Estudio exploratorio sobre la producción y comercialización de carne de cerdo en el Valle de Aburrá, Antioquia (Colombia) / Exploratory study about production and commercialization of pork meat in the Aburrá Valley, Antioquia (Colombia)

RESUMEN En los últimos años el agronegocio porcino creció significativamente a nivel nacional y departamental; esta cadena productiva está conformada por proveedores de insumos, productores primarios, comercializadores, agroindustria, comercio mayorista, comercio minorista y consumidores. El presente estudio caracterizó los agentes del mercado que interactúan a lo largo de la cadena productiva y, además, cuantificó los márgenes de comercialización de la carne de cerdo en la subregión del Valle de Aburrá, departamento de Antioquia (Colombia). Para ello, se aplicó muestreo no probabilístico a conveniencia, adicionalmente, se aplicó una encuesta a 30 productores y entrevista semiestructurada a cinco agentes de mercadeo. Se encontraron dos circuitos de comercialización principales: productor-expendedor de carne y productor-intermediario-expendedor de carne. Los precios pagados a los agentes que interactúan en el circuito de la carne de cerdo en el Valle de Aburrá presentan tendencia al alza. El precio pagado por el consumidor final al expendedor de carne crece en mayor proporción que los precios pagados a la intermediación y al productor primario.

ABSTRACT Pork agribusiness has greatly increased at the province and national level in recent years. The productive chain includes input suppliers, farmers, animal re-sellers, abattoirs, meat packers, wholesale traders, retailers, and consumers. This study described the market agents that interact along this productive chain, and quantified the pork-marketing shares in Aburrá Valley, Antioquia province (Colombia). A convenience sampling was used in this study. A survey was applied to 30 producers and a semi-structured interview to five marketing agents. Two main marketing circuits were found: producer-meat vendor, and producer-broker-meat vendor. The prices paid to the agents that interact in the pork meat circuit in the Aburrá Valley show an upward trend. The price paid by the final consumer to the meat vendor grows in greater proportion than the prices paid to the brokers and to the primary producer.

Inguinal hernia repair in a community setting: implications for the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: Inguinal hernia repair is thought to be a relatively low morbidity operation. This study examined whether this tenet hold true in patients who are elderly with significant comorbidity. DESIGN: Case series. Retrospective review of a prospectively collected database. SETTING: Single surgeon practicing in Vermont over a period of 9 years. PATIENTS: Consecutive sample of 2,145 inguinal herniorraphies in 1,889 patients. INTERVENTION: Patients underwent an open inguinal hernia repair with mesh placement. A total of 81% of the repairs were performed under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Presence of comorbid conditions and complications were compared between patients younger and older than 65 years. RESULTS: A total of 2,145 herniorraphies were performed on 1,889 patients (1,646 in younger patients and 499 in older patients). Hernia repairs in older patients were more likely associated with comorbid conditions than in their younger counterparts (74 vs 39%; OR = 4.55, P < 0.0001). Specifically, hypertension (26 vs 9%; OR = 3.5, P < 0.0001), coronary artery disease (34 vs 6%; OR = 8.4, P < 0.0001) and benign prostatic hypertrophy (26 vs 4%; OR = 8.2, P < 0.0001) were more commonly present in older individuals. The commonest postoperative complications in both groups were recurrence (3%), hematoma (1%) and nerve entrapment (1%). There were no deaths. There was no significant difference in the rate of postoperative complications (6 vs 7%; OR = 0.95, P = 0.88) or recurrence rates (2 vs 3%; OR = 0.82, P = 0.65) between groups. CONCLUSION: Inguinal herniorrhaphy under local anesthesia is a safe operation with a high success rate in the elderly. Patients with significant comorbidities are not at higher risk of complications or recurrences.

Abrogation of delayed type hypersensitivity response to Candida albicans produced by a molecular mimic of phosphorylated prolactin.

The effects of two major forms of prolactin (PRL) were examined on delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to Candida albicans. Unmodified PRL (U-PRL) had no effect on the DTH response, whereas a molecular mimic of phosphorylated PRL (S179D PRL) significantly inhibited immune responses to this robust antigen. This effect of S179D PRL was not accompanied by gross alterations in splenic T cell numbers, CD4/CD8 ratios, or T and B cell activation markers, but did produce a decrease in splenocyte apoptosis. Using gld animals, Fas ligand (FasL) was implicated in the suppressive effects of S179D PRL. Circulating IgG1 and IgG2 antibody levels were increased in response to treatment with both forms of PRL, but the effects of S179D PRL were most pronounced. Cytokine changes in the popliteal lymph nodes specific to S179D PRL treatment showed an inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In conclusion, mice treated with a molecular mimic of phosphorylated prolactin showed a profound inhibition of DTH responses to Candida correlating with an absence of GM-CSF, IL-4, and IL-13 production and a marked reduction in IL-12p70 synthesis.

Family household and nuptiality changes: a search for some explanations from the recent past.

PIP: Using the demographic transition framework as a basis for analysis, the author examines the levels, trends, and differentials in household size and structure in the Philippines. Time-series data on average household size from the censuses show that the changes observed over time are closely associated with or have run parallel to the shifts in mortality and fertility. Data from the 1968, 1973, and 1983 National Demographic Surveys revealed small increases in 1-person households, modest increases in small-sized and moderate-sized households, and substantial decreases in large-sized households. The data also disclosed structural shifts among various types of family households. Between 1968 and 1983, family households experienced increasing nuclearization. While expectation for support in old age has somewhat diminished recently, parents' preference to join their daughters will have the effect of increasing the opportunity of females to head households. More highly educated persons exhibited a greater tendency to head the bigger-sized, extended family household, although this has diminished somewhat lately. Increases in the age at 1st marriage of both males and females affect the life span of family households, especially nuclear households. A multivariate analysis using macrolevel data as inputs demonstrated the very strong influences of the factors of desirability of marriage, availability of mate, and urbanization on the marriage pattern. Enhancing employment opportunities and creating appropriate mechanisms through which present incomes may be increased in the hinterlands under various rural development programs may help to diminish the values attached to children. The provision of more and better facilities for higher education especially in the disadvantaged provinces will enable young people, especially females, to gain access to higher learning, thus providing alternatives to early marriage and childbearing.^ieng

The Filipino family in the year 2000.

PIP: Secondary sources of data from the National Demographic Surveys of 1968 and 1973 and National Censuses of 1903, 1939, 1948, 1960 and 1970 were used to present trends, patterns, and differentials in household size, structure and headship on the national and regional levels; changes in the stages of the family life cycle; trends in nuptiality during the 20th century on the national and regional levels; and nuptiality projections up to the year 2000. The analysis undertaken included means, percentages, ratios, projections, and comparisons of the results of the 2 surveys. Included among the results in terms of household size and structure, age composition of households, patterns and differentials in headship rates, life cycle of the family, and nuptiality were the following: 1) more than 1/2 of the households had 6 family members or more; 2) the most number of children occurred when the head of the family was between the ages of 24 and 44 years, when sex, urban-rural residence, and region were controlled; 3) an increasing trend in headship rates was exhibited by the single male and the widowed and divorced/separated female; 4) in 1973, the average interval between marriage and birth of the 1st child was 1.7 years; and 5) examination of past and recent regional nuptiality trends indicated a significant delay in age at marriage for females.^ieng