Pulls, Pushes and Entitlement Failures in Labor Markets: Does the State of Development Matter?

This study adapts a relatively novel model of off-farm labor supply to the changing conditions of Bulgaria during the 1990s. The model’s parameters are estimated separately for each of the three different waves of the Bulgarian Integrated Household Survey, each reflecting remarkably different environmental conditions. Both the parameter values and the changes therein from one survey year to another are explained and used to characterize the way different types of households allocate their labor between farm and off-farm activities. The results demonstrate that Bulgarian households display many of the same labor supply patterns, including entitlement failures, as have previously been observed only in very poor developing countries. As such, they have potentially important policy making implications.

Optimized production of large Bose Einstein Condensates

We suggest different simple schemes to efficiently load and evaporate a ''dimple'' crossed dipolar trap. The collisional processes between atoms which are trapped in a reservoir load in a non adiabatic way the dimple. The reservoir trap can be provided either by a dark SPOT Magneto Optical Trap, the (aberrated) laser beam itself or by a quadrupolar or quadratic magnetic trap. Optimal parameters for the dimple are derived from thermodynamical equations and from loading time, including possible inelastic and Majorana losses. We suggest to load at relatively high temperature a tight optical trap. Simple evaporative cooling equations, taking into account gravity, the possible occurrence of hydrodynamical regime, Feshbach resonance processes and three body recombination events are given. To have an efficient evaporation the elastic collisional rate (in s$^{-1}$) is found to be on the order of the trapping frequency and lower than one hundred times the temperature in micro-Kelvin. Bose Einstein condensates with more than $10^7$ atoms should be obtained in much less than one second starting from an usual MOT setup.Comment: 14 page

Some additional properties of elementary landscapes

AbstractIn this work, we derive a general class of multistep composite elementary landscapes and present the first non-trivial lower (upper) bounds on local minima (maxima) associated with elementary landscapes

Off-farm labour supply and labour markets in rapidly changing circumstances:Bulgaria during transition

This study examines off-farm labor supply in the rapidly changing conditions of Bulgaria during the 1990s. In doing so, we make use of three different waves of the Bulgarian Integrated Household Survey, each reflecting remarkably different environmental conditions. The results suggest that standard theories of off-farm labor supply provide little guidance in situations characterized by chronic excess supply in the off-farm labor market and/or rapidly changing circumstances. In particular, the results show (1) that off-farm employment throughout the transition was predominantly determined by demand rather than by supply, and (2) that the magnitude and statistical significance of the various determinants are very sensitive to changing environmental conditions. As such, the results can be extremely relevant for both theory and policy for the many countries which may still need to go through privatization and painful restructuring as a result of financial crises and globalization

Pulls, pushes and entitlement failures in labor markets: does the state of development matter?

This study adapts a relatively novel model of off-farm labor supply to the changing conditions of Bulgaria during the 1990s. The model's parameters are estimated separately for each of the three different waves of the Bulgarian Integrated Household Survey, each reflecting remarkably different environmental conditions. Both the parameter values and the changes therein from one survey year to another are explained and used to characterize the way different types of households allocate their labor between farm and off-farm activities. The results demonstrate that Bulgarian households display many of the same labor supply patterns, including entitlement failures, as have previously been observed only in very poor developing countries. As such, they have potentially important policy making implications

Solution asymmetry and salt expand fluid-fluid coexistence regions of charged membranes

Liquid-liquid phase separation in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) leads to the formation of intramembrane domains. To mimic charged biological membranes, we studied phase separation and domain formation in \GUVs\} of ternary lipid mixtures composed of egg sphingomyelin, cholesterol, and the negatively charged lipid dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol. The \{GUVs\} were exposed to solutions of sucrose and high-saline buffer. The phase diagram was determined using epifluorescence microscopy for vesicle populations with symmetric and asymmetric solution compositions across the membranes. Trans-membrane solution asymmetry was found to affect the membrane phase state. Furthermore, compared to the case of salt-free conditions, the phase diagram in the presence of high-saline buffer (both symmetrically or asymmetrically present across the membrane) was found to exhibit a significantly extended region of liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered coexistence. These observations were confirmed on single \{GUVs\ using microfluidics and confocal microscopy. Moreover, we found that the miscibility temperatures markedly increased for vesicles in the presence of symmetric and asymmetric salt solutions. Our results demonstrate a substantial effect of salt and solution asymmetry on the phase behavior of charged membranes, which has direct implications for protein adsorption onto these membranes and for the repartitioning of proteins within the membrane domains

Dynamics of non-equilibrium membrane bud formation

The dynamical response of a lipid membrane to a local perturbation of its molecular symmetry is investigated theoretically. A density asymmetry between the two membrane leaflets is predominantly released by in-plane lipid diffusion or membrane curvature, depending upon the spatial extent of the perturbation. It may result in the formation of non-equilibrium structures (buds), for which a dynamical size selection is observed. A preferred size in the micrometer range is predicted, as a signature of the crossover between membrane and solvent dominated dynamical membrane response.Comment: 7 pages 3 figure

Tinnitus – a manifestation of neurodegenerative diseases

BackgroundTinnitus is a widespread hearing impairment that can be characterized by the perception of sound, such as tone or noise, in the absence of an appropriate external sound source. The cause of tinnitus and mechanism are unclear. The prevalence of tinnitus is higher in people over 60 years of age. Tinnitus is usually a manifestation of а hearing impairment. Symptoms can be acute or chronic. In most cases, tinnitus manifests as an idiopathic condition. In the clinical practice, common factors that affect the psychological and emotional well-being of people with tinnitus are: fear, stress, anxiety and depression, which in turn can cause insomnia, impaired concentration and cognitive dysfunction. Tinnitus is a heterogeneous disorder in terms of its etiology and clinic. Tinnitus is associated with hearing loss, as both symptoms often occur together, though in many clinical cases, people with hearing loss do not develop tinnitus.MethodsWe present а clinical case of a patient diagnosed with a posturographic system, along with a full otoneurological and hearing examinations. Methods of videonystagmography, video head impulse test, subjective visual vertical, audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions test, automated auditory brainstem response were used. We provided a dental check-up and an occlusion analysis. Patient filled out questionnaires and signed a written informed consent. The aim of the team was to analyze the manifestation of tinnitus as a precursor of a neurodegenerative disease.Results and discussionFrom the literature review done chronic tinnitus is associated with anatomical brain abnormalities, including decreased cortical gray matter and decreased white matter integrity. There is also a high prevalence of cognitive impairment reported among patients with tinnitus from a clinical point of view. Tinnitus is an independent risk factor for subsequent neurodegenerative disease. There are a number of neurological conditions that can be encountered in the otorhinolaryngological and dental practice. It is important for the dentist to enrich own knowledge of the underlying neurological conditions, as they may affect the provision of dental treatment. Our findings from the examinations executed are consistent with previous studies, which show that diabetes and head injuries can be risk factors for AD and neurodegeneration.ConclusionsFurther research is needed to re-confirm the conclusions of our research and to investigate the pathophysiology of the relationship between tinnitus and the Alzheimer’s disease and tinnitus and the Parkinson’s disease in more depth