“I Wanna Be Fat” : Healthism and Fat Politics in TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life

American reality TV has for a long time staged fat bodies in exaggerated and voyeuristic ways. The aim of such programs is to tell cautionary tales about the supposedly disastrous effects of fatness for the individual and society. The fat body needs to change, or be controlled in order to function fully in a capitalist society. One series that interrupts this narrative is TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life (2015-); the title suggests that this narrative is not one of misery and regret, but of joy – certainly an unusual take on fatness in reality TV. It stars Whitney Thore, a woman who claims to be body positive, and who advertises fat politics; politics inspired by fat studies and activism. These clash with the healthist, neoliberal ideology circulated in reality TV. While she announces that she is proud to be fat, her friends and family are constantly shown challenging her. The series thus sends contradicting messages: unable to fully commit to fat and body positivity, it stages Thore’s health problems in a spectacular way and thus undermines the successes and triumphs she experiences as fat role model

Molecular biological and biochemical approaches to expand the spectrum of fungal natural products

At least 3.5 billion years ago, the first life on earth arose. This was the starting point of the evolutionary development of numerous living beings. According to current estimations, there are 1012 different species on our planet. Most of this enormous biodiversity originates from the kingdom of bacteria and archaea. Based on these estimations, only 0.001 % of all species are known to this day. The omnipresent competition between living beings led to the development of secondary metabolism. The metabolites derived from this metabolism are not essential for survival, yet their production offers the organism various selection advantages. Plants, bacteria, and fungi are the main producers of secondary metabolites. The more than 2,140,000 million known secondary metabolites can be divided into five large groups: (1) non-ribosomal polypeptides, (2) polyketides, (3) alkaloids, (4) terpenoids and steroids and (5) enzyme cofactors. Many of these natural compounds show a biological or pharmaceutical activity and were used for the development of drugs. The large number of not yet identified microorganisms harbors an enormous, mostly unused genetic potential to produce further new natural compounds. Such compounds may be suitable for the development of urgently needed new drugs. Various approaches, such as heterologous expression in suitable host organisms, are being investigated to make this potential accessible. Additionally, through synthetic biology approaches, the diversity of natural substances can be further extended, and new natural substances can be discovered or produced. In the context of research on secondary metabolites, this work focuses on three main topics: 1. The extension of the spectrum of possible substrates for prenyltransferases, by using a database to predict new substrates. 2. The identification and characterization of previously unknown biosynthetic gene clusters, as well as the investigation of a possible application of the enzymes involved to produce new natural substances. 3. The generation of a host for the heterologous expression of secondary metabolite genes and investigation of their unknown products. Prenyltransferases catalyze the transfer of prenyl units (n × C5) to their target substrates. This is of importance, as an increase in the biological activity of prenylated compounds compared to their unprenylated counterparts has been observed for many compounds. A special property of prenyltransferases is their promiscuity with respect to the substrates. This makes them suitable candidates to produce pharmaceutically active substances. However, in practice, it is difficult to identify new substrates for prenyltransferases. In order to address this problem, a database, PrenDB, was developed for the prediction of such substrates. The predictive power of this database was experimentally tested with 38 predicted substrates by their acceptance with the prenyltransferases FtmPT1, FgapT2, and CdpNPT. For 27 of the 38 substrates, prenylation by at least one of the three tested enzymes was observed, 17 with conversion yields of more than 50 %. This proved the predictive power of the developed database and enabled the targeted selection of new potential substrates and the identification of new substrate classes. The identification of biosynthetic gene clusters and the subsequent biochemical characterization of the enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathways form the basis for synthetic biology approaches to produce natural products. Based on the cyclic dipeptide echinulin, a possible procedure for the identification of the responsible gene cluster and the use of the involved enzymes for the biosynthesis of new substances was described. The enzymatic prerequisites for the biosynthesis of echinulin were determined based on the structural peculiarities of echinulin. Potential candidate gene clusters must encode one non-ribosomal peptide synthetase and several prenyltransferases. In the genome of the echinulin producer Aspergillus ruber, a gene cluster with these prerequisites was identified. Enzyme assays with the echinulin precursor cyclo-L-tryptophanyl-L-alaninyl and the heterologously produced prenyltransferases EchPT1 and EchPT2 led to a well-founded biosynthetic hypothesis and confirmed the involvement of this cluster in the biosynthesis of echinulin. The combination of EchPT1 and EchPT2 with cyclo-L-tryptophanyl-L-alaninyl as a substrate led to the formation of 7 products with different degrees of prenylation. This special property was subsequently used to prenylate further cyclic dipeptides. The stereoisomers of cyclo-tryptophanyl-alaninyl and cyclo-tryptophanyl-prolinyl were used for this purpose. Analogous to the biosynthesis of echinulin, this led to the formation of triprenylated main products prenylated at position C2, C5 and C7, as well as further di-, tri- and tetraprenylated side products. Another possibility to investigate and produce secondary metabolites is the heterologous expression in a suitable host. A potential new host for heterologous expression, Penicillium crustosum, was examined in this thesis. The genome of the fungus was sequenced and the involvement of the polyketide synthase Pcr4401 in the biosynthesis of the melanin precursor YWA1 was confirmed by deletion and expression experiments. Successful integration of foreign genes in the pcr4401 gene locus can easily be recognized by the occurrence of an albino phenotype. For better use as an expression host, a pyrG deficient strain and two plasmids were generated to integrate foreign genes into the pcr4401 gene locus. The applicability as an expression host was subsequently verified by the successful expression of three PKS genes and the structural elucidation of the formed products

“I Wanna Be Fat”: Healthism and Fat Politics in TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life

American reality TV has for a long time staged fat bodies in exaggerated and voyeuristic ways. The aim of such programs is to tell cautionary tales about the supposedly disastrous effects of fatness for the individual and society. The fat body needs to change, or be controlled in order to function fully in a capitalist society. One series that interrupts this narrative is TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life (2015-); the title suggests that this narrative is not one of misery and regret, but of joy – certainly an unusual take on fatness in reality TV. It stars Whitney Thore, a woman who claims to be body positive, and who advertises fat politics; politics inspired by fat studies and activism. These clash with the healthist, neoliberal ideology circulated in reality TV. While she announces that she is proud to be fat, her friends and family are constantly shown challenging her. The series thus sends contradicting messages: unable to fully commit to fat and body positivity, it stages Thore’s health problems in a spectacular way and thus undermines the successes and triumphs she experiences as fat role model.      

A REPRESENTAÇÃO DO TRAUMA EM “O TIO NOVELO EM CONNECTICUT” DE J. D. SALINGER

Trauma is a usual element in J. D. Salinger’s works and can be specially observed by a meticulous literary analysis. In this sense, considering that the narrative has the potential to promote certain representations, it is aimed in this research to investigate how the referred phenomenon is portrayed in the protagonist of the short story “Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut” (2020). Since this is an interdisciplinary theme, it was necessary to establish a dialogue with other human knowledge areas to define some of the main characteristics both in the narrative and in the character’s emotional and behavioral manifestations. In order to that, this study contemplates in greater proportions the considerations of Laurie Vickroy (2015) about trauma in this literary genre and Bessel Van der Kolk (2007) concerns on the potential indications of this psychological disturb. Therefore, it was possible to notice not only the presence of elements that denoted the protagonist’s traumatic state but also the way Salinger operated his writing, unconsciously or not, to consolidate this interpretation.O trauma é um elemento recorrente nas obras de J. D. Salinger e pode ser especialmente observado a partir de uma análise literária minuciosa. Neste sentido, considerando que a narrativa possui o potencial de promover determinadas representações, busca-se nesta pesquisa investigar como o referido fenômeno é retratado na protagonista do conto “O Tio Novelo em Connecticut” (2020). Por se tratar de um tema interdisciplinar, fez-se necessário estabelecer um diálogo com outras áreas do conhecimento humano para que fossem definidas algumas das principais características tanto no âmbito da narrativa quanto das manifestações emocionais e comportamentais da personagem. Para tanto, este estudo contemplou em maiores proporções as considerações de Laurie Vickroy (2015) acerca do trauma neste gênero literário e de Bessel Van der Kolk (2007) sobre potenciais indicativos deste distúrbio psicológico presentes na obra. Assim, pôde-se perceber não apenas a presença de elementos que denotassem o estado traumático da protagonista, mas ainda o modo como Salinger manejou sua escrita, inconscientemente ou não, de forma a firmar tal interpretação

Reviews and syntheses: Spatial and temporal patterns in seagrass metabolic fluxes

Seagrass meadow metabolism has been measured for decades to gain insight into ecosystem energy, biomass production, food web dynamics, and, more recently, to inform its potential in ameliorating ocean acidification (OA). This extensive body of literature can be used to infer trends and drivers of seagrass meadow metabolism. Here, we synthesize the results from 56 studies reporting in situ rates of seagrass gross primary productivity, respiration, and/or net community productivity to highlight spatial and temporal variability in oxygen (O2) fluxes. We illustrate that daytime net community production (NCP) is positive overall and similar across seasons and geographies. Full-day NCP rates, which illustrate the potential cumulative effect of seagrass beds on seawater biogeochemistry integrated over day and night, were also positive overall but were higher in summer months in both tropical and temperate ecosystems. Although our analyses suggest seagrass meadows are generally autotrophic, the effects on seawater oxygen are relatively small in magnitude. We also find positive correlations between gross primary production and temperature, although this effect may vary between temperate and tropical geographies and may change under future climate scenarios if seagrasses approach thermal tolerance thresholds. In addition, we illustrate that periods when full-day NCP is highest could be associated with lower nighttime O2 and increased diurnal variability in seawater O2. These results can serve as first-order estimates of when and where OA amelioration by seagrasses may be likely. However, improved understanding of variations in NCPdic:NCPO2 ratios and increased work directly measuring metabolically driven alterations in seawater pH will further inform the potential for seagrass meadows to serve in this context

Mixed Bacterial Growth in Prenatal Urine Cultures; An Investigation into Prevalence, Contributory Factors and the Impact of education-based Interventions

PURPOSE: Undiagnosed urinary tract infections (UTIs) in pregnancy are associated with adverse perinatal outcome. Urine microbiology cultures reported as 'mixed bacterial growth' (MBG) frequently present a diagnostic dilemma for healthcare providers. We investigated external factors contributing to elevated rates of (MBG) within a large tertiary maternity centre in London, UK, and assessed the efficacy of health service interventions to mitigate these. DESCRIPTION: This prospective, observational study of asymptomatic pregnant women attending their first prenatal clinic appointment aimed to establish (i) the prevalence of MBG in routine prenatal urine microbiology cultures, (ii) the association between urine cultures and the duration to laboratory processing and (iii) ways in which MBG may be reduced in pregnancy. Specifically we assessed the impact of patient-clinician interaction and that of an education package on optimal urine sampling technique. ASSESSMENT: Among 212 women observed over 6 weeks, the negative, positive and MBG urine culture rates were 66%, 10% and 2% respectively. Shorter duration from urine sample collection to laboratory arrival correlated with higher rates of negative cultures. Urine samples arriving in the laboratory within 3 hours of collection were most likely to be reported as culture negative (74%), and were least likely to be reported as MBG (21%) or culture positive (6%), compared to samples arriving > 6 hours (71%, 14% and 14% respectively; P < 0.001). A midwifery education package effectively reduced rates of MBG (37% pre-intervention vs 19% post-intervention, RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.89). Women who did not receive verbal instructions prior to providing their sample had 5-fold higher rates of MBG (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: As many as 24% of prenatal urine screening cultures are reported as MBG. Patient-midwife interaction before urine sample collection and rapid transfer of urine samples to the laboratory within 3 hours reduces the rate of MBG in prenatal urine cultures. Reinforcing this message through education may improve accuracy of test results