Comparable Worth in a General Equilibrium Model of the U.S. Economy

This paper presents a computable general equilibrium model that simulates the effects on employment, output, wages, and economic efficiency of introducing comparable worth into the U.S. economy. The model calculates economy-wide aggregate impacts and disaggregated results for individuals grouped by sex, marital status, and education. The effects depend on the hiring rules that would accompany comparable worth, the source of existing male-female wage differentials, the extent of coverage of comparable worth, the intra-household behavior of married couples, and demand and supply elasticities. If, after comparable worth is introduced, employers are constrained to employ men and women in historical proportions, the adverse effects on aggregate employment, output, and efficiency would be much larger than if the employment constraint is based on applicant proportions. If existing wage gaps are the result of sex differences in productivity, the adverse of facts of comparable worth are relatively large; but if they are the result of discrimination, the efficiency losses are much smaller. If only part of the economy is subject to comparable worth, the efficiency loss is reduced under the productivity gap assumption, but increased if the wage gap is the result of discrimination. The redistributive effects of comparable worth on married men and women are sensitive to assumptions about intra-household behavior and the size of the gains from marriage. By contrast, unmarried women appear to benefit from comparable worth under most sets of assumptions while unmarried men lose.

5-Azacytidine and 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine behave as different antineoplastic agents in B16 melanoma.

The antiproliferative effects of 5-azacytidine (acaCyd) and 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (azadCyd) were studied in murine B16 melanoma and a series of B16 melanoma derived mutant strains with selective resistances to the respective drugs. The in vitro cytotoxicities of azaCyd and azadCyd on B16 wild type, expressed in terms of IC50 values, were found to be 5 microM and 0.2 microM, respectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity of both drugs was dependent on the duration of exposure. Uridine and cytidine were able to reverse the in vitro cytotoxicity of azaCyd, but not of azadCyd. Conversely, 2'-deoxycytidine was able to reverse the cytotoxic effect of azadCyd but not of azaCyd. Thymidine and 2'-deoxyuridine had no detectable effects on the in vitro cytotoxicity of either azaCyd or azadCyd. B16 melanoma mutant strains that were selected for resistance to azaCyd showed no cross-resistance to azadCyd, cytosine arabinoside or the fluorinated pyrimidine analogues FUrd, FCyd, FdUrd and FdCyd. Mutant strains that were selected for resistance to azadCyd showed no cross-resistance to azaCyd or fluorinated pyrimidine analogs, but only to cytosine arabinoside. The combined data suggest that azaCyd and azadCyd follow different routes of intracellular metabolic activation and exert their cytotoxic activity via different intracellular targets

Supplementary Motor Area Encodes Reward Expectancy in Eye-Movement Tasks

Neural activity signifying the expectation of reward has been found recently in many parts of the brain, including midbrain and cortical structures. These signals can facilitate goal-directed behavior or the learning of new skills based on reinforcements. Here we show that neurons in the supplementary motor area (SMA), an area concerned with movements of the body and limbs, also carry a reward expectancy signal in the postsaccadic period of oculomotor tasks. While the monkeys performed blocks of memory-guided and object-based saccades, the neurons discharged a burst after a ∼200-ms delay following the target-acquiring saccade in the memory task but often fired concurrently with the target-acquiring saccade in the object task. The hypothesis that this postsaccadic bursting activity reflects the expectation of a reward was tested with a series of manipulations to the memory-guided saccade task. It was found that although the timing of the bursting activity corresponds to a visual feedback stimulus, the visual feedback is not required for the neurons to discharge a burst. Second, blocks of no-reward trials reveal an extinction of the bursting activity as the monkeys come to understand that they would not be rewarded for properly generated saccades. Finally, the delivery of unexpected rewards confirmed that in many of the neurons, the activity is not related to a motor plan to acquire the reward (e.g., licking). Thus we conclude that reward expectancy is represented by the activity of SMA neurons, even in the context of an oculomotor task. These results suggest that the reward expectancy signal is broadcast over a large extent of motor cortex, and may facilitate the learning of new, coordinated behavior between different body parts

Proof-theoretic Analysis of Rationality for Strategic Games with Arbitrary Strategy Sets

In the context of strategic games, we provide an axiomatic proof of the statement Common knowledge of rationality implies that the players will choose only strategies that survive the iterated elimination of strictly dominated strategies. Rationality here means playing only strategies one believes to be best responses. This involves looking at two formal languages. One is first-order, and is used to formalise optimality conditions, like avoiding strictly dominated strategies, or playing a best response. The other is a modal fixpoint language with expressions for optimality, rationality and belief. Fixpoints are used to form expressions for common belief and for iterated elimination of non-optimal strategies.Comment: 16 pages, Proc. 11th International Workshop on Computational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems (CLIMA XI). To appea

Buffer-gas induced absorption resonances in Rb vapor

We observe transformation of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance into the absorption resonance in a $\Lambda$ interaction configuration in a cell filled with $^{87}$Rb and a buffer gas. This transformation occurs as a one-photon detuning of the coupling fields is varied from the atomic transition. No such absorption resonance is found in the absence of a buffer gas. The width of the absorption resonance is several times smaller than the width of the EIT resonance, and the changes of absorption near these resonances are about the same. Similar absorption resonances are detected in the Hanle configuration in a buffered cell.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures; 13 pages, 17 figures, added numerical simulatio

Different effects of sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane on early and late left ventricular diastolic function in young healthy adults†

Background Knowledge on the effects of volatile anaesthetics on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in humans in vivo is limited. We tested the hypothesis that sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane do not impair LV diastolic function in young healthy humans. Methods Sixty otherwise healthy subjects (aged 18-48 yr) undergoing minor procedures under general anaesthesia were studied. After randomization for the anaesthetic, transthoracic echocardiographic examinations were performed at baseline and under anaesthesia with 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of the volatile anaesthetics during spontaneous breathing and intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV). Peak early (E′) and late (A′) diastolic velocities of the mitral annulus were studied as the main echocardiographic indicators of diastolic function. Results During anaesthesia with 1 MAC under spontaneous breathing, E′ increased with desflurane (P<0.001), was not significantly different with isoflurane (P=0.030), and decreased with sevoflurane (P=0.006). During IPPV, E′ was similar to baseline with desflurane (P=0.550), insignificantly decreased with isoflurane (P=0.029), and decreased with the sevoflurane group (P<0.001). In contrast, A′ was similarly reduced in all groups during spontaneous breathing without further changes during IPPV. Haemodynamic changes were comparable in all study groups. Conclusions The findings of this in vivo study indicate that desflurane and isoflurane, and most likely sevoflurane, have no relevant direct negative effect on early diastolic relaxation in young healthy humans. In contrast, all three volatile anaesthetics appear to impair late diastolic LV filling during atrial contraction. Trial Registration #: NCT002445

Experimental Implementation of the Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm for Three-Qubit Functions using Pure Coherent Molecular Superpositions

The Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm is experimentally demonstrated for three-qubit functions using pure coherent superpositions of Li$_{2}$ rovibrational eigenstates. The function's character, either constant or balanced, is evaluated by first imprinting the function, using a phase-shaped femtosecond pulse, on a coherent superposition of the molecular states, and then projecting the superposition onto an ionic final state, using a second femtosecond pulse at a specific time delay

Reinstated episodic context guides sampling-based decisions for reward.

How does experience inform decisions? In episodic sampling, decisions are guided by a few episodic memories of past choices. This process can yield choice patterns similar to model-free reinforcement learning; however, samples can vary from trial to trial, causing decisions to vary. Here we show that context retrieved during episodic sampling can cause choice behavior to deviate sharply from the predictions of reinforcement learning. Specifically, we show that, when a given memory is sampled, choices (in the present) are influenced by the properties of other decisions made in the same context as the sampled event. This effect is mediated by fMRI measures of context retrieval on each trial, suggesting a mechanism whereby cues trigger retrieval of context, which then triggers retrieval of other decisions from that context. This result establishes a new avenue by which experience can guide choice and, as such, has broad implications for the study of decisions