The More Kids, the Less Mom's Divvy: Impact of Childbirth on Intrahousehold Resource Allocation

Singapore MOE Academic Research Tier 1Published in Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2013, 75 (3), 1362-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2012.00699.x</p

Arrow-Fisher-Hanemann-Henry and Dixit-Pindyck option values under strategic interactions

Published in Strategic Behavior and the Environment, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1561/102.00000028</p

Quasi-option Value under Strategic Interactions

We consider a simple two-period model with irreversible investment with strategic interactions. In this setup, we try to extend the concept of the quasi-option value (QOV) by Arrow and Fisher (1974), Henry (1974), Fisher and Hanemann (1987) and Hanemann (1989) to a game-theoretic situation. In doing so, we demostrate some conceptual difficulties with the QOV, and stress the potential importance of information-induced inefficiency. We also show that this inefficiency can be remedied by incorporating sophisticated control of information flow. Our model is potentially applicable to various global environmental problems.Biodiversity, Irreversibility, Quasi-option value, Uncertainty, Value of Information

GATA2 zinc finger 2 mutation found in acute myeloid leukemia impairs myeloid differentiation

AbstractWe identified two novel GATA2 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). One mutation (p.R308P-GATA2) was a R308P substitution within the zinc finger (ZF)-1 domain, and the other (p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2) was an eight-amino-acid insertion between A350 and N351 residues within the ZF-2 domain. p.R308P-GATA2 did not affect DNA-binding and transcriptional activities, while p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2 reduced them, and impaired G-CSF-induced granulocytic differentiation of 32D cells. Although p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2 did not show a dominant-negative effect over wild-type (Wt)–GATA2 by the reporter assay, it might be involved in the pathophysiology of AML by impairing myeloid differentiation because of little Wt-GATA2 expression in primary AML cells harboring the p.A350_N351ins8 mutation

Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Malignant Salivary Gland Tumors: Lessons Learned from Breast Cancer

Malignant salivary gland tumors (MSGTs) account for 2–6% of all head and neck cancers. Despite the rarity, MSGTs have been of great interest due to a wide variety of pathological features and high metastasis rates resulting in poor prognosis. Surgical resection followed by radiation therapy represents the main treatment of this malignancy. Adjuvant therapy is reserved for the management of local recurrence, no longer amenable to additional local therapy, and for metastasis. Based on the studies from other types of tumors, particularly breast cancer, the expression and function of sex steroid hormone receptors in cancer have been extensively studied and applied to diagnosis and treatment. Although a number of studies in MSGTs have been published, the rationale for hormone therapy is still controversial due to the disparate results and insufficient number of cases. However, some recent reports have demonstrated that certain salivary gland neoplasms are similar to breast cancer, not only in terms of the pathological features, but also at the molecular level. Here, we shed light on the biological similarity between MSGTs and certain types of breast cancer, and describe the potential use of hormone and additional therapies for MSGTs

Marked motor function improvement in a 32-year-old woman with childhood-onset hypophosphatasia by asfotase alfa therapy: Evaluation based on standardized testing batteries used in Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinical trials

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare disorder resulting from biallelic loss-of-function variants or monoallelic dominant negative variants in the ALPL gene. We herein describe the clinical outcome of a 32-year-old woman with childhood-onset HPP caused by compound heterozygous variants in ALPL. Her chief complaints were severe musculoskeletal pain, muscle weakness, and impaired daily activities necessitating assistance in housework and child-rearing in addition to a history of early tooth loss and mildly short stature. Asfotase alfa therapy produced a remarkable increase in muscle strength and daily activities and markedly reduced musculoskeletal pain. Drug efficacy was clearly demonstrated through multiple test batteries (muscle strength test using microFET®2, six-minute walking test, Stair Climb Test, rising-from-floor-time test, and number-of-steps test using Actigraph®) currently adopted as standardized evaluations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinical trials since no test batteries for HPP have been established to date. These tests may also be promising for the assessment of HPP

Suzaku observation of Jupiter's X-rays around solar maximum

We report on results of imaging and spectral studies of X-ray emission from Jupiter observed by Suzaku. In 2006 Suzaku had found diffuse X-ray emission in 1\unicode{x2013}5 keV associated with Jovian inner radiation belts. It has been suggested that the emission is caused by the inverse-Compton scattering by ultra-relativistic electrons ($\sim 50$ MeV) in Jupiter's magnetosphere. To confirm the existence of this emission and to understand its relation to the solar activity, we conducted an additional Suzaku observation in 2014 around the maximum of the 24th solar cycle. As a result, we successfully found again the diffuse emission around Jupiter in 1\unicode{x2013}5 keV and also point-like emission in 0.4\unicode{x2013}1 keV. The luminosity of the point-like emission which was probably composed of solar X-ray scattering, charge exchange, or auroral bremsstrahlung emission increased by a factor of $\sim 5$ with respect to 2006, most likely due to an increase of the solar activity. The diffuse emission spectrum in the 1\unicode{x2013}5 keV band was well-fitted with a flat power-law function ($\Gamma = 1.4 \pm 0.1$) as in the past observation, which supported the inverse-Compton scattering hypothesis. However, its spatial distribution changed from $\sim 12 \times 4$ Jovian radius (Rj) to $\sim 20 \times 7$ Rj. The luminosity of the diffuse emission increased by a smaller factor of $\sim 3$. This indicates that the diffuse emission is not simply responding to the solar activity, which is also known to cause little effect on the distribution of high-energy electrons around Jupiter. Further sensitive study of the spatial and spectral distributions of the diffuse hard X-ray emission is important to understand how high-energy particles are accelerated in Jupiter's magnetosphere.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Effect of the Combination of Whole-Body Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Voluntary Exercise on Metabolic Responses in Human

PurposeSince neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can recruit high-threshold motor units and enhance glucose metabolism, the combination of NMES and voluntary low-intensity exercise would induce both anerobic and aerobic energy consumptions and this type of exercise could be more efficient and effective than conventional exercise regimens. We aimed to investigate metabolic responses and muscle fatigue during whole body NMES (WB-NMES), voluntary exercise, and their combination.MethodsThe blood lactate concentration and maximal voluntary contraction were measured before and after specified exercises: WB-NMES (E), voluntary exercise (V), and their combination (VE), and expired gas was sampled during the exercises in thirteen healthy young men. Each exercise was conducted for 15 min and interval between exercise was &gt; 48h.ResultsEnergy expenditure and V˙O2 relative to the body mass during VE were significantly higher than during V and E (p &lt; 0.05). The Respiratory gas exchange ratio (RER) during both E and VE was higher than during V (p &lt; 0.05), and the blood lactate concentration after VE was significantly higher than after V and E (p &lt; 0.05). Although V˙O2 relative to the body mass was 18.6 ± 3.1 ml/min/kg and the metabolic equivalent was 5.31 ± 0.89 Mets, the blood lactate concentration reached 7.5 ± 2.7 mmol/L after VE.ConclusionThese results suggest that the combination of WB-NMES and voluntary exercise can enhance the metabolic response to a level equivalent to high intensity exercise under the net physiological burden of low-middle intensity exercises