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In the last few decades, most of the emerging market economies (EMEs) have adopted financial liberalization. Evidence shows that the financial sectors/institutions in emerging economies were either underdeveloped or functioning with a lot of inefficiencies under inadequate regulation. The paper examines whether liberalization in the financial sector has led to financial development for a bunch of EMEs including BRICS. The paper differs from the existing literature in its approach of dealing with the measurements of financial development and considering financial liberalization as a gradual process. Panel regressions are estimated for 9 countries based on 22 years' data for four aspects of financial development, viz. depth, efficiency, stability and competition. Results indicate that financial liberalization in terms of freedom in capital markets has a positive effect on financial depth and competition, whereas liberalization from government interference in the banks and other financial institutions has a positive impact on the stability of the financial sector. Trade openness has a role in enhancing the efficiency of the financial sector. Also, evidence suggests that capital account openness leads to increased depth and does not destabilize the financial sector. GDP, political stability, regulatory quality and government effectiveness are also important factors in influencing more than one aspect of financial development in a country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of innovation on labour productivity by using latest World Bank Enterprise Surveys data and compares the results between Chinese and Indian manufacturing sector. The article uses cross-section data based on two surveys that were conducted by the World Bank in 2012 and 2014 for China and India, respectively. By employing simple ordinary least squares (OLS) regression technique, we find that innovation affects the labour productivity positively for Chinese as well as Indian manufacturing firms, but its impact on firm productivity is relatively weak in case of India as compared to China. Second, other factors such as average wage of the workers, education of production workers and training do significantly boost the labour productivity of Chinese manufacturing firms as well as for Indian firms. Third, our results based on firm size also indicate that the impact of innovation activities on labour productivity is higher in case of large firms as compared to medium firms. However, innovation does not affect the labour productivity of small manufacturing firms for both China and India. In terms of policy, it is important for both Chinese and Indian manufacturing firms to keep pursuing innovation activities, in order to spur productivity, which would strengthen firms' growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Extended adjuvant (5–10 years) therapy targeted to the estrogen receptor (ER) has significantly decreased mortality from breast cancer (BC). Areas covered: Translational research advanced clinical testing of extended adjuvant therapy with tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (AIs). Short term therapy or non-compliance increase recurrence, but surprisingly recurrence and death does not increase dramatically after 5 years of adjuvant therapy stops. Expert commentary:Compliance ensures optimal benefit from extended antihormone adjuvant therapy.Retarding acquired resistance using CDK4/6 or mTOR inhibitors is discussed. Preventing acquired resistance from mutations of ER could be achieved with Selective ER Downregulators (SERDs), eg fulvestrant. Fulvestrant is a depot injectable so oral SERDs are sought for extended use. In reality, a ‘super SERD’ which destroys ER but improves women’s health like a Selective ER Modulator (SERM), would aid compliance to prevent recurrence and death. Estrogen-induced apoptosis occurs in 30% of BC with antihormone resistance. The ‘one in three’ rule that dictates that one in three unselected patients respond to either hormonal or antihormonal therapy in BC occurs with estrogen or antiestrogen therapy and must be improved. The goal is to maintain patients for their natural lives by blocking cancer cell survival through precision medicine using short cycles of estrogen apoptotic salvage therapy, and further extended antihormone maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In mammals, parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP, alias PTH-like hormone (Pthlh)) acts as a paracrine hormone that regulates the patterning of cartilage, bone, teeth, pancreas, and thymus. Beyond mammals, however, little is known about the molecular genetic mechanisms by which Pthlh regulates early development. To evaluate conserved pathways of craniofacial skeletogenesis, we isolated two Pthlh co-orthologs from the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and investigated their structural, phylogenetic, and syntenic relationships, expression, and function. Results showed that pthlh duplicates originated in the teleost genome duplication. Zebrafish pthlha and pthlhb were maternally expressed and showed overlapping and distinct zygotic expression patterns during skeletal development that mirrored mammalian expression domains. To explore the regulation of duplicated pthlh genes, we studied their expression patterns in mutants and found that both sox9a and sox9b are upstream of pthlha in arch and fin bud cartilages, but only sox9b is upstream of pthlha in the pancreas. Morpholino antisense knockdown showed that pthlha regulates both sox9a and sox9b in the pharyngeal arches but not in the brain or otic vesicles and that pthlhb does not regulate either sox9 gene, which is likely related to its highly degraded nuclear localization signal. Knockdown of pthlha but not pthlhb caused runx2b overexpression in craniofacial cartilages and premature bone mineralization. We conclude that in normal cartilage development, sox9 upregulates pthlh, which downregulates runx2, and that the duplicated nature of all three of these genes in zebrafish creates a network of regulation by different co-orthologs in different tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts a social cost-benefit analysis of intensive versus traditional shrimp farming in West Bengal, India. Using primary data, the paper shows that although intensive shrimp farming yields high returns as compared to traditional shrimp farming, when the opportunity costs and environmental costs of shrimp farming, including disease risk, are accounted for, intensive shrimp farming loses its advantage. Sensitivity analysis shows that if the expected benefits were to fall short by 15% and costs rise by a similar proportion, intensive shrimp farmers would report higher losses than traditional shrimp farmers. Large traditional shrimp farmers continue to report positive net returns. These results are also most pronounced for small and marginal intensive shrimp farmers. Further, if the probability of disease risk is also accounted for, intensive shrimp farming reports significant losses whereas traditional shrimp farming in most cases shows positive net returns. In light of the high social costs and risks, this paper questions the rationale behind promoting intensive shrimp farming, especially among small and marginal holdings, as an income-generating activity or poverty alleviation measure in the absence of an enabling environment. It suggests that policymakers need to factor in sustainability concerns and the local context when formulating policies to promote intensive shrimp farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 30% of aromatase-inhibitor-resistant, estrogen receptor-positive patients with breast cancer benefit from treatment with estrogen. This enigmatic estrogen action is not well understood and how it occurs remains elusive. Studies indicate that the unfolded protein response and apoptosis pathways play important roles in mediating estrogen-triggered apoptosis. Using MCF7:5C cells, which mimic aromatase inhibitor resistance, and are hypersensitive to estrogen as evident by induction of apoptosis, we define increased global protein translational load as the trigger for estrogen-induced apoptosis. The protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase pathway was activated followed by increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor-2 alpha (eIF2α). These actions block global protein translation but preferentially allow high expression of specific transcription factors, such as activating transcription factor 4 and C/EBP homologous protein that facilitate apoptosis. Notably, we recapitulated this phenotype of MCF7:5C in two other endocrine therapy-resistant cell lines (MCF7/LCC9 and T47D:A18/4-OHT) by increasing the levels of phospho-eIF2α using salubrinal to pharmacologically inhibit the enzymes responsible for dephosphorylation of eIF2α, GADD34, and CReP. RNAi-mediated ablation of these genes induced apoptosis that used the same signaling as salubrinal treatment. Moreover, combining 4-hydroxy tamoxifen with salubrinal enhanced apoptotic potency. IMPLICATIONS: These results not only elucidate the mechanism of estrogen-induced apoptosis but also identify a drugable target for potential therapeutic intervention that can mimic the beneficial effect of estrogen in some breast cancers., (©2019 American Association for Cancer Research.)

The combined incidence and the extended disease course of breast and prostate cancer is a major challenge for health care systems. The solution for society requires an economically viable treatment strategy to maintain individuals disease free and productive, so as to avoid the fracture of the family unit. Forty years ago, translational research using the antiestrogen tamoxifen was targeted to estrogen receptor (ER) positive micrometastatic tumor cells and established the long-term antihormone adjuvant treatment strategy used universally today. The antihormone strategy was the accepted structure of cancer biology. Sex steroid deprivation therapy remains the orthodox strategy for the treatment of both breast and prostate cancer. Despite major initial therapeutic success, the strategies of long term anti-hormone therapies with either tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (AI) or antiandrogens or abiraterone for breast and prostate cancer, respectively, eventually lead to a significant proportion of anti-hormone resistant or stimulated tumor growth. Remarkably, a general principle of anti-hormone resistance has emerged for both breast and prostate cancer based primarily on clinical and supportive laboratory data. Paradoxically, anti-hormone resistant cell populations emerge and grow but are vulnerable to the cytotoxicity of estrogen or androgen-induced apoptosis for both breast and prostate cancer, respectively. These consistent anticancer actions of sex steroids appear to recapitulate the more complex mechanism of bone remodeling in elderly men and women during sex steroid deprivation. Estrogen is the key hormone in both sexes because in men androgen is first converted to estrogen. Estrogen regulates and triggers apoptosis in osteoclasts that develop during estrogen deprivation and destroy bone to cause osteoporosis. Sex steroid deprived breast and prostate cancer has recruited a streamlined natural apoptotic program from the human genome, but this is suppressed in the majority of sex steroid deprived tumors. Targeted strategies to neutralize cell survival pathways are now required to amplify and enhance sex steroid induced apoptosis. Successful blockade of the critical pathways for cell survival will introduce an inexpensive targeted therapy to maintain breast and prostate cancer patients indefinitely. Rotating anti-hormonal and sex steroid targeted cocktails could maintain patients at a microscopic tumor burden to enhance the quality of life, enhance survival, and maintain the family as a self-supporting and economically productive unit within society.

In mammals, parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP, alias PTH-like hormone (Pthlh)) acts as a paracrine hormone that regulates the patterning of cartilage, bone, teeth, pancreas, and thymus. Beyond mammals, however, little is known about the molecular genetic mechanisms by which Pthlh regulates early development. To evaluate conserved pathways of craniofacial skeletogenesis, we isolated two Pthlh co-orthologs from the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and investigated their structural, phylogenetic, and syntenic relationships, expression, and function. Results showed that pthlh duplicates originated in the teleost genome duplication. Zebrafish pthlha and pthlhb were maternally expressed and showed overlapping and distinct zygotic expression patterns during skeletal development that mirrored mammalian expression domains. To explore the regulation of duplicated pthlh genes, we studied their expression patterns in mutants and found that both sox9a and sox9b are upstream of pthlha in arch and fin bud cartilages, but only sox9b is upstream of pthlha in the pancreas. Morpholino antisense knockdown showed that pthlha regulates both sox9a and sox9b in the pharyngeal arches but not in the brain or otic vesicles and that pthlhb does not regulate either sox9 gene, which is likely related to its highly degraded nuclear localization signal. Knockdown of pthlha but not pthlhb caused runx2b overexpression in craniofacial cartilages and premature bone mineralization. We conclude that in normal cartilage development, sox9 upregulates pthlh, which downregulates runx2, and that the duplicated nature of all three of these genes in zebrafish creates a network of regulation by different co-orthologs in different tissues.

In mammals, parathyroid hormone (PTH), secreted by parathyroid glands, increases calcium levels in the blood from reservoirs in bone. While mammals have two PTH receptor genes, PTH1R and PTH2R, zebrafish has three receptors, pth1r, pth2r, and pth3r. PTH can activate all three zebrafish Pthrs while PTH2 (alias tuberoinfundibular peptide 39, TIP39) preferentially activates zebrafish and mammalian PTH2Rs. We know little about the roles of the PTH2/PTH2R system in the development of any animal. To determine the roles of PTH2 and PTH2R during vertebrate development, we evaluated their expression patterns in developing zebrafish, observed their phylogenetic and conserved synteny relationships with humans, and described the genomic organization of pth2, pth2r, and pth2r splice variants. Expression studies showed that pth2 is expressed in cells adjacent to the ventral part of the posterior tuberculum in the diencephalon, whereas pth2r is robustly expressed throughout the central nervous system. Otic vesicles express both pth2 and pth2r, but heart expresses only pth2. Analysis of mutants showed that hedgehog (Hh) signaling regulates the expression of pth2 transcripts more than that of nearby gnrh2-expressing cells. Genomic analysis showed that a lizard, chicken, and zebra finch lack a PTH2 gene, which is associated with an inversion breakpoint. Likewise, chickens lack PTH2R, while humans lack PTH3R, a case of reciprocally missing ohnologs (paralogs derived from a genome duplication). The considerable evolutionary conservation in genomic structure, synteny relationships, and expression of zebrafish pth2 and pth2r provides a foundation for exploring the endocrine roles of this system in developing vertebrate embryos.