Short Employment Spells in Italy, Germany and the UK: Testing the Port of Entry Hypothesis

This paper looks at short employment spells in three European countries: Great Britain, whose labour market is considered the most flexible in the EU; Italy, regarded as the least flexible; and Germany, tightly regulated, but characterised by a deservedly famous apprenticeship system. In particular, it aims to assess whether young people in short-lived jobs stand a better chance of finding a 'good job' compared to their older colleagues. The increasingly held belief that - in modern economies - a 'bad job' at the beginning of one's career is the 'port-of-entry' to stable employment and to upward mobility, makes this assessment particularly relevant; ie it matters greatly if short-duration jobs are entry ports into better employment or become long term-traps. The lack of accepted benchmarks makes it difficult to reach strong conclusions in regard to the 'efficiency' of labour markets, however, this study should help to highlight the effect of different labour market institutions on mobility and on the soundness of the 'port-of-entry' hypothesis.

Feelings of dual-insecurity among European workers: A multi-level analysis

This article analyses European Social Survey data for 22 countries. We assess the relationship between feelings of employment and income insecurity (dual-insecurity) among workers and national flexicurity policies in the areas of lifelong learning, active labour market policy, modern social security systems and flexible and reliable contractual arrangements. We find that dual-insecurity feelings are lower in countries that score better on most flexicurity polices, but these effects are in all cases outweighed by levels of GDP per capita. Thus feelings of insecurity are reduced more by the affluence of a country than by its social policies. However, affluence is strongly correlated with the policy efforts designed to reduce insecurity, especially active labour market policies and life-long learning, two policy areas that are threatened with cuts as a result of austerity

Relationship of body condition score and blood urea and ammonia to pregnancy in Italian Mediterranean buffaloes

The relationship of body condition score ( BCS) and blood urea and ammonia to pregnancy outcome was examined in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo cows mated by AI. The study was conducted on 150 buffaloes at 145 +/- 83 days in milk that were fed a diet comprising 14.8% crude protein, 0.9 milk forage units . kg(-1) dry matter and a non- structural carbohydrate/ crude protein ratio of 2.14. The stage of the oestrous cycle was synchronised by the Ovsynch- TAI programme and blood urea and ammonia levels were assessed on the day of AI. Energy corrected milk ( ECM) production and BCS were recorded bi- weekly. The pregnancy risk was 46.7% and was slightly lower in buffaloes with BCS 7.5. There were no significant differences in ECM, urea and ammonia between pregnant and non- pregnant buffaloes. However, pregnancy outcome was higher ( P = 0.02) in buffaloes with blood urea < 6.83 mmol . L-1. The likelihood of pregnancy for buffaloes with low urea blood level was 2.6 greater than for high urea level and exposure to a high urea level lowered the probability of pregnancy by about 0.25. The findings indicate that buffaloes are similar to cattle and increased blood levels of urea are associated with reduced fertility when animals are mated by AI

A preliminary survey of the cellular responses of the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus to long and short-term dehydration

The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, are known for their extreme aridity, cold, and nutrient-poor conditions. These valleys provide a valuable comparison to environments on Mars. The survival of microorganisms in these areas hinges on their ability to withstand dehydra-tion due to the limited availability of liquid water. Some microorganisms have adapted to survive extended periods of metabolic inactivity and dehydration, a physiological response to the harsh conditions in which they exist. This adaptation is significant for astrobiology studies as it allows for testing the resilience of microorganisms under extraterrestrial conditions, exploring the boundaries and potential for life beyond Earth. In this study, we examined the survivability, metabolic activity, cellular membrane integrity, and ultrastructural damage of Cryomyces antarcticus, a eukaryotic organism used for astrobiological studies, following two dehydration processes. We conducted a fast dehydration process, simulating what happens on the sur- face of Antarctic rocks under typical environmental conditions, and a slow dehydration process, which is commonly used in astrobiological experiments. Our findings revealed a higher percentage of damaged cells following slow dehydration treatments, confirming that rapid dehydration reflects the adaptability of microorganisms to respond to sudden and drastic changes in the Antarctic environment

Dietary supplementation with green tea extract improves the antioxidant status and oocyte developmental competence in Italian Mediterranean buffaloes

: The aim of this work was to assess the antioxidant status and the developmental competence of oocytes recovered by ovum pick-up (OPU) in Italian Mediterranean buffaloes supplemented with green tea extracts (GTE) for 90 days. Buffalo cows (n = 16) were randomly assigned to a control group receiving no supplement and a treatment group, receiving GTE starting 90 days before OPU, carried out for five consecutive sessions. Blood samples were collected before the start of supplementation with GTE (T0) and at day 45 (T1) and day 90 (T2) of supplementation, to measure ferric reducing activity (FRAP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). The antioxidant status of follicles was measured as TAC on the follicular fluid collected from the dominant follicle just prior OPU, coinciding with T2, and at the end of five repeated OPU sessions (T3). Another objective was to assess in vitro the protective effects of green tea extracts on hepatic cells exposed to methanol insult. Different concentrations of GTE (0.5 μM and 1 μM) were tested on cultured hepatic cells and viability, morphology and SOD activity were assessed at 24, 48 and 72 h. Supplementation with GTE increased (P < 0.05) the number of total follicles (8.7 ± 0.5 vs 6.9 ± 0.5), the number and the percentage of Grade A + B cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) compared with the control (3.7 ± 0.4 vs 2.3 ± 0.3 and 57.5 ± 4.2 vs 40.4 ± 4.9 %, respectively). Oocyte developmental competence was improved in the GTE group as indicated by the higher (P < 0.05) percentages of Grade 1,2 blastocysts (44.8 vs 29.1 %). In the GTE group, plasma TAC was higher both at T1 and T2, while FRAP increased only at T2, with no differences in SOD and CAT. The TAC of follicular fluid was higher (P < 0.05) in the GTE compared to the control both at T2 and at T3 The in vitro experiment showed that co-treatment with methanol and 1 μM GTE increased (p < 0.01) cell viability at 24 h (P < 0.01), 48 h (P < 0.05) and 72 h (P < 0.01) compared with the methanol treatment co-treatment with 1 μM GTE prevented the decrease in SOD activity observed with methanol at 24 and 48 h of culture. In conclusion, the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that supplementation with GTE increases buffalo oocyte developmental competence, by improving oxidative status and liver function

A bi-articular model for scapular-humeral rhythm reconstruction through data from wearable sensors

Patient-specific performance assessment of arm movements in daily life activities is fundamental for neurological rehabilitation therapy. In most applications, the shoulder movement is simplified through a socket-ball joint, neglecting the movement of the scapular-thoracic complex. This may lead to significant errors. We propose an innovative bi-articular model of the human shoulder for estimating the position of the hand in relation to the sternum. The model takes into account both the scapular-toracic and gleno-humeral movements and their ratio governed by the scapular-humeral rhythm, fusing the information of inertial and textile-based strain sensors