scholarly journals TRANSPORTATION ROUTES FOR LATIN AMERICAN PRODUCE IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED STATES

HortScience ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 609a-609
Author(s):  
David H. Picha ◽  
Roger A. Hinson

The origin and distribution of counter-seasonal fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Latin America into the U.S. was evaluated. Infrastructure comparisons were made among various U.S. ports of entry capable of receiving perishables. Economic comparisons were made utilizing different transportation routes. Market boundary analyses indicated significant cost savings would result from changing existing transportation routes to certain final U.S. destinations. Currently the port of Philadelphia receives the majority of South American fruit which is mostly shipped break bulk or palletized. South Florida ports (Miami and Port Everglades) receive the majority of Central American and Caribbean fruits and vegetables which are mostly shipped containerized. Interest exists among Latin American exporters to diversify their U.S. ports of entry in order to avoid distribution bottlenecks. Future trade routes will likely see an increased utilization of more economical U.S. Gulf of Mexico ports.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noemí Soledad Rabbia

Even though oil continues leading energy discussions worldwide the share of natural gas in total energy is expected to equal that of oil by 2030. The United States (US) has played a key role in that transition: in the last two decades a qualitative technological leap forward has driven this country to an energy revival through the exploration and production of unconventional gas and oil.Since its independence Latin America has been considered theUnited States‘ backyard with notorious emphasis in Central American andCaribbeancountries. However, the increasing energy potential that others Latin American countries like Argentina and Brazil have turned to posses in the unconventional hydrocarbons industry have led to a renewed interest in the region beyond its traditional partners. The aim of this paper is to explore what could be the interest for theUSin shale developments inSouth America; which are the countries with more potential in developing shale gas industries based on their reserves and above ground factors; and which is the current state of the foreseen South American shale revolution.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Mhlaba ◽  
Emily W. Stockert ◽  
Martin Coronel ◽  
Alexander J. Langerman

Objective: Operating rooms (OR) generate a large portion of hospital revenue and waste. Consequently, improving efficiency and reducing waste is a high priority. Our objective was to quantify waste associated with opened but unused instruments from trays and to compare this with the cost of individually wrapping instruments.Methods: Data was collected from June to November of 2013 in a 550-bed hospital in the United States. We recorded the instrument usage of two commonly-used trays for ten cases each. The time to decontaminate and reassemble instrument trays and peel packs was measured, and the cost to reprocess one instrument was calculated.Results: Average utilization was 14% for the Plastic Soft Tissue Tray and 29% for the Major Laparotomy Tray. Of 98 instruments in the Plastics tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 59% were used in no observed cases. Of 110 instruments in the Major Tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 25% were used in no observed cases. Average cost to reprocess one instrument was $0.34-$0.47 in a tray and $0.81-$0.84 in a peel pack, or individually-wrapped instrument.Conclusions: We estimate that the cost of peel packing an instrument is roughly two times the cost of tray packing. Therefore, it becomes more cost effective from a processing standpoint to package an instrument in a peel pack when there is less than a 42%-56% probability of use depending on instrument type. This study demonstrates an opportunity for reorganization of instrument delivery that could result in a significant cost-savings and waste reduction.


1985 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Clemente Baena Soares

The Latin American and Caribbean countries are facing a serious financial crisis. External debt in the region is over $360 billion, and seven South American countries are among the ten largest debtors in the world. Interest payments alone required, in the years of 1982, 1983, and 1984, more than 35% of total regional exports of goods and services, a percentage which reached the extreme level of over 50% for one country. To be sure, this problem mostly affects the largest economies, since most of the Central American and Caribbean countries apply to interest payments less than 20% of their exports. The debt problem is a reality for the entire region, and it makes it difficult for all the countries to obtain new external financing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S603-S603
Author(s):  
Maria L Soler Hidalgo ◽  
John M Abbamonte ◽  
Laura Regalini ◽  
Mariana Schlesinger ◽  
Maria L Alcaide ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Each year Influenza causes between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths, and over half a million of hospitalizations in the United States. Despite the widespread availability of vaccination, immunization coverage is low. Less than half of American adults receive the influenza vaccine, and there is a disparity between Hispanic and non-Hispanics, with only 35.9% of Hispanic compared with 45.9% of white non-Hispanics receiving the vaccine. In Miami, South Florida, over two-thirds of the population is Hispanic, and rates of influenza vaccination are low. This study aims to identify the knowledge and attitudes toward influenza vaccination among members of the adult Hispanic community in Miami, and to identify barriers to vaccination in this population. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted during the influenza season in 2017 and 2019 (October to December). A survey was administered in the waiting rooms of participating Latin American Consulates (Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay) in Miami. Participants included were older than 18 years, Hispanic, and with residence in the United States for more than 6 months. The participants accepted the inform consent orally. The survey was voluntary and anonymous. Results We enrolled 970 adults. The median age was 43 years, 50% were male, 60% had health insurance, and 67% had completed education of high school or higher. Knowledge regarding influenza and vaccination was low (78% believed asymptomatic individuals could transmit influenza, 14% knew that vaccination is recommended during the winter months, 50% felt not everyone should be vaccinated, 25% believed the vaccine causes influenza, and 7% autism). About one quarter (27%) received the influenza vaccine annually, 35% sometimes, and 38% never. Using multinomial logistic regression, we identified age χ2(2) = 19.38, P < 0.001, consulate χ2(6) = 160.21, P < 0.001, and insurance status χ2(2) = 23.04, P < 0.001 as predictors of receiving vaccination. Neither gender, nor education level found to be associated with vaccination behavior. Conclusion Immunization rates in the adult Hispanic population are low. Interventions to improve vaccination among Hispanics who are older and lack of health insurance are urgently needed in the diverse Hispanic community. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2000 ◽  
Vol 1696 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Stroh ◽  
Rajan Sen

Bridge engineers are continually faced with the challenge of providing efficient and cost-effective structures. In particular, the Florida Department of Transportation has recognized the need to develop economical bridge configurations in the medium-span range of 200- to 400-ft (60.96-to 121.92-m) spans and authorized a research project at the University of South Florida to identify and develop innovative design concepts within this span range. The study identified the concept of a steel bridge with double-composite action as an innovative bridge concept with the potential for significant cost savings compared with conventional modes of construction. This bridge type has been used with good success in Europe, but to the authors’ knowledge it has not been used in the United States. In addition to a composite concrete top slab, the double-composite bridge concept utilizes a composite concrete bottom slab in the negative moment regions. The result is provision of a design meeting compact requirements throughout, increased stiffness with corresponding decrease in fatigue stress range and deflections, savings in cross frames, and savings in flange material. The design implications of this system are examined, including redistribution effects due to creep and shrinkage, implications of different construction sequences, and strength and serviceability issues. Trial designs are presented, including both plate and box girder type structures, and design considerations are discussed. A prototype structure is identified for further development of the double-composite concept.


1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Cavarozzi

Transitions into democracy: convergence and distinct pathsIn mid-1982 Mexico's Minister of Finance, Jesús Silva Herzog, arrived in the United States and announced that his country was not going to continue paying its foreign debt. Silva Herzog's declaration was soon followed by debt defaults in many other Latin American countries, marking the beginning of the region's most serious economic crisis in this century. This crisis involved the partial breakdown of Latin America's financial and trade linkages to the world economy; the cessation of new credit money paralleled an interruption in the flow of capital investments, amounting to a total reversal of the financial patterns of previous decades. (The level of foreign investment, especially in manufacturing and mining, had been relatively high since the mid-1950s, albeit with significant differences from country to country).The debt crisis coincided, not incidentally, with a convergence of the political trajectories of five of the region's more industrialised countries: Mexico, Brazil, and the three Southern Cone nations of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. All five governments – the South American military dictatorships and Mexico's stable authoritarian PRI regime – experienced periods of political turbulence closely related both to the severe economic disruptions and to other domestic and international influences.One of the remarkable aspects of this 1982 political convergence was that it came after the ‘long decade’ of the 1970s, during which the governmental routes of the five countries had been extremely divergent. In Argentina, for example, instability, militarism and political violence had intensified, starting in 1969; these phenomena then spread to its traditionally more democratic neighbours, Chile and Uruguay.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Dingeman ◽  
Yekaterina Arzhayev ◽  
Cristy Ayala ◽  
Erika Bermudez ◽  
Lauren Padama ◽  
...  

The United States deported 24,870 women in 2013, mostly to Latin America. We examine life history interviews with Mexican and Central American women who were apprehended, detained, and experienced different outcomes. We find that norms of the “crimmigration era” override humanitarian concerns, such that the state treats migrants as criminals first and as persons with claims for relief second. Removal and relief decisions appear less dependent on eligibility than geography, access to legal aid, and public support. Women’s experiences parallel men’s but are often worsened by their gendered statuses. Far from passively accepting the violence of crimmigration, women resist through discourse and activism.


1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (20) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
K.J. MacIntosh ◽  
W.F. Baird

At the 19th ICE Conference in Houston in 1984 an alternative concept for the design of rubble mound breakwaters was introduced. This concept has the objective of providing a least cost structure by optimizing the use of locally available materials and utilizing simple construction procedures. Contractors' bids demonstrated that significant cost savings could be achieved, when compared to the cost of traditional designs. Considerable prototype experience has now been obtained with this concept of breakwaters. Breakwaters have been built using the concept in Canada, the United States, and Iceland since 1984 and have been subjected to storms and ice action. Prototype observations have supported the performance predicted during the design process. In this paper surveys of a breakwater taken after construction and after storm action are presented. In addition to wave action, this breakwater has also been subjected to extensive ice action. The response of the breakwater has been monitored and observed and is discussed.


Author(s):  
Adrian Howkins

Since the early 19th century, a number of Latin American countries have had active interests in the Antarctic continent. These interests began to accelerate in the early 20th century, and during the 1930s and 1940s, Argentina and Chile formalized sovereignty claims to the Antarctic Peninsula region. These claims overlapped not only with each other, but also with Great Britain’s claim to the “Falkland Islands Dependencies.” The two Latin American claims tended to be framed in the language of anti-imperialism, and for a while at least the idea of a “South American Antarctica” emerged to suggest a common front against the British Empire. Rivalry between Argentina and Chile, however, remained strong, and the alliance against imperialism never developed into a lasting agreement. In 1959, Argentina and Chile joined with ten other nations—including Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—in signing the Antarctic Treaty. This Treaty suspended sovereignty claims and created a “continent dedicated to peace and science.” Following the ratification of the Treaty in 1961, Argentina and Chile lessened their hostility to the imperial strategy of using scientific research as a justification for political claims, and came to be enthusiastic members of what some outsiders labeled an “exclusive club.” During the 1980s and early 1990s, four other Latin American nations—Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador—became full members of the Antarctic Treaty, attracted, in part, by the prospect of sharing in a potential minerals bonanza in the southern continent. This expected economic boom never came, however, and instead the Antarctic continent became one of the most protected environments anywhere on the planet by the terms of the 1991 Madrid Environmental Protocol.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donglan Zhang ◽  
Mary E Cogswell ◽  
Guijing Wang

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk has been linked to dietary components in many studies, but the associated reduction in CVD healthcare costs with dietary improvements has not been systematically evaluated. Hypothesis: CVD healthcare cost savings associated with an improvement in dietary metrics are substantial. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and ABI/Inform to identify population-based studies published between January 1990 and December 2014 on CVD healthcare costs related to a dietary component. The selected dietary components, in accordance with those identified by the American Heart Association in their 2010 Strategic Impact goals, included salt/sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables, fish/omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains/fiber. Other selected dietary components, based on AHA’s secondary dietary metrics, were nuts, processed meat and saturated fat. For each dietary component, we evaluated the CVD healthcare cost savings if the current consumption level were to be changed. Results: In 329 articles obtained, 15 studies evaluated the healthcare costs associated with one or more of dietary components: salt/sodium (n=12); fruit and vegetables (n=1); meat (n=1); saturated fat (n=3). The majority of studies (n=11) used an incidence-based approach, and the remaining were prevalence-based analyses. Adjusting the costs to 2013 US dollar values using consumer price index and purchasing power parity exchange rate, reducing average sodium intake by 1.2 g/day could save $1794 per person per year in the United Kingdom. Reducing individual sodium intake to 2.3 g/day could save $1955 per person in the United States. Increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables from <0.5 cup / day to more than 1.5 cups / day could save $1481 per person in the United States. Conclusions: In conclusion, reducing sodium intake and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables could substantially reduce CVD costs. Few studies were available on the cost savings associated with dietary components for cardiovascular health. These results suggest a need for economic studies using high-quality cost information and the most recent evidence to predict long-term cost savings.


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