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While the effect of various factors on fertility choice has been intensively studied, few studies identify declining fertility's impact on subsequent growth. We employ instrumental variables derived from spatial interactions across 5564 cities to identify the heterogeneous effects of declining fertility on subsequent economic growth in Brazil's city-level data. The gain by reducing one birth may translate to a cumulative growth increase of 0.5 percentage points in places where the pace of economic development is low. On the median, the extent of the estimate suggests that a unity decrease in the total fertility rate might lead to an increase in cumulative growth of 0.25 percentage points in the following ten years. The simulation results, designed for two-stage quantile regression estimators, indicate the sample sizes for which the asymptotic properties tend to hold and show that the convolution-smoothed approach with the triangular kernel performs better in finite samples in most scenarios.

Piper rivinoides Kunth, known in Brazil as “aperta-ruao,” is a medicinal glabrous shrub (3 to 6 m high) that belongs to the Piperaceae family. Some bioactive benzofuran neolignans were isolated from this species, and it is important to know about how these compounds interact with cytochrome P450 enzymes. For this purpose, we tested the ethanolic extract from leaves of P. rivinoides and its partitions in hexane and dichloromethane and in three isolated neolignans (eupamotenoid-5, eupamotenoid-6, and conocarpan) in the activity of the CYP1A isoforms. Little is known about the interaction of neolignans with cytochrome P450 enzymes. Activities of 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and 7-methoxyresorufin O-demethylase (MROD), markers for CYP1A1 and CYP1A2, respectively, were assayed. The CYP1A (EROD) activity half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) were determined for plant material and pure compounds. IC50 for quercetin and α-naphthoflavone were also determined for comparative purposes. The hexane partition shows the strongest inhibitory effect (IC50 14.24 ± 0.13 µg/ml) in EROD assay. The three neolignans proved to be potent inhibitors of CYP1A, and eupomatenoid-5 and eupomatenoid-6 inhibited CYP1A2 isoform. A comparison of neolignan three-dimensional structures with the structures of quercetin and α-naphthoflavone indicated that, while eupamotenoid-5 and eupamotenoid-6 overlapped in the same plane, conocarpan overlapped out of plane. This might explain the differences in inhibitory potency. This is the first report on CYP1A inhibition by bioactive benzofuran neolignans.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of head and neck malignancy. Research on essential oils (EOs) has shown important cytotoxic and anti-tumor properties, among others. Piperaceae species are rich in EOs and here we highlight Piper rivinoides Kunth. We investigated the crude EOs from P. rivinoides, their pure major constituents and an enriched fraction with the main EO compounds (EF) as cytotoxic and selective OSCC agents. EOs presented as main compounds (-)-α-pinene, (-)-β-pinene and limonene. EOs showed an IC50 lower than all isolated compounds, except for (-)-β-pinene in OSCC cells. The (-)-β-pinene induced cell death with apoptotic characteristics. Commercial standards showed greater selectivity than EOs, and (-)-β-pinene was the most selective among them. EF showed higher selectivity compared to crude EOs and carboplatin, turning it into a good candidate as an anticancer fraction. These results are important for the possible development of new treatments for OSCC.

This study analyses the nature of weekly inflation response to shocks in the Brazilian economy by adopting a generalized quantile autoregression model in which the autoregressive parameter is allowed to be quantile-dependent. We test for unit root at different conditional quantiles of the response variable, by characterizing its asymmetric dynamics along the business cycle. The method allows us to estimate the magnitude, sign, and the significance of actual shocks that affect Brazilian inflation. We evaluate the robustness of results by adopting a bootstrap procedure. Concerning previous studies, we find evidence of stronger asymmetric persistence in inflationary dynamics in which an inflationary shock below the average dissipates very fast when compared to an inflationary impulse occurring above the average. Location, size, and the sign of a random shock might be essential for inflation adjustment towards long-run equilibrium. The results do not support the full inertia hypothesis.

The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the eighth more common cancer in men. The development of new and more efficient drugs is needed. Plants of the genus Piper are popularly used in the treatment of many diseases. This study evaluated the antitumor effect of extract, fraction and isolated compounds from leaves of P. rivinoides in oral cancer. The isolated compounds (conocarpan, eupomatenoid-5 and eupomatenoid-6) were effective in inducing cell death in OSCC cell lines (SCC4, SCC9 and SCC25) compared to the standard chemotherapeutic agent carboplatin, and this effect was time-dependent. Conocarpan was more selective and stable than eupomatenoid-5 and eupomatenoid-6, resembling the stability of carboplatin. There was a significant presence of pyknotic nuclei and active caspase-3 expression under conocarpan treatment, suggesting cell death through apoptosis. In conclusion, conocarpan was the most effective compound against OSCC cells and might be considered for future cancer studies.

Gibrat's law asserts that the growth of a city is independent of its initial size, but the populations of cities display a pattern of systematic agglomeration. This pattern may emerge because some cities are more attractive than others. We analyse the relationship between the growth and size of 1,188 cities in the South Region of Brazil using municipal data between 2000 and 2010. The selected model is the spatial Durbin model (SDM) that controls for temporal and spatial dependence, relevant omitted variables, economic factors, local amenities and externalities. The results indicate that Gibrat's law is not robust when cities interact. La ley de Gibrat afirma que el crecimiento de una ciudad es independiente de su tamano inicial, pero que las poblaciones de las ciudades muestran un patron de aglomeracion sistematica. Este patron puede surgir porque algunas ciudades son mas atractivas que otras. En este estudio se analizo la relacion entre el crecimiento y el tamano de 1188 ciudades de la Region Sur de Brasil, para lo cual se utilizaron datos municipales entre 2000 y 2010. El modelo seleccionado fue un modelo espacial de Durbin (SDM, por sus siglas en ingles) en el que se controlo la dependencia temporal y espacial, las variables omitidas relevantes, los factores economicos, los servicios locales y las externalidades. Los resultados indican que la ley de Gibrat no es robusta cuando hay interaccion entre ciudades. ジブラ法則は、都市の成長は元のサイズには依存しないが、都市の人口は体系的な集積パターン示すことを主張している。このパターンは、ある都市が他の年に比べて魅力的であるために出現する可能性がある。本稿では、2000~2010年の地方自治体のデータを用いて、ブラジル南部地域の1,188の都市の成長とサイズの関連性を分析する。時間的および空間的依存性、省略された重要な変数、経済的要因、地域のアメニティおよび外部性を制御するモデルとして空間Durbinモデル (SDM)を選択した。結果から、都市間の相互作用が起こる場合、ジブラ法則は頑健ではないことが示される。

Echinodorus grandiflorus is a semiaquatic plant native to Brazil and belongs to the Alismataceae family. Infusion preparations of the leaves of this plant are often used due to its diuretic, blood pressure lowering, and anti-inflammatory properties. Our aim was to investigate the effects of chronic treatment with the crude hydroalcoholic extract of E. grandiflorus on central and peripheral microvascular changes induced in a model of hypertension and diabetes. The hemodynamic and microvascular effects of E. grandiflorus extract (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg/day for 28 days) or the isolated major diterpene from E. grandiflorus (3 to 10 mg/kg i. v.) were evaluated in spontaneously hypertensive rats using tail plethysmography and intravital fluorescence videomicroscopy, respectively, and were compared to vehicle-treated normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats. We also investigated the protective effects of chronic treatment with E. grandiflorus (100 mg/kg/day) in brain capillary density and leukocyte-endothelium interactions on the brain vessels of DM-spontaneously (DM: diabetes mellitus) hypertensive rats. Chronically treating spontaneously hypertensive rats with increasing doses of crude hydroalcoholic E. grandiflorus extract resulted in significant dose-dependent reductions in systolic blood pressure and an anti-inflammatory effect on the brain microcirculation of DM-spontaneously hypertensive rat animals. Using laser speckle contrast imaging, we observed that intravenous administration of the major isolated clerodane diterpene metabolite (1 – 10 mg/kg) increased microvascular blood flow by 25% in spontaneously hypertensive rat skeletal muscle. The results of this study show that E. grandiflorus extracts can be useful in the prevention and reduction of microcirculatory damage in arterial hypertension and other diseases that involve microvascular dysfunction.

The Piper species are a recognized botanical source of a broad structural diversity of lignans and its derivatives. For the first time, Piper tectoniifolium Kunth is presented as a promising natural source of the bioactive (−)-grandisin. Phytochemical analyses of extracts from its leaves, branches and inflorescences showed the presence of the target compound in large amounts, with leaf extracts found to contain up to 52.78% in its composition. A new HPLC-DAD-UV method was developed and validated to be selective for the identification of (−)-grandisin being sensitive, linear, precise, exact, robust and with a recovery above 90%. The absolute configuration of the molecule was determined by X-ray diffraction. Despite the identification of several enantiomers in plant extracts, the major isolated substance was characterized to be the (−)-grandisin enantiomer. In vascular reactivity tests, it was shown that the grandisin purified from botanical extracts presented an endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant effect with an IC50 of 9.8 ± 1.22 μM and around 80% relaxation at 30 μM. These results suggest that P. tectoniifolium has the potential to serve as a renewable source of grandisin on a large scale and the potential to serve as template for development of new drugs for vascular diseases with emphasis on disorders related to endothelial disfunction.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a well diagnosed disease, thoroughly attributed to series of symptoms criteria that embrace a broad range of abdominal complainers. Such criteria help to diagnosis the disease and can guide controlled clinical trials to seek new therapeutic agents. Accordingly, a verity of mechanisms and pathophysiological conditions including inflammation, oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and different life styles are involved in IBS. Predictably, diverse therapeutic approaches are available and prescribed by clinicians due to major manifestations (i.e., diarrhea-predominance, constipation-predominance, abdominal pain and visceral hypersensitivity), psychological disturbances, and patient preferences between herbal treatments versus pharmacological therapies, dietary or microbiological approaches. Herein, we gathered the latest scientific data between 1973 and 2019 from databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Cochrane library on relevant studies concerning beneficial effects of herbal treatments for IBS, in particular polyphenols. This is concluded that polyphenols might be applicable for preventing IBS and improving the IBS symptoms, mainly through suppressing the inflammatory signaling pathways, which nowadays are known as novel platform for the IBS management. Graphical abstract.

This chapter uncovers new insights on the dynamic volume–return relationship. We verify whether non-informational or informational trading can explain the volume–return relation in the three largest stock exchanges. We apply the cross-quantilogram approach to investigate the directional predictability from volume to returns across different market states. Besides, we consider nonlinearities and asymmetries in the volume–return relationship. We report evidence that the volume–return relationship is asymmetric and nonlinear across different market phases. Our results are consistent with models based on asymmetric information and overreaction to news among investors, where prevalent informational (non-informational) trading leads to negative (positive) volume–return causality. Our findings have important policy implications for risk managers, who may use the predictability from past volume to future returns for developing optimal hedging strategies.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which is classified into Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are among chronic gastrointestinal diseases with unknown pathogenesis. Diverse strategies have been applied for the treatment of this chronic disease. However, selective and site-specific routes of drug delivery to the inflamed location of the colon remain of high importance. Consequently, the application and effects of natural products in the form of nanoformulation and stimuli responsive nanoparticles as a novel strategy for the treatment of IBD are discussed in this review article. This approach may potentially overcome some complications that are associated with conventional means of colon drug delivery. Meanwhile, in vitro and in vivo studies pave the way for understanding of the mechanism that lies behind this chronic relapsing disease and potentially more effective treatment. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Echinodorus grandiflorus (Cham. & Schltdl.) Micheli is a native Brazilian species used in traditional practices for the treatment of several conditions such as inflammatory diseases, arthritis and hypertension. Through a systematic review of the accumulated knowledge about the species E. grandiflorus, the botanical, phytochemistry, ethnobotanical and pharmacological properties of this medicinal plant demonstrates its potential to naturally provide anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant with a special emphasis on anti-hypertensive and cardioprotective effects. The body of literature reports that the chemical composition of crude E. grandiflorus extracts are notably composed of diterpenoids and flavonoids metabolites. Pharmacological studies have shown that oral treatments using the hydroalcoholic extracts of leaves from this plant has a significant anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, diuretic and cardioprotective effects in rats with no toxicity. The holistic activities of complex extracts are corroborated by the individuals mechanisms of action, as well as, synergistic benefits attributed to the isolated chemical major constituents in this species. In light of the serious health concerns ascribed, it is important to investigate medicinal plant species with histories of traditional use for circulatory problems to meet the growing demands by scientifically validating their use and safety.

The 2008 economic downturn in the United States resulted in a wave of contractionary effects across many OECD countries. This paper investigates the pattern of the unemployment persistence in the United States and other 28 OECD countries before and after the Great Recession. To detect possible changes in the pattern of unemployment persistence, we employ a mean bias-corrected estimation of the persistence parameter with a rolling window of five years. In addition, we estimate the most likely date of change in the trend function of unemployment to test whether there was any significant change in the pattern of unemployment persistence after the Great Recession. We find significant evidence of a structural break and hysteresis in unemployment rates, with a persistence parameter close to unity, across the United States and other 28 OECD countries. Besides, bootstrap permutation tests show that all half-lives and impulse response functions have significantly changed after the Great Recession. Therefore, our findings call for structural reforms aimed at improving labor market performance, to prevent upward shifts in unemployment across OECD countries from becoming permanent.

This paper studies the relation between inflation and economic development. The literature is largely silent regarding both the theoretical and empirical perspectives that undeveloped countries endure higher average inflation than developed economies. We present a simple theoretical model linking the inflation phenomenon to the tradition of development economics. Empirical evidence is garnered to test the hypothesis that economic development engenders a downward bias to inflation rates. Through the feasible-GLS estimator in a panel of 65 countries from 2001 to 2011, we aim at listing a number of variables most commonly used to explain differences in the stage of economic development across countries and identifying the most statistically relevant ones to account for differences in inflationary patterns. While our results show that inflation is inversely correlated with the level of the technological content of the economy (measured by share of high-tech exports), human capital and cyclical unemployment, it is directly related to the degree of inflation persistence and terms of trade growth. However, our findings still present an inverse and low correlation between inflation persistence and economic development, implying that development-sensitive variables allowed into the model can only partially account for the differences in inflation at different levels of economic development. Este artigo estuda a relação entre inflação e desenvolvimento econômico. A literatura é bastante silenciosa em relação às perspectivas teóricas e empíricas de que os países subdesenvolvidos sofrem inflação média mais alta do que as economias desenvolvidas. Apresentamos um modelo teórico simples ligando o fenômeno da inflação à tradição da economia do desenvolvimento. São reunidas evidências empíricas para testar a hipótese de que o desenvolvimento econômico gera um viés de baixa nas taxas de inflação. Por meio do estimador viável-GLS em um painel de 65 países de 2001 a 2011, pretendemos listar uma série de variáveis ​​mais comumente usadas para explicar as diferenças no estágio de desenvolvimento econômico entre os países e identificar as mais estatisticamente relevantes para explicar as diferenças em padrões inflacionários. Enquanto nossos resultados mostram que a inflação está inversamente correlacionada com o nível de conteúdo tecnológico da economia (medido pela participação das exportações de alta tecnologia), capital humano e desemprego cíclico, ela está diretamente relacionada ao grau de persistência da inflação e termos de troca crescimento. No entanto, nossos resultados ainda apresentam uma correlação inversa e baixa entre a persistência da inflação e o desenvolvimento econômico, o que implica que as variáveis ​​sensíveis ao desenvolvimento permitidas no modelo podem explicar apenas parcialmente as diferenças de inflação em diferentes níveis de desenvolvimento econômico.

Background & objectives: Aedes aegypti mosquito is the principal vector of the viruses responsible for urban yellow fever, dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever, as well as Zika and chikungunya in Brazil. The present study was aimed to investigate the insecticidal potential of the extract and fractions of Ottonia anisum, along with special metabolites isolated from it, as natural alternatives against larvae (L3) of Ae. aegypti, vector of potentially deadly tropical infections in Brazil. Methods: The plant species O. anisum was collected in March 2015, at Xerém area, in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil. Crude extracts and the isolated pure compounds were screened for toxicity against Ae. aegypti larvae (L3). Bioassays were performed on 20 larvae (L3) of Ae. aegypti in triplicate. The samples were dissolved in a mixture of acetone and DMSO at final concentrations of 1-200 μg/ml. The toxicity of the solutions was evaluated towards the growth and development of Ae. aegypti larvae till emergence of adults. Results: The crude hexane extract showed 100% larval mortality 24 h after treatment at a concentration of 200 μg/ ml. The bioassays using 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene revealed 100% mortality among L3 larvae, 24 h after the treatment at a concentration of 30 μg/ml, the LC50 recorded was 1.6 μg/ml. At concentration of 10 μg/ml, the L3 larval mortality recorded was 92%. Interpretation & conclusion: The metabolite 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene showed potent toxicity against Ae. aegypti larvae. This arylbutanoid agent could be used as a natural alternative adjuvant pesticide, in new compositions that would be environmentally safer.

The technique of high-speed countercurrent chromatography was applied to the isolation of compounds in essential oil derived from the leaves of Piper mollicomum species. Plant leaves (200.0 g) were submitted to hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger apparatus. The resulting crude leaf essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the profile of the components. The purified fractions were composed of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes such as camphor (85.0 mg at 98.5% purity), (E)-nerolidol (100.0 mg at 92.8% purity), and camphene (150.0 mg at 82.0% purity). A minor component of the essential oil, bornyl acetate (16.2 mg at 91.2% purity) was also isolated in the one-step separation protocol in 2 h. The countercurrent chromatography technique proved to be a fast and efficient method for the separation of volatile metabolites that conserved the solvent while delivering various fractions of high purity.

After the widespread adoption of flexible exchange rate regime since 1973 the volatility of the exchange rate has increased, as a consequence of greater trade openness and financial integration. As a result, it has become difficult to find evidence of the purchasing power parity hypothesis (PPP). This study investigates the possibility of a fall in the persistence of the real exchange rate as a consequence of the financial and commercial integration by employing monthly real effective exchange rate dataset provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Beginning with an exploratory data analysis in the frequency domain, the fractional coefficient d was estimated employing the bias-reduced estimator on a sample of 20 countries over the period ranging from 1975 to 2011. As the main novelty, this study applies a bias-reduced log-periodogram regression estimator instead of the traditional method proposed by GPH which eliminates the first and higher orders biases by a data-dependent plug-in method for selecting the number of frequencies to minimize asymptotic mean-squared error (MSE). Additionally, this study also estimates a moving window of fifteen years to observe the path of the fractional coefficient in each country. No evidence was found of a statistically significant change in the persistence of the real exchange rate. Resumo Após a adoção generalizada do regime de câmbio flexível nos diversos países desde 1973, a volatilidade da taxa cambial aumentou, em contexto de maior abertura comercial e integração financeira. Tornou-se mais difícil encontrar evidências favoráveis à hipótese da paridade do poder de compra. Este estudo analisa a possibilidade de queda na persistência da taxa de câmbio real como consequência da abertura comercial e integração financeira, com dados mensais de 20 países no período de 1975 a 2011. A partir de uma análise exploratória dos dados no domínio da frequência, o coeficiente fracionário d foi obtido utilizando-se um estimador semiparamétrico com redução de viés em que um algoritmo dependente dos dados seleciona o número ótimo de frequências que minimiza o erro quadrático médio, diferente do estimador tradicional GPH. O estudo também utiliza uma janela móvel de 15 anos para identificar a evolução do coeficiente fracionário ao longo dos anos. Não há evidência de queda na persistência da taxa de câmbio real, nem indicações que corroborem a hipótese da paridade do poder de compra.

Resumo: Diante do regime de câmbio flexível desde 1973, com a abertura comercial e a maior integração financeira entre os países, aumentou também a volatilidade da taxa cambial e a dificuldade de se encontrar evidências favoráveis à hipótese da paridade do poder de compra. O estudo investiga a possibilidade de queda na persistência da taxa de câmbio real em um contexto de aumento da integração financeira e comercial entre as economias. Com dados mensais para uma amostra de 20 países, a hipótese de mudança na persistência é testada com base na estimação do coeficiente fracionário d para dois períodos (1975-1994; 1995-2011). A utilização de um estimador robusto em relação à heteroscedasticidade condicional pode fornecer indícios mais confiáveis acerca da estacionariedade da taxa de câmbio real e consequentemente da paridade do poder de compra. Os resultados sugerem que não houve mudança significativa na persistência da taxa de câmbio real, que continua não estacionária. Abstract: Since 1973, the widespread adoption of floating exchange rates amongst regimes, coupled with the opening of trade and greater financial integration between countries on a global level, has increased the volatility of the exchange rate. Therefore, it is difficulty to support the hypothesis of purchasing power parity. In this context, this study investigates the possibility of a decrease in the persistence of real exchange rates before and after the intensification of trade and financial integration among economies. Based on monthly data for twenty countries, the hypothesis of change in persistence is tested using the estimation of the fractional coefficient d for two periods: 1975-1994 and 1995-2011. Employing a robust estimator relative to conditional heteroskedasticity, the study can provide more reliable evidence on the stationarity of the real exchange rate. The results suggest no significant change in the persistence of the real exchange rate which is still nonstationary.

The World Health Organization estimates there are 300 and 500 million new cases of malaria worldwide, every year, mostly in Africa, Asia, South Pacific Islands and South America. New efforts to search for novel drugs for treating malaria remain important in countries like Brazil, where many endemic areas still exist. The Amazonia region is responsible for more than 97 % of the malaria cases in the country. Two Piper species were chemically investigated in order to identify new anti-plasmodial plant secondary metabolites. The crude extract and sub-fractions from leaves of Piper lucaeanum were previously assayed against a resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Hydrodistillation of the leaf essential oils (EO) from Piper lucaeanum and Piper claussenianum were analyzed by GC-MS. The main constituents found from P. lucaeanum leaf oil were α-pinene (30.0 %), α-zingiberene (30.4 %), β-sesquiphelandrene (11.1 %), β-bisabolene (8.9 %), while from P. claussenianum inflorescences oil nerolidol (23.7 %) a...

Aedes aegypti mosquito is the principal vector of the viruses responsible for urban yellow fever, dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever, as well as Zika and chikungunya in Brazil. The present study was aimed to investigate the insecticidal potential of the extract and fractions of Ottonia anisum, along with special metabolites isolated from it, as natural alternatives against larvae (L3) of Ae. aegypti, vector of potentially deadly tropical infections in Brazil.The plant species O. anisum was collected in March 2015, at Xerιm area, in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil. Crude extracts and the isolated pure compounds were screened for toxicity against Ae. aegypti larvae (L3). Bioassays were performed on 20 larvae (L3) of Ae. aegypti in triplicate. The samples were dissolved in a mixture of acetone and DMSO at final concentrations of 1-200 μg/ml. The toxicity of the solutions was evaluated towards the growth and development of Ae. aegypti larvae till emergence of adults.The crude hexane extract showed 100% larval mortality 24 h after treatment at a concentration of 200 μg/ml. The bioassays using 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene revealed 100% mortality among L3 larvae, 24 h afterthe treatment at a concentration of 30 μg/ml, the LC recorded was 1.6 μg/ml. At concentration of 10 μg/ml, the L3 larval mortality recorded was 92%.The metabolite 1-butyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzene showed potent toxicity against Ae. aegypti larvae. This arylbutanoid agent could be used as a natural alternative adjuvant pesticide, in new compositions that would be environmentally safer.

Candidiasis is a major opportunistic fungal infection in humans, and its incidence has increased steadily over the last two decades. Candida albicans, the main species of the genus, has a large arsenal of virulence attributes that contribute to successful infections, such as dimorphism and biofilm formation. The adverse effects of eukaryotic antimicrobial therapies associated with an increase in resistance to the compounds presently available have boosted efforts to improve the therapeutic arsenal against candidiasis with a newer and cheaper range of drugs. In this study, a novel nerolidol-rich essential oil (EO) derived from Piper claussenianum (Miq.) C. DC., Piperaceae, was tested on the growth, transition (yeast to hyphae), formation and stability of biofilms produced by C. albicans. Both inflorescence and leaf EOs were evaluated and revealed MIC values ranging from 0.04 to 0.1 % and 0.2 to 1.26 %, respectively. Furthermore, leaf EO managed to downregulate the yeast-to-hyphae transition by 81 %, as well as reducing biofilm formation by about 30 and 50 % after incubation for 24 and 48 h, respectively. The EO was also able to reduce the viability of pre-formed biofilm by 63.9 %. Finally, the association between the leaf EO and fluconazole was evaluated and revealed an interesting synergistic effect. Taken together, these results demonstrate that this novel compound could be a promising agent and could reinforce the arsenal of therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of candidiasis. Furthermore, it may represent a novel and natural source of nerolidol, which could be of interest pharmaceutically.

The corresponding author, Mohammad Hosein Farzaei, affiliation is Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. The correct spelling of the 7th author surname is Iranpanah.

In Brazil, many plant species are known as lemongrass due to the citric fragrance of their volatile compounds. Pectis brevipedunculata is a Brazilian ornamental aromatic grass with a ‘lemongrass odor’. To investigate this native Brazilian plant, fresh aerial parts were subjected to hydrodistillation (HD) and solid phase microextraction (SPME). The major compounds (>91.0%) separated by HD were the aldehydes neral and geranial. The chromatographic profile of volatile SPME fractions showed that monoterpenes were the major components, especially α-pinene and limonene. Countercurrent chromatography was used for the preparative isolation of citral (780 mg, >98.7% purity) and geraniol (8 mg, 86.0% purity). In addition, neral (7 mg, 87.5% purity) and geranial (12 mg, 91.0% purity) were purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). This work demonstrates that P. brevipedunculata is a potential source of citral and HSCCC is a useful tool for separating essential oil components with high purity and ...

O objetivo principal deste estudo é investigar assimetrias e não linearidades na inflação brasileira, descrevendo-a como um processo autorregressivo sujeito a mudanças de regime. A metodologia empregada baseia-se na aplicação de testes para três tipos de não linearidade. Foi estimado um modelo SETAR com dois regimes capaz de descrever o comportamento não linear e assimétrico de um processo autorregressivo. Todos os testes indicaram a não linearidade da inflação brasileira. Os resultados das estimações sugerem a ocorrência de pelo menos dois regimes distintos para a inflação com diferentes processos geradores. O regime de baixa inflação é o menos volátil e o mais persistente. A despeito dos períodos de alta inflação e alta volatilidade, conclui-se que o regime de baixa inflação com baixa volatilidade é uma característica predominante na economia brasileira. The objective of this research is to investigate asymmetries, nonlinearities and regime changes in the Brazilian inflation rate in a long time span. The process is modeled employing a threshold time series model in order to take into account these parameters. The study was divided in two distinct stages. On the first stage, the Brazilian dataset was tested for several types of nonlinearities applying general and specific tests, e.g., quadratic and threshold behavior. On the second one, the Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive (SETAR) model was applied to indicate the threshold to which a signal of turning point could be provided in the states of the inflationary process. All the tests suggest that the Brazilian inflation rate is highly nonlinear and cannot be modeled as a linear and time reversible process. The results support the hypothesis that there are two distinct regimes with different generating processes and different volatilities and persistence. For instance, a lower inflation rate regime is more persistent with lower volatility.

High Speed Countercurrent Chromatography (HSCCC) technique was used for the preparative isolation of the major leishmanicidal compounds from the essential oils of Piper claussenianum species in Brazil. The essential oils from inflorescences of P. claussenianum were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The enantiomeric ratio of the major constituents of the P. claussenianum essential oils were determined using a Rt-DEXsm chiral capillary column by GC-FID analysis. It was found an enantiomeric excess of (+)-(E)-nerolidol in the leaves, and (+)-linalool and (+)-(E)-nerolidol in the inflorescences essential oil. The major volatile terpenes alcohols were isolated in preparative scale from inflorescences: linalool (320.0 mg) and nerolidol (95.0 mg) in high purity level. The HSCCC, a support-free liquid–liquid partition chromatographic technique, proved to be an effective and useful method for fast isolation and purification of hydrophobic and similarly structured bioactive components from essential oils of Piper species.

Piperaceae species can be found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas and many of them have been used for centuries in traditional folk medicine and in culinary. In Brazil, species of Piperaceae are commonly used in some communities as local anesthetic and analgesic. Countrified communities have known some species of the genus Ottonia as "anestesia" and it is a common habit of chewing leaves and roots of Ottonia species to relief toothache. The purpose of this study is to report our findings on new molecules entities obtained from the roots of Ottonia anisum Spreng, in which local anesthetic activity (sensory blockage) is demonstrated for the first time in vivo guinea pig model. Phytochemical investigation led to the isolation of three amides (pipercallosidine, piperine and valeramide) and in an enriched mixture of seven amides (valeramide, 4,5-dihydropiperlonguminine, N-isobutil-6-piperonil-2-hexenamide, piperovatine, dihydropipercallosidine, pipercallosidine and pipercallpsine). Our findings demonstrated the anesthetic potential for the methanolic extract from roots, its n-hexane partition and amides from O. anisum and it is in agreement with ethnobotanical survey.

Stifftia chrysantha J.C. Mikan e uma planta pertencente a familia Asteraceae cujo principal uso pela populacao e o ornamental e atualmente se encontra sob risco moderado de extincao. E sabido que a planta foi utilizada no tratamento de afeccoes respiratorias por quilombolas. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar o potencial efeito antimicrobiano de diferentes extratos de S. chrysantha contra algumas especies de micobacterias e formas promastigotas de duas especies de Leishmania. Os testes foram realizados in vitro utilizando MTT ou Resazurina em metodos colorimetricos, de acordo com o microrganismo avaliado. Os resultados mostraram baixa atividade dos extratos contra as culturas de micobacterias. Por outro lado, um efeito inibidor do crescimento foi observado noextrato metanolico das folhas e no extrato hexânico da casca contra as culturas de promastigotas de L. amazonensis (CI50 = 55,16 mg/mL extrato metanolico and 38,61 mg/mL extrato hexânico) and L. chagasi (CI50 = 72,05 mg/mL extrato hexânico). Novos estudos sao necessarios para descobrir as substâncias responsaveis pela inibicao do crescimento das formas promastigotas.Evaluation of in vitro antileishmanial and antimycobacterial activities of Stifftia chrysantha J.C. Mikan extractsStifftia chrysantha J.C. Mikan is a plant that belongs to Asteraceae family, mainly used for ornamental purposes and it is moderately endangered to die out nowadays. It is known this plant has been used on the treatment of respiratory affections by quilombo communities (Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin). The aim of this study was to investigate the potential antimicrobial effect of different extracts from S. chrysantha against some species of mycobacterias and promastigote forms of two Leishmania sp. In vitro assays were performed using colorimetric methods with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide or Resazurin, according to the microorganism evaluated. The results showed low activity of extracts against mycobacterial cultures. On the other hand, a growth inhibitory effect was observed in the methanol extract from leaves and on the hexane extract from bark against promastigote culture of L. amazonensis (IC50 = 55.16 mg/mL methanol extract and 38.61mg/mL hexane extract) and L. chagasi (IC50 = 72.05 mg/mL hexane extract). New studies are necessary to discover the substances that were responsible for the growth inhibition of promastigote forms.

The essential oils from Piper species are chemically diverse, with several biological activities as well as commercial and pharmacological values reported. This work aims to compare the volatile constituents from leaves and inflorescences obtained by two different extraction techniques and show the seasonal variation of nerolidol in the essential oil from leaves of Piper claussenianum. The P. claussenianum volatile components were obtained by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and hydrodistillation, coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. Leaf and inflorescence volatile fractions were analyzed in fresh and dried conditions. In total, 40 compounds were identified, accounting for 88.8–97.7% of the constituents. The high percentage of nerolidol in the leaves and linalool in the inflorescences were remarkable in this species, accounting for up to 77.0% and up to 50.0%, respectively, collected monthly. Results of (E)-nerolidol seasonal variation study carried out...

A partir de uma base de dados municipal, com caráter exploratório, o principal objetivo do estudo foi investigar se houve diferenças significativas no crescimento econômico e no grau de desigualdade de renda entre os estados da região Nordeste do Brasil no período 2002-2006. A metodologia empregada baseou-se no teste Kruskal-Wallis e no teste U de Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney. Os resultados indicam a existência de diferenças estatisticamente significativas no crescimento e no grau de desigualdade entre os estados da região. Foi possível detectar uma hierarquia para o crescimento e a desigualdade entre os estados do Nordeste. No geral, os resultados encontrados indicam uma correlação linear inversa entre crescimento e desigualdade estatisticamente significativa nos municípios da Paraíba, Ceará e Alagoas. Há indícios de convergência de renda apenas nos estados da Paraíba e Pernambuco.

A proposta Bresser-Nakano deflagrou uma forte discussão sobre a política de juros no Brasil, suscitando uma série de críticas e contribuições para o seu aperfeiçoamento. Seu argumento central baseia-se na suposição de que o sentido da causalidade vai da taxa de juros para o prêmio de risco, e não o contrário. Com isso, a autoridade monetária, ao reduzi-la, promove um círculo virtuoso na economia, reduzindo o prêmio de risco e, através da taxa de câmbio, a própria inflação. Essa hipótese, no entanto, continua controversa e carece de estudos empíricos visando à sua verificação. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é investigar a sua validade para a economia brasileira nos últimos 10 anos de política monetária. Aplicando testes de causalidade de Granger, os resultados encontrados apóiam a hipótese Bresser-Nakano. The Bresser-Nakano's proposal raised a wide discussion on the monetary policy in Brazil and several critiques were brought about as well as contributions for its improvement. Their main argument is based upon a causality relation that runs from interest rate to risk premium with a positive correlation. In this case a cut in the interest rate shifts down the risk premium, and could even reduce the price inflation by the exchange rate. This assumption is linked to others issues in financial integration in an open economy context. The traditional view is that the interest rate is determined by the interest rate parity condition and that the monetary authority has no autonomy to set different rates from those determined by the "capital's flows". An alternative approach defends that is possible to peg with wide autonomy the domestic interest rate, even in this context. The results endorse Bresser-Nakano's proposal and suggest it could be feasible for Brazilian real situation.

One major concern regarding the recent financial crisis that hit the U.S. and several other OECD countries is that it may have worsened the pattern of unemployment persistence in those countries where the rate of unemployment has remained above pre–crisis levels. In this context, we use mean bias-corrected parameter estimator and bootstrap permutation test methods with a moving window to test for changes in the pattern of unemployment persistence in 29 OECD countries before and after the recent financial crisis using monthly aggregated and quarterly disaggregated data. We estimate the most likely date of change in the trend of unemployment and use this information to compute an unbiased scalar measure of persistence to test whether the recent financial crisis has produced any significant change in the pattern of unemployment persistence. We find evidence of an increased unemployment persistence in several countries which is correlated with the recent financial crisis.