Media, markets and institutional change: evidence from the Protestant Reformation

This research studies the role of competition in the diffusion of radical ideas and institutional change during the Protestant Reformation. We construct a new measure of religious content in the media using data on all known books and pamphlets printed in German-speaking Europe 1454-1600. We find that Protestant content was produced in greater quantity in local media markets with more competing firms when Martin Luther circulated his initial arguments for reform in 1517. We find that competition mattered differentially more for the diffusion of Protestant ideas and for institutional change where city governments had the least legal autonomy from feudal lords. We document the relationship between competition and diffusion directly and using the deaths of printers to isolate plausibly exogenous variation in competition. We show that cities where initial competition was greater, and which were more exposed to Protestant ideas, were more likely to adopt the legal institutions of the Reformation

Learning by Doing: Transitioning Healthcare Technology Innovations from MIT Labs to Resource-Scarce Communities

The affordability and accessibility of healthcare innovations is critical for the well-being of resourcescarce communities around the world. Yet little research centers on precisely how and when financial, material, and logistical resource constraints enter the design cycle producing such innovations. MIT labs across engineering and science departments, where novel research on healthcare technologies is strong, offer an ideal environment from which to explore how technological innovations from an academic lab translate into the real world and whether the resource constraints of low-income communities are used as a design input. This study is especially pertinent to my own work in healthcare technology innovation: I am designing and building a low-cost sickle cell disease diagnostic to be used in sub-Saharan Africa where sickle cell disease prevalence is high but there is a lack of diagnoses due in part to the cost of testing. As a student currently designing a product for explicit use in resource-scarce areas, I aimed to learn how MIT faculty, research scientists, and students have designed and implemented their products to be valuable to communities in need. My diagnostic project thus acts as the client project for this thesis. By interviewing women across Africa and Asia about women’s and children’s health in slums, settings of deep and growing income and resource scarcity and inequality, I gained an understanding of the need for accessible and affordable healthcare in areas where my diagnostic would be implemented. Through qualitative interviews with MIT scholars, the thesis explores how and when scarcity on the ground influences work, but also highlights the importance of incorporating the ability to manufacture and distribute new technologies, to consider systemic constraints, and to understand the needs of potential partners and stakeholders in the design of an innovation. Informed by participatory principles and a prioritization of situated knowledge in urban planning, this thesis shows how research and practice can be combined reflexively in the fields of global health and engineering to create a practical and implementable product in an academic lab with impact for some of the most marginalized communities in need of healthcare improvements.M.C.P

New media and competition: printing and Europe's transformation after Gutenberg

We study the role of book content in economic, religious, and institutional development after the introduction of printing, and the role of competition in determining the amount and content of local printing. We focus on (1) business education content and (2) religious ideas during the Protestant Reformation. We construct data on printing output and competition in European cities 1454-1600.We document positive relationships between business education content and city growth, and Protestant content and institutional change. We find competition predicts content. We confirm the relationships between competition, content, and outcomes using printer deaths as a source of exogenous variation

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in the Acute Care Surgery Model: Risk Factors for Complications

Background: The Acute Care Surgery (ACS) model developed during the last decade fuses critical care, trauma, and emergency general surgery. ACS teams commonly perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for acute biliary disease. This study reviewed LCs performed by an ACS service focusing on risk factors for complications in the emergent setting. Methods: All patients who underwent LC on an ACS service during a 26-month period were identified. Demographic, perioperative, and complication data were collected and analyzed with Fisher\u27s exact test, χ 2 test, and Mann-Whitney U Test. Results: During the study period, 547 patients (70.2% female, mean age 46.1±18.1, mean body mass index 32.4±7.8 kg/m 2 ) had LC performed for various acute indications. Mean surgery time was 77.9±50.2 minutes, and 5.7% of cases were performed after hours. Rate of conversion to open procedure was 6%. Complications seen included minor bile leaks (3.8%), infection (3.8%), retained gallstones (1.1%), organ injury (1.1%), major duct injury (0.9%), and postoperative bleeding (0.9%). Statistical analysis demonstrated significant relationships between conversion, length of surgery, age, gender, and intraoperative cholangiogram with various complications. No significant relationships were detected between complications and BMI, pregnancy, attending experience, and time of operation. Discussion: Although several statistically significant relationships were identified between several risk factors and complications, these findings have limited clinical significance. Factors including attending years in practice and time of the operation were not associated with increased complications. ACS services are capable of performing a high volume of LCs for emergent indications with low complication and conversion rates.-Level of evidence:IV. Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared

DiOLISTIC Labeling of Neurons from Rodent and Non-human Primate Brain Slices

DiOLISTIC staining uses the gene gun to introduce fluorescent dyes, such as DiI, into neurons of brain slices (Gan et al., 2009; O'Brien and Lummis, 2007; Gan et al., 2000). Here we provide a detailed description of each step required together with exemplary images of good and bad outcomes that will help when setting up the technique. In our experience, a few steps proved critical for the successful application of DiOLISTICS. These considerations include the quality of the DiI-coated bullets, the extent of fixative exposure, and the concentration of detergent used in the incubation solutions. Tips and solutions for common problems are provided

Interaction of the Tyrosine Kinase Pyk2 with the N -Methyl-d-aspartate Receptor Complex via the Src Homology 3 Domains of PSD-95 and SAP102

The protein-tyrosine kinase Pyk2/CAKbeta/CADTK is a key activator of Src in many cells. At hippocampal synapses, induction of long term potentiation requires the Pyk2/Src signaling pathway, which up-regulates the activity of N-methyl-d-aspartate-type glutamate receptors. Because localization of protein kinases close to their substrates is crucial for effective phosphorylation, we investigated how Pyk2 might be recruited to the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor complex. This interaction is mediated by PSD-95 and its homolog SAP102. Both proteins colocalize with Pyk2 at postsynaptic dendritic spines in the cerebral cortex. The proline-rich regions in the C-terminal half of Pyk2 bind to the SH3 domain of PSD-95 and SAP102. The SH3 and guanylate kinase homology (GK) domain of PSD-95 and SAP102 interact intramolecularly, but the physiological significance of this interaction has been unclear. We show that Pyk2 effectively binds to the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain of SAP102 only when the GK domain is removed from the SH3 domain. Characterization of PSD-95 and SAP102 as adaptor proteins for Pyk2 fills a critical gap in the understanding of the spatial organization of the Pyk2-Src signaling pathway at the postsynaptic site and reveals a physiological function of the intramolecular SH3-GK domain interaction in SAP102