17 beta-Hydroxy-11 beta(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-17 alpha-(1-propynyl)estra-4, 9-dien-3-one (RU486) inhibited the in vitro development of different stages of mouse preimplantation embryos under study. Two-celled embryos, morulae, and early blastocysts were obtained from B6D2F1 mice. The embryos were grown in Ham F-10 nutrient mixture (with glutamine) supplemented with sodium bicarbonate (2.1 g/L), calcium lactate (282 mg/L), and bovine serum albumin (fraction V, 3 mg/mL) at 37 degrees C in a humidified incubator supplied with 5% CO2 in air. RU486 was added to the culture medium at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, and 20 micrograms/mL. Culture medium with 0.05% ethanol served as the control. In vitro growth of embryos was assessed by the following criteria: (i) two-celled stage embryo development to blastocyst stage after 72 h, (ii) morula stage grown to blastocyst stage after 24 h, and (iii) early blastocyst stage development to hatching blastocyst after 12 h, in culture. RU486 inhibited the in vitro development of two-celled embryos, morulae, and early blastocysts at concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 micrograms/mL culture medium (p less than 0.001). The inhibitory effect of RU486 at these concentrations on the development of all the stages of embryos under study was irreversible. However, RU486 did not affect embryo development at 1 microgram/mL culture medium. The study indicates the direct adverse effect of RU486 at 5 micrograms/mL and higher concentrations in culture medium on the development of mouse preimplantation embryos in vitro, and it encourages its further investigation as a postcoital contraceptive in animal models and humans.

The thesis presents rich empirical analysis of the role of public relations in facilitating participation in social change in the Arab Gulf. The focus is on what public communication approaches are used and how they are regarded from the perspectives of the key social actors. It presents an historical and sociological background of public communication and media in the Arab Gulf. Moreover, it provides in-depth analysis of two empirical case studies in the Arab Gulf: Ghiras, the national drugs prevention programme in Kuwait, and Be Free, the voluntary anti-child abuse programme in Bahrain. This thesis relates the practice of public communication in the Arab Gulf society to Arabic culture and ethics. The thesis uses a qualitative constructivist paradigm to “re-construct” the multiple realities initially constructed by social actors in the cases to provide original insights on the role of public communication and public relations in social change in the Arab Gulf. It presents a new perspective of 'social change' in the two cases that is tied to Islamic ethics. Besides, it re-constructs original Arabic-oriented understanding of 'relational' and 'persuasion' approaches, which differs from the Western paradigm. One of the key contributions of the thesis is its adaptation of relevant Western communication models to the empirical Arab Gulf cases to identify some of the crucial factors of the practice and role of public communication in the Arab Gulf. The unique contribution of this thesis is that it develops a greater understanding of alternative cultural context that might contribute to the adaptations of existing theory and therefore a first step towards new models. It introduces a theoretical framework for other scholars to develop an Arabic public communication ethics theory and to build up a cultural model of the practice of public communication and public relations in the Arab Gulf. The thesis generates key theoretical implications that contribute to the theoretical discussion on the value and role of media, public relations, social marketing, and public communication in the Arab Gulf society at the age of globalisation.

Células de mamíferos são os hospedeiros mais frequentemente utilizados para a fabricação de proteínas biofarmacêuticas e para a produção de vacinas virais, A qualidade é um elemento-chave para o estabelecimento de um processo de bioconversão eficiente. No presente trabalho utilizamos a linhagem de células BHK- 21C13(Baby Hamster Kidney) adaptadas para cultivo em suspensão. O uso de Soro Fetal Bovino (SFB) é tradicionalmente utilizado, sendo considerado um suplemento universal, pois permite o crescimento em várias linhagens de células de mamíferos; porém, uso de SFB apresenta risco de infecção por prions, variabilidade entre lotes e aumento no custo em etapa de purificação (Downstream processing). O objetivo do presente trabalho foi comparar o cultivo de células BHK-21 C13 entre dois meios suplementados com SFB e sem SFB, através do estudo cinético para cultivo em suspensão estático e agitado com frascoT, frasco spinner e biorreator, respectivamente. Os parâmetros; Xmáx e µmáx, não foram significativamente influenciados pelo meio de cultura em cultivo estático, em cultivo com agitação em frasco spinner e também no cultivo em biorreator. O tempo de duplicação ficou próximo para todas as condições testadas. A produtividade alcançada foi: 0,032x106 cel/mL.h-1 para o meio com SFB e 0,031 X106 cel/mL.h-1 para o meio sem SFB. Ao final do processo foi possível obter uma concentração celular em torno de 4,7x106 cel/mL, tanto para o cultivo com SFB quanto para o cultivo sem SFB. Dessa forma, o uso de meio de cultivo sem SFB não alterou os principais parâmetros cinéticos, não apresentando as desvantagens do uso do SFB. / Mammalian cells are the most frequently used hosts for the production of biopharmaceutical proteins and viral vaccines. Quality is a key element for the establishment of an efficient bioconversion process. In this work, we used the cell line Baby Hamster Kidney C13 (BHK-21 C13) adapted to suspension culture was used. Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is traditionally used and it is considered a universal insert due to its power to increase cell growth in this kind of animal cells. However, the utilization of FBS introduces risks of infection from prions, variability between batches and increase in cost associated to purification stages (downstream processing). This work aimed to compare the kinetic behaviors of BHK-21 C13 cells in two media supplemented with FBS and without FBS using both one static and two suspension systems, T-flask, spinner flask and bioreactor respectively. The parameters; Xmax and µmax were not significantly influenced by the culture medium in T- flask culture static, in spinner flask cultivation and were neither significantly influenced by growing in culture media stirred bioreactor. The doubling time was close to all conditions tested. At the end of the growth phase it was possible to obtain a nearby cell concentration of 4.7 x 106 cells / ml, both for cultivation with FBS as for FBS without cultivation. Thus, the use of culture medium without FBS did not affect the main kinetic parameters. Besides, it does not show the disadvantages of culture media using FBS.

The diploma thesis The Role of Travesty Show in Media Culture is concerned with a question if we can find some similarities between the way how media presents travesty show and the way how people think and talk about this kind of entertainment. As a research method I chose qualitative content analysis and questionnaire. Theoretical part focuses on explanation of technical terms, history of homosexuality, queer culture, queer theory, travesty show and history. In practical part I will create concrete codes from qualitative content analysis and from these codes I will make categories. Part of practical part is also a questionnaire. In the end of this thesis I will compare the codes from qualitative content analysis with the answers from the questionnaire. And based on this comparison I will find out if there exist any similarities between the way how media presents travesty show and the way how people think and talk about this kind of entertainment.

Células de mamíferos são os hospedeiros mais frequentemente utilizados para a fabricação de proteínas biofarmacêuticas e para a produção de vacinas virais, A qualidade é um elemento-chave para o estabelecimento de um processo de bioconversão eficiente. No presente trabalho utilizamos a linhagem de células BHK- 21C13(Baby Hamster Kidney) adaptadas para cultivo em suspensão. O uso de Soro Fetal Bovino (SFB) é tradicionalmente utilizado, sendo considerado um suplemento universal, pois permite o crescimento em várias linhagens de células de mamíferos; porém, uso de SFB apresenta risco de infecção por prions, variabilidade entre lotes e aumento no custo em etapa de purificação (Downstream processing). O objetivo do presente trabalho foi comparar o cultivo de células BHK-21 C13 entre dois meios suplementados com SFB e sem SFB, através do estudo cinético para cultivo em suspensão estático e agitado com frascoT, frasco spinner e biorreator, respectivamente. Os parâmetros; Xmáx e µmáx, não foram significativamente influenciados pelo meio de cultura em cultivo estático, em cultivo com agitação em frasco spinner e também no cultivo em biorreator. O tempo de duplicação ficou próximo para todas as condições testadas. A produtividade alcançada foi: 0,032x106 cel/mL.h-1 para o meio com SFB e 0,031 X106 cel/mL.h-1 para o meio sem SFB. Ao final do processo foi possível obter uma concentração celular em torno de 4,7x106 cel/mL, tanto para o cultivo com SFB quanto para o cultivo sem SFB. Dessa forma, o uso de meio de cultivo sem SFB não alterou os principais parâmetros cinéticos, não apresentando as desvantagens do uso do SFB. / Mammalian cells are the most frequently used hosts for the production of biopharmaceutical proteins and viral vaccines. Quality is a key element for the establishment of an efficient bioconversion process. In this work, we used the cell line Baby Hamster Kidney C13 (BHK-21 C13) adapted to suspension culture was used. Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is traditionally used and it is considered a universal insert due to its power to increase cell growth in this kind of animal cells. However, the utilization of FBS introduces risks of infection from prions, variability between batches and increase in cost associated to purification stages (downstream processing). This work aimed to compare the kinetic behaviors of BHK-21 C13 cells in two media supplemented with FBS and without FBS using both one static and two suspension systems, T-flask, spinner flask and bioreactor respectively. The parameters; Xmax and µmax were not significantly influenced by the culture medium in T- flask culture static, in spinner flask cultivation and were neither significantly influenced by growing in culture media stirred bioreactor. The doubling time was close to all conditions tested. At the end of the growth phase it was possible to obtain a nearby cell concentration of 4.7 x 106 cells / ml, both for cultivation with FBS as for FBS without cultivation. Thus, the use of culture medium without FBS did not affect the main kinetic parameters. Besides, it does not show the disadvantages of culture media using FBS.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2009. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 149 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Terfezia pfeilii is an edible mycorrhizal fungus that thrives in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. It is best known by desert dwellers for its flavour and as a source of nutrition. Although the genus Terfezia is generally regarded as being an ectomycorrhizal mycobiont, the exact mycorrhizal type formed by T. pfeilli and its' associated host plants remains uncertain. Discovery of the host plants for T. pfeilii would first be required in order to further investigate the life cycle and cultivation of this truffle. This study focussed on the isolation of mycelia from the ascocarp, optimising the growth conditions of the mycelial cultures, rapid molecular identification of T. pfeilii, investigation of potential helper bacteria and mycorrhizal synthesis experiments. T. pfeilii ascocarps were harvested from the Spitskop Nature Reserve in Upington, South Africa. Ascocarps were successfully identified using both morphological and molecular methods. Despite the delayed growth mostly caused by contaminating microorganisms, the isolation of T. pfeilii mycelia culture was successful. Molecular techniques were used to confirm the identity of the pure culture. Further studies were conducted on ways to improve the growth conditions of the mycelial culture on Fontana medium. An optimum temperature of 32°C, the addition of Bovine Serum Albumin as a nitrogen source and a pH of 7.5 significantly improved the growth of T. pfeilii in vitro. A rapid PeR-based molecular method was developed to speed up the identification of T. pfeilii. Specific primers that can exclusively amplify the ITS region of T. pfeilii were designed and used to identify both the ascocarps and the mycelial culture. The specificity of these primers was confirmed by their inability to amplify DNA from the isolates of contamining fungi obtained during the isolation process. Molecular comparison was made to confirm the reclassification of South African samples of T. pfeilii as Kalaharituber pfeilii as proposed by Ferdman et al.,(2005). However, in this study, the name T. pfeilii has been retained. A total of 17 bacterial isolates were obtained from the fruiting bodies of T. pfeaii and these were tested for stimulation of mycelial growth in vitro, indole production and phosphate solubilising capabilities. Bacterial isolates that showed potential to be Mycorrhization Helper Bacteria (MHB) were identified as Paenibacillus sp., Bacillus sp. and Rhizobium tropici. Selected plant seedlings were inoculated with T. pfeilii cultures or ascocarp slurry in order to re-establish the mycorrhizal association. After 8 months, light microscopy observations revealed an endomycorrhizal type association between Cynodon dactylon and T. pfeilii. This was confirmed with molecular analysis using specific T. pfeilii ITS primers. After 15 months, molecular methods confirmed Acacia erioloba as another host plant. These results have provided essential information paving the way for further investigation into the life cycle and biology of the Kalahari truffle. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in

Submitted by Priscila Nascimento (pnascimento@icict.fiocruz.br) on 2012-11-19T11:45:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 aline-stelling-zanatta.pdf: 2385669 bytes, checksum: 6f759289878ca2d698465044b392ae3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-11-19T11:45:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 aline-stelling-zanatta.pdf: 2385669 bytes, checksum: 6f759289878ca2d698465044b392ae3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. / Desde o trabalho de Köhler e Milstein (1975), hibridomas tem sido cultivados para obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais com finalidade de uso em pesquisa, diagnóstico e terapia. O método tradicional de obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais em altas concentrações é através de indução de ascite em camundongos. Estatécnica vem sendo substituída por cultivos de hibridomas em altas concentrações celulares. Neste trabalho, foram cultivados hibridomas secretores de anticorpos monoclonais anti-dengue tipo 2 em frascos T, garrafas rotatórias (roller) e frascos do tipo spinner, utilizando-se o meio DMEM, suplementado com soro fetal bovino a 10%, e o meio comercial livre de soro animal Ex-Cell® TiterHigh TM (Sigma). Ao longo dos diferentes cultivos, foram avaliadas a concentração celular, viabilidade celular e as concentrações de nutrientes (glicose eglutamina), metabólitos (lactato e amônio) e produto (IgG). A partir dos resultados obtidos, foram calculadas as grandezas representativas do metabolismo celular: concentração máxima de células (X máx), taxa específica de crescimento celular (µexp), tempo de duplicação (td) e coeficientes de rendimento de glicose em células (YX/glc), glutamina em células (Y X/gln), células em produto (YP/X), glutamina em amônio (YNH4/gln), glicose em lactato (Ylac/glc), glicose em produto (YP/glc) e glutamina em produto (YP/gln). O meio livre de soro mostrou ser capaz de fornecer melhores condições para o crescimento celular (alcançando 4 x 106 céls/mL), mantendo a viabilidade por um período maior de tempo, nos três sistemas decultivo testados. Quanto à formação de produto, no meio livre de soro, os hibridomas também secretaram altas concentrações de IgG, alcançando níveis de 3 µg/mL. Os melhores resultados de crescimento e viabilidade celular foram observados em garrafas rollera 40 rpm (após adaptação a rotações inferiores) e a produção de IgG foi maior em garrafas rollera 16 rpm (também após adaptação a rotações inferiores) e em frascos do tipo spinner a 50 rpm (após adaptação a rotações inferiores em garrafas rolleraté 40 rpm). Quando foram comparadas as concentrações de IgG entre os sobrenadantes de cultivo e três amostras de fluido ascítico do mesmo hibridoma, foi observado que o fluido ascítico continha concentrações 10 a 20 vezes maiores que as obtidas nos sobrenadantes de cultivo. Entretanto, como os volumes de sobrenadantes de cultivo são significativamente maiores do que os de fluido ascítico de camundongos, infere-se que é viável a substituição da produção in vivopela obtenção do anticorpo monoclonal estudado neste trabalho em sistemas agitados, utilizando-se meio livre de soro animal. Contudo, sugere-se a condução de experimentos adicionais para confirmação da total viabilidade da obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais anti-dengue tipo2 in vitroutilizando o processo proposto no presente trabalho. / Since Köhler and Milstein’s work (1975), hybridoma cells have been cultured to obtain monoclonal antibodies for research, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The traditional method to obtain high concentrations (5 to 10 mg/mL) of the monoclonal antibodies is the induction of ascite in mice. This technique is being replaced by high cell density cultivations. In this work, hybridoma secreting anti-dengue type 2 monoclonal antibodies were cultivated in T flasks, roller bottles and spinner flasks, using DMEM medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum at 10%, and the commercial serum-free medium Ex-Cell® TiterHigh TM (Sigma). Cell concentration, cell viability, as well as concentration of nutrients (glucose and glutamine), metabolites (lactate and amonium) and product (IgG) were evaluated along culture time in the different media and culture systems. Based on these data, variables that reflect the cell metabolism were calculated: maximum cell concentration (Xmáx), specific cell growth rate (µexp), duplication time (td), as well as the yield coefficients of glucose to cells (YX/glc), glutamine to cells (YX/gln), cells to product (YP/X), glutamine to ammonium (Y NH4/gln), glucose to lactate (Ylac/glc), glucose to product (YP/glc) and glutamine to product (YP/gln). Among the culture media, the serum-free medium showed to provide better conditions for cell growth (reaching 4 x 106 cells/mL), keeping high cell viabilities for a longer period, in all three tested culture systems. Concerning product formation, hybridoma also released high IgG concentrations (3 µg/mL) in the serum-free medium. Among the culture systems, the best results for cell growth and viability were found inroller bottles at 40 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates) and IgG production was higher in roller bottles at 16 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates) and in spinner flasks at 50 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates in roller bottles, up to 40 rpm). The IgG concentrations ascitic fluid presented concentrations 10 to 20 times higher thanthose obtained in culture supernatants. However, since the volumes of culture supernatant obtained in relatively simple, small-scale culture systems are significantly higher than thoseof mice ascitic fluids, the replacement of in vivoproduction for in vitroIgG production in stirred systems, using serum-free media, seems to be feasible. Nevertheless, additional experiments should be carried out to confirm the feasibility of switching the production of anti-dengue type 2 monoclonal antibodies for in vitrosystems, using the process proposed in this work.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo empregando duas técnicas óticas para monitorar o crescimento de culturas de cepas de Escherichia coli em dois meios de cultura líquidos: Espectroscopia de absorção UV-Vis (turbidimetria) e espectroscopia Raman. Na primeira técnica, a turbidez permite avaliar as diferentes fases naturais de crescimento de uma cultura bacteriana (lag, exponencial, estacionária e decaimento) por meio da densidade ótica, medida com um espectrômetro UV-VIS. Na segunda, o espalhamento Raman (medido com um espectrômetro dispersivo), a partir de amostras de água contaminada, fornece não apenas informações sobre as fases de crescimento, mas também abre a possibilidade de identificação bacteriana através da sua impressão digital característica. Mediu-se a dinâmica de duas cepas de E. coli – (nomeadas como H2/11 e H3C2/12) em um caldo líquido nutriente e quatro cepas de E. coli (nomeadas como H2/11, H3C2/12, 109 e 110) em caldo líquido EC, mantidas a 37,0°C ao longo de 24 horas. Alíquotas das amostras foram removidas da cultura em intervalos de tempo regulares para medições espectrais. A análise da turbidez permitiu medir o tempo de geração (isto é, o tempo de duplicação de uma população), que foi maior para cepas crescidas em caldo EC. Os espectros Raman forneceram informações sobre a evolução temporal das bandas a 942 cm-1, 977 cm-1, 1036 cm-1, 1086 cm-1, 1140 cm-1, 1188 cm-1, 1182 cm-1, 1207 cm-1 e 1251 cm-1, associadas com impressões digitais de componentes biológicos específicos. Os dados espectrais foram analisados por Análise de Componentes Principais (PCA). Os resultados obtidos em ambas as técnicas permitiram identificar as fases lag, exponencial e estacionária das cepas estudadas. / This work is a study using two optical techniques to monitor the growth of cultures of Escherichia coli strains in two liquid culture medium: Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy (turbidimetry). In one hand, turbidity allows evaluating the different phases of growth of a bacterial culture (lag, exponential, stationary and decay) by optical density, measured with an UV-VIS spectrometer. On the other hand, Raman scattering (measured with a dispersive spectrometer) from contaminated water samples not only provides information about the grow phases, but also opens a possible identification of bacterial by its characteristic fingerprint. Two strains of E. coli (named as H2 / 11 and H3C2 / 12) were measured in liquid nutrient broth and four E. coli strains (named H2 / 11, H3C2 / 12, 109 and 110) in EC liquid broth, kept at 37.0 ° C over 24 hours. Aliquots of the samples were removed from the culture at regular time intervals for spectral measurements. The turbidity analysis allowed to measure the generation time, which was higher for strains grown in EC broth. Raman spectra provided information about the time evolution of the bands at 942 cm-1, 977 cm-1, 1036 cm-1, 1086 cm-1, 1140 cm-1, 1188 cm-1, 1182 cm-1, 1207 cm-1 e 1251 cm-1, associated with fingerprints of biological components. Data were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). These results of both techniques allowed identifying the phases lag, exponential and stationary of the studied strains.