In vitro activity of EDTA and TOL-463 against Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae quickly develops drug resistance. Time-kill curves revealed that EDTA and TOL-463 inhibit growth similar to penicillin, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin. Furthermore, synergistic and additive antimicrobial interactions occurred when EDTA and TOL-463 were combined with penicillin or azithromycin, respectively, suggesting that further investigations into these unconventional antimicrobials may be advantageous.     

Dental Signatures for Exudativory in Living Primates,with Comparisons to Other Gouging Mammals

Exudativory, the consumption of gums, is an obligate or a facultative dietary niche for some primates and marsupials. Exudativory has been cited as a dietary niche that may have been present in early primates, so finding a dental signature for exudativory is highly desirable. The present study combines exudativorous lorisoids (galagos and lorises) into one sample to compare to closely related, non-exudativorous lorisoids to search for a consistent dental signature of exudativory. Linear measurements were taken from the toothcomb, P₂, M₃, upper canine, and P² from skulls of 295 adult galagids and lorisids. Also, differential distribution of enamel on the anterior teeth was qualitatively investigated as a dental signature for gouging (a behavior that facilitates some exudativory) by micro-CT scanning one specimen each from two gougers, Nycticebus coucang and Callithrix jacchus, and two non-gougers, Perodicticus potto, and Saguinus fuscicollis. Non-primate gouging mammals, the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus and the sugar glider Petaurus breviceps, were compared to non-gouging relatives. Statistical analysis revealed that exudativorous galagos and lorises had significantly (P < 0.05) reduced M₃ relative to non-exudativorous galagos and lorises. While the sample sizes for assessing enamel thickness were small, preliminary results show that gouging primates and non-primate mammals have reduced lingual enamel thickness on the anterior dentition compared to non-gouging relatives. We suggest that reduction of mastication, and, therefore, M₃ dimensions are a likely dental signature for exudativory in Primates. While broader samples are needed to statistically confirm, differential distribution of enamel in the anterior dentition may also be a signature of exudativory. Anat Rec, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 303:265–281, 2020. © 2018 American Association for Anatomy     

The Private Practice of Prosthodontists: Current and Future Conditions of Practice in the United States (Part 2)

PURPOSE: Data are used to examine current and future conditions important to the private practice of prosthodontics. A concern is raised as to whether the future supply of prosthodontists is in sync with the dynamics of the US population and patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four trends are examined using data from various sources. The trends include: (1) growth in the number of private practicing prosthodontists, (2) projections of the future number of private practicing prosthodontists, (3) first year enrollment in dental schools, and (4) enrollments and graduates in residency programs. RESULTS: The number of private practicing prosthodontists has increased modestly over the past 21 years, growing 1.33% per year. The number of private practitioners is projected to reach 4,125 in 2025. A key variable in this projection is the growing number of elderly adults. While dental school enrollments have been increasing, concern is raised about the amount of exposure by students to an undergraduate curriculum in prosthodontics. There has been a general decline in enrollment in the nation's prosthodontics residency programs at the rate of -2.9% per year. An average of 181 program graduates are needed to achieve the 4125 projected number of private practitioners. CONCLUSION: Increasing demand for services from prosthodontists is supported by an increasing US population size and a growing population of elderly. Efforts to grow the number of private practicing prosthodontists will have to consider several concerns including residency program enrollments, undergraduate exposure to prosthodontics, and the overall economic returns expected from engaging in the private practice of prosthodontics. Choosing a career as a private practicing prosthodontist is a timely consideration and complimented by expected increases in demand for care and favorable financial returns to practice.     

Stomatology and odontology: perspectives of Spanish professors and senior lecturers in dentistry

The curricula of dental faculties in many countries of the European Union can be described as odontological. The faculties of some of the countries who have become and are becoming members of the European Community have traditionally educated dentists in the stomatological tradition. In 1987, the Spanish dental education system initiated movement from the stomatological model to the odontological. Both models have their respective strengths and weaknesses. This study surveyed professors and senior lecturers in Spain’s public dental faculties to assess their perspectives on 10 items related to the tension between the odontological and the stomatological approach to preparing dentists. Amongst other things, the results of the study indicate that the respondents believe the odontological model, with its emphasis on strengthening technical qualifications, may not prepare individuals for dental practice better than the stomatology tradition; and that the odontological model results in the loss of the strength of the stomatological model, that is, the strong foundation in clinical medicine. The suggestion is advanced that European dental educators consider revising the odontology curriculum to strengthen the education of dental students in clinical medicine. A curriculum in which dental and medical students share the first 3 years of study could accomplish this. It is further suggested that subsequent years in the curriculum be flexible enough for students to earn degrees in both dentistry and medicine, if desired. Such an approach is not inconsistent with the accepted profile and competencies of the European dentist.     

Information literacy: developing lifelong skills through nursing education

The amount and complexity of information nurses are expected to manage continues to increase exponentially. Support has grown for integrated curriculum approaches that include appropriate content on the use of a variety of information formats and instruction using resource-based and process methods. Such teaching-learning approaches demand a major shift in educational paradigms and encompass resource-based learning, undergraduate research, service learning, inquiry learning, and problem-based learning. The implementation of an integrated curriculum promises advanced information skills, access, and use of available evidence to support clinical decision making and a foundation for lifetime learning. In this article, we argue that for information literacy to be enhanced, collaboration between teaching faculty and librarians must be fostered in meaningful ways. We report on the rationale of an integrated curriculum, changes to nursing education, and obstacles to the development and application of advanced information skills that exist within higher education and clinical settings.     

Effects of Circuit Resistance Training and Timely Protein Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Fat Oxidation in Tetraplegic Adults

Background:

Substrate utilization during exercise in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) remains poorly defined.

Purpose:

To investigate effects of circuit resistance training (CRT) and timing of protein supplementation (PS) on fuel utilization in persons with tetraplegia.

Methods:

Eleven individuals with chronic tetraplegia underwent 6 months of CRT 3 times weekly. Five randomly assigned participants received immediate PS (iPS) administered in split doses prior to and following all exercise sessions. Other participants consumed a matched dose of PS that was delayed until 24 hours post-exercise (dPS). Participants underwent a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) to volitional exhaustion at 4 conditioning time points: 3 months before (-3mo), at the beginning of (0mo), 3 months into (3mo), and 6 months following (6mo) the CRT conditioning program. Respiratory measures were continuously obtained throughout the GXT via open-circuit spirometry. Fuel utilization and energy expenditure were computed from the respiratory data.

Results:

The differences in changes in substrate utilization between the PS groups were not significant as determined by the interaction of PS group and conditioning time point, F (3, 27) = 2.32, P = .098, η²_P = .205. Maximal absolute fat oxidation did not change significantly from 0 to 6mo (mean difference, 0.014 ± 0.031 g/min; P = .170), and fat oxidation remained low never exceeding an average of 0.10 ± 0.09 g/min for any given exercise intensity.

Conclusion:

Maximum fat utilization during exercise and fat utilization at matched exercise intensities were not increased in persons with tetraplegia, independent of PS, and levels of fat oxidation remained low after training.Key words: carbohydrate, fat, oxidationCnsiderable evidence documents a disturbing prevalence of overweight and obesity in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Combined prevalence rates for conditions of overweight and obesity in persons with chronic SCI are daunting; depending on the definition used for classification, they range from 55%¹ to 95.7%² of the population. Accretion of body fat is most common within 2 to 7 months of injury after SCI and is likely caused by physical deconditioning, loss of metabolically active muscle mass, reduced whole body energy expenditure, and a hypercaloric diet whose macronutrient composition is excessive in saturated fat.Fat oxidation plays an important role in daily energy homeostasis and the etiology of obesity, and numerous studies have reported a reduced ability to oxidize fat in obese individuals at rest and during exercise.^3–8 It is known that persons with physical disability have a 1.2- to 3.9-fold higher prevalence of obesity than those without disability,⁹ yet little is known about their substrate partitioning at rest or during physical activity. When compared to nondisabled controls performing voluntary exercise, persons with SCI have markedly reduced mobilization, delivery, and limb uptake of free fatty acids (FFA) during electrically stimulated leg exercise.¹⁰ This is most likely the result of reduced sympathoadrenal ß-adrenergic stimulation and/or limited neural activity in motor centers and afferent nerves from working muscle, depending on the level of injury.¹⁰ The limited FFA availability during exercise leads to heavy reliance on carbohydrates (CHO) and the limited contribution of fats as a fuel source.^11–15Knowledge of training-induced adaptations in substrate use after SCI represents an important step in evaluating exercise as a legitimate intervention to reduce the prevalence and severity of cardioendocrine diseases such as obesity; these adaptations have received limited research attention. A majority of studies on substrate partitioning after SCI have involved subjects who were already well-trained.^11–15 Otherwise, functional electrical stimulation (FES) training for 1 year shifted muscle fiber type distribution toward fatigue resistance and increased the activity of mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase and ß-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase.^16,17 Although these adaptations provide indirect evidence for higher rates of maximal whole body fat oxidation, their effects on substrate oxidation and partitioning during more common volitional arm exercise were not examined.We have previously reported that 6 months of circuit resistance training (CRT) performed by persons with chronic SCI improves fitness measures of peak cardiorespiratory (CR) capacity (VO_2peak), time to fatigue, peak and average anaerobic power output, and isokinetic and isoinertial strength.^18,19 Recent data from our laboratory²⁰ also show that the addition of an optimally timed protein supplementation (PS) to a CRT conditioning program by persons with chronic tetraplegia augments gains made in CR fitness and anaerobic power, although it is not known whether these fitness gains translate into increased fat oxidation during exercise. As improvements in CR fitness have long been associated with an enhanced ability to utilize fat as a fuel source,^21–23 this investigation analyzed changes on substrate utilization following 6 months of CRT in persons with tetraplegia and examined whether these changes were affected by timely PS. It was hypothesized that conditioning exercise would be associated with greater amounts and proportions of fat utilization measured during matched intensities of subpeak work and that timely PS would further enhance these beneficial conditioning adaptations.