Evaluation babies with cleft lip and/or palate related to the oral hygiene

Avaliou-se a prevalência de cárie relacionada à ausência de higiene oral, em bebês portadores de fissura labiopalatina, na faixa etária entre 6 e 36 meses. As crianças eram atendidas no Ambulatório da Disciplina de Prótese Buco Maxilo Facial, do Depto. de Cirurgia, Prótese e Traumatologia Maxilo Faciais da FOUSP. Profilaxia prévia ao exame clínico foi realizada para aumentar a confiabilidade do diagnóstico de cárie, o qual foi obtido por meio da inspeção visual e tátil, sob iluminação artificial. Selecionou-se 143 crianças sem distinção de gênero, distribuídos em 5 faixas etárias: 06-12; 13-18; 19-24; 25-30 e 31-36 meses. A análise estatística utilizou o Teste Qui-quadrado, ajustado pela Estatística de Fisher. Ao ser analisada a ausência de higiene oral em relação à experiência de cárie, não se observou significância estatística (p=0,626). Quando se avaliou a prevalência cárie frente ao aumento da idade e a ausência de higienização houve associação estatísticamente siginificante (p 0,001). Concluiu-se que, para esta amostra, a ausência de higiene oral não foi fator de incremento na manifestação da cárie.The study evaluated the caries prevalence related to the lack of oral hygiene in babies aged 6 to 36 months, with cleft lip and/or palate. Those children were treated in the Ambulatory of the Discipline of Bucco-Maxillo-Facial Prostheses, from the Department of Surgery, Prostheses and Maxillo-Facials Traumatology of the FOUSP. Before the clinical exam, prophylaxis was done to increase reliability of the visual and tactile inspection under artificial light. Were selected 143 children regardless of gender, distributed into 5 age groups: 06-12; 13-18; 19-24; 25-30 e 31-36 months old. The statistical analysis used the Q-Square-Test, adjusted by the Fischer’s Statistic. The analysis of the lack of oral hygiene correlated with the caries experience was not statistically significant (p=0,626). When the prevalence of caries was evaluated front to the increase of the age and the lack of oral hygiene, a statistical significant association was found (p< 0,001). The findings of the research didn’t show, in the sample, the lack of oral hygiene as a factor to increase the caries presence

(18O,16O) Two-neutron transfer reactions for spectroscopic studies.

A systematic study of the response of different nuclei to the (18O, 16O) two-neutron transfer reaction at 84 MeV incident energy was pursued at the INFN-LNS in Catania (Italy). The experiments were performed using several solid targets from light (9Bc, 11 B, 12,13C, 16O, 28Si) to heavier ones (58,64Ni, 120Sn, 208Pb). The 16O ejectiles were detected at forward angles by the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer and identified without the need of time of flight measurements. Exploiting the large momentum (≈ 25%) and angular (50 msr) acceptance of the spectrometer, energy spectra were obtained with a relevant yield up to about 20 MeV excitation energy. A common feature of the light nuclei spectra is the strong population of states with well known configuration of two-particle over a core and the appearance of unknown resonant structures in the continuum. These latter can reveal the excitation of a collective mode connected with the transfer of a pair. For the heavier nuclei as 66Ni a completely different behaviour is observed indicating the presence of more dissipative processes in the reaction mechanisms that hide the spectroscopic information

NURE: An ERC project to study nuclear reactions for neutrinoless double beta decay

Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is considered the best potential resource to access the absolute neutrino mass scale. Moreover, if observed, it will signal that neutrinos are their own anti-particles (Majorana particles). Presently, this physics case is one of the most important research “beyond Standard Model” and might guide the way towards a Grand Unified Theory of fundamental interactions. Since the 0νββ decay process involves nuclei, its analysis necessarily implies nuclear structure issues. In the NURE project, supported by a Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC), nuclear reactions of double charge-exchange (DCE) are used as a tool to extract information on the 0νββ Nuclear Matrix Elements. In DCE reactions and ββ decay indeed the initial and final nuclear states are the same and the transition operators have similar structure. Thus the measurement of the DCE absolute cross-sections can give crucial information on ββ matrix elements. In a wider view, the NUMEN international collaboration plans a major upgrade of the INFN-LNS facilities in the next years in order to increase the experimental production of nuclei of at least two orders of magnitude, thus making feasible a systematic study of all the cases of interest as candidates for 0νββ