Classic and spatial shift-share analysis of state-level employment change in Brazil

This paper combines classic and spatial shift-share decompositions of 1981 to 2006 employment change across the 27 states of Brazil. The classic shift-share method shows higher employment growth rates for underdeveloped regions that are due to an advantageous industry-mix and also due to additional job creation, commonly referred to as the competitive effect. Alternative decompositions proposed in the literature do not change this broad conclusion. Further examination employing exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) shows spatial correlation of both the industry-mix and the competitive effects. Considering that until the 1960s economic activities were more concentrated in southern regions of Brazil than they are nowadays, these results support beta convergence theories but also find evidence of agglomeration effects. Additionally, a very simple spatial decomposition is proposed that accounts for the spatially-weighted growth of surrounding states. Favourable growth in northern and centre-western states is basically associated with those states’ strengths in potential spatial spillover effect and in spatial competitive effect

Astrocyte structural heterogeneity in the mouse hippocampus

Astrocytes are integral components of brain circuits, where they sense, process, and respond to surrounding activity, maintaining homeostasis and regulating synaptic transmission, the sum of which results in behavior modulation. These interactions are possible due to their complex morphology, composed of a tree-like structure of processes to cover defined territories ramifying in a mesh-like system of fine leaflets unresolved by conventional optic microscopy. While recent reports devoted more attention to leaflets and their dynamic interactions with synapses, our knowledge about the tree-like "backbone" structure in physiological conditions is incomplete. Recent transcriptomic studies described astrocyte molecular diversity, suggesting structural heterogeneity in regions such as the hippocampus, which is crucial for cognitive and emotional behaviors. In this study, we carried out the structural analysis of astrocytes across the hippocampal subfields of Cornu Ammonis area 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus in the dorsoventral axis. We found that astrocytes display heterogeneity across the hippocampal subfields, which is conserved along the dorsoventral axis. We further found that astrocytes appear to contribute in an exocytosis-dependent manner to a signaling loop that maintains the backbone structure. These findings reveal astrocyte heterogeneity in the hippocampus, which appears to follow layer-specific cues and depend on the neuro-glial environment.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Grant/Award Numbers: UIDP/50026/2020,UIDB/50026/2020; IF grant, Grant/AwardNumber: IF/00328/2015; Bial Foundation,Grant/Award Number: 037/18; “la Caixa”Foundation, Grant/Award Number: LCF/PR/HR21/52410024; Portuguese Platform ofBioimaging, Grant/Award Number: PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122; GermanResearch Foundation, Grant/Award Numbers:HE6949/3, SPP1757 HE6949/1, SFB1089B03; European Union, Grant/Award Number:H2020-MSCA-ITN; Fonds WetenschappelijkOnderzoek, Grant/Award Number:G066715N; KU Leuven Internal Funding(C1 grant), Grant/Award Number:C14/20/071; European Research Council(ERC) Grant, Grant/Award Number: 28196

Acute viral bronchiolitis: Physician perspectives on definition and clinically important outcomes

BACKGROUND:Two key limitations hamper intervention research in bronchiolitis: the absence of a clear definition of disease, and the heterogeneous choice of outcome measures in current clinical trials. We assessed how paediatricians and general practitioners (GPs) perceived definition and clinically important outcomes in bronchiolitis. METHODS:A nationwide online survey (ABBA study) was conducted through the Portuguese Society of Paediatrics and GPs' mailing lists. We assessed agreement with statements on bronchiolitis definition, and participants were asked to score the relative importance of several outcomes. Principal component analysis (PCA) explored dimensions underlying disease definition. Outcomes were ranked by mean score and proportion given highest score. RESULTS:We included 514 paediatricians and 165 GPs (overall 59% were board-certified). Most paediatricians (76.5%) agreed with a definition based on coryza, wheezing and/or crackles/rales, compared to 38.1% GPs (P < 0.001). Less than 5% physicians agreed with a definition commonly used in clinical trials (<12 months, first episode of wheeze). We retained three dimensions on PCA: one based on coryza, rales/crepitations and no sudden onset; another on number of episodes and age; and a third on wheeze. Dimensions varied by physician specialization and training (P < 0.01). Hospital admission and respiratory distress were top rated outcomes by both groups of physicians. CONCLUSIONS:Physician definitions of bronchiolitis have considerable variability and often mismatch those of clinical trials. Rating of important outcomes was consistent. Our results highlight the need for a robust standardized definition of acute bronchiolitis in infants and support the development of a core outcome set for future clinical trials

Z boson production in Pb+Pb collisions at √Snn = 5.02 TeV measured by the ATLAS experiment

The production yield of Z bosons is measured in the electron and muon decay channels in Pb+Pb collisions at √S = 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Data from the 2015 LHC run corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.49 nb are used for the analysis. The Z boson yield, normalised by the total number of minimum-bias events and the mean nuclear thickness function, is measured as a function of dilepton rapidity and event centrality. The measurements in Pb+Pb collisions are compared with similar measurements made in proton-proton collisions at the same centre-of-mass energy. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity for all centrality intervals. The results are compared with theoretical predictions obtained at next-to-leading order using nucleon and nuclear parton distribution functions. The normalised Z boson yields in Pb+Pb collisions lie 1-3σ above the predictions. The nuclear modification factor measured as a function of rapidity agrees with unity and is consistent with a next-to-leading-order QCD calculation including the isospin effect. nn -

Measurement of J/ψ production in association with a W ± boson with pp data at 8 TeV

A measurement of the production of a prompt J/ψ meson in association with a W± boson with W± → μν and J/ψ → μ+μ− is presented for J/ψ transverse momenta in the range 8.5–150 GeV and rapidity |yJ/ψ| &lt; 2.1 using ATLAS data recorded in 2012 at the LHC. The data were taken at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of s = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. The ratio of the prompt J/ψ plus W± cross-section to the inclusive W± cross-section is presented as a differential measurement as a function of J/ψ transverse momenta and compared with theoretical predictions using different double-parton-scattering cross-sections. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Search for flavour-changing neutral currents in processes with one top quark and a photon using 81 fb−1 of pp collisions at s=13TeV with the ATLAS experiment

A search for flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) events via the coupling of a top quark, a photon, and an up or charm quark is presented using 81 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with a photon, an electron or muon, a b-tagged jet, and missing transverse momentum are selected. A neural network based on kinematic variables differentiates between events from signal and background processes. The data are consistent with the background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on the strength of the tqγ coupling in an effective field theory. These are also interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tuγ coupling of 36 fb (78 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γu of 2.8×10−5 (6.1×10−5). In addition, they are interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tcγ coupling of 40 fb (33 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γc of 22×10−5 (18×10−5)