The fascination of authority and the authority of fascination : rationalization and legal theory in Habermas revised

The requalification of Habermas’ discussions on political philosophy and legal theory after the publication of Zwischen Naturalismus und Religion (2005), and his most recent texts and debates on religion and the public sphere, suggest a revision of the Habermasian theory of rationalization as it was firstly presented in Theorie des Kommunikativen Handelns (1982), especially on what concerns the processes of dessacralization and the linguistification of religious authority. In search of contributing to this revision, this paper intends to focus on the problem of a supposedly “lost” aesthetic-expressive understanding of religious authority in Habermas’s theory of rationalization, which may have contributed to a theory of law in Faktizität und Geltung (1992) that does not give satisfactory account to the aesthetical-expressive character of the modern understanding of legal authority. A better understanding of this special character, however, may contribute not only to the avoidance of fundamentalisms and new attempts of “aesthetization of politics”, but also to a rational strengthening of the solidarity of the citizens of democratic constitutional states

Public hearings as proceduralization of popular sovereignty policies in supreme courts : an intersubjective approach

This paper aims to discuss in which sense public hearings in supreme courts of democratic rules of law can be seen as proceduralization of popular sovereignty policies. These policies constitute expressions of a normative claim for a wider “publicization of law” by democratic states’ institutional powers and organs; a claim that becomes evident when one undertakes an intersubjective interpretation of law. This theoretical argument will be presented in the first section of the paper through a new articulation of Jürgen Habermas’ discursive theory of law and his most recent studies on the concept of political public sphere. The theoretical section gives normative and procedural criteria for the second section of the paper, which consists on a critical analysis of the procedures and practical cases of public hearings held at the Brazilian Supreme Court, constituting the first scientific study to date on the Court’s use of this legal instrument

Continuación de la explotación de la empresa a través de cooperativas de trabajo

En los últimos años se han realizado en nuestro país una serie de reformas a la Ley de Concursos y Quiebras N° 24522, a fin de darle una mayor solución a la problemática de la falencia patrimonial producida en diversas personas, físicas o jurídicas, causada por muchas y variadas situaciones. El jueves 30 de junio del año 2011 se promulgó la ley 26684, modificación a la Ley de Concursos y Quiebras aprobada por el Congreso de la Nación. Estas modificaciones tienen por finalidad, según la intención del legislador, priorizar la permanencia de las empresas para mantener la actividad comercial y productiva y resguardar la fuente laboral. Sin embargo, este nuevo ordenamiento ha fijado, de una u otra forma, que esta continuación de la explotación de la empresa fallida sea confiada a los trabajadores en relación de dependencia que se organicen bajo la figura de “Cooperativas de Trabajo". Las cooperativas son entidades fundadas en el esfuerzo propio y la ayuda mutua para organizar y prestar servicios. Mantienen actualmente un rol preponderante en las economías llamadas emergentes, ya que promocionan el desarrollo socioeconómico de cientos de millones de personas en todo el mundo especialmente en tiempos de crisis. La Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) declaró el 2012 como el Año Internacional de las Cooperativas con el fin de promover este tipo de entidades, ya que contribuyen a aumentar los principios y prácticas solidarias en las actividades económicas de las personas1. Por ello, investigaremos de manera profunda el rol del cooperativismo en la recuperación de empresas en crisis o en la continuación de la explotación de las mismas, siendo éste un aspecto sumamente destacado en las nuevas incorporaciones a la Ley de Concursos, las cuales poseen una notable incidencia en el campo laboral.Fil: Agostini Romera, Natalí Ivana. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Blotta, Juan Francisco. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Daguerre, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas.Fil: Genovese, Martín Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas

Negative immunodiffusion test results obtained with sera of paracoccidioidomycosis patients may be related to low-avidity immunoglobulin G2 antibodies directed against carbohydrate epitopes

Immunodiffusion (ID) is the serologic test most frequently used for the diagnosis and posttherapy follow-up of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). the ID test is highly specific (100%), but its sensitivity is relatively low (90%), leading to false-negative results. the aim of this study was to determine the profiles of antibodies in sera from patients with proven PCM and with negative results in the ID test (IDneg) versus positive results in the ID test (IDpos). We analyzed 46 sera from patients with active PCM for total immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclass responses to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis gp43 antigen (treated or not treated with sodium metaperiodate) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting. Immunoblotting showed that both IDneg and IDpos sera recognized predominantly the gp43 fraction of the P. brasiliensis antigen used in the ID test. IDneg sera contain low-avidity antibodies, low levels of specific IgG (total) and IgGI, and high levels of IgG2 compared with IDpos sera. the antibodies present in IDpos sera were predominantly directed against carbohydrate epitopes, since treatment with sodium metaperiodate resulted in a significant decrease in antibody reactivity. These data suggest that the lack of reactivity of sera from PCM patients in the ID test may be related to the production of low-avidity IgG2 antibodies directed against carbohydrate epitopes.UNICAMP, Fac Med Sci, Dept Clin Pathol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP, BrazilUNIFESP, Discipline Cellular Biol, São Paulo, SP, BrazilUNIFESP, Discipline Cellular Biol, São Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Advances in the Treatment of Monoclonal Gammopaties: The Emerging Role of Targeted Therapy in Plasma Cell Dyscrasias

The paradigm for the treatment of monoclonal gammopaties has dramatically changed: therapeutic options in multiple myeloma (MM) have evolved from the introduction of melphalan and prednisone in the 1960s, high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation in the late 1980s and 1990s, to the rapid introduction of small novel molecules within the last seven years. Based on the understanding of the complex interaction of the MM cells with the bone marrow microenvironment and the signaling pathways that are dysregulated in this process, a number of novel therapeutic agents are now available. Specifically, three novel agents with a specific-targeted anti-MM activity, have been FDA-approved for the treatment of this disease, namely Bortezomib, thalidomide, and lenalidomide which are now all playing a key role in the treatment of MM. The success of targeted therapy in MM has since led to the development and investigation of more than 30 new compounds in this disease and in other plasma cell dyscrasias such as Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia and primary amyloidosis, both in the preclinical settings and as part of clinical trials

Analyzing inequality of educational opportunities in Latin America using conditional inference trees and forests

In this work we strive to analyze inequality of educational opportunities in Latin America. To achieve our objective, we utilize conditional inference trees and random forests. Through the use of Latinobarómetro data, a public opinion survey covering eighteen Latin American countries, we examine the roots of inequality of educational opportunities by estimating a conditional inference tree for each country in the dataset, and also estimate an inequality of opportunity score in each analyzed country. Our results point at the parents’ years of education as being the most important feature in determining an individual’s own educational success in the whole continent. We also observe the Central American region as being the one whose countries have the highest inequality of educational opportunity score.Neste trabalho procuramos analisar empiricamente a desigualdade de oportunidades na educação na América Latina. Para cumprir este objetivo, utilizamos árvores de inferencia condicional e random forests. Através dos dados do Latinobarómetro, uma pesquisa de opinião pública realizada em dezoito países da América Latina, ilustramos as raízes do problema analisado estimando uma árvore de inferencia condicional e utilizando um modelo de feature importance para cada um dos países disponíveis na base de dados. Ademais, computamos um índice de desigualdade de oportunidades educacionais para cada país. Nossos resultados apontam o nível educacional dos pais como sendo o fator mais importante para o sucesso acadêmico de um indivíduo, sendo esse fato uniforme em todo o continente. Observamos também que a América Central é a região cujos países possuem maior desigualdade de oportunidades educacionais

“You will never understand”: the monopoly of the place of speech through cultural trauma narratives in Brazil

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar estudos e narrativas sobre trauma cultural para entender as características básicas de auto-compreensões conservadoras e reacionárias, que podem ser chamadas de “monopólios do lugar de fala”. Por causa de seu caráter radical, acredito que narrativas de traumas culturais, como a literatura de testemunho e romances gráficos podem dar acesso às principais características desses monopólios e a maneiras de criticá-los. Esses elementos são a inacessibilidade, o deslocamento e a repetição tardia, as quais são então utilizadas neste artigo para analisar literatura de ficção e não-ficção e romances gráficos sobre a dituradura militar Brasil, como “K” de Bernardo Kucisnki (2013) e “Notas de um Tempo Silenciado”, de Robson Vilalba (2014).The aim of this article is to analyse cultural trauma studies and narratives in order to understand the basic features of conservative and reactionary self-understandings in contemporary societies, which can be called “monopolies of the place of speech”. Because of their extreme and radical character, I believe that cultural trauma narratives, such as testimony literature and graphic novels can give access to the most important traits of these monopolies, and to ways of countering them. These elements are inaccessibility, displacement and belatedness, which are then used to analyse contemporary fiction and non-fiction literature and graphic novels on the Brazilian Dictatorship, such as Bernardo Kucinsky’s K (2013) and others

Immunological Response To Cell-free Antigens Of Paracoccidioides Brasiliensis: Relationship With Clinical Forms Of Paracoccidioidomycosis.

Sera from patients with the acute (AF) and chronic (CF) forms of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) were tested against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis cell-free antigens by Western blot (immunoblot). The CFA preparation contained components ranging in molecular mass from 18 to 102 kDa. The immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivity profiles were similar for patients with both forms of the disease, and the 43-kDa component was recognized by 100% of the sera. IgM antibodies from the AF- and the CF-PCM sera recognized 21 and 20 components, respectively, the AF-PCM sera reacting preferentially with components with molecular masses above 50 kDa. None of the AF-PCM sera (IgM) reacted with the 43-kDa component, and only 10% of the CF-PCM sera recognized this molecule. The IgA response was more significant in the CF-PCM group than in the AF-PCM group, and the 43- and 74-kDa components were the most reactive ones (about 40% each). Our results showed that the cell-free antigen preparation is very appropriate for the immunoblotting analysis of PCM sera, and they also showed that the detection of IgG anti-gp43 is the best marker for the diagnosis and the following up of patients with the acute or the chronic form of the disease.31671-

Glucocorticoids—All-Rounders Tackling the Versatile Players of the Immune System

Glucocorticoids regulate fundamental processes of the human body and control cellular functions such as cell metabolism, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Moreover, endogenous glucocorticoids link the endocrine and immune system and ensure the correct function of inflammatory events during tissue repair, regeneration, and pathogen elimination via genomic and rapid non-genomic pathways. Due to their strong immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects on immune cells, tissues and organs, glucocorticoids significantly improve the quality of life of many patients suffering from diseases caused by a dysregulated immune system. Despite the multitude and seriousness of glucocorticoid-related adverse events including diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis and infections, these agents remain indispensable, representing the most powerful, and cost-effective drugs in the treatment of a wide range of rheumatic diseases. These include rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, and connective tissue diseases, as well as many other pathological conditions of the immune system. Depending on the therapeutically affected cell type, glucocorticoid actions strongly vary among different diseases. While immune responses always represent complex reactions involving different cells and cellular processes, specific immune cell populations with key responsibilities driving the pathological mechanisms can be identified for certain autoimmune diseases. In this review, we will focus on the mechanisms of action of glucocorticoids on various leukocyte populations, exemplarily portraying different autoimmune diseases as heterogeneous targets of glucocorticoid actions: (i) Abnormalities in the innate immune response play a crucial role in the initiation and perpetuation of giant cell arteritis (GCA). (ii) Specific types of CD4+ T helper (Th) lymphocytes, namely Th1 and Th17 cells, represent important players in the establishment and course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas (iii) B cells have emerged as central players in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). (iv) Allergic reactions are mainly triggered by several different cytokines released by activated Th2 lymphocytes. Using these examples, we aim to illustrate the versatile modulating effects of glucocorticoids on the immune system. In contrast, in the treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders the pro-apoptotic action of glucocorticoids prevails, but their mechanisms differ depending on the type of cancer. Therefore, we will also give a brief insight into the current knowledge of the mode of glucocorticoid action in oncological treatment focusing on leukemia