The Neo-developmentalism Alternative: Capitalist crisis, popular movements, and economic development in Argentina since the 90s

After the economic meltdown of 2001 Argentina appeared to enter a new period of sustainable economic growth and relative political stability. After the crisis, changes in public policies were so far-reaching that several authors have argued that Argentina underwent a transition from neoliberal rule to an altogether new period of neo-developmentalism.1 This chapter argues that while neo-developmentalism represents a break with neoliberalism in some respects, the changes in macroeconomic policies also express profound continuities with past neoliberal policies. Furthermore, any changes must be understood as the result of shifts in the correlation of political forces in the broader regional and international context, rather than a conscious policy ‘choice’ per se. The chapter is structured as follows. The first section discusses the dynamics of neoliberal rule and its crisis in Argentina between 1991 and 2001. The second section presents the main structural continuities of the current process in relation to earlier periods of neoliberal orthodoxy. The third section analyses the new political foundations of neo-developmentalism, while the following section discusses changes in public policies showing how they manifest the particular articulation of continuity and change. We finish our discussion with a few preliminary conclusions.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

The Neo-developmentalism Alternative: Capitalist crisis, popular movements, and economic development in Argentina since the 90s

After the economic meltdown of 2001 Argentina appeared to enter a new period of sustainable economic growth and relative political stability. After the crisis, changes in public policies were so far-reaching that several authors have argued that Argentina underwent a transition from neoliberal rule to an altogether new period of neo-developmentalism.1 This chapter argues that while neo-developmentalism represents a break with neoliberalism in some respects, the changes in macroeconomic policies also express profound continuities with past neoliberal policies. Furthermore, any changes must be understood as the result of shifts in the correlation of political forces in the broader regional and international context, rather than a conscious policy ‘choice’ per se. The chapter is structured as follows. The first section discusses the dynamics of neoliberal rule and its crisis in Argentina between 1991 and 2001. The second section presents the main structural continuities of the current process in relation to earlier periods of neoliberal orthodoxy. The third section analyses the new political foundations of neo-developmentalism, while the following section discusses changes in public policies showing how they manifest the particular articulation of continuity and change. We finish our discussion with a few preliminary conclusions.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Personalized Prediction of Lifetime Benefits with Statin Therapy for Asymptomatic Individuals: A Modeling Study

Background: Physicians need to inform asymptomatic individuals about personalized outcomes of statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, current prediction models focus on short-term outcomes and ignore the competing risk of death due to other causes. We aimed to predict the potential lifetime benefits with statin therapy, taking into account competing risks. Methods and Findings: A microsimulation model based on 5-y follow-up data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort of individuals aged 55 y and older living in the Ommoord district of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was used to estimate lifetime outcomes with and without statin therapy. The model was validated in-sample using 10-y follow-up data. We used baseline variables and model output to construct (1) a web-based calculator for gains in total and CVD-free life expectancy and (2) color charts for comparing these gains to the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) charts. In 2,428 participants (mean age 67.7 y, 35.5% men), statin therapy increased total life expectancy by 0.3 y (SD 0.2) and CVD-free life expectancy by 0.7 y (SD 0.4). Age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, hypertension, lipids, diabetes, glucose, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and creatinine were included in the calculator. Gains in total and CVD-free life expectancy increased with blood pressure, unfavorable lipid levels, and body mass index after multivariable adjustment. Gains decreased considerably with advancing age, while SCORE 10-y CVD mortality risk increased with age. Twenty-five percent of participants with a low SCORE risk achieved equal or larger gains in CVD-free life expectancy than the median gain in participants with a high SCORE risk. Conclusions: We developed tools to predict personalized increases in total and CVD-free life expectancy with statin therapy. The predicted gains we found are small. If the underlying model is validated in an independent cohort, the tools may be useful in discussing with patients their individual outcomes with statin therapy. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summar

Work participation, social roles, and empowerment of Q-fever fatigue syndrome patients ≥10 years after infection

Objective:To determine work participation, social roles, and empowerment of QFS patients ≥10-year after infection. Methods:QFS patients ≥10-year after acute infection, who were of working age, participated in a cross-sectional survey study. Work participation, fulfilment of social roles, and empowerment outcomes were studied for the total population, as well as for subgroups based on employment type and current work status. Associations between empowerment, work and social roles were examined. Results:291 participants were included. Of the 250 participants who had paid work before Q-fever, 80.4% stopped working or worked less hours due to QFS. For each social role, more than half of the participants (56.6–87.8%) spent less time on the role compared to before Q-fever. The median empowerment score was 41.0 (IQR: 37.0–44.0) out of 60. A higher empowerment score was significantly associated with lower odds of performing all social roles less due to QFS (OR = 0.871–0.933; p&lt;0.001–0.026), except for parenting and informal care provision (p = 0.070–0.460). No associations were found between empowerment and current work status. Conclusion: Work participation and fulfilment of social roles is generally low in QFS patients. Many of the participants stopped working or are working less hours due to QFS, and most spent less time on social roles compared to before Q-fever. Minor variation was seen in total empowerment scores of participants; however, these slight differences were associated with the fulfilment of social roles, but not work participation. This new insight should be further explored in future studies.</p

Noncommutative Figa-Talamanca-Herz algebras for Schur multipliers

We introduce a noncommutative analogue of the Fig\'a-Talamanca-Herz algebra $A_p(G)$ on the natural predual of the operator space $\frak{M}_{p,cb}$ of completely bounded Schur multipliers on Schatten space $S_p$. We determine the isometric Schur multipliers and prove that the space $\frak{M}_{p}$ of bounded Schur multipliers on Schatten space $S_p$ is the closure in the weak operator topology of the span of isometric multipliers.Comment: 24 pages; corrected typo

Personalized Prediction of Lifetime Benefits with Statin Therapy for Asymptomatic Individuals: A Modeling Study

Background: Physicians need to inform asymptomatic individuals about personalized outcomes of statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, current prediction models focus on short-term outcomes and ignore the competing risk of death due to other causes. We aimed to predict the potential lifetime benefits with statin therapy, taking into account competing risks. Methods and Findings: A microsimulation model based on 5-y follow-up data from the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort of individuals aged 55 y and older living in the Ommoord district of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was used to estimate lifetime outcomes with and without statin therapy. The model was validated in-sample using 10-y follow-up data. We used baseline variables and model output to construct (1) a web-based calculator for gains in total and CVD-free life expectancy and (2) color charts for comparing these gains to the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) charts. In 2,428 participants (mean age 67.7 y, 35.5% men), statin therapy increased total life expectancy by 0.3 y (SD 0.2) and CVD-free life expectancy by 0.7 y (SD 0.4). Age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, hypertension, lipids, diabetes, glucose, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and creatinine were included in the calculator. Gains in total and CVD-free life expectancy increased with blood pressure, unfavorable lipid levels, and body mass index after multivariable adjustment. Gains decreased considerably with advancing age, while SCORE 10-y CVD mortality risk increased with age. Twenty-five percent of participants with a low SCORE risk achieved equal or larger gains in CVD-free life expectancy than the median gain in participants with a high SCORE risk. Conclusions: We developed tools to predict personalized increases in total and CVD-free life expectancy with statin therapy. The predicted gains we found are small. If the underlying model is validated in an independent cohort, the tools may be useful in discussing with patients their individual outcomes with statin therapy. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

Modeling the transboundary risk of feed ingredients contaminated with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

Citation: Dee, S., Neill, C., Singrey, A., Clement, T., Cochrane, R., Jones, C., . . . Nelson, E. (2016). Modeling the transboundary risk of feed ingredients contaminated with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Bmc Veterinary Research, 12, 12. doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0674-zBackground: This study describes a model developed to evaluate the transboundary risk of PEDV-contaminated swine feed ingredients and the effect of two mitigation strategies during a simulated transport event from China to the US. Results: Ingredients imported to the USA from China, including organic & conventional soybeans and meal, lysine hydrochloride, D-L methionine, tryptophan, Vitamins A, D & E, choline, carriers (rice hulls, corn cobs) and feed grade tetracycline, were inoculated with PEDV. Control ingredients, and treatments (ingredients plus a liquid antimicrobial (SalCURB, Kemin Industries (LA) or a 2 % custom medium chain fatty acid blend (MCFA)) were tested. The model ran for 37 days, simulating transport of cargo from Beijing, China to Des Moines, IA, US from December 23, 2012 to January 28, 2013. To mimic conditions on land and sea, historical temperature and percent relative humidity (% RH) data were programmed into an environmental chamber which stored all containers. To evaluate PEDV viability over time, ingredients were organized into 1 of 4 batches of samples, each batch representing a specific segment of transport. Batch 1 (segment 1) simulated transport of contaminated ingredients from manufacturing plants in Beijing (day 1 post-contamination (PC)). Batch 2 (segments 1 and 2) simulated manufacturing and delivery to Shanghai, including time in Anquing terminal awaiting shipment (days 1-8 PC). Batch 3 (segments 1, 2 and 3) represented time in China, the crossing of the Pacific and entry to the US at the San Francisco, CA terminal (day 1-27 PC). Batch 4 (segments 1-4) represented the previous events, including transport to Des Moines, IA (days 1-37 PC). Across control (non-treated) ingredients, viable PEDV was detected in soybean meal (organic and conventional), Vitamin D, lysine hydrochloride and choline chloride. In contrast, viable PEDV was not detected in any samples treated with LA or MCFA. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the ability of PEDV to survive in a subset of feed ingredients using a model simulating shipment from China to the US. This is proof of concept suggesting that contaminated feed ingredients could serve as transboundary risk factors for PEDV, along with the identification of effective mitigation options

Cost-effectiveness of new cardiac and vascular rehabilitation strategies for patients with coronary artery disease

Objective: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) often hinders the cardiac rehabilitation program. The aim of this study was evaluating the relative cost-effectiveness of new rehabilitation strategies which include the diagnosis and treatment of PAD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing cardiac rehabilitation. Data Sources: Best-available evidence was retrieved from literature and combined with primary data from 231 patients. Methods: We developed a Markov decision model to compare the following treatment strategies: 1. cardiac rehabilitation only; 2. ankle-brachial index (ABI) if cardiac rehabilitation fails followed by diagnostic work-up and revascularization for PAD if needed; 3. ABI prior to cardiac rehabilitation followed by diagnostic work-up and revascularization for PAD if needed. Quality-adjusted-life years (QALYs), life-time costs (US $), incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER), and gain in net health benefits (NHB) in QALY equivalents were calculated. A threshold willingness-to-pay of$75 000 was used. Results: ABI if cardiac rehabilitation fails was the most favorable strategy with an ICER of $44 251 per QALY gained and an incremental NHB compared to cardiac rehabilitation only of 0.03 QALYs (95$75 000/ QALY. After sensitivity analysis, a combined cardiac and vascular rehabilitation program increased the success rate and would dominate the other two strategies with total lifetime costs of $30 246 a quality-adjusted life expectancy of 3.84 years, and an incremental NHB of 0.06 QALYs (95%CI:-0.24, 0.46) compared to current practice. The results were robust for other different input parameters. Conclusion: ABI measurement if cardiac rehabilitation fails followed by a diagnostic work-up and revascularization for PAD if needed are potentially cost-effective compared to cardiac rehabilitation only

Vitamin D receptor gene ablation in the conceptus has limited effects on placental morphology, function and pregnancy outcome

Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several pregnancy complications attributed to impaired or abnormal placental function, but there are few clues indicating the mechanistic role of vitamin D in their pathogenesis. To further understand the role of vitamin D receptor (VDR)-mediated activity in placental function, we used heterozygous Vdr ablated C57Bl6 mice to assess fetal growth, morphological parameters and global gene expression in Vdr null placentae. Twelve Vdr+/- dams were mated at 10-12 weeks of age with Vdr+/- males. At day 18.5 of the 19.5 day gestation in our colony, females were euthanised and placental and fetal samples were collected, weighed and subsequently genotyped as either Vdr+/+, Vdr+/- or Vdr-/-. Morphological assessment of placentae using immunohistochemistry was performed and RNA was extracted and subject to microarray analysis. This revealed 25 genes that were significantly differentially expressed between Vdr+/+ and Vdr-/- placentae. The greatest difference was a 6.47-fold change in expression of Cyp24a1 which was significantly lower in the Vdr-/- placentae (P<0.01). Other differentially expressed genes in Vdr-/- placentae included those involved in RNA modification (Snord123), autophagy (Atg4b), cytoskeletal modification (Shroom4), cell signalling (Plscr1, Pex5) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling (Deptor and Prr5). Interrogation of the upstream sequence of differentially expressed genes identified that many contain putative vitamin D receptor elements (VDREs). Despite the gene expression differences, this did not contribute to any differences in overall placental morphology, nor was function affected as there was no difference in fetal growth as determined by fetal weight near term. Given our dams still expressed a functional VDR gene, our results suggest that cross-talk between the maternal decidua and the placenta, as well as maternal vitamin D status, may be more important in determining pregnancy outcome than conceptus expression of VDR.Rebecca L. Wilson, Sam Buckberry, Fleur Spronk, Jessica A. Laurence, Shalem Leemaqz, Sean O, Leary, Tina Bianco-Miotto, Jing Du, Paul H. Anderson, Claire T. Robert