Breast cancer, the most common malignancy diagnosed in women, is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. In South Africa only 32% of women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer survive more than five years. The search for new chemotherapeutic agents capable of effectively treating breast cancer is therefore essential. Recent evidence supporting the cancer stem cell theory of cancer development for breast cancer challenges the current theories of cancer development and hence treatment. Cancer stem cells are a small subpopulation of tumour cells that possess properties of both cancer cells and stem cells and are believed to be the tumour-initiating population of many cancers. Cancer stem cells are inherently resistant to many chemotherapeutic agents and in this way have been associated with repopulation of tumours after chemotherapy. This phenomenon is proposed as a possible mechanism for cancer relapse after treatment. Cancer stem cells have also been implicated in metastasis, the major cause of mortality in cancer patients. Therefore, any treatment that is capable of targeting and removing breast cancer stem cells may have the theoretical potential to effectively treat breast cancer. However, there are currently no such treatments available for clinical use. We were provided access to a library of novel indigenous small molecules isolated from red and brown algae found off the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The aim of this project was to analyse the anti-cancer and anti-cancer stem cell properties of the compounds in this library and to identify „hit‟ compounds which could form the basis for future development into new anti-cancer drugs. Ten novel compounds of algal origin were tested for cytotoxicity, by determining their ability to inhibit the growth of MCF12A breast epithelial cells and MCF7 breast cancer cells using the colorimetric MTT [(3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] cell proliferation assay. All but one of the compounds tested exhibited cytotoxicity towards the MCF7 cancer cell line, with IC50 values (the concentration of the compound that leads to a 50% inhibition in cell growth) of between 3 μM and 90 μM. The chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel was used as a positive control. Four of the compounds (RUMB-001, RUMB-002, RUMB-007 and RUMB-010/saragaquinoic acid) were significantly more toxic to the MCF7 cancer cell line, than the „normal‟ MCF12A breast cells and were selected as priority compounds for further analyses. In addition, two other compounds were selected as priority compounds, one highly cytotoxic towards both MCF12A and MCF7 cell lines (RUMB-015) and one which was non toxic to either cell line (RUMB-017/018). Preliminary studies into the mechanism of cytotoxicity using Western blot analysis for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and Hoechst 33342 immunostaining in MCF-7 cells were largely unsuccessful. The Hoechst 33342 immunostaining assay did provide tentative evidence that selected priority compounds were capable of inducing apoptosis, although these assays will need to be repeated using a less subjective assay to confirm the results. The priority compounds were subsequently investigated for their cytotoxic effect on the cancer stem cell-enriched side population in MCF7 cells. The ability of the priority compounds to selectively target the cancer stem cell containing side population was assessed using two complementary flow cytometry-based techniques – namely the Hoechst 33342-exclusion assay, and fluorescent immunostaining for the expression of the putative cancer stem cell marker, ABCG2+. The ABCG2+ staining assay was a novel technique developed during the course of this study. It remains to be fully validated, but it may provide a new and reliable way to identify and analyse cancer stem cell containing side population cells. The MCF7 cells were treated with the compounds and the proportion of putative cancer stem cells compared with the size of the population in untreated cells was assessed. Three compounds (RUMB-010, RUMB-015 and RUMB-017/018) capable of reducing the proportion of side population cells within the MCF7 cell line were identified. Taking these data together, we identified two potential „hit‟ compounds which should be prioritised for future research. These are compounds RUMB-010/sargaquinoic acid and RUMB-017/018. RUMB-010 is of interest as it was shown to target the putative cancer stem cell population, in addition to the bulk MCF7 tumour line, but was relatively less toxic to the „normal‟ MCF12A cell line. RUMB-017/018 is of interest due to the ability to selectively target the cancer stem cell enriched side population, while having little effect on the normal (MCF12A) or bulk tumour (MCF7) cell lines tested. These compounds will be important as „hit‟ compounds for drug development and as tool compounds to study cancer and cancer stem cell biology.

This paper examines the racially segregationist practices and the integrationist, inclusionist formation of African American leader Dr. T.R.M. Howard during his tenure as a surgeon and entrepreneur in the all-black Mississippi Delta community of Mound Bayou, 1942-1956. The paper analytically investigates the careful racial negotiations that were required of Howard as he advanced a separatist but egalitarian economic and social plan for Delta blacks. This separatist plan, it is argued, is grounded in the racial pragmatism of the Seventh-day Adventist church which provided a bibliocentric, Tuskegee-inspired education to Howard from youth through medical school and beyond. Howard’s adherence to Adventist racial codes provided him with unique tools to establish financial strength and social cachet whereby he could in time shift to a more inclusionist, desegregationist focus. Howard’s separatist racial pragmatism is demonstrated in his creation of an economic power base in the 1940s. The 1950s shift to an inclusive position appears principally in three developments in Howard’s Mound Bayou career: the founding of the Regional Council for Negro Leadership, his activism after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and his involvement in the trial of Emmett Till’s killers. Evidence is given from a number of primary sources, including both regional and national newspapers and the collected papers of Mississippi House Speaker Walter Sillers. The thesis argues that Howard’s pragmatism was both informed by Adventist racial pragmatism and provided the base whereby he could challenge Jim Crow directly; the pattern is accepting and enhancing racial segregation for the purpose of developing the means to work toward a racially inclusive, integrationist ideal. This pattern appears in Adventist evangelist practice, and it appears, with striking resemblance, in Howard’s work in Mound Bayou.

Cette thèse se compose de deux parties. La première propose une théorie de l’humour, elle commence par étudier la notion en explicitant ses structures énonciatives, logiques ou encore syntaxiques afin d’en dégager une vision claire, avant de proposer une première tentative de définition. Puis elle établit des distinctions nécessaires entre les diverses catégories du risible afin d’affiner la délimitation des contours de l’humour. Une fois la notion circonscrite, la théorie de l’humour propose une typologie originale des thèmes humoristiques et une étude des trois variations principales de l’humour, avant de s’arrêter sur sa finalité. La deuxième partie aborde, à la lumière de certains concepts développés dans la première partie, la question de l’humour dans la littérature de science-fiction. En raison du peu d’études préalables sur la question, elle privilégie une optique large et traite divers aspects du phénomène. Dans un premier temps, la réflexion s’arrête sur la genèse, les thèmes et le pacte de lecture de la science-fiction pour analyser leur impact sur l’humour. Puis elle analyse la part effective de l’humour au regard des autres genres du risible avant d’interroger son développement et son rayonnement dans la science-fiction. Le dernier développement de la thèse interroge et classifie l’interaction entre l’humour et la science-fiction de la moins significative à la plus typique. Il aboutit au constat de l’existence d’un humour science-fictionnel qui s’appuie sur la puissance créatrice du genre. Enfin l’étude constate une distinction entre l’existence d’humour dans la science-fiction et la science-fiction humoristique en fonction de la quantité d’humour présente dans les textes. Elle s’intéresse alors plus précisément à la science-fiction humoristique et en dégage les structures en analysant les éléments saillants des récits, avant de s’intéresser à l’impact de cette dynamique relationnelle sur la construction des personnages. / This thesis is divided in two parts. The first part suggests a theory of humour, it starts studying that concept by explaining its enunciative, logical or syntactical structures in order to draw a clear vision of it, before offering a first attempt to define it. Then it establishes necessary distinctions between the various categories of the risible to refine the delineation of the contours of humour. Once the concept is marked out, the theory of humour suggests an original typology of humourous themes and a study of the three main variations of humour, before focusing on its purpose. The second part discusses, in the light of certain concepts developed in the first part, the question of humour in science fiction literature. Because of the few previous studies on the matter, it opts for a broad perspective and deals with various aspects of the phenomenon. At first, thought dwells on the origins, themes and reading pact of science fiction to analyze their impact on humour. Then it analyzes the actual share of humour compared to the other categories of risible before studying its development and its influence in science fiction. The last development of the thesis examines and classifies the interaction between humour and science fiction from the least significant to the most typical. It reaches the conclusion of the existence of a science-fictional humour that leans upon the creative power of the genre. Finally, the study finds a distinction between the existence of humour in science fiction and humourous science fiction depending on the amount of humour in the texts. It then focuses on the humourous science fiction and identifies its structures by analyzing the prominent elements of the stories, before looking at the impact of this relational dynamics on the construction of the characters.

OTS44 is one of only four free-floating planets known to have a disk. We have previously shown that it is the coolest and least massive known free-floating planet (similar to 12 M-Jup) with a substantial disk that is actively accreting. We have obtained Band 6 (233 GHz) ALMA continuum data of this very young disk-bearing object. The data show a clear unresolved detection of the source. We obtained disk-mass estimates via empirical correlations derived for young, higher-mass, central (substellar) objects. The range of values obtained are between 0.07 and 0.63 M-circle plus (dust masses). We compare the properties of this unique disk with those recently reported around higher-mass (brown dwarfs) young objects in order to infer constraints on its mechanism of formation. While extreme assumptions on dust temperature yield disk-mass values that could slightly diverge from the general trends found for more massive brown dwarfs, a range of sensible values provide disk masses compatible with a unique scaling relation between M-dust and M* through the substellar domain down to planetary masses.

Les algues brunes sont des organismes photosynthétiques multicellulaires, appartenant à la lignée des straménopiles, et dont l'habitat principal est la zone intertidale. Une de leurs caractéristiques métaboliques est d'utiliser le mannitol (polyalcool à six atomes de carbone) comme forme de stockage du carbone issu de la photosynthèse. Le métabolisme du mannitol chez ces organismes fait intervenir quatre enzymes, deux pour la synthèse et deux pour le recyclage, regroupées dans le cycle du mannitol. Parmi les algues brunes, Ectocarpus siliculosus est l'organisme modèle pour étudier différents aspects de leur biologie. Au cours de la thèse, trois gènes de cette algue codant pour les enzymes responsables de la première étape du cycle du mannitol, la mannitol-1-phosphate déshydrogénase (M1PDH), ont été étudiés (EsM1PDH1, EsM1PDH2, et EsM1PDH3). Les M1PDHs catalysent une réaction réversible entre le fructose-6-phosphate et le mannitol-1-phosphate. Une version du gène EsM1PDH, codant pour une protéine tronquée en N-terminal afin d'éliminer un domaine de fonction inconnue, a été surexprimée chez la bactérie Escherichia coli. La protéine recombinante tronquée a été purifiée et caractérisée au niveau biochimique, notamment pour déterminer ses paramètres cinétiques dans les deux sens de la réaction catalysée par les M1PDHs. Ces résultats ont été complétés par l'analyse de l'expression des gènes codant pour les enzymes du cycle du mannitol chez E. siliculosus au cours du cycle diurnal. L'ensemble de ces observations contribue à mieux comprendre une voie métabolique clé dans la physiologie des algues brunes. / Brown algae are multicellular photosynthetic organisms belonging to the stramenopile lineage and which are mainly found in the intertidal zone. One of their metabolic characteristics is to store carbon fixed by photosynthesis through the production of mannitol, a 6-carbon non-cyclic polyol. Synthesis and recycling of mannitol in these organisms occur through the mannitol cycle, which includes two steps for synthesis and two for recycling. Among brown algae, Ectocarpus siliculosus represents the model organisms to study different aspects of their biology. During the PhD thesis, three genes coding for the enzymes involved in the first step of the mannitol cycle, the mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (M1PDH), were studied (EsM1PDH1, EsM1PDH2, and EsM1PDH3). M1PDHs catalyze a reversible reaction between fructose-6-phosphate and mannitol-1-phosphate. One modified version of the EsM1PDH1 gene, coding for a N-terminal truncated protein in order to deleted a domain of unknown function, was overexpressed in the bacteria Escherichia coli. The truncated recombinant protein was purified and biochemically characterized, notably to determine kinetic parameters in both directions of the reversible reaction catalyzed by M1PDH. These results were completed by analysis of changes in expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in the mannitol cycle during the diurnal cycle. These observations contribute to increasing the understanding of a key metabolic pathway in brown algal physiology.

Les phlorotannins, polymères du phloroglucinol, sont des composés phénoliques (CP) uniquement retrouvés chez les algues brunes (Phéophycées). Ces métabolites présentant des activités anti-oxydantes, interviendraient dans la formation de la paroi, mais à ce jour leur voie de biosynthèse reste non élucidée. L'annotation du génome de l'algue brune Ectocarpus, a permis d'identifier des gènes homologues codant pour des enzymes de la biosynthèse des CP chez les plantes terrestres. Une polyketide synthase de type III (PKSIII), a été caractérisée: elle synthétise le phloroglucinol. La recherche d'autres cibles a été poursuivie sur des gènes codant pour des chalcone-isomérases-like (CHIL), ainsi que pour des phénol-sulfotransférases homologues d'enzymes de sulfatation des flavonoïdes. Les CHIL se sont révélées être des fatty acid binding protein (FAP) impliquées dans le métabolisme des acides gras. L'intérêt pour cette nouvelle famille a justifié leur caractérisation biochimique puis fonctionnelle par complémentation de mutants FAP d'Arabidopsis thaliana. L'élucidation progressive des voies de biosynthèse des phlorotannins a servi de base pour étudier les mécanismes de régulation de ce métabolisme chez les Phaeophycées. En combinant des approches intégrées d'expression de gènes cibles, de dosages et de profilages de phlorotannins solubles, nous avons pu montrer que ces composés assurent une protection constitutive chez Fucus vesiculosus en réponse aux UV-B, et que leur métabolisme serait induit très précocement au cours de l'herbivorie. Le développement d'outils moléculaires spécifiques de ces voies métaboliques, ouvre de nouvelles perspectives en écophysiologie et en écologie. / Phlorotannins are polymers of phloroglucinol that are specific phenolic compounds of brown algae (Phaeophyceae). These metabolites present antioxidant activities and are potentially involved in the formation of cell-walls but their biosynthetic pathway is currently uncharacterized. The genome annotation of the brown algae Ectocarpus provided some information about conserved genes which are implicated in the synthesis of phenolics in terrestrial plants. One polyketide synthase of type III (PKSIII) has been successfully characterized: it produces phloroglucinol. The search for other targets has been pursued in brown algae focusing mainly on chalcone isomerase-like (CHI-like) genes, as well as on phenol-sulfotransferases, which are implicated in the sulfation of flavonoids. The characterization of CHIL has revealed their implication in fatty acid binding (FAP). However, the level of interest for this new family has led to their biochemical characterization and to functional studies by complementation of gene in the Arabidopsis thaliana FAP mutant. The progressive elucidation of the phlorotannin biosynthesis pathway has been used in order to discover mechanisms which regulate this metabolism in brown algae. By combining integrated approaches of gene expression profiling with the quantification and profiling of soluble phlorotannins, we have shown that these metabolites ensure the constitutive protection in Fucus vesiculosus against UV-B radiation and could also be induced as a very early response to grazing. The development of specific molecular tools for this metabolic pathway opens some news perspectives in ecophysiological and ecological studies.

We present the discovery of a brown dwarf companion to the debris disk host star HR 2562. This object, discovered with the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), has a projected separation of 20.3 +/- 0.3 au (0".618 +/- 0".004) from the star. With the high astrometric precision afforded by GPI, we have confirmed, to more than 5 sigma, the common proper motion of HR 2562B with the star, with only a month-long time baseline between observations. Spectral data in the J-, H-, and K-bands show a morphological similarity to L/T transition objects. We assign a spectral type of L7 +/- 3 to HR 2562B. and derive a luminosity of log(L-bol/L-circle dot) = -4.62 +/- 0.12, corresponding to a mass of 30 +/- 15 M-Jup from evolutionary models at an estimated age of the system of 300-900 Myr. Although the uncertainty in the age of the host star is significant, the spectra and photometry exhibit several indications of youth for HR 2562B. The source has a position angle that is consistent with an orbit in the same plane as the debris disk recently resolved with Herschel. Additionally, it appears to be interior to the debris disk. Though the extent of the inner hole is currently too uncertain to place limits on the mass of HR 2562B, future observations of the disk with higher spatial resolution may be able to provide mass constraints. This is the first brown-dwarf-mass object found to reside in the inner hole of a debris disk, offering the opportunity to search for evidence of formation above the deuterium burning limit in a circumstellar disk.

ELTs equipped with MCAO systems will be powerful astrometric tools in the next two decades. With sparse-field precisions exceeding 30 uas for V > 18, the ELTs will surpass even GAIA's per-epoch precision for faint stars (V > 12). We present results from an ongoing astrometry program with Gemini GeMS and discuss synergies with WFIRST and GAIA. First, we present a fit to the relative orbit of the individual L/T components of Luhman16 AB, the nearest brown dwarf binary known. Exploiting GeMS' wide field of view to image reference stars, we are able to track the relative motion to better than 0.2 mas. We find that a mutual Keplerian orbit with no perturbing planets fits the binary separation to within the measurement errors, ruling out companions down to 14 earth masses for certain orbits and periods.

Submitted by Rafael Santana (rafael.silvasantana@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-10T19:03:34Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação. Maria Carolina. PPGEMinas.pdf: 3730779 bytes, checksum: 8594f4287f485aa5df1cc1b54795320a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T19:03:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Dissertação. Maria Carolina. PPGEMinas.pdf: 3730779 bytes, checksum: 8594f4287f485aa5df1cc1b54795320a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-14 / CAPES / A análise estrutural de um maciço rochoso tem por finalidade fornecer elementos para uma melhor compreensão dos parâmetros de descontinuidades. Salienta-se que o controle destes parâmetros constitui o norte científico para orientar a lavra de rochas ornamentais, pois, as dimensões e qualidade dos blocos obtidos dependem principalmente da natureza e equidistância dos fraturamentos associados à distribuição das tensões atuantes em um maciço rochoso. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se a análise estrutural do Sienito Marrom Imperial, localizado em Umari, zona rural do Município de João Alfredo – PE. Ao fornecer tais informações o responsável técnico poderá definir a melhor sistemática tecnológica no plano de aproveitamento econômico a ser adotado, sem provocar o aparecimento de fraturas de alívio na rocha. Os dados coletados durante a visita técnica constituíram um banco de dados utilizado na determinação das projeções estereográficas (rede de Schmidt) e diagramas de rosetas. A análise do fraturamento mostrou que as fraturas de cisalhamento situam-se nas direções 30º Az e 340º Az. A bissetriz do ângulo formado pelo cruzamento destes cisalhamentos corresponde à direção de compressão máxima atuante representada por 1 e disposta na direção 5°Az. Perpendicularmente a essa, encontra-se a direção de distenção, 3. Com base no exposto pode-se concluir que a melhor orientação de corte, para o desenvolvimento dos trabalhos de abertura da pedreira, de modo a provocar o alivio das tensões e evitar o aparecimento de fraturas durante os serviços de lavra, é a direção SE-NW. Quanto à caracterização tecnológica, os resultados obtidos foram comparados aos estabelecidos pelas normas ABNT NBR 15844:2010, NBR 12042: 1992 e ASTM C 615:1992. Os índices físicos - massa específica aparente seca e saturada, porosidade e absorção aparentes - atenderam satisfatoriamente aos requisitos da ABNT NBR 15844:2010 e americana ASTM C615: 1992. Os resultados dos ensaios de resistência à compressão simples e resistência à flexão quando comparados com os valores requisitados para granitos, mostram que a rocha suporta uma compressão mediana, levemente inferior ao estabelecido por estas normas. Já o ensaio de desgaste Amsler ficou abaixo de 1mm/m, como especificado pela norma brasileira NBR 15844:2010. A avaliação dos ensaios do Marrom Imperial, juntamente com a análise petrográfica, possibilitou um melhor conhecimento da inter-relação dos resultados, e podendo assim relacionar diretamente a uma melhor aplicação do material objeto de estudo. A rocha pode ser aplicada sem restrições, salvo locais úmidos que requerem impermeabilização e de intenso tráfego. / Structural analysis of a rock mass is intended to provide elements for a better understanding of discontinuities parameters. It is noted that the control of these parameters is the scientific north to guide the mining of dimension stones, therefore, the size and quality of the blocks obtained depend mainly on the nature and equidistance of fracturing associated with the distribution of stresses acting on a rock mass. In this paper is presented a structural analysis of the Syenite Brown Imperial, located in Umari, rural municipality of Joao Alfredo - PE. By providing such information the responsible technician can determine the best technology in the systematic economic exploitation plan to be adopted, without causing the onset of relief of fractures in the rock. The data collected during the technical visit constituted a database used in determining the stereographic projections (Schmidt network) and rosettes diagrams. The analysis of fracturing showed that shear fractures are located in directions 30º and Az 340º Az. The bisecting the angle formed by the intersection of these shear is the maximum active compression direction represented by 1 and arranged in 5 ° Az direction. Perpendicular to this, it is the direction of distention, 3. Based on the above it can be concluded that the best cutting guidance for the development of the opening work of the quarry, so as to cause the relief of the stresses and prevent the occurrence of fracture during the mining services is the direction SE- NW. As for technological characterization, the results were compared to the standards established by the NBR 15844: 2010, NBR 12042: 1992 and ASTM C 615: 1992. Physical indices - apparent dry and saturated especific mass, porosity and apparent absorption - satisfactorily met the requirements of NBR 15844: 2010 and American ASTM C615: 1992. The results of tests on the compressive strength and flexural strength when compared to the values required to granites, showed rock that supports a median compression, slightly lower than that established by these standards. However Amsler wear test was less than 1 mm / m, as specified by the Brazilian standard NBR 15844: 2010. The evaluation of the tests of the Imperial Brown, along with petrographic analysis enabled a better understanding of the interrelationship of the results, and thus being able to relate directly to a better implementation of the object of study material. The rock can be applied without restriction, except wet locations that require waterproofing and high traffic.

O arroz (Oryza sativa L.) é consumido principalmente na forma polida, porém uma alternativa nutricionalmente melhor seria o arroz integral, que contém ao redor de 10% de farelo, rico em micronutrientes e compostos bioativos. Dentre esses destacam-se a vitamina E e &#947;-orizanol, aos quais se atribuem diversos efeitos benéficos à saúde. A literatura descreve vários estudos relacionados à presença desses compostos no arroz integral, porém pouco se sabe a respeito da sua estabilidade com o armazenamento, a parboilização e a cocção caseira. Pelo fato do arroz integral apresentar curta vida de prateleira, uma alternativa para aumentar o prazo para o consumo é o emprego da parboilização. A parboilização, que consiste em um processo hidrotérmico, provoca alterações estruturais no amido do grão e a literatura é controversa no que diz respeito à diminuição da digestibilidade do amido e consequentemente à redução do índice glicêmico (IG). Este trabalho teve como objetivos: avaliar os efeitos da parboilização sobre a disponibilidade do amido por meio da cinética de hidrólise do amido estimando o índice glicêmico (IG) em cultivares de arroz integral com diferentes teores de amilose; analisar o efeito da parboilização, do armazenamento por seis meses e da cocção caseira do arroz integral sobre a estabilidade dos compostos bioativos, e correlacionar os compostos bioativos com a atividade antioxidante do arroz, antes e após o processamento. Foram analisadas 36 amostras pertencentes a diferentes cultivares selecionadas de arroz integral e parboilizado integral das safras de 2007 e 2008 e outras três amostras de arroz integral e parboilizado integral, adquiridas no comércio local da cidade de São Paulo. A partir do índice de hidrólise (IH) in vitro, foi estimado o IG. A vitamina E e o &#947;-orizanol foram extraídos com metanol, separados por CLAE-fase reversa e quantificados por curvas padrão correspondentes. A atividade antioxidante foi avaliada pelos métodos de DPPH&#8226; e ORAC. Foi verificado que a disponibilidade do amido de todas as amostras de arroz foi pouco afetada pela parboilização nas condições empregadas de modo que os IH permaneceram similares aos das amostras não parboilizadas. As amostras com teor intermediário de amilose apresentaram os menores IH (p<0,05). O IG estimado nas amostras cruas e parboilizadas foi cerca de 80%, tanto nas cultivares de arroz selecionadas quanto nas amostras comerciais e não foi observada alteração com o processamento. Com relação aos compostos bioativos, os teores de vitamina E e &#947;-orizanol no arroz integral cru foram, em média de 25 e 188mg/kg, respectivamente. A vitamina E foi sensível ao processo de parboilização, ao armazenamento e à cocção, com perdas de 50% ou mais, em relação à concentração no grão integral in natura. Já o &#947;-orizanol mostrou-se mais estável frente a qualquer tratamento, com perda de no máximo 20% da sua concentração inicial. A maior correlação entre a concentração de compostos bioativos e atividade antioxidante foi encontrada para a vitamina E. / Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is consumed mostly in the milled form. However, due to its content of bran, vitamin E and &#947;-oryzanol, the intake of brown rice has been recommended. Although previous studies ascribed some important health benefits related to these brown rice\'s compounds, information regarding the effect of cooking, storage and parboiling on these substances remains to be elucidated. Rice parboiling is a hydrothermal process consisting of soaking, heating and drying that provide technological and nutritional benefits to the consumer. Until now, if parboiling process decreases the starch digestibility and consequently reduces the glycemic index (GI) is unclear. The objectives of the present study were: to evaluate the effect of the parboiling process on starch digestibility through a GI estimation by the kinetics of starch hydrolysis in rice cultivars with different levels of amylose; to analyze the effect of traditional parboiling, cooking and storage for six months on the stability of bioactive components as well as to correlate the content of bioactive components of rice with its antioxidant activity before and after parboiling. Thirty-six samples of brown rice and parboiled brown rice harvested in 2007 and 2008 were analyzed. In addition, three commercial cultivars of both brown and parboiled brown samples from local market that were obtained in São Paulo were also studied. The glycemic index (IG) was estimated from the hydrolysis index (IH). Vitamin E homologues and &#947;-oryzanol were extracted simultaneously with methanol and analyzed by HPLC-RP/UV and fluorescence detection in a single run. Peak areas were converted to the corresponding by the standards of &#945;- and &#947;-tocopherol, &#945;- and &#947;-tocotrienol and &#947;-oryzanol. The antioxidant capacity was evaluated by both, DPPH&#8226; and ORAC methods. The results indicated that starch digestibility from all rice samples was little affected by parboiling under the conditions employed in the present study. Samples with intermediate amylose content had the lowest HI (p <0.05). The estimated GI in raw and parboiled samples was 80% in all rice cultivars selected and in commercial samples as well. The parboiling showed no effect on GI. The total tocols and &#947;-orizanol contents in raw rice were 25 and 188 mg/kg, respectively. The vitamin E homologues were the most affected by parboiling, storage and cooking than &#947;-oryzanol with a decrease of 50% or more when compared to the raw grain. However, &#947;-oryzanol was more stable during either treatment with 20% loss of when compared to raw rice. The most significant correlation between the concentration of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity was found for vitamin E.