On the Heterogeneity of Dowry Motives

Dowries have been modeled as pre-mortem bequests to daughters or as groom-prices paid to in-laws. These two classes of models yield mutually exclusive predictions, but empirical tests of these predictions have been mixed. We argue that the heterogeneity of findings can be explained by a heterogeneous world--some households use dowries as a bequest and others use dowries as a price. We estimate a model with heterogeneous dowry motives and use the predictions from the competing theories in an exogenous switching regression to place households in the price or bequest regime. Our empirical strategy generates multiple, independent checks on the validity of regime assignment. Using retrospective marriage data from rural Bangladesh, we find robust evidence of heterogeneity in dowry motives in the population; that bequest dowries have declined in prevalence and amount over time; and that bequest households are better off compared to price households on a variety of welfare measures.

The prostitute's allure: Examining returns to beauty, productivity and discrimination

We estimate the earnings premium for beauty in an occupation where returns to physical attractiveness are likely to be important: commercial sex work. In the commercial sex market, perhaps more so than any other sector in the labor market, the beauty premium should be at the extreme due to the intimate interpersonal relationships required with clients. Therefore, the commercial sex sector provides the cleanest test for whether the beauty premium is driven solely by productivity. Somewhat surprisingly we find estimates that lie close to or comfortably within those for non-sex workers around the world. In fact, the estimated premium for above average beauty is only slightly larger than that estimated for women elsewhere, and the penalty for below average looks lies comfortably within the range of existing findings. We show that the beauty premium in the commercial sex market stems both from productivity and discrimination. In addition, including controls for personal characteristics (communication ability and desirability of personality) cuts the beauty premium by up to one-half. Our findings suggest that beauty premiums might be overestimated if measures akin to those in our dataset are not included in beauty regressions

Is There Dowry Inflation in South Asia?

This paper is the first systematic attempt to measure the existence and degree of dowry inflation in South Asia. The popular press and scholarly literature have assumed dowry inflation in South Asia for some time, and there are now a number of theoretical papers that have attempted to explain the rise of dowries in South Asia. Despite these advances, there has been no systematic study of dowry inflation. Using large-sample retrospective survey data from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, we assess the empirical evidence for dowry infllation. We find no evidence that real dowry amounts have systematically increased over time in South Asia.

(Carbonato-κ2 O,O′)bis­(5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl-κ2 N,N′)cobalt(III) bromide trihydrate

In the title complex, [Co(CO3)(C12H12N2)2]Br·3H2O, the CoIII cation has a distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. It is chelated by four N atoms of two different 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (dmbpy) ligands in axial and equatorial positions, and by two O atoms of a carbonate anion completing the equatorial positions. Although the water mol­ecules are disordered and their H atoms were not located, there are typical O⋯O distances between 2.8 and 3.0 Å, indicating O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding. The crystal packing is consolidated by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds, as well as π–π stacking inter­actions between adjacent pyridine rings of the dmbpy ligands, with centroid–centroid distances of 3.694 (3) and 3.7053 (3) Å

Reducing User Perceived Latency in Smart Phones Exploiting IP Network Diversity

The Fifth Generation (5G) wireless networks set its standard to provide very high data rates, Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and significantly improved Quality of Service (QoS). 5G networks and beyond will power up billions of connected devices as it expands wireless services to edge computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet protocol suite continues its evolution from IPv4 addresses to IPv6 addresses by increasing the adoption rate and prioritizing IPv6. Hence, Internet Service Providers (ISP's) are using the address transition method called dual-stack to prioritize the IPv6 while supporting the existing IPv4. But this causes more connectivity overhead in dual-stack as compared to the single-stack network due to its preference schema towards the IPv6. The dual-stack network increases the Domain Name System (DNS) resolution and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection time that results in higher page loading time, thereby significantly impacting the user experience. Hence, we propose a novel connectivity mechanism, called NexGen Connectivity Optimizer (NexGenCO), which redesigns the DNS resolution and TCP connection phases to reduce the user-perceived latency in the dual-stack network for mobile devices. Our solution utilizes the IP network diversity to improve connectivity through concurrency and intelligent caching. NexGenCO is successfully implemented in Samsung flagship devices with Android Pie and further evaluated using both simulated and live-air networks. It significantly reduces connectivity overhead and improves page loading time up to 18%

The multifaceted role of curcumin in cancer prevention and treatment

Despite significant advances in treatment modalities over the last decade, neither the incidence of the disease nor the mortality due to cancer has altered in the last thirty years. Available anti-cancer drugs exhibit limited efficacy, associated with severe side effects, and are also expensive. Thus identification of pharmacological agents that do not have these disadvantages is required. Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric (Curcumin longa), is one such agent that has been extensively studied over the last three to four decades for its potential anti-inflammatory and/or anti-cancer effects. Curcumin has been found to suppress initiation, progression, and metastasis of a variety of tumors. These anti-cancer effects are predominantly mediated through its negative regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other oncogenic molecules. It also abrogates proliferation of cancer cells by arresting them at different phases of the cell cycle and/or by inducing their apoptosis. The current review focuses on the diverse molecular targets modulated by curcumin that contribute to its efficacy against various human cancers

Synthesis and characterization of Sn‑doped TiO2 flm for antibacterial applications

Simple sol–gel method has been exploited to deposit Sn-doped TiO2 thin flms on glass substrates. The resultant coatings were characterized by X-ray difraction (XRD), UV–visible techniques (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and photoluminescence analysis (PL). The XRD pattern reveals an increase in crystallite size of the prepared samples with the increasing doping concentration. A decrease in doping concentrating resulted in the decrease in bandgap values. The diferent chemical bonds on these flms were identifed from their FTIR spectra. The photoluminescence analysis shows an increase in the emission peak intensity with increasing dopant concentration, and this can be attributed to the efect created due to surface states. The prepared samples were tested as antibacterial agent toward both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria like S.aureus (Staphylococcus aureus) and E.coli (Escherichia coli), respectively. The size of the inhibition zones indicates that the sample shows maximum inhibitory property toward E.coli when compared to S.aureus