Previous research has shown that norms around the role of women in society could help explain the gender gap in mathematics and that these norms could be transmitted within the family. Using data ...from the Florida Department of Education combined with birth certificates, we uncover important heterogeneity in the transmission of gender biases within the family. We find that gender role norms can explain the lower performance of girls in mathematics only in relatively affluent White families, whereas they do not apparently matter for the performance of Black girls.
TRUST, VALUES, AND FALSE CONSENSUS Butler, Jeffrey V.; Giuliano, Paola; Guiso, Luigi
International economic review,
August 2015, Volume:
56, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Individuals' beliefs about the trustworthiness of a generic member of the population are both heterogeneous across individuals and persistent across generations. We investigate one mechanism yielding ...these dual patterns: false consensus. In the context of a trust game experiment, we show that the relationship between behavior and beliefs is consistent with individuals extrapolating their trust beliefs from their own trustworthiness and that this tendency continues even after substantial learning opportunities. We go on to provide evidence suggesting that one's own trustworthiness can be traced back to the values parents transmit to their children during their upbringing.
To find a common pathogenetic trait induced by polyQ-expanded proteins, we have used a conditional expression system in PC12 cells to tune the expression of these proteins and analyze the early and ...late consequences of their expression. We find that expression for 3 h of a polyQ-expanded protein stimulates cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and significantly reduces the mitochondrial electrochemical gradient. 24-36 h later, ROS induce DNA damage and activation of the checkpoint kinase, ATM. DNA damage signatures are reversible and persist as long as polyQ-expanded proteins are expressed. Transcription of neural and stress response genes is down-regulated in these cells. Selective inhibition of ATM or histone deacetylase rescues transcription and restores the expression of silenced genes. Eventually, after 1 week, the expression of polyQ-expanded protein also induces endoplasmic reticulum stress. As to the primary mechanism responsible for ROS generation, we find that polyQ-expanded proteins, including native Ataxin-2 and Huntingtin, are selectively sequestered in the lipid raft membrane compartment and interact with gp91, the membrane NADPH-oxidase subunit. Selective inhibition of NADPH oxidase or silencing of H-Ras signaling dissolves the aggregates and eliminates DNA damage. We suggest that targeting of the polyQ-expanded proteins to the lipid rafts activates the resident NADPH oxidase. This triggers a signal linking H-Ras, ROS, and ERK1/2 that maintains and propagates the ROS wave to the nucleus. This mechanism may represent the common pathogenetic signature of all polyQ-expanded proteins independently of the specific context or the function of the native wild type protein.
In the hermaphrodite ascidian Ciona intestinalis, the egg vitelline coat (VC) controls gamete self-nonself discrimination. Oocytes, after germinal vesicle breakdown, can be fertilized by both self ...and nonself sperm. However, a barrier to fertilization by self sperm progressively develops in the VC in the 3 hours after germinal vesicle breakdown. During this period, follicle cells attached to the outer surface of the VC release self-sterility factors that bind to the VC. Within the follicle cells, these factors (possibly peptides) are thought to be shuttled to the cell membrane by an hsp70 homolog (Cihsp70). In fact, antibodies to hsp70 block the development of self-sterility. Proteasomes are central to the production of antigen peptides. Specific inhibition of proteasome activity with clasto-lactacystin β -lactone (CLβ L) prevented the onset of self-sterility, but had no effect once this process had started. CLβ L did not block fertilization by nonself sperm. The self-sterility factors were removed from mature oocytes by exposure to acidified media, and their biological activity was transferred to immature oocytes treated with CLβ L. The obvious high multiplicity of self-nonself recognition alleles involved in fertilization, and the involvement of an hsp70 and a proteasome in processing self-sterility factors, suggests that this system may be evolutionarily related to the vertebrate immune system.
Research on the role of identity in choice varies widely across fields like psychology, philosophy, consumer behavior, and economics, in both the key questions addressed and the methods of ...investigation. Although a large literature has established how salient aspects of identity affect attitudes and norms, less is known about how beliefs concerning identity are shaped and how these beliefs affect decision making. In this review, we cover recent insights into these issues and summarize some newer, developing approaches to understanding (i) how people judge the persistence of identity, (ii) how beliefs about future changes in identity are formed and how they affect choices, (iii) the formation of beliefs about future changes in identity and how these beliefs affect decisions, and (iv) the historical and economic antecedents of identity norms and their consequences for economic behavior. We introduce a distinction between synchronic and diachronic approaches, and highlight important unresolved questions that will help these fields to more fully understand the role that identity plays in shaping choices.
Transcription of the H ferritin gene in vivo is stimulated by cAMP and repressed by the E1A oncoprotein. We report here the identification of the cis-element in the human promoter responsive to both ...cAMP- and E1A-mediated signals. This promoter region is included between positions −62 to −45 and binds a approximate 120-kDa transcription factor called Bbf. Bbf forms a complex in vivo with the coactivator molecules p300 and CBP. Recombinant E1A protein reduces the formation of these complexes.In vivo overexpression of p300 in HeLa cells reverses the E1A-mediated inhibition of the ferritin promoter transcription driven by Bbf. These data suggest the existence of a common mechanism for the cAMP activation and the E1A-mediated repression of H ferritin transcription.
In this essay we show that family background is crucial in determining the choice of high school in Italy. It is the choice of high school that then determines subsequent academic performance. The ...evidence suggests that graduating from a general high school increases the probability of attending university, whereas no effect can be found for family background. The fact that the majority of students with a poor family background tend to go to technical schools, following family suggestions, has an impact in prolonging the low level of educational mobility and leading to a low rate of college graduates in Italy.
We study the determinants of agricultural market reforms in developing countries. What prompted the governments in these countries to abruptly begin deregulating their agricultural markets in the ...late 1980's? We answer this question by constructing a completely new dataset based on agricultural market regulations in 88 developing countries from 1960 to 2003. Our results suggest that the sudden and strong decline in the international price of agricultural commodities played a crucial role in destabilizing the financial equilibrium of marketing boards. In addition, changes in the rural representation in the political arena and government ideology also played significant roles in breaking up the status quo.
We have developed stable cell lines expressing green fluorescent protein fusion proteins containing polyglutamine repeats of various lengths under tetracycline control. The expression of the expanded ...(43Q) repeat protein resulted in aggregate formation in a time-dependent fashion. The accumulation of aggregates did not induce apoptosis, although the survival of these cells was critically dependent on the presence of serum and growth factors. However, the expression of 43Q expanded protein strongly activated the ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase/ATM and Rad3-related kinase (ATM/ATR)-dependent DNA damage response, as shown by selective phosphorylation of ATM substrates. This activation was dependent on 43 CAG protein expression, reversible and sensitive to caffeine and reducing agents. Similarly, we found phosphorylated ATM substrates in fibroblasts from Huntington's disease or SCA-2 patients. Oxidative stress induced accumulation of ATM/ATR phosphorylated protein in HD and SCA-2 patients, but not in normal controls. Furthermore, a significant phosphorylation of H2AX was shown by fibroblasts from patients. We conclude that polyglutamine induces ATM/ATR-dependent DNA damage response through accumulation of reactive oxygen species. ATM activation can be used to monitor the disease in vivo.
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