286 research outputs found
Mary Howitt
No full textMary Howitt (1799–1888) was one of the most prolific female writers and translators of her day, producing over a hundred titles in her lifetime. Held in high regard by her contemporaries, Howitt was best known for her Scandinavian interests, particularly for her translations of Frederika Bremer and Hans Christian Andersen. She also published numerous collections of poetry and stories, sometimes in partnership with her husband, the writer William Howitt. This two-volume autobiography was published posthumously in 1889, and was completed and edited by her daughter Margaret. Volume 1 covers the first forty-four years of Howitt's life: a Quaker childhood, marriage to William Howitt, the birth of their children, and family life in Nottingham, Esher, and Heidelberg. It also includes several illustrations of family members and various residences. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=howima.</jats:p
Mary Howitt
No full textMary Howitt (1799-1888) was one of the most prolific female writers and translators of her day, producing over a hundred titles in her lifetime. Held in high regard by her contemporaries, Howitt was best known for her Scandinavian interests, particularly for her translations of Frederika Bremer and Hans Christian Andersen. She also published numerous collections of poetry and stories, sometimes in partnership with her husband, the writer William Howitt. This two-volume autobiography was published posthumously in 1889, and was completed and edited by her daughter Margaret. Volume 2 focuses on the second half of Howitt's life, much of which was spent moving between England, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. It describes the death of two of her sons, her own and William's involvement with spiritualism, the death of her husband, and her eventual conversion to Catholicism. For more information on this author, see
http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=howima</jats:p
Land, Labour, and Gold
No full textIn 1852 William Howitt (1792–1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 2 considers the effects of the influx of a great number of immigrants and the continuing presence of convicts. Howitt also reflects on government policy and the draft constitution, and describes visits to Sydney and Tasmania. His colourful account includes descriptions of birds and flowers, extreme heat, and how to cope with flies.
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Land, Labour, and Gold
No full textIn 1852 William Howitt (1792–1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 1 covers Howitt's first impressions of Australia, his experiences on the journey to the diggings at Bendigo, the throngs of prospectors, the exorbitant prices charged by profiteering merchants, and the miners' protest over high government licence fees. He describes the hard life endured by the diggers and warns against women coming to the colony.
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Estimating Disaggregate Production Functions: An Application to Northern Mexico
No full textThis paper demonstrates a robust method for achieving disaggregation in the estimation of flexible-form farm-level multi-input production functions using minimally-specified data sets. Since our ultimate goal is to address important questions related to the distributional effects of policy changes, we place emphasis on the ability of the model to reproduce the characteristics of the existing production system and to predict the outcomes of these changes at a high level of disaggregation. Achieving this requires the use of farm-level models that are estimated across a wide spectrum of sizes and types, which is often difficult to do with traditional econometric methods, due to limitations of data. The approach to estimating flexible-form production functions used in this paper overcomes these limitations, and also avoids the problems that frequently hinder the application of budget-based representative farm models to these type of analyses namely, that of poor calibration to observed behavior. In our estimation procedure, we use a two-stage approach that first generates a set of observation-specific shadow values for incompletely priced inputs, such as irrigation water or family labor, which are used in the second stage, along with the nominal input prices, to produce estimates of crop-specific production functions using Generalized Maximum Entropy (GME) methods. These functions are able to capture the individual heterogeneity of the local production environment, while still allowing the production function to replicate the input usage and outputs produced in the sample data. Since we are able to generate demand, supply, and substitution elasticities, a wide range of policy responses can be modeled. Our paper demonstrates this methodology through an empirical application to Mexico, drawing from a small set of cross-section data collected in the northern Rio Bravo regions. The estimates show that there is considerable heterogeneity in the behavioral response of farmer households of different sizes, both in terms of the returns to scale, as well as in the elasticities of substitution and derived demands for water. Compared to the aggregate-level estimation, we obtain much more accurate and informative policy response behavior, when shocks are imposed on the model.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,
On Growth and Income Distribution in a Globalizing World
No full textThe basic idea explaining the relationship between economic growth and income distribution is the “U- shaped hypothesis” postulated by Simon Kuznets. This can be shown in a dual-economy model with technical progress. Initially, inequality is low, but as labour participation in the modern sector increases, higher wages in this sector tend to increase inequality. However, if enough labour is incorporated in the modern sector, wage inequality begins to diminish. Income inequality continues to worsen between the two sectors, if a new modern economy (e.g. IT-based technical change) is introduced and potential GDP shifts to a new trajectory before the turning point is reached. In a globalised word, the substantial unskilled-labour-saving technical progress puts pressure on wages of unskilled workers (in industrialized countries). Also, globalization may be blamed for leaving many nations and millions of people out from reaping the benefits of globalization. This problem can only be overcome by appropriate reforms of the international economic system.Economic Growth, Income Distribution, Globalization
Abstract MIP-075: SOMATIC MUTATIONS AND COPY-NUMBER VARIATIONS IN OVARIAN CANCERS VIA TARGETED SEQUENCING OF EXONS OF 300 CANCER-ASSOCIATED GENES, INCLUDING MULTIPLE DNA DAMAGE REPAIR GENES
No full textAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Recent studies demonstrated frequent alterations in DNA damage repair (DDR) genes in ovarian cancer, from well-established variants in BRCA1/2 to rarely altered genes in various DDR pathways that may be clinically relevant. Here we summarize somatic alterations in DDR related genes identified by targeted sequencing of several hundred ovarian cancers.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES: Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed on formalin-fixed tumor tissues from &gt;500 patients with ovarian cancer enrolled in an IRB-approved protocol at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). The current dataset includes 269 patients whose tumors underwent gynecologic pathology review. Targeted sequencing via hybrid capture was performed for exons of 300 cancer-associated genes. Sequence data was analyzed at Brigham and Women's Hospital to identify single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertions/deletions (indels). Putative copy number variants (CNVs) were computationally inferred from sequencing coverage in a subset of patients (n=219). Germline analysis was not performed in this study, but SNVs were filtered against variant databases. Corresponding clinical data is undergoing analysis.
RESULTS: In the 269-patient cohort, 67% of samples were primary tumors, 25% metastatic recurrences, and 3% local recurrences. Histologies included high-grade serous (34%), endometrioid (12%), clear cell (9%), malignant mixed mesodermal tumor (MMMT, carcinosarcoma) (9%), low-grade serous (7%), granulosa cell (7%), mucinous (3%), and borderline variants (6%). We focused upon alterations in DDR related genes in the targeted panel. Of the 269 patients, ~9% harbored BRCA1 variants and ~13% harbored BRCA2 variants; frameshift and nonsense mutations were frequent. Copy losses in BRCA1 or BRCA2 were predicted in up to 1/3 of patients, some of whom also carried SNVs/indels in the same gene. BRCA1/2 alterations were more frequent in high-grade serous cancers, but were also observed in other histologic subtypes. SNVs/indels in ATM were common, present in ~9% of patients. Another ~10% of patients had a variant in one of the Fanconi Anemia (FA) genes (FANCA,B,C,D2,E,F,G,I) or BRIP1. Alterations in MMR genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2) were present in ~12%. SNVs in genes encoding DDR associated helicases BLM or WRN were observed in ~8%. PRKDC, encoding the DNA-PK catalytic subunit involved in non-homologous end joining, was altered in up to 7%. The SNVs in these DDR genes were observed in all histologic subtypes at varying frequencies. CNVs in DDR related genes were common, including predicted amplifications of CCNE1 and 2-copy deletions in several FA genes. Several limitations of this dataset may result in overestimates of the frequency of clinically significant alterations, e.g. some SNVs may represent benign variants (specific mutations are undergoing more detailed analysis to eliminate these); some patients harbor multiple mutations; and CNVs are predicted but need to be confirmed by orthogonal methods.
CONCLUSIONS: Targeted sequencing data from a large cohort of ovarian cancer patients collectively support previous work indicating a significant frequency of alterations in DDR related genes in ovarian cancer, across multiple histologic subtypes. Further analysis of specific mutations and clinical correlations with DDR gene alterations are ongoing. Identifying alterations in DDR genes in ovarian cancer patients is feasible and may have clinical relevance, particularly regarding DNA repair targeted agents and chemotherapeutics.
Citation Format: Elizabeth Stover, Brooke Howitt, Levi Garraway, Ursula Matulonis. SOMATIC MUTATIONS AND COPY-NUMBER VARIATIONS IN OVARIAN CANCERS VIA TARGETED SEQUENCING OF EXONS OF 300 CANCER-ASSOCIATED GENES, INCLUDING MULTIPLE DNA DAMAGE REPAIR GENES [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 12-13, 2016; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr MIP-075.</jats:p
THE COST OF THE KYOTO PROTOCOL TO U.S. CROP PRODUCTION: MEASURING CROP PRICE, REGIONAL ACREAGE, WELFARE, AND INPUT SUBSTITUTION EFFECTS
No full textThis study analyzes the impact of implementing carbon permit trading considered under the Kyoto Protocol, and the subsequent expected increase in energy and resource prices on U.S. crop production. The focus is on input substitution, net farm income, regional crop acreage, and crop prices. The analysis is carried out with a calibrated mathematical programming model which covers the major crops produced in the 48 contiguous states on a regional basis. The model accounts for both the variable inputs and the allocatable inputs of land and irrigation water, and it permits input substitution when farmers are faced with external shocks. The results suggest that when energy prices increase, the net cost to the crop-producing sector depends on the farmerÂ’'s ability to substitute crop inputs and the elasticity of demand for the crops. The impacts of carbon tax cost increases differ significantly among crops and regions. Overall, crop acreage and output decrease, total net revenues increase in most regions, and consumer surplus declines.Environmental Economics and Policy,
Uterine Adenosarcoma
No full textMüllerian adenosarcoma is an uncommon biphasic tumor composed of malignant stromal and benign epithelial components. Morphologically, adenosarcoma is characterized by a broad leaflike architecture, reminiscent of phyllodes tumors of the breast. Periglandular cuffing of the stromal cells around the compressed or cystically dilated glands is characteristic. The mesenchymal component is typically a low-grade spindle cell sarcoma, whereas the epithelial counterpart is commonly endometrioid with frequent squamous or mucinous metaplasia and may, in some circumstances, show mild to moderate atypia. In all cases, it is important to assess for the presence of sarcomatous overgrowth and myometrial invasion, which are the prognostic factors. In this brief review, we present the clinical, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical features of adenosarcoma, as well as updates on the molecular biology of this neoplasm
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