The strategy makers: thoughts on war and society from Machiavelli and Clausewitz

Introductory chapter. Introduction and excerpts from works of Seigneur de Fourquevaux (1548); Francois Loque – Saillans (1589); Matthew Sutcliffe (1593); Don Bernardino de Mendoza (1595); Paul Hay du Chastelet (1668); Marquis Santa Cruz de Marcenado & Zanthier (1724-30/1775); Guibert (1772); Rühle von Lilienstern (1816/1817).

Gut microbial catabolism of grape seed flavan-3-ols by human faecal microbiota. Targetted analysis of precursor compounds, intermediate metabolites and end-products.

In vitro batch culture fermentations were conducted with grape seed polyphenols and human faecal microbiota, in order to monitor both changes in precursor flavan-3-ols and the formation of microbial-derived metabolites. By the application of UPLC-DAD-ESI-TQ MS, monomers, and dimeric and trimeric procyanidins were shown to be degraded during the first 10 h of fermentation, with notable inter-individual differences being observed between fermentations. This period (10 h) also coincided with the maximum formation of intermediate metabolites, such as 5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone and 4-hydroxy-5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-valeric acid, and of several phenolic acids, including 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxymandelic acid, and gallic acid (5–10 h maximum formation). Later phases of the incubations (10–48 h) were characterised by the appearance of mono- and non-hydroxylated forms of previous metabolites by dehydroxylation reactions. Of particular interest was the detection of γ-valerolactone, which was seen for the first time as a metabolite from the microbial catabolism of flavan-3-ols. Changes registered during fermentation were finally summarised by a principal component analysis (PCA). Results revealed that 5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone was a key metabolite in explaining inter-individual differences and delineating the rate and extent of the microbial catabolism of flavan-3-ols, which could finally affect absorption and bioactivity of these compounds.

In vitro fermentation of grape seed flavan-3-ol fractions by human faecal microbiota: changes in microbial groups and phenolic metabolites

With the aim of investigating the potential of flavan-3-ols to influence the growth of intestinal bacterial groups, we have carried out the in vitro fermentation, with human faecal microbiota, of two purified fractions from grape seed extract (GSE): GSE-M (70% monomers and 28% procyanidins) and GSE-O (21% monomers and 78 % procyanidins). Samples were collected at 0, 5, 10, 24, 30 and 48 h of fermentation for bacterial enumeration by fluorescent in situ hybridization and for analysis of phenolic metabolites. Both GSE-M and GSE-O fractions promoted growth of Lactobacillus/Enterococcus and decrease in the Clostridium histolyticum group during fermentation, although the effects were only statistically significant with GSE-M for Lactobacillus/Enterococcus (at 5 and 10 h of fermentation) and GSE-O for C. histolyticum (at 10 h of fermentation). Main changes in polyphenol catabolism also occurred during the first 10 h of fermentation, however no significant correlation coefficients (P>0.05) were found between changes in microbial populations and precursor flavan-3-ols or microbial metabolites. Together these data suggest that the flavan-3-ol profile of a particular food source could affect the microbiota composition and its catabolic activity, inducing changes that could in turn affect the bioavailability and potential bioactivity of these compounds.

Sangue e carne no cinema de Joaquim Pedro de Andrade

'Macunaíma' (Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969) ends with a shot of blood emerging from the water. This text proposes an approach to this image following a comparison with other films by the same filmmaker: 'Couro de gato' (1960) and 'Os Inconfidentes' (1972). The main thesis is that in these images the aesthetical work with flesh synthesizes the ritual cannibalism and the capitalist one. This synthesis is specified in heroes’ assimilation by power.