Identification of quinolactin alkaloids from fungi associated to Brazilian red algae Dichotomaria marginata by LC-PDA-MS and LC-MSn

Fungi isolated from marine organisms have been shown to produce several interesting secondary metabolites with important biological activities. Such chemical diversity may be associated to environmental stress conditions and may represent an important source of NCE for bioprospection. Quinolactins belong to a rare fungi-alkaloid class with a unique N-methyl-quinolone moiety fused to a lactam ring and present several bioactivities1. Fungi strain Dm1 was isolated from red alga Dichotomaria marginata, collected from Brazil SE coast, and was grown in sterile rice solid media at 26oC 2, which was then extracted with MeOH. The MeCN fr. from the MeOH extract was chromatographed over Sephadex LH-20 and fr. 4 afforded quinolactin (QL) alkaloids B1, B2 and A, whereas fr. 5 afforded quinolactin D1 after purification by HPLC-DAD. Structural determination of pure compounds was based on HRMS, UV, and NMR spectral analyses, in addition to comparison with literature data and Antimarin® databank. UV data indicated the presence of similar chromophores with λmax at ca. 247 and 320nm. HRMS and tandem MS analyses using both negative and positive ion modes for the isolated compounds indicated their molecular formula and structural features, as for QL B1: C15H16O2N2 [M+H 257], which showed one fragment at m/z 214 [-CHNO]; QL B2: C15H16O3N2 [M+H 273], with product ions at m/z 230 [-CHNO.] and m/z 186 [-C4H9NO.]; for QL A: C16H18N2O2 [M+H 271], which presented one ion at m/z 214, due to loss of fragment (-C4H9) from the molecular ion; and for QL D1: C16H18N2O3 [M+H 287], with product ions at m/z 186 [-CHNO] and m/z 230 [-C4H9]. Such data suggested fragmentation proposals, e.g. for Quinolactin B1 (Fig. 1), which confirmed the structures of the isolated quinolactins, and may represent an important contribution for the sustainable exploration of marine biodiversity.

Distribution of QPY and RAH haplotypes of granzyme B gene in distinct Brazilian populations

Introduction: The cytolysis mediated by granules is one of the most important effector functions of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Recently, three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified at exons 2, 3, and 5 of the granzyme B gene, resulting in a haplotype in which three amino acids of mature protein Q48P88Y245 are changed to R48A88H245, which leads to loss of cytotoxic activity of the protein. In this study, we evaluated the frequency of these polymorphisms in Brazilian populations. Methods: We evaluated the frequency of these polymorphisms in Brazilian ethnic groups (white, Afro-Brazilian, and Asian) by sequencing these regions. Results: The allelic and genotypic frequencies of SNP 2364A/G at exon 2 in Afro-Brazilian individuals (42.3% and 17.3%) were significantly higher when compared with those in whites and Asians (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0007, respectively). The polymorphisms 2933C/G and 4243C/T also were more frequent in Afro-Brazilians but without any significant difference regarding the other groups. The Afro-Brazilian group presented greater diversity of haplotypes, and the RAH haplotype seemed to be more frequent in this group (25%), followed by the whites (20.7%) and by the Asians (11.9%), similar to the frequency presented in the literature. Conclusions: There is a higher frequency of polymorphisms in Afro-Brazilians, and the RAH haplotype was more frequent in these individuals. We believe that further studies should aim to investigate the correlation of this haplotype with diseases related to immunity mediated by cytotoxic lymphocytes, and if this correlation is confirmed, novel treatment strategies might be elaborated.

Life Cycle Assessment of Peach Nectar: a comparative analysis between conventional and bioenergy-from-waste integrated food chains

Modern food systems are characterized by a high energy intensity as well as by the production of large amounts of waste, residuals and food losses. This inefficiency presents major consequences, in terms of GHG emissions, waste disposal, and natural resource depletion. The research hypothesis is that residual biomass material could contribute to the energetic needs of food systems, if recovered as an integrated renewable energy source (RES), leading to a sensitive reduction of the impacts of food systems, primarily in terms of fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions. In order to assess these effects, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted to compare two different food systems: a fossil fuel-based system and an integrated system with the use of residual as RES for self-consumption. The food product under analysis has been the peach nectar, from cultivation to end-of-life. The aim of this LCA is twofold. On one hand, it allows an evaluation of the energy inefficiencies related to agro-food waste. On the other hand, it illustrates how the integration of bioenergy into food systems could effectively contribute to reduce this inefficiency. Data about inputs and waste generated has been collected mainly through literature review and databases. Energy balance, GHG emissions (Global Warming Potential) and waste generation have been analyzed in order to identify the relative requirements and contribution of the different segments. An evaluation of the energy “loss” through the different categories of waste allowed to provide details about the consequences associated with its management and/or disposal. Results should provide an insight of the impacts associated with inefficiencies within food systems. The comparison provides a measure of the potential reuse of wasted biomass and the amount of energy recoverable, that could represent a first step for the formulation of specific policies on the integration of bioenergies for self-consumption.

The influence of Italian upon English literature during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries : being the essay which obtained the Le Bas prize, 1885 /

Binding; in blue printed paper wrapper.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti and German literature : a public lecture delivered in Hilary term, 1912, at the Taylor Institution, Oxford /

Mode of access: Internet.

Scott and his influence on Dutch literature ...

"List of the principal works, periodicals, and books consulted or discussed": p. [304]-306.

The debt of the Spanish Libro de Alexandre to the French Roman d'Alexandre,

Mode of access: Internet.

Germany and the French Revolution

Mode of access: Internet.

History of French literature,

Mode of access: Internet.

Brazilian literature

"Selective critical bibliography": p. 293-297.

Plastic / Explosive: Claude Cahun and the Politics of Becoming Otherwise

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Social paranoia and absurdist fiction in Cold War America and Soviet Russia: a comparative study

This thesis explores the theme of social paranoia as depicted in the Absurdist fiction of Cold War America and Soviet Russia. The central hypothesis informing this research maintains that, despite the ideology of moral and cultural “Otherness” constructed and reinforced by both nations throughout much of twentieth century, the US and the Soviet Union more often than not functioned as mirror images of paranoia and suspicion. Much of the fiction produced in Russia from the Revolution onwards and in the US during the Cold War period highlights how these two ostensibly irreconcilable nations were consumed by similar fears and gripped by an equally pervasive paranoia. These parallel conditions of anxiety and mistrust led to a surprising congruity of literary responses, which transcended the ideological divide between capitalism and communism and, as such, underscored the homogeny of fear which lay beneath the façade of constructed difference. I contend that, because Soviet Russia and the America of the Cold War period were nations consumed by fear and suspicion, authors living in both countries became preoccupied by the mechanics of such deeply paranoid societies. Consequently, much of the fiction of the US and the Soviet Union during this period was preoccupied with the themes of paranoia, conspiracy, intensive bureaucracy and the politicisation of science, which resulted in the terror of the Nuclear Age. This thesis explores how these central themes unite apparently diverse literary texts and illustrate the uniformity of terror which transcended both the physical and ideological boundaries separating the United States and the Soviet Union. In doing so, this research focuses primarily on the multi-faceted manifestations of paranoia in selected works by Soviet authors Mikhail Bulgakov, Daniil Kharms and Yuli Daniel, and American authors Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut. Focusing on key works by each author, this research considers these texts as products of two culturally diverse, yet equally paranoid societies and explores their preoccupation with issues of spying, infiltration and conspiracy. This thesis thus emphasises how these authors counter simplistic notions of Cold War Otherness by revealing two nations possessed by a similar sense of vulnerability and insecurity. Furthermore, this thesis examines how this social anxiety is reinforced by the way in which these authors position issues such as the mechanics of the bureaucratic system and clandestine scientific experimentation as the focal point of the paranoid imagination. Ultimately, by examining the concordance of paranoiac representation in America and the Soviet Union during this period, I demonstrate that these ostensibly divergent nations harboured similar fears and insecurities.

LES FLEURS DU MAL AND EU: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS UNDER THE FINITENESS OF THE FLESH

The theme of death will be approached, relating the finiteness of the flesh and the fullness of the being as the main focus of the topic , analyzing aspects in the poetry of the canons of world literature, Baudelaire and Augusto dos Anjos, pointing the confluences between the authors and the points that they converge, related to the theme in question. To do so, poems taken from Les Fleurs du Mal ( 1857 ) and Eu (1912 ) related to the theme of death will serve as the basis for this essay. Many are the poems of both authors that address the theme of death, the finiteness of the flesh and the possible fullness of being. Thus, only a few compositions were selected for analysis, for the impossibility of extending the theme at this moment. The poems chosen for analysis are Une Charogne and Remords Posthume, by Charles Baudelaire, published in Les Fleurs Du Mal in 1857, and “Apóstrofe à carne” and “A pecadora”, by Augusto dos Anjos, published in “Eu” in 1912. One will try, then, in this essay, to make an interpretation of these compositions, as well as examine some figures of speech and aesthetic resources used by the poets over the poems.

In Scene of History and the History on Scene: The Theatre of Resistance by Millôr Fernandes and Flávio Rangel

Based on the contribuions from Ryngaert (1995); Prado (2009); Magaldi (2008); Faria (1998); Heliodora (2008); Guinsburg, Faria and Lima (2009), refering to the constituion of the theatrical discourse, in studies of Fausto (2012); Cotrim (2005); Gaspari (2002) and Garcia (2008), about the notes Brazilian historical and the theoretical presupposes of Carvalhal (2003, 2006); Nitrini (2000); Nascimento (2006) and Maddaluno (1991) to approach to the study of comparative literature, this work aims to analyze the play Liberdade, liberdade (1965), by Millôr Fernandes and Flávio Rangel whit the Brazilian dictatorship period (1964-1985). This play was written and performed at the beginning of the regime, as it wished to withdraw from the scheme repressor that dominated Brazil. Millôr Fernandes and Flávio Rangel resorted to the use of classical texts and historical preparation for the work, and make use of music to bring up the subject of ceaseless quest for freedom. The play runs from dramatic to comedic, supported by political discourse, which leads, the called Theatre of resistance. For this work, the basic procedure was the literature search. Through the analysis of the dramatic text and the recurrent use of bricolage (collage of historical texts), perceives the practice of intertextuality theme. Thus, one can understand that Liberdade, liberdade is a dramatic text produced in the second half of the twentieth century, which establishes dialogue with texts embodied historical aspect with literary verve.

Promoting sustainable urban development in fast growing city-regions : practices from Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong

The Asia‐Pacific region is characterised by rapid population growth and urbanisation. These trends often result in an increasing consumption of land, which in turn lead to spatially expansive and discontinuous urban development. As a consequence, local communities and the environment face strong pressures. Many cities in the region have developed policies to tackle the issue of rapid growth and its associated consequences, for example climate change. The broad aim of this paper is to identify the nature, trends and strategies of growth management in major Asia‐Pacific city‐regions, and their implications for natural resource management and infrastructure provision. More specifically, this research seeks to provide insights on sustainable urban development practice, particularly on the promotion of compact urbanisation within the Asia‐Pacific’s fastest growing regions. The methodology of the paper includes a detailed literature review and a comparative analysis of existing strategies and policies. The literature review focuses on the key concepts related to sustainable urban growth management. It also includes existing applications of urban growth management approaches and planning information system in managing growth. Following the literature review, the paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the strategies of major Asia‐Pacific city‐regions of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in terms of their approaches to sustainable urban development. The findings of the paper provide a clear understanding of the necessity of sustainable urban development practices. It contributes to the development of a substantial base for further research. Ultimately, this research aims to shed light on sustainable urban development by providing insights on the management of growth, natural resources and urban infrastructures.