As sistematizações do pensamento econômico brasileiro em questão

Análise das sistematizações do pensamento econômico brasileiro de Guido Mantega e de Ricardo Bielschowsky. Esta incursão às sistematizações é feita inicialmente com a demarcação da HPE tradicional e da crítica. São apontadas, respectivamente, as características e concepções peculiares destas duas formas de construção da HPE. Salienta-se, principalmente, a distinção entre os tratamentos dados aos elementos ideológicos do pensamento econômico. A separação entre estas duas maneiras de fazer HPE e o teor das influências ideológicas nos permite uma avaliação crítica das duas referências de sistematização do pensamento econômico brasileiro. Este intuito é desenvolvido por meio da averiguação dos princípios unificadores utilizados por cada autor na elaboração da sua sistematização. Com efeito, critica-se a coerência e a sustentabilidade de ambos os métodos de organização do pensamento econômico brasileiro

Entre planejamento e mercado: o caso da concessão da BR-163 MT

A construção de infraestrutura rodoviária satisfatória não pode prescindir de uma atuação combinada de mercados e do poder público. Embora considerada fundamental para a integração territorial e para o desenvolvimento econômico, persistem perspectivas dicotômicas a respeito da distribuição de responsabilidades para o avanço de projetos de infraestrutura. O trabalho elabora sobre o caso do trecho da BR-163 em Mato Grosso para colaborar neste debate. A rodovia foi implantada nos anos 1970 como parte de um conjunto de políticas públicas orientadas a contornar a esparsa ocupação populacional e econômica do estado. Progressivamente, como fruto das políticas, do impulso da demanda interna e externa de grãos, e da modernização tecnológica do agronegócio, as áreas cultivadas e safras colhidas experimentaram forte expansão. A produção é majoritariamente destinada a portos e mercados consumidores no Sul e Sudeste, dependendo da infraestrutura de transportes, inclusive da BR-163 MT para o escoamento. O objetivo do trabalho é avaliar se o trecho da rodovia entre Sinop e a divisa com Mato Grosso Sul, sob concessão privada desde 2014, somente obteve condições de delegação à inciativa privada em consequência da pujança do agronegócio mato-grossense e do transporte dessa carga granel por veículos pesados.49 p.Desenvolvimento SocialPlanejamento GovernamentalEspecialização em Planejamento e Estratégias de Desenvolvimento, 1ª ediçãoOrientador: José Celso Cardoso Jr

Six-month Therapy with Aerosolized Interferon-γ for Refractory Multidrug-Resistant Pulmonary Tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the adjuvant effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) inhalation therapy for six months in the treatment of refractory multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Aerosolized IFN-γ was given to six MDR-TB patients with persistent positive smears and cultures despite long-term medical treatment. The patients received aerosolized two million international units of IFN-γ three times a week for 6 months while they continued on identical antituberculous chemotherapy. Before IFN-γ inhalation therapy, the patients received a median of 6.5 (range, 4 to 7) antituberculous drugs for median duration of 29 months (range,7 to 76). After IFN-γ inhalation therapy, sputum smears remained persistently positive in all patients throughout the study period. Sputum cultures were transiently negative at the 4th month in two patients, but became positive again at the end of 6 months of IFN-γ therapy. Five patients had radiological improvement including three patients who showed a decrease in the size of the cavitary lesions. Resectional surgery could be performed in one patient in whom substantial clinical and radiological improvement was noted after IFN-γ inhalation therapy. These results suggest that IFN-γ inhalation therapy may be effective for some cases of refractory MDR-TB who are otherwise not responding to conventional therapy

Natural variation in immune responses to neonatal mycobacterium bovis bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG) vaccination in a cohort of Gambian infants

Background There is a need for new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) that protect against adult pulmonary disease in regions where BCG is not effective. However, BCG could remain integral to TB control programmes because neonatal BCG protects against disseminated forms of childhood TB and many new vaccines rely on BCG to prime immunity or are recombinant strains of BCG. Interferon-gamma (IFN-) is required for immunity to mycobacteria and used as a marker of immunity when new vaccines are tested. Although BCG is widely given to neonates IFN- responses to BCG in this age group are poorly described. Characterisation of IFN- responses to BCG is required for interpretation of vaccine immunogenicity study data where BCG is part of the vaccination strategy. Methodology/Principal Findings 236 healthy Gambian babies were vaccinated with M. bovis BCG at birth. IFN-, interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13 responses to purified protein derivative (PPD), killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis (KMTB), M. tuberculosis short term culture filtrate (STCF) and M. bovis BCG antigen 85 complex (Ag85) were measured in a whole blood assay two months after vaccination. Cytokine responses varied up to 10 log-fold within this population. The majority of infants (89-98% depending on the antigen) made IFN- responses and there was significant correlation between IFN- responses to the different mycobacterial antigens (Spearman’s coefficient ranged from 0.340 to 0.675, p=10-6-10-22). IL-13 and IL-5 responses were generally low and there were more non-responders (33-75%) for these cytokines. Nonetheless, significant correlations were observed for IL-13 and IL-5 responses to different mycobacterial antigens Conclusions/Significance Cytokine responses to mycobacterial antigens in BCG-vaccinated infants are heterogeneous and there is significant inter-individual variation. Further studies in large populations of infants are required to identify the factors that determine variation in IFN- responses

Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Heart Tissue and Nitric Oxide in Serum of Trypanosoma cruzi-Infected Rhesus Monkeys: Association with Heart Injury

Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, afflicts from 8 to 15 million people in the Latin America. Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is the most frequent manifestation of Chagas disease. Currently, patient management only mitigates CCC symptoms. The pathogenic factors leading to CCC remain unknown; therefore their comprehension may contribute to develop more efficient therapies. In patients, high nitric oxide (NO) levels have been associated with CCC severity. In T. cruzi-infected mice, NO, mainly produced via inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS/NOS2), is proposed to work in parasite control. However, the participation of iNOS/NOS2 and NO in T. cruzi control and heart injury has been questioned. Here, infected rhesus monkeys and iNOS/NOS2-deficient mice were used to explore the participation of iNOS/NOS2-derived NO in heart injury in T. cruzi infection. Chronically infected monkeys presented electrical abnormalities, myocarditis and fibrosis, resembling the spectrum of human CCC. Moreover, cardiomyocyte lesion correlated with iNOS/NOS2+ cells infiltrating the cardiac tissue. Our findings support that parasite-driven iNOS/NOS2+ cells accumulation in the cardiac tissue and NO overproduction contribute to cardiomyopathy severity, mainly disturbing the pathway involved in electrical synchrony in T. cruzi infection

Immunomodulation with Recombinant Interferon-γ1b in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND:Current treatment regimens for pulmonary tuberculosis require at least 6 months of therapy. Immune adjuvant therapy with recombinant interferon-gamma1b (rIFN-gammab) may reduce pulmonary inflammation and reduce the period of infectivity by promoting earlier sputum clearance. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We performed a randomized, controlled clinical trial of directly observed therapy (DOTS) versus DOTS supplemented with nebulized or subcutaneously administered rIFN-gamma1b over 4 months to 89 patients with cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and blood were sampled at 0 and 4 months. There was a significant decline in levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 in 24-hour BAL supernatants only in the nebulized rIFN-gamma1b group from baseline to week 16. Both rIFN-gamma1b groups showed significant 3-fold increases in CD4+ lymphocyte response to PPD at 4 weeks. There was a significant (p = 0.03) difference in the rate of clearance of Mtb from the sputum smear at 4 weeks for the nebulized rIFN-gamma1b adjuvant group compared to DOTS or DOTS with subcutaneous rIFN-gamma1b. In addition, there was significant reduction in the prevalence of fever, wheeze, and night sweats at 4 weeks among patients receiving rFN-gamma1b versus DOTS alone. CONCLUSION:Recombinant interferon-gamma1b adjuvant therapy plus DOTS in cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis can reduce inflammatory cytokines at the site of disease, improve clearance of Mtb from the sputum, and improve constitutional symptoms. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00201123