This dissertation consists of three essays on Health Economics. Chapter 1 analyzes the effects of abortion costs for minors on abortions, sexual behavior, and births. We exploit a 2015 change in parental involvement (PI) laws in Spain as a natural experiment in costs, together with rich population-level data on abortions and births. Using the exact date of teenager birth, we first document a decrease in abortions by 17-years-olds using a difference-in-difference comparison with 18-years-olds, consistent with the law that targeted Spanish minors. Using bunching methods from the Public Finance literature, we show evidence of temporal displacement. Some 17-years-old delayed their abortion and waited until they turned 18 and thereby avoided involving their parents. Second, we consider how the law change may have influenced health-related behaviors, finding implicitly that sexual behaviors changed so as to reduce the likelihood of becoming pregnant before turning 18 (and thereby internalized the cost of parental involvement). This is seen in the permanent shift in the number of abortions at age 18 that exists after removing the temporal displacement abortions around the age 18 threshold and an increase in the number of births to mothers who were pregnant at age 17. This paper finds that an important dimension of risky youth behavior responds to incentives contained in parental notification laws. Chapter 2 analyzes the effects of abortion costs on sex-selection by exploiting a 2010 abortion liberalization in Spain and the difference in son-preferences by nationality and child order documented in the literature. We show using a difference-in-difference comparison a significant increase in the fraction of boys for Chinese parents giving birth to their third child or above relative to children born of Spanish parents. Consistent with the literature, we do not find any effect on the fraction of boys for the first or the second child. Using the provincial number of abortion centers per person as a measure of access to abortion, we show, at the correlation level, that the effects come from those provinces with higher access to abortions. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that birth outcomes of Chinese girls who are the third children, and thus are now more likely to be ``wanted'' after the reform, improve. Gestational weeks increase, and the chance of being born prematurely decrease although our evidence suffers from lack of power. Finally, chapter 3 analyzes the effects of a universal, unconditional cash transfer announcement on birth outcomes by exploiting the 2007 cheque bebé policy in Spain that provided 2,500 euros per child to all mothers giving birth immediately after its announcement (Jul 2007). We use a difference-in-difference analysis comparing those born before and after the announcement. By exploiting the timing of the policy announcement we can avoid the composition effects caused by the incentives to have children generated by the policy. We show that the birth weight of those children born after the policy announcement (Sept-Dec) significantly improved relative to those born before (Apr-Jun) using previous years to control for the seasonal effects. Moreover, we provide suggestive evidence that those who are more vulnerable, as measured by the average municipality income level, parents' marital status, or parents' age, experience the most substantial improvements on birth weight.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-12T18:48:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-04-08. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-08-12T18:50:57Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000865637.pdf: 1293456 bytes, checksum: d01165e048932b40382e97a518db2fc9 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A Tilápia do Nilo é uma espécie de grande relevância na aqüicultura mundial. Espécimes do sexo masculino têm maior crescimento quando comparado as fêmeas, uma característica importante em sistemas de produção de peixe. Infelizmente, os mecanismos envolvidos no desenvolvimento que levam à diferenciação sexual em peixes ainda são pouco compreendidos. Vários genes e miRNAs tem sido propostos como influênciadores desses processos, porém seu efetivo papel, permanece desconhecido. Considerando a importância biológica do desenvolvimento embrionário e determinação do sexo, microRNomas de tilápia do Nilo, expressos durante o desenvolvimento e em indivíduos machos e fêmeas adultos, foram analisados. Bibliotecas de pequenos RNAs foram geradas a partir de embriões de 3 e 5 dias pós fertilização (dpf), e cérebro e gônadas de indivíduos adultos de ambos os sexos, e seqüenciados via plataforma Illumina. Foram identificados 194 miRNAs já conhecidos com base em bancos de dados referência de zebrafish, sendo que destes 120 apresentaram expressão diferencial entre macho e fêmea de O. niloticus. Foram identificados ainda 74 novos miRNAs não presentes no banco de dados referência. Vinte e dois miRNAs foram testados por qPCR e cinco tiveram seus genes-alvo candidatos testados pelo ensaio de gene repórter da luciferase. Os resultados de qPCR mostraram que a expressão da família do miR-10 foi alta durante os períodos de 3 e 5dpf. Softwares de predição sugerem que essa família de miRNAs regula a expressão de membros dos genes Hox. Sendo assim, foram testados por qPCR e pelo ensaio do gene réporter da luciferase três genes dessa família: HoxA3a, HoxB3a e HoxD10a. Os resultados mostraram que miR-10b tem como alvos Hoxb3a e HoxD10a. Já na diferenciação do sexo, os resultados de qPCR apontaram uma alta expressão do miR-145-5p durante o desenvolvimento de embriões de fêmea, enquanto seu possível alvo, Sox9a, teve... / The Nile tilapia is a species of great importance in world aquaculture. Male specimens have increased growth compared with females, an important feature in fish production systems. Unfortunately, the mechanisms involved in the development and sexual differentiation in fish are still poorly understood. Several genes and miRNAs have been reported as influencing these processes, but its effective role remains unknown. Given the biological importance of miRNAs to embryonic development and sex determination, microRNomes were analyzed during development and in adult male and female of O. niloticus. Small RNAs libraries were generated from 3 and 5 dpf embryos, and brain and gonads of adult specimens, and sequenced using Illumina platform. Out of 194 miRNAs identified based on zebrafish database, 120 showed differential expression between male and female of O. niloticus. Additionally, 74 new miRNAs not detected in zefrafish database were found. Twenty-two miRNAs were tested by qPCR and five had their target candidate genes tested by luciferase reporter gene assay. The qPCR results showed that miR-10 family expression was high during the periods of 3 and 5dpf. Prediction software suggested that this family of miRNAs regulate the Hox genes family members. Therefore, were tested by qPCR and luciferase gene reporter assay, three Hox genes: Hoxa3a, HoxB3a and HoxD10a. The results showed that miR-10b have Hoxb3a and HoxD10a as target. In sex differentiation, the results of qPCR showed a high expression of miR-145-5p during the development of female embryos, while its possible target, Sox9, decreased. Moreover, the miR-181a expression decreased and his target gene, Cyp191a increased. The luciferase gene reporter assay validated the Cyp19a1 as a direct target of miR-181a, and Sox9 as a target of miR-145-5p. Our data suggest that, as in other vertebrates, Hox genes are extremely important in the development of Nile tilapia and are regulated by miR-10 ...

Orientador: Cesar Martins / Banca: Francis de Moraes Franco Nunes / Banca: Patrícia Pintor dos Reis / Banca: Danilo Pinhal / Banca: Rafael Henrique Nóbrega / Resumo: A Tilápia do Nilo é uma espécie de grande relevância na aqüicultura mundial. Espécimes do sexo masculino têm maior crescimento quando comparado as fêmeas, uma característica importante em sistemas de produção de peixe. Infelizmente, os mecanismos envolvidos no desenvolvimento que levam à diferenciação sexual em peixes ainda são pouco compreendidos. Vários genes e miRNAs tem sido propostos como influênciadores desses processos, porém seu efetivo papel, permanece desconhecido. Considerando a importância biológica do desenvolvimento embrionário e determinação do sexo, microRNomas de tilápia do Nilo, expressos durante o desenvolvimento e em indivíduos machos e fêmeas adultos, foram analisados. Bibliotecas de pequenos RNAs foram geradas a partir de embriões de 3 e 5 dias pós fertilização (dpf), e cérebro e gônadas de indivíduos adultos de ambos os sexos, e seqüenciados via plataforma Illumina. Foram identificados 194 miRNAs já conhecidos com base em bancos de dados referência de zebrafish, sendo que destes 120 apresentaram expressão diferencial entre macho e fêmea de O. niloticus. Foram identificados ainda 74 novos miRNAs não presentes no banco de dados referência. Vinte e dois miRNAs foram testados por qPCR e cinco tiveram seus genes-alvo candidatos testados pelo ensaio de gene repórter da luciferase. Os resultados de qPCR mostraram que a expressão da família do miR-10 foi alta durante os períodos de 3 e 5dpf. Softwares de predição sugerem que essa família de miRNAs regula a expressão de membros dos genes Hox. Sendo assim, foram testados por qPCR e pelo ensaio do gene réporter da luciferase três genes dessa família: HoxA3a, HoxB3a e HoxD10a. Os resultados mostraram que miR-10b tem como alvos Hoxb3a e HoxD10a. Já na diferenciação do sexo, os resultados de qPCR apontaram uma alta expressão do miR-145-5p durante o desenvolvimento de embriões de fêmea, enquanto seu possível alvo, Sox9a, teve... / Abstract: The Nile tilapia is a species of great importance in world aquaculture. Male specimens have increased growth compared with females, an important feature in fish production systems. Unfortunately, the mechanisms involved in the development and sexual differentiation in fish are still poorly understood. Several genes and miRNAs have been reported as influencing these processes, but its effective role remains unknown. Given the biological importance of miRNAs to embryonic development and sex determination, microRNomes were analyzed during development and in adult male and female of O. niloticus. Small RNAs libraries were generated from 3 and 5 dpf embryos, and brain and gonads of adult specimens, and sequenced using Illumina platform. Out of 194 miRNAs identified based on zebrafish database, 120 showed differential expression between male and female of O. niloticus. Additionally, 74 new miRNAs not detected in zefrafish database were found. Twenty-two miRNAs were tested by qPCR and five had their target candidate genes tested by luciferase reporter gene assay. The qPCR results showed that miR-10 family expression was high during the periods of 3 and 5dpf. Prediction software suggested that this family of miRNAs regulate the Hox genes family members. Therefore, were tested by qPCR and luciferase gene reporter assay, three Hox genes: Hoxa3a, HoxB3a and HoxD10a. The results showed that miR-10b have Hoxb3a and HoxD10a as target. In sex differentiation, the results of qPCR showed a high expression of miR-145-5p during the development of female embryos, while its possible target, Sox9, decreased. Moreover, the miR-181a expression decreased and his target gene, Cyp191a increased. The luciferase gene reporter assay validated the Cyp19a1 as a direct target of miR-181a, and Sox9 as a target of miR-145-5p. Our data suggest that, as in other vertebrates, Hox genes are extremely important in the development of Nile tilapia and are regulated by miR-10 ... / Doutor

Orientador: Luiz Claudio Nogueira Mendes / Coorientador: Sergio Moraes Aoki / Banca: Flavia Lombardi Lopes / Banca:Gisele Zoccal Mingotti / Banca:Maria denise Lopes / Banca: Eduardo Harry Birgel Junior / Resumo: Novas metodologias para a sexagem de sêmen são buscadas devido à citometria de fluxo apresentar limitações e desvantagens e os aptâmeros surgem como potenciais candidatos para a identificação de espermatozoides conforme a presença do cromossomo X ou Y. Os objetivos foram avaliar o uso de três aptâmeros desenvolvidos para se ligarem especificamente ao espermatozoide Y na separação magnética por sexo de espermatozoides de touro, e desenvolver uma técnica de qPCR que permita realizar facilmente o diagnóstico da proporção sexual em amostras de sêmen. Protocolos de separação por magnetismo utilizando aptâmeros biotinilados foram utilizados em sêmen comercial, e duas frações de espermatozoides foram obtidas para cada aptâmero testado (livre e retida). A proporção relativa de espermatozoides Y foi analisada em reações de qPCR desenvolvidas para este objetivo. A curva padrão utilizada na qPCR foi eficiente para a quantificação da proporção sexual relativa em amostras de sêmen convencional e sexado. Diferença significativa da proporção relativa de Y foi encontrada na fração de espermatozoides livres do aptâmero C12 em relação ao controle (47,7% vs. 51,3%, respectivamente; P = 0,009); as demais separações não apresentaram diferença significativa. Os aptâmeros selecionados não produziram o efeito desejado de separação do sêmen conforme a presença do cromossomo X ou Y, nestas condições utilizadas, mas a diminuição da proporção relativa de Y em uma das frações não retidas indica ser possí... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Sex preselection of livestock offspring represents a big potential for genetic improvement. There are a search for new methods to sex-sort bull semen in order to avoid the limitations of flow cytometry/cell sorting technique. Aptamers emerge as potential candidates for sperm identification relative the presence of chromosome X or Y. In this work, the objectives were 1, to evaluate three aptamers developed to specifically binding to the Y-bearing sperm in magnetic separation by sex of bovine sperm and 2, to develop a SYBR Green Real-Time PCR method to determinate sex ratio in bovine semen in semen samples. Separation protocols by magnetism using biotinylated aptamers were used in commercial semen, and two fractions of sperm were obtained for each tested aptamer (free and trapped). The relative ratio of Y-bearing spermatozoa was analyzed in qPCR reactions developed for this purpose. The standard curve for qPCR was efficiently designed to quantify the sex relative ratio of sorted and unsorted semen samples. Significant difference in the relative proportion of Y-bearing sperm was found in the fraction of free sperm samples from aptamer C12 compared to the control samples (47.7% vs. 51.3%, respectively; P = 0.009); other separations showed no significant difference. Selected aptamers did not produce the wanted effect of sperm separation by the presence of chromosome X or Y, in these conditions used, but decreased relative proportion of Y-bearing sperm in one of the free fractions ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

According to the service orientation design paradigm there are business (BS) and electronic services (ES). BS encapsulate business concerns. ES encapsulate computing systems, information systems and software applications. In environments with a high number of BS and ES the decision on which ES provides the most suitable support for a certain BS is not a trivial task. The objective of the thesis is to provide models, methods, and techniques for preselection of ES for a given BS. Preselection is about reducing the large amount of ES to a significant smaller amount under the consideration of a particular BS.

According to the service orientation design paradigm there are business (BS) and electronic services (ES). BS encapsulate business concerns. ES encapsulate computing systems, information systems and software applications. In environments with a high number of BS and ES the decision on which ES provides the most suitable support for a certain BS is not a trivial task. The objective of the thesis is to provide models, methods, and techniques for preselection of ES for a given BS. Preselection is about reducing the large amount of ES to a significant smaller amount under the consideration of a particular BS.