Voluntary Approaches to Food Safety : A Unified Framework

The emergence and the multiplication of safety quality management system within the food supply chain were extensively analyzed in the food safety literature. Some papers deal more specifically with the voluntary implementation by firms of these systems (Segerson, 1999; Venturini, 2003; Noelke & Caswell, 2000). Our paper develops a unified analytical framework of this burgeoning literature. We show three original results: (i) when the mandatory threat is strong, the voluntary adoption of safety measures can be implemented without the need of a cost differential assumption (Segerson, 1999), or a reputation effect (Venturini, 2003); (ii) when the mandatory threat is weak, the reputation effect and the liability rule may induce the voluntary adoption only when there is a "hard" response from the consumers; (iii) when the response from consumers is "soft", a well designed contract offered by the retailer in the supply chain can induce the firm to implement voluntary safety measures. ...French Abstract : Ces dernières années en économie agro-alimentaire, la multiplication et le développement de systèmes de management de la qualité (SMQ) au sein de l'offre alimentaire ont fait l'objet un intérêt particulier. Cependant, seules quelques recherches traitent formellement de l'adoption volontaire de tels systèmes par les entreprises (Segerson, 1999; Venturini, 2003; Noelke & Caswell, 2000). Dans cet article, nous proposons un cadre analytique unifié de cette littérature émergente. Premièrement, nous relâchons les hypothèses d'existence d'un différentiel de coût entre des SMQ volontaire et réglementaire (Sergerson, 1999) ou d'un stock de réputation (Venturini, 2003). Nous montrons ainsi qu'une menace réglementaire forte est une condition nécessaire et suffisante à l'adoption volontaire par les entreprises d'un SMQ. Deuxièmement, nous distinguons deux situations lorsque la menace réglementaire est faible. D'une part, suite à une contamination sanitaire quand la réponse des consommateurs ou du marché est " forte ", les effets de réputation et le " design " de la règle de responsabilité jouent comme des incitations à l'adoption volontaire. D'autre part, quand la réponse des consommateurs (du marché) est " molle ", seul le contrat qu'offre le distributeur à l'entreprise peut induire une adoption volontaire.VOLUNTARY APPROACHES; FOOD SAFETY; SUPPLY CHAIN

How are youth faring in the labor market ? Evidence from around the world

This paper uses a new standardized micro database for a large set of developing countries to (1) describe the patterns of labor market outcomes for youth, and (2) explain the contributions of supply and demand factors to youth outcomes. The paper shows that youth face various difficulties in transitioning to work. This is reflected in their relatively higher unemployment rate, higher incidence of low paying or unpaid work, and a large share of youth who are neither working nor in school. This is especially true for young girls who are found outside the labor market, some engaged in home production. Finally, the paper also finds that cross-country estimates show that changes in the youth relative cohort size is unlikely to have a large effect on how youth are faring in the labor market.Labor Markets,Youth and Governance,Adolescent Health,Population Policies,Children and Youth

DNS of Laminar to Turbulent Transition on NACA 0012 Airfoil with Sand Grain Roughness

The Lattice-Boltzmann-based solver PowerFLOW is used to perform direct numerical simulations of the transitional flow over an airfoil at Reynolds number equal to 0.657 million. The leading edge of the airfoil is covered with sand particles, represented by polyhedra, to mimic the grit used in experiments. The sensitivity of the laminar to turbulent transition to the size of these particles, grid resolution, spanwise length is evaluated and rectangular trips are also tested

Histological study of eyelid in Algerian locale bovine

Ten pairs of eyelids of adult, healthy cattle of the local breed from the region of Guelma, Algeria, were collected at the slaughterhouse in order to carry out research to determine the structure, the components and to make a comparison with the results of this subject in other ruminants, classical staining techniques such as Hematoxylin & eosin, Masson trichrome and silver nitrate were carried out in the histology laboratory on sections of these membranes, the studied parts were the upper eyelid and lower eyelid, medial and lateral canthus, the results observed were significant, there was a small increase in the thickness of the epidermis in the lower eyelid, and the small sebaceous glands which made the difference between the lower eyelid from local cattle, these glands originate near the basement membrane of the upper eyelids. Regarding the tarsal gland, empty its secretion onto the surface of the eyelid through a duct lined with typical stratified squamous epithelium

Improving Follow Up Compliance for Patients with Sleep Disordered Breathing at Jefferson Sleep Center

Despite the high effectiveness of CPAP therapy, patient adherence remains variable and a hurdle towards appropriate treatment of their sleep-disordered breathing. Patients often stop using their CPAP and are then lost to follow-up, which increases their risk of previously mentioned complications that are associated with OSA. Goals for Improvement To increase the follow-up rate for patients with OSA

Complete Resolution of a Large Bicuspid Aortic Valve Thrombus with Anticoagulation in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Native aortic valve thrombosis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS) is a rare entity. We describe a 38-year-old man who presented with neurological symptoms and a cardiac murmur. Transthoracic echocardiography detected a large bicuspid aortic valve thrombus. Laboratory evaluation showed the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies. Anticoagulation was started, and serial echocardiographic studies showed complete resolution of the aortic valve vegetation after 4 months. The patient improved clinically and had no residual symptoms. This report and review of the literature suggests that vegetations in APLS can be treated successfully with conservative treatment, regardless of their size

Magnetic field, differential rotation and activity of the hot-Jupiter hosting star HD 179949

HD 179949 is an F8V star, orbited by a giant planet at ~8 R* every 3.092514 days. The system was reported to undergo episodes of stellar activity enhancement modulated by the orbital period, interpreted as caused by Star-Planet Interactions (SPIs). One possible cause of SPIs is the large-scale magnetic field of the host star in which the close-in giant planet orbits. In this paper we present spectropolarimetric observations of HD 179949 during two observing campaigns (2009 September and 2007 June). We detect a weak large-scale magnetic field of a few Gauss at the surface of the star. The field configuration is mainly poloidal at both observing epochs. The star is found to rotate differentially, with a surface rotation shear of dOmega=0.216\pm0.061 rad/d, corresponding to equatorial and polar rotation periods of 7.62\pm0.07 and 10.3\pm0.8 d respectively. The coronal field estimated by extrapolating the surface maps resembles a dipole tilted at ~70 degrees. We also find that the chromospheric activity of HD 179949 is mainly modulated by the rotation of the star, with two clear maxima per rotation period as expected from a highly tilted magnetosphere. In September 2009, we find that the activity of HD 179949 shows hints of low amplitude fluctuations with a period close to the beat period of the system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Societ

Signatures of Star-planet interactions

Planets interact with their host stars through gravity, radiation and magnetic fields, and for those giant planets that orbit their stars within $\sim$10 stellar radii ($\sim$0.1 AU for a sun-like star), star-planet interactions (SPI) are observable with a wide variety of photometric, spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric studies. At such close distances, the planet orbits within the sub-alfv\'enic radius of the star in which the transfer of energy and angular momentum between the two bodies is particularly efficient. The magnetic interactions appear as enhanced stellar activity modulated by the planet as it orbits the star rather than only by stellar rotation. These SPI effects are informative for the study of the internal dynamics and atmospheric evolution of exoplanets. The nature of magnetic SPI is modeled to be strongly affected by both the stellar and planetary magnetic fields, possibly influencing the magnetic activity of both, as well as affecting the irradiation and even the migration of the planet and rotational evolution of the star. As phase-resolved observational techniques are applied to a large statistical sample of hot Jupiter systems, extensions to other tightly orbiting stellar systems, such as smaller planets close to M dwarfs become possible. In these systems, star-planet separations of tens of stellar radii begin to coincide with the radiative habitable zone where planetary magnetic fields are likely a necessary condition for surface habitability.Comment: Accepted for publication in the handbook of exoplanet

Preexisting Psychological Illness and Its Association with Mortality in Lung Cancer Patients with Access to Support Resources

Abstract Introduction: Diagnosis of lung cancer often results in tremendous stress for most patients, especially in patients with underlying psychological illness. Psy- chosocial support (consultation with psychologist, psychotherapist, or social worker) referral is considered standard for quality cancer care; however, which patients utilize these resources and how these resources affect patient out- comes remain unclear. Objectives: We aimed to identify which newly diagnosed lung cancer patients accessed available psychosocial resources and assessed how utilization of these resources correlated with treatment and survival outcomes. Methods: Data were collected from National Cancer Institute-designated can- cer center at the University of New Mexico. We analyzed lung cancer registry and mortality data at the cancer center and bronchoscopy suite data to retro- spectively identify patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 2012 and 2017. We used a logistic regression model to compare psychological support utilization at the cancer center between patients with and without history of psychiatric illness. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to identify indi- vidual risk factors for mortality. Results: Patients with a previous psychological diagnosis were 2.4 times more likely (odds ratio = 2.443; confidence interval [CI], 1.130–5.284) to utilize psy- chological resources than patients without a pre-cancer psychological diagno- sis. Patients who received psychosocial intervention had a 120.4% higher hazard of dying than those who did not (hazard ratio = 2.204; 95% CI, 1.240– 3.917). One-year survival probability among those who did not utilize resources was 62.65% (95% CI, 55.24%–71.06%) and 43.0% (95% CI, 31.61%– 58.50%) among those who did. Patients with a previous psychiatric diagnosis were more likely to utilize psychosocial resoures within 1 year of lung cancer diagnosis

Searching for Star-Planet interactions within the magnetosphere of HD 189733

HD 189733 is a K2 dwarf, orbited by a giant planet at 8.8 stellar radii. In order to study magnetospheric interactions between the star and the planet, we explore the large-scale magnetic field and activity of the host star. We collected spectra using the ESPaDOnS and the NARVAL spectropolarimeters, installed at the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii telescope and the 2-m Telescope Bernard Lyot at Pic du Midi, during two monitoring campaigns (June 2007 and July 2008). HD 189733 has a mainly toroidal surface magnetic field, having a strength that reaches up to 40 G. The star is differentially rotating, with latitudinal angular velocity shear of domega = 0.146 +- 0.049 rad/d, corresponding to equatorial and polar periods of 11.94 +- 0.16 d and 16.53 +- 2.43 d respectively. The study of the stellar activity shows that it is modulated mainly by the stellar rotation (rather than by the orbital period or the beat period between the stellar rotation and the orbital periods). We report no clear evidence of magnetospheric interactions between the star and the planet. We also extrapolated the field in the stellar corona and calculated the planetary radio emission expected for HD 189733b given the reconstructed field topology. The radio flux we predict in the framework of this model is time variable and potentially detectable with LOFAR