WOMAN OF THE WEST – GENRE, GENDER, AND POLITICS IN JOHNNY GUITAR

Johnny Guitar’s plot challenges many of the conventions of the Western genre. My aim is to show that the film is also transgressive in its very construction. Its mise-en-scène – in which  sexual roles are discussed – metaphorizes the repressive forces at work at the time of its production.A trama de Johnny Guitar questiona muitas das convenções do gênero western. Meu propósito é mostrar que o filme é também transgressor em sua própria construção. Sua mise-en-scène – em que os papéis sexuais são discutidos – metaforiza as forças da repressão existentes na época em que o filme foi produzido.

Uma criação falsa: nódoas no mundo lustroso de imitação de vida

In this article I try to show that the film Imitation of Life is more than a typical Hollywood family melodrama of the Fifties, a current reading of the film. For that purpose, I propose a reading that reveals, through the analysis of the films miseen- scène and characterization, the subversion of characteristics of the genre in which the film can be included and an acerbic criticism of the excluding and perverse American way of life.Neste artigo procuro mostrar que o filme Imitação da Vida é mais do que um típico melodrama familiar hollywoodiano dos anos cinqüenta, leitura mais corrente do filme. Com esse propósito, apresento uma proposta de leitura que revela, através da análise de elementos como mise-en-scène e caracterização, a subversão de valores do gênero em que o filme se inclui e uma crítica acerba ao excludente e perverso American way of life

Selection criteria for weighting factor in linear regression

Poster apresentado no 54th Annual meeting of the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) 28 de agosto - 1 setembro 2016, Brisbane, AustraliaN/

Atlantoaxial instability secondary to agenesis of the odontoid process of the axis without rupture of the dorsal atlantoaxial ligament in dog

Atlantoaxial instability is a congenital or traumatic or condition that causes cervical pain and varying degrees of neurological dysfunction. A case of atlantoaxial instability secondary to agenesis of the odontoid process of the axis without evidence of rupture of the dorsal atlantoaxial ligament in a dog treated sucessfully is presented. A nine-month-old male Lhasa Apso weighing 8.5 kg was referred to the Hospital de Clínicas Veterinárias (Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre/Brazil. The neurological examination revealed hyperesthesia to palpation of the cranial cervical region, tetraparesis not ambulatory with increased reflexes and proprioceptive deficiency in the thoracic and pelvic limbs. Radiographs of the cervical spine showed agenesis of the odontoid process of the axis without evidence of atlantoaxial instability. The diagnosis of atlantoaxial instability was based on the clinical signs and radiographic examination in the ventrodorsal view. Surgical stabilization was achieved with two Steinmann pins using ventral approach. One week after the surgery, neurological examination evidenced ambulatory tetraparesis and radiograph showed alignment of subluxation and the Steinman pins correctly positioned. In the present case, the clinical improvement was attributed to the joint stabilization and fibrous tissue formation around of the atlantoaxial joint.  

Insect cell platforms for production of pseudo-typed VLPs for drug and vaccine development

Conformational-complex membrane proteins (MPs) are vaccine/drug targets in many diseases, but drug and vaccine development has been slowed down by the lack of efficient production tools. Co-expression of MPs with matrix proteins from enveloped viruses is a promising approach to obtain correctly folded proteins at the surface of ordered nanoscale architectures such as virus-like particles (VLPs), preserving their native lipidic environment. In this work, we implemented an innovative site-specific recombination strategy based on flipase-mediated cassette exchange technology to establish reusable insect cell platforms for fast production of enveloped VLPs pseudo-typed with target MPs. Influenza M1 and HIV Gag proteins were evaluated as scaffolds, and proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstrated using two membrane proteins, the influenza HA protein (e.g. for vaccines) and the human beta-2 adrenergic receptor (e.g. for drug screening or antibody discovery). Bioprocess engineering schemes were designed (adaptive laboratory evolution to hypothermic culture conditions and supplementation with productivity enhancers), allowing to improve HIV Gag-VLPs production in the developed stable insect cells. Under hypothermic culture conditions, adapted cells expressed up to 30-fold more HIV Gag-VLPs than non-adapted cells. Noteworthy, the element driving such increase in productivity is the adaptation process and not the temperature shift as the later alone leads to lower production yields. A more modest increase in productivity (up to 7-fold) was observed when supplementing non-adapted cell cultures with productivity enhancers NaBu and DMSO. PoC was successfully demonstrated in 0.5 L stirred-tank bioreactors. Profiting from the platforms developed above, a modular system comprising stable and baculovirus-mediated expression in insect cells was established for the production of a multi-HA influenza VLP as vaccine candidate that otherwise could not be obtained due to baculovirus vector instability. By combining stable with transient expression systems, we could rationally distribute the number of genes to be expressed per platform and thus generate the target VLP for subsequent animal studies. In addition, a tailor-made refeed strategy was designed based on the exhaustion of key nutrients during cell growth resulting in a 4-fold increase in HA titers per mL. PoC was successfully demonstrated in 2 L stirred-tank bioreactors. Overall, the insect cell platforms and bioprocess engineering strategies herein assembled have the potential to assist/accelerate drug and vaccine development. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by European Commission (Project EDUFLUVAC, Grant nr. 602640) and by Portuguese “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” through the following programs: FCT Investigator Starting Grant (IF/01704/2014), Exploratory Research and Development Project EXPL/BBB-BIO/1541/2013, and PhD fellowships SFRH/BD/86744/2012 and SFRH/BD/90564/2012