Son Preference In Indian Families: Absolute Versus Relative Wealth Effects

The desire for male children is prevalent in India, where son preference has been shown to affect fertility behavior and intrahousehold allocation of resources. Economic theory predicts less gender discrimination in wealthier households, but demographers and sociologists have argued that wealth can exacerbate bias in the Indian context. I argue that these apparently conflicting theories can be reconciled and simultaneously tested if one considers that they are based on two different notions of wealth: one related to resource constraints (absolute wealth), and the other to notions of local status (relative wealth). Using cross-sectional data from the 1998-1999 and 2005-2006 National Family and Health Surveys, I construct measures of absolute and relative wealth by using principal components analysis. A series of statistical models of son preference is estimated by using multilevel methods. Results consistently show that higher absolute wealth is strongly associated with lower son preference, and the effect is 20%-40% stronger when the household\u27s community-specific wealth score is included in the regression. Coefficients on relative wealth are positive and significant although lower in magnitude. Results are robust to using different samples, alternative groupings of households in local areas, different estimation methods, and alternative dependent variables

Inter-temporal and spatial choice between ground and surface water in municipalities with land subsidence

The impact of land subsidence on optimal inter-temporal use of groundwater is analyzed for a growing city where surface water is a feasible alternative and the goal is to maximize net social benefits. The problem is dynamic, since pumping and subsidence externalities increase costs in all future periods when groundwater is mined. It is also spatial because surface water costs increase with distance. The distance to which surface water is delivered is shown to depend on population densities, city size, and the proportion of surface water to groundwater use. The model is solved using dynamic programming and numerical techniques. Parameter values are chosen to simulate the case of Houston. The demand side is specified using consumer surplus from a Stone-Geary demand function, estimated with panel data. The simulation results confirm the analytical predictions that at first only groundwater is used and as demand grows, water levels go down and subsidence occurs. When the social marginal cost of groundwater reaches the marginal cost of surface water, it becomes optimal to use surface water. Because of increasing returns to scale in water treatment, surface water is used in large quantities right away. A period follows during which water levels increase and subsidence stops. Water levels start decreasing again when decreasing returns to dispersion dominate. Unless a water treatment plant is built in a different location, the use of groundwater keeps increasing and subsidence eventually resumes. The simulations indicate that if surface and groundwater have been used optimally in Houston, the discount rate must be low or subsidence costs are assumed very high. The recent reversal in water level declines is explained by increasing returns in treatment but because of increasing dispersion water levels should be allowed to drop again, as long as new treatment plants are built in different locations before subsidence resumes

Demand Specification for Municipal Water Management: Evaluation of the Stone-Geary Form

To specify demand in most water allocation problems, researchers face a tradeoff between flexibility and parsimony. Flexible forms are less constraining on elasticity estimates, but require large parameter sets that tend to cause poor out-of-sample forecasts and computational difficulties. Using a five-year panel of Texas municipalities, the parsimonious Stone-Geary form yields estimated demand functions that are comparable to flexible form results. The Stone-Geary specification also provides an estimate of the portion of water use that may not be responsive to price, and is useful in analysing price structures and designing conservation policies.

Using costing to facilitate policy making towards Universal Health Coverage: findings and recommendations from country-level experiences

As countries progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), they frequently develop explicit packages of health services compatible with UHC goals. As part of the Disease Control Initiative 3 Country Translation project, a systematic survey instrument was developed and used to review the experience of five low-income and lower-middle-income countries-Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan-in estimating the cost of their proposed packages. The paper highlights the main results of the survey, providing information about how costing exercises were conducted and used and what country teams perceived to be the main challenges. Key messages are identified to facilitate similar exercises and improve their usefulness. Critical challenges to be addressed include inconsistent application of costing methods, measurement errors and data reliability issues, the lack of adequate capacity building, and the lack of integration between costing and budgeting. The paper formulates four recommendations to address these challenges: (1) developing more systematic guidance and standard ways to implement costing methodologies, particularly regarding the treatment of health systems-related common costs, (2) acknowledging ranges of uncertainty of costing results and integrating sensitivity analysis, (3) building long-term capacity at the local level and institutionalising the costing process in order to improve both reliability and policy relevance, and (4) closely linking costing exercises to public budgeting

Stemness markers characterize IGR-CaP1, a new cell line derived from primary epithelial prostate cancer

International audienceDeciphering molecular pathways involved in the early steps of prostate oncogenesis requires both in vitro and in vivo models derived from human primary tumors. However the few recognized models of human prostate epithelial cancer originate from metastases. To date, very few models are proposed from primary tumors and immortalizing normal human prostate cells does not recapitulate the natural history of the disease. By culturing human prostate primary tumor cells onto human epithelial extra-cellular matrix, we successfully selected a new prostate cancer cell line, IGR-CaP1, and clonally-derived subclones. IGR-CaP1 cells, that harbor a tetraploid karyotype, high telomerase activity and mutated TP53, rapidly induced subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. Furthermore, IGR-CaP1 cell lines, all exhibiting negativity for the androgen receptor and PSA, express the specific prostate markers alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase and a low level of the prostate-specific membrane antigen PSMA, along with the prostate basal epithelial markers CK5 and CK14. More importantly, these clones express high CD44, CD133, and CXCR4 levels associated with high expression of α2β1-integrin and Oct4 which are reported to be prostate cancer stemness markers. RT-PCR data also revealed high activation of the Sonic Hedgehog signalling pathway in these cells. Additionally, the IGR-CaP1 cells possess a 3D sphere-forming ability and a renewal capacity by maintaining their CSC potential after xenografting in mice. As a result, the hormone-independent IGR-CaP1 cellular clones exhibit the original features of both basal prostate tissue and cancer stemness. Tumorigenic IGR-CaP1 clones constitute invaluable human models for studying prostate cancer progression and drug assessment in vitro as well as in animals specifically for developing new therapeutic approaches targeting prostate cancer stem cells

Appel nominal sur la question : "y a-t-il lieu à accusation contre le représentant du peuple Carrier ?", lors de la séance du 3 frimaire an III (23 novembre 1794)

Delaunay Pierre-Marie, Bernard de Saintes, Dugenne François-Elie, Pénières Jean Augustin, Bourdon (du Loiret), Guérin Pierre, Lombard-Lachaux Pierre, Le Clerc Claude-Nicolas, Dartigoeyte Pierre-Arnaud, Veau de Launay Pierre Louis Athanase, Bodin Pierre-Joseph-François, Duval Charles-François-Marie, Sevestre Joseph-Marie-François, Cambon Pierre-Joseph, Bousquet François, Ichon Pierre-Louis, Chazal Jean-Pierre, Chambon [La Tour] Jean Michel, Julien Jean, Lomont Claude-Jean-Baptiste, Bô Jean-Baptiste, Gaston Raymond, Clauzel Jean-Baptiste, Belley Jean-Baptiste, Jeannest Pierre-Edme-Nicolas, Bourbotte Pierre, Maure Nicolas-Sylvestre, Montégut Etienne-François-Sébastien, Pémartin Joseph, Romme Gilbert, Billaud-Varenne, Fréron Louis-marie-stanislas, Collot d'Herbois Jean-Marie, Boyaval Charles-Louis-Laurent, Lesage-Senault Gaspard-Jean-Joseph, Duhem Pierre-Joseph, Lefiot Jean-Alban, Thirion Didier, Couturier Jacob, Lequinio Marie-Joseph, Génin Jean françois, Roussel Claude-Jean De La Porte-Latine, Legendre (de Paris) Louis, Laurent Claude-hilaire, Bentabole Pierre-Louis, Pointe Noël, Patrin Eugène-melchior-louis, Le Cointre Laurent, Tallien Jean-Lambert, Chénier Marie-Joseph de, Dupuis Charles-françois, Albitte Antoine-Louis, Lofficial Louis-Prosper, Gaudin Joseph-Marie-Jacques-François, Maignen François, Ingrand François-Pierre, Milhaud Jean-Baptiste. Appel nominal sur la question : "y a-t-il lieu à accusation contre le représentant du peuple Carrier ?", lors de la séance du 3 frimaire an III (23 novembre 1794). In: Archives Parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 - Première série (1787-1799) Tome CII - Du 1er au 12 frimaire An III (21 novembre au 2 décembre 1794) Paris : CNRS éditions, 2012. pp. 99-117

SEIS first year: nm/s^2 (and less) broadband seismology on Mars and first steps in Mars-Earth-Moon comparative seismology. (Invited)

AGU Fall Meeting 2019 in San Francisco , 9-13 December 2019EIS/InSIght teamInSight is the first planetary mission with a seismometer package, SEIS, since the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package. SEIS is complimented by APSS, which has as a goal to document the atmospheric source of seismic noise and signals. Since June 2019, SEIS has been delivering 6 axis 20 sps continuous seismic data, a rate one order of magnitude larger originally planned. More than 50 events have been detected by the end of July 2019 but only three have amplitudes significantly above the SEIS instrument requirement. Two have clear and coherent arrivals of P and S waves, enabling location, diffusion/attenuation characterization and receiver function analysis. The event¿s magnitudes are likely ¿ 3 and no clear surface waves nor deep interior phases have been identified. This suggests deep events with scattering along their final propagation paths and with large propagation differences as compared to Earth and Moon quakes. Most of the event¿s detections are made possible due to the very low noise achieved by the instrument installation strategy and the very low VBB self-noise. Most of the SEIS signals have amplitudes of spectral densities in the 0.03-5Hz frequency bandwidth ranging from 10-10 m/s2/Hz1/2 to 5 10-9 m/s2/Hz1/2. The smallest noise levels occurs during the early night, with angstrom displacements or nano-radian tilts. This monitors the elastic and seismic interaction of a planetary surface with its atmosphere, illustrated not only by a wide range of SEIS signals correlated with pressure vortexes, dust devils or wind activity but also by modulation of resonances above 1 Hz, amplified by ultra-low velocity surface layers. After about one half of a Martian year, clear seasonal changes appear also in the noise, which will be discussed. One year after landing, the seismic noise is therefore better and better understood, and noise correction techniques begun to be implemented, either thanks to the APSS wind and pressure sensors, or by SEIS only data processing techniques. These data processing techniques open not only the possibility of better signal to noise ratio of the events, but are also used for various noise auto-correlation techniques as well as searches of long period signals. Noise and seismic signals on Mars are therefore completely different from what seismology encountered previously on Earth and Moon