Interdisciplinary Education In Dental Hygiene: A Pilot Project

This study describes a five-hour interdisciplinary experience involving sophomore dental hygiene students, dental hygiene faculty and medical technology faculty. This experience met the objectives of interdisciplinary teaching while reinforcing and expanding on a present topic in a four-year dental hygiene curriculum. The results of this experience are documented by pre- and post-testing and student evaluations. Statistical analysis of the test results along with student commentaries support interdisciplinary education as a viable and positive teaching approach. Student ability to correctly answer topic-related cognitive questions increased significantly while their understanding of the medical technology profession and its relationship to dental hygiene also developed. The experience was included within the framework of the pre-clinical dental hygiene course which kept the implementation efficient and perhaps contributed to its success. This pilot project was a positive step toward cθntinued interdisciplinary experiences between the dental hygiene and medical technology programs and created enthusiasm for expanding the experiences in the future to include the other health programs

Antibiotic Susceptibility of Black-Pigmented \u3cem\u3eBacteroides\u3c/em\u3e Isolates from the Human Oral Cavity

The minimal inhibitory concentrations of penicillin and six other antibiotics were determined for 66 oral black-pigmented Bacteroides isolates by using the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards proposed standard agar dilution technique. These results plus iodometric determination of β-lactamase activity showed that oral isolates of black-pigmented Bacteroides are remaining relatively susceptible to commonly used antibiotics

S99RS SGB No. 25 (Poli Sci Grad)

A BILL To appropriate seven hundred eighty-three dollars ($783.00) to the Political Science Graduate Student Association to help defray the cost of sponsoring the symposium on John Paul II’s encyclical, “Faith and Reason.

Use of Interdisciplinary Education to Foster Familiarization among Health Professionals

This paper describes a pilot interdisciplinary experience between the dental hygiene and medical technology programs at Marquette University. It was designed, in part, to familiarize dental hygiene students with the medical technology profession. Comments solicited from students on the final evaluation form indicated that this pilot project was highly successful and met the objectives. Affective, multiple-choice questions on pretests and posttests showed a positive change in attitude, but this change was not statistically significant. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Benefits of this pilot project were an improved understanding of medical technology on the part of the dental hygiene students, enhanced interdepartmental communication, and plans to develop a reciprocal interdisciplinary experience for the medical technology students. It is hoped that this pilot project will serve as a stimulus for similar experiences among other health science programs

Restoring Functional Status: A Long-Term Case Report of Severe Lung and Ventilatory Muscle Pump Dysfunction Involving Recurrent Bacterial Pneumonias

Background and Purpose: Prolonged mechanical ventilation contributes to immobility and deconditioning making efforts to safely discontinue ventilator support desirable. This case report documents how implementing physical therapy treatment interventions, based on the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice, can help to restore a person’s functional status even after multiple years of mechanical ventilation dependency. Case Description: A patient (female; aged 63 years) with severe restrictive and obstructive ventilatory impairment has survived 34 recurrent pneumonias involving 6 bacterial pathogens while being mechanically ventilated at home. A 3-year study was approved and informed consent obtained for a home exercise program of resistive extremity and inspiratory muscle training along with exercise reconditioning. Tolerable distances walked, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, hours spent on versus off mechanical ventilation, activities performed within and around her home, and community excursions taken were charted. Outcomes: Daily time tolerated off the ventilator improved from less than one to 12 hours, distance walked in 6 minutes increased 33%, and maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures improved 62% and 9.6% respectively. These improvements made out-of-home social excursions possible. Discussion and Conclusions: This patient’s functional status improved following multiple physical therapy interventions dictated by the evaluation of initial physical therapy examination findings according to the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice. Long term mechanical ventilator dependency in the home environment did not exclude this patient from achieving clinically significant gains in functional status even when having severe restrictive and obstructive ventilator impairment

The Counselor\u27s Role in Encouraging the Adolescent to Christian Love with Special Reference to Carl Rogers\u27 Theory of Counseling

One of the most repeated injunctions in the New Testament is that Christians should love one another. Accordingly, an important objective of Christian education is that the Christian understand and put love into practice in his life. Love is the dominant motive and central emotion of the Christian life. 1 In this paper the writer will examine how Christian love may be encouraged in a specific age group, adolescents. Only one aspect of encouraging Christian love, namely by interpersonal relations, will be considered. More specifically, the study will treat the youth counselor\u27s part in encouraging Christian love in adolescents

In vitro Effects of Two Silver Electrodes on Select Wound Pathogens

The use of electrical current to promote wound healing is well documented. However, little is understood about the effects of micro-amperage direct current (μADC) on growth of wound pathogens. The purpose of this project was to investigate the antibacterial effects of a silver wire/silver nylon electrode carrying μADC in vitro on several Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The current was delivered via silver wire and silver nylon electrodes at an amplitude of 100 μA for a 30-minute duration in an in vitro system. Results demonstrated that only silver wire carrying current inhibited bacterial growth around the anode. In contrast, the silver nylon electrode with or without current exhibited antibacterial activity around both the anode and cathode. The results of this study provide convincing evidence that the silver ion (AG+) is responsible for suppressing bacterial growth. Both silver electrodes were bactericidal with all Gram negative bacteria tested and bacteriostatis with most Gram positive bacteria tested, suggesting that the cell wall composition may be a determining factor in the effectiveness of the AG+

Antibacterial Effects of a Silver Electrode Carrying Microamperage Direct Current in vitro

Currently, electrical stimulation is an accepted method used clinically to promote chronic wound healing. A literature review revealed that similar therapeutic current has been shown to suppress growth of common wound pathogens in vitro and in vivo. To date, little has been reported on the factors contributing to the antibacterial effects of microamperage direct current (μADC) stimulation. The purpose of this project was to investigate the role of electric field strength, current density, pH, and type of electrode used in vitro, to gain a better understanding of how these factors contribute to inhibiting growth of select wound pathogens. μADC was applied via silver electrodes at amplitudes ranging from 26 μA to 800 μA in an in vitro system consisting of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results suggest that transmission of μADC by silver wire inhibits bacterial growth around the anode, and that the area of inhibition is directly proportional to the size of the electrode used. Current amplitude (as a function of electric field strength and current density) and pH did not seem to cause the antibacterial effects observed in this study

The relationship between instructional strategies and teacher evaluation in Michigan public schools

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether teachers altered instructional strategies based on their local school district’s teacher evaluation framework. Further, if changes were made to their use of instructional strategies, specific factors that influenced the changes were explored. This information is important because school districts across Michigan spend time, energy, and money for new teacher evaluation frameworks. Thus, it is essential to know if these frameworks change the use of instructional strategies in the classroom. Teachers in 10 southeastern Michigan public school districts were surveyed to determine use of research-based instructional strategies before and after the implementation of new teacher evaluation frameworks. The survey explored the frequency of support teachers received for professional development related to teacher evaluation in their school district and the use of instructional strategies. The following research questions guided this study: Was there a significant relationship between the usage of specific teacher evaluation frameworks and the usage of specific instructional strategies? Was there any significant influence between the reported usage of instructional strategies and any factors that might have influenced this change? Findings from this study indicated no statistical significance in the use of research-based instructional strategies based on the specific teacher evaluation framework used in local school districts. Although all instructional strategies reported gains in use from the previous to current evaluation frameworks, some variables impacted the increase of use more than others. Data showed that the specific factor of classroom culture, which involved instructional strategies of expectations that all students will achieve the goals of the lesson and helping students to understand the value of what they are learning, was negatively correlated among Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and elementary special education teachers. Findings suggested that teachers in these early grades and special education have concerns about increased expectations for curriculum standards to be mastered at an early age. Future studies that focus primarily on developmentally appropriate instructional strategies that support early childhood students may have a greater impact on teaching and learning than specific teacher evaluation frameworks used in local school districts

USDA Forest Service Perspectives on Forest Management in a Changing Climate

The Forest Service faces significant climate change-related management challenges. Understanding employee perspectives on climate change will inform potential strategies to address these challenges. By analyzing data from key informant interviews and an internet survey of Forest Service employees in the Intermountain West, this study examined how Forest Service employees view and approach climate change, assessed how they perceive barriers to and opportunities for climate change adaptation within the National Forest System, and compared their perspectives across the organizational hierarchy, from district level to national policy making. The results show that although forest managers consider climate change a concern for the agency in general, they do not necessarily see how it affects the work they do personally. Although they tend to agree that climate change should be a high priority for the agency, their own ability to incorporate adaptive practices into managing a National Forest is limited by various constraints, including a lack of time, funding, and personnel, a lack of direction for on-the-ground management, and a communication gap, which has inhibited climate change-related knowledge transfer within the agency. Thus, more effective communication is needed to help forest managers see how climate change affects various aspects of forest ecosystem health in their own National Forests or districts, how climate change poses challenges to forest resilience, and what can be done to incorporate climate change considerations into their own work. The agency needs to focus on building trust, especially across its hierarchical structure, and on encouraging both vertical and horizontal information flow among employees to facilitate scientific knowledge sharing and to enhance formal and informal social networking for increased collaboration. The agency also needs to create more opportunities for district-level employees to provide feedback and get involved in climate change-related policy making, as they are a crucial source of local knowledge and experience and can be invaluable in problem-solving within the National Forest System. The insights from this study not only contribute to the Forest Service’s continuous efforts to adapt to climate change but also shed light on strategies that can be tailored by other natural resource agencies to address various management challenges within the context of global environmental change