Making Sense of Life, Global Activism in the Cyberspace

Several recent works have examined the relationship between social media and social movements in the latest cycle of protest. This paper examines how media activism provides a cross-fertilising communication process by shaping a cosmopolitan imagination. The cases of Adbuster and Avaaz are analysed, as two examples of media activism, equally engaged in changing the state of the world. In this paper; similarities and the differences are highlighted in order to understand how a cosmopolitan imagination, as a new challenge to the global information society, is constructed. The article explores how action shapes an online community, bypassing state borders and takes a form that shares visions, actions and strategies and develops a new common language, representing a balance between two sets of tensions: the politics of universalism versus the acknowledgement of difference and the responsibility for action

Diagnóstico molecular da taxa de infecção natural de flebotomíneos (Psychodidae, Lutzomyia) por Leishmania sp na Amazônia maranhense Molecular diagnosis of the natural infection rate due to Leishmania sp in sandflies (Psychodidae, Lutzomyia) in the Amazon region of Maranhão, Brazil

A taxa de infecção natural de três diferentes espécies de flebotomíneos por Leishmania foi estudada usando a técnica de reação em cadeia da polimerase. Primers específicos para Leishmania foram designados para examinar se os pools de flebotomíneos estavam infectadas. Um total de 1.100 fêmeas separadas em pools de 10 indivíduos foram examinados, consistindo de 50 Lutzomyia whitmani, 43 Lutzomyia triacantha e 17 Lutzomyia choti. De todos os pools analisados, 4 de Lutzomyia whitmani estavam positivos, mas nenhum pool das duas espécies restantes estava infectado. Deste modo, uma taxa de infecção de 0,4% foi verificada neste estudo. Esta taxa de infecção associada a estudos anteriores sugere que Lutzomyia whitmani transmite Leishmania aos mamíferos em Buriticupu, Maranhão.<br>The natural infection rate due to Leishmania was studied in three different sandfly species using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Leishmania specific primers were designed to examine whether sandfly pools were infected. In total 1,100 female sandflies separated into pools of 10 individuals, consisting of 50 pools of Lutzomyia whitmani, 43 of Lutzomyia triacantha and 17 of Lutzomyia choti, were analyzed. Among all the pools examined, four pools of Lutzomyia whitmani were positive, but none of the pools of the other two species were infected. Thus, a total infection rate of 0.4% was established in this study. A similar infection rate was found in previous studies, suggesting that Lutzomyia whitmani transmits Leishmania to mammals in Buriticupu, Maranhão