Institutions, Information, and Trade Policy in Times of Crisis

The paper examines the role of international institutions in preventing the rise of protectionism in times of times of crisis. Economic crisis exacerbates uncertainty in the conduct of commercial relations and thus makes it more likely for countries to resort to "beggar-thy-neighbor" trade policies. The historical record of the Great Depression supports this argument, where global trade suffered a downward spiral as governments pursued protectionist trade policies as a response to domestic pressures. This paper argues that the current era of globalization is distinguishable from its earlier counterparts by the presence of an extensive network of international institutions, which serve as conveyors of information that help to mitigate the information problem that prevails in prisoner‘s dilemma settings. Specifically, international institutions such as the WTO, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and other international economic organizations increase the flow of information among countries. In doing so, they alleviate coordination problems as well as facilitate the detection of violations in commitments to maintaining a liberal trade regime. We suggest that this mechanism may explain why the current crisis is not replicating the pattern of the Great Depression. Moreover, we explore the combined effect of membership in international organization and political variables, the latter including democracy, veto players, partisanship of government, and government effectiveness. We test this argument using a newly-compiled dataset of trade policies during the current economic crisis and membership in international organizations. The paper finds strong support for the informational role of international institutions as a key factor preventing the rise of protectionism in times of crisis. Conversely, there is mixed evidence that the combining effect of international organizations and domestic political variables matters in explaining protectionism during this crisis

Health, Agriculture and Labor Markets in Developing Countries

Rural households comprise a large share of the population in developing countries. This dissertation examines how the welfare of these households, whose economic activity mainly relies on agriculture, is affected by weather shocks and health shocks in the context of West Africa and Vietnam. In the second chapter of the dissertation, I use the variation in rainfall within and across years at a detailed geographic level in West Africa to examine how rainfall shocks might affect the well-being of very young children. Variations in rainfall may affect not only income, but also the opportunity cost of time of parents, which may negatively impact child welfare. I find that high long-term rainfall averages for a particular location and month increase the probability of giving birth in the dry season, whereas positive deviations from this long-term mean ("rainfall shocks") have a small but statistically significant negative effect on the probability of giving birth in the rainy season. Further, contrary to what one might expect, rainfall shocks do not appear to improve the survival chances of young children and shocks in the first year of life have an adverse effect on the survival of children that are born in the rainy season. This result may be partly attributable to the finding that rainfall shocks significantly reduce the time mothers breastfeed their children, which could be due to a trade-off with work. Breastfeeding is important for the health of young children since it provides not only essential nutrients but also effective protection against various diseases. In the third chapter, I examine the effect of health shocks on the production decisions of agricultural households in Vietnam. I look at whether malaria illnesses experienced by the household have an effect on their agricultural production decisions. While I am not able to entirely overcome issues with endogeneity that are persistent in this literature, results show that profits are negatively associated with the share of household members experiencing malaria. This result is not explained by the decrease in the total number of labor days the household employed. Rather, households appear to change their crop choice to less labor-intensive, less profitable crops in anticipation of these seasonal health shocks

Transient receptor potential canonical type 3 channels control the vascular contractility of mouse mesenteric arteries

Transient receptor potential canonical type 3 (TRPC3) channels are non-selective cation channels and regulate intracellular Ca2+ concentration. We examined the role of TRPC3 channels in agonist-, membrane depolarization (high K+)-, and mechanical (pressure)-induced vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation in mouse mesenteric arteries. Vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation of endothelial cells intact mesenteric arteries were measured in TRPC3 wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice. Calcium concentration ([Ca2+]) was measured in isolated arteries from TRPC3 WT and KO mice as well as in the mouse endothelial cell line bEnd.3. Nitric oxide (NO) production and nitrate/nitrite concentrations were also measured in TRPC3 WT and KO mice. Phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction was reduced in TRPC3 KO mice when compared to that of WT mice, but neither high K+- nor pressure-induced vasoconstriction was altered in TRPC3 KO mice. Acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation was inhibited in TRPC3 KO mice and by the selective TRPC3 blocker pyrazole-3. Acetylcholine blocked the phenylephrine-induced increase in Ca2+ ratio and then relaxation in TRPC3 WT mice but had little effect on those outcomes in KO mice. Acetylcholine evoked a Ca2+ increase in endothelial cells, which was inhibited by pyrazole-3. Acetylcholine induced increased NO release in TRPC3 WT mice, but not in KO mice. Acetylcholine also increased the nitrate/nitrite concentration in TRPC3 WT mice, but not in KO mice. The present study directly demonstrated that the TRPC3 channel is involved in agonist-induced vasoconstriction and plays important role in NO-mediated vasorelaxation of intact mesenteric arteries.Fil: Yeon, Soo-In. Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Kim, Joo Young. Yonsei University College Of Medicine; . Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Yeon, Dong-Soo. Kwandong University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Abramowitz, Joel. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Muallem, Shmuel. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, Young-Ho. Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del Su

Form, space, and image: An exploration of negative space through clay sculpture

An artist shows art itself, and needs to communicate with viewers to deliver a message, and to get responses. The reason why getting responses is important is that artwork is produced with the personality, philosophy and spirit from the artist. If the artwork does not get any response from the viewer, the artwork has failed. My goal is not to have the viewers agree with me. I have studied engaging viewers with my piece while delivering my intention. As a person of Eastern background, I found the interrelationship between negative space and positive form interesting. Tao and Yin and Yang philosophies motivate me to engage negative space in my work

The Role of downstream of kinase (DOK)-3 in Toll-like receptor signalling

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Navigating the landscape of clinical genetic testing: insights and challenges in rare disease diagnostics

With the rapid evolution of diagnostic tools, particularly next-generation sequencing, the identification of genetic diseases, predominantly those with pediatric-onset, has significantly advanced. However, this progress presents challenges that span from selecting appropriate tests to the final interpretation of results. This review examines various genetic testing methodologies, each with specific indications and characteristics, emphasizing the importance of selecting the appropriate genetic test in clinical practice, taking into account factors like detection range, cost, turnaround time, and specificity of the clinical diagnosis. Interpretation of variants has become more challenging, often requiring further validation and significant resource allocation. Laboratories primarily classify variants based on the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Clinical Genomic Science guidelines, however, this process has limitations. This review underscores the critical role of clinicians in matching patient phenotypes with reported genes/variants and considering additional factors such as variable expressivity, disease pleiotropy, and incomplete penetrance. These considerations should be aligned with specific gene-disease characteristics and segregation results based on an extended pedigree. In conclusion, this review aims to enhance understanding of the complexities of clinical genetic testing, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to ensure accurate diagnosis and effective management of rare genetic diseases