Role of the human chymase (CMA1) in the conversion of big-endothelin-1 to endothelin-1 (1-31)

Abstract : The chymase-dependant pathway responsible for converting Big ET-1 to ET-1 was established in vitro. It has only been recently, in 2009, that our group demonstrated that the conversion of Big ET-1 to ET-1 (1-31) can occur in vivo in mice (Simard et al., 2009), knowing that ET-1 (1-31) is converted to ET-1 via NEP in vivo (Fecteau et al., 2005). In addition, our laboratory demonstrated in 2013 that mMCP-4, the murine analogue of human chymase, produces ET-1 (1-31) from the Big ET-1 precursor (Houde et al. 2013). Thus far, in the literature, there are no specific characterizations of recombinant chymases (human or murine). In fact, the group of Murakami published in 1995 a study characterizing the CMA1 (human chymase) in a chymostatin-dependent fashion, using Angiotensin I as a substrate (Murakami et al., 1995). However, chymostatin is a non-specific inhibitor of chymase. It has been shown that chymostatin can inhibit elastase, an enzyme that can convert Angiotensin I to Angiotensin II (Becari et al., 2005). Based on these observations, the proposed hypothesis in the present study suggests that recombinant as well as extracted CMA1 from LUVA (human mast cell line), in addition to soluble fractions of human aortas, convert Big ET-1 into ET-1 (1-31 ) in a TY-51469 (a chymase-specific inhibitor) sensitive manner. In a second component, we studied the enzyme kinetics of CMA1 with regard to the Big ET-1 and Ang I substrate. The affinity of CMA1 against Big ET-1 was greater compared to Ang I (KM Big ET- 1: 12.55 μM and Ang I: 37.53 μM). However, CMA1 was more effective in cleaving Ang I compared to Big ET-1 (Kcat / KM Big ET-1: 6.57 x 10-5 μM-1.s-1 and Ang I: 1.8 x 10-4 ΜM-1.s- 1). In a third component involving in vivo experiments, the pressor effects of Big ET-1, ET-1 and Ang I were tested in conscious mMCP-4 KO mice compared to wild-type mice. The increase in mean arterial pressure after administration of Big ET-1 was greater in wild-type mice compared to mMCP- 4 KO mice. This effect was not observed after administration of ET-1 and / or Ang I.

Re-imagining the theology of human sexuality in the Methodist Church: the use of narrative in theological methodology

This thesis proposes the development of a narrative methodology in the British Methodist Church. Such a methodology embraces and communicates both felt experience and critical theological thinking, thus producing and presenting a theology that might have a constructive transformative impact on wider society. In chapter one I explore the ways in which the Church speaks in public, identify some of the challenges it faces, and consider four models of engagement. If the Church is to engage in public discourses then I argue that its words need to be relevant and connect with people’s experiences. To ground the thinking I focus on the context of the British Methodist Church and explore how the Church engages in theological reflection through the lens of its thinking on issues of human sexuality. Chapter two reviews how theological reflection is undertaken in the British Methodist Church. I describe how the Methodist Quadrilateral of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience remains a foundational framework for theological reflection within the Methodist Church and consider the impact of institutional processes and the ways in which the Methodist people actually engage with theological thinking. The third and fourth chapters focus on how the British Methodist Church has produced its theology of human sexuality, giving particular attention to the use of personal and sexual stories in this process. I find that whilst there has been a desire to listen to the stories of the Methodist people, there has not been a corresponding interrogation or analysis of their stories so as to enable robust and constructive theological reflection on these experiences. Using resources from Foucauldian approaches to discourse analysis, I critique key statements and the processes involved in their production, offering an analysis of this body of theological thinking and indicating where possibilities for alternative ways of thinking and acting arise. The proposed methodology draws upon resources from social science methodologies, and in chapter five I look at the use of personal experience and relevant strategies of inquiry that prompt reflection on the hermeneutical process and employ narrative approaches in undertaking, analysing and presenting research. The exploration shows that qualitative research methodologies offer resources and methods of inquiry that could help the Church to engage with personal stories in its theological thinking in a robust, interrogative and imaginative way. In chapter six an examination of story and narrative is undertaken, to show how they have been understood as ways of knowing and how they relate to theological inquiry. Whilst acknowledging some of the limitations of narrative, I indicate how it offers constructive possibilities for theological reflection and could be a means for the British Methodist Church to engage in public discourse. This is explored further in chapter seven, which looks in more detail at how the British Methodist Church has used narrative in its theological thinking, and outlines areas requiring further attention in order for a narrative theological methodology to be developed, namely: attention to the question ‘whose experience?’; investigation of issues of power and the dynamics involved in the process of the production of theological thought; how personal stories and experiences are interrogated and how narrative is constructed; and how narrative might be employed within the Methodist Quadrilateral. The final chapter considers the advantages and limitations of such an approach, whether the development of such a method is possible in the Methodist Church today and its potential for helping the Church to engage in public discourse more effectively. I argue that this methodology can provoke new theological insights and enable new ways of being in the world

La posición socio económica en el campo de la actividad física y su relación con la imagen corporal: Aproximación desde el enfoque determinantes/ determinación social de la salud

El presente trabajo analiza la definición de la categoría posición socioeconómica (PSE) y las variables con las cuales se representa en los productos académicos del campo de la actividad física, además de su relación con la categoría de imagen corporal. Para lograr el objetivo, se rastrean elementos que permiten dar cuenta si los documentos de investigación se abordan desde alguno de los dos contextos: determinantes (DDSS) o determinación social de la salud (DSS). Se inicia con un rastreo global por medio de los motores de búsqueda, las bases de datos y los repositorios institucionales. Posteriormente se parametriza la ruta, desde las categorías imagen corporal (IC) y PSE. Las investigaciones pretenden dar cuenta de la evaluación a 15 años del programa "Salud para Todos" de la ONU de 2001, en el marco de los Objetivos Del Milenio. Se revisaron resúmenes de los productos, descartando aquellos donde la categoría PSE o sus descriptores asociados tuvieran un papel secundario. Se limitó a Latinoamérica y España por su tradición histórica colonizadora; con el ánimo de conocer la postura de esta comunidad frente al proceso globalizado de la salud en el mundo. Al grupo final se le aplican criterios parametrizados a partir de la revisión teórica, para responder los interrogantes basados en las implicaciones que tiene la PSE en el pensamiento actual de la producción científica en el campo de la actividad física; y cómo las otras categorías de análisis se ven o no manifiestas. El índice de calidad científica CASPe, determina la pertinencia de los textos. En el aspecto teórico, se encuentra que la categoría PSE, a pesar de ser muy utilizada, tiene una conceptualización difusa. Por tal motivo, se propone una definición de PSE sustentada en el pensamiento sociológico. En el aspecto empírico, al rastrear las variables con que se reemplaza la PSE en las investigaciones, se encuentran grandes diferencias y el uso de múltiples y disímiles subcategorías.

Quality of life in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease. A new challenge for parents, professionals and community

The Quality of life is currently a major topic discussed in our society. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been developing a unifying and transcultural definition of QOL. They considered it as 'the individual's perception of his or her position in life, within the cultural context and value system he or she lives in, and in relation to his or her goals, expectations, parameters and social relations. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment (WHOQOL, 1997, p. 1). Congenital heart disease is the most prevalent congenital disease in Portugal. Despite the advances in cardiac treatment and an early correct diagnosis that could increase the survival of children with congenital heart disease, this condition influences the quality of life of children, adolescents and their parents. Knowing the perception of quality of life could help healthcare professionals, nurses in particular, providing suited care to the needs of these families, establishing priorities in their interventions, sensing predictors of a poor quality of life, promoting adherence to treatment and boosting compliance with treatment, and fostering greater satisfaction for these children, adolescents and their parents. Purpose As part of broader research and with the awareness that the chronic conditions could impact the quality of life and considering that all advances on treating congenital cardiac diseases we have defined this main objective: To determine the quality of life in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) and the perception of their parents, as well as factors that influence it. Methods It is a quantitative, descriptive and correlational research. The data collection tool was a questionnaire, which consisted of four parts: socio-demographic and educational characteristics, clinical characteristics, and quality of life, obtained using the Pediatric Cardiac Quality of Life Inventory - PCQLI - (Marino, Tomlinson, Wernovsky, Drotar , Newburger, Mahony et al., 2010) translated into Portuguese. Data collection took place between February and July 2014, in compliance with ethical research guidelines. The sample comprised 59 children, 59 parents of children, 80 adolescents and 80 parents of adolescents. Results The results indicated that children, adolescents, and their parents have high level of perceived health. The results are similar in all groups: children and parents and adolescents and parents. In the group of children, we observed the classification of "Good" in 66.10%, followed by the "Very Good" at 18.65% and "fair" in 15.25% of cases. The parents of the children responded in about half the cases that the health of their children was "good" (50.85%), "very good" in 30.51% "fair" in 11.86% and "Excellent "in 6.78%. In turn, the group of adolescents can be seen that 46.25% rate their health as "good", 32.50% as "very good", 16.25% as "Average" and 5% as "Excellent". Parents of teenagers classify the health of their children mostly as "good" in 42.50%, 31.25% as "very good", 20% as "fair" and 6.25% as "excellent". To point out that none of the respondents pointed out the option of a health status "Bad". About the quality of life, in general the results indicated that children, adolescents and their parents have high levels of quality of life, and that perceptions of parents and children are similar. Only in the children's group (8 to 12 years old), was no influence of socio-demographic, school or clinical variables on quality of life observed. For adolescents (13 to 18 years old), school, special education, school retention, the age of diagnosis of congenital heart disease, cardiac catheterization and surgical intervention influenced their quality of life. Perception of quality of life of parents of children and of adolescents was influenced by socio-demographic and clinical variables. The results partly agree with the literature in this field. About the influence of some variables: - The perception of quality of life expressed by children and adolescents with congenital heart disease and parents are related, with statistical significance. - There were no statistically significant relationships between the quality of life of children and adolescents and their age, gender or socioeconomic status. - Adolescents differ statistically significant between their quality of life and their education, the frequency of special education and the existence of grade retention. The severity of heart disease, the number of cardiac catheterizations or surgery and the presence of other health disorders are unrelated to the quality of life of children and adolescents. - Adolescents revealed that the level of quality of life is influenced by the age of diagnosis of CHD by cardiac catheterization and surgery. - For parents of children and adolescents gender and their education don´t influence their perception of quality of life. Only the socioeconomic status of parents of teens has statistically significant difference to quality of life. - Parents of children and adolescents do not show statistically significant relationship between the perceived level of quality of life and severity of disease, age at diagnosis, the number of surgical interventions and the existence of other health disorders. - There is a relationship of statistical significance between cardiac catheterization and the perceived quality of life by parents of adolescents; between the number of cardiac catheterizations and the perception of quality of life of parents of children; and between performing surgery and the perception of parents of children and adolescents. Conclusion To analyze the quality of life of children and adolescents with CHD must be a key focus of attention in caring for this population, allowing the identification of individual differences, interests, preferences, and prevent potential problems. The knowledge acquired along with clinical experience contributes to improve the quality of life of children and families, facilitating their growth, psycho-emotional development and social integration. Nevertheless, the reading and interpretation of these results must be prudent and cautious, there are limitations to this research, including: the use of a range of specific quality of life for the Congenital heart disease in children, adolescents, and parents but whose validation process could not be completed in this study; the low prevalence of severe conditions in our sample; the absence of national studies to enable comparison with the results obtained. We intend to continue the process of validation of instrument and enlarge the research to Lisbon and Oporto, other major centers where the cardiac conditions can be treated

Quality of life in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease

Purpose: The Quality of life is currently a major topic discussed in our society. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been developing a unifying and transcultural definition of QOL. They considered it as 'the individual's perception of his or her position in life, within the cultural context and value system he or she lives in, and in relation to his or her goals, expectations, parameters and social relations. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment (WHOQOL, 1997, p. 1). Congenital heart disease is the most prevalent congenital disease in Portugal. Despite the advances in cardiac treatment and an early correct diagnosis that could increase the survival of children with congenital heart disease, this condition influences the quality of life of children, adolescents and their parents. Knowing the perception of quality of life could help healthcare professionals, nurses in particular, providing suited care to the needs of these families, establishing priorities in their interventions, sensing predictors of a poor quality of life, promoting adherence to treatment and boosting compliance with treatment, and fostering greater satisfaction for these children, adolescents and their parents. 'As part of broader research and with the awareness that the chronic conditions could impact the quality of life and considering that all advances on treating congenital cardiac diseases we have defined this main objective: To determine the quality of life in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) and the perception of their parents, as well as factors that influence it. Methods: It is a quantitative, descriptive and correlational research. The data collection tool was a questionnaire, which consisted of four parts: socio-demographic and educational characteristics, clinical characteristics, and quality of life, obtained using the Pediatric Cardiac Quality of Life Inventory ? PCQLI - (Marino, Tomlinson, Wernovsky, Drotar , Newburger, Mahony et al., 2010) translated into Portuguese. Data collection took place between February and July 2014, in compliance with ethical research guidelines. The sample comprised 59 children, 59 parents of children, 80 adolescents and 80 parents of adolescents. Results: The results indicated that children, adolescents, and their parents have high level of perceived health. The results are similar in all groups: children and parents and adolescents and parents. In the group of children, we observed the classification of "Good" in 66.10%, followed by the "Very Good" at 18.65% and "fair" in 15.25% of cases. The parents of the children responded in about half the cases that the health of their children was "good" (50.85%), "very good" in 30.51% "fair" in 11.86% and "Excellent "in 6.78%. In turn, the group of adolescents can be seen that 46.25% rate their health as "good", 32.50% as "very good", 16.25% as "Average" and 5% as "Excellent". Parents of teenagers classify the health of their children mostly as "good" in 42.50%, 31.25% as "very good", 20% as "fair" and 6.25% as "excellent". To point out that none of the respondents pointed out the option of a health status "Bad". About the quality of life, in general the results indicated that children, adolescents and their parents have high levels of quality of life, and that perceptions of parents and children are similar. Only in the children?s group (8 to 12 years old), was no influence of socio-demographic, school or clinical variables on quality of life observed. For adolescents (13 to 18 years old), school, special education, school retention, the age of diagnosis of congenital heart disease, cardiac catheterization and surgical intervention influenced their quality of life. Perception of quality of life of parents of children and of adolescents was influenced by socio-demographic and clinical variables. The results partly agree with the literature in this field. About the influence of some variables: The perception of quality of life expressed by children and adolescents with congenital heart disease and parents are related, with statistical significance. There were no statistically significant relationships between the quality of life of children and adolescents and their age, gender or socioeconomic status. Adolescents differ statistically significant between their quality of life and their education, the frequency of special education and the existence of grade retention. The severity of heart disease, the number of cardiac catheterizations or surgery and the presence of other health disorders are unrelated to the quality of life of children and adolescents. Adolescents revealed that the level of quality of life is influenced by the age of diagnosis of CHD by cardiac catheterization and surgery. For parents of children and adolescents gender and their education don?t influence their perception of quality of life. Only the socioeconomic status of parents of teens has statistically significant difference to quality of life. Parents of children and adolescents do not show statistically significant relationship between the perceived level of quality of life and severity of disease, age at diagnosis, the number of surgical interventions and the existence of other health disorders. There is a relationship of statistical significance between cardiac catheterization and the perceived quality of life by parents of adolescents; between the number of cardiac catheterizations and the perception of quality of life of parents of children; and between performing surgery and the perception of parents of children and adolescents. Conclusion: To analyze the quality of life of children and adolescents with CHD must be a key focus of attention in caring for this population, allowing the identification of individual differences, interests, preferences, and prevent potential problems. The knowledge acquired along with clinical experience contributes to improve the quality of life of children and families, facilitating their growth, psycho-emotional development and social integration. Nevertheless, the reading and interpretation of these results must be prudent and cautious, there are limitations to this research, including: the use of a range of specific quality of life for the Congenital heart disease in children, adolescents, and parents but whose validation process could not be completed in this study; the low prevalence of severe conditions in our sample; the absence of national studies to enable comparison with the results obtained. We intend to continue the process of validation of instrument and enlarge the research to Lisbon and Oporto, other major centers where the cardiac conditions can be treated.

Attitudes of Elements of the Academic Community in Regard to the Rapid Test of HIV/AIDS

Background: Knowing one’s own seropositivity status of HIV/AIDS is important. Seropositivity can be determined by a rapid HIV/AIDS test. Attitudes towards a rapid test of HIV/AIDS show a predisposition to perform the analysis.

Oral food perception and polyphenol-rich foods acceptance - the importance of knowing individuals saliva characteristics for promoting consumption

Polyphenols are widely present in fruits, vegetables, cereals and beverages. Their study gained scientific interest because of their beneficial effects on health. Although there is currently no official dietary recommendation for polyphenol intake, health professionals recommend the consumption of 5-8 daily portions of fruits and vegetables. This is not always achieved and, despite possible causes associated to practical schedule difficulties, the aversive bitter and astringent sensations associated to polyphenols may also lead to avoidance. As such, a better understanding on mechanisms responsible for differences among people, in polyphenol oral perception, is needed for promoting healthier choices. Saliva has been linked to polyphenol consumption. We have previously observed, in animal models, changes in salivary proteome induced by tannin-enriched diets. Moreover, differences in astringency perception were attributed to differences in salivary protein composition. In a recent experiment, we observed differences among individuals with dissimilar tannic-acid perception: people with high sensitivity for the oral sensations elicited by tannins have higher amounts of salivary cystatins and lower capacity to maintain their levels after tannic-acid ingestion. Additionally, and similarly to previous studies, salivary amylase was observed to be involved in tannin perception. In this presentation, oral cavity characteristics influencing the perception of polyphenol-containing foods will be discussed.

. Attitudes of Elements of the Academic Community in Regard to the Rapid Test of HIV/AIDS

Background: Knowing one’s own seropositivity status of HIV/AIDS is important. Seropositivity can be determined by a rapid HIV/AIDS test. Attitudes towards a rapid test of HIV/AIDS show a predisposition to perform the analysis. Objective: This study investigated, the attitudes of students and staff in a Portuguese university toward rapid HIV/AIDS test. Methods: In a convenience sample, the data was collected on campus in three consecutive years. A selfadministered structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A validated scale for Portuguese students was applied. A sample of 947 (86.3%) students and 150 (13.7%) teaching and non-teaching staff participated. The average age was 24.30 years-old (SD=8.64). Non-parametric tests were applied. Results: Attitudes of professors and non-teaching staff are more favorable in relation to the rapid test of HIV/AIDS, compared to students. Attitudes are also more favorable in the first year in which the study was conducted with both employees and students. The male students express more traditional attitudes. Students of nursing polo have expressed more favorable attitudes to the rapid test of HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: The attitudes towards rapid test of HIV/AIDS are generally favorable. It is necessary to conduct further research considering professors and other university staff. Improving favorable attitudes toward rapid HIV/AIDS test must be a positive fact for health.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN PERSPECTIVE OF WOMEN WHO LIVED IT

Introduction: Knowing the experience of abuse, contextual determinants that led to the rupture of the situation and attempts to build a more harmonious future, it is essential to work sensitivities and better understand victims of domestic violence. Objectives: To understand the suffering of women victims of violence. Methods: This is an intentional sample of 21 women who were at shelter home or in the community. The data were collected by in- Documento descargado de http://www.elsevier.es el 13-10-2016 3rd World Congress of Health Research 21 terviews, guided by a script organized into four themes. The interviews were conducted with audio record, the permission of the participants were fully passed the text and analyzed as two different corpuses, depending on the context in which they occurred. The analysis was conducted using the ALCESTE computer program. The study obtained a favorable opinion of the Committee on Health and Welfare of the University of Évora. Results: From the irst sample analysis emerged ive classes. The association of the words gave the meaning of each class that we have appointed as Class 1 - Precipitating Events; Class 2 - Experience of abuse; Class 3 - Two feet in the present and looking into the future; Class 4 - The present and learning from the experience of abuse; and Class 5 - Violence in general. From the analysis of the sample in the community four classes emerged that we have appointed as Class 1 - Violence in general; Class 2 - Precipitating Events; Class 3 - abuse of experience; and class 4 - Support in the process. Conclusions: Women who are at shelter home have this experience of violence and its entire context a lot are very focused on their experiences and the future is distant and unclear. Women in the community have a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon of violence as a whole, they can decentralize to their personal experiences and recognize the importance of support in the future construction process.

How to Achieve Professional Skills in Higher Education?

During the last decade, higher education has tried to focus education on the achievement of professional skills. It is interesting to see how the learning strategies implemented may facilitate or make more difficult the achievement of competencies. By dealing with the challenge of a competency-based education approach, higher education points out the need of knowing how to build such competencies, i.e. how to design a learning strategy. Not much importance has been given to this issue, probably because the competencies can be confused with abilities, skills and attitudes and, therefore, the model can be associated to in- or out-of-classroom activities without a strategy to articulate the knowledge acquired with the cultural, social and economic contexts of the community and labor spheres, i.e., as a whole (Tobón, 2005). This paper analyzes the epistemological development of the competency-based approach in higher education, focusing on the implementation of professional competencies in the Sociology degree “Licenciatura en Sociología”, in two campuses of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California: Ensenada and Mexicali. This paper describes how competencies are built and explores different theoretical trends, their conceptualization and formation, based on in-depth interviews applied to students and teachers. It provides a mixed study to understand, based on the student’s point of view, the achievements of this study program in terms of professional competencies.

The Dyad School Success/Failure in the Academic Development of the Working Class Women from Mendoza

The notion of academic performance renders account of the results achieved by the students during their school education.  Internally, there are two opposed phenomena:  school success and school failure.  Sociology of education has contributed to the discussion of both notions revealing their social nature closely related to the institutional and socio-cultural contexts in which education is developed.  This paper is the result of a research project conducted for our doctoral thesis.  Its purpose is to contribute to enlighten the scopes of this discussion, by analyzing the school development of a group of working class women from Mendoza. We were interested, in the first place, in knowing the reasons why they quit school when they were young girls or adolescents.  Subsequently, we have approached the opportunities they had to access the system again during their adulthood, the obstacles they had to face and the resources to be able to complete the medium level.

The Effect of Urea and Sulphur Level in Mixing of Cassava Waste Fermented and Soybean Cake waste on Nitrogen Balance and Digestibility of Energy of Local Male Sheep

Cassava waste and soybean cake waste are by - product from home industry  that  have been used as animal feed. It contain high crude fibber, there fore it must be processed or added with another nutrients before feeding to animal to get a good performance. A research have been  conducted in Experimental Farm and Laboratory Animal of  Feed and Nutrition, Animal Science Faculty, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto at October- Nopember 2001. The purpose of  the research is to find the effect of urea and sulfur  level in mixing of cassava waste fermented and soybean cake waste on nitrogen balance and digestibility of energy of local male sheep. Eighteen local male sheep were  divided into 3 group based of the body weight. There are I = 18.55±1.27 kg, II = 15.79±0.67 kg and  III = 13.41±1.33 kg. Two level of urea (2% and 3%) and three level of sulfur (0 %, 0.15 % and 0.30%) dry matter concentrate used as  treatments, there fore factorial   design 2x3 with Randomized Block Design used this experiment All of treatment received same diet consist land grass and concentrates with 70:30 dry matter ratio. Concentrates consists  cassava waste fermented  and soybean cake waste with 77.50:22.50 dry matter ratio.  Dry matter intake was 4 % body weight. Observed variables were nitrogen balance and digestibility of energy by using total collection. Variance analysis was used for knowing the effect treatment on the variable observed. The result of the research shown that level of urea and sulfur are not significant interaction on the nitrogen balance and digestibility of energy.  However  level urea and sulfur  itself are significant on nitrogen balance linearly. Level urea also had significant effect on the energy digestion.  Balance nitrogen of all treatment is positive. Level of urea 3 % and sulfur 0.30% gave a good balance nitrogen and energy digestion.  It can be concluded that addition of urea and sulfur in diet containing fermentable  carbohydrates can increase balance nitrogen (N retention) and energy digestion. (Animal Production 3(2): 91-97 (2001)Key Words: Balance nitrogen, energy digestion, cassava waste and soybean cake waste

REVISTING A CHIMBOTE – TRANSLATION CULTURAL IN ARGUEDAS

José María Arguedas was a privileged peruvian writer for knowing two worlds, two cultures. His book El Zorro de arriba y el Zorro de abajo is one of the most unique and emblematic of Latin American literature. As a cultural mediator, Arguedas chronicles the changes in Chimbote. This microcosm is recognized by the reader through the polyphony of voices and records of their marginal characters. His cultural translation excels revealing their heterogeneity. In the book of Arguedas, as in life, is exposed the impossibility of harmonious coexistence between the two cultures. Through the position of Arguedas and opinions Moreiras, question the Rama theory of transculturation. Through an ethical stance, Arguedas is considered one of the most representative writers of the Andean context and Latin América.

AMBIVALENCES IDENTITY IN THE BROTHERS, MILTON HATOUM

This article presents a reading of the novel The Brothers, by Milton Hatoum, focused on the narrator’s condition and his identity implications. Nael, the protagonist narrator, grew blended to a family of his own and random at the same time, without knowing his space amongst the group. The uncertainty of his origins have shaped a floating identity between the position of the son/grandson and the position of the employee aggregated to the group. The ambivalences of this identity are narrated searching for answers, the stabilization of Nael’s identity space. To this end, the main instrument is the memory, the only mean to resignify the past and fulfill the lack of wholeness which accompanies Nael: the wholeness is achieved with the agitation of the past, the memories and especially, the silences and the family forgetfulness. The reflections about the possible identity positions of the narrator find support in the theoretical concepts of memory and identity from a sociological and anthropological perspective. Key words: memory; identity; The Brothers.