A New View of the Male/Female Pay Gap

We construct a new time series on the Canadian female/male pay ratio. The new series is based on wage data rather than the earnings data that has been used in the past. Wages more closely correspond to the price of labour, which is the focus of most theories of labour market discrimination and public policies in this area. Earnings based estimates combine gender differences in wages with gender differences in decisions of how much to work (i.e., hours). Our results reveal significant differences between the wage and earnings based series. Most importantly the wage series reveals that women have continued to make progress in the last fifteen years. In 2006 the wage based ratio is 0.85 while the earnings based ratio is only 0.72. We also find that as the gender wage ratio has risen, the remaining gap in wages is increasingly unexplained in the sense that it cannot be accounted for by gender differences in characteristics that the labour market values.Gender Pay Gap, Wages, Earnings

La liberté des Modernes. Isaiah Berlin et les néo-républicains

Selon les auteurs néo-républicains — Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit et Jean-Fabien Spitz — une conception appauvrie de la liberté serait à l’origine des malheurs du libéralisme. Ils soutiennent que les lacunes de la conception libérale de la liberté ne peuvent être corrigées que si celle-ci est remplacée par une conception plus rigoureuse de la liberté, dont les racines se trouvent dans l’humanisme républicain. L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser les critiques néo-républicaines de la conception libérale de la liberté, définie de manière exemplaire par Isaiah Berlin, puis d’évaluer dans quelle mesure elles sont ou non des critiques justifiées de la définition de la liberté négative.Neo-republican theorists—Quentin Skinner, Philip Pettit and Jean-Fabien Spitz—believe the roots of liberalism's ills lay in its deficient conception of liberty. They argue that the failings of this liberal conception of liberty can only be rectified if it is replaced by a more theoretically robust conception of liberty which has its roots in republican humanism. The purpose of this article is to examine the neo-republicans' claims about the deficiencies of the liberal conception of liberty, classically defined by Isaiah Berlin, and to evaluate whether important claims they make of their own republican conception of liberty are not already accommodated for within the definition of negative liberty

I owe you: age-related similarities and differences in associative memory for gains and losses

Older adults often experience associative memory impairments but can sometimes remember important information. The current experiments investigate potential age-related similarities and differences associate memory for gains and losses. Younger and older participants were presented with faces and associated dollar amounts, which indicated how much money the person “owed” the participant, and were later given a cued recall test for the dollar amount. Experiment 1 examined face-dollar amount pairs while Experiment 2 included negative dollar amounts to examine both gains and losses. While younger adults recalled more information relative to older adults, both groups were more accurate in recalling the correct value associated with high value faces compared to lower value faces and remembered gist-information about the values. However, negative values (losses) did not have a strong impact on recall among older adults versus younger adults, illustrating important associative memory differences between younger and older adults

Habitat loss on the breeding grounds is a major contributor to population declines in a long-distance migratory songbird

Many migratory species are declining and for most, the proximate causes of their declines remain unknown. For many long-distance Neotropical migratory songbirds, it is assumed that habitat loss on breeding or non-breeding grounds is a primary driver of population declines. We integrated data collected from tracking technology, community science and remote sensing data to quantify migratory connectivity (MC), population trends and habitat loss. We quantified the correlation between forest change throughout the annual cycle and population declines of a long-distance migratory songbird, the Connecticut warbler (Oporornis agilis, observed decline: −8.99% yr−1). MC, the geographic link between populations during two or more phases of the annual cycle, was stronger between breeding and autumn migration routes (MC = 0.24 ± 0.23) than between breeding and non-breeding locations (MC = −0.2 ± 0.14). Different Connecticut warbler populations tended to have population-specific fall migration routes but overlapped almost completely within the northern Gran Chaco ecoregion in South America. Cumulative forest loss within 50 km of breeding locations and the resulting decline in the largest forested patch index was correlated more strongly with population declines than forest loss on migratory stopover regions or on wintering locations in South America, suggesting that habitat loss during the breeding season is a driver of observed population declines for the Connecticut warbler. Land-use practices that retain large, forested patches within landscapes will likely benefit breeding populations of this declining songbird, but further research is needed to help inform land-use practices across the full annual cycle to minimize the impacts to migratory songbirds and abate ongoing population declines

Outcomes and resource usage of infants born at ≤ 25 weeks gestation in Canada

Objectives: To determine the outcomes and resource usage of infants born at ≤ 25 weeks gestational age (GA). Methods: Retrospective study of infants born between April 2009 and September 2011 at ≤ 25 weeks\u27 GA in all neonatal intensive care units in Canada with follow-up in the neonatal follow-up clinics. Short-term morbidities, neurodevelopmental impairment, significant neurodevelopmental impairment, and resource utilization of infants born at ≤ 24 weeks were compared with neonates born at 25 weeks. Results: Of 803 neonates discharged alive, 636 (80.4%) infants born at ≤ 25 weeks\u27 GA were assessed at 18 to 24 months. Caesarean delivery, lower birth weight, and less antenatal steroid exposure were more common in infants born ≤ 24 weeks as compared with 25 weeks. They had significantly higher incidences of ductus arteriosus ligation, severe intracranial hemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity as well as longer length of stay, central line days, days on respiratory support, days on total parenteral nutrition, days on antibiotics, and need for postnatal steroids. Neurodevelopmental impairment rates were 68.9, 64.5, and 55.6% (P=0.01) and significant neurodevelopmental impairment rates were 39.3, 29.6, and 20.9% (P\u3c0.01) for infants ≤ 23, 24, and 25 weeks GA, respectively. Postdischarge service referrals were higher for those ≤ 23 weeks. Nonsurviving infants born at 25 weeks GA had higher resource utilization during admission than infants born less than 25 weeks. Conclusions: Adverse outcomes and resource usage were significantly higher among infants born ≤ 24 weeks GA as compared with 25 weeks GA

Association between admission temperature and mortality and major morbidity in preterm infants born at fewer than 33weeks\u27 gestation

Importance: Neonatal hypothermia has been associated with higher mortality and morbidity; therefore, thermal control following delivery is an essential part of neonatal care. Identifying the ideal body temperature in preterm neonates in the first few hours of lifemay be helpful to reduce the risk for adverse outcomes. Objectives: To examine the association between admission temperature and neonatal outcomes and estimate the admission temperature associated with lowest rates of adverse outcomes in preterm infants born at fewer than 33 weeks\u27 gestation.. Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective observational study at 29 neonatal intensive care units in the Canadian Neonatal Network. Participants included 9833 inborn infants born at fewer than 33 weeks\u27 gestation who were admitted between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012.. Exposure: Axillary or rectal body temperature recorded at admission.. Main Outcomes And Measures: The primary outcomewas a composite adverse outcome defined as mortality or any of the following: severe neurological injury, severe retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or nosocomial infection. The relationships between admission temperature and the composite outcome as well as between admission temperature and the components of the composite outcome were evaluated using multivariable analyses.. Results: Admission temperatures of the 9833 neonates were distributed as follows: lower than 34.5°C (1%); 34.5°C to 34.9°C (1%); 35.0°C to 35.4°C (3%); 35.5°C to 35.9°C (7%); 36.0°C to 36.4°C (24%); 36.5°C to 36.9°C (38%); 37.0°C to 37.4°C (19%); 37.5°C to 37.9°C (5%); and 38.0°C or higher (2%). After adjustment for maternal and infant characteristics, the rates of the composite outcome, severe neurological injury, severe retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and nosocomial infection had a U-shaped relationship with admission temperature (a \u3e 0 [P \u3c .05]). The admission temperature at which the rate of the composite outcome was lowest was 36.8°C (95%CI, 36.7°C-37.0°C). Rates of severe neurological injury, severe retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis (95%CI, 36.3°C-36.7°C), bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and nosocomial infection (95%CI, 36.9°C-37.3°C) were lowest at admission temperatures ranging from 36.5°C to 37.2°C.. Conclusions And Relevance: The relationship between admission temperature and adverse neonatal outcomes was U-shaped. The lowest rates of adverse outcomes were associated with admission temperatures between 36.5°C and 37.2°C.

Resistance to MPTP-Neurotoxicity in α-Synuclein Knockout Mice Is Complemented by Human α-Synuclein and Associated with Increased β-Synuclein and Akt Activation

Genetic and biochemical abnormalities of α-synuclein are associated with the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. In the present study we investigated the in vivo interaction of mouse and human α-synuclein with the potent parkinsonian neurotoxin, MPTP. We find that while lack of mouse α-synuclein in mice is associated with reduced vulnerability to MPTP, increased levels of human α-synuclein expression is not associated with obvious changes in the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to MPTP. However, expressing human α-synuclein variants (human wild type or A53T) in the α-synuclein null mice completely restores the vulnerability of nigral dopaminergic neurons to MPTP. These results indicate that human α-synuclein can functionally replace mouse α-synuclein in regard to vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons to MPTP-toxicity. Significantly, α-synuclein null mice and wild type mice were equally sensitive to neurodegeneration induced by 2′NH2-MPTP, a MPTP analog that is selective for serotoninergic and noradrenergic neurons. These results suggest that effects of α-synuclein on MPTP like compounds are selective for nigral dopaminergic neurons. Immunoblot analysis of β-synuclein and Akt levels in the mice reveals selective increases in β-synuclein and phosphorylated Akt levels in ventral midbrain, but not in other brain regions, of α-synuclein null mice, implicating the α-synuclein-level dependent regulation of β-synuclein expression in modulation of MPTP-toxicity by α-synuclein. Together these findings provide new mechanistic insights on the role α-synuclein in modulating neurodegenerative phenotypes by regulation of Akt-mediated cell survival signaling in vivo

Impact of HPV vaccination and cervical screening on cervical cancer elimination: a comparative modelling analysis in 78 low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: The WHO Director-General has issued a call for action to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem. To help inform global efforts, we modelled potential human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening scenarios in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) to examine the feasibility and timing of elimination at different thresholds, and to estimate the number of cervical cancer cases averted on the path to elimination. METHODS: The WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Modelling Consortium (CCEMC), which consists of three independent transmission-dynamic models identified by WHO according to predefined criteria, projected reductions in cervical cancer incidence over time in 78 LMICs for three standardised base-case scenarios: girls-only vaccination; girls-only vaccination and once-lifetime screening; and girls-only vaccination and twice-lifetime screening. Girls were vaccinated at age 9 years (with a catch-up to age 14 years), assuming 90% coverage and 100% lifetime protection against HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. Cervical screening involved HPV testing once or twice per lifetime at ages 35 years and 45 years, with uptake increasing from 45% (2023) to 90% (2045 onwards). The elimination thresholds examined were an average age-standardised cervical cancer incidence of four or fewer cases per 100 000 women-years and ten or fewer cases per 100 000 women-years, and an 85% or greater reduction in incidence. Sensitivity analyses were done, varying vaccination and screening strategies and assumptions. We summarised results using the median (range) of model predictions. FINDINGS: Girls-only HPV vaccination was predicted to reduce the median age-standardised cervical cancer incidence in LMICs from 19·8 (range 19·4-19·8) to 2·1 (2·0-2·6) cases per 100 000 women-years over the next century (89·4% [86·2-90·1] reduction), and to avert 61·0 million (60·5-63·0) cases during this period. Adding twice-lifetime screening reduced the incidence to 0·7 (0·6-1·6) cases per 100 000 women-years (96·7% [91·3-96·7] reduction) and averted an extra 12·1 million (9·5-13·7) cases. Girls-only vaccination was predicted to result in elimination in 60% (58-65) of LMICs based on the threshold of four or fewer cases per 100 000 women-years, in 99% (89-100) of LMICs based on the threshold of ten or fewer cases per 100 000 women-years, and in 87% (37-99) of LMICs based on the 85% or greater reduction threshold. When adding twice-lifetime screening, 100% (71-100) of LMICs reached elimination for all three thresholds. In regions in which all countries can achieve cervical cancer elimination with girls-only vaccination, elimination could occur between 2059 and 2102, depending on the threshold and region. Introducing twice-lifetime screening accelerated elimination by 11-31 years. Long-term vaccine protection was required for elimination. INTERPRETATION: Predictions were consistent across our three models and suggest that high HPV vaccination coverage of girls can lead to cervical cancer elimination in most LMICs by the end of the century. Screening with high uptake will expedite reductions and will be necessary to eliminate cervical cancer in countries with the highest burden. FUNDING: WHO, UNDP, UN Population Fund, UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Program of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé, Compute Canada, National Health and Medical Research Council Australia Centre for Research Excellence in Cervical Cancer Control