Education and Taiwan’s Changing Employment and Earnings Structure

[Excerpt] Between 1980 and 1992, the enormous changes in economic development in Taiwan had significant impacts on the island\u27s labour market. Examples of these changes include the island\u27s almost legendary and meteoric economic growth, the maintenance of essentially full employment, an increase of around 116 per cent in real labour earnings, considerable upgrading of the educational qualifications of the labour force as a whole, a sustained and systematic shift in the composition of the labour force from agriculture into manufacturing and services and occupational upgrading (defined as the expansion of the share of the labour force in the better occupations, at the expense of the lesser occupations). The main purpose of this chapter is to provide in-depth analysis of these and other underlying changes in the Taiwanese labour market, with the main focal point being, on the one hand, the linkages between the employment and earnings structures, whilst on the other, the changes in the education and qualification levels and the new occupational structure of the island\u27s labour force. Our econometric analysis is based upon a dataset taken from the Manpower Utilization Surveys (MUS) produced by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) in Taiwan, covering the years 1980 to 1992. The data for 1993 is not used in this chapter, despite being available to us, essentially because the occupation codes adopted after 1992 were incompatible with those of the earlier years

New perspectives for Inclusive University Teaching: EduPlan4Inclusion

This paper presents a pilot project, developing at the University of Macerata and of the University Arizona, that is called \u201cEduPlan4Inclusion\u201d, oriented to implement accessibility in academic contents for all students, through the use of technology. The project wants to highlight the possible direction for Universities to balance the demands of an inclusive curriculum to a diverse student cohort within a technology-rich environment. In conclusion, the research proposes in this paper can be used to directly guide the reform of curriculum design and teaching methods in Colleges and Universities, with the aim to activate the possibility of implementing a more shared inclusive culture

Factors Influencing Students’ Preferences to Pursue International Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

The Problem: To improve the quality of the international APPE program and facilitate growth, a questionnaire was developed to identify perceived barriers for selection of and ways to increase interest in international APPEs. Survey Design: A questionnaire was administered to two consecutive third-year classes to gauge interest, perceived barriers and possible facilitators for engagement in international APPEs. Key Findings:  Cost and need to travel independently were most frequently identified as barriers to participating in international APPEs.  Suggestions to increase participation in international APPEs include: schools of pharmacy actively developing funding support, pairing students for international APPEs, and earlier targeted marketing. Disclosures: None Type: Note &nbsp

Quantification of the whole-body burden of radiographic osteoarthritis using factor analysis

INTRODUCTION: Although osteoarthritis (OA) commonly involves multiple joints, no widely accepted method for quantifying whole-body OA burden exists. Therefore, our aim was to apply factor analytic methods to radiographic OA (rOA) grades across multiple joint sites, representing both presence and severity, to quantify the burden of rOA. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. The sample (n = 2092) had a mean age of 65 ± 11 years, body mass index (BMI) 31 ± 7 kg/m2, with 33% men and 34% African Americans. A single expert reader (intra-rater κ = 0.89) provided radiographic grades based on standard atlases for the hands (30 joints, including bilateral distal and proximal interphalangeal [IP], thumb IP, metacarpophalangeal [MCP] and carpometacarpal [CMC] joints), knees (patellofemoral and tibiofemoral, 4 joints), hips (2 joints), and spine (5 levels [L1/2 to L5/S1]). All grades were entered into an exploratory common factor analysis as continuous variables. Stratified factor analyses were used to look for differences by gender, race, age, and cohort subgroups. RESULTS: Four factors were identified as follows: IP/CMC factor (20 joints), MCP factor (8 joints), Knee factor (4 joints), Spine factor (5 levels). These factors had high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α range 0.80 to 0.95), were not collapsible into a single factor, and had moderate between-factor correlations (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.24 to 0.44). There were no major differences in factor structure when stratified by subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The 4 factors obtained in this analysis indicate that the variables contained within each factor share an underlying cause, but the 4 factors are distinct, suggesting that combining these joint sites into one overall measure is not appropriate. Using such factors to reflect multi-joint rOA in statistical models can reduce the number of variables needed and increase precision

A radical transition in the post-main-sequence system U Equulei

U Equ is an unusual maser-hosting IR source discovered in the 1990s. It was tentatively classified as a post-AGB star with a unique optical spectrum displaying rare emission and absorption features from molecular gas. In 2022, we discovered that its optical spectrum has drastically changed. Methods: Optical high-resolution spectra of U Equ from SALT are supplemented by archival data and NIR photometry from NOT. New spectral line observations with the Effelsberg telescope and ALMA are presented. Results: No circumstellar molecular features are present in the contemporary optical spectra of U Equ. Non-photospheric absorption and emission from neutral and ionized species dominate the current spectrum. Some of the observed features indicate an outflow with a terminal velocity of 215 km\s. The H\&K lines of [Ca II] indicate a photosphere of spectral type F. Photometric measurements show that the source has been monotonically increasing its optical and NIR fluxes since the beginning of this century. SEDs at different epochs show dusty circumstellar material arranged in a highly-inclined disk. At a distance of 4 kpc, the source's luminosity is 10$^4$ L$_{\odot}$. Conclusions: The object has changed considerably in the last three decades, either due to geometrical reconfiguration of the circumstellar medium, evolutionary changes in the central star, or owing to an accretion event that has started in the system very recently. Observationally, U Equ appears to resemble the Category 0 of disk-hosting post-AGB stars, especially the post-common envelope binary HD 101584. It is uncertain if the drastic spectral change and the associated optical/MIR rise in brightness are common in post-AGB stars but such a radical change may be related to the real-time onset of the evolution of the system into a planetary nebula. We find that the post-AGB star V576 Car has undergone a similar transformation as U Equ.Comment: Comments welcome

SUSTAINABLE LOW ENERGY DESALINATION OF ROAD SALT RUNOFF USING ION EXCHANGE RESINS

Gemstone Team MELTSNaCl is used to deice roads during winter storms, but the resulting salty runoff has detrimental environmental effects. A novel low-energy approach for desalinating snowmelt runoff using ion exchange resins was explored. Strong-acid cation and strong-base anion resins were tested in parallel gravity flow columns to determine their efficacy in removing Na+ and Cl− from saline solutions of varying concentrations (0%, 1%, 5%, 10% w/w). Ion exchange was quantified via pH measurements of column effluent samples. Cation resin capacity was positively correlated with influent Na+ concentration, while removal efficiency was negatively correlated with Na+ concentration. Neither the anion resins’ capacity nor removal efficiency followed any correlation with Cl− concentrations. More 1% influent solution compared to 5% or 10% was required to exhaust both resins. Future research should confirm current findings, test resins in realistic field conditions, explore resin regeneration, and examine engineering efficacy in a field setting

Differences in multijoint radiographic osteoarthritis phenotypes among African Americans and Caucasians: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

To define and contrast multiple joint radiographic osteoarthritis (rOA) phenotypes describing hand and whole-body rOA among African Americans and Caucasians

Gauge Theory and the Excision of Repulson Singularities

We study brane configurations that give rise to large-N gauge theories with eight supersymmetries and no hypermultiplets. These configurations include a variety of wrapped, fractional, and stretched branes or strings. The corresponding spacetime geometries which we study have a distinct kind of singularity known as a repulson. We find that this singularity is removed by a distinctive mechanism, leaving a smooth geometry with a core having an enhanced gauge symmetry. The spacetime geometry can be related to large-N Seiberg-Witten theory.Comment: 31 pages LaTeX, 2 figures (v3: references added

No need for secondary Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis in adult people living with HIV from Europe on ART with suppressed viraemia and a CD4 cell count greater than 100 cells/µL

Introduction: Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic in resource-rich countries, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP) is one of the most frequent opportunistic AIDS-defining infections. The Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (COHERE) has shown that primary Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia (PjP) prophylaxis can be safely withdrawn in patients with CD4 counts of 100 to 200 cells/µL if plasma HIV-RNA is suppressed on combination antiretroviral therapy. Whether this holds true for secondary prophylaxis is not known, and this has proved difficult to determine due to the much lower population at risk. Methods: We estimated the incidence of secondary PjP by including patient data collected from 1998 to 2015 from the COHERE cohort collaboration according to time-updated CD4 counts, HIV-RNA and use of PjP prophylaxis in persons >16 years of age. We fitted a Poisson generalized additive model in which the smoothed effect of CD4 was modelled by a restricted cubic spline, and HIV-RNA was stratified as low (10,000copies/mL). Results: There were 373 recurrences of PjP during 74,295 person-years (py) in 10,476 patients. The PjP incidence in the different plasma HIV-RNA strata differed significantly and was lowest in the low stratum. For patients off prophylaxis with CD4 counts between 100 and 200 cells/µL and HIV-RNA below 400 copies/mL, the incidence of recurrent PjP was 3.9 (95% CI: 2.0 to 5.8) per 1000 py, not significantly different from patients on prophylaxis in the same stratum (1.9, 95% CI: 0.1 to 3.7). Conclusions: HIV viraemia importantly affects the risk of recurrent PjP. In virologically suppressed patients on ART with CD4 counts of 100 to 200/µL, the incidence of PjP off prophylaxis is below 10/1000 py. Secondary PjP prophylaxis may be safely withheld in such patients. While European guidelines recommend discontinuing secondary PjP prophylaxis only if CD4 counts rise above 200 cells/mL, the latest US Guidelines consider secondary prophylaxis discontinuation even in patients with a CD4 count above 100 cells/µL and suppressed viral load. Our results strengthen and support this US recommendation. Keywords: opportunistic infections; Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia; prophylaxi

Differences in Multi-joint Symptomatic Osteoarthritis Phenotypes by Race and Gender: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

To determine race and gender differences in phenotypes (patterns) of multiple joint symptomatic osteoarthritis (sOA) involvement