The Department of Dental Medicine of Lutheran Medical Center has developed an asynchronous online curriculum consisting of prerecorded PowerPoint presentations with audio explanations. The focus of this study was to evaluate if the new asynchronous format satisied the educational needs of the residents compared to traditional lecture (face-to-face) and synchronous (distance learning) formats. Lectures were delivered to 219 dental residents employing face-to-face and synchronous formats, as well as the new asynchronous format; 169 (77 percent) participated in the study. Outcomes were assessed with pretests, posttests, and individual lecture surveys. Results found the residents preferred face-to-face and asynchronous formats to the synchronous format in terms of effectiveness and clarity of presentations. This preference was directly related to the residents' perception of how well the technology worked in each format. The residents also rated the quality of student-instructor and student-student interactions in the synchronous and asynchronous formats signiicantly higher after taking the lecture series than they did before taking it. However, they rated the face-to-face format as signiicantly more conducive to student-instructor and student-student interaction. While the study found technology had a major impact on the eficacy of this curricular model, the results suggest that the asynchronous format can be an effective way to teach a postgraduate course.

Objectives. Characterize the skills and abilities required for department chairs, identify development needs, and then create AACP professional development programs for chairs. Methods. A 30-question electronic survey was sent to AACP member department chairs related to aspects of chairing an academic department. Results. The survey identified development needs in the leadership, management, and personal abilities required for effective performance as department chair. The information was used to prioritize topics for subsequent AACP development programs. Subsequent programs conducted at AACP Interim and Annual Meetings were well attended and generally received favorable reviews from participants. A list of development resources was placed on the AACP website. Conclusions. This ongoing initiative is part of an AACP strategy to identify and address the professional development needs of department chairs. Survey results may also inform faculty members and other academic leaders about the roles and responsibilities of department chairs.

The aim of this survey study was to develop a current profile of department chairs at U.S. and Canadian dental schools. The survey asked respondents to identify their responsibilities; describe the competencies needed to best serve in the position; and assess their needs in terms of professional development. An online survey with 35 items was sent to 754 individuals who self-identified as department chairs, department heads, or program directors. Overall, 269 responses were received (overall response rate of 35.7%). The results include demographic information, data on length of tenure in the position, predominant responsibilities and challenges faced in the position, competencies necessary for effective service, and an understanding of the needs of department chairs in academic dentistry. This report suggests methods to support the needs of department chairs, including better defining expectations of the position, creating a successful onboarding process, and providing professional development opportunities for chairs. These measures, along with the professional competencies identified as part of the study, will allow administrators to provide more specific support to individuals in essential leadership roles at their institutions.Dr.

Acute fungal sinusitis (AFS) is a devastating disease of the paranasal sinuses afflicting immunocompromised individuals. Knowledge about this disease is limited to clinical observations because there are no animal models in which to study the pathogenesis of the infection. Our goal was to develop a murine model of AFS and examine the role of neutrophils in host defense within the nasal cavity. Female C57BL/6 mice were depleted of neutrophils using anti-Gr-1 monoclonal antibody from day ؊1 to day 5 postinfection to initiate a transient neutropenia within the mice. At day 0, Aspergillus fumigatus conidia were administered intranasally. The untreated Aspergillus-exposed group had significant neutrophil recruitment by day 3, but by day 7 the leukocyte numbers had returned to unexposed levels. There was not a significant influx of mononuclear cells at either time point. In contrast, beginning at day 3 postinfection and continuing through day 7, anti-Gr-1-treated mice had increased cellular recruitment consisting of banded neutrophils at day 3 and mature neutrophils at day 7. Hyphal masses developed only in the anti-Gr-1-treated mice (25 to 36%) but only during the period of treatment. When the treatment was discontinued, hyphal masses could no longer be detected in the nasal cavities of these mice. In contrast, cyclophosphamide treatment did not induce neutropenia, and the nasal cavity remained free of hyphal masses. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of using this model to study AFS and implicate neutrophils in protection of the sinuses against acute Aspergillus infection and in clearance of established hyphal masses.Acute fungal sinusitis (AFS), also known as fulminant sinusitis, is a rapid, invasive disease of the paranasal cavities. It develops primarily in immunocompromised individuals, such as bone marrow transplant and AIDS patients (5, 21). The infection is characterized by rapid hyphal transformation within the paranasal sinus cavities. This is followed by fungal invasion of the surrounding mucosa, musculature, vasculature, and, in severe cases, cranium. Patients who do not receive proper medical attention can suffer from bone and tissue loss and, if left untreated, death.Recent research about AFS has been limited to clinical observations because there are not currently animal models of this disease. Much of what is understood about the innate response to fungal infections in the nasal cavity is inferred from correlatives drawn from other tissue sites. For example, within the lungs, fungal conidium challenge stimulates leukocyte recruitment into the airspaces. The leukocytes, primarily macrophages and neutrophils, internalize resting or swollen conidia and use mechanisms such as respiratory burst to combat infections (2, 3, 10-12, 22, 24). It is believed that macrophages and neutrophils may have a similar response to fungi within the nasal cavity, although there have been no murine models that demonstrate this (18,20). Neutrophils help mediate the nasal inflammatory response in rodents coexposed to li...