Survey Of Canadian Orthodontists Regarding Orthodontic Miniscrew Usage

Purpose: To obtain information on the clinical utilization of orthodontic miniscrews (OMSs) among orthodontists in Canada Methods: Web-based software was used to fabricate a questionnaire in which respondents were asked questions regarding their usage of OMSs in their clinical practice. The survey consisted of between 11 and 39 questions, depending on the respondents’ answers. The survey was distributed via email to the 353 active Canadian members of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). Results: A total of 82 Canadian orthodontists responded to the survey, for a response rate of 23.2%. Among them, 65.8% currently used miniscrews in their clinical practice. The most common reason given for not using OMSs was a doctor preference for conventional less invasive mechanics. At the time of the survey, most Canadian orthodontists who were currently using OMSs had been doing so for 6-10 years. Most respondents were placing OMSs personally with the primary reason for referral being the longer chair time required for placement. The most commonly used placement locations were the maxillary and mandibular alveolar buccal areas. The most common applications were posterior intrusion and molar protraction. Most respondents used a panoramic radiograph to plan OMS placement and used local infiltration for anesthesia. The majority of orthodontists never used a surgical guide, drilled a pilot hole, or measured insertion torque during OMS placement. Both direct and indirect forces were frequently applied to OMSs, and the load was usually applied immediately. The most frequently observed complications were screw loosening and soft tissue overgrowth or irritation. The mean self-reported OMS failure rate was 19.6% ± 15.7%, with failures most frequently reported in the maxillary alveolar buccal areas. Most respondents felt that OMSs have increased treatment options, reduced patient compliance required, and decreased the number of cases requiring prosthodontic treatment. A majority of Canadian orthodontists are satisfied with their OMS treatment outcomes with most agreeing that OMSs have made treatment more predictable and better overall. Conclusions: This survey illustrates that while Canadian orthodontists in 2020 have similar opinions in regard to OMS usage with orthodontists surveyed in the past and in other countries, a few differences do exist

Life-Skill Development Found in 4-H Animal Judging

A study was conducted in Idaho to determine the impact of the 4-H animal judging program on the life skills of former participants and how judging influenced their lives. The results of the study show that the judging program has affected the development of animal industry knowledge and is at least moderately influential on the development of communication, decision-making, problem solving, self-discipline, self-motivation, teamwork, and organization. All these skills have been recognized as beneficial life skills associated with workforce preparedness. Over 97% of the judging alumni indicated that the Idaho 4-H judging experience positively influenced their personal success

Drug design of novel molecules using a bioisosteric and de novo techniques - a comparison

Rational drug design is an area of science that evolves continuously in order to answer contemporary demands for a decrease in novel drug discovery turnover time. Multiple drug design modalities exist which may be exploited in response to the parameters of specific drug design projects. Bioisosteric modification of existing molecules and de novo design are two such approaches, both of which were employed in parallel in this study which aimed to compare their scope and efficiency using Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibiting (SSRIs) molecules as case studies. Results indicated that bioisosterically modified structures did not have a higher affinity for their cognate receptor when compared to the template structure while the de novo design yielded molecules that were markedly different to the template from a structural perspective, and which also bound to the cognate receptor with an affinity superior to that of the template. This study showed therefore that bioisosteric modification is of utility when minor structural variations are considered sufficiently relative to a template molecule, and could consequently be of utility in the acquisition of new patents, in the reduction of toxicity, or in the attainment of improved biological profiles. It indicated furthermore, the role of the de novo approach in the successful exploration of novel pharmacophoric space and in the generation of molecular structures with an affinity significantly greater than that of lead molecules for a target receptor.peer-reviewe

The impact of DM on MHC class II–restricted antigen presentation can be altered by manipulation of MHC–peptide kinetic stability

DM edits the peptide repertoire presented by major histocompatibility complex class II molecules by professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), favoring presentation of some peptides over others. Despite considerable research by many laboratories, there is still significant uncertainty regarding the biochemical attributes of class II–peptide complexes that govern their susceptibility to DM editing. Here, using APCs that either do or do not express DM and a set of unrelated antigens, we found that the intrinsic kinetic stability of class II–peptide complexes is tightly correlated with the effects of DM editing within APCs. Furthermore, through the use of kinetic stability variants of three independent peptides, we demonstrate that increasing or decreasing the kinetic stability of class II–peptide complexes causes a corresponding alteration in DM editing. Finally, we show that the spontaneous kinetic stability of class II complexes correlates directly with the efficiency of presentation by DM+ APCs and the immunodominance of that class II–peptide complex during an immune response. Collectively, these results suggest that the pattern of DM editing in APCs can be intentionally changed by modifying class II–peptide interactions, leading to the desired hierarchy of presentation on APCs, thereby promoting recruitment of CD4 T cells specific for the preferred peptides during an immune response

Formar melhor para um melhor cuidar

A formação surge como uma ajuda ao desenvolvimento humano, adoptando uma posição abrangente que inclui o aluno e o próprio professor (Kohlberg e Mayer, 1972), em que o resultado obtido é menos importante do que a disponibilidade gerada durante o percurso, para que o aluno possa continuar a evoluir ao longo da vida. Esta perspectiva desenvolvimentalista, antecipava já, a tendência actual que defende que a educação deve constituir para cada indivíduo uma forma de promover o máximo desenvolvimento das suas potencialidades, através de experiências de aprendizagem de complexidade crescente. A formação não é apenas uma instância de mediação das relações formador/formando ou equipa de formadores/grupo de formandos, mas uma instância de auto-mediação do formando com o seu mundo subjectivo, mediador do grupo de formação com as suas subjectividades, mediador do grupo com um projecto de acção através do qual ele se exterioriza (Correia, 1997: 25)

United Kingdom: Citizenship education in the United Kingdom: comparing England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Purpose: In this country case study the authors undertake a comparative analysis of citizenship education across the four nations of the UK. The curriculum and contexts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are first described. Then the article considers how each national example engages with fundamental expectations of citizenship education, specifically in relation to questions of citizenship status and the relationship between citizens and the state; political identity; and active citizenship processes. Approach: Drawing on the authors’ collective experience and insights into policy and practice in each nation, we started with a ‘generative conversation’ to identify key issues for inclusion in this case study. Findings: The article unearths a variety of constraints and problems, and situates these in a broader policyscape in which policy accretion and policy approximation generate a permissive culture, which has undermined the promise of citizenship education as an entitlement for all young people

Excursion theory for the Wright-Fisher diffusion

In this work, we develop excursion theory for the Wright-Fisher diffusion with recurrent mutation. Our construction is intermediate between the classical excursion theory where all excursions begin and end at a single point and the more general approach considering excursions of processes from general sets. Since the Wright-Fisher diffusion has two boundary points, it is natural to construct excursions which start from a specified boundary point, and end at one of two boundary points which determine the next starting point. In order to do this we study the killed Wright-Fisher diffusion, which is sent to a cemetery state whenever it hits either endpoint. We then construct a marked Poisson process of such killed paths which, when concatenated, produce a pathwise construction of the Wright-Fisher diffusion.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure