Communities in action: developing a dental ambassador training programme for adults with learning disability.

Adults with learning disabilities may be at higher risk of poor oral health. The community outreach programme attached to Plymouth University Peninsula Dental School used established links with local agencies for this group to try out an intervention using service users as dental ambassadors. A programme was developed to meet the needs of the group and training in oral health key messages was provided along with support in presentation skills. Early evaluation shows promise in terms of feasibility, interest and improved self-care. Public health competencies being illustrated: Strategic leadership, communication, teaching and training, and collaborative working for health and oral health improvement

Building Sustainable Leadership in Multicultural South African Catholic Schools

The article summarises an innovative approach taken to develop school leaders in multicultural South African Catholic schools by the Catholic Institute of Education. The reported program is built on the idea that leadership and administration are essentially moral activities and that teaching and educational leadership must have a moral purpose. The article recognises that with the current malaise in schooling in South Africa, there is a need for strong, inspiring leadership that is able to bring about systemic change by talking to the ‘minds and hearts’ of people. One of the most notable results of the program has been that principals have developed a stronger belief in themselves to lead the schools. Seminars have targeted the relational aspects of leadership and there are also indications that staff are cooperating better with principals

Area of hock hair loss in dairy cows : risk factors and correlation to a categorical scale

Data from 3691 dairy cows from 76 farms were used to investigate the risk factors associated with area of hair loss over the lateral aspect of the hock, and the correlation between the area of hair loss as calculated using a hock map and hock lesion scores determined using a pre-existing categorical scale. Six factors were associated with a greater area of hair loss, including cows with locomotion score 3, a cleanliness score (10-18/28), high daily milk yield (25.1 - 58.1 kg), poor body condition score (1-1.5), duration of winter housing (≥41 days) and some combinations of cubicle base and bedding materials. Compared with cows housed in cubicles with a concrete base and whole straw or rape straw bedding, cows housed in cubicles with concrete bases with sand or chopped straw bedding had smaller areas of hair loss and cows housed on a mattress base with whole straw or rape straw bedding had a larger area of hair loss. Area of hair loss, as measured on hock maps, was not significantly different between cows with score 1 (median=23.6 cm2) and score 2 (median=20.3 cm2) on the categorical scale for hock lesions. This suggests that the categorical scale was not reflecting the extent of hair loss and that hock maps are a good alternative for studying the dynamics of hock lesions over time. Further work is required to explore the aetiology of hock lesions and find better ways to control this common condition. Keywords: Hock lesions; Hair loss; Dairy cow; Welfare; Hock map

Structure and Function of a Mycobacterial NHEJ DNA Repair Polymerase

Non homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated repair of DNA double-strand breaks in prokaryotes requires Ku and a specific multidomain DNA ligase (LigD). We present crystal structures of the primase/polymerisation domain (PolDom) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis LigD, alone and complexed with nucleotides. The PolDom structure combines the general fold of the archaeo-eukaryotic primase (AEP) superfamily with additional loops and domains that together form a deep cleft on the surface, likely used for DNA binding. Enzymatic analysis indicates that the PolDom of LigD, even in the absence of accessory domains and Ku proteins, has the potential to recognise DNA end-joining intermediates. Strikingly, one of the main signals for the specific and efficient binding of PolDom to DNA is the presence of a 5'-phosphate group, located at the single/double-stranded junction at both gapped and 3'-protruding DNA molecules. Although structurally unrelated, Pol lambda and Pol mu, the two eukaryotic DNA polymerases involved in NHEJ, are endowed with a similar capacity to bind a 5'-phosphate group. Other properties that are beneficial for NHEJ, such as the ability to generate template distortions and realignments of the primer, displayed by Pol lambda and Pol mu, are shared by the PolDom of bacterial LigD. In addition, PolDom can perform non-mutagenic translesion synthesis on termini containing modified bases. Significantly, ribonucleotide insertion appears to be a recurrent theme associated with NHEJ, maximised in this case by the deployment of a dedicated primase, although its in vivo relevance is unknown

Recovery of chronically lame dairy cows following treatment for claw horn lesions: a randomised controlled trial

A positively controlled, randomised controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken to test recovery of cows with claw horn lesions resulting in lameness of greater than two weeks duration. Cows on seven commercial farms were mobility scored fortnightly and selected by lameness severity and chronicity. Study cows all received a therapeutic trim then random allocation of: no further treatment (trim only (TRM)), plastic shoe (TS) or plastic shoe and NSAID (TSN). Recovery was assessed by mobility score at 42 (±4) days post treatment by an observer blind to treatment group. Multivariable analysis showed no significant effect of treatment with an almost identical, low response rate to treatment across all groups (Percentage non-lame at outcome: TRM – 15 per cent, TS – 15 per cent, TSN – 16 per cent). When compared with results of a similar RCT on acutely lame cows, where response rates to treatment were substantially higher, it can be concluded that any delay in treatment is likely to reduce the rate of recovery, suggesting early identification and treatment is key. Thirty-eight per cent of animals treated in this study were lame on the contralateral limb at outcome suggesting that both hindlimbs should be examined and a preventive or if necessary a therapeutic foot trim performed when lameness is identified particularly if the duration of lameness is unknown

Developmental outcome of very low birth weight infants in a developing country

BACKGROUND: Advances in neonatal care allow survival of extremely premature infants, who are at risk of handicap. Neurodevelopmental follow up of these infants is an essential part of ongoing evaluation of neonatal care. The neonatal care in resource limited developing countries is very different to that in first world settings. Follow up data from developing countries is essential; it is not appropriate to extrapolate data from units in developed countries. This study provides follow up data on a population of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in Johannesburg, South Africa. METHODS: The study sample included all VLBW infants born between 01/06/2006 and 28/02/2007 and discharged from the neonatal unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Version 111 (BSID) 111 were done to assess development. Regression analysis was done to determine factors associated with poor outcome. RESULTS: 178 infants were discharged, 26 were not available for follow up, 9 of the remaining 152 (5.9%) died before an assessment was done; 106 of the remaining 143 (74.1%) had a BSID 111 assessment. These 106 patients form the study sample; mean birth weight and mean gestational age was 1182 grams (SD: 197.78) and 30.81 weeks (SD: 2.67) respectively. The BSID (111) was done at a median age of 16.48 months. The mean cognitive subscale was 88.6 (95% CI: 85.69 - 91.59), 9 (8.5%) were < 70, mean language subscale was 87.71 (95% CI: 84.85 - 90.56), 10 (9.4%) < 70, and mean motor subscale was 90.05 (95% CI: 87.0 - 93.11), 8 (7.6%) < 70. Approximately one third of infants were identified as being at risk (score between 70 and 85) on each subscale. Cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 4 (3.7%) of babies. Factors associated with poor outcome included cystic periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), resuscitation at birth, maternal parity, prolonged hospitalisation and duration of supplemental oxygen. PVL was associated with poor outcome on all three subscales. Birth weight and gestational age were not predictive of neurodevelopmental outcome. CONCLUSION: Although the neurodevelopmental outcome of this group of VLBW infants was within the normal range, with a low incidence of cerebral palsy, these results may reflect the low survival of babies with a birth weight below 900 grams. In addition, mean subscale scores were low and one third of the babies were identified as "at risk", indicating that this group of babies warrants long-term follow up into school going age

Effect of early lactation foot trimming in lame and non-lame diary heifer: a randomised controlled trial

Foot trimming is a common management intervention in prevention of lameness in dairy cattle. Despite this, there is surprisingly limited experimental evidence on its efficacy, especially in regard to primiparous heifers. A randomised, negatively controlled trial was conducted to investigate the association between an early lactation foot trim on primiparous animals and production outcomes. 282 heifers were enrolled from eight farms in the UK, and randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Milk yield (305-day-adjusted whole-milk yield) was not significantly different between groups (trimmed 7727 litres, untrimmed 7646 litres). However, multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that this relationship was confounded by lameness state. Animals that were lame at the time of trimming gave significantly more milk (734 litres, P=0.02) than those that were non-lame and untrimmed. The present results suggest that, based on milk production alone, it would not have been cost beneficial to trim all heifers; however, a targeted intervention aimed at lame animals would have delivered a substantial return on investment. As a very minimum, the authors recommend heifers should be regularly assessed in early lactation, and treated as soon as they are identifiably lame. The high prevalence of lesions identified suggests routine trimming for all heifers may be justifiable on welfare grounds even if the milk-yield benefits are marginal

Factors Influencing Diagnostic Radiology as a Specialty choice among Women

While the number of women entering medical schools is approaching 50% nationally, women continue to be underrepresented in a number of specialties including diagnostic radiology. Although diagnostic radiology has many lifestyle characteristics that might be desirable to women, (e.g., reasonable call hours, flexible scheduling, and high salaries) women still do not choose radiology at the same rate at which they choose other specialties. Here, we use literature review, aggregated data analysis, and focus groups to investigate possible reasons why women enter diagnostic radiology at a lower rate than they enter medicine as a profession. The current literature suggests a consteIlation of factors may be responsible for the gender differences in diagnostic radiology. Evaluation of factors affecting specialty choice include a review of available on physician satisfaction and lifestyle data and analysis of focus groups and interviews conducted with female diagnostic radiology residents and female medical students from the Yale University School of Medicine. We conclude that women who do not choose radiology are unable to overcome the lack of patient care inherent in its practice. Women who do choose radiology enjoy its technical aspects and often seek to offset the lack of patient contact by seeking careers in breast imaging and interventional radiology. Elective experiences and positive role models were important for women who went into radiology but were less important for women who chose other specialties. Finally, women who did not choose radiology as a career cited lifestyle as radiology\u27s most attractive attribute, but women who had chosen a career in radiology placed significant emphasis on other aspects of radiology as the most important factors in their specialty choice, mentioning lifestyle as an afterthought

Glycoblocks : a schematic three-dimensional representation for glycans and their interactions

The close-range interactions provided by covalently linked glycans are essential for the correct folding of glycoproteins and also play a pivotal role in recognition processes. Being able to visualise protein-glycan and glycan-glycan contacts in a clear way is thus of great importance for the understanding of these biological processes. In structural terms, glycosylation sugars glue the protein together via hydrogen bonds, whereas non-covalently bound glycans frequently harness additional stacking interactions. Finding an unobscured molecular view of these multipartite scenarios is usually far from trivial; in addition to the need to show the interacting protein residues, glycans may contain many branched sugars, each composed of more than ten non-H atoms and offering more than three potential bonding partners. With structural glycoscience finally gaining popularity and steadily increasing the deposition rate of three-dimensional structures of glycoproteins, the need for a clear way of depicting these interactions is more pressing than ever. Here a schematic representation, named Glycoblocks, is introduced which combines a simplified bonding-network depiction (covering hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions) with the familiar two-dimensional glycan notation used by the glycobiology community, brought into three dimensions by the CCP4 molecular graphics project (CCP4mg)

Effect of feeding system on enteric methane emissions from individual dairy cows on commercial farms

This study investigated the effects of feeding system on diurnal enteric methane (CH4) emissions from individual cows on commercial farms. Data were obtained from 830 cows across 12 farms, and data collated included production records, CH4 measurements (in the breath of cows using CH4 analysers at robotic milking stations for at least seven days) and diet composition. Cows received either a partial mixed ration (PMR) or a PMR with grazing. A linear mixed model was used to describe variation in CH4 emissions per individual cow and assess the effect of feeding system. Methane emissions followed a consistent diurnal pattern across both feeding systems, with emissions lowest between 05:00 and 08:59, and with a peak concentration between 17:00 and 20:59. No overall difference in emissions was found between feeding systems studied; however, differences were found in the diurnal pattern of CH4 emissions between feeding systems. The response in emissions to increasing dry matter intake was higher for cows fed PMR with grazing. This study showed that repeated spot measurements of CH4 emissions whilst cows are milked can be used to assess the effects of feeding system and potentially benchmark farms on level of emissions