Early childhood caries, primary caregiver oral health knowledge and behaviours and associated sociological factors in Australia: A systematic scoping review

Background Early childhood caries disproportionately affects vulnerable groups and remains a leading cause of preventable hospital admissions for Western Australian children. The Western Australia State Oral Health Plan seeks to improve child oral health through universal and targeted health promotion initiatives with primary caregivers. These initiatives require evidence of primary caregiver oral health knowledge and behaviours and baseline data on early childhood caries. The objective of this systematic scoping review was to understand current oral health knowledge and practices of primary caregivers of children aged 0–4 years, identify influential socioecological determinants, and identify data on early childhood caries in the Western Australian context. Methods A systematic scoping review framework identified articles published between 2010 and 2021, using Scopus, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, selected article reference lists, and oral health websites. The lack of Western Australian specific literature prompted the inclusion of Australia-wide articles. Articles were screened via author consensus, with eight selected. Results Western Australia and nation-wide data on early childhood caries are limited and mostly dated. WA data from children aged 2–3 years, collected in 2006, suggests the prevalence is 2.9% in this state, with national data of children from 0 to 3 years, collected from 2006 and 2008, suggesting an early childhood caries prevalence of 3.4–8% of children aged 18 months, rising sharply by 36 months of age. Nationally, fewer than half the primary caregivers reported following evidence-based oral health recommendations for their young children. Perceptions of the role of dental services for young children tends to be focussed on treatment, rather than surveillance and prevention. Knowledge of dietary and oral hygiene practices is inconsistent and awareness of the Child Dental Benefit Schedule low. Young children’s oral health status is clearly associated with socioecological factors, including socioeconomic status. Conclusions Recent early childhood caries data and evidence of primary care-givers’ oral health knowledge and behaviours are unavailable in Western Australia, a similar situation exists nationwide. To realise the Western Australian and National Oral Health Plans, research is required to address this knowledge gap

HIGH LEVELS OF ENDURANCE TRAINING MITIGATE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN RUNNING BIOMECHANICS – A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Very few studies to date examined lower body and joint stiffness in ageing endurance runners, the majority cross-sectionally. The present study longitudinally examined age-related changes in leg and joint stiffness regulation in consistently trained master endurance runners, as well as the contribution of individual joints in resisting collapse and generating propulsion. Highly trained master endurance runners (N=10) were studied over a period of seven years whilst maintaining their training regime. Data was collected at mean age 53.54 ± 2.56 and 60.49 ± 2.56 following an identical overground running protocol, using a Kistler force plate and a 12-camera Vicon motion capture system. Following seven years of ageing, leg stiffness was unchanged. The athletes maintained similar magnitudes of joint stiffness and moment at the ankle and the hip whilst knee joint stiffness at amortisation increased by 0.60o-1 (

Defining and Exploring Animal Sentience

One of the commentaries on the target article notes that animal sentience is difficult to define operationally. This response to the commentaries develops a working, usable definition of animal sentience and examines the relationships between animal emotions and sentience

Unique Conference Design Showcases Small Towns, Highlights Entrepreneurs, and Strengthens Capacity

Michigan State University Extension (MSUE)’s annual conference, Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC), has served as a catalyst for entrepreneurial ecosystems across Michigan since 2012. Designed by MSUE for small towns, CEC has gained national interest as evidenced by the adoption of this conference model by four other Extension services. This article outlines the unique conference design, details the partnership between Extension and host communities, and explores conference evaluation data validating the need to continue this programming. Lessons learned and successes to date are provided to ensure readers learn the value this unique conference format has in Extension entrepreneurship programming nationally

DOCKside - A Tool for Docking Atomic Molecular Structures into Low-Resolution Electron Microscopy Graphs

The process of cryo-electron microscopy allows scientists to view the complex structures of proteins as they bind and interact with one another. This process however, outputs low resolution noisy density maps which in their initial form are of little use. Through a process called docking, high resolution models of each of the interacting components can be fitted into these low resolution maps so that further study can occur. DOCKside allows users to interact with 3D representations of the proteins and of the electron density maps. Design was an initial concern. Related work was studied to better create a efficient solution to the problem. Different techniques for visualising the various components are implemented and discussed. Docking can also be performed manually using interactive graphics or automatically using a range of mathematically intensive algorithms. These too are detailed and discussed. Through user testing, a review is made as to how efficient the docking process is in producing meaningful and accurate data when compared to the automatically docked solutions

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Gluttony, excess, and the fall of the planter class in the British Caribbean

Food and rituals around eating are a fundamental part of human existence. They can also be heavily politicized and socially significant. In the British Caribbean, white slaveholders were renowned for their hospitality towards one another and towards white visitors. This was no simple quirk of local character. Hospitality and sociability played a crucial role in binding the white minority together. This solidarity helped a small number of whites to dominate and control the enslaved majority. By the end of the eighteenth century, British metropolitan observers had an entrenched opinion of Caribbean whites as gluttons. Travelers reported on the sumptuous meals and excessive drinking of the planter class. Abolitionists associated these features of local society with the corrupting influences of slavery. Excessive consumption and lack of self-control were seen as symptoms of white creole failure. This article explores how local cuisine and white creole eating rituals developed as part of slave societies and examines the ways in which ideas about hospitality and gluttony fed into the debates over slavery that led to the dismantling of slavery and the fall of the planter class

Memories of the past / by A lady in Australia.

Ferguson, J.A. Australia, 11281, 6809, 9016; Electronic reproduction. Canberra, A.C.T. : National Library of Australia, 2010

Invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Tryggestad, Viroqua, Wisconsin, to Mr. and Mrs. Hans Hanson, March 2, 1923

This item is from the Cornelia and Hans Hanson Papers, which contains letters written by various friends and relatives. The letters mainly discuss news of family members and acquaintances: illnesses, births, and deaths. There are also wedding and shower invitations and a Christmas card. Letters were mostly written from various places in Wisconsin, with one letter from friends in Gary, South Dakota