The validation of a new articulator system for orthognathic model surgery

A review of the literature showed that the outcome of orthognathic surgery may differ from the planned outcome, that casts mounted on semi-adjustable articulators show systematic errors of orientation and that there may be a causal connection between them. It was demonstrated that the movements of casts mounted on, and moved relative to, a standard articulator produced movements of different magnitudes relative to the natural head position. A mathematical model was developed to quantify the difference and the predictions of the resulting equations were confirmed in a photographic study using image analysis. The second stage of the study compared a standard and the orthognathic articulator. Plastic model skulls were mounted at different angulations to represent different natural head positions. Casts of the maxillary teeth of the skulls mounted on the orthognathic articulator accurately reproduced the occlusal plane angles of the skulls, but those mounted on the standard articulator showed systematic errors of up to 28º. Surgical movements of the maxilla were reproduced using perioperative wafers constructed on casts mounted on the standard and orthognathic articulators. The accuracy of the maxillary repositioning was assessed at five anatomical reference points on the skulls. The results indicated that the orthognathic articulator was significantly more accurate than the standard articulator

The Fungal Frontier: A Comparative Analysis of Methods Used in the Study of the Human Gut Mycobiome

This research was conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant Number SFI/12/RC/2273. PS is funded by a Royal Society-Science Foundation Ireland University Research Fellowship.peer reviewedThe human gut is host to a diverse range of fungal species, collectively referred to as the gut “mycobiome”. The gut mycobiome is emerging as an area of considerable research interest due to the potential roles of these fungi in human health and disease. However, there is no consensus as to what the best or most suitable methodologies available are with respect to characterizing the human gut mycobiome. The aim of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of several previously published mycobiome-specific culture-dependent and -independent methodologies, including choice of culture media, incubation conditions (aerobic versus anaerobic), DNA extraction method, primer set and freezing of fecal samples to assess their relative merits and suitability for gut mycobiome analysis. There was no significant effect of media type or aeration on culture-dependent results. However, freezing was found to have a significant effect on fungal viability, with significantly lower fungal numbers recovered from frozen samples. DNA extraction method had a significant effect on DNA yield and quality. However, freezing and extraction method did not have any impact on either α or β diversity. There was also considerable variation in the ability of different fungal-specific primer sets to generate PCR products for subsequent sequence analysis. Through this investigation two DNA extraction methods and one primer set was identified which facilitated the analysis of the mycobiome for all samples in this study. Ultimately, a diverse range of fungal species were recovered using both approaches, with Candida and Saccharomyces identified as the most common fungal species recovered using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, respectively. As has been apparent from ecological surveys of the bacterial fraction of the gut microbiota, the use of different methodologies can also impact on our understanding of gut mycobiome composition and therefore requires careful consideration. Future research into the gut mycobiome needs to adopt a common strategy to minimize potentially confounding effects of methodological choice and to facilitate comparative analysis of datasets.Science Foundation Irelan

Valuing Arts-based Academic Projects in a Faculty of Nursing: Experiences of Graduate Students and Supervisors

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore student and supervisor experiences and perspectives regarding the advantages and challenges of arts-based projects in the context of graduate nursing education programs. We define arts-based academic projects as graduate level projects that incorporate a significant artistic component, and that culminate in a final written report of a capping exercise, a thesis or a dissertation. Procedures: Three graduate students were asked to briefly summarize their arts-based academic projects and to reflect upon their experiences with their projects, noting the advantages and challenges that they encountered in the process. The students’ supervisors also reported their experiences with supervising students conducting arts-based academic projects. The resulting written reflections were collated and summarized. Results: The arts-based academic projects included a set of comics, a story-based digital education tool and a digital knowledge whiteboard animation video. All of these projects integrated visual art into products for the purpose of knowledge translation. The students and their supervisors identified numerous advantages to arts-based projects, such as being able to address the complexities of context and to engage broad audiences. They reported challenges such as misunderstanding and devaluing the nature of these less traditional academic projects. Conclusions: This study has implications for future arts-based projects that may be conducted in Schools or Faculties of Nursing. Supervisors and committee members play a key role in fostering the creativity of students, building on their strengths, and encouraging them to pursue innovative theses or capping exercises. Similarly, graduate program coordinators/associate deans of graduate programs can also support these students by encouraging and approving projects that are less conventional and by helping others understand the value of these projects. Résumé Objectif : Cet article a pour but d’explorer les expériences et les perspectives d’étudiantes et de directrices de projets quant aux avantages et aux défis inhérents aux projets de nature artistique dans le cadre de programmes d’études supérieures en sciences infirmières. Nous définissons les projets d’études de nature artistique comme étant des travaux des cycles supérieurs qui comportent un important volet artistique et aboutissent à la rédaction d’un rapport de fin d’études, d’une thèse ou d’un mémoire. Approche : Nous avons demandé à trois étudiantes des cycles supérieurs de résumer leur projet artistique et de réfléchir sur leur expérience en soulignant les avantages et les défis rencontrés au court du processus. Les directrices de ces projets étudiants ont également décrit leur expérience de suivi de projets d’études de nature artistique. Nous avons colligé les réflexions écrites pour en faire la synthèse. Résultats : Les projets d’études de nature artistique qui ont été présentés comprenaient une bande dessinée comme moyen de diffusion de résultats de recherche, un outil numérique d’apprentissage basé sur un récit pour des parents et des enfants asthmatiques ,et une vidéo d’animation numérique de partage de connaissances sur tableau blanc pour les parents d’enfants qui ont gastroentérite aiguë. Tous ces projets intégraient les arts visuels dans des produits destinés au transfert de connaissances. Les étudiantes et les directrices de projets ont soulevé de nombreux avantages liés à de tels projets, comme la possibilité de rendre compte de la complexité du contexte et d’intéresser un large public. Les défis soulignés incluaient notamment l’incompréhension et la dévalorisation de tels projets d’études moins conventionnels. Conclusions : Cette synthèse peut avoir des répercussions sur d’éventuels projets d’études de nature artistique menés dans les écoles ou les facultés de sciences infirmières. Les directrices et les membres de comités jouent un rôle prépondérant auprès des étudiantes, soit de favoriser leur créativité, de développer leurs forces et de les encourager à envisager des thèses et des rapports de fin d’études avant-gardistes. De même, les responsables et les vice-doyennes des programmes de cycles supérieurs peuvent soutenir ces étudiantes en favorisant et en approuvant des travaux moins conventionnels, tout en aidant les autres à en comprendre la valeur

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin - Volume 7 Number 11

Anna M. Shafer Barton Memorial Division Births Changes in the Ophthalmology Division Change of Address Clara Melville Fund Continental Tour Deceased Digest of Meetings Inter-County Hospitalization Plan Katherine Childs\u27 Letter Lost Members Marriages Miscellaneous Nursing Home Committee\u27s Report Physical Advantages President James L. Kauffman\u27s Letter President\u27s Greeting Private Duty Section Prizes Relief Fund School Nursing Silhouette of a Public Health Nurse Rooming-in of Infant with Mother Staff Activities The Student White Haven Divisio

Health-related quality of life among adolescents with eating disorders

Objective Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an emerging area of research in eating disorders (EDs) that has not been examined in adolescents in detail. The aim of the current study is to investigate HRQoL in an adolescent ED sample, examining the impact of ED symptoms on HRQoL. Methods Sixty-seven treatment-seeking adolescents (57 females) with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) completed self-report measures of HRQoL and ED symptoms. Results Participants reported poorer HRQoL in mental health domains than in physical health domains. Disordered attitudes, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors were associated with poorer mental health HRQoL, and body dissatisfaction was associated with poorer physical health HRQoL. Conclusion The current study assessed HRQoL among adolescents with EDs, finding several consistencies with the literature on adults with EDs. Future research should compare adolescents and adults with EDs on HRQoL

Drinking Water Sodium and Elevated Blood Pressure of Healthy Pregnant Women in Salinity-Affected Coastal Areas.

Coastal areas in Southeast Asia are experiencing high sodium concentrations in drinking water sources that are commonly consumed by local populations. Salinity problems caused by episodic cyclones and subsequent seawater inundations are likely (partly) related to climate change and further exacerbated by changes in upstream river flow and local land-use activities. Dietary (food) sodium plays an important role in the global burden of hypertensive disease. It remains unknown, however, if sodium in drinking water-rather than food-has similar effects on blood pressure and disease risk. In this study, we examined the effect of drinking water sodium on blood pressure of pregnant women: increases in blood pressure in this group could severely affect maternal and fetal health. Data on blood pressure, drinking water source, and personal, lifestyle, and environmental confounders was obtained from 701 normotensive pregnant women residing in coastal Bangladesh. Generalized linear mixed regression models were used to investigate association of systolic and diastolic blood pressure of these-otherwise healthy-women with their water source. After adjustment for confounders, drinkers of tube well and pond water (high saline sources) were found to have significantly higher average systolic (+4.85 and +3.62 mm Hg) and diastolic (+2.30 and +1.72 mm Hg) blood pressures than rainwater drinkers. Drinking water salinity problems are expected to exacerbate in the future, putting millions of coastal people-including pregnant women-at increased risk of hypertension and associated diseases. There is an urgent need to further explore the health risks associated to this understudied environmental health problem and feasibility of possible adaptation strategies

‘It Takes Two Hands to Clap’: How Gaddi Shepherds in the Indian Himalayas Negotiate Access to Grazing

This article examines the effects of state intervention on the workings of informal institutions that coordinate the communal use and management of natural resources. Specifically it focuses on the case of the nomadic Gaddi shepherds and official attempts to regulate their access to grazing pastures in the Indian Himalayas. It is often predicted that the increased presence of the modern state critically undermines locally appropriate and community-based resource management arrangements. Drawing on the work of Pauline Peters and Francis Cleaver, I identify key instances of socially embedded ‘common’ management institutions and explain the evolution of these arrangements through dynamic interactions between individuals, communities and the agents of the state. Through describing the ‘living space’ of Gaddi shepherds across the annual cycle of nomadic migration with their flocks I explore the ways in which they have been able to creatively reinterpret external interventions, and suggest how contemporary arrangements for accessing pasture at different moments of the annual cycle involve complex combinations of the formal and the informal, the ‘traditional’ and the ‘modern’

Application of real-time PCR to quantify hepatitis B virus DNA in chronic carriers in The Gambia

BACKGROUND/AIM: The study aimed at developing a real-time quantitative PCR assay to monitor HBV serum virus load of chronic carriers enrolled in therapeutic trials. METHOD: Quantitative real-time PCR assay was carried out using SYBR-Green signal detection and primers specific to the S gene. Thermal cycling was performed in an ABi 5700 sequence detection system. The assay was calibrated against an international HBV DNA standard and inter- and intra-assay reproducibility determined. Levels of viral load were monitored for 1-year in lamivudine treated carriers. Correlation between HBV DNA levels and HBeAg sero-status was determined in untreated carriers. RESULTS: The qPCR assay showed good intra- and inter-assay reproducibility over a wide dynamic range (1.5 × 10(3 )to 1.5 × 10(8 )copies/mL) and correlated well with those from a commercial assay (r = 0.91, (p < 0.001). Viral load levels dropped dramatically but temporarily during and after a short course of lamivudine therapy. HBV DNA was a more reliable indicator of the presence of virus than HBe antigen and was detected in 77.0% (161/209) of HBeAg negative and in all HBeAg positive carriers. CONCLUSION: This method is reliable, accurate, and reproducible. HBV DNA Quantification by qPCR can be used to monitor the efficacy of HBV therapy and useful in understanding the natural history of HBV in an endemic area

Recovery Plan for Scots Pine Blister Rust Caused by Cronartium pini

Peer reviewedPostprin