Books that Matter. The Case of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America

This article addresses a puzzle in the history of academic disciplines: Why is Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, once considered a sociological classic, nowadays mostly praised as a classic in political philosophy? Existing approaches emphasize either aspects internal to the text or to the figure of the author, or external factors such as historical contexts and disciplinary dynamics. Our explanation questions the assumption that texts are stable and explores the pragmatic interplay between text-artifact-metaphor. The result is a pragmatic genealogy of the successive material incarnations of Democracy since 1945. This allows us to account for the various meanings that have been associated with Democracy (and Tocqueville) at key historical moments in terms of the cultural work of collectives of agents around the text and its material form so as to make it the icon of certain political and disciplinary projects

Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis: a recently described entity

Mycoplasmapneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory infections. Although most cases are mild, some patients have extrapulmonary complications including mucocutaneous eruptions including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and erythemamultiforme (EM). Recently, a new entity, called M. pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis (MIRM) was described. The authors present a clinical case difficult to classify attending to the classical classification of epidermolytic syndromes that meets the criteria proposed for the diagnosis of MIRM. The mucocutaneous disease associated with M. pneumoniae presents predominant mucositis, with scarce or absent cutaneous involvement. Because of the distinct morphology, pathophysiology and benign clinical course, MIRM should be considered as a new entity, distinct from SJS/TEN and EM.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização e tratamento do efluente de uma estação de serviço

O presente estudo incidiu na caracterização e tratamento das lamas retidas nos separadores de hidrocarbonetos instalados numa estação de serviço. Recorreu-se à técnica de respirometria para obter informação prévia sobre a toxicidade e a tratabilidade das lamas por um Sequencial Batch Biofilm Reactor (SBBR). Utilizou-se um inóculo de lamas activadas e uma cultura de Pseudomonas putida. Os testes respirométricos permitiram avaliar a capacidade destas culturas crescerem num meio contendo hidrocarbonetos como única fonte de carbono e verificar o efeito de diferentes concentrações de substrato na actividade microbiana.Instituto de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (IBQF); programa PRAXIS

A Preliminary Investigation of Salmonella Populations in Indigenous Portuguese Layer Hen Breeds

The sustainability of agroecological systems, biodiversity protection, animal welfare, and consumer demand for higher quality products from alternative and extensive farming methods have reinforced interest in local breeds that are well adapted to low-input environments. However, food safety needs to be safeguarded to reinforce consumer confidence. The aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation on the occurrence of Salmonella spp. in eggshells, hen’s cloaca, and litter materials from autochthonous Portuguese laying hens raised in a semi-extensive system for small-scale production. A total of 279 samples from 31 flocks belonging to 12 farms were obtained, with 63 samples from the “Preta Lusitânica” breed, and 72 samples each from the remaining autochthonous breeds, namely, “Branca”, “Amarela”, and “Pedrês Portuguesa”. None (0%) of the samples analyzed were positive for Salmonella spp. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first results of Salmonella evaluation from hen’s cloaca, eggshells, and litter materials in autochthonous Portuguese chickens, suggesting that a semi-extensive production system can contribute to better food security and a lower risk to public health and the environment. © 2023 by the authors.This research was funded by CESPU-Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário, under the SALMYTH_GI2-CESPU_2022 project, entitled “Small scale autochthonous chicken productions-the salmonella myth”. This work was financed by National Funds through FCT/MCTES–Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the projects UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, UIDB/05937/2020 and UIDP/05937/2020. The participation of M.V.P. was supported by the projects UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020 funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The participation of S.B. was supported by the project NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000204 (NUTRIR) funded by the NORTE 2020-FSE

Evaluating the impact of sprouting conditions on the glucosinolate content of Brassica oleracea sprouts

The glucosinolates content of brassica plants is a distinctive characteristic, representing a healthy advan- tage as many of these compounds are associated to antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. Brassica sprouts are still an underutilized source of these bioactive compounds. In this work, four varieties of bras- sica sprouts (red cabbage, broccoli, Galega kale and Penca cabbage), including two local varieties from the North of Portugal, were grown to evaluate the glucosinolate profile and myrosinase activity during the sprouting. Also the influence of light/darkness exposure during sprouting on the glucosinolate content was assessed. Glucosinolate content and myrosinase activity of the sprouts was evaluated by HPLC meth- ods. All sprouts revealed a higher content of aliphatic glucosinolates than of indole glucosinolates, con- trary to the profile described for most of brassica mature plants. Galega kale sprouts had the highest glucosinolate content, mainly sinigrin and glucoiberin, which are recognized for their beneficial health effects. Penca cabbage sprouts were particularly richer in glucoraphanin, who was also one of the major compounds in broccoli sprouts. Red cabbage showed a higher content of progoitrin. Regarding myrosi- nase activity, Galega kale sprouts showed the highest values, revealing that the use of light/dark cycles and a sprouting phase of 7?9 days could be beneficial to preserve the glucosinolate content of this variety.B514-8F2F-A1FB | Ana ValeN/

Waiting for Godot? Welfare Attitudes in Portugal before and after the Financial Crisis

Do attitudes towards the welfare state change in response to economic crises? Addressing this question is sometimes difficult because of the lack of longitudinal data. This article deals with this empirical challenge using survey data from the 2008 European Social Survey and from our own follow-up survey of Spring 2013 to track welfare attitudes at the brink and at the peak of the socio-economic crisis in one of the hardest hit countries: Portugal. The literature on social policy preferences predicts an increased polarisation in opinions towards the welfare state between different groups within society – in particular between labour market insiders and outsiders. However, the prediction has scarcely been tested empirically. A notoriously dualised country, Portugal provides a critical setting in which to test this hypothesis. The results show attitudinal change, and this varies according to labour market vulnerability. However, we observe no polarisation and advance alternative explanations for why this is so. This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by SAGE