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Top-down control by large herbivores is a well-known driver of plant diversity structure and productivity. Yet, for forest ecosystems the sign and magnitude of herbivore control across resource gradients is not well understood. We conducted a series of replicated large herbivore exclusion experiments in defaunated and non-defaunated Atlantic forests of Brazil to evaluate the effects of large herbivores on tropical plant communities. We hypothesized that the top-down impact of large herbivores on seedling recruitment, species richness, diversity and productivity would change across a natural gradient in the density of a key plant resource, the palm Euterpe edulis, which is thought to act as a foundation species. We found both positive (agonistic) and negative (antagonistic) spatially-structured effects of large herbivores on plant communities driven by an interaction between large herbivores and palm density on non-defaunated sites, but not on defaunated sites. Indeed, through its interaction with large herbivores, palm trees were able to regulate the spatial structure of seedling communities. In the non-defaunated forest, the negative impact of large herbivores on plant recruitment and species richness decreased substantially as palms became more abundant and canopy cover decreased. Furthermore, large herbivores caused a 185% increase but a 194% decrease in aboveground seedling productivity in areas of high and low palm density, respectively. In contrast, in the defaunated forest we did not find any consistent large herbivore impacts on plant recruitment or species richness across the gradient of palm density, and herbivore activity consistently had negative effects on seedling productivity. Analyses using camera trap data indicate that white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu peccari) played a key role in modulating recruitment and seedling productivity, while tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) contributed significantly to an increase in plant diversity, hence playing a functionally complementary role. Our results demonstrate that a key interaction between large forest-dwelling tropical herbivores and their palm resource results in landscape-scale modulation of plant communities through positive and negative spatially-structured feedbacks, and support the view that palms might act as foundation species in tropical forests. Anthropogenic pressures posed by defaunation and illegal palm harvesting in the Neotropics might lead to the functional loss of this interaction and the collapse of the spatial structure along palm density gradients, with cascading effects on the dynamics and productivity of tropical forests.

ABSTRACT Background: Sporotrichosis, a cosmopolitan mycosis caused by dimorphic fungi of the Sporothrix complex, affects humans and animals. This study aimed to develop new molecular markers for Sporothrix genome detection in biological samples using PCR. Methods: A specific region of DNA sequences from the Sporothrix genus, publicly available in GenBank, was chosen for primer design. After testing the in silico specificity of these primers, in vitro specificity was evaluated using the PCR technique. Results: Three specific primers with 100% specificity for the Sporothrix genus were generated. Conclusions: PCR using the designed primers can be used to develop molecular diagnostics for sporotrichosis.

Abstract Cancer is associated with immunodeficiency, while allergies result from immune system hyperactivity mediated by cytokines and immunoglobulins. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between immune environment of specific cancers and allergies, emphasizing cytokines related to Th1 and Th2 responses associated with IgE. 80 adults were distributed into two groups: control (n = 20) and cancer (n = 60), distributed in three subgroups (n = 20), head and neck, stomach, and prostate cancers. This study compared Th1 (IL-2) and Th2 (IL-4) parameters, anti-inflammatory, pro-inflammatory, or regulatory profile regarding both IgE levels and reported allergies, by means of clinical manifestations and IgE, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-17, and TGF-β serum concentration. Clinically allergies were observed in 50% of the control group and in 20% of the cancer group (p = 0.009). IL-2 cytokine and TGF-β concentrations were higher in the patients with cancer as compared to the control (p

RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho é utilizar os modelos macro abertos intertemporais, e os testes econométricos de solvência derivados deles, para analisar a correlação original de poupança-investimento de Feldstein e Horioka. A restrição de solvência implica que a poupança e o investimento são cointegrados com um coeficiente de um e, portanto, que a conta corrente é estacionária. Como a regressão da seção transversal de Feldstein-Horioka mede o coeficiente médio de longo prazo, é possível argumentar que ela está capturando o coeficiente unitário implícito na restrição de solvência e não alguma medida de mobilidade de capital.

Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the interaction between genotypes and environment for seed-coat darkening of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seeds, in order to select lines that combine slow darkening, upright plants, resistance to lodging, and higher yield and 100-grain weight, with good adaptability and stability for these traits. Forty four pre-selected lines, originating from crosses between one cultivar with slow darkening and prostrate plants and four cultivars with normal darkening and upright plants, were evaluated in field trials conducted in 15 environments (combinations of locations, crop seasons, and years). Considering the mean values, adaptability, and stability for each isolated trait, most of the lines presented satisfactory performance: 75% for slow darkening, 48% for high yield, 59% for upright plants, 84% for resistance to lodging, and 68% for 100-grain weight. The effects of environments and of the genotype by environment interaction are important for the five studied traits. The CNFC 16754 and CNFC 16820 lines present slow seed-coat darkening, high yield and 100-grain weight, more upright plant architecture, and greater resistance to lodging, besides high adaptability and stability for these traits, which shows their potential for recommendation as new cultivars and confirms that it is possible to join desirable phenotypes for the five traits evaluated.

In this paper, we study the underrepresentation of women in economics in Brazil by analysing the evolution of their academic careers and their participation in two leading national economics conferences. To depict the path of women in the profession, we use novel data collected from annual surveys carried out by the Brazilian Women in Economics research group, data from the ANPEC exam, the unified admission exam for graduate programmes in economics and secondary data provided by the two main economics associations in Brazil. We find that it is more difficult for women to progress to tenure, and, therefore, there are “leaks in the academic career pipeline”. There are also persistent gender differences in the choice of research fields, as women mostly research on applied microeconomics.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of mayor’s characteristics (education, experience and gender) on fiscal indicators of Brazilian municipalities. We use regression discontinuity and the outcomes of close elections to identify causal effects for 2000, 2004 and 2008. We find evidence that experienced and educated mayors choose to devote a smaller fraction of the budget to current and personnel expenditures, and so they seem to be concerned with the quality of public finances. Moreover, educated mayors are better in negotiating discretionary transfers. Unfortunately, the results indicate that women and men elected in close races are different regarding education, and therefore we were not able to evaluate the effect of gender on fiscal indicators. JEL classifications: C31, H41, H83, Keywords: Mayors, Fiscal indicators, Education, Experience, Regression discontinuity design

This paper presents a case of disseminated paracoccidioidomycosis in a 62-year-old male patient, who lives in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. The patient was hospitalized with icteric syndrome of cholestatic pattern and weight loss, with loss 30 kg in 5 months. The imaging of the abdomen showed lesion of infiltrative pattern, affecting gallbladder and intrahepatic bile ducts, suggesting neoplasia of malignant behavior, besides to presenting the yellow nail syndrome. Dermatological examination presented erythematous-infiltrated plaques in the occipital region. Also, the patient presented tegumentary lesions on the scalp and lumbar region from which the histopathological examination was carried out, which evidenced yeasts cells. The drug of choice for therapy was Liposomal Amphotericin-B. At the end of the antifungal treatment, liver enzyme dosages were normalized and there was improvement of the general condition of the patient, as well as the skin lesions. Here, we demonstrate the importance of molecular biology to confirm the diagnosis. Especially in cases of difficult diagnosis.

The aim of this paper is to determine whether it is necessary to increase available resources to local governments or if better use of these funds is sufficient. The paper contributes to the literature by looking both at the supply and demand for public health services. If the demand is estimated correctly, one can compare its expected value to actual health expenditures. Even if actual expenditures are lower than the estimated demand, it is not certain that additional spending is necessary. If the efficiency scores (supply side) indicate that local governments can simply “save” resources to make up for the difference, then it is possible to reduce (or bring to zero) new resources only by requiring local governments to efficiently manage their expenditures. Since municipalities in Brazil are very heterogeneous, we estimate their efficiency using the metafrontier approach (O’Donnell et al., 2008), while we estimate the demand through an equation derived from the median voter theorem model. Using 2010 data, we find evidence that efficient management of spending is sufficient to meet excess demand for goods and services in the health sector.

This paper presents a case of disseminated sporotrichosis in a 13-year-old female, originating from a rural area in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The patient was hospitalized in Santa Casa hospital of Belo Horizonte, with hyporexia, prostration, fever and disseminated ulcerative lesions, besides anemia, leucopenia and sepsis of probable cutaneous focus. The patient was admitted without proven immunosuppression. She was diagnosed with cutaneous-disseminated sporotrichosis. The drug therapy chosen was itraconazole during 12 months, leading to important clinical improvement and healing of cutaneous lesions. Keywords: Sporotrichosis, Sporothrix brasiliensis, Diagnosis, Molecular markers, Nucleotide sequencing

O objetivo deste artigo é verificar se uma melhor comunicação por parte do Banco Central do Brasil torna a política monetária mais previsível. Conclui-se que as taxas de juros aumentam no dia da divulgação da ata, indicando que a comunicação do Banco Central tende a ter um viés conservador, enquanto a volatilidade dos juros diminui. Obtém-se evidência ainda de que a reação do mercado independe do conteúdo das atas, com comunicados que sinalizam redução das taxas levando a uma redução da volatilidade de mercado. Para tanto, foi construído um índice que tenta captar, a partir da leitura das atas do COPOM, se a sinalização é de aumento, estabilidade ou redução dos juros, em linha com o construído por Rosa & Verga (2007) para analisar a comunicação do Banco Central Europeu.The purpose of this paper is to verify if a better communication from the Brazilian Central Bank makes the monetary policy more predictable. We conclude that the interest rates increase during the releasing days, indicating that the Central Bank communication has a conservative bias, while interest rates volatility decreases. We still find evidence that market's reaction is independent from the content released, although signals of interest rates reduction imply a decrease in the volatility. In order to proceed with the analysis we built an index that try do capture, from the reading of COPOM minutes, if the signaling is a increase, decrease or maintenance of the interest rates, in line with the index built by Rosa & Verga (2007) to analyze the European Central Bank communication.

O objetivo deste artigo é quantificar a relação entre os investimentos público e privado durante o período 1991-2004. Os resultados obtidos confirmam, para o Brasil e seus Estados, a existência de uma forte relação de complementaridade entre os dois tipos de investimento, sendo que as estimativas variam entre (0,740) e (1,135). Somente no caso dos estados de Alagoas, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco e Sergipe as elasticidades são relativamente baixas, variando entre (0,447) e (0,668).The purpose of this paper is to quantify the relationship between public and private investment during the period 1991-2004. The results indicate the existence of strength complementarity's relationship between both type of investments, both for Brazil and its States, with the estimative ranging between (0,740) and (1,135). Only for the states of Alagoas, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Pernambuco and Sergipe the elasticity are relatively low, ranging from (0,447) to (0,668).

O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar o grau de eficiência produtiva do setor público hospitalar em 366 municípios do estado de São Paulo entre os anos de 1998 e 2003. Para tanto é utilizado o método de fronteira estocástica de produção. O modelo estimado com a forma flexível de Fourier usa o complemento da taxa de mortalidade hospitalar como produto e o gasto público com profissionais e o número de leitos por município como insumos. Os resultados sugerem que os municípios mais eficientes são aqueles que contratam mais leitos de hospitais privados, que realizam o maior número de internações (efeito de economia de escala), que possuem menor população (efeito congestionamento) e que apresentam menor tempo médio de internação.The purpose of this article is to assess the degree of productive efficiency of public sector hospitals in 366 municipalities of the state in São Paulo between the years 1998 and 2003. In2003. In order to do so we use the stochastic frontier of production approach. The model is estimated using the flexible form of Fourier and uses the complement of the rate of hospital mortality as output and public spending with professionals and the number of beds per municipality as inputs. The results suggest that the most efficient municipalities are those that hire more beds in private hospitals, the ones which perform the highest number of admissions (economies of scale effect), the ones with smaller population (congestion effect), and the ones which show lower average time of hospitalization.

The objective of this paper is to analyze theduration of fiscal consolidation of Brazilianstates in the period 1986-2001. For thispropose, we applied the duration modelsmethodology. We sought to establish the maincharacteristics that explain the probability that astate would remain in fiscal balance, once it hasachieved that position. The non-parametricresults suggest that the probability that fiscalconsolidation will be maintained fallsdramatically after the first year and even moreafter the second year. Parametric analysis showsthat there is a core of relevant variables, such asthe Number of Failures, the PersonnelCosts/Net Current Revenue ratio, the dummyvariable for the years before the BrazilianConstitution of 1988, the dummy variable forthe years after the refinance law 9496/97 andthe polarization in the preferences of the partiesthat compose the Legislative Assembly.

O objetivo deste artigo é determinar que componentes do gasto público influenciaram o crescimento econômico dos Estados brasileiros durante o período 1986-2003. Faz-se a decomposição dos gastos segundo sua categoria econômica (gastos correntes, excetuando-se os juros da dívida, e de capital) e também segundo sua categoria funcional (gastos com transporte e comunicação, educação, saúde e defesa). Os gastos de capital aparecem como produtivos, ou seja, estimulam o crescimento econômico, enquanto que os gastos correntes são produtivos até um limite de 61% da despesa orçamentária. Os gastos com transporte e comunicação, educação e defesa também contribuem para o crescimento dos Estados.The purpose of this paper is to determine which components of public expenditure explained the Brazilian states´economic growth during the period 1986-2003. Expenditures are decomposed according to their economic classification (current and capital expenditures), and also according to their functional classification (transportation and communication, education, defense and health). Capital expenditures seem to be productive, that is, they enhance economic growth, while current expenditures are productive only if they represent less than 61% of total expenditure. Expenditures on transportation and communication, education, and defense also contribute to economic growth.

Summary: Tuberculosis of the Larynx and pharynx only is rare. However, in the last few years, the number of tuberculosis cases in general have had a dramatic increase, thus increasing the possibility of isolated laryngo-pharyngeal lesions. Aim: To report a case of isolated laryngo-pharyngeal tuberculosis in a pregnant, immunocompetent host. Case Report: A 30-year-old pregnant female had complained of odynophagia for the last ten months. There were no other respiratory or systemic symptoms. An oro-pharyngeal granulomatous lesion was found, and the biopsy revealed acid-fast bacilli. There were no clinical or radiologic pulmonary findings. She was submitted successfully to an tuberculosis treatment protocol for nine months. Conclusions: The authors point out the epidemiological importance of tuberculosis and the need for a higher degree of suspicion when dealing with uncommon upper airway lesions to make an early diagnosis. Keywords: extrapulmonary, larynx, granulomatosis, pharynx tuberculosis

Jansen (1996) and Jansen and Schulze (1996), based on a sample of developed countries argue that an error correction model would be the correct specification to estimate saving-investment correlations. The purpose of this paper is to verify if the same claim can be made using a sample of developing countries. Regarding developing countries is an error correction model indeed superior, as suggested by Jansen and Jansen and Schulze? How serious is the potential bias from using regressions in levels and in first differences instead of an error correction model? Although the theory implies that there is a long-run relationship between saving and investment, this does not seem to be the case for the majority of the developing economies individually. Therefore, the equation in differences is not poorly specified. Based on this equation it seems to be an intermediate degree of capital mobility in developing countries according to the criterion of Feldstein and Horioka.Jansen (1996) e Jansen e Schulze (1996), baseados numa amostra de países desenvolvidos, argumentam que um modelo de correção de erros seria a especificação correta para estimar a correlação poupança-investimento. O objetivo deste artigo é verificar se o mesmo argumento pode ser feito usando-se uma amostra de países em desenvolvimento. Quando se trata de países em desenvolvimento, um modelo de correção de erros é, de fato, superior? Quão sério é o viés potencial das regressões em níveis e em primeiras diferenças relativamente ao modelo de correção de erros? Embora a teoria implique a existência de uma relação de longo prazo entre poupança e investimento, este não parece ser o caso para a maioria dos países em desenvolvimento. Então, a equação em diferenças não tem problema de especificação. Baseado nesta equação, encontra-se evidência de um grau intermediário de mobilidade de capitais em países em desenvolvimento, de acordo com o critério de Feldstein e Horioka.

The purpose of this paper is to examine effects of Brazilian "Plano Real" on credit during the initial years of implementation, and the profile of the borrower during this period. After the adoption of the Plano Real, there was an increase in the duration of contracts, from a maximum of 3 months in January 1995 to 36 months in August 1996. Personal characteristics of the borrower were less important than the characteristics of the credit. Thus the value and the number of installments were the main determinants of the probability of default just after the adoption of the Real.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some effects of Real Plan’s on credit as well as the profile of the borrower during this period. After the adoption of the Real Plan it was observed an increase in the duration of the contracts, from 3 months in January 1995 to 36 months in August 1996. The implicit nominal interest rates remained high though. It is still possible to conclude that personal characteristics are less important than characteristics of the credit itself. Therefore, the value and the number of the installments seemed to be the main determinants of the probability of default just after the adoption of the Real.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the duration of fiscal consolidation of Brazilian states in the period 1986-2001. For this propose, we applied the duration models methodology. We sought to establish the main characteristics that explain the probability that a state would remain in fiscal balance, once it hasachieved that position. The on-parametric results suggest that the probability that fiscal consolidation will be maintained falls dramatically after the first year and even more after the second year. Parametric analysis shows that there is a core of relevant variables, such as the Number of Failures, the PersonnelCosts/Net Current Revenue ratio, the dummy variable for the years before the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, the dummy variable for the years after the refinance law 9496/97 and the polarization in the preferences of the parties that compose the Legislative Assembly.

This paper aims to estimate a Fisher relation embedded with uncertainty for Brazil during the period Jan/75 - Sept/2000. So far the empirical literature for the Brazilian economy only considered a simple one-toone relation between expected inflation and nominal interest rates, which means that agents were risk neutral and any kind of uncertainty was simply "added" to the error term. In the model we consider agents incorporate this risk premium in the nominal rate through the covariance between the inflation rate and consumption growth. Our estimates show that the risk premium is high for hyperinflationary periods, which implies a weaker Fisher effect. Moreover agents have a high risk aversion coefficient in these periods compared to more stable ones.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the welfare costs of inflation for the Brazilian economy using a general equilibrium approach and to compare the results with the ones traditionally obtained, which are based on a partial equilibrium approach. The period studied is 1975I-1996IV. It is found a 2% of GDP welfare cost for an inflation rate of 10%. This result is higher than the one found by Pastore (1997) for the same inflation rate but using a partial equilibrium approach.

The purpose of this paper is to determine if the error correction model is superior to the other time series tests (cointegration between saving and investment and stationarity of the current account) which focused the long run relationship in evaluating the degree of capital mobility, as suggested by Jansen (1996). Besides it seeks to determine which kind of bias results from the estimates of the short run correlation, with variables in levels or first differences. Using Brazilian data for the period 1960-1996 as example all the tests point in the same direction, that is, capital mobility. The same result was previously found for the Brazilian economy using different methodologies. When the short run relationship is estimated, the regression in levels implies a high bias while the regression in differences implies no bias.

The purpose ofthis paper is to determine, using duration models, which characteristics of Economics graduate students affec ttheir probability of concluding their courses. The Kaplan-Meyer estimator pointed out the graduate institution, the undergraduate institution, the entry year, and the relative grade as statistically significant. The Cox model and the parametric model showed that besides the entry year, the relative grade is important for the duration of the Master program. There is, therefore, some indication that it would be important to increase the demand for performance and decrease the length of the courses. It is necessary to observe that this paper constitutes a first at tempt to address the question. Many of the graduate institutions do not have organized data on their students, and this way could not be included in the sample. We hope, however, that the results obtained here stimulate these institutions to gather information on their students and that the estimations could be done again in the fixture using a more representative sample. A better understanding of the subject would allow the different graduate institutions to change their policies, reducing the duration of their courses without loosing quality. The ultimate result would be a better allocation of the resources that are mainly public.

During the 90s, and in particular after the adoption of the Real Plan in 1994, a clear deterioration in the Brazilian current account has been observed. This fact attracted immediate attention to the question of whether or not the economy is obeying its external present value constraint, i.e., whether the current account deficit is on a sustainable path.The purpose of this paper is to investigate the "long run tendency" of the Brazilian current account. The procedure used is to estimate cointegrating regressions between exports and imports plus interest rate payments. Initial evidence from the regressions suggests that from 1947 to 1997 the long-run Brazilian current account was not zero. As we use a long span of data we also examine if there are any structural breaks in the cointegrating vectors in the face of regime changes. Since 1982 there has been an apparent structural shift in the relationship between trade flows. With the break, however, the results do not change. Conditions for intertemporal budget balance are still not satisfied.

The purpose ofthis paper is to show that, given its characteristics, the Brazilian federalism implies increasing debts at state level, undermining the central government ability to pursue macroeconomic stability. A simple model is developed to show that under certain conditions, decentralized policy making generates higher aggregate debt and inflation than under coordination at the federal government level. It is also shown that this aggregate debt is an increasing function of the degree of expected future monetization. In order to verify the solvency condition of state governments, a test that evaluates the generating process of the stock of states' debts is implemented. It was found that for the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul the time paths of the debts are unsustainable. Brazilian federalism does not enhance long run macroeconomic stability, and a major reform that promotes a wide and clear separation of monetary and fiscal policies is yet to come. Privatizing government financial institutions, limiting states' debts and deficits, and increasing the Central Bank s independence should altogether be considered important institutional changes to promote sound macroeconomic management in Brazil.

The purpose of this paper is to verify whether, if a monetary rule had been in effect, it would have resulted in smoother non-inflationary nominal GDPpaths over the period 1974.1-1992.111. Two types ofrules are considered. The first is an activist rule proposed by McCallum (1987, 1988), and the second is a non-activist rule proposed by Meltzer (1987). The results ofthe simulations indicate that neither ofthe two rules performed well during the period analyzed.