Risk Premia for Emerging Markets Bonds: Evidence from Brazilian Government Debt, 1996-2002

The goal of this paper is to identify the determinants of the risk premium on Brazilian government debt traded in the emerging markets bonds. The empirical evidence presented does not reject the hypotheses that fiscal solvency and the size of the public debt affect the risk premium as measured by the spread over treasury securities of the Brazilian C-bond.

Perception of municipal health managers regarding environmental health: Cerrado Araguaia Tocantins intermunicipal health consortium

As iniciativas dos consórcios intermunicipais de saúde (CIS), ainda pouco exploradas no Brasil, favorecem estratégias de descentralização na direção de objetivos gerais do SUS para a regionalização e a hierarquização da oferta de serviços. São inovações do setor público para uma melhor gestão, prover serviços especializados e maior densidade tecnológica à população, sendo que a ação conjunta entre os municípios pode viabilizar ganhos ambientais e econômicos na provisão desses serviços públicos. O estudo prospectivo teve como objetivo analisar a percepção e as ações dos gestores municipais que compõem o consórcio intermunicipal Cerrado Araguaia Tocantins quanto aos problemas de saúde ambiental da região Norte do estado. Foram analisadas entrevistas semiestruturadas de 46 gestores, mediante técnica do discurso do sujeito coletivo proposta por Lefèvre e Lefèvre, que revelaram uma concepção ampla no sentido de reconhecimento de saúde ambiental: a existência de problemas ambientais locais que afetam diretamente a população. Entretanto, não se percebe a interação do governo em planejamento de ações político-administrativas de saúde ambiental. Faz-se necessário que os diferentes sujeitos envolvidos, incluindo os que atuam no consórcio pesquisado, tenham clareza da sua participação de maneira ativa, e que as estruturas organizacionais possam subsidiar as estratégias intersetoriais necessárias para responder às demandas dos problemas atuais da saúde, incluindo os problemas ambientais.The initiatives of health consortiums (CIS), still little explored in Brazil, promote decentralization strategies toward overall goals of SUS for regionalization and the hierarchy of the offered services. These are innovations in the public sector to improve its management, provide specialized services and increase technological density for population, because the joint action between the municipalities may bring environmental and economic gains for these public services. The prospective study aimed to analyze the perception and actions of municipal managers that compose the intermunicipal Cerrado Araguaia Tocantins consortium, with regard to environmental health problems in the northern region of the state. Semi- structured interviews of 46 managers were analyzed through the discourse of the collective subject proposed by Lefèvre and Lefèvre, which revealed a broad view towards recognition of environmental health: the existence of local environmental problems that directly affect the population. However, there is no known interaction from the government on planning political and administrative actions of environmental health. The different parts involved in this subject, including those who work in the researched consortium, need to have a clear view of their participation in an active way, and that the organizational structures may support needed intersectoral strategies to meet the demands of today's health problems, including environmental problems

Ten important questions/issues for ethnobotanical research

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552For at least 30 years researchers have called for a deeper reflection on the paths we desire for ethnobotanical research. Although the discipline of ethnobotany is growing, as measured by the number of publications in the area, there is still work to be done regarding the homogeneity of theoretical and methodological approaches and the implications of ethnobotanical research findings for society as a whole. In this article we present 10 questions/issues that we believe can guide the research and actions of ethnobotanists for the coming years

Modelling the spatial dependence of the rainfall erosivity index in the Brazilian semiarid region

O objetivo deste trabalho foi modelar a dependência espacial e mapear o índice de erosividade das chuvas (EI30) na região semiárida do Brasil. Foram utilizados registros de erosividade mensal de 210 postos pluviométricos, com série temporal diária igual ou superior a 15 anos. Com base nos valores do EI30, a modelagem da dependência espacial foi realizada pelo ajuste do semivariograma. A partir dos modelos de semivariograma, foram gerados mapas de isolinhas de erosividade com interpolador da krigagem. De acordo com a série histórica de dados, o valor máximo mensal médio do EI30 foi observado em março, e o valor anual variou de 1.439 a 5.864 MJ mm ha-1 por ano, classificado como baixo e moderado, respectivamente. Os maiores valores do EI30 foram obtidos nos extremos norte e sul da região semiárida. Foi observada dependência espacial média para erosividade da chuva, para a maioria dos meses, principalmente com o modelo de semivariograma esférico. O alcance da erosividade variou entre 62 e 1.508 km, para o EI30 mensal, e foi de, aproximadamente, 1.046 km para o anual. A modelagem aplicada, com a validação dos semivariogramas pelo teste de jackknife, permite a espacialização do EI30 para a região semiárida do Brasil.The objective of this work was to model the spatial dependence and to map the rainfall erosivity index (EI30) in the semiarid region of Brazil. Registers of monthly erosivity from 210 rainfall stations were used, with daily time series equal to or greater than 15 years. Based on the values of the EI30, a spatial dependence model was made by adjusting the semivariogram. From the semivariogram models, erosivity isoline maps were generated with a kriging interpolator. According to the historical data series, the maximum monthly average value of the EI30 was observed in March, and the annual value ranged from 1,439 to 5,864 MJ mm ha-1 per year, classified as low and moderate, respectively. The highest EI30 values were obtained in the northern and southern extremes of the semiarid region. Average spatial dependence was observed for rainfall erosivity, in most months, especially with the spherical semivariogram model. The range of erosivity varied from 62 to 1,508 km for the monthly EI30 and was of approximately 1,046 km for the annual one. The applied model, with the validation of the semivariograms using the jackknife test, allows the spatialization of the EI30 for the semiarid region of Brazil

Prevalência de hábitos tabágicos e motivação para a cessação tabágica em trabalhadores numa empresa da região de Aveiro

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Cashew gum (Anacardium occidentale) as a potential source for the production of tocopherol-loaded nanoparticles: formulation, release profile and cytotoxicity

Every year, more than thirty thousand tons of Cashew gum (Anacardium occidentale, family: Anacardiaceae) are produced in Brazil; however, only a small amount is used for different applications in foodstuff and in pharmaceutical industries. As a raw material for the production of drug delivery systems, cashew gum is still regarded as an innovative compound worth to be exploited. In this work, cashew gum was extracted from the crude exudate of cashew tree employing four methodologies resulting in a light brown powder in different yields (40.61% to 58.40%). The total ashes (0.34% to 1.05%) and moisture (12.90% to 14.81%) were also dependent on the purification approach. FTIR spectra showed the typical bands of purified cashew gum samples, confirming their suitability for the development of a pharmaceutical product. Cashew gum nanoparticles were produced by nanoprecipitation resulting in particles of low polydispersity (<0.2) and an average size depending on the percentage of the oil. The zeta potential of nanoparticles was found to be below 20 mV, which promotes electrostatic stability. Encapsulation efficiencies were above 99.9%, while loading capacity increased with the increase of the percentage of the oil content of particles. The release of the oil from the nanoparticles followed the KorsmeyerPeppas kinetics model, while particles did not show any signs of toxicity when tested in three distinct cell lines (LLC-MK2, HepG2, and THP-1). Our study highlights the potential added value of using a protein-, lignans-, and nucleic acids-enriched resin obtained from crude extract as a new raw material for the production of drug delivery systems.This research received funding from the Coordenação Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Ámparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sergipe (FAPITEC) (PROCESSO: 88887.159533/2017-00 extração, encapsulação e caracterização de bioativos para o interesse biotecnologico) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 301964/2019-0 Chamada 06/2019, and Chamada CNPq nº 01/2019), from Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/MEC) through national funds, and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020 for the project UIDB/04469/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ten important questions/issues for ethnobotanical research

For at least 30 years researchers have called for a deeper reflection on the paths we desire for ethnobotanical research. Although the discipline of ethnobotany is growing, as measured by the number of publications in the area, there is still work to be done regarding the homogeneity of theoretical and methodological approaches and the implications of ethnobotanical research findings for society as a whole. In this article we present 10 questions/issues that we believe can guide the research and actions of ethnobotanists for the coming years.Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicad

High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Model Does Not Promote Endothelial Dysfunction via Increasing Leptin/Akt/eNOS Signaling

Experimental studies show that the unsaturated high-fat diet-induced obesity promotes vascular alterations characterized by improving the endothelial L-arginine/Nitric Oxide (NO) pathway. Leptin seems to be involved in this process, promoting vasodilation via increasing NO bioavailability. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that unsaturated high-fat diet-induced obesity does not generate endothelial dysfunction via increasing the vascular leptin/Akt/eNOS signaling. Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats were randomized into two groups: control (C) and obese (Ob). Group C was fed a standard diet, while group Ob was fed an unsaturated high-fat diet for 27 weeks. Adiposity, hormonal and biochemical parameters, and systolic blood pressure were observed. Concentration response curves were performed for leptin or acetylcholine in the presence or absence of Akt and NOS inhibitor. Our results showed that an unsaturated high-fat diet promoted a greater feed efficiency (FE), elevation of body weight and body fat (BF), and an adiposity index, characterizing a model of obesity. However, comorbidities frequently associated with experimental obesity were not visualized, such as glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. The evaluation of the endothelium-dependent relaxation with acetylcholine showed no differences between the C and Ob rats. After NOS inhibition, the response was completely abolished in the Ob group, but not in the C group. Furthermore, Akt inhibition completely blunted vascular relaxation in the C group, but not in the Ob group, which was more sensitive to leptin-induced vascular relaxation. L-NAME incubation abolished the relaxation in both groups at the same level. Although Akt inhibitor pre-incubation reduced the leptin response, group C was more sensitive to its effect. In conclusion, the high-unsaturated fat diet-induced obesity improved the vascular reactivity to leptin and does not generate endothelial dysfunction, possibly by the increase in the vascular sensitivity to leptin and increasing NO bioavailability. Moreover, our results suggest that the increase in NO production occurs through the increase in NOS activation by leptin and is partially mediated by the Akt pathway

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio