Tufts University

In his seminal work Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Samuel Huntington argued provocatively and presciently that with the end of the cold war, were replacing ideologies as the new fault lines in international politics.His astute analysis has proven correct. Now Professor Huntington turns his attention from international affairs to our domestic cultural rifts as he examines the impact other civilizations and their values are having on our own country.America was founded by British settlers who brought with them a distinct culture including the English language, Protestant values, individualism, religious commitment, and respect for law. The waves of immigrants that later came to the United States gradually accepted these values and assimilated into America's Anglo-Protestant culture. More recently, however, national identity has been eroded by the problems of assimilating massive numbers of primarily Hispanic immigrants, bilingualism, multiculturalism, the devaluation of citizenship, and the denationalization of American elites.September 11 brought a revival of American patriotism and a renewal of American identity. But already there are signs that this revival is fading, even though in the post-September 11 world, Americans face unprecedented challenges to our security.Who Are We? shows the need for us to reassert the core values that make us Americans. Nothing less than our national identity is at stake.Once again Samuel Huntington has written an important book that is certain to provoke a lively debate and to shape our national conversation about who we are.

The chemo-mechanical caries removal method has been a solution for treatment of patients seeking alternatives to conventional methods. Among different kinds of chemo-mechanical caries removal systems, Papacarie--a papain gel--was found to be easy to manipulate, simple and cheap, as well as effective in removing infected tissues.

Dental caries is a complex disease process that afflicts a large proportion of the world's population, regardless of gender, age and ethnicity, although it does tend to affect more indivduals with a low socioeconomic status to a greater extent. The process of dental caries is dependent upon biological factors that are present within the saliva and dental plaque. There are many different agents within saliva and plaque that serve to protect the tooth surface against caries development. Salivary flow rate, buffering capacity, antimicrobial activity, microorganism aggregation and clearance from the oral cavity, immune surveillance, and calcium phosphate binding proteins all interact to inhibit or reverse demineralization of exposed tooth surfaces. Cariogenic bacteria levels within the saliva and plaque determine whether caries will occur or not, and the concentration in saliva and plaque are intimately related to the type of carbohydrate ingestion and the frequency of ingestion, as well as the oral hygiene practiced by the individual.

The goals of this cross-sectional study were to characterize and compare demographic, behavioral, and environmental factors potentially associated with early childhood caries (ECC) and to assess salivary levels of mutans streptococci (MS) and lactobacilli (LB) in underserved, predominantly Hispanic children. One hundred forty-six children aged 3 to 55 months with a range of caries experience were identified and examined. ECC was primarily associated with the presence of MS and lack of access to dental care. Salivary MS levels among young children with ECC were higher than would be expected in a dentally healthy population, but lower than levels reported among older children at high risk for caries. After adjustment for age, children with log10 MS > or = 3.0 or log10 LB > or = 1.5 were about five times as likely (OR=4.9, 95% CI=2.0, 12.0) to have ECC than those with lower bacterial levels. This study demonstrated a significant association between relatively low cariogenic bacterial levels and dental caries in infants and toddlers. Antibiotic use, exposure to lead, and anemia were not significantly associated with the number of decayed and filled surfaces or decayed and filled teeth. ECC correlated significantly with child's age and lack of dental insurance of the children, as well as inversely with both family income and the educational level of the mother of the child.

Tooth derived cells are readily accessible and provide an easy and minimally invasive way to obtain and store stem cells for future use. Banking ones own tooth-derived stem cells is a reasonable and simple alternative to harvesting stem cells from other tissues. Obtaining stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) is simple and convenient, with little or no trauma. Every child loses primary teeth, which creates the perfect opportunity to recover and store this convenient source of stem cells--should they be needed to treat future injuries or ailments and presents a far better alternative to simply discarding the teeth or storing them as mementos from the past. Furthermore, using ones own stem cells poses few, if any, risks for developing immune reactions or rejection following transplantation and also eliminates the potential of contracting disease from donor cells. Stem cells can also be recovered from developing wisdom teeth and permanent teeth. Individuals have different opportunities at different stages of their life to bank these valuable cells. It is best to recover stem cells when a child is young and healthy and the cells are strong and proliferative. The purpose of this review is to discuss the present scenario as well as the technical details of tooth banking as related to SHED cells.

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at assessing the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) distraction technique on pain and anxiety in 5-8-year-old children, during short invasive dental procedures. STUDY DESIGN: 120 children, aged 5-8 years, scoring less than 25 on the SCARED questionnaire, scheduled to undergo short invasive dental procedures, were randomly divided into a control (without VR distraction) and study group (with VR distraction) of 60 each. State anxiety levels were assessed in the children from both groups using revised version of Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale, before and after dental treatment. Pain perceived during treatment was assessed using Wong Baker Faces pain rating scale at the end of treatment. Salivary cortisol levels were also assessed before, during and after the dental procedure, in all children. RESULTS: We observed a significant reduction in pain perception and state anxiety in children, using VR distraction (p<0.001, p=0.002). The decrease in salivary cortisol levels was significantly greater in children using VR distraction (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Virtual Reality distraction can be used as a successful behavior modification method in children undergoing short invasive dental treatments.

Dental caries is a complex disease process that afflicts a large proportion of the world, regardless of gender, age and ethnicity, although it does tend to affect more with a low socioeconomic status to a greater extent. Remineralization may be enhanced by providing low levels of calcium and phosphate, in conjunction with minimal amounts of fluoride. It is truly remarkable the difference that a very small amount of fluoride (<1 ppm) has upon demineralization and remineralization. This is because fluoride acts as a catalyst and influences reaction rates with dissolution and transformation of various calcium phosphate mineral phases within tooth structure and resident within plaque adjacent to tooth surfaces. The incorporation of minimal amounts of fluoride into HAP yields FHAP that resists demineralization to similar level as FAP. New and emerging methods have been and are in the process of being developed. These hold great promise for preventing and reversing caries, especially in the one-fifth of the population that accounts for two-thirds of the caries experience. Still, the mainstay in caries prevention and remineralization is frequent exposure to low levels of fluoride. This may be accomplished with fluoridated toothpastes, supplemented with fluoride mouthrinses, CPP-ACP containing chewing gum and application of fluoride varnishes. The role of systemic fluorides appears to be limited and primarily has a topical effect.

Background: Pit-and-fissure sealants are widely used to prevent occlusal caries, but daily brushing and repeated acid exposure may compromise their surface integrity. This in vitro study evaluated the effects of simulated long-term toothbrushing, with and without intermittent citric acid exposure, on the surface properties of six pit-and-fissure sealants. Methods: Disc specimens (n = 84; n = 14 per material; n = 7 per subgroup) prepared from five resin-based sealants and one resin-modified glass-ionomer were subjected to 60,000 brushing strokes under a 2 N load with an abrasive slurry, either alone or combined with intermittent immersion in citric acid (pH 2.5). Surface roughness, surface gloss, mass, and three-dimensional volume were measured before and after aging, and surface topography was assessed by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s test (alpha = 0.05). Results: Acid exposure significantly affected roughness change (p < 0.001), volume loss (p < 0.001), mass loss (p < 0.001), and surface roughness index scores (p = 0.003). Surface gloss showed a significant material × acid interaction (p < 0.001) without a significant overall acid main effect (p = 0.126). Glass Liner showed the greatest deterioration under acid challenge, whereas Grandio Seal showed the lowest volume loss in both conditions and the highest gloss under acid exposure. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this in vitro study, sealant performance under erosive-abrasive challenge was material dependent. Materials with lower roughness change and volumetric loss may offer better surface durability in patients with frequent acid exposure.

El sistema literario transnacional quechua actual fue creado por un grupo de escritores activistas que abandonaron el Perú, con la ayuda de un grupo de profesores universitarios, instituciones y editoriales durante un proceso de modernización neoliberal. En sus nuevas moradas los escritores provenientes de diferentes pueblos y ciudades andinas tuvieron que representar identidades quechuas en un espacio transnacional constituido por el Perú y el extranjero. Por sí mismos o en coordinación, han abogado por reivindicaciones quechuas. En sus escritos, han creado voces poéticas migrantes, de las zonas rurales a las urbanas en el Perú y de las ciudades peruanas al extranjero. Ya sea en su país de origen o en el extranjero han recibido el apoyo de universidades interesadas en el estudio y la promoción de artes indígenas. Centros de investigación, ONG y editoriales independientes también han ayudado en la difusión de esta producción literaria. Las iniciativas personales e institucionales han creado un pequeño sistema literario autosuficiente que está en proceso de expansión.

Este artículo propone que el uso del gerundio como verbo principal (Las ovejas desapareciendo por las ovejas desaparecieron) constituye un patrón habitual en la representación ficcional del español peruano en contacto con las lenguas originarias. Se estudia esta tendencia, inicialmente asociada con la evaluación negativa de los hablantes indígenas bilingües, desde la sátira costumbrista del siglo XIX, pasando por los cuentos de Ventura García Calderón, hasta las obras narrativas de Vargas Llosa y Arguedas. Se identifican también desarrollos creativos específicos del subordinador citativo diciendo (La gente hambrienta le tiraba flechas y piedras, “cojámoslo, cacémoslo”, diciendo) en novelas de Vargas Llosa y Arguedas.

Este ensayo explora los nexos literarios y antropológicos de la tradición oral en los Andes sur centrales, específicamente en lo referido a los cuentos a las bestias silvestres de un ayllu, en los cuales humanos y animales intercambian perspectivas. Primero trazo una historia breve de este fenómeno, comenzando con el arte de Chavín de Huántar, en que formas animales en transformación presentan evidencia temprana de tales intercambios de perspectivas. Concluyo que los narradores hábiles de hoy, al narrar sus cuentos, usan no solo los recursos literarios de la estilística, sino también recursos filosóficos y perspectivistas para expresar estos cambios entre los protagonistas de sus cuentos, con el uso de su voz y a través del motivo esencial de los ‘cambiapieles’.

Frente a la discusión crítica sobre el estatuto ficcional o autobiográfico de los “diarios” en El zorro de arriba y el zorro de abajo, este artículo propone desplazar el análisis del problema hacia una lectura epistemológica, estructural y performativa. Mediante una lectura textual e intertextual de los cuatro diarios de la novela en relación con Dioses y hombres de Huarochirí, se examina el funcionamiento del willakuy, matriz narrativa andina de carácter oral, performativo y dialógico. El análisis demuestra que los diarios funcionan como dispositivos narrativos y performativos, lo que permite leer la novela en clave andina y mostrar que el relato emerge estructuralmente desde los diarios, simulando una conversación.

El artículo estudia la articulación de lo andino en la poesía de Domingo de Ramos, en relación con la marginalidad urbana, la violencia política, la migración y las tensiones raciales y culturales limeñas a lo largo de su trayectoria. A partir de una lectura diacrónica de su obra, desde los primeros libros ligados al clima de los años ochenta y al Movimiento Kloaka hasta textos posteriores e inéditos, se analiza el desplazamiento de elementos y motivos andinos en su poesía, desde una presencia fragmentaria y conflictiva hacia un espacio de reinscripción afectiva, memorial y comunitaria. La poesía de De Ramos registra la experiencia migrante, la fractura entre centro y periferia y la persistencia del racismo estructural en la sociedad peruana, al tiempo que ensaya formas de solidaridad y resistencia. Asimismo, se examina la relación ambivalente de su escritura con el canon literario, en la medida en que su progresiva legitimación institucional no elimina las tensiones constitutivas que la atraviesan.

El artículo examina las transformaciones de la intelectualidad indígena alteña contemporánea a partir de tres producciones culturales recientes: la novela gráfica Altopía de Alejandro Barrientos y los libros Ciudad Apacheta de Raimundo Quispe Flores y Los hijos de Goni de Quya Reyna. A través de estas obras, se argumenta que El Alto ha dejado de ser pensado únicamente como epicentro de conflicto político para convertirse en un espacio de producción simbólica, empresarial y cultural articulado por la agencia económica de qamiris, la experiencia migrante y la emergencia de una nueva subjetividad aymara. El texto muestra que esta subjetividad ya no está definida por la retórica del indigenismo del siglo XX, sino más bien por una ética del trabajo y del emprendimiento y por la desmitificación de los significados que el indigenismo, la izquierda intelectual y el indianismo radical atribuyeron a la identidad indígena. No obstante, esta reconfiguración no cancela la estructura racial boliviana, que sigue operando como fuerza que reactiva lo político en el presente.

Este artículo analiza la producción de Mónica Ojeda y Mafe Moscoso desde la metaperiferia andina. Se explora cómo el “gótico andino” en Las voladoras y la “etnoficción cuir” en La Santita subvierten discursos hegemónicos y ontologías binarias. A través de un enfoque interseccional, ambas autoras reconfiguran lo andino como un espacio de resistencia estética que integra lo sagrado y lo monstruoso, desafiando estructuras coloniales.

Los hijos de Goni, de Quya Reyna, puede leerse como una puerta de entrada a El Alto que la autora abre de par en par. Esta apertura revela la cotidianidad de una ciudad históricamente racializada que es, a la vez, la segunda más poblada de Bolivia. Quya articula dicha cotidianidad con los recuerdos que extrae de su infancia y de su juventud temprana, convirtiéndolos en anécdotas y experiencias atravesadas por afectos, rivalidades, momentos conmovedores y también dolorosos. A su vez, el sentido del humor presente en estos relatos desmantela los discursos que han situado al alteño en un imaginario que no ha elegido. De este desmontaje surge una búsqueda de identidad que pueda cimentar un proyecto de país. En este horizonte, El Alto se perfila como una ciudad que aspira a la modernidad y encuentra en el qamiri la posibilidad de un capitalismo propio que haga viable dicho proyecto. Sin embargo, queda abierta la pregunta de si es posible la construcción de un capitalismo alteño y no la simple subsunción de la identidad a sus lógicas; es decir, cómo abrirse al mundo sin quebrar el sentido de pertenencia que hace posible esa apertura.