Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of telecommunications infrastructure and human capital: Mexico´s economic growth and convergence

Understanding the sources of regional economic growth in Mexico is important. Hence, in this paper, I will briefly discuss developments in the theory of economic growth and discuss the theoretical work in the Mexican context, and review some of the more recent empirical studies dealing with public infrastructure and economic growth. The development of regions in the periphery is of special concern to the development of the Mexican Economy. The regional planning approach in Mexico emphasizes strategic, geographically-focused investments in infrastructure, and the application of industrial policies to influence the location of industries and foster the development of inter-industry linkages. The Mexican states are diverse in terms of geographic, demographic, and economic characteristics. Between the 1980's and the 2000's, the lagging regions of the south remained among the poorest, while the regions with above average per capita incomes remained in the North and in the area near Mexico City. However, there is adequate evidence to suggest the existence of and increase in regional disparities in Mexico. For example, Diaz-Bautista (2000) showed regional output disparities among selected states in Mexico. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, the relationship between public policies and regional growth in Mexico is examined. This includes a discussion on the effects of infrastructure on regional development. Second, the role of public investments in the development of the Mexican states is also examined. The specific question addressed is whether the varying incidence of public infrastructure investments influenced the development patterns of lagging, intermediate and leading states. This paper is divided into four main parts. The first part provides the background and motivation for the study. The second part highlights the need to examine regions as the unit of analysis and reviews the literature of the relationship between infrastructure investments and regional growth. The third part examines the efficacy of infrastructure investments in the development of the Mexican states. This section presents the data, choice of methodology, model specification, the econometric model and the results from the empirical analysis. The final section presents some policy implications and directions for future research.
Serum Cotinine Levels and Prehypertension in Never Smokers

Background. Few studies have shown that self-reported secondhand smoke exposure in never smokers is associated with high blood pressure. However, there are no studies investigating the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure, measured objectively by serum cotinine levels, and high blood pressure in never smokers. Methods. We examined never smokers (n = 2027) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2008. Our exposure of interest was the secondhand smoke exposure estimated by serum cotinine level and our outcome was prehypertension (n = 734), defined as a systolic blood pressure of 120–139 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of 80–89 mmHg. Results. We found that, in never smokers, serum cotinine levels were positively associated with prehypertension. Compared to those with cotinine levels in the lowest quartile (≤0.024 ng/mL), the multivariable odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of prehypertension among those with cotinine levels in the highest quartile (≥0.224 ng/mL) was 1.45(1.00, 2.11); P trend = 0.0451. In subsequent subgroup analyses, the positive association was found to be stronger among men, non-Whites, and non-obese subjects. Conclusion. Higher secondhand smoke exposure measured objectively by serum cotinine levels was found to be associated with prehypertension in certain subgroups of a representative sample of the US population.
Quantitative T1‐mapping detects cloudy‐enhancing tumor compartments predicting outcome of patients with glioblastoma

Contrast enhancement of glioblastomas (GBM) is caused by the decrease in relaxation time, T1. Here, we demonstrate that the quantitative measurement of T1 (qT1) discovers a subtle enhancement in GBM patients that is invisible in standard MRI. We assessed the volume change of this “cloudy” enhancement during radio‐chemotherapy and its impact on patients’ progression‐free survival (PFS). We enrolled 18 GBM patients in this observational, prospective cohort study and measured 3T‐MRI pre‐ and post contrast agent with standard T1‐weighted (T1w) and with sequences to quantify T1 before radiation, and at 6‐week intervals during radio‐chemotherapy. We measured contrast enhancement by subtracting pre from post contrast contrast images, yielding relative signal increase ∆T1w and relative T1 shortening ∆qT1. On ∆qT1, we identified a solid and a cloudy‐enhancing compartment and evaluated the impact of their therapy‐related volume change upon PFS. In ∆qT1 maps cloudy‐enhancing compartments were found in all but two patients at baseline and in all patients during therapy. The qT1 decrease in the cloudy‐enhancing compartment post contrast was 21.64% versus 1.96% in the contralateral control tissue (P < 0.001). It was located at the margin of solid enhancement which was also seen on T1w. In contrast, the cloudy‐enhancing compartment was visually undetectable on ∆T1w. A volume decrease of more than 21.4% of the cloudy‐enhancing compartment at first follow‐up predicted longer PFS (P = 0.038). Cloudy‐enhancing compartment outside the solid contrast‐enhancing area of GBM is a new observation which is only visually detectable with qT1‐mapping and may represent tumor infiltration. Its early volume decrease predicts a longer PFS in GBM patients during standard radio‐chemotherapy.
Expectations and the Timing of Neighborhood Change

We study the role of expectations when agents have a preference for segregation and households face moving frictions. In a fixed environment, there are multiple equilibria: agents' expectations determine whether an ethnic transition occurs. However, the outcome is unique if there is a deterministic trend that gradually makes the neighborhood more appealing to the outside group. It is also unique if the relative payoff from living in the neighborhood is subject to small shocks. In both cases, the insiders must leave at the first possible moment: when the outsiders would outbid them if an immediate ethnic transition were expected.
Telomere length, cardiovascular risk and arteriosclerosis in human kidneys: an observational cohort study

Background Replicative senescence, associated with telomere shortening, plays an important role in aging and cardiovascular disease. The relation between telomere length, cardiovascular risk, and renal disease is unknown. Methods Our study consisted of a cohort of 257 kidney donors for transplantation, divided into a test and a validation cohort. We used quantitative RT‐PCR to measure relative telomere length (log T/S ratio) in peripheral blood leucocytes, and in kidney biopsies performed prior to implantation. The association between leucocyte and intrarenal telomere length, cardiovascular risk factors, and renal histology, was studied using multiple regression models, adjusted for calendar age, gender and other donor demographics. Results Subjects with intrarenal arteriosclerosis had significantly shorter leucocyte telomere length compared with patients without arteriosclerosis (log T/S ratio ‐0.3 ± 0.4 vs. 0.1 ± 0.2 with vs. without arteriosclerosis; p = 0.0008). Intrarenal arteriosclerosis was associated with shorter telomere length, independent of gender, calendar age, history of hypertension and history of cardiovascular events. For each increase of one standard deviation of the log T/S ratio, the odds for intrarenal arteriosclerosis decreased with 64% (Odds ratio 0.36; 95% CI 0.17‐0.77; p = 0.02). In accordance with leucocyte telomere length, shorter intrarenal telomere length associated significantly with the presence of renal arteriosclerosis (log T/S ratio ‐0.04 ± 0.06 vs. 0.08 ± 0.01 with vs. without arteriosclerosis, p = 0.007), and not with other histological lesions. Interpretation We demonstrate that arteriosclerosis in smaller intrarenal arteries is associated with shorter telomere length. Our study suggests a central role of replicative senescence in the progression of renovascular disease, independent of calendar age.
Marketing research : state-of-the-art perspectives : handbook of the American Marketing Association & Professional Marketing Research Society

I. DISCOVERING LAWLIKE RELATIONSHIPS. 1. Knowledge As Our Discipline. 2. Turning Data Into Knowledge. 3. At the Threshold of Science. II. GATHERING DATA. 4. The Process of Marketing Research. 5. Data Collection Methods and Marketing Research: A Comparision and Review of Alternatives. 6. Internet Research: The Brave New World. 7. Sampling Techniques. III. ANALYZING DATA. 9. Quantitative Data Analysis: Univariate Techniques. 10. Quantitative Data Analysis: Multivariate Techniques. 11. Computer-Based Qualitative Data Analysis. 12. Graphical Methods of Data Analysis and Presentation. IV. SEARCHING FOR STRUCTURE. 13. Marketing Mix Analysis: A Science.and an Art. 14. Market Segmentation. 15. Database and data Mining Techniques. 16. Public Opinion Polls. 17. Research in Advertising. 18. International Research. 19. Measuring the Equity in Customer Relationships. 20. Product and Package Testing. 21. Pricing Research. 22. Survey Research Goes to Court. VI. ENVISIONING THE FUTURE. 23. Looking into the Future. Notes on Contributors. Index.
Development and Validation of a Physics-Based Brain Atlas

This paper aims to develop and validate an innovative digital model of the human brain for medical applications. This model, or physics-based brain atlas, combines inputs from both medical imaging processing and biomechanics of the brain. Emphasis is given to the validation aspect of this model for which both geometric and biomechanical validation was carried out. Quantitative measurements of the model's accuracy were studied. An indentation experiment was conducted with its numerical simulation. The results suggested the proposed model, with qualitative measurements of its fidelity obtained from its validation process, may be adopted as a useful tool in brain deformation applications.
Guidance rays: 3D object selection based on multi-ray in dense scenario

The task of ambiguous objects selection in 3D immersive Human-Computer interaction is fundamental and still challenging. The difficulty of precise selection of small/remote or occluded objects increased with the dense level of the virtual environment. In this paper, we present a guidance rays technique---a novel 3D selection method to address this issue, which allows user to perform distal pointing task with disambiguation mechanism depending on user's behavior. In guidance rays technique, total of three virtual rays are designed to select target, include one normal straight ray and two bendable rays. The paper focuses on strategies regarding effective, accurate selection of the intended target in VEs with light user fatigue. It's assumed that every single object in VEs has its own gravitational field and the guidance rays are bendable during the pointing task. The magnitudes of gravitational field of all the objects are sorted in descending order in every frame. Then the TOP2 ranking objects are indicated by two bendable guidance rays with different colors. Furthermore, to meet the need of dense virtual environment, a lock strategy is designed to avoid guidance ray switching between objects frequently. The experiments, carried out in ambiguous scenarios in which an absolute hand-held device with MEMS sensors was used as a selection tool, show that guidance rays technique is more precise than traditional 3D selection technique, and significantly efficient when selecting small/remote and occluded target.
Drivers for the Adoption of Mobile Device Management in Organizations

The diffusion of mobile devices rapidly increased in the last decade. Nowadays, smartphones are part of our daily lives, both with respect to private and professional use. This leads to several challenges for enterprises, like the trend to “Bring Your Own Device” or IT consumerization. IT executives are forced to ensure a high level of security, provide services for employees and support the enterprise productivity. In this context, several software solutions have been introduced to manage the mobile IT, one of which are mobile device management (MDM) systems. However, until now, there is a lack of research concerning possible factors that may influence the adoption of MDM systems in enterprises. Based on the well-established Technology Organization Environment (TOE) Framework a model for MDM adoption in enterprises is constructed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Data was gathered by means of an online survey, in which 95 IT executives from German enterprises participated. Overall, it could be found that perceived security benefits, costs, firm-size, and the BYOD culture significantly influence MDM adoption, while regulations, business partners, employees’ innovativeness with IT and the amount of mobile device usage have no significant influence.
Machines vs. Machines: High Frequency Trading and Hard Information

In today's markets where high frequency traders (HFTs) act as both liquidity providers and takers, I argue that information asymmetry induced by liquidity-taking HFTs' use of machine-readable information is important. This particular type of information asymmetry arises because some machines may access the information before other machines or because of randomness in relative speed. Applying a novel statistical approach to measure HFT activity through limit order book data and using a natural experiment of index inclusion, I show that liquidity-providing HFTs supply less liquidity to stocks that suffer more from this information asymmetry problem. Moreover, when markets are volatile, this information asymmetry problem becomes more severe, and HFTs supply less liquidity. I discuss implications for market-making activity in times of market stress and for HFT regulations.
Banded mongooses avoid inbreeding when mating with members of the same natal group

Inbreeding and inbreeding avoidance are key factors in the evolution of animal societies, influencing dispersal and reproductive strategies which can affect relatedness structure and helping behaviours. In cooperative breeding systems, individuals typically avoid inbreeding through reproductive restraint and/or dispersing to breed outside their natal group. However, where groups contain multiple potential mates of varying relatedness, strategies of kin recognition and mate choice may be favoured. Here, we investigate male mate choice and female control of paternity in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), a cooperatively breeding mammal where both sexes are often philopatric and mating between relatives is known to occur. We find evidence suggestive of inbreeding depression in banded mongooses, indicating a benefit to avoiding breeding with relatives. Successfully breeding pairs were less related than expected under random mating, which appeared to be driven by both male choice and female control of paternity. Male banded mongooses actively guard females to gain access to mating opportunities, and this guarding behaviour is preferentially directed towards less closely related females. Guard–female relatedness did not affect the guard's probability of gaining reproductive success. However, where mate‐guards are unsuccessful, they lose paternity to males that are less related to the females than themselves. Together, our results suggest that both sexes of banded mongoose use kin discrimination to avoid inbreeding. Although this strategy appears to be rare among cooperative breeders, it may be more prominent in species where relatedness to potential mates is variable, and/or where opportunities for dispersal and mating outside of the group are limited.
Robust Digital Speech Watermarking For Online Speaker Recognition

A robust and blind digital speech watermarking technique has been proposed for online speaker recognition systems based on Discrete Wavelet Packet Transform (DWPT) and multiplication to embed the watermark in the amplitudes of the wavelet’s subbands. In order to minimize the degradation effect of the watermark, these subbands are selected where less speaker-specific information was available (500 Hz–3500 Hz and 6000 Hz–7000 Hz). Experimental results on Texas Instruments Massachusetts Institute of Technology (TIMIT), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Mobile Biometry (MOBIO) show that the degradation for speaker verification and identification is 1.16% and 2.52%, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed watermark technique can provide enough robustness against different signal processing attacks.
How Does Public Investment Affect Economic Growth in HIPC? An Empirical Assessment

A better assessment of the impact of public investment on economic performance is crucial in order to design and implement effective fiscal policies for adjustment with growth in highly indebted poor countries. In this paper we investigate empirically the relationship between public investment, private investment and output, providing a dynamic econometric procedure on a selected group of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). Our results provide empirical support for both the crowding-in hypothesis and a positive effect of public investment on output.
Developing Effective Salmonella-based Approaches to Treat Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is predicted to have the second highest incidence of fatalities among all solid tumor malignancies worldwide. Despite three decades of research focused on treating PDAC, the five-year survival rate is less than 6%, thus leaving much room for improvement. Historically, PDAC has been difficult to treat due to the absence of early detection methods resulting in clinical disease that is significantly advanced and characterized by immunosuppression, an extreme form of fibrosis known as desmoplasia, and metastasis to vital organs [1]. Current chemotherapeutic combinations, such as gemcitabine with Abraxane, have been shown to extend patient survival; however, they only do so by two to three months [2]. The newly released irinotecan liposome injection tested in pancreatic cancer patients is, at best, equal in efficacy to gemcitabine with Abraxane [3-5]. The low efficacy and high toxicity of chemotherapy has lead to innovative new strategies using immunotherapeutic approaches for treatment of PDAC. For example, the whole pancreatic cancer cell vaccine expressing human macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), known as GVAX, combined with a Listeriabased vaccine expressing the PDAC antigen mesothelian (CRS-207) shows promise in extending survival evidenced by both pre-clinical and preliminary clinical data [6]. Furthermore, antibody therapies targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1 have shown great benefit toward enhancing antitumor immunity resulting in tumor regression and extension of survival in other solid tumor models [7]. Despite these successes, there is a growing consensus that a “multipronged” approach to induce anti-tumor immunity and simultaneously targeting immune suppression and desmoplasia will have the greatest effect in eliminating PDAC. However, balancing such aggressive approaches with minimal toxicity to the patient will prove to be an incredibly daunting task.
An Escherichia coli strain for expression of the connexin45 carboxyl terminus attached to the 4th transmembrane domain

A major problem for structural characterization of membrane proteins, such as connexins, by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) occurs at the initial step of the process, the production of sufficient amounts of protein. This occurs because proteins must be expressed in minimal based media. Here, we describe an expression system for membrane proteins that significantly improves yield by addressing two common problems, cell toxicity caused by protein translation and codon bias between genomes. This work provides researchers with a cost-effective tool for NMR and other biophysical studies, to use when faced with little-to-no expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins in Escherichia coli expression systems.
Activated Met Signalling in the Developing Mouse Heart Leads to Cardiac Disease

Background The Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in many physiological processes, including skeletal muscle, placenta and liver development. Little is known about its role and that of Met tyrosine kinase receptor in cardiac development. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we generated two transgenic mice with cardiac-specific, tetracycline-suppressible expression of either Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) or the constitutively activated Tpr-Met kinase to explore: i) the effect of stimulation of the endogenous Met receptor by autocrine production of HGF and ii) the consequence of sustained activation of Met signalling in the heart. We first showed that Met is present in the neonatal cardiomyocytes and is responsive to exogenous HGF. Exogenous HGF starting from prenatal stage enhanced cardiac proliferation and reduced sarcomeric proteins and Connexin43 (Cx43) in newborn mice. As adults, these transgenics developed systolic contractile dysfunction. Conversely, prenatal Tpr-Met expression was lethal after birth. Inducing Tpr-Met expression during postnatal life caused early-onset heart failure, characterized by decreased Cx43, upregulation of fetal genes and hypertrophy. Conclusions/Significance Taken together, our data show that excessive activation of the HGF/Met system in development may result in cardiac damage and suggest that Met signalling may be implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiac disease.
Frequency and release flux of calcium sparks in rat cardiac myocytes: a relation to RYR gating

Cytosolic calcium concentration in resting cardiac myocytes locally fluctuates as a result of spontaneous microscopic Ca2+ releases or abruptly rises as a result of an external trigger. These processes, observed as calcium sparks, are fundamental for proper function of cardiac muscle. In this study, we analyze how the characteristics of spontaneous and triggered calcium sparks are related to cardiac ryanodine receptor (RYR) gating. We show that the frequency of spontaneous sparks and the probability distribution of calcium release flux quanta of triggered sparks correspond quantitatively to predictions of an allosteric homotetrameric model of RYR gating. This model includes competitive binding of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions to the RYR activation sites and allosteric interaction between divalent ion binding and channel opening. It turns out that at rest, RYRs are almost fully occupied by Mg2+. Therefore, spontaneous sparks are most frequently evoked by random openings of the highly populated but rarely opening Mg4RYR and CaMg3RYR forms, whereas triggered sparks are most frequently evoked by random openings of the less populated but much more readily opening Ca2Mg2RYR and Ca3MgRYR forms. In both the spontaneous and the triggered sparks, only a small fraction of RYRs in the calcium release unit manages to open during the spark because of the limited rate of Mg2+ unbinding. This mechanism clarifies the unexpectedly low calcium release flux during elementary release events and unifies the theory of calcium signaling in resting and contracting cardiac myocytes.