Reimagining Civic Participation, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2020, 216 pp., 94.05(hardcover),94.05 (hardcover), 24.95 (paperback)

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020publishersversionpublishe

Crossing histories

This paper examines how some pioneering planners in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Victor Freire, Prestes Maia, Ulhoa Cintra, and Anhaia Mello disseminated and appropriated the dominant principles of international urbanism in the period 1910-1930. The education in city planning is directly associated with the repertoire of engineering courses and professional associations. In this environment, where public debates on urban issues were intense, it is worth noting the presence of English urbanist Barry Parker, who lived for two years in São Paulo, implementing innovative projects and debating with local planners. The access to urban planning manuals and reviews, and the presence of these Brazilian professionals in international seminars, led to the dissemination of the international ideals and some resulting essays on they way these ideals could be applied in many fields: urban regulations, projects in downtown areas, housing, sanitation, town extension plans, city management, zoning, among others. Contradictions among practices, actors and references are requesting a conceptual and methodological effort attentive to historical dimension of the “circulation” of ideals or their limits of intelligibility and reception in other scales of time and place, such as the one proposed in this paper

The role of social and emotional competence on risk behaviors in adolescence

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between social and emotional competence and substance use in adolescence, including tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. The sample included 3,494 students, mean age 15 years old, in the 8th and 10th grades of the public school system from Portugal. Data were collected using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. For the purpose of this study, the questionnaire included questions about social and emotional competence and risk behavior, specifically past 30-day tobacco use, drunkenness, and illicit drugs use. Results showed that adolescent social and emotional competence was negatively related to substance use. All social-emotional competence subscales were significantly associated with illicit drug use. In addition empathy, cooperation and communication, and goals and aspirations subscales, were significantly associated with tobacco use. Results demonstrate the potential importance of social and emotional competence in levels of substance use among Portuguese adolescents, and may be used to inform the development of Portuguese substance use prevention programspeer-reviewe

Event-related brain potentials in the study of inhibition: cognitive control, source localization and age-related modulations

In the previous 15 years, a variety of experimental paradigms and methods have been employed to study inhibition. In the current review, we analyze studies that have used the high temporal resolution of the event-related potential (ERP) technique to identify the temporal course of inhibition to understand the various processes that contribute to inhibition. ERP studies with a focus on normal aging are specifically analyzed because they contribute to a deeper understanding of inhibition. Three time windows are proposed to organize the ERP data collected using inhibition paradigms: the 200 ms period following stimulus onset; the period between 200 and 400 ms after stimulus onset; and the period between 400 and 800 ms after stimulus onset. In the first 200 ms, ERP inhibition research has primarily focused on N1 and P1 as the ERP components associated with inhibition. The inhibitory processing in the second time window has been associated with the N2 and P3 ERP components. Finally, in the third time window, inhibition has primarily been associated with the N400 and N450 ERP components. Source localization studies are analyzed to examine the association between the inhibition processes that are indexed by the ERP components and their functional brain areas. Inhibition can be organized in a complex functional structure that is not constrained to a specific time point but, rather, extends its activity through different time windows. This review characterizes inhibition as a set of processes rather than a unitary process

Antimicrobial Protein Produced by Vaginal Lactobacillus acidophilus that inhibits Gardnerella vaginalis

Objective: To isolate bacteriocin from a vaginal strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Methods: L. acidophilus 160 was grown on two media. The first was MRS broth for 18 hours; the cells were harvested, washed, and placed into a chemically defined medium. The second medium resembled vaginal fluid minus protein. Bacteriocin was precipitated from both media using ammonium sulfate. The growth-inhibiting activity of bacteriocin was determined by a bioassay using nine different isolates of Gardnerella vaginalis. Results: MRS broth is not a suitable medium for extracting bacteriocin, because it binds with Tween 80. Bacteriocin was isolated, without contaminating constituents, from chemically defined medium and identified as a single band by electrophoresis. Bacteriocin has a molecular weight of 3.8 kDa. All nine isolates of Gardnerella were inhibited by the bacteriocin isolated from L. acidophilus 160. Conclusions: Bacteriocin produced by L. acidophilus 160 was isolated from the chemically defined medium (starvation medium) in a partially pure form. L. acidophilus 160 bacteriocin inhibited growth of all nine isolates of Gardnerella vaginalis

The Inhibitory Effect of Clindamycin on Lactobacillus in vitro

Objective: To evaluate the in vitro effect of varying concentrations of clindamycin on Lactobacillus spp. Methods: Concentrations of clindamycin ranging from 1.95–20 000 mg/ml were studied for their effect on the growth of six strains of Lactobacillus . Results: Clindamycin concentrations between 1.95–31.25 mg/ml had no statistically significant effect on growth of lactobacilli (p > 0.05). Concentrations 125 and 250 mg/ml had a bacteriostatic effect. The mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for studied Lactobacillus strains was determined as 1000 mg/ml. Conclusion: High concentrations of clindamycin achieved in the vagina by intravaginal application might be inhibitory for Lactobacillus

Effect of Metronidazole on the Growth of Vaginal Lactobacilli in vitro

Objective: To determine whether metronidazole has an adverse effect on the growth of Lactobacillus. Methods: Hydrogen peroxide- and bacteriocin-producing strains of Lactobacillus were used as test strains. Concentrations of metronidazole used ranged from 128 to 7000 μg/ml. Susceptibility to metronidazole was conducted by the broth microdilution method recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Results: Growth of Lactobacillus was partially inhibited at concentrations between 1000 and 4000 μg/ml (p = 0.014). Concentrations ≥ 5000 μg/ml completely inhibited growth of Lactobacillus. Concentrations between 128 and 256 μg/ml stimulated growth of Lactobacillus (p = 0.025 and 0.005, respectively). Concentrations of metronidazole between 64 and 128 μg/ml or ≥ 512 μg/ml did not have an inhibitory or a stimulatory effect on the growth of Lactobacillus compared to the control. Conclusions: High concentration of metronidazole, i.e. between 1000 and 4000 μg/ml, partially inhibited the growth of Lactobacillus. Concentrations ≥ 5000 μg/ml completely suppressed the growth of Lactobacillus. Concentrations between ≥ 128 and ≤ 256 μg/ml stimulated the growth of Lactobacillus. Further investigation to determine the ideal concentration of metronidazole is needed in order to use the antimicrobial agent effectively in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis

Antibiotic resistance patterns of group B streptococcal clinical isolates.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the in vitro resistance of group B streptococcus (GBS) to 12 antibiotics. To determine if there has been any decrease in sensitivity to the penicillins or other antibiotics currently used for GBS chemoprophylaxis in pregnant women. Find suitable alternative antibiotics to penicillin. Find an antibiotic that will have minimal selective pressure for resistance among the endogenous resident vaginal microflora. METHODS: The antibiotic susceptibility profiles of 52 clinical isolates of GBS were evaluated to 12 antibiotics: ampicillin, azithromycin, cefamandole, cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, erythromycin, nitrofurantoin, ofloxacin, penicillin and vancomycin. Antibiotic sensitivities were determined using disk diffusion and microdilution methods according to the guidelines of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). RESULTS: All isolates were sensitive to vancomycin, ofloxacin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin and penicillin. However, the following number of clinical isolates exhibited intermediate or decreased sensitivity, nine (17%) to ampicillin, eight (15%) to penicillin, 14 (32%) to ciprofloxacin and one (2%) to nitrofurantoin. Thirty-one percent of the isolates were resistant to azithromycin and ceftriaxone, 19% to clindamycin, 15% to cefazolin and 13% to cefamandole. Eighteen (35%) of the clinical isolates tested were resistant to 6 of the 12 antibiotics tested. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high rates of resistance for 6 of the 12 antibiotics tested suggest that for women allergic to penicillin and colonized with GBS, antibiotic sensitivities to their isolates should be determined. The antibiotic selected for intrapartum chemoprophylaxis should be guided by the organism's antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Patients with GBS bacteriuria should be treated with nitrofurantoin

Role of the vaginal microbiological ecosystem and cytokine profile in the promotion of cervical dysplasia: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify alterations in the cytokine profile and microbial ecosystem of the vagina in association with cervical dysplasia. METHODS: Demographics, lifestyle variables and Papanicolau (Pap) smear results of subjects presenting to the same site for gynecologic complaints, obstetric visits or colposcopy were prospectively recorded. Vaginal smear for Gram stain, aerobic and anaerobic culture, pH, and wet mount and KOH examination for Trichomonas vaginalis, Gardnerella vaginalis and yeast organisms were performed. Vaginal lavage specimens were centrifuged, and the pellets and supernatants were assayed for human papillomavirus (HPV) by polymerase chain reaction and for cytokines interleukin (IL)-1beta IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively. Subjects with abnormal Pap smears underwent colposcopy and biopsy as indicated. RESULTS: Of 51 patients, 32 were referred for colposcopy, 12 presented with gynecologic needs, and seven presented for obstetric visits. Median age was 24 years. Demographics did not differ significantly between the dysplasia and control groups except for a trend towards more sexual partners in the dysplasia group. Biopsies were performed in 81% (26/32) of patients presenting for colposcopy and 17 revealed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 levels were elevated in 63% (20/32), 38% (15/39), 4% (2/49), and 0% of samples respectively. Elevated vaginal lavage IL-1beta was associated with a 6.1 odds ratio (95% confidence interval 1.06-35) of cervical dysplasia. Alterations in other variables studied were not associated with cervical dysplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated IL-1beta, possibly representing a complex host inflammatory response to multiple pathogens, was demonstrated in patients with cervical dysplasia