Integration of ICTs in teaching practices: propositions to the SAMR model.

This article aims to analyze the experiences of teachers on the uses of ICTs in the development of teaching practices within the framework of a new learning ecology. We use the SAMR model to scale the levels of ICTs contributions in each practice. 116 teachers from a public educational institution in Brazil answered a questionnaire during the pandemic scenario, while conducting emergency remote teaching. Teachers declared to develop the teaching practices with the integration of ICTs at the levels of Augmentation and Modification by correspondence to the SAMR model. Based on the analyzes carried out, we propose some reflections that help to rethink this model and to understand the second-order barriers that prevent the effective integration of ICT in teachers' practices.

Leishmania (Viannia) subgenus kDNA amplification for the diagnosis of mucosal leishmaniasis.

The utility of 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays amplifying genus or Viannia subgenus Leishmania minicircle kDNA for the diagnostics of ML was assessed. The Viannia subgenus product was yielded after PCR from isolates of L. (Viannia) braziliensis, L. (Viannia) colombiensis, and L. (Viannia) guyanensis, whereas no product was obtained with the non-Viannia-pertaining species: L. (Leishmania) amazonensis, L. (Leishmania) donovani, and L. (Leishmania) chagasi. With both assays, 11 of 13 (86.4%) patients with confirmed ML could be identified, whereas only 2 (16.7%) of these patients were positive by microscopy. All amplified genus-specific products gave a positive signal by hybridization with a Leishmania (Viannia) subgenus-specific radioactive probe. The Viannia subgenus-specific kDNA PCR represents a sensitive and specific tool for the diagnosis of ML, remarkably improving the sensitivity of parasitological methods and offering an alternative for the radioactive-dependent assays for subgenus characterization.

[Puppet theatre as teaching strategy: a report of the experience]. / Teatro de fantoche como estratégia de ensino: relato da vivência.

The Didactics Applied to Care discipline is developed in the fifth semester of the nursing graduation course. It develops several theoretical-practical contents, among them, the teaching strategy. Our objective is to report the experience with the use of puppet theater to promote the oral health of children in a day nursery in the São Paulo East Zone. With this report we make it clear that the theoretical contents developed by the Didactics Applied to Care Discipline are essential to the practice of Health Education. The discipline allows us to develop multiple activities in the role of educator and in health promotion.

Development and evaluation of a sensitive PCR-ELISA system for detection of schistosoma infection in feces.

BACKGROUND: A PCR-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA) was developed to overcome the need for sensitive techniques for the efficient diagnosis of Schistosoma infection in endemic settings with low parasitic burden. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This system amplifies a 121-base pair tandem repeat DNA sequence, immobilizes the resultant 5' biotinylated product on streptavidin-coated strip-well microplates and uses anti-fluorescein antibodies conjugated to horseradish peroxidase to detect the hybridized fluorescein-labeled oligonucleotide probe. The detection limit of the Schistosoma PCR-ELISA system was determined to be 1.3 fg of S. mansoni genomic DNA (less than the amount found in a single cell) and estimated to be 0.15 S. mansoni eggs per gram of feces (fractions of an egg). The system showed good precision and genus specificity since the DNA target was found in seven Schistosoma DNA samples: S. mansoni, S. haematobium, S. bovis, S. intercalatum, S. japonicum, S. magrebowiei and S. rhodaini. By evaluating 206 patients living in an endemic area in Brazil, the prevalence of S. mansoni infection was determined to be 18% by examining 12 Kato-Katz slides (41.7 mg/smear, 500 mg total) of a single fecal sample from each person, while the Schistosoma PCR-ELISA identified a 30% rate of infection using 500-mg of the same fecal sample. When considering the Kato-Katz method as the reference test, artificial sensitivity and specificity rates of the PCR-ELISA system were 97.4% and 85.1%, respectively. The potential for estimating parasitic load by DNA detection in feces was assessed by comparing absorbance values and eggs per gram of feces, with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.700 (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study reports the development and field evaluation of a sensitive Schistosoma PCR-ELISA, a system that may serve as an alternative for diagnosing Schistosoma infection.

Smoking modulates interferon-gamma expression in the gingival tissue of patients with chronic periodontitis.

Although interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) plays a critical role in periodontitis, no information is available regarding the effect of smoking on this cytokine in the periodontium. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on the IFN-gamma levels in gingival tissue from patients with chronic periodontitis. Sixty-two patients were assigned to three groups: healthy [non-smoking and periodontally healthy individuals (probing depth or= 5 mm and bleeding on probing; n = 25)]; and smoking [smokers (>or= 1 pack/day for at least 10 yr) diagnosed with chronic periodontitis (n = 25)]. Gingival biopsies were analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Regardless of smoking status, diseased patients presented higher levels of IFN-gamma than peridontally healthy patients. In sites with comparable types of periodontitis, smoking increased both protein and mRNA levels of IFN-gamma in gingival tissue. Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that modulation of periodontal tissue destruction by smoking may involve its effect on IFN-gamma production.