In vitro susceptibility of oral Candida albicans strains to different pH levels and calcium hydroxide saturated aqueous solution

Candida albicans is present in the oral cavity and in the whole digestive tract of humans and other animals, being frequently related to endodontic treatment failure. The present study determined the incidence of C. albicans in the oral cavity and the susceptibility of isolates to different pH values and saturated calcium hydroxide aqueous solution at pH 12.5. Sixty-five patients attending the Endodontic Clinic at the Sagrado Coração University participated in the study. The collected samples were cultivated in selective media for C. albicans and the isolates were tested in terms of resistance to both alkaline pH and saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide. In relation to time variables, yeast viability was assessed by the Sabouraud's agar culture and fluorescein diacetate and ethidium bromide fluorescent staining method. Results from the different pHs and experimental times, including those from different techniques measuring fungal viability, were compared using the chi-square and Fisher's exact tests (α=0.05). The yeasts became completely inviable after 48 h of contact with the calcium hydroxide solution. On the other hand, when exposed to the alkaline culture broth, the yeasts were found to be viable at pHs 9.5 and 10.5 for up to 7 days. In conclusion, C. albicans can only be completely inhibited by direct contact with saturated calcium hydroxide aqueous solution after 48 h of exposure

Um consumo sem desperdícios em Portugal: características e motivações

Dissertação de mestrado apresentada à Escola Superior de Comunicação Social como parte dos requisitos para obtenção de grau de mestre em Publicidade e Marketing.Como consequência de uma sociedade extremamente consumista, e em constante crescimento, a humanidade vive em défice ecológico desde a década de 70, consumindo anualmente mais recursos do que aqueles que a Terra consegue regenerar nesse mesmo período. Desde então, e com o desenrolar da Era da Informação, tem-se testemunhado uma crescente consciencialização dos consumidores para esta e outras problemática relacionadas, sobretudo, com o ambiente, bem como o surgimento de um materialismo sustentável. Na prática, estes têm-se traduzido em mudanças comportamentais, novos hábitos de consumo e novos estilos de vida, mais sustentáveis e menos consumistas. O mais recente paradigma de consumo surge inspirado na filosofia Zero Waste, e tem como objetivo principal a redução da produção de desperdícios e resíduos. Sendo este um tipo de consumo relativamente recente, a literatura cientifica sobre o mesmo é praticamente inexistente. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho procurou contribuir para um maior conhecimento sobre este tipo de consumo sustentável, sem desperdícios, em Portugal, identificando as principais características do mesmo e preocupações a si subjacentes, as motivações que estimulam esta prática, e ainda identificar o perfil do consumidor Desperdício Zero português. Pretendendo-se que os resultados refletissem o máximo possível a realidade nacional, esta investigação recorreu a uma metodologia mista, através da realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas e um inquérito por questionário online. A primeira técnica contou com a participação de três especialistas da área, e a segunda foi aplicada a uma amostra de conveniência (N=210), composta apenas por indivíduos que reconhecem praticar, ou procuram praticar, um consumo sem desperdícios. Ao se confrontar os resultados de ambas as técnicas, foi possível identificar uma série de características deste tipo de consumo, novos hábitos que os seus praticantes adotaram na sua vida, e diversas motivações para um consumo Desperdício Zero, sendo que se constatou que os principais estímulos para os consumidores portugueses são de ordem ambiental, social e económica. Foi ainda possível concluir que o perfil deste consumidor se encontra alinhado com outros perfis de consumidores sustentáveis já estudados.ABSTRACT: As a consequence of an extremely consumerist society, and in constant growth, humanity has been living in an ecological deficit since the 1970s, consuming more resources annually than those that the Earth manages to regenerate in the same period. Since then, and with the development of the Information Age, there has been a growing consumer awareness about this and other issues related, mainly, with the environment, as well as the emergence of a sustainable materialism. In practice, these have resulted in behavioral changes, new consumption habits, and new lifestyles, which are more sustainable and less consumerist. The most recent consumption paradigm appears inspired by the Zero Waste philosophy and has as its main objective to reduce the production of waste and residues. This being a relatively recent type of consumption, the scientific literature on it is practically nonexistent. In this sense, the present work sought to contribute to a greater knowledge about this type of sustainable consumption, without waste, in Portugal, identifying the main characteristics of it and the underlying concerns, the motivations that stimulate this practice, and also identifying the profile of the Portuguese Zero Waste consumer. Intending that the results would reflect the national reality as much as possible, this investigation used a mixed methodology, through semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire survey. The first technique had the participation of three specialists in the field, and the second was applied to a convenience sample (N = 210), composed only by individuals who recognize that they practice, or seek to practice, a consumption without waste. When comparing the results of both techniques, it was possible to identify a series of characteristics of this type of consumption, new habits that its practitioners adopted in their lives, and several motivations for a Zero Waste consumption, having found that the main stimuli for Portuguese consumers they are environmental, social and economic. It was also possible to conclude that the profile of this consumer is aligned with other profiles of sustainable consumers already studied.N/

Bacterial Pathogens Related to Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media in Individuals With Cleft Palate: Bacteriological Culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective: To characterize the microbial etiology of chronic suppurative otitis media comparing the methods of classical bacteriological culture and polymerase chain reaction.Design/Setting/Patients: Bacteriological analysis by classical culture and by molecular polymerase chain reaction of 35 effusion otitis samples from patients with cleft lip and palate attending the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies of the University of Sao Paulo, Bauru, Brazil.Interventions: Collection of clinical samples of otitis by effusion through the external auditory tube.Main Outcome Measure: Otolaryngologic diagnosis of chronic suppurative otitis media.Results: Positive cultures were obtained from 83% of patients. Among the 31 bacterial lineages the following were isolated. In order of decreasing frequency: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (54.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (25.9%), and Enterococcus faecalis (19.2%). No anaerobes were isolated by culture. The polymerase chain reaction was positive for one or more bacteria investigated in 97.1% of samples. Anaerobe lineages were detected by the polymerase chain reaction method, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Bacteroides fragilis, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius.Conclusions: Patients with cleft lip and palate with chronic suppurative otitis media presented high frequency of bacterial infection in the middle ear. The classical bacteriological culture did not detect strict anaerobes, whose presence was identified by the polymerase chain reaction method