Factors influencing dental students' specialty choice: a survey of ten graduating classes at one institution.

The aim of this study was to survey ten graduating classes at Harvard School of Dental Medicine regarding students' specialty choice and factors influencing that choice. Students were surveyed once in 2008 (for the Classes of 2007-11) and again in 2013 (for the Classes of 2012-16). A prior article reported results regarding students' interest in and experiences with prosthodontics; this article presents results regarding their interest in all dental specialties and factors influencing those interests.

Dental students' perceptions of and experiences with prosthodontics: ten graduating classes at one institution.

It is important for members of the dental specialties to understand what motivates students to enter the specialty in order to ensure its continuing development and ability to meet patient needs. The aim of this study was to compare ten graduating classes at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) regarding students' experiences with and perceptions of prosthodontics and factors influencing those interested in pursuing prosthodontics as a specialty. In 2013, HSDM students in the classes of 2012-16 were surveyed, achieving a response rate of 81%.

Transcription blockage by homopurine DNA sequences: role of sequence composition and single-strand breaks.

The ability of DNA to adopt non-canonical structures can affect transcription and has broad implications for genome functioning. We have recently reported that guanine-rich (G-rich) homopurine-homopyrimidine sequences cause significant blockage of transcription in vitro in a strictly orientation-dependent manner: when the G-rich strand serves as the non-template strand [Belotserkovskii et al. (2010) Mechanisms and implications of transcription blockage by guanine-rich DNA sequences.