The Effects of Cooperative Competition on Member Loyalty

Marketing, Agribusiness,

Sensibilidad de la pobreza al crecimiento y a los cambios distributivos en las comunas rurales de Chile

Este documento presenta un estudio de la pobreza rural en Chile. Este análisis se hizo según 468 estudios hechos por la encuesta CASEN (Encuesta de Caracterización Socioeconómica Nacional), de los que se seleccionaron 155 comunas rurales chilenas a lo largo de todo el país, teniendo algunas una sola observación, y otras varias. La definición de ruralidad usada está basada en MIDEPLAN 2007. Cuando se plantean políticas de desarrollo, los temas en que se suelen centrar son: crecimiento, distribución de los ingresos y/o reducción de pobreza absoluta. El análisis se centra en considerar cuál de esos factores es más incidente en la pobreza rural en Chile, en esas 155 comunas. Se realizaron diferentes comparaciones de dichos factores (de los que se presentan diferentes tablas), y a partir de ellos se presentan las conclusiones

Crecimiento y distribución del ingreso como determinantes de la reducción de la pobreza en comunas rurales de Chile

El informe sobre Desarrollo Mundial 2008, del Banco Mundial destaca que la agricultura es un instrumento fundamental para la superación de la pobreza rural. Sin embargo en Latino América y el Caribe, parece no ser ese el caso, ya que la agricultura ha demostrado tener un modesto desempeño en la reducción de la pobreza rural en esas regiones. Este documento profundiza el análisis de Bentancor et al. (2008). “Crecimiento agrícola y pobreza rural en Chile y sus regiones” Documento de Trabajo. Rimisp – Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural, y presenta el caso de Chile, que presenta una mejor situación que muchos países de la región, pero sin tener resultados sobresalientes como en otros continentes, en relación a la agricultura. El análisis busca contribuir al diseño de políticas públicas al detectar qué variables o procesos inciden positivamente sobre el crecimiento del ingreso y la reducción de la desigualdad, y a través de ellos, sobre la reducción de la pobreza en zonas con alta ruralidad

H-NS plays a role in expression of Acinetobacter baumannii virulence features

Acinetobacter baumannii has become a major problem in the clinical setting with the prevalence of infections caused by multidrug-resistant strains on the increase. Nevertheless, only a limited number of molecular mechanisms involved in the success of A. baumannii as a human pathogen have been described. In this study, we examined the virulence features of a hypermotile derivative of A. baumannii strain ATCC 17978, which was found to display enhanced adherence to human pneumocytes and elevated levels of lethality toward Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. Analysis of cellular lipids revealed modifications to the fatty acid composition, providing a possible explanation for the observed changes in hydrophobicity and subsequent alteration in adherence and motility. Comparison of the genome sequences of the hypermotile variant and parental strain revealed that an insertion sequence had disrupted an hns-like gene in the variant. This gene encodes a homologue of the histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein, a known global transcriptional repressor. Transcriptome analysis identified the global effects of this mutation on gene expression, with major changes seen in the autotransporter Ata, a type VI secretion system, and a type I pilus cluster. Interestingly, isolation and analysis of a second independent hypermotile ATCC 17978 variant revealed a mutation to a residue within the DNA binding region of H-NS. Taken together, these mutants indicate that the phenotypic and transcriptomic differences seen are due to loss of regulatory control effected by H-NS.This work was supported by project grant 535053 to M.H.B. and I.T.P. from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. B.A.E. is the recipient of a School of Biological Sciences Endeavor International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, and K.A.H. is supported by an APD fellowship from the Australian Research Council (DP110102680)

La vitivinicultura uruguaya en la región (1870-2000) : una introducción a estudios y problemas

En 2000 y con apoyo de fondos de la Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica de la Universidad de la República, iniciamos un proyecto de investigación sobre la vitivinicultura en el Uruguay, e hicimos los primeros contactos con investigadores en la región. Desde entonces, hemos recorrido una década de trabajo con encuentros periódicos, confrontando resultados, cooperando en algunos emprendimientos conjuntos. Este libro nació en el calor de esos vínculos, académicos pero también humanos, fortalecidos por el entusiasmo que imponen en cada instancia, los investigadores más jóvenes. Paulatinamente se fueron dibujando algunas líneas de trabajo que, próximamente, plasmarán en estudios más ambiciosos e integradores

Antibody Response to Shiga Toxins in Argentinean Children with Enteropathic Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome at Acute and Long-Term Follow-Up Periods

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection is associated with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations that include diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Systemic Stx toxemia is considered to be central to the genesis of HUS. Distinct methods have been used to evaluate anti-Stx response for immunodiagnostic or epidemiological analysis of HUS cases. The development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot (WB) assay to detect the presence of specific antibodies to Stx has introduced important advantages for serodiagnosis of HUS. However, application of these methods for seroepidemiological studies in Argentina has been limited. The aim of this work was to develop an ELISA to detect antibodies against the B subunit of Stx2, and a WB to evaluate antibodies against both subunits of Stx2 and Stx1, in order to analyze the pertinence and effectiveness of these techniques in the Argentinean population. We studied 72 normal healthy children (NHC) and 105 HUS patients of the urban pediatric population from the surrounding area of Buenos Aires city. Using the WB method we detected 67% of plasma from NHC reactive for Stx2, but only 8% for Stx1. These results are in agreement with the broad circulation of Stx2-expressing STEC in Argentina and the endemic behavior of HUS in this country. Moreover, the simultaneous evaluation by the two methods allowed us to differentiate acute HUS patients from NHC with a great specificity and accuracy, in order to confirm the HUS etiology when pathogenic bacteria were not isolated from stools

Shiga Toxin: Expression, Distribution, and Its Role in the Environment

In this review, we highlight recent work that has increased our understanding of the production and distribution of Shiga toxin in the environment. Specifically, we review studies that offer an expanded view of environmental reservoirs for Shiga toxin producing microbes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We then relate the abundance of Shiga toxin in the environment to work that demonstrates that the genetic mechanisms underlying the production of Shiga toxin genes are modified and embellished beyond the classical microbial gene regulatory paradigms in a manner that apparently “fine tunes” the trigger to modulate the amount of toxin produced. Last, we highlight several recent studies examining microbe/protist interactions that postulate an answer to the outstanding question of why microbes might harbor and express Shiga toxin genes in the environment

Treatment of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)

Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) are a specialized group of E. coli that can cause severe colonic disease and renal failure. Their pathogenicity derives from virulence factors that enable the bacteria to colonize the colon and deliver extremely powerful toxins known as verotoxins (VT) or Shiga toxins (Stx) to the systemic circulation. The recent devastating E. coli O104:H4 epidemic in Europe has shown how helpless medical professionals are in terms of offering effective therapies. By examining the sources and distribution of these bacteria, and how they cause disease, we will be in a better position to prevent and treat the inevitable future cases of sporadic disease and victims of common source outbreaks. Due to the complexity of pathogenesis, it is likely a multitargeted approach is warranted. Developments in terms of these treatments are discussed