Non-standard work: What's it worth? Comparing alternative measures of workers' marginal willingness to pay

We compare two alternative ways of measuring workers' marginal willingness to pay (MWP) for four non-standard working arrangements: flexitime, part-time, night work, and rotating shifts. The first method is based on job-to-job transitions within a job search framework, while the second is based on estimating the determinants of subjective well-being. Using BHPS panel data from 1991-2008, we relate differences in the results to conceptual differences between utility and subjective wellbeing proposed recently in the happiness literature. We conclude that there is not a single representation of MWP: utility trade-offs (revealed by choices) need not be the same as wellbeing trade-offs; and we find evidence that subjective wellbeing is traded off against other goods that provide utility. Overall, we find that workers care particularly about their number of weekly hours

Librarians and Compensation Negotiation in the Library Workplace

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on survey results from a study about librarians’ experience with compensation (salary and benefits) negotiation in the library workplace in order to provide data that will inform professional discourse and practice. Design/methodology/approach - A primarily quantitative survey instrument was administered via Qualtrics Survey Software and distributed through listservs and social media channels representing a range of library types and sub-disciplines. The survey was explicitly addressed to librarians for participation and asked them questions related to their work history and experience with negotiating for salary and benefits. Findings - A total of 1,541 librarians completed the survey. More than half of survey respondents reported not negotiating for their current library position. The majority of those who did negotiate reported positive outcomes, including an increase in salary or total compensation package. Only a very small number of respondents reported threats to rescind or rescinded offers when negotiating for their current positions. Respondents cited prior salary and prior work experience and/or education as the top information sources informing negotiation strategy. Originality/value - There is minimal discussion of salary and benefits negotiation by individuals in the library literature and prior surveys of librarians’ experience with compensation negotiation do not exist. This is the first paper that tracks negotiating practices and outcomes of librarians in library workplaces of all types

Giant enchondroma recurrence of the proximal phalanx of the fifth finger: A case report

Enchondroma (EC) is a benign and cartilage-forming tumor that causes intramedullary lesions. Moreover, EC is the most common bone tumor in the phalanges and metacarpal bones of the hand, deforming the structure and causing pain and functional limitation. The management of this neoplasia is the surgical treatment and the approach that is well-accepted consists in the curettage followed by the void augmentation with biological or synthetic fillers. The results from surgery are usually good and the recurrence rate is low (2-15%). In this article we report a case of EC recurrence of the proximal phalanx of the fifth finger of the hand after curettage and grafting. The patient was treated with the amputation of the fifth ray according to the Tsuge technique, obtaining a satisfying clinical result

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery for the Treatment of Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids

Uterine broids, the most common benign tumor in women of childbearing age, may cause symptoms including pelvic pain, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, pressure, urinary symptoms, and infertility. Various approaches are available to treat symptomatic uterine broids. Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) represents a recently introduced noninvasive safe and e ective technique that can be performed without general anesthesia, in an outpatient setting. We review the principles of MRgFUS, describing patient selection criteria for the treatments performed at our center and we present a series of ve selected patients with symptomatic uterine broids treated with this not yet widely known technique, showing its e cacy in symptom improvement and broid volume reduction

Respondents of health survey powered by the innovative NURO app exhibit correlations between exercise frequencies and diet habits, and between stress levels and sleep wellness

Nurosene's NURO app (nurosene.com) is an innovative smartphone application that gathers and analyzes active self-report metrics from users, empowering them with data-driven health machine intelligence. We present the data collected and analyzed from the initial round of participants who responded to a 12-question survey on their life-style and health status. Exploratory results using a variational autoencoder (VAE) suggested that much of the variability of the 12 dimensional data could be accounted for by two approximately uncorrelated latent variables: one pertaining to stress and sleep, and the other pertaining to exercise and diet. Subsequent modeling of the data using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFAs and CFAs) found that optimal data fits consisted of four factors, namely exercise, diet, stress, and sleep. Covariance values were high between exercise and diet, and between stress and sleep, but much lower between other pairings of non-identical factors. Both EFAs and CFAs provided extra contexts to and quantified the more preliminary VAE observations. Overall, our results significantly reduce the apparent complexity of the response data. This reduction allows for more efficient future stratification and analyses of participants based on simpler latent variables. Our discovery of novel relationships between stress and sleep, and between exercise and diet suggests the possibility of applying predictive analytics in future efforts

Evaluation of the Economic Performance of Coastal Trawling off the Southern Coast of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea)

The economic performances of four trawling fleets (those of the Sicilian cities of Trapani, Sciacca, Licata and Porto Palo di Capo Passero) operating in the coastal waters along the southern coast of Sicily (geographical Subarea 16), and potentially affected by the establishment of the Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs), were analysed. The main economic performance results (revenues, costs and profits) of 37 trawlers were calculated prior to the implementation of FRAs and compared with those estimated by the spatial bio-economic model SMART after the FRAs’ establishment. Results showed that the fleets of Sciacca and Licata, located in the central part of the southern Sicilian coast, had a short-term reduction of profits as a result of the implementation of the FRAs; conversely, a short-term increase in the economic performances of Trapani and Porto Palo di Capo Passero fleets was expected. Although the FRAs represent a good tool for rebuilding overexploited stocks, the different socio-economic impacts of the single fleets should be assessed before adopting them and the implementation of specific compensative measures should be planned for the impacted fleet until a more productive state of the stock is reached

Reduced Number of Pigmented Neurons in the Substantia Nigra of Dystonia Patients? Findings from Extensive Neuropathologic, Immunohistochemistry, and Quantitative Analyses

Background: Dystonias (Dys) represent the third most common movement disorder after essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). While some pathogenetic mechanisms and genetic causes of Dys have been identified, little is known about their neuropathologic features. Previous neuropathologic studies have reported generically defined neuronal loss in various cerebral regions of Dys brains, mostly in the basal ganglia (BG), and specifically in the substantia nigra (SN). Enlarged pigmented neurons in the SN of Dys patients with and without specific genetic mutations (e.g., GAG deletions in DYT1 dystonia) have also been described. Whether or not Dys brains are associated with decreased numbers or other morphometric changes of specific neuronal types is unknown and has never been addressed with quantitative methodologies. Methods: Quantitative immunohistochemistry protocols were used to estimate neuronal counts and volumes of nigral pigmented neurons in 13 SN of Dys patients and 13 SN of age-matched control subjects (C). Results: We observed a significant reduction (∼20%) of pigmented neurons in the SN of Dys compared to C (p<0.01). Neither significant volumetric changes nor evident neurodegenerative signs were observed in the remaining pool of nigral pigmented neurons in Dys brains. These novel quantitative findings were confirmed after exclusion of possible co-occurring SN pathologies including Lewy pathology, tau-neurofibrillary tangles, β-amyloid deposits, ubiquitin (ubiq), and phosphorylated-TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (pTDP43)-positive inclusions. Discussion: A reduced number of nigral pigmented neurons in the absence of evident neurodegenerative signs in Dys brains could indicate previously unconsidered pathogenetic mechanisms of Dys such as neurodevelopmental defects in the SN

Whole genome semiconductor based sequencing of farmed European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Mediterranean genetic stocks using a DNA pooling approach

European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is an important marine species for commercial and sport fisheries and aquaculture production. Recently, the European sea bass genome has been sequenced and assembled. This resource can open new opportunities to evaluate and monitor variability and identify variants that could contribute to the adaptation to farming conditions. In this work, two DNA pools constructed from cultivated European sea bass were sequenced using a next generation semiconductor sequencing approach based on Ion Proton sequencer. Using the first draft version of the D. labrax genome as reference, sequenced reads obtained a total of about 1.6 million of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), spread all over the chromosomes. Transition/transversion (Ti/Tv) was equal to 1.28, comparable to what was already reported in Salmon species. A pilot homozygosity analysis across the D. labrax genome using DNA pool sequence datasets indicated that this approach can identify chromosome regions with putative signatures of selection, including genes involved in ion transport and chloride channel functions, amino acid metabolism and circadian clock and related neurological systems. This is the first study that reported genome wide polymorphisms in a fish species obtained with the Ion Proton sequencer. Moreover, this study provided a methodological approach for selective sweep analysis in this species

Assessing Cephalopods Fisheries in the Strait of Sicily by Using Poor Data Modeling

Cephalopods, including octopuses, squids, and cuttlefishes, are exploited by both bottom trawl and small-scale fisheries (SSF) in most of the Mediterranean areas. Bottom trawl fisheries regard cephalopods as a valuable bycatch, whereas for SSF, they are among the main target species. Cephalopods account for a relatively small proportion of the total landings in the Mediterranean. However, from an economic point of view, four cephalopods, Eledone cirrhosa, Eledone moschata, Octopus vulgaris, and Sepia officinalis, account for approximately 15% of the total landing value. Despite their economic importance, there are very few stock assessments of cephalopods in the Mediterranean because it is difficult to assess them by classical age-based methods, given their short life-cycles, and highly variable growth and recruitment. The production of E. cirrhosa, E. moschata, Illex coindettii, Loligo vulgaris, O. vulgaris, S. officinalis, and Todaropsis eblanae in the waters off the south of Sicily accounts for approximately 8% of the total Mediterranean yield of cephalopods. This study presents the first attempt to assess the state of these cephalopods in the Strait of Sicily by using surplus production models. Since species-wise landing statistics may be unreliable because of their morphological similarity, some octopuses (E. cirrhosa and E. moschata) and ommastrephid squids (I. coindetii and T. eblanae) were assessed combined. Landing data and abundance indices from trawl surveys were used to describe cephalopod stock dynamics through the Bayesian State Space Schaefer model (BSM) and Surplus Production model in Continuous Time (SPiCT) models. As survey data were not considered reliable indicators of their abundance, O. vulgaris, S. officinalis, and L. vulgaris stocks were assessed using the Catch-Maximum Sustainable Yield (CMSY) model. Overall, squid and cuttlefish stocks were observed to be in healthy conditions. However, assessments of octopus stocks indicated that their condition was critical or recovering. Here, we discuss the different stock statuses in the light of evolving fisheries and environmental factors in the area over time. Although cephalopods are not a priority in the current management system of Mediterranean fisheries, the importance of these species in the food web and their relevance for SSF underline their importance and their exploitation status should be periodically evaluated