EU Representations in Portuguese Media and Populism: Embodying Political Antipodes?

Mass media mediate different publics, thus being crucial in constructing political reality. By selecting which topics are covered (agenda), which voices are heard, or how social and political issues/actors/dynamics are represented (priming and framing), mass media impacts how political conversations and processes unfold. Acknowledging the increasing mediatisation of politics, this article zooms into media texts of the Portuguese media during a complex political period that included national elections to explore how populism as a term, label, or topic was used and/or co-opted to create and negotiate political EU representations. Building on a historical perspective and using critical thematic analysis, this article argues that populism was used in the media and by the media as a discursive mechanism of political positionality and/or delegitimisation or criticism of political actors, agendas, or moves, thus making populism and the EU co-constitutively used as embodying political antipodes and making the EU work as a discursive buffer concerning populism in the country

L-Asparaginase

L-Asparaginase (ASNase, EC 3.5.1.1) is a tetrameric aminohydrolase enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of the amino acid L-Asparagine into ammonia and L-aspartic acid. ASNase is present in different organisms such as bacteria, fungi, plant tissues and algae. ASNase is used in the pharmaceutical field as an anticancer drug for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and other malignant diseases such as Hodgkin’s disease. In the food sector, ASNase is used to prevent the formation of acrylamide, a toxic compound formed when starch-rich foods are cooked at temperatures above 100 °C. ASNase can also be used as a biosensor for the detection of L-asparagine levels.publishe

Recent strategies and applications for l-asparaginase confinement

l-asparaginase (ASNase, EC 3.5.1.1) is an aminohydrolase enzyme with important uses in the therapeutic/pharmaceutical and food industries. Its main applications are as an anticancer drug, mostly for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treatment, and in acrylamide reduction when starch-rich foods are cooked at temperatures above 100 °C. Its use as a biosensor for asparagine in both industries has also been reported. However, there are certain challenges associated with ASNase applications. Depending on the ASNase source, the major challenges of its pharmaceutical application are the hypersensitivity reactions that it causes in ALL patients and its short half-life and fast plasma clearance in the blood system by native proteases. In addition, ASNase is generally unstable and it is a thermolabile enzyme, which also hinders its application in the food sector. These drawbacks have been overcome by the ASNase confinement in different (nano)materials through distinct techniques, such as physical adsorption, covalent attachment and entrapment. Overall, this review describes the most recent strategies reported for ASNase confinement in numerous (nano)materials, highlighting its improved properties, especially specificity, half-life enhancement and thermal and operational stability improvement, allowing its reuse, increased proteolysis resistance and immunogenicity elimination. The most recent applications of confined ASNase in nanomaterials are reviewed for the first time, simultaneously providing prospects in the described fields of application.publishe

Traços identitários e memorialísticos materializados na fotografia de Ivo Tavares da periferia de Salvador, Bahia

The study is aimed to evidence the identity and memorialistic traces materialized in the photograph of Ivo Tavares, which demonstrate a resignification of the outskirts of Salvador – BA. In relation to the methodological procedures, the research is configured as qualitative and descriptive, associated to evidential paradigm and document method, which enable to identify vestiges in the photograph of Ivo Tavares that are available by means of his Instagram account. In order to expand investigative and interpretative possibilities, it was applied a questionnaire with open-ended questions directed to the photographer. Based on the reached results, it can be affirmed that the photograph produced by Ivo Tavares is a document which materializes information that both demystifies the concept of periphery and favors the production of new information about the sociocultural practices of subjects that integrate this place, who can feel represented in this document that materializes traces of identity and memory. It is concluded that the subject also constitutes his identity and memory in the materialization and production of documents, which are perpetuated for beyond their time and geographic space. This way, the document enables that the subject record what is representative for him, both in his individuality and in the collectivityO estudo teve como objetivo evidenciar os traços identitários e memorialísticos materializados na fotografia de Ivo Tavares, que demonstram uma ressignificação da periferia de Salvador, Bahia. Quanto ao delineamento metodológico, a pesquisa se configura como qualitativa e descritiva, associada aos métodos documental e indiciário, os quais possibilitaram identificar vestígios presentes na fotografia de Ivo Tavares que estão disponíveis por meio do perfil no instagram desse fotógrafo. Para ampliar as possibilidades investigativas e interpretativas, aplicou-se questionário com perguntas abertas direcionadas ao fotógrafo. Com base nos resultados alcançados, pode-se afirmar que a fotografia produzida por Ivo Tavares é um documento que materializa informações que tanto desmitificam o conceito de periferia quanto favorecem a produção de novas informações sobre as práticas socioculturais dos sujeitos que integram esse lugar, que podem se sentir representados nesse documento, que materializa traços de memória e identidade. Concluiu-se que o sujeito também constitui sua identidade e sua memória na materialização e na produção de documentos, que se perpetuam para além do seu tempo e espaço geográfico. Assim, o documento possibilita que o sujeito registre o que para ele é representativo, tanto em sua individualidade quanto na coletividade

L-asparaginase-based biosensors

L-asparaginase (ASNase) is an aminohydrolase enzyme widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Although currently its main applications are focused on the treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acrylamide reduction in starch-rich foods cooked at temperatures above 100 ºC, its use as a biosensor in the detection and monitoring of L-asparagine levels is of high relevance. ASNase-based biosensors are a promising and innovative technology, mostly based on colorimetric detection since the mechanism of action of ASNase is the catalysis of the L-asparagine hydrolysis, which releases L-aspartic acid and ammonium ions, promoting a medium pH value change followed by color variation. ASNase biosensing systems prove their potential for L-asparagine monitoring in ALL patients, along with L-asparagine concentration analysis in foods, due to their simplicity and fast response.publishe

Unveiling the Influence of Carbon Nanotube Diameter and Surface Modification on the Anchorage of L-Asparaginase

L-asparaginase (ASNase, EC 3.5.1.1) is an amidohydrolase enzyme known for its anti-cancer properties, with an ever-increasing commercial value. Immobilization has been studied to improve the enzyme’s efficiency, enabling its recovery and reuse, enhancing its stability and half-life time. In this work, the effect of pH, contact time and enzyme concentration during the ASNase physical adsorption onto pristine and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs and f-MWCNTs, respectively) with different size diameters was investigated by maximizing ASNase relative recovered activity (RRA) and immobilization yield (IY). Immobilized ASNase reusability and kinetic parameters were also evaluated. The ASNase immobilization onto f-MWCNTs offered higher loading capacities, enhanced reusability, and improved enzyme affinity to the substrate, attaining RRA and IY of 100 and 99%, respectively, at the best immobilization conditions (0.4 mg/mL of ASNase, pH 8, 30 min of contact time). In addition, MWCNTs diameter proved to play a critical role in determining the enzyme binding affinity, as evidenced by the best results attained with f-MWCNTs with diameters of 10–20 nm and 20–40 nm. This study provided essential information on the impact of MWCNTs diameter and their surface functionalization on ASNase efficiency, which may be helpful for the development of innovative biomedical devices or food pre-treatment solutionspublishe