Technological progress, human capital, and tax policies play an important role in growth. Recent models of endogenous growth based on technological progress predict that high technological progress and growth are associated with a high relative supply of skilled workers who earn constant or relatively low wages. Chapter 1 of this dissertation reviews recent models of endogenous growth. The 1980s, however, are associated with high technological progress, high relative supply and increasing relative wages of skilled workers. Chapter 2 of this dissertation shows that, unlike most recent endogenous growth models, high rates of technological change can be accompanied by a high relative supply and a high relative wage for skilled workers. This chapter looks at the relative wage of educated to uneducated individuals within the same generation in an overlapping generations model. Individuals live for two periods and decide whether to invest in education in the first period of their lives. As more individuals invest in education, the wage of unskilled workers increases, increasing the opportunity cost of education. At the equilibrium, to make the individuals who invest in education indifferent between education and work, the intra generational relative wage of educated individuals must increase Chapter 3 studies the local stability of the relative wage model. It shows that the unique equilibrium can be a sink, source, or saddle point. The numerical examples study the effects of an increase in the productivity of education on the entire trajectory of investment in education. Chapter 4 looks at the effects of different types of taxes in an economy in which the allocation of resources is inefficient. It shows that different types of taxes affect the long run growth rate differently. In our setting, taxing income from human capital employed in final good production allocates more human capital to R&D, and increases the growth rate of the economy. However, this is a very selective tax, and the conclusion depends on the production function. / Ph. D.

Risk is endogenous when an individual is able to undertake mitigation or self protection actions that reduce the risk that he faces. Most risky environments studied in economics involve endogenous risk. This dissertation studies the conceptual and behavioral implications of introducing endogeneity in the controlled environment of the laboratory. The dissertation consists of three different experiments designed to examine how endogeneity affects risk attitudes and risk perceptions in simple experimental set ups. All three experiments employ a virtual reality scenario where the subject is able to form his own beliefs, based on naturalistic cues provided by the virtual reality experience. In the first experiment, a 'short run' individual experiment, subjects experience several forest fires that allow them to form beliefs about the probability of a house in the simulated forest being destroyed by fire. The evidence suggests that endogenous risk settings do cause subjects to employ different subjective beliefs than they use in an exogenous risk setting, although risk attitudes appear stable across these settings. Typically, the risk of natural disaster in any area is very small, and an adverse event like a forest fire occurs only once in a couple of decades. This has implications for self-protection expenditure where risk is endogenous. A 'long run' individual experiment with several rounds of decision making allows the estimation of subjective beliefs about the risk of the property burning when a fire may occur. This design allows for the study of the effect of an actual experience of forest fire on a subject's beliefs. Several mitigation options are collective in nature and require group contributions for the self-protection action to be provided. In an extension of the long run design, we study the effect of an actual experience of fire on beliefs when the risk is faced by a group rather than an individual. This framework also allows us to compare behavior in a public goods game involving risk, with the standard public goods game.

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The ability of the adult heart to generate new myocytes after injury is not established. Our purpose was to determine if the adult heart has the capacity to generate new myocytes after injury, and to gain insight into their source. Cardiac injury was induced in the adult feline heart by infusing Isoproterenol (ISO) for 10 days with minipumps and then animals were allowed to recover for 7 or 28 days. Cardiac function was measured with echocardiography and proliferative cells were identified by nuclear incorporation of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU; 7 day minipump infusion). BrdU was infused for 7 days before euthanasia at Day 10 (injury), Day 17 (early recovery), and Day 38 (late recovery) and, with a separate group of animals, was infused during injury and removed at Day 10, with animals euthanized at Day 38 for a pulse-chase experiment. Isoproterenol caused a reduction in cardiac function with evidence of myocyte loss from necrosis. During the injury phase there was a significant increase in the number of proliferative cells in the atria and ventricle, including an increase in cKit+/BrdU+ proliferative cardiac precursor cells, but there was no increase in the number of BrdU+ new myocytes (Day 10). During the first seven days of recovery (Day 17) there was a significant reduction in cellular proliferation (total BrdU+ nuclei, including cKit+/BrdU+ proliferative cardiac precursor cells) but a significant increase in BrdU+ myocytes. There was modest improvement in cardiac structure and function during recovery. At Day 38 (late recovery), overall cell proliferation (BrdU+ cells) was not different than control (BrdU infused from Days 31-38); however, increased numbers of ("bright") BrdU+ myocytes were found at Day 38 in the pulse-chase experiment, when BrdU was infused during injury (and removed at Day 10). Some of the newly formed myocytes (from the pulse-chase group; Day 38), derived from BrdU+ cardiac precursors appear to be transiently proliferative (between Days 10-38) producing a population of "dimly" BrdU+ myocytes in our pulse-chase protocol (BrdU infused during injury, Days 3-10, and removed at Day 10, with heart explant at Day 38). No significant numbers of "dimly" BrdU+ nuclei were found in any of the hearts in which BrdU was infused for 7 days prior to the animal being euthanized (Control, Day 10, Day 17, Day 38). These observations are most consistent with the conclusions stated. Our results also suggest that myocyte regeneration, as defined by BrdU+ myocytes, was more robust in the atria than the ventricle. The reasons for these differences are not clear and deserve additional study. If true, our findings suggest that cardiac precursors isolated and expanded from atrial tissue might be a better source of cells for autologous cardiac cell therapy. In summary, our data shows that the adult heart has the ability to generate new myocytes after injury, suggests that ISO injury activates cardiac precursor cells that can differentiate into new myocytes during cardiac repair, but that the environment of the ISO injured heart blunts the differentiation of cardiac precursors into functional new myocytes. The contribution of new myocytes to improved function of the ventricle would appear to be small, unless we have underestimated the number of these cells. This is quite possible, and further study is warranted to incorporate the number of "dimly" BrdU+ myocytes that may have undergone a proliferative phase as a progenitor cell and/or as an immature cardiac myocyte. Further understanding the factors that limit endogenous new myocyte formation could significantly contribute to new therapeutic applications and improve the quality of life, and potentially the lifespan, of patients in heart failure. / Physiology

Three of Hampton Roads Sanitation District's (HRSD's) conventional activated sludge Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) add methanol for post-anoxic denitrification: the Virginia Initiative Plant (VIP), Nansemond Plant (NP), and Army Base (AB). From 2017-2020, VIP averaged 0.49 ± 0.03 lb COD/lb N removed, while NP and AB averaged 1.48 ± 0.06 and 2.11 ± 0.15 lb COD/lb N, respectively. Significant methanol savings at VIP may result from post-anoxic denitrification using internal carbon that was stored in the anaerobic zone. An investigation into the factors affecting internal carbon-driven (internal C) denitrification was done via a series of batch tests. The capacity for internal C denitrification was demonstrated with sludge from all three WRRFs, despite not necessarily being used full-scale. For each WRRF, an increase in these rates correlated to higher phosphorus uptake rates, suggesting a dependence on the PAO population. Shorter aerobic times and more acetate in the anaerobic stage were shown to increase internal C denitrification rates to varying degrees, and this type of denitrification was only observed for bio-P biomass that was also nitrifying. Beyond internal carbon, other denitrification factors explored include moving the methanol dose point further into the anoxic zone, longer post-anoxic residence times, plug-flow conditions, solids residence time (SRT), and anoxic conditions prior to methanol dosing. Contributions from slowly biodegradable COD were minimal. Understanding the conditions that promote denitrification with internal carbon or other carbon sources would be required for effective strategies to achieve methanol savings at NP and AB that would rival those at VIP. / Master of Science / Three of Hampton Roads Sanitation District's (HRSD's) Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs) add methanol to facilitate denitrification in the post-anoxic zone: the Virginia Initiative Plant (VIP), Nansemond Plant (NP), and Army Base (AB). Significant methanol savings at VIP may result from denitrification using carbon that was stored in the biomass earlier in the treatment process. An investigation into the factors affecting this type of denitrification with internal carbon was done via a series of batch tests. All three WRRFs were able to use this internal carbon for denitrification in the batch tests, despite not necessarily using it full-scale. These denitrification rates were shown to relate to the performance of the biomass that is also responsible for phosphorus removal. Shorter aerobic times prior to the anoxic phase and more acetate in the stage where carbon is stored were shown to increase these denitrification rates, and this type of denitrification was only observed for biomass from WRRFs that implement nitrification. Beyond internal carbon, other denitrification factors explored include moving the methanol dose point further into the anoxic zone, longer post-anoxic residence times, plug-flow conditions, solids residence time (SRT), and anoxic conditions prior to methanol dosing. Contributions from carbon pushed downstream from overloading primary clarifiers was minimal. Understanding the conditions that promote denitrification with internal carbon or other carbon sources would be required for effective strategies to achieve methanol savings at NP and AB that would rival those at VIP.

Marijuana has been used for medicinal and recreational purposes for thousands of years. Many people think of marijuana in the context of an illegal drug. Because of the antimarijuana attitude, research with cannabinoids was neglected for a long time. Although this substance is related to social problems, scientists are interested in its action and possible medicinal properties. Since the identification of the structure of Î 9--tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana, there has been increased interest in this compound. Following the discovery of two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 receptors, it was determined that CB1 receptors are in high density in the central nervous system while CB2 receptors are found primarily in the immune system. The endogenous cannabinoid ligands, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, were observed in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues. Endocannabinoids differ from other "classical" neurotransmitters because they do not appear to be stored in synaptic vesicles, and they act as retrograde messengers within the brain. The endogenous cannabinoid signaling system includes cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous ligands called endocannabinoids, and the proteins for their synthesis and inactivation. The cannabinoid system appears to act as a neuromodulatory system. During the past ten years, the endogenous cannabinoid system has been implicated in a variety of physiological functions including pain reduction, motor regulation, learning, memory, and reward. Because obesity and eating disorders are prevalent, scientists are working at the molecular level to study the mechanisms controlling body weight and regulation of food intake. Several of the neuropeptides present in hypothalamic nuclei contribute to energy balance and food intake regulation. Endogenous cannabinoid and cannobinoid receptors are found in the hypothalamus and are associated with the regulation of food intake. Although the mechanisms whereby cannabinoids influence food intake remain unclear, results suggest that the cannabinoid system will be an important target in future studies in obesity. Most research on cannabinoids has focused on their role in food intake regulation in mammalian species. It is important to determine the role of endocannabinoids in other species. The effect of intracerebroventricular injection of agonists and antagonists of both CB1 and CB2 receptors in 8 to 11 week-old male Single Comb White Leghorn and 3 to 6 weeks old male broilers was investigated. It was found that agonists of both the CB1 and CB2 receptor increased food intake significantly; however, the CB2 receptor agonist had a stronger and longer lasting effect. Antagonists of both receptors decreased food intake significantly. The CB1 receptor antagonist appeared to block both cannabinoid receptors in birds, whereas the CB2 receptor antagonist did not block both receptors. Previous studies have indicated that the CB2 receptor is found only outside the brain and spinal cord, and is involved with the immune system. From the present results, it appears that both cannabinoid receptors are present in the chicken brain. Furthermore, the CB2 receptor may also be localize in the chicken brain. There are also differences in cannabinoid system between Leghorn and broilers. / Master of Science

Thesis advisor: Welkin Johnson / Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) are “fossilized” retroviruses of a once exogenous retrovirus located in the genome of extant vertebrates. Retroviral infection results in a provirus integration into the host genome. An infection of a germline cell could lead to the provirus potentially being inherited by the offspring of the infected individual. Once in the genome, the provirus becomes subject to evolutionary processes and can become either lost or fixed in a population, remaining as “fossils” long after the exogenous retrovirus has gone extinct23. Notably, 8% of the human genome consists of ERVs30. Human Endogenous Retrovirus Type K (HERV-K)(HML-2) family is of particular interest. HERV-K integrations are as old as 30-35 million years, endogenizing before the separation of humans and Old World Monkeys. However, there are human specific insertions, some as young as 150,000 – 250,000 years, making them the youngest insertion in the human genome. There are over 90 insertions in the human genome; the bulk is shared by all humans44,47. Transcripts of HERV-K genes are upregulated in multiple cancer and tumor cell lines 14,39,46, as well as in HIV-1 infected patients 7,11,29. Just as there are human specific insertions of ERV-K, there are also Old World Monkey specific insertions44. I have identified an intact endogenous retroviral envelope open reading frame on chromosome 12 of the rhesus macaque genome. This viral envelope-encoding sequence, which I refer to as rhERV-K env, retains all the canonical features of a retroviral Env protein. An alignment between rhERV-K env and a consensus sequence of HERV-K, HERV-Kcon env, shows a 70% amino acid sequence identity. For experimental purposes, reconstructed HERV-K envelopes have been incorporated into virions of Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1)19,26,49, Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV)12, and Vesicular stomatitis Virus (VSV)26,41,49. While these approaches have illuminated some aspects of HERV-K Env-mediated entry, to date a cell-surface receptor has not been identified for any ERV-K Env. This could be due to its low infectivity levels12,26,49, its seemingly broad cell tropism limiting identification of null cell lines26,49, or possibly the HERV-K consensus reconstructions are not an accurate representation of the progenitor HERV-K virus. I am interested in understanding how the ERV-K retrovirus accessed the human germline (some 150,000 – 250,000 years ago). To do this, I focused specifically on the envelope proteins of HERV-K and rhERV-K, with the goal of analyzing the ERV-K entry process. The identification and inclusion of rhERV-K Env in this study is meant to circumvent the possibility that the previously described consensus reconstructions of human HERV-K Env are not representative, and may also provide a means to compare the endogenization process in the human/ape and old-world monkey lineages. I focused on developing two systems for single-cycle infection, one based on Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus (MPMV) (which has not been done before), and a second based on MLV, which has previously been reported on. MPMV, like HERV-K, is a betaretrovirus, and I reasoned that possibly using a betaretrovirus would overcome some of the low-infectivity issues associated with prior attempts using HIV and MLV. To develop a system for examining function of the ERV-K Env proteins, I addressed 3 issues: 1. Are the HERV-K Env and rhERV-K Env proteins expressed and properly processed? 2. Can they be incorporated into virions of a heterologous virus? 3. Are ERV-K pseudotyped virions infectious? I have answered these questions in the following thesis. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Biology.

This paper extends Beviá and Corchón (2013) to a model with both endogenous contestable prize and endogenous relative strength. Such a setting is ideal for the study of intra-organizational rivalries, commonly observed in family, sports, promotion, and duopoly. We find that when the game starts with asymmetric players, the weaker player exerts more effort than the stronger player. As a result, the weaker player partially overcomes the disadvantage of being weak. In this setting, neither domino nor avalanche effect exists.

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published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy