Les modes de narration du contemporain : l'intimité, la répétition, l'addiction

Este artículo se centra en un corpus de obras contemporáneas: Black out (2016) de María Moreno, El pasado (2004) de Alan Pauls y La novela luminosa (2005) de Mario Levrero. Se parte de la premisa que contempla un doble movimiento y una ritmicidad del discurso: el movimiento de lo íntimo, que pone al sujeto de enunciación en el centro: su vida, su cotidianeidad, su funcionamiento orgánico, la corporalidad, el sentir fisiológico, etc.; en segundo lugar la repetición es concebida en tanto ritmo del discurso, como retorno, desde un punto que acecha la temporalidad y la fluidez; por último, estudiamos el movimiento de la adicción, en tanto elemento de repetición y exceso, de goce y de frustración en relación con la escritura. En torno al proceso de escritura y estos elementos, se cuestionan dos aspectos: los géneros literarios y sus manifestaciones indefinidas y el estatuto del sujeto de enunciación pensando en el giro autobiográfico.Fil: Caminada Rossetti, Lucia. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Humanidades; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Investigaciones Geohistóricas. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Investigaciones Geohistóricas; Argentin

Polyhydroxyalkanoate as a slow-release carbon source for in situ bioremediation of contaminated aquifers: from laboratory investigation to pilot-scale testing in the field

A pilot-scale study aiming to evaluate the potential use of poly-3-hydroxy-butyrate (PHB) as an electron donor source for in situ bioremediation of chlorinated hydrocarbons in groundwater was conducted. Compared with commercially available electron donors, PHB offers a restricted fermentation pathway (i.e., through acetic acid and molecular hydrogen) by avoiding the formation of any residual carbon that could potentially spoil groundwater quality. The pilot study was carried out at an industrial site in Italy, heavily contaminated by different chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs). Prior to field testing, PHB was experimentally verified as a suitable electron donor for biological reductive dechlorination processes at the investigated site by microcosm studies carried out on site aquifer material and measuring the quantitative transformation of detected CAHs to ethene. Owing to the complex geological characteristics of the aquifer, the use of a groundwater circulation well (GCW) was identified as a potential strategy to enable effective delivery and distribution of electron donors in less permeable layers and to mobilise contaminants. A 3-screened, 30-m-deep GCW coupled with an external treatment unit was installed at the site. The effect of PHB fermentation products on the in situ reductive dechlorination processes were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results from the first 4 months of operation clearly demonstrated that the PHB fermentation products were effectively delivered to the aquifer and positively influenced the biological dechlorination activity. Indeed, an increased abundance of Dehalococcoides mccartyi (up to 6.6 fold) and reduced CAH concentrations at the installed monitoring wells were observed

Neural detection of complex sound sequences in the absence of consciousness

Neural responses to violations of global regularities are thought to require consciousness. However, Tzovara et al. show that some comatose patients can also detect deviations in sequences composed of repeated groups of sounds, suggesting that the unconscious brain has a greater capacity to track sensory inputs than previously believe

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor -173 G>C single nucleotide polymorphism and its association with active pulmonary tuberculosis

Purpose The establishment of candidate genes associated with susceptibility to TB is a challenge especially due to divergent frequencies among different populations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) -173 G>C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and susceptibility to pulmonary TB in a population of southern Brazil. Methods Case-control study. Patients > 18 years old, diagnosed with pulmonary TB were included. The control group consisted of blood donors and household contacts, not relatives, healthy and > 18 years old. MIF -173 G>C SNPs were genotyped using real-time PCR using a TaqMan SNP Genotyping assay. Results 174 patients and 166 controls were included. There were no statistically significant differences between cases and controls regarding genotype prevalence (p>0.05). Comparing patients with normal genotype (GG) with those with at least one C allele, there was also no statistically significant difference (p = 0.135). Also, there was no statistically significant difference comparing the homozygous for the mutation (CC) with the other patients (GG and CG) (p = 0.864). Conclusions We did not find association between MIF -173 G>C polymorphism and susceptibility to pulmonary TB

Variant predictions in congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by mutations in CYP21A2

CYP21A2 deficiency represents 95% of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) cases, a group of genetic disorders that affect steroid biosynthesis. The genetic and functional analysis provide critical tools to elucidate complex CAH cases. One of the most accessible tools to infer the pathogenicity of new variants is in silico prediction. Here, we analyzed the performance of in silico prediction tools to categorize missense single nucleotide variants (SNVs) of CYP21A2. SNVs of CYP21A2 characterized in vitro by functional assays were selected to assess the performance of online single and meta predictors. SNVs were tested separately or in combination with the related phenotype (severe or mild CAH form). In total, 103 SNVs of CYP21A2 (90 pathogenic and 13 neutral) were used to test the performance of 13 single-predictors and four meta-predictors. All SNVs associated with the severe phenotypes were well categorized by all tools, with an accuracy of between 0.69 (PredictSNP2) and 0.97 (CADD), and Matthews’ correlation coefficient (MCC) between 0.49 (PoredicSNP2) and 0.90 (CADD). However, SNVs related to the mild phenotype had more variation, with the accuracy between 0.47 (S3Ds&GO and MAPP) and 0.88 (CADD), and MCC between 0.18 (MAPP) and 0.71 (CADD). From our analysis, we identified four predictors of CYP21A2 variant pathogenicity with good performance, CADD, ConSurf, DANN, and PolyPhen2. These results can be used for future analysis to infer the impact of uncharacterized SNVs in CYP21A2

Alterações metabólicas associadas à terapia anti-retroviral em pacientes HIV-positivos

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate metabolic changes associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-positive patients, and to identify risk factors associated. METHODS: Retrospective study that included 110 HIV-positive patients who where on HAART in the city of Porto Alegre (Southern Brazil) between January 2003 and March 2004. Data on demographic variables, cigarette smoking, diabetes mellitus, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, stage of HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy and HCV coinfection were collected. General linear models procedure for repeated measures was used to test the interaction between HAART and HCV coinfection or protease inhibitor treatment. RESULTS: Total cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels significantly increased after receiving HAART (pOBJETIVO: Evaluar las alteraciones metabólicas asociadas a la terapia anti-retroviral potente en pacientes HIV-positivos e identificar factores de riesgo asociados. MÉTODOS: Estudio retrospectivo con 110 pacientes HIV-positivos que estaban en terapia anti-retroviral potente (HAART) en la ciudad de Porto Alegre (Sur de Brasil), entre enero de 2003 y marzo de 2004. Los datos colectados incluyen variables demográficas, tabaquismo, diabetes mellitas, niveles de colesterol y triglicéridos, fase de la infección viral, terapia anti-retroviral y co-infección con hepatitis C. El análisis multivariado para medidas repetidas (General Linear Model procedure for Repeated Measures) fue utilizada para analizar la interacción entre el efecto de uso de HAART y el uso de inhibidores de proteasa o co-infección por hepatitis C. RESULTADOS: Fueron observados aumentos significativos en los niveles de colesterol total, triglicéridos y glucosa posterior al tratamiento con HAART (pOBJETIVO: Avaliar as alterações metabólicas associadas à terapia anti-retroviral potente em pacientes HIV-positivos e identificar fatores de risco associados. MÉTODOS: Estudo retrospectivo com 110 pacientes HIV-positivos que estavam sob terapia anti-retroviral potente (HAART) na cidade de Porto Alegre (RS), entre janeiro de 2003 e março de 2004. Os dados coletados incluem variáveis demográficas, tabagismo, diabetes mellitus, níveis de colesterol e triglicerídeos, estágio da infecção viral, terapia anti-retroviral e co-infecção com hepatite C. A análise multivariada para medidas repetidas (General Linear Model procedure for Repeated Measures) foi utilizada para testar a interação entre o efeito do uso de HAART e o uso de inibidores de protease ou co-infecção por hepatite C. RESULTADOS: Foram observados aumentos significativos nos níveis de colesterol total, triglicerídeos e glicose após o tratamento com HAART (

Progression of auditory discrimination based on neural decoding predicts awakening from coma

Auditory evoked potentials are informative of intact cortical functions of comatose patients. The integrity of auditory functions evaluated using mismatch negativity paradigms has been associated with their chances of survival. However, because auditory discrimination is assessed at various delays after coma onset, it is still unclear whether this impairment depends on the time of the recording. We hypothesized that impairment in auditory discrimination capabilities is indicative of coma progression, rather than of the comatose state itself and that rudimentary auditory discrimination remains intact during acute stages of coma. We studied 30 post-anoxic comatose patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest and five healthy, age-matched controls. Using a mismatch negativity paradigm, we performed two electroencephalography recordings with a standard 19-channel clinical montage: the first within 24 h after coma onset and under mild therapeutic hypothermia, and the second after 1 day and under normothermic conditions. We analysed electroencephalography responses based on a multivariate decoding algorithm that automatically quantifies neural discrimination at the single patient level. Results showed high average decoding accuracy in discriminating sounds both for control subjects and comatose patients. Importantly, accurate decoding was largely independent of patients' chance of survival. However, the progression of auditory discrimination between the first and second recordings was informative of a patient's chance of survival. A deterioration of auditory discrimination was observed in all non-survivors (equivalent to 100% positive predictive value for survivors). We show, for the first time, evidence of intact auditory processing even in comatose patients who do not survive and that progression of sound discrimination over time is informative of a patient's chance of survival. Tracking auditory discrimination in comatose patients could provide new insight to the chance of awakening in a quantitative and automatic fashion during early stages of com

Prediction of awakening from hypothermic post anoxic coma based on auditory discrimination.

OBJECTIVE: Most of the available clinical tests for prognosis of post-anoxic coma are informative of poor outcome. Previous work has shown that an improvement in auditory discrimination over the first days of coma is predictive of awakening. Here, we aimed at evaluating this test on a large cohort of patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia and at investigating its added value on existing clinical measures. METHODS: We recorded electroencephalography responses to auditory stimuli in 94 comatose patients, under hypothermia and after re-warming to normal temperature. Auditory discrimination was semi-automatically quantified by decoding electroencephalography responses to frequently repeated vs. rare sounds. Outcome prediction was based on the change of decoding performance from hypothermia to normothermia. RESULTS: An increase in auditory discrimination from hypothermia to normothermia was observed for 33 out of 94 patients. Among them, 27 awoke from coma, resulting in a positive predictive value of awakening of 82% (95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.93). Most non-survivors showing an improvement in auditory discrimination had incident status epilepticus. By excluding them, 27 out of 29 patients with improvement in auditory discrimination survived, resulting in a considerable improvement of the predictive value for awakening (93%, with 95% confidence interval: 0.77-0.99). Importantly, this test predicted the awakening of 13 out of 51 patients for which the outcome was uncertain based on current tests. INTERPRETATION: The progression of auditory discrimination from hypothermia to normothermia has a high predictive value for awakening. This quantitative measure provides an added value to existing clinical tests and encourages the maintenance of life support. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Evidence of trace conditioning in comatose patients revealed by the reactivation of EEG responses to alerting sounds.

Trace conditioning refers to a learning process occurring after repeated presentation of a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS+) and a salient unconditioned stimulus (UCS) separated by a temporal gap. Recent studies have reported that trace conditioning can occur in humans in reduced levels of consciousness by showing a transfer of the unconditioned autonomic response to the CS+ in healthy sleeping individuals and in vegetative state patients. However, no previous studies have investigated the neural underpinning of trace conditioning in the absence of consciousness in humans. In the present study, we recorded the EEG activity of 29 post-anoxic comatose patients while presenting a trace conditioning paradigm using neutral tones as CS+ and alerting sounds as UCS. Most patients received therapeutic hypothermia and all were deeply unconscious according to standardized clinical scales. After repeated presentation of the CS+ and UCS couple, learning was assessed by measuring the EEG activity during the period where the UCS is omitted after CS+ presentation. Specifically we assessed the 'reactivation' of the neural response to UCS omission by applying a decoding algorithm derived from the statistical model of the EEG activity in response to the UCS presentation. The same procedure was used in a group of 12 awake healthy controls. We found a reactivation of the UCS response in absence of stimulation in eight patients (five under therapeutic hypothermia) and four healthy controls. Additionally, the reactivation effect was temporally specific within trials since it manifested primarily at the specific latency of UCS presentation and significantly less before or after this period. Our results show for the first time that trace conditioning may manifest as a reactivation of the EEG activity related to the UCS and even in the absence of consciousness