Estimating the costs for implementing a maternity leave cash transfer program for women employed in the informal sector in Brazil and Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Maternity leave policies are designed to protect gender equality and the health of mothers in the workforce and their children. However, maternity leave schemes are often linked to jobs in the formal sector economy. In low- and middle-income countries a large share of women work in the informal sector, and are not eligible to such benefit. This is worrisome from a social justice and a policy perspective and suggests the need for intervening. Costing the implementation of potential interventions is needed for facilitating informed decisions by policy makers. METHODS: We developed and applied a costing methodology to assess the cost of a maternity leave cash transfer to be operated in the informal sector of the economy in Brazil and Ghana, two countries with very different employment structures and socioeconomic contexts. We conducted sensitivity analysis by modeling different numbers of weeks covered. RESULTS: In Brazil, the cost of the maternity cash transfer would be between 0.004% and 0.02% of the GDP, while in Ghana it would range between 0.076% and 0.28% of the GDP. The relative cost of rolling out a maternity intervention in Brazil is between 2.2 to 3.2 times the cost in Ghana depending on the benchmark used to assess the welfare measure. The differences in costs between countries was related to differences in labor market structure as well as demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show how a standard methodology that relies on routinely available information is feasible and could assist policymakers in estimating the costs of supporting a maternity cash transfer for women employed in the informal sector, such intervention is expected to contribute to social justice, gender equity, and health trajectories.

Spatial relationships between fishes and amphibians: implications for conservation planning in a Neotropical Hotspot.

Species distribution patterns are widely used to guide conservation planning and are a central issue in ecology. The usefulness of spatial correlation analysis has been highlighted in several ecological applications so far. However, spatial assumptions in ecology are highly scale-dependent, in which geographical relationships between species diversity and distributions can have different conservation concerns. Here, an integrative landscape planning was designed to show the spatial distribution patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity of amphibians and fishes, from multiple species traits regarding morphology, life history, and behavior. We used spatial, morphological, and ecological data of amphibians and fishes to calculate the functional diversity and the spatial correlation of species. Mapping results show that the higher taxonomic and functional diversity of fishes is concentrated in the West Atlantic Forest. Considering amphibians, are located in the East portion of the biome. The spatial correlation of species indicates the regions of the Serra do Mar and the extreme southern part of the Central Corridor as the main overlapped species distribution areas between both groups. New key conservation sites were reported within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot, revealing cross-taxon mismatches between terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. This study offers useful spatial information integrating suitable habitats of fishes and amphibians to complement existing and future research based on terrestrial and freshwater conservation. New priorities for biodiversity conservation in rich-species regions highlight the importance of spatial pattern analysis to support land-use planning in a macroecological context.

Hoxd10 Is Required Systemically for Secretory Activation in Lactation and Interacts Genetically with Hoxd9.

Targeted disruption of the murine Hoxd10 gene (ΔHoxd10) leads to a high frequency of localized (gland-to-gland or regionally within a gland) lactation impairment in homozygous mutant mice as a single gene mutation. The effect of Hoxd10 disruption was enhanced by simultaneous disruption of Hoxd9 (ΔHoxd9/d10), a mutation shown previously to have no effect on mammary function as a single gene alteration. Mammary glands of homozygous ΔHoxd10 and ΔHoxd9/d10 females were indistinguishable from those of wild type littermate and age-matched control mice in late pregnancy. However, in lactation, 47% of homozygous ΔHoxd10 females, and 100% of homozygous ΔHoxd9/d10 females, showed localized or complete failure of two or more glands to undergo lactation-associated morphological changes and to secrete milk. Affected regions of ΔHoxd10 and ΔHoxd9/d10 mutants showed reduced prolactin receptor expression, reduced signal transducer and activator transcription protein 5 (STAT5) phosphorylation, reduced expression of downstream milk proteins, mislocalized glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), increased STAT3 expression and phosphorylation, recruitment of leukocytes, altered cell cycle status, and increased apoptosis relative to unaffected regions and wild type control glands. Despite these local effects on alveolar function, transplantation results and hormone analysis indicate that Hoxd10 primarily has systemic functions that confer attenuated STAT5 phosphorylation on both wild type and ΔHoxd10 transplants when placed in ΔHoxd10 hosts, thereby exacerbating an underlying propensity for lactation failure in C57Bl/6 mice.

Dynamic Reconfiguration of Cluster-Tree Wireless Sensor Networks to Handle Communication Overloads in Disaster-Related Situations.

The development of flexible and efficient communication mechanisms is of paramount importance within the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. IoT has been used for industrial, commercial, and residential applications, and the IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee standard is one of the most suitable protocols for this purpose. This protocol is now frequently used to implement large-scale Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In industrial settings, it is becoming increasingly common to deploy cluster-tree WSNs, a complex IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee-based peer-to-peer network topology, to monitor and control critical processes such as those related to oil or gas, mining, or certain specific chemicals. The remote monitoring of critical events for hazards or disaster detection in large areas is a challenging issue, since the occurrence of events in the monitored environment may severely stress the regular operation of the network. This paper proposes the Dynamic REconfiguration mechanism of cluster-Tree WSNs (DyRET), which is able to dynamically reconfigure large-scale IEEE 802.15.4 cluster-tree WSNs, and to assign communication resources to the overloaded branches of the tree based on the accumulated network load generated by each of the sensor nodes. A complete simulation assessment demonstrates the proposed mechanism's efficiency, and the results show that it can guarantee the required quality of service level for the dynamic reconfiguration of cluster-tree networks.

A New Association Scheme for Handling Node Mobility in Cluster-Tree Wireless Sensor Networks.

Node mobility in multi-hop communication environments is an important feature of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN)-based monitoring systems. It allows nodes to have freedom of movement, without being restricted to a single-hop communication range. In IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs, nodes are only able to transfer data messages after completing a connection with a coordinator through an association mechanism. Within this context, a handover procedure needs to be executed by a mobile node whenever there is a disconnection from a coordinator and the establishment of a connection to another one. Many applications, such as those found in health monitoring systems, strongly need support for node mobility without loss of data during the handover. However, it has been observed that the time required to execute the handover procedure is one of the main reasons why IEEE 802.15.4 cannot fully support mobility. This paper proposes an improvement to this procedure using a set of combined strategies, such as anticipation of both the handover mechanism and the scan phase enhancement. Simulations show that it is possible to reduce latency during the association and re-association processes, making it feasible to develop WSN-based distributed monitoring systems with mobile nodes and stringent time constraints.

Searching for Networks: Ecological Connectivity for Amphibians Under Climate Change.

Ecological connectivity depends on key elements within the landscape, which can support ecological fluxes, species richness and long-term viability of a biological community. Landscape planning requires clear aims and quantitative approaches to identify which key elements can reinforce the spatial coherence of protected areas design. We aim to explore the probability of the ecological connectivity of forest remnants and amphibian species distributions for current and future climate scenarios across the Central Corridor of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Integrating amphibian conservation, climate change and ecological corridors, we design a landscape ranking based on graph and circuit theories. To identify the sensitivity of connected areas to climate-dependent changes, we use the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate by means of simulations for 2080-2100, representing a moderated emission scenario within an optimistic context. Our findings indicate that more than 70% of forest connectivity loss by climate change may drastically reduce amphibian dispersal in this region. We show that high amphibian turnover rates tend to be greater in the north-eastern edges of the corridor across ensembles of forecasts. Our spatial analysis reveals a general pattern of low-conductance areas in landscape surface, yet with some well-connected patches suggesting potential ecological corridors. Atlantic Forest reserves are expected to be less effective in a near future. For improved conservation outcomes, we recommend some landscape paths with low resistance values across space and time. We highlight the importance of maintaining forest remnants in the southern Bahia region by drafting a blueprint for functional biodiversity corridors.

Influence of microhabitat on the richness of anuran species: a case study of different landscapes in the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil.

Environmental heterogeneity is a factor which can help explain the higher local species richness. The objective of this study was to test if richness and composition of anurans species are related to available microhabitats and landscape type of sampled sites. We assume that a higher number of microhabitats increase environmental heterogeneity and this, in turn, affects species richness of amphibians. We performed the study in the Mesophytic Semideciduous Forest, a vegetation type within Atlantic Forest Domain. Between October 2010 and February 2011, we sampled 23 water bodies located in the agricultural, forest, and urban landscapes. The species richness was determined using survey at breeding sites methodology, and the availability of microhabitats was estimated visually. Thirty-four anuran species belonging to 12 families were recorded. The species richness in water bodies ranged from two to 13 species. The highest species richness was recorded in environments with a higher number of microhabitats, while the species composition in water bodies was partially grouped according to the predominant landscape type that is agricultural, forest, forest edge or urban. Our results suggest that species use specific environments (e.g. landscapes, habitat and microhabitat) for their reproductive activities.

An Optimized Relay Selection Technique to Improve the Communication Reliability in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are enabler technologies for the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept. WSNs provide an adequate infrastructure for the last-link communication with smart objects. Nevertheless, the wireless communication medium being inherently unreliable, there is the need to increase its communication reliability. Techniques based on the use of cooperative communication concepts are one of the ways to achieve this target. Within cooperative communication techniques, nodes selected as relays transmit not only their own data, but also cooperate by retransmitting data from other nodes. A fundamental step to improve the communication reliability of WSNs is related to the use of efficient relay selection techniques. This paper proposes a relay selection technique based on multiple criteria to select the smallest number of relay nodes and, at the same time, to ensure an adequate operation of the network. Additionally, two relay updating schemes are also investigated, defining periodic and adaptive updating policies. The simulation results show that both proposed schemes, named Periodic Relay Selection and Adaptive Relay Selection, significantly improve the communication reliability of the network, when compared to other state-of-the-art relay selection schemes.

A Temperature-Dependent Battery Model for Wireless Sensor Networks.

Energy consumption is a major issue in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), as nodes are powered by chemical batteries with an upper bounded lifetime. Estimating the lifetime of batteries is a difficult task, as it depends on several factors, such as operating temperatures and discharge rates. Analytical battery models can be used for estimating both the battery lifetime and the voltage behavior over time. Still, available models usually do not consider the impact of operating temperatures on the battery behavior. The target of this work is to extend the widely-used Kinetic Battery Model (KiBaM) to include the effect of temperature on the battery behavior. The proposed Temperature-Dependent KiBaM (T-KiBaM) is able to handle operating temperatures, providing better estimates for the battery lifetime and voltage behavior. The performed experimental validation shows that T-KiBaM achieves an average accuracy error smaller than 0.33%, when estimating the lifetime of Ni-MH batteries for different temperature conditions. In addition, T-KiBaM significantly improves the original KiBaM voltage model. The proposed model can be easily adapted to handle other battery technologies, enabling the consideration of different WSN deployments.

Alternative Path Communication in Wide-Scale Cluster-Tree Wireless Sensor Networks Using Inactive Periods.

The IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee cluster-tree topology is a suitable technology to deploy wide-scale Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). These networks are usually designed to support convergecast traffic, where all communication paths go through the PAN (Personal Area Network) coordinator. Nevertheless, peer-to-peer communication relationships may be also required for different types of WSN applications. That is the typical case of sensor and actuator networks, where local control loops must be closed using a reduced number of communication hops. The use of communication schemes optimised just for the support of convergecast traffic may result in higher network congestion and in a potentially higher number of communication hops. Within this context, this paper proposes an Alternative-Route Definition (ARounD) communication scheme for WSNs. The underlying idea of ARounD is to setup alternative communication paths between specific source and destination nodes, avoiding congested cluster-tree paths. These alternative paths consider shorter inter-cluster paths, using a set of intermediate nodes to relay messages during their inactive periods in the cluster-tree network. Simulation results show that the ARounD communication scheme can significantly decrease the end-to-end communication delay, when compared to the use of standard cluster-tree communication schemes. Moreover, the ARounD communication scheme is able to reduce the network congestion around the PAN coordinator, enabling the reduction of the number of message drops due to queue overflows in the cluster-tree network.

Superframe Duration Allocation Schemes to Improve the Throughput of Cluster-Tree Wireless Sensor Networks.

The use ofWireless Sensor Network (WSN) technologies is an attractive option to support wide-scale monitoring applications, such as the ones that can be found in precision agriculture, environmental monitoring and industrial automation. The IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee cluster-tree topology is a suitable topology to build wide-scale WSNs. Despite some of its known advantages, including timing synchronisation and duty-cycle operation, cluster-tree networks may suffer from severe network congestion problems due to the convergecast pattern of its communication traffic. Therefore, the careful adjustment of transmission opportunities (superframe durations) allocated to the cluster-heads is an important research issue. This paper proposes a set of proportional Superframe Duration Allocation (SDA) schemes, based on well-defined protocol and timing models, and on the message load imposed by child nodes (Load-SDA scheme), or by number of descendant nodes (Nodes-SDA scheme) of each cluster-head. The underlying reasoning is to adequately allocate transmission opportunities (superframe durations) and parametrize buffer sizes, in order to improve the network throughput and avoid typical problems, such as: network congestion, high end-to-end communication delays and discarded messages due to buffer overflows. Simulation assessments show how proposed allocation schemes may clearly improve the operation of wide-scale cluster-tree networks.

NetCoDer: A Retransmission Mechanism for WSNs Based on Cooperative Relays and Network Coding.

Some of the most difficult problems to deal with when using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are related to the unreliable nature of communication channels. In this context, the use of cooperative diversity techniques and the application of network coding concepts may be promising solutions to improve the communication reliability. In this paper, we propose the NetCoDer scheme to address this problem. Its design is based on merging cooperative diversity techniques and network coding concepts. We evaluate the effectiveness of the NetCoDer scheme through both an experimental setup with real WSN nodes and a simulation assessment, comparing NetCoDer performance against state-of-the-art TDMA-based (Time Division Multiple Access) retransmission techniques: BlockACK, Master/Slave and Redundant TDMA. The obtained results highlight that the proposed NetCoDer scheme clearly improves the network performance when compared with other retransmission techniques.

The class I HDAC inhibitor Romidepsin targets inflammatory breast cancer tumor emboli and synergizes with paclitaxel to inhibit metastasis.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most metastatic variant of locally advanced breast cancer. IBC has distinctive characteristics including invasion of tumor emboli into the skin and rapid disease progression. Given our previous studies suggesting that HDAC inhibitors have promise in targeting IBC, the present study revealed that the class I HDAC inhibitor Romidepsin (FK-288, Istodax; Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ) potently induced destruction of IBC tumor emboli and lymphatic vascular architecture. associated with inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha, (HIF1alpha) proteins in the Mary-X pre-clinical model of IBC. Romidepsin treatment induced clinically relevant biomarkers in including induction of acetylated Histone 3 (Ac-H3) proteins, apoptosis, and increased p21WAF1/CIP1. Romidepsin, alone and synergistically when combined with Paclitaxel, effectively eliminated both primary tumors and metastatic lesions at multiple sites formed by the SUM149 IBC cell line. This is the first report of the ability of an HDAC inhibitor to eradicate IBC tumor emboli, to destroy the integrity of lymphatic vessel architecture and to target metastasis. Furthermore, Romidepsin, in combination with a taxane, warrants evaluation as a therapeutic strategy that may effectively target the skin involvement and rapid metastasis that are hallmarks of IBC.

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity.

Crocodilians are a taxonomic group of large predators with important ecological and evolutionary benefits for ecosystem functioning in the face of global change. Anthropogenic actions affect negatively crocodilians' survival and more than half of the species are threatened with extinction worldwide. Here, we map and explore three dimensions of crocodilian diversity on a global scale. To highlight the ecological importance of crocodilians, we correlate the spatial distribution of species with the ecosystem services of nutrient retention in the world. We calculate the effectiveness of global protected networks in safeguarding crocodilian species and provide three prioritization models for conservation planning. Our results show the main hotspots of ecological and evolutionary values are in southern North, Central and South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, and southeastern Asia. African species have the highest correlation to nutrient retention patterns. Twenty-five percent of the world's crocodilian species are not significantly represented in the existing protected area networks. The most alarming cases are reported in northeastern India, eastern China, and west-central Africa, which include threatened species with low or non-significant representation in the protected area networks. Our highest conservation prioritization model targets southern North America, east-central Central America, northern South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, eastern China, southern Laos, Cambodia, and some points in southeastern Asia. Our research provides a global prioritization scheme to protect multiple dimensions of crocodilian diversity for achieving effective conservation outcomes.

[Share of health care activities in the Brazilian economy: information on Health Accounts from 2000 to 2007]. / Participação das atividades de saúde na economia brasileira: informações da Conta de Saúde de 2000 a 2007.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the share of health care activities in the Brazilian economy between 2000 and 2007 in terms of economic value added and creation of jobs. METHODS: Secondary data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for the years 2000 to 2007 were employed. The following health care activities were analyzed: public health, production of private health services and private social services, health insurance, the pharmaceutical industry, medical equipment manufacturing, and medical and pharmaceutical product sales. The share of each activity in the total economy and in the health care sector was calculated, as well as the percentage share of value-added components from the perspective of income for health care activities and the real growth in value added by health care activity. To complement the analysis, the average income of workers and the number of jobs per activity were established. RESULTS: The participation of the health care sector in the economy ranged from 5.2% to 5.8%. The share of public health increased from 1.7% to 2.0%, and that of private healthcare services fell from 2.4% to 2.2%. The average annual growth of 3.5% for the sector was close to the 3.4% annual growth recorded for the economy. The share of medical and pharmaceutical product commerce in the sector increased from 9.1% to 13.2%. The activities with the highest accumulated growth were: manufacture of medical/hospital devices (42.7%), public health (39.4%), and health insurance (35.8%). Health care represented 4.1% of jobs in the economy in 2000 vs. 4.4% in 2007, with 1 million new jobs. Income from labor represented 6.7% of the total economy in 2000 and 7.5% in 2007. CONCLUSIONS: The health care sector has an important stake in the Brazilian economy, although this share is still lower than that observed in high-income countries. The rising share of public services in the sector's added value, the relative growth of medical and pharmaceutical product sales margins, and a real growth below the average for the pharmaceutical industry should be monitored.

Public policy coverage and access to medicines in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: Describe consumption patterns for monetary and non-monetary acquisition of medicines according to age and income groups, highlighting pharmaceuticals associated with health programs with specific access guarantees. METHODS: Descriptive observational study using microdata from the 2017-2018 Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (Household Budget Survey, POF/IBGE). We initially reviewed programs/policies with specific guarantees of access to medicines in the SUS. Using the pharmaceutical product list of POF-4 (chart 29 of the questionnaire on individual expenditures), we selected the medicines related to these programs. We then described frequencies and percentages for not reporting medicine consumption and for reporting consumption (either through monetary or non-monetary acquisition) according to age and income groups. For medicines with distinctive access guarantees, we compared average monthly values of acquisitions and consumption patterns by age and income. RESULTS: 63% of those in the ≤ 2 minimum wage (MW) household income group did not report consuming medicines in the last month. Among those earning > 25 MW, 44.3% did not report consumption. Non-monetary acquisitions of medicines were mainly reported for the < 10 MW group and for the elderly and accounted for 20.5% of the total consumption of medicines (in value). For policies with specific access guarantees, non-monetary acquisitions reached 33.6% of total consumption. This percentage varied for the various selected medicines: vaccines, 83.3%; cancer drugs, 70.3%; diabetes, 47.9%; hypertension, 35.9%; asthma and bronchitis, 29.2%; eye problems, 14%; prostate and urinary tract, 10.7%; gynecological, 11.6%; and contraceptives, 9.7%. CONCLUSION: Shares for non-monetary acquisitions of medicines are still low but benefit mainly lower-income and older age groups. Policies and programs with specific access guarantees to medicines have increased access. Results suggest the need to strengthen and expand pharmaceutical care policies.

[Family expenditures on healthcare plans in Brazil and household budget commitment: an analysis of the Brazilian Household Budgets Survey (2017/2018)]. / Gastos das famílias com planos de saúde no Brasil e comprometimento da renda domiciliar: uma análise da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (2017/2018).

According to studies using previous editions of the Household Budgets Survey (POF) in Brazil, paying for a healthcare plan increases the percentage of income spent on health and fails to reduce the probability of incurring excessive health expenditures. The study's objective was to describe relations between expenditures on healthcare plans, income, and age groups, highlighting the effect of having a plan on the probability of committing more than 40% of income on health-related expenditures. An analysis of the POF 2017/2018 determined the commitment of per capita household income for payers of plans by age group and type of plan and logistic regression for factors associated with committing more than 40% of income to health-related expenditures. In 12 months, 22.1 million Brazilians spent BRL 78.1 billion on private medical insurance. The share of income spent on individual plans increases consistently with age, from 4.5% of per capita household income (at < 19 years) to 10.6% of this income (at 79 years or older). The probability of committing more than 40% of income to health expenditures decreases with income, increases with age, and is higher for those paying for health plans. Spending on healthcare plans alone exceeds 40% of per capita household income for 5.6% of Brazilians 60 years or older who pay for individual plans and for 4% of those who pay for company plans. Persons in the oldest age groups and in the lowest income brackets show the highest likelihood of spending more than 40% of their income on healthcare. A revision of the plans' adjustment by age is an alternative for attempting to mitigate this problem.

Estudos com edições anteriores da Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF) indicam que, no Brasil, pagar um plano de saúde aumenta o percentual da renda gasto com saúde e não reduz a probabilidade de ter gastos excessivos com saúde. Descrevem-se relações entre gastos com planos de saúde, renda e faixas etárias, destacando o efeito de ter plano sobre a probabilidade de comprometer mais de 40% da renda com despesas relacionadas à saúde. Análise de microdados da POF 2017/2018 para determinar o comprometimento da renda domiciliar per capita dos pagantes de planos por faixa etária e por tipo de plano, e regressão logística para fatores associados a comprometer mais de 40% da renda com despesas de saúde. Em 12 meses, R$ 78,1 bilhões foram gastos com planos médicos por 22,1 milhões de pessoas. O comprometimento da renda com planos individuais aumenta consistentemente com a idade, passando de 4,5% da renda domiciliar per capita (< 19 anos) para 10,6% dessa renda (79 anos ou mais). A probabilidade de comprometer mais de 40% da renda com despesas de saúde diminui com a renda, cresce com a idade e é maior para quem paga plano de saúde. A despesa apenas com os planos supera 40% da renda domiciliar per capita para 5,6% das pessoas com 60 anos ou mais que pagam planos individuais e para 4% das que pagam planos empresariais. As pessoas nas faixas de idade mais altas e faixas de renda mais baixas são as com maior probabilidade de comprometer mais de 40% da renda com despesas de saúde. Rever as regras de reajuste por idade dos planos é uma alternativa para tentar mitigar esse problema.

Estudios con ediciones anteriores de la Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares (POF) indican que, en Brasil, pagar un plan de salud aumenta el porcentaje de la renta gastado con salud y no reduce la probabilidad de tener gastos excesivos con la salud. El objetivo fue describir las relaciones entre gastos con planes de salud, renta y franjas de edad, destacando el efecto de tener un plan sobre la probabilidad de comprometer más de un 40% de la renta con gastos relacionados con la salud. Se realizó un análisis de microdatos de la POF 2017/2018 para determinar el comprometimiento de la renta domiciliaria per cápita de los pagadores de planes por franja etaria y por tipo de plan, así como una regresión logística para factores asociados con comprometer más de un 40% de la renta con gastos de salud. En 12 meses, BRL 78,1 mil millones se gastaron con planes médicos por 22,1 millones de personas. El comprometimiento de la renta con planes individuales aumenta consistentemente con la edad, pasando de 4,5% de la renta domiciliaria per cápita (< 19 años) al 10,6% de esa renta (79 años o más). La probabilidad de comprometer más de un 40% de la renta con gastos de salud disminuye con la renta, crece con la edad y es mayor para quien paga un plan de salud. El gasto solo con los planes supera un 40% de la renta domiciliaria per cápita para un 5,6% de las personas con 60 años o más que pagan planes individuales y para un 4% de los que pagan planes empresariales. Las personas en las franjas de edad más altas y franjas de renta más bajas son las que tienen mayor probabilidad de comprometer más de un 40% de la renta con gastos de salud. Revisar las reglas de reajuste por edad de los planes es una alternativa para intentar mitigar ese problema.

Functional traits explain amphibian distribution in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

AIM: Species distributions are one of the most important ways to understand how communities interact through macroecological relationships. The functional abilities of a species, such as its plasticity in various environments, can determine its distribution, species richness and beta diversity patterns. In this study, we evaluate how functional traits influence the distribution of amphibians, and hypothesize which functional traits explain the current pattern of amphibian species composition. LOCATION: Atlantic Forest, Brazil. TAXON: Amphibia (Anura and Gymnophiona). METHODS: Using potential distributions of Brazilian amphibians from Atlantic Forest based on their functional traits, we analysed the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on species richness, endemism (with permutation multivariate analysis) and beta diversity components (i.e. total, turnover and nestedness dissimilarities). RESULTS: Environmental variables explained 59.5% of species richness, whereas functional traits explained 15.8% of species distribution (geographical species range) for Anuran and 88.8% for Gymnophiona. Body size had the strongest correlation with species distribution. Results showed that species with medium to large body size, and species that are adapted to living in open areas tended to disperse from west to east direction. Current forest changes directly affected beta diversity patterns (i.e. most species adapted to novel environments increase their ranges). Beta diversity partitioning between humid and dry forests showed decreased nestedness and increased turnover by increasing altitude in the south-eastern region of the Atlantic Forest. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that functional traits directly influence the ability of the species to disperse. With the alterations of the natural environment, species more apt to these alterations have dispersed or increased their distribution, which consequently changes community structure. As a result, there are nested species distribution patterns and homogenization of amphibian species composition throughout the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Cyclopamine inhibition of human breast cancer cell growth independent of Smoothened (Smo).

Altered hedgehog signaling is implicated in the development of approximately 20-25% of all cancers, especially those of soft tissues. Genetic evidence in mice as well as immunolocalization studies in human breast cancer specimens suggest that deregulated hedgehog signaling may contribute to breast cancer development. Indeed, two recent studies demonstrated that anchorage-dependent growth of some human breast cancer cell lines is impaired by cyclopamine, a potent hedgehog signaling antagonist targeting the Smoothened (SMO) protein. However, specificity of cyclopamine at the dosage required for growth inhibition (> or =10 microM) remained an open question. In this paper we demonstrate that hedgehog signaling antagonists, including cyclopamine, and a second compound, CUR0199691, can inhibit growth of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and ER-negative tumorigenic breast cancer cells at elevated doses. However, our results indicate that, for most breast cancer cell lines, growth inhibition by these compounds can be independent of detectable Smo gene expression. Rather, our results suggest that cyclopamine and CUR0199691 have unique secondary molecular targets at the dosages required for growth inhibition that are unrelated to hedgehog signaling.

Photoactivated resveratrol against Staphylococcus aureus infection in mice.

BACKGROUND: Among the pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus is the main causative agent of bacterial diseases in the world. In this context, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) appears as a promising tool by means of microbial inactivation with the use of light. aPDT is applied in treatments involving photosensitizers capable of generating oxygen free radicals. Thus, this work proposes the use of resveratrol as a photosensitizer. METHODS: In vitro tests were performed to determine the antibacterial activity of photoactivated resveratrol with blue LED light, as well as uric acid experiments for verification of singlet oxygen formation. Possible resveratrol structural changes were evaluated by HPLC. In the in vivo assays, the air pouch model was performed in mice for antimicrobial activity and cytokine production. RESULTS: The photoactivated resveratrol exhibited an increase in its antibacterial action and it is possibly brought about by the singlet oxygen formation. In the air pouch model, TNF-α and IL-17A cytokines were produced, diminishing the bacterial load, and consequently, reducing inflammation after 24 h of infection. Cellular number decrease in the inflammatory environment was associated with resolution of inflammation along with greater IL-10 production. CONCLUSION: It is the first time that resveratrol has been associated with aPDT. It was demonstrated in this work that resveratrol activated by blue LED light can be a promising photosensitizer. This compound, after the light stimulus, produces singlet oxygen, in addition to having effects on the immune system triggering TNF-α and IL-17A production, aiding in the clearance of several bacteria, including S. aureus.