Las empresas de servicios en América Latina: un estudio exploratorio sobre factores de competitividad internacional, obstáculos y políticas públicas

Fil: Lopez, Andres F. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Andres F. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Politica de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Niembro, Andrés A. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Andina; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Daniela. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformacion; ArgentinaServices have long been a dominant sector in the global economy, since they account for the bulk of gross domestic product and employment, both in developed economies and in much of the developing world. In recent years, in turn, services have increased their weight in both international trade and external investment flows. Although Latin American companies have begun to actively participate in this new global dynamic and several countries of the region show a significant dynamism in their services exports, there are still important spaces to deepen these trends and scale positions. The present work is based on a survey of service companies in Latin America in which they were inquired about their own views about obstacles to trade in services, as well as on the coverage and impact of public policies in force that influence this trade. From this, some useful policy guidelines can be derived to promote the development of services exports in Latin America.Desde hace tiempo los servicios son un sector dominante en la economía global, puesto que dan cuenta de la mayor parte del producto interno bruto y el empleo tanto en las economías desarrolladas como en buena parte del mundo en desarrollo. En los últimos años, a su vez, los servicios han incrementado su peso tanto en el comercio internacional como en los flujos de inversiones externas. Si bien las empresas latinoamericanas han comenzado a participar activamente de esta nueva dinámica global y varios de los países de la región muestran un dinamismo apreciable en sus exportaciones de servicios, todavía hay importantes espacios de mejora para profundizar estas tendencias y escalar posiciones. El presente trabajo se basa en una encuesta a empresas de servicios de América Latina en la que se indagó acerca de la visión de las propias firmas respecto de los obstáculos para el comercio de servicios, como así también sobre la cobertura e impacto de las políticas públicas existentes en los países de la región que influyen sobre dicho comercio. De aquí, pueden derivarse algunos lineamientos de política útiles para promover el desarrollo de las exportaciones de servicios en Latinoamérica

Diagnóstico de (brechas de) desarrollo para Argentina: En "estado crítico" a fines de los 2000

Fil: Lopez, Andres F. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Andres F. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; ArgentinaFil: Niembro, Andrés A. Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Sede Andina. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas y de la Administracion; ArgentinaFil: Niembro, Andrés A. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica; ChileFil: Ramos, Daniela. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación; Argentina.Fil: Ramos, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; ArgentinaSo far, the approaches and methodologies applied to the analysis of inequalities in development and well-being between countries are usually limited to address the topic of development gaps through the evaluation of only a few variables or dimensions. The present work aims to provide a “diagnosis” of Argentinean development gaps in the late 2000s, by implementing a methodology in which eleven key areas are identified in order to learn whether Argentina’s outcomes in them are aligned with the country’s GDP per capital level. Results suggest that negative gaps still exist in most of the identified areas.Los enfoques y las metodologías aplicados hasta ahora al estudio de las desigualdades de desarrollo y bienestar entre países suelen limitarse a abordar el problema de las brechas de desarrollo a partir de la evaluación de unas pocas variables o dimensiones. El presente trabajo pretende aportar un diagnóstico de la situación de la Argentina hacia fines de los años 2000, pero en base a un enfoque más integral en el cual se desagrega el análisis en once áreas, buscando saber si los resultados obtenidos por el país en ellas son acordes con su nivel de ingreso per cápita

An infinite family of solvable and integrable quantum systems on a plane

An infinite family of exactly-solvable and integrable potentials on a plane is introduced. It is shown that all already known rational potentials with the above properties allowing separation of variables in polar coordinates are particular cases of this family. The underlying algebraic structure of the new potentials is revealed as well as its hidden algebra. We conjecture that all members of the family are also superintegrable and demonstrate this for the first few cases. A quasi-exactly-solvable and integrable generalization of the family is found.Comment: 30 pages, Introduction extended, description of known integrals given, some statements clarified, one reference added, will be published in J Phys A (FTC

Multiple Arthritis: Three in One

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of differentially expressed key genes of Longissimus lumborum samples from Portuguese Alentejano and Bísaro local pig breeds

Most of the swine industry nowadays is about productive and profitable fast-growing lean breeds raised under intensive conditions leading to meat and fat rich in saturated fatty acids. The Portuguese local Alentejano (AL) and Bísaro (BI) pig breeds present high intramuscular fat (IMF) content which contributes to highly appreciated pork products. These breeds have different ancestors: AL belongs to the Iberian group, presenting lower growth rates and higher lipid accretion and unsaturated fatty acids level when compared to BI, which belongs to the Celtic group, sharing ancestors with leaner breeds such as Large White and Landrace. The goal of this work was to compare the muscle gene expression profiles of AL and BI pig breeds to better understand the influence of the genetic background in the main metabolic processes occurring in the Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle, namely in terms of lipid synthesis, muscle tissue formation, protein synthesis and cell proliferation. LL samples were obtained at slaughter, from adult AL and BI pigs with ~150kg body weight. Total RNA was extracted and sequenced for a transcriptome comparison analysis. A total of 250 genes were found to be differentially expressed (DE) in LL samples (q<0.05) conditional on breed, with 174 DE genes up-regulated in AL (log2(fold_change) = 0.65 to 7.03) and 76 in BI (log2(fold_change) = 0.63 to 4.53). Genes related to skeletal muscle development and function, such as MYH3, MYH13 or ACTN4, were significantly up-regulated in BI when compared to AL, which is in agreement with the higher muscle mass of the former breed. Genes involved in lipid metabolism were up-regulated in AL, including SCD (q=0.05), responsible for catalysing the reaction that introduces the first double bond into saturated fatty acyl-CoA substrates, which agrees with the higher unsaturation of fat tissues generally associated with the former breed. A functional enrichment analysis (metabolic pathways and GO enrichment) was performed for the DE genes and the identified functions included tissue development, cellular growth and proliferation, quantity of connective tissue and lipid metabolism. Potential regulators found that explain the observed gene expression changes in the dataset included molecules such as: ADORA2A, CEBPA, SMAD3 and PPARG (predicted to be activated in AL); HDAC and ASXL1 (predicted to be inhibited in AL)

Exploring consumers’ perception and willingness to pay for “Non-Added Sulphite” wines through experimental auctions: A case study in Italy and Spain

Although scientific literature is still uncertain towards the real causes that can link headache episodes with moderate wine consumption, a growing proportion of consumers seems to address sulphites as possible culprits. Hence, the objective of this study is to assess consumers` willingness to pay for wine bearing a sulphites-free label in two traditional wine producing countries, Italy and Spain. The methodological framework is based on the specification of the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) type of auction applied to consumers purchasing wine in the supermarket stores of both countries. A left censored Tobit model is used to analyse the bidding behaviour for conventional and “Non-Added Sulphite” (NAS) wine. Results in both countries show that consumers who link the headaches with the consumption of sulphite are willing to exchange the habitually consumed bottle of wine with a NAS wine and pay extra premium prices.Esta investigación se ha llevado a cabo gracias al apoyo financiero de la Organización Internacional de la Viña y el Vino (OIV).Publishe

Amputation-free survival in 17,353 people at high risk for foot ulceration in diabetes:a national observational study

Acknowledgements Some of the data were presented as an abstract at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference in 2017. Diabetes data for Scotland are available for analysis by members of the Scottish Diabetes Research Network (SDRN) thanks to the hard work and dedication of NHS staff across Scotland who enter the data and people and organisations (the Scottish Care Information –Diabetes Collaboration (SCI-DC) Steering Group, the Scottish Diabetes Group, the Scottish Diabetes Survey Group, the managed clinical network managers and staff in each Health Board) involved in setting up, maintaining and overseeing SCI-DC. The SDRN receives core support from the Chief Scientist’s Office at the Scottish Government Health Department. Members of the Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group who do not qualify for authorship but who contributed to data collection include R. Lindsay (Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK); J. McKnight (Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK); S. Philip (Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK); Members of the Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group who do not qualify for authorship but who contributed to data management include L. Blackbourn (Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK); B. Farran (Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, UK); D. McAllister (Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, UK); P. McKeigue (Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK); S. Read (Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, UK).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Potassium Starvation in Yeast: Mechanisms of Homeostasis Revealed by Mathematical Modeling

The intrinsic ability of cells to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions is a fundamental process required for survival. Potassium is the most abundant cation in living cells and is required for essential cellular processes, including the regulation of cell volume, pH and protein synthesis. Yeast cells can grow from low micromolar to molar potassium concentrations and utilize sophisticated control mechanisms to keep the internal potassium concentration in a viable range. We developed a mathematical model for Saccharomyces cerevisiae to explore the complex interplay between biophysical forces and molecular regulation facilitating potassium homeostasis. By using a novel inference method (“the reverse tracking algorithm”) we predicted and then verified experimentally that the main regulators under conditions of potassium starvation are proton fluxes responding to changes of potassium concentrations. In contrast to the prevailing view, we show that regulation of the main potassium transport systems (Trk1,2 and Nha1) in the plasma membrane is not sufficient to achieve homeostasis

NQO1-Dependent Redox Cycling of Idebenone: Effects on Cellular Redox Potential and Energy Levels

Short-chain quinones are described as potent antioxidants and in the case of idebenone have already been under clinical investigation for the treatment of neuromuscular disorders. Due to their analogy to coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a long-chain quinone, they are widely regarded as a substitute for CoQ10. However, apart from their antioxidant function, this provides no clear rationale for their use in disorders with normal CoQ10 levels. Using recombinant NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO) enzymes, we observed that contrary to CoQ10 short-chain quinones such as idebenone are good substrates for both NQO1 and NQO2. Furthermore, the reduction of short-chain quinones by NQOs enabled an antimycin A-sensitive transfer of electrons from cytosolic NAD(P)H to the mitochondrial respiratory chain in both human hepatoma cells (HepG2) and freshly isolated mouse hepatocytes. Consistent with the substrate selectivity of NQOs, both idebenone and CoQ1, but not CoQ10, partially restored cellular ATP levels under conditions of impaired complex I function. The observed cytosolic-mitochondrial shuttling of idebenone and CoQ1 was also associated with reduced lactate production by cybrid cells from mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) patients. Thus, the observed activities separate the effectiveness of short-chain quinones from the related long-chain CoQ10 and provide the rationale for the use of short-chain quinones such as idebenone for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders

Utilising Drone Technology in Primatology for 3D Mapping

Emergent Unmanned Aerial System (or drone) technology allows the 3-dimensional mapping of forest landscapes, allowing a new perspective of arboreal primate habitat use. Utilising UASs in primatological studies enables the assessment of habitat quality for different arboreal primate species, the identification of discreet forms of anthropogenic disturbance (such as historical selective logging), and detailed investigation of canopy use by arboreal primate species. Combining 3D canopy structure with microclimate measurements, we can see how canopy structure buffers solar radiation and how arboreal species may be affected by future climate change. We present data on a study of the arboreal primate community in a lowland section of the Gunung Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, focusing on how 3D canopy structure effects ranging (siamang, Symphalangus syndactylus), different primate species’ population densities (lar gibbon, Hylobates lar, siamang and Thomas langur, Presbytis thomasi) and habitat selection (orang-utan, Pongo abelii and siamang) and how UAS technology can be utilised in other future studies; the potential opportunities, challenges and pitfalls