Tridax procumbens L., Asteraceae, has been extensively used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for various ailments. Previous studies on the extracts of T. procumbens revealed remarkable immunomodulatory activity of TPEIF (T. procumbens ethanol insoluble fraction) extract. The dried methanol extract of T. procumbens was dissolved in distilled water, and then fractioned by re-extracting with chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol subsequently. Immunomodulatory activities of these fractions were determined in vivo. The amounts of total phenolic compounds were also determined. Ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions showed the significant immunomodulary activity. However, the ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest total phenolic content. Therefore, ethyl acetate fraction was subjected to further separation by chromatographic methods. Two phytochemicals SA-3 and SA-4 were obtained by repeated purification in sufficient amount to screen them for the immunomodulatory activity by the in vivo models i.e. neutrophil adhesion and delayed type hypersensitivity. In addition, the n-butanol fraction was subjected to silica gel column chromatography (CC); SA-6 was isolated from it. Mice were treated with two doses of SA-3, SA-4 and SA-6 (2 and 4 mg/kg) for fifteen days. Immune responses to T-dependent antigen SRBCs were observed using parameters like DTH and Neutrophil adhesion. Overall, SA-4 and SA-6 showed dose relative immunostimulatory effect on in vivo immune functions in mice. From these results, it can be suggested that these compounds may be used as potential immunostimulators. The structures of isolated phytochemicals were determined by UV, IR, NMR, and MS spectroscopic methods.

Este estudo tem o objetivo de analisar o problema da mensuração do gain-sharing na terceirização de serviços de tecnologia da informação como um componente da política de remuneração dos serviços contratados entre duas organizações. A metodologia adotada compõe-se de três passos: (i) revisão bibliográfica sobre as decisões de terceirização e precificação de serviços terceirizados no ambiente de tecnologia da informação; (ii) um estudo de caso real em que o problema da mensuração do gain-sharing surge no relacionamento entre duas grandes empresas de classe mundial que operam no mercado brasileiro de cartões de crédito; (iii) discussão dos achados do estudo de caso com base na literatura revisada. As principais contribuições deste trabalho são: (i) identificação dos principais problemas relacionados às decisões de terceirização e precificação de serviços terceirizados; (ii) descrição das características e do comportamento dos custos no ambiente de tecnologia da informação e (iii) análise e discussão do método adotado pelas empresas estudadas para mensuração do gain-sharing. A pesquisa bibliográfica mostrou uma lacuna na literatura relacionada especificamente à mensuração do gain-sharing. Os achados do estudo de caso indicaram que empresas de tecnologia de informação são altamente estruturadas com custos fixos e que o método de divisão de ganhos adotados pelas empresas estudadas corresponde à economia de custos, a qual é mensurada pelas variações de preço e eficiência de acordo com parâmetros orçamentários. Adicionalmente, observou-se que o método adotado contribui para proporcionar mais transparência e capacidade de análise no relacionamento entre as empresas envolvidas.

This study aims to approach the issue of gain-sharing measurement in an information technology outsourcing relationship as a component of remuneration policies for contracted services among companies. The methodology encompass three steps: (i) bibliographical revision on outsourcing relationship in information technology environment and pricing in outsourcing decisions; (ii) a case study in which the problem of gain-sharing measurement emerges in the relationship (providing information technology services) between two large-scale international companies that operate in Brazilian credit card market; (iii) discussion of the findings of the case study on basis of the revised literature. The contributions of the paper are: (i) to identify the main issues related to outsourcing decisions and pricing in outsourcing relationship; (ii) to present a description of the characteristics and behavior of costs in information technology environment; and (iii) to provide an analysis and discussion about the method adopted by the companies for gain-sharing measurement. The bibliographical research showed a lack of literature regarding to the specific subject of gain-sharing measurement. The findings of the empirical study indicated that information technology companies are highly structured with fixed costs and that gain-sharing method adopted by studied companies corresponds to costs savings measured by cost-accounting concepts of price and efficiency cost variances according to budget parameters. In addiction, it was observed that the method adopted contributes to get more transparency and capability to analyze the business relationship by both receiver and provider companies.