Molecular detection of in-vivo microbial contamination of metallic orthodontic brackets by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization

Introduction: Knowing the microbiota that colonizes orthodontic appliances is important for planning strategies and implementing specific preventive measures during treatment. The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate in vivo the contamination of metallic orthodontic brackets with 40 DNA probes for different bacterial species by using the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization (CDDH) technique. Methods: Eighteen patients, 11 to 29 years of age having fixed orthodontic treatment, were enrolled in the study. Each subject had 2 new metallic brackets bonded to different premolars in a randomized manner. After 30 days, the brackets were removed and processed for analysis by CDDH. Data on bacterial contamination were analyzed descriptively and with the Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn post tests (a 5 0.05). Forty microbial species (cariogenic microorganisms, bacteria of the purple, yellow, green, orange complexes, "red complex 1 Treponema socranskii," and the cluster of Actinomyces) were assessed. Results: Most bacterial species were present in all subjects, except for Streptococcus constellatus, Campylobacter rectus, Tannerella forsythia, T socranskii, and Lactobacillus acidophillus (94.4%), Propionibacterium acnes I and Eubacterium nodatum (88.9%), and Treponema denticola (77.8%). Among the cariogenic microorganisms, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus were found in larger numbers than L acidophillus and Lactobacillus casei (P \0.001). The periodontal pathogens of the orange complex were detected in larger numbers than those of the "red complex 1 T socranskii" (P \0.0001). Among the bacteria not associated with specific pathologies, Veillonella parvula (purple complex) was the most frequently detected strain (P \0.0001). The numbers of yellow and green complex bacteria and the cluster of Actinomyces were similar (P .0.05). Conclusions: Metallic brackets in use for 1 month were multi-colonized by several bacterial species, including cariogenic microorganisms and periodontal pathogens, reinforcing the need for meticulous oral hygiene and additional preventive measures to maintain oral health in orthodontic patients. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2012;141:24-9

Alfabetização e letramento na educação de jovens e adultos: subsídios para a prática educativa. Literacy in youth and adults: fees for educational practice

O presente relato é o resultado das discussões do Grupo de Construção Curricular (GCC) do Programa de Educação de Jovens e Adultos Fundamental Regular com Educação Profissional da Rede Municipal de Educação de Guarulhos e é composto de três partes. Na introdução relatamos o processo de constituição do GCC; as reflexões sobre as temáticas abordadas nos quatro encontros e a questão problematizadora escolhida pelos educadores para a elaboração do texto. Na segunda parte do texto, discutimos a concepção de alfabetização e letramento a partir dos diferentes autores pesquisados pelos educadores e apresentamos algumas orientações sugeridas pelo Grupo para o planejamento de situações de aprendizagens na perspectiva do letramento. Ao final, realizamos algumas considerações a partir das discussões no Grupo.This text is the result of the discussions of the Construction Curriculum (GCC) of the Education Program for Youths and Adults with Basic Regular Education Professional Education Department of Guarulhos and is composed of three parts. In the introduction to report the formation of the GCC, the reflections on the issues addressed in the four meetings and problem-question chosen by teachers for the preparation of the text. In the second section, we discuss the concept of literacy from different authors surveyed by educators and present some guidelines suggested by the Group for the planning of learning situations in the light of literacy. At the end, we made some considerations from the discussions within the Group

DEVELOPMENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK FOR MONITORING AND DIAGNOSIS OF SENSOR FAULT AND DETECTION IN THE IEA-R1 RESEARCH REACTOR AT IPEN

The increasing demand on quality in production processes has encouraged the development of several studies on Monitoring and Diagnosis Systems in industrial plant, where the interruption of the production due to some unexpected change can bring risk to the operator’s security besides provoking economic losses, increasing the costs to repair some damaged equipment. Because of these two points, the economic losses and the operator’s security, it becomes necessary to implement Monitoring and Diagnosis Systems. In this work a Monitoring and Diagnosis Systems was developed based on the Artificial Neural Networks methodology. This methodology was applied to the IEA-R1 research reactor at IPEN. The development of this system was divided in three stages: the first was dedicated to monitoring, the second to the detection and the third to diagnosis of failures. In the first stage, several Artificial Neural Networks were trained to monitor the temperature variables, nuclear power and dose rate. Two databases were used: one with data generated by a theoretical model and another one with data to a typical week of operation of the IEA-R1 reactor. In the second stage, the neural networks used to monitor the variables were teste