21 research outputs found

    The bromotyrosine derivative Ianthelline isolated from the Arctic marine sponge Stryphnus fortis inhibits marine micro- and macrobiofouling

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    International audienceThe inhibition of marine biofouling by the bromotyrosine derivative ianthelline, isolated from the Arctic marine sponge Stryphnus fortis, is described. All major stages of the fouling process are investigated. The effect of ianthelline on adhesion and growth of marine bacteria and microalgae is tested to investigate its influence on the initial microfouling process comparing with the known marine antifoulant barettin as a reference. Macrofouling is studied via barnacle (Balanus improvisus) settlement assays and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) phenoloxidase inhibition. Ianthelline is shown to inhibit both marine micro-and macrofoulers with a pronounced effect on marine bacteria (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values 0.1-10 mu g/mL) and barnacle larval settlement (IC50= 3.0 mu g/mL). Moderate effects are recorded on M. edulis (IC50= 45.2 mu g/mL) and microalgae, where growth is more affected than surface adhesion. The effect of ianthelline is also investigated against human pathogenic bacteria. Ianthelline displayed low micromolar MIC values against several bacterial strains, both Gram positive and Gram negative, down to 2.5 mu g/mL. In summary, the effect of ianthelline on 20 different representative marine antifouling organisms and seven human pathogenic bacterial strains is presented

    Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord, 2022

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    Prosjektleder: Anders RuusThis report presents data from the second year of a new 5-year period of the Urban Fjord programme. The programme started in 2013 and has since been altered/advanced. In 2022 the programme covers sampling and analyses of sediment, polychaetes, krill, shrimps, blue mussels, herring, cod, eider, and herring gull from the Inner Oslofjord. In addition, samples of Harbour seals from the Outer Oslofjord are analysed. A total of 300 single compounds/isomers were analysed, and frequent detection was found of certain PFAS compounds (such as PFOS) in most matrices, certain QACs in sediment, MCCPs in most matrices (also SCCPs in birds and seals, as well as LCCPs in seals), D5 (siloxane) in all matrices, certain PBDEs (such as BDE 100) in most matrices, PCBs in all matrices, BCPS (phenolic) in seals and certain metals in all matrices. Biomagnification was observed for 28 PCB congeners and 6 PBDEs (lipid wt. basis). Furthermore, biomagnification was observed for 5 PFAS compounds, as well as for the metals As, Ag and Hg (wet wt. basis).MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio

    Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord, 2020

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    Project Manager Anders RuusThis programme, “Environmental Contaminants in an Urban Fjord” has covered sampling and analyses of sediment and organisms in a marine food web of the Inner Oslofjord, in addition to samples of blood and eggs from herring gull. The programme also included inputs of pollutants via surface water (stormwater), and effluent water and sludge from a wastewater treatment plant. The bioaccumulation potential of the contaminants in the Oslo fjord food web was evaluated. The exposure to/accumulation of the contaminants was also assessed in birds. A vast number of chemical parameters have been quantified, in addition to some biological effect parameters in cod, and the report serves as a status description of the concentrations of these chemicals in different compartments of the Inner Oslofjord marine ecosystem.publishedVersio

    Environmental contaminants in freshwater food webs, 2021

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    Prosjektledere: Morten Jartun, Asle ØkelsrudThis report presents monitoring data from freshwater food webs and abiotic samples from Lake Mjøsa and Femunden within the Milfersk programme. Studies and monitoring of legacy and emerging contaminants have been carried out through this programme for several years, focusing on the pelagic food web. This is the first report in the monitoring program focusing on a benthic food chain (Chironomids, ruffe, roach and perch) in addition to inputs to Lake Mjøsa by analysis of lake sediments, surface waters, stormwater, effluent and sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The analytical programme includes the determination of a total of ̴ 260 single components.Environmental contaminants in freshwater food webs, 2021MiljødirektoratetpublishedVersio

    Pseudochelin A, a siderophore of Pseudoalteromonas piscicida S2040

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    A new siderophore containing a 4,5-dihydroimidazole moiety was isolated from Pseudoalteromonas piscicida S2040 together with myxochelins A and B, alteramide A and its cycloaddition product, and bromo- and dibromoalterochromides. The structure of pseudochelin A was established by spectroscopic techniques including 2D NMR and MS/MS fragmentation data. In bioassays selected fractions of the crude extract of S2040 inhibited the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pseudochelin A displayed siderophore activity in the chrome azurol S assay at concentrations higher than 50 μM, and showed weak activity against the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, but did not display antibacterial, anti-inflammatory or anticonvulsant activity

    Isolation and Characterisation of Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Arctic, Marine Organisms

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    The list of achievements in developing pharmaceuticals and other useful products originating from Nature is long, and it continues to extend. Marine bioprospecting alone has generated three novel drugs in the last four years. The continued success motivates further bioprospecting efforts in the search for utilisable products from natural sources. In this thesis, extracts of Arctic marine organisms were screened for bioactivity. Bioactive extracts were dereplicated using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) in an attempt to identify the component(s) responsible for the observed bioactivity and later isolate them using mass guided fractionation. This approach led to the isolation of ianthelline, a previously reported bromotyrosine-derived compound from the sponge Stryphnus fortis as well as two novel, highly modified dipeptides, breitfussin A and B, from the hydrozoa Thuiaria breitfussi. Even though the structure of ianthelline was reported in 1986 by Litaudon et al. very limited bioactivity data was available. The potential of ianthelline as an anticancer agent was explored in paper I. Ianthelline inhibited cellular growth in a dose- and time dependent manner by several mechanisms, including inhibition of mitotic spindle formation and inhibition of protein kinase activity. In paper II, ianthelline was investigated for antibiofouling activity. The compound was found to inhibit all the major stages of the biofouling process, with the main effect being inhibition of marine bacterial growth and the settlement of barnacles. By dereplication, breitfussin A and B were suspected to be novel compounds, with proton poor molecular compositions of C16H11N3O2BrI and C16H11N3O2Br2, respectively. The high ratio of heavy atoms to protons, in addition to low isolation yields, complicated the structure elucidation of the two compounds. In the end, their structures could be elucidated using a combination of HR-MS analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, computer-assisted structure elucidation (CASE)- and density functional theory (DFT) calculations as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. This represents the first example of AFM as a tool used for structure elucidation of a novel, natural product

    Social businesses and impact investing: a study about the perceptions of the actors from the ecosystem

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    Ao longo do tempo atribuiu-se a geração de valor econômico-financeiro às organizações empresariais atuantes no mercado das relações capitalistas e a geração de valor social às organizações do terceiro setor. Essa aparente dualidade vem sendo questionada no âmbito do empreendedorismo, provocando o surgimento do fenômeno do investimento de impacto como uma alternativa que possibilita a alocação de capital em iniciativas e empreendimentos, os chamados negócios sociais, que visam criar impacto social positivo acompanhado de retorno financeiro. A emergência de investidores e empreendedores de negócios sociais tem provocado polêmicas e reflexões acerca da avaliação de impacto, da taxa de retorno do investimento de impacto e também de conceitos essenciais para fundamentar as operações de investimento, como valor social e impacto socioambiental. Neste cenário, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar as percepções dos diferentes grupos de atores do ecossistema brasileiro de negócios sociais e investimento de impacto sobre esses temas e sobre suas experiências no setor - desafios, oportunidades e aprendizados. Foi desenhada uma pesquisa exploratória de abordagem qualitativa, cujo problema de investigação foi o levantamento de opiniões, percepções e expectativas de representantes de três grupos de atores desse ecossistema: investidores interessados em negócios sociais; empreendedores e executivos de negócios sociais; e representantes de organizações intermediárias, como aceleradoras e fundos de investimento. A partir da construção de um referencial teórico e da análise de dados secundários sobre o fenômeno estudado, realizou-se o levantamento de dados primários aplicando-se um roteiro para entrevista semiestruturada em uma amostra intencional composta por dezoito pessoas. A análise das respostas evidenciou que há uma grande diversidade de entendimentos sobre o conceito de valor social e que alguns entrevistados tendem a usar esse termo como sinônimo de impacto social. A maioria dos entrevistados ressaltou elementos relacionados ao acesso à educação, aos serviços de saúde e aos direitos de cidadania. Mas nenhum se referiu à gestão de resíduos sólidos como elemento gerador de valor social. Talvez por se tratar de empreendimentos relativamente recentes, não foi possível identificar em que grau os investidores de impacto estão contribuindo para que esses negócios potencializem a geração de valor social aos beneficiários finais. No entanto, todos os negócios sociais que receberam investimento de impacto afirmaram que os investidores estão contribuindo para o desenvolvimento de seus negócios. Sobre a taxa de retorno do investimento, as opiniões dos entrevistados divergiram, mas a maioria deles entende que, no médio e longo prazo, as taxas de retorno deveriam seguir as taxas médias de mercado. A avaliação de impacto pré-investimento ainda é mais aproximativa do que baseada em indicadores de impacto social, porém todos os atores dos grupos de oferta de capital e demanda de capital que receberam investimento afirmaram que a geração de valor social é monitorada pelos investidores após o aporte de recursos. Os principais desafios apontados foram o acesso e o volume de capital, as restrições próprias do contexto econômico brasileiro e a imaturidade do setor. Todos consideram, porém, que o setor de negócios sociais e os investimentos de impacto têm futuro promissor no Brasil, seja pela necessidade de resolução dos inúmeros problemas sociais e ambientais, seja pelo tamanho do mercado de potenciais beneficiários dessas iniciativas. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho espera contribuir para o avanço teórico e prático das questões e dilemas enfrentados pelo empreendedorismo social e pelo setor de investimento de impacto, bem como para fomentar o ecossistema brasileiro de Finanças Sociais.Commonly, the creation of economic and financial value has been attributed to companies acting in the capitalist market relations while the creation of social value has been attributed to third sector organizations. This seeming duality is being questioned in the light of entrepreneurship, causing the emergence of the impact investing phenomenon as an alternative that allows capital to be allocated to initiatives and ventures, the so-called social businesses, which aim to create positive social impact together with financial returns. The rise of investors and entrepreneurs of social businesses has caused controversies and reflections about the impact evaluation, the rate of return for impact investments, and also the core concepts that support investment operations, such as social value and socio-environmental impact. In this scenario, this study aimed to analyze the perceptions of different groups of actors within the Brazilian social business and impact investing ecosystem related to these themes and their experiences in the sector - challenges, opportunities, and learnings. An exploratory research of qualitative approach has been designed, which research problem was a survey of opinions, perceptions and expectations of representatives of three groups of actors of this ecosystem: investors interested in social businesses; entrepreneurs and executives from social businesses; and representatives from intermediary organizations, such as accelerators and investment funds. Based on the construction of a theoretical framework and the analysis of secondary data on the studied phenomenon, a primary research has been conducted applying a script for semi-structured interview in an intentional sample of eighteen people. The analysis of the answers showed that there is a great diversity of understandings about the concept of social value and that some interviewees tend to use this term as a synonym for social impact. Most of the interviewees highlighted elements related to access to education, health services, and citizenship rights. But none of them referred to the solid waste management as a generator of social value. Perhaps because these are relatively recent ventures, it was not possible to identify the extent to which impact investors are contributing to the growth of social value creation to the final beneficiaries. However, all social businesses that received impact investments stated that investors are contributing to the development of their businesses. Regarding the rate of return on investment, the respondents\' opinions diverged, but most of them understood that, in the medium and long term, rates of return should follow average market rates. The pre-investment impact evaluation is still more approximate than based on social impact metrics, but all actors from the groups of investors and of social businesses which received investments stated that the generation of social value is monitored by investors after capital contribution. The main challenges are the access and volume of capital, the constraints of the Brazilian economic context, and the immaturity of the sector. However, all of them consider that the social business sector and impact investments have a promising future in Brazil, whether due to the need to solve the numerous social and environmental problems or due to the size of the market of potential beneficiaries of these initiatives. In this sense, this work hopes to contribute to the theoretical and practical advancement of the issues and dilemmas faced by the social entrepreneurship and the impact investment sector, as well as to foster the Brazilian Social Finance ecosystem

    Sult som styrke og kontroll

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    Sammendrag Bakgrunn: Anorexia nervosa er den mest omtalte spiseforstyrrelsen, og ifølge Folkehelseinstituttet (2014) vil 50 000 norske kvinner til en hver tid ha en spiseforstyrrelse, og av disse vil 2700 kvinner ha anoreksi. Hensikt: Vi ønsker med vår oppgave å rette fokuset relasjon mellom sykepleier og pasient på en medisinsk sengepost, og som danner grunnlaget for et godt og gjensidig samarbeid. Hovedfokuset vil være å bidra til et godt sykepleier-pasient forhold for å gi pasienten håp, økt livskvalitet og selvfølelse for videre behandling. Metode: Oppgaven er et litteraturstudie som er basert på pensumlitteratur, selvvalgt litteratur og forskningsartikler som er funnet på British Nursing Index, Cinahl og PubMed. Resultat: Funnene viser at en kombinasjon av tillit, trygghet, kommunikasjon og kunnskap er det som skal til for å lykkes med å skape en god relasjon til en ung jente med anoreksi på en medisinsk sengepost. Det er av stor betydning å ha en primærsykepleier å forholde seg til, da det er viktig med kontinuitet og regelmessighet. Det har også vist seg å være en del utfordringer for sykepleieren i møte med denne pasientgruppen. Konklusjon: Hovedmålet med å skape en god relasjon er at pasienten kan bli behandlingsklar. Det alle må huske på er at alle individer er unike og opplever sykdom og smerte individuelt, og skal respekteres uansett. Som sykepleier er det viktig å ha gode faglige kunnskaper og ferdigheter innen relasjonsbygging
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