EXPERIENCIA ESTÉTICA DESPUÉS DE ADORNO. REFLEXIONES EN TORNO A WELLMER, BERTRAM Y REBENTISCH*

RESUMEN Este artículo dialoga con tres importantes reflexiones estéticas procedentes de la filosofía alemana contemporánea. En primer lugar, se ocupa del trabajo de Albrecht Wellmer, representante de la “segunda generación de la Teoría Crítica”; en segundo lugar, se refiere al abordaje del actual profesor de estética en Berlín, Georg W. Bertram; y, en última instancia, indaga los aportes de Juliane Rebentisch, coeditora de la nueva versión de la Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung. Si bien los planteos de estos autores presentan matices diversos, todos ellos son, de uno u otro modo, herederos de un incisivo proceso de reconsideración crítica de la teoría estética de Theodor W. Adorno que viene desarrollándose desde los años setenta. La intención del artículo es reconstruir la modalidad de crítica planteada por estos tres autores y explorar a partir de ello algunas líneas de desarrollo para un estética postadorniana

Public policy and future mineral supplies

A widespread and pessimistic view of the availability of mineral commodities calls for strong government initiatives to ensure adequate future supplies. This article provides a more market oriented and optimistic perspective, one that focuses on production costs and prices rather than physical availability. It sees short-run shortages continuing to plague commodity markets in the future as in the past. Though painful while they last, these shortages are temporary and do not pose a serious long-run threat to human welfare. Moreover, even without government intervention, they self-correct. The sharply higher prices that they evoke create strong incentives that foster supply and curb demand. Potentially more serious are long-run shortages due to mineral depletion. Such shortages are often thought to be inevitable, a conclusion that flows directly from the physical view of depletion. For various reasons, we reject this view of depletion in favor of an economic view. The latter recognizes that depletion may create long-run shortages, but stresses that this need not be the case if new technology can continue to offset the cost-increasing effects of depletion in the future as it has in the past. The economic view also suggests that a list of mineral commodities most threatened by depletion can best be compiled using cumulative availability curves rather than the more common practice of calculating commodity life expectancies based on estimates of available stocks.<p>Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-08-08 (rokbeg)</p

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force recommendations for a veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in veterinary practice. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is regarded as an important diagnostic test to reach the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy. However, given that the diagnosis requires the exclusion of other differentials for seizures, the parameters for MRI examination should allow the detection of subtle lesions which may not be obvious with existing techniques. In addition, there are several differentials for idiopathic epilepsy in humans, for example some focal cortical dysplasias, which may only apparent with special sequences, imaging planes and/or particular techniques used in performing the MRI scan. As a result, there is a need to standardize MRI examination in veterinary patients with techniques that reliably diagnose subtle lesions, identify post-seizure changes, and which will allow for future identification of underlying causes of seizures not yet apparent in the veterinary literature. There is a need for a standardized veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol which will facilitate more detailed examination of areas susceptible to generating and perpetuating seizures, is cost efficient, simple to perform and can be adapted for both low and high field scanners. Standardisation of imaging will improve clinical communication and uniformity of case definition between research studies. A 6–7 sequence epilepsy-specific MRI protocol for veterinary patients is proposed and further advanced MR and functional imaging is reviewed

Relationship between Transmission Intensity and Incidence of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Thailand

An infection with dengue virus may lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a dangerous illness. There is no approved vaccine for this most prevalent mosquito-borne virus, which infects tens of millions (or more) people annually. Therefore, health authorities have been putting an emphasis on reduction of vector mosquitoes, genus Aedes. However, a new mathematical hypothesis predicted, quite paradoxically, that reducing Aedes mosquitoes in highly endemic countries may “increase” the incidence of DHF. To test this hypothesis based upon actual data, we compared DHF incidence collected from each of 1,000 districts in Thailand to data of Aedes abundance, which was obtained by surveying one million households. This analysis showed that reducing Aedes abundance from the highest level in Thailand to a moderate level would increase the incidence by more than 40%. In addition, we developed computer simulation software based upon the above hypothesis. The simulation predicted that epidemiological studies should be continued for a very long duration, preferably over a decade, to clearly detect such a paradoxical relationship between Aedes abundance and incidence of DHF. Such long-term studies are necessary, especially because tremendous efforts and resources have been (and perhaps will be) spent on combating Aedes

Remarks on the Concept of Critique in Habermasian Thought

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of critique in Habermasian thought. Given that the concept of critique is a central theoretical category in the work of the Frankfurt School, it comes as a surprise that little in the way of a systematic account which sheds light on the multifaceted meanings of the concept of critique in Habermas’s oeuvre can be found in the literature. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring the various meanings that Habermas attributes to the concept of critique in 10 key thematic areas of his writings: (1) the public sphere, (2) knowledge, (3) language, (4) morality, (5) ethics, (6) evolution, (7) legitimation, (8) democracy, (9) religion, and (10) modernity. On the basis of a detailed analysis of Habermas’s multifaceted concerns with the nature and function of critique, the study seeks to demonstrate that the concept of critique can be considered not only as a constitutive element but also as a normative cornerstone of Habermasian thought. The paper draws to a close by reflecting on some of the limitations of Habermas’s conception of critique, arguing that in order to be truly critical in the Habermasian sense we need to turn the subject of critique into an object of critique

Functional divergence within class B MADS-box genes TfGLO and TfDEF in Torenia fournieri Lind

Homeotic class B genes GLOBOSA (GLO)/PISTILLATA (PI) and DEFICIENS (DEF)/APETALA3 (AP3) are involved in the development of petals and stamens in Arabidopsis. However, functions of these genes in the development of floral organs in torenia are less well known. Here, we demonstrate the unique floral phenotypes of transgenic torenia formed due to the modification of class B genes, TfGLO and TfDEF. TfGLO-overexpressing plants showed purple-stained sepals that accumulated anthocyanins in a manner similar to that of petals. TfGLO-suppressed plants showed serrated petals and TfDEF-suppressed plants showed partially decolorized petals. In TfGLO-overexpressing plants, cell shapes on the surfaces of sepals were altered to petal-like cell shapes. Furthermore, TfGLO- and TfDEF-suppressed plants partially had sepal-like cells on the surfaces of their petals. We isolated putative class B gene-regulated genes and examined their expression in transgenic plants. Three xyloglucan endo-1,4-beta-d-glucanase genes were up-regulated in TfGLO- and TfDEF-overexpressing plants and down-regulated in TfGLO- and TfDEF-suppressed plants. In addition, 10 anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes, including anthocyanin synthase and chalcone isomerase, were up-regulated in TfGLO-overexpressing plants and down-regulated in TfGLO-suppressed plants. The expression patterns of these 10 genes in TfDEF transgenic plants were diverse and classified into several groups. HPLC analysis indicated that sepals of TfGLO-overexpressing plants accumulate the same type of anthocyanins and flavones as wild-type plants. The difference in phenotypes and expression patterns of the 10 anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes between TfGLO and TfDEF transgenic plants indicated that TfGLO and TfDEF have partial functional divergence, while they basically work synergistically in torenia

Evolution of the B3 DNA Binding Superfamily: New Insights into REM Family Gene Diversification

Background: The B3 DNA binding domain includes five families: auxin response factor (ARF), abscisic acid-insensitive3 (ABI3), high level expression of sugar inducible (HSI), related to ABI3/VP1 (RAV) and reproductive meristem (REM). The release of the complete genomes of the angiosperm eudicots Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus trichocarpa, the monocot Orysa sativa, the bryophyte Physcomitrella patens,the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri and the red algae Cyanidioschyzon melorae provided an exceptional opportunity to study the evolution of this superfamily. Methodology: In order to better understand the origin and the diversification of B3 domains in plants, we combined comparative phylogenetic analysis with exon/intron structure and duplication events. In addition, we investigated the conservation and divergence of the B3 domain during the origin and evolution of each family. Conclusions: Our data indicate that showed that the B3 containing genes have undergone extensive duplication events, and that the REM family B3 domain has a highly diverged DNA binding. Our results also indicate that the founding member of the B3 gene family is likely to be similar to the ABI3/HSI genes found in C. reinhardtii and V. carteri. Among the B3 families, ABI3, HSI, RAV and ARF are most structurally conserved, whereas the REM family has experienced a rapid divergence. Thes

The Role of bZIP Transcription Factors in Green Plant Evolution: Adaptive Features Emerging from Four Founder Genes

BACKGROUND: Transcription factors of the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) family control important processes in all eukaryotes. In plants, bZIPs are regulators of many central developmental and physiological processes including photomorphogenesis, leaf and seed formation, energy homeostasis, and abiotic and biotic stress responses. Here we performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of bZIP genes from algae, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified 13 groups of bZIP homologues in angiosperms, three more than known before, that represent 34 Possible Groups of Orthologues (PoGOs). The 34 PoGOs may correspond to the complete set of ancestral angiosperm bZIP genes that participated in the diversification of flowering plants. Homologous genes dedicated to seed-related processes and ABA-mediated stress responses originated in the common ancestor of seed plants, and three groups of homologues emerged in the angiosperm lineage, of which one group plays a role in optimizing the use of energy. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggest that the ancestor of green plants possessed four bZIP genes functionally involved in oxidative stress and unfolded protein responses that are bZIP-mediated processes in all eukaryotes, but also in light-dependent regulations. The four founder genes amplified and diverged significantly, generating traits that benefited the colonization of new environments