The Gender Wage Gaps, 'Sticky Floors' and 'Glass Ceilings' of the European Union

We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 24 EU member states, all of which share the objective of gender equality, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries and selection corrections affect the offered gap, sometimes substantially. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in most countries, the wage gap is wider at the top of the wage distribution ('glass ceilings') and, in fewer countries, it is wider at the bottom of the wage distribution ('sticky floors'). These features are related to country-specific characteristics that cannot be evaluated at the member state level. We use the cross-country variation in this large sample of member states to explore the influence of (i) policies concerned with reconciling work and family life and (ii) wage-setting institutions. We find that policies and institutions are systematically related to unexplained gender wage gaps.gender wage gap, selection, quantile effects, work-family reconciliation, wage-setting institutions

Developing a VR Game Featuring Optical Illusion Challenges to Support Cultural Heritage - A Progress Report

This paper presents the development state of a Virtual Reality game to support cultural heritage through puzzle-based optical illusion gaming challenges. It is an immersive escape room type of game focusing on the cultural heritage of Cyprus, where players must complete a series of optical illusion challenges to progress, while learning historical information about key landmarks, monuments and objects of significant heritage to the Cypriot community. The main project objective is to bring together various archaeological artefacts in a virtual space and providing an immersive gaming experience to its users/visitors. The paper highlights the need for investigating the topic of VR gaming to support cultural heritage. It presents the development progress to date, including information on the digitisation process, environment design, and the mechanics of the VR game. Some of the future directions of the project are also presented

Impact of acidification at bottling by fumaric acid on red wine after 24 months

Global warming is directly linked to a lower concentration of organic acids in grape berries. Because of this lack of organic acids, wines tend to have higher pH levels and low titrable acidity. Many important factors are impacted, such as the chemical, microbiological and organoleptic equilibriums. It is common practice to acidify the wine in order to prevent these imbalances that can lead to wine defects and early spoilage. Tartaric acid (TA) is most commonly used by winemaker for wine acidification purposes. As a potential acidification candidate, fumaric acid (FA), authorized by the OIV in its member states for the inhibition of malolactic fermentation, could also be used since it has a better acidifying power than tartaric acid. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of the addition of FA at bottling in comparison to TA on white wine’s quality. For this purpose, a sulfite-free Cabernet Sauvignon red wine was divided into two batches, one of which was sulfited at 80 mg/L. The two batches, sulfite-free and sulfited, were then redivided into five batches, one of which without any addition, two of the batches in which TA was added at concentrations of 1.25 and 2.5 g/L respectively, and two batches in which FA was added at concentrations of 1, and 2 g/L, respectively. Classical oenological parameters (pH, titratable acidity), color parameters (color intensity, CIELAB), total phenolic compounds (IPT, Folin), as well as total tannins, total anthocyanins and their composition (HPLC analysis) were analyzed. Sensory analyses were also performed on the wines in order to assess the organoleptic impact of FA addition

Impact of acidification at bottling by fumaric acid on red wine after 24 months

Le réchauffement climatique est directement lié à une baisse de concentration d'acides organiques dans les baies de raisin. En raison de ce manque d'acides organiques, les vins ont tendance à avoir des niveaux de pH plus élevés et une faible acidité titrable. De nombreux facteurs importants sont impactés, tels que les équilibres chimiques, microbiologiques et organoleptiques. Il est courant d'acidifier le vin afin d'éviter ces déséquilibres qui peuvent entraîner des défauts du vin et une altération précoce. L'acide tartrique (AT) est le plus souvent utilisé par les vinificateurs pour acidifier le vin. En tant que candidat potentiel à l'acidification, l'acide fumarique (AF), autorisé par l'OIV dans ses états membres pour l'inhibition de la fermentation malolactique, pourrait également être utilisé car il possède un meilleur pouvoir acidifiant que l'acide tartrique. Ainsi, l'objectif de la présente étude était d'étudier l'impact de l'ajout d'AF à la mise en bouteille par rapport à l'AT sur la qualité du vin blanc. Pour ce faire, un vin rouge Cabernet Sauvignon sans sulfites a été divisé en deux lots, dont l'un a été sulfité à 80 mg/L. Les deux lots, sans sulfites et sulfité, ont ensuite été redivisés en cinq lots, dont un sans aucun ajout, deux des lots dans lesquels l'AT a été ajouté à des concentrations de 1,25 et 2,5 g/L respectivement, et deux lots dans lesquels l'AF a été ajouté à des concentrations de 1, et 2 g/L, respectivement. Les paramètres oenologiques classiques (pH, acidité titrable), les paramètres de couleur (intensité de la couleur, CIELAB), les composés phénoliques totaux (IPT, Folin), ainsi que les capacités antioxydantes (CUPRAC, DPPH), les tanins totaux, les anthocyanes totaux et leur composition (analyse HPLC) ont également été analysés. Des analyses sensorielles ont également été réalisées sur les vins afin d'évaluer l'impact organoleptique de l'ajout d'AF.Global warming is directly linked to a lower concentration of organic acids in grape berries. Because of this lack of organic acids, wines tend to have higher pH levels and low titrable acidity. Many important factors are impacted, such as the chemical, microbiological and organoleptic equilibriums. It is common practice to acidify the wine in order to prevent these imbalances that can lead to wine defects and early spoilage. Tartaric acid (TA) is most commonly used by winemaker for wine acidification purposes. As a potential acidification candidate, fumaric acid (FA), authorized by the OIV in its member states for the inhibition of malolactic fermentation, could also be used since it has a better acidifying power than tartaric acid. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of the addition of FA at bottling in comparison to TA on white wine’s quality. For this purpose, a sulfite-free Cabernet Sauvignon red wine was divided into two batches, one of which was sulfited at 80 mg/L. The two batches, sulfite-free and sulfited, were then redivided into five batches, one of which without any addition, two of the batches in which TA was added at concentrations of 1.25 and 2.5 g/L respectively, and two batches in which FA was added at concentrations of 1, and 2 g/L, respectively. Classical oenological parameters (pH, titratable acidity), color parameters (color intensity, CIELAB), total phenolic compounds (IPT, Folin), as well as total tannins, total anthocyanins and their composition (HPLC analysis) were analyzed. Sensory analyses were also performed on the wines in order to assess the organoleptic impact of FA addition

Teleclinical Microbiology: An Innovative Approach to Providing Web-Enabled Diagnostic Laboratory Services in Syria

Objectives: Telemedicine can compensate for the lack of health care specialists in response to protracted humanitarian crises. We sought to assess the usability of a teleclinical microbiology (TCM) program to provide diagnostic services in a hard-to-reach region of Syria. Methods: A semimobile station was equipped with conventional micrograph and macrograph digital imaging systems. An electronic platform (Telemicrobiology in Humanitarian Crises, TmHC) was created to facilitate sharing, interpreting, and storing the results. A pilot study was conducted to identify the bacterial species and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of 74 urinary clinical isolates. An experience survey was conducted to capture the feedback of 8 participants in the program. Results: The TmHC platform (https://sdh.ngo/tmhc/) enabled systematic transmission of the laboratory records and co-interpretation of the results. The isolates were identified as Escherichia coli (n = 61), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 12), and Proteus mirabilis(n = 1). All the isolates were multidrug resistant. The performance of our TCM module was rated 4 (satisfying) and 5 (very satisfying) by 6 and 2 users, respectively. Data security of and cost-effectiveness were the main perceived concerns. Conclusions: Although we encountered several context-related obstacles, our TCM program managed to reach a highly vulnerable population of 4 million people confined in the northwest region of Syria.publishedVersio

ECCO Topical Review on Biological Treatment Cycles in Crohn’s Disease

There are now a growing number of licensed biological therapies for patients with Crohn’s disease. However, there can be significant costs associated with long-term maintenance treatment, as well as some concerns about potential side-effects. As a result, there has been increasing interest in elective biological treatment discontinuation in selected patients, after a sustained period of remission. Following discontinuation, in cases of relapse, evidence to date has suggested that remission may often be regained by re-treatment with the same biological agent. Therefore, a concept has emerged in which cycles of biological therapy might be used. If this treatment strategy were to be applied in a subgroup of patients at low risk of relapse, cycling might allow a substantial number of patients to have a lower, overall therapeutic burden—ensuring decreased exposure to biological therapy but still enabling appropriate disease control.Currently, there remains uncertainty about the benefit–risk balance for using cycles of biological treatment for patients with Crohn’s disease. Accordingly, an expert panel was convened by the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] to review the published literature and agree a series of consensus practice points. The panel aimed to provide evidence-based guidance on multiple aspects of biological treatment discontinuation and cycling, including the risk of relapse after elective treatment discontinuation, predictors of probable relapse or remission, safety, patient preferences, and pharmacoeconomic aspects. Crucially, discussions about biological treatment discontinuation and cycling should be individualized, to enable shared decision-making by patients with their clinicians

CAST constraints on the axion-electron coupling

In non-hadronic axion models, which have a tree-level axion-electron interaction, the Sun produces a strong axion flux by bremsstrahlung, Compton scattering, and axiorecombination, the "BCA processes." Based on a new calculation of this flux, including for the first time axio-recombination, we derive limits on the axion-electron Yukawa coupling gae and axion-photon interaction strength ga using the CAST phase-I data (vacuum phase). For ma <~ 10 meV/c2 we find ga gae < 8.1 × 10−23 GeV−1 at 95% CL. We stress that a next-generation axion helioscope such as the proposed IAXO could push this sensitivity into a range beyond stellar energy-loss limits and test the hypothesis that white-dwarf cooling is dominated by axion emission

Applicability of the EFSA Opinion on site-directed nucleases type 3 for the safety assessment of plants developed using site-directed nucleases type 1 and 2 and oligonucleotide directed mutagenesis

© 2020 European Food Safety Authority.The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) to assess whether section 4 (hazard identification) and the conclusions of EFSA's Scientific opinion on the risk assessment of plants developed using zinc finger nuclease type 3 technique (ZFN‐3) and other site‐directed nucleases (SDN) with similar function are valid for plants developed via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 and oligonucleotide‐directed mutagenesis (ODM). In delivering this Opinion, the GMO Panel compared the hazards associated with plants produced via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 and ODM with those associated with plants obtained via both SDN‐3 and conventional breeding. Unlike for SDN‐3 methods, the application of SDN‐1, SDN‐2 and ODM approaches aims to modify genomic sequences in a way which can result in plants not containing any transgene, intragene or cisgene. Consequently, the GMO Panel concludes that those considerations which are specifically related to the presence of a transgene, intragene or cisgene included in section 4 and the conclusions of the Opinion on SDN‐3 are not relevant to plants obtained via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 or ODM as defined in this Opinion. Overall, the GMO Panel did not identify new hazards specifically linked to the genomic modification produced via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 or ODM as compared with both SDN‐3 and conventional breeding. Furthermore, the GMO Panel considers that the existing Guidance for risk assessment of food and feed from genetically modified plants and the Guidance on the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants are sufficient but are only partially applicable to plants generated via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 or ODM. Indeed, those guidance documents’ requirements that are linked to the presence of exogenous DNA are not relevant for the risk assessment of plants developed via SDN‐1, SDN‐2 or ODM approaches if the genome of the final product does not contain exogenous DNA