A imaginação como metafísica:uma leitura do poema o percurso de um particular de Wllace Stevens

Wallace Stevens produziu uma poesia considerada difícil, distante da dicção fragmentária do primeiro Eliot tanto quanto da imagística de William Carlos Williams, apesar de compartilhar com o último o interesse pelas coisas como elas são. Sua dicção poética se caracterizou muito mais pelo interesse quase filosófico na relação entre imaginação e realidade, interesse que o levou a considerar a primeira, a “rainha das faculdades” segundo Baudelaire, como uma forma de metafísica. Expurgando dela os resquícios românticos subjetivizantes e dotando-a de capacidade de abstração e generalização, Stevens lhe dá envergadura de ontologia, na medida em que ela possibilita ao poeta tanto a apreensão das particularidades do mundo real quanto o desenvolvimento do pensamento lógico em direção a uma fenomenologia da percepção. Esta concepção e prática poética se acentuou ao longo da trajetória poética de Stevens e embora a crítica note algum excesso retórico nos poemas de maturidade, a sua capacidade inicial de síntese — notável em Harmonium, seu livro de estréia (1923) — é retomada nos poemas da fase final de sua produção, como mostaremos na análise do poema “O percurso de um particular”, publicado após a morte do poeta, em 1955.

Necrólise epidérmica tóxica/síndrome de Stevens Johnson: emergência em dermatologia pediátrica

Contexto: É descrito caso clínico de farmacodermia grave e de alta letalidade, cujo reconhecimento imediato é fundamental. Relato decaso: Paciente do sexo masculino de três anos de idade, cuja mãe refere histórico de crises convulsivas, consultou-se com neurologistaparticular, que prescreveu ácido valproico. Uma semana depois, voltou a ter crise convulsiva, sendo então introduzida lamotrigina.Poucos dias depois, a criança começou apresentar tosse e coriza hialina. Procurou pronto-socorro de sua cidade e foi orientada a usarfluimucil. Iniciou, então, febre e exantema máculo-papular inicialmente na face, que depois se generalizou. Foi levantada a hipótesediagnóstica de farmacodermia secundária à associação de anticonvulsivante. Discussão: Síndrome de Stevens-Johnson e necróliseepidérmica tóxica são variantes do mesmo processo mucocutâneo agudo, raro e grave, causado principalmente por reação adversaa fármacos e caracterizado por erupção cutânea macular de padrão eritematoso, formação de bolhas de conteúdo sero-hemático edestacamento epidérmico. As afecções são diferenciadas pela porcentagem de superfície corpórea acometida, sendo menor que10% na síndrome de Stevens-Johnson, e maior que 30% na necrólise epidérmica tóxica. O prognóstico pode ser estimado através doescore Severity Illness Score for Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SCORTEN), que prevê mortalidade de até 90% para os casos mais graves.O tratamento consiste na interrupção imediata da droga, transferência do paciente para unidade de queimados ou unidade de terapiaintensiva, e medidas de suporte. Terapias adjuvantes, como imunoglobulinas intravenosas e corticosteroides, ainda não têm papelconsolidado na literatura. Conclusões: Relata-se afecção rara e extremamente grave cuja suspeição clínica é importante na conduçãodo tratamento.

Funções psicofísicas para área percebida, inferida e relembrada: o efeito da idade

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o efeito da idade no expoente da função-potência nas Condições experimentais Perceptiva, Memória e Inferência. Para cada Condição, as faixas etárias dos sujeitos variaram de 17 a 34 anos (I), 38 a 57 anos (II) e 58 a 77 anos de idade (III). Os sujeitos estimaram áreas dos Estados do Brasil, utilizando o método psicofísico de estimação de magnitude. Os resultados obtidos pelas três Faixas etárias não diferiram para cada Condição experimental, com exceção da Condição Memória (24 horas). A análise entre as Condições experimentais e Faixas etárias evidenciou uma diferença da Condição Perceptiva em relação às demais, não havendo diferenças entre as Condições Memória e Inferência. Os dados apresentados sugerem que no processo de relembrar, não há perda da informação em função da idade.

Genomic DNA microarray comparison of gene expression patterns in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis mycelia and yeasts in vitro

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermally dimorphic fungus, and causes the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America. Infection is initiated by inhalation of conidia or mycelial fragments by the host, followed by further differentiation into the yeast form. Information regarding gene expression by either form has rarely been addressed with respect to multiple time points of growth in culture. Here, we report on the construction of a genomic DNA microarray, covering approximately 25% of the genome of the organism, and its utilization in identifying genes and gene expression patterns during growth in vitro. Cloned, amplified inserts from randomly sheared genomic DNA (gDNA) and known control genes were printed onto glass slides to generate a microarray of over 12 000 elements. To examine gene expression, mRNA was extracted and amplified from mycelial or yeast cultures grown in semi-defined medium for 5, 8 and 14 days. Principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering indicated that yeast gene expression profiles differed greatly from those of mycelia, especially at earlier time points, and that mycelial gene expression changed less than gene expression in yeasts over time. Genes upregulated in yeasts were found to encode proteins shown to be involved in methionine/cysteine metabolism, respiratory and metabolic processes (of sugars, amino acids, proteins and lipids), transporters (small peptides, sugars, ions and toxins), regulatory proteins and transcription factors. Mycelial genes involved in processes such as cell division, protein catabolism, nucleotide biosynthesis and toxin and sugar transport showed differential expression. Sequenced clones were compared with Histoplasma capsulatum and Coccidioides posadasii genome sequences to assess potentially common pathways across species, such as sulfur and lipid metabolism, amino acid transporters, transcription factors and genes possibly related to virulence. We also analysed gene expression with time in culture and found that while transposable elements and components of respiratory pathways tended to increase in expression with time, genes encoding ribosomal structural proteins and protein catabolism tended to sharply decrease in expression over time, particularly in yeast. These findings expand our knowledge of the different morphological forms of P. brasiliensis during growth in culture.

NIR luminescent Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped SiO2-ZrO2 nanostructured planar and channel waveguides: Optical and structural properties

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Modelo de Gompertz com sazonalidade e autocorrelação nos erros para ajuste do crescimento ponderal em vaca leiteira

In recent work (Kroll, 1990) on dairy cattle growth using its monthly weights, a Gompertz function, first considering the autocorrelated error structure, and second, the independent error structure, was fitted. The last explained 25% more of the total variance than the former. In this work, a Gompertz function was fitted with autocorrelated error structure adding seasonality to the model. This was suggested taking into account the time series autocorrelation function. In order to estimate the six parameters, an iterative procedure was used, employing a matrix X = [G\S], where G is the usual matrix for fitting the Gompertz function, and S is a 0s, 1s, -1s matrix necessary to take into account seasonality. With this model, the adjustment was better in terms of the coefficient determination.

SUPPORT OF PARACOCCIDIOIDES-BRASILIENSIS MULTIPLICATION BY HUMAN MONOCYTES OR MACROPHAGES - INHIBITION BY ACTIVATED PHAGOCYTES

The interaction of human monocytes or monocyte-derived macrophages and yeast-form Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was studied in vitro. Yeast cells were readily ingested by adherent monocytes or macrophages. Multiplication of P. brasiliensis, measured by growth as colony forming units (cfu) on a supplemented medium with good plating efficiency, was greater in monocyte co-cultures compared to the number of cfu obtained from complete tissue-culture medium (CTCM). Multiplication increased with time in macrophage cocultures, e.g., from two-six-fold in 24 h to nine-fold in 72 h. Microscopic observations indicated that ingested yeast cells multiplied inside macrophages. When monocytes were treated with supernate cytokines (CK) from concanavalin-A-stimulated mononuclear cells, then co-cultured with P. brasiliensis, multiplication was significantly inhibited compared with control monocyte co-cultures. Treatment of macrophages-derived from monocytes by culture in vitro for 3 days-for a further 3 days with CK resulted in maximal inhibition of multiplication over the subsequent 72 h. Similarly, when monocyte-derived macrophages (after culture for 7 days) were treated for 3 days with recombinant human gamma-interferon (IFN; 300 U/ml) or CK they restricted multiplication of P. brasiliensis by 65% and 95%, respectively, compared with control macrophages, Antibody to IFN abrogated the effect of IFN or CK treatment. These findings show that ingested P. brasiliensis can multiply in human monocytes or macrophages and that this multiplication can be restricted by activated monocytes or macrophages.

Joint vibrations analysis in asymptomatic volunteers and symptomatic patients

The joint sound is a common sign in TMD, the diagnosis is important to establish the treatment of pathological alterations which occur in the TMJ. In this study, two groups were selected: 1, Asymptomatic volunteers; and 2, Symptomatic patients who were diagnosed in a clinical examination. After the initial examination, they were submitted to evaluation using electrovibratography (SonoPAK II, BioResearch Assoc., Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin). The analysis of results indicated that the averages of the vibratory energy in the symptomatic group presented higher values in all stages of the mandibular movement when compared to the averages of vibratory energy registered in the asymptomatic group.

The genome sequence of the gram-positive sugarcane pathogen Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli

The genome sequence of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli, which causes ratoon stunting disease and affects sugarcane worldwide, was determined. The single circular chromosome of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli CTCB07 was 2.6 Mb in length with a GC content of 68% and 2,044 predicted open reading frames. The analysis also revealed 307 predicted pseudogenes, which is more than any bacterial plant pathogen sequenced to date. Many of these pseudogenes, if functional, would likely be involved in the degradation of plant heteropolysaccharides, uptake of free sugars, and synthesis of amino acids. Although L. xyli subsp. xyli has only been identified colonizing the xylem vessels of sugarcane, the numbers of predicted regulatory genes and sugar transporters are similar to those in free-living organisms. Some of the predicted pathogenicity genes appear to have been acquired by lateral transfer and include genes for cellulase, pectinase, wilt-inducing protein, lysozyme, and desaturase. The presence of the latter may contribute to stunting, since it is likely involved in the synthesis of abscisic acid, a hormone that arrests growth. Our findings are consistent with the nutritionally fastidious behavior exhibited by L. xyli subsp. xyli and suggest an ongoing adaptation to the restricted ecological niche it inhabits.