1.1 Mãos que (não) tocam, seiva e resíduo: Da imagem em Jean-Luc Nancy e Giuseppe Penone

Esse texto parte do vínculo, ressaltado por Jean-Luc Nancy em algumas de suas obras (Le poids d’une pensée; Corpus; dentre outras), entre pensamento, imagem e corpo. Em seguida, são tematizadas suas ponderações acerca das condições peculiares de corpos e do tocar (toucher) que, figurados em imagens (pinturas e gravuras), apresentam o motivo do Noli me tangere (Não me toque) em sua obra homônima. Num segundo momento, esse texto se volta a obras do artista plástico Giuseppe Penone, nas quais o trabalho não figurativo a partir de impressões e rastros implica uma remissão mais acentuada a gestos de mãos não mais presentes. O pensamento de Nancy e o de Jacques Derrida, cuja intertextualidade foi especialmente sublinhada por este no livro Le toucher: Jean Luc Nancy, propiciarão uma aproximação da obra de Penone; esta, por sua vez, permitirá reler, através de um “desvio textual”, alguns passos de pensamento de Nancy

Strategic lesions in the anterior thalamic radiation and apathy in early Alzheimer's disease

BACKGROUND Behavioural disorders and psychological symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) are commonly observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and strongly contribute to increasing patients' disability. Using voxel-lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM), we investigated the impact of white matter lesions (WMLs) on the severity of BPSD in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI). METHODS Thirty-one a-MCI patients (with a conversion rate to AD of 32% at 2 year follow-up) and 26 healthy controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination at 3T, including T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated-inversion-recovery images, and T1-weighted volumes. In the patient group, BPSD was assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-12. After quantitative definition of WMLs, their distribution was investigated, without an a priori anatomical hypothesis, against patients' behavioural symptoms. Unbiased regional grey matter volumetrics was also used to assess the contribution of grey matter atrophy to BPSD. RESULTS Apathy, irritability, depression/dysphoria, anxiety and agitation were shown to be the most common symptoms in the patient sample. Despite a more widespread anatomical distribution, a-MCI patients did not differ from controls in WML volumes. VLSM revealed a strict association between the presence of lesions in the anterior thalamic radiations (ATRs) and the severity of apathy. Regional grey matter atrophy did not account for any BPSD. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that damage to the ATRs is strategic for the occurrence of apathy in patients with a-MCI. Disconnection between the prefrontal cortex and the mediodorsal and anterior thalamic nuclei might represent the pathophysiological substrate for apathy, which is one of the most common psychopathological symptoms observed in dementia

Best practices for the rational use of water in construction sites in Brazil

Even though water is a scarce resource, not much thought has been given to its proper use during the execution phase of the building, unless this construction site has already acquired sustainability criteria or certification program. The purpose of this study is to assess the sustainability practice of the rational use of water and its application in the execution phase of construction sites in Brazil. The research proposes a list of items that facilitates the implementation of sustainability in construction sites by creating a checklist of sustainable practices based on environmental certification programs. This article uses the case study by a qualitative method, which can evaluate the major difficulties and the best occurrences of sustainable practices related to water use in construction sites. This work consists of six projects of various typologies and geographical locations in Brazil. The adoption of this list may serve as a tool for the implementation of sustainability in construction sites and as a benchmark among the companies. Finally, best practices for the rational use of water are proposed at the construction sites.This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and Project 01.11.0056.00—FINEP (Financier of Studies and Projects)— CANTECHIS—Technologies for Social Housing Scheme (HIS) Sustainable Construction Sites

Contagion of anxiety symptoms among adolescent siblings : a twin study

This study examined whether social contagion of anxiety symptoms is present between siblings during early adolescence and whether this process is moderated by sex, relationship quality, and zygosity. Based on 634 monozygotic and dizygotic twins (336 females) assessed in Grades 6 and 7, anxiety symptoms and sibling relationship quality were measured with self‐report questionnaires. The predictive association of the co‐twin's level of anxiety with adolescents' own increased anxiety 1 year later was only observed in same‐sex twin dyads (monozygotic and dizygotic) and was higher for those who perceived a higher level of relationship quality with their co‐twin. Raising awareness of a possible sibling contagion of anxiety may be useful for preventing the development of anxiety symptoms in youth

Patterns of cerebellar gray matter atrophy across Alzheimer's disease progression

The role of the cerebellum in cognitive function has been broadly investigated in the last decades from an anatomical, clinical, and functional point of view and new evidence points toward a significant contribution of the posterior lobes of the cerebellum in cognition in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present work we used SUIT-VBM (spatially unbiased infratentorial template, voxel-based morphometry) to perform an analysis of the pattern of cerebellar gray matter (GM) atrophy in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) and AD dementia patients compared to healthy subjects (HS), in order to follow the changes of non-motor features of cerebellar degeneration throughout disease progression. This template has been validated to guarantee a significant improvement in voxel-to-voxel alignment of the individual fissures and the deep cerebellar nuclei compared to Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) whole-brain template. Our analysis shows a progression of cerebellar GM volume changes throughout a continuous spectrum from early to late clinical stages of AD. In particular vermis and paravermian areas of the anterior (I-V) and posterior (VI) lobes are involved since the a-MCI stage, with a later involvement of the hemispheric part of the posterior lobes (VI lobule) and Crus I in AD dementia patients only. These findings support the role of the cerebellum in higher-level functions, and whilst confirming previous data on the involvement of Crus I in AD dementia, provide new evidence of an involvement of the vermis in the early stages of the disease

Friendship experiences and anxiety among children : a genetically informed study

This study examined (a) whether, in line with a gene-environment correlation (rGE), a genetic disposition for anxiety puts children at risk of having anxious friends or having no reciprocal friends; (b) to what extent these friendship experiences are related to anxiety symptoms, when controlling for sex and genetic disposition for this trait; and (c) the additive and interactive predictive links of the reciprocal best friend's anxiety symptoms and of friendship quality with children's anxiety symptoms. Using a genetically informed design based on 521 monozygotic and ic twins (264 girls; 87% of European descent) assessed in Grade 4 (M age = 10.04 years, SD = .26), anxiety symptoms and perceived friendship quality were measured with self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that, in line with rGE, children with a strong genetic disposition for anxiety were more likely to have anxious friends than nonanxious friends. Moreover, controlling for their genetic risk for anxiety, children with anxious friends showed higher levels of anxiety symptoms than children with nonanxious friends but did not differ from those without reciprocal friends. Additional analyses suggested a possible contagion of anxiety symptoms between reciprocal best friends when perceived negative features of friendship were high. These results underline the importance of teaching strategies such as problem solving that enhance friendship quality to limit the potential social contagion of anxiety symptoms

Desenhos sob desenhos, jogo e resistência:

Nossa pesquisa propôs uma aproximação entre o pensamento desconstrutivo de Jacques Derrida e a produção artística de William Kentridge. O intuito foi analisar pontos de contato, intersecções e limites em que ambas as produções, quais sejam, teórico-filosófica do primeiro e visual-cinematográfica do segundo, são frutíferas para se pensar questões que concernem à arte contemporânea, no âmbito denominado por Derrida de artes do espaço. A aproximação se deu principalmente entre tópicos de pensamento trabalhados por Derrida – quais sejam, especialmente: traço e rastro, jogo, bricolagem e resistência – e a série de curta-metragem em animação de William Kentridge, Nine Drawings for Projection, produzidos entre 1989 e 2003

Modelo avaliativo de aplicação do Lean Six Sigma em empresas construtoras / Lean Six Sigma application assessment model in construction companies

Ainda que a indústria da construção civil tenha desenvolvido metodologias para o controle da qualidade de obras, ainda há falhas no gerenciamento da qualidade, principalmente em relação ao controle dos processos e produtos. A implantação do conjunto de práticas conhecido como Lean Six Sigma (LSS) pode proporcionar melhoria na eficiência dos processos reduzindo os desperdícios. O objetivo desta pesquisa é propor uma estrutura de avaliação de possível aplicação do LSS por meio de um questionário estruturado seguindo a formatação do ciclo DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control). O questionário foi aplicado a profissionais responsáveis pelo gerenciamento de obras e pelo setor da qualidade em duas construtoras. Os resultados demonstraram que as empresas contatadas possuem o domínio da fase de definição de atividades, clientes e requisições, porém há possibilidade de implementação de ações e ferramentas aplicadas para o desenvolvimento de processos e produtos. Sendo assim, a pesquisa contribui para elencar os principais gargalos nos modelos de gerenciamento aplicados por empresas construtoras segundo a prática LSS