Nelson da Silva Junior

Photodynamic Therapy for Pythiosis

BACKGROUND Pythiosis is a life-threatening disease caused by Pythium insidiosum. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an alternative treatment to surgery that uses the interaction of a photosensitizer, light and molecular oxygen to cause cell death. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of PDT on the in vitro growth of P. insidiosum and in an in vivo model of pythiosis. METHODS For in vitro studies, two photosensitizers were evaluated: a haematoporphyrin derivative (Photogem(®)) and a chlorine (Photodithazine(®)). Amphotericin B was also evaluated, and the control group was treated with sterile saline solution. All experiments (PDT, porphyrin, chlorine and light alone, amphotericin B and saline solution) were performed as five replicates. For in vivo studies, six rabbits were inoculated with 20,000 zoospores of P. insidiosum, and an area of 1 cm(3) was treated using the same sensitizers. The PDT irradiation was performed using a laser emitting at 660 nm and a fluence of 200 J/cm(2) . Rabbits were clinically evaluated daily and histopathological analysis was performed 72 h after PDT. RESULTS For in vitro assays, inhibition rates for PDT ranged from 60 to 100% and showed better results in comparison to amphotericin B. For the in vivo assays, after PDT, histological analysis of lesions showed a lack of infection up to 1 cm in depth. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE In vitro and in vivo studies showed that PDT was effective in the inactivation of P. insidiosum and may represent a new approach to treating pythiosis.

Semânticas da amizade e suas implicações políticas

The semantic of friendship has been associated, from an historical point of view, to the equality and fraternity ideals. In that way, friendship is thought of within the frames of a familial semantic that associates the friend to the figure of the brother. Indeed, some authors point out to the fact that the familial semantic privileges homogenization processes by ways of suppressing otherness itself. Also, this semantic can be blamed of fostering social intolerance attached to discriminative practices. Therefore, they consider of great importance the disarticulation friendship-familiarity, and try to understand the friendship mostly as a privileged intersubjective relation for political experimentation, for the unexpected quality in the bond with otherness matches better with the difference inherent to political life than equality ideals. Friendship, since it is thought of as an unexpected space of experimentation, brings about the discussion of the possibility of creating new forms of relationship and subjectivity in our contemporary social context, which is extremely individualistic and where the public bows more and more fragile.

Sobre a amizade em tempos de solidão

RESUMO: O presente artigo analisa alguns resultados de uma pesquisa de mestrado que investigou as semânticas da amizade e analisou a qualidade politica da amizade. O artigo tem como objetivo descrever e discutir as implicacoes da decomposicao dos lacos publicos e o consequente aniquilamento do exercicio politico. No liquido cenario da atualidade, os processos de individualizacao e da fragilidade dos lacos configuram a decomposicao do espaco publico e o consequente rebaixamento da politica. O mercado capitalista, ao transformar vinculos humanos e pessoas em mercadorias, tem promovido o esfacelamento da solidariedade humana e das habilidades de sociabilidade. Nesta pesquisa foram entrevistados trabalhadores de cooperativas populares sobre as suas historias de amizade. Os resultados dessa pesquisa destacam que os lacos de amizade podem compor relacoes de acolhimento e comprometimento com o outro, nas quais se vive o vigor da solidariedade. Nao obstante, as narrativas dos sujeitos tambem revelaram a contemporânea fragilidade dos lacos sociais, o isolamento social e o individualismo. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Amizade; sociabilidade; fragilidade dos lacos; individualismo. ABOUT FRIENDSHIP IN TIMES OF SOLITUDE

O psicodiagnóstico entre as incompatibilidades de seus instrumentos e as promessas de uma metodologia psicopatológica

Atraves de uma analise das diferentes concepcoes de normalidade subjacentes aos instrumentos mais comumente utilizados da realizacao do psicodiagnostico, os autores apresentam contradicoes estruturais nesta pratica e sugerem a metodologia psicopatologica como seu possivel fundamento epistemologico.

Experimentação política da amizade na internet

The political experiment of friendship by the internet is read trough the light of Baruch Spinoza ́s theory of affections: the body is essentially relational and it is in its relationship to others, and also through how it affects and is affected by them, that it gives the condition of possibility of resistance against sorrow and affirmation of joy – which are both understood as a decreasing and an increasing power to think and act. We interviewed adults regarding their internet-mediated stories of friendships. The results have shown that the bonds between friends by the internet not only express a way of experiencing a political quality of friendship, regarded as a possibility of relativization of thinking, but also engendered vigorous gestures of solidarity that mobilize bodies to act in defense and in affirmation of its power.A experimentacao politica da amizade na internet e lida a luz da teoria dos afetos de Baruch Espinosa: o corpo e essencialmente relacional e e na relacao com seus outros, na maneira como afeta e e afetado por eles, que se da a condicao de possibilidade da resistencia a tristeza e afirmacao da alegria – compreendida como aumento da potencia de pensar e agir. Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar a experimentacao politica da amizade na internet. Para isso, adultos foram entrevistados sobre suas historias de amizades mediadas pela internet. Os resultados revelaram que os vinculos entre amigos na internet nao so se expressaram como viabilizadores da experimentacao da qualidade politica da amizade naquilo que concerne a possibilidade de relativizacao do pensamento, mas tambem porque engendraram gestos com o vigor da solidariedade que mobilizam os corpos a agir em defesa da afirmacao de sua potencia.

Sublimação e pulsão de morte: a desfusão pulsional

Con el advenimiento del segundo dualismo pulsional freudiano, viene una serie de cambios en el entendimiento de la sublimacion. Esta empieza a presentarse como la causa por excelencia de la desfusion de las pulsiones, lo nos lleva a una paradoja: mientras que la sublimacion es la base de cultura, es tambien causa de la destructividad en esa misma cultura. La pulsion de muerte resultante de la desfusion de las pulsiones, a su vez, tendria consecuencias tanto en cada uno de los individuos como en la cultura como un todo, como lo que se observa con respecto a la primacia de la imagen en la sociedad contemporanea. Este articulo busca discutir unos de los efectos de la pulsion de muerte desfusionada, entendida como resultado de la sublimacion, principalmente con respecto a la sublimacion involucrada en la creacion literaria.

Implicações políticas da semântica familialista nos discursos de amizade contemporâneos

Friendship semantics has been historically articulated to the concepts of equality and fraternity. It has been characterized by a familial semantics that associates friends to brothers. However, several authors show that familial semantics, based on intimacy and familiarity, privileges homogenization processes and suppression of otherness. In fact, it may foreground intolerable practices of debasement and discrimination of the other. Current essay describes and discusses results of a research on friendship semantics in contemporary discourses. Friendships familial semantics seems to be associated with fragility of bonds and with the depreciation of social skills which an encounter of the other requires.Friendship semantics has been historically articulated to the concepts of equality and fraternity. It has been characterized by a familial semantics that associates friends to brothers. However, several authors show that familial semantics, based on intimacy and familiarity, privileges homogenization processes and suppression of otherness. In fact, it may foreground intolerable practices of debasement and discrimination of the other. Current essay describes and discusses results of a research on friendship semantics in contemporary discourses. Friendship’s familial semantics seems to be associated with fragility of bonds and with the depreciation of social skills which an encounter of the other requires.

Crise do racionalismo moderno e transição paradigmática: uma utopia ecológica?

Com base nas teorizacoes de Santos (1999, 2008), a modernidade ocidental se sustenta em dois pilares centrais: o paradigma epistemologico e o sociocultural. Estamos vivendo em um momento de questionamento dessas bases e um de seus sintomas e a crise socioambiental. Neste ensaio argumentamos a respeito do paradigma epistemologico, discutindo sobre a racionalidade moderna ocidental subjacente ao pensamento cientifico de nossa epoca, segundo a compreensao da obra de Morin (2000, 2008). Descrevemos brevemente a emergencia do racionalismo moderno, os motivos pelos quais este carrega intrinsecamente uma incompletude fundante, sua crise, desconstrucao e a defesa de uma razao aberta. Apontamos para a reformulacao da ciencia, do pensamento complexo, do desenvolvimento e da relacao Homem/natureza, que podem conduzir a uma utopia ecologica.

Political experiment of friendship on the internet

The political experiment of friendship by the internet is read trough the light of Baruch Spinoza ́s theory of affections: the body is essentially relational and it is in its relationship to others, and also through how it affects and is affected by them, that it gives the condition of possibility of resistance against sorrow and affirmation of joy – which are both understood as a decreasing and an increasing power to think and act. We interviewed adults regarding their internet-mediated stories of friendships. The results have shown that the bonds between friends by the internet not only express a way of experiencing a political quality of friendship, regarded as a possibility of relativization of thinking, but also engendered vigorous gestures of solidarity that mobilize bodies to act in defense and in affirmation of its power.A experimentacao politica da amizade na internet e lida a luz da teoria dos afetos de Baruch Espinosa: o corpo e essencialmente relacional e e na relacao com seus outros, na maneira como afeta e e afetado por eles, que se da a condicao de possibilidade da resistencia a tristeza e afirmacao da alegria – compreendida como aumento da potencia de pensar e agir. Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar a experimentacao politica da amizade na internet. Para isso, adultos foram entrevistados sobre suas historias de amizades mediadas pela internet. Os resultados revelaram que os vinculos entre amigos na internet nao so se expressaram como viabilizadores da experimentacao da qualidade politica da amizade naquilo que concerne a possibilidade de relativizacao do pensamento, mas tambem porque engendraram gestos com o vigor da solidariedade que mobilizam os corpos a agir em defesa da afirmacao de sua potencia.

Experimentación política de la amistad en internet

The political experiment of friendship by the internet is read trough the light of Baruch Spinoza ́s theory of affections: the body is essentially relational and it is in its relationship to others, and also through how it affects and is affected by them, that it gives the condition of possibility of resistance against sorrow and affirmation of joy – which are both understood as a decreasing and an increasing power to think and act. We interviewed adults regarding their internet-mediated stories of friendships. The results have shown that the bonds between friends by the internet not only express a way of experiencing a political quality of friendship, regarded as a possibility of relativization of thinking, but also engendered vigorous gestures of solidarity that mobilize bodies to act in defense and in affirmation of its power.A experimentacao politica da amizade na internet e lida a luz da teoria dos afetos de Baruch Espinosa: o corpo e essencialmente relacional e e na relacao com seus outros, na maneira como afeta e e afetado por eles, que se da a condicao de possibilidade da resistencia a tristeza e afirmacao da alegria – compreendida como aumento da potencia de pensar e agir. Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar a experimentacao politica da amizade na internet. Para isso, adultos foram entrevistados sobre suas historias de amizades mediadas pela internet. Os resultados revelaram que os vinculos entre amigos na internet nao so se expressaram como viabilizadores da experimentacao da qualidade politica da amizade naquilo que concerne a possibilidade de relativizacao do pensamento, mas tambem porque engendraram gestos com o vigor da solidariedade que mobilizam os corpos a agir em defesa da afirmacao de sua potencia.