A trajetória do negro na literatura brasileira

THIS ARTICLE outlines the trajectory of blacks in Brazilian literature, both as an object, with a distant perspective, and as a subject, with a more assertive attitude. As result it addresses the literary text on blacks, on the one hand; and by Blacks, on the other. It identifies a long history of stereotypes, associated with a prejudice vision of Blacks, both explicitly and implicitly. It seeks to describe the moment of passage in wich the stereotype was overtaken by the affirmation of blacks as subjects of their discourse, acting in defense of own cultural worth and identity. It selects a number of representative authors and texts starting in the 1970s, a particularly vital moment of Black conciousness affirmation in Brazil. It then argues the propriety of styling ablack literature, superficially presented as a positive affirmation, but pregnant of being turned into a form of implicit prejudice.ESTE ARTIGO busca traçar o percurso do negro na literatura brasileira, como objeto, numa visão distanciada, e como sujeito, numa atitude compromissada. Destaca, de um lado, textos literários sobre o negro e, de outro, literatura do negro. Identifica, na produção literária ao longo do processo literário brasileiro, estereótipos reduplicadores da visão preconceituosa, explícita ou velada. Procura marcar a ultrapassagem do estereótipo e a assunção do negro como sujeito do seu discurso e de sua ação em defesa da identidade cultural. Nessa direção, seleciona autores e textos representativos produzidos notadamente a partir dos anos de 1970, momento de efervescência dos movimentos de auto-afirmação da etnia. Discute a designação literatura negra, entendida como aparentemente valorizadora, mas passível de converter-se em risco de fazer o jogo do preconceito velado

Impact of Glucose Exposure on Outcomes of a Nation-Wide Peritoneal Dialysis Cohort – Results of the BRAZPD II Cohort

Background: Data investigating the association of glucose exposure with technique failure and patient survival are limited to retrospective cohorts and was never tested outside Asia and considering the presence of competing risks.Methods: Prospective multicenter cohort study of incident peritoneal dialysis patients where the association of cumulative glucose exposure in 6, 12, and 24 months with patient survival and technique failure was tested using Cox regression analysis and competing risk analysis.Results: We analyzed 4367 incident peritoneal dialysis patients with mean age 59.0 ± 15.8 years, 43.9% were diabetics, 46.7% males and 64.4% Caucasians. Glucose exposure was not associated with patient survival independent of the time of exposure and even after adjustments for confounders. In contrast, higher glucose exposure was associated with more technique failure in the Cox and competing risk models. The higher risk for technique failure was found in the subgroup exposed to the higher amount of glucose to a maximum of 86% in the model analyzing cumulative glucose exposure for 1 year.Conclusion: Glucose exposure was associated with technique failure but not with patient survival

Genetics of non-syndromic childhood obesity and the use of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem associated with the development of several chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The elevated prevalence of obesity is mostly due to inadequate diet and lifestyle, but it is also influenced by genetic factors. OBJECTIVES To review recent advances in the field of the genetics of obesity. We summarize the list of genes associated with the rare non-syndromic forms of obesity, and explain their function. Furthermore, we discuss the technologies that are available for the genetic diagnosis of obesity. RESULTS Several studies reported that single gene variants cause Mendelian forms of obesity, determined by mutations of major effect in single genes. Rare, non-syndromic forms of obesity are a result of loss-of-function mutations in genes that act on the development and function of the hypothalamus or the leptin-melanocortin pathway. These variants disrupt enzymes and receptors that play a role in energy homeostasis, resulting in severe early-onset obesity and endocrine dysfunctions. Different approaches and technologies have been used to understand the genetic background of obesity. Currently, whole genome and whole exome sequencing are important diagnostic tools to identify new genes and variants associated with severe obesity, but other approaches are also useful at individual or population levels, such as linkage analysis, candidate gene sequencing, chromosomal microarray analysis, and genome-wide association studies. CONCLUSIONS The understanding of the genetic causes of obesity and the usefulness and limitations of the genetic diagnostic approaches can contribute to the development of new personalized therapeutic targets against obesity

Fitossociologia da mata do Morro da Quixaba no território de Fernando de Noronha

O território de Fernando de Noronha localiza-se a 32º 25'30" W de longitude e 3º 50' 10" S de latitude e é composto por 21 ilhas. Este trabalho foi realizado na ilha principal na região do Morro da Quixaba até a Ponta da Sapata, onde a vegetação foi menos perturbada nas últimas décadas. Utilizou-se o método de quadrantes para a amostragem de indivíduos com diâmetro mínimo de 5 cm a 30 cm do solo. A distância entre os pontos foi estabelecida em 10 m. No total foram aplicados 100 pontos de amostragem, em diversas picadas alocadas na área de estudo. Foram encontradas 13 famílias sendo dominantes, Nyctaginaceae, Bignoniaceae, Anacardiaceae, Rubiaceae e Euphorbiaceae. Dentre as 16 espécies encontradas, Guapira sp. ocupou a primeira posição em importância com IVI de 100,67%, seguida de Tabebuia roseoalba (55,14%), Spondias mombin (52,17%), Guettarda sp. (21,72%) Allophylus sp. (17,27%). ____________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTFernando de Noronha territory is located at 32º 25'30" W and 3º 50'10" S and it is composed of 21 islands. We studied the Quixaba Hill winch extends until to Sapata Point, where the vegetation has been relatively undisturbed on the last decades. The method used the point-centered-quarter. Only individuals with, at least, 5 cm diameter above the ground level was sampled. The distance between points was 10 m with points on peackies in the studied area. We obtained 16 species distributed in 13 families with the dominance of Nyctaginaceae, standing out Bignoniaceae, Anacardiaceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Guapira sp. reached the best IVI (100,67), followed by Tabebuia roseo-alba (55,14), Spondias mombin (52,17), Guettarda sp. (21,72) e Allophylus sp. (17,27)

Obtenção de uma cinza de casca de arroz para adsorção de minerais alcalinos / Obtaining a rice shell ash for alkaline minerals adsorption

O ramo industrial cresce desenfreadamente, assim como a problemática referente a destinação dos resíduos agroindustriais, é fundamental obter meios para empregá-los. Aliando este inconveniente a outro problema ambiental, que é o tratamento das águas de captação e o tratamento de efluentes, especialmente no que se refere aos metais presentes, surge a técnica de adsorção. Trata-se de um método em que as moléculas presentes na fase líquida, quando em contado direto com a fase sólida, ficam retidas em sua superfície. Neste contexto, o objetivo do trabalho foi à obtenção de uma cinza de casca de arroz para adsorção, promovendo a remoção de minerais alcalinos no tratamento de água. A cinza foi elaborada utilizando casca de arroz, que passou por tratamento ácido (sulfúrico, nítrico e clorídrico), em diferentes diluições volumétricas com água (1:1, 1:3 e 1:5) e posterior calcinação. As soluções foram preparadas para simulação do efluente líquido, eluídas na coluna contendo a cinza de casca de arroz (CCA) tratada e calcinada, na sequência foram coletas para serem quantificadas por meio do espectrofotômetro de absorção atômica, para avaliar o teor de minerais residuais em cada uma das cinzas obtidas. A melhor condição para retirada do manganês, foi o tratamento com ácido nítrico, em todas as razões volumétricas, especialmente na 1:1. Para o zinco foi com tratamento utilizando ácido sulfúrico especialmente na razão de 1:1 e para o ferro foi com tratamento usando ácido sulfúrico novamente na razão volumétrica de 1:1, os resultados foram em sua maioria satisfatórios e convenientes, confirmando a viabilização do desenvolvimento da CCA para adsorção dos metais

Back to Basics: Pitting Edema and the Optimization of Hypertension Treatment in Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients (BRAZPD)

Systemic arterial hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease that is frequently observed in populations with declining renal function. Initiation of renal replacement therapy at least partially decreases signs of fluid overload; however, high blood pressure levels persist in the majority of patients after dialysis initiation. Hypervolemia due to water retention predisposes peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients to hypertension and can clinically manifest in several forms, including peripheral edema. The approaches to detect edema, which include methods such as bioimpedance, inferior vena cava diameter and biomarkers, are not always available to physicians worldwide. For clinical examinations, the presence of pitting located in the lower extremities and/or over the sacrum to diagnose the presence of peripheral edema in their patients are frequently utulized. We evaluated the impact of edema on the control of blood pressure of incident PD patients during the first year of dialysis treatment. Patients were recruited from 114 Brazilian dialysis centers that were participating in the BRAZPD study for a total of 1089 incident patients. Peripheral edema was diagnosed by the presence of pitting after finger pressure was applied to the edematous area. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with and without edema according to the monthly medical evaluation. Blood arterial pressure, body mass index, the number of antihypertensive drugs and comorbidities were analyzed. We observed an initial BP reduction in the first five months and a stabilization of blood pressure levels from five to twelve months. The edematous group exhibited higher blood pressure levels than the group without edema during the follow-up. The results strongly indicate that the presence of a simple and easily detectable clinical sign of peripheral edema is a very relevant tool that could be used to re-evaluate not only the patient's clinical hypertensive status but also the PD prescription and patient compliance