John Peel's Home Truths

Although widely regarded as the most influential British radio DJ of the last century, John Peel was also a presenter of speech radio. This article examines his career presenting two BBC Radio 4 speech programmes; ‘Offspring’ and ‘Home Truths’. Research carried out included interviews with radio producers, close listening to selected programmes presented by Peel as well as reviewing the literature on radio presentation and broadcast talk. The evidence shows that Peel's success owed a lot to his ability to create a distinct radio persona, one which inspired a unique listening community. Themes of eccentricity, English nationalism, parenting and ageing were central to ‘Home Truths’ as were nostalgic references to the past. The article begins with a consideration of some of the relevant literature on radio presentation and DJs followed by an account of Peel's early career. His experience writing for ‘Radio Times’ is described and the influence this had on his selection to present on Radio 4. There are detailed accounts of the genesis of both ‘Offspring’ and its successor, ‘Home Truths’ which explain the roles of women producers in their creation. Peel's persona is discussed with reference to concepts of broadcast talk, discursive space and co-presence

A survey of dentists? practice in the restoration of the shortened dental arch

Objectives: The aim of this survey was to determine how a sample of dentists working in general dental practice in the UK sought to restore the mouths of patients who had shortened dental arches (SDAs). Study design: A survey was conducted over a period of six months on four commercial dental laboratories. Cases of SDAs comprising the anterior teeth and 2 to 4 premolars were examined; dental prescriptions were scrutinized and a special data collection form was completed accordingly. Results: A total of 140 SDA cases were examined. Most of these cases were for mandibular SDAs (88.6%). Of the recorded SDA cases, 67.2% were restored by cobalt-chromium based removable partial dentures (RPD); 25.7% were extended by acrylic-resin based RPDs; implants were provided to restore 8 SDA cases (5.7%); and only two SDA cases (1.4%) were extended by cantilevered fixed bridges. Neither the gender of the patient ([Chi (2)= 4.19, p>0.05) nor the length of the SDA ([Chi (2) = 6.51, p>0.05) influenced the choice of prosthesis to be implemented. Conclusions: It would appear from the results of this survey that among the different restorative treatment options for SDA, the RPD was the most popular treatment option for dentists surveyed in this UK study. Extending the SDA by either an implant-supported prosthesis or cantilevered fixed bridges did not appear to be a popular choice of treatment

Effect of 2.94 μm Er: YAG laser on the chemical composition of hard tissues

AbstractThe aim was to investigate the effect of the Er-YAG laser radiation on morphology and chemicalcomposition of enamel, dentin, and bone. The specimens of the three groups were irradiated with a very long pulse mode (VLP) of 2.94 mm Er-YAG laser with 100 mJ pulse energy and energy density of 8.42 J/cm2 for 30 s, at a repetition rate of 15 Hz. The organic and inorganic content of the samples were investigated by Fourier Transforms Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphological characteristics were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis (calcium and phosphorus) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). FTIR data were analysed with a One-Way ANCOVA test and EDX data with the independent sample t-test. Following the laser radiation, FTIR showed a significant decrease in the organic content of all tissues. The weight percentage (wt %) calcium content of dentin and bone increased significantly following irradiation with a p-value of .002 for both tissues, but the wt % of phosphorus content was not influenced significantly. The morphological alterations expressed signs of fusion in all the samples

Feasibility and criterion validity of The Holistic and Reliable Oral Assessment Tool (THROAT) in acute dysphagic stroke patients

Introduction: Aspiration of oral bacteria is a biologically plausible mechanism in the development of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP). There are no validated nursing assessment tools for oral health in stroke care or oral hygiene intervention trials. The Holistic and Reliable Oral Assessment Tool (THROAT) has been developed for use in older hospitalised patients and may have value in acute stroke patients. We evaluated the feasibility and concurrent validity of THROAT compared to a detailed dental examination in dysphagic acute stroke patients.Aims: To assess the feasibility and concurrent validity of a nurse-assessed oral assessment tool (THROAT) compared to a detailed dental examination in dysphagic acute stroke patients. A secondary aim was to assess the predictive validity of the tool for SAP. Method: A prospective, single-centre cohort observational design based at Salford Royal Foundation Trust. Patients within 24 hour of acute stroke onset, who were nil-by-mouth and expected to remain on the stroke unit >72 hours were screened for inclusion. THROAT was recorded by a research nurse, and a blinded dental care professional undertook a detailed dental examination, both within 24 hours of stroke symptom onset. Follow up every 48 hours until day 10 post-stroke was undertaken to determine acquisition of SAP.Results: Of 51 eligible patients approached, 33 (65%) consented to participate with one withdrawal (n=32, median age 79y; 56% women; median NIH stroke scale score=10.5). Both oral examinations were successfully completed and well tolerated in all participants. The mean time to complete THROAT was 2.1 minutes, and 5.3 minutes for the dental examination. Correlation between the individual components of THROAT and the dental examination was generally poor, although there was a modest correlation (r=0.48, p=0.00519) between the ‘Teeth/Denture’ score of THROAT and ‘percentage of teeth with ≥1 site with plaque present’ from the dental examination. 6 patients were diagnosed with SAP (18.8%); those with SAP were significantly associated,

The ADEPT study: a comparative study of dentists' ability to detect enamel-only proximal caries in bitewing radiographs with and without the use of AssistDent artificial intelligence software

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2020-10-20, accepted 2020-12-16, registration 2021-01-01, pub-print 2021-10, pub-electronic 2021-10-22, online 2021-10-22Publication status: PublishedAbstract: Introduction Reversal of enamel-only proximal caries by non-invasive treatments is important in preventive dentistry. However, detecting such caries using bitewing radiography is difficult and the subtle patterns are often missed by dental practitioners. Aims To investigate whether the ability of dentists to detect enamel-only proximal caries is enhanced by the use of AssistDent artificial intelligence (AI) software. Materials and methods In the ADEPT (AssistDent Enamel-only Proximal caries assessmenT) study, 23 dentists were randomly divided into a control arm, without AI assistance, and an experimental arm, in which AI assistance provided on-screen prompts indicating potential enamel-only proximal caries. All participants analysed a set of 24 bitewings in which an expert panel had previously identified 65 enamel-only carious lesions and 241 healthy proximal surfaces. Results The control group found 44.3% of the caries, whereas the experimental group found 75.8%. The experimental group incorrectly identified caries in 14.6% of the healthy surfaces compared to 3.7% in the control group. The increase in sensitivity of 71% and decrease in specificity of 11% are statistically significant (p <0.01). Conclusions AssistDent AI software significantly improves dentists' ability to detect enamel-only proximal caries and could be considered as a tool to support preventive dentistry in general practice