By using the recent Gertler and Kiyotaki’s (2010) setup, this paper explores the interaction between real distortions stemming from the labor market institutions and …nancial shocks. We …nd that neither labor market imperfections nor …scal institutions determining tax wedges have an impact on the volatility of the real economy induced by a …nancial shock. By contrast, real wage rigidities matte...

Prostaglandins (PGs) have been recently proven essential for parturition in mice. To dissect the contributions of the two cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms to the synthesis of PGs during pregnancy, we have characterized the parturition phenotype of COX-1-deficient mice. We find that mice with targeted disruption of the COX-1 gene have delayed parturition resulting in neonatal death. Results of mati...

OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to determine the risk of uterine rupture in patients induced with oxytocin or misoprostol after 1 or more previous cesarean sections. STUDY DESIGN Patients with 1 or more previous cesarean sections who delivered after 28 weeks' gestation between 1996 and 2002 were identified by database. Among 3533 total patients, rates of uterine rupture were compared amon...

Induction of labor is one of the most commonly performed obstetric procedures and will likely become more common as the reproductive population in developed nations changes. As the proportion of women undergoing induction grows, there is a constant search for more efficacious ways to induce labor while maintaining fetal and maternal safety as well as patient satisfaction. With almost half of in...

Normal term and spontaneous preterm births (PTB) are documented to be associated with oxidative stress (OS), and imbalances in the redox system (balance between pro- and antioxidant) have been reported in the maternal-fetal intrauterine compartments. The exact mechanism of labor initiation either at term or preterm by OS is still unclear, and this lack of understanding can partially be blamed f...

Over a third of women of childbearing age in the United States are obese, and during pregnancy they are at increased risk for delayed labor onset and slow labor progress that often results in unplanned cesarean delivery. The biology behind this dysfunctional parturition is not well understood. Studies of obesity-induced changes in parturition physiology may facilitate approaches to optimize lab...

Understanding the allocation of skilled labor across industries is necessary to explain inter-industry wage differences and the effect of trade on wages. This paper develops an assignment model with both labor and non-labor inputs in which the assignment of heterogeneous labor across sectors is driven by variation in non-labor input productivity. A scale of operations effect causes high skill a...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate whether acupuncture at term can influence cervical ripening, induce labor and thus reduce the need for postdates induction. METHODS On the estimated date of confinement (EDC) women were prospectively randomized to an acupuncture group (AG) or a control group (CG). Data of 45 women were evaluated (AG, n = 25; CG, n = 20). Inclusion criteria were ...