Does Financial Inclusion Diminish Poverty and Inequality? A Panel Data Analysis for Latin American Countries.

Despite great developmental efforts in recent decades, Latin America still presents high levels of poverty and inequality when compared to developed nations. As explored widely in the literature, one potential instrument to diminish these issues is financial inclusion, including the access and usage of financial services by all people. Specifically, this paper verifies if financial inclusion and technology adoption decrease the poverty headcount ratio and the Gini index (i.e., inequality) of 13 Latin America countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay). To perform such analysis, an unbalanced panel dataset was built, and the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and the Limited Information Maximum Likelihood (LIML) techniques were employed. The results suggest that, in accordance with previous studies, financial inclusion is a powerful tool to tackle poverty and inequality. Additionally, the combined effects of financial inclusions and technology (i.e., mobile use) are also capable of decreasing the poverty and inequality levels. We discuss the policy implications of our findings and suggest a future research agenda.

The drivers of energy-related CO2 emissions in Brazil: a regional application of the STIRPAT model.

Since energy is one of the basic inputs for development, emerging economies should make an effort to investigate the environmental impacts of their fast economic growth. However, large emerging economies present significant regional heterogeneity that is usually uncounted for. This study uses the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model and regional data on the 27 Brazilian states to investigate the growth-CO2 nexus under distinct development stages. To perform this analysis, we divided the states into three groups according to their average annual GDP (i.e., richer, intermediate, and poorer regions). The results suggest that richer and poorer regions, particularly, present economic and demographic developments that are environmentally costly. Also, population and per capita GDP have the largest influences on CO2 emissions. The roles of the industrial sector and the ascending service sector are also subject to criticism. Moreover, Brazil arguably suffers from technological stagnation as its energy intensity is growing and boosting CO2 emissions. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and suggest a future research agenda.

COVID Health Structure Index: The Vulnerability of Brazilian Microregions.

Many developing countries have highly unequal health systems across their regions. The pandemic of COVID-19 brought an additional challenge, as hospital structures equipped with doctors, intensive care units and respirators are not available to a sufficient extent in all regions. Using Data Envelopment Analysis, we create a COVID Index to verify whether the hospital structures in 543 Brazilian microregions are adequate to deal with COVID-19 and to verify whether public policies were implemented in the right direction. The results indicate that hospital structures in the poorest microregions were the most vulnerable, although the peak of COVID-19 occurred in the richest microregions (Sao Paulo). The Southeast states could relocate hospital resources or even patients between their regions. The relocation was not possible in many states in the Northeast, as the health system poorly assisted the interior of these states. These findings reveal that the heterogeneity of microregions' hospital structures follows the patterns of socioeconomic inequalities. We conclude that it is easier for the wealthier regions to reallocate hospital resources internally than for the poorest regions. By using the COVID Index, policymakers and hospital managers have straightforward information to decide which regions must receive new investments and reallocate underutilized resources.

Global trends in nanomedicine research on triple negative breast cancer: a bibliometric analysis.

Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising tool in the clinic to combat several difficult-to-manage diseases, such as cancer, which is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Chemotherapeutic drugs present several limitations such as undesired side effects, low specificity, resistance, and high relapse rates. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is caused by cells that lack specific receptors in their membrane, such as estrogen (ER+) and progesterone (PR+) receptors, or by cells that do not express the amplification of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2+). This cancer type has poor prognosis, high relapse rates, and no targeted therapies. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the trends of nanotechnology research in TNBC and compare the contribution of research from different regions, institutions, and authors. A search of the studies published between 2012 and 2017, related to nanotechnology and TNBC, with different keyword combinations, was performed in the Scopus database. The keywords found in this search were grouped into four clusters, in which "breast cancer" was the most mentioned (1,133 times) and the word "MCF-7 cell line" is one of the latest hotspots that appeared in the year 2016. A total of 1,932 articles, which were cited 26,450 times, were identified. The USA accounted for 28.36% of the articles and 27.61% of the citations; however, none of its centers appeared in the list of 10 most productive ones in terms of publications. The journals Biomaterials and International Journal of Nanomedicine had the highest number of publications. The USA and China had the highest number of articles produced and cited; however, the highest average citation per article was from Singapore. The studies focused on the research of antineoplastic agents in animal models and cell culture, and these were the most used topics in research with nanotechnology and TNBC.

Factors associated with cognitive performance in elderly caregivers.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the socioeconomic, demographic and psychosocial factors associated with cognitive performance in elderly caregivers from Brazil. METHODS: We evaluated 351 Brazilian elderly caregivers attending primary healthcare services regarding sociodemographic and care variables. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) domains of orientation/attention, memory, verbal fluency, language and visuospatial were used as dependent variables in the Tobit model. RESULTS: Literacy and family income were positively associated with all ACE-R domains. Age, gender, time of care (days/week) were negatively associated with some cognitive domains. Moreover, receiving emotional help and the level of hope were positively associated with specific domains. DISCUSSION: The results may be useful for planning interventions aimed at elderly caregivers in order to prevent deficits in the different cognitive domains.

Factors associated with cognitive performance in elderly caregivers / Principais fatores associados aos domínios cognitivos em cuidadores idosos

Abstract Objectives: To explore the socioeconomic, demographic and psychosocial factors associated with cognitive performance in elderly caregivers from Brazil. Methods: We evaluated 351 Brazilian elderly caregivers attending primary healthcare services regarding sociodemographic and care variables. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) domains of orientation/attention, memory, verbal fluency, language and visuospatial were used as dependent variables in the Tobit model. Results: Literacy and family income were positively associated with all ACE-R domains. Age, gender, time of care (days/week) were negatively associated with some cognitive domains. Moreover, receiving emotional help and the level of hope were positively associated with specific domains. Discussion: The results may be useful for planning interventions aimed at elderly caregivers in order to prevent deficits in the different cognitive domains.

RESUMO Objetivos: explorar os fatores socioeconômicos, demográficos e psicossociais associados ao desempenho cognitivo em idosos cuidadores do Brasil. Métodos: Avaliamos 351 idosos cuidadores da atenção primária à saúde em relação a variáveis sociodemográficas e de contexto do cuidado. Os domínios da Escala Cognitiva de Addenbrooke Revisada (ACE-R) - orientação/atenção, memória, fluência verbal, linguagem e visuo-espacial - foram utilizados como variáveis dependentes no modelo de Tobit. Resultados: Alfabetização e renda familiar foram positivamente associados a todos os domínios ACE-R. A idade, o sexo, o tempo de atendimento (dias/semana) foram associados negativamente com alguns domínios cognitivos. Além disso, receber ajuda emocional e nível de esperança foram positivamente associados a domínios específicos. Discussão: os resultados podem ser úteis para o planejamento de intervenções voltadas para cuidadores idosos, a fim de prevenir déficits nos diferentes domínios cognitivos.