From Growth Spurts to Sustained Growth

This paper presents new evidence on the existence of pre-industrial growth spurts and the nature of economic growth during the transition from Malthus to Solow. In this research, growth spurts are an intrinsic feature of the economy, but throughout history their effect on standards of living is mostly temporary. Sustained rises in living standards only become sustained when there are complementarities between the triple engines of growth of technological development, human capital and the organization of the workplace. In Malthusian economies, most technologies were basic and only required straightforward knowledge or human capital, and thus the skill-technology complementarity did not play a role in their development. As a consequence, most technological developments in Malthusian economies generated growth spurts that did not become sustained, although there was a temporary increase in standards of living. However, the increasing complexity of the epistemic knowledge base reported by the historical literature meant that investments in applied technology were progressively more significant, enhancing the role of human capital. After a certain threshold of the knowledge base was surpassed, more and more complex applied technologies were developed, and growth spurts became permanent features of the economy.Growth spurts, unified growth theory, sustained economic growth

From Growth Spurts to Sustained Growth: The Nature of Growth and Unified Growth Theory

The recent literature on unified growth theory has shed new light on the transition to sustained economic growth. Nevertheless, unified growth theory has not devoted a lot of attention to the nature of economic growth and its impact in the transition from Malthus to Solow. This research presents new evidence on the existence of pre-industrial growth spurts and provides new foundations concerning the nature of economic growth during the Malthus to Solow transition. Following previous research in unified growth theory, sustained economic growth arises due to complementarities between the triple engines of growth of technological development, human capital and the organization of the workplace. In this research, growth spurts are an intrinsic feature of the economy, but throughout history their effect on standards of living is mostly temporary. The rise in living standards only becomes sustained when the complementarity of the triple engines of growth emerges. In Malthusian economies, most technologies were basic and only require straightforward knowledge or human capital, and thus the skill-technology complementarity did not play a role in their development. As a consequence, most technological developments in Malthusian economies generated growth spurts that did not become sustained, although there was a temporary increase in standards of living. However, the increasing complexity of the epistemic knowledge base reported by the historical literature meant that investments in applied technology were progressively more significant, enhancing the role of human capital. After a certain threshold of the knowledge base was surpassed, more and more complex applied technologies were developed, and growth spurts became permanent features of the economy. This research thus captures some of the most important historical features concerning the nature of growth in the transition to sustained economic growth.growth spurts, unified growth theory, sustained economic growth

Phosphatases in the cellular response to DNA damage

In the last fifteen years, rapid progress has been made in delineating the cellular response to DNA damage. The DNA damage response network is composed of a large number of proteins with different functions that detect and signal the presence of DNA damage in order to coordinate DNA repair with a variety of cellular processes, notably cell cycle progression. This signal, which radiates from the chromatin template, is driven primarily by phosphorylation events, mainly on serine and threonine residues. While we have accumulated detailed information about kinases and their substrates our understanding of the role of phosphatases in the DNA damage response is still preliminary. Identifying the phosphatases and their regulation will be instrumental to obtain a complete picture of the dynamics of the DNA damage response. Here we give an overview of the DNA damage response in mammalian cells and then review the data on the role of different phosphatases and discuss their biological relevance

“Histórias que a vida conta”: A (Re-)Construção Sócio-Discursiva de Masculinidades

Durante muito tempo dominou a visão do homem como detentor do sexo forte, chefe de família etc. Entretanto, nos últimos anos, depois do surgimento dos movimentos feministas (anos 60) e do movimento gay, essa estrutura masculina vem sendo alvo de muitas críticas. Atualmente, muitas mulheres ocupam o cargo de chefe de família ou de empresas, não sendo mais consideradas como o sexo frágil. Então, frente a esse mundo contemporâneo, a masculinidade hegemônica entra em crise. A tão forte instituição homem começa a performar diversas masculinidades e, assim, surgem outras formas de ser homem. Tais performances são construções discursivas dado que não há uma essência biológica relativa a formas de ser homem ou mulher. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar como acontece a (re-) construção da masculinidade do jovem Felipe, foco de nosso estudo de caso, com base numa visão socioconstrucionista do discurso e da identidade social. Para analisar os dados gerados durante a pesquisa, foram utilizados os pressupostos da Análise de Discurso Crítica (FAIRCLOUGH, 2008). Foi concluído que, durante a narrativa de vida, o jovem (re-) constrói diversas vezes a forma como vive sua identidade de masculinidade, partindo de uma visão essencializada sobre a mesma para, no fim da narrativa, reposicionar-se enquanto sujeito homoerótico

BRCT domains: A little more than kin, and less than kind

AbstractBRCT domains are versatile protein modular domains found as single units or as multiple copies in more than 20 different proteins in the human genome. Interestingly, most BRCT-containing proteins function in the same biological process, the DNA damage response network, but show specificity in their molecular interactions. BRCT domains have been found to bind a wide array of ligands from proteins, phosphorylated linear motifs, and DNA. Here we discuss the biology of BRCT domains and how a domain-centric analysis can aid in the understanding of signal transduction events in the DNA damage response network

Principles for the post-GWAS functional characterisation of risk loci

Several challenges lie ahead in assigning functionality to susceptibility SNPs. For example, most effect sizes are small relative to effects seen in monogenic diseases, with per allele odds ratios usually ranging from 1.15 to 1.3. It is unclear whether current molecular biology methods have enough resolution to differentiate such small effects. Our objective here is therefore to provide a set of recommendations to optimize the allocation of effort and resources in order maximize the chances of elucidating the functional contribution of specific loci to the disease phenotype. It has been estimated that 88% of currently identified disease-associated SNP are intronic or intergenic. Thus, in this paper we will focus our attention on the analysis of non-coding variants and outline a hierarchical approach for post-GWAS functional studies