Estudio de la solubilidad en medio acuoso de la zoantamina, un alcaloide marino bioactivo

My thesis is focused on a project that has been working for a few years. The discovery and extraction of some metabolisms from some polyps present in Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, has revolutionized the problem of osteoporosis. This is a disease that affects the cells in the bones. There is a decrease in osteoblasts and increase in osteoclasts which are essential for bone maintenance and growth. With the extraction of these two molecules (marine alkaloids) zoanthamine and norzoanthamine the activity of these molecules has been verified as preventori and for the treatment of osteoporosis, but unfortunately, the chemical-physical properties are not yet known, therefore the pharmacokinetics, which allow us to create slow release formulations that can be effective for treatment. For this reason, before moving to the formulation and implantation in animals, this condition must first be verified. My work was based on the extraction of these polyps and then on their purification to get enough pure samples of two alkaloids and to be able to perform some physico-chemical tests such as: solubility, thermolability, pH variation, etc. The purification methodology carried out was based on thin layer chromatography, chromatographic columns and HPLC. The results were confirmed by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and UV (ultraviolet spectroscopy)

Framing European Youth Gender Attitudes through Serial Dramas: Focus Group Insights from the GEMINI Project

The wide universe of serial drama acts both as mirror and shaper of young adults’ perceptions and attitudes towards social issues, also fostering their growing interest in gender-related ones. Drawing from the European project GEMINI-Gender Equality through Media Investigation and New training Insights (CERV-2022-GE), this study provides the insights from the qualitative research phase, consisting of 15 focus groups interviews carried out in 4 countries (Denmark, Italy, Ireland and Romania) with the aim of detecting the interplay between serial narratives, gender issues and European young adults. The main findings show complex dynamics between media consumption and youth views, revealing how serial dramas can challenge stereotypes and promote conversations around gender topics, though they tend to reinforce existing attitudes rather than change views or behaviours

Understanding Young Adults' Perception and Detecting Teachers' and Trainers' Awareness

This report presents the results of the GEMINI audience research among European young adults and secondary school teachers/trainers, conducted as part of the WP3 activities in the 4 European countries involved in the project: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Romania.The analysis of the main findings follows the structure established during the research design phase, which employs a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative methods (focus groups and in-depth interviews) and quantitative one (multilingual transnational survey). The findings provide valuable data and analysis to understand and measure whether and how young European adults perceive, interpret, and engage with the gender representations offered by serial dramas, as well as teachers’ attitudes towards teaching gender issues through the lens of screen seriality.Section 2 details the common methodology employed across the 4 countries to conduct focus group sessions with European high school students and presents the main findings from each country. This approach allowed for a deeper understanding of young adults’ consumption of serial dramas and their interest in gender-related issues. While highlighting common trends in consumption habits and widespread interest in gender issues among the European young adults, a comparative analysis of the main findings revealed a diverse perceived influence of serial dramas, often mediated by socio-cultural factors different to each country.Section 3 reports on the main findings of the in-depth interviews carried out with European high school teachers in the 4 countries, with the aim of gaining an in-depth knowledge of the way they work with students on gender issues, which is a core element for the future development of innovative teaching methods. Against a widespread interest in gender issues and an open attitude towards the use of serial dramas as a teaching tool, the teachers’ perspective puts the spotlight on the main challenges they have to face, ranging from socio-cultural resistance – mainly from students’ parents – to institutional issues, such as varying copyright regulations and the availability of technical infrastructure.Section 4 focuses on the results of the quantitative phase of the audience research, analysing the data from the trans-national survey from a comparative perspective. The main findings provide insights into the level of awareness and interest among high school students in gender and diversity issues from an intersectional perspective. They also highlight the perceived dual nature of serial dramas, which are seen as powerful tools both for perpetuating gender stereotypes and for suggesting inclusive models of society, and whose influence is perceived by EU young adults mainly on an emotional level.Overall, the results of this report establish a strategic link between the research phase and the subsequent training and pilot phases of the project. They also offer valuable insights into integrating serial dramas and gender issues into high school teaching, while considering the similarities and differences observed across the 4 countries.This report presents the results of the GEMINI audience research among European young adults and secondary school teachers/trainers, conducted as part of the WP3 activities in the 4 European countries involved in the project: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Romania.The analysis of the main findings follows the structure established during the research design phase, which employs a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative methods (focus groups and in-depth interviews) and quantitative one (multilingual transnational survey). The findings provide valuable data and analysis to understand and measure whether and how young European adults perceive, interpret, and engage with the gender representations offered by serial dramas, as well as teachers’ attitudes towards teaching gender issues through the lens of screen seriality.Section 2 details the common methodology employed across the 4 countries to conduct focus group sessions with European high school students and presents the main findings from each country. This approach allowed for a deeper understanding of young adults’ consumption of serial dramas and their interest in gender-related issues. While highlighting common trends in consumption habits and widespread interest in gender issues among the European young adults, a comparative analysis of the main findings revealed a diverse perceived influence of serial dramas, often mediated by socio-cultural factors different to each country.Section 3 reports on the main findings of the in-depth interviews carried out with European high school teachers in the 4 countries, with the aim of gaining an in-depth knowledge of the way they work with students on gender issues, which is a core element for the future development of innovative teaching methods. Against a widespread interest in gender issues and an open attitude towards the use of serial dramas as a teaching tool, the teachers’ perspective puts the spotlight on the main challenges they have to face, ranging from socio-cultural resistance – mainly from students’ parents – to institutional issues, such as varying copyright regulations and the availability of technical infrastructure.Section 4 focuses on the results of the quantitative phase of the audience research, analysing the data from the trans-national survey from a comparative perspective. The main findings provide insights into the level of awareness and interest among high school students in gender and diversity issues from an intersectional perspective. They also highlight the perceived dual nature of serial dramas, which are seen as powerful tools both for perpetuating gender stereotypes and for suggesting inclusive models of society, and whose influence is perceived by EU young adults mainly on an emotional level.Overall, the results of this report establish a strategic link between the research phase and the subsequent training and pilot phases of the project. They also offer valuable insights into integrating serial dramas and gender issues into high school teaching, while considering the similarities and differences observed across the 4 countries

The cancer preventative agent resveratrol is converted to the anticancer agent piceatannol by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1B1

Resveratrol is a cancer preventative agent that is found in red wine. Piceatannol is a closely related stilbene that has antileukaemic activity and is also a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Piceatannol differs from resveratrol by having an additional aromatic hydroxy group. The enzyme CYP1B1 is overexpressed in a wide variety of human tumours and catalyses aromatic hydroxylation reactions. We report here that the cancer preventative agent resveratrol undergoes metabolism by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1B1 to give a metabolite which has been identified as the known antileukaemic agent piceatannol. The metabolite was identified by high performance liquid chromatography analysis using fluorescence detection and the identity of the metabolite was further confirmed by derivatisation followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry studies using authentic piceatannol for comparison. This observation provides a novel explanation for the cancer preventative properties of resveratrol. It demonstrates that a natural dietary cancer preventative agent can be converted to a compound with known anticancer activity by an enzyme that is found in human tumours. Importantly this result gives insight into the functional role of CYP1B1 and provides evidence for the concept that CYP1B1 in tumours may be functioning as a growth suppressor enzyme