The political economy of formal sector pay and employment in developing countries

Domestic labor market outcomes influence the direction and magnitude of the flow of international migration. When wages are low and jobs are scarce, workers tend to migrate to environments where jobs are available at higher wages. But as labor demand grows, a labor-exporting country may become a net labor importer. Such a"migration transition"- already much in evidence in East and Southeast Asian countries and beginning for skilled workers in India - is analogous to the demographic transition. The process of political economy described by the authors affects the level and growth of wages and of formal sector emmployment. So it is important for policymakers concerned about migration to high-income countries to take it into account. An efficient, flexible, responsive labormarket contributes to growth by creating an appropriate economic environment. In this respect, labor policy is like macroeconomic and trade policy. Unlike the accumulation of physical and human capital and technical progress, a well-functioning labor market is not itself a source of economic growth. Yet labor market pathologies, like macroeconomic mismanagement, can be extremely costly, severely constraining growth of output and employment and increasing inequality. Similarly, failure to adequately address the labor-market aspects of policy reform can result in the failure of other dimensions of reform. The smooth functioning of the labor market feeds on itself, enhancing the credibility of both workers and the elite. Conversely, poor labor market performance can also be self-reinforcing. Attempts to reform the labor market feeds on itself, enhancing the credibility of both workers and the elite. The payoff on labor reform can be high for both groups. The challenge is to find mechanisms whereby the credibility of both groups can be bolstered.Labor Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Health Economics&Finance,Labor Standards

Random walks in random Dirichlet environment are transient in dimension d≥3d\ge 3

We consider random walks in random Dirichlet environment (RWDE) which is a special type of random walks in random environment where the exit probabilities at each site are i.i.d. Dirichlet random variables. On $\Z^d$, RWDE are parameterized by a $2d$-uplet of positive reals. We prove that for all values of the parameters, RWDE are transient in dimension $d\ge 3$. We also prove that the Green function has some finite moments and we characterize the finite moments. Our result is more general and applies for example to finitely generated symmetric transient Cayley graphs. In terms of reinforced random walks it implies that directed edge reinforced random walks are transient for $d\ge 3$.Comment: New version published at PTRF with an analytic proof of lemma

Comparison between measured and predicted turbulence frequency spectra in ITG and TEM regimes

The observation of distinct peaks in tokamak core reflectometry measurements - named quasi-coherent-modes (QCMs) - are identified as a signature of Trapped-Electron-Mode (TEM) turbulence [H. Arnichand et al. 2016 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 58 014037]. This phenomenon is investigated with detailed linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations using the \gene code. A Tore-Supra density scan is studied, which traverses through a Linear (LOC) to Saturated (SOC) Ohmic Confinement transition. The LOC and SOC phases are both simulated separately. In the LOC phase, where QCMs are observed, TEMs are robustly predicted unstable in linear studies. In the later SOC phase, where QCMs are no longer observed, ITG modes are identified. In nonlinear simulations, in the ITG (SOC) phase, a broadband spectrum is seen. In the TEM (LOC) phase, a clear emergence of a peak at the TEM frequencies is seen. This is due to reduced nonlinear frequency broadening of the underlying linear modes in the TEM regime compared with the ITG regime. A synthetic diagnostic of the nonlinearly simulated frequency spectra reproduces the features observed in the reflectometry measurements. These results support the identification of core QCMs as an experimental marker for TEM turbulenc

Experiments and numerical results on nonlinear vibrations of an impacting hertzian contact. Part 2: random excitation

Non linear dynamic behaviour of a normally excited preloaded Hertzian contact (including possible contact losses) is investigated using an experimental test rig. It consists on a double sphere plane contact loaded by the weight of a rigid moving mass. Contact vibrations are generated by a external Gaussian white noise and exhibit vibroimpact responses when the input level is sufficiently high. Spectral contents and statistics of the stationary transmitted normal force are analysed. A single-degree-of-freedom non linear oscillator including loss of contact and Hertzian non linearities is built for modelling the experimental system. Theoretical responses are obtained by using the stationary Fokker-Planck equation and also Monte Carlo simulations. When contact loss occurrence is very occasional, numerical results shown a very good agreement with experimental ones. When vibroimpacts occur, results remain in reasonable agreement with experimental ones, that justify the modelling and the numerical methods described in this paper. The contact loss non linearity appears to be rather strong compared to the Hertzian non linearity. It actually induces a large broadening of the spectral contents of the response. This result is of great importance in noise generation for a lot of systems such as mechanisms using contacts to transform motions and forces (gears, ball-bearings, cam systems, to name a few). It is also of great importance for tribologists preoccupied to prevent surface dammage

High platelet content can increase storage lesion rates following Intercept pathogen inactivation primarily in platelet concentrates prepared by apheresis

Background: Pathogen inactivation methods for platelet concentrates are increasingly being used in blood banks worldwide. In vitro studies have demonstrated its effects on storage lesion, but little routine quality control data on blood banking outcomes have been reported. Materials and Methods: Swirling of distributed products was monitored before and after implementation of Intercept pathogen inactivation. Metabolic parameters pH, glucose and lactic acid were determined in a random cohort of expired pathogen-inactivated products. Storage lesion indicators in apheresis concentrates with premature low swirling were compared to concentrates with normal swirling. Results: During validation for implementing Intercept pathogen inactivation, pH and glucose levels decreased faster in apheresis platelet concentrates with high platelet content than with low platelet content or than in pathogen-inactivated pooled buffy coat-derived products. In routine products, glucose exhaustion was more often found in apheresis compared to buffy coat-derived platelet concentrates despite 3-7% more plasma carryover in the former. Annual incidence of premature low swirling increased significantly by 50% following implementation of pathogen inactivation implementation for apheresis but not for pooled buffy coat platelet concentrates. In addition, apheresis concentrates with premature low swirling had a significantly higher median platelet count (50 x 10(11)) than unaffected products (35 x 10(11)). Conclusion: The risk of increased storage lesion rates following Intercept pathogen inactivation is higher for apheresis than for buffy coat-derived platelet concentrates, especially when platelet contents are higher than 50 x 10(11)

Southern hemisphere plants show more delays than advances in flowering phenology

Shifts in flowering phenology have been studied in detail in the northern hemisphere and are a key plant response to climate change. However, there are relatively fewer data on species' phenological shifts in the southern hemisphere. We combined historic field data, data from herbarium specimens dating back to 1842 and modern field data for 37 Australian species to determine whether species were flowering earlier in the year than they had in the past. We also combined our results with data compiled in the southern and northern hemispheres, respectively, to determine whether southern hemisphere species are showing fewer advances in flowering phenology through time. Across our study species, we found that 12 species had undergone significant shifts in flowering time, with four species advancing their flowering and eight species delaying their flowering. The remaining 25 species showed no significant shifts in their flowering phenology. These findings are important because delays or lack of shifts in flowering phenology can lead to mismatches in trophic interactions between plants and pollinators or seed dispersers, which can have substantial impacts on ecosystem functioning and primary productivity. Combining our field results with data compiled from the literature showed that only 58.5% of southern hemisphere species were advancing their flowering time, compared with 81.6% of species that were advancing their flowering time in the northern hemisphere. Our study provides further evidence that it is not adequate for ecologists to assume that southern hemisphere ecosystems will respond to future climate change in the same way as ecosystems north of the Equator. Synthesis. Field data and data from the literature indicate that southern hemisphere species are showing fewer advances in their flowering phenology through time, especially in comparison to northern hemisphere species

Low-pass shotgun sequencing of the barley genome facilitates rapid identification of genes, conserved non-coding sequences and novel repeats

BACKGROUND: Barley has one of the largest and most complex genomes of all economically important food crops. The rise of new short read sequencing technologies such as Illumina/Solexa permits such large genomes to be effectively sampled at relatively low cost. Based on the corresponding sequence reads a Mathematically Defined Repeat (MDR) index can be generated to map repetitive regions in genomic sequences. RESULTS: We have generated 574 Mbp of Illumina/Solexa sequences from barley total genomic DNA, representing about 10% of a genome equivalent. From these sequences we generated an MDR index which was then used to identify and mark repetitive regions in the barley genome. Comparison of the MDR plots with expert repeat annotation drawing on the information already available for known repetitive elements revealed a significant correspondence between the two methods. MDR-based annotation allowed for the identification of dozens of novel repeat sequences, though, which were not recognised by hand-annotation. The MDR data was also used to identify gene-containing regions by masking of repetitive sequences in eight de-novo sequenced bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones. For half of the identified candidate gene islands indeed gene sequences could be identified. MDR data were only of limited use, when mapped on genomic sequences from the closely related species Triticum monococcum as only a fraction of the repetitive sequences was recognised. CONCLUSION: An MDR index for barley, which was obtained by whole-genome Illumina/Solexa sequencing, proved as efficient in repeat identification as manual expert annotation. Circumventing the labour-intensive step of producing a specific repeat library for expert annotation, an MDR index provides an elegant and efficient resource for the identification of repetitive and low-copy (i.e. potentially gene-containing sequences) regions in uncharacterised genomic sequences. The restriction that a particular MDR index can not be used across species is outweighed by the low costs of Illumina/Solexa sequencing which makes any chosen genome accessible for whole-genome sequence sampling

Experiments and numerical results on nonlinear vibrations of an impacting hertzian contact. Part 1: harmonic excitation

The purpose of this paper is to investigate experimental and numerical dynamic responses of a preloaded vibro-impacting Hertzian contact under sinusoidal excitation. Dynamic response under random excitation is analysed in the second part of this paper. A test rig is built corresponding to a double sphere-plane contact preloaded by the weight of a moving cylinder. Typical response curves are obtained for several input levels. Time traces and spectral contents are explored. Both amplitude and phase of harmonics of the dynamic response are investigated. Linearised resonance frequency and damping ratio are identified from the almost linear behaviour under very small input amplitude. Increasing the external input amplitude, the softening behaviour induced by Hertzian nonlinear stiffness is clearly demonstrated. Resonance peak is confined in a narrow frequency range. Jump discontinuities are identified for both amplitude and phase responses. Forced response spectrum exhibits several harmonics because of nonlinear Hertzian restoring force. Numerical simulations show a very good agreement with experimental results. For higher input amplitude, system exhibits vibro-impacts. Loss of contact non-linearity clearly dominates the dynamic behaviour of the vibroimpacting contact and leads to a wide frequency range softening resonance. Spectral content of the response is dominated by both the first and the second harmonics. Evolution of the experimental downward jump frequency versus input amplitude allows the identification of the nonlinear damping law during intermittent contact. Simulations of the vibroimpacting Hertzian contact are performed using a shooting method and show a very good agreement with experimental results

Incorporating photosynthetic acclimation improves stomatal optimisation models

Stomatal opening in plant leaves is regulated through a balance of carbon and water exchange under different environmental conditions. Accurate estimation of stomatal regulation is crucial for understanding how plants respond to changing environmental conditions, particularly under climate change. A new generation of optimality-based modelling schemes determines instantaneous stomatal responses from a balance of trade-offs between carbon gains and hydraulic costs, but most such schemes do not account for biochemical acclimation in response to drought. Here, we compare the performance of seven instantaneous stomatal optimisation models with and without accounting for photosynthetic acclimation. Using experimental data from 38 plant species, we found that accounting for photosynthetic acclimation improves the prediction of carbon assimilation in a majority of the tested models. Non-stomatal mechanisms contributed significantly to the reduction of photosynthesis under drought conditions in all tested models. Drought effects on photosynthesis could not accurately be explained by the hydraulic impairment functions embedded in the stomatal models alone, indicating that photosynthetic acclimation must be considered to improve estimates of carbon assimilation during drought