This Investigation (this + investigation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Pulpal status of human primary teeth with physiological root resorption

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 1 2009
JOANA MONTEIRO
Objective., The overall aim of this study was to determine whether any changes occur in the pulpal structure of human primary teeth in association with physiological root resorption. Methods., The experimental material comprised 64 sound primary molars, obtained from children requiring routine dental extractions under general anaesthesia. Pulp sections were processed for indirect immunofluorescence using combinations of: (i) protein gene product 9.5 (a general neuronal marker); (ii) leucocyte common antigen CD45 (a general immune cell marker); and (iii) Ulex europaeus I lectin (a marker of vascular endothelium). Image analysis was then used to determine the percentage area of staining for each label within both the pulp horn and mid-coronal region. Following measurement of the greatest degree of root resorption in each sample, teeth were subdivided into three groups: those with physiological resorption involving less than one-third, one-third to two-thirds, and more than two-thirds of their root length. Results., Wide variation was evident between different tooth samples with some resorbed teeth showing marked changes in pulpal histology. Decreased innervation density, increased immune cell accumulation, and increased vascularity were evident in some teeth with advanced root resorption. Analysis of pooled data, however, did not reveal any significant differences in mean percentage area of staining for any of these variables according to the three root resorption subgroups (P > 0.05, analysis of variance on transformed data). Conclusions., This investigation has revealed some changes in pulpal status of human primary teeth with physiological root resorption. These were not, however, as profound as one may have anticipated. It is therefore speculated that teeth could retain the potential for sensation, healing, and repair until advanced stages of root resorption. [source]


Community health practitioner's practice guideline for a changing health care: Korean contribution

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2009
Il Sun Ko
Aims and objectives., The specific aims of the study were (1) to identify community residents' health problems and community health practitioners' activities, (2) to explore community health practitioners' perception of the practice guidelines and (3) to provide recommendations for the development of a new practice guideline in the future. Background., Community health practitioners in Korea are recognised as a critical component of the public health workforce in rural areas. Community health practitioners are registered nurses with six months special training, who have the chief responsibility of delivering primary health care to remote or isolated communities. Although there has been numerous changes in focus of community health practitioners practice over the two decades, community health practitioners guidelines have never been updated since being first developed in 1981. Design., This investigation employed a cross-sectional survey and focus group interview. Methods., The samples included two different groups: 1003 community health practitioners participated in a survey and a group of 12 community health practitioners participated in a focus group interview. A measure of perception of the guideline was developed from Mansfield's work. Goolsby's criteria were revised and used to guide the focus group interview. Results., The participants recognised that the role of community health practitioners is in a process of transition and expect to use well developed guidelines that will allow an appropriate response to the needs of the community. Community health practitioners are generally supportive of practice guidelines although they report various contextual, social and resource barriers to the use of practice guidelines. Finally, the researchers have provided recommendations for the development of new community health practitioners practice guidelines. Conclusion., A newly developed community health practitioners guideline should assist in articulating new roles and responsibilities in the practice of community health practitioners and establish a foundation for knowledge, skills and training necessary for them to work independently. Relevance to clinical practice., New services made available for under-recognised health problems may be a direct outcome of newly developed guidelines. [source]


Lecturer practitioners in six professions: combining cultures

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 5 2004
Pat Fairbrother BA
Background., Whilst research has been undertaken in relation to the lecturer practitioner role in nursing, there have been no cross-professional studies. There is an explicit political agenda in the United Kingdom on interprofessional education and enhancing the status of those who provide practice-based teaching. Aim., This paper reports a study to investigate the commonalities and differences between lecturer practitioners across professions and to generate hypotheses about the role, which follows different models of practice in the different professions. Methods., An exploratory research design was adopted, using semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of lecturer practitioners from six professions (architecture, clinical psychology, law, medicine, nursing and social work). A grounded theory approach was used. Findings., All lecturer practitioners perceived a clear dichotomy between their professional practice role and their university role. All used similar strategies to adapt to and deal with combining two very differently perceived cultures. There were striking similarities in response to the consequences of serving ,two masters' in the areas of time management and role identity/definition. Conclusions., The role not only bridges theory and practice, but has to operate within very different organizational cultures. Further research is needed to test the generalizability of the findings. Relevance to clinical practice., This investigation aims to inform higher education and health service policy on lecturer practitioners, and also provide support for those undertaking this challenging role. The study poses challenging questions for policymakers in the current climate of interprofessional learning, which need to be addressed if future initiatives in this area are to be successful. [source]


Personality Development From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Differential Stability, Normative Maturity, and Evidence for the Maturity-Stability Hypothesis

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2007
M. Brent Donnellan
ABSTRACT This investigation examined personality development during the transition from adolescence to adulthood using the brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (Patrick, Curtin, & Tellegen, 2002). Parent and self-reports of personality were obtained in 1994 (average age=17.60 years), and self-reports were obtained in 2003 (average age=27.24 years). There was evidence of both differential stability and normative changes in the direction of increased functional maturity during this transition. Moreover, adolescents with more mature personalities in 1994 tended to show fewer personality changes from 1994 to 2003. These maturity-stability effects held when parent reports were used to assess personality. All told, there was evidence of both stability and change in personality during the transition to adulthood. [source]