Balanzas fiscales y redistribución territorial en España, 1991-2011

Este artículo presenta una nueva serie homogénea para el periodo 1991-2011 de las balanzas fiscales entre la administración pública central y cada uno de los diecinueve territorios autonómicos españoles, obtenida aplicando el enfoque de cálculo de carga-beneficio. Además, analiza esta nueva serie, atendiendo primero a los flujos fiscales observados y, seguidamente, a los efectos redistributivos interterritoriales de tales flujos. En concreto, establece la función redistributiva que desempeña cada territorio –si de contribuyente o de beneficiario neto- y mide las disfunciones o desajustes con respecto a la norma adoptada como referencia. El análisis se basa en la media de los valores de los veintiún años de la serie. This paper shows a new homogeneous series of the fiscal balances between the central government and each of the 19 Spanish autonomous regions during the period 1991-2011, according to the burdenbenefit approach. The paper also analyses this new series, first examining the observed fiscal flows, and then the inter-territorial redistributive effects of these flows. Specifically, it establishes the redistributive function of each territory-whether it is a net contributor or net beneficiary-and measure dysfunctions or mismatches in relation to the standard that has been used as a reference. The analysis is based on average values over the 21 years of the series

iMODS: internal coordinates normal mode analysis server

Normal mode analysis (NMA) in internal (dihedral) coordinates naturally reproduces the collective functional motions of biological macromolecules. iMODS facilitates the exploration of such modes and generates feasible transition pathways between two homologous structures, even with large macromolecules. The distinctive internal coordinate formulation improves the efficiency of NMA and extends its applicability while implicitly maintaining stereochemistry. Vibrational analysis, motion animationś and morphing trajectories can be easily carried out at different resolution scales almost interactively. The server is versatile; non-specialists can rapidly characterize potential conformational changes, whereas advanced users can customize the model resolution with multiple coarse-grained atomic representations and elastic network potentials. iMODS supports advanced visualization capabilities for illustrating collective motions, including an improved affine-model-based arrow representation of domain dynamics. The generated all-heavy-atoms conformations can be used to introduce flexibility for more advanced modeling or sampling strategies.Human Frontier Science Program—RGP0039/2008, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad—BFU2013-44306P and Comunidad de Madrid—CAM-S2010/BMD

Look-ahead in the two-sided reduction to compact band forms for symmetric eigenvalue problems and the SVD

We address the reduction to compact band forms, via unitary similarity transformations, for the solution of symmetric eigenvalue problems and the computation of the singular value decomposition (SVD). Concretely, in the first case, we revisit the reduction to symmetric band form, while, for the second case, we propose a similar alternative, which transforms the original matrix to (unsymmetric) band form, replacing the conventional reduction method that produces a triangular– band output. In both cases, we describe algorithmic variants of the standard Level 3 Basic Linear Algebra Subroutines (BLAS)-based procedures, enhanced with lookahead, to overcome the performance bottleneck imposed by the panel factorization. Furthermore, our solutions employ an algorithmic block size that differs from the target bandwidth, illustrating the important performance benefits of this decision. Finally, we show that our alternative compact band form for the SVD is key to introduce an effective look-ahead strategy into the corresponding reduction procedure

Parallelization of the QR Decomposition with Column Pivoting Using Column Cyclic Distribution on Multicore and GPU Processors

The QR decomposition with column pivoting (QRP) of a matrix is widely used for rank revealing. The performance of LAPACK implementation (DGEQP3) of the Householder QRP algorithm is limited by Level 2 BLAS operations required for updating the column norms. In this paper, we propose an implementation of the QRP algorithm using a distribution of the matrix columns in a round-robin fashion for better data locality and parallel memory bus utilization on multicore architectures. Our performance results show a 60% improvement over the routine DGEQP3 of Intel MKL (version 10.3) on a 12 core Intel Xeon X5670 machine. In addition, we show that the same data distribution is also suitable for general purpose GPU processors, where our implementation obtains up to 90 GFlops on a NVIDIA GeForce GTX480. This is about 2 times faster than the QRP implementation of MAGMA (version 1.2.1).Tom ́as and Bai were supported in part by the U.S. DOES ciDAC grant DOE-DE-FC0206ER25793 and NSF grant PHY1005502. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.Tomás Domínguez, AE.; Bai, Z.; Hernández García, V. (2013). Parallelization of the QR Decomposition with Column Pivoting Using Column Cyclic Distribution on Multicore and GPU Processors. En High Performance Computing for Computational Science - VECPAR 2012. Springer Verlag (Germany): Series. 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38718-0_8S5058Bischof, C.H.: A parallel QR factorization algorithm with controlled local pivoting. SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput. 12, 36–57 (1991)Chandrasekaran, S., Ipsen, I.C.F.: On rank-revealing factorisations. SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 15, 592–622 (1994)Castaldo, A.M., Whaley, R.C.: Scaling LAPACK panel operations using parallel cache assignment. In: 15th ACM SIGPLAN Annual Symposium on Principles and Practice of Parallel Programming, pp. 223–231 (2010)Drmač, Z., Bujanović, Z.: On the failure of rank-revealing QR factorization software – a case study. ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 35, 12:1–12:28 (2008)Drmač, Z., Veselić, K.: New fast and accurate Jacobi SVD algorithm I. SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 29, 1322–1342 (2008)Drmač, Z., Veselić, K.: New fast and accurate Jacobi SVD algorithm II. SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 29, 1343–1362 (2008)Golub, G.H.: Numerical methods for solving linear least squares problems. Numer. Math. 7, 206–216 (1965)Gu, M., Eisenstat, S.: Efficient algorithms for computing a strong rank-revealing QR factorization. SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 17, 848–869 (1996)Quintana-Orti, G., Sun, X., Bischof, C.H.: A BLAS-3 version of the QR factorization with column pivoting. SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 19, 1486–1494 (1998)Schreiber, R., van Loan, C.: A storage-efficient WY representation for products of Householder transformations. SIAM J. Sci. Stat. Comput. 10, 53–57 (1989

Mega-Bites: Extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas (Serrasalmidae)

Here, we document in-vivo bite forces recorded from wild piranhas. Integrating this empirical data with allometry, bite simulations, and FEA, we have reconstructed the bite capabilities and potential feeding ecology of the extinct giant Miocene piranha, Megapiranha paranensis. An anterior bite force of 320 N from the black piranha, Serrasalmus rhombeus, is the strongest bite force recorded for any bony fish to date. Results indicate M. paranensis' bite force conservatively ranged from 1240-4749 N and reveal its novel dentition was capable of resisting high bite stresses and crushing vertebrate bone. Comparisons of body size-scaled bite forces to other apex predators reveal S. rhombeus and M. paranensis have among the most powerful bites estimated in carnivorous vertebrates. Our results functionally demonstrate the extraordinary bite of serrasalmid piranhas and provide a mechanistic rationale for their predatory dominance among past and present Amazonian ichthyofaunas

FXYD5/Dysadherin, a Biomarker of Endometrial Cancer Myometrial Invasion and Aggressiveness : Its Relationship With TGF-β1 and NF-κB Pathways

Objective: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the second most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Myometrial invasion (MI) is a key event in EC dissemination. This study aimed to evaluate FXYD5/dysadherin (FXYD5/Dys) expression in EC tissue and uterine aspirate (UA) biopsies and to assess molecular/functional changes associated with its expression in cellular models. Methods: FXYD5/Dys messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined in EC tissue and UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys expression was evaluated in EC RNAseq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GENEVESTIGATOR tools. FXYD5/Dys impact on E-cadherin expression and cell behavior was assessed in EC Hec1a cells treated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, stably transfected with ETV5, and transiently transfected with FXYD5/Dys small interfering RNA (siRNA) or pcDNA3-FXYD5/Dys plasmid. Results: FXYD5/Dys was associated with EC aggressiveness, finding high mRNA levels in tumors depicting MI > 50%, Grade 3, and intermediate/high risk of recurrence. FXYD5/Dys was highly expressed at the tumor invasive front compared to the superficial area. Most results were recapitulated in UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys modulation in Hec1a cells altered cell migration/adhesion and E-cadherin expression. TGF-β1 treatment of Hec1a cells induced FXYD5/Dys expression. TCGA-UCEC RNAseq analysis revealed a positive correlation between FXYD5/Dys, TGF-β1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 mRNA levels. FXYD5/Dys induced nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway activation in Hec1a cells. FXYD5/Dys mRNA levels positively correlated with transcriptional activation of NF-κB p65-regulated genes. Survival analysis revealed patient segregation into low- and high-risk groups, the latter depicting the highest FXYD5/Dys, PAI-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and TGF-β1 mRNA levels and shorter survival rates. Conclusion: FXYD5/Dys is a novel biomarker of EC progression related to TGF-β1 and NF-κB pathways that collectively promote tumor dissemination and result in poor patient prognosis

FXYD5/Dysadherin, a Biomarker of Endometrial Cancer Myometrial Invasion and Aggressiveness : Its Relationship With TGF-β1 and NF-κB Pathways

Objective: Endometrial cancer (EC) is the second most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Myometrial invasion (MI) is a key event in EC dissemination. This study aimed to evaluate FXYD5/dysadherin (FXYD5/Dys) expression in EC tissue and uterine aspirate (UA) biopsies and to assess molecular/functional changes associated with its expression in cellular models. Methods: FXYD5/Dys messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined in EC tissue and UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys expression was evaluated in EC RNAseq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GENEVESTIGATOR tools. FXYD5/Dys impact on E-cadherin expression and cell behavior was assessed in EC Hec1a cells treated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, stably transfected with ETV5, and transiently transfected with FXYD5/Dys small interfering RNA (siRNA) or pcDNA3-FXYD5/Dys plasmid. Results: FXYD5/Dys was associated with EC aggressiveness, finding high mRNA levels in tumors depicting MI > 50%, Grade 3, and intermediate/high risk of recurrence. FXYD5/Dys was highly expressed at the tumor invasive front compared to the superficial area. Most results were recapitulated in UA biopsies. FXYD5/Dys modulation in Hec1a cells altered cell migration/adhesion and E-cadherin expression. TGF-β1 treatment of Hec1a cells induced FXYD5/Dys expression. TCGA-UCEC RNAseq analysis revealed a positive correlation between FXYD5/Dys, TGF-β1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 mRNA levels. FXYD5/Dys induced nuclear factor (NF)-κB pathway activation in Hec1a cells. FXYD5/Dys mRNA levels positively correlated with transcriptional activation of NF-κB p65-regulated genes. Survival analysis revealed patient segregation into low- and high-risk groups, the latter depicting the highest FXYD5/Dys, PAI-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and TGF-β1 mRNA levels and shorter survival rates. Conclusion: FXYD5/Dys is a novel biomarker of EC progression related to TGF-β1 and NF-κB pathways that collectively promote tumor dissemination and result in poor patient prognosis

Multicenter study of patients' preferences and concerns regarding the origin of bone grafts utilized in dentistry

Purpose: Bone graft materials can be obtained from the patient's own body (autologous graft), animals (xenograft), human cadavers (allograft) and synthetic materials (alloplastic bone graft). Patients may have ethical, religious or medical concerns about the origin of bone grafts, which could lead them to reject the use of certain types of bone graft in their treatments. The aim of this multicenter study, which surveyed patients from five university clinics in Portugal, France, Italy, Spain and Chile, was to analyze patients' opinions regarding the source of bone grafts. Patients and methods: A survey composed often questions was translated into local languages and validated. Patients were asked about the degree of acceptance/rejection of each graft and the reasons for rejection. A chi-squared test was used to analyze statistically significant differences. Results: Three hundred thirty patients were surveyed. The grafts that elicited the highest percentage of refusal were allograft (40.4%), autologous bone graft from an extraoral donor site (34%) and xenograft (32.7%). The grafts with the lowest rate of refusal were alloplastic (6.3%) and autologous bone grafts from an intraoral donor site (24.5%). The main reason for autologous bone rejection was the fear of pain and discomfort, for xenograft it was the fear of disease transmission and the rejection of use of animals for human benefit, and for allograft it was ethical/moral motivations and the fear of disease transmission. Religious affiliation influenced patient's preferences. Conclusion: The origin of bone grafts is still conflictive for a high percentage of patients

In situ detection of boron by ChemCam on Mars

We report the first in situ detection of boron on Mars. Boron has been detected in Gale crater at levels Curiosity rover ChemCam instrument in calcium-sulfate-filled fractures, which formed in a late-stage groundwater circulating mainly in phyllosilicate-rich bedrock interpreted as lacustrine in origin. We consider two main groundwater-driven hypotheses to explain the presence of boron in the veins: leaching of borates out of bedrock or the redistribution of borate by dissolution of borate-bearing evaporite deposits. Our results suggest that an evaporation mechanism is most likely, implying that Gale groundwaters were mildly alkaline. On Earth, boron may be a necessary component for the origin of life; on Mars, its presence suggests that subsurface groundwater conditions could have supported prebiotic chemical reactions if organics were also present and provides additional support for the past habitability of Gale crater