Portrait of a culture worker: identity, agency, and the educational genesis of the graphic designer

This socially grounded study examines the tension-filled discourses and social pressures that influence young graphic designers in the construction of their occupational identities. The discursive practices of recent graduates from a graphic design college are examined, in order to uncover the negotiations and compromises that sustain their occupational identities. Identity is formulated as multifaceted and negotiated in dialogue and social practice. In seeking to develop agency, this study concludes that education for creative workers may take a cue from their own discourses of creativity. By integrating self-reflexivity into the educational curriculum, they may begin to dialogise the educational process itself, thereby rescuing creative agency from the structural constraints of fetishized discourse

Investigation of the association between posterior interproximal contact points and approximal caries in the primary dentition

Caries in the primary dentition remains a public health problem despite a general decline in caries prevalence over the past 25 years. The present cross-sectional study investigates a hypothesized association between closed contact points in the primary dentition and approximal caries formation. It was carried out using a convenience sample of 286 children receiving dental care at the Montreal Children's Hospital. Bivariate analysis was performed using odd ratios, to determine which independent variables collected by the survey had a significant association with the dependent variable (approximal caries). Significant independent variables were then controlled for in multiple logistic regression analysis. These analyses revealed a strong association between the presence of approximal caries and closed contact points, warranting further investigation by longitudinal studies. If these results can be replicated, flossing the primary teeth and incorporating tooth position into prediction models could become important preventative weapons in fighting this disease

μ-opioid receptor modulation of calcium channel current in periaqueductal grey neurons from C57B16/J mice and mutant mice lacking MOR-1

1. The actions of opioid receptor agonists on the calcium channel currents (I(Ba)) of acutely dissociated periaqueductal grey (PAG) neurons from C57B16/J mice and mutant mice lacking the first exon of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR-1) were examined using whole cell patch clamp techniques. These effects were compared with the GABA(B)-receptor agonist baclofen. 2. The endogenous opioid agonist methionine-enkephalin (met-enkephalin, pEC(50) 6.8, maximum inhibition 40%), the putative endogenous μ-opioid agonist endomorphin-1 (pEC(50) 6.2, maximum inhibition 35%) and the μ-opioid selective agonist DAMGO (Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-N-Me-Phe-Gly-ol enkephalin, pEC(50) 6.9, maximum inhibition 40%) inhibited I(Ba) in 70% of mouse PAG neurons. The inhibition of I(Ba) by each agonist was completely prevented by the μ-receptor antagonist CTAP (D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH(2)). The δ-opioid receptor agonists DPDPE ([D-Pen(2,5)]-enkephalin, 1 μM) and deltorphin II (1 μM), and the κ-opioid receptor agonist U-69593 (1–10 μM), did not affect I(Ba) in any cell tested. 3. The GABA(B) agonist baclofen inhibited I(Ba) in all neurons (pEC(50) 5.9, maximum inhibition 42%). 4. In neurons from the MOR-1 deficient mice, the μ-opioid agonists met-enkephalin, DAMGO and endomorphin-1 did not inhibit I(Ba), whilst baclofen inhibited I(Ba) in a manner indistinguishable from wild type mice. 5. A maximally effective concentration of endomorphin-1 (30 μM) partially (19%), but significantly (P<0.005), occluded the inhibition of I(Ba) normally elicited by a maximally effective concentration of met-enkephalin (10 μM). 6. This study indicates that μ-opioid receptors, but not δ- or κ-opioid receptors, modulate somatic calcium channel currents in mouse PAG neurons. The putative endogenous μ-agonist, endomorphin-1, was a partial agonist in mouse PAG neurons