Predicting performance in Canadian dental schools: the new CDA structured interview, a new personality assessment, and the DAT.

Using a sample of dental students (N=373) from four Canadian dental schools, this longitudinal study determined whether the new Canadian Dental Association (CDA) structured interview was a predictor of clinical and academic performance. The new interview predicted clinical performance in the third and fourth years of dental school, but not academic performance. The Canadian Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) continued to predict first- and second-year academic performance, but not clinical performance in the senior years. A personality factor, "Conscientiousness," predicted clinical and academic performance to various degrees across the four years of dental school. A second personality factor, "Openness to Experience," predicted third-year academic performance. The results suggest that a combination of scores from the DAT, a valid measure of personality, and a well-designed structured interview will provide the best prediction of those applicants who will do well in both the academic and clinical aspects of dental school.

Personality as a predictor of professional behavior in dental school: comparisons with dental practitioners.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of personality measures to predict the success of dental students (N = 87) in clinical and academic courses and to compare their personality profiles to those of dental practitioners (N = 130). A second purpose of the study was to develop a new criterion measure, the Student Professionalism Scale, based on competencies previously identified as necessary for professional success. The Canadian Dental Aptitude Test (DAT) predicted first-year, preclinical academic success; the DAT Reading Comprehension component predicted third-year clinical performance; and Perceptual Ability, the ability to deal with two- and three-dimensional objects, predicted student professionalism. Results from the personality measure indicated that Conscientiousness and Neuroticism, and to a lesser extent Agreeableness, were significant predictors of both first-year academic performance and professional behavior. In comparing the personality profiles of dental students to dental practitioners, students who were more similar to the dentists did better in their first year of coursework. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of the dental admissions process.

What predicts performance in Canadian dental schools?

The task of selecting the best dental applicants out of an extremely competitive applicant pool is a problem faced annually by dental faculties. This study examined the validity of both cognitive and noncognitive factors used for selection to Canadian dental schools. Interest in personality measurement and the prediction offered by personality measures has escalated and may be applied to the selection of dental candidates. Therefore, the study also assessed whether the addition of a personality measure would increase the validity of predicting performance beyond that achieved by an interview and the Dental Aptitude Test. Results suggest that an interview may be useful in identifying specific behavioral characteristics deemed important for success in dental training. Consistent with previous research, results show that the Dental Aptitude Test is a good predictor of preclinical academic success, with prediction declining when clinical components of the program are introduced into the criterion. Results from the personality measure indicated that Openness to Experience was significantly related to aspects of clinical education, although, contrary to expectations, this relationship was negative. A facet of Openness, Ideas, together with Positive Emotions, a facet of Extroversion, improved prediction of performance in clinical studies beyond that provided by the Dental Aptitude Test and the Interview. Implications of the findings are discussed, and recommendations regarding the admission process to Canadian dental programs are offered.

Isolation of three hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine-degrading species of the family Enterobacteriaceae from nitramine explosive-contaminated soil.

Three species of the family Enterobacteriaceae that biochemically reduced hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) were isolated from nitramine explosive-contaminated soil. Two isolates, identified as Morganella morganii and Providencia rettgeri, completely transformed both RDX and the nitroso-RDX reduction intermediates. The third isolate, identified as Citrobacter freundii, partially transformed RDX and generated high concentrations of nitroso-RDX intermediates. All three isolates produced 14CO2 from labeled RDX under O2-depleted culture conditions. While all three isolates transformed HMX, only M. morganii transformed HMX in the presence of RDX.

Precipitation of cadmium by Clostridium thermoaceticum.

Cadmium at an initial concentration of 1 mM was completely precipitated by cultures of Clostridium thermoaceticum in complex medium. The precipitation was energy dependent and required cysteine, although cysteine alone did not act as a growth substrate. Electron microscopic analysis revealed localized areas of precipitation at the surfaces of nonstarved cells as well as precipitate in the surrounding medium. The addition of cadmium had no apparent effect on growth or acetogenesis. However, nickel and cadmium were synergistically toxic at a concentration (1 mM) at which neither alone was toxic. The amount of protein extracted from cadmium-treated cultures was twofold higher than that in control extracts, and the amount of total sulfide was fourfold higher in cultures containing cadmium than in control cultures. Comparable levels of cysteine desulfhydrase activity were observed in extracts of both cadmium-treated and control cultures, but the enzyme activity was expressed maximally about 24 h earlier in the cadmium-treated cultures than in the untreated controls.