South Carolina Slave Prices, 1722-1809

Based on data from several samples of probate inventories we construct and analyze a time series of slave prices for South Carolina from 1722 to 1809. These estimates reveal that prices fluctuated without trend prior to the 1760s and then began to rise rapidly, more than doubling by the early nineteenth century. Estimates of supply and demand functions indicate that while long-run slave supply was highly elastic, the short-run supply function was quite inelastic. Our analysis of the slave price series indicates that the price of rice was the major determinant of the demand for slaves and in turn largely explains the rise in slave prices. These findings have important implications for the interpretation of evidence on rising yields in rice production over the eighteenth century and the sources of wealth accumulation in South Carolina.

Conjectural Estimates of Economic Growth in the Lower South, 1720 to 1800

This paper describes the first step in a larger project to build up regional estimates of economic growth before 1800 in the parts of North America that became the United States. In it we employ the method of conjectural estimation to develop new estimates of the rate of economic growth in the Lower South (modern day North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee) from 1720 to 1800 for both colonists and the Native American population of the region. Contrary to the widely held view that GDP per capita grew at a rate of 0.3 to 0.6 percent per year during the eighteenth century our best estimate is that per capita GDP grew at just 0.09 percent per year. Despite the slow growth of GDP per capita, however, the region's economy did achieve appreciable extensive growth, and achieving any advance in per capita production can be viewed as a significant accomplishment in light of the challenges that this growth posed for the economy. The difference between our estimate and those of previous studies appears to be the result of earlier scholars' undue focus on export performance. In contrast, our approach allows us to accurately account for the effect of the slowly growing domestic sector of the economy.

The Role of Exports in the Economy of Colonial North America: New Estimates for the Middle Colonies

Economic historians of the eighteenth-century British mainland North American colonies have given considerable weight to the role of exports as a stimulus for economic growth. Yet their analyses have been handicapped by reliance on one or two time series to serve as indicators of broader changes rather than considering the export sector as a whole. Here we construct comprehensive export measures for the middle colonies. We find that aggregate exports did grow quickly but that this expansion failed to keep pace with population growth during much of the period under consideration. We argue this result challenges the export staples model on the role of foreign demand as a stimulus for economic growth. Instead, these results emphasize the impact of resource abundance and labor and capital scarcity as the defining characteristics of colonial economic growth.

Role of protein kinase C-delta in the regulation of collagen gene expression in scleroderma fibroblasts

Working with cultured dermal fibroblasts derived from control individuals and patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), we have examined the effects of protein kinase C-delta (PKC-delta) on type I collagen biosynthesis and steady-state levels of COL1A1 and COL3A1 mRNAs. Rottlerin, a specific inhibitor of PKC-delta, exerted a powerful, dose-dependent inhibition of type I and type III collagen gene expression in normal and SSc cells. Optimal rottlerin concentrations caused a 70-90% inhibition of type I collagen production, a \u3e80% reduction in COL1A1 mRNA, and a \u3e70% reduction in COL3A1 mRNA in both cell types. In vitro nuclear transcription assays and transient transfections with COL1A1 promoter deletion constructs demonstrated that rottlerin profoundly reduced COL1A1 transcription and that this effect required a 129-bp promoter region encompassing nucleotides -804 to -675. This COL1A1 segment imparted rottlerin sensitivity to a heterologous promoter. Cotransfections of COL1A1 promoter constructs with a dominant-negative PKC-delta expression plasmid showed that suppression of this kinase silenced COL1A1 promoter activity. The results indicate that PKC-delta participates in the upregulation of collagen gene transcription in SSc and suggest that treatment with PKC-delta inhibitors could suppress fibrosis in this disease

Slave Prices and the South Carolina Economy, 1722–1809

Based on data from probate inventories we construct and analyze an annual time series of slave prices for South Carolina from 1722 to 1809. Comparison of South Carolina slave prices with those in other parts of the Western Hemisphere and the relationship between slave prices and slave imports indicate that while the long-run supply of slaves was highly elastic, over periods of one to two decades the supply curve was upward sloping. Comparison of our slave price series with an index of agricultural export prices indicates that labor productivity growth in agriculture was modest over the eighteenth century

Three dimensional rotational angiography imaging of double aortic arch vascular ring

Three dimensional (3D) rotational angiography is a technique used increasingly for imaging in congenital heart disease. Here the use of this technique for imaging of double aortic arch vascular ring is described and the advantages of this modality. are discussed. 3D rotational angiography is an excellent tool for imaging of various vascular anomalies. It provides high quality accurate images through a quick and safe procedure.peer-reviewe

FHIRChain: Applying Blockchain to Securely and Scalably Share Clinical Data

Secure and scalable data sharing is essential for collaborative clinical decision making. Conventional clinical data efforts are often siloed, however, which creates barriers to efficient information exchange and impedes effective treatment decision made for patients. This paper provides four contributions to the study of applying blockchain technology to clinical data sharing in the context of technical requirements defined in the "Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap" from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). First, we analyze the ONC requirements and their implications for blockchain-based systems. Second, we present FHIRChain, which is a blockchain-based architecture designed to meet ONC requirements by encapsulating the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard for shared clinical data. Third, we demonstrate a FHIRChain-based decentralized app using digital health identities to authenticate participants in a case study of collaborative decision making for remote cancer care. Fourth, we highlight key lessons learned from our case study

Cognitive architectures as Lakatosian research programmes: two case studies

Cognitive architectures - task-general theories of the structure and function of the complete cognitive system - are sometimes argued to be more akin to frameworks or belief systems than scientific theories. The argument stems from the apparent non-falsifiability of existing cognitive architectures. Newell was aware of this criticism and argued that architectures should be viewed not as theories subject to Popperian falsification, but rather as Lakatosian research programs based on cumulative growth. Newell's argument is undermined because he failed to demonstrate that the development of Soar, his own candidate architecture, adhered to Lakatosian principles. This paper presents detailed case studies of the development of two cognitive architectures, Soar and ACT-R, from a Lakatosian perspective. It is demonstrated that both are broadly Lakatosian, but that in both cases there have been theoretical progressions that, according to Lakatosian criteria, are pseudo-scientific. Thus, Newell's defense of Soar as a scientific rather than pseudo-scientific theory is not supported in practice. The ACT series of architectures has fewer pseudo-scientific progressions than Soar, but it too is vulnerable to accusations of pseudo-science. From this analysis, it is argued that successive versions of theories of the human cognitive architecture must explicitly address five questions to maintain scientific credibility

The Evolution of Grocery Wholesaling and Grocery Wholesalers in Ireland and Britain since the 1930s

Studies of industry evolution are relatively scarce outside of industries defined by narrow technological bases. Studies of wholesaling are rarer still. These are curious features given that it is probable that service industries behave differently to manufacturing ones and that wholesaling is such a key function of many economies. This paper looks at the evolution of grocery wholesaling and grocery wholesalers in Ireland and Britain since 1930. It focuses on the processes and drivers of the wholesale industry. Similarities and differences between the two countries are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of government action as a triggering mechanism for change and on the role of trade associations and industry leaders in developing and following through on market and non-market strategies. The pathways of industry evolution identified differ from those seen in manufacturing. They therefore raise a number of issues for the development of understanding and conceptualisation in industry evolution studies