Macroeconomic Policies to Increase Social Mobility and Growth in Bolivia

Poverty in Bolivia continues to be among the highest in Latin America despite decades of concerted national and international efforts to reduce it. Bolivia has meticulously followed the recommendations of the Washington consensus at the same time as external aid has been generous and foreign direct investment has boomed. Nevertheless, average productivity and incomes remain at the same low level as they were 50 years ago. This paper suggests that the failure of previous development policies is due to a lack of social mobility in the country. Without social mobility, there is little incentive for people to invest in human and physical capital, and without investment there cannot be productivity growth. In addition, the lack of social mobility implies an inefficient use of human capital, and it hinders the construction of efficient social mechanisms for redistribution and consumption smoothing over the life-cycle.Social Mobility, Development, Public Policy, Bolivia

Access and Definition: Exploring how STEM Faculty, Department Heads, and University Policy Administrators Navigate the Implementation of a Parental Leave Policy

Access and Definition: Exploring how STEM Faculty, Department Heads and University Policy Administrators Navigate the Enactment of a Parental Leave Policy A key feature in various reports exploring women’s persisting underrepresentation in STEM faculty positions in the US is the need to disseminate policy information to all stakeholders involved in issues relating to women STEM faculty underrepresentation and retention. Indeed, the National Academies of Science Beyond Barriers and Bias: Fulfilling the Potential of Women Academic Science and Engineering (2007) and the AAUW’s Why so Few?(2010) identify institutional policies, like parental leave, as a way to address an outmoded institutional structure that is increasingly at odds with the experiences of all faculty. We have undertaken a deep, comprehensive and systematic study of one such policy at one Midwestern institution, exploring the recently instituted parental leave policy that allows women and men faculty and staff to take a paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The study uses Dorothy Smith’s institutional ethnography as a method to examine how people’s everyday real world experiences are mediated by textual documents (here the parental leave policy). We interviewed eligible STEM faculty, STEM department heads and university policy administrators to understand how the policy was being enacted or not in the everyday circumstances of STEM faculty and how other university members jointly navigate this process.We have presented prior work at ASEE 2011 on this data; our new paper will delve deeper into two select themes: the difficulty STEM faculty experienced in accessing the policy to meet their needs; and the challenges administrators had at understanding the exact definition of what the policy offered faculty. An emerging theme is that issues of access and definition seem to vary across STEM departments. With our focus on this access and understanding, we integrated our analysis with the work of sociologist Manuel Castells (2000) who examines flows of information between and within networks of people (here we focus on within networks, specifically departmental networks and the larger university network). By using this framework we can examine the different network structures and flows of information within departments which are nested within a larger university network. Disseminating information and coordinating action to address these ongoing issues is a complex problem as evinced by the findings in our initial study (2010). Combining institutional ethnography’s ability to reveal how organizational policy affects how people interact about and choose to enact or not enact a policy with Castells work on flows of information within networks stands to advance our collective understanding of access and understanding of these sorts of policies and suggest routes to improve both for STEM faculty. Findings can offer illustrative lessons about how these processes operate potentially informing other instances of similar policy introduction and maintenance. Further study of this policy comes at a time where broad changes in family friendly policy at NSF have emerged on the horizon; thus this study also offers a benchmark against which to contrast once these larger policy changes have come into effect

Reforma agraria e Yvy Marane'y : resistência campesina en la lucha por la tierra en el Paraguay

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Jorge Ramón Montenegro GómezTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências da Terra, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia. Defesa : Curitiba, 28/03/2018Inclui referências: p.402-433Resumo: Nos primeiros anos do século XXI, a reforma agrária retomou (novamente), e se posicionou na cena política através dos discursos dos governos progressistas em "Nossa América" e das vozes dos camponeses e camponesas que resistem a onda neoliberal dos anos noventa. Os anos de progressivismo no Paraguai passaram e deixaram as mesmas dívidas relacionadas à distribuição de terra e poder no país. No entanto, a reforma agrária ligada à luta histórica pela terra foi fortalecida nos movimentos camponeses paraguaios. Primeiro como uma proposta de resistência através de troca de experiências, diálogo de saberes e análise coletiva, em convergência com outros movimentos sociais nacionais e nos americanos, bem como o endurecimento das políticas neoliberais do Estado e do Mercado, disfarçando-se como grandes projetos produtivos de modernização capitalista, que expoliam os territórios camponeses. A reforma agrária hoje está confirmada na atualidade, nas resistencias cotidianas, públicas e nas alianças com outros atores sociais, isto é, a reafirmação dos diversos sujeitos articulados nos movimentos camponeses paraguaios com outras organizações da sociedade civil, é a materialização da luta pela terra e pela reforma agrária. É um processo de resignificação política e cultural que os movimentos camponeses estão fazendo de sua experiência de resistência e sua forma de organização política. Começamos a partir da formação social do campesinato paraguaio e sua configuração territorial, da mão dos autores do pensamento crítico latinoamericano, para afirmar a presença do pluriverso Guarani no presente e a validade do domínio colonial. Os novos rostos de mesmos antagonistas em conflitos pela terra e pelo território. A invasão dos produtores de soja brasiguayos como uma ferida neocolonial e a polifonia de vozes e sujeitos nas resistências camponesas pluriescalares e plurisocias pela reforma agrária. A amplitude das reivindicações relacionadas a esta proposta, que vão desde a reforma agrária clássica do passado até as atuais reformas agrárias integrais e populares de "Nossa América". Nesse sentido, abordamos a pluridimensionalidade da reforma agrária como justiça social: redistribuição, reconhecimento e representação e incorporamos a dimensão territorial da reforma agrária, na busca do "Yvy Marane'y" que é a "A Terra Sem Males" dos Guarani, analisou-se dentro de territórios de conquistas na luta pela terra, como o assentamento "Crescencio González" da Federação Nacional Camponesa- FNC. Neste tekoha camponês -paraguaio em movimento confronta-se as contradições do sistema mundo moderno colonial mas também a resistência no espaço-tempo-conflito- resistência que também acolhe as ações de resistência, como comer, morar, cuidar, curar e bem viver, o que representa uma resistência integral pela autonomia, soberania alimentar, agroecologia, as mulheres, a juventude, pela natureza e pela vida na Terra. Palavras-chave: reforma agrária, movimentos camponeses, conflitos territoriais, resistência camponesa, Terra Sim Mal.Abstract: In the early years of the twenty-first century, agrarian reform returned (again), and was positioned on the political scene through the discourses of progressive governments in "Our America" and the voices of peasants who resist the neoliberal wave of the 1990s. The years of progressivism in Paraguay have passed and left the same debts related to the distribution of land and power in the country. However, agrarian reform linked to the historic struggle for land was strengthened in Paraguayan peasant movements. First as a proposal of resistance through exchange of experiences, dialogue of knowledge and collective analysis, in convergence with other national social movements and in the Americans, as well as the hardening of the neoliberal policies of the State and the Market, disguising themselves as great productive projects of capitalist modernization that plundered the peasant territories. The agrarian reform today is confirmed nowadays, in the daily resistance, public and alliances with other social actors, that is, the reaffirmation of the various subjects articulated in the Paraguayan peasant movements with other civil society organizations, is the materialization of the struggle for land and by agrarian reform. It is a process of political and cultural resignification that the peasant movements are making of their experience of resistance and their form of political organization. We start from the social formation of the Paraguayan peasantry and yours territorial configuration, from the hand of the authors of critical Latin American thought, to affirm the presence of the pluriverse Guarani in the present and the validity of the colonial domain. The new faces of the same antagonists in conflicts for land and territory. The invasion of the brasiguayos soybean producers as a neocolonial wound and the polyphony of voices and subjects in the pluralscal and peasant resistances of the agrarian reform. The breadth of the claims related to this proposal, ranging from the classic agrarian reform of the past to the current integral and popular agrarian reforms of "Our America". In this sense, we approach the pluridimensionality of agrarian reform as social justice: redistribution, recognition and representation and we incorporate the territorial dimension of agrarian reform, in search of the "Yvy Marane'y" that is the "Land without Evil" of the Guarani, within the territories of conquest in the struggle for land, such as the settlement "Crescencio González" of the National Federation of Peasants-FNC. In this tekoha peasant-Paraguayan in movement confronts the contradictions of the modern colonial world system but also the resistance in space-time-conflict - resistance that also welcomes the actions of resistance, such as eating, living, caring, healing and living well, the which represents an integral resistance to autonomy, food sovereignty, agroecology, women, youth, nature and life on land. Key words: agrarian reform, peasant movements, territorial conflicts, peasant resistance, Land without Evil.Resumen: En los primeros años del siglo XXI, comenzó a resurgir (de nuevo) la reforma agraria, que se posicionaba en el escenario político a través de los discursos de los gobiernos progresistas en Nuestra América y de las voces de los campesinos y campesinas que habían resistido a la ola neoliberal de los años noventa. Los años del progresismo en Paraguay pasaron y dejaron las mismas deudas relacionadas a la distribución de la tierra y del poder en el país. Sin embargo, la reforma agraria ligada a la lucha histórica por la tierra se fortaleció al interior de los movimientos campesinos paraguayos, primero como propuesta de resistencia a través de un intercambio de experiencias, diálogo de saberes y análisis colectivos, en convergencia con otros movimientos sociales nacionales y nuestroamericanos, así como también por el endurecimiento de las políticas neoliberales del Estado y del Mercado, enmascarados como grandes proyectos productivos y de modernización capitalistas, que expolian los territorios campesinos. La reforma agraria en la actualidad, se confirma en la resistencia cotidiana, pública y en las alianzas con otros actores, es decir, la reafirmación de los diversos sujetos articulados en los movimientos campesinos paraguayos con otras organizaciones de la sociedad civil, es la materialización de la lucha por la tierra y por la reforma agraria. Se trata de un proceso de resignificación política y cultural que los movimientos campesinos vienen haciendo de su experiencia de resistencia y de su forma de organización política. Partimos de la formación social del campesinado paraguayo y de su configuración territorial, de la mano de los autores del pensamiento crítico latinoamericano, para afirmar la presencia del pluriverso Guaraní en la actualidad y la vigencia del dominio colonial. Los nuevos rostros de los mismos antagonistas en los conflictos por la tierra y por el territorio. La invasión de los sojeros brasiguayos como herida neocolonial y la polifonía de voces y de sujetos en las resistencias campesinas pluriescalares y multisociales por la reforma agraria. La amplitud de las reivindicaciones relacionadas a ésta propuesta, que va de la reforma agraria clásica del pasado a las actuales reformas agrarias integrales y populares de Nuestra América. En éste sentido, abordamos la pluridimensionalidad de la reforma agraria como justicia social: redistribución, reconocimiento y representación e incorporamos la dimensión territorial de la reforma agraria, en la búsqueda del "Yvy Marane'y" que es la "Tierra Sin Mal" de los guaraníes, analizados dentro territorios conquistamos en la lucha por la tierra como lo es el asentamiento Crescencio Gonzáles de la Federación Nacional Campesina-FNC. Este tekoha campesino paraguayo en movimiento enfrenta las contradicciones del sistema mundo moderno colonial en un espacio-tiempo-conflicto-resistencia que también albergan las acciones de resistencia como comer, habitar, cuidar, curar y buen vivir, lo que representa una resistencia integral por la autonomía, la soberanía alimentaria, la agroecología, las mujeres, los jóvenes, la naturaleza y por la vida en la Tierra. Palabras clave: reforma agraria, movimientos campesinos, conflictos territoriales, resistencias campesinas, Tierra Sin Mal

Soft diffraction at LHC

This contribution reviews and compares various LHC results on soft diffraction, in particular elastic scattering, total, inelastic and elastic cross-section, single and double diffraction

Clinical, Diagnostic, and Treatment Characteristics of SDHA-Related Metastatic Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma

Background: Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PHEO/PGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors which may cause potentially life-threatening complications, with about a third of cases found to harbor specific gene mutations. Thus, early diagnosis, treatment, and meticulous monitoring are of utmost importance. Because of low incidence of succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A (SDHA)-related metastatic PHEO/PGL, currently there exists insufficient clinical information, especially with regards to its diagnostic and treatment characteristics.Methods: Ten patients with SDHA-related metastatic PHEO/PGL were followed-up prospectively and/or retrospectively between January 2010–July 2018. They underwent biochemical tests (n = 10), 123I-MIBG (n = 9) scintigraphy, and multiple whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans with 68Ga-DOTATATE (n = 10), 18F-FDG (n = 10), and 18F-FDOPA (n = 6).Results: Our findings suggest that these tumors can occur early and at extra-adrenal locations, behave aggressively, and have a tendency to develop metastatic disease within a short period of time. None of our patients had a family history of PHEO/PGL, making them appear sporadic. Nine out of 10 patients showed abnormal PHEO/PGL-specific biochemical markers with predominantly noradrenergic and/or dopaminergic phenotype, suggesting their utility in diagnosing and monitoring the disease. Per patient detection rates of 68Ga-DOTATATE (n = 10/10), 18F-FDG (n = 10/10), 18F-FDOPA (n = 5/6) PET/CT, and 123I-MIBG (n = 7/9) scintigraphy were 100, 100, 83.33, and 77.77%, respectively. Five out of 7 123I-MIBG positive patients had minimal 123I-MIBG avidity or detected very few lesions compared to widespread metastatic disease on 18F-FDG PET/CT, implying that diagnosis and treatment with 123/131I-MIBG is not a good option. 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT was found to be superior or equal to 18F-FDG PET/CT in 7 out of 10 patients and hence, is recommended for evaluation and follow-up of these patients. All 7 out of 7 patients who received conventional therapies (chemotherapy, somatostatin analog therapy, radiation therapy, 131I-MIBG, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy) in addition to surgery showed disease progression.Conclusion: In our cohort of patients, SDHA-related metastatic PHEO/PGL followed a disease-course similar to that of SDHB-related metastatic PHEO/PGL, showing highly aggressive behavior, similar imaging and biochemical phenotypes, and suboptimal response to conventional therapies. Therefore, we recommend careful surveillance of the affected patients and a search for effective therapies

Enhanced production of multi-strange hadrons in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions

At sufficiently high temperature and energy density, nuclear matter undergoes a transition to a phase in which quarks and gluons are not confined: the quark-gluon plasma (QGP)(1). Such an exotic state of strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics matter is produced in the laboratory in heavy nuclei high-energy collisions, where an enhanced production of strange hadrons is observed(2-6). Strangeness enhancement, originally proposed as a signature of QGP formation in nuclear collisions(7), is more pronounced for multi-strange baryons. Several effects typical of heavy-ion phenomenology have been observed in high-multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions(8,9), but the enhanced production of multi-strange particles has not been reported so far. Here we present the first observation of strangeness enhancement in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions. We find that the integrated yields of strange and multi-strange particles, relative to pions, increases significantly with the event charged-particle multiplicity. The measurements are in remarkable agreement with the p-Pb collision results(10,11), indicating that the phenomenon is related to the final system created in the collision. In high-multiplicity events strangeness production reaches values similar to those observed in Pb-Pb collisions, where a QGP is formed.Peer reviewe

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe