Extraordinary protagonists, average issues. Social problems in modern Finnish thrillers by Ilkka Remes and Taavi Soininvaara

Thriller is considered to be a subgenre of criminal fiction, in which the most significant role is played by fast-paced action, suspense, spectacular events. In case of so called international and political thrillers it should also be mentioned that their authors construct their plots around the problems such as global conflicts, international conspiracy, terrorism, the development of nuclear weapon. However, problems commonly mentioned by many authors of other subgenres of criminal fiction, are also present in the novels classified as thrillers. The collapse of well-being society, unstable interpersonal relationships, mental problems of an individual, childhood traumas are therefore often mentioned by the writers, although they do not usually constitute main subjects of the novels. The article concentrates on some examples from international and political thrillers, in which such issues seem to be equally important, written by the most popular Finnish authors of this particular genre, namely Ilkka Remes and Taavi Soininvaar

Immigrants in Finland as one of the problems discussed in Leena Lehtolainen’s novels

Leena Lehtolainen belongs to the most appreciated Finnish authors of crime fiction. One of the significant features of her works is that she discusses some most alarming social issues in them. The problem concerning immigration and its different aspects can definitely be considered as an example of such an issue. Since the problem of cultural antagonisms, racial hatred and xenophobia has been widely discussed by many other Scandinavian authors of crime fiction as well, it is worth analyzing how Lehtolainen herself approaches the problem. The aim of this article is to discuss some aspects concerning the problems of immigrant societies in Finland, basing on one of Leena Lehtolainen’s novels, Minne tytöt kadonneet, which main subject could be described as a collision of two completely different cultures and attitudes to the reality. Its aim is not, however, to discuss any formal aspects of the text, since such a kind of detailed analysis cannot be the subject of one article only. That is why the article concentrates on the plot of the novel and its possible relations to some actual problems the Finnish society faces. Taking it all into consideration it may be seen as an introduction to a wider analysis of Leena Lehtolainen’s works

Production of tropane alkaloids in Hyoscyamus niger (black henbane) hairy roots grown in bubble-column and spray bioreactors

Hairy root cultures of Hyoscyamus niger were cultivated in shake-flasks, a bubble-column bioreactor and a hybrid bubble-column/spray bioreactor and evaluated for alkaloid production. The latter gave the highest anisodamine content (0.67 mg/g dry wt) whereas scopolamine, hyoscyamine and cuscohygrine concentrations were highest in the bubble-column reactor (5.3, 1.6 and 26.5 mg/g dry wt, respectively). Both bioreactors gave similar productivities of scopolamine (1 and 0.98 mg/l day) and cuscohygrine (5 and 5.4 mg/l day), but anisodamine productivity was 3.5-fold higher in the hybrid bioreactor (HB) (0.02 and 0.07 mg/l day, respectively). Elicitation with methyl jasmonate increased scopolamine productivity by 146 % in roots grown in the HB whereas their permeabilization with DMSO caused 4-, 5-, 25- and 28-fold increase in scopolamine, hyoscyamine, anisodamine and cuscohygrine concentrations in the growth medium. In situ extraction with Amberlite XAD-2 doubled scopolamine productivity in the hybrid reactor after 50 days

Bioreactor type affects the accumulation of phenolic acids and flavonoids in microshoot cultures of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill

Microshoots of the East Asian medicinal plant species Schisandra chinensis (Chinese magnolia vine) were grown in bioreactors characterized by different construction and cultivation mode. The tested systems included two continuous immersion systems-a cone-type bioreactor (CNB) and a cylindric tube bioreactor (CTB), a nutrient sprinkle bioreactor (NSB), and two temporary immersion systems (TIS)-RITA® and Plantform. Microshoots were grown for 30 and 60 days in the MS medium enriched with 1 mg $1^{-1}$ NAA and 3 mg $1^{-1}$ BA. The accumulation of two groups of phenolic compounds: phenolic acids and flavonoids in the bioreactor-grown S. chinensis biomass, was evaluated for the first time. In the microshoot extracts, seven phenolic acids: chlorogenic, gallic, p-hydroxybenzoic, protocatechuic, syringic, salicylic and vanillic, and three flavonoids: kaempferol, quercitrin and rutoside, were identified. The highest total amount of phenolic acids (46.68 mg 100 $g^{-1}$ DW) was recorded in the biomass maintained in the CNB for 30 days. The highest total content of flavonoids (29.02 mg 100 $g^{-1}$ DW) was found in the microshoots maintained in the NSB for 30 days. The predominant metabolites in all the tested systems were: gallic acid (up to 10.01 mg 100 $g^{-1}$ DW), protocatechuic acid (maximal concentration 16.30 mg 100 $g^{-1}$ DW), and quercitrin (highest content 21.00 mg 100 $g^{-1}$ DW)

Accumulation of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans in agar cultures and in stationary and agitated liquid cultures of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill

Schisandra chinensis plant in vitro cultures were maintained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3 mg/l 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 1 mg/l 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) in an agar system and also in two different liquid systems: stationary and agitated. Liquid cultures were grown in batch (30 and 60 days) and fed-batch modes. In the methanolic extracts from lyophilized biomasses and in the media, quantification of fourteen dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans identified based on co-chromatography with authentic standards using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and/or liquid chromatography with diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-ESI-MS) methods. For comparison purposes, phytochemical analyses were performed of lignans in the leaves and fruits of the parent plant. The main lignans detected in the biomass extracts from all the tested systems were schisandrin (max. 65.62 mg/100 g dry weight (DW)), angeloyl-/tigloylgomisin Q (max. 49.73 mg/100 g DW), deoxyschisandrin (max. 43.65 mg/100 g DW), and gomisin A (max. 34.36 mg/100 g DW). The highest total amounts of lignans in the two tested stationary systems were found in extracts from the biomass harvested after 30 days of batch cultivation: 237.86 mg/100 g DW and 274.65 mg/100 g DW, respectively. In the agitated culture, the total content reached a maximum value of 244.80 mg/100 g DW after 60 days of the fed-batch mode of cultivation. The lignans were not detected in the media. This is the first report which documents the potential usefulness of S. chinensis shoot cultures cultivated in liquid systems for practical purposes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00253-015-7230-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Schisandra henryi a species with high medicinal potential and pharmacological activities of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans

Schisandra henryi C.B. Clarke (family Schisandraceae), is a species endemic to China Yunnan Province. S. henryi is a little known plant in Europe and the United States. Few studies on the chemical composition of S. henryi, mainly by scientists from Chinese institutions, showed the presence of compounds belonging to lignans, triterpenoids and nortriprenoids. Recently, research by the team of the Department of Pharmaceutical Botany of the Jagiellonian University Medical College has highlighted the great potential of this species. Phytochemical, biological and biotechnological researches are conducted. The analysis of the chemical composition showed the presence of compounds from the group of dibenzylcyclooctadiene, aryltetraline and dibenzylbutane lignans as well as polyphenols - phenolic acids and flavonoids. An innovative aspect of the scientific work is in particular biotechnological research focusing on proposing biomass from in vitro cultures of S. henryi as a source for obtaining extracts and biologically active compounds, alternative to the hard-to-reach material collected from natural sites. The aim of the study was to review the scientific literature on research on S. henryi, with particular emphasis on its botanical, ecological and chemical characteristics, and biological properties of extracts and isolated compounds. In addition, the potential of biotechnological research conducted on in vitro cultures of S. henryi focusing on understanding their metabolic profile was signaled. The paper also presents a detailed characterization of dibenzocyclotadiene lignans specific for the Schisandraceae family. They are the subject of numerous scientific studies that confirm their valuable pharmacological properties. Particularly noteworthy are their hepatoprotective and hepatoregenerating properties, as well as: anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anticancer, antiviral, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antiosteoporotic and supporting the treatment of intestinal dysfunction