Nudibranchs that feed on cnidarians must defend themselves from the prey's nematocysts or risk their own injury or death. While a nudibranch's mucus has been thought to protect the animal from nematocyst discharge, an inhibition of discharge by nudibranch mucus has never been shown. The current study investigated whether mucus from the aeolid nudibranch Aeolidia papillosa would inhibit nematocyst discharge from four species of sea anemone prey. Sea anemone tentacles were contacted with mucus-coated gelatin probes, and nematocyst discharge was quantified and compared with control probes of gelatin only. Mucus from A. papillosa inhibited the discharge of nematocysts from sea anemone tentacles. This inhibition was specifically limited to the anemone species on which the nudibranch had been feeding. When the prey species was changed, the mucus changed within 2 weeks to inhibit the nematocyst discharge of the new prey species. The nudibranchs apparently produce the inhibitory mucus rather than simply becoming coated in anemone mucus during feeding. Because of the intimate association between most aeolid nudibranchs and their prey, an adaptable mucus protection could have a significant impact on the behavior, distribution, and life history of the nudibranchs.

Cultural differences between faculty and their students can create important challenges that affect the quality and efficacy of online teaching and learning. The objectives of this study were to: (a) create and pilot test an assessment for online faculty to measure culturally responsive teaching knowledge (CRT) and culturally responsive educational practices (CREP) in teaching and advising students of color, military students, LGBTQ students, religious minority students, and international students; (b) describe participants' CRT knowledge, value, and CREP; and (c) examine differences between their knowledge and their practices. The combined pilot and main study sample was comprised of 47 completed surveys. Internal consistency reliability was high for all subscales (.895-.970); subscale intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from .526-.833. The pilot round revealed strong face and content validity. Campbell-Fiske multitraitmultimethod matrix generated evidence of construct validity. Within-group comparisons of subscale scores using Wilcoxon Signed-ranks test revealed some significant differences between perceived knowledge and practice. Mann Whitney U test did not reveal significant differences in subscale scores or overall score by sector, degree level taught, or gender. The results have important implications for faculty training, professional development, mentoring, and support. Faculty who teach online who understand and value culturally responsive pedagogy and have the knowledge and skills to implement best practices in meeting the needs of diverse learners will enhance both teaching and learning. Culturally responsive knowledges and practice are particularly important as online programs are becoming ubiquitous across traditional institutions of higher education and their core faculty are teaching an increasingly diverse student body.

No abstract

Background: Due to the variety of factors involved in TMDs it is not surprising to see a wide range of treatment modalities being suggested for TMD patients. However, one determinant of treatment for TMD that is often overlooked is the practitioner's knowledge and beliefs about the syndrome itself. Objectives: To evaluate changes in experts' knowledge and beliefs regarding Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) since the administration of the first such survey by Le Resche, Truelove and Dworkin in 1993. Patients and Methods: A survey invitation was emailed to 62 dentists and 19 psychologists, all determined to be experts in the orofacial pain/TMD field. All dentists selected to be part of this survey were members of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. Psychologists were selected based on their publications in this field. The Le Resche et al. questionnaire was used with the following adaptations: four new statements were inserted; one statement was removed; and a 6-point Likert agreement scale for each statement was used instead of the original 11-point scale. Reminder emails were sent at one week and one month to maximize the response rate. Changes in responses to each item from the original survey were assessed using z-test. Results: Thirty-four dentists but only three psychologists responded to the survey. Therefore only responses from dentists were used in the analysis. Overall there was a high level of agreement between the original sample and the current sample. Of the 34 original items there was very clear consensus on 24. There was consensus on two new items in the survey on the need for a tomogram and splint therapy. Conclusions: Twenty years after the original survey, the knowledge and beliefs regarding TMDs among experts in this field have not changed significantly.

No abstract