On the Job Training, Mobility and Employment Dynamics: Empirical Investigations with Individual and Establishment Data.

The paper analyses the following questions: Does on the job training tie employees to the firm or increase the propensity to change the job? Can significant differences be observed between skill or labor force groups? Are external effects induced by on the job training, namely, does the propensity to leave the firm change for non-trained employees? These topics are investigated based on generalized additive models, which make use of nonparametric methods to determine unspecified nonlinear effects. The investigation is carried out using German data on individuals (GSOEP) and establishments (The Hannover Panel). The major results are: On the job training usually reduces the probability to quit the job. Especially in the short run, the propensity to stay in a firm after additional training is increased for high skilled workers. Firm-paid training increases this propensity to a higher degree than worker-financed courses. Unskilled workers can improve their working conditions only by training for which they pay on their own and only if they change the employer after the course. Furthermore, employers often use training to start or to accelerate replacement processes. Crowding Out of unskilled by skilled workers is the consequence. The higher the firm's expenditures for training the higher is the propensity to fill vacancies by external recruitment.On the job training, mobility, vocational training, earnings, career leap

Gesundheitszustand und Berufszufriedenheit von angestellten und selbstständigen Ärztinnen und Ärzten (Teil II)

Schmeißer K, Hübler A, Dizinger V, Scheuch K, Müller G, Kunath H. Gesundheitszustand und Berufszufriedenheit von angestellten und selbstständigen Ärztinnen und Ärzten (Teil II). Ärzteblatt Sachsen. 2008;(10):516-517

Real-world evidence study on tolerance and growth in infants fed an infant formula with two human milk oligosaccharides vs mixed fed and exclusively breastfed infants

Abstract Introduction Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are important components of human milk having diverse functions in the development of infants. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that infant formulas with the HMOs 2′-fucosyllactose (2′FL) and lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT) are safe, well-tolerated, and support normal growth. This study aimed to generate real-world evidence (RWE) on growth and gastrointestinal (GI) tolerance in infants consuming a formula with 1 g/L 2′FL and 0.5 g/L LNnT, including a mixed feeding group not studied before in RCTs. Participants and methods This 8-week open-label prospective multicenter study was conducted in Germany and Austria, and included groups of healthy, exclusively breastfed infants (BF), exclusively formula-fed infants (FF) who received the HMO-formula, and infants mixed fed with both HMO formula and human milk (MF). Co-primary outcomes were anthropometry and gastrointestinal tolerance via validated Infant Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire (IGSQ). Secondary outcomes included formula satisfaction and adverse events (AEs). Results One-hundred six infants completed the study (46 FF, 22 MF, and 38 BF). Mean anthropometric z-scores were comparable between groups and generally within ± 0.5 of WHO medians at week 8. IGSQ composite scores demonstrated good GI tolerance in all groups with no significant group differences at week 4 or 8. IGSQ composite scores in FF improved during the course of the study and parents provided high satisfaction ratings for the HMO-formula. Four potentially product-related AEs were reported in FF (no in MF). Conclusions In this RWE study examining an infant formula with HMOs, growth and GI tolerance outcomes were confirming the good tolerance and safety of this early feeding option previously reported in RCTs

German Works Councils and the Anatomy of Wages.

Using matched employer-employee data from the German LIAB for 2001, the authors found that German works councils are in general associated with higher earnings, even after accounting for establishment- and worker heterogeneity. Works council wage premia exceed those of collective bargaining and are higher, in fact, where both institutions are present in the workplace. The authors also found evidence indicating that works councils benefit women relative to men and appear to favor foreign, east-German, and service-sector workers as well. Separate evidence from quantile regressions suggests that the conjunction of works council presence and collective bargaining is important to the narrowing process. In smaller plants even the presence of a works council markup depends on the coexistence of the works council entity with the machinery of collective bargaining

Emergence of human-adapted Salmonella enterica is linked to the Neolithization process

It has been hypothesized that the Neolithic transition towards an agricultural and pastoralist economy facilitated the emergence of human-adapted pathogens. Here, we recovered eight Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica genomes from human skeletons of transitional foragers, pastoralists and agropastoralists in western Eurasia that were up to 6,500 yr old. Despite the high genetic diversity of S. enterica, all ancient bacterial genomes clustered in a single previously uncharacterized branch that contains S. enterica adapted to multiple mammalian species. All ancient bacterial genomes from prehistoric (agro-)pastoralists fall within a part of this branch that also includes the human-specific S. enterica Paratyphi C, illustrating the evolution of a human pathogen over a period of 5,000 yr. Bacterial genomic comparisons suggest that the earlier ancient strains were not host specific, differed in pathogenic potential and experienced convergent pseudogenization that accompanied their downstream host adaptation. These observations support the concept that the emergence of human-adapted S. enterica is linked to human cultural transformations