Personality Traits, Job Search and the Gender Wage Gap

This paper introduces the Big Five personality traits along with other covariates in a job search, matching and bargaining model and investigates how education and personality traits affect job search behavior and labor market outcomes. It develops and e

Structural heat treatments against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): effect of flour depth, life stage and floor.

The effect of high temperatures (50-60°C) and two levels of sanitation (~0.5 and 43 g of flour), on mortality of eggs, young larvae, old larvae, pupae, and adults of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, were evaluated during heat treatment of a pilot flour mill at Kansas State University. The mill was heated once during 13-14 May 2009 and once during 25-26 August 2009. Each of the heat treatments lasted 24 h. Bioassay boxes, with life stages of T. castaneum and temperature sensors confined in small compartments, were placed in 25 locations across all five mill floors. Temperature data showed that the mean time to 50°C based on the two treatments ranged from 10.39 to 17.18 h, and the mean time above 50°C ranged from 6.01 to 13.63 h. The mean maximum temperatures attained ranged from 50.7 to 61.4°C. In general, temperatures were lower in compartments with 43 g of flour when compared with compartments with 0.5 g of flour. Temperatures were also lower on the first floor than on the remaining floors. In box bioassays, essentially none of the life stages survived the 24 h heat treatment (99-100% mortality), except on the first floor. The survival of insects, especially on the first floor, is related to how quickly temperatures reached 50°C and how long temperatures were held between 50 and 60°C, and the maximum temperatures attained at a given location. There were only small differences in mortality between the two levels of sanitation. These results show that heat treatment of flour mills can control all life stages of T. castaneum in 24 h. Keywords: Tribolium castaneum, Heat treatment, Sanitation, Life stages, Methyl bromide alternative

Effectiveness of flameless catalytic infrared radiation against life stages of three stored-product insect species in stored wheat

A bench top flameless catalytic infrared emitter was evaluated in the laboratory to disinfest wheat containing different life stages (ages) of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica; rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae; and red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. The emitter produces infrared in the 3 to 7 um range. A noncontact infrared thermometer obtained real-time grain temperatures during exposures of uninfested and infested wheat containing various life stages of the three insect species. The grain temperatures attained were influenced by wheat quantity, distance from the emitter, and exposure time, which in turn influenced effectiveness against various life stages of the three species. In general, higher grain temperatures were attained in 113.5 g of wheat as opposed to 227.0 g, at 8.0 cm from the emitter surface rather than at 12.7 cm, and during a 60-sec exposure compared to a 45-sec exposure. Logistic regression indicated the probability of death of various life stages of R.  dominica, S. oryzae, and T. castaneum was temperature-dependent. About 99 to 100% mortality of all life stages of the three species occurred when the mean wheat temperatures were in the range of 108 to 114°C. The promising results show flameless catalytic infrared technology to be a viable option for disinfestation of stored wheat, provided such high temperatures do not affect grain quality.Keywords: Infrared radiation, Stored-product insects, Non-chemical method, Efficacy assessmen

Assessment of hygienic conditions of ground pepper (Piper nigrum L.) on the market in São Paulo city, by means of two methodologies for detecting the light filth

Pepper should to be collected, processed, and packed under optimum conditions to avoid the presence of foreign matter. The hygienic conditions of ground pepper marketted in São Paulo city were assessed in determining the presence of foreign matter by means of two extraction methodologies. This study was carried out during a six-month time period from May to September 2006. The occurrence of light impurities was determined either by the flotation technique following the methodology recommended by AOAC or by enzyme – linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). It was observed that 100% of the examined samples contained insect fragments, and many samples were housing more than one type of foreign matter. Twentytwo percent of samples were unqualified for consumption owing to the occurrence of rodent hairs. For the calibration of ELISA test for quantification of insect contamination level in pepper samples, a range of standard-infested samples was prepared in adding 1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 insects in a control sample to estimate the number of insects in the analyzed samples by measuring optical densities (OD) values with a spectrophotometer. Among the 22 samples, 36.4% of samples presented OD values close to that corresponding to the standard infested with eight insects, 40.9% of samples were comparable to OD of the standard infested with four insects, 18.2% comparable to standard with 10 insects, and 4.5% to the standard with two insects. According to the results observed in the present study, the technique described in AOAC official methods manual was found more suitable for detecting not only the insects but also the additional impurities in analyzed samples, while ELISA is specific to detect myosin from the insect muscle, which undergoes serious degradation with time. Keywords: Pepper, ELISA test , Light filth, AOAC official method

Cold temperature disinfestation of bagged flour

We conducted studies using a commercial freezer maintained at -17.8°C to determine the time needed to kill Tribolium castaneum eggs in a pallet of flour. Each bag weighed 22.7 kg, and there were 5 bags in each of 10 layers. The dimensions of the pallet were 109-cm wide by 132-cm long by 123-cm tall, and the weight of the stacked pallet was approximately 1152 kg. We conducted tests for nine internal goal temperatures of -12, -10, -8, -6, -4, -2, 0, 4 and 8°C. Internal temperatures in the most central location of the flour pallet reached: -11.0, -9.4, -6.9, -5.0, -3.5, -1.6, -0.1, 3.3, and 5.6°C and were achieved after 11.0, 9.1, 8.9, 7.2, 6.7, 5.8, 5.5, 5.2, and 4.2 days, respectively. For treatments where the goal temperature for the center bag ranged from -12 to 4°C, egg mortality was 100% in bags located in both the periphery and in the center of the pallet. When the temperature goal for the center bag was 8°C, 7 ± 2.5% of the eggs survived in bags located near the center of the pallet. Our data showed that temperatures that follow the dynamic temperature curve that takes place over 24.2 days (cool down and warm up for the 0°C temperature goal) resulted in 100% mortality of T. castaneum eggs. The reason for the difference in mortality for a static compared to a dynamic temperature treatment may be due to the fact that the dynamic temperature treatment occurs over a much longer duration. The fact that the treatment only required 5.5 days in the freezer before it could be shipped makes it a practical method to disinfest pallets of flour, especially because the bags do not need to be removed from the pallet and no chemicals are used

Combinations of idelalisib with rituximab and/or bendamustine in patients with recurrent indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Key Points Combining phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase δ inhibition with rituximab, bendamustine, or both is feasible and active in relapsed iNHL. The safety of novel combinations should be proven in phase 3 trials before adoption in clinical practice.</jats:p

A New Type of Electron Nuclear-Spin Interaction from Resistively Detected NMR in the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect Regime

Two dimensional electron gases in narrow GaAs quantum wells show huge longitudinal resistance (HLR) values at certain fractional filling factors. Applying an RF field with frequencies corresponding to the nuclear spin splittings of {69}Ga, {71}Ga and {75}As leads to a substantial decreases of the HLR establishing a novel type of resistively detected NMR. These resonances are split into four sub lines each. Neither the number of sub lines nor the size of the splitting can be explained by established interaction mechanisms.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Real-world clinical experience in the Connect® chronic lymphocytic leukaemia registry: a prospective cohort study of 1494 patients across 199 US centres.

The clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is heterogeneous, and treatment options vary considerably. The Connect® CLL registry is a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study that provides a real-world perspective on the management of, and outcomes for, patients with CLL. Between 2010 and 2014, 1494 patients with CLL and that initiated therapy, were enrolled from 199 centres throughout the USA (179 community-, 17 academic-, and 3 government-based centres). Patients were grouped by line of therapy at enrolment (LOT). We describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of, and practice patterns for, patients with CLL enrolled in this treatment registry, providing patient-level observational data that represent real-world experiences in the USA. Fluorescence in&nbsp;situ hybridization (FISH) analyses were performed on 49·3% of patients at enrolment. The most common genetic abnormalities detected by FISH were del(13q) and trisomy 12 (45·7% and 20·8%, respectively). Differences in disease characteristics and comorbidities were observed between patients enrolled in LOT1 and combined LOT2/≥3 cohorts. Important trends observed include the infrequent use of genetic prognostic testing, and differences in patient characteristics for patients receiving chemoimmunotherapy combinations. These data represent experiences of patients with CLL in the USA, which may inform treatment decisions in everyday practice

Variable Curvature Slab Molecular Dynamics as a Method to Determine Surface Stress

A thin plate or slab, prepared so that opposite faces have different surface stresses, will bend as a result of the stress difference. We have developed a classical molecular dynamics (MD) formulation where (similar in spirit to constant-pressure MD) the curvature of the slab enters as an additional dynamical degree of freedom. The equations of motion of the atoms have been modified according to a variable metric, and an additional equation of motion for the curvature is introduced. We demonstrate the method to Au surfaces, both clean and covered with Pb adsorbates, using many-body glue potentials. Applications to stepped surfaces, deconstruction and other surface phenomena are under study.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX, submitted to Physical Review