175 research outputs found
The teaching of posterior resin composites: planning for the future based on 25 years of research
No full textObjectives: The restoration of posterior teeth affected by caries, trauma or wear remains one of the commonest procedures in the practice of dentistry. Over the past 20 years the first author and latterly the second author have led a series of surveys around the world to capture information on the teaching of posterior resin composites. The aim of this paper is to identify trends, reflect on the findings and make recommendations for the further development of this important aspect of the curriculum for primary dental qualifications.
Methods: Surveys on the teaching of posterior resin composites were completed in 1986, 1997–99, 2004–05 and 2007–2009. The findings from these surveys were reviewed and drawn together to allow historical and contemporary international trends to be identified. Recommendations for further developments in the teaching of posterior resin composites were formulated from the cumulated data and trends identified.
Results: Information was available from a total of 679 survey returns. Increased teaching of posterior resin composites has been observed over the period of the surveys: while 90% of dental school curricula did not include any didactic teaching of posterior resin composites in the mid-1980s, this dropped to 4% or less in the late 1990s, and to 0% in the early 2000s. In the late 2000s, however, 21% of dental schools still did not teach the placement of resin composites in three-surface cavities in permanent molar teeth. Areas of confusion were reported in the teaching of certain aspects of cavity design, notably the use of bevels, and in the protection of operatively exposed dentine.
Conclusions: While there has been steady growth in, and trends towards evidence-based teaching of posterior resin composites in dental schools around the world over the last 20–25 years, there is a need for further developments and harmonisation in this important aspect of curricula for primary dental qualifications. This need is now pressing, subsequent to the signing of the Minamata Convention. It is recommended that all new graduates, from no later than 2020, should have the knowledge, skills, competences and confidence to effectively restore damaged and diseased posterior teeth with state-of-the-art resin composite systems
Ecology of the intertidal crab Dotilla intermedia from tsunami-impacted beaches in Thailand
No full textCrabs of the genus Dotilla are ecologically important members of intertidal sandy shorecommunities. Exposed sandy shores represent one of the main habitat types along the coast of theLaem Son National Park in Thailand, and Dotilla sp. is the dominant macrofaunal species onthese beaches, occurring in immense numbers. Despite their importance as a key member of thefaunal community on these beaches, little is known about the ecology of Dotilla crabs in theLaem Son. Taxonomic investigations identified the Dotilla crabs present on the exposed oceanicbeaches in the Laem Son to be D. intermedia. This represents the first time that D. intermedia hasbeen recorded from Thailand. Dotilla intermedia inhabits a very well defined zone on the sandybeaches, and the factors underlying these zonation patterns were examined. The gradient of thebeach was correlated to the height at which the boundaries of the Dotilla zone occurred, withphysical factors associated with the beach gradient driving the distribution of D. intermedia onthe beach. The upper limit of the Dotilla zone was controlled by the total water content of thesediment, with D. intermedia absent from areas with less than 15% total water content. Tidalinfluences defined the lower boundary of the Dotilla zone, with crabs requiring an area with aminimum exposure time between tidal immersions of 4-5 hours to feed on the sediment. Withinthe Dotilla zone, size segregation was observed; larger crabs occurred higher on the shore, andsmall crabs lower down. The sandy shores of the Laem Son were heavily impacted by thetsunami of 26th December 2004, which effectively destroyed the populations of D. intermedia onthe beaches. However, by April 2005 D. intermedia was present again on the beaches. Atemporal population genetic study was undertaken to investigate the impact of extinction andrecolonisation on the genetic variation of a population. Genetic variation in mtDNA markers wasfound to decrease over time, matching the predictions of mathematical models concerning theeffect of bottlenecking events on genetic diversity within populations. The impact of the tsunamion D. intermedia is discussed further in light of the ecological and molecular data produced inthis thesis
The role of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in the national liberation struggle in South Africa with reference to the rural far northern Transvaal, 1976-1990
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 250-275)
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A Model For Teaching Advanced Neuroscience Methods: A Student-Run Seminar to Increase Practical Understanding and Confidence.
No full textNeuroscience doctoral students must master specific laboratory techniques and approaches to complete their thesis work (hands-on learning). Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, learning about a diverse range of methodologies through literature surveys and coursework is also necessary for student success (hands-off learning). Traditional neuroscience coursework stresses what is known about the nervous system with relatively little emphasis on the details of the methods used to obtain this knowledge. Furthermore, hands-off learning is made difficult by a lack of detail in methods sections of primary articles, subfield-specific jargon and vague experimental rationales. We designed a student-taught course to enable first-year neuroscience doctoral students to overcome difficulties in hands-off learning by introducing a new approach to reading and presenting primary research articles that focuses on methodology. In our literature-based course students were encouraged to present a method with which they had no previous experience. To facilitate weekly discussions, "experts" were invited to class sessions. Experts were advanced graduate students who had hands-on experience with the method being covered and served as discussion co-leaders. Self-evaluation worksheets were administered on the first and last days of the 10-week course and used to assess students' confidence in discussing research and methods outside of their primary research expertise. These evaluations revealed that the course significantly increased the students' confidence in reading, presenting and discussing a wide range of advanced neuroscience methods
A Model For Teaching Advanced Neuroscience Methods: A Student-Run Seminar to Increase Practical Understanding and Confidence.
No full textAnalysis of Plasmodium falciparum diversity in natural infections by deep sequencing.
No full textMalaria elimination strategies require surveillance of the parasite population for genetic changes that demand a public health response, such as new forms of drug resistance. Here we describe methods for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation in Plasmodium falciparum by deep sequencing of parasite DNA obtained from the blood of patients with malaria, either directly or after short-term culture. Analysis of 86,158 exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms that passed genotyping quality control in 227 samples from Africa, Asia and Oceania provides genome-wide estimates of allele frequency distribution, population structure and linkage disequilibrium. By comparing the genetic diversity of individual infections with that of the local parasite population, we derive a metric of within-host diversity that is related to the level of inbreeding in the population. An open-access web application has been established for the exploration of regional differences in allele frequency and of highly differentiated loci in the P. falciparum genome
An evaluation of the infection control potential of a UV clinical podiatry unit
No full textBackground: Infection control is a key issue in podiatry as it is in all forms of clinical practice. Airborne
contamination may be particularly important in podiatry due to the generation of particulates during treatment.
Consequently, technologies that prevent contamination in podiatry settings may have a useful role. The aims of this
investigation were twofold, firstly to determine the ability of a UV cabinet to protect instruments from airborne
contamination and secondly to determine its ability to remove microbes from contaminated surfaces and
instruments.
Method: A UV instrument cabinet was installed in a University podiatry suite. Impact samplers and standard
microbiological techniques were used to determine the nature and extent of microbial airborne contamination.
Sterile filters were used to determine the ability of the UV cabinet to protect exposed surfaces. Artificially
contaminated instruments were used to determine the ability of the cabinet to remove microbial contamination.
Results: Airborne bacterial contamination was dominated by Gram positive cocci including Staphylococcus aureus.
Airborne fungal levels were much lower than those observed for bacteria. The UV cabinet significantly reduced
(p < 0.05) the observed levels of airborne contamination. When challenged with contaminated instruments the
cabinet was able to reduce microbial levels by between 60% to 100% with more complex instruments e.g. clippers,
remaining contaminated.
Conclusions: Bacterial airborne contamination is a potential infection risk in podiatry settings due to the presence
of S. aureus. The use of a UV instrument cabinet can reduce the risk of contamination by airborne microbes. The UV
cabinet tested was unable to decontaminate instruments and as such could pose an infection risk if misused.
Keywords: Infection control, UV, Bacteria, Fungi, Dermatophytes, Contaminatio
Verses, subverses and subversions in contemporary postcolonial poetry : the arts of resistance in the works of Linton Kwesi Johnson and Lesego Rampolokeng
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 136-141).This dissertation seeks to analyse insubordination and resistance manifested in postcolonial and post-apartheid poetry as ways of subverting dominant Western discourses. More specifically, I focus my analysis on textual strategies of resistance in the poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson and Lesego Rampolokeng. The syncretistic quality in the oeuvres of both poets is related to diaspora, hybridity and crealisation as forms of writ[h]ing against (neo)colonially-based hegemonic discourses. Postcolonial critiques at large will frame this analysis of strategies of domination and resistance, but some discussions from the domain of history, sociology and cultural studies may also enter the debate. In this regard there is a great variety of theories and arguments dealing with the contradictions and incongruities in the question of power relations interconnecting domination and resistance. This study is arranged in three pivotal debates. There is firstly an in-depth discussion of underpinning theories that deal with strategies of domination and resistance in the postcolonial domain This is a threefold task carried out by scrutinising (a) the origins of colonial discourse and its binarist tendencies, (b) the pitfalls of anticolonialist resistance based on dualistic opposites, and (c) the hybrid and insubordinate nature of resistance as an efficient alternative to transcend such binaries. Afterwards I seek to investigate how strategies of diasporic resistance and cultural hybridism employed in the poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson can contribute to moving away from the limitations of dichotomies and also subvert hegemonic power. And finally, I look at crealisation, mockery and insubordination as strategies of resistance in the postapartheid poetry of Lesego Rampolokeng. Besides that, this project is concerned with the increasing importance of academic studies on postcolonial literatures. The present research aims therefore to analyse postcolonial and post-apartheid poems as strategic techniques to decentre dominant Western rhetoric that tries to naturalise inequalities and injustices in the relations between power holders and the powerless in both local and global contexts
Structural and functional brain alterations revealed by neuroimaging in CNV carriers
No full textInternational audienceCopy Number Variants (CNVs) are associated with elevated rates of neuropsychiatric disorders. A 'genetics-first' approach, involving the CNV effects on the brain, irrespective of clinical symptomatology, allows investigation of mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders in the general population. Recent years have seen an increasing number of larger multisite neuroimaging studies investigating the effect of CNVs on structural and functional brain endophenotypes. Alterations overlap with those found in idiopathic psychiatric conditions but effect sizes are twofold to fivefold larger. Here we review new CNV-associated structural and functional brain alterations and outline the future of neuroimaging genomics research, with particular emphasis on developing new resources for the study of high-risk CNVs and rare genomic variants
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