THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN IN THE DISCOURSES AT THE UN: A CONTENT ANALYSIS ON THE REGIONAL NATURE OF THE OCEANIC SPACE (1986-2015)

This research is related to studies about the building of regions, understood here as cognitive constructions linked to political projects and manifested through speeches. Studies in this same theoretical line have already been developed about the South Atlantic Ocean in the past, but always limited to the perspective of Brazilian foreign policy as a potential region-building agent of the South Atlantic region, ignoring the response of other states to the project. Seeking to remedy this gap, the research applied the method of quantitative content analysis to 106 speeches containing citations to the South Atlantic, issued at the General Assembly of the United Nations by states bordered by the South Atlantic. The content of the texts was categorized into five analytical dimensions: (1) geographical delimitation; (2) international or transnational political relations in the territory in question that are described by their actors as regional dynamics; (3) identity factors; (4) nominal citation to other actors and; (5) specific issues treated as relevant to the space in question. The results suggest that ZOPACAS is, in fact, a region-building project for the South Atlantic Ocean, whose period of greatest strength took place between 1986 and 1994, losing steam until 1998 and falling into ostracism since then. Although the revival of the initiative in 2007 signaled a potential renaissance of a South-Atlantic region-building project, it seems that the common oceanic space continues to be mostly interpreted as a mere area of interaction between the regions of South America and West Africa.Keywords: South Atlantic; ZOPACAS; Region-BuildingA presente pesquisa se insere junto a estudos sobre construção de regiões, entendidas aqui como construções cognitivas atreladas a projetos políticos e manifestadas por meio de discursos. Trabalhos nessa mesma linha teórica já foram desenvolvidos sobre o Atlântico Sul no passado, mas sempre limitados à perspectiva da política externa brasileira enquanto potencial agente construtor da região sul-atlântica, ignorando a resposta dos demais Estados ao projeto. Procurando sanar essa lacuna, a pesquisa aplicou o método da análise de conteúdo quantitativa a 106 discursos que contivessem citações ao Atlântico Sul, proferidos na Assembleia Geral das Nações Unidas por Estados banhados pelo oceano em questão. O conteúdo dos textos foi categorizado dentro de cinco dimensões de análise: (1) delimitação geográfica; (2) relações políticas internacionais ou transnacionais no território em questão que sejam descritas por seus atores como dinâmicas regionais; (3) fatores identitários; (4) citação nominal a outros atores e; (5) questões pontuais tratadas como relevantes para o espaço em questão. Os resultados sugerem que a ZOPACAS de fato se trata de um projeto de construção regional para o Atlântico Sul, cujo período de maior força se deu entre 1986 e 1994, perdendo fôlego até 1998 e caindo no ostracismo desde então. Embora a retomada da iniciativa em 2007 tenha sinalizado um potencial renascimento de um projeto de construção regional sul-atlântico, tudo indica que o espaço oceânico comum continua sendo interpretado majoritariamente como um mero espaço de interação entre as regiões da América do Sul e da África Ocidental

Randomized comparison of awake nonresectional versus nonawake resectional lung volume reduction surgery

ObjectiveThe study objective was to assess in a randomized controlled study (NCT00566839) the comparative results of awake nonresectional or nonawake resectional lung volume reduction surgery.MethodSixty-three patients were randomly assigned by computer to receive unilateral video-assisted thoracic surgery lung volume reduction surgery by a nonresectional technique performed through epidural anesthesia in 32 awake patients (awake group) or the standard resectional technique performed through general anesthesia in 31 patients (control group). Primary outcomes were hospital stay and changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 second. During follow-up, the need of contralateral treatment because of loss of postoperative benefit was considered a failure event as death.ResultsIntergroup comparisons (awake vs control) showed no difference in gender, age, and body mass index. Hospital stay was shorter in the awake group (6 vs 7.5 days, P = .04) with 21 versus 10 patients discharged within 6 days (P = .01). At 6 months, forced expiratory volume in 1 second improved significantly in both study groups (0.28 vs 0.29 L) with no intergroup difference (P = .79). In both groups, forced expiratory volume in 1 second improvements lasted more than 24 months. At 36 months, freedom from contralateral treatment was 55% versus 50% (P = .5) and survival was 81% versus 87% (P = .5).ConclusionsIn this randomized study, awake nonresectional lung volume reduction surgery resulted in significantly shorter hospital stay than the nonawake procedure. There were no differences between study groups in physiologic improvements, freedom from contralateral treatment, and survival. We speculate that compared with the nonawake procedure, awake lung volume reduction surgery can offer similar clinical benefit but a faster postoperative recovery

CRT-206 Safety and Efficacy of Carotid Stenting in the Treatment of Carotid Artery Stenosis: Immediate Results and Long Term Follow-Up in Our Experience

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Monophasic and Biphasic Electrical Stimulation Induces a Precardiac Differentiation in Progenitor Cells Isolated from Human Heart

Electrical stimulation (ES) of cells has been shown to induce a variety of responses, such as cytoskeleton rearrangements, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated whether monophasic and biphasic pulsed ES could exert any effect on the proliferation and differentiation of human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) isolated from human heart fragments. Cells were cultured under continuous exposure to monophasic or biphasic ES with fixed cycles for 1 or 3 days. Results indicate that neither stimulation protocol affected cell viability, while the cell shape became more elongated and reoriented more perpendicular to the electric field direction. Moreover, the biphasic ES clearly induced the upregulation of early cardiac transcription factors, MEF2D, GATA-4, and Nkx2.5, as well as the de novo expression of the late cardiac sarcomeric proteins, troponin T, cardiac alpha actinin, and SERCA 2a. Both treatments increased the expression of connexin 43 and its relocation to the cell membrane, but biphasic ES was faster and more effective. Finally, when hCPCs were exposed to both monophasic and biphasic ES, they expressed de novo the mRNA of the voltage-dependent calcium channel Cav 3.1(α(1G)) subunit, which is peculiar of the developing heart. Taken together, these results show that ES alone is able to set the conditions for early differentiation of adult hCPCs toward a cardiac phenotype

Correction: Human Cardiac Progenitor Spheroids Exhibit Enhanced Engraftment Potential

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137999.]

Human Cardiac Progenitor Spheroids Exhibit Enhanced Engraftment Potential

A major obstacle to an effective myocardium stem cell therapy has always been the delivery and survival of implanted stem cells in the heart. Better engraftment can be achieved if cells are administered as cell aggregates, which maintain their extra-cellular matrix (ECM). We have generated spheroid aggregates in less than 24 h by seeding human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) onto methylcellulose hydrogel-coated microwells. Cells within spheroids maintained the expression of stemness/mesenchymal and ECM markers, growth factors and their cognate receptors, cardiac commitment factors, and metalloproteases, as detected by immunofluorescence, q-RT-PCR and immunoarray, and expressed a higher, but regulated, telomerase activity. Compared to cells in monolayers, 3D spheroids secreted also bFGF and showed MMP2 activity. When spheroids were seeded on culture plates, the cells quickly migrated, displaying an increased wound healing ability with or without pharmacological modulation, and reached confluence at a higher rate than cells from conventional monolayers. When spheroids were injected in the heart wall of healthy mice, some cells migrated from the spheroids, engrafted, and remained detectable for at least 1 week after transplantation, while, when the same amount of cells was injected as suspension, no cells were detectable three days after injection. Cells from spheroids displayed the same engraftment capability when they were injected in cardiotoxin-injured myocardium. Our study shows that spherical in vivo ready-to-implant scaffold-less aggregates of hCPCs able to engraft also in the hostile environment of an injured myocardium can be produced with an economic, easy and fast protocol

Effect of mild hypercapnia on outcome and histological injury in a porcine post cardiac arrest model

Aim of the study: To evaluate in an established porcine post cardiac arrest model the effect of a mild hypercapnic ventilatory strategy on outcome. Methods: The left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded in 14 pigs and ventricular fibrillation induced and left untreated for 12 min. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed for 5 min prior to defibrillation. After resuscitation, pigs were assigned to either normocapnic (end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) target: 35-40 mmHg) or hypercapnic ventilation (EtCO2 45-50 mmHg). Hemodynamics was invasively measured and EtCO2 was monitored with an infrared capnometer. Blood gas analysis, serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and high sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) were assessed. Survival and functional recovery were evaluated up to 96 h. Results: Twelve pigs were successfully resuscitated and eight survived up to 96 h, with animals in the hypercapnic group showing trend towards a longer survival. EtCO2 and arterial partial pressure of CO2 were higher in the hypercapnic group compared to the normocapnic one (p <0.01), during the 4-hour intervention. Hypercapnia was associated with higher mean arterial pressure compared to normocapnia (p <0.05). No significant differences were observed in hs-cTnT and in NSE between groups, although the values tended to be lower in the hypercapnic one. Neuronal degeneration was lesser in the frontal cortex of hypercapnic animals compared to the normocapnic ones (p <0.05). Neurological recovery was equivalent in the two groups. Conclusion: Mild hypercapnia after resuscitation was associated with better arterial pressure and lesser neuronal degeneration in this model. Nevertheless, no corresponding improvements in neurological recovery were observed.Peer reviewe