What does the stork bring to women's working career?

Many studies have been devoted to analyse the effect of maternity on working mothers; they mostly refer to countries where female participation is high. Fewer studies consider Southern European countries. This paper aims at filling the gap analysing the effects of motherhood on women’s working career in Italy, a neat example of Southern European country where female participation is increasing but still low and where the decrease in trade unions’ power increased wage disparities. Our results show that conditional average wages of mothers become significantly lower than those of non-mothers after childbirth, showing no sign of a closing gap 5 years afterward. However, this penalty does not emerge for mothers moving to a part-time job; hence - differently from the existing literature - we highlight the potential role of part-time jobs in mitigating the "reduced effort" effect of childrearing. Furthermore, we estimate a significant increase in the probability of transition from employment to non-employment for new mothers. The probability is higher the lower the pre-childbirth wage. However, this penalty is reduced by the availability of part-time jobs in mothers’ relevant labour market. Hence again it emerges the potential role of part-time jobs in mitigating the negative effect of childbirth on women’s labour market participation. the support for flexibility among the least productive employed workers. The model described provides some new insights on the comparative dynamics of labor market institutions in the U.S. and in Europe over the last few decades, shedding some new light both on the reasons for the original build-up of "Eurosclerosis," and for its the persistence up to the present day.motherhood, part-time jobs, wage penalty, career.

What does the stork bring to women's working career?

Many studies have been devoted to analyse the effect of maternity on working mothers; they mostly refer to countries where female participation is high. Fewer studies consider Southern European countries. This paper aims at filling the gap analysing the effects of motherhood on women’s working career in Italy, a neat example of Southern European country where female participation is increasing but still low and where the decrease in trade unions’ power increased wage disparities. Our results show that conditional average wages of mothers become significantly lower than those of non-mothers after childbirth, showing no sign of a closing gap 5 years afterward. However, this penalty does not emerge for mothers moving to a part-time job; hence - differently from the existing literature - we highlight the potential role of part-time jobs in mitigating the "reduced effort" effect of childrearing. Furthermore, we estimate a significant increase in the probability of transition from employment to non-employment for new mothers. The probability is higher the lower the pre-childbirth wage. However, this penalty is reduced by the availability of part-time jobs in mothers’ relevant labour market. Hence again it emerges the potential role of part-time jobs in mitigating the negative effect of childbirth on women’s labour market participation. the support for flexibility among the least productive employed workers. The model described provides some new insights on the comparative dynamics of labor market institutions in the U.S. and in Europe over the last few decades, shedding some new light both on the reasons for the original build-up of "Eurosclerosis," and for its the persistence up to the present day.motherhood, part-time jobs, wage penalty, career.

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: the UK, 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 onÈs career is the "port-of-entry" to stable employment and to upward mobility, makes this assessment particularly relevant; i.e. 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: cross-country comparisons help to highlight the effect of different labour market institutions on mobility and on the soundness of the "port-of-entry" hypothesis.

What Does the Stork Bring to Women’s Working Career?

We analyse the effects of motherhood on women’s working career using WHIP, a database that records individual work histories together with childbearing events. We investigate two main issues: the career penalty and the wage penalty (better known in the literature as family wage gap). We focus on a group of women (i) highly attached to the labour market before maternity, and (ii) that have only one child. Hence, we search for penalties among those who are less likely to experience them, providing a lower bound of the average penalty in the whole population. With respect to the former penalty, we focus on selection of women out of employment after childbirth and we find a significant increase in the probability of transition from employment to non-employment for new mothers. Moreover part time mothers are less likely to exit, pointing to part time as a family-friendly contract. With respect to wages, we restrict the analysis to continuously working women and analyse their wage profiles following a difference in differences approach. We find that conditional average wage of future mothers is significantly higher than that of non mothers before childbearing and it becomes significantly lower afterward, showing no sign of a closing gap after 4 years.motherhood, employment transitions, wage penalty, career.

Integrity of the DNA and Cellular Ultrastructure of Cryptoendolithic Fungi in Space or Mars Conditions: A 1.5-Year Study at the International Space Station

The black fungi Cryomyces antarcticus and Cryomyces minteri are highly melanized and are resilient to cold, ultra-violet, ionizing radiation and other extreme conditions. These microorganisms were isolated from cryptoendolithic microbial communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica) and studied in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), using the EXPOSE-E facility on the International Space Station (ISS). Previously, it was demonstrated that C. antarcticus and C. minteri survive the hostile conditions of space (vacuum, temperature fluctuations, and the full spectrum of extraterrestrial solar electromagnetic radiation), as well as Mars conditions that were simulated in space for a 1.5-year period. Here, we qualitatively and quantitatively characterize damage to DNA and cellular ultrastructure in desiccated cells of these two species, within the frame of the same experiment. The DNA and cells of C. antarcticus exhibited a higher resistance than those of C. minteri. This is presumably attributable to the thicker (melanized) cell wall of the former. Generally, DNA was readily detected (by PCR) regardless of exposure conditions or fungal species, but the C. minteri DNA had been more-extensively mutated. We discuss the implications for using DNA, when properly shielded, as a biosignature of recently extinct or extant life

Life beyond Earth: the antarctic black fungus in planetary simulations

The cryptoendolithic black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus inhabits the ice-free area of the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of the best terrestrial analogue environment for Mars. There, conditions on rock surface are often incompatible with life; hence, microbes develop within porous rocks as last chance for survival. The almost complete isolation over a timescale of evolutionary significance led to the evolution of unique, extremely adapted and resistant, genotypes. C. antarcticus is particularly skilled in stress tolerance being able to tolerate injuries well beyond the harsh conditions of its natural environment. Because of its uncommon resistance, the fungus has been chosen as eukaryotic model for astrobiological studies to test the endurance of eukaryotic cells to space conditions. In the experiment here reported, the fungus C. antarcticus was exposed, in the frame of the STARLIFE irradiation campaign, to different types and qualities of ionizing radiation with different linear energy transfer values (0.2 to 200 keV/µm). Irradiation with up to 1 kGy of accelerated He, Ar and Fe ions, and 55.57 kGy of gamma rays (60Cobalt). Single gene PCR, RAPD fingerprinting, qPCR and PMA coupled with qPCR analyses reveal minimal damage to DNA or plasma membranes induced by the treatments. This experiments further confirm the stunning stress tolerance of the fungus and its high relevance in astrobiological investigations, including the search for life on Mars, the reliability of the Lithopanspermia theory, and the estimation of planetary contamination risk

Radiofluorination of a highly potent ATM inhibitor as a potential PET imaging agent

PURPOSE: Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) is a key mediator of the DNA damage response, and several ATM inhibitors (ATMi) are currently undergoing early phase clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. A radiolabelled ATMi to determine drug pharmacokinetics could assist patient selection in a move towards more personalised medicine. The aim of this study was to synthesise and investigate the first 18F-labelled ATM inhibitor [18F]1 for non-invasive imaging of ATM protein and ATMi pharmacokinetics. METHODS: Radiofluorination of a confirmed selective ATM inhibitor (1) was achieved through substitution of a nitro-precursor with [18F]fluoride. Uptake of [18F]1 was assessed in vitro in H1299 lung cancer cells stably transfected with shRNA to reduce expression of ATM. Blocking studies using several non-radioactive ATM inhibitors assessed binding specificity to ATM. In vivo biodistribution studies were performed in wild-type and ATM-knockout C57BL/6 mice using PET/CT and ex vivo analysis. Uptake of [18F]1 in H1299 tumour xenografts was assessed in BALB/c nu/nu mice. RESULTS: Nitro-precursor 2 was synthesised with an overall yield of 12%. Radiofluorination of 2 achieved radiochemically pure [18F]1 in 80 ± 13 min with a radiochemical yield of 20 ± 13% (decay-corrected) and molar activities up to 79.5 GBq/μmol (n = 11). In vitro, cell-associated activity of [18F]1 increased over 1 h, and retention of [18F]1 dropped to 50% over 2 h. [18F]1 uptake did not correlate with ATM expression, but could be reduced significantly with an excess of known ATM inhibitors, demonstrating specific binding of [18F]1 to ATM. In vivo, fast hepatobiliary clearance was observed with tumour uptake ranging 0.13-0.90%ID/g after 1 h. CONCLUSION: Here, we report the first radiofluorination of an ATM inhibitor and its in vitro and in vivo biological evaluations, revealing the benefits but also some limitations of 18F-labelled ATM inhibitors

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

The modern concept of the evolution of Mars assumes that life could potentially have originated on the planet Mars, possibly during the end of the late heavy bombardment, and could then be transferred to other planets. Since then, physical and chemical conditions on Mars changed and now strongly limit the presence of terrestrial-like life forms. These adverse conditions include scarcity of liquid water (although brine solutions may exist), low temperature and atmospheric pressure, and cosmic radiation. Ionizing radiation is very important among these life-constraining factors because it damages DNA and other cellular components, particularly in liquid conditions where radiation-induced reactive oxidants diffuse freely. Here, we investigated the impact of high doses (up to 2 kGy) of densely-ionizing (197.6 keV/µm), space-relevant iron ions (corresponding on the irradiation that reach the uppermost layer of the Mars subsurface) on the survival of an extremophilic terrestrial organism—Cryomyces antarcticus—in liquid medium and under atmospheric conditions, through different techniques. Results showed that it survived in a metabolically active state when subjected to high doses of Fe ions and was able to repair eventual DNA damages. It implies that some terrestrial life forms can withstand prolonged exposure to space-relevant ion radiation

Insights into the Survival Capabilities of Cryomyces antarcticus Hydrated Colonies after Exposure to Fe Particle Radiation

The modern concept of the evolution of Mars assumes that life could potentially have originated on the planet Mars, possibly during the end of the late heavy bombardment, and could then be transferred to other planets. Since then, physical and chemical conditions on Mars changed and now strongly limit the presence of terrestrial-like life forms. These adverse conditions include scarcity of liquid water (although brine solutions may exist), low temperature and atmospheric pressure, and cosmic radiation. Ionizing radiation is very important among these life-constraining factors because it damages DNA and other cellular components, particularly in liquid conditions where radiation-induced reactive oxidants diffuse freely. Here, we investigated the impact of high doses (up to 2 kGy) of densely-ionizing (197.6 keV/µm), space-relevant iron ions (corresponding on the irradiation that reach the uppermost layer of the Mars subsurface) on the survival of an extremophilic terrestrial organism—Cryomyces antarcticus—in liquid medium and under atmospheric conditions, through different techniques. Results showed that it survived in a metabolically active state when subjected to high doses of Fe ions and was able to repair eventual DNA damages. It implies that some terrestrial life forms can withstand prolonged exposure to space-relevant ion radiation

Metabolomic Profile of the Fungus Cryomyces antarctiucus Under Simulated Martian and Space Conditions as Support for Life-Detecion Missions on Mars

The identification of traces of life beyond Earth (e.g., Mars, icy moons) is a challenging task because terrestrial chemical-based molecules may be destroyed by the harsh conditions experienced on extraterrestrial planetary surfaces. For this reason, studying the effects on biomolecules of extremophilic microorganisms through astrobiological ground-based space simulation experiments is significant to support the interpretation of the data that will be gained and collected during the ongoing and future space exploration missions. Here, the stability of the biomolecules of the ryptoendolithic black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus, grown on two Martian regolith analogues and on Antarctic sandstone, were analysed through a metabolomic approach, after its exposure to Science Verification Tests (SVTs) performed in the frame of the European Space Agency (ESA) Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX) project. These tests are building a set of ground-based experiments performed before the space exposure aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The analysis aimed to investigate the effects of different mineral mixtures on fungal colonies and the stability of the biomolecules synthetised by the fungus under simulated Martian and space conditions. The identification of a specific group of molecules showing good stability after the treatments allow the creation of a molecular database that should support the analysis of future data sets that will be collected in the ongoing and next space exploration missions