In this paper we employ techniques developed in spatial econometrics to analyse spatial patterns of technology diffusion, to detect clusters and to estimate theoretical models that incorporate space explicitly. These techniques correct for misspecifications resulting from the omission of spatial linkages in standard empirical models of economic growth. Our dataset consists of TFP estimates for 73 countries over the period 1960-2000, and we find that TFP growth rates and levels are positively autocorrelated over space, meaning that high or low values tend to be clustered. We also find that TFP levels are becoming more clustered over time, suggesting the possibility that technology levels are converging locally. Estimation of spatial versions of the Nelson and Phelps (1966) model shows that the impact of being located close to a country with high TFP growth rates is positive and substantial.

Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium species have been increasingly recognized as the causative agents of infections in humans. Differential identification of these bacteria in the clinical microbiology laboratory by the most commonly used biochemical tests is challenging, and normally requires additional molecular methods. Herein, we present the annotated draft genome sequences of two isolates of “difficult-to-identify” human-pathogenic corynebacterial species: C. xerosis and C. minutissimum. The genome sequences of ca. 2.7 Mbp, with a mean number of 2,580 protein encoding genes, were also compared with the publicly available genome sequences of strains of C. amycolatum and C. striatum. These results will aid the exploration of novel biochemical reactions to improve existing identification tests as well as the development of more accurate molecular identification methods through detection of species-specific target genes for isolate's identification or drug susceptibility profiling.

The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) project aims to build an array of air-shower detectors in the Southern hemisphere. Intensive site search activities are ongoing. We developed an Autonomous Environmental and Scientific SWGO Site Characterization Instrument (AEROSITE) to measure environmental characteristics of the proposed sites and deployed four of them in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The instruments are located at very high altitudes of more than 4500 m.a.s.l. We completed an intensive cross-calibration campaign to validate the performance and sensitivity of all AEROSITEs in 2020 and installed the instruments at the sites between October 2021 and April 2022. The instruments are gathering important data without any major issues. At some candidate sites, non-SWGO environmental monitoring systems are also available. In this case, the AEROSITE serves as a cross-calibration instrument to allow a possible extension of the data points to the past using the available data sources. On the other hand, the AEROSITE data are important for designing the SWGO detectors using the real conditions at the sites such as temperatures, wind, electric field and seismic activity.

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