The growing difference in college attainment between women and men

Workers with more education typically earn more than those with less education, and the difference has been growing in recent decades. Not surprisingly, the percentage of the population going after and getting a college degree has been rising as well. Since the late 1970s, though, the increase in college attainment has stalled for men and gathered steam for women. Among college-age individuals, more women now graduate than men. Changes in labor market incentives appear to explain the increased investment in education made by women. But men’s investments in education have been much less responsive to the same incentivesEducation ; Women - Education

Structural changes that occur upon photolysis of the Fe(II)a3–CO complex in the cytochrome ba3-oxidase of Thermus thermophilus: A combined X-ray crystallographic and infrared spectral study demonstrates CO binding to CuB

AbstractThe purpose of the work was to provide a crystallographic demonstration of the venerable idea that CO photolyzed from ferrous heme-a3 moves to the nearby cuprous ion in the cytochrome c oxidases. Crystal structures of CO-bound cytochrome ba3-oxidase from Thermus thermophilus, determined at ~2.8–3.2Å resolution, reveal a Fe–C distance of ~2.0Å, a Cu–O distance of 2.4Å and a Fe–C–O angle of ~126°. Upon photodissociation at 100K, X-ray structures indicate loss of Fea3–CO and appearance of CuB–CO having a Cu–C distance of ~1.9Å and an O–Fe distance of ~2.3Å. Absolute FTIR spectra recorded from single crystals of reduced ba3–CO that had not been exposed to X-ray radiation, showed several peaks around 1975cm−1; after photolysis at 100K, the absolute FTIR spectra also showed a significant peak at 2050cm−1. Analysis of the ‘light’ minus ‘dark’ difference spectra showed four very sharp CO stretching bands at 1970cm−1, 1977cm−1, 1981cm−1, and 1985cm−1, previously assigned to the Fea3–CO complex, and a significantly broader CO stretching band centered at ~2050cm−1, previously assigned to the CO stretching frequency of CuB bound CO. As expected for light propagating along the tetragonal axis of the P43212 space group, the single crystal spectra exhibit negligible dichroism. Absolute FTIR spectrometry of a CO-laden ba3 crystal, exposed to an amount of X-ray radiation required to obtain structural data sets before FTIR characterization, showed a significant signal due to photogenerated CO2 at 2337cm−1 and one from traces of CO at 2133cm−1; while bands associated with CO bound to either Fea3 or to CuB in “light” minus “dark” FTIR difference spectra shifted and broadened in response to X-ray exposure. In spite of considerable radiation damage to the crystals, both X-ray analysis at 2.8 and 3.2Å and FTIR spectra support the long-held position that photolysis of Fea3–CO in cytochrome c oxidases leads to significant trapping of the CO on the CuB atom; Fea3 and CuB ligation, at the resolutions reported here, are otherwise unaltered. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Respiratory Oxidases

Avian Influenza (H7N9) Virus Infection in Chinese Tourist in Malaysia, 2014

Of the ≈400 cases of avian influenza (H7N9) diagnosed in China since 2003, the only travel-related cases have been in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Detection of a case in a Chinese tourist in Sabah, Malaysia, highlights the ease with which emerging viral respiratory infections can travel globally

The Song Must Go On: Resilience of the Songbird Vocal Motor Pathway

Stereotyped sequences of neural activity underlie learned vocal behavior in songbirds; principle neurons in the cortical motor nucleus HVC fire in stereotyped sequences with millisecond precision across multiple renditions of a song. The geometry of neural connections underlying these sequences is not known in detail though feed-forward chains are commonly assumed in theoretical models of sequential neural activity. In songbirds, a well-defined cortical-thalamic motor circuit exists but little is known the fine-grain structure of connections within each song nucleus. To examine whether the structure of song is critically dependent on long-range connections within HVC, we bilaterally transected the nucleus along the anterior-posterior axis in normal-hearing and deafened birds. The disruption leads to a slowing of song as well as an increase in acoustic variability. These effects are reversed on a time-scale of days even in deafened birds or in birds that are prevented from singing post-transection. The stereotyped song of zebra finches includes acoustic details that span from milliseconds to seconds–one of the most precise learned behaviors in the animal kingdom. This detailed motor pattern is resilient to disruption of connections at the cortical level, and the details of song variability and duration are maintained by offline homeostasis of the song circuit

What's in an education? Implications of CEO education for bank performance

Exploiting a unique hand-built dataset, this paper finds that CEO educational attainment, both level and quality, matters for bank performance. We offer robust evidence that banks led by CEOs with MBAs outperform their peers. Such CEOs improve performance when compensation structures are geared towards greater risk-taking incentives, and when banks follow riskier or more innovative business models. Our findings suggest that management education delivers skills enabling CEOs to manage increasingly larger and complex banking firms and achieve successful performance outcomes

Explanatory pluralism in the medical sciences: theory and practice

Explanatory pluralism is the view that the best form and level of explanation depends on the kind of question one seeks to answer by the explanation, and that in order to answer all questions in the best way possible, we need more than one form and level of explanation. In the first part of this article, we argue that explanatory pluralism holds for the medical sciences, at least in theory. However, in the second part of the article we show that medical research and practice is actually not fully and truly explanatory pluralist yet. Although the literature demonstrates a slowly growing interest in non-reductive explanations in medicine, the dominant approach in medicine is still methodologically reductionist. This implies that non-reductive explanations often do not get the attention they deserve. We argue that the field of medicine could benefit greatly by reconsidering its reductive tendencies and becoming fully and truly explanatory pluralist. Nonetheless, trying to achieve the right balance in the search for and application of reductive and non-reductive explanations will in any case be a difficult exercise

Unstable neurons underlie a stable learned behavior

Motor skills can be maintained for decades, but the biological basis of this memory persistence remains largely unknown. The zebra finch, for example, sings a highly stereotyped song that is stable for years, but it is not known whether the precise neural patterns underlying song are stable or shift from day to day. Here we demonstrate that the population of projection neurons coding for song in the premotor nucleus, HVC, change from day to day. The most dramatic shifts occur over intervals of sleep. In contrast to the transient participation of excitatory neurons, ensemble measurements dominated by inhibition persist unchanged even after damage to downstream motor nerves. These observations offer a principle of motor stability: spatiotemporal patterns of inhibition can maintain a stable scaffold for motor dynamics while the population of principal neurons that directly drive behavior shift from one day to the next

A Phase 2, Double-Blind, Randomized, Dose-Ranging Trial Of Reldesemtiv In Patients With ALS

To evaluate safety, dose response, and preliminary efficacy of reldesemtiv over 12 weeks in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Patients (≤2 years since diagnosis) with slow upright vital capacity (SVC) of ≥60% were randomized 1:1:1:1 to reldesemtiv 150, 300, or 450 mg twice daily (bid) or placebo; active treatment was 12 weeks with 4-week follow-up. Primary endpoint was change in percent predicted SVC at 12 weeks; secondary measures included ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) and muscle strength mega-score. Results: Patients (N = 458) were enrolled; 85% completed 12-week treatment. The primary analysis failed to reach statistical significance (p = 0.11); secondary endpoints showed no statistically significant effects (ALSFRS-R, p = 0.09; muscle strength mega-score, p = 0.31). Post hoc analyses pooling all active reldesemtiv-treated patients compared against placebo showed trends toward benefit in all endpoints (progression rate for SVC, ALSFRS-R, and muscle strength mega-score (nominal p values of 0.10, 0.01 and 0.20 respectively)). Reldesemtiv was well tolerated, with nausea and fatigue being the most common side effects. A dose-dependent decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate was noted, and transaminase elevations were seen in approximately 5% of patients. Both hepatic and renal abnormalities trended toward resolution after study drug discontinuation. Conclusions: Although the primary efficacy analysis did not demonstrate statistical significance, there were trends favoring reldesemtiv for all three endpoints, with effect sizes generally regarded as clinically important. Tolerability was good; modest hepatic and renal abnormalities were reversible. The impact of reldesemtiv on patients with ALS should be assessed in a pivotal Phase 3 trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03160898)