Knowledge to Serve the City: Insights from an Emerging Knowledge-Action Network to Address Vulnerability and Sustainability in San Juan, Puerto Rico

This paper presents initial efforts to establish the San Juan Urban Long-Term Research Area Exploratory (ULTRA-Ex), a long-term program aimed at developing transdisciplinary social-ecological system (SES) research to address vulnerability and sustainability for the municipality of San Juan. Transdisciplinary approaches involve the collaborations between researchers, stakeholders, and citizens to produce socially-relevant knowledge and support decision-making. We characterize the transdisciplinary arrangement emerging in San Juan ULTRA-Ex as a knowledge-action network composed of multiple formal and informal actors (e.g., scientists, policymakers, civic organizations and other stakeholders) where knowledge, ideas, and strategies for sustainability are being produced, evaluated, and validated. We describe in this paper the on-the-ground social practices and dynamics that emerged from developing a knowledge-action network in our local context. Specifically, we present six social practices that were crucial to the development of our knowledge-action network: 1) understanding local framings; 2) analyzing existing knowledge-action systems in the city; 3) framing the social-ecological research agenda; 4) collaborative knowledge production and integration; 5) boundary objects and practices; and 6) synthesis, application, and adaptation. We discuss key challenges and ways to move forward in building knowledge-action networks for sustainability. Our hope is that the insights learned from this process will stimulate broader discussions on how to develop knowledge for urban sustainability, especially in tropical cities where these issues are under-explored

Sensitive subject matters: What determines vulnerability in Social Work research?

While research standards routinely discuss the protection of vulnerable populations, social work historically has emphasized populations-at-risk in the training of social work students. These terms do not necessarily refer to the same populations or mutually exclude each other. How do social work instructors assist students in topic selection for research endeavors and negotiate appropriate human subjects protections? What work should/ should not be completed in the social work research classroom? This paper explores the recent work of a student investigator that created new dynamics for one department and yielded further introspection about our own processes and examination into how other schools handle student research at the Masters level

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Predictive Ability of Pregnancy Intention on Postpartum Contraceptive Use using the Vermont Phase 8 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)

Objectives: a) To determine if pregnancy intention predicts postpartum contraception use among women with live births in Vermont. b) To encourage the ongoing education of sexually active individuals in best practices to reduce unintended pregnancy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted using data from the 2016-2018 Vermont Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (n=3753 women with a live birth), using frequency tables, crosstabulations, and simple logistic regression. Results: Of 2,493 responses received for the 2016-18 PRAMS questionnaire, 67.5% indicated that their pregnancy had been intended, and 32.5% indicated that their pregnancy had not been intended or that they were not sure of their intention. Of these responses, 81.2% of women with an intended pregnancy and 85.5% of women with an unintended pregnancy reported using birth control postpartum. Women with intended pregnancies were 0.321 times less likely to use birth control postpartum than those with unintended pregnancies. Additionally, the use of permanent and long-acting methods of birth control was positively and statistically significantly associated with the group of women whose pregnancies had not been intended. Conclusions & Policy Implications: Lower odds of postpartum contraceptive use among women with intended pregnancies raises concerns that women may not realize that they can become pregnant again soon after delivery. Additional metrics may help to better assess the family planning needs of Vermont women

Seroprevalence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi Infection in Pet Rabbits in Brazil

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate intracellular parasite responsible for encephalitozoonosis, primarily an opportunistic infection of rabbits but also other animals, including humans, which affects the nervous system, kidney, liver, and eyes. This article reports the results of a research investigation that examined the seroepidemiological data from rabbits diagnosed with encephalitozoonosis in Brazil. A total of 186 pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) either with subclinical infection or presenting with ophthalmic or neurological signs suggestive of encephalitozoonosis were included in the study. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, antibodies to E. cuniculi were detected in 81.7% of the animals. Serological status did not correlate with place of birth, age, gender, breed, or fur color of the animals. Of the 152 seropositive rabbits, 89% (136 rabbits) were subclinical, supporting their role as E. cuniculi reservoirs. Of the 16 seropositive animals with clinical signs, 62.5% (5 rabbits) showed ophthalmic signs, 60% (6 rabbits) presented with neurological signs, and 62.5% (5 rabbits) had a combination of ophthalmic and neurologic signs. These results indicate a high prevalence of E. cuniculi infection in pet rabbits being cared for in Brazil, thus highlighting the importance of improving diagnostic and control measures. Further research studies are required to determine if the parasite strain is a significant factor for zoonotic transmission