Interprofessional Collaboration Between Dental Hygienists and Registered Nurses: The Time is Overdue

The recent publication of an article that is listed as a Critical Issue in the Journal of Dental Hygiene deserves strong letters of endorsement from nursing professionals. It has been twelve years since the Institute of Medicine called for interprofessional education to be adopted by the health professional education community. The increasing numbers of dentists in dental programs and the decreasing numbers of physicians in medical programs lend itself for dentists and physicians to be supportive of such interprofessional collaborations

The Role of Leucoyte-Derived Free Oxygen Radicals in the Pathogenesis of Experimental Acute Pancreatitis

The role of free oxygen radicals in experimental acute pancreatitis induced by common bile duct ligation was investigated by measuring malondialdehyde levels in the rat pancreas. Also, the potential role of leucocytes as the source of free oxygen radicals was tested by inducing leukopenia with methotrexate. The malondialdehyde levels in the control, pancreatitis and pancreatitis + methotrexate groups were 9.6 ± 2.0, 44.8 ± 11.4, and 25.6 ± 5.0 nmol malondialdehyde/ g pancreas tissue respectively. The corresponding histopathological severity scores were 0.5 ± 0.7, 8.1 ± 1.2 and 3.7 ± 1.1. The results suggest that the leucocyte may be an important source of free oxygen radicals in this experimental model

Determining the Effective Density and Stabilizer Layer Thickness of Sterically Stabilized Nanoparticles.

A series of model sterically stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles has been designed to aid the development of analytical protocols in order to determine two key parameters: the effective particle density and the steric stabilizer layer thickness. The former parameter is essential for high resolution particle size analysis based on analytical (ultra)centrifugation techniques (e.g., disk centrifuge photosedimentometry, DCP), whereas the latter parameter is of fundamental importance in determining the effectiveness of steric stabilization as a colloid stability mechanism. The diblock copolymer nanoparticles were prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) using RAFT aqueous emulsion polymerization: this approach affords relatively narrow particle size distributions and enables the mean particle diameter and the stabilizer layer thickness to be adjusted independently via systematic variation of the mean degree of polymerization of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks, respectively. The hydrophobic core-forming block was poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) [PTFEMA], which was selected for its relatively high density. The hydrophilic stabilizer block was poly(glycerol monomethacrylate) [PGMA], which is a well-known non-ionic polymer that remains water-soluble over a wide range of temperatures. Four series of PGMA x -PTFEMA y nanoparticles were prepared (x = 28, 43, 63, and 98, y = 100-1400) and characterized via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). It was found that the degree of polymerization of both the PGMA stabilizer and core-forming PTFEMA had a strong influence on the mean particle diameter, which ranged from 20 to 250 nm. Furthermore, SAXS was used to determine radii of gyration of 1.46 to 2.69 nm for the solvated PGMA stabilizer blocks. Thus, the mean effective density of these sterically stabilized particles was calculated and determined to lie between 1.19 g cm(-3) for the smaller particles and 1.41 g cm(-3) for the larger particles; these values are significantly lower than the solid-state density of PTFEMA (1.47 g cm(-3)). Since analytical centrifugation requires the density difference between the particles and the aqueous phase, determining the effective particle density is clearly vital for obtaining reliable particle size distributions. Furthermore, selected DCP data were recalculated by taking into account the inherent density distribution superimposed on the particle size distribution. Consequently, the true particle size distributions were found to be somewhat narrower than those calculated using an erroneous single density value, with smaller particles being particularly sensitive to this artifact

On staying grounded and avoiding Quixotic dead ends

The 15 articles in this special issue on The Representation of Concepts illustrate the rich variety of theoretical positions and supporting research that characterize the area. Although much agreement exists among contributors, much disagreement exists as well, especially about the roles of grounding and abstraction in conceptual processing. I first review theoretical approaches raised in these articles that I believe are Quixotic dead ends, namely, approaches that are principled and inspired but likely to fail. In the process, I review various theories of amodal symbols, their distortions of grounded theories, and fallacies in the evidence used to support them. Incorporating further contributions across articles, I then sketch a theoretical approach that I believe is likely to be successful, which includes grounding, abstraction, flexibility, explaining classic conceptual phenomena, and making contact with real-world situations. This account further proposes that (1) a key element of grounding is neural reuse, (2) abstraction takes the forms of multimodal compression, distilled abstraction, and distributed linguistic representation (but not amodal symbols), and (3) flexible context-dependent representations are a hallmark of conceptual processing

Calmodulin interacts with angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and inhibits shedding of its ectodomain

AbstractAngiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) is a regulatory protein of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) and a receptor for the causative agent of severe-acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the SARS-coronavirus. We have previously shown that ACE2 can be shed from the cell surface in response to phorbol esters by a process involving TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE; ADAM17). In this study, we demonstrate that inhibitors of calmodulin also stimulate shedding of the ACE2 ectodomain, a process at least partially mediated by a metalloproteinase. We also show that calmodulin associates with ACE2 and that this interaction is decreased by calmodulin inhibitors

<シンポジウム>科学研究の移り変わりと米国外交 : 1920年代から1950年代まで

WOS: 000274393100041PubMed ID: 19589584OBJECTIVES To examine, in a multicenter validation study designed under the guidance of the Uro-Oncology Society, the predictive accuracies of the 1998 and 2006 Kattan preoperative nomograms in Turkish patients. These 2 preoperative Kattan nomograms use preoperative parameters to estimate disease recurrence after radical prostatectomy. METHODS A total of 1261 men with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy were included. The preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage, number of positive and negative prostate biopsy cores, and postoperative recurrence status of all patients were studied. The predicted values using the Kattan nomograms and the observed values were compared. RESULTS The patient characteristics in the cohort were comparable with those of the cohorts used to create the Kattan nomograms. The 5-year probability of freedom from recurrence was 73% using Kaplan-Meier analysis and was similar to that of the 1998 Kattan nomogram cohort. However, the 10-year probability of freedom from recurrence was 67%, slightly lower than the same estimate from the 2006 nomogram cohort. The predicted values of recurrence using Kattan nomogram and the observed rates in our cohort were similar. The estimated concordance index value was 0.698 and 0.705 for 1998 and 2006 nomograms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The Kattan preoperative nomograms can be used with adequate success in Turkey, because the predicted and observed rates in our cohort were similar. Our results have demonstrated satisfactory concordance index values, suggesting that both the 1998 and the 2006 Kattan preoperative nomograms can safely be used in Turkish patients with similar accuracy. Although the 2006 nomogram had slightly better discrimination, the 1998 nomogram was a little more calibrated. UROLOGY 74: 1289-1295, 2009. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc

Functional bowel disorders with diarrhoea: Clinical guidelines of the United European Gastroenterology and European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D) and functional diarrhoea (FDr) are the two major functional bowel disorders characterized by diarrhoea. In spite of their high prevalence, IBS-D and FDr are associated with major uncertainties, especially regarding their optimal diagnostic work-up and management. A Delphi consensus was performed with experts from 10 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 31 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as >80% agreement) was reached for all the statements. The panel agreed with the potential overlapping of IBS-D and FDr. In terms of diagnosis, the consensus supports a symptom-based approach also with the exclusion of alarm symptoms, recommending the evaluation of full blood count, C-reactive protein, serology for coeliac disease, and faecal calprotectin, and consideration of diagnosing bile acid diarrhoea. Colonoscopy with random biopsies in both the right and left colon is recommended in patients older than 50 years and in presence of alarm features. Regarding treatment, a strong consensus was achieved for the use of a diet low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols, gut-directed psychological therapies, rifaximin, loperamide, and eluxadoline. A weak or conditional recommendation was achieved for antispasmodics, probiotics, tryciclic antidepressants, bile acid sequestrants, 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antagonists (i.e. alosetron, ondansetron, or ramosetron). A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on the definition, diagnosis, and management of IBS-D and FDr

Application of a new net primary production methodology: A daily to annual-scale data set for the North Sea, derived from autonomous underwater gliders and satellite Earth observation

Shelf seas play a key role in both the global carbon cycle and coastal marine ecosystems through the draw-down and fixing of carbon, as measured through phytoplankton net primary production (NPP). Measuring NPP in situ and extrapolating this to the local, regional, and global scale presents challenges however because of limitations with the techniques utilised (e.g. radiocarbon isotopes), data sparsity, and the inherent biogeochemical heterogeneity of coastal and open-shelf waters. Here, we introduce a new data set generated using a technique based on the synergistic use of in situ glider profiles and satellite Earth observation measurements which can be implemented in a real-time or delayed-mode system (https://doi.org/10.5285/e6974644-2026-0f94-e053-6c86abc00109; Loveday and Smyth, 2022). We apply this system to a fleet of gliders successively deployed over a 19-month time frame in the North Sea, generating an unprecedented fine-scale time series of NPP in the region. At a large scale, this time series gives close agreement with existing satellite-based estimates of NPP for the region and previous in situ estimates. What has not been elucidated before is the high-frequency, small-scale, depth-resolved variability associated with bloom phenology, mesoscale phenomena, and mixed layer dynamics