Gibbs Samplers for a Set of Seemingly Unrelated Regressions

Bayesian estimation of a collection of seemingly unrelated regressions, referred to as a ‘set of seemingly unrelated regressions’ is considered. The collection of seemingly unrelated regressions is linked by common coefficients and/or a common error covariance matrix. Gibbs samplers useful for estimating posterior quantities are described and applied to two examples – a set of linear expenditure functions and a cost function and share equations from production theory.

Measuring Poverty and Inequality from Highly Aggregated Small Area Data: The Changing Fortunes of Latrobe Valley Households

The Latrobe Valley generates 85% of Victoria's electricity. The progressive privatisation of the electricity industry between 1989 and 1997, had a lasting effect on income distribution in the region. This paper investigates the change in income level, inequality and poverty for this region between 1986 and 2006. To circumvent data availability issues, we propose a general method of using aggregated data to obtain regional income distributions. We find that in 1986 Latrobe Valley incomes were well above other non-metropolitan areas while inequality measures were relatively low. Mean income subsequently dropped below comparable locations while inequality rose. Although income levels had partially recovered by 2006, inequality measures continued to rise.Poverty, inequality, restructure, privatization, small-area income distribution.

Cuando la sociedad digital solo es un eco: el caso de la formación inicial de los maestros de primaria.

Este artículo se propone evidenciar la falta de consideración de los cambios propiciados por la sociedad digital en los planes de formación inicial del profesorado de educación primaria y sus consecuencias para la educación. En primer lugar argumentamos la necesidad investigar sobre cómo se constituye la identidad docente, sobre cómo se aprende a enseñar entre la formación y los primeros años de trabajo, y cómo hacerlo nos ha permitido a enfocar el tema de este texto. En segundo y tercer lugar explicamos cómo la elaboración de nueve narrativas de vida profesional, complementadas con observaciones etnográficas, la realización de nueve grupos de discusión, con un total de 49 maestros, y el análisis de los programas formativos de las quince universidades en las que los participantes realizaron sus estudios, nos han permitido mostrar la distancia entre la sociedad digital y la educación escolar. Concluimos poniendo de manifiesto la necesidad de replantear la formación inicial y permanente, si pretendemos propiciar que los nuevos docentes dejen de ser correas de transmisión para convertirse en motores de cambio e innovación

When digital society is only an echo: the case of the initial professional development of primary school teachers

Este artículo se propone evidenciar la falta de consideración de los cambios propiciados por la sociedad digital en los planes de formación inicial del profesorado de educación primaria y sus consecuencias para la educación. En primer lugar argumentamos la necesidad de investigar sobre cómo se constituye la identidad docente, sobre cómo se aprende a enseñar entre la formación y los primeros años de trabajo, y cómo hacerlo nos ha permitido a enfocar el tema de este texto. En segundo y tercer lugar explicamos cómo la elaboración de nueve narrativas de vida profesional, complementadas con observaciones etnográficas, la realización de nueve grupos de discusión, con un total de 49 maestros, y el análisis de los programas formativos de las quince universidades en las que los participantes realizaron sus estudios, nos han permitido mostrar la distancia entre la sociedad digital y la educación escolar. Concluimos poniendo de manifiesto la necesidad de replantear la formación inicial y permanente, si pretendemos propiciar que los nuevos docentes dejen de ser correas de transmisión para convertirse en motores de cambio e innovación.The aim of this paper is to show the lack of consideration of the changes brought about by the digital society in the initial professional development of primary school teachers and its implications for education. First we argue the opportunity and the need to carry out research about how teachers constitute their professional identity between their initial training and the first years of their professional career, and how to do it has allowed us to focus on the issue addressed in this text. Second and third we explain how implementing nine biographical narratives, supplemented by ethnographic observations, conducting nine focus groups with a total of 49 teachers, and analyzing the curriculum of the fifteen universities in which participants in this research have studied have allowed us to show the distance between the digital society and schooling. We conclude highlighting the need to deeply revise and rethink initial and in-service teachers’ professional development, if we are to encourage teachers to stop performing as conveyor belts to become engines of change and innovation

Waste Management : the Disconnection between Normative and SMEs Reality

Waste generation is a critical factor in global environmental degradation, where SMEs have been historically relevant yet underestimated. This study covers the issue of the disconnection between the normative and SMEs reality. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the relationship between waste management norms and their application in Chilean SMEs. For context, Chile is the nation that generates the most amount of waste per capita in the region. Nevertheless, the country also has one of the most rigorous waste frameworks in the region, by means of the Extended Responsibility Producer (ERP) law, which has been gradually implemented since 2016. Data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews with 25 SMEs. The results show the practical limitations of SMEs in complying with the waste law, the lack of traceability in the waste management system, and the need for economic support and technical assistance to improve the use and management of sustainable raw materials. Therefore, this study contributes to the limited knowledge of how SMEs implement waste management norms and their importance in diminishing waste generation and promoting waste hierarchy

Neurodevelopmental phenotypes in individuals with pathogenic variants in CHAMP1

Discapacitat intel·lectual; Retard greu del desenvolupament global; Microcefàlia severaDiscapacidad intelectual; Retraso severo en el desarrollo global; Microcefalia severaIntellectual disability; Severe global developmental delay; Severe microcephalyBackground: De novo pathogenic variants in CHAMP1 (chromosome alignment maintaining phosphoprotein 1) that encodes kinetochore-microtubule associated protein on 13q34 cause a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Methods: We enrolled 14 individuals with pathogenic variants in CHAMP1 that were documented by exome sequencing or gene panel sequencing. Medical history interviews, seizure surveys, Vineland Adapted Behavior Scales Second Edition, and other behavioral surveys were completed by primary care givers of available participants in Simons Searchlight. Clinicians extracted clinical data from the medical record for two participants. Results: We report on clinical features of fourteen individuals (ages 2-26) with de novo predicted loss of function variants in CHAMP1 and compare them with previously reported cases (total n=32). At least two individuals have the same de novo variant: p.(Ser181Cysfs*5), p.(Trp348*), p.(Arg398*), p.(Arg497*), or p.(Tyr709*). Common phenotypes include intellectual disability/developmental delay, language impairment, congenital and acquired microcephaly, behavioral problems including autism spectrum disorder, seizures, hypotonia, gastrointestinal issues of reflux and constipation, and ophthalmologic issues. Other rarely observed phenotypes include leukemia, failure to thrive and high pain tolerance. Conclusion: Pathogenic variants in CHAMP1 are associated with a variable clinical phenotype of developmental delay/intellectual disability and seizures.This work is supported by the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine Research Committee who awarded Madison Garrity Summer Fellowship Honors and grants from SFARI and the JPB Foundation

Proceso Formativo de Docentes Universitarios para la Inclusión de Estudiantes con Discapacidad

Las prácticas educativas en el nivel superior exigen calidad dirigida a la diversidad e inclusión, por lo cual, cada vez es mayor la tendencia de estudiantes en la universidad en búsqueda de oportunidades de formación profesional para integrarse a la vida laboral. La inclusión de estudiantes con alguna discapacidad a las aulas universitarias ha tomado por sorpresa a profesores debido las necesidades de estos alumnos, por la existencia de la escasa preparación adecuada para hacer frente al reto, de formar personas dentro de una educación inclusiva. El objetivo de este trabajo es narrar las experiencias vividas, con un grupo de profesores, durante un programa de formación docente orientado al desarrollo de prácticas educativas inclusivas. El estudio es con un enfoque de investigación-acción utilizando la narrativa para la recolección de datos. El programa plantea formar profesores universitarios en la atención a alumnos con discapacidad, con una educación para todos, atención a las diferencias. Participaron diez docentes que imparten clases en grupos que tienen estudiantes con discapacidad (visual y motriz). Los resultados arrojados son: 1) Diseño del programa de formación en el cual se presenta la versión final de los contenidos y ejes de programa y 2) secuencias didácticas (SD) como guía del proceso formativo, donde se muestran las matrices y experiencias de validación de las SD y narrativas de las experiencias del docente. Se concluye que la formación docente constituye un desafío para la universidad al destacar una necesidad profesional de liderar las acciones educativas, relacionadas con la diversidad desde la inclusión. Educational practices at the higher level require quality aimed at diversity and inclusion. As a result, the rate at which students in the university search for professional training opportunities to integrate into their work life is increasing. The inclusion of students with a disability into university classrooms has taken teachers by surprise due to the needs of these students. It is also attributed to the lack of adequate preparation to face the challenge of training people in an inclusive education. This paper focuses on narrating the experience lived, with a group of teachers, during a teacher training program aimed at developing inclusive educational practices. The study was performed with an action-research approach using a narrative for data collection. The program proposes to train university professors to pay attention to students with disabilities, through education for all, and also focus on their differences. Ten (10) teachers who taught group of students with disabilities (visual and motor) participated in the study. The results obtained are: 1) Design of the training program in which the final version of the contents and program axes is presented and 2) didactic sequences (SD) as a guide to the training process, where the matrices and validation experiences are shown by the SD and narratives of the teacher's experiences. In conclusion, teacher training constitutes a challenge for the university by highlighting a professional need to lead educational actions that is related to diversity from inclusion

Identifying susceptibility genes for essential hypertension by transcriptome-wide association study.

Hypertension is a leading risk factor of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the population worldwide. Recently, hundreds of genomic loci were reported for hypertension by GWAS, however, the most SNPs are located in intergenic regions of genome, where a functional cause is difficult to determine. In the current study, a TWAS of hypertension was conducted using 452,264 individuals including 84,640 patients. KEGG and GO enrichment analyses were performed for the hypertension-related genes identified via TWAS. PPI network analysis based on the STRING database was also performed to detect TWAS-identified genes in hypertension. We have identified 18,420 genes from the GWAS summary data, and of those 1010 non-overlapping genes expression were significantly associated with hypertension after FDR correction (PFDR \u3c0.05) in four tissues (left heart ventricle, aorta, whole blood, and peripheral blood). The KEGG and GO terms were mostly related to autoimmune mechanisms, and the autoimmune-related pathways have also been enriched using GO analysis for PPI genes. We further performed Mendelian randomization analysis, and the results supported a significant association between autoimmunity and hypertension. Moreover, 15 novel hypertension-susceptible genes were identified in all tissues, and five of the genes (RBM6, HLA-DRB5, UHRF1BP1, LYZ, and TMEM116) were associated with autoimmune system, which provide further evidence supporting an autoimmune mechanism in hypertension. In summary, our study supports that an autoimmune mechanism plays an important role in the development of hypertension, and these findings will provide new biological insights that will assist in deciphering the molecular etiology of hypertension

The Lesser Known Challenge of Climate Change: Thermal Variance and Sex-Reversal in Vertebrates with Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination

Climate change is expected to disrupt biological systems. Particularly susceptible are species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), as in many reptiles. While the potentially devastating effect of rising mean temperatures on sex ratios in TSD species is appreciated, the consequences of increased thermal variance predicted to accompany climate change remain obscure. Surprisingly, no study has tested if the effect of thermal variance around high-temperatures (which are particularly relevant given climate change predictions) has the same or opposite effects as around lower temperatures. Here we show that sex ratios of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) were reversed as fluctuations increased around low and high unisexual mean-temperatures. Unexpectedly, the developmental and sexual responses around female-producing temperatures were decoupled in a more complex manner than around male-producing values. Our novel observations are not fully explained by existing ecological models of development and sex determination, and provide strong evidence that thermal fluctuations are critical for shaping the biological outcomes of climate change