The Disappearing Gender Gap: The Impact of Divorce, Wages, and Preferences on Education Choices and Women's Work

Women born in 1935 went to college significantly less than their male counterparts and married women's labor force participation (LFP) averaged 40% between the ages of thirty and forty. The cohort born twenty years later behaved very differently. The education gender gap was eliminated and married women's LFP averaged 70% over the same ages. In order to evaluate the quantitative contributions of the many significant changes in the economic environment, family structure, and social norms that occurred over this period, this paper develops a dynamic life-cycle model calibrated to data relevant to the 1935 cohort. We find that the higher probability of divorce and the changes in wage structure faced by the 1955 cohort are each able to explain, in isolation, a large proportion (about 60%) of the observed changes in female LFP. After combining all economic and family structure changes, we find that a simple change in preferences towards work can account for the remaining change in LFP. To eliminate the education gender gap requires, on the other hand, for the psychic cost of obtaining higher education to change asymmetrically for women versus men.divorce, labor force participation, gender gap, education and skill premium

Combined electromagnetic and photoreaction modeling of CLD-1 photobleaching in polymer microring resonators

By combining a solid-state photoreaction model with the modal solutions of an optical waveguide, we simulate the refractive index change due to the photobleaching of CLD-1 chromophores in an amorphous polycarbonate microring resonator. The simulation agrees well with experimental results. The photobleaching quantum efficiency of the CLD-1 chromophores is determined to be 0.65%. The combined modeling of the electromagnetic wave propagation and photoreaction precisely illustrates the spatial and temporal evolution of the optical properties of the polymer material as manifested in the refractive index and their effects on the modal and physical properties of the optical devices

Electrical conductivity in the early universe

We solve numerically the Boltzmann equation in the early universe in the presence of a constant electric field and find the electrical conductivity $\sigma$ in the range 1\MeV\lsim T\lsim M_W. The main contribution to $\sigma$ is shown to be due to leptonic interactions. For T\lsim 100\MeV we find $\sigma\simeq 0.76T$ while at $T\simeq M_W$ we obtain $\sigma\simeq 6.7T$Comment: 7 pages in LaTe

The geometric complexity of special Lagrangian T2T^2-cones

We prove a number of results relating various measures (volume, Legendrian index, stability index, and spectral curve genus) of the geometric complexity of special Lagrangian $T^2$-cones. We explain how these results fit into a program to understand the "most common" three-dimensional isolated singularities of special Lagrangian submanifolds in almost Calabi-Yau manifolds.Comment: Revised version accepted for publication in Inventiones Mathematicae. 46 pages, 2 tables. Reference added relating to Theorem B. Section 3.4.2, section 4.2 and Appendix B streamlined. Typographical errors corrected and references update

Metabolomic Profiling to Identify Predictors of Response to Vitamin E for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)

Vitamin E was recently shown to improve hepatic histology in a randomized controlled trial of pioglitazone or vitamin E for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (PIVENS). The current study utilized samples collected in the PIVENS trial to identify: (1) baseline metabolomic profiles that could identify who would respond to vitamin E treatment and (2) end of treatment metabolomic profiles reflective of histologic improvement. A comprehensive analysis of metabolomics profiles (n = 547) quantified by mass spectrometry was performed in vitamin E responders (n = 16), vitamin E non-responders (n = 15), and placebo responders (n = 15). At baseline, phenyl-propionic acid (Odds ratio: 29.4, p\u3c0.01), indole-propionic acid levels (Odds ratio: 16.2, p\u3c0.01) were directly associated with a subsequent histologic response to vitamin E treatment whereas γ-carboxyethylhydroxychroman (CEHC) levels were inversely related to histologic response. Adjusting for baseline values by analysis of covariance, the end of treatment levels of gamma-glutamyl leucine (Fold change: 0.82, p\u3c0.02) and gamma-glutamyl valine (Fold change: 0.8, p\u3c0.03) were significantly lower in vitamin E responders compared to non-responders. The levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase were not significantly different across the two groups. Subjects receiving placebo who demonstrated a histologic improvement also demonstrated lower levels of gamma-glutamylated amino acids (leucine, valine and isoleucine) compared to vitamin E non-responders. These data provide exploratory proof that there are measurable differences in the metabolic profile of subjects who are likely (vs unlikely) to respond to vitamin E treatment for NASH and in those experiencing histologic improvement (vs no improvement) on treatment and support further studies to validate these biomarkers

Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) Helps Regulate EGF-induced Stimulation of S-phase Entry in Human Corneal Endothelial Cells

Purpose: Human corneal endothelial cells (HCEC), particularly from older donors, only proliferate weakly in response to EGF. The protein tyrosine phosphatase, PTP1B, is known to negatively regulate EGF-induced signaling in several cell types by dephosphorylating the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The current studies were conducted to determine whether PTP1B plays a role in regulating cell cycle entry in HCEC in response to EGF stimulation. Methods: Donor corneas were obtained from the National Disease Research Interchange and accepted for study based on established exclusion criteria. PTP1B was localized in the endothelium of ex vivo corneas and in cultured cells by immunocytochemistry. Western blot analysis verified PTP1B protein expression in HCEC and then compared the relative expression of EGFR and PTP1B in HCEC from young (60 years old). The effect of inhibiting the activity of PTP1B on S-phase entry was tested by comparing time-dependent BrdU incorporation in subconfluent HCEC incubated in the presence or absence of the PTP1B inhibitor, CinnGEL 2Me, before EGF stimulation. Results: PTP1B was localized in a punctate pattern mainly within the cytoplasm of HCEC in ex vivo corneas and cultured cells. Western blots revealed the presence of three PTP1B-positive bands in HCEC and the control. Further western blot analysis showed no significant age-related difference in expression of EGFR (p=0.444>0.05); however, PTP1B expression was significantly higher in HCEC from older donors (p=0.024<0.05). Pre-incubation of HCEC with the PTP1B inhibitor significantly increased (p=0.019<0.05) the number of BrdU positive cells by 48 h after EGF stimulation. Conclusions: Both immunolocalization and western blot studies confirmed that PTP1B is expressed in HCEC. Staining patterns strongly suggest that at least a subset of PTP1B is localized to the cytoplasm and most likely to the endoplasmic reticulum, the known site of EGFR/PTP1B interaction following EGF stimulation. PTP1B expression, but not EGFR expression, was elevated in HCEC from older donors, suggesting that the reduced proliferative activity of these cells in response to EGF is due, at least in part, to increased PTP1B activity. The fact that inhibition of PTP1B increased the relative number of cells entering S-phase strongly suggests that PTP1B helps negatively regulate EGF-stimulated cell cycle entry in HCEC. These results also suggest that it may be possible to increase the proliferative activity of HCEC, particularly in cells from older donors, by inhibiting the activity of this important protein tyrosine phosphatase

Cosmic Texture from a Broken Global SU(3) Symmetry

We investigate the observable consequences of creating cosmic texture by breaking a global SU(3) symmetry, rather than the SU(2) case which is generally studied. To this end, we study the nonlinear sigma model for a totally broken SU(3) symmetry, and develop a technique for numerically solving the classical field equations. This technique is applied in a cosmological context: the energy of the collapsing SU(3) texture field is used as a gravitational source for the production of perturbations in the primordial fluids of the early universe. From these calculations, we make predictions about the appearance of the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) which would be present if the large scale structure of the universe was gravitationally seeded by the collapse of SU(3) textures.Comment: 28 pages, latex, 11 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Myeloid DAP12-associating lectin (MDL)-1 regulates synovial inflammation and bone erosion associated with autoimmune arthritis.

DNAX adaptor protein 12 (DAP12) is a trans-membrane adaptor molecule that transduces activating signals in NK and myeloid cells. Absence of functional Dap12 results in osteoclast defects and bone abnormalities. Because DAP12 has no extracelluar binding domains, it must pair with cell surface receptors for signal transduction. There are at least 15 known DAP12-associating cell surface receptors with distinct temporal and cell type-specific expression patterns. Our aim was to determine which receptors may be important in DAP12-associated bone pathologies. Here, we identify myeloid DAP12-associating lectin (MDL)-1 receptor (also known as CLEC5A) as a key regulator of synovial injury and bone erosion during autoimmune joint inflammation. Activation of MDL-1 leads to enhanced recruitment of inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils to the joint and promotes bone erosion. Functional blockade of MDL-1 receptor via Mdl1 deletion or treatment with MDL-1-Ig fusion protein reduces the clinical signs of autoimmune joint inflammation. These findings suggest that MDL-1 receptor may be a therapeutic target for treatment of immune-mediated skeletal disorders

Solving the Vlasov equation for one-dimensional models with long range interactions on a GPU

We present a GPU parallel implementation of the numeric integration of the Vlasov equation in one spatial dimension based on a second order time-split algorithm with a local modified cubic-spline interpolation. We apply our approach to three different systems with long-range interactions: the Hamiltonian Mean Field, Ring and the self-gravitating sheet models. Speedups and accuracy for each model and different grid resolutions are presented