Os fluxos externos de capitais privados no Brasil: 1991-04

This paper examines the evolution of the net flow of private foreign financing in brazilian’s economy, from 1991 — the year of opening to foreign investments flow in Brazil — to 2003. It analyzes the contribution of direct investiments, portfolio investiments, derivatives and the so called other investiments for the total external financiament of national economy. In order of elucidate better the facts, this paper examines the transformations that ocurred in the international financial system and the opening to capital flows in Brazil. The bottom line of this paper is endeavor to contribute, despite the difficulties, improve de conditions to asses the perspective of foreign financing in Brazil.Este artigo analisa a evolução dos fluxos líquidos do financiamento externo privado na economia nacional, entre 1991 — ano da liberalização dos fluxos internacionais de investimentos no Brasil — e 2004. Examina a contribuição dos investimentos diretos, dos investimentos em carteira e de outros investimentos para o financiamento externo total. As duas primeiras categorias de investimentos citadas foram as únicas fontes efetivas de financiamento. Para melhor elucidar os fatos, o artigo toma como referência as transformações ocorridas no sistema financeiro internacional e a liberalização dos fluxos internacionais de recursos no Brasil. A razão de fundo do artigo é tentar, a despeito das dificuldades, contribuir para o estabelecimento de bases para avaliar as perspectivas do financiamento externo no País

Os fluxos de capitais estrangeiros privados nas economias emergentes entre 1994 e 2002

Neste artigo, examinam-se os fluxos líquidos de capitais estrangeiros nas economias em desenvolvimento, entre 1994 e 2002. Nesse sentido, observam-se a evolução do valor total anual e, também, os valores desagregados segundo as três grandes categorias dos chamados investimentos estrangeiros: investimentos diretos, investimentos em carteira e outros investimentos. Como o fluxo total dos recursos declinou e oscilou largamente ao longo do tempo, apontam-se os principais motivos desse comportamento. Finalmente, são considerados alguns dos determinantes da mobilidade internacional dos capitais. Cabe frisar que não se trata de uma abordagem extensiva dos citados determinantes; busca-se, meramente, apontar alguns dos determinantes específicos da mobilidade de cada uma das três categorias de capital

Mapping of Aedes albopictus abundance at a local scale in Italy

Given the growing risk of arbovirus outbreaks in Europe, there is a clear need to better describe the distribution of invasive mosquito species such as Aedes albopictus. Current challenges consist in simulating Ae. albopictus abundance, rather than its presence, and mapping its simulated abundance at a local scale to better assess the transmission risk of mosquito-borne pathogens and optimize mosquito control strategy. During 2014–2015, we sampled adult mosquitoes using 72 BG-Sentinel traps per year in the provinces of Belluno and Trento, Italy. We found that the sum of Ae. albopictus females collected during eight trap nights from June to September was positively related to the mean temperature of the warmest quarter and the percentage of artificial areas in a 250 m buffer around the sampling locations. Maps of Ae. albopictus abundance simulated from the most parsimonious model in the study area showed the largest populations in highly artificial areas with the highest summer temperatures, but with a high uncertainty due to the variability of the trapping collections. Vector abundance maps at a local scale should be promoted to support stakeholders and policy-makers in optimizing vector surveillance and control

The Mediterranean Diet in the Prevention of Degenerative Chronic Diseases

Degenerative chronic diseases are a problem related to the aging phenomenon of industrialized countries due to the increase of risk factors and related comorbidity such as overweight, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia with a consequent increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. Moreover, the significant reduction of physical activity in daily life and the huge growth in food availability have considerably increased the risk of such diseases. Particular attention should be paid to primary prevention by means of health strategies based on improvement in lifestyle intervention such as implementation of Mediterranean diet and promotion of physical activity programs. In this chapter, the protective effect of Mediterranean diet and the role of certain foods and/or their constituents are analyzed; the possible mechanisms by which Mediterranean diet is effective in the prevention of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases are presented, in particular the effects exerted by antioxidants, polyphenols, fibers, unsaturated fatty acids, and alcohol. The genetic revolution in the past decades has produced new fields of study where the interaction between foods, nutrients, and our genetic makeup is investigated. The relationship between nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics and the Mediterranean diet are the future area that research should discover