Universidad del Desarrollo

About: Universidad del Desarrollo is a education organization based out in Santiago, Chile. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Entrepreneurship. The organization has 2695 authors who have published 3578 publications receiving 52302 citations.

Accessibility to opportunities based on public transport gps-monitored data: The case of Santiago, Chile

Abstract: We study buses' accessibility to education, health, and job opportunities in Santiago, Chile. Our approach computes travel times during a week using full real-world GPS data for the 6681 buses of the public transport system. The use of such disaggregated data allows us to calculate accessibility based on real operating conditions rather than planned schedules, as most previous contributions do. To develop our analysis, we divide the city into 1390 walkable zones, and we compute travel times between them. Then, we calculate the number of opportunities reachable from each zone to the rest of the zones, and we aggregate them at a municipality level. Our main finding is that public transport is not able to alleviate the inequality given by the geographical distribution of opportunities in the city. We also find that accessibility for public opportunities is quite more homogenous throughout the city compared to private opportunities. The center and north-east part of the city, where the wealthier municipalities locate, attain the highest levels of accessibility to jobs and private health institutions. The west part of the city shows worrying poor accessibility to complex hospitals, while the south part is excluded from job opportunities. Overall, policies should aim to mitigate these inequalities by improving the quality of public transport services. Conventional alternatives include increasing bus service frequency and expanding the dedicated infrastructure for public transport. In the long term, better city planning is required to facilitate spreading the opportunities all over the city.

SeRUN® study: Development of running profiles using a mixed methods analysis

Abstract: To determine profiles of urban runners based on socio-demographic, health, motivational, training characteristics and running-related beliefs and behaviours. Mixed, exploratory, sequential study with two stages: 1) quantitative, using an online survey; and 2) qualitative, using semi-structured interviews with runners from the previous stage. Participants were recruited via: running routes commonly attended by runners, eight races, previous databases and social media networks. The survey collected information on six dimensions: (1) socio-demographic; (2) health; (3) motivations; (4) training characteristics; (5) running-related behaviour; and (6) beliefs and perceptions about health. Profiles were identified using a two-step hierarchical clustering analysis. Subsequently, 15 interviews were conducted with participating runners across each of the identified profiles. Qualitative analysis complemented the profiles characterization, explaining motivations to start and continue running, beliefs about risk factors and injury prevention, and the physical therapist's role in rehabilitation. Statistical analysis from stage one was conducted using SPSS 22 with a confidence level of 5%. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic and content analyses. A total of 821 surveys were analysed (46% female), mean aged 36.6±10.0 years. Cluster analysis delineated four profiles (n = 752) according to years of running experience, weekly running volume and hours of weekly training. Profiles were named "Beginner" (n = 163); "Basic" (n = 164); "Middle" (n = 160) and "Advanced" (n = 265). Profiles were statistically different according to sex, age, years of running experience, training characteristics, previous injuries and use of technological devices (p<0.05). There were identified motivations to start and continue running. Beliefs about risk factors vary among stretching, footwear, training surface and overload. Runners identified the physical therapist as a specialist, involved in the rehabilitation process and showing empathy towards the patient. The identification of these profiles allows the generation of future prospective studies and clinical trials to evaluate risk and prognostic factors targeting specific populations of runners, with the ultimate aim of reducing running-related injury.

Nonlinear behaviour of emerging market bonds spreads: the Latin American case

Abstract: In this article we check for nonlinear behaviour of the 10 most important Latin American emerging market bonds spreads. Applying the Hinich portmanteau bicorrelation test, the BDS test and the Engle LM test, we observe systematic nonlinear structure in the spreads series. Our results suggest that the nonlinear serial dependencies are episodic in nature. All the stock returns series (with the exception of Mexico) are characterized by few brief periods of highly significant nonlinearity, followed by long time periods in which the returns follow a pure noise process. Our findings support the idea that, even in this well informed and sophisticated market, the weak-form of the efficient market hypothesis cannot be supported.

Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for doxorubicin cardiomyopathy: hopes and fears.

Abstract: Chemotherapy has made an essential contribution to cancer treatment in recent decades despite its adverse effects. As cancer survivors have increased, concern about ex-patient lifespan has become more important too. Doxorubicin is an effective anti-neoplastic drug that produces a cardiotoxic effect. Cancer survivors who received doxorubicin became more vulnerable to cardiac disease than the normal population did. Many efforts have been made to prevent cardiac toxicity in patients with cancer. However, current therapies cannot guarantee permanent cardiac protection. One of their main limitations is that they do not promote myocardium regeneration. In this review, we summarize and discuss the promising use of mesenchymal stem cells for cardio-protection or cardio-regeneration therapies and consider their regenerative potential without leaving aside their controversial effects on tumor progression.