Arte e moral em Shaftesbury.

Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Filosofia. Departamento de Filosofia, Instituto de Filosofia, Artes e Cultura, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto.O objetivo desta disserta??o ? investigar a rela??o entre arte e moral na filosofia de Anthony Ashley Cooper, Terceiro Conde de Shaftesbury (1671-1713). Para tanto, um trajeto foi tra?ado. Primeiro, foi preciso passar pela cr?tica de Shaftesbury ? filosofia moderna, j? que algumas de suas ideias s?o rea??es a determinadas elabora??es te?ricas de ent?o. Posteriormente, percorreu-se sua concep??o de natureza ? que contrasta com a de muitos de seus contempor?neos e serve de fundamento tanto para sua teoria das paix?es quanto para sua compreens?o do papel da arte no ?mbito do humano. Por derradeiro, analisou-se certos aspectos da aproxima??o que o fil?sofo intentava realizar, em seus ?ltimos escritos, entre motivos morais e as artes do desenho. Ao longo do percurso, que atravessou as principais obras do fil?sofo ingl?s, uma s?rie de no??es e de conceitos foram abordados. Dentre eles, destacam-se o de universo, enquanto todo organizado, fruto de um design; o de beleza, como harmonia e conveni?ncia; o de homem, que, na qualidade de ser racional e moral, deve controlar suas fantasias; e o de arte, como importante e insepar?vel parceira da virtude.This dissertation?s goal is to investigate the relation between art and morality towards the philosophy of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713). In intention of doing so, a path was traced. First, it was needed to go through Shaftesbury?s criticism over modern philosophy, since some of his ideas are reactions to specific theoretical elaborations from the mentioned age. Posteriorly, his conception about nature was traversed ? which contrasts with many of his contemporaneous and suits as threshold either to his theory of passions or to his comprehension about the role of art in human competence. Furthermore, aspects of the philosopher?s approximation between moral themes and drawing arts were analyzed. Along the way, which went through the English philosopher?s main works, a series of notions and conceptions were approached. Among them, it stands out the concept of universe, as an organized whole, born from design; of the beauty, as harmony and convenience; of the man, who, in the quality of a moral and rational being, must control his fancies; and of the art, as an important and inseparable partner of virtue

Resistin and visfatin concentrations are related to central obesity and inflammation in Brazilian children.

Background: The evidence that cardiovascular disease begins in childhood and adolescence, especially in the presence of excess weight, is associated with dysfunction on adipokine pro-inflammatory secretion. These affect glucose metabolism and lead to other complications related to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. This study assessed the association of anthropometric and metabolic parameters related to obesity, cardiovascular risk, and insulin resistance with concentrations of resistin and visfatin, in children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed with 178 children of 6?10 years old enrolled in public city schools. Anthropometric data, composition body, clinical, and biochemical were measured according to standard procedures. We used multiple regression models by stepwise method to evaluate the associations of resistin and visfatin with variables of interest. Results: In healthy weight children, resistin was associated with LDL cholesterol, visfatin, atherogenic index, and waist-to-height ratio, whereas in obese children resistin was associated with visfatin and interaction between conicity index and HOMA-AD. Furthermore, in healthy weight children, visfatin was associated to resistin and triceps skinfold thickness and negatively associated to HOMA-AD, while in obese ones visfatin was associated with waistto- height ratio, atherogenic index, resistin, and interaction between trunk adiposity index and adiponectin and was negatively associated with the HOMA-IR index. Conclusions: Our study shows an association between anthropometric and biochemical variables related to visceral fat and inflammation. These results suggest the resistin and visfatin as good pro-inflammatory markers. In addition, both adipokines are strongly related to central obesity, in children

Influence of Ecto-Nucleoside Triphosphate Diphosphohydrolase Activity on Trypanosoma cruzi Infectivity and Virulence

The protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of Chagas disease, an endemic zoonosis present in some countries of South and Central Americas. The World Health Organization estimates that 100 million people are at risk of acquiring this disease. The infection affects mainly muscle tissues in the heart and digestive tract. There are no vaccines or effective treatment, especially in the chronic phase when most patients are diagnosed, which makes a strong case for the development of new drugs to treat the disease. In this work we evaluate a family of proteins called Ecto-Nucleoside-Triphosphate-Diphosphohydrolase (Ecto-NTPDase) as new chemotherapy target to block T. cruzi infection in mammalian cells and in mice. We have used inhibitors and antibodies against this protein and demonstrated that T. cruzi Ecto-NTPDases act as facilitators of infection in mammalian cells and virulence factors in mice model. Two of the drugs used in this study (Suramin and Gadolinium) are currently used for other diseases in humans, supporting the possibility of their use in the treatment of Chagas disease

Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolic syndrome in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In adults, there is a substantial body of evidence that physical inactivity or low cardiorespiratory fitness levels are strongly associated with the development of metabolic syndrome. Although this association has been studied extensively in adults, little is known regarding this association in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness levels with metabolic syndrome in Brazilian adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random sample of 223 girls (mean age, 14.4 ± 1.6 years) and 233 boys (mean age, 14.6 ± 1.6 years) was selected for the study. The level of physical activity was determined by the Bouchard three-day physical activity record. Cardiorespiratory fitness was estimated by the Leger 20-meter shuttle run test. The metabolic syndrome components assessed included waist circumference, blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose levels. Independent Student <it>t</it>-tests were used to assess gender differences. The associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with the presence of metabolic syndrome were calculated using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high prevalence of metabolic syndrome was observed in inactive adolescents (males, 11.4%; females, 7.2%) and adolescents with low cardiorespiratory fitness levels (males, 13.9%; females, 8.6%). A significant relationship existed between metabolic syndrome and low cardiorespiratory fitness (OR, 3.0 [1.13-7.94]).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is high among adolescents who are inactive and those with low cardiorespiratory fitness. Prevention strategies for metabolic syndrome should concentrate on enhancing fitness levels early in life.</p