The Change of Job Opportunities: the Role of Computerization and Institutions

This paper studies the pattern of job opportunities over the last two decades in European countries. We find that the share of high-skilled jobs have been expanding over time, while the share of medium- skilled jobs have been declining. These changes are in line with the US patterns and, according to the previous literature, they come from recent technological changes. However, our data show an interesting difference between the US and Europe: in Europe there is not any increase in the share of low-skilled employment. Moreover, we find that the difference between the proportion of employment hired in low-skilled and medium-skilled jobs is negatively correlated with both the unemployment rate and the degree of employment protection in the labour market. We propose a theoretical model to study the effects of a technological shock on the employment structure in a unionized economy. By accounting for the collective bargaining process, our model may fit Continental Europe better than the previous ones. We conclude that the definition of the union policy is crucial in order to explain observed cross-country heterogeneity in low-skilled employment.

Przekształcanie głosów osób wykluczonych z globalnego świata

The purpose of this article is to highlight the significance of an encounter culture from the standpoint of globalization as a major challenge to modern evangelization. It turns out that the missiological concept of dialogue can act as a catalyst for the transformation and restoration of the dignity of people living on the periphery of modern societies. Dialogue of life and action as one of the tools of evangelization and promotion of good can lead to the formation of structurally stable societies rooted in the Gospel.Celem artykułu jest ukazanie w perspektywie globalizacji – jako głównego wyzwania dla współczesnej ewangelizacji – znaczenia kultury spotkania. Okazuje się, że misjologiczna koncepcja dialogu może stanowić motor transformacji i przywracania godności ludziom żyjącym na peryferiach współczesnych społeczeństw. Dialog życia i działania jako jedno z narzędzi ewangelizacji i promocji dobra może prowadzić do powstawania strukturalnie stabilnych społeczeństw zakorzenionych w Ewangelii

The Change of Job Opportunities: the Role of Computerization and Institutions

This paper studies the pattern of job opportunities over the last two decades in European countries. We find that the share of high-skilled jobs have been expanding over time, while the share of medium-skilled jobs have been declining. These changes are in line with the US patterns and, according to the previous literature, they come from recent technological changes. However, our data show an interesting difference between the US and Europe: in Europe there is not any increase in the share of low-skilled employment. Moreover, we find that the difference between the proportion of employment hired in low-skilled and medium-skilled jobs is negatively correlated with both the unemployment rate and the degree of employment protection in the labour market. We propose a theoretical model to study the effects of a technological shock on the employment structure in a unionized economy. By accounting for the collective bargaining process, our model may fit Continental Europe better than the previous ones. We conclude that the definition of the union policy is crucial in order to explain observed cross-country heterogeneity in low-skilled employment

Atom-Based Computer Simulation Studies of Gas-to-Liquid Nucleation in Atmospherically Relevant Systems: Clarifying Discrepancies and Elucidating Mechanisms

For over a century, nucleation for all systems was thought simplistically to be a process that advances through the formation of critical clusters with a well-defined composition. Our results show intriguing nucleation mechanisms that challenge the aforementioned notion. We employed the simple TraPPE-UA (transferable potential for phase equilibria – united atom) force field and the AVUS-HR approach (a combination of aggregation-volume-bias Monte Carlo, umbrella sampling, and histogram reweighting), to investigate the homogeneous vapor-to-liquid nucleation of various nucleating systems. We found out that these systems could nucleate through a variety of unique non-ideal mechanisms. Alongside existing experimental investigations, this dissertation presents pioneering works on the computer simulation of nucleation in multicomponent systems. Our results are very relevant to atmospheric aerosol formations but may also find its applications in drug encapsulations and the design of nanomaterials as well as in sorting out experimental and theoretical discrepancies. This dissertation outlines the results of a series of nucleation investigations involving unary, binary, and ternary nucleating systems. Introductory and background information regarding nucleation, computer simulations, the classical nucleation theory and the AVUS – HR approach are provided in Chapters 1 and 2. The major findings of this work are given in Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6. They are presented here in order of increasing complexity. Chapter 3 is on unary nucleation of 1-pentanol. Chapter 4 is on the investigation of the n-Nonane/1-Alcohol binary series. Finally, our pioneering works on the various ternary nucleation studies are discussed in Chapters 5 and 6

Genetic improvement of oxidative stress tolerance and longevity of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora

Poor persistence in the soil, product shelf-life and loss of virulence during storage are major constraints for the use as a biocontrol agent of the entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. A more targeted approach exploits classical and molecular genetics, making use of the diversity among natural populations for improvement of EPN beneficial traits. Using natural and genetic variability, a total of 40 H. bacteriophora wild type strains, inbred and hybrid lines of different geographic origin was assessed for their tolerance to oxidative stress and longevity at 25 and 7°C. A high variability among strains of this species was determined and a high heritability for oxidative stress tolerance (h2 > 0.9) was obtained. Oxidative stress tolerance was strongly positive correlated with DJ longevity. Therefore, the oxidative stress tolerance can be used as a predictor for DJ longevity, permitting a selection process within a shorter testing period. In order to search for improved strains, hybridization and mutagenesis was performed and a significant increase of oxidative stress tolerance and longevity was obtained. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms in response to oxidative stress, a comparative transcriptomic analysis on the early stage of oxidative stress induction (4h) in two inbred lines with contrasting stress-tolerance, HU2-IL1 (stress-tolerant) and PT1-IL1 (stress-sensitive) was performed. Down-regulation may play a crucial factor for survival as it can be seen for the tolerant line. The results of this study will facilitate the selection longevity predictor genes in this EPN. Further analysis will allow the identification of molecular markers and facilitate breeding for improved lines. Nematode strains with prolonged longevity can provide a longer persistence in the soil after application and thus open a door in larger scale markets such as for the control of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera in maize

Measuring the long-term success of small-scale marine protected areas in a Philippine reef fishery

Tropical coral reefs are subject to multiple pressures from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These pressures have caused widespread declines in reef health, resulting in the increased use of spatial management tools such as marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs have proven generally effective if well designed and enforced, but there are limited long-term studies investigating how the presence of small-scale MPAs affects fish populations and reef communities. Using a 12-year time series, we found that small-scale (10–50 ha) community-managed MPAs along the Danajon Bank of the Philippines preserved average fish biomass within their boundaries over time relative to surrounding fished reefs. Unprotected areas are, however, showing significant long-term biomass decline. MPAs were also found to preserve more key trophic groups and larger-bodied commercially targeted reef fish families. Fish biomass of piscivore, scavenger and invertivore trophic groups inside individual MPAs is, however, still declining at a similar rate as outside. Surprisingly, long-term benthic cover and growth form composition were not significantly affected overall by MPA presence, despite the sporadic use of highly destructive dynamite fishing in this region. Coral cover has remained historically low (21–28%) throughout the study, following widespread bleaching mortality. While management tempered overall abundance declines, we found that irrespective of MPA presence, there was a generalised decline of both large- and small-bodied fish size groups across the study region, most steeply within the 20–30 cm length fish, and a shift towards proportionally higher abundances of small (5–10 cm) fish. This indicates a combination of over-exploitation, inadequate MPA size and coverage for larger fish, and the lingering effects of the 1998 bleaching event. Generalised shifts in body size and trophic structure reported here could lead to future reductions in fishery productivity and stability and will be further exacerbated unless broader fishery regulations and enforcement is instated

Nasal mucosal melanoma presenting as central type vertigo: a case report

Nasal mucosal melanoma presents usually with epistaxis, nasal obstruction and facial pain. However melanoma tends to give distant metastases at an early stage, having rare clinical presentations

The air pressure effect on the homogeneous nucleation of carbon dioxide by molecular simulation

Vapour-liquid equilibria (VLE) and the influence of an inert carrier gas on homogeneous vapour to liquid nucleation are investigated by molecular simulation for quaternary mixtures of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Canonical ensemble molecular dynamics simulation using the Yasuoka-Matsumoto method is applied to nucleation in supersaturated vapours that contain more carbon dioxide than in the saturated state at the dew line. Established molecular models are employed that are known to accurately reproduce the VLE of the pure fluids as well as their binary and ternary mixtures. On the basis of these models, also the quaternary VLE properties of the bulk fluid are determined with the Grand Equilibrium method. Simulation results for the carrier gas influence on the nucleation rate are compared with the classical nucleation theory (CNT) considering the "pressure effect" [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101: 125703 (2008)]. It is found that the presence of air as a carrier gas decreases the nucleation rate only slightly and, in particular, to a significantly lower extent than predicted by CNT. The nucleation rate of carbon dioxide is generally underestimated by CNT, leading to a deviation between one and two orders of magnitude for pure carbon dioxide in the vicinity of the spinodal line and up to three orders of magnitude in presence of air as a carrier gas. Furthermore, CNT predicts a temperature dependence of the nucleation rate in the spinodal limit, which cannot be confirmed by molecular simulation

Skeletal muscle development on the 30th Anniversary of MyoD

Figure S4. Posterior probability tree of Bombyx mori cytochrome P450 (CYP) proteins. The short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase protein Shroud [44] was used as an outgroup. Single asterisks indicate genes identified as expressed on V-0 or V-6 of the 5th instar of Bm by Cufflinks. Double asterisks indicate genes whose expression in Bm PGs has been established by other research groups. Nomenclature of CYP genes is based on [70]. Numbers indicate the posterior probability score (%). (TIFF 394527 kb

Identification of inhibitors of the Schistosoma mansoni VKR2 kinase domain

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic flatworms. Current treatment relies on just one partially effective drug, praziquantel (PZQ). Schistosoma mansoni Venus Kinase Receptors 1 and 2 (SmVKR1 and SmVKR2) are important for parasite growth and egg production, and are potential targets for combating schistosomiasis. VKRs consist of an extracellular Venus Flytrap Module (VFTM) linked via a transmembrane helix to a kinase domain. Here, we initiated a drug discovery effort to inhibit the activity of the SmVKR2 kinase domain (SmVKR2KD) by screening the GSK published kinase inhibitor set 2 (PKIS2). We identified several inhibitors, of which four were able to inhibit its enzymatic activity and induced phenotypic changes in ex vivoS. mansoni. Our crystal structure of the SmVKR2KD displays an active-like state that sheds light on the activation process of VKRs. Our data provide a basis for the further exploration of SmVKR2 as a possible drug target