The Informal Sector and the World Economy: Notes on the Structure of Subsidised Labour

SUMMARY The informal sector in Third World cities was initially identified as the mechanism by which the poor managed to survive under adverse conditions. Subsequent studies showed how interdependent informal activities were with those in the formal sector. Most studies interpreted this as evidence of the dependent and interstitial character of the informal economy. This paper argues that, from the point of view of structural arrangements, the opposite is more accurate. The informal sector provides a subsidy to formal sector consumption and cheapens labour costs directly when used in a ‘contract’ capacity by formal enterprises. RESUMEN El sector informal y la economia mundial : anotaciones en torno a la estructura de la mano de obra subvencionada El sector informal de las ciudades del tercer mundo se identifico en un principio como el mecanismo por el que lo pobre conseguían sobrevivir en condiciones adversas. Estudios posteriores mostraron la gran interdependencia entre las actividades informales y las del sector formal. Casi todos los estudios interpretaron este fenómeno como una prueba del carácter estrechamente dependiente de la economía informal. Este artículo se propone probar que, desde el punto de los elementos estructurales, lo contrario es más exacto. El sector informal ofrece una subvención al consumo del sector formal y abarata directamente los costes de la mano de obra cuando ésta se utiliza en una capacidad de “contrato” por parte de las empresas formales. RESUME Le secteur non?officiel et l'économie mondiale: remarques sur la structure de la main?d'oeuvre subventionnée Le secteur non officiel dans les villes du Tiers Monde était identifié initialement comme le mécanisme par lequel les pauvres parviennent à survivre dans des conditions adverses. Par la suite, des études ont montré comment des activités non officielles étaient inter?dépendantes avec celles du secteur officiel. La plupart des études interprétaient ceci comme l'évidence du caractère dépendant et interstitiel de l'économie non officielle. L'auteur affirme que, du point de vue des arrangements structurels, le contraire est plus exact. Le secteur non officiel fournit une subvention à la consommation du secteur officiel et abaisse le coût de la main?d'oeuvre directement lorsque des entreprises formelles y ont recours pour des travaux à facon

Acts of communion: encountering taste in Reckless Sleepers’ The Last Supper

An article about the aesthetics, politics and dramaturgy of taste implicit in Reckless Sleepers’ The Last Supper (2003). The authors explore notions of gustatory taste and the multi-sensory potential of serving food in performance and the ethics of (mis)representation of real life events; the assassination of the Romanovs and Che Guavara proving to be the most unreliable narratives. The piece sits between fact and fiction, the found and the fabricated, and is punctuated with the arrival of the real last suppers of convicted felons. The work speaks from a primarily western religious perspective, inspired by Da Vinci’s Last Supper (1498) and the act of communion that takes place in church services. In this way, it leans towards an occidental, spiritual notion of taste, where transubstantiation allows the rice paper script to become both the body of Christ and the symbol of his own last supper. Nietzsche’s notion of intoxication comes into play as performers and audience share wine, or blood, and drink to absent friends. The article proposes that the piece enacts a dramaturgy much like a meal, where conversation ebbs and flows, and a sense of togetherness, or act of communion, is engendered. The authors posit that the tacit contract with the audience is redrawn by food as both an aesthetic and dramaturgical encounter. As such, it becomes an invocation (or intoxication) of taste, mortality and last-ness that continues to resonate thirteen years after its devising. Both Pinchbeck and Westerside wrote about this performance when they first saw it at the same venue in 2006, both conducted interviews with members of the Reckless Sleepers, Mole Wetherell and Tim Ingram, for their ongoing research into dramaturgy, aesthetics and taste in contemporary performance. Now this research is woven together into a tapestry of reflections on the piece, a pentimento of memories

Hybrid laparoscopic versus fully robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy:an international propensity-score matched analysis of perioperative outcome

Background: Currently, little is known regarding the optimal technique for the abdominal phase of RAMIE. The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) in both the abdominal and thoracic phase (full RAMIE) compared to laparoscopy during the abdominal phase (hybrid laparoscopic RAMIE). Methods: This retrospective propensity-score matched analysis of the International Upper Gastrointestinal International Robotic Association (UGIRA) database included 807 RAMIE procedures with intrathoracic anastomosis between 2017 and 2021 from 23 centers. Results: After propensity-score matching, 296 hybrid laparoscopic RAMIE patients were compared to 296 full RAMIE patients. Both groups were equal regarding intraoperative blood loss (median 200 ml versus 197 ml, p = 0.6967), operational time (mean 430.3 min versus 417.7 min, p = 0.1032), conversion rate during abdominal phase (2.4% versus 1.7%, p = 0.560), radical resection (R0) rate (95.6% versus 96.3%, p = 0.8526) and total lymph node yield (mean 30.4 versus 29.5, p = 0.3834). The hybrid laparoscopic RAMIE group showed higher rates of anastomotic leakage (28.0% versus 16.6%, p = 0.001) and Clavien Dindo grade 3a or higher (45.3% versus 26.0%, p &lt; 0.001). The length of stay on intensive care unit (median 3 days versus 2 days, p = 0.0005) and in-hospital (median 15 days versus 12 days, p &lt; 0.0001) were longer for the hybrid laparoscopic RAMIE group. Conclusions: Hybrid laparoscopic RAMIE and full RAMIE were oncologically equivalent with a potential decrease of postoperative complications and shorter (intensive care) stay after full RAMIE.</p

Impact of maternal antibodies and microbiota development on the immunogenicity of oral rotavirus vaccine in African, Indian, and European infants: a prospective cohort study

Identifying risk factors for impaired oral rotavirus vaccine (ORV) efficacy in low-income countries may lead to improvements in vaccine design and delivery. We measured maternal rotavirus antibodies, environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), and bacterial gut microbiota development among infants receiving two doses of Rotarix in India (n = 307), Malawi (n = 119), and the UK (n = 60), using standardised methods across cohorts. ORV shedding and seroconversion rates were significantly lower in Malawi and India than the UK. Maternal rotavirus-specific antibodies in serum and breastmilk were negatively correlated with ORV response in India and Malawi, and this was mediated partly by a reduction in ORV replication. In the UK, ORV replication was not inhibited despite comparable maternal antibody levels. In both India and Malawi, pre-vaccination microbiota diversity was negatively correlated with ORV immunogenicity, suggesting that high early-life microbial exposure may contribute to impaired vaccine efficacy

Investigation of naphtha-type biofuel from a novel refinery process

In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), biofuels have been in use for a number of years. One of the problems with first-generation (1G) biofuels however is their competition with food production. In search of second-generation (2G) biofuels, that are not in competition with food agriculture, a novel biorefinery process has been developed to produce biofuel from woody biomass sources. This novel technique, part of the Belgian federal government funded Ad-Libio project, uses a catalytic process that operates at low temperature and is able to convert 2G feedstock into a stable light naphtha. The bulk of the yield consists out of hydrocarbons containing five to six carbon atoms, along with a fraction of oxygenates and aromatics. The oxygen content and the aromaticity of the hydrocarbons can be varied, both of which have a significant influence on the fuel’s combustion and emission characteristics when used in Internal Combustion Engines. When used as a blend component, this novel 2G biofuel could help increase the sustainability of vehicle fuels. But, while exhaustive experimental and, although lesser in number, numerical investigations on combustion behavior have been performed for 1G biofuels, less information is available for 2G biofuels and especially this novel naphtha-like fuel. An extensive fuel compound property database and a fuel blend property calculator is readily available in literature, but their validity has not been tested for the novel 2G biofuel components. This article provides a first screening of the usability of these light naphtha components as blend components for gasoline and diesel drop-in fuels, by means of a freely available fuel component database and fuel blend calculator, concluding with an initial assessment of achievable blends and pointing out where further work is needed

Ca2+â independent positive molecular inotropy for failing rabbit and human cardiac muscle by αâ myosin motor gene transfer

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154404/1/fsb2fj09140566.pd

Molecular Cardiology in Translation: Gene, Cell and Chemical-Based Experimental Therapeutics for the Failing Heart

Acquired and inherited diseases of the heart represent a major health care issue in this country and throughout the World. Clinical medicine has made important advancements in the past quarter century to enable several effective treatment regimes for cardiac patients. Nevertheless, it is apparent that even with the best care, current treatment strategies and therapeutics are inadequate for treating heart disease, leaving it arguably the most pressing health issue today. In this context it is important to seek new approaches to redress the functional deficits in failing myocardium. This review focuses on several recent gene, cell and chemical-based experimental therapeutics currently being developed in the laboratory for potential translation to patient care. For example, new advances in bio-sensing inducible gene expression systems offer the potential for designer cardio-protective proteins to be expressed only during hypoxia/ischemia in the heart. Stem cells continue to offer the promise of cardiac repair, and some recent advances are discussed here. In addition, discovery and applications of synthetic polymers are presented as a chemical-based strategy for acute and chronic treatment of diseased and failing cardiac tissue. Collectively, these approaches serve as the front lines in basic biomedical research, with an eye toward translation of these findings to clinically meaningful applications in cardiac disease