Own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities on sugar-sweetened beverages in Guatemala

BACKGROUND:The obesity epidemic is spreading rapidly in Guatemala, a low/middle income country still struggling with undernutrition. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption is strongly associated with overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. In Guatemala, SSBs are readily available and consumption is high, particularly among adolescents. SSB taxes have been proposed as a cost-effective way to reduce consumption and generate revenues for public health, as has been demonstrated in several countries around the world. OBJECTIVE:To estimate the price, expenditure, quality, and cross-price elasticity of beverage demand using household survey data. METHOD:We conducted a secondary analysis on the 2014 Guatemala Living Conditions National Survey that includes national representative household data on expenditure. Own price, expenditure, quality, and cross-price elasticities of milk, soft drinks, packaged juices, and bottled water were estimated using Deaton's Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), controlling for goods' quality. Household characteristics and beverage expenditure are summarized for urban and rural locations using descriptive statistics. RESULTS:Positive expenditure on soft drinks was highest (50.9% of households). Positive expenditure on bottled water was next for urban households (43.8%) and lowest for rural households (10.8%). Own-price elasticities for all beverages are negative and statistically significant. Own-price elasticity of soft drinks is -1.39, suggesting that with a 10% increase in price, consumption would decrease by 13.9%. Expenditure elasticity for soft drinks (0.99) suggests that a 10% household expenditure increase would result in a 9.9% increase in demand. Milk (0.07) and soft drinks (0.07) have positive quality elasticity implying that, as household total expenditure increases, the quality of these beverages, measured by their unit values, also increases. CONCLUSION:Soft drink demand is highly sensitive to changes in prices, suggesting that SSB taxes could significantly reduce consumption, which, in turn, could contribute to curbing the overweight/obesity epidemic

Desde la bala mágica a la nanotecnología: nanoantimicrobianos para combatir microorganismos multirresistentes

A century ago, Paul Ehrlich, a Nobel laureate in 1907, definedthe concept of ‘‘magic bullet’’ to propose selectivedrug targeting, aiming to deliver drugs to the right place, atthe correct concentration, and for an appropriate duration,without harming the host organism. The global emergenceand spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drugresistant(XDR), and pandrug-resistant (PDR) bacteria havebecome a critical global healthcare concern, which is currentlyconsidered one of the principal threats by different globalhealth organizations due to the limited efficacy of antimicrobial(ATM) agents1. MDR to first-line drugs increase healthcarecosts and generate the need for effective and safe alternativetreatments. However, the number of newly developedand approved ATM drugs has decreased over the past decades.The availability of few effective antimicrobials and the necessityto develop novel strategies and innovative antimicrobialsemphasize the need for novel approaches and different safeand effective alternatives2.Fil: Paraje, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Fighting antimicrobial resistant microorganisms: Current status and emerging strategies using nanomaterials

The high prevalence of pathogens resistant to antimicrobials poses a huge threat to the treatment of a wide range of serious infections. Emerging strategies using nanoparticles to treat these infections is promissory, thus, the current research emphasizes the development of promising new antimicrobial drugs in the near future. Nanotechnology offers the opportunity to exploit the biological properties of these materials by manipulating their size to dimensions on the nanometer scale. The importance of the eradication of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses resistant to multiples antimicrobials in the first moments of colonization justify the need to find new therapeutic alternatives associated with the eradication and control of infections. The main objective of antimicrobial treatment is to minimize the microbial inoculum, which implies the need to use biocidal drugs, which do not allow the selection of resistance mechanisms.The few effective antimicrobials against resistant microorganisms emphasize the need for new approaches through the development of different therapeutic strategies. Due to their small size and large surface area, nanomaterials possess excellent electrical, optical, magnetic, structural, and chemical properties. Optimizing the interface between biomolecules and/or ligands with nanostructured materials is currently a promising path for research of new antimicrobial therapies. The fact that nanoparticles are similar in size to intra- and extra-cellular biological components allows them to specifically interact with molecular and sub-cellular processes and manipulate biological states, structures, and functions in a radically new way, making them extremely attractive for new biomedical applications. The combination of materials science and nanomedicine has given rise to a new alternative field that involves the functionalization of nanostructures with different biologically active materials. The potential microbiological impact of nanoparticles is not only determined by their physicochemical properties, but also by the interactions of these with the immediate surrounding biological environments.Fil: Paraje, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Páez, Paulina Laura. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología Farmacéutica. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología Farmacéutica; Argentin

An agenda for action - transitioning to a healthy sustainable food system in Latin America

The project global objective was “to develop an integrated evidence-based agenda for action for healthy and sustainable food systems in Latin America that will prioritize healthy affordable diets, while keeping GHGs emissions within sustainable limits.” This objective was split into two sub-objectives: 1) to review the evidence on how to accelerate the transition to food systems that prioritize access to healthy affordable diets, while keeping GHGs emissions within sustainable limits; and 2) to analyze the underlying political economy that may prevent or enable rapid action. Though the scope of the project is Chile, there was a permanent coordination and dialogue with teams in Argentina (CEDES) and Brazil (IDEC). Problems were analyzed with a national focus but keeping in mind that there are common factors, challenges and actors that are present in the three countries (and probably in the region)

Evolución de la desnutrición crónica infantil y su distribución socioeconómica en siete países de América Latina y el Caribe

Incluye BibliografíaNumerosas causas pueden explicar el nivel de la desnutrición crónica infantil en un país y, por lo general, poseen un complejo entramado de relaciones entre ellas. En países como los latinoamericanos donde la desigualdad en la concentración en la distribución socioeconómica de esta variable es alta, la disminución de la desnutrición crónica infantil puede lograrse de manera más efectiva disminuyendo dicha desigualdad, la que, como se muestra en este estudio, tiene fuertes condicionantes socioeconómicos. El ingreso/riqueza de los hogares o, más generalmente, su situación socioeconómica no sólo es determinante del nivel de la desnutrición sino que es un importante determinante de la distribución de dicha desnutrición: cuanto más concentrada esté la riqueza, más concentrada está la desnutrición crónica infantil entre hogares pobres. El nivel educacional de los padres, especialmente de la madre, es otra variable que influye decisivamente en el nivel y la distribución de la desnutrición crónica. Para que las mejoras en la educación tengan un efecto pleno sobre la desnutrición deben beneficiar principalmente a los hogares más pobres y deben concentrarse primeramente en el nivel básico. Factores geográficos, culturales, étnicos e idiosincráticos juegan un rol explicativo, algunos de ellos han sido medidos aquí directamente y otros de manera indirecta, pero aparentemente lo hacen a partir de su relación con la distribución de variables socioeconómicas tales como la "riqueza" del hogar y la educación de la madre. De allí su importancia a la hora de diseñar políticas sectoriales. En la medida en que dichos grupos posean sistemáticamente menores recursos económicos, un menor acceso a la educación o peor acceso a agua potable y saneamiento, éstos deben ser el núcleo de programas destinados a acortar la brecha entre ellos y el resto de la población

On the mechanism of Candida tropicalis biofilm reduction by the combined action of naturally-occurring anthraquinones and blue light

The photoprocesses involved in the photo-induced Candida tropicalis biofilm reduction by two natural anthraquinones (AQs), rubiadin (1) and rubiadin-1-methyl ether (2), were examined.Production of singlet oxygen (1O2) and of superoxide radical anion (O2·−) was studied. Although it was not possible to detect the triplet state absorption of any AQs in biofilms, observation of 1O2 phosphorescence incubated with deuterated Phosphate Buffer Solution, indicated that this species is actually formed in biofilms. 2 was accumulated in the biofilm to a greater extent than 1 and produced measurable amounts of O2·− after 3h incubation in biofilms.The effect of reactive oxygen species scavengers on the photo-induced biofilm reduction showed that Tiron (a specific O2 ·− scavenger) is most effective than sodium azide (a specific 1O2 quencher). This suggests that O2 ·− formed by electron transfer quenching of the AQs excited states, is the main photosensitizing mechanism involved in the photoinducedantibiofilm activity, whereas 1O2 participation seems of lesser importance.Fil: Marioni, Juliana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Bresolí Obach, Roger. Universitat Ramon Llull; EspañaFil: Agut, Montserrat. Universitat Ramon Llull; EspañaFil: Comini, Laura Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Farmacia; ArgentinaFil: Paraje, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Nonell, Santi. Universitat Ramon Llull; EspañaFil: Núñez Montoya, Susana Carolina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin

Relationship between smoking and health and education spending in Chile

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Chile Libre de Tabaco, and grant no. 108442-001 from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.Objective: To estimate the degree to which tobacco consumption is associated with spending on a set of goods and services in Chile, especially health and education, for the total population as well as for specific subgroups