Drying involves four main transport phenomena: internal and external heat transfer, and internal and external mass transfer. However, the numerical solution of the corresponding four classical partial differential equations requires considerable computing time (Karathanos & Belessiotis, 1999). Researches frequently use simple models to simulate the food drying curves that can adequately represent experimental results (Akpinar et al., 2003, Doymaz,

2004, Iguaz et al., 2003, Senadeera et al., 2003 and Sogi et al., 2003). RGFP966 purchase In this study, the mass transfer process will be defined as a function of Fick’s law combined with the microscopic mass transfer balance. It should be noted that the production and consumption of West Indian cherry have increased learn more in Brazil, and that there is a real possibility for Brazil to export this fruit. Therefore, it is even more important to carry out research on this fruit and to developed alternative processing technologies. The main objective of this work was to study water loss, solid gain, and weight and moisture reduction in West Indian cherry during the osmotic dehydration process, using real average moisture contents to estimate the diffusion coefficient of West Indian Cherry based on the inverse method. This paper describes

the internal changes and the kinetics of moisture change and moisture transfer during the osmotic dehydration of West Indian cherry. Fresh West Indian cherry (M. punicifolia L.) and chemicals products were purchased in a local Sclareol market in João Pessoa (Paraíba, Brazil). The fruits were selected visually based on their similar degree of ripeness (same skin color), apparent fruit quality (flawlessness), firmness, and similar size. The fruit’s average radius was approximately 8.5 mm. The sample’s dimensions were

measured with a Vernier caliper (SOMET) with 0.05 mm precision. The average initial moisture content determined after blanching was 91.7 kg kg−1 on a wet basis, determined by heating in a drying oven (LUFERCO, model 41181) at 65 °C for 24 h, following the 2002 AOAC method. Other materials used in this work were obtained in the same period in a local market too. The initial soluble solid content determined by refractometry was 6.30°Brix. The water activity of the West Indian cherry (aw = 0.989) was measured after blanching at final dehydration time using a dew-point hygrometer (Decagon C-X2, Aqualab, USA, with 0.001 precision) at 27 °C. Prior to their osmotic dehydration, the West Indian cherries were weighed and then blanched in boiling water for 1 min in order to increase the water permeability of the skin, followed by immediate cooling in a mixture of water and ice for 1 min to remove excess heat. After blanching, the fruits were drained on absorbent paper to remove excess water, weighed again, and immersed in an osmotic solution.

Drawbacks of in vitro models are that they have been developed mainly for screening purposes click here by the pharmaceutical industry and are not validated for certain categories of industrial chemicals. Therefore, training with the latter compounds and taking into account uncertainty is needed. This methodology allows for the determination of human pharmacokinetics of test compounds administered at doses much lower than the

expected pharmacologically effective or toxic levels (FDA, 2008). Microdosing has been used as part of human drug clinical testing to evaluate drug ADME (Coecke et al., 2005b) but has not been widely accepted for testing chemicals. This is not used universally and is done on a case-by-case basis. This technology, once installed is cost-effective to study new chemical entities and has the advantage of requiring only very low doses of radiolabelled compounds. One limitation to this technology is that the dose has to be lower than 100 μg, thus if this is significantly different from the therapeutic dose and the pharmacokinetics profile is different, then the low dose pharmacokinetics data may have decreased relevance compared to the toxic/effective concentration. Another disadvantage of this method

is that humans are purposely E7080 exposed to radiation for biomedical research and its use should therefore be justified (as recommended by the International Commission of Radiation Protection in Publication 62 (ICRP, 1991)). There are radiation dose constraints for volunteers under different conditions and these are discussed in the recommendations from the ICRP

(ICRP, 2007). In order to refine and improve existing in vivo study types, as well as reduce the number of animals used, for chemical testing, it was recommended to increase information gained from one study by incorporating 6-phosphogluconolactonase additional endpoints into the study, e.g. using peripheral blood for metabolomics and the micronucleus (MN) test. It is noted that inclusion of more endpoints, e.g. kinetics, may be difficult to implement for small animals, e.g. mice. In addition, inclusion of positive controls for each endpoint may mean extra animals are needed, although, for some endpoints which have sufficient historical data, such as the in vivo MN test, additional positive controls are not an absolute requirement. The different industry sectors have generated a vast amount of data using similar models; however, the sharing of this data across sectors has not been as fast flowing. The workshop recommended the sharing of in vivo data, coordination and information exchange between research projects and sectors. Companies should be encouraged to share in-house additional data from long-term studies so that in vivo studies are not unnecessarily duplicated and in silico/in vitro methods can be validated.

In the present study, we used the HHP-EH process, which has several advantages such as higher extraction yield, user friendly, low energy consumption, low temperature,

and no use of chemicals. The results obtained in the present study indicate that the highest extractability Cabozantinib nmr of CS in the antler cartilage is related to papain digestion under HHP (100 MPa). The extractability of CS liberated from the antler tissues was estimated from the amount of uronic acid recovered from the papain digest. The estimated extractability under hydrostatic pressure was 6-fold higher at 100 MPa than that obtained at ambient pressure (0.1 MPa) at 50 °C during the 4 h incubation time (Fig. 1). The results show that the catalytic effect of papain is accelerated by

HHP, indicating that the optimal conditions of pressure, incubation time and temperature are obtained at 100 MPa for 4 h at 50 °C, respectively. As a result, the HHP-EH process shows that the extractability of CS is approximately 95% of total uronic acid in antler cartilage tissue as compared to less than 20% extractability from a previous report, Silmitasertib chemical structure which used papain for 24 h at ambient pressure on the 0.5 M sodium acetate soluble fraction from antlers [30]. The low extractability was mainly due to the multiple steps involved in isolating CS from antler cartilage with PAK5 a high risk of CS loss. In the present study, the high extractability of CS indicates that the mild pressure (100 MPa) is not only directly related to water penetration into the structure of collagen, proteoglycan and other proteins found in extracellular matrix but also, more importantly, to accelerate the present process of papain treatment. Meersman et al. (2006) [18] reported that the high pressure increases the rate of mass transfer, enhances water penetration into the solid material and disrupts cell membranes to release intracellular products.

The rationale behind HHP effects has three main factors: the energy, the densification effect and the chemical reactivity [24]. Due to compressibility, the difference between final and initial volumes under high pressure is always negative (ΔV value <0), leading to low energy and a densification effect. However, this does not give any prediction of the volume changes of chemical reactions in relation to the equilibrium between the states (reaction volume) or the activation volume of the chemical reaction. In addition, the chemical reactivity may be improved by high pressure, inducing an increase in solubility and consequently, the concentration of the solvated species. This phenomenon (electrostriction) leads to the reduction of the average distance between the solvated species, inducing an increase in the kinetic rate of the reaction.

Therefore, baits located in PcG regulated chromatin have interaction profiles similar to the genome wide distribution of these proteins and histone H3K27me3. In contrast, baits located outside PcG genomic regions only establish few contacts with PcG chromatin [ 12• and 20•]. This is consistent with previous 4C results indicating spatial separation of active and inactive regions and suggests that the partition of the genome into physical domains, each characterized by high internal chromatin interactions www.selleckchem.com/products/Trichostatin-A.html and

a lower degree of interactions with chromatin outside of the domain borders is not restricted to PcG chromatin [ 18, 21, 22 and 23]. This chromatin contact behaviour has been generalized by applying a global approach, called Hi-C, which maps genome wide chromatin interaction frequencies [24]. Recent Hi-C analyses with increased sequencing depth in mammalian and Drosophila genomes identified large chromatin interaction domains (megabase-sized in mammals, about ten fold smaller in fruit flies). Although the mechanisms responsible for the formation of large chromatin domains are not understood, the Hi-C data also revealed that frequent contacts occur throughout the whole chromatin domain and not only resume

to loops between discrete genomic elements ( Figure 2). These physical modules, named TADs, have been found to correlate with the epigenetic mark distribution along chromosomes. Two main kinds of TADs could be distinguished with this approach: active chromatin forms relatively short domains with a relatively Proteasome inhibitor extended configuration (as indicated by a rapid decrease in contact frequency with increasing genomic distance), whereas silenced chromatin forms larger and more compact domains, where the contact frequency decays more slowly with increasing distance. Strikingly, the boundaries of TADs match quite well the distribution of insulator proteins such as CTCF along the genome [ Interleukin-3 receptor 25• and 26•]. In Drosophila, specific

combinations of insulator proteins are enriched at TAD borders. Moreover, active chromatin preferentially locates at borders, whereas silenced chromatin is found in the interior of TADs [ 27]. Chromatin interaction analysis by another high-throughput 3C variant approach named ChIA-PET identified the CTCF-chromatin interactome in pluripotent mammalian cells. CTCF-mediated interactions also underline the partition of the genome into chromatin domains and reveal extensive contacts between promoters and regulatory elements [ 28]. One clear determinant of chromatin fibre folding into topological domains is the linear distribution of chromatin marks along the genome, since interaction maps and genomic distribution of chromatin marks give a similar view of a genome segmented in domains [25•, 27, 29•, 30•• and 31••]. The function of insulators with regard to genome segmentation and formation of topological domains has recently been addressed in Drosophila.

Hence, at sites with more than 3 m of water, the bottom reflectance contributes nothing to Lwnred although the latter remains sensitive to resuspended bottom sediments penetrating the near-surface layer. In other words, the 3 m depth is a universal threshold of red radiance sensitivity to bottom reflection ( Figure 1), and the similarity of the horizontal distributions of Lwnred and Lwnref over the shallow area points to a particularly strong resuspension http://www.selleckchem.com/products/pexidartinib-plx3397.html of bottom sediments, because Zor for Lwnref delimits a much thicker surface layer than Zor

for Lwnred does (Lwnref /Lwnred criterion). We chose a shallow in the south-eastern Caspian Sea as the study area (Figure 2) because it has the features of a desired natural model: (1) the waters of the South Caspian basin, flowing across the shallow, are fairly transparent (Simonov & Altman 1992), which facilitates observations of resuspension effects; (2) the bed of the shallow is mainly free of sea grass and consists of bare sand, silt and other light-coloured sediments that are detachable from the sea floor by quite moderate water motions; (3) digital bottom topography of the Caspian

Sea is available online at http://caspi.ru/HTML/025/02/Caspy-30-10.zip (Figure 2b); (4) the shallow extends for about 200 km in latitude and from 40–50 to 110–120 km in longitude and is clearly delimited Bortezomib manufacturer by the shore line in the east and by an underwater precipice to the west of the 20–30 m depth contours (Figure 2b); (5) only a few rivers with a minor discharge rate enter the south-eastern Caspian Sea, which minimizes the occurrence of externally supplied sediments; (6) the bottom relief is fairly smooth at sites of plausible sediment resuspension (depth range up to 15–20 m, Figure 2b); (7) the south-eastern Caspian Sea is a region where sunny weather prevails. Our approach implies the use of a long-term data set of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor SPTLC1 (SeaWiFS), since it is equipped with a sun-glint avoidance facility. Use has been made of archived water-leaving radiance distributions at wavelengths 412, 443, 490, 510, 555 and 670 nm as standard

level L2 products with pixel size 1.1 × 1.1 km, collected during the NASA global ocean mission in the 1999–2004. The second data set involves the daily estimates of the near-water before-noon wind vectors obtained at 15′ spacing with the scatterometer QuickScat in 1999–2004 and available at http://poet.jpl.nasa.gov. We restricted ourselves to eight wind velocity directions with the following designations and mean azimuths φi: S-N, φ1 = 0°; SW-NE, φ2 = 45°; W-E, φ3 = 90°; NW-SE, φ4 = 135°; N-S, φ5 = 180°; NE-SW, φ6 = 225°; E-W, φ7 = 270°; SE-NW, φ8 = 315°. Any wind vector in the range φi ± 22°30′ was assigned to the i-th direction. The SeaWiFS and QuickScat data and the bottom bathymetry were displayed for every year day (YD) as superimposed maps of the testing area (Figure 2).

SLI group membership was based upon performance below the 10th percentile on two or more standardised tests of language or literacy ability (note: none of the SLI individuals were included based upon two low literacy scores alone). Typically developing individuals had no reported history of language or literacy problems and scored above the 10th percentile on all standardised tests of language or literacy ability. Images of brain structure

were obtained in 10 GW-572016 research buy individuals with SLI, 6 individuals with typical language skills who were siblings of individuals with SLI (Siblings or SIB), and 16 individuals with typical language skills with no family history of SLI (Typical or TYP). We were unable to obtain additional functional imaging data from two children with SLI Ruxolitinib and three children from the Typical group. Descriptive statistics

for age, non-verbal IQ, gender, handedness, and behavioural performance measures (see below) for each of the participants are presented along with group medians in Table 1. These indicate that the SLI group had both receptive and expressive language difficulties, as well as poor literacy skills. Their very low scores on oromotor sequences and nonword repetition indicate difficulties in programming or remembering sequences of speech sounds, even when no meaning was involved. The psychometric assessment battery included tests of non-verbal reasoning, understanding of grammar, reading skills, oromotor coordination, and handedness and took on average 1.5 h to administer. The block design and matrix reasoning task from the WASI (Wechsler & Chen, 1999) were used to assess non-verbal reasoning skills. Scores were converted into age-scaled scores. Parental report of communication skills was assessed with the Children’s Communication Checklist, version-2 (CCC-2; Bishop, 2003a) or the Communication Checklist for Adults (CC-A; Whitehouse & Bishop, 2009) depending on age. These communication checklists were designed to assess strengths and weaknesses in Vitamin B12 communication, which are not readily identified

by traditional language tests, and yield a General Communication Composite (GCC). A GCC score greater than 58 is within the normal range. The electronic version of Test for Reception of Grammar-2 (TROG-2; Bishop, 2003b) is a multiple choice sentence comprehension test used to assess grammatical understanding in children and adults. Scaled scores were derived using UK test norms. Reading skills were assessed using form B of the Test Of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE; Torgesen, Wagner, & Rashotte, 1999) a speeded test that gives scores for reading of real words (sight word reading efficiency) and non-words (phonemic decoding efficiency). Raw scores were converted to standard scores using American norms.

, 1983a, Boyer et al., 1983b, Gibbs et al., 1994, Moore et al., 2003 and Law Staurosporine et al., 2005), but has not eradicated GBS disease in infants ( Schuchat, 2000 and Phares et al., 2008). GBS is still a public health concern and the introduction of additional prevention and therapeutic strategies is highly desirable. During the last two decades, polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines against GBS have been extensively

studied in preclinical and human clinical studies ( Baker et al., 1999, Baker et al., 2000, Baker et al., 2003a, Baker et al., 2003b, Baker et al., 2007, Lancaster et al., 2011 and Heath, 2011). An obstacle to the development of vaccines against GBS is the difficulty of conducting clinical efficacy trials, because of the relatively low incidence of neonatal GBS disease. A possible solution to overcome this difficulty may come from the development of an effective functional antibody assay as in vitro correlate of protection. The most commonly used method to assess functional antibodies to GBS in post-immunization sera is the in vitro killing-based opsonophagocytosis assay (kOPA) that mimics the in vivo process of killing by host effector

cells, following opsonization by specific antibodies ( Baltimore et al., 1977, Edwards et al., 1979 and Guttormsen et al., 2008). This assay can constitute a viable surrogate of the effectiveness Nintedanib manufacturer of a GBS vaccine, as passive protection of mice by sera from individuals immunized with GBS polysaccharide-based vaccines correlated with high functional antibody titers measured by OPA ( Baltimore et al., 1981, Kasper et al., 1996 and Brigtsen et al., 2002). However, bacterial growth, colony plating and counting are time and resource consuming Aldol condensation steps and standardization presents challenges due to the source and quality of effector cells and to the variability associated with plating and colony counting.

Although cultured phagocytes (differentiated HL-60 cells) can be used in place of human peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), as a less variable neutrophil source ( Romero-Steiner et al., 1997 and Guttormsen et al., 2008,), the fraction of HL-60 cells differentiated to active phagocytes varies, representing a further source of variability. Fluorescence based OPAs can limit the effort and variability associated with plating and counting of surviving bacteria (Plested and Coull, 2003, Guttormsen et al., 2009 and Simons, 2010,). These assays use bacteria labeled with fluorophores, such as fluorescein-derivatives (dicarboxyfluorescein, dihydrodichlorofluorescein, Oregon green), rhodamine or Alexa Fluor derivatives (Rodríguez et al., 2001 and Guttormsen et al., 2009) and are rapid and efficient for large scale testing of sera. However, these approaches do not distinguish between adherent and internalized bacteria.

In addition, CTX induced an increase in LXA4

production (Sampaio et al., 2006b). Macrophage effectors that mediate cellular cytotoxicity, such as cytokines and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), play critical roles in tumour progression (Keller et al., 1990). Recent insights have begun to reveal new roles for the LXs in modulating this process (Hao et al., 2011). It is important to point out that Dakin PCI 32765 et al. (2012) showed that IL1-β induces LXA4 release and up-regulation of FPR2/ALX expression at 24 h at least 72 h in chronic inflammatory model. Of note, macrophages subsets are involved in this modulation (Dakin et al., 2012). In the results presented here, CTX-treated macrophages demonstrated increased production of LXA4 by 24 h in monocultures or in co-cultures with tumour cells (Fig. 6B). Moreover, a 2 h treatment with CTX enhanced the production of 15-epi-LXA4 by the macrophages at 12 h, 24 h and 48 h in monocultures or in co-cultures (Fig. 6D, E and F). LXs biosynthesis proceeds via see more 15-LO-mediated conversion of AA to 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE), transformed via

5-LO to LXA4 and LXB4 during cell–cell interactions (Spite and Serhan, 2010; for review). In the presence of aspirin, acetylated COX-2, which both prevents the generation of prostaglandins and activates the oxidation of AA to 15R-HETE (Serhan et al., 1995). This intermediate, like 15S-HETE, is transformed via 5-LO to generate epimeric BCKDHA lipoxins, termed aspirin-triggered or 15-epi-lipoxins (ATL), such as 15-epi-LXA4, are more stable and more potent analogues (Parkinson, 2006). In addition, 15-epi-lipoxin biosynthesis can also be initiated by cytochrome P450 enzymes catalysed generation of 15R-HETE from AA, followed by 5-LO metabolism. This pathway may be responsible for 50% of the ATL biosynthesis in the absence of aspirin (Clària et al., 1996). Others studies

demonstrated that statins promote the formation of 15-epi-LXA4, from AA via the S-nitrosylation of COX-2 (Birnbaum et al., 2006). Similar to aspirin acetylation of COX-2, S-nitrosylated COX-2 produces 15R-HETE, both are converted by leucocyte 5-LO to form 15-epi-LXA4 (Birnbaum et al., 2006 and Spite and Serhan, 2010; for review). This may explain, in part, the significant presence of amounts of this analogue at 48 h in both monocultures and co-cultures. Again, our results indicate that CTX is able to stimulate macrophages to secrete mediators critical for tumour control, particularly by formation of 15-epi-LXA4, and reinforce the antitumour potential of these agents. Studies have demonstrated that differently of the other immunosuppressive agents such as glucocorticoids, LXs and their analogues (ATL) selectively regulate the secretory activity of macrophages (Aliberti et al., 2002a, Aliberti et al., 2002b and Parkinson, 2006; for review).

, 2013a), FACS-sorted to high purity and, after labeling with Cell Proliferation Dye-ef450, transferred intraperitoneally to sex-matched recipient Tg4 mice. After 48 h, these mice were challenged with a single dose of a high MHC II affinity variant of the MBP Ac1-9 peptide (Ac-ASQYRPSQR). 72 h post-challenge the transferred iTreg cells were recovered from the spleen and analyzed for retention of Foxp3 expression, which had diminished greatly, regardless of the addition of anti-LFA-1 during the iTreg cell differentiation

culture (Fig. 3C). Although the instability in this model may be augmented by the GFP-Foxp3 fusion protein (Verhagen et al., 2013a), the in vivo stability data are in line with the CNS methylation selleck chemicals llc analysis and indicate that LFA-1 blockade during differentiation does not offer iTreg cells greater stability of Foxp3 expression. Despite a lack of CNS2 demethylation at levels akin to naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ Treg cells and stability of Foxp3 expression,

adoptive transfer of antigen-specific iTreg cells delayed the progression of CNS autoimmune disease. To demonstrate this, Tg4 mice received 5 × 106 iTreg cells intraperitoneally 3 days prior to EAE induction with MBP Ac1-9 in CFA. As shown in Fig. 3D, BGJ398 Tg4 iTreg cells generated using antigenic stimulation and anti-LFA-1 provided equal levels of protection compared to anti-CD3 + anti-CD28-induced Tg4 iTreg cells of similar purity, i.e. > 90%. Overall, we demonstrate here that functional iTreg cells can be differentiated from self-antigen-specific Tconv HSP90 cells by in vitro stimulation with peptide in the presence of IL-2 and TGF-β. Importantly, the efficacy of

induction of Foxp3 expression is enhanced by the blockade of LFA-1 with monoclonal antibody. This will facilitate the differentiation of greater numbers of antigen-specific iTreg cells at high purity, thereby improving the feasibility, efficacy and safety of iTreg cell-based immunotherapy. The authors wish to thank Mrs. Louise Falk and Miss. Anna Lewis as well as the staff of the University of Bristol Animal Services Unit for assistance with the breeding and maintenance of animals. Furthermore, we thank Dr. Andrew Herman of the FMVS flow cytometry unit for advice and support. This work was supported by Wellcome Trust Programme grant number 091074. “
“Clostridium botulinum is a spore-forming obligate anaerobe which occurs naturally in the soil and is the causative agent of foodborne, wound and infant botulism ( Shukla and Sharma, 2005). Germinating spores of distinct strains of C. botulinum produce and secrete different serotypes of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), designated A–G, which can be absorbed through mucosal surfaces ( Swaminathan, 2011). Aerosolization of BoNT as a means of dissemination can pose a bioterrorist threat ( Shukla and Sharma, 2005, Arnon et al.

Mas é ainda mais urgente no mundo islâmico. Segundo dados do United Nations

Children’s Found (Unicef), dos 24 países com escolaridade SAHA HDAC order básica muito baixa, 17 são nações islâmicas. Cerca da metade da população adulta é analfabeta em muitos países islâmicos, mas a proporção de mulheres é ainda maior e ultrapassa os 70%. 5 Em 2012, estudo do Fórum Econômico Mundial apontou Argélia, Jordânia, Líbano, Turquia, Egito, Omã, Arábia Saudita, Irã e Marrocos entre os piores países do mundo em relação às políticas sociais. 6 Malala Yousafzai foi uma das muitas vítimas do Taliban, movimento islâmico nacionalista que se difundiu no Afeganistão e no Paquistão a partir de 1994, principalmente entre a etnia pachtun. O regime é marcado pelo fundamentalismo e bane livros, cinema, artes, televisão e música. Proíbe‐se até mesmo situações curiosas, quase insensatas, como empinar pipas e a previsão do tempo. Mas suas ações também são extremas e violentas, como a destruição das gigantescas estátuas dos Budas de Bamiyan, patrimônio da humanidade com mais de

500 anos, consideradas ídolos pelo regime Taliban e, portanto, afrontas aos ditames do Alcorão. 7 O Taliban também é reconhecido por sua hostilidade contra as mulheres, mas VE821 não somente pelas regras rígidas que limitam fortemente sua educação. Mulheres não podem trabalhar e não podem sair às ruas desacompanhadas de um homem. Chegam a ser impedidas de ter acesso aos hospitais públicos Meloxicam para que não recebam tratamento por médicos e enfermeiros do sexo masculino. Em algumas situações, viúvas ou mulheres que não tenham filhos não são consideradas pessoas.7 Contudo, o Taliban não é o único grupo extremista religioso que representa a misoginia extrema. Em Chibok, na Nigéria, o grupo Boko Haram foi responsável pelo sequestro de 234 jovens de 7 a 15 anos em abril de 2014. Trata‐se de uma organização fundamentalista islâmica oficialmente denominada Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal‐Jihad, que adota métodos terroristas para impor em todo o país a legislação Sharia, nome que se dá ao direito

islâmico quando não há separação entre a religião e o Estado. Todas as leis são norteadas por escrituras consideradas sagradas ou pela opinião arbitrária de seus líderes religiosos. A Sharia se tornou lei no norte da Nigéria, de maioria muçulmana, enquanto o sul, predominantemente cristão, resiste à sua implantação.8 O Boko Haram alega que seus atos são necessários para combater tanto a corrupção do governo como a “falta de pudor das mulheres”, a prostituição e outros “vícios”. Os extremistas culpam o cristianismo, a cultura ocidental e a tentativa de educar mulheres e meninas como a causa desses “males”. De fato, o significado do nome Boko Haram não deixa dúvida sobre seus propósitos: “A educação ocidental ou não islâmica é um pecado”.9 O Boko Haram argumenta que as meninas foram sequestradas para começar uma “vida nova”, na condição de “servas”. Mas isso não é verdade.