Interpretação e análise do problema da indução sob uma visão fundamentada em teorias de conjuntos e teoria de probabilidades

The following work is to interpret and analyze the problem of induction under a vision founded on set theory and probability theory as a basis for solution of its negative philosophical implications related to the systems of inductive logic in general. Due to the importance of the problem and the relatively recent developments in these fields of knowledge (early 20th century), as well as the visible relations between them and the process of inductive inference, it has been opened a field of relatively unexplored and promising possibilities. The key point of the study consists in modeling the information acquisition process using concepts of set theory, followed by a treatment using probability theory. Throughout the study it was identified as a major obstacle to the probabilistic justification, both: the problem of defining the concept of probability and that of rationality, as well as the subtle connection between the two. This finding called for a greater care in choosing the criterion of rationality to be considered in order to facilitate the treatment of the problem through such specific situations, but without losing their original characteristics so that the conclusions can be extended to classic cases such as the question about the continuity of the sunrise

Structural Changes of Conjugated Pt-Containing Polymetallaynes Exposed to Gamma Ray Radiation Doses

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Trabalho e reestruturação produtiva no Brasil neoliberal: precarização do trabalho e redundância salarial

O objetivo do artigo é tratar das mutações sociais que ocorrem no mundo do trabalho a partir da era neoliberal no Brasil. Examina-se a precarização do trabalho como sendo elemento compositivo do novo metabolismo social que emerge com a reestruturação produtiva do capital e a constituição do Estado neoliberal. Apresenta-se como bases objetivas da precarização do trabalho, a intensificação (e ampliação) da exploração (e espoliação) da força de trabalho, o desmonte de coletivos de trabalho e de resistência sindical-corporativa; assim como a fragmentação social nas cidades em virtude do crescimento exacerbado do desemprego em massa.

Trabalho, corpo e subjetividade: toyotismo e formas de precariedade no capitalismo global

Nos últimos trinta anos de desenvolvimento capitalista, ocorreram transformações significativas nas diversas instâncias do ser social, com destaque para o mundo do trabalho e da reprodução social. Desenvolve-se o toyotismo, ideologia orgânica da nova produção capitalista, 'momento predominante' da reestruturação produtiva do capital. Sob o toyotismo, tende a constituir-se, pelo menos como 'promessa frustrada' do capital, o que iremos denominar 'compressão psicocorporal'. Esta constitui-se como um elemento da nova disposição sócio-subjetiva instaurada pelo toyotismo que caracteriza uma nova experiência do corpo, tanto no processo de trabalho quanto no processo sócio-reprodutivo.

As mutações no mundo do trabalho na era da mundialização do capital

A classe trabalhadora no século XXI, em plena era da globalização, é mais fragmentada, mais heterogênea e ainda mais diversificada. Pode-se constatar, neste processo, uma perda significativa de direitos e de sentidos, em sintonia com o caráter destrutivo do capital vigente. O sistema de metabolismo, sob controle do capital, tornou o trabalho ainda mais precarizado, por meio das formas de subempregado, desempregado, intensificando os níveis de exploração para aqueles que trabalham. Esse processo é bastante distinto, entretanto, das teses que propugnam o fim do trabalho. Este texto explora alguns dos significados e das dimensões das mudanças que vêm ocorrendo no mundo do trabalho.

Marxismo, a alienação e o tempo histórico da barbárie social do capital

O objetivo do ensaio é expor a alienação/estranhamento como o problema crucial do nosso tempo histórico, buscando salientar os significados do conceito de autotranscendência positiva da alienação, considerada por István Meszáros, como sendo o eixo da reflexão marxiana nos Manuscritos econômico-filosóficos. Para tanto, discorre sobre o novo registro histórico da Aufhebung nas condições da crise estrutural do capital e a vigência do capitalismo global como capitalismo manipulatório. Aborda a centralidade ontológica da problemática da vida cotidiana e o estranhamento na perspectiva da crítica radical do trabalho. Finalmente, coloca elementos para refletir, na perspectiva do marxismo radical, sobre a transição como sendo o problema de produção dos sujeitos humanos, capazes da autotranscendência positiva da alienação.

Do novo sindicalismo à concertação social: ascensão (e crise) do sindicalismo no Brasil (1978-1998)

La trajectoire du syndicalisme au Brésil de 1978 à 1998 se présente comme un passage, sur le plan de la stratégie syndicale, de la confrontation à la coopération conflictuelle, ou encore, de la lutte des classes dans la production vers une «convergence antagonique», ou un syndicalisme de participation ou de «concertation sociale», qui s'avère précisement un défensivisme nouveau, d'apparence néo-corporative. Ce que nous cherchons à caractériser ici est l'importance progressive dans la pratique syndicaliste prépondérante de la CUT dans les années 90 du nouveau corporatisme ouvrier, qui a tendance à affaiblir la perspective de classe qui a caractérisé la lutte politique et syndicale au Brésil dans les années 80.

Opinion of hepatic transplant waiting list patients regarding split liver transplantation

Background. Split liver transplantation (SLT) increases organ supply for hepatic transplantation. Long-term patient survival and complication rates seem to be equivalent between orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and SLT. There are controversies among transplant physicians due to an ethical dilemma between benefiting individual needs or those of society. Barshes and Goss (Am J Transplant 5:2047, 2005) demonstrated that the majority of adult liver transplant candidates are favorable to SLT. The aim of our study was to evaluate the opinions of patients at a Brazilian university hospital regarding SLT.Materials and Methods. A questionnaire with 14 questions was applied to 50 patients included in a hepatic transplant waiting list regarding SLT.Results. The overall attitudes of 66% of the participants were classified as utilitarian, 31% were classified as self-preserving, and 3% were undecided. Ninety-one percent of patients would be willing to share even if their expected survival after SLT was shorter than that with OLT. For 77% of patients, children must have priority over adults. However, 83% were unaware of the donors for pediatric transplantations.Conclusions. SLT is a consistent solution for organ demand despite controversies among transplant physicians. The present study demonstrated that most patients were favorable to SLT. In conclusion, attitudes toward graft sharing are not barriers to SLT.

Nutritional and chemical composition of culinary-medicinal Royal Sun Agaricus (the Himematsutake mushroom) Agaricus brasiliensis S. Wasser et al. (agaricomycetideae)

The objective of the study was to determine the nutritional and chemical composition (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, calcium, and iron), water and ash content, and the caloric value of powdered fruiting bodies from six strains and from a mixture of strains of the culinary-medicinal mushroom Agaricus brasiliensis. The Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric and multiple comparisons tests and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used, with a 5% significance level. First, the results showed that strain 99/30 had a similar nutritional composition to the mixed sample. Second, when comparing strain nutrients to the mixture nutrients, the highest levels of carbohydrates, proteins, and calcium were in strain 99/25, and the highest levels of lipids were in strains 97/11, 99/28, and 99/30. Strain 99/30 was highest both in caloric value and moisture content. Finally, the mixture was established as a good source of macronutrients and micronutrients, and strain 99/30 was the closest to the mixture in nutritional composition.

Allelic Frequencies of HPA-1 to 5 Human Platelet Antigens in Patients Infected With Hepatitis C Virus

Studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) may infect not only hepatocytes but may also be carried by platelets. Platelets express more than 20 polymorphic antigenic determinants on their surface, which are called human platelet antigens (HPA), To determine the allele frequency of the HPA-1 to -5 in patients infected with HCV, blood samples were collected from 257 blood donors for the control group and from 191 patients infected with HCV. DNA was isolated and amplified for genes HPA-1 to -4 using PCR Sequence Specific Primers (PCR-SSP) and HPA-5 using PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The allelic and genotypic frequency of HPA-5a in patients infected with HCV was found to be significantly lower(P < 0.05) than in the controls, and HPA-5b from patients infected with HCV was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in controls. The increase in HPA5b allelic frequency in HCV infection may indicate a possible association between HCV infection and HPAs. J. Med. Virol. 81:757-759, 2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

KIR genes and their human leukocyte antigen ligands in the progression to cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A Novel Diagnostic Target in the Hepatitis C Virus Genome

BackgroundDetection and quantification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA is integral to diagnostic and therapeutic regimens. All molecular assays target the viral 5'-noncoding region (59-NCR), and all show genotype-dependent variation of sensitivities and viral load results. Non-western HCV genotypes have been under-represented in evaluation studies. An alternative diagnostic target region within the HCV genome could facilitate a new generation of assays.Methods and FindingsIn this study we determined by de novo sequencing that the 3'-X-tail element, characterized significantly later than the rest of the genome, is highly conserved across genotypes. To prove its clinical utility as a molecular diagnostic target, a prototype qualitative and quantitative test was developed and evaluated multicentrically on a large and complete panel of 725 clinical plasma samples, covering HCV genotypes 1-6, from four continents (Germany, UK, Brazil, South Africa, Singapore). To our knowledge, this is the most diversified and comprehensive panel of clinical and genotype specimens used in HCV nucleic acid testing (NAT) validation to date. The lower limit of detection (LOD) was 18.4 IU/ml (95% confidence interval, 15.3-24.1 IU/ml), suggesting applicability in donor blood screening. The upper LOD exceeded 10(-9) IU/ml, facilitating viral load monitoring within a wide dynamic range. In 598 genotyped samples, quantified by Bayer VERSANT 3.0 branched DNA (bDNA), X-tail-based viral loads were highly concordant with bDNA for all genotypes. Correlation coefficients between bDNA and X-tail NAT, for genotypes 1-6, were: 0.92, 0.85, 0.95, 0.91, 0.95, and 0.96, respectively; X-tail-based viral loads deviated by more than 0.5 log10 from 5'-NCR-based viral loads in only 12% of samples (maximum deviation, 0.85 log10). The successful introduction of X-tail NAT in a Brazilian laboratory confirmed the practical stability and robustness of the X-tail-based protocol. The assay was implemented at low reaction costs (US$8.70 per sample), short turnover times (2.5 h for up to 96 samples), and without technical difficulties.ConclusionThis study indicates a way to fundamentally improve HCV viral load monitoring and infection screening. Our prototype assay can serve as a template for a new generation of viral load assays. Additionally, to our knowledge this study provides the first open protocol to permit industry-grade HCV detection and quantification in resource-limited settings.

Hibridização reversa e sequenciamento na genotipagem do vírus da hepatite C

INTRODUÇÃO: Os métodos de genotipagem do vírus da hepatite C têm sido muito discutidos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar as metodologias de hibridização reversa e sequenciamento direto para a genotipagem do vírus da hepatite C. MÉTODOS: Noventa e uma amostras de plasma de pacientes assistidos na Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade Estadual Paulista foram utilizadas. A genotipagem por hibridização reversa foi realizada utilizando o kit comercial INNO-LiPA® v.1.0. O sequenciamento direto foi efetuado em sequenciador automático utilizando protocolos in house. RESULTADOS: A genotipagem por sequenciamento direto mostrou-se eficiente na resolução dos resultados inconclusivos pelo kit comercial. O kit mostrou resultados errôneos em relação à subtipagem viral. Além disso, a genotipagem por sequenciamento direto revelou um erro do kit com relação à determinação genotípica questionando a eficiência do método também para a identificação do genótipo viral. CONCLUSÕES: A genotipagem realizada por meio de sequenciamento direto permite uma maior acurácia na classificação viral quando comparada à hibridização reversa.

Variability and resistance mutations in the hepatitis C virus NS3 protease in patients not treated with protease inhibitors

The goal of treatment of chronic hepatitis C is to achieve a sustained virological response, which is defined as exhibiting undetectable hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels in serum following therapy for at least six months. However, the current treatment is only effective in 50% of patients infected with HCV genotype 1, the most prevalent genotype in Brazil. Inhibitors of the serine protease non-structural protein 3 (NS3) have therefore been developed to improve the responses of HCV-infected patients. However, the emergence of drug-resistant variants has been the major obstacle to therapeutic success. The goal of this study was to evaluate the presence of resistance mutations and genetic polymorphisms in the NS3 genomic region of HCV from 37 patients infected with HCV genotype 1 had not been treated with protease inhibitors. Plasma viral RNA was used to amplify and sequence the HCV NS3 gene. The results indicate that the catalytic triad is conserved. A large number of substitutions were observed in codons 153, 40 and 91; the resistant variants T54A, T54S, V55A, R155K and A156T were also detected. This study shows that resistance mutations and genetic polymorphisms are present in the NS3 region of HCV in patients who have not been treated with protease inhibitors, data that are important in determining the efficiency of this new class of drugs in Brazil.