Mapping species of greatest conservation need and solar energy potential in the arid Southwest for future sustainable development.

The need for renewable energy has become increasingly evident in response to the climate change crisis, presenting a paradoxical challenge to biodiversity conservation. The Southwest United States is desirable for large-scale solar energy development (SED) due to its high global horizontal irradiance (GHI) values and vast open landscapes. However, this region is also rich in unique ecological and biological diversity.

Recognising and supporting authentic learning in a changing world: the opportunities and threats of AI.

Since the term AI (artificial intelligence) was first coined, it has become embedded in modern life, with debate focusing on its challenges. In dentistry, AI is being used in clinical and education practice; however, many educators have limited knowledge or skills in its use. The British Alliance of Researchers in Dental Education and Scholarship hosted an AI-themed conference in November 2023.

Patient Feedback Applied in Undergraduate Dental Education for Individual Student Development and Assessment: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: Active involvement of patients in healthcare professional education is well established, taking a variety of forms. There is a steer towards patient feedback informing the development of dental students and while there is recognition of its potential value to individual students, challenges exist related to collection and use. What is unclear is, within a dental education setting, the extent and use of patient feedback to individual students.

Social Environment, Lifestyle, and Genetic Predisposition With Dementia Risk: A Long-Term Longitudinal Study Among Older Adults.

Background: The role of social environment, that is, the aggregate effect of social determinants of health (SDOHs), in determining dementia is unclear.

Methods: We developed a novel polysocial risk score for dementia based on 19 SDOH among 5 199 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, United States, to measure the social environmental risk. We used a survival analysis approach to assess the association between social environment and dementia risk in 2006-2020.

Association between multimorbidity and informal long-term care use in China: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: The impact of multimorbidity on long-term care (LTC) use is understudied, despite its well-documented negative effects on functional disabilities. The current study aims to assess the association between multimorbidity and informal LTC use in China. We also explored the socioeconomic and regional disparities.

Durable contraception in the female domestic cat using viral-vectored delivery of a feline anti-Müllerian hormone transgene.

Eighty percent of the estimated 600 million domestic cats in the world are free-roaming. These cats typically experience suboptimal welfare and inflict high levels of predation on wildlife. Additionally, euthanasia of healthy animals in overpopulated shelters raises ethical considerations.

Life-course inequalities in intrinsic capacity and healthy ageing, China.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of early-life factors on intrinsic capacity of Chinese adults older than 45 years.

Methods: We used data on 21 783 participants from waves 1 (2011) and 2 (2013) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), who also participated in the 2014 CHARLS Life History Survey to calculate a previously validated measure of intrinsic capacity. We considered 11 early-life factors and investigated their direct association with participants' intrinsic capacity later in life, as well as their indirect association through four current socioeconomic factors.

Quantifying the financial impact of overuse in primary care in China: A standardised patient study.

Overuse of health care is a potential factor in explaining the rapid increase in health care expenditure in many countries; however, it is difficult to measure overuse. This study employed the novel method of using unannounced standardised patients (SPs) to identify overuse, document its patterns and quantify its financial impact on patients in primary care in China. We trained 18 SPs to present consistent cases of two common chronic diseases and recorded 492 physician-patient interactions in 63 public and private primary hospitals in a capital city in western China in 2017 and 2018.

Determinants of early-access to retirement savings: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian regulations strictly limit early withdrawals from retirement plan accounts. However, in 2020, the Government made otherwise illiquid plan balances temporarily liquid, offering emergency relief during the pandemic. The COVID-19 Early Release Scheme allowed participants in financial hardship easy access to up to $A20,000 of savings over two rounds.

Evaluation of student-perceived competence of interprofessional working in Gerodontology.

Objective: To evaluate pharmacy, dental and dental therapy undergraduate students' perceived competence of interprofessional working before and after attending an interprofessional education (IPE) Gerodontology workshop.

Background: Whilst there is international recognition of the importance of collaboration between the dental profession and systemic healthcare providers to enhance patient care, there remains a paucity of research into IPE in Gerodontology.

Materials And Methods: Pharmacy, dental and dental therapy undergraduate students attended a 2-hour Gerodontology case-based workshop.

Disease burden of ageing, sex and regional disparities and health resources allocation: a longitudinal analysis of 31 provinces in Mainland China.

Objectives: To measure the disease burden of ageing based on age-related diseases (ARDs), the sex and regional disparities and the impact of health resources allocation on the burden in China.

Design: A national comparative study based on Global Burden of Diseases Study estimates and China's routine official statistics.

Setting And Participants: Thirty-one provinces of Mainland China were included for analysis in the study.

No fry zones: How restaurant distribution and abundance influence avian communities in the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area.

Urbanization is one of the most widespread and extreme examples of habitat alteration. As humans dominate landscapes, they introduce novel elements into environments, including artificial light, noise pollution, and anthropogenic food sources. One understudied form of anthropogenic food is refuse from restaurants, which can alter wildlife populations and, in turn, entire wildlife communities by providing a novel and stable food source.

Representation: raising awareness of opportunities and skill development with undergraduate dental students.

Representatives for dentists are required for many governing committees, local and national, that contribute to many aspects of the profession related to politics, the workplace, education, or community-building. Developing skills as a representative can begin as an undergraduate in student representation systems as part of UK university governance structures. At one UK dental institution, there was a plan to explore the learning and skill development of current student representatives, review the training, identify any areas where there were gaps or where they should be strengthened, and consider whether a new training programme could be developed.

Species traits explain public perceptions of human-bird interactions.

The impacts of urbanization on bird biodiversity depend on human-environment interactions that drive land management. Although a commonly studied group, less attention has been given to public perceptions of birds close to home, which can capture people's direct, everyday experiences with urban biodiversity. Here, we used ecological and social survey data collected in the metropolitan region of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, to determine how species traits are related to people's perceptions of local bird communities.

Professionalism and dental education: in search of a shared understanding.

Professionalism has profound historical origins; however, the current health care environment in the UK dental sphere is changing, which presents new professional dilemmas that require continued learning and debate. Professionalism is a key aspect of the education of dental students and the lifelong learning and development of dental practitioners. However, 'being' professional can be challenging because while it is recognised as a social good, there is much debate on what professionalism means and how best it can be learned and assessed.

From inputs to outputs: an analysis of the changes to learning outcomes for dental undergraduate education in the UK.

Introduction/aims Preparing for practice (PfP) was thought to represent a significant shift in the expectations of dental undergraduates compared to its predecessor, The first five years (TFFY). This project aimed to explore requirement changes by comparing learning outcomes for undergraduate dentists in these two documents. Changes in curriculum requirements defining clinical, professional, or a blend of these skills were also investigated.

Undergraduate dental education: an education or training?

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate dental education has led to new ways of working, different modes of delivery for elements of programmes and, in some cases, revised timelines for progression. These expedient changes, like the virus, may be with us for some time. However, as we come out of an intense period of critical reflection and change, it may also offer us an opportunity and impetus to revisit unresolved challenges around the focus and role of undergraduate dental education.

Preparing Teachers to Teach in K-12 Blended Environments: A Systematic Mapping Review of Research Trends, Impact, and Themes.

Despite evidence concerning the widespread growth of K-12 blended teaching and the impact that emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the spread of K-12 online and blended teaching, we could find no systematic reviews focused on preparing K-12 teachers for blended teaching. Previous literature reviews, such as those from Halverson et al. (2012) and Drysdale et al.

Integrated ecosystems: linking food webs through reciprocal resource reliance.

Ecosystems are defined, studied, and managed according to boundaries constructed to conceptualize patterns of interest at a certain scale and scope. The distinction between ecosystems becomes obscured when resources from multiple origins cross porous boundaries and are assimilated into food webs through repeated trophic transfers. Ecosystem compartments can define bounded localities in a heterogeneous landscape that simultaneously retain and exchange energy in the form of organic matter.

Cross-species efficacy of a chemically-defined, soy lecithin-based cryomedium for semen banking in imperiled wild felids.

Felid semen has historically been frozen using an egg yolk-based cryopreservation medium. However, the use of egg introduces several potential concerns, such as variability in composition, microbial contamination, and regulatory issues. In the present study, our aim was to compare a chemically-defined, soy-based medium (SOY) to a commercial egg yolk-based medium (TEY) for the cryopreservation of sperm in four imperiled small cat species.

Granulocytic Sarcoma: A Rare Cause of Wrist Pain.

Septic, inflammatory, or crystal-induced arthritis are common etiologies of wrist pain without antecedent trauma associated with pain, loss of motion, swelling, redness, and warmth. In this report, we detail the case of granulocytic sarcoma of the wrist that presented as acute wrist pain, swelling, and limitation in motion. Granulocytic sarcoma is an exceedingly rare extramedullary tumor associated with acute myeloblastic leukemia.

Assisted reproduction mediated resurrection of a feline model for Chediak-Higashi syndrome caused by a large duplication in LYST.

Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (CHS) is a well-characterized, autosomal recessively inherited lysosomal disease caused by mutations in lysosomal trafficking regulator (LYST). The feline model for CHS was originally maintained for ~20 years. However, the colonies were disbanded and the CHS cat model was lost to the research community before the causative mutation was identified.

Professionalism in undergraduate dental education: a pause for thought.

Professionalism in dental education, as well as in the wider dental profession, is a regularly discussed and debated topic. It may seem obvious what is meant by 'professionalism' and in many situations it is clear what constitutes a professional approach or behaviour, but contention exists in how to articulate, measure and consider aspects of this complex and context dependent phenomenon. Getting 'it' right early on, with our students and new graduates, is a strategic priority, contributing to 'upstream' activities which have an intention of preventing future issues or harm.