Is There a "Dead-Anyway" Effect in Willingness to Pay for Risk Reduction?

In einem neueren Beitrag diskutieren Pratt and Zeckhauser (JPE, 1996), welches Maß der marginalen Zahlungsbereitschaft (WTP) von Individuen für die Reduktion ihrer Sterbewahrscheinlichkeit bei öffentlichen Entscheidungen über gefahrenerhebliche Projekte verwendet werden sollte. Sie schlagen vor, die gemessene WTP um den so genannten "Dead-anyway"-Effekt zu berichtigen, der besagt, dass die WTP mit dem Ausgangswert des Risikos zunimmt, dem das befragte Individuum ausgesetzt ist. Dieser Effekt beruht allerdings auf der Abwesenheit vollkommener Märkte für bedingte Güter. Wir diskutieren zunächst die theoretischen Grundlagen des "Dead-anyway"-Effekts und schlagen dann einen neuen empirischen Test mittels der Beziehung zwischen Vermögen, Sterberisiko und Lebenszufriedenheit vor. Eine Anwendung des Tests an Hand zweier Sätze von Umfragedaten aus Deutschland und Australien ergibt keine Bestätigung für den von Pratt und Zeckhauser behaupteten Effekt. In a recent paper, Pratt and Zeckhauser (JPE, 1996) discuss the measure of individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for the reduction of risks to their lives which should be used for public decisions on risk-reducing projects. They suggest to correct observed WTP for the "dead-anyway" effect, which says that WTP increases with the level of risk to which the individual is exposed - an effect which is due to the imperfection of contingent-claims markets. We first discuss the theoretical foundations of the asserted effect and then propose a new empirical test based on the relationship between wealth, life satisfaction and exposure to risk of dying. Application of the test using two sets of survey data from Germany and Australia.yields no support for the asserted dead-anyway effect.value of statistical life, mortality risk, contingent-claims markets

Detecting the phase transition in a strongly-interacting Fermi gas by unsupervised machine learning

We study the critical temperature of the superfluid phase transition of strongly-interacting fermions in the crossover regime between a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductor and a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of dimers. To this end, we employ the technique of unsupervised machine learning using an autoencoder neural network which we directly apply to time-of-flight images of the fermions. We extract the critical temperature of the phase transition from trend changes in the data distribution revealed in the latent space of the autoencoder bottleneck.Comment: PRA, in pres

mRNA-Expression of KRT5 and KRT20 Defines Distinct Prognostic Subgroups of Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Bladder Cancer Correlating with Histological Variants

Recently, muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) has been subclassified by gene expression profiling, with a substantial impact on therapy response and patient outcome. We tested whether these complex molecular subtypes of MIBC can be determined by mRNA detection of keratin 5 (KRT5) and keratin 20 (KRT20). Reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was applied to quantify gene expression of KRT5 and KRT20 using TaqMan (R)-based assays in 122 curatively treated MIBC patients (median age 68.0 years). Furthermore, in silico analysis of the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) cohort (GSE48277 + GSE47993) was performed. High expression of KRT5 and low expression of KRT20 were associated with significantly improved recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival disease specific survival (DSS: 5-year DSS for KRT5 high: 58%; 5-year DSS for KRT20 high: 29%). KRT5 and KRT20 were associated with rates of lymphovascular invasion and lymphonodal metastasis. The combination of KRT5 and KRT20 allowed identification of patients with a very poor prognosis (KRT20(+)/KRT5(-), 5-year DSS 0%, p < 0.0001). In silico analysis of the independent MDACC cohorts revealed congruent results (5-year DSS for KRT20 low vs. high: 84% vs. 40%, p = 0.042). High KRT20-expressing tumors as well as KRT20(+)/KRT- tumors were significantly enriched with aggressive urothelial carcinoma variants (micropapillary, plasmacytoid, nested)

Cloning and expression of the rabbit prostaglandin EP2 receptor

BACKGROUND: Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) has multiple physiologic roles mediated by G protein coupled receptors designated E-prostanoid, or "EP" receptors. Evidence supports an important role for the EP(2) receptor in regulating fertility, vascular tone and renal function. RESULTS: The full-length rabbit EP(2) receptor cDNA was cloned. The encoded polypeptide contains 361 amino acid residues with seven hydrophobic domains. COS-1 cells expressing the cloned rabbit EP(2) exhibited specific [(3)H]PGE(2) binding with a K(d) of 19.1± 1.7 nM. [(3)H]PGE(2) was displaced by unlabeled ligands in the following order: PGE(2)>>PGD(2)=PGF(2α)=iloprost. Binding of [(3)H]PGE(2) was also displaced by EP receptor subtype selective agonists with a rank order of affinity consistent with the EP2 receptor (butaprost>AH13205>misoprostol>sulprostone). Butaprost free acid produced a concentration-dependent increase in cAMP accumulation in rabbit EP(2) transfected COS-1 cells with a half-maximal effective concentration of 480 nM. RNase protection assay revealed high expression in the ileum, spleen, and liver with lower expression in the kidney, lung, heart, uterus, adrenal gland and skeletal muscle. In situ hybridization localized EP(2) mRNA to the uterine endometrium, but showed no distinct localization in the kidney. EP2 mRNA expression along the nephron was determined by RT-PCR and its expression was present in glomeruli, MCD, tDL and CCD. In cultured cells EP2 receptor was not detected in collecting ducts but was detected in renal interstitial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells. EP2 mRNA was also detected in arteries, veins, and preglomerular vessels of the kidney. CONCLUSION: EP2 expression pattern is consistent with the known functional roles for cAMP coupled PGE(2) effects in reproductive and vascular tissues and renal interstitial cells. It remains uncertain whether it is also expressed in renal tubules

Machine-learning the phase diagram of a strongly-interacting Fermi gas

We determine the phase diagram of strongly correlated fermions in the crossover from Bose-Einstein condensates of molecules (BEC) to Cooper pairs of fermions (BCS) utilizing an artificial neural network. By applying advanced image recognition techniques to the momentum distribution of the fermions, a quantity which has been widely considered as featureless for providing information about the condensed state, we measure the critical temperature and show that it exhibits a maximum on the bosonic side of the crossover. Additionally, we back-analyze the trained neural network and demonstrate that it interprets physically relevant quantities

Pathological and Transcriptome Changes in the ReninAAV db/db uNx Model of Advanced Diabetic Kidney Disease Exhibit Features of Human Disease

The ReninAAV db/db uNx model of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) exhibits hallmarks of advanced human disease, including progressive elevations in albuminuria and serum creatinine, loss of glomerular filtration rate, and pathological changes. Microarray analysis of renal transcriptome changes were more similar to human DKD when compared to db/db eNOS−/− model. The model responds to treatment with arterial pressure lowering (lisinopril) or glycemic control (rosiglitazone) at early stages of disease. We hypothesized the ReninAAV db/db uNx model with advanced disease would have residual disease after treatment with lisinopril, rosiglitazone, or combination of both. To test this, ReninAAV db/db uNx mice with advanced disease were treated with lisinopril, rosiglitazone, or combination of both for 10 weeks. All treatment groups showed significant lowering of urinary albumin to creatinine ratio compared to baseline; however, only combination group exhibited lowering of serum creatinine. Treatment improved renal pathological scores compared to baseline values with residual disease evident in all treatment groups when compared to db/m controls. Gene expression analysis by TaqMan supported pathological changes with increased fibrotic and inflammatory markers. The results further validate this model of DKD in which residual disease is present when treated with agents to lower arterial pressure and glycemic control

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression is associated with the renal macula densa of patients with Bartter-like syndrome

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression is associated with the renal macula densa of patients with Bartter-like syndrome.BackgroundBartter-like syndrome (BLS) is a heterogeneous set of congenital tubular disorders that is associated with significant renal salt and water loss. The syndrome is also marked by increased urinary prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) excretion. In rodents, salt and volume depletion are associated with increased renal macula densa cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. The expression of COX-2 in human macula densa has not been demonstrated. The present studies examined whether COX-2 can be detected in macula densa from children with salt-wasting BLS versus control tissues.MethodsThe intrarenal distribution of COX-2 protein and mRNA was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization in 12 patients with clinically and/or genetically confirmed BLS. Renal tissue rejected for transplantation, from six adult patients not affected by BLS, was also examined.ResultsThe expression of COX-2 immunoreactive protein was observed in cells of the macula densa in 8 out 11 patients with BLS. In situ hybridization confirmed the expression of COX-2 mRNA in the macula densa in 6 out of 10 cases. COX-2 protein was also detected in the macula densa in a patient with congestive heart failure. The expression of COX-2 immunoreactive protein was not observed in cells associated with the macula densa in kidneys from patients without disorders associated with hyper-reninemia.ConclusionThese studies demonstrate that COX-2 may be detected in the macula densa of humans. Since macula densa COX-2 was detected in cases of BLS, renal COX-2 expression may be linked to volume and renin status in humans, as well as in animals

A major zebrafish polymorphism resource for genetic mapping

645,088 candidate polymorphisms in zebrafish were identified and positioned on genetic and physical maps as a resource for positional cloning