Oral cancer awareness of undergraduate medical and dental students

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of oral cancer is increasing in the United Kingdom. Early detection of oral cancers makes them more amenable to treatment and allows the greatest chance of cure. Delay in presentation and/or referral has a significant effect on the associated morbidity and mortality. Lack of general medical practitioner and general dental practitioner oral cancer knowledge has been shown to contribute to delays in referral and treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the oral cancer awareness of future general medical and general dental practitioners by assessing undergraduate medical and dental students' knowledge of prevention and early detection of oral cancer.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Questionnaires were delivered to undergraduate medical and dental students at the University of Dundee, assessing oral examination habits, delivery of advice on oral cancer risk factors, knowledge of oral cancer risk factors and clinical appearance, preferred point of referral and requests for further information.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Undergraduate medical students were less likely to examine patients' oral mucosa routinely and less likely to advise patients about risk factors for oral cancer. Medical students identified fewer oral cancer risk factors. In particular alcohol use was identified poorly. Medical students also identified fewer oral changes associated with oral cancer. Erythroplakia and erythroleukoplakia were identified poorly. Medical students felt less well informed regarding oral cancer. 86% and 92% of undergraduate medical and dental students respectively requested further information about oral cancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study highlights the need for improved education of undergraduate medical and dental students regarding oral cancer.</p

A Study of the Cheng-feng 整風 Movement : The Logic of the Ssu-hao-chung-tui 四好中隊 Movement

Salinity and temperature determine seawater density, and differences in both thereby control global thermohaline circulation. Whereas numerous proxies have been calibrated and applied to reconstruct temperature, a direct and independent proxy for salinity is still missing. Ideally, a new proxy for salinity should target one of the direct constituents of dissolved salt, such as [Na+] or [Cl−]. This study investigates the impact of salinity on foraminiferal Na/Ca values by laser ablation ICP-MS analyses of specimens of the benthic foraminifer Ammonia tepida cultured at a range of salinities (30.0–38.6). Foraminifera at lower salinities (30.0 and 32.5) added more chambers (10–11) to their test over the course of the culturing experiment than those maintained at higher salinities (36.1, 7–8 chambers, and 38.6, 6–7 chambers), suggesting that growth rates in this species are promoted by lower salinities. The Na/Ca of cultured specimens correlates significantly with seawater salinity (Na/Ca = 0.22S–0.75, R2 = 0.96, p < 0.01) and size. Values for Na/Ca and DNa vary between 5.17 and 9.29 mmol mol−1 and 0.12–0.16 × 10−3, which are similar to values from inorganic precipitation experiments. The significant correlation between test size and Na/Ca results from co-variation with salinity. This implies that foraminiferal Na/Ca could serve as a robust and independent proxy for salinity, enabling salinity reconstructions independent of calcitic δ18O

Holocene seasonal sea-surface temperature variations in the southern Adriatic Sea inferred from a multiproxy approach

Holocene cooling events have been reconstructed for the southern Adriatic Sea (central Mediterranean) by means of analyses of organic walled dinoflagellate cysts, planktonic foraminifera, oxygen isotopes, calcareous nanoplankton, alkenones and pollen from a sediment core. Two cooling events have been detected, during which sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) were ca. 2degreesC lower. Unravelling the SST signal into dominant seasonal components suggests maximum winter cooling of 2degreesC at around 6.0 ka, whereas the cooling at ca. 3.0 ka might be the result of a spring temperature cooling of 2-3degreesC. The events, lasting several hundred years, are apparently synchronous with those in the Aegean Sea, where they have been related to known cooling events from the Greenland ice-core record. A distinct interruption in Adriatic Sea sapropel S1 is not clearly accompanied by a local drop in winter temperatures, but seems to be forced by ventilation, which probably occurred earlier in the Aegean Sea and was Subsequently transmitted to the Adriatic Sea

Growing Azolla to produce sustainable protein feed : The effect of differing species and CO2 concentrations on biomass productivity and chemical composition

BACKGROUND: Since available arable land is limited and nitrogen fertilizers pollute the environment, cropping systems ought to be developed that do not rely on them. Here we investigate the rapidly growing, N2-fixing Azolla/Nostoc symbiosis for its potential productivity and chemical composition to determine its potential as protein feed. RESULTS: In a small production system, cultures of Azolla pinnata and Azolla filiculoides were continuously harvested for over 100days, yielding an average productivity of 90.0-97.2kg dry weight (DW) ha-1d-1. Under ambient CO2 levels, N2 fixation by the fern's cyanobacterial symbionts accounted for all nitrogen in the biomass. Proteins made up 176-208gkg-1 DW (4.9 × total nitrogen), depending on species and CO2 treatment, and contained more essential amino acids than protein from soybean. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (800ppm) significantly boosted biomass production by 36-47%, without decreasing protein content. Choice of species and CO2 concentrations further affected the biomass content of lipids (79-100gkg-1 DW) and (poly)phenols (21-69gkg-1 DW). CONCLUSIONS: By continuous harvesting, high protein yields can be obtained from Azolla cultures, without the need for nitrogen fertilization. High levels of (poly)phenols likely contribute to limitations in the inclusion rate of Azolla in animal diets and need further investigation

Growing Azolla to produce sustainable protein feed : The effect of differing species and CO2 concentrations on biomass productivity and chemical composition

BACKGROUND: Since available arable land is limited and nitrogen fertilizers pollute the environment, cropping systems ought to be developed that do not rely on them. Here we investigate the rapidly growing, N2-fixing Azolla/Nostoc symbiosis for its potential productivity and chemical composition to determine its potential as protein feed. RESULTS: In a small production system, cultures of Azolla pinnata and Azolla filiculoides were continuously harvested for over 100days, yielding an average productivity of 90.0-97.2kg dry weight (DW) ha-1d-1. Under ambient CO2 levels, N2 fixation by the fern's cyanobacterial symbionts accounted for all nitrogen in the biomass. Proteins made up 176-208gkg-1 DW (4.9 × total nitrogen), depending on species and CO2 treatment, and contained more essential amino acids than protein from soybean. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (800ppm) significantly boosted biomass production by 36-47%, without decreasing protein content. Choice of species and CO2 concentrations further affected the biomass content of lipids (79-100gkg-1 DW) and (poly)phenols (21-69gkg-1 DW). CONCLUSIONS: By continuous harvesting, high protein yields can be obtained from Azolla cultures, without the need for nitrogen fertilization. High levels of (poly)phenols likely contribute to limitations in the inclusion rate of Azolla in animal diets and need further investigation

Growing Azolla to produce sustainable protein feed: The effect of differing species and CO2 concentrations on biomass productivity and chemical composition

BACKGROUND: Since available arable land is limited and nitrogen fertilizers pollute the environment, cropping systems ought to be developed that do not rely on them. Here we investigate the rapidly growing, N2-fixing Azolla/Nostoc symbiosis for its potential productivity and chemical composition to determine its potential as protein feed. RESULTS: In a small production system, cultures of Azolla pinnata and Azolla filiculoides were continuously harvested for over 100days, yielding an average productivity of 90.0-97.2kg dry weight (DW) ha-1d-1. Under ambient CO2 levels, N2 fixation by the fern's cyanobacterial symbionts accounted for all nitrogen in the biomass. Proteins made up 176-208gkg-1 DW (4.9 × total nitrogen), depending on species and CO2 treatment, and contained more essential amino acids than protein from soybean. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (800ppm) significantly boosted biomass production by 36-47%, without decreasing protein content. Choice of species and CO2 concentrations further affected the biomass content of lipids (79-100gkg-1 DW) and (poly)phenols (21-69gkg-1 DW). CONCLUSIONS: By continuous harvesting, high protein yields can be obtained from Azolla cultures, without the need for nitrogen fertilization. High levels of (poly)phenols likely contribute to limitations in the inclusion rate of Azolla in animal diets and need further investigation