MEDO E MORTE EM ÁLVARES DE AZEVEDO , GUY DE MAUPASSANT E EDGAR ALLAN POE

"Fear is the thing I fear most in the world" Montaigne said in one of his essays (MONTAIGNE, 1991, p. 40).The fear of the unknown is a human feeling inherent in the constitution and the horror genre is characterized by the ability to exploit this feature. However, the literature produces a strange fear that can come from any subject from causing discomfort to the player that appeals to reading. Above all issues related to death and survival causes singular effects. Reflecting on these aspects, we propose a comparative analysis among the short stories "Genaro" of Álvares de Azevedo, "Black Cat" of Edgar Allan Poe and "Apparition" of Guy de Maupassant, to establish relations between them. To this end, we will consider the points of hesitation that works based on the studies of Lovecraft, and King of Todorov.“O medo é a coisa de que mais medo tenho no mundo” disse Montaigne em um de seus ensaios (MONTAIGNE,1991, p. 40). O medo do desconhecido é um sentimento inerente à constituição humana e o gênero de horror é caracterizado pela capacidade de explorar essa característica. Entretanto, a literatura insólita produz um medo que pode emanar de qualquer tema desde que provoque um desconforto no leitor que o atraia à leitura. Sobretudo os temas relacionados à morte e à sobrevida causam efeitos singulares. Refletindo sobre tais aspectos, propomos uma análise comparativa entre os contos “Genaro” de Álvares de Azevedo, “Gato Preto” de Edgar Allan Poe e “Aparição” de Guy de Maupassant, procurando estabelecer relações entre eles. Para tanto, consideraremos os pontos de hesitação dessas obras

O Fantástico Genológico: Considerações Teóricas e Outras Considerações / The Fantastic Genological: Theoretical and Other Considerations

Antes dos estudos de Todorov acerca do gênero fantástico, na década de 1970, quaisquer narrativas não identificadas como a estética positivista do real eram consideradas como fantástica. Caracterização bastante abrangente, que englobava desde o onírico ao sobrenatural, tendo sido usado para designar as mais diferentes manifestações literárias, às vezes de gêneros não afiliados entre si. Além do mais, o termo fantástico foi muitas vezes usado como sinônimo de excêntrico, mirabolante e exagerado. Por isso, o termo foi em alguns autores tomado como equivalente a fantasia e vice e versa.  Se não há uma mesma realidade, com o mesmo valor cultural para todas as épocas, seria um gravíssimo erro opor fantástico a real sem considerar as implicações sócio-históricas e culturais pertinentes, uma vez que a realidade é uma construção complexa. Sendo assim, o gênero fantástico não é e nem pretende ser antônimo de real. Paradoxalmente parte de um sistema realista para questionar o que se entende por realidade num dado momento histórico e cultural. Isso posto, verificamos que ainda hoje há uma flutuação entre aquilo que se considera ou não como fantástico, haja vista os pontos de encontro entre o fantástico e outros gêneros literários como o gótico e o realismo mágico, por exemplo. Ademais, os estudos do gênero em causa, desde Todorov, parecem seguir duas tendências contrapostas. A primeira limita o gênero a determinadas estratégias narrativas e temas, e o localiza historicamente no século XIX. A segunda o alarga de tal modo a abranger não somente outros períodos históricos como a abraçar os outros gêneros com os quais se imbrica, como uma espécie de macro-gênero ou modalidade literária. Ciente disso, o presente trabalho, seguindo a primeira tendência, ocupar-se-á da discussão acerca de um fantástico genológico a partir das considerações teóricas de Tzvetan Todorov (1970), Jean Bellemin-Noël (1072), Felipe Furtado (1980) e Pampa O. Aràn (1999)

Ensino remoto emergencial: as dificuldades na perspectiva de mães e mães-professoras

The Covid-19 pandemic caused considerable social changes in the global scenario. Education was one of the most affected fields, especially basic education that had to migrate to the remote environment without any preparation. To understand how mothers, mother-teachers, and children perceive difficulties during emergency remote education (ERE), an opinion poll was conducted with 395 Brazilian women with children of school age between June and July 2020. Participants who were likewise teachers were differentiated among the sample to point out differences experienced by each of these realities. The results indicate that remote education forced mothers to put great efforts into helping their children with school activities, causing physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion – especially among women with more than one child, who work outside their homes, or who work in teaching. The results also show that children and adolescents aged from 2 to 13 thirteen years old were forced to leave the school environment and continue classes remotely, without prior preparation. Despite the lack of culprits for such a situation, the teaching-learning process throughout 2020 has ceased to be whole to become fragmented and often distraught, with unclear consequences for the involved subjects.La pandemia del covid-19 en 2020 provocó intensos cambios en el campo social. Una de las áreas más afectadas fue la educación, especialmente la educación básica, que no estuvo preparada para el cambio de la modalidad presencial a la remota. Para comprender cómo las madres, madres-maestras y sus hijos perciben claramente las dificultades que se enfrentaron durante la educación remota de emergencia (ERE), se realizó una encuesta de opinión entre junio y julio de 2020, con 395 mujeres brasileñas, cuyos hijos están en edad escolar, con el fin de comprender los impactos de iniciar la ERE para este grupo. Evidentemente, en la muestra de participantes, diferenciamos las madres que practican la docencia, a las que denominamos madres-maestras, para identificar las diferencias que cada una de estas realidades sufrió con la experiencia de la ERE. Los resultados demuestran que con la práctica de la educación remota las madres tuvieron que hacer todo lo posible para ayudar a sus hijos con las actividades escolares, lo que les provocó un gran agotamiento físico, mental y emocional, especialmente en mujeres que tienen más de un hijo y que trabajan fuera del hogar o en el ramo de la enseñanza. La franja de edad de los hijos y adolescentes fue de entre 2 y 13 años, que sin preparación previa tuvieron que abandonar repentinamente los espacios escolares para continuar sus clases en la modalidad remota. Se concluye que, aunque no hay culpables, el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, a lo largo de 2020, dejó de ser un todo para convertirse en algo fragmentado, a veces sin rumbo, cuyas consecuencias para los sujetos involucrados aún no están claras.A pandemia provocada pela covid-19 em 2020 provocou intensas mudanças no cenário social. Uma das áreas mais afetadas foi a educação, em especial a educação básica, que, sem preparo, foi da modalidade presencial à remota. Para entender como as dificuldades enfrentadas são distintamente percebidas pelas mães, mães-professoras e seus filhos durante o ensino remoto emergencial (ERE), empreendeu-se uma pesquisa de opinião, entre os meses de junho e julho de 2020, com 395 mulheres brasileiras cujos filhos estão em idade escolar, a fim de entender os impactos do início do ERE para esse grupo. Evidentemente, diferenciamos dentre as mães que compõem a amostra aquelas que exercem a docência, as quais denominamos “mães-professoras”, a fim de pontuar as diferenças entre o que cada uma dessas realidades sofreu com a experiência do ERE. Os resultados demonstram que com a prática do ensino remoto as mães tiveram que se desdobrar para auxiliar os filhos nas atividades escolares, o que provocou grande exaustão física, mental e emocional, sobretudo para as mulheres que têm mais de um filho, que trabalham fora ou que exercem o magistério. Ainda, a faixa etária dos discentes revela crianças e adolescentes entre 2 e 13 anos, que, sem preparação prévia, deixaram subitamente os espaços escolares aos quais pertenciam e tiveram que continuar as aulas de forma remota. Conclui-se que, embora não haja culpados, o processo de ensino-aprendizagem ao longo de 2020 deixou de ser um todo para tornar-se algo fragmentado, por vezes sem rumo certo, cujas consequências para os sujeitos envolvidos ainda não são claras

Enhanced axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination offers neuroprotection:implications for multiple sclerosis

Axonal loss is the key pathological substrate of neurological disability in demyelinating disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the consequences of demyelination on neuronal and axonal biology are poorly understood. The abundance of mitochondria in demyelinated axons in MS raises the possibility that increased mitochondrial content serves as a compensatory response to demyelination. Here, we show that upon demyelination mitochondria move from the neuronal cell body to the demyelinated axon, increasing axonal mitochondrial content, which we term the axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination (ARMD). However, following demyelination axons degenerate before the homeostatic ARMD reaches its peak. Enhancement of ARMD, by targeting mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial transport from the cell body to axon, protects acutely demyelinated axons from degeneration. To determine the relevance of ARMD to disease state, we examined MS autopsy tissue and found a positive correlation between mitochondrial content in demyelinated dorsal column axons and cytochromecoxidase (complex IV) deficiency in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuronal cell bodies. We experimentally demyelinated DRG neuron-specific complex IV deficient mice, as established disease models do not recapitulate complex IV deficiency in neurons,and found that these mice are able to demonstrate ARMD, despite the mitochondrial perturbation.Enhancement of mitochondrial dynamics in complex IV deficient neurons protects the axon upon demyelination. Consequently, increased mobilisation of mitochondria from the neuronal cell body to the axon is a novel neuroprotective strategy for the vulnerable, acutely demyelinated axon. We propose that promoting ARMD is likely to be a crucial preceding step for implementing potential regenerative strategies for demyelinating disorders.</p

Enhanced axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination offers neuroprotection:implications for multiple sclerosis

Axonal loss is the key pathological substrate of neurological disability in demyelinating disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the consequences of demyelination on neuronal and axonal biology are poorly understood. The abundance of mitochondria in demyelinated axons in MS raises the possibility that increased mitochondrial content serves as a compensatory response to demyelination. Here, we show that upon demyelination mitochondria move from the neuronal cell body to the demyelinated axon, increasing axonal mitochondrial content, which we term the axonal response of mitochondria to demyelination (ARMD). However, following demyelination axons degenerate before the homeostatic ARMD reaches its peak. Enhancement of ARMD, by targeting mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial transport from the cell body to axon, protects acutely demyelinated axons from degeneration. To determine the relevance of ARMD to disease state, we examined MS autopsy tissue and found a positive correlation between mitochondrial content in demyelinated dorsal column axons and cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV) deficiency in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuronal cell bodies. We experimentally demyelinated DRG neuron-specific complex IV deficient mice, as established disease models do not recapitulate complex IV deficiency in neurons, and found that these mice are able to demonstrate ARMD, despite the mitochondrial perturbation. Enhancement of mitochondrial dynamics in complex IV deficient neurons protects the axon upon demyelination. Consequently, increased mobilisation of mitochondria from the neuronal cell body to the axon is a novel neuroprotective strategy for the vulnerable, acutely demyelinated axon. We propose that promoting ARMD is likely to be a crucial preceding step for implementing potential regenerative strategies for demyelinating disorders.</p

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe