Observation assessment in clinical dental subjects

Introduction: Dental students’ performance is assessed on the basis of general and global assessment scales and according to their interaction with colleagues and dental patients, most often in clinical settings. This form of assessment requires a clear set of per¬formance indicators or rubrics that are judged to be important relative to the competency or competencies being evaluated. Students are rated on each indica¬tor. Aim: The aim was to make an effective form of assessment for evaluating students on their competencies related to critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills as well as professionalism, although the method is not confined to these competencies only. Data collection and methodology: 32 students of Dental medicine from the eight semester in the academic 2013/2014 year participated in this study. The students were evaluated by a questionnaire with regard to three clinical subjects (Oral surgery 1, Clinical endodontics 1 and Orthodontics 2). They were asked to answer five questions as presented in Table 1. Students were assessed on a scale ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating that the competency of interest has not been successfully achieved and 5 indicating that most or all aspects of the competency have been achieved successfully. Conclusion: 1. This assessment form is ideal for evaluating specific areas of performance, and it represents a method for evaluating competencies related to the clinically relevant competencies. As with global ratings, however, it is susceptible to subjectivity on the part of evaluators. 2. The difference between global rating and structured observations lies in the situation to which the student is exposed. With structured observation, the student is exposed to a situation that is designed to elicit specific knowledge or behavior. It is used extensively for assessing psychomotor skills and performance of clinical procedures

Organic dyes in contemporary medicinal chemistry and biomedicine. I. From the chromophore to the bioimaging/bioassay agent

AbstractThe present review was provoked by the demand of a comprehensive overview on the recent scientific achievements revealing new horizons for advanced applications of organic dyes in service of contemporary medicinal chemistry, pharmacy and biomedicine. The review outlines the basic structural characteristics, physicochemical properties and biological activity of various dye families and suggests modified classifications of dyes according to their structural moieties and bioorganic functionalities serving the necessities of modern analytical chemistry and biochemistry. A major part of the review focuses on the pros and cons of the use of dyes as vectors in bioanalytic assays. The latter is based on comparative analyses of the limitations of some widely applied classical methodologies vs. the advantages and outcomes of the application of newly-designed dye molecules in modern dye-based bioassay techniques

Green Solvents for Extraction of Natural Food Colorants from Plants: Selectivity and Stability Issues

Consumers associate the color of food with its freshness and quality. More and more attention is being paid to natural colorants that bring additional health benefits to humans. Such natural substances are the carotenoids (yellow to orange), the anthocyanins (red to blue), and the betalains (red and yellow), which are very sensitive to exposure to light, air, high temperatures, and chemicals. Stability and diversity in terms of color can be optimized by using environmentally friendly and selective extraction processes that provide a balance between efficacy, safety, and stability of the resulting extracts. Green solvents like water, supercritical fluids, natural deep eutectic solvents, and ionic liquids are the most proper green solvents when combined with different extraction techniques like maceration, supercritical extraction, and ultrasound-assisted or microwave-assisted extraction. The choice of the right extracting agent is crucial for the selectivity of the extraction method and the stability of the prepared colorant. The present work reviews the green solvents used for the extraction of natural food colorants from plants and focuses on the issues related to the selectivity and stability of the products extracted

Newly Synthesized Lignin Microparticles as Bioinspired Oral Drug-Delivery Vehicles: Flavonoid-Carrier Potential and In Vitro Radical-Scavenging Activity

The aim of the present study was to synthesize lignin microparticles, to evaluate their physicochemical, spectral, morphological and structural characteristics, to examine their encapsulation and in vitro release potential and behaviour towards the flavonoid morin in simulated physiological medium and to assess the in vitro radical-scavenging potential of the morin-loaded lignin microcarrier systems. The physicochemical, structural and morphological characteristics of alkali lignin, lignin particles (LP) and morin-encapsulated lignin microparticles (LMP) were determined based on particle size distribution, SEM, UV/Vis spectrophotometric, FTIR and potentiometric titration analyses. The encapsulation efficiency of LMP was 98.1%. The FTIR analyses proved that morin was successfully encapsulated in the LP without unexpected chemical reactions between the flavonoid and the heteropolymer. The in vitro release performance of the microcarrier system was successfully mathematically described by Korsmeyer–Peppas and the sigmoidal models outlining the general role of diffusion during the initial stages of the in vitro release process in simulated gastric fluid (SGF), and the predominant contribution of biopolymer relaxation and erosion was determined in simulated intestinal medium (SIF). The higher radical-scavenging potential of LMP, as compared to that of LP, was proven via DPPH and ABTS assays. The synthesis of lignin microcarriers not only provides a facile approach for the utilization of the heteropolymer but also determines its potential for the design of drug-delivery matrices

Antimicrobial Potential of Conjugated Lignin/Morin/Chitosan Combinations as a Function of System Complexity

As natural biopolymers, chitosan and lignin are characterized by their good biocompatibility, high biodegradability and satisfactory biosafety. The active polymers’ functional groups are responsible for the potential of these biomaterials for use as carrier matrices in the construction of polymer–drug conjugates with prospective applicability in the fields of medicine, food and agriculture—subjects that have attracted attention in recent years. Hence, the aim of this research was to place substantial emphasis on the antimicrobial potential of flavonoid–biopolymer complex systems by assessment of the probable synergetic, additive or antagonistic effects arising as a function of systemic complexity. The joint implementation of morin, chitosan and lignin in conjugated two- and three-component systems provoked species-dependent antimicrobial synergistic and/or potentiation effects against the activity of the tested bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and the clinical isolate Bacillus cereus. The double combinations of morin–chitosan and morin–lignin resulted in a 100% increase in their inhibitory activity against S. aureus as compared to the pure biocompounds. The inhibitory effects of the three-component system, in decreasing order, were: S. aureus (IZ = 15.7 mm) > P. aeruginosa (IZ = 15 mm) > B. cereus and E. coli (IZ = 14 mm). All tested morin-containing two- and three-component systems exhibited clear and significant potentiation effects, especially against S. aureus and B. cereus. The results obtained are a prerequisite for the potential use of the studied conjugated lignin–morin–chitosan combinations in the construction of novel drug-carrier formulations with improved bioactivities