The dental informatics online community

Dental Informatics (DI) is the application of computer and information science to improve dental practice, research, education, and program administration. To support the growth of this emerging discipline, we created the Dental Informatics Online Community (DIOC). The DIOC provides a dedicated professional home for DI researchers and serves as an open, common, and worldwide forum for all individuals interested in the field. It was created and is maintained by the Center for Dental Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, independent from any professional association, corporate interest or funding source. The DIOC''s Website provides many useful features, such as a learning center, publication archive, member and project directories, and the Current Awareness Service (CAS). The CAS automatically notifies members about new information added to the Community. Notifications are individualized according to a member''s profile and activities on the site. The DIOC is a research-oriented online community which provides resources in the dental informatics and dental technology field, as well as a way to establish social connections to share ideas, problems and research opportunities. Member and activity growth since the community''s inception in 2005 have been steady, but future sustainability of the community depends on many factors.     

A taxonomic wish-list for community ecology

Community ecology seeks to explain the number and relative abundance of coexisting species. Four research frontiers in community ecology are closely tied to research in systematics and taxonomy: the statistics of species richness estimators, global patterns of biodiversity, the influence of global climate change on community structure, and phylogenetic influences on community structure. The most pressing needs for taxonomic information in community ecology research are usable taxonomic keys, current nomenclature, species occurrence records and resolved phylogenies. These products can best be obtained from Internet-based phylogenetic and taxonomic resources, but the lack of trained professional systematists and taxonomists threatens this effort. Community ecologists will benefit most directly from research in systematics and taxonomy by making better use of resources in museums and herbaria, and by actively seeking training, information and collaborations with taxonomic specialists.     

Murray James Barrett, dental anthropologist: Yuendumu and beyond

Murray James Barrett (1916-1975) graduated from the University of Adelaide's Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme in 1939 and subsequently became a colleague of Professor Thomas Draper Campbell (1893-1967). Campbell's passion for dental anthropology and his special interest in food habits and dental disease inspired Barrett to commence a longitudinal growth study in the 1960s of Aboriginal Australians living at Yuendumu in the Northern Territory of Australia. This study, referred to as the Dentgro project, involved the collection of dental records, growth data and cultural information about the Wailbri people.Murray Barrett's application of computer technology enabled him to automate the entry of data derived from the Dentgro study and to develop programmes to analyse those data. The collection of dental casts (over 1700 serial casts for more than 450 individuals) and other records have provided a unique resource for research and teaching purposes. The casts have been in constant use for over 40 years providing insights into many aspects of dental development, including: the timing and sequence of tooth emergence; the nature and extent of variation in dental crown size and morphology in human populations; the patterns of growth in the dental arches over time; the range of occlusal variation between individuals; and the effects of wear on the dentition. The Yuendumu cast collection, representing a population with limited exposure to European customs and dietary habits, continues to attract the Adelaide School of Dentistry many interstate and overseas researchers interested in genetic and environmental influences on human dental development.     

Mouse tumor biology database (MTB): enhancements and current status

The Mouse Tumor Biology Database (MTB) is a Web-based resource that provides access to information on tumor frequency and latency, genetics and pathology in genetically defined mice (transgenics, targeted mutations and inbred strains). MTB is designed to serve as an information resource for cancer genetics researchers who use the laboratory mouse as a model system for understanding human disease processes. Data in MTB are obtained from the primary scientific literature and direct submissions by the research community. MTB is accessible from the Mouse Genome Informatics Web site (http://www. informatics.jax.org). User support is available for MTB via Email at mgi-help@informatics.jax.org     

Community response grids: using information technology to help communities respond to bioterror emergencies

Access to accurate and trusted information is vital in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an emergency. To facilitate response in large-scale emergency situations, Community Response Grids (CRGs) integrate Internet and mobile technologies to enable residents to report information, professional emergency responders to disseminate instructions, and residents to assist one another. CRGs use technology to help residents and professional emergency responders to work together in community response to emergencies, including bioterrorism events. In a time of increased danger from bioterrorist threats, the application of advanced information and communication technologies to community response is vital in confronting such threats. This article describes CRGs, their underlying concepts, development efforts, their relevance to biosecurity and bioterrorism, and future research issues in the use of technology to facilitate community response.     

Re-thinking organisms: The impact of databases on model organism biology

Community databases have become crucial to the collection, ordering and retrieval of data gathered on model organisms, as well as to the ways in which these data are interpreted and used across a range of research contexts. This paper analyses the impact of community databases on research practices in model organism biology by focusing on the history and current use of four community databases: FlyBase, Mouse Genome Informatics, WormBase and The Arabidopsis Information Resource. We discuss the standards used by the curators of these databases for what counts as reliable evidence, acceptable terminology, appropriate experimental set-ups and adequate materials (e.g., specimens). On the one hand, these choices are informed by the collaborative research ethos characterising most model organism communities. On the other hand, the deployment of these standards in databases reinforces this ethos and gives it concrete and precise instantiations by shaping the skills, practices, values and background knowledge required of the database users. We conclude that the increasing reliance on community databases as vehicles to circulate data is having a major impact on how researchers conduct and communicate their research, which affects how they understand the biology of model organisms and its relation to the biology of other species.     

Application of the community oral health indicator by non-dental personnel and its contribution to oral healthcare

Objective

To validate the Community Oral Health Indicator-COHI by non-dental personnel.

Methods

Risk assessment is an essential component in the decision-making process. Therefore, the COHI, an instrument to evaluate population oral health situation in a simple manner, was created. Community Health Agents (CHA) were trained to use the COHI (variables as number of teeth, presence of cavities, residual dental roots, oral lesions, etc.), while dentists for the COHI and DMFT. 60 individuals were examined, by CHA and DS, with these indicators in order to validate the use of COHI by non-dental personnel.

Results

Dental and soft tissues problems were well spread among those individuals. People with and without soft tissue damage, as well as with and without use and/or need for prostheses were found in the sample, proving it to be a heterogeneous population for the evaluated factors and representing the real population. The results of examinations performed by dentists using the COHI and DMF-T/dmf-t presented strong agreement when comparing the two instruments. When COHI and DMFT were compared, the results showed a concordance of 0.86 for the number of present teeth, and 0.85 for the number of residual roots. Likewise, when analyzing the data comparing the use of the COHI by DS and CHA a high agreement level, specificity and sensitivity was found.

Conclusion

The COHI has shown to be useful for detecting problems in oral health. Therefore, COHI may be used, after training, by non-dental personnel, contributing to the planning and organization of the community dental assistance.     

Culture,dental professionals and oral health values in multicultural societies: measuring cultural factors in geriatric oral health research and education

Culture has significant impacts upon professional practice and patient health behaviours, especially in multicultural societies. This paper introduces the concept of culture and examines how it may be of importance to dental health professionals. Using the Dental Impact Profile and other dental social science measures, dental researchers and students can be engaged in studying cultural values and characteristics as a way of dealing with cultural differences.     

The primate community of Cachoeira (Brazilian Amazonia): a model to decipher ecological partitioning among extinct species

Dental microwear analysis is conducted on a community of platyrrhine primates from South America. This analysis focuses on the primate community of Cachoeira Porteira (Para, Brazil), in which seven sympatric species occur: Alouatta seniculus, Ateles paniscus, Cebus apella, Chiropotes satanas, Pithecia Pithecia, Saguinus midas, and Saimiri sciureus. Shearing quotients are also calculated for each taxon of this primate community. Dental microwear results indicate significant differences between taxa, but are somewhat insufficient when it comes to discriminating between ecologically similar taxa. The primates of Cachoeira Porteira all incorporate a certain amount of fruit in their diet, entailing a definite amount of inter-specific competition as they must share food resources. Alouatta is the most folivorous taxon of this community, which is corroborated by dental microwear analysis. Ateles, although of a similar size to Alouatta, limits inter-specific competition by incorporating more fruit in its diet. Cebus has a very diverse omnivorous diet, which is highlighted in this study, as it compares to both fruit and leaf eating taxa. In some cases, microwear results need to be supplemented by other methods. For example, dental microwear seems insufficient to distinguish between Pithecia and Chiropotes, which eat foods with similar physical properties. However, other methods (i.e. shearing quotients and body mass) provide enough complimentary information to be able to highlight differences between the two taxa. On the other hand, dental microwear can highlight differences between primates which have similar diets, such as Saimiri and Saguinus. In this case, differences could be due to other exogenous factors.     

当代水族男性的牙齿磨耗特点及其成因

一直以来,有关人类牙齿磨耗的研究主要集中在年龄判定和生业方式比较方面。然而,很多研究因样本人群来源复杂、忽视个体牙齿磨耗的特殊性及缺乏足够的个人信息,很难进一步解释其牙齿磨耗特点的成因。本文基于对当代水族男性牙齿磨耗的记录和相关信息,通过梳理该人群牙齿磨耗的一般特点和特殊磨耗形式,探讨了有关影响该人群牙齿磨耗的可能因素。笔者发现,总体来说,该人群的牙齿磨耗较轻,牙齿磨耗水平与其年龄分布呈正相关关系,符合人类牙齿面随年龄增长而发生退行性生理磨耗的规律。牙齿磨耗等级在不同年龄中呈镶嵌式分布,某些个体存在越位磨耗现象。从本文的结果看,这些现象的产生除了退行性生理磨耗的原因外,还可能与口腔健康状况、饮食结构和少餐习惯等因素密切相关。     

Aerosolization of mycobacteria and legionellae during dental treatment: low exposure despite dental unit contamination

Dental unit waterlines (DUWL) support growth of a dense microbial population that includes pathogens and hypersensitivity-inducing bacteria, such as Legionella spp. and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Dynamic dental instruments connected to DUWL generate aerosols in the work environment, which could allow waterborne pathogens to be aerosolized. The use of the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) provides a more accurate estimation of exposure levels compared with the traditional culture approach. Bioaerosol sampling was performed 13 times in an isolated dental treatment room according to a standardized protocol that included four dental prophylaxis treatments. Inhalable dust samples were taken at the breathing zone of both the hygienist and patient and outside the treatment room (control). Total bacteria as well as Legionella spp. and NTM were quantified by qPCR in bioaerosol and DUWL water samples. Dental staff and patients are exposed to bacteria generated during dental treatments (up to 4.3 E + 05 bacteria per m(3) of air). Because DUWL water studied was weakly contaminated by Legionella spp. and NTM, their aerosolization during dental treatment was not significant. As a result, infectious and sensitization risks associated with legionellae and NTM should be minimal.     

温州裂叶月见草入侵群落和土壤种子库种类组成的季节动态

通过野外调查和萌发实验,研究了浙江温州地区裂叶月见草(Oenothera laciniata)入侵群落和土壤种子库种类组成的季节动态,结果表明:裂叶月见草土壤种子库中共有种子植物46种,种子库各层储昔与物种数量不同,呈现为上层(0～2 cm)>中层(2～5 cm)>下层(5～10 cm),层间差异较明显;裂叶月见草入侵群落地上植被与土壤种子库群落组成相似性系数为0.632,表明该群落裂叶月见草入侵时间不长,处在演替的初期阶段;裂叶月见草种子具有休眠特性,并在萌发的过程中阶段性破除休眠;裂叶月见草的重要值与群落的物种多样性存在着正相关性,但未达显著水平(P>0.05);在每年的11月至次年4月裂叶月见草营养生长期铲除是控制裂叶月见草传播和扩散的有利时机.     

Reexamining Sample Size Requirements for Multivariate,Abundance-Based Community Research: When Resources are Limited,the Research Does Not Have to Be

Community ecologists commonly perform multivariate techniques (e.g., ordination, cluster analysis) to assess patterns and gradients of taxonomic variation. A critical requirement for a meaningful statistical analysis is accurate information on the taxa found within an ecological sample. However, oversampling (too many individuals counted per sample) also comes at a cost, particularly for ecological systems in which identification and quantification is substantially more resource consuming than the field expedition itself. In such systems, an increasingly larger sample size will eventually result in diminishing returns in improving any pattern or gradient revealed by the data, but will also lead to continually increasing costs. Here, we examine 396 datasets: 44 previously published and 352 created datasets. Using meta-analytic and simulation-based approaches, the research within the present paper seeks (1) to determine minimal sample sizes required to produce robust multivariate statistical results when conducting abundance-based, community ecology research. Furthermore, we seek (2) to determine the dataset parameters (i.e., evenness, number of taxa, number of samples) that require larger sample sizes, regardless of resource availability. We found that in the 44 previously published and the 220 created datasets with randomly chosen abundances, a conservative estimate of a sample size of 58 produced the same multivariate results as all larger sample sizes. However, this minimal number varies as a function of evenness, where increased evenness resulted in increased minimal sample sizes. Sample sizes as small as 58 individuals are sufficient for a broad range of multivariate abundance-based research. In cases when resource availability is the limiting factor for conducting a project (e.g., small university, time to conduct the research project), statistically viable results can still be obtained with less of an investment.     

Increasing access for biochemistry research in undergraduate education: The malate dehydrogenase CURE community

Integrating research into the classroom environment is an influential pedagogical tool to support student learning, increase retention of STEM students, and help students identify as scientists. The evolution of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) has grown from individual faculty incorporating their research in the teaching laboratory into well-supported systems to sustain faculty engagement in CUREs. To support the growth of protein-centric biochemistry-related CUREs, we cultivated a community of enthusiastic faculty to develop and adopt malate dehydrogenase (MDH) as a CURE focal point. The MDH CURE Community has grown into a vibrant and exciting group of over 28 faculty from various institutions, including community colleges, minority-serving institutions, undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive institutions in just 4 years. This collective has also addressed important pedagogical questions on the impact of CURE collaboration and the length of the CURE experience in community colleges, undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive institutions. This work provided evidence that modular or partial-semester CUREs also support student outcomes, especially the positive impact it had on underrepresented students. We are currently focused on expanding the MDH CURE Community network by generating more teaching and research materials, creating regional hubs for local interaction and increasing mentoring capacity, and offering mentoring and professional development opportunities for new faculty adopters.     

广西顶蛳山遗址人骨的龋齿病理观察

顶蛳山遗址位于广西壮族自治区南宁市邕宁区,保存了丰富的新石器时代文化遗存以及大量的古人类骨骼遗存。本文主要从龋齿研究入手,对顶蛳山二、三期文化(8-7 ka BP)中大于15岁的169个体的2737枚恒齿进行了观察。分别统计了龋齿等级和个体和牙齿患龋率以评估人群患龋情况,进而分析顶蛳山遗址人群的口腔健康状况,并探讨了食物构成、饮食行为与社会经济等。统计结果表明,顶蛳山遗址人群的个体和牙齿患龋率都较高。患龋率在两性、葬式、年龄段间都存在差异,女性患龋程度要高于男性;不同葬式之间差异也显著,随着年龄的增长患龋的比例和程度也随之加深。通过与其他8组新石器时代国内遗址人群的个体和牙齿患龋率的对比,我们看到包含顶蛳山在内的三组华南渔猎采集遗址的个体和牙齿患龋率都要高于其他遗址,农业遗址的人群要低于华南遗址的患龋率,而混合经济遗址的患龋率最低。龋齿的出现与人类饮食中的碳水化合物关系密切。据此,我们推测顶蛳山及其他两组华南遗址的高患龋与碳水化合物的摄入关系密切,但这与一般所认为的农业的出现没有联系。三组遗址都是以渔猎采集主导的社会经济形态,并且这时期农业并未传播至华南地区。因此我们的分析表明高患龋率与农业并没有必然联系,而华南地区当时人群所食用的碳水化合物可能源于当地的块茎类和含蔗糖类植物。     

Xerostomic medications and oral health: the Veterans Dental Study (part I)

Objectives: To quantify the adverse effects of the number of xerostomic medications on dental caries, oral mucosa, andperiodontal disease. Design: Secondary analysis of across‐sectional study of the Veterans Dental Study. Setting: Four New England area VA outpatient clinics. Subjects: The sample consists of 345 male veterans participating in The Veteran's Dental Study who also had pharmacy records. Main outcome measures: Oral health data included total surfaces of coronal caries, a modification of the root caries index, mean oral mucosa scores, and Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need (CPITN). Oral health parameters were measured and recorded in clinical dental examinations. Exposures: Intake of xerostomic medications 14‐385 days prior to the dental examination. Statistical Analyses: The relationships between exposure and outcome were analyzed via linear and logistic regression methods adjusting for possible confounding factors such as disease burden index, alcohol consumption, dental care, and smoking status. Results: Veterans who were taking at least one xerostomic medication were almost three times more likely to have mean mucosa scores in the worst 25 percentile than veterans taking no xerostomic medications, OR= 2.63 (confidence interval [CI] 1.34,5.16, p=0.03) after adjusting for age, number of teeth, disease burden index, income, smoking and alcohol use. Participants who were taking at least one xerostomic medication experienced higher but non‐significant increases in coronal (OR =1.21; CI. 0.66, 2.25) and root caries (OR =1.10 CI. 0.54, 2.24) measured by numbers of total decayed surfaces. Conclusion: There were significant deleterious effects of xerostomic medications on oral mucosa. However, xerostomic medications do not appear to increase coronal caries, or periodontal index measured by CPITN among ambulatory, community dwelling participants who were able to perform routine preventive oral care.     

Caring for older people. Community services: health.

Many frail or disabled elderly people are now being maintained in the community, partially at least as a consequence of the Community Care Act 1993. This paper details the work of the major health professionals who are involved in caring for older people in the community and describes how to access nursing, palliative care, continence, mental health, Hospital at Home, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, equipment, and optical, dental, and dietetic services. In many areas, services are evolving to meet needs and some examples of innovative practice are included.     

Reasons for referral of very elderly patients to the Community Dental Service in rural England and the implications for developing oral health care services

Objective : To analyse the medical conditions and dental treatment requirements. Design : Retrospective analysis. Setting : Rural South West Surrey, England. Subjects : 100 patients aged 75 or over who were referred for dental treatment to the Community Dental Services ( CDS ) because of various medical disabilities. Measurements : Age, sex, medical history including drug intake, dental treatment provided, time taken for treatment. Results : Two-thirds of the patients required domiciliary care; two-thirds had problems of mental confusion. In addition, 89% were dependent on carers. Treatment requirements indicate that the majority of dental care, although time consuming, were simple in nature and within the technical scope of a competent general dental practitioner (GDP). Conclusion : This study implies that the reasons for referral are other than lack of dental skills and may be due to perceived difficulties in managing patients. Further research is recommended to establish whether aspects of patient management are problematic so that resources, including appropriate training programmes, can be developed to enable a quality service to be provided. In the evolving health care system in the United Kingdom (UK) these issues will need to be considered when developing contracts at a local level.     

Crowdsourcing biocuration: The Community Assessment of Community Annotation with Ontologies (CACAO)

Experimental data about gene functions curated from the primary literature have enormous value for research scientists in understanding biology. Using the Gene Ontology (GO), manual curation by experts has provided an important resource for studying gene function, especially within model organisms. Unprecedented expansion of the scientific literature and validation of the predicted proteins have increased both data value and the challenges of keeping pace. Capturing literature-based functional annotations is limited by the ability of biocurators to handle the massive and rapidly growing scientific literature. Within the community-oriented wiki framework for GO annotation called the Gene Ontology Normal Usage Tracking System (GONUTS), we describe an approach to expand biocuration through crowdsourcing with undergraduates. This multiplies the number of high-quality annotations in international databases, enriches our coverage of the literature on normal gene function, and pushes the field in new directions. From an intercollegiate competition judged by experienced biocurators, Community Assessment of Community Annotation with Ontologies (CACAO), we have contributed nearly 5,000 literature-based annotations. Many of those annotations are to organisms not currently well-represented within GO. Over a 10-year history, our community contributors have spurred changes to the ontology not traditionally covered by professional biocurators. The CACAO principle of relying on community members to participate in and shape the future of biocuration in GO is a powerful and scalable model used to promote the scientific enterprise. It also provides undergraduate students with a unique and enriching introduction to critical reading of primary literature and acquisition of marketable skills.