Service offshoring and white-collar employment

This paper empirically studies the effects of service offshoring on white-collar employment, using data for more than one hundred U.S. occupations. A model of firm behavior based on separability allows to derive the labor demand elasticity with respect to service offshoring for each occupation. Estimation is performed with Quasi-Maximum Likelihood, to account for high degrees of censoring in the employment variable. The estimated elasticities are then related to proxies for the skill level and the degree of tradability of the occupations. Results show that service offshoring increases high skilled employment and decreases medium and low skilled employment. Within each skill group, however, service offshoring penalizes tradable occupations and benefits non-tradable occupations.

Some new species of Caryospora (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from brazilian snakes, and a re-description of C. jararacae Carini, 1939

The mature ooxysts of six new species of Caryospora are described from the faeces of Brazilian snakes. They are differentiated from other species previously recorded from reptiles, largely on the size and shape of the oocyst and sporocyst, structure of the oocyst wall, and presence or absence of a polar body. C. paraensis n. sp., and C. carajasensis n. sp., are from the "false coral", Oxyrhopus petola digitalis; C. pseustesi n. sp., from the "egg-eater", Pseustes sulphureus sulphureus; C. epicratesi n. sp., from the "red boa", Epicrates cenchria cenchria; and C. micruri n. sp., and C. constancieae n. sp., from the "coral snake", Micrurus spixii spixii. A re-description is given of C. jararacae Carini, 1939, from the "jararaca" Bothrops atrox, embodying some additional morphological features.

Some monogenoidea parasitic on peruvian marine fishes, with description of Anoplocotyloides chorrillensis new species and new records

The presence of four Monogenoidea parasitic on marine fishes from the central Peruvian coast is recorded. One of them, Anoplocotyloides chorrillensis (Monocotylidae) described from the gills of Rhinobatos planiceps (Rhinobatidae) is considered a new species. The three other species are: Caballerocotyla autralis Oliva, 1986 (Capsalidae); Callorhynchocotyle marplatensis Suriano & Incorvaia, 1982 (Hexabothriidae) and Anoplocotyloides papillatus (Doran, 1953) (Monocotylidae) parasitic on Sarda chiliensis chiliensis (Scombridae), Callorhinchus callorhinchus (Callorhinchidae) and Rhinobatos planiceps (Rhinobatidae) respectively.

Travassosnema gen. n. with the description of T. travassosi sp. n. (Dracunculoidea, Guyanemidae) parasite of Acestrorhynchus lacustris Reinhardt, 1874 (Characidae) from Três Marias Reservoir, MG, Brazil

A new genus, Travassosnema (Guyanemidae, Dracunculoidea) is proposed to include filariid worms having esophagus divided into muscular and glandular parts, with esophageal appendix near junction with intestine; anus functional; vulva anterior, well developed and functional in mature females. Travassonema travassosi sp. n., a parasite of Acestrorhynchus lacustris Reinhardt, 1874 from Três Marias Reservoir (São Francisco River) in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described. The generic and the specific names are a tribure to Brazilian parasitologist Lauro Travassos at his birth centenary.

General Practitioners' willingness to pay for continuing medical education in a fee-for-service universal coverage health care system

Background: Sponsoring of physicians meetings by life science companies has led to reduced participation fees but might influence physician's prescription practices. A ban on such sponsoring may increase participation fees. We aimed to evaluate factors associated with physicians' willingness to pay for medical meetings, their position on the sponsoring of medical meetings and their opinion on alternative financing options. Methods: An anonymous web-based questionnaire was sent to 447 general practitioners in one state in Switzerland, identified through their affiliation to a medical association. The questionnaire evaluated physicians' willingness to pay for medical meetings, their perception of a bias in prescription practices induced by commercial support, their opinion on the introduction of a binding legislation and alternative financing options, their frequency of exchange with sales representatives and other relevant socioeconomic factors. We built a multivariate predictor logistic regression model to identify determinants of willingness to pay. Results: Of the 115 physicians who responded (response rate 26%), 48% were willing to pay more than what they currently pay for congresses, 79% disagreed that commercial support introduced a bias in their prescription practices and 61% disagreed that it introduced a bias in their colleagues' prescription practices. Based on the multivariate logistic regression, perception of a bias in peers prescription practices (OR=7.47, 95% CI 1.65-38.18) and group practice structure (OR=4.62, 95% CI 1.34-22.29) were significantly associated with an increase in willingness to pay. Two thirds (76%) of physicians did not support the introduction of a binding legislation and 53% were in favour of creating a general fund administered by an independent body. Conclusion: Our results suggest that almost half of physicians surveyed are willing to pay more than what they currently pay for congresses. Predictors of an increase in physicians' willingness to pay were perception of the influence of bias in peers prescription practices and group practice structure. Most responders did not agree that sponsoring introduced prescribing bias nor did they support the 2 introduction of a binding legislation prohibiting sponsoring but a majority did agree to an independent body that would centrally administer a general fund.

Description of Leishmania equatorensis sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), a new parasite infecting arboreal mammals in Ecuador

Characterization is given of a new parasite, Leishmania equatoriensis sp.n. wich was isolated from the viscera of a sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and a squirrel (Sciurus granatensis), captured in humid tropical forest onthe Pacific Coast of Ecuador. Data based on biological and molecular criteria, as well as numerical zymotaxonomical analysis, indicate that this parasite is a new species of the L. brasiliensis complex. L. equatoriensis is cleary distinguishable form all other known species within this complex, using the following molecular criteria: reactivity patterns with specific monoclonal antibodies, isoenzyme electrophoresis, and restriction-endonuclease fragment patterns of kinetoplast DNA (k-DNA).

Description of Trichuris travassosi n. sp. (Nematoda:Trichurinae) from a brasilian rodent, by light and scanning electron microscopy

A new species of a trichurid nematode Trichuris travassosi n. sp., recovered from a wild rodent in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is described and compared to T. myocastoris (Enigk, 1933) and their differentiation was on the basis of detailed morphometrical study. Oryzomys nigripes (Olfers, 1818) is a new host record for the genus. The denomination spicular prepuce is proposed to designate the structure previously named spicular sheath and, conversely, spicular sheath to indicate the cuticle that convers the spicule.

Description of Raillietia flechtmani sp. n. (Acari; Gamasida)

Raillietia flechtmanni sp. n. is described from the ear canal of its type host the domestic buffalo. The new species parasitizes cattle as well in Brazil.

Description of the adult form of Nybelinia (Syngenes) rougetcampanae Dollfus, 1960 and some new data on n. (n.) bisculata (Linton, 1889) (Trypanorhyncha: Tentaculariidae)

The adult form of Nybelinia (Syngenes) rougetcampanae Dollfus, 1960 is described, parasitizing one specimen of Sphyrna lewni (Griffith & Smith, 1834) out of the five ones necropsied and one out of six Nothorhynchus pectorosus (Garman, 1884) was found harbouring N. (N.) bisculata (Linton, 1889). The finding of these cestodes under Trypanorhyncha in sharks captured off the coast of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, amplifies their known geographical distribution and adds new host records for these parasites.

Definició i estudi de viabilitat d'un "support center" funcional en una empresa farmacèutica

Este proyecto comprende dos componentes centrales. Estos son, definir la situación actual sobre el soporte funcional en las aplicaciones y proponer soluciones para una mejora de los servicios. Durante la descripción de la situación actual se han ido encontrando problemas en el soporte, y se proponen soluciones. Se han llegado a proponer 3 modelos distintos de los cuales se ha elegido uno, el cual supone una importante mejora en el servicio.

Employment effects of service offshoring: evidence from matched firms

This paper studies the effects of service offshoring on the level and skill composition of domestic employment, using a rich data set of Italian firms and propensity score matching techniques. The results show that service offshoring has no effect on the level of employment but changes its composition in favor of high skilled workers.

Service offshoring and the skill composition of labor demand

This paper studies the effects of service offshoring on the skill composition of labor demand, using novel comparable data for nine Western European countries between 1990 and 2004. The empirical analysis delivers three main results. First, service offshoring is skill-biased, because it increases the demand for high and medium skilled labor and decreases the demand for low skilled labor. Second, the effects of service offshoring are similar to those of material offshoring, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Third, the economic magnitude of these effects is not large.

Remarks, on six species of Heterakid Nematodes parasites of brazilian Tinamid birds with description of a new species

Nematodes representing five species of the genus Heterakis, namely: H. inglisi n. sp., H. alata, H. gallinarum, H. spiculatus and one species of the genus Odontoterakis, O. multidentata, were studied. Heterakis inglisi n. sp. closely resembles H. spiculatus, differing from it by smaller size of spicules, precloacal sucker and terminal spike of the tail in the males. Heterakis arquata and H. brasiliana are only listed, for they were not found during the present study. Odontoterakis multidentata is reported in Brazil for the first time. New host records are estabilished for most of the species. These species are fully illustrated.