2011 ADEA Annual Session: Poster Abstracts

Poster session abstracts from the 2011 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Conference

VIGILANCE OF NESTING WHOOPING CRANES IN JUNEAU COUNTY, WISCONSIN

Vigilance plays an important role in the detection of possible threats and reducing the risk of predation, including during the incubation period. We examined the visual vigilance of incubating whooping cranes (Grus americana) in Juneau County, Wisconsin, during the 2019 nesting season. We deployed 9 trail cameras and tagged crane presence and behavior in 32,801 photos which were used in our analysis. We assessed individual nest and environmental variables and their effects on vigilant behavior of incubating cranes using linear mixed-models. Vigilant behavior was defined by a posture in which the crane’s head was up, neck was erect, and bill was horizontal to the ground. Nesting whooping cranes were less vigilant during the night (x̄ = 14.3 ± 1.4% [SE]) than during the day (25.0 ± 0.7%), and cranes were less vigilant during precipitation events. Cranes nesting closer to closed forest were 11-12% less vigilant than those nesting at medium or far distances from forest. Lastly, cranes nesting in medium-sized wetlands were 4-5% more vigilant than cranes in small or large wetlands. Further research to determine if levels of vigilance affect nest success could help increase productivity for this population

Large-scale and significant expression from pseudogenes in Sodalis glossinidius – a facultative bacterial endosymbiont

The majority of bacterial genomes have high coding efficiencies, but there are some genomes of intracellular bacteria that have low gene density. The genome of the endosymbiont Sodalis glossinidius contains almost 50 % pseudogenes containing mutations that putatively silence them at the genomic level. We have applied multiple ‘omic’ strategies, combining Illumina and Pacific Biosciences Single-Molecule Real-Time DNA sequencing and annotation, stranded RNA sequencing and proteome analysis to better understand the transcriptional and translational landscape of Sodalis pseudogenes, and potential mechanisms for their control. Between 53 and 74 % of the Sodalis transcriptome remains active in cell-free culture. The mean sense transcription from coding domain sequences (CDSs) is four times greater than that from pseudogenes. Comparative genomic analysis of six Illumina-sequenced Sodalis isolates from different host Glossina species shows pseudogenes make up ~40 % of the 2729 genes in the core genome, suggesting that they are stable and/or that Sodalis is a recent introduction across the genus Glossina as a facultative symbiont. These data shed further light on the importance of transcriptional and translational control in deciphering host–microbe interactions. The combination of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics gives a multidimensional perspective for studying prokaryotic genomes with a view to elucidating evolutionary adaptation to novel environmental niches

Neuroimaging in Parkinson's disease dementia: Connecting the dots

Dementia is a common and devastating symptom of Parkinson’s disease but the anatomical substrate remains unclear. Some evidence points towards hippocampal involvement but neuroimaging abnormalities have been reported throughout the brain and are largely inconsistent across studies. Here, we test whether these disparate neuroimaging findings for Parkinson’s disease dementia localize to a common brain network. We used a literature search to identify studies reporting neuroimaging correlates of Parkinson’s dementia (11 studies, 385 patients). We restricted our search to studies of brain atrophy and hypometabolism that compared Parkinson’s patients with dementia to those without cognitive involvement. We used a standard coordinate-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis to assess for consistency in the neuroimaging findings. We then used a new approach, coordinate-based network mapping, to test whether neuroimaging findings localized to a common brain network. This approach uses resting-state functional connectivity from a large cohort of normative subjects (n = 1000) to identify the network of regions connected to a reported neuroimaging coordinate. Activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis failed to identify any brain regions consistently associated with Parkinson’s dementia, showing major heterogeneity across studies. In contrast, coordinate-based network mapping found that these heterogeneous neuroimaging findings localized to a specific brain network centred on the hippocampus. Next, we tested whether this network showed symptom specificity and stage specificity by performing two further analyses. We tested symptom specificity by examining studies of Parkinson’s hallucinations (9 studies, 402 patients) that are frequently co-morbid with Parkinson’s dementia. We tested for stage specificity by using studies of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (15 studies, 844 patients). Coordinate-based network mapping revealed that correlates of visual hallucinations fell within a network centred on bilateral lateral geniculate nucleus and correlates of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease fell within a network centred on posterior default mode network. In both cases, the identified networks were distinct from the hippocampal network of Parkinson’s dementia. Our results link heterogeneous neuroimaging findings in Parkinson’s dementia to a common network centred on the hippocampus. This finding was symptom and stage-specific, with implications for understanding Parkinson’s dementia and heterogeneity of neuroimaging findings in general

Vital Tooth Whitening Effects on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if vital tooth whitening affects oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in adults age 50 years and older, and if tooth whitening causes increased participation in social activities. Methods: Using a 2 group, single blind, randomized, pre-test, multiple post-test design, 62 participants were enrolled. The experimental group used a whitening product twice daily for 3 weeks. The control group used no whitening products. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) served as the pre- and post-test measure. The OHIP measures OHRQOL on 7 subscales: functional factors, psychological disabilities, psychological discomforts, physical disabilities, social disabilities, handicaps and physical pain. Additional questions measured the subjects\u27 social activities at baseline, 3 weeks and 3 months. Data from 53 participants, who completed the study, were analyzed using paired t-tests and ANOVA at p=0.05. Results: Statistical significance was observed for the OHIP physical pain subscale (p=0.0029) and the handicap subscale (p=0.05). Pre- to post-test means of the physical pain subscale increased in the experimental group (4.84 to 7.10), suggesting a lower OHRQOL, most likely related to tooth sensitivity experienced by the experimental group. Means from pre- to post-test of the handicap subscale (1.96 to 1.19) reveal that the experimental group reported an improved OHRQOL and felt they were more willing to work. Repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey\u27s post-hoc tests revealed that the experimental group reported significantly less (p=0.04) social activities at the 3 month post-test (3.92 to 3.45). No statistically significant between-group differences were observed in the overall OHIP score for functional factors, psychological disabilities, psychological discomforts, physical disabilities and social disabilities. Conclusion: Results indicate that vital tooth whitening does not improve overall OHRQOL in older adults

Cultural Adaptability of Dental Hygiene Students in the United States: A Pilot Study

Dental hygiene students should prepare to competently provide services to culturally diverse patients; therefore, this study was conducted as a baseline to determine the cross-cultural adaptability of dental hygiene students. The sample consisted of 188 dental hygiene students attending four culturally diverse dental hygiene programs (N=108) and four non-culturally diverse dental hygiene programs (N=80). The culturally diverse programs randomly selected were located in the southwest, southeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., and the non-diverse programs were located in the northwest, northcentral, central, and southern regions of the U.S. Any dental hygiene program with students representing four of the five ethnic categories (Caucasian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander) with a culturally diverse student enrollment of 40% or greater, was considered a culturally diverse program; any dental hygiene program enrolling students from only one ethnic category was considered a non-culturally diverse program. Participating students completed the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI), a 50-item instrument that measures an individual\u27s cultural adaptability and its four research dimensions: emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity, and personal autonomy. The instrument does not target one particular cultural, rather it is culture general, meaning the inventory is proficient in assessing all cultures. The unpaired t-test revealed a statistically significant difference, at the 0.05 level, in the overall, emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, and perceptual acuity between the two dental hygiene groups. Data analyses revealed the overall score of the dental hygiene students was lower than the CCAI norm group, which consisted of individuals with cross-cultural experience. The culturally diverse group scored higher than the non-diverse group in emotional resilience but scored lower than the non-diverse group in flexibility/openness and perceptual acuity. There was no statistically significant difference between the culturally diverse and non-culturally diverse groups in the dimension of personal autonomy. Results of the study led to the conclusion that dental hygiene students attending culturally diverse and non-culturally diverse programs possess some qualities such as personal autonomy and self-identity needed for cultural adaptability. The overall CCAI scores were lower than the CCAI norm group suggesting students need cross-cultural education and training. For this reason, it is important that dental hygiene curricula incorporate cross-cultural educational strategies and peer and patient cross-cultural encounters to enable students to develop competency in providing cross-cultural health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Alternative organic fungicides for apple scab management and their non-target effects

A major challenge in organic apple production in humid production regions is the available fungicide options for apple scab [Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Wint.] management. The standard sulfur/lime sulfur fungicide program can be injurious to the applicator, the apple ecosystem, and the apple tree itself. The objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy of three potential alternative fungicides [potassium bicarbonate (PB), neem oil (NO), and Bacillus subtilis (Bs)] with a standard organic sulfur/lime sulfur (SLS) fungicide program and a non-treated control (NTC) for management of apple scab and to evaluate potential non-target impacts on pest and beneficial arthropod populations. The five treatments were applied to \u27Empire\u27 trees arranged in a completely randomized design with five single-tree replications at the University of Vermont Horticultural Research Center in South Burlington, VT. Fungicides were applied with a handgun to drip using maximum label rates. Applications began on 26 Apr. 2007 and 23 Apr. 2008 and continued on approximately a weekly schedule through the end of June and then every 2 weeks through 23 July 2007 and 17 July 2008, respectively. The standard SLS treatment resulted in the best scab control in both years. TheNOtreatment reduced foliar and fruit scab compared with the NTC and the other alternatives at the end of the 2008 growing season and had insecticidal activity. However, both the SLS and NO treatments had disadvantages, including phytotoxic burning on the fruit and/or significantly more russeting on the fruit at harvest. In each year of the study, one or more of the alternative treatments, particularly Bs, resulted in higher insect damage than the non-fungicide-treated control. This research showed that PB, Bs, and NO do not offer advantages over the standard SLS fungicide program in organic apple production and in some cases offer distinct disadvantages in terms of non-target impacts. Chemical names used: potassium bicarbonate (Armicarb O ), Bacillus subtilis (Serenade MAX), neem oil (Trilogy), sulfur (Microthiol Sulfur)/lime sulfur (Miller Lime Sulfur)

Hole spin relaxation and coefficients in Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation in ferromagnetic GaMnAs

We investigate the temperature dependence of the coefficients in the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation in ferromagnetic GaMnAs by employing the Zener model. We first calculate the hole spin relaxation time based on the microscopic kinetic equation. We find that the hole spin relaxation time is typically several tens femtoseconds and can present a nonmonotonic temperature dependence due to the variation of the interband spin mixing, influenced by the temperature related Zeeman splitting. With the hole spin relaxation time, we are able to calculate the coefficients in the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, such as the Gilbert damping, nonadiabatic spin torque, spin stiffness and vertical spin stiffness coefficients. We find that the nonadiabatic spin torque coefficient $\beta$ is around $0.1\sim 0.3$ at low temperature, which is consistent with the experiment [Adam {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 80}, 193204 (2009)]. As the temperature increases, $\beta$ monotonically increases and can exceed one in the vicinity of the Curie temperature. In the low temperature regime with $\beta<1$, the Gilbert damping coefficient $\alpha$ increases with temperature, showing good agreement with the experiments [Sinova {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 69}, 085209 (2004); Khazen {\em et al.}, {\em ibid.} {\bf 78}, 195210 (2008)]. Furthermore, we predict that $\alpha$ decreases with increasing temperature once $\beta>1$ near the Curie temperature. We also find that the spin stiffness decreases with increasing temperature, especially near the Curie temperature due to the modification of the finite $\beta$. Similar to the Gilbert damping, the vertical spin stiffness coefficient is also found to be nonmonotonically dependent on the temperature.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Extension of Darby\u27s Model of a Hydrophylic Gas Fed Porous Electrode

A model presented previously by one of the authors (1,2) is reviewed and extended. Aspects of this model which were not previously available in the open literature are considered, and the model is extended to include previously neglected terms in the governing differential equations, fractional reaction orders in the current density-overpotential expression, and mass-transfer coefficients to account for mass-transfer resistance of the reactants to the faces of the porous electrode. The model is used to predict quantities of interest for oxygen reduction in an acidic aqueous solution in a porous carbon electrode

TWENTY-YEAR STATUS OF THE EASTERN MIGRATORY WHOOPING CRANE REINTRODUCTION

Since the 10-year status update in 2011, the first parent-reared whooping cranes (Grus americana) were released in the Eastern Migratory Population, the ultralight program (UL) ended, and cranes were released at new sites in eastern Wisconsin. During 2011-2020, 117 captive-reared whooping cranes were released; 75 costume-reared (35 in UL and 40 in the Direct Autumn Release program) and 42 parent-reared. There were no significant differences in 1- or 3-year survival rates based on rearing technique or release site. The population size remained at about 100 cranes during 2010-2018 but then decreased during 2018-2020 due to a reduced number of releases of captive-reared cranes and low recruitment. Predation remained the leading cause of death (54.1% of confirmed cases) for cases in which the cause of death could be determined, followed by impact trauma (18.8%), gunshot (10.5%), and disease (9.0%). The winter distribution shifted northward into more agricultural landscapes, with the majority of the population wintering in southern Indiana or northern Alabama. The summer distribution remained concentrated in Wisconsin, and breeding areas expanded into eastern Wisconsin. As a management response to nest abandonments caused by avian-feeding black flies (Simulium spp.), the first clutch of eggs was removed from nests at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (i.e., forced renesting), which increased renesting rates from 42% to 79%. In total, 152 cranes were confirmed to have hatched in the wild, 27 of which survived to fledging. Two male whooping cranes nested with female sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) and produced hybrid chicks. Three cranes were removed from the population due to using an active air strip on an Air National Guard base. As of April 2021, the estimated population size was 76 individuals (38 females, 36 males, and 2 of unknown sex), 16 of which were wild-hatched