Teaching and assessment of implant dentistry in undergraduate and postgraduate education: a European consensus

This paper constitutes a summary of the consensus documents agreed at the First European Workshop on Implant Dentistry University Education held in Prague on 19-22 June 2008. Implant dentistry is becoming increasingly important treatment alternative for the restoration of missing teeth, as patients expectations and demands increase. Furthermore, implant related complications such as peri-implantitis are presenting more frequently in the dental surgery. This consensus paper recommends that implant dentistry should be an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum. Whilst few schools will achieve student competence in the surgical placement of implants this should not preclude the inclusion of the fundamental principles of implant dentistry in the undergraduate curriculum such as the evidence base for their use, indications and contraindications and treatment of the complications that may arise. The consensus paper sets out the rationale for the introduction of implant dentistry in the dental curriculum and the knowledge base for an undergraduate programme in the subject. It lists the competencies that might be sought without expectations of surgical placement of implants at this stage and the assessment methods that might be employed. The paper also addresses the competencies and educational pathways for postgraduate education in implant dentistry.

Query Technologies and Applications for Program Comprehension

Industrial software systems are large and complex, both in terms of the software entities and their relationships. Consequently, understanding how a software system works requires the ability to pose queries over the design-level entities of the system. Traditionally, this task has been supported by simple tools (e.g., grep) combined with the programmer's intuition and experience. Recently, however, specialized code query technologies have matured to the point where they can be used in industrial situations, providing more intelligent, timely, and efficient responses to developer queries. This working session aims to explore the state of the art in code query technologies, and discover new ways in which these technologies may be useful in program comprehension. The session brings together researchers and practitioners. We survey existing techniques and applications, trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches, and sketch out new frontiers that hold promise.

Cochlear implantation in children and adults in Switzerland

The cochlear implant (CI) is one of the most successful neural prostheses developed to date. It offers artificial hearing to individuals with profound sensorineural hearing loss and with insufficient benefit from conventional hearing aids. The first implants available some 30 years ago provided a limited sensation of sound. The benefit for users of these early systems was mostly a facilitation of lip-reading based communication rather than an understanding of speech. Considerable progress has been made since then. Modern, multichannel implant systems feature complex speech processing strategies, high stimulation rates and multiple sites of stimulation in the cochlea. Equipped with such a state-of-the-art system, the majority of recipients today can communicate orally without visual cues and can even use the telephone. The impact of CIs on deaf individuals and on the deaf community has thus been exceptional. To date, more than 300,000 patients worldwide have received CIs. In Switzerland, the first implantation was performed in 1977 and, as of 2012, over 2,000 systems have been implanted with a current rate of around 150 CIs per year. The primary purpose of this article is to provide a contemporary overview of cochlear implantation, emphasising the situation in Switzerland.

Influence of Gestational Age and Parental Education on Executive Functions of Children Born Very Preterm

Background: Children born very preterm (<32 weeks’ gestational age; VPT) and/or very low birth weight (<1500 g; VLBW) are at high risk of deficits in executive functions, namely inhibition, working memory, and shifting. Both, gestational age and socioeconomic factors, such as parental education, are known to influence executive functions, with children born at lower gestational age and with lower educated parents displaying worse executive skills. This study aimed to investigate if maternal and paternal education moderated the relationship between gestational age and executive functions in VPT/VLBW children aged 8-12 years. It was hypothesised that the disadvantageous effect of low gestational age could be buffered more easily in families with higher educational background. Methods: Sixty VPT/VLBW children born in the cohort of 1998-2003 were recruited. All children completed executive function tasks (inhibition, working memory, and shifting). Results: There was a significant dose-response-relationship between gestational age and inhibition, with children being born at earlier gestational age showing worse inhibition. However, neither maternal nor paternal education moderated the relationship between gestational age and executive functions significantly. Conclusion: children than parental education. The disadvantageous effect of low gestational age was equal in children with higher and lower educated parents. However, the impact of gestational age and parental education on executive functions may differ depending on the socioeconomic spectrum of the study sample.

Children and adults with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura associated with severe, acquired Adamts13 deficiency: comparison of incidence, demographic and clinical features

BACKGROUND Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) associated with severe, acquired ADAMTS13 deficiency is uncommonly reported in children. The incidence, demographic, and clinical features of these children, compared to adults, have not been described. PROCEDURES This study focused on children (<18 years old) and adults with TTP associated with severe, acquired ADAMTS13 deficiency, defined as activity <10%. The incidence rates for TTP in children and adults were calculated from patients enrolled in the Oklahoma TTP-HUS (Hemolytic-Uremic syndrome) Registry, 1996-2012. To describe demographic and clinical features, children with TTP were also identified from a systematic review of published reports and from samples sent to a reference laboratory for analysis of ADAMTS13. RESULTS The standardized annual incidence rate of TTP in children was 0.09 × 10(6) children per year, 3% of the incidence rate among adults (2.88 × 10(6) adults per year). Among the 79 children who were identified (one from the Oklahoma Registry, 55 from published reports, 23 from the reference laboratory), TTP appeared to be more common among females, similar to the relative increased frequency of women among adults with TTP, and more common in older children. Clinical data were available on 52 children; the frequency of severe renal failure, relapse, treatment with rituximab, and systemic lupus erythematosus in these children was similar to adults with TTP. CONCLUSIONS TTP associated with severe, acquired ADAMTS13 deficiency is uncommon in children. The demographic and clinical features of these children are similar to the features of adults with TTP.

Migrant Background and Higher Education Participation in Europe. The Effect of the Educational Systems

The main aim of this article is to shed light on the extent to which differences in higher education participation between people with and without a migrant background of low/higher social origin can be explained by two macro-level characteristics of national educational institutions: stratification of the secondary school system and provision of alternative access to higher education. General assumptions are that people with a migrant background of low social origin benefit in low-stratified secondary school systems and in systems that provide alternative access to institutions of higher education more than their native peers in the same social stratum, owing to primary and secondary effects of migrant background. Database is a pooled dataset of the five waves of the European Social Survey. Results of logistic multi-level analyses indicate that a low-stratified secondary school system improves the probability of people with a migrant background/low social origin attaining a higher education degree. On the other hand, a stratified secondary school system reduces their chances regarding this educational stage. The provision of alternative access to an institution of higher education improves their likelihood of becoming higher education graduates.

Individual and spousal education, mortality and life expectancy in Switzerland: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND Household measures of socioeconomic position may better account for the shared nature of material resources, lifestyle, and social position of cohabiting persons, but household measures of education are rarely used. We aimed to evaluate the association of combined educational attainment of married couples on mortality and life expectancy in Switzerland. METHODS The study included 3 496 163 ever-married persons aged ≥30 years. The 2000 census was linked to mortality records through 2008. Mortality by combined educational attainment was assessed by gender-age-specific HRs, with 95% CIs from adjusted models, life expectancy was derived using abridged life tables. RESULTS Having a less educated partner was associated with increased mortality. For example, the HR comparing men aged 50-64 years with tertiary education married to women with tertiary education to men with compulsory education married to women with compulsory education was 2.05 (1.92-2.18). The estimated remaining life expectancy in tertiary educated men aged 30 years married to women with tertiary education was 4.6 years longer than in men with compulsory education married to women with compulsory education. The gradient based on individual education was less steep: the HR comparing men aged 50-64 years with tertiary education with men with compulsory education was 1.74 (1.67-1.81). CONCLUSIONS Using individual educational attainment of married persons is common in epidemiological research, but may underestimate the combined effect of education on mortality and life expectancy. These findings are relevant to epidemiologic studies examining socio-demographic characteristics or aiming to adjust results for these characteristics.

TNF receptors regulate vascular homeostasis in zebrafish through a caspase-8, caspase-2 and P53 apoptotic program that bypasses caspase-3

Although it is known that tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) signaling plays a crucial role in vascular integrity and homeostasis, the contribution of each receptor to these processes and the signaling pathway involved are still largely unknown. Here, we show that targeted gene knockdown of TNFRSF1B in zebrafish embryos results in the induction of a caspase-8, caspase-2 and P53-dependent apoptotic program in endothelial cells that bypasses caspase-3. Furthermore, the simultaneous depletion of TNFRSF1A or the activation of NF-κB rescue endothelial cell apoptosis, indicating that a signaling balance between both TNFRs is required for endothelial cell integrity. In endothelial cells, TNFRSF1A signals apoptosis through caspase-8, whereas TNFRSF1B signals survival via NF-κB. Similarly, TNFα promotes the apoptosis of human endothelial cells through TNFRSF1A and triggers caspase-2 and P53 activation. We have identified an evolutionarily conserved apoptotic pathway involved in vascular homeostasis that provides new therapeutic targets for the control of inflammation- and tumor-driven angiogenesis.