Neurobiology and clinical implications of lucid dreaming

Several lines of evidence converge to the idea that rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) is a good model to foster our understanding of psychosis. Both REMS and psychosis course with internally generated perceptions and lack of rational judgment, which is attributed to a hyperlimbic activity along with hypofrontality. Interestingly, some individuals can become aware of dreaming during REMS, a particular experience known as lucid dreaming (LD), whose neurobiological basis is still controversial. Since the frontal lobe plays a role in self-consciousness, working memory and attention, here we hypothesize that LD is associated with increased frontal activity during REMS. A possible way to test this hypothesis is to check whether transcranial magnetic or electric stimulation of the frontal region during REMS triggers LD. We further suggest that psychosis and LD are opposite phenomena: LD as a physiological awakening while dreaming due to frontal activity, and psychosis as a pathological intrusion of dream features during wake state due to hypofrontality. We further suggest that LD research may have three main clinical implications. First, LD could be important to the study of consciousness, including its pathologies and other altered states. Second, LD could be used as a therapy for recurrent nightmares, a common symptom of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Finally, LD may allow for motor imagery during dreaming with possible improvement of physical rehabilitation. In all, we believe that LD research may clarify multiple aspects of brain functioning in its physiological, altered and pathological states.

Neurobiology and clinical implications of lucid dreaming

Several lines of evidence converge to the idea that rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) is a good model to foster our understanding of psychosis. Both REMS and psychosis course with internally generated perceptions and lack of rational judgment, which is attributed to a hyperlimbic activity along with hypofrontality. Interestingly, some individuals can become aware of dreaming during REMS, a particular experience known as lucid dreaming (LD), whose neurobiological basis is still controversial. Since the frontal lobe plays a role in self-consciousness, working memory and attention, here we hypothesize that LD is associated with increased frontal activity during REMS. A possible way to test this hypothesis is to check whether transcranial magnetic or electric stimulation of the frontal region during REMS triggers LD. We further suggest that psychosis and LD are opposite phenomena: LD as a physiological awakening while dreaming due to frontal activity, and psychosis as a pathological intrusion of dream features during wake state due to hypofrontality. We further suggest that LD research may have three main clinical implications. First, LD could be important to the study of consciousness, including its pathologies and other altered states. Second, LD could be used as a therapy for recurrent nightmares, a common symptom of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Finally, LD may allow for motor imagery during dreaming with possible improvement of physical rehabilitation. In all, we believe that LD research may clarify multiple aspects of brain functioning in its physiological, altered and pathological states.

Perfil epidemiológico dos distúrbios hipertensivos na gravidez

The preeclampsia is a disease that evolves to high death rate for the mother and for the fetus. The incidence of this disease in the world is variable and there are no data of this disturb in the Brazilian population. This paper had the objective to determine the incidence and risk factors for development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in a neighborhood in Natal, RN, Brazil, taking place a prospective study, cohort type, with the objective of evaluating the entire pregnancy of 242 women that got pregnant between 2004-2007. The incidence of hypertensive disorders was of 17%, while the incidence of preeclampsia was of 13.8%. The age average of women that developed the hypertensive disorders was of 27.4 years (SD±.9), whilst those that developed preeclampsia was of 26.6 (SD ±7.8) years and the normotensive was of 23.9 (SD±5.8) (p=0.002). It is noted a significant increase of the hypertensive disorder with age (p=0.0265). The gestational age for those who developed preeclampsia was lower than the women that developed normotensive pregnancy (p=0.0002). The body mass index (BMI) of the group of women that developed the hypertensive disorder was of 25.8 (SD±3.9), significantly higher than the group of normotensive women with 23.5 (SD±3.7) (p=0.02). The levels of triglycerides and cholesterol tended to be higher on women with preeclampsia than on normotensive, p=0.0502 and p=0.0566, respectively. Six (6) women presented with severe preeclampsia and one (1) developed HELLP Syndrome. The resolution of the pregnancy was performed by cesarean section in 70% of women that developed hypertensive disorders, whilst the normotensive was of 23.6% (p<0.0001). A subgroup of the studied subjects was reassessed one year after labor, revealing that 50% of the patients were still hypertensive. There were no larger complications nor mother death during labor. The incidence of hypertensive disorders are above the levels noted in other studies and 30% of the women were within the poles of greater risk for the hypertensive disorders; the elevated BMI in the beginning of the pregnancy is a risk factor for hypertensive disorder. The risk of severe complication in preeclampsia is high, with imminence of eclampsia occurring in 20.1% of women who developed hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. The adequate prenatal care and the opportune labor assistance may minimize the complications of the pregnancy hypertension and avoid mother death, although the risk of women remaining hypertensive is elevated

Distúrbios do sono em pacientes com transtorno depressivo

To evaluate sleep disorder complaints in outpatients with depressive disorder from a general hospital. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was carried out with a study sample composed of 70 patients (44 women and 26 men) with diagnosis of depressive disorder, according to the DSM-IV criteria. The patients were interviewed and evaluated by the Identification Questionnaire, the Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results: In this study, 50 (71.3%) patients had recurrence of sleep disorder complaints. Mean BDI score was 35.83+8.85, with significant differences between patients with (38.50+8.70) and without (29.60+7.80) recurrence (p<0.05) and among patients with 1, 2, 3 and >3 episodes (p<0.05). In this study, 49 (70%) patients had insomnia and 21 (30%) had subjective excessive sleepiness. Significant differences were observed between the mean duration in months of the sleep disorders (7.16+2.10) and the depressive disorder (6.12+1.90) (p<0.05). Discussion: In the study sample, recurrence of sleep disorder complaints was high and significantly associated with severe depression. Insomnia was prevalent and the mean duration of sleep disorders was higher in relation to depressive disorder

A trajetória dos movimentos socioambientais em Sergipe : personagens, instituições e estratégias de comunicação

The research aimed to study the emergence, role, and the possibilities of environmental movements in Sergipe, running through an analysis of the period between 1983 and 2011. This goal has been guided by the core issue of research, which was to analyze the relationship between the mission, structure and action of environmental organizations in Sergipe. The research arose from the need to map and critically evaluate the environmental movement in Sergipe. The methodological procedures focused on the literature search, survey papers in Sergipe a time gap of 28 years, detailed analysis of nine "movements" and selected in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews with dozens of social actors involved in the area. In conclusion, we observed that environmentalism in Sergipe, from its inception, was associated with recovery of consciousness regarding the environment, to combat local problems of degradation, and the search for legitimacy of public opinion. Although the environmental movement have been, at times, the attention of mass media, the movement failed to leave the niche and achieve a more representative portion of society. You can still see the deep relationship between the profile of environmental leaders, capital strength and the practical results of the environmental actions and finally, it was observed that the action of the movements has much stronger bond with the relationship of the organization and its main leaders with the other "environmentalist," than with the structure and mission of the institution

Formação da habilidade de interpretar gráficos cartesianos em licenciandos em química segundo a teoria de P. Ya. Galperin

It has been remarkable among the Science Teaching debates the necessity that students do not learn only theories, laws and concepts, but also develop skills which allows them to act towards a critical citizenship. Therefore, some of the skills for the natural sciences learning must be taught consciously, intentionally and in a planned way, as component of a basic competence. Studies of the last twenty years have shown that students and teachers have plenty of difficulties about skills development and, among several, the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics, essential for the comprehension of Natural Science. In that sense, the development of that type of professional knowledge during the initial education of future Chemistry teachers has become strategic, not only because they need to know how to use it, but also because they need to know how to teach it. This research has as its general objective the organization, development and study of a process of formation of the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics as part of the teachers professional knowledge. It has been accomplished through a formative experience with six undergraduate students of the Teaching Degree Course of Chemistry of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), in Brazil. In order to develop that skill, we have used as reference P. Ya. Galperin s Theory of the Stepwise Formation of Mental Actions and Concepts and its following qualitative indicators: action form, degree of generalization, degree of consciousness, degree of independence and degree of solidness. The research, in a qualitative approach, has prioritized as instruments of data collecting the registering of the activities of the undergraduate students, the observation, the questionnaire and the diagnosis tests. At the first moment, a teaching framework has been planned for the development of the skill of interpreting Cartesian graphics based on the presupposed conceptions and steps of Galperin s Theory. At the second moment, the referred framework has been applied and the process of the skill formation has been studied. The results have shown the possibility of develop the skill conscious about the invariant operation system, with a high degree of generalization and internalized the operational invariant in the mental plane. The students have attested the contributions at that type of formative experience. The research reveals the importance of going deeper about the teaching comprehension of the individualities tied to the process of internalization, according to Galperin s Theory, when the update of abilities as part of the teaching professional knowledge is the issue

Atenção, consciência e prática pedagógica: um estudo de suas interconexões

This thesis entitled, Attention, Consciousness and Practice of Teaching: A Study of its Interconnects, argues about a relationship between development of attention and consciousness and its connection to the pedagogical practice developed in a public elementary school in Natal city, Rio Grande do Norte state. The research school is located in the south of the city. School activities are developed according with the political pedagogical project. The group investigated was 25 students aged between 8-12 years of the fourth grade. The students of the research are residents of Ponta Negra village, Pirangi and Neópolis districts. The research was effected by three teachers however, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between the development of attention and awareness and the pedagogical practice of one of the teachers who participated in the research, and more specifically understand the psychic procedures involved in the development of attention and awareness; enabling conditions for the realization of an educational action that enables the development in terms of focused attention and states of consciousness of students, analyzing their interrelations. Therefore, it was used as methodology the collaborative research by providing elements for research as strategy of formation and development, the coproduction of knowledge, and the change of educational practice through reflective processes effected through the collaboration and critical reflection among participants. For empirical construction, it was used the following procedural elements: meeting, planning, diagnosis of attention and awareness, reflective period studies, collaborative observation and reflection sessions with the participant teachers and the students. The diagnosis of attention was effected through a game and its elaboration was based on the study proposed by Luria (1991). The purpose of the game was to apprehend the stage where students were in relation of a development attention. Concerning the diagnosis of consciousness, it was taken as reference studies by Burlatski (1987), Pinto (1960a, 1960b), Rubinstien (1973), Leontiev (1978) and others studies discussing this topic. As a method of analysis, it was resorted to the dialectical historical materialism, the ability to identify, analyze and explain those contradictions generated in the process. In the analysis procedures were prepared some categories as well as, were used categories by other authors with the purpose of understanding the critical reflective process collaborative evidencing the formation of concepts and pedagogical practice of the participants, and the analysis of a practical pedagogical of a teacher and her relationships with the development of the psychic process and functions of students, in other words, attention and awareness. Regarding the reflective process were used the categories: technical reflection, critical reflection and practical reflection (LIBERALI, 2008). Concerning the analysis of the concepts were used the categories: description, characterization, definition and conceptualization (FERREIRA, 2003). And for critical collaboration were the categories: critical collaboration, uncritical, technique and practice. In pedagogical practice, were used categories: repetitive practice teaching, heterogeneous and reflexive critical (SOUZA, 2010). During the collaborative observation was evident predominance of heterogeneous practice, because the main participant teacher searches for immediate solution to the situations problem, as well as reflection moments, is the technical arrangement, practice, critical, as well as concern in interacting with students, the qualitative changes, deep knowledge, renewal and transformation of the teaching activity. In this process, the collaborative reflection proved to be an effective strategy for developing awareness of students, because through reflection sessions, the students were able to understand that learning is a building process and that it necessary to be careful for their development

Cosmoeducação: uma abordagem transdisciplinar no ensino de astronomia

This work proposes a transdisciplinary approach that integrates transpersonal psychology exercises with astronomy teaching, seeking to allow one to reintegrate the sky in his/her daily life, expand his/her environmental awareness and eventually experiment the unity between human and cosmos. This proposal intends to collaborate with the supplying of education, which lacks initiatives of this kind, with the promotion of an integration of the scientific knowledge with the human experience that transcends the materialistic and fragmentary objectives of the current educational system. As a result of that lack, the teachers formation is also poor as for an integral and transdisciplinary approach. Besides, we also approached in this research the necessity to propose alternatives so that the educators may work in a more assertive way with the environmental and anthropological crisis in which we are living. Our working hypothesis is that the contents of astronomy, when they are dealt in a holisticanthropological focus and are related with transpersonal psychology practices, can come to be an efficient cultural-academic vehicle, capable of propitiating an expansion of consciousness and changes in the way one conceives the world. Such changes are necessary so that a more solidary, fair and ecologically balanced life may come to exist and prevail in the planet. Part of the collection of data was done through the ethnographic method, once an anthropological interpretation is inextricably associated with this kind of educational intervention, which will naturally include ethno-visions of the universe as well as specific cultural elements. In the beginning the scope of this research was a group of students attending the Astronomy assignment in an undergraduate Geography course (UFRN), in which we accomplished participant observation, half-open interviews and the first experimental practices mentioned. After the evaluation of the first data collected from that initial group, we elaborated an academic extension course, Laboratory in Cosmoeducation, and we offered it to teachers of the 1st and 2nd cycles of the fundamental level of the Alceu Amoroso Lima State School, located in the North Zone of Natal. We prized self-experimentation in that course, so that the teachers could enrich their repertoire of personal experiences, stimulating meditative reflections and eventual changes in the ways of conceiving the world and in their pedagogical practice. The transdisciplinary attitude permeated all our educational action, because this approach transcends the boundaries of disciplines, seeking essentially the integral development of the human being. The process has made us realize that the practice of looking at the sky , as a way of reintegrating it into daily life, provokes a process of expansion of the consciousness and of reintegration of the self in a wider level of environmental interrelation. According to the results, the occurrence of conceptual and existential changes of the world vision of the participant teachers was evident, reassuring ourselves of the idea that the interface between astronomy teaching and the practices of transpersonal psychology can contribute to the recovery of a holistic relationship between the human being and the cosmos and to inspire the arising of a more wide-ranging ethics, based on universal, impartial and sustainable values

O conceito de liberdade em o ser e o nada de Jean-Paul Sartre

This dissertation aims to address the concept of freedom from the perspective of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre with reference to the main work Being and Nothingness. After presenting the concept of freedom we will try to show that it is related to the notion of responsibility, which will lead, ultimately, to define the Sartrean philosophy as a philosophy of action. In the first chapter we will present in passing the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, philosopher from which Sartre will develop his concept of freedom. The Husserlian notion of consciousness (intentionality) is the way to develop his analysis of Sartre phenomenon of being. From this analysis Sartre submits their concepts of being in-itself and being for-itself. Being initself is defined as the things of the world devoid of consciousness, are the things that surround us. The In-itself has as its main brand positivity: it is what it is, is all that can be said about him. In turn being For-itself is the very being of man, which differs radically from the In-itself. The For-itself has as its main intentionality, ie, its ability to project outside itself in existence. That's when Sartre shows that this type of being realizes its existence on the basis of a constant nihilation. Here comes the notion of anything. Among the relations of the For-itself with the surrounding world stands a very special: relationship between consciousnesses. It is when we discuss the issue of another. Intersubjectivity, through sartrean analysis of look, show that the For-itself assumes a new existential dimension: the being-for others. That's when Sartre will emphasize his notion of conflict. The conflict in intersubjectivity would come from the fact that you want to take another- For-itself as an object. Given this we will analyze what Sartre called the concrete relations with others. The philosopher submit such relations in the form of ducts and conduits assimilation of ownership. In the first my-self to try to "get lost" in the consciousness of another, ownership of my conduct in-itself tries to "take ownership" of the subjectivity of the other and try to treat others as things, as objects. In this sense Sartre examines the experiences of love, masochism, indifference, desire and sadism. Following this route we will enter the land of freedom itself, which is the major theme of our work. Since Sartre defines the For-itself as a being that is projected to create your way of being, it can only define it as freedom. The freedom of the For-itself is taken in terms of autonomy of choice. Once the For-itself has no way of being a thing as being in-itself, it just may be picking up, that is, making your being. Here Sartre speaks of the anguish that would be the symptom of freedom itself. The fact that the For-itself have to choose on whether the call as one being distressed. However, in most cases the For-itself tries to escape from the anguish of freedom and takes refuge in bad faith. After setting the man (For-itself) as freedom Sartre defends that he is totally responsible for what he does of himself. Once the philosopher holds that man is not predetermined, ie, does not have an a priori essence, his philosophy has as its basic assumption the action. If Sartre argues that the For-itself must constantly choose your way of being, the action is the basis on which man will exercise his own freedom. In this sense we conclude the work with an approach to work Existentialism is a Humanism, which represent the entry of the philosopher on the practical aspects of life

O conceito de consciência em o ser e o nada de J.-P. Sartre

This current discourse intends to prove how consciousness or Being-for-itself presents the idea that in its operation one can emphasize that it s Nothingness, transience and liberty in Jean-Paul Sartre s work O Ser e o Nada. To testify the proposed idea, the conception that Sartre gives to consciousness, representing nothingness, without any content that is connected to the possessor objects of a transphenomenal existence will be the starting point. This way, consciousness will be analyzed transcendently to the object that it s not, demonstrating its revealer-revealed condition, because it unveils a concrete world that exists against its idea, functioning as the revealer intentionality that there are beings instead of nothingness, obeying the ontological proof defended by Sartre. From this idea, every kind of consciousness will always be consciousness of something, a glance of the world, avoiding the fact that the consciousness could be considered nothing in the world. In order to live its original negation state of the world, apprehending this same world, with the purpose of a knowledge, it needs to be divided in two: the first degree consciousness or previous-reflexive cogito, that turns the proper reflexion possible, because, it s the consciousness proper transphenomenality of being different of all that connected to its existence being only its consequence; and the cogito, responsible to the positioning of the first degree consciousness, while aware of its own consciousness, that is, while being certain that knows. From this point, the way to untangle the consciousness or Being-for-itself will be developed as being Chasm, Liberty and transience. From this idea, it s intended to know how consciousness, that in Sartre s thoughts is originally nothing, could turn into Liberty that is presented in the field of transience? In other words, how these three internal structures imbricate one another to form consciousness in Sartre? First of all, it has to be considered the review of a conduct of human reality, the inquiry, that will be possible to understand how Nothingness exists as the mold of all kind of negation. After this, it will be shown, considering its way of existence, the human reality that is connected to Para-si, determined like nothingness, still is proposed like Liberty. Form this point, it will be possible to gleam how Liberty is lived deeply by Para-si in the shape of chasm, trying to how Para-si turns into nothingness, creating a chasm based on its proper liberty. Then, Liberty will be the proper mechanism used by Para-si to modificate its original chasm. The way Being-for-itself has to build to gain its goal will be projecting in transience, the building of something possible that brings one being back. However, will be demonstrated like Chasm can occupy the moment of a choice turning the decision instant an anguish stage, based on the failing of stability of the Being-for-itself, once nothingness persists in the field of the possibilities that human beings preserves in its essence while being essentially Liberty. From this idea, anguish will be studied as the proper consciousness of Liberty, being bad-faith the attempt of avoid Liberty trying to gain a shelter contradicting the fact that life is done of continual choices

Avaliação muscular respiratória: adaptação do mano vacuômetro nacional para a avaliação da pressão inspiratória nasal e nível de intensidade da ventilação voluntária máxima em sujeitos saudáveis

The clinical importance of evaluating the respiratory muscles with a variety of tests has been proposed by several studies, once that the combination of several tests would allow a better diagnosis and therefore, a better clinical follow of disorders of the respiratory muscles. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of adapting a national electronic manovacuometer to measure the nasal inspiratory pressure (study 1) and analyze the level of load intensity of maximum voluntary ventilation, as well as the variables that may influence this maneuver in healthy subjects (study 2). We studied 20 healthy subjects by a random evaluation of two measures of SNIP in different equipments: a national and an imported. In study 2 it was analyzed the intensity of the load of MVV test, change in pressure developed during the maneuver, the possible differences between genders, and the correlations between the flow developed in the test and the result of MVV. In study 1 it was found the average for both measures of nasal inspiratory pressures: 125 ± 42.4 cmH2O for the imported equipment and 131.7 ± 28.7 cmH2O for the national one. Pearson analysis showed a significant correlation between the average, with a coefficient r = 0.63. The average values showed no significant differences evaluated by paired t test (p> 0.05). In the Bland-Altman analysis it was found a BIAS = 7 cmH2O, SD 32.9 and a confidence interval of - 57.5 cmH2O up to 71.5 cmH2O. In the second study it was found significant differences between the genders in the air volume moved, being higher in males 150.9 ± 13.1 l / min vs 118.5 ± 15.7 L / min for (p = 0.0002, 95% CI 44.85 to 20:05). Regarding the inspiratory and expiratory loading, they were significantly higher in men than in women, peak inspiratory pressure (34.7 ± 5.3 cmH2O vs 19.5 ± 4.2 cmH2O, 95% CI - 18.0 to -12.3, p <0.0001), peak expiratory (33.8 vs. 23.1 ± 5.9 cmH2O ± 5.4 cmH2O, 95% CI -17.1 to - 4.6, p <0.0001), and the delta pressure (59.7 ± 10 cmH2O vs 36.8 ± 8.3 cmH2O, 95% CI 14.5 to 31.2, p <0.0002). The Pearson correlation showed that the flow generated by the maneuver is strongly correlated with the delta-expiratory pressure / inspiratory (r2= 0.83,R = 0.91, 95%IC 0.72 a 0.97 e p< 0.0001).Through these results we suggest that the national electronic manovacuometer is feasible and safe to perform the sniff test in healthy subjects. For the MVV, there are differences between the genders in the intensity of pressure developed during the maneuver. We found a load intensity considered low during the MVV, and found a strong correlation between the flow generated in the test and the delta pressure expiratory / inspiratory

Alterações da default mode network provocadas pela ingestão de Ayahuasca investigadas por Ressonância Magnética Funcional

Ayahuasca is psychotropic beverage that has been used for ages by indigenous populations in South America, notably in the Amazon region, for religious and medicinal purposes. The tea is obtained by the decoction of leaves from the Psychotria viridis with the bark and stalk of a shrub, the Banisteriopsis caapi. The first is rich in N-N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which has an important and well-known hallucinogenic effect due to its agonistic action in serotonin receptors, specifically 5-HT2A. On the other hand, β-carbolines present in B. caapi, particularly harmine and harmaline, are potent monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOi). In addition, the tetrahydroharmine (THH), also present in B. caapi, acts as mild selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a weak MAOi. This unique composition induces a number of affective, sensitive, perceptual and cognitive changes in individuals under the effect of Ayahuasca. On the other hand, there is growing interest in the Default Mode Network (DMN), which has been consistently observed in functional neuroimaging studies. The key components of this network include structures in the brain midline, as the anterior medial frontal cortex, ventral medial frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, and some regions within the inferior parietal lobe and middle temporal gyrus. It has been argued that DMN participate in tasks involving self-judgments, autobiographical memory retrieval, mental simulations, thinking in perspective, meditative states, and others. In general, these tasks require an internal focus of attention, hence the conclusion that the DMN is associated with introspective mental activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) changes in DMN caused via the ingestion of Ayahuasca by 10 healthy subjects while submitted to two fMRI protocols: a verbal fluency task and a resting state acquisition. In general, it was observed that Ayahuasca causes a reduction in the fMRI signal in central nodes of DMN, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and inferior parietal lobe. Furthermore, changes in connectivity patterns of the DMN were observed, especially a decrease in the functional connectivity of the precuneus. Together, these findings indicate an association between the altered state of consciousness experienced by individuals under the effect of Ayahuasca, and changes in the stream of spontaneous thoughts leading to an increased introspective mental activity

Determinantes genéticos e ambientais das doenças hipertensivas da gravidez

The development of complex diseases such as preeclampsia are determined by both environmental and genetic factors, but there is also interaction among these factors. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder characterized by de-novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20th week of gestation. There is a broad spectrum of clinical presentations related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) that can range from mild preeclampsia to eclampsia (seizures) or HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis, Elevation of Liver enzymes, Low Platelets). Those clinical outcomes might be linked to different pathological mechanisms. Our work aims to identify factors (i.e. genes and environmental) associated with the HDP’s clinical spectrum. Using a case-control approach, we selected a total of 1498 pregnant women for epidemiological and genetic studies, encompassing 755 normotensive (control); 518 preeclampsia; 84 eclampsia; and 141 HELLP. Women were genotyped for 18 SNPs across 5 candidate genes (FLT1, ACVR2A, ERAP1, ERAP2 and LNPEP). For the environmental factors, we found maternal age, parity status and pre-gestational body mass index as important risk factors associated with disease. Genes were associated in a phenotype-specific manner: ACVR2A with early preeclampsia (rs1424954, p=0.002); FLT1 with HELLP syndrome (rs9513095, p=0.003); and ERAP1 with eclampsia (rs30187, p=0.03). Our results suggest that different genetic mechanisms along with specific environmental factors might determine the clinical spectrum of HDP. In addition, phenotype refinement seems to be an essential step in the search for complex disease genes

Crises do cotidiano em Machado de Assis e Luigi Pirandello: um estudo comparado

This thesis proposes to identify possible similarities and differences between the novels Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas (1981), by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis, and Uno, Nessuno and Centomila (1926), by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello. The two authors have prominent respective places in Brazilian and Italian literature, and both observed and experienced remarkable changes in their societies Brazil's imperial period, and Italy’s post-risorgimentale period. We will verify how each author composes a piece o literary art in which it is possible to achieve the authors’social and moral conscience. We will also attempt to achieve thefeelings of restlessness, anxiety, fear, doubt, interest, vanity, ambition: in summary, the desire of the characters to exist, which represents man at the end of the nineteenth century and commencement of thetwentieth century. The characters’ features point to fragmented identity, in search of a place in the world, even if he needs to renounce his essence and to adopt a corresponding appearance to all images that society assigns to him in order to achieve such a place. The protagonists, Brás Cubas and Vitangelo Moscarda, will lead us along the paths of consciousness of each, which demarcate the border between essence and appearance. Critics such as Roberto Schwarz, Alfredo Bosi, Leone Castris, among others, will give us the theoretical support necessary for a comparative study between the two authors, whom, like few others, knew how to express, through their characters, the difficult relationship of man with himself and with the universe at large.