Factors influencing consideration of dental specialisation: a survey of current dental students at the University of Western Australia

Aim. At present, little research exists regarding factors that influence dental students and recent graduates to pursue specialist training. Through the provision of a questionnaire, the study investigated student's perceptions of dental specialities and factors impacting specialisation.Methods. Questionnaires (n=65) were undertaken by Doctor of Dental Medicine students in year three (n=34) and four (n=31) through paper means. An analysis was undertaken of the knowledge of speciality courses, speciality preferences and the main motivating and deterring factors influencing specialisation.Results. A response rate of 70% was observed, revealing that 13% of all participants correctly identified the speciality courses available in Western Australia, with 6% of students wanting to specialise in the long term. Altruistic factors were most motivating and financial most deterring when considering specialisation. Speciality preferences also varied between cohorts.Conclusions. Findings highlight that a small proportion of students want to pursue specialisation and the majority of students are unaware of the speciality courses available in Western Australia. This emphasises the need for greater exposure and education in dental specialties. Further research is advised in this field to better understand factors involved in the pathway to dental specialisation and how to encourage specialisation

« Uscio e bottega » : dal Teatro de Los Sentidos a una poetica originale

This work focuses on the Italian theatrical performance Uscio e bottega by Francesca Giaconi and Lorenzo Bianchi, from its origin - rooted in Theatre of Senses by Enrique Vargas - to the achievement of its own poetics. In this historical period of great changes for dramatic arts, the experience of this little company and their play reflects the ongoing metamorphosis whilst aiming at touching the intimate depth of individuals. This work retraces the steps that lead to the creation of this theatrical performance, stressing its unique and original elements as well as those influenced by the Theatre of Senses. We will discuss the special participation of the public and the traces of a regionalism so peculiar as to make Uscio e Bottega a noteworthy specimen in the rich, albeit somehow jagged, Italian theatrical landscape

Report drawn up on behalf of the Committee on External Economic Relations on the proposal from the Commission of the European Communities to the Council (Doc. 1-34/80) for a regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 471/76 as regards the period of suspension of the application of the condition on prices governing the importation into the Community of fresh lemons originating in certain Mediterranean countries. EP Working Documents 1980-1981, Document 1-285/80, 7 July 1980

The proposed measure concerns lemons originating in Cyprus, Spain, Israel, Morocco, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey under the agreements concluded between the Community and these countries, which also take account of agreements concluded with Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon

Interventions for social and community participation for adults with intellectual disability, psychosocial disability or on the autism spectrum: An umbrella systematic review

ObjectiveThis umbrella systematic review examined the effectiveness, facilitators, and barriers of interventions for social, community and civic participation for adults on the autism spectrum, or with intellectual or psychosocial disability.Data SourcesEight databases were searched to identify eligible reviews defined by the: Sample (≥50% adults on the autism spectrum or with intellectual or psychosocial disability), Phenomena of Interest (interventions in community settings that aimed to improve social, community or civic participation, or capacity to participate), Design (any), Evaluation (any method that evaluated impacts on participation or capacity to participate), and Research type (reviews as journal articles, dissertations or in grey literature, in English, published 2010-2020).Review MethodsRapid review methods were used. One researcher screened 27,890 records and 788 potentially eligible full texts. A second reviewer independently screened 20% of records, and ambiguous full text publications. Study quality was extracted, and review quality was assessed with the Assessing Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) checklist. Data from 522 studies in 57 eligible systematic reviews were extracted for narrative synthesis. The Corrected Covered Area (CCA) was calculated to indicate overlap between reviews.ResultsThere was a pooled sample of 28,154 study participants, predominantly from studies in North America, the UK and Europe. There was very low overlap between reviews (CCA = 0.3%). Reviews were predominantly low quality: 77.2% of reviews met <50% of AMSTAR criteria. Most studies were low (45.4%) or moderate (38.3%) quality. Three broad intervention categories improved participation, inclusion and belonging outcomes: (1) interventions to help people identify and connect with participation opportunities (e.g., person centred planning); (2) participation opportunities or activities (e.g., joining a community group, sports or outdoor activities, or arts-based activities); and (3) supports to build skills and capacity to participate socially and in the community.ConclusionsThe evidence highlighted that improved social and community participation requires purposeful strategies that identify meaningful participation preferences (e.g., where, when, how, and with whom) and provide support to build capacity or enable ongoing participation. Community capacity building, peer support and advocacy may also be needed to make the community more accessible, and to enable people to exercise genuine choice

An automatic system for the detection of dairy cows lying behaviour in free-stall barns

In this paper, a method for the automatic detection of dairy cow lying behaviour in free-stall barns is proposed. A computer visionbased system (CVBS) composed of a video-recording system and a cow lying behaviour detector based on the Viola Jones algorithm was developed. The CVBS performance was tested in a head-to-head free stall barn. Two classifiers were implemented in the software component of the CVBS to obtain the cow lying behaviour detector. The CVBS was validated by comparing its detection results with those generated from visual recognition. This comparison allowed the following accuracy indices to be calculated: the branching factor (BF), the miss factor (MF), the sensitivity, and the quality percentage (QP). The MF value of approximately 0.09 showed that the CVBS missed one cow every 11 well detected cows. Conversely, the BF value of approximately 0.08 indicated that one false positive was detected every 13 well detected cows. The high value of approximately 0.92 obtained for the sensitivity index and that obtained for QP of about 0.85 revealed the ability of the proposed system to detect cows lying in the stalls

Birth and death of a phantom

Patients with supernumerary phantom limb report experiencing an additional limb duplicating its physical counterpart, usually following a stroke with sensorimotor disturbances. Here, we report a short-lasting case of a right upper supernumerary phantom limb with unusual visuomotor features in a healthy participant during a pure Jacksonian motor seizure unexpectedly induced by continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation over the left primary motor cortex. Electromyographic correlates of the event followed the phenomenological pattern of sudden appearance and brutal dissolution of the phantom, adding credit to the hypothesis that supernumerary phantom limb results from a dynamic resolution of conflictual multimodal information

A sleeping phantom leg awakened following hemicolectomy, thrombosis, and chemotherapy: a case report

INTRODUCTION: We describe the case of a patient who experienced phantom pain that began 42 years after right above-the-knee amputation. Immediately prior to phantom pain onset, this long-term amputee had experienced, in rapid succession, cancer, hemicolectomy, chemotherapy, and thrombotic occlusion. Very little has been published to date on the association between chemotherapy and exacerbation of neuropathic pain in amputees, let alone the phenomenon of bringing about pain in amputees who have been pain-free for many decades. While this patient presented with a unique profile following a rare sequence of medical events, his case should be recognized considering the frequent co-occurrence of osteomyelitis, chemotherapy, and amputation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old Australian Caucasian man presented 42 years after right above-the-knee amputation with phantom pain immediately following hemicolectomy, thrombotic occlusion in the amputated leg, and chemotherapy treatment with leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil. He exhibited probable hyperalgesia with a reduced pinprick threshold and increased stump sensitivity, indicating likely peripheral and central sensitization. CONCLUSION: Our patient, who had long-term nerve injury due to amputation, together with recent ischemic nerve and tissue injury due to thrombosis, exhibited likely chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. While he presented with unique treatment needs, cases such as this one may actually be quite common considering that osteosarcoma can frequently lead to amputation and be followed by chemotherapy. The increased susceptibility of amputees to developing potentially intractable chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain should be taken into consideration throughout the course of chemotherapy treatment. Patients in whom chronic phantom pain then develops, perhaps together with mobility issues, inevitably place greater demands on healthcare service providers that require treatment by various clinical specialists, including oncologists, neurologists, prosthetists, and, most frequently, general practitioners

Mirror Visual Feedback for Phantom Pain: International Experience on Modalities and Adverse Effects Discussed by an Expert Panel: A Delphi Study

Background: MVF (mirror therapy) is practised worldwide in very different ways to alleviate phantom pain; no study has compared these variations yet or researched risk and harm. Objectives: To establish usage and justification of a generally accepted MVF treatment plan after amputation, to explore occurrence and handling of side effects, and to increase knowledge on contributing factors. Methods: Experiential knowledge of 13 experienced practitioners from six countries and five professions was explored with a three round Delphi technique. Results: Experience with the use of five different treatment plans was described of which one has never been mentioned in the literature: an intense one-off plan where the illusion was carefully set up before the patient was left to the experience with no interference, resolving pain as well as side effects. In the four known treatment plans, the expectations of response time varied which influenced the definition of responders/non-responders, the set-ups, control and use of material reflected the professional background of the practitioners. Contraindications were also defined according to the professional confidence to deal with the side effects. Side effects were reported including emotional reactions, pain increase, sensory changes, freezing of the phantom limb, and dizziness and sweating. The attitude toward and the handling of side effects varied in patients as in practitioners according to their professional background. A tool to fine-tune the experience was reported with covering the limb during therapy. Full consensus was reached on several treatment modalities. Conclusion: The results suggest that the different treatment plans suit different patients and practitioners. Matching these could enhance effectiveness and compliance. Knowledge about side effects needs to inform treatment decisions. These findings triggered the development of a MVF gateway to guide patients to the treatment plan for their needs and collect data from the practitioners to enhance neuroscientific understanding and inform practice

Pathway analysis identifies altered mitochondrial metabolism, neurotransmission, structural pathways and complement cascade in retina/RPE/ choroid in chick model of form-deprivation myopia

Purpose RNA sequencing analysis has demonstrated bidirectional changes in metabolism, structural and immune pathways during early induction of defocus induced myopia. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether similar gene pathways are also related to the more excessive axial growth, ultrastructural and elemental microanalytic changes seen during the induction and recovery from form-deprivation myopia (FDM) in chicks and predicted by the RIDE model of myopia. Methods Archived genomic transcriptome data from the first three days of induction of monocularly occluded form deprived myopia (FDMI) in chicks was obtained from the GEO database (accession # GSE6543) while data from chicks monocularly occluded for 10 days and then given up to 24 h of normal visual recovery (FDMR) were collected. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) software was used to determine enriched pathways during the induction (FDMI) and recovery (FDMR) from FD. Curated gene-sets were obtained from open access sources. Results Clusters of significant changes in mitochondrial energy metabolism, neurotransmission, ion channel transport, G protein coupled receptor signalling, complement cascades and neuron structure and growth were identified during the 10 days of induction of profound myopia and were found to correlate well with change in axial dimensions. Bile acid and bile salt metabolism pathways (cholesterol/lipid metabolism and sodium channel activation) were significantly upregulated during the first 24 h of recovery from 10 days of FDM. Conclusions The gene pathways altered during induction of FDM are similar to those reported in defocus induced myopia and are established indicators of oxidative stress, osmoregulatory and associated structural changes. These findings are also consistent with the choroidal thinning, axial elongation and hyperosmotic ion distribution patterns across the retina and choroid previously reported in FDM and predicted by RIDE