Do Natural Disasters Affect Human Capital? An Assessment Based on Existing Empirical Evidence

The last few years have seen a notable increase in the number of studies investigating the causes and effects of natural disasters in many dimensions. This paper seeks to review and assess available empirical evidence on the ex-post microeconomic effects of natural disasters on the accumulation of human capital, focusing on consumption, nutrition, education and health, including mental health. Three major findings come forward from this work. First, disasters appear to bring substantial damages to human capital, including death and destruction, and produce deleterious consequences on nutrition, education, health and many income-generating processes. Furthermore, some of these detrimental effects are both large and long-lasting. Second, there is a large degree of heterogeneity in the size – but not much in the direction – of the impacts on different socioeconomic groups. Yet, an empirical regularity across natural hazards is that the poorest carry the heaviest burden of the effects of disasters across different determinants and outcomes of human capital. Finally, although the occurrence of natural hazards is mostly out of control of authorities, there still is a significant room for policy action to minimize their impacts on the accumulation of human capital. We highlight the importance of flexible safety nets as well as the double critical role of accurate and reliable information to monitor risks and vulnerabilities, and identify the impacts and responses of households once they are hit by a disaster. The paper also lays out existing knowledge gaps, particularly in regard to the need of improving our understanding of the impacts of disasters on health outcomes, the mechanisms of transmission and the persistence of the effects in the long-run.natural disasters, human capital accumulation

Restauración de la Estación del Ferrocarril y proyecto de Parque Temático Memorias Ferrocarrileras en Oriental, Puebla

"La preservación de documentos, objetos y edificaciones que atestiguan la formación de un pasado próspero es vital para la solidificación de un presente. En México, el ferrocarril fue testigo del fin e inicio de dos siglos, fungiendo como el actor principal del México contemporáneo. El ritmo de la locomotora sobre los rieles fue parte esencial en el desarrollo de pueblos y ciudades, así como del crecimiento económico del país. Cada sitio por el que cruza habla de un pasado en ocasiones distante, que revela la identidad de nuestro país.

Novel Multiplierless Wideband Comb Compensator with High Compensation Capability

This paper proposes a novel multiplierless comb compensation filter, which has the absolute passband deviation less than 0.1 dB in the wide passband. The compensator consists of a cascade of two simple filter sections, both operating at a low rate. The magnitude characteristics of the two-component filters are synthesized as sinewave functions, in which the main design parameters correspond to the amplitudes of sinewave functions. A systematic procedure is followed to select synthesis parameters, which depend only on the number of cascaded comb filters. In particular, they are independent of the decimation factor. Comparisons with comb compensators from the literature illustrate the benefits of the proposed design.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología 17958

Estimation of the Maximum Sustainable Yield and the Optimal Fishing Effort of the Blue Crab (<em>Callinectes sapidus</em>, Rathbun 1896) of Laguna Madre, Tamaulipas, Mexico

The fishery of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) in Laguna Madre (LM), Tamaulipas, Mexico, with an average annual catch of 3307 tons, is of great importance economically and socially. The objective of this research was to estimate the carrying capacity (K), the catchability coefficient (q), the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) (tons), and the optimal fishing effort (fMSY) (traps). For this, a time series from 1998 to 2012 was used for the catch and number. The Fox (1970) and Schaefer (1954) models included in A Surplus-Production Model Incorporating Covariates (ASPIC) software were employed for this study. A set of statistical variability estimators and the Akaike?s, Bayesian, and Hannan-Quinn information criteria were used for the selection of models. The results obtained by the fox model were K = 54,000, q = 0.00008798, MSY = 2567 and fMSY = 146,900 traps, whereas for the Schaefer model, the results were K = 28,370, q = 0.00002425, MSY = 2008, and fMSY = 58,390. The model with the best adjustment was that of Schaefer. It is concluded that the fishing resource has been overexploited during the period 2003–2011, with an average annual surplus of 670 tons and 25,000 traps. It is recommended to consider the MSY and fMSY values of the Schaefer model for the National Fishing Charter (NFC)

A vertebrate assemblage of Las Curtiembres Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of northwestern Argentina

Aquí describimos una asociación de fósiles de vertebrados proveniente del Miembro Morales de la Formación Las Curtiembres (Campaniano) exhumada en la localidad de Puente Morales, provincia de Salta, Argentina. Esta asociación se encuentra conformada por peces teleósteos, anuros pipidos, tortugas pleurodiras, mesoeucrocodilidos, dinosaurios terópodos no avianos y aves Enantiornithes. Este registro de vertebrados se encuentra dominado por taxa de agua dulce. Con la excepción de los anuros pipidos, todos los demás taxa aquí descriptos constituyen nuevos registros para esta unidad sedimentaria. Entre ellos, el registro de tortugas resulta ser el primero para el Grupo Salta. Adicionalmente, el Enantiornithes Intiornis inexpectatus amplía la diversidad de aves cretácicas de América del Sur. Más allá de la naturaleza fragmentaria de algunos de los especímenes, la información proporcionada por esta asociación del Cretácico Superior aporta novedosa información acerca de la composición de la poco conocida fauna de vertebrados continentales de esta región de América del Sur.We describe an association of fossil vertebrates from the Morales Member of the Las Curtiembres Formation (Campanian) near Puente Morales, Salta Province, NW Argentina. The fossils include teleostean fishes, pipid frogs, pleurodiran turtles, mesoeucrocodylians, non-avian theropod dinosaurs, and enantiornithine birds. The vertebrate record is dominated by freshwater taxa. With the exception of pipid frogs, all taxa here described constitute new records for this sedimentary unit. Among them, the turtles are reported for the first time in the Cretaceous of northwestern Argentina (Salta Group). Additionally, the recently published small enantiornithine Intiornis inexpectatus enlarges the diversity of cretaceous birds from South America. Despite the fragmentary nature of the specimens, the information provided by this Late Cretaceous assemblage sheds new light on the composition of the continental vertebrate fauna in a paleontologically poorly known region of South America.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

A vertebrate assemblage of Las Curtiembres Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of northwestern Argentina

Aquí describimos una asociación de fósiles de vertebrados proveniente del Miembro Morales de la Formación Las Curtiembres (Campaniano) exhumada en la localidad de Puente Morales, provincia de Salta, Argentina. Esta asociación se encuentra conformada por peces teleósteos, anuros pipidos, tortugas pleurodiras, mesoeucrocodilidos, dinosaurios terópodos no avianos y aves Enantiornithes. Este registro de vertebrados se encuentra dominado por taxa de agua dulce. Con la excepción de los anuros pipidos, todos los demás taxa aquí descriptos constituyen nuevos registros para esta unidad sedimentaria. Entre ellos, el registro de tortugas resulta ser el primero para el Grupo Salta. Adicionalmente, el Enantiornithes Intiornis inexpectatus amplía la diversidad de aves cretácicas de América del Sur. Más allá de la naturaleza fragmentaria de algunos de los especímenes, la información proporcionada por esta asociación del Cretácico Superior aporta novedosa información acerca de la composición de la poco conocida fauna de vertebrados continentales de esta región de América del Sur.We describe an association of fossil vertebrates from the Morales Member of the Las Curtiembres Formation (Campanian) near Puente Morales, Salta Province, NW Argentina. The fossils include teleostean fishes, pipid frogs, pleurodiran turtles, mesoeucrocodylians, non-avian theropod dinosaurs, and enantiornithine birds. The vertebrate record is dominated by freshwater taxa. With the exception of pipid frogs, all taxa here described constitute new records for this sedimentary unit. Among them, the turtles are reported for the first time in the Cretaceous of northwestern Argentina (Salta Group). Additionally, the recently published small enantiornithine Intiornis inexpectatus enlarges the diversity of cretaceous birds from South America. Despite the fragmentary nature of the specimens, the information provided by this Late Cretaceous assemblage sheds new light on the composition of the continental vertebrate fauna in a paleontologically poorly known region of South America.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

A vertebrate assemblage of Las Curtiembres Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of northwestern Argentina

Aquí describimos una asociación de fósiles de vertebrados proveniente del Miembro Morales de la Formación Las Curtiembres (Campaniano) exhumada en la localidad de Puente Morales, provincia de Salta, Argentina. Esta asociación se encuentra conformada por peces teleósteos, anuros pipidos, tortugas pleurodiras, mesoeucrocodilidos, dinosaurios terópodos no avianos y aves Enantiornithes. Este registro de vertebrados se encuentra dominado por taxa de agua dulce. Con la excepción de los anuros pipidos, todos los demás taxa aquí descriptos constituyen nuevos registros para esta unidad sedimentaria. Entre ellos, el registro de tortugas resulta ser el primero para el Grupo Salta. Adicionalmente, el Enantiornithes Intiornis inexpectatus amplía la diversidad de aves cretácicas de América del Sur. Más allá de la naturaleza fragmentaria de algunos de los especímenes, la información proporcionada por esta asociación del Cretácico Superior aporta novedosa información acerca de la composición de la poco conocida fauna de vertebrados continentales de esta región de América del Sur.We describe an association of fossil vertebrates from the Morales Member of the Las Curtiembres Formation (Campanian) near Puente Morales, Salta Province, NW Argentina. The fossils include teleostean fishes, pipid frogs, pleurodiran turtles, mesoeucrocodylians, non-avian theropod dinosaurs, and enantiornithine birds. The vertebrate record is dominated by freshwater taxa. With the exception of pipid frogs, all taxa here described constitute new records for this sedimentary unit. Among them, the turtles are reported for the first time in the Cretaceous of northwestern Argentina (Salta Group). Additionally, the recently published small enantiornithine Intiornis inexpectatus enlarges the diversity of cretaceous birds from South America. Despite the fragmentary nature of the specimens, the information provided by this Late Cretaceous assemblage sheds new light on the composition of the continental vertebrate fauna in a paleontologically poorly known region of South America.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

N-Glycosylation affects humoral immune response of Her1 cancer vaccine

Vaccine preparations based on the extracellular domain of Her1 protein (Her1-ECD) have demonstrated, in vitro and in vivo, a potent antimetastatic effect on EGFR+ Lewis lung carcinoma model, while associated side effects were absent. The Her1-ECD is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 105 kDa and has 11 potencial sites for N-glycosylation. Glycosylation is a post-translational modification that can affect the protein folding, stability, regulates protein half-life, immunogenecity, biological activity and other functions. In this work, the N-glycosylation Her1-ECD was preliminarily characterized by SDS-PAGE, glycan differentiation by lectin and normal phase chromatography. Finally, the biological activity of the glycosylated and totally deglycosylated Her1-ECD protein was compared. As results were obtained that N-glycosylation profile of Her1-ECD is composed of high mannose, hybrid and complex N-glycans types, and Her1-ECD glycosylation modifies the humoral immune response, measured as antibody titers, recognition of EGFR in A431 cell line and cell cycle arrest

Scalable bio marker combinations for early stroke diagnosis: A systematic review

Background: Acute stroke treatment is a time-critical process in which every minute counts. Laboratory biomarkers are needed to aid clinical decisions in the diagnosis. Although imaging is critical for this process, these biomarkers may provide additional information to distinguish actual stroke from its mimics and monitor patient condition and the effect of potential neuroprotective strategies. For such biomarkers to be effectively scalable to public health in any economic setting, these must be cost-effective and non-invasive. We hypothesized that blood-based combinations (panels) of proteins might be the key to this approach and explored this possibility through a systematic review. Methods: We followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines for systematic review. Initially, the broader search for biomarkers for early stroke diagnosis yielded 704 hits, and five were added manually. We then narrowed the search to combinations (panels) of the protein markers obtained from the blood. Results: Twelve articles dealing with blood-based panels of protein biomarkers for stroke were included in the systematic review. We observed that NR2 peptide (antibody against the NR2 fragment) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) are brain-specific markers related to stroke. Von Willebrand factor (vWF), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), and S100β have been widely used as biomarkers, whereas others such as the ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) index, antithrombin III (AT-III), and fibrinogen have not been evaluated in combination. We herein propose the following new combination of biomarkers for future validation: panel 1 (NR2 + GFAP + MMP-9 + vWF + S100β), panel 2 (NR2 + GFAP + MMP-9 + vWF + IMA index), and panel 3 (NR2 + GFAP + AT-III + fibrinogen). Conclusions: More research is needed to validate, identify, and introduce these panels of biomarkers into medical practice for stroke recurrence and diagnosis in a scalable manner. The evidence indicates that the most promising approach is to combine different blood-based proteins to provide diagnostic precision for health interventions. Through our systematic review, we suggest three novel biomarker panels based on the results in the literature and an interpretation based on stroke pathophysiology

Comparación de algoritmos de compresión de imágenes

En este trabajo se presenta la comparación de dos métodos ya utilizados para la codificación y compresión de imágenes fijas basados en técnicas de transformación. La aportación principal es la implementación en programación de alto nivel de una interface gráfica que contiene diversas rutinas para llevar a cabo la codificación de imágenes fijas utilizando las siguientes metodologías de transformación: 1) codificador basado en la transformada del coseno discreta o DCT, de sus siglas en inglés, que se implementa en la norma JPEG, 2) codificador basado en la transformada wavelet discreta (DWT, de sus siglas en inglés), en donde por el momento se utilizan bases de Haar. Los resultados son consistentes con los encontrados en la literatura existente y han sido validados con MATLAB