Las madres solas en contextos urbanos europeos. Milán y Berlín : puntos en común y divergencias en los procesos de empobrecimiento

La comparación entre madres solas en una ciudad prospera, Milano (Italia), y una ciudad en crisis económica y laboral, Berlin (Alemania), se dirige a descubrir si existe un modelo único de empobrecimiento urbano, o bien si la construcción social de la pobreza tiene características contextuales. El estudio de las trayectorías biográficas de madres solas ha permitido la construcción de trayectorias ideal-típicas de empobrecimiento. Nuestro trabajo de campo muestra como los procesos de empobrecimiento tienden a divergir entre modelos locales. Entre las madres solas encontramos, por una parte, trayectorias de pobreza recurrente en Milano y, por otra, pobreza prolongada en Berlín.The comparison of single mothers in an affluent city, Milan (Italy), and another in economic and employment crisis, Berlin (Germany), aims to verify whether a common pattern of urban impoverishment does exist or poverty has contextual features. The dynamic analysis of biographical trajectories allows for the construction of ideal-typical trajectories of impoverishment. Our fieldwork demonstrates how impoverishment processes tend to diverge between local dynamic models. Among lone mothers we find, on the one hand, recurrent poverty in Milan and, on the other, continuous poverty in Berlin

Prevalence of aggressive periodontitis in adolescents and young adults from Vale do Paraíba

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of localized and generalized aggressive periodontitis, as well as of incidental attachment loss, in a population of adolescents and young adults aging between 15 and 25 years (19.4 ± 3.44) from Vale do Paraíba - SP, who searched for general dental care at the Department of Dentistry, University of Taubaté, São Paulo. Six hundred patients, 244 male and 356 female subjects, were included in the studied sample. The periodontal status of this population was evaluated by measuring the depth of periodontal pockets, as well as attachment loss. The data were confirmed by means of radiographic examination. Measurements were performed in six sites per tooth. Ten subjects (1.66%) were diagnosed as having localized aggressive periodontitis, 2 males (aging 18.5 ± 2.12 years) and 8 females (aging 19.2 ± 3.91 years); 22 (3.66%) presented with generalized aggressive periodontitis, 6 males (aging 19.1 ± 3.06 years) and 16 females (aging 20.1 ± 2.71 years); and 86 individuals (14.3%) presented with incipient periodontitis, 29 males (aging 20.2 ± 2.87 years) and 57 females (aging 21.1 ± 2.79 years). There was a positive correlation between the female gender and the occurrence of periodontal disease.O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a prevalência de periodontite agressiva localizada, periodontite agressiva generalizada e periodontite incipiente em uma população de 15 a 25 anos de idade (19,4 ± 3,44) da região do Vale do Paraíba - SP que procuraram tratamento odontológico clínico geral no Departamento de Odontologia da Universidade de Taubaté, SP. Seiscentos pacientes, 244 do sexo masculino e 356 do sexo feminino, foram incluídos neste estudo. A condição periodontal da população estudada foi determinada em 6 sítios por dente por meio da avaliação das medidas de profundidade à sondagem e nível clínico de inserção, e confirmada por meio de exame radiográfico. Dez indivíduos (1,66%) apresentaram periodontite agressiva localizada, 2 do sexo masculino (18,5 ± 2,12) e 8 do sexo feminino (19,2 ± 3,91), 22 (3,66%) receberam diagnóstico de periodontite agressiva generalizada, sendo 6 do sexo masculino (19,1 ± 3,06) e 16 do sexo feminino (20,1 ± 2,71) e 86 (14,3%) foram diagnosticados com periodontite incipiente, 29 do sexo masculino (20,2 ± 2,87) e 57 do sexo feminino (21,1 ± 2,79). Houve correlação positiva entre sexo feminino e doença periodontal.Universidade de Taubaté Faculdade de OdontologiaUniversidade Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Odontologia de São José dos CamposUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Propylene glycol-specific dehydrogenases as functional biomarkers for monitoring biodegradation in sites contaminated by de-icing chemicals

The area under study at Gardermoen airport (Oslo, Norway) is a glacial contact formation with sand and gravels dominating near the ground surface. Due to the northern climate, every winter large amounts of de-icing chemicals, i.e. propylene glycol (PG) and potassium formate, are commonly used in the airport for the removal of snow and ice from airplanes and runways, respectively. Even though these contaminants are easily degradable by biotic or abiotic factors, they may still threaten groundwater, due to the system overloading. The present study, performed within the FPVII European research project: “SoilCAM - Soil Contamination: Advanced integrated characterisation and time-lapse Monitoring”, deals with the physic-chemical and microbiological characterization of the site and the development of suitable methods for monitoring PG biodegradation on site under reclamation. For this purpose, functional biomarkers were selected to evaluate their potential use in Real Time quantitative PCR (q-PCR) experiments directly on soil DNA. The soils are highly leached, with low biological and biochemical activities. Therefore, pollutant transfer to the groundwater occurs quickly and is virtually unhindered. Bacterial strains isolated from the soil were able to degrade PG in aerobic conditions at 4, 15 and 30 °C. The PG-degrading population was mainly composed by different species of Pseudomonas, as shown by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis on soil DNA. Gene probes for PG-specific alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-IIG) detected the presence of such genes in the isolates. The deduced amino acid sequence of representative strains presented over 92% identities with PG-specific dehydrogenase-related proteins. ADH-IIG detected in soil DNA indicated that PG-degrading strains were present along the soil profile from 0 to 100 cm. The application of q-PCR analysis on DNA from soil mesocosm experiments will confirm the suitability of ADH-IIG as biomarker for monitoring PG biodegradation in soil systems