Brazilian Native Species as Potential New Sources of Natural Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Agents

The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of extracts of 12 plant species growing in Brazil were determined. Antimicrobial activity against 12 food-related bacterial species was studied using the disc-diffusion, MIC, and MBC methods. Campomanesia eugenioides extract was the most active against the tested Gram-positive bacteria, whereas Parapiptadenia rigida bark extract presented the highest activity against the evaluated Gram-negative bacteria (MIC and MBC of 0.075 and 0.62 mg ml−1, respectively, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Those two extracts also presented high phenolic content and high DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging ability. C. eugenioides extract presented high Fe2+ chelating capacity. The results of the present study demonstrate that, among the evaluated extracts, P. rigida bark and C. eugenioides, both Brazilian native species, presented the highest potential of application as natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents

What does regional studies study? From subnational to supra-national regional spaces or Grossraum of sovereign governance

This article makes a case for expanding the scope of current versions of “regional studies” to include greater emphasis upon transnational regions as of equal if not greater importance compared with an exclusive focus upon sub-national regions. The latter more restrictive approach is typically predicated on the continued centrality of state borders against which the dominant notion of regions as subnational entities is constituted and reiterated. Drawing upon a case study of the African Union our study provides a framework, a critically revised Grossraum theory, for addressing the emergence of a new pluralistic and multipolar world order characterised by supra-national regions and regional organizations. Traditional Schmittian notions of Grossraum are shown to be in need of substantial revision before they are able to adequately accommodate and explain the empirical details of our case study

Evaluating Communication in the British Parliamentary Public Sphere

This article begins with a re-evaluation of political communication research based on Habermas' original theory of the public sphere. It presents Habermas' alternative framework for assessing communication in contemporary ‘actually existing democracies’. The model is then tested with a case study of the UK parliamentary public sphere based on 95 semi-structured interviews with political actors (politicians, journalists and officials). It concludes that parliament today operates rather better, according to public sphere norms, than the public sphere described in Habermas' accounts of 18th and 19th-century England. Such a finding, on its own, is clearly at odds with public perception. The research accordingly offers two explanations for this disparity and the (perceived) crisis of political legitimacy in UK politics

Agency, design and ‘slow democracy’

Can democracy be resilient in an increasingly ‘high-speed society’? Social acceleration, some critics argue, poses a serious threat to the idea and practice of democracy. Others invoke but do not develop the idea of ‘slow democracy’ as one important response to this threat. Despite its importance, the critique and response lack analytical depth. In this context, and in an effort to rebuild the debate on a stronger and more fruitful base, the article underscores the potential of political agency to shape democracy’s temporality and reframes ‘slow democracy’ as a challenge of democratic design

Russia’s idea of the multipolar world order: origins and main dimensions

Contemporary international relations are rife with the ideological struggle over the potential nature of the rapidly changing world order. Two distinct paradigmatic positions have surfaced. One champions economic, cultural, and political globalization conducted under the leadership of the Western world. The other advocates a more particularistic approach that fends for a balance of interests, multiplicity of politico-cultural forms and multiple centers of international influence. The latter doctrine, often referred to as the multipolar world theory, is the subject of this paper. The discussion argues that the idea of a multipolar world order has emerged as Russia’s main ethical and ideological position advanced in the international arena. Its philosophical tenets buttress Russian society intellectually at home, providing the expedients to pursue the country’s foreign policy goals abroad. The paper examines a substantial value package with roots in both Russian and Western philosophy that sustains the multipolar world order theory

Effect of surface roughness of biomaterials on Staphylococcus epidermidis adhesion

Background: Implant-related infections are caused by adhesion of bacteria to the surface of biomaterials. In this in vitro research, we evaluated the ability of Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC35984) to adhere to the surface of solid biomaterials at different levels of roughness below 30 nm Ra and investigated the minimum level of roughness required to promote bacterial adhesion on five kinds of biomaterials: oxidized zirconium-niobium alloy (Oxinium), cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy (Co-Cr-Mo), titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4 V), commercially pure titanium (Cp-Ti) and stainless steel (SUS316L), samples of which were categorized into a fine group and a coarse group according to surface roughness. The test specimens were physically analyzed and the viable bacterial density of the adhered bacteria was quantitatively determined (n = 20).Results: The amount of bacteria that adhered to the biomaterials in the coarse group was higher than those in the fine group. Oxinium, Ti-6Al-4 V and SUS316L in particular demonstrated statistically significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). Of the materials, the Co-Cr-Mo specimens exhibited significantly lower amounts of adhered bacteria than the Ti-6Al-4 V, Cp-Ti and SUS316L specimens in the fine group. Similarly, the Co-Cr-Mo specimens in the coarse group exhibited significantly lower values than the other four materials.Conclusions: These results suggest that minimum level of roughness affecting initial bacterial adherence activity differs according to the type of biomaterial used, and that even a surface roughness of below 30 nm Ra in Oxinium, Ti-6Al-4 V and SUS316L can promote bacterial adhesion. Relative hydrophobic Co-Cr-Mo surfaces were less susceptible to bacterial adherence