La política económica del gobierno de Hugo Chávez y el impacto sobre la economía venezolana

Los gobiernos con tendencia populista tienen como una de sus principales características implementar políticas económicas expansivas, específicamente el gasto social; de esta forma mantienen satisfechas a las masas y se consolidan en el poder. Estas políticas son seguidas de reformas estructurales, que propenden hacia una mayor equidad, que en algunos casos van en contra de los intereses de la clase económica alta, generando de esta forma que dicha clase se convierta en opositoras del gobierno populista.69 p.Contenido parcial: Particularidades de un régimen populista -- Evolución de la política económica (1999-2003) -- Evolución de las principales variables -- Sector externo

Mortalidad y morbilidad de la peritonitis secundaria con relaparotomía planeada Mortality and morbidity of secondary peritonitis with planned relaparotomy

Introducción: El tratamiento quirúrgico ideal de la peritonitis secundaria severa complicada (PSSC) aun no es claro. El objetivo es mostrar los resultados clínicos donde la técnica quirúrgica escogida fue relaparotomias planeada en el manejo de PSSC. Material y métodos: Entre 1995-2004, todos los pacientes con diagnóstico de PSSC fueron manejados con la técnica de relaparotomías planeadas, luego de controlado el proceso infeccioso se cerró la pared abdominal. El desenlace principal fue mortalidad hospitalaria. A partir del año 2000, se disminuye la frecuencia de las relaparotomías porque se considera el esquema de hacerla planeada, restringiendo las reintervenciones. Se realizó un análisis multivariado. El IRB institucional aprobó la realización de este estudio. Resultados: Se incluyeron 267 pacientes, edad promedio: 52.2 años, el 62.5% hombres, la estancia promedio en UCI:15.8 días, el promedio de relaparotomias planeadas fue de 4 ± 3 con mediana de 3. La tasa de mortalidad global fue 19.9%, antes del año 2000 fue de 28.4% y después del 2000 de 14.5%. El análisis multivariado mostró que relaparatomías no fue predictor independiente de muerte (OR:1.98 IC95%0.78-3.41,p=0.3), como si lo fueron edad>50 años, choque y APACHE II>25. Las complicaciones más frecuentes fueron: fístulas intestinales (15.3%), shock séptico (54%), y SDRA (30%). Conclusión: La mortalidad global actual en pacientes con peritonitis secundaria severa fue menor del 20%. Los predictores independientes de muerte en este grupo fueron edad>50 años, choque y APACHE II>25.Introduction: The ideal treatment of severe complicated secondary peritonitis (SCSP) remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is the presentation of the clinical results of the surgical policy of planned relaparotomy in the management of SCSP. Material and methods: All patients with SCSP were managed with planned relaparotomy in the period 1995-2004; the abdominal wall was closed once the infectious process had been controlled. The main outcome was hospital mortality. After the year 2000 we registered descent of the rate of relaparotomy because the policy change to planned intervention, which restricted the number of reinterventions. A multivariate analysis was carried out. The hospital committee of bioethics approved the implementation of the study. Results: The study population included 267 patients with average age of 52.2 years; 62.5 were male; mean ICU stay was15.8 days, the rate of planned relaparotomies was 4 ± 3 with a median of 3. The global mortality rate was 19.9%; before the year 2000 the rate was 28.4%, and after the year 2000 the rate came down to 14.5%. The multivariate analysis showed that relaparotomy was not an independent predictor of mortality (OR: 1.98, CI 95% 0.78-3.41, p=0.3). but age >50 years, shock, and APACHE II score >25 were independent predictors. Most common complications were intestinal fistulae (15.3%), septic shock (54%), and ARDS (30%). Conclusion: Global mortality rate in patients with severe secondary peritonitis was less than 20%. The independent predictors of mortality in the study group were age>50 years, shock, and APACHE II score >25

Manipulation of Agricultural Habitats to Improve Conservation Biological Control in South America

International audienceStable and diversified agroecosystems provide farmers with important ecosystem services, which are unfortunately being lost at an alarming rate under the current conventional agriculture framework. Nevertheless, this concern can be tackled by using ecological intensification as an alternative strategy to recuperate ecosystem services (e.g., biological control of pests). To this end, the manipulation of agricultural habitats to enhance natural enemy conservation has been widely explored and reported in Western Europe and North America, whereas in other parts of the world, the investigation of such topic is lagging behind (e.g., South America). In this forum, we gathered published and unpublished information on the different ecological habitat management strategies that have been implemented in South America and their effects on pest control. Additionally, we identify the various challenges and analyze the outlook for the science of conservation biological control in South America. More specifically, we reviewed how different agricultural practices and habitat manipulation in South America have influenced pest management through natural enemy conservation. The main habitat manipulations reported include plant diversification (intercropping, insectary plants, agroforestry), conservation and management of non-crop vegetation, and application of artificial foods. Overall, we noticed that there is a significant discrepancy in the amount of research on conservation biological control among South American countries, and we found that, although intercropping, polycultures, and crop rotation have been reported in agroecosystems since pre-Inca times, more systematic studies are required to evaluate the true effects of habitat management to implement conservation biological control for pest control in South America