The Impact of Gender Segregation on Male-Female Wage Differentials

This paper presents new evidence on the role of gender segregation and pay structure in explaining gender wage differentials of full-time salaried workers in Spain. Data from the 1995 and 2002 Wage Structure Surveys reveal that raw gender wage gaps decreased from 0.24 to 0.14 over the seven-year period. Average differences in the base wage and wage complements decreased from 0.09 to 0.05 and from 0.59 to 0.40, respectively. However, the gender wage gap is still large after accounting for workers’ human capital, job and pay structure characteristics, and female segregation into low-paying industries, occupations, establishments, and occupations within establishments.gender wage differentials, segregation, matched employer employee data

Field spectroradiometer data : acquisition, organisation, processing and analysis on the example of New Zealand native plants : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Earth Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The purpose of this research was to investigate the acquisition, storage, processing and analysis of hyperspectral data for vegetation applications on the example of New Zealand native plants. Data covering the spectral range 350nm-2500nm were collected with a portable spectroradiometer. Hyperspectral data collection results in large datasets that need pre-processing before any analysis can be carried out. A review of the techniques used since the advent of hyperspectral field data showed the following general procedures were followed: 1. Removal of noisy or uncalibrated bands 2. Data smoothing 3. Reduction of dimensionality 4. Transformation into feature space 5. Analysis techniques Steps 1 to 4 which are concerned with the pre-processing of data were found to be repetitive procedures and thus had a high potential for automation. The pre-processing had a major impact on the results gained in the analysis stage. Finding the ideal pre-processing parameters involved repeated processing of the data. Hyperspectral field data should be stored in a structured way. The utilization of a relational database seemed a logical approach. A hierarchical data structure that reflected the real world and the setup of sampling campaigns was designed. This structure was transformed into a logical data model. Furthermore the database also held information needed for pre-processing and statistical analysis. This enabled the calculation of separability measurements such as the JM (Jeffries Matusila) distance or the application of discriminant analysis. Software was written to provide a graphical user interface to the database and implement pre-processing and analysis functionality. The acquisition, processing and analysis steps were applied to New Zealand native vegetation. A high degree of separability between species was achieved and using independent data a classification accuracy of 87.87% was reached. This outcome required smoothing, Hyperion synthesizing and principal components transformation to be applied to the data prior to the classification which used a generalized squared distance discriminant function. The mixed signature problem was addressed in experiments under controlled laboratory conditions and revealed that certain combinations of plants could not be unmixed successfully while mixtures of vegetation and artificial materials resulted in very good abundance estimations. The combination of a relational database with associated software for data processing was found to be highly efficient when dealing with hyperspectral field data

Hypergeometric τ\tau Functions of the qq-Painlev\'e Systems of Types A4(1)A_4^{(1)} and (A1+A1′)(1)(A_1+A_1')^{(1)}

We consider $q$-Painlev\'e equations arising from birational representations of the extended affine Weyl groups of $A_4^{(1)}$- and $(A_1+A_1)^{(1)}$-types. We study their hypergeometric solutions on the level of $\tau$ functions

An Application of Total-Colored Graphs to Describe Mutations in Non-Mendelian Genetics

Any gene mutation during the mitotic cell cycle of a eukaryotic cell can be algebraically represented by an isotopism of the evolution algebra describing the genetic pattern of the inheritance process. We identify any such pattern with a total-colored graph so that any isotopism of the former is uniquely related to an isomorphism of the latter. This enables us to develop some results on graph theory in the context of the molecular processes that occur during the S-phase of a mitotic cell cycle. In particular, each monochromatic subset of edges is identified with a mutation or regulatory mechanism that relates any two statuses of the genotypes of a pair of chromatids.Junta de Andalucía FQM-016Junta de Andalucía FQM-32

Intersections 2000: What's New in Hadron Physics

Hadron physics is that part of QCD dealing with hadron structure and vacuum structure, almost all of which is nonperturbative in nature. Some of the open problems in this field are outlined. We argue that hadron physics is a distinct subfield, no longer within particle physics, and not at all the same as classical nuclear physics. We believe that it needs to be better organized, and that a first step in doing so might be to establish hadron physics as a new division within the American Physical Society.Comment: Invited Talk at 7th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, May 22-28, 200

Metagenomics for Bacteriology

The study of bacteria, or bacteriology, has gone through transformative waves since its inception in the 1600s. It all started by the visualization of bacteria using light microscopy by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, when he first described “animalcules.” Direct cellular observation then evolved into utilizing different wavelengths on novel platforms such as electron, fluorescence, and even near-infrared microscopy. Understanding the link between microbes and disease (pathogenicity) began with the ability to isolate and cultivate organisms through aseptic methodologies starting in the 1700s. These techniques became more prevalent in the following centuries with the work of famous scientists such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, and many others since then. The relationship between bacteria and the host’s immune system was first inferred in the 1800s, and to date is continuing to unveil its mysteries. During the last century, researchers initiated the era of molecular genetics. The discovery of the first-generation sequencing technology, the Sanger method, and, later, the polymerase chain reaction technology propelled the molecular genetics field by exponentially expanding the knowledge of relationship between gene structure and function. The rise of commercially available next-generation sequencing methodologies, in the beginning of this century, is drastically allowing larger amount of information to be acquired, in a manner open to the democratization of the approach

The Planck-ATCA Co-eval Observations (PACO) project: the bright sample

The Planck-ATCA Co-eval Observations (PACO) have provided flux density measurements of well defined samples of AT20G radio sources at frequencies below and overlapping with Planck frequency bands, almost simultaneously with Planck observations. We have observed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) a total of 482 sources in the frequency range between 4.5 and 40 GHz in the period between July 2009 and August 2010. Several sources were observed more than once. In this paper we present the aims of the project, the selection criteria, and the observation and data reduction procedures. We also discuss the data in total intensity for a complete sample of 189 sources with S(20 GHz)>500 mJy, Galactic latitude |b|>5deg, and declination <-30deg, and some statistical analysis of the spectral behaviour and variability of this sample, referred to as the "bright PACO sample". Finally we discuss how these data could be used to transfer absolute calibrations to ground based telescopes using the CMB dipole calibrated flux densities measured by the Planck satellite, and we provide some test fluxes on bright calibrators.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure. Accepted for publication on MNRAS. Catalogue availabl

Spatial and temporal hot spots of Aedes albopictus abundance inside and outside a South European metropolitan area

Aedes albopictus is a tropical invasive species which in the last decades spread worldwide, also colonizing temperate regions of Europe and US, where it has become a public health concern due to its ability to transmit exotic arboviruses, as well as severe nuisance problems due to its aggressive daytime outdoor biting behaviour. While several studies have been carried out in order to predict the potential limits of the species expansions based on eco-climatic parameters, few studies have so far focused on the specific effects of these variables in shaping its micro-geographic abundance and dynamics. The present study investigated eco-climatic factors affecting Ae. albopictus abundance and dynamics in metropolitan and sub-urban/rural sites in Rome (Italy), which was colonized in 1997 and is nowadays one of the most infested metropolitan areas in Southern Europe. To this aim, longitudinal adult monitoring was carried out along a 70 km-transect across and beyond the most urbanized and densely populated metropolitan area. Two fine scale spatiotemporal datasets (one with reference to a 20m circular buffer around sticky traps used to collect mosquitoes and the second to a 300m circular buffer within each sampling site) were exploited to analyze the effect of climatic and socio-environmental variables on Ae. albopictus abundance and dynamics along the transect. Results showed an association between highly anthropized habitats and high adult abundance both in metropolitan and sub-urban/ rural areas, with “small green islands” corresponding to hot spots of abundance in the metropolitan areas only, and a bimodal seasonal dynamics with a second peak of abundance in autumn, due to heavy rains occurring in the preceding weeks in association with permissive temperatures. The results provide useful indications to prioritize public mosquito control measures in temperate urban areas where nuisance, human-mosquito contact and risk of local arbovirus transmission are likely higher, and highlight potential public health risks also after the summer months typically associated with high mosquito densities