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Regional studies have found significant agglomeration effects of education development on economic growth. Regional favouritism is potentially closely related to public investment in education, further impacting regional growth. This paper provides significant empirical evidence on the potential impact of favouritism on education development in the Chinese context. Using data for 282 Chinese cities from 1996 to 2016 with treatment for endogeneity (Lewbel two-stage least squares estimator), the results provide evidence that Chinese provincial political leaders favour their birthplaces’ education resource development, and that the effect is larger for within-provincial impact and higher tier cities ranked by income.

Background: Residual tumor at the resection margins after surgery for gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma is a known prognostic factor. In this single-center, retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral center, the authors aimed to evaluate the relevance of intraoperative pathology consultation (IOC) and consecutive extension of surgery on patient survival. Study design: Of 737 consecutive patients undergoing (sub)total gastrectomy for gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma, 679 cases with curative intent surgery between 05/1996 and 03/2019 were included. Patients were categorized into: R0 without further resection (direct R0), R0 after positive IOC and extension of resection (converted R0), and R1. Results: IOC was performed in 242 (35.6%) patients, in 216 (89.3%) at the proximal resection margin. Direct R0-status was achieved in 598 (88.1%), converted R0 in 26 (3.8%) of 38 (5.6%) patients with positive IOC and R1 in 55 (8.1%) patients. The median follow-up was 29 months for surviving patients. 3-year survival rate (3-YSR) was significantly higher for direct R0 compared to converted R0 with 62.3% compared to 21.8% (hazard ratio = 0.298; 95% CI=0.186-0.477, P<0.001). 3-YSR was similar between converted R0 and R1 (21.8 vs. 13.3%; hazard ratio = 0.928; 95% CI =0.526-1.636, P=0.792). In multivariate analysis, advanced T (P <0.001), N (P<0.001), R (P=0.003), and M1 status (P <0.001) were associated with worse overall survival. Conclusion: IOC and consecutive extended resection for positive resection margins in gastrectomy for the proximal gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma does not achieve long-term survival benefits in advanced tumor stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma recurrence is caused by tumor cells resistance which can be initial or acquired resu-lting from therapy. Studies searching the markers that would allow predicting the level of glioblastoma cell therapy resistance are in progress. Complexity of the problem is due to a high heterogeneity of individual tumors as well as due to cellular composition in each tumor. In the present work, comparative study on the influence of temozolomide (in Temodal® form) single exposure on the well-known glioblastoma cell line A172 as well as on new line R1 was performed. Treatment of A172 (highly temozolomide-sensitive cell line) with 0.1 mM temozolomide showed that only individual cells persisted and resumed the proliferation. In R1 glioblastoma, single cells survived and resumed the proliferation upon treatment with 1.0 mM temozolomide. Populations obtained from these proliferating cells were designated as resistant ones. The presence of MGMT enzyme and the expression of genes responsible for chemotherapy resistance and tumor progression (MGMT, ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCG2), and of growth factor genes (VEGF, HGF), as well as the presence of IL-6 and IL-8 cytokines (and their encoding genes) was examined in resistant A172 and R1 cells. In A172 cells, methylated status of MGMT gene promoter and the absence of MGMT gene expression were confirmed. It was firstly shown that R1 glioblastoma was heterogeneous in methylation status of MGMT gene promoter and MGMT enzyme expression. In A172 and R1 resistant cell populations, the level of MGMT gene promoter methylation was lower than in intact cells, while MGMT gene expression was enhanced that could be clue to a greater resistance of these cells to chemotherapy. Expression of most genes connected with chemotherapy resistance and more aggressive course of the disease, as well as of growth factors genes and interleukin genes in resistant A172 cells was higher than in intact cells. In contrast, in resistant R1 cells, expression of the same genes (excluding ABCC1 and VEGF, in which the expression level changed insignificantly) was lower than in intact cells. Our results confirmed the significance of MGMT in formation of glioblastoma cell resistance to temozolomide. Prognostic value of other studied parameters is still considered ambiguous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using firm-level information on Italian manufacturing companies provided by Capitalia and the Institutional Quality Index (IQI) dataset over the 2004–2006 (10th edition) period, we employ a multi-probit model to assess the effects of government quality upon four dimensions of innovation, namely, marketing, organisational, product and process innovation. Findings presented in the paper suggest that higher government quality stimulates firms' innovative activities, though the impact of governance varies across the various dimensions of innovation examined. Our evidence, which is robust to firms' size, PAVITT classification and firms' geographical location, provides room for policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to show the impact of financial knowledge among rural consumers' access to financial technology services. In general, knowledge regarding any particular fact helps consumers to select or reject different options. Therefore, knowledge regarding financial services is considered a factor that influences access to financial technology services. This study carries out a survey-oriented method with a structured questionnaire. According to the data category, this study uses three well-known econometric models: logistic regression, probit regression, and complementary log–log regression, have been experimented. This study finds that knowledge regarding various factors significantly impact on access to financial technology services. Mainly, this study has important practical significance for the use of rural finance and financial technology in rural areas, which affects the entire economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Colorectal cancer is among the most commonly encountered human malignancies, with up to a quarter of total patients exhibiting metastatic spread to the liver at some point during the disease course. For these patients, curative-intent liver resection yields the optimal oncological outcomes, ensuring long-term survival in the majority of cases. However, taking into account that liver resections are accompanied by considerable postoperative complication rates, treatment approaches should be individualized to avoid unnecessary exposure to morbid therapies. To that end, the study of tumor biology, especially in terms of RAS mutational status, is proving a very helpful adjunct in identifying patient subsets that derive the most benefit from this aggressive treatment modality. The concept of precision surgery in CRLM revolves around tailoring the aggressiveness of the employed treatments depending on tumor features, while avoiding surgery in patients not expected to derive any benefit from it. Liver resection for colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is widely considered the treatment with the highest curative potential. However, not all patients derive the same oncological benefit, underlining the need for better patient stratification and treatment allocation. In this context, we performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the role of RAS status in selecting the optimal surgical strategy. Evidence comparing anatomical with non-anatomical resections depending on RAS mutational status was scarce and conflicting, with two studies reporting superiority in mutated RAS (mutRAS) patients and two studies reporting equivalent outcomes. The rate of incomplete microscopic resection (R1) was found to be increased among mutRAS patients, possibly due to higher micrometastatic spread lateral to the primary lesion. The impact of R1 resection margins was evaluated separately for mutRAS and wild-type patients in three studies, of which, two indicated an additive detriment to long-term survival in the former group. In the current era of precision surgery, RAS status can be utilized to predict the efficacy of liver resection in the treatment of CRLM, avoiding a potentially morbid operation in patients with adverse tumor profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic region is one of the most exposed to the global climate change. Russia accounts for more than a half of the whole Arctic territory and population and allocates most of the economic activity of the region. From the Soviet time till now, the Arctic region also accounts for a substantial share of Russia’s wealth. The article analyzes often ambiguous knowledge on climate change implications for the long-term economic development of the Russian Arctic. Based on the review of the key policy documents issued in Russia and ongoing and planned development programs, the study aspires to contribute more clarity on Russia’s standing in the Arctic region. We aim to analyze the convergence of Russian climate and Arctic policies boosting the synergies between each other. The paper discovers, among other issues, the climate change adaptation priorities in policy areas aimed at minimizing net costs of climate change. While policies rhetorically aim at contributing to resilient and sustainable growth in the Russian North, they remain under-developed in accounting for multiple climate-related risks. Our analysis suggests that a comprehensive framework of Arctic policy measures should be centered around climate change as a core factor underlying the future of the region and should encompass two main policy dimensions: (a) strengthening the knowledge base on climate change, the adjunct risks, and emerging opportunities in the region and (b) developing the system for climate change risk management and resilience building ensuring that regional diversity and climatic and socioeconomic features of various locations are taken into serious account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban-biased politics often drives distortionary policies in many countries. We develop a political economy model in which the government faces a trade-off between retaining urban support and expanding its industrial rent base. The model shows that while an increase in urbanization strengthens the government's incentives to adopt rural land reform and to encourage rural–urban migration, an increase in urban productivity has the opposite effect. These effects are mediated by the income share of labor in the rural sector, the political power of urban residents and the labor elasticity of urban output. Using China's context, we illustrate that the model's predictions are consistent with the observed policies on land ownership and rural–urban migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tumour-positive proximal margin (PPM) after extended gastrectomy for oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) adenocarcinoma is observed in approximately 2–20% of patients. Although a PPM is an unfavourable prognostic factor, the clinical relevance remains unclear as it may reflect poor tumour biology. This narrative review analyses the most relevant literature on PPM after gastrectomy for OGJ cancers. Awareness of the risk factors and possible measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of PPM are important. In patients with a PPM, surgical and non-surgical treatments are available but the effectiveness remains unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The role of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease is complex and largely unknown. We investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between CBF, amyloid burden, and cognition, in cognitively normal individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Methods: We included 187 cognitively normal individuals with SCD from the SCIENCe project (65 ± 8 years, 39% F, MMSE 29 ± 1). Each underwent a dynamic (0–70 min) [18F]florbetapir PET and T1-weighted MRI scan, enabling calculation of mean binding potential (BPND; specific amyloid binding) and R1 (measure of relative (r)CBF). Eighty-three individuals underwent a second [18F]florbetapir PET (2.6 ± 0.7 years). Participants annually underwent neuropsychological assessment (follow-up time 3.8 ± 3.1 years; number of observations n = 774). Results: A low baseline R1 was associated with steeper decline on tests addressing memory, attention, and global cognition (range betas 0.01 to 0.27, p < 0.05). High BPND was associated with steeper decline on tests covering all domains (range betas − 0.004 to − 0.70, p < 0.05). When both predictors were simultaneously added to the model, associations remained essentially unchanged. Additionally, we found longitudinal associations between R1 and BPND. High baseline BPND predicted decline over time in R1 (all regions, range betasBP×time − 0.09 to − 0.14, p < 0.05). Vice versa, low baseline R1 predicted increase in BPND in frontal, temporal, and composite ROIs over time (range betasR1×time − 0.03 to − 0.08, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that amyloid accumulation and decrease in rCBF are two parallel disease processes without a fixed order, both providing unique predictive information for cognitive decline and each process enhancing the other longitudinally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the clinical significance of prepulse inhibition (PPI), the mechanisms are not well understood. Herein, we present our investigation of PPI in the R1 component of electrically induced blink reflexes. The effect of a prepulse was explored with varying prepulse test intervals (PTIs) of 20–600 ms in 4 females and 12 males. Prepulse–test combinations included the following: stimulation of the supraorbital nerve (SON)–SON [Experiment (Exp) 1], sound–sound (Exp 2), the axon of the facial nerve–SON (Exp 3), sound–SON (Exp 4), and SON–SON with a long trial–trial interval (Exp 5). Results showed that (1) leading weak SON stimulation reduced SON-induced ipsilateral R1 with a maximum effect at a PTI of 140 ms, (2) the sound– sound paradigm resulted in a U-shaped inhibition time course of the auditory startle reflex (ASR) peaking at 140 ms PTI, (3) facial nerve stimulation showed only a weak effect on R1, (4) a weak sound prepulse facilitated R1 but strongly inhibited SON-induced late blink reflexes (LateRs) with a similar U-shaped curve, and (5) LateR in Exp 5 was almost completely absent at PTIs .80 ms. These results indicate that the principal sensory nucleus is responsible for R1 PPI. Inhibition of ASR or LateR occurs at a point in the startle reflex circuit where auditory and somatosensory signals converge. Although the two inhibitions are different in location, their similar time courses suggest similar neural mechanisms. As R1 has a simple circuit and is stable, R1 PPI helps to clarify PPI mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 changed counties' market potential and influenced the economic geography of the USA. We compute shipment effective distances with and without the canal from each US county to each other US county and to international ports and compute the resulting change in market potential. The main elasticity would imply that a 1% increase in market potential led to a total increase of population by around 2.3% in 1940. We compute similar elasticities for wages, land values, and immigration from out of state. Tradable (manufacturing) industries react stronger than non-tradable (services) industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Inducing hyperoxia in tissues is common practice in several areas of research, including oxygen‐enhanced MRI (OE‐MRI), which attempts to use the resulting signal changes to detect regions of tumor hypoxia or pulmonary disease. The linear relationship between PO2 and R1 has been reproduced in phantom solutions and body fluids such as vitreous fluid; however, in tissue and blood experiments, factors such as changes in deoxyhemoglobin levels can also affect the ΔR1. Theory and Methods: This manuscript proposes a three‐compartment model for estimating the hyperoxia‐induced changes in R1 of tissues depending on B0, SO2, blood volume, hematocrit, oxygen extraction fraction, and changes in blood and tissue PO2. The model contains two blood compartments (arterial and venous) and a tissue compartment. This model has been designed to be easy for researchers to tailor to their tissue of interest by substituting their preferred model for tissue oxygen diffusion and consumption. A specific application of the model is demonstrated by calculating the resulting ΔR1 expected in healthy, hypoxic and necrotic tumor tissues. In addition, the effect of sex‐based hematocrit differences on ΔR1 is assessed. Results: The ΔR1 values predicted by the model are consistent with reported literature OE‐MRI results: with larger positive changes in the vascular periphery than hypoxic and necrotic regions. The observed sex‐based differences in ΔR1 agree with findings by Kindvall et al. suggesting that differences in hematocrit levels may sometimes be a confounding factor in ΔR1. Conclusion: This model can be used to estimate the expected tissue ΔR1 in oxygen‐enhanced MRI experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how fertilizer application (particularly N, the most used chemical fertilizer worldwide) interacts with soil microbes is important for the development of best management practices that target improved microbial activity to enhance sustainable food production. This study was conducted to determine whether urea N rate and time of application to maize (Zea mays) influenced soil enzyme activity. Enzyme activity was determined by monitoring fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis, ß-glucosidase, acid-phosphomonoesterase, and arylsulfatase activities. Experiments were conducted from 2014 through 2016 to compare single (fall or spring applications) and split applications of N at varying N rates under irrigation (Becker) and rainfed conditions (Lamberton and Waseca) in MN, USA. Nitrogen rates varied by location and were based on University of Minnesota guidelines. Soil samples were collected seven times each season. Nitrogen application split into two applications increased FDA activity by 10% compared with fall and spring applied N at Waseca. Fall or spring N application decreased arylsulfatase activity by 19% at Becker and by between 13% and 16% at Lamberton. ß-Glucosidase and acid-phosphomonoesterase activities were unaffected by N application. Sampling time and year had the greatest impact on enzyme activity, but the results varied by location. A negative linear relationship occurred between FDA and ß-glucosidase activity at all three sites. In summary, urea N application had small effects on enzyme activity at the sites studied, suggesting that some form of organic N could be more important than the ammonium provided by urea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of minimum wages increases on youth employment level has been extensively analysed, but recent contributions have highlighted the potential bias in these studies due to neglected spatial autocorrelation in the considered relationship. This paper contributes to this scarce literature by providing novel evidence for a country with very low interregional mobility. The aim is to see if the bias of neglecting spatial dependence acts in a similar direction than in the few studies for the United States and if this bias explains the low elasticity of youth employment to minimum wages in Spain compared to the international literature. Our results show the relevance of spatial spillovers in the Spanish regional labour markets, but after correcting for the bias, we do not find a significant negative elasticity of youth employment to minimum wages, with the only exception of those between 16 and 19 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributional extensions of the benchmark AK endogenous growth model and of the Ramsey model are presented in this paper. The resulting geographic growth model - a forward-backward parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) over a bounded spatial domain - is governed by two main driving forces: a spatial friction in the reallocation of physical capital, and a spatial arbitrage driving the reallocation of savings. The spatial AK model solution, starting from an unequal distribution of capital, displays convergence over time to a spatially homogeneous balanced growth path with positive growth rates. The spatial Ramsey model potentially contains both diffusive and agglomerative spatial forces. If there are no agglomerative forces, the solution displays convergence to a spatially homogenous steady state, but if an agglomerative force exists, there is increasing spatial concentration of capital over time. This shows that convergence in the aggregate can be consistent with different distribution profiles over locations. An additional contribution of the paper is to develop a distributive comparative dynamics analysis for a spatially heterogeneous productivity shock. It is shown that, although there is redistribution of consumption across locations, technological inequality is persistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recurrence rate after organ-sparing surgeries for breast cancer depends on the resection margins: R1 status is associated with a higher risk of recurrence than R0.We analyzed a group of breast cancer patients with an R1 resection margin who underwent organ-sparing/oncoplastic surgeries. The R1 resection margin was detected in 62 out of 1279 patients who had organ-sparing/oncoplastic surgeries (4.9 % ± 0.6 %). In the group with invasive cancer and R1 resection margin, 80 % of patients were diagnosed with lobular carcinoma, whereas 14.8 % of patients had invasive cancer with no specific signs.We divided the group of repeated surgeries according to their histological structure at the resection margin: 28 patients were found to have carcinoma in situ, while 13 patients had invasive cancer.Among patients with carcinoma in situ, the resection margin after repeated surgery had no signs of malignancy in 14 women (50 %), while 10 (35.7 %) and 4 (14.3 %) women were diagnosed with carcinoma in situ and invasive cancer, respectively.In case of invasive cancer, 4 patients (30.8 %) had no signs of malignancy in their resection margins, while 1 (7.7 %) and 8 (61.5 %) patients were found to have carcinoma in situ and invasive cancer, respectivelyFollow-up of patients with an R1 resection margin after repeated surgery or radiotherapy revealed no cases of local recurrence between 3 and 65 months.