The relative importance of individual, job-related and organisational characteristics in explaining differences in earnings.

Abstract: This paper focuses on a number of key research questions: (1) What is the relative importance of individual, job-related and organizational characteristics in explaining differences in earnings? (2) Do job characteristics such as hierarchical level and functional domain exercise a significant influence on pay differentials if we control for the traditional human capital factors? (3) Do organizational characteristics such as size and the sector in which the company is active exercise a significant influence on pay differentials if we control for the traditional human capital factors and job-related pay determinants? In order to assess the relative importance of these pay determinants, use is made of linear regression and analysis of variance. The analysis draws on data from the Salary Survey, which generated pay details for a total of more than 15,000 Belgian white-collar workers. Based on the analysis, we come to the conclusion that the five main determinants, in order of importance, are number of years' work experience; level of education; hierarchical level; sector of employment; and the nationality of the parent company. A further striking feature is that more than 50% of the total explained variance can be attributed to the three features which receive a great deal of attention in traditional human capital approaches to pay differentials: level of education, work experience and gender.Implications; Characteristics;

Preparation of Photoactive Transition-Metal Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) to Replace Dye-Sensitized Materials in Solar Cells

This work highlights the use of Fe-modified MgAl-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) to replace dye and semiconductor complexes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), forming a layered double hydroxide solar cell (LDHSC). For this purpose, a MgAl-LDH and a Fe-modified MgAl LDH were prepared. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to analyze the structural properties, morphology, and success of the Fe-modification of the synthesized LDHs. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze the photoactive behavior of these LDHs and compare it to that of TiO2 and dye-sensitized TiO2. Current-voltage (I–V) solar simulation was used to determine the fill factor (FF), open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current (ISC), and efficiency of the LDHSCs. It was shown that the MgFeAl-LDH can act as a simultaneous photoabsorber and charge separator, effectively replacing the dye and semiconductor complex in DSSCs and yielding an efficiency of 1.56%

Microbial Co-occurrence Relationships in the Human Microbiome

The healthy microbiota show remarkable variability within and among individuals. In addition to external exposures, ecological relationships (both oppositional and symbiotic) between microbial inhabitants are important contributors to this variation. It is thus of interest to assess what relationships might exist among microbes and determine their underlying reasons. The initial Human Microbiome Project (HMP) cohort, comprising 239 individuals and 18 different microbial habitats, provides an unprecedented resource to detect, catalog, and analyze such relationships. Here, we applied an ensemble method based on multiple similarity measures in combination with generalized boosted linear models (GBLMs) to taxonomic marker (16S rRNA gene) profiles of this cohort, resulting in a global network of 3,005 significant co-occurrence and co-exclusion relationships between 197 clades occurring throughout the human microbiome. This network revealed strong niche specialization, with most microbial associations occurring within body sites and a number of accompanying inter-body site relationships. Microbial communities within the oropharynx grouped into three distinct habitats, which themselves showed no direct influence on the composition of the gut microbiota. Conversely, niches such as the vagina demonstrated little to no decomposition into region-specific interactions. Diverse mechanisms underlay individual interactions, with some such as the co-exclusion of Porphyromonaceae family members and Streptococcus in the subgingival plaque supported by known biochemical dependencies. These differences varied among broad phylogenetic groups as well, with the Bacilli and Fusobacteria, for example, both enriched for exclusion of taxa from other clades. Comparing phylogenetic versus functional similarities among bacteria, we show that dominant commensal taxa (such as Prevotellaceae and Bacteroides in the gut) often compete, while potential pathogens (e.g. Treponema and Prevotella in the dental plaque) are more likely to co-occur in complementary niches. This approach thus serves to open new opportunities for future targeted mechanistic studies of the microbial ecology of the human microbiome

Color constancy based on the Grey-edge hypothesis

International audienceA well-known color constancy method is based on the Grey-World assumption i.e. the average reflectance of surfaces in the world is achromatic. In this article we propose a new hypothesis for color constancy, namely the Grey-Edge hypothesis assuming that the average edge difference in a scene is achromatic. Based on this hypothesis, we propose an algorithm for color constancy. Recently, the Grey-World hypothesis and the max-RGB method were shown to be two instantiations of a Minkowski norm based color constancy method. Similarly we also propose a more general version of the Grey-Edge hypothesis which assumes that the Minkowsky norm of derivatives of the reflectance of surfaces is achromatic. The algorithms are tested on a large data set of images under different illuminants, and the results show that the new method outperforms the Grey-World assumption and the max-RGB method. Results are comparable to more elaborate algorithms, however at lower computational costs

General and food-specific parenting: measures and interplay

BACKGROUND: Parental influence on child food intake is typically conceptualized at three levels—parenting practices, feeding style, and parenting style. General parenting style is modeled at the most distal level of influence and food parenting practices are conceptualized as the most proximal level of influence. The goal of this article is to provide insights into contents and explanatory value of instruments that have been applied to assess food parenting practices, feeding style, and parenting style. METHODS: Measures of food parenting practices, feeding style, and parenting style were reviewed, compared, and contrasted with regard to contents, explanatory value, and interrelationships. RESULTS: Measures that are used in the field often fail to cover the full scope and complexity of food parenting. Healthy parenting dimensions have generally been found to be positively associated with child food intake (i.e., healthier dietary intake and less intake of energy-dense food products and sugar-sweetened beverages), but effect sizes are low. Evidence for the operation of higher-order moderation has been found, in which the impact of proximal parental influences is moderated by more distal levels of parenting. CONCLUSIONS: Operationalizing parenting at different levels, while applying a contextual higher-order moderation approach, is advocated to have surplus value in understanding the complex process of parent–child interactions in the area of food intake. A research paradigm is presented that may guide future work regarding the conceptualization and modeling of parental influences on child dietary behavior

Advancing the Microbiome Research Community

The human microbiome has become a recognized factor in promoting and maintaining health. We outline opportunities in interdisciplinary research, analytical rigor, standardization, and policy development for this relatively new and rapidly developing field. Advances in these aspects of the research community may in turn advance our understanding of human microbiome biology. It is now widely recognized that disturbances in our normal microbial populations may be linked to acute infections such as Clostridium difficile and to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune disorders (Clemente et al., 2012). This has prompted substantial interest in the microbiome from both basic and clinical perspectives. Although our genome is relatively static throughout life, each of our microbial communities changes profoundly from infancy through adulthood, continuing to adapt through ongoing exposures to diet, drugs and environment. Understanding the microbiome and its dynamic nature may be critical for diagnostics and, eventually, interventions based on the microbiome itself. However, several important challenges limit the ability of researchers to enter the microbiome field and/or conduct research most effectively

Context matters! The relationship between mother-reported family nutrition climate, general parenting, food parenting practices and children’s BMI

Background: Efforts to explain children’s nutrition behavior or weight often involve investigating the parent-child relationship, typically studying the associations between food parenting practices (FPPs) and child outcomes. However, these behaviors are embedded in a broader system: general parenting (GP, the general emotional climate at home), and the family health climate (an aspect of the broader family system in the context of health). In the current study, we combined the parent-child measures of parenting (FPPs and GP) and the nutritional dimension of the family health climate (family nutrition climate, FNC) to get a broader view of how these concepts are interrelated. The current study had two aims: predicting FPPs using GP and FNC as predictor variables, and investigating the relationship between FPPs and children’s weight in different groups of parents, based on low and high GP and FNC scores. Methods: We collected cross-sectional data via an online survey panel. Mothers of 267 children aged 5–12 years filled out a questionnaire assessing demographics (e.g., children’s weight and height), GP, FPPs, and FNC. Bivariate correlation coefficients were calculated between all constructs. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the hypothesized relationships between GP, FNC and FPPs. Hereafter, different groups of parents were identified, using median split, based on a low or high score on GP or a low or high score on FNC. Bivariate correlation coefficients were calculated between FPPs and children’s BMI z-score for these different groups. Results: GP and FNC were consistently positively correlated (all r’s ≥.177), and both concepts were positively associated with healthy FPPs (all r’s ≥.214). In families with a positive context (i.e. scoring high on GP and on FNC), healthy FPPs were associated with lower BMI z-scores of the children (r -.229). This association was not found for children with a more negative family context. Conclusions: FNC and GP are valuable additional concepts to investigate relationships between FPPs and child outcomes. We recommend that more studies, next to investigating the parent-child system, include a measure of the broader family system, in order to get a broader view of the mechanisms explaining child health behaviors and weight status