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This research proposes a first approximation of Inequality of Opportunity (IOp) in Mexico based on a concept of ex-post compensation, fully consistent with Roemer s approach of In-equality of Opportunity. This framework considers the advantage reached by an individual to be determined by the circumstances at origin and by the effort exerted. Following Brunori and Neidhofer (2020), we construct a data-driven procedure using regression trees to identify types based on circumstances. To identify degrees of effort, an algorithm estimates the distribution of outcome in each type based on coefficients of Bernstein polynomials. Our results underline the differences, in terms of opportunities, faced by individuals, based on the territory in which they grew up, the household context, and their sex. We find that the education and the wealth of parents are the principal circumstances that shape their trajectories. Importantly, territorial variables are significant determinants of IOp among the most disadvantaged at origin, but they hold less importance for the most advantaged. IOp is lower in urban areas, in the Northern region and in Mexico City compared to other regions. The Southern region and rural territories are the most unequal. We also estimate that the weight of IOp in terms of total inequality varies according if we adopt an ex-post or an ex-ante approach, which can lead to different conclusions.

Scientometrics and bibliometrics, the subfields of library and information science, deal with the quantity and quality of research outputs. Currently, various scientometric indices are being used to quantify and compare research outputs. The most widely known is the h-index. However, this index and its derivatives suffer from dependence on the mere count of a scholar's highly cited publications. To remedy this deficiency, we developed a novel index, the Universal Research Index (UR-Index) (https://usern2021.github.io/UR-Index/) by which every single publication has its own impact on the total score. We developed this index by surveying international top 1 % cited scientists in various disciplines and included additional component variables such as publication type, leading role of a scholar, co-author count, and source metrics to this scientometric index. We acknowledge that unconscious biases built into the component variables included in the UR-Index might put research from specific groups at a disadvantage, thus continued efforts to improve equitable scholarly impact in science and academia are encouraged.

We consider the motion of a charged particle under the electromagnetic field generated by an electrically neutral infinite straight wire with a time-periodic oscillating (AC-DC) current. By using global continuation and topological degree, we identify a bi-parametric family of radially periodic motions. The proofs involve some delicate estimations of the induced electromagnetic field, which can be of independent interest.

ObjectivesOral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) are the two major subtypes of head and neck cancer (HNC) that can go undetected resulting in late detection and poor outcomes. We describe the development and validation of a convenient and easy-to-use test, called CancerDetect for Oral & Throat cancer™ (CDOT), to detect markers of OSCC and/or OPSCC within a high-risk population using salivary metatranscriptomics.Materials and MethodsWe collected saliva samples from 1,175 unique individuals who were 50 years or older, or adults who had a history of tobacco use. All saliva samples were processed through a metatranscriptomic method to isolate microbial organisms and functions, as well as human transcripts. Of the 1175 samples, 945 were used to train a classifier using machine learning methods, resulting in a salivary RNA metatranscriptomic signature. The classifier was then independently validated on the 230 remaining samples unseen by the classifier, consisting of 20 OSCC (all stages), 76 OPSCC (all stages), and 134 negatives (including 14 pre-malignant).ResultsOn the validation cohort, the specificity of the CDOT test was 94%, sensitivity was 90% for participants with a histopathological diagnosis of OSCC, and 84.2% for participants with a diagnosis of OPSCC. Similar classification results were observed among people in early stage (stages I & II) vs late stage (stages III & IV) of OSCC and OPSCC.ConclusionsCDOT is a non-invasive test that can be easily administered in dentist offices, primary care centers and specialized cancer clinics for early detection of OPSCC and OSCC. This test, having received breakthrough designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will broadly enable early diagnosis of OSCC and OPSCC, saving lives and significantly reducing healthcare expenditure.

To prevent and treat chronic diseases, including cancer, a global application of systems biology is needed. We report here a whole blood transcriptome test that needs only 50 μl of capillary (fingerprick) blood. This test is suitable for global applications because the samples are preserved at ambient temperature for up to 4 weeks and the RNA preservative inactivates all pathogens, enabling safe transportation. Both the laboratory and bioinformatic steps are automated and performed in a clinical lab, which minimizes batch effects and creates unbiased datasets. Given its clinical testing performance and accessibility to traditionally underrepresented and diverse populations, this test offers a unique ability to reveal molecular mechanisms of disease and enable longitudinal, population-scale studies.

Global climate change predictions include decreased precipitation and more frequent droughts in many world regions. In the aseasonal wet tropics, predicting potential impacts is particularl...

We are grateful to Rafael Ortega for bringing to our attention the position-energy system that has been crucial for the regularization of collisions. We also thank the anonymous referees for their valuable comments and suggestions that contributed to improve the initial version of the paper. This work has been realized thanks to the Agencia Estatal de Investigaci´on, Spain and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovaci´on y Universidades, Spain grants MTM2017-82348-C2-1-P and MTM2017-86795-C3-1-P., We prove the existence and multiplicity of periodic solutions of bouncing type for a second-order differential equation with a weak repulsive singularity. Such solutions can be cataloged according to the minimal period and the number of elastic collisions with the singularity in each period. The proof relies on the Poincaré–Birkhoff Theorem., Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Spain and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain grants MTM2017-82348-C2-1-P and MTM2017-86795-C3-1-P

Recognizing and treating the early stages of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the most cost effective way to decrease prevalence, before heart disease, renal disease, blindness, and limb amputation become inevitable. In this study, we employ high resolution gut microbiome metatranscriptomic analysis of stool samples from 53,970 individuals to identify predictive biomarkers of type 2 diabetes progression and potential for diagnosis and treatment response. The richness of the metatranscriptomic data enabled us to develop a T2D risk model to delineate individuals with glycemic dysregulation from those within normal glucose levels, with ROC-AUC of 0.83+/-0.04. This risk score can predict the probability of having insulin dysregulation before detecting high glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), the standard-of-care marker for prediabetes and diabetes. Additionally, a machine learning model was able to distinguish novel metatranscriptomic features that segregate patients who receive metformin and are able to control their HbA1c from those who do not. These discoveries set the stage for developing multiple therapeutic avenues for prevention and treatment of T2D.

Microbiomes are vast communities of microorganisms and viruses that populate all natural ecosystems. Viruses have been considered to be the most variable component of microbiomes, as supported by virome surveys and examples of high genomic mosaicism. However, recent evidence suggests that the human gut virome is remarkably stable compared with that of other environments. Here, we investigate the origin, evolution and epidemiology of crAssphage, a widespread human gut virus. Through a global collaboration, we obtained DNA sequences of crAssphage from more than one-third of the world's countries and showed that the phylogeography of crAssphage is locally clustered within countries, cities and individuals. We also found fully colinear crAssphage-like genomes in both Old-World and New-World primates, suggesting that the association of crAssphage with primates may be millions of years old. Finally, by exploiting a large cohort of more than 1,000 individuals, we tested whether crAssphage is associated with bacterial taxonomic groups of the gut microbiome, diverse human health parameters and a wide range of dietary factors. We identified strong correlations with different clades of bacteria that are related to Bacteroidetes and weak associations with several diet categories, but no significant association with health or disease. We conclude that crAssphage is a benign cosmopolitan virus that may have coevolved with the human lineage and is an integral part of the normal human gut virome. ispartof: NATURE MICROBIOLOGY vol:4 issue:10 pages:1727-1736 ispartof: location:England status: published

We consider the problem of the existence and multiplicity of periodic solutions associated to a class of scalar equations of the form x ″ + f ( t , x ) = 0 . The class considered is such that the behaviour of its solutions near zero and infinity can be compared two suitable piecewise linear systems. We show how a rotation number approach, together with the Poincare–Birkhoff theorem and the phase-plane analysis of the spiral properties, allows to obtain multiplicity results in terms of the gap between the rotation numbers of the referred piecewise linear systems at zero and at infinity. These systems may also be resonant. In particular, our approach can be used to deal with the problems without both global existence of the Cauchy problems associated to the equation and the sign assumption on f. The typical example is a partially superlinear second order equation. Our main result generalizes some classical results of Jacobowitz and Hartman, among others.

The Basener–Ross system is a known model in Population dynamics for the interaction of consumers and resources in an isolated habitat. For an extended version with time-dependent coefficients as a model of possible variations of the environmental conditions, some relations among the coefficients are provided leading to the integrability of the system.

México es un país altamente desigual y el origen étnico-racial es una de las dimensiones que contribuyen a esta desigualdad. Estudios anteriores han analizado las diferencias salariales por origen-étnico racial y rasgos lingüísticos, pero hasta ahora ninguno ha reconocido que la autoidentificación indígena puede llevar a sesgos de selección en el análisis. En este artículo resolvemos este problema mediante la estimación de un modelo con cambio de régimen, el cual estima, en una primera etapa, la selección en la autoidentificación y, en una segunda, dos ecuaciones de los salarios según cómo se autoidentificó el trabajador. El modelo revela que la mayor parte del diferencial en el promedio de los salarios entre aquellos que se identifican como indígenas y aquellos que no se debe al sesgo de selección. A pesar de esto persiste un diferencial que no se explica por las características observadas ni la autoselección de estas subpoblaciones, el cual se podría deber a discriminación. Estos resultados contrastan con descomposiciones de Oaxaca tradicionales en que no se considera el sesgo de selección y apuntan a que la educación es el factor que más contribuye a la desigualdad salarial étnico-racial.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a significant concern worldwide. The pandemic has demonstrated that public health issues are not merely a health concern but also affect society as a whole. In this chapter, we address the importance of bringing together the world's scientists to find appropriate solutions for controlling and managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Interdisciplinary cooperation, through modern scientific methods, could help to handle the consequences of the pandemic and to avoid the recurrence of future pandemics.

We consider a planar system $$z'=f(t,z)$$ under non-resonance or double resonance conditions and obtain the existence of $$2\uppi $$ -periodic solutions by combining a rotation number approach together with Poincare-Bohl theorem. Firstly, we allow that the angular velocity of solutions of $$z'=f(t,z)$$ is controlled by the angular velocity of solutions of two positively homogeneous system $$z'=L_i(t,z),i=1,2$$ , whose rotation numbers satisfy $$\rho (L_1)>n$$ and $$\rho (L_2)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a significant concern worldwide. The pandemic has demonstrated that public health issues are not merely a health concern but also affect society as a whole. In this chapter, we address the importance of bringing together the world’s scientists to find appropriate solutions for controlling and managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Interdisciplinary cooperation, through modern scientific methods, could help to handle the consequences of the pandemic and to avoid the recurrence of future pandemics.

Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Fund ing was provided by Ministry of Science and Technology (MTM2017-364758), In this paper, we analyze the influence of the usual movement variables on the spread of an epidemic. Specifically, given two spatial topologies, we can deduce which topology produces less infected individuals. In particular, we determine the topology that minimizes the overall number of infected individuals. It is worth noting that we do not assume any of the common simplifying assumptions in network theory such as all the links have the same diffusion rate or the movement of the individuals is symmetric. Our main conclusion is that the degree of mobility of the population plays a critical role in the spread of a disease. Finally, we derive theoretical insights to management of epidemics., Ministry of Science and Technology MTM2017-364758, CRUE-CSIC agreement, Springer Nature

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T16:32:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-07-15 MINECO Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) MINECO/FEDER Generalitat de Catalunya European Community The Lienard equation x + f (x)x' + g(x) = 0 appears as a model in many problems of science and engineering. Since the first half of the 20th century, many papers have appeared providing existence and uniqueness conditions for limit cycles of Lienard equations. In this paper we extend some of these results for the case of the generalized phi-Laplacian Lienard equation, (phi(x'))' f(x)psi(x') + g(x) = 0. This generalization appears when derivations of the equation different from the classical one are considered. In particular, the relativistic van der Pol equation, (x'/root 1 - (x'/c)(2))' + mu(x(2) - 1)x' + x = 0, has a unique periodic orbit when mu = 0. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Matemat, Rua Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Dept Matemat, Edifici C, E-08193 Barcelona, Spain Univ Granada, Dept Matemat Aplicada, E-18071 Granada, Spain Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Matemat, Rua Cristovao Colombo 2265, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil MINECO: MTM2013-40998-P CAPES: 1271113 MINECO/FEDER: UNAB13-4E-1604 MINECO/FEDER: MTM2014-52232-P MINECO/FEDER: FQM-1861 Generalitat de Catalunya: 2014SGR568 European Community: FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES-318999 European Community: FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IRSES-316338

We provide sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic solutions of the Lorentz force equation, which models the motion of a charged particle under the action of an electromagnetic fields. The basic assumptions cover relevant models with singularities like Coulomb-like electric potentials or the magnetic dipole.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) impacts ∼10% of reproductive-aged women worldwide. In addition to infertility, women with PCOS suffer from metabolic dysregulation which increases their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Studies have shown differences in the gut microbiome of women with PCOS compared to controls, a pattern replicated in mouse models. Recently, using a letrozole-induced mouse model of PCOS, we demonstrated that cohousing was protective against development of metabolic and reproductive phenotypes and showed via 16S amplicon sequencing that this protection correlated with time-dependent shifts in gut bacteria. Here, we applied untargeted metabolomics and shotgun metagenomics approaches to further analyze the longitudinal samples from the cohousing experiment. Analysis of beta diversity found that untargeted metabolites had the strongest correlation to both disease and cohoused states and that shifts in metabolite diversity were detected prior to shifts in bacterial diversity. In addition, log2-fold analyses found numerous metabolite features, particularly bile acids (BA), to be highly differentiated between placebo (P) and letrozole (LET), as well as cohoused LET versus LET. Our results indicate that changes in gut metabolites, particularly BAs, are associated with a PCOS-like phenotype in the LET mouse model as well as the protective effect of cohousing. Our results also suggest that transfer of metabolites via coprophagy occurs rapidly and may precipitate changes in bacterial diversity. This study joins a growing body of research highlighting changes in primary and secondary bile acids that may provide a link between host metabolism and gut microbes relevant to the pathology of PCOS.IMPORTANCEUsing a combination of untargeted metabolomics and metagenomics, we performed a comparative longitudinal analysis of the feces collected in a cohousing study with a PCOS mouse model. Our results showed that gut metabolite composition experienced earlier and more pronounced differentiation in both the disease model and cohoused mice compared with the microbial composition. Notably, statistical and machine learning approaches identified shifts in the relative abundance of primary and secondary BA, which have been implicated as modifiers of gut microbial growth and diversity. Network correlation analysis showed strong associations between particular BA and bacterial species, particularly members of Lactobacillus, and that these correlations were time and treatment dependent. Our results provide novel insights into host/microbe relationships related to hyperandrogenism in females and indicate that focused research into small molecule control of gut microbial diversity and host physiology may provide new therapeutic options for the treatment of PCOS.

Accurate measurement of the biological markers of the aging process could provide an “aging clock” measuring predicted longevity and allow for the quantification of the effects of specific lifestyle choices on healthy aging. Using modern machine learning techniques, we demonstrate that chronological age can be predicted accurately from (a) the expression level of human genes in capillary blood, and (b) the expression level of microbial genes in stool samples. The latter uses the largest existing metatranscriptomic dataset, stool samples from 90,303 individuals, and is the highest-performing gut microbiome-based aging model reported to date. Our analysis suggests associations between biological age and lifestyle/health factors, e.g., people on a paleo diet or with IBS tend to be biologically older, and people on a vegetarian diet tend to be biologically younger. We delineate the key pathways of systems-level biological decline based on the age-specific features of our model; targeting these mechanisms can aid in development of new anti-aging therapeutic strategies.

The motivation of this article is to derive new management guidelines to maximize the overall population size using popular management and conservation strategies, such as protected marine areas and ecological corridors. These guidelines are based on the identification of the network architectures for which the total population size is maximized. Describing the biological roles of the typical network variables in the fate of the population is a classic problem with many practical applications. This article suggests that the optimal network architecture relies heavily on the degree of mobility of the population. The recommended network architecture for populations with reduced mobility (in the absence of cost of dispersal and landscapes made up of many sources) is a graph with a patch that has routes toward any other patch with a lower growth rate. However, for highly mobile populations there are many possible network architectures for which the total population size is maximized (e.g., any cyclic graph). We have paid special attention to species with symmetric movement in heterogeneous landscapes. A striking result is that the network architecture does not have any influence on the total population size for highly mobile populations when any pair of different patches can be connected by a sequence of paths.

In this paper we study the existence and multiplicity of solutions of the Lorentz force equation $$\left(\frac{q'}{\sqrt{1-|q'|^2}}\right)'=E(t,q) + q'\times B(t,q)$$ with periodic or Dirichlet boundary conditions. In Special Relativity, this equation models the motion of a slowly accelerated electron under the influence of an electric field E and a magnetic field B. We provide a rigourous critical point theory by showing that the solutions are the critical points in the Szulkin’s sense of the corresponding Poincare non-smooth Lagrangian action. By using a novel minimax principle, we prove a variety of existence and multiplicity results. Based on the associated Planck relativistic Hamiltonian, an alternative result is proved for the periodic case by means of a minimax theorem for strongly indefinite functionals due to Felmer.