Analysis of the economic and financial relations between Latin American and the Caribbean and the BRICS group

This document has been prepared in compliance with Activity III.1.2 of the Work Programme of SELA for the year 2015, entitled “Analysis of the economic and financial relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the BRICS countries”. The document comprises an introduction, four chapters and a final section with the conclusions and recommendations stemming from the study. Chapter I describes the economic performance of the BRICS countries, their economic relations with Latin America and the Caribbean and the functioning of the development banks of the member countries. Chapter II assesses the financial architecture of Latin America and the Caribbean and explores the needs for financing in the region. Chapter III deals with the regulatory frameworks governing public and private investments in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Bilateral Investment Treaties with the BRICS countries. Finally, Chapter IV describes the main features of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Agreement of the BRICS

Why has productivity growth stagnated in most Latin American countries since the neo-liberal reforms?

Latin America’s economic performance since the beginning of neo-liberal reforms has been poor; this not only contrasts with its own performance pre-1980, but also with what has happened in Asia since 1980. I shall argue that the weakness of the region’s new paradigm is rooted as much in its intrinsic flaws as in the particular way it has been implemented. Latin America’s economic reforms were undertaken primarily as a result of the perceived economic weaknesses of the region — i.e., there was an attitude of ‘throwing in the towel’ vis-à-vis the previous state-led import substituting industrialisation strategy, because most politicians and economists interpreted the 1982 debt crisis as conclusive evidence that it had led the region into a cul-de-sac. As Hirschman has argued, policymaking has a strong component of ‘path-dependency’; as a result, people often stick with policies after they have achieved their aims, and those policies have become counterproductive. This leads to such frustration and disappointment with existing policies and institutions that is not uncommon to experience a ‘rebound effect’. An extreme example of this phenomenon is post-1982 Latin America, where the core of the discourse of the economic reforms that followed ended up simply emphasising the need to reverse as many aspects of the previous development (and political) strategies as possible. This helps to explain the peculiar set of priorities, the rigidity and the messianic attitude with which the reforms were implemented in Latin America, as well as their poor outcome. Something very different happened in Asia, where economic reforms were often intended (rightly or wrongly) as a more targeted and pragmatic mechanism to overcome specific economic and financial constraints. Instead of implementing reforms as a mechanism to reverse existing industrialisation strategies, in Asia they were put into practice in order to continue and strengthen ambitious processes of industrialisation.

Metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: higher prevalence in the Northeastern Region of Brazil than in other Latin American countries and the influence of obesity and socioeconomic factors

SILVEIRA, Inavan Lopes da; MARANHÃO, T. M. O.; AZEVEDO, George Dantas. Metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: higher prevalence in the Northeastern Region of Brazil than in other Latin American countries and the influence of obesity and socioeconomic factors. Climacteric (Carnforth), v.10, p.438-439, 2007.

Reproductive Patterns and Birth Seasonality in a South-American Breeding Colony of Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus

SOUSA,M.B.C. et al. Reproductive Patterns and Birth Seasonality in a South-American Breeding Colony of Common Marmosets, Callithrix jacchus. Primates, v.40, n.2, p. 327-336, Apr. 1999.

Free- and peptide-based dietary arginine supplementation for the South American fish pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

Arginine was hypothesized to be a model compound in the present study on molecular forms of indispensable amino acid (IAA) dietary supplementation. Juvenile South American pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) were fed diets containing arginine in a protein base (casein-wheat gluten or casein-gelatin), or the casein-wheat gluten base supplemented with dipeptide or free arginine at two levels (5 and 10 g kg(-1)). Growth and protein efficiency ratios were significantly affected by diets, but not by arginine molecular form. Three free dispensable amino acids (DAA) and four IAA in plasma were affected by diet, but plasma arginine concentrations did not differ. Plasma urea concentrations, being very low in the pacu, and hepatic arginase activities, were not affected by diet (P = 0.10-0.11), but together with plasma ornithine, mirrored the growth data. Molecular form of arginine supplementation, free or dipeptide, significantly changed several free IAA (Phe, Leu, Ile, His) and urea, with a higher mean plasma concentration in dipeptide fed fish. The dietary treatments, or molecular form of the arginine supplementation, did not change proximate composition, except that calcium levels decreased with higher dietary arginine supplementation level. The present study indicates that dipeptides can provide IAA to pacu, and that arginine supplemented in this form is utilized as efficiently as in free form.

Physiological response of American bullfrog tadpoles to stressor conditions of capture and hypoxia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Profile of cortisol, glycaemia, and blood parameters of American Bullfrog tadpoles Lithobates catesbeianus exposed to density and hypoxia stressors

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A comparative study of population traits between two South American populations of the striped-legged hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Growth, fat content and fatty acid profile of South American catfish, surubim (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) juveniles fed live, commercial and formulated diets

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of different dietary lipid sources on the survival, growth, and fatty acid composition of South American catfish, Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, Surubim, juveniles

The present study examines the effect of four semi-purified diets (casein-gelatin based) where the source of fatty acids was free (esterified) oleic acid and linoleic acid (LA) (LOA diet), linseed and olive oil (predominantly LA and linolenic acid) (LO diet), cod liver oil (rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids) (CLO diet), and soybean lecithin (phospholipids; mostly LA) (LE diet) on the growth of juvenile South American catfish (surubim, Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum, Pimelodidae) (0.98 +/- 0.04 g individual weight). Fish were fed at a restricted-readjusted feeding rate for 8 wk. At the end of the experiment, LE-diet-fed fish grew significantly larger than those of the other three groups (P < 0.05). Considerable cannibalism was observed in all the treatments. It is suggested that the quantitative growth performance may possibly change under other conditions, with less or no cannibalism. Survival did not differ significantly among the fish fed four different diets. Muscle and liver lipid contents did not vary among dietary treatments (P > 0.05), but whole-body lipid concentrations were affected by dietary treatments. Fish fed LE diet contained significantly lower lipid level than those fed three other diets (P < 0.05). Muscle and liver fatty acid profiles reflected dietary fatty acid composition. Arachidonic acid level was significantly higher in muscle and liver of fish fed LOA and LE diets than in those fed LO and CLO diets. The results suggest that the efficiency of elongation and desaturation of 18C fatty acids depends on the dietary lipid source, and South American catfish has considerable capacity to transform linoleate to arachidonate.

Biology and fertility life table of the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus on grape

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Is the American Zebu really Bos indicus?

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

African-Derived mitochondria in South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus): Evidence of a new taurine mitochondrial lineage

This article reports the nucleotide diversity within the control region of 42 mitochondrial chromosomes belonging to five South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus). Analysis of these data in conjunction with B. taurus and B. indicus sequences from Africa, Europe, the Near East, India, and Japan allowed the recognition of eight new mitochondrial haplotypes and their relative positions in a phylogenetic network. The structure of genetic variation among different hypothetical groupings was tested through the molecular variance decomposition, which was best explained by haplotype group components. Haplotypes surveyed were classified as European-related and African-related. Unexpectedly, two haplotypes within the African cluster were more divergent from the African consensus than the latter from the European consensus. A neighbor-joining tree shows the position of two haplotypes compared to European/African mitochondrial lineage splitting. This different and putatively ancestral mitochondrial lineage (AA) is supported by the calibration of sequence divergence based on the Bos-Bison separation. The European/African mitochondria divergence might be subsequent (67,100 years before present) to that between AA and Africans (84,700 years before present), also preceding domestication times. These genetic data could reflect the haplotype distribution of Iberian cattle five centuries ago.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in Exon 2 of the BoLA-DRB3 gene in South American cattle

The Bola-DRB3 gene participates in the development of the immune response and is highly polymorphic. For these reasons, it has been a candidate gene in studies of the genetic basis of disease resistance and in population genetic analysis. South American native cattle breeds have been widely replaced by improved exotic breeds leading to a loss of genetic resources. In particular South American native breeds have high levels of fertility and disease resistance. This work describes genetic variability in the BoLA-DRB3 gene in native (Caracu, Pantaneiro, Argentinean Creole) and exotic (Holstein, Jersey, Nelore, Gir) cattle breeds in Brazil and Argentina. PCR-RFLP alleles were identified by combining the restriction patterns for the BoLA-DRB3.2 locus obtained with RsaI, BstY, and HaeIII restriction enzymes. Allelic frequencies and deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were also calculated. Analysis of the 24 BoLA-DRB3 PCR-RFLP alleles identified showed differences in the allele distributions among breeds.

Gastro-intestinal transit time in South American deer

The study of diet and physiological peculiarities of the digestive system of neotropical deer is not well known and the literature shows inconsistencies. To better understand the digestive system of these mammals the difference in the gastro-intestinal transit time of four species of neotropical deer (Mazama americana, Mazama gouazoubira, Mazama nana, Blastocerus dichotomus), kept ill captivity, was evaluated. Four plants (Neonotonia wightii, Morus albans, Medicago sativa, Leucaena leucocephala) were utilized and two variables were measured, mean time of the beginning of the elimination (BE) and mean time of permanence (TP). The results obtained for BE indicated similarity among the deer species, with significant differences between M. gouazoubira (mean = 13.62 hr) and M. Americana (mean = 19.25 hr). For the plants, the BE was faster with N. wightii and L. leucocephala, and slower for M. sativa. The TP results for B. dichotomus showed longer time when compared to the other species, whereas M. gouazoubira had a lower permanence. Overall, N. wightii had the highest retention time in the digestive tract of all the deer species studied. Associated with this observation, N. wightii had the highest quantity of plant fiber of the plants tested. In a similar fashion M. sativa showed the lowest TP in the digestive tract of the deer and had the lowest quantity of acid detergent fiber. The data from this study showed that, within species, the shape of the excretion curve of the plants was similar when the animals consumed N. wightii or M. sativa. Blastocerus dichotomus and M. gouazoubira had the highest and the lowest gastro-intestinal transit time, respectively. This suggests that these species characterize different abilities to digest high fiber food, and consequently, represent the two extremities in the morphophysiological adaptation within the deer species evaluated. This information is vital because it is important to know the digestive physiology to define the diet of captive animals, particularly regarding the quantity and quality of fiber. Zoo Biol 25:47-57, 2006. (C) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.