Can men who abuse children change?

Convicted child sexual offenders studied and method of treatment described. The role of alcohol is looked at and the sex offender who abuses alcohol is distinguished from the alcoholic who molests or rapes children. The criteria for success are set out and the rate of success recorded.     

Competencies in implant therapy for the dental graduate. Appropriate educational methods

Modern dental education should have in on one hand the necessary education and training to make modern dentists capable of implementing population and individual preventive strategies, and on the other make them competent to satisfy current public demands to most patients. Amongst the restorative procedures most demanded by patients implant therapy has reached a clear pre-dominance. Although specialists have traditionally rendered this therapeutic procedure, in simple cases there is seldom need for extensive surgical procedures and therefore there is a clear need to introduce these studies in modern dental curricula. To facilitate the harmonisation and convergence of dental education in Europe, the Association for Dental Education in Europe and DentEd have defined a set of competencies for the graduating dentist in the EU. Using the same framework, we herein define the agreed competencies in implant dentistry, within the different domains, for both the undergraduate and the postgraduate student. Within a context of a competence-based curriculum implant dentistry should be taught as part of the major and supportive competencies described with a strong emphasis on inter-disciplinarity and integration.     

New Zealand National Lesbian Health Survey

Objective: This New Zealand study set out to measure the self-assessed health status of a snowball sample of lesbians in New Zealand, focusing on how lesbians use health services and perceived barriers to accessing health care. Design: A questionnaire was modeled on a North Health Study (1) which included the SF-36 survey instrument (2). Setting: The Lesbian Health Questionnaire was distributed and collected for 6 months through a variety of sporting, newsletter, social, and cultural groups. Participants: A total of 2703 questionnaires were distributed and 791 were returned, a rate of 29%. The ages ranged from under 17 to 70 years old, with less Maori and Pacific Island lesbians than in the general population. Measurements: Percentages were calculated on the general questions and a standardized set of questions and calculated scoring was used to measure the self-assessed health of respondents. Results: There are difficulties in making valid comparisons between the random sample of women and a snowball sample of lesbians. The 791 lesbians who returned completed questionnaires used alternative health professionals more, had poorer overall health, had more injuries, and delayed seeking health care even from alternative health professionals. The study respondents were more overweight than the random sample of women and had less cervical checks. The lesbians over 50 had had more mammograms than the general population. Seventy-seven percent were out to their health professional and 5% reported a negative reaction to their declaration. In New Zealand-laws forbidding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation have been in place since 1993, yet 5 years later this study suggests lesbians may have poorer health, and their delaying consultation requires further study. Conclusion: This study supports overseas research showing that lesbians delay seeking health care and find barriers to health care that are different from a random sample of women.     

CD4+ T cells from COVID-19 mRNA vaccine recipients recognize a conserved epitope present in diverse coronaviruses

Recent studies have shown that vaccinated individuals harbor T cells that can cross-recognize SARS-CoV-2 and endemic human common cold coronaviruses. However, it is still unknown whether CD4⁺ T cells from vaccinated individuals recognize peptides from bat coronaviruses that may have the potential of causing future pandemics. In this study, we identified a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein epitope (S_815-827) that is conserved in coronaviruses from different genera and subgenera, including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, multiple bat coronaviruses, and a feline coronavirus. Our results showed that S_815-827 was recognized by 42% of vaccinated participants in our study who received the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) or Moderna (mRNA-1273) COVID-19 vaccines. Using T cell expansion and T cell receptor sequencing assays, we demonstrated that S_815-827-reactive CD4⁺ T cells from the majority of responders cross-recognized homologous peptides from at least 6 other diverse coronaviruses. Our results support the hypothesis that the current mRNA vaccines elicit T cell responses that can cross-recognize bat coronaviruses and thus might induce some protection against potential zoonotic outbreaks. Furthermore, our data provide important insights that inform the development of T cell–based pan-coronavirus vaccine strategies.