WAGE STRUCTURE, INEQUALITY AND SKILL-BIASED CHANGE: IS ITALY AN OUTLIER?

This paper investigates the relation between wage structure, inequality and skill-biased change in Italy between 1993 and 2004. Using a quantile decomposition analysis, we point out that changes in wage structure are mainly driven by the negative coefficients component, which represents also one of driving force of the trends of wage inequality. This evidence suggests that the changes in wage structure in Italy can hardly be explained referring to a skill-biased change explanation. Evidence that is further reinforced by a set of descriptive statistics showing that the increasing educational attainments of the workforce might have been crowded out by a stable trend in the demand for skills.Educational wage premia, Human Capital, Skill Biased Change, Quantile regression, Wage Decomposition, Italy

Geology and sedimentary facies of the Pliocene succession of the Baronia Mountains (Ariano Basin, southern Italy)

An up to 1500 m-thick clastic succession, the late Zanclean Baronia Synthem, has been analysed in detail in the Ariano wedge-top Basin (southern Apennine, Italy). In the Baronia Mountains the studied sediments are well exposed and laterally mappable due to young uplift and exhumation and rest unconformably on a complexly deformed pre-Pliocene substratum formed by Triassic to Miocene allochthonous units. The Baronia Synthem has been resolved into seven facies associations that are representative of distinct fluvial, deltaic, nearshore and offshore depositional environments and can be grouped into lowstand, transgressive, and highstand systems tracts. Using an integrated approach comprising original geological field mapping at 1:10,000 scale, conventional sedimentary facies analysis and a sequence stratigraphic approach, this paper provides a detailed description and interpretation of facies associations and new insights on the stratigraphic architecture and the geological history of this portion of the basin fill

Evolution of the Gelasian (Pleistocene) slope turbidite systems of southern Marche (Peri-Adriatic basin, central Italy)

Examples of slope channels and canyons being diverted by structurally related sea-floor topography are commonly found both on the modern seabed and in the subsurface, in deep-water fold and thrust belts but their depositional histories have rarely been documented using examples from outcrop. The synthesis of outcrop (original geological field mapping at 1:10,000 scale) and subsurface data sets from the early Pleistocene stratigraphic succession of the Peri-Adriatic basin provides a window into the overall evolutionary pattern of large intraslope turbidite systems that, during the Gelasian (2.58–1.80 Ma), shed Apennine-derived clastic sediments into the adjacent deep-water basin. Trends from mapping and paleocurrent indicators converge to indicate that the sea-floor bathymetric expression of a thrust-related anticline, the north-trending Jesi-Nereto-Zaccheo structure, likely influenced the downslope transport direction of gravity flows and sediment dispersal pattern. During early and middle Gelasian time, coarse-grained turbidite deposition occurred on the western flank of the intraslope anticline by westerly sourced, northward-flowing turbidity currents, indicating that the opposing sea-floor topography was sufficient to cause the diversion of turbidite systems, forcing them to travel near parallel to the east-facing regional paleoslope for significant distances. By very late Gelasian time, the intraslope accommodation space on the western flank of the anticline had filled and turbidites were dispersed through dip-oriented conduits incising across the crest of the underlying structure

Avaliação do risco de transtornos alimentares em praticantes da dieta vegetariana / Evaluation of the risk of food disorders in vegetarian diet practice

Introdução: Transtornos alimentares tem etiologia multifatorial e são caracterizados pela atitude alimentar comprometida, levando o indivíduo a praticar dietas restritivas severas ou criar aversões alimentares. O CRN-3 esclarece que indivíduos com distúrbios alimentares estão propensos a adotar dietas restritivas, tal qual a vegetariana. Objetivo: Avaliar a incidência de características de transtornos alimentares em indivíduos que adotaram a dieta vegetariana. Metodologia: Estudo transversal com aplicação de questionário online, contando com perguntas de informações pessoais e os instrumentos BSQ-34 e EAT-26. Resultados: A amostra foi constituída por 93 participantes, sendo 91,4% do gênero feminino e 8,6% masculino. A análise da pontuação demonstrou que 25,81% (n=24) da amostra ficou acima da faixa de corte no BSQ-34 e 29,03% (n=27) no EAT-26. Apesar de 61,29% (n=57) da amostra estar eutrófica, 43,01% (n=40) pontuou a questão do EAT-26 referente a ter medo de engordar. Estudos afirmam que a dieta vegetariana pode mascarar padrões de dietas restritivas, com o objetivo de manter um baixo peso corporal ou perder peso. Conclusão: Uma parcela significante da amostra apresentou características que indicam riscos para transtornos alimentares em ambos os questionários aplicados. São necessários mais estudos acerca do tema, uma vez que a adoção dessa restrição alimentar está associada na literatura com comportamentos de distúrbios alimentares, como preocupação com peso e auto-imagem

FUNCTIONALIZATION OF 3D FIBROUS SCAFFOLDS PREPARED USING CENTRIFUGAL SPINNING WITH LIPOSOMES AS A SIMPLE DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM

3D materials supporting cell adhesion, infiltration and proliferation are crucial for bone tissue engineering. In the current study we combined PCL fibers prepared using centrifugal spinning with adhered liposomes filled with platelet lysate as a natural source of growth factors. The scaffold was seeded with MG-63 cells and tested in vitro as a potential drug delivery system for bone tissue engineering

Stratigraphic framework of the late Miocene to Pliocene Pisco Formation at Cerro Colorado (Ica Desert, Peru)

This paper describes a 200 m-thick section of the Pisco Formation exposed at Cerro Colorado, an important fossiliferous site in the Ica desert. In order to properly place the fauna in its correct relative position, this study establishes the stratigraphic framework within which the different fossil-bearing intervals of this site can be compared and may prove invaluable in future high-resolution studies on the faunal change. Most of the Pisco Formation deposits exposed at Cerro Colorado consist of gently dipping fine-grained sandstones, diatomaceous siltstones and diatomites with minor ash layers and dolomites deposited within nearshore and offshore settings. To facilitate detailed stratigraphic correlations within the Pisco strata for a 30 km2 area, eight marker beds have been defined and large-scale (1:10,000 scale) geological mapping conducted to determine fault positions, styles and offsets. The geological map shows that there are two important angular unconformities in the study area. The first one is the interformational basal unconformity of the Pisco Formation against folded, faulted, and planated Oligo-Miocene rocks of the Chilcatay Formation. The second is a low-angle intraformational erosional discontinuity of up to 48 angular discordance that allows the subdivision of the Pisco stratigraphy exposed in the study area into two informal allomembers. Dating of the exposed succession by diatom biostratigraphy suggests that the age of the lower allomember is late Miocene, whereas the upper allomember is late Miocene or younger

Stratigraphic framework of the late Miocene Pisco Formation at Cerro Los Quesos (Ica Desert, Peru)

The enormous concentration of marine vertebrates documented within the Pisco Formation is unique for Peru and South America and places this unit among the prime fossil Lagerstätten for Miocene to Pliocene marine mammals worldwide. In order to provide a robust stratigraphic framework for the fossil-bearing locality of Cerro Los Quesos, this study presents a 1:10,000 scale geological map covering an area of about 21 km2, a detailed measured section spanning 290 m of strata, and a refined chronostratigraphy for the studied succession well constrained by diatom biostratigraphy and high-resolution 40Ar/39Ar isotopic dating of three interbedded ash layers. Within the apparently monotonous, diatomite-dominated sedimentary section, the Pisco Formation has been subdivided into six local members, with stratigraphic control over the different outcrops facilitated by the establishment of a detailed marker bed stratigraphy based on fifteen readily distinguishable sediment layers of different nature

FAR AWAY FROM A SKILL-BIASED CHANGE: FALLING EDUCATIONAL WAGE PREMIA IN ITALY

International audienceIn this paper we apply quantile regressions to investigate the evolution of Educational Wage Premia (EWP) in Italy from 1993 to 2004. Using the Survey of the Household Income and Wealth (SHIW - Bank of Italy) and different classifications for educational attainments, we show that in the private sector EWP have generally decreased over time, considering both continuous and categorical specifications for education, at all quantiles of the wage distribution. Different patterns are observed in the public sector, where EWP remain basically stable over time. A number of robustness checks and various econometric specifications are also applied in order to address sample selection issues. Our findings provide additional evidence in favour of the thesis that the increasing patterns in inequality and EWP, and the related interpretations concerning skill-biased changes, are much less pronounced in continental Europe than in Anglo Saxon countries