This article explores the affinities between film and philosophy by returning to a shared meditation on death and the nature of time. Death has been considered the muse of philosophy and can also be ...considered the muse of film-philosophy. But what does it mean to say that to film-philosophise is to learn to die, or a kind of training for dying? Film is an artistic object that reminds us of death’s inevitability; it is a meditation on the transient and finite nature of time. Films as diverse as Mizoguchi’s Tales of Ugetsu, Resnais’s Hiroshima mon Amour, and Guzmán’s Nostalgia for the Light take an uncanny approach to the subject, expressing the paradoxical coexistence of life and death and of different temporal dimensions. This article explores the philosophical concept of the death-image and time through a Deleuzian approach to cinema, meditating on the flashback, the coexistence of the present and the past, and the emergence of a new type of Lazarean character – one who returns from the dead. The article aims to clarify not simply death’s unquestionable omnipresence in film but also cinema’s role as a contemporary version of the trope of memento mori.
Os estudos deleuzianos sobre o cinema destacam a importância dos dois regimes semióticos (imagem-movimento e imagem-tempo) para a compreensão da nossa relação estética e epistemológica com as imagens ...em movimento. Pelo contrário, este artigo procura destacar os momentos de crise entre os dois regimes assinalando o carácter genérico de incerteza e ambiguidade da natureza das imagens mentais: enfraquecido o esquema sensório-motor que domina na montagem cinematográfica, as personagens, incapazes de agir, podem imaginar, desejar, sonhar, alucinar, e lembrar. Surgem novos tipos de imagem: imagens-recordação, imagens-sonho e imagens-mundo. Como é que esses novos tipos de imagem nos fazem repensar a nossa habitual relação com o mundo e com a realidade? Com este artigo sobre a dimensão virtual e onírica do cinema, procuro contribuir para uma maior disseminação de um dos principais contributos de Gilles Deleuze para a filosofia do cinema: a distinção entre o imaginário e a realidade.
A diversidade tem sido tratada por várias áreas do conhecimento. Cabe à antropologia oferecer perspetivas descentradas sobre a sua existência histórica. Neste artigo mobilizo conhecimento etnográfico ...de contextos que conheço por experiência de trabalho de campo – indígenas na mata atlântica do sul da Bahia e os fataluku da região sociocultural do sudeste asiático (Timor-Leste) – para reforçar historicidades de vivência da paisagem que resultam em biodiversidade. Mostro a relevância de relacionalidades para a emergência dessa biodiversidade, em consonância com os estudos sobre florestas antropogénicas. Com essa perspetiva, enveredo por uma reflexão crítica sobre o território de eucaliptais em Portugal, mostrando a inviabilidade da monocultura de árvores – a reprodução do similar no solo - como floresta. Reequaciono assim os debates públicos sobre floresta (e incêndios rurais), argumentando que ressurgências de biodiversidade não brotam dessa simplificação ecológica.
Bisphenol A (BPA), 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, is one of the most utilized industrial chemicals worldwide, with the ability to interfere with/or mimic estrogenic hormones with associated ...biological responses. Environmental human exposure to this endocrine disruptor, mostly through oral intake, is considered a generalized phenomenon, particularly in developed countries. However, in the context of occupational exposure, non-dietary exposure sources (e.g., air and contact) cannot be underestimated. Here, we performed a review of the literature on BPA occupational exposure and associated health effects. Relevantly, the authors only identified 19 studies from 2009 to 2017 that demonstrate that occupationally exposed individuals have significantly higher detected BPA levels than environmentally exposed populations and that the detection rate of serum BPA increases in relation to the time of exposure. However, only 12 studies performed in China have correlated potential health effects with detected BPA levels, and shown that BPA-exposed male workers are at greater risk of male sexual dysfunction across all domains of sexual function; also, endocrine disruption, alterations to epigenetic marks (DNA methylation) and epidemiological evidence have shown significant effects on the offspring of parents exposed to BPA during pregnancy. This overview raises awareness of the dramatic and consistent increase in the production and exposure of BPA and creates urgency to assess the actual exposure of workers to this xenoestrogen and to evaluate potential associated adverse health effects.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous chemicals that may occur naturally (e.g., phytoestrogens), while others are industrial substances and plasticizers commonly utilized worldwide to ...which human exposure, particularly at low-doses, is omnipresent, persistent and occurs in complex mixtures. EDCs can interfere with/or mimic estrogenic hormones and, consequently, can simultaneously trigger diverse signaling pathways which result in diverse and divergent biological responses. Additionally, EDCs can also bioaccumulate in lipid compartments of the organism forming a mixed "body burden" of contaminants. Although the independent action of chemicals has been considered the main principle in EDCs mixture toxicity, recent studies have demonstrated that numerous effects cannot be predicted when analyzing single compounds independently. Co-exposure to these agents, particularly in critical windows of exposure, may induce hazardous health effects potentially associated with a complex "body burden" of different origins. Here, we performed an exhaustive review of the available literature regarding EDCs mixtures exposure, toxicity mechanisms and effects, particularly at the most vulnerable human life stages. Although the assessment of potential risks to human health due to exposure to EDCs mixtures is a major topic for consumer safety, information regarding effective mixtures effects is still scarce.
The healthcare sector has an environmental impact of around 4.6% of global CO2 emissions, contributing to aggravating the climate crisis. However, the impact of the health sector’s emissions on human ...health is not regularly assessed. We aim to estimate the health burden and associated costs of the health sector’s carbon footprint within the European Union (EU).
We calculated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and associated costs based on human health damage factors (DALYs/kg-CO2e) by considering four scenarios. Three scenarios for shared socioeconomic pathways (S1 – high growth, S2 − baseline, and S3 − low growth) represented variations of global society, demographics, and economics until 2100. A fourth scenario (S4) considered the current EU’s 55% reduction goal of greenhouse gas emissions. The healthcare sector’s emissions per capita (in CO2-equivalent) in 2019 were extracted from the Lancet Countdown, and population data were retrieved from Eurostat for the same year.
In the EU, 365,047 DALYs (95%CI: 194,692–535,403) are expected to be caused by the health sector’s emissions at baseline (S2). In an S1 scenario, the burden would slightly decrease to 316,374 DALYs (95%CI: 170,355–462,393), whereas a S3 scenario would increase 486,730 DALYs (95%CI: 243,365–681,422). If EU’s carbon goals are met, the burden could be substantially reduced to 164,271 DALYs (95%CI: 87,611–240,931). Costs can amount to 25.6 billion euros, when considering DALYs monetisation.
CO2 emissions from the health sector are expected to significantly impact human health. Therefore, it is important to ensure that EU climate policies for public buildings are in line with the Paris Agreement, increase funding for climate mitigation programs within the healthcare sector, and review clinical practices at the local level.
•Exposure to microbial contaminants should be considered.•In vitro toxicology provides relevant data on the potential health effects.•Interior layers exhibited higher cytotoxicity effect than ...exhalation valves.•Higher cytotoxicity among exhalation valves correlated with bacteria.•Training and education on the proper use of FRPD is needed.
Filtering respiratory protection devices (FRPD) are mandatory for workers to wear in the Portuguese waste-sorting industry. Previous results regarding microbial contamination found on FRPD interior layer raised the question of whether microbial contamination from the exhalation valve would also have cytotoxicity effects. Since the FRPD exhalation valves are very close to workers’ nose and mouth, they represent a source of exposure to bioburden by inhalation. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the microbial contamination present in the FRPD exhalation valves. For this purpose, the cytotoxicity effects were determined through the MTT assay in two different cell lines (human A549 epithelial lung cells, and swine kidney cells) and compared with previous results obtained with FRPD interior layers. The contamination present in the FRPD exhalation valves presented some cytotoxicity on epithelial lung cells, suggesting the inhalation route as a potential route of exposure through the use of FRPD in the waste-sorting industry. Half-maximal (50%) inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were lower for FRPD interior layer than exhalation valves in lung cells, with overall cytotoxicity lower in exhalation valves when compared to interior layer (z = −4.455, p = 0.000). Higher bacterial counts in TSA were correlated with lower IC50 values, thus, higher cytotoxicity effect in lung cells. No statistically significant differences were detected among different workplaces.
Apresentamos a leitura deleuziana do papel e do poder da imaginação e do esquematismo no juízo estético segundo Immanuel Kant destacando, em particular, a importância de se pensar um desacordo entre ...faculdades e de, no limite, afirmarmos a impossibilidade de uma filosofia da arte. Como se dá o processo que liga sensações e conceitos, arte e filosofia? Ao respondermos a esta questão, também esclarecemos a situação peculiar de Kant na filosofia de Gilles Deleuze e a leitura que este faz em A Filosofia Crítica de Kant, publicado em 1963. Teremos como objeto de análise um filme sensorial, To the Wonder/A Essência do Amor (2012), realizado por Terrence Malick.
In occupational settings where exposure to organic dust occurs (e.g., intensive animal production, waste management, farming and many others) workers can also be exposed to mycotoxins. However, ...recognizing exposure to mycotoxins in workplace environments does not happen commonly and, consequently, remains as a not identified occupational risk factor. In the last decade, work developed in different occupational settings, using different sampling approaches reported that occupational exposure to mycotoxins occurs and it's of upmost importance to be seen as an occupational concern that needs to be tackled. This paper intends to discuss the several possibilities available for assessing and characterizing the occupational exposure to mycotoxins through the description of the advantages and limitations of the different sampling strategies. Overviewing the approaches and the main achievements used in several field campaigns developed in Portugal, the knowledge obtained will be used to support the identification of the main aspects to consider when designing new occupational studies. The need for additional research work will also be discussed where new directions to follow will be debated.
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