System In Argentina Research Articles

Lacustrine Type I kerogen characterization at different thermal maturity levels: Application to the Late Cretaceous Yacoraite Formation in the Salta Basin – Argentina

A maturation series from the Late Cretaceous to Danian Yacoraite Formation in the Salta Basin (Argentina) was selected to investigate the evolution of organic matter properties from source rock samples mainly containing lacustrine Type I kerogen. Organic petrography determined the thermal maturity and the spatial distribution of organic matter particles. Rock-Eval analyses and kerogen isolation procedures were then applied to assess the hydrocarbon generation potential of the investigated intervals. Biomarker ratios as well as the molecular composition of organic compounds present in four immature to early-mature rock samples and their corresponding aliphatic and aromatic fractions were investigated to complete the lacustrine organic matter characterization. Based on petrographic results, immature to early-mature Yacoraite samples have a large content of yellow-brownish liptinites (alginites) whereas mature samples are characterized by abundant solid bitumen. Three kerogen samples from the Yacoraite Formation at different thermal maturity levels were also selected for analysis of bulk-kinetic parameters (e.g. activation energy distribution, frequency factor) using programmed open-system pyrolysis. In this way, bulk-kinetic parameters were calculated as a function of the thermal maturity for these three lacustrine kerogen samples. Bulk-kinetic results show both an increasing activation energy and loss of petroleum generation potential as thermal degradation proceeds. The investigated Yacoraite kerogen samples show single activation energy distributions which are typical for a Type I kerogen of lacustrine origin. Finally, it was demonstrated that the organic matter (OM) characteristics from the Yacoraite Formation (Argentina) could be compared to the typical Type I kerogen from the Green River Formation (USA), showing similar OM characteristics, petroleum potential and activation energy distributions. The novelty of the geological and geochemical information brought in this article about Yacaroite system in Argentina provides premises for further investigation.

Efficiency in public higher education on Argentina 2004\u20132013: institutional decisions and university-specific effects

This paper analyses the efficiency of Argentinean public universities and its determinants over a 10-year period (2004–2013). We quantify the effect on the efficiency scores of a set of institutional variables, i.e. policy decisions under the control of universities. Efficiency scores are determined on a first stage using nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis and then we conduct a second stage study through parametric modelling. The results reveal the existence of a positive and significant effect on efficiency levels of those variables related to high-ranked professors and full-time positions, while those variables associated with budget allocation do not significantly affect the efficiency. Our empirical findings help identifying the characteristics that explain differences in the efficiency of public universities, providing new elements in studying the higher education system in Argentina.

Money as a social relation beyond the state: a contribution to the institutionalist approach based on the Argentinian trueque.

This paper provides a contribution to the institutionalist approach to money through ethnographic research carried out in two local currency systems in Argentina (known as trueque). It argues that Argentinian local currencies must be considered as monies in their own right even if they differ from state and bank issued currencies, because they can be understood as systems of evaluation and settlement of debts denominated in a specific unit of account (the crédito). Money is said to be an ambivalent social relation because in the two cases studied it mediates very different dynamics, exacerbating inequality in one context and promoting collective emancipation in another. This difference is due to the kind of political communities that the crédito tends to forge. In both Rosario and Poriajhu, the political community is defined by a set of values that legitimizes ongoing monetary practices and institutions rather than the State's coercion.

Contested constructions of trust in the juridical system of Argentina

In 2014 the Attorney General of Argentina opened the pathway to install local offices in urban slums to facilitate access to the juridical system for the most underserved sectors of society. The initiative, ATAJO - the Territorial Agency for Access to Justice, attempts to strengthen civic rights, explore social prevention of crime, and build trust-based relations with state bureaucracy. Using the example of the ATAJO office in the informal settlement Villa 1-11-14 in Buenos Aires, I trace how legal actors carefully attempt to develop trust-based relations. I show how their practices of trust building correspond to how the legal professionals themselves perceive the institution they are representing and how this perception then shapes their actions.

Effect of Pruning Severity on Yield, Drying Time and Wages in Flame Seedless Dry-on-vine and Traditional Raisin Production Systems in Argentina

Raisin grapes are potentially more profitable than wine grapes in San Juan, Argentina, although the traditional system of grape drying requires an extensive use of costly labour. Production costs might be reduced by adopting the dry-on-vine (DOV) raisin-making system, but the feasibility of DOV in Argentina has not been assessed, and neither have the costs and pruning schemes. Thus we determined drying time and yields, estimated wages per hectare, and determined the influence of pruning severity on Flame Seedless raisin grapes. A completely random design with six treatments and six replicates was used in the 2013 to 2016 seasons. The treatments comprised differences in the nodes per cane, nodes per vine, distribution of nodes, and sugar content. Descriptive statistics and variance analysis were calculated for fresh fruit weight, dry fruit weight, drying ratio and drying time. The leaf area and its relationship with dried fruit weight also were calculated. These data were processed with the Infostat program. The DOV system demands between 11 and 31 additional days during the drying period and reduces labour costs by between 38% and 64% compared to the traditional system. Long pruning with the same load of buds is better. Furthermore, the DOV system is not associated with a lower production and thus appears to be a financially sustainable alternative to traditional production systems for Flame Seedless raisin grape producers in Argentina.

Enforcement of labor market regulations: heterogeneous compliance and adjustment across gender

This paper explores microdata from Argentine household surveys to analyze how changes in the enforcement of labor regulations affect the compliance level and other labor outcomes among men and women. Using information of the highly decentralized labor inspection system in Argentina, I construct an enforcement measure with variation at the province, sector, and time level (share of inspected firms) which I instrument using a measure of the arrival cost of labor inspectors to the firms. The main findings reveal that when enforcement increases, the compliance with mandated benefits and formal wages increase among men, while informal wages decline. Among women, the compliance level declines jointly with informal wages. These heterogenous impacts are explained by labor regulations that make formal and informal men more substitutable in the production process than formal and informal women.

Helminth community from Azara's grass mouse (Akodon azarae) in three habitats with different land use in farming systems of Argentina.

In the Pampa region of Argentina, farming activities have been performed since the beginning of the 20th century, but in the 1990s, land-use patterns rapidly changed towards intensive agriculture and poultry breeding. This study compares the helminth community of Akodon azarae (Rodentia) among three habitats with different land use in pampean agroecosystems: poultry farms, mono-cultivated fields and abandoned fields (not used for 35 years), under the prediction that there will be greater helminth richness and diversity in mice from abandoned fields compared to those from the other habitats. Nevertheless, the highest abundance of A. azarae occurred on poultry farms, the habitat most disturbed by human activity, while cultivated fields showed the lowest. Helminth richness and diversity were significantly higher on poultry farms than in the other habitats, due to the presence of Trichuris laevitestis, Protospirura numidica criceticola and cysts of Taenia taeniaeformis. We suggest that the helminth fauna of A. azarae can survive on poultry farms despite disturbance from farming activities, because rodents can move and get shelter within farm perimeter fences, where dense and high vegetation grows. This farm area could offer good conditions for geohelminth development, while chicken sheds could attract insects that are intermediate hosts of helminths with indirect life cycles. On the contrary, agrochemicals applied in cultivated fields would negatively influence helminth diversity and composition, by decreasing host populations (arthropods and rodents) and affecting free larval stages of geohelminths.

René Gerónimo Favaloro (1923–2000): A Man Who Struggled with Matters of the Heart

René Gerónimo Favaloro prided himself on being a "simple country doctor." Born in La Plata, Argentina, Dr. Favaloro had an interest in Argentina's sociopolitical and healthcare systems beginning at a young age. He began his medical education at La Universidad Nacional de La Plata, graduating in 1949 with plans to continue his medical education in the field of surgery; however, in 1950, Dr. Favaloro temporarily resigned from his position as a surgeon to work as a country doctor in a small province of La Pampa, Argentina. It was during this time that Dr. Favaloro became acutely aware of the overwhelmingly poor state of the healthcare system in Argentina. In 1962, Dr. Favaloro redirected his focus back to his surgical interests and moved to the United States to work at the Cleveland Clinic, where he discovered the use of the saphenous vein graft for revascularization of the coronary arteries. Despite a productive medical career in the United States, Dr. Favaloro eventually brought his work back to Argentina, where his heart had always remained. Throughout the incredible milestones of his life, Dr. René Gerónimo Favaloro consistently remained a humble, gracious, and simple country doctor.

Adjustment of Model Parameters to Estimate Distribution Transformers Remaining Lifespan

Currently, the electrical system in Argentina is working at its maximum capacity, decreasing the margin between the installed power and demanded consumption, and drastically reducing the service life of transformer substations due to overload (since the margin for summer peaks is small). The advent of the Smart Grids allows electricity distribution companies to apply data analysis techniques to manage resources more efficiently at different levels (avoiding damages, better contingency management, maintenance planning, etc.). The Smart Grids in Argentina progresses slowly due to the high costs involved. In this context, the estimation of the lifespan reduction of distribution transformers is a key tool to efficiently manage human and material resources, maximizing the lifetime of this equipment. Despite the current state of the smart grids, the electricity distribution companies can implement it using the available data. Thermal models provide guidelines for lifespan estimation, but the adjustment to particular conditions, brands, or material quality is done by adjusting parameters. In this work we propose a method to adjust the parameters of a thermal model using Genetic Algorithms, comparing the estimation values of top-oil temperature with measurements from 315 kVA distribution transformers, located in the province of Tucumán, Argentina. The results show that, despite limited data availability, the adjusted model is suitable to implement a transformer monitoring system.

Healthy targets? World Bank projects and targeted health programmes and policies in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Peru, 1980–2005

Despite its central role in diffusing neoliberal policies and its status as an important external funder of health, the World Bank’s effect on health policies in developing countries has been little explored. I examine how the World Bank framed and funded targeting in healthcare in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Peru. Results indicate that the World Bank and national governments pursue targeting and justify its implementation differently across countries. While both national government and the World Bank cite efficiency and equity concerns as a rationale for targeting, the World Bank is more likely to invoke efficiency and cost-cutting measures. Targeting also happens against the backdrop of very different policies across these countries: coexisting with universalism in Costa Rica, growing public insurance in Peru, and a federally managed health system in Argentina. Domestic factors associated with countries’ existing health systems, in particular coverage and segmentation in the health sector, helps account for variation in both the groups/areas targeted and the discourse and rationale in national and World Bank documents. I conclude by discussing the implications of these results for our understanding of the World Bank’s influence on health policies in developing countries.

Políticas de permanência no ensino superior público em perspectiva comparada: Argentina, Brasil e Chile

O sistema de ensino superior na Argentina, no Brasil e no Chile guarda diferenças quanto à gênese e estrutura, mas a característica elitista é comum nos três países. Observam-se processos de massificação nas últimas décadas, apoiados tanto em políticas de expansão quanto na adoção de políticas de ação afirmativa. Considerando a multidimensionalidade do problema da permanência, dados seus aspectos materiais, culturais, simbólicos e psicológicos, interessa-nos analisar de maneira comparativa as práticas voltadas a estudantes do ensino superior público federal/nacional nestes três países. Elegemos algumas categorias-chave para a comparação, como: 1) visões sobre permanência explicitadas nos documentos normativos: Direito? Assistencialismo?; 2) natureza jurídico-política das ações: Compromisso estatal? Ações isoladas?; 3) autonomia das instituições para desenharem seus modelos de permanência; 4) principais modelos de permanência encontrados. Além dos aportes teóricos, a análise tem por base as legislações nacionais sobre o tema e dados secundários de âmbito nacional fornecidos pelas agências educacionais de cada país, além de informações fornecidas por instituições de ensino superior específicas. Trata-se principalmente de um esforço descritivo, tendo por base aspectos históricos, legais e socioeconômicos, com a pretensão de oferecer um panorama sobre estes programas nos diferentes contextos nacionais.

Defining Quality of Rheumatolgic Care: Argentina.

Health care system in Argentina is highly fragmented and disconnected. Argentina's health system is divided into 3 major nonintegrated subsystems as follows: public subsystem, financed through taxes; the social security subsystem, financed through obligatory insurance schemes; and the private subsystem, financed through voluntary insurance. There are approximately 800 rheumatologists in Argentina, serving a population of approximately 40 million people, representing approximately 1.8 rheumatologists per 100.000 inhabitants; however, most of them are concentrated in large cities, and patients need to travel several hours to reach a specialist. Although the health care system in Argentina is highly fragmented and disconnected, health coverage is universal, accessible, and of good quality. Quality or value assessment of care and use of electronic medical records are not part of the system in Argentina, and there does not appear they would be in the near future.

Arenigian tholeiitic basalts in the Famatina Ordovician basin, northwestern Argentina: emplacement conditions and their tectonic significance.

This study is focused on the analysis of volcanic deposits that crop out at the middle portion of the Las Planchadas range, northern part of the Famatina System in Argentina. These volcanic rocks are records of an Ordovician effusive basaltic volcanism that took place under subaqueous marine conditions. Along the study area crop out an Arenigian volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks succession with massive and autoclastic lavas, hyaloclastites of basaltic composition and volcaniclastic sandstones and mudstones. Large volumes of the volcanic deposits were strongly affected by fragmentation processes during their subaqueous emplacement and in situ accumulated as basaltic breccias. The same volcanic-volcaniclastic association crops out to the south of the Las Planchadas range, forming a basaltic belt with similar characteristics. The geochemical features of the basalts are compatible with depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)- like source for the magma, with contribution of subducted related components such as water rich marine hemipelagic sediments, compatible with a back arc geotectonic setting developed along the northern part of the Famatina System during the Arenigian.

Evaluation of the design effects of different agropastoral systems on the diversity and density of spiders

Sustainable agro-ecological design is challenging when the goal is self-regulation of the system. The objective of this study was to evaluate if the agropastoral design system affects the spider community, as spiders are the main predators in these production systems, and to determine those designs which maximize the diversity and density of spiders. The study was conducted during 2009/2010, at the Experimental Research Station of Agriculture (EEA-INTA) Reconquista (Santa Fe, Argentina) where we considered four different designs: C1 (five agricultural fields), C2 (three agricultural fields and four livestock fields), C3 (six agricultural fields and one livestock field) and C4 (five agricultural fields and one forest area). In each design, the spiders were collected by pitfall traps and suction samples with a G-Vac (garden-vacuum). The designs proposed were considered on the basis of environmental heterogeneity. The C4 treatment had the greatest number of species, followed by C2, C3 and C1 (183, 178, 144 and 142 species, respectively), and C2 presented the greatest abundance of spiders followed by C4, C3 and C1 (n=5708, 4785, 4271 and 3448, respectively). Eight guilds were present in C3 and C4. This study is the first to evaluate the diversity of spiders in agropastoral systems in Argentina. Our results show that designs that include more fields with livestock or equal to those for agriculture, as well as forest areas, increase environmental heterogeneity. Therefore, the presence of a biological controller and dominant predatory group will be possible with sustainable designs that have environmental heterogeneity, contributing to improved pest control in agricultural systems.

Mortalidad por mesotelioma en Argentina, 1980-2013

Mesothelioma mortality and its socio-demographic and temporal patterns in Argentina from 1980 to 2013 were estimated using data from death certificates obtained from the Vital Statistics System of Argentina's National Ministry of Health. There were 3,259 mesothelioma deaths corresponding to an age-adjusted mortality of 3.1/1,000,000 in 1980 and 5.7/1,000,000 in 2013, an average increase of 84.1% in 34 years. This raising trend became clearer after 1997. Males had higher mortality estimates compared with women in every year of the series; these findings suggest past exposure to asbestos. It is plausible that the asbestos exposure was mostly occupational, which is more common among men. Actions related to reinforcing the asbestos ban already in place and strengthening health surveillance directed at workplaces, previously exposed workers, and the population in general are recommended.

Power and Crisis: Explaining Varieties of Commercial Banking Systems in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

In the early 1980s Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico had commercial banking sectors that were dominated by local banks. The largest countries in Latin America were subjected to common international economic pressures during both the neoliberal 1980s and 1990s – including the expansion of capital markets in the periphery and integration into the regional trade agreements NAFTA and Mercosur – and the post-1998 financial turmoil. By 2015, however, the three countries had consolidated alternative commercial banking systems: domestic private group dominated (Brazil), mixed (i.e., ownership more evenly divided among public, private domestic, and foreign banks (Argentina), and foreign bank dominated (Mexico). The article traces these alternative outcomes to the power of prereform private financial groups, the virulence of “twin crises” in the transition from fixed to floating exchange rates, and the (contingent) role played by government ideology.

Application of a bacteriological on-farm test to reduce antimicrobial usage in dairy cows with purulent vaginal discharge

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of a selective antibiotic treatment strategy based on a quick bacteriological on-farm test (Petrifilm, 3M Corp., St. Paul, MN) compared with the conventional antibiotic treatment of all cows having clinical endometritis (CE) defined by the presence of purulent vaginal discharge on both clinical cure rate and reproductive performance. The study was simultaneously conducted with dairy cows reared under a highly supplemented rotational grazing system in Argentina and in a freestall system in Slovakia. Cows having an abnormal vaginal discharge (VD, indicative of clinical endometritis) on 21 to 35 d in milk (DIM) were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 study groups: selective treatment (ST) or conventional treatment (CT). All cows in the CT group (n = 174) received a single intrauterine administration of 500 mg of cephapirin. In the ST group (n = 178), treatment decision was made according to the results of the bacteriological on-farm test. For this test, we collected intrauterine samples with the cytobrush technique and stroke the brushes onto 2 different Petrifilm plates, one for aerobic count and another for Enterobacteriaceae count, incubated the plates, and counted the number of colonies after 24 h. Positive cows (≥5 colonies in one or both plates) received a single intrauterine treatment with 500 mg of cephapirin, whereas negative cows (<5 colonies) remained untreated. Clinical cure rate was assessed by direct vaginal inspection at 14 d after treatment (VD-0). The odds for conception at first artificial insemination, artificial insemination by 80 DIM, pregnancy by 100 DIM, and for nonpregnancy by 200 DIM were estimated with mixed logistic regression models. The hazard of conception was also assessed with proportional hazard regression model. The selective antibiotic treatment strategy based on the outcome of Petrifilm test reduced the number of required treatments (57%) and maintained similar efficacy in terms of clinical cure and reproductive performance as the conventional antibiotic treatment of all endometritic cows.

Fragmentation and hierarchies in Argentina’s maternal health services as barriers to access, continuity and comprehensiveness of care

This paper aims to uncover the ways in which institutional regulations of maternal care services offered by the public health system in Argentina generate various forms of fragmentation and hierarchical organization that create barriers to access, continuity, and comprehensiveness of care. The conceptual and methodological tools of institutional ethnography are used as a guide for analysis of interviews with women and health agents from a province of the country’s Western region, as well as participant observation at regional hospitals and local health centers. The barriers identified and analyzed are related to regulations of time(s), space(s), and hierarchies among the health professions involved in service provision related to maternal health.Keywords: maternal health; institutional ethnography; institutional time; institutional space; hierarchies; pregnancy; Argentina; public healthcare

Education policies and organizational structures in Argentinian secondary schools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the link between public education policies and institutional practices in Argentina throughout history and today. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used is in line with socio-educational management studies oriented to analyse educational practices qualitatively from an institutional perspective. Findings – The review allows a wider discussion about the characteristics of the traditional organizational structure in relation to the rules, order, purposes and homogeneity of educational institutions. Furthermore, the paper shows there are some experiences and practices developed nowadays in Argentinian secondary schools that constitute a guide for social inclusion. Research limitations/implications – Throughout Argentina’s education history, secondary school has supported its policies on a bureaucratic institutional structure rationally oriented to serving interests of a minority. Today, social inclusion policies and compulsory secondary schooling are presented as an opportunity to democratize the management of educational institutions. Practical implications – In the early 2000s, the education system in Argentina kept a traditional bureaucratic structure based on a selective education policy. In this regard, statistics are quite revealing as regards the degree of social exclusion in secondary school: only 11 per cent of the students that begin first grade, finish secondary school. In 2006, after the enactment of the compulsory secondary education law, educational management is faced with the challenge to renew its institutional practices in order to make inclusion feasible. In this sense, the paper shows that secondary schools are implementing certain management practices aimed at achieving greater social inclusion. Originality/value – The paper focuses on the notion that the characteristics of management practices are related to the social interests of education policies. In this sense, the educational management of Argentinian secondary schools is undergoing a process of transformation from traditional selective practices towards more inclusive practices.

Competitive ability of five common weed species in competition with soybean

ABSTRACTThe competitive ability of five prominent weeds species that have the potential to interact in soybean cropping systems of Argentina (Amaranthus quitensis, Chenopodium album, Digitaria sanguinalis, Setaria verticillata and Tagetes minuta) was evaluated in two greenhouse experiments (Exp. 1 and Exp. 2). Crop and weeds were grown in all pairwise mixtures using an additive competition design. Competitive ability was evaluated through competitive indices based on species total biomass. Both experiments showed asymmetric competitive interactions between species, resulting in a competitive network predominantly transitive involving up to four from six species in Exp. 1: Glycine. max > C. album > D. sanguinalis > (A. quitensis, S. verticillata and T. minuta) and up to three from six species in two pathways in Exp. 2: G. max > D. sanguinalis > (C. album, S. verticillata and T. minuta); and G. max > A. quitensis > (C. album, S. verticillata and T. minuta). The hierarchical relationship between species found in this study has implications on weed population dynamics in the context of community assembly framework. We discuss engineered management practices that consider the use of the crop and weed competitive ability to modulate the community structure and the rationalization in the use of herbicides directed to avoid environmental damage.