Motives and Giving Norms Behind Remittances: the Case of Filipino Overseas Workers and their Recipient Households

The literature has focused on motives to explain remittance behavior. But as non-anonymous transfers, remittances are liable to be influenced by giving norms as well. We formulate an empirical specification that takes account of remittance motives involving worker-household pairs. We find that altruism dominates the exchange motive among overseas workers who are likely to be the primary breadwinners of their recipient households. We also find that, in the subsample in which overseas workers are likely to be secondary breadwinners, (a) household labor income is an endogenous explanatory variable and (b) the error covariance of the household income and remittance selection equations is positive. A possible reason for (a) is that secondary breadwinners use household income as an imperfect signal of opportunity cost or to detect unobserved effort, i.e., moral hazard, in generating income. As for (b), we surmise that it indicates the presence of incentive-compatible mechanisms against moral hazard. On giving norms, we find that in samples that include overseas workers who are secondary breadwinners, remittance amounts are afflicted with negative selectivity. We present evidence that this is consistent with Filipino giving practices, in which everyone gives but in modest amounts.Remittances, remittance motives, giving norms

Learning technologies and EFL teamwork

In this article, we discuss how technology-based learning methodologies developed in primary and secondary education can offer useful approaches to higher education instruction. For example, young and adult Spanish speakers are often used to participating in discussions and debates in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. This paper highlights how this model can help support a wider collaborative, ubiquitous learning environment that supports in-class and out-of-class interactions that allow 21st century second-language learners to work with other peers in building (digital) knowledge and forming stronger arguments in English. This article emphasizes that mastering communication skills, cooperation, and collaboration through a combination of learning technologies are themselves necessary 21st century skills in today’s citizens. These capabilities can help to establish a continuous lifelong learning orientation when dealing with education at different stages of life. We will conclude that higher education assessment strategies need to be transformed in order to appreciate these collaborative, digital and EFL students’ outcomes

Salmonella Degrades the Host Glycocalyx Leading to Altered Infection and Glycan Remodeling.

Complex glycans cover the gut epithelial surface to protect the cell from the environment. Invasive pathogens must breach the glycan layer before initiating infection. While glycan degradation is crucial for infection, this process is inadequately understood. Salmonella contains 47 glycosyl hydrolases (GHs) that may degrade the glycan. We hypothesized that keystone genes from the entire GH complement of Salmonella are required to degrade glycans to change infection. This study determined that GHs recognize the terminal monosaccharides (N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), galactose, mannose, and fucose) and significantly (p < 0.05) alter infection. During infection, Salmonella used its two GHs sialidase nanH and amylase malS for internalization by targeting different glycan structures. The host glycans were altered during Salmonella association via the induction of N-glycan biosynthesis pathways leading to modification of host glycans by increasing fucosylation and mannose content, while decreasing sialylation. Gene expression analysis indicated that the host cell responded by regulating more than 50 genes resulting in remodeled glycans in response to Salmonella treatment. This study established the glycan structures on colonic epithelial cells, determined that Salmonella required two keystone GHs for internalization, and left remodeled host glycans as a result of infection. These data indicate that microbial GHs are undiscovered virulence factors

100K Pathogen Genome Project: 306 Listeria Draft Genome Sequences for Food Safety and Public Health.

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-associated bacterium that is responsible for food-related illnesses worldwide. This is the initial public release of 306 L. monocytogenes genome sequences as part of the 100K Pathogen Genome Project. These isolates represent global genomic diversity in L. monocytogenes

Snapshot hyperspectral imaging of intracellular lasers

Intracellular lasers are emerging as powerful biosensors for multiplexed tracking and precision sensing of cells and their microenvironment. This sensing capacity is enabled by quantifying their narrow-linewidth emission spectra, which is presently challenging to do at high speeds. In this work, we demonstrate rapid snapshot hyperspectral imaging of intracellular lasers. Using integral field mapping with a microlens array and a diffraction grating, we obtain images of the spatial and spectral intensity distribution from a single camera acquisition. We demonstrate widefield hyperspectral imaging over a 3$\times$3 mm$^2$ field of view and volumetric imaging over 250$\times$250$\times$800 $\mu$m$^3$ volumes with a spatial resolution of 5 $\mu$m and a spectral resolution of less than 0.8 nm. We evaluate the performance and outline the challenges and strengths of snapshot methods in the context of characterising the emission from intracellular lasers. This method offers new opportunities for a diverse range of applications, including high-throughput and long-term biosensing with intracellular lasers.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Antibacterial Activity Tests of N-hexane, Ethyl Acetate, and Methanol Leaves (Vitex) Extract (pinnata) against Streptococcus mutans

BACKGROUND: Vitex pinnata is known as Laban, which is a medicinal plant used traditionally for generations to generations. Laban leaf extract with various concentrations has antibacterial activity. Laban leaf extract is known to inhibit the formation of Streptococcus mutant in human teeth. AIM: To exam, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum kill concentration (KBM) extract Laban leaves (V. pinnata) as an antibacterial against Streptococcus mutants. METHODS: This research was purely experimental research with design randomized pretest-posttest and control group. The study was conducted at the Laboratory Microbiology Faculty of Animal Health, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, from March to June 2019. The sample of this study was the Laban leaf from the Aceh Besar geothermal area. This research included preparation raw materials, chemical characterization of raw materials, determination of minimum and maximum components mixture, determining the optimum formula based on the best inhibitory potential, inhibitory testing antibacterial, standardized test, and test (one-way ANOVA). RESULTS: MIC of n-hexane extract showed the results of calculations; the percentage of bacterial inhibition was at a MIC of 1.56% on average colony −1.45 CFU/ml. In ethyl acetate extract, the MIC was 0.20% on the average colony −0.17 CFU/ml. The methanol extract can inhibit bacteria at the smallest concentration of 0.05% average colony −1.48 CFU/ml. Methanol extract inhibits bacteria more quickly. Concentration results minimum kill was 1.56%, 0.78%, 0.39%, 0.20%, 0.10%, and 0.05%. The smallest concentration of extract (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol) can kill Streptococcus mutans bacteria that are marked in the absence of bacterial colonies on microbiological growth media. CONCLUSION: Extracts of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol from Laban leaves have inhibitory activity on the growth of S. mutans bacteria. The smallest concentration of extract (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol) is able to kill S. mutans bacteria

Draft Genome Sequences of 1,183 Salmonella Strains from the 100K Pathogen Genome Project.

Salmonella is a common food-associated bacterium that has substantial impact on worldwide human health and the global economy. This is the public release of 1,183 Salmonella draft genome sequences as part of the 100K Pathogen Genome Project. These isolates represent global genomic diversity in the Salmonella genus