Switzerland. Business ownership provides an alternative to wage labour, where immigrants have to face structural barriers such as the limited knowledge of the local language, or difficulties in fruitfully making use of their own human capital. Despite their historically high unemployment rates with respect to natives, immigrants in Switzerland are less entrepreneurial. It is therefore important to uncover factors that may facilitate the transition from the status of immigrant to the one of economic agent. Among others factors, concentration in ethnic enclaves, as well as accumulated labour market experience and time elapsed since immigration, have been associated to higher business ownership rates. In this paper, we use a cross-section of 2,490 Swiss municipalities in order to investigate the role played by the ethnic concentration of immigrants, as well as cultural factors, in determining self-employment rates.

Bubbling with L2L^2-almost constant mean curvature and an Alexandrov-type theorem for crystals

A compactness theorem for volume-constrained almost-critical points of elliptic integrands is proven. The result is new even for the area functional, as almost-criticality is measured in an integral rather than in a uniform sense. Two main applications of the compactness theorem are discussed. First, we obtain a description of critical points/local minimizers of elliptic energies interacting with a confinement potential. Second, we prove an Alexandrov-type theorem for crystalline isoperimetric problems

The essential oil of Thymbra capitata and its application as a biocide on stone and derived surfaces

Many chemicals used nowadays for the preservation of cultural heritage pose a risk to both human health and the environment. Thus, it is desirable to find new and eco-friendly biocides that can replace the synthetic ones. In this regard, plant essential oils represent effective alternatives to synthetic substances for the preservation of historical monuments. Thymbra capitata (syn. Thymus capitatus) is a medicinal and aromatic plant growing in the Mediterranean area and endowed with important pharmacological properties related to its essential oil. Among them, the antimicrobial ones make the T. capitata essential oil an ideal candidate for industrial applications; for instance, as biocide for the inhibition and elimination of biological patinas of cyanobacteria and green algae on historical monuments. In the present work, we studied the chemical composition of the essential oil from T. capitata growing in Malta by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The major volatile component is the phenolic monoterpene carvacrol (73.2%), which is capable of damaging the cytoplasmic membrane and to interfere both in the growth curve and in the invasive capacity, though the contribution of minor components γ-terpinene and p-cymene cannot be disregarded. For the oil application on the stone surface, Pickering emulsions systems were prepared with an essential oil/water 1:3 mass ratio stabilized with kaolinite at 4 mass% in the presence of Laponite®; this allowed to limit the fast volatility of the oil and guaranteed a better application and an easier removal from the artefacts attacked by biodeteriogens both indoor and outdoor. This formulation caused the elimination of biodeteriogens from treated surfaces without residuals or films on artworks surface, and the effect was retained up to four months

The course of cancer related fatigue up to ten years in early breast cancer patients. What impact in clinical practice?

Little is known about the cancer related fatigue (CRF) along cancer course and risk factors that could predict CRF development and persistence in breast cancer (BC) survivors. This prospective study detected incidence, timing of onset, duration of CRF, impact on QoL and psychological distress. Seventy-eight early BC patients, undergoing chemotherapy (CT) followed or not by hormonal therapy were assessed for QoL and psychological distress by EORTC QLQC30 and HADs questionnaires. Fatigue was investigated with mix methods, structured interview and psychometric measures. A qualitative analysis was added to assess the behavioral pattern of CRF. Low fatigue levels were identified after surgery (9%), increasing during (49%) and at the end of CT (47%), maintaining after 1 year (31%) and declining up to ten years of follow-up. Prevalence of CRF was higher at the end of CT and lower at follow-up. At the end and after 1 and 2 years from CT, persistence of CRF was associated to anxiety in 20%, 11% and 5% and to depression in 15%, 10% and 5% respectively. A relationship between CRF and psychological distress was observed; patients presenting depression and anxiety before CT were at higher risk for fatigue onset at a later period. A relationship between fatigue and QoL was noted at the end of CT. Our study shows the fatigue timely trend in early BC patients from surgery, CT and follow-up. Identification of biological, psychological, social predictor factors related to fatigue could be helpful for early interventions in patients at higher risk of developing fatigue

Swift J053041.9-665426, a new Be/X-ray binary pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We observed the newly discovered X-ray source Swift J053041.9-665426 in the X-ray and optical regime to confirm its proposed nature as a high mass X-ray binary. We obtained XMM-Newton and Swift X-ray data, along with optical observations with the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph, to investigate the spectral and temporal characteristics of Swift J053041.9-665426. The XMM-Newton data show coherent X-ray pulsations with a period of 28.77521(10) s (1 sigma). The X-ray spectrum can be modelled by an absorbed power law with photon index within the range 0.76 to 0.87. The addition of a black body component increases the quality of the fit but also leads to strong dependences of the photon index, black-body temperature and absorption column density. We identified the only optical counterpart within the error circle of XMM-Newton at an angular distance of ~0.8 arcsec, which is 2MASS J05304215-6654303. We performed optical spectroscopy from which we classify the companion as a B0-1.5Ve star. The X-ray pulsations and long-term variability, as well as the properties of the optical counterpart, confirm that Swift J053041.9-665426 is a new Be/X-ray binary pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Hemotropic mycoplasmas in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus).

BackgroundHemotropic mycoplasmas are epicellular erythrocytic bacteria that can cause infectious anemia in some mammalian species. Worldwide, hemotropic mycoplasmas are emerging or re-emerging zoonotic pathogens potentially causing serious and significant health problems in wildlife. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with and without Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destrucans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS) that causes significant mortality events in bats.MethodsIn order to establish the prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in a population of 68 little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with (n = 53) and without (n = 15) white-nose syndrome (WNS), PCR was performed targeting the 16S rRNA gene.ResultsThe overall prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasmas in bats was 47%, with similar (p = 0.5725) prevalence between bats with WNS (49%) and without WNS (40%). 16S rDNA sequence analysis (~1,200 bp) supports the presence of a novel hemotropic Mycoplasma species with 91.75% sequence homology with Mycoplasma haemomuris. No differences were found in gene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals.ConclusionsGene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals suggest that little brown bats could serve as a natural reservoir for this potentially novel Mycoplasma species. Currently, there is minimal information about the prevalence, host-specificity, or the route of transmission of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. among bats. Finally, the potential role of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. as co-factors in the development of disease manifestations in bats, including WNS in Myotis lucifugus, remains to be elucidated

The Glow of Unwork? Issues of Portrayal in Networked Learning Research

In this paper, we suggest that portrayal of research is often undervalued and seen as ‘unwork’ (Galloway, 2012). Portrayal is often seen as an issue that is relatively straight forward by qualitative researchers, and invariably refers to putting the findings of the study together with excerpts from participants and usually, but not always, some interpretation. It tends to be seen as the means by which the researcher has chosen to position people and their perspectives, and it is imbued with a sense of not only positioning but also a contextual painting of a person in a particular way. Yet there are an array of issues and challenges about what portrayal can or might mean in digital spaces. In this paper we argue that researching education in a digital age provides greater or different opportunities to represent and portray data differently and suggest that these ways are underutilised. For example, for many researchers legitimacy comes through the use of participants’ voices in the form of quotations. However, we argue that this stance towards plausibility and legitimacy is problematic and needs to be reconsidered in terms of understanding differences in types of portrayal, recognizing how researchers position themselves in relation to portrayal, and understanding decision-making in relation to portrayal. We suggest that there need to be new perspectives about portrayal and concept, and ideas are provided that offer a different view. Three key recommendations are made: Portrayal should be reconceptualised as four overlapping concepts: mustering, folding, cartography, and portrayal. Adopting such an approach will enable audiences, researchers and other stakeholders to critique the assumptions that researchers on tour bring to portrayal and encourage reflexivity. Researchers on tour should highlight the temporal, mutable and shifting nature of portrayed research findings, emphasising the need for continued and varied research to inform understanding. There is a significant need for greater insight into the influence of portrayal, as well as the difference between representation and portrayal. Future studies should prioritise this, and ensure that portrayal is considered and critiqued from the outset

Discovery of SXP265, a Be/X-ray binary pulsar in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud

We identify a new candidate for a Be/X-ray binary in the XMM-Newton slew survey and archival Swift observations that is located in the transition region of the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Magellanic Bridge. We investigated and classified this source with follow-up XMM-Newton and optical observations. We model the X-ray spectra and search for periodicities and variability in the X-ray observations and the OGLE I-band light curve. The optical counterpart has been classified spectroscopically, with data obtained at the SAAO 1.9 m telescope, and photometrically, with data obtained using GROND at the MPG 2.2 m telescope. The X-ray spectrum is typical of a high-mass X-ray binary with an accreting neutron star. We detect X-ray pulsations, which reveal a neutron-star spin period of P = (264.516+-0.014) s. The source likely shows a persistent X-ray luminosity of a few 10^35 erg/s and in addition type-I outbursts that indicate an orbital period of ~146 d. A periodicity of 0.867 d, found in the optical light curve, can be explained by non-radial pulsations of the Be star. We identify the optical counterpart and classify it as a B1-2II-IVe star. This confirms SXP 265 as a new Be/X-ray binary pulsar originating in the tidal structure between the Magellanic Clouds.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Contralateral prophylactic mastectomies. Correlations between primary tumor and histological findings of controlateral breast

Backgound: In Italy in 2015 48,000 new cases of breast carcinomas were diagnosed. Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a significant risk of developing contralateral breast cancer during the rest of their lives and this risk is closely associated to the family history, to the onset of breast cancer at a young age and is expressed at about 0.5 to 1% of metachronous tumors per year. The purpose of this work was to evaluate which and how many neoplastic lesions were seen in the contralateral breast that underwent prophylactic mastectomy and to understand what factors predict the appearance of such lesions. Methods: 168 bilateral mastectomies were analyzed in patients with an average age of 47 years, carried out from July 2008 to April 2016, at the Breast Unit of the Sant’Andrea Hospital. We considered women of any age suffering from unilateral breast cancer without either clinical or radiological evidence of a malignant lesion in the contralateral breast and negative for mutations of the BRCA1-BRCA2 genes test. Of the 168 bilateral mastectomies 35 patients were excluded from the study because they underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, another 35 patients because they were suffering from a bilateral neoplasia and 7 cases because they had mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Therefore the remaining 91 patients were included in the study. Results: Both the histological features of the primary tumor and any lesions found in the contralateral prophylactic breast were analyzed. Histological examination of the main breast showed 59 cases of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), 17 cases of Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC), 9 cases of In Situ Ductal Carcinoma (ISDC), 3 microinvasive ductal, 1 invasive tubular carcinoma, 1 in situ lobular and 1 widespread in situ. In the contralateral breast, the definitive histological examination revealed that 47 patients had an occult lesion in the prophylactic contralateral breast; in particular 2 cases of LIN 1, 7 cases of LIN2, 6 cases of lobular carcinoma in situ, 26 between DIN1A/DIN1A-B/DIN1B, 4 cases of carcinoma in situ and 2 cases of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. The correlation obtained from the observation of the main tumor has shown that in a total of 59 invasive ductal carcinoma 32 have a controlateral occult lesions and in a total of 17 cases of invasive lobular carcinoma 9 have an occult lesion in the prophylactic breast. Of these lesions, the multicentric relationship is that 50% of invasive ductal and invasive lobular carcinoma of the main breast have a contralateral lesion. Conclusion: In conclusion we would like to remind, as demonstrated by our follow-up data and as the literature reiterates, that this surgery does not improve patient survival. Certainly patients with unilateral breast cancer have many surgical therapies to be able to deal with not only having a bilateral mastectomy. The end point of this work is try to understand the risk factors of having a contralateral breast lesion to reduce the probability of a metachronous cance