The recent scientific literature on plant-derived agents with potential or effective use in the control of the arthropod vectors of human tropical diseases is reviewed. Arthropod-borne tropical diseases include: amebiasis, Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), cholera, cryptosporidiosis, dengue (hemorrhagic fever), epidemic typhus (Brill-Zinsser disease), filariasis (elephantiasis), giardia (giardiasis), human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), isosporiasis, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease (lyme borreliosis), malaria, onchocerciasis, plague, recurrent fever, sarcocystosis, scabies (mites as causal agents), spotted fever, toxoplasmosis, West Nile fever, and yellow fever. Thus, coverage was given to work describing plant-derived extracts, essential oils (EOs), and isolated chemicals with toxic or noxious effects on filth bugs (mechanical vectors), such as common houseflies (Musca domestica Linnaeus), American and German cockroaches (Periplaneta americana Linnaeus, Blatella germanica Linnaeus), and oriental latrine/blowflies (Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius) as well as biting, blood-sucking arthropods such as blackflies (Simulium Latreille spp.), fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis Rothschild), kissing bugs (Rhodnius Stål spp., Triatoma infestans Klug), body and head lice (Pediculus humanus humanus Linnaeus, P. humanus capitis De Geer), mosquitoes (Aedes Meigen, Anopheles Meigen, Culex L., and Ochlerotatus Lynch Arribálzaga spp.), sandflies (Lutzomyia longipalpis Lutz & Neiva, Phlebotomus Loew spp.), scabies mites (Sarcoptes scabiei De Geer, S. scabiei var hominis, S. scabiei var canis, S. scabiei var suis), and ticks (Ixodes Latreille, Amblyomma Koch, Dermacentor Koch, and Rhipicephalus Koch spp.). Examples of plant extracts, EOs, and isolated chemicals exhibiting noxious or toxic activity comparable or superior to the synthetic control agents of choice (pyrethroids, organophosphorous compounds, etc.) are provided in the text for many arthropod vectors of tropical diseases.

Layer-by-layer (LbL) films from K2Nb6O17 2− and polyallylamine (PAH) and dip-coating films of H2K2Nb6O17 were prepared on a fluorine-doped tin−oxide (FTO)-coated glass. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images were carried out for morphological characterization of both materials. The real surface area and the roughness factor were determined on the basis of pseudocapacitive processes involved in the electroreduction/electrooxidation of gold layers deposited on these films. Next, lithium ion insertion into these materials was examined by means of electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements. More specifically, cyclic voltammetry and current pulses under visible light beams were used to investigate mass transport and chromogenic properties. The lithium ion diffusion coefficient (D Li) within the LbL matrix is significantly higher than that within the dip-coating film, ensuring high storage capacity of lithium ions in the self-assembled electrode. Contrary to the LbL film, the potentiodynamic profile of absorbance change (ΔA) as a function of time is not similar to that obtained in the case of current density for the dip-coating film. Aiming at analyzing the rate of the coloration front associated with lithium ion diffusion, a spectroelectrochemical method based on the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) was employed so as to determine the “optical” diffusion coefficient (D op). In the dip-coating film, the method employed here revealed that the lithium ion rate is higher in diffusion pathways formed from K2Nb6O17 2− sites that contribute more significantly to ΔA. Meanwhile, the presence of PAH contributed to the increased ionic mobility in diffusion pathways in the LbL film, with low contribution to the electrochromic efficiency. These results aided a better understanding of the potentiodynamic profile of the temporal change of absorbance and current density during the insertion/deinsertion of lithium ions into the electrochromic materials.

Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto daAo meu grande amigo, Raul de Barros Ferreira, pela excelente amizade que mantemos há vinte anos. Por toda sua confiança, incentivo, e apoio colocados em mim durante todo este tempo de convívio. Valeu "muleque"! À Milena de Barros Ferreira, pela atenção, ajuda e momentos de sofrimento e alegria, juntamente com seu irmão, nos jogos do nosso glorioso tricolor.Aos meus outros grandes amigos, Marcelo Teiji Gobara, Leandro Miorini, Bruno Ravanelli Pessa, Alcyon Genésio Machado Neto, Ivan Furtado Júnior, Alexandre Carlomagno e Rodrigo Ken, por todos os momentos de incentivo, conselhos e discussões construtivas e eficientes que sempre tivemos.À minha mãe, pela sua paciência nos momentos de estresse, por tudo que ela sempre fez para me ajudar e, principalmente, por seu amor dedicado a mim em todas as etapas da minha vida. Te amo! Ao meu pai, pela força, amizade e companheirismo dedicados a mim nos últimos anos.Muito obrigado. Te amo! Às minhas tias, Maria José Ribeiro e Maria Aparecida Ribeiro, e ao meu primo Bruno Ribeiro Trocoli, por apoiarem e acreditarem sempre no meu potencial. iv Ao Rodrigo Ferreira Silva, responsável técnico do laboratório de microscopia eletrônica de varredura deste departamento, pela metalização com ouro das minhas amostras, como também pelas várias conversas descontraídas durante estes anos de mestrado.Aos técnicos, graduandos e pós-graduandos do Bloco B5 (mais conhecido como