Achyrocline satureioides (Lam.) D.C. is a herb native to South America, and its inflorescences are popularly employed to treat inflammatory diseases. Here, the effects of the in vivo actions of the hydroalcoholic extract obtained from inflorescences of A. satureioides on neutrophil trafficking into inflamed tissue were investigated. Male Wistar rats were orally treated with A. satureioides extract, and inflammation was induced one hour later by lipopolysaccharide injection into the subcutaneous tissue. The number of leukocytes and the amount of chemotactic mediators were quantified in the inflammatory exudate, and adhesion molecule and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) expressions and phorbol-myristate-acetate- (PMA-) stimulated oxidative burst were quantified in circulating neutrophils. Leukocyte-endothelial interactions were quantified in the mesentery tissue. Enzymes and tissue morphology of the liver and kidney were evaluated. Treatment with A. satureioides extract reduced neutrophil influx and secretion of leukotriene B4 and CINC-1 in the exudates, the number of rolling and adhered leukocytes in the mesentery postcapillary venules, neutrophil L-selectin, β2-integrin and TLR-4 expression, and oxidative burst, but did not cause an alteration in the morphology and activities of liver and kidney. Together, the data show that A. satureioides extract inhibits neutrophil functions related to the innate response and does not cause systemic toxicity.

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The aim of this study was to describe, for the first time, the microscopic characteristics of Piper mosenii C. DC. (Piperaceae) leaves and the phytochemical composition of the aerial parts of the species grown wild in Brazil. Macroscopic analysis of the leaves was made with naked eye and supplemented with stereomicroscopy. The leaves showed similar venation than observed for other Piper species, but with a greater amount of colenchyma cells. The absence of endoderm was observed in the cross section of the leaf, which is a characteristic not reported for other Piper species. The phytochemical investigation resulted in the isolation of four benzoic acid derivatives (1-4), two chromanones (5, 6) and a dihydrochalcone (7). Compound 6, 2,2-dimethyl-6-carboxychroman-4-one acid is being described for the first time in Piperaceae, and the compound (4) 3-(1'-oxo-3'-methyl-2'-butenyl)-4-methoxy-benzoic acid is being reported for the first time in the literature.

In this paper we consider a SEIRD epidemic model for a population composed by two groups of individuals with asymmetric interaction. Given an approximate solution for the two-group model, we estimate the error of this approximation to the unknown solution to the second group based on the known error that the approximation has with respect to the solution to the first group. We also study the final size of the epidemic for each group. We illustrate our results with the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the New York County (USA) for the initial stage of the contamination, and in the cities of Petrolina and Juazeiro (Brazil).