Landholding. Rural Fertility and Internal Migration in Developing Countries: Econometric Evidence from Cross-National Data

We develop an empirical model of the interaction of rural fertility and rural urban migration which incorporates the effects of landholding patterns. Cross section data for 26 developing countries are used to test the model. The statistical results support the hypothesis of a positive relationship between fertility and out-migration in the rural sector and lend credence to some of the propositions regarding the impact of landholding patterns. A reduced form of the model is derived from the statistical results, and its policy implications are considered

CpG Island microarray probe sequences derived from a physical library are representative of CpG Islands annotated on the human genome

An effective tool for the global analysis of both DNA methylation status and protein–chromatin interactions is a microarray constructed with sequences containing regulatory elements. One type of array suited for this purpose takes advantage of the strong association between CpG Islands (CGIs) and gene regulatory regions. We have obtained 20 736 clones from a CGI Library and used these to construct CGI arrays. The utility of this library requires proper annotation and assessment of the clones, including CpG content, genomic origin and proximity to neighboring genes. Alignment of clone sequences to the human genome (UCSC hg17) identified 9595 distinct genomic loci; 64% were defined by a single clone while the remaining 36% were represented by multiple, redundant clones. Approximately 68% of the loci were located near a transcription start site. The distribution of these loci covered all 23 chromosomes, with 63% overlapping a bioinformatically identified CGI. The high representation of genomic CGI in this rich collection of clones supports the utilization of microarrays produced with this library for the study of global epigenetic mechanisms and protein–chromatin interactions. A browsable database is available on-line to facilitate exploration of the CGIs in this library and their association with annotated genes or promoter elements

Phase II study of gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin as first-line chemotherapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

This phase II study evaluated the response rate and tolerability of gemcitabine–oxaliplatin chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Chemonaive patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC received gemcitabine 1000 mg m−2 on days 1 and 8, followed by oxaliplatin 130 mg m−2 on day 1. Cycles were repeated every 21 days for up to six cycles. From February 2002 to May 2004, 60 patients were enrolled into the study in seven Italian institutions. We observed one complete response (1.7%) and 14 partial responses (23.3%), for an overall response rate of 25.0% (95% confidence interval, 14.7–37.9%). The median duration of response was 5.9 months (range 1.5–17.1 months). With a median follow-up of 6.7 months, median time to progressive disease and overall survival were 2.7 (range 1.9–3.4 months) and 7.3 months (range 7.2–8.6 months), respectively. The main grade 3–4 haematological toxicities were transient neutropenia in 11.7% and thrombocytopenia in 8.3% of the patients. Nausea/vomiting was the main grade 3–4 nonhaematological toxicity, occurring in 10.0% of the patients. Two (3.3%) patients developed grade 3 neurotoxicity. Our results show that gemcitabine–oxaliplatin chemotherapy is active and well tolerated in patients with advanced NSCLC, deserving further study, especially for patients not eligible to receive cisplatin

Stress-Induced PARP Activation Mediates Recruitment of Drosophila Mi-2 to Promote Heat Shock Gene Expression

Eukaryotic cells respond to genomic and environmental stresses, such as DNA damage and heat shock (HS), with the synthesis of poly-[ADP-ribose] (PAR) at specific chromatin regions, such as DNA breaks or HS genes, by PAR polymerases (PARP). Little is known about the role of this modification during cellular stress responses. We show here that the nucleosome remodeler dMi-2 is recruited to active HS genes in a PARP–dependent manner. dMi-2 binds PAR suggesting that this physical interaction is important for recruitment. Indeed, a dMi-2 mutant unable to bind PAR does not localise to active HS loci in vivo. We have identified several dMi-2 regions which bind PAR independently in vitro, including the chromodomains and regions near the N-terminus containing motifs rich in K and R residues. Moreover, upon HS gene activation, dMi-2 associates with nascent HS gene transcripts, and its catalytic activity is required for efficient transcription and co-transcriptional RNA processing. RNA and PAR compete for dMi-2 binding in vitro, suggesting a two step process for dMi-2 association with active HS genes: initial recruitment to the locus via PAR interaction, followed by binding to nascent RNA transcripts. We suggest that stress-induced chromatin PARylation serves to rapidly attract factors that are required for an efficient and timely transcriptional response

Determinants of International Differences in Education Effort

The vital role played by education as an input in the processes of economic growth and development has been extensively documented. Much less attention has been given to the determinants of the amount of education produced, even though the persistence of extremely large international differences in this respect is common knowledge and there is continuing, widespread concern with the severe education deficiencies of many less-developed countries. The present paper represents an attempt to identify and measure these determinants, as they operate within an international cross-section, and to place them within a systematic framework. It is hoped that both the substantive results and the methodology will contribute to further investigation of a topic which remains incompletely explored.Center for Research on Economic Development, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101059/1/ECON494.pd