Is Earnings Inequality Also Rising in Other Industrialized Countries? -- the Role of Institutional Constraints

Earnings Distribution, Cross-national Comparisons

The Impact of Technology Change, Deindustrialization, and Internationalization of Trade on Earnings Inequality An International Perspective

Looks into the links between structural change in industrialized countries and the rise of income inequality. Includes a useful literature review on inequality in the U.S

Changes in Earnings Inequality - an International Perspective

This paper investigates earnings and wage inequality trends in several LIS countries in the 1980's. It finds a trend toward greater wage inequality in virtually all LIS countries, thus providing some evidence that technological change may explain a larger fraction of earnings and wage inequality than does changing patterns of international trade

Using a Robust and Sensitive GFP-Based cGMP Sensor for Real-Time Imaging in Intact Caenorhabditis elegans.

cGMP plays a role in sensory signaling and plasticity by regulating ion channels, phosphodiesterases, and kinases. Studies that primarily used genetic and biochemical tools suggest that cGMP is spatiotemporally regulated in multiple sensory modalities. FRET- and GFP-based cGMP sensors were developed to visualize cGMP in primary cell culture and Caenorhabditis elegans to corroborate these findings. While a FRET-based sensor has been used in an intact animal to visualize cGMP, the requirement of a multiple emission system limits its ability to be used on its own as well as with other fluorophores. Here, we demonstrate that a C. elegans codon-optimized version of the cpEGFP-based cGMP sensor FlincG3 can be used to visualize rapidly changing cGMP levels in living, behaving C. elegans We coexpressed FlincG3 with the blue-light-activated guanylyl cyclases BeCyclOp and bPGC in body wall muscles, and found that the rate of change in FlincG3 fluorescence correlated with the rate of cGMP production by each cyclase. Furthermore, we show that FlincG3 responds to cultivation temperature, NaCl concentration changes, and sodium dodecyl sulfate in the sensory neurons AFD, ASEL/R, and PHB, respectively. Intriguingly, FlincG3 fluorescence in ASEL and ASER decreased in response to a NaCl concentration upstep and downstep, respectively, which is opposite in sign to the coexpressed calcium sensor jRGECO1a and previously published calcium recordings. These results illustrate that FlincG3 can be used to report rapidly changing cGMP levels in an intact animal, and that the reporter can potentially reveal unexpected spatiotemporal landscapes of cGMP in response to stimuli

Multiple Parton Emission Effects in Next-to-Leading Order Direct Photon Production

A recent global analysis of direct photon production at hadron collider and fixed target experiments has noted a disturbing trend of disagreement between next-to-leading-order (NLO) calculations and data. The conjecture has been made that the discrepancy is due to explicit multiple parton emission effects which are not accounted for in the theoretical calculations. We investigate this problem by merging a NLO calculation of direct photon production with extra multiple parton emissions via the parton shower (PS) algorithm. Our calculation maintains the integrity of the underlying NLO calculation while avoiding ambiguities due to double counting of multiple parton emissions. We find that the NLO+PS calculation can account for much of the theory/CDF data discrepancy at $\sqrt{s}=1.8$ TeV. It can also account for much of the theory/UA2 discrepancy if a very large virtuality is assumed to initiate the initial state parton shower. For lower energy data sets ({\it e.g.} $\sqrt{s}< 63$ GeV), NLO+PS calculations alone cannot account for the data/theory discrepancy, so that some additional non-perturbative $k_T$ smearing is needed.Comment: 9 page REVTEX file with 3 figures; a PS version with figures is available from ftp://hep.fsu.edu/preprints/baer/FSUHEP951229.u

Proteomic analysis of in vivo-assembled pre-mRNA splicing complexes expands the catalog of participating factors

Previous compositional studies of pre-mRNA processing complexes have been performed in vitro on synthetic pre-mRNAs containing a single intron. To provide a more comprehensive list of polypeptides associated with the pre-mRNA splicing apparatus, we have determined the composition of the bulk pre-mRNA processing machinery in living cells. We purified endogenous nuclear pre-mRNA processing complexes from human and chicken cells comprising the massive (>200S) supraspliceosomes (a.k.a. polyspliceosomes). As expected, RNA components include a heterogeneous mixture of pre-mRNAs and the five spliceosomal snRNAs. In addition to known pre-mRNA splicing factors, 5′ end binding factors, 3′ end processing factors, mRNA export factors, hnRNPs and other RNA binding proteins, the protein components identified by mass spectrometry include RNA adenosine deaminases and several novel factors. Intriguingly, our purified supraspliceosomes also contain a number of structural proteins, nucleoporins, chromatin remodeling factors and several novel proteins that were absent from splicing complexes assembled in vitro. These in vivo analyses bring the total number of factors associated with pre-mRNA to well over 300, and represent the most comprehensive analysis of the pre-mRNA processing machinery to date

Group B Streptococcal β-Hemolysin/Cytolysin Directly Impairs Cardiomyocyte Viability and Function

BACKGROUND: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of neonatal sepsis where myocardial dysfunction is an important contributor to poor outcome. Here we study the effects of the GBS pore-forming beta-hemolysin/cytolysin (Bh/c) exotoxin on cardiomyocyte viability, contractility, and calcium transients. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: HL-1 cardiomyocytes exposed to intact wild-type (WT) or isogenic Deltabeta h/c mutant GBS, or to cell-free extracts from either strain, were assessed for viability by trypan blue exclusion and for apoptosis by TUNEL staining. Functionality of exposed cardiomyocytes was analyzed by visual quantitation of the rate and extent of contractility. Mitochondrial membrane polarization was measured in TMRE-loaded cells exposed to GBS beta h/c. Effects of GBS beta h/c on calcium transients were studied in fura-2AM-loaded primary rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Exposure of HL-1 cardiomyocytes to either WT GBS or beta h/c extracts significantly reduced both rate and extent of contractility and later induced necrotic and apoptotic cell death. No effects on cardiomyocyte viability or function were observed after treatment with Deltabeta h/c mutant bacteria or extracts. The beta h/c toxin was associated with complete and rapid loss of detectable calcium transients in primary neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes and induced a loss of mitochondrial membrane polarization. These effects on viability and function were abrogated by the beta h/c inhibitor, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data show a rapid loss of cardiomyocyte viability and function induced by GBS beta h/c, and these deleterious effects are inhibited by DPPC, a normal constituent of human pulmonary surfactant.. These findings have clinical implications for the cardiac dysfunction observed in neonatal GBS infections

The legal determinants of health: harnessing the power of law for global health and sustainable development.

Law affects global health in multiple ways, by structuring, perpetuating, and mediating the social determinants of health. 2 Although law has been central to major public health achievements in the past, its capacity to advance global health with justice remains substantially underutilised, particularly among professionals in the fields of health and science. 3 The right to health, a legally binding norm, provides a foundation for advancing global health with justice and should underpin health-related legal reforms. 4 Every human being has a right to affordable, high quality health services. By embedding equity and accountability in all health systems, the law and the rule of law can achieve health coverage that is truly universal—delivering the Sustainable Development Goals’ promise to leave no one behind. 5 Although the ability to enforce compliance with international legal obligations is generally limited, and largely dependent on power dynamics and political will, creative mechanisms can foster compliance and help establish impetus for action. 6 Law can address the pressing health concerns of the 21st century, across diverse areas. From tobacco control, non-communicable diseases, and road safety, to health emergencies, law can implement fair, evidence-based interventions to save lives. The global health community should champion evidence-based legal interventions and build the research case for legal action. 7 Laws that stigmatise or discriminate against marginalised populations are especially harmful and exacerbate health disparities. The global health community must oppose laws that undermine the right to health and to equity. 8 To realise the full potential of law to advance global health with justice, the global health community should build legal capacity and establish a sustained dialogue with legislators, regulators, judges, civil society, and researchers

Drug-Dependent Behaviors and Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Expressions in Caenorhabditis elegans Following Chronic Nicotine Exposure

Nicotine, the major psychoactive compound in tobacco, targets nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and results in drug dependence. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans’ (C. elegans) genome encodes conserved and extensive nicotinic receptor subunits, representing a useful system to investigate nicotine-induced nAChR expressions in the context of drug dependence. However, the in vivo expression pattern of nAChR genes under chronic nicotine exposure has not been fully investigated. To define the role of nAChR genes involved in nicotine-induced locomotion changes and the development of tolerance to these effects, we characterized the locomotion behavior combining the use of two systems: the Worm Tracker hardware and the WormLab software. Our results indicate that the combined system is an advantageous alternative to define drug-dependent locomotion behavior in C. elegans. Chronic (24-hour dosing) nicotine exposure at 6.17 and 61.7 μM induced nicotine-dependent behaviors, including drug stimulation, tolerance/adaption, and withdrawal responses. Specifically, the movement speed of naïve worms on nicotine-containing environments was significantly higher than on nicotine-free environments, suggesting locomotion stimulation by nicotine. In contrast, the 24-hour 6.17 μM nicotine-treated worms exhibited significantly higher speeds on nicotine-free plates than on nicotine-containing plates. Furthermore significantly increased locomotion behavior during nicotine cessation was observed in worms treated with a higher nicotine concentration of 61.7 μM. The relatively low locomotion speed of nicotine-treated worms on nicotine-containing environments also indicates adaption/tolerance of worms to nicotine following chronic nicotine exposure. In addition, this study provides useful information regarding the comprehensive in vivo expression profile of the 28 “core” nAChRs following different dosages of chronic nicotine treatments. Eleven genes (lev-1, acr-6, acr-7, acr-11, lev-8, acr-14, acr-16, acr-20, acr-21, ric-3, and unc-29) were significantly up-regulated following 61.7 μM nicotine treatment, in which worms showed significantly increased locomotion behavior. This study provides insights into the linkage between nicotine-induced locomotion behavior and the regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors