The political economy machinery: toward a critical anthropology of development as a contested capitalist practice

This article discusses anthropology’s current mainstream understandings of development and offers a historical materialist alternative. According to these, development was and is either a discourse-backed anti-politics machine that strengthens the power of postcolonial governments or a category of practice, a universal that generates frictions when it clashes with local historical–cultural formations. The approach proposed here reintegrates the analysis of development into the anthropological analysis of capitalism’s uneven and contested histories and practices. A reassessment of World Bank reporting on Lesotho and an analysis of the Bank’s impact on the wider policies of development in postcolonial Mauritius, one of the twentieth century’s preeminent success stories of capitalist development, underlines that development is best understood as a political economy machinery that maintains and amends contested capitalist practices in an encounter with earlier global, national, and local historical–cultural formations

Variability of atmospheric carbonyl sulfide at a semi-arid urban site in western India

Atmospheric carbonyl sulfide (COS) is a major precursor for sulfate aerosols that play a critical role in climate regulation. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of COS measurements as a reliable means to constrain biospheric carbon assimilation. In a scenario of limited availability of COS data around the globe, we present gas-chromatographic measurements of atmospheric COS mixing ratios over Ahmedabad, a semi-arid, urban region in western India. These measurements, being reported for the first time over an Indian site, enable us to understand the diurnal and seasonal variation in atmospheric COS with respect to its natural, anthropogenic and photochemical sources and sinks. The annual mean COS mixing ratio over Ahmedabad is found to be 0.83 ± 0.43 ppbv, which is substantially higher than free tropospheric values for the northern hemisphere. Inverse correlation of COS with soil and skin temperature, suggests that the dry soil of the semi-arid study region is a potential sink for atmospheric COS. Positive correlations of COS with NO2 and CO during post-monsoon and the COS/CO slope of 0.78 pptv/ppbv reveals influence of diesel combustion and tire wear. The highest concentrations of COS are observed during pre-monsoon; COS/CO2 slope of 44.75 pptv/ppmv combined with information from air mass back-trajectories reveal marshy wetlands spanning over 7500 km2 as an important source of COS in Ahmedabad. COS/CO2 slopes decrease drastically (8.28 pptv/ppmv) during post-monsoon due to combined impact of biospheric uptake and anthropogenic emissions.by Chinmay Mallik

Rehabilitative capacity of amendments to restore maize productivity following artificial topsoil erosion/ deposition

Anthropogenic activities leading to erosion-induced topsoil loss still present a pertinent threat to maize (Zea mays L.) productivity across the U.S. Corn Belt region. Using soil amendments has been proven effective in reversing the effects caused by erosion-induced topsoil loss and restoring agronomic productivity and yields to pre-eroded conditions. The current study investigated the impact of simulated erosion and repeated amendment application on agronomic productivity and yields over five growing seasons for a 23-year-old experiment at two central Ohio sites (Waterman Farm: WF; Western Station: WS). Simulated erosion/deposition was employed in 1997 to create three incremental topsoil depths (TSD) (20 cm topsoil removed (TSD-0); 0 cm topsoil removed (TSD-1); 20 cm topsoil added (TSD-2). Three soil amendments (inorganic, synthetic N fertilizer (INO); organic, compost manure (MAN); no amendment (CON)) were investigated for their ability to restore productivity in these cropping systems. Greater TSD produced higher germination counts and crop stand and yielded greater canopy cover during the initial five weeks after germination. The MAN amended soils observed higher values for the productivity parameters during the 2016–2020 growing seasons. Grain and biomass yields were 34–51% and 5–12% lower, respectively, for the TSD-0 level and 4–10% and 3–6% greater, respectively, for the TSD-2 level when compared to the undisturbed, TSD-1 level. Relative biomass yield losses (% per cm topsoil depth lost) were 0.921 for the WF site and 0.254 for the WS site, corresponding to average biomass losses (Mg ha−1 cm−1 yr−1) of 0.083 and 0.026 for each site. Relative grain yield losses (% per cm topsoil depth lost) were 1.29 for the WF site and 0.514 for the WS site, equating to mean grain losses (Mg ha−1 cm−1 yr−1) of 0.083 and 0.026 for each site. The rehabilitative capacity of the soil amendments followed a trend of INO > MAN at the WF site and MAN > INO > CON at the WS site. The deleterious effects of erosion on grain and biomass yields were found to be reversed with the addition of the INO and MAN amendments at the WS site due to improvements in soil health and SOC pools. The MAN amended soils produced grain and biomass yields that were nearly 2.5% and 5.6% greater than the INO amended soil when compared to the reference treatment (TSD-1-CON). This study demonstrates that sustainable soil management practices coupled with annual soil amendment addition can mitigate the deleterious effects of erosion and rebound maize yields to pre-eroded conditions for soils experiencing severe topsoil loss

Efficacy and safety of dofetilide and sotalol in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Abstract Background Professional society practice guidelines conflict regarding their recommendations of dofetilide (DOF) and sotalol (STL) for treatment of arrhythmias in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and supporting data is sparse. We aim to assess safety and efficacy of DOF and STL on arrhythmias in HCM. Methods This was an observational study of HCM patients treated with DOF or STL for atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Outcomes of drug discontinuation and arrhythmia recurrence were compared at 1 year and latest follow-up by Kaplan–Meier analysis. Predictors of drug failure were studied using uni- and multi-variable analyses. Drug-related adverse events were quantitated. Results Here we show that of our cohort of 72 patients (54 ± 14 years old, 75% male), 21 were prescribed DOF for AF, 52 STL for AF, and 18 STL for VA. At 1 year, discontinuation and recurrence rates were similar for DOF-AF (38% and 43%) and STL-AF (29% and 44%) groups. Efficacy data was similar at long-term follow-up of 1603 (IQR 994–4131) days, and for STL-VA. Drug inefficacy was the most common reason for discontinuation (28%) followed by side-effects (13%). Incidences of heart failure hospitalization (5%) and mortality (3%) were low. One STL-AF patient developed non-sustained torsades de pointes in the setting of severe pneumonia and acute kidney injury, but there were no other drug-related serious adverse events. Conclusions DOF and STL demonstrate modest efficacy and satisfactory safety when used for AF and VA in HCM patients

Arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine versus arterolane–piperaquine and artemether–lumefantrine in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Kenyan children: a single-centre, open-label, randomised, non-inferiority trial

Background: Triple antimalarial combination therapies combine potent and rapidly cleared artemisinins or related synthetic ozonides, such as arterolane, with two, more slowly eliminated partner drugs to reduce the risk of resistance. We aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine versus arterolane–piperaquine and artemether–lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Kenyan children. Methods: In this single-centre, open-label, randomised, non-inferiority trial done in Kilifi County Hospital, Kilifi, coastal Kenya, children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria were recruited. Eligible patients were aged 2–12 years and had an asexual parasitaemia of 5000–250 000 parasites per μL. The exclusion criteria included the presence of an acute illness other than malaria, the inability to tolerate oral medications, treatment with an artemisinin derivative in the previous 7 days, a known hypersensitivity or contraindication to any of the study drugs, and a QT interval corrected for heart rate (QTc interval) longer than 450 ms. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1), by use of blocks of six, nine, and 12, and opaque, sealed, and sequentially numbered envelopes, to receive either arterolane–piperaquine, arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine, or artemether–lumefantrine. Laboratory staff, but not the patients, the patients' parents or caregivers, clinical or medical officers, nurses, or trial statistician, were masked to the intervention groups. For 3 days, oral artemether–lumefantrine was administered twice daily (target dose 5–24 mg/kg of bodyweight of artemether and 29–144 mg/kg of bodyweight of lumefantrine), and oral arterolane–piperaquine (arterolane dose 4 mg/kg of bodyweight; piperaquine dose 20 mg/kg of bodyweight) and oral arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine (mefloquine dose 8 mg/kg of bodyweight) were administered once daily. All patients received 0·25 mg/kg of bodyweight of oral primaquine at hour 24. All patients were admitted to Kilifi County Hospital for at least 3 consecutive days and followed up at day 7 and, thereafter, weekly for up to 42 days. The primary endpoint was 42-day PCR-corrected efficacy, defined as the absence of treatment failure in the first 42 days post-treatment, of arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine versus artemether–lumefantrine, and, along with safety, was analysed in the intention-to-treat population, which comprised all patients who received at least one dose of a study drug. The 42-day PCR-corrected efficacy of arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine versus arterolane–piperaquine was an important secondary endpoint and was also analysed in the intention-to-treat population. The non-inferiority margin for the risk difference between treatments was −7%. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03452475, and is completed. Findings: Between March 7, 2018, and May 2, 2019, 533 children with P falciparum were screened, of whom 217 were randomly assigned to receive either arterolane–piperaquine (n=73), arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine (n=72), or artemether–lumefantrine (n=72) and comprised the intention-to-treat population. The 42-day PCR-corrected efficacy after treatment with arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine (100%, 95% CI 95–100; 72/72) was non-inferior to that after treatment with artemether–lumefantrine (96%, 95% CI 88–99; 69/72; risk difference 4%, 95% CI 0–9; p=0·25). The 42-day PCR-corrected efficacy of arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine was non-inferior to that of arterolane–piperaquine (100%, 95% CI 95–100; 73/73; risk difference 0%). Vomiting rates in the first hour post-drug administration were significantly higher in patients treated with arterolane–piperaquine (5%, 95% CI 2–9; ten of 203 drug administrations; p=0·0013) or arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine (5%, 3–9; 11 of 209 drug administrations; p=0·0006) than in patients treated with artemether–lumefantrine (1%, 0–2; three of 415 drug administrations). Upper respiratory tract complaints (n=26 for artemether–lumefantrine; n=19 for arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine; n=23 for arterolane–piperaquine), headache (n=13; n=4; n=5), and abdominal pain (n=7; n=5; n=5) were the most frequently reported adverse events. There were no deaths. Interpretation: This study shows that arterolane–piperaquine–mefloquine is an efficacious and safe treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children and could potentially be used to prevent or delay the emergence of antimalarial resistance. Funding: UK Department for International Development, The Wellcome Trust, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sun Pharmaceutical Industrie