Television and cultural studies: Unfinished business

This introductory article argues that the current state of debate on television within cultural studies is marked by considerable areas of theoretical and political uncertainty. The spread of deregulatory and privatizing public policies in relation to television, and the disarticulation of television from the idea of the national community and from the role of the citizen, have posed new problems for theorizing the relation between television and its audiences. In this article I survey a number of key areas of debate: the relation between television, the nation and the state; television and the citizen/consumer, television content and performance, and the likely future(s) of television.

Etiology of ovarian failure in blepharophimosis ptosis epicanthus inversus syndrome: FOXL2 is a conserved, early-acting gene in vertebrate ovarian development

Blepharophimosis ptosis epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES) is a human disorder caused by mutations in the forkhead transcription factor gene FOXL2 and is characterized by facial dysmorphology combined in some cases with ovarian failure. To better understand the role of FOXL2 in the etiology of ovarian failure in BPES, we examined its expression in embryonic ovaries of mice, chickens, and red-eared slider turtles, representatives of three phylogenetically distant vertebrate groups that have different mechanisms of sex determination. Expression of Foxl2 was detected in early ovaries of all three species around the time of sex determination and was associated with both somatic and germ cell populations in mice. Expression was sexually dimorphic in all cases. Sequence analysis of turtle and chicken FoxL2 orthologues indicated an unusually high degree of structural conservation during evolution. FoxL2 was found to be autosomal in chickens, and therefore unlikely to represent the dominant ovarian-determining gene that has been postulated to exist as a possible explanation for female heterogamety in birds. Our observations suggest that BPES may result from early abnormalities in regulating the development of the fetal ovary, rather than premature degeneration of the postnatal or adult ovary. Further, our results suggest that FOXL2 is a highly conserved early regulator of vertebrate ovarian development.

Identification of slow and fast-acting toxins in a highly ciguatoxic barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) by HPLC/MS and radiolabelled ligand binding

A barracuda implicated in ciguatera fish poisoning in Guadeloupe was estimated to have an overall flesh toxicity of 15 MUg/g using mouse bioassay. A lipid soluble extract was separated into two toxic fractions, FrA and FrB, on a LH20 Sephadex column eluted with dichloromethane/methanol (1:1). When intraperitoneal injected into mice, FrA provoked symptoms characteristic of slow-acting ciguatoxins, whereas FrB produced symptoms indicative of fast-acting toxins (FAT). High performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/radio-ligand binding (HPLC/MS/RLB) analysis confirmed the two fractions were distinct, because only a weak overlap of some compounds was observed. HPLC/MS/RLB analysis revealed C-CTX-1 as the potent toxin present in FrA, and two coeluting active compounds at m/z 809.43 and 857.42 in FrB, all displaying the characteristic pattern of ion formation for hydroxy-polyethers. Other C-CTX congeners and putative hydroxy-polyether-like compounds were detected in both fractions, however, the RLB found them inactive. C-CTX-1 accounted for >90% of total toxicity in this barracuda and was confirmed to be a competitive inhibitor of brevetoxin binding to voltage-sensitive sodium channels (VSSCs) with a potency two-times lower than P-CTX-1. However, FAT active on VSSCs and

Television y bebidas alcohólicas y analcohólicas

Dadas las implicancias educativas de la televisión, se decidió estudiar la frecuencia y características de los eventos con bebidas alcohólicas y analcohólicas en la televisión chilena utilizando el método ideado por Garlington. El registro fue hecho por períodos de media hora, distribuidos aleatoriamente, para cada observador, voluntaria perteneciente a una comuna que se caracteriza por su bajo nivel sociocultural; ellas monitorearon durante una semana, de Lunes a Viernes todos los programas transmitidos desde las 20:00 a las 24:00 horas. Se observó que, en promedio, por cada canal se transmite un evento de bebida alcohólica cada 24 minutos 19 segundos y uno de bebida no alcohólica cada 37 minutos y medio; las imágenes de bebida alcohólicas se incrementan a partir de las 21:30 horas. Del total de eventos, 60,7% corresponden a bebidas alcohólicas y de éstos el 61,1% tiene carácter publicitario. Los eventos relacionados con bebidas alcohólicas ocurren principalmente en la casa, por amistad y en forma de escenas, los con no alcohólicas en lugares desportivos, por amistad y en escena de ingestión.

Actors in foreign television news: a comparative analysis

Foreign News about events that takes place in other country Actors are defined as people who appear in the item (as individuals or as representing some entity) speaking or being quoted (directly or indirectly)

Trimethoprim-selective electrodes with molecularly imprinted polymers acting as ionophores and potentiometric transduction on graphite solid-contact

This work proposes a new biomimetic sensor material for trimethoprim. It is prepared by means of radical polymerization, having trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as cross-linker, benzoyl peroxide as radicalar iniciator, chloroform as porogenic solvent, and methacrylic acid and 2-vinyl pyridine as monomers. Different percentages of sensor in a range between 1 and 6% were studied. Their behavior was compared to that obtained with ion-exchanger quaternary ammonium salt (additive tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl)borate or tetraphenylborate). The effect of an anionic additive in the sensing membrane was also tested. Trimethoprim sensors with 1% of imprinted particles from methacrylic acid monomers showed the best response in terms of slope (59.7 mV/decade) and detection limit (4.01×10−7 mol/L). These electrodes displayed also a good selectivity towards nickel, manganese aluminium, ammonium, lead, potassium, sodium, iron, chromium, sulfadiazine, alanine, cysteine, tryptophan, valine and glycine. The sensors were not affected by pH changes from 2 to 6. They were successfully applied to the analysis of water from aquaculture.

Domesticating portuguese television

This chapter discusses the role of television within Portuguese family life. In particular, it examines how the domestication of television within the home is influenced by the social context in which different types of families live. The research is framed around the theory of domestication and based on 50 semi-structured interviews.1 “Domestication” is the process by which the household and its surroundings (both private and the public), together with the moral and formal or objective economy, are related to each other and become mutually constitutive (Silverstone, Hirsch and Morley 1999). The metaphor of “domestication” originally comes from the taming of wild animals, but has been usefully applied to the “domestication” of information communication technology (ICT), including television, within the home. Silverstone et al. (1999) have developed a range of concepts to capture this process, of which the best known are: “appropriation”, “objectification”, “incorporation” and “conversion”. These categories describe how the entry of ICT into the home is managed; how artefacts are physically (and symbolically) placed within the home; how they are adapted into everyday routines; and how they are displayed to others (Haddon 2007, 26). These four key concepts will be used in this chapter to discuss the importance of television within Portugal as an example of a small country in which there has been little research using this particular theoretical approach. Most studies on Portuguese television have focused on televisual history or come from research into trends in television consumption. The domestication theory is a holistic framework, useful to explain the meaning of television in Portuguese homes in all the stages of its presence in daily life. This forms part of a larger international project entitled Digital Inclusion and Participation: Comparing the Trajectories of Digital Media Use by Majority and Disadvantage Groups in Portugal and in the USA (UT Austin/Portugal Program).

trans-Acting factors and cis elements involved in glucose repression of arabinan degradation in Bacillus subtilis.

Journal of Bacteriology (Nov 2007) 8371-8376

Trimethoprim-selective electrodes with molecularly imprinted polymers acting as ionophores and potentiometric transduction on graphite solid-contact

This work proposes a new biomimetic sensor material for trimethoprim. It is prepared by means of radical polymerization, having trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as cross-linker, benzoyl peroxide as radicalar iniciator, chloroform as porogenic solvent, and methacrylic acid and 2-vinyl pyridine as monomers. Different percentages of sensor in a range between 1 and 6% were studied. Their behavior was compared to that obtained with ion-exchanger quaternary ammonium salt (additive tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl)borate or tetraphenylborate). The effect of an anionic additive in the sensing membrane was also tested. Trimethoprim sensors with 1% of imprinted particles from methacrylic acid monomers showed the best response in terms of slope (59.7 mV/decade) and detection limit (4.01 × 10− 7 mol/L). These electrodes displayed also a good selectivity towards nickel, manganese aluminium, ammonium, lead, potassium, sodium, iron, chromium, sulfadiazine, alanine, cysteine, tryptophan, valine and glycine. The sensors were not affected by pH changes from 2 to 6. They were successfully applied to the analysis of water from aquaculture.

The use of long acting sulfonamides, alone or with pyrimethamine, in malaria (with special reference to sulformetoxine)

Review of the early literature as well as more recent results show that sulfonamides possess a distinct antimalarial activity. However, when give alone, their action is less marked and slower than that of the antimalarials commonly used in the treatment of the acute attack. Combinations with pyrimethamine provide better results, even in cases of pyrimethamine and chloroquine resistance. This warrants further investigations in an attempt to develop a therapeutic agent suitable for the treatment of such resistant cases. It may also be possible with an appropriate combination of pyrimethamine with a sulfonamide to achieve a satisfactory method for suppressive treatment both in areas with and without pyrimethamine resistance. Three main points must still be carefully studied: 1) the risk of developing malaria resistance against one or both of the components of the combination. 2) The risk of developing bacterial resistance to sulfonamides if these substances are used on a large scale in too low doses. It seems indeed that antimalarial effect with the combination of sufonamides + pyrimethamine can be obtained with doses of sulfonamides which are below those usually employed in bacterial diseases. Since the range of the ratios providing potentiation is rather large, only ratios of the combination sulfonamides: pyrimethamine should be chosen in which an antfbacterial sulfonamidemia is guaranteed. 3) It goes without sayinq that, although both pyrimethamine and modem sulfonamides, when given by themselves, have proved tc possess a large margin of safety, long term administration of their combination should be careful studied from the point of view of possible side effects. Substantial evidence has already been produced to show that the long acting sulfonamide Fanasil (Ro 4-4393) given once or once weekly possesses marked schizonticidal activity against P. falciparum. Although its action is slower than that of 4-aminoquinolines, it may be useful as a second choice drug in semi-immune subjects for the therapy of falciparum malaria. Preliminary results show that, when combined with pyrimethamine, Fanasil is highly effective in suppressing fever and asexual parasitemia due to P. falciparum. Single doses of 1 g Fanasil together with 50 mg pyrimethamine seem to be adequate for the treatment of acute falciparum malaria in semi-immune patients. The onset of action of the combination is much more rapid than that of the single components. Weekly doses of 500 mg Fanasil and 25 mg pyrimeihamine appear to provide satisfactory suppressive effects against P. falciparum at least in East Africa. This combination is active on strains which do not respond satisfactorily to the standard doses of pyrimethamine and/or chloroquine and seems to have a satisfactory sporontocidal effect. Preliminary results indicate that Fanasil alone cannot be recommended for use against the other human malaria parasites. The combination with pyrimethamine appears to be much more effective. East African strains of P. malariae seem to respond better to the combination than do Malayan strains of P. vivax but further trials are required before definite assessment can be made. Fanasil by itself has no gametocytoddal or sporontocidal action but seems to potentiate the effect of pyrimethamine at least on sporogony of P. falciparum.

The effectiveness of the Media Smart Program on promoting the critical thinking of children towards the use of celebrities in television advertising

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Interfaces for television content sharing and annotation

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

The role of humor in television advertisement: A study regarding Portuguese consumers’ emotions and reactions

The purpose of this study is to explore the humorous side of television advertisement and its impact on Portuguese consumers’ hearts, minds and wallets. Both qualitative (through in-depth interviews) and quantitative (through an on-line survey and subsequent statistical data analysis) methods were used, guaranteeing a more consistent, strong and valid research. Twenty-five interviews with randomly chosen consumers were conducted face-to-face and three interviews via e-mail with marketers and television advertisers were performed in order to explore profoundly the subject. Moreover, 360 people have answered the on-line survey. Through the analysis of the data collected humor perception was found to be positively correlated with persuasion and intention to purchase the product; intention to share the advert; message comprehension; product liking and development of positive feelings towards the brand and brand credibility variables. The main implication of these findings relies on the fact that humor in advertising is able to boost its effectiveness.