Cidade é uma palavra plural [City is a manifold word]

This text elaborates on the city as cultural construct and representation and Lisbocópio, the installation by Pancho Guedes and Ricardo Jacinto in the context of the Official Representation of Portugal at the 10. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura-La Biennale di Venezia.

Double-strand breaks and the concept of short- and long-term epigenetic memory

Double-strand breaks represent an extremely cytolethal form of DNA damage and thus pose a serious threat to the preservation of genetic and epigenetic information. Though it is well-known that double-strand breaks such as those generated by ionising radiation are among the principal causative factors behind mutations, chromosomal aberrations, genetic instability and carcino-genesis, significantly less is known about the epigenetic consequences of double-strand break formation and repair for carcinogenesis. Double-strand break repair is a highly coordinated process that requires the unravelling of the compacted chromatin structure to facilitate repair machinery access and then restoration of the original undamaged chromatin state. Recent experimental findings have pointed to a potential mechanism for double-strand break-induced epigenetic silencing. This review will discuss some of the key epigenetic regulatory processes involved in double-strand break (DSB) repair and how incomplete or incorrect restoration of chromatin structure can leave a DSB-induced epigenetic memory of damage with potentially pathological repercussions

Evaluation of the efficacy of radiation-modifying compounds using γH2AX as a molecular marker of DNA double-strand breaks

Radiation therapy is a widely used therapeutic approach for cancer. To improve the efficacy of radiotherapy there is an intense interest in combining this modality with two broad classes of compounds, radiosensitizers and radioprotectors. These either enhance tumour-killing efficacy or mitigate damage to surrounding non-malignant tissue, respectively. Radiation exposure often results in the formation of DNA double-strand breaks, which are marked by the induction of H2AX phosphorylation to generate γH2AX. In addition to its essential role in DDR signalling and coordination of double-strand break repair, the ability to visualize and quantitate γH2AX foci using immunofluorescence microscopy techniques enables it to be exploited as an indicator of therapeutic efficacy in a range of cell types and tissues. This review will explore the emerging applicability of γH2AX as a marker for monitoring the effectiveness of radiation-modifying compounds.

Methylproamine protects against ionizing radiation by preventing DNA double-strand breaks

Purpose The majority of cancer patients will receive radiotherapy (RT), therefore, investigations into advances of this modality are important. Conventional RT dose intensities are limited by adverse responses in normal tissues and a primary goal is to ameliorate adverse normal tissue effects. The aim of these experiments is to further our understanding regarding the mechanism of radioprotection by the DNA minor groove binder, methylproamine, in a cellular context at the DNA level. Materials and methods We used immunocytochemical methods to measure the accumulation of phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX) foci following ionizing radiation (IR) in patient-derived lymphoblastoid cells exposed to methylproamine. Furthermore, we performed pulsed field gel electrophoresis DNA damage and repair assays to directly interrogate the action of methylproamine on DNA in irradiated cells. Results We found that methylproamine-treated cells had fewer γH2AX foci after IR compared to untreated cells. Also, the presence of methylproamine decreased the amount of lower molecular weight DNA entering the gel as shown by the pulsed field gel electrophoresis assay. Conclusions These results suggest that methylproamine acts by preventing the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (dsbs) and support the hypothesis that radioprotection by methylproamine is mediated, at least in part, by decreasing initial DNA damage.

“This is not a burning issue for me”: How citizens justify their use of wood heaters in a city with a severe air pollution problem

Although wood smoke pollution has been linked to health problems, wood burning remains a popular form of domestic heating in many countries across the world. In this paper, we describe the rhetoric of resistance to wood heater regulation amongst citizens in the regional Australian town of Armidale, where wood smoke levels regularly exceed national health advisory limits. We discuss how this is related to particular sources of resistance, such as affective attachment to wood heating and socio-cultural norms. The research draws on six focus groups with participants from households with and without wood heating. With reference to practice theory, we argue that citizen discourses favouring wood burning draw upon a rich suite of justifications and present this activity as a natural and traditional activity promoting comfort and cohesion. Such discourses also emphasise the identity of the town as a rural community and the supposed gemeinschaft qualities of such places. We show that, in this domain of energy policy, it is not enough to present ‘facts’ which have little emotional association or meaning for the populace. Rather, we need understand how social scripts, often localised, inform identity and practice.

Sex outside the city : sex work in rural and regional New South Wales

During the last decade 'prostitution' has been characterised as a 'social problem' throughout rural and regional New South Wales. As we show here, the urban-centric nature of popular and official discourses of prostitution have inadvertently allowed for the development of regulatory positions which have negatively impacted sex workers in rural and regional communities and lead to conflict among sectors of the rural sex industry and between the sex industry and community activists. In addition to examining the problematisation of sex work in rural New South Wales, this paper sets out to understand why rural sex work has historically lacked visibility in popular and scholarly discourses. We provide an overview of the distinctive organisational aspects of the sex industry in rural contexts. Evidence for our assertions is largely derived from primary interview data collected from sex industry workers based in rural New South Wales. The paper represents the first attempt in the research literature on prostitution to understand sex work as a rural phenomenon.

An observational study of conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians in the city centre

City centres have large volumes of pedestrians and motorised traffic and increases in walking and cycling could potentially lead to more pedestrians and cyclists being injured. In this study, observers recorded cyclist characteristics, number of pedestrians within 1m and 5m radius and type of conflict (none, pedestrian, vehicle) for 1,971 cyclists in 2010 and 2,551 cyclists in 2012 at six locations in the Brisbane Central Business District. Only 1.7% of cyclists were involved in conflicts with a motor vehicle or pedestrian and no collisions were observed. Increased odds of a pedestrian-cyclist conflict was associated with: male riders, riders not wearing correctly fastened helmets, riding on the footpath, higher pedestrian density (within 1m but not within 5m), morning peak and 2-4 pm (compared with 4-6 pm), two-way roads, roads with more lanes, higher speed limits, and yellow marked bicycle symbols on the road.

Is biggest best? A comparative analysis of the financial viability of the Brisbane City Council

Structural reform through forced mergers has been a dominant feature of Australian local government for decades. Advocates of compulsory consolidation contend that larger municipalities perform better across a wide range of attributes, including financial sustainability. While empirical scholars of local government have invested considerable effort into investigating these claims, no-one has yet examined the performance of Brisbane City Council against other local authorities, despite the fact that it is by far the largest council in Australia. This paper seeks to remedy this neglect by comparing Brisbane with Sydney City Council, an average of six south east Queensland councils and an average of ten metropolitan New South Wales councils against four measures of financial performance over the period 2008 to 2011.

Art and the anxious city: Public art, public interest and the public good

While public art is often considered a key hallmark of a creative city, artworks in the public realm also have the capacity to act as lightening rods for social anxiety at times of perceived crisis. This paper considers recent debates about government-sponsored public art projects in Queensland in light of three international case studies: Rodin’s Thinker in Paris, Tilted Arc in New York and Vault in Melbourne. It considers whether consensus positions on public art are possible or desirable in light of issues of spatial control, and proposes that well-negotiated anxieties about public art may be an indicator of creative vibrancy and dynamism that will assist in the future understanding of Queensland’s experiment with government-mandated public art.

Optimal electricity distribution framework for public space: Assessing renewable energy proposals for Freshkills Park, New York City

Integrating renewable energy into public space is becoming more common as a climate change solution. However, this approach is often guided by the environmental pillar of sustainability, with less focus on the economic and social pillars. The purpose of this paper is to examine this issue in the speculative renewable energy propositions for Freshkills Park in New York City submitted for the 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) competition. This paper first proposes an optimal electricity distribution (OED) framework in and around public spaces based on relevant ecology and energy theory (Odum’s fourth and fifth law of thermodynamics). This framework addresses social engagement related to public interaction, and economic engagement related to the estimated quantity of electricity produced, in conjunction with environmental engagement related to the embodied energy required to construct the renewable energy infrastructure. Next, the study uses the OED framework to analyse the top twenty-five projects submitted for the LAGI 2012 competition. The findings reveal an electricity distribution imbalance and suggest a lack of in-depth understanding about sustainable electricity distribution within public space design. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.

Household food insecurity, diet, and weight status in a disadvantaged district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: A cross-sectional study

Background Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, economic and socially acceptable access to safe, sufficient, and adequately nutritious food in order to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. For high income countries and those experiencing the nutrition transition, food security is not only about the quantity of available food but also the nutritional quality as related to over- and under-nutrition. Vietnam is currently undergoing this nutrition transition, and as a result the relationship between food insecurity, socio-demographic factors and weight status is complex. The primary objective of this study was to therefore measure the prevalence of household food insecurity in a disadvantaged urban district in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam using a more comprehensive tool. This study also aims to examine the relationships between food insecurity and socio-demographic factors, weight status, and food intakes. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using multi-stage sampling. Adults who were mainly responsible for cooking were interviewed in 250 households. Data was collected on socioeconomic and demographic factors using previously validated tools. Food security was assessed using the Latin American and Caribbean Household Food Security Scale (ELCSA) tool and households were categorized as food secure or mildly, moderately or severely food insecure. Questions regarding food intake were based on routinely used and validated questions in HCMC, weight status was self-reported. Results Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.87, showing the ELCSA had a good internal reliability. Approximately 34.4% of households were food insecure. Food insecurity was inversely related to total household income (OR = 0.09, 95% CI = 0.04 - 0.22) and fruit intakes (OR = 2.2, 95% CI 1.31 - 4.22). There was no association between weight and food security status. Conclusions Despite rapid industrialization and modernization, food insecurity remains an important public health issue in large urban areas of HCMC, suggesting that strategies to address food insecurity should be implemented in urban settings, and not just rural locations. Fruit consumption among food insecure households may be compromised because of financial difficulties, which may lead to poorer health outcomes particularly related to non-communicable disease prevention and management.

Towards Self-improving School Systems: Lessons from a City Challenge

This important new book draws lessons from a large-scale initiative to bring about the improvement of an urban education system. Written from an insider perspective by an internationally recognized researcher, it presents a new way of thinking about system change. This builds on the idea that there are untapped resources within schools and the communities they serve that can be mobilized in order to transform schools from places that do well for some children so that they can do well for many more. Towards Self-improving School Systems presents a strategic framework that can help to foster new, more fruitful working relationships: between national and local government; within and between schools; and between schools and their local communities. What is distinctive in the approach is that this is mainly led from within schools, with senior staff having a central role as system leaders. The book will be relevant to a wide range of readers throughout the world who are concerned with the strengthening of their national educational systems, including teachers, school leaders, policy makers and researchers. The argument it presents is particularly important for the growing number of countries where increased emphasis on school autonomy, competition and choice is leading to fragmentation within education provision.

Growing food in the city : Design ideations for urban residential gardeners

Urban agriculture refers to the production of food in urban and peri-urban spaces. It can contribute positively to health and food security of a city, while also reducing ‘food miles.’ It takes on many forms, from the large and organised community garden, to the small and discrete backyard or balcony. This study focuses on small-scale food production in the form of residential gardening for home or personal use. We explore opportunities to support people’s engagement in urban agriculture via human-computer interaction design. This research presents the findings and HCI design insights from our study of residential gardeners in Brisbane, Australia. By exploring their understanding of gardening practice with a human-centred design approach, we present six key themes, highlighting opportunities and challenges relating to available time and space; the process of learning and experimentation; and the role of existing online platforms to support gardening practice. Finally we discuss the overarching theme of shared knowledge, and how HCI could improve community engagement and gardening practice.