Gardnerella vaginalis is the most common species found in bacterial vaginosis (BV). However, it is also present in a significant proportion of healthy women and G. vaginalis vaginal colonization does not always lead to BV. In an effort to better understand the differences between G. vaginalis isolated from women with a positive (BV) versus a negative (non-BV) diagnosis of BV, we compared the virulence potential of 7 BV and 7 non-BV G. vaginalis isolates and assessed the virulence factors related to biofilm formation, namely: initial adhesion and cytotoxic effect, biofilm accumulation, susceptibility to antibiotics, and transcript levels of the known vaginolysin, and sialidase genes. Furthermore, we also determined the ability of G. vaginalis to displace lactobacilli previously adhered to HeLa cells. Our results showed that non-BV strains were less virulent than BV strains, as suggested by the lower cytotoxicity and initial adhesion to Hela cells. Significant differences in expression of known virulence genes were also detected, further suggesting a higher virulence potential of the BV associated G. vaginalis. Importantly, we demonstrated that BV associated G. vaginalis were able to displace pre-coated vaginal protective lactobacilli and we hypothesize this to be a trigger for BV development.

Debate regarding the co-existence of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in wounds remains contentious, with the dominant hypothesis describing a situation akin to niche partitioning, whereby both microorganisms are present but occupy distinct regions of the wound without interacting. In contrast, we hypothesised that these microorganisms do interact during early co-colonisation in a manner beneficial to both bacteria. We assessed competitive interaction between S. aureus and P. aeruginosa in biofilm cultured for 24-72 h and bacterial aggregates analogous to those observed in early (<24 h) biofilm formation, and interaction with human keratinocytes. We observed that S. aureus predominated in biofilm and non-attached bacterial aggregates, acting as a pioneer for the attachment of P. aeruginosa. We report for the first time that S. aureus mediates a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the attachment of P. aeruginosa to human keratinocytes, and that P. aeruginosa promotes an invasive phenotype in S. aureus. We show that co-infected keratinocytes exhibit an intermediate inflammatory response concurrent with impaired wound closure that is in keeping with a sustained proinflammatory response which allows for persistent microbial colonisation. These studies demonstrate that, contrary to the dominant hypothesis, interactions between S. aureus and P. aeruginosa may be an important factor for both colonisation and pathogenicity in the chronic infected wound.

Despite the worldwide prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), its etiology is still unknown. Although BV has been associated with the presence of biofilm, the ability of BV-associated bacteria to form biofilms is still largely unknown. Here, we isolated 30 BV-associated species and characterized their virulence, using an in vitro biofilm formation model. Our data suggests that Gardnerella vaginalis had the highest virulence potential, as defined by higher initial adhesion and cytotoxicity of epithelial cells, as well as the greater propensity to form a biofilm. Interestingly, we also demonstrated that most of the BV-associated bacteria had a tendency to grow as biofilms.

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to develop and consider the usefulness of a new mixed-methods approach to evaluate the student-centredness of teaching and learning on undergraduate medical courses. An essential paradigm for the evaluation was the coherence between how teachers conceptualise their practice (espoused theories) and their actual practice (theories-in-use).MethodsThe context was a module within an integrated basic sciences course in an undergraduate medical degree programme. The programme had an explicit intention of providing a student-centred curriculum. A content analysis framework based on Weimer’s dimensions of student-centred teaching was used to analyze data collected from individual interviews with seven teachers to identify espoused theories and 34h of classroom observations and one student focus group to identify theories-in-use. The interviewees were identified by purposeful sampling. The findings from the three methods were triangulated to evaluate the student-centredness of teaching and learning on the course.ResultsDifferent, but complementary, perspectives of the student-centredness of teaching and learning were identified by each method. The triangulation of the findings revealed coherence between the teachers’ espoused theories and theories-in-use.ConclusionsA mixed-methods approach that combined classroom observations with interviews from a purposeful sample of teachers and students offered a useful evaluation of the extent of student-centredness of teaching and learning of this basic science course. Our case study suggests that this new approach is applicable to other courses in medical education.

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ResumoEste artigo apresenta uma pesquisa em curso, cujo objetivo geral é analisar a influência das avaliações externas nas práticas de avaliação das aprendizagens e no trabalho dos professores. O estudo decorre em 15 escolas públicas do ensino fundamental e médio regular, no Brasil, além da educação de jovens e adultos, em modular, na região de Itacoatiara, Amazonas. Estas escolas apresentam padrões de desempenho satisfatórios nos anos iniciais, mas o nível nos anos finais e ensino médio apresenta um declínio. Discutem-se os conceitos de avaliação interna e externa e suas implicações no trabalho docente. Palavras Chaves: Educação, avaliação, currículo. AbstractThis article presents an ongoing research whose general objective is to analyzing the influence of external evaluations on the practices of assessment, as well as in teachers'teaching. The study is carried out in 15 public primary and secondary schools in Brazil, in youth and adult education, in modular, in the region of Itacoatiara, Amazonas. These schools have satisfactory performance standards in the early years, but the level in the final and high school years declines. The concepts of internal and external evaluation and their implications in teaching are discussed. Keywords: Education. Evaluation. Curriculum. IntroduçãoA avaliação é um elemento primordial no processo de ensino aprendizagem, pois a nível micro é uma espécie de termómetro para avaliar as metodologias utilizadas pelo professor e, a nível macro, a avaliação externa serve para avaliar o próprio currículo.Existem, atualmente, na educação brasileira, dois processos distintos de avaliação: a avaliação interna, da responsabilidade da escola e a avaliação externa, da responsabilidade da Administração Central, ambas com metodologias diferenciadas, no entanto, com os mesmos objetivos: melhorar o processo, fazer com que o estudante adquira conhecimentos significativos e aumentar a qualidade da educação.Alguns estudos, a par da nossa experiência profissional, têm evidenciado que algumas escolas modificam a sua rotina de ensino-avaliação-aprendizagem, em função das avaliações externas, deixando de cumprir o que se determina nas propostas curriculares, a saber: o desenvolvimento e avaliação de competências, capacidades, atitudes e conhecimentos, para se focalizar nos conteúdos programáticos, a fim de obter bons resultados nas avaliações externas. Por outro lado, o cariz formativo, contínuo e de regulação da avaliação, dá lugar a lógicas gerencialistas, sumativas e de prestação de contas.Neste contexto, o objetivo geral da pesquisa é analisar a influência das avaliações externas nas práticas de avaliação das aprendizagens e no trabalho dos professores. O estudo decorre em 15 escolas públicas do ensino fundamental e médio regular, além da educação de jovens e adultos, em modalidade modular, na região de Itacoatiara, Amazonas, Brasil.Estas escolas atendem em média, dez mil alunos, nos turnos matutino, vespertino e noturno, com uma população de mais dois mil profissionais da educação, entre professores,...

O presente estudo visou compreender o modo como os professores portugueses se adaptaram aos contextos de ensino à distância face à pandemia da COVID-19. Do ponto de vista metodológico, realizou-se um estudo quantitativo, de natureza extensiva, com o recurso a um inquérito por questionário online, ao qual responderam 2369 professores de todos os níveis de ensino. Os resultados obtidos mostram que os participantes tiveram que lidar com um conjunto complexo de dificuldades relacionado com o trânsito abrupto para um “ensino remoto de emergência”, o que implicou a criação de condições de acesso aos alunos, à reorganização da escola e do trabalho docente, à adaptação do processo de ensino e aprendizagem e ao domínio de diversas plataformas e ferramentas para interagir com os alunos. Embora prevaleça uma perceção positiva da capacidade das escolas e dos professores, sobretudo na valorização de recursos endógenos e da colegialidade, ressaltam os efeitos de sobrecarga de trabalho, stress, ansiedade e esgotamento, bem como a incapacidade de garantir uma resposta universal e inclusiva.

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