Dental Procedures, Oral Practices, and Associated Anxiety: A Study on Late-teenagers

AbstractObjectivesThe study aims to determine the degree of anxiety pertaining to dental procedures and various oral hygiene practices among college teenagers.MethodsCorah's Modified Dental Anxiety Scale was administered on a randomly chosen sample of 100 Indian college students (50 males and 50 females) of Delhi University, belonging to the age group of 17–20 years.ResultsDescriptive statistical computations revealed 12.14 years as the mean age of first dental visit, with moderately high levels of anxiety (60.75%) for various dental procedures among the Indian teenagers and 5% lying in the “phobic or extremely anxious” category. With merely 4.16% people going for regular consultations, general check-ups evoked 78.3% anxiety and having an injection or a tooth removed was perceived as the most threatening. The sample subgroup not using mouthwash and mouthspray, smokers, and alcohol drinkers with improper oral hygiene practices experienced much higher anxiety towards routine dental procedures.ConclusionThe majority of the Indian youngsters had an evasive attitude of delaying dental treatment. The core problems lay in deficient health care knowledge, lack of patient-sensitive pedagogy to train dental professionals, inaccessibility of services, and a dismissive attitude towards medical help. The feelings of fear and anxiety prevalent among the Indian youth offer significant insights into causes and preventive measures for future research and practice. Methods of education and motivation could be developed to dissipate the anxiety amongst Indian teenagers that prevent routine dental visits and maintenance of adequate oral hygiene

Discovering the Higgs Bosons of Minimal Supersymmetry with Tau Leptons and a Bottom Quark

We investigate the prospects for the discovery at the CERN Large Hadron Collider or at the Fermilab Tevatron of neutral Higgs bosons through the channel where the Higgs are produced together with a single bottom quark and the Higgs decays into a pair of tau leptons, $bg \to b\phi^0 \to b\tau^+\tau^-, \phi^0 = h^0, H^0, A^0$. We work within the framework of the minimal supersymmetric model. The dominant physics background from the production of $b\tau^+\tau^-$, $j\tau^+\tau^-$ ($j = g, u, d, s, c$), $b\bar{b}W^+W^-$, $W+2j$ and $Wbj$ is calculated with realistic acceptance cuts and efficiencies. Promising results are found for the CP-odd pseudoscalar ($A^0$) and the heavier CP-even scalar ($H^0$) Higgs bosons with masses up to one TeV.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Obesity Does Not Increase Mortality after Emergency Surgery

Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of obesity on patient outcomes after emergency surgery. Methods. A list of all patients undergoing emergent general surgical procedures during the 12 months ending in July 2012 was obtained from the operating room log. A chart review was performed to obtain the following data: patient characteristics (age, gender, BMI, and preexisting comorbidities), indication for surgery, and outcomes (pulmonary embolus (PE), deep venous thrombosis (DVT), respiratory failure, ICU admission, wound infection, pneumonia, and mortality). Obesity was defined as a BMI over 25. Comparisons of outcomes between obese and nonobese patients were evaluated using Fischer’s exact test. Predictors of mortality were evaluated using logistic regression. Results. 341 patients were identified during the study period. 202 (59%) were obese. Both groups were similar in age (48 for obese versus 47 for nonobese, ). Obese patients had an increased incidence of diabetes, (27% versus 7%, ), hypertension (52% versus 34%, ), and sleep apnea (0% versus 5%, ). There was a statistically significant increased incidence of postoperative wound infection (obese 9.9% versus nonobese 4.3%, ) and ICU admission (obese 58% versus nonobese 42%, ) among the obese patients. Obesity alone was not shown to be a significant risk factor for mortality. Conclusions. A higher BMI is not an independent predictor of mortality after emergency surgery. Obese patients are at a higher risk of developing wound infections and requiring ICU admission after emergent general surgical procedure

Discovering the Higgs Bosons of Minimal Supersymmetry with Muons and a Bottom Quark

We investigate the prospects for the discovery at the CERN Large Hadron Collider of a neutral Higgs boson produced with one bottom quark followed by Higgs decay into a muon pair. We work within the framework of the minimal supersymmetric model. The dominant physics background from the production of $b \mu^+\mu^-$, $j\mu^+\mu^-$, j=g,u,d,s,c, and $b {\bar b} W^+W^-$ is calculated with realistic acceptance cuts. Promising results are found for the CP-odd pseudoscalar ($A^0$) and the heavier CP-even scalar ($H^0$) Higgs bosons with masses up to 600 GeV. This discovery channel with one energetic bottom quark greatly improves the discovery potential of the LHC beyond the inclusive channel $pp\to \phi^0\to \mu^+\mu^- +X$.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Simulation

In this paper, performance analysis of the Wireless and Wired computer networks through simulation has been attempted using OPNET as simulating tool. For wired networks, the performance parameters like delay and throughput have been investigated with varying transmission links and load balancers. The load-balancing has been analyzed through parameters like analysis of traffic sent and traffic received. While in wireless networks the metrics like delay, retransmission attempts and throughput have been estimated with varying physical characteristic and buffer size. From the obtained results, it is gathered that performance of the wired networks is good if high speed Ethernet links like 1000 Base X and server-load balancing policy are used whereas the performance of Wireless LAN can be improved by fine tuning and properly choosing the WLAN parameters. For the tested simulation scenarios the performance is observed to be better with wireless networks using infra-red type physical characteristics and higher buffer size (1024Kb

Fifteen Dimensions of Health among Community-Dwelling Older Singaporeans

This paper aims to present a broad perspective of health of older Singaporeans spanning 15 health dimensions and study the association between self-rated health (SRH) and other health dimensions. Using data from a survey of 5000 Singaporeans (≥60 years), SRH and health in 14 other dimensions were assessed. Generalized logit model was used to assess contribution of these 14 dimensions to positive and negative SRH, compared to average SRH. About 86% reported their health to be average or higher. Prevalence of positive SRH and “health” in most other dimensions was lower in older age groups. Positive and negative SRH were associated with mobility, hearing, vision, major physical illness, pain, personal mastery, depressive symptoms, and perceived financial adequacy. The findings show that a majority of older Singaporeans report themselves as healthy overall and in a wide range of health dimensions

The Assessment of Robotic Process Automation Projects with a Portfolio Analysis: First Step - Evaluation Criteria Identification and Introduction of the Portfolio Concept

RPA’s (Robotic Process Automation) usage in organizations has rapidly increased in recent years; as a result, companies have developed high expectations from this technology. However, according to Ernst & Young (E&Y), 30-50% of observed RPA projects initially fail and reveal several risks, which lead to investment losses. Consequently, the RPA project is prematurely retired, and the company is back to the manual process. This premature retirement is mainly because of wrong process selection and the not sufficient company automation (RPA) maturity. Therefore, this paper will introduce the concept of an RPA Portfolio, which will assess the complexity of business processes with a company’s automation (RPA) maturity. The RPA Portfolio is a new innovative concept to simplify and visualize the business process selection for RPA projects, and will help to introduce successfully the right RPA projects

Projection of young-old and old-old with functional disability: Does accounting for the changing educational composition of the elderly population make a difference?

10.1371/journal.pone.0126471PLoS ONE105e012647

Normative values of hand grip strength of older Filipinos aged 60 to 85 years

Funding: The baseline survey of the LSAHP was funded by the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia, Jakarta, Indonesia.Background Hand grip strength (HGS) is associated with a range of health outcomes in older persons. Interpretation of an individual older person's HGS requires comparison with normative values of HGS for the population the older person belongs to, but normative values of HGS for older Filipinos are not established. Methods Using data on a subset (n = 3406) of ‘healthy’ persons aged 60 to 85 years from the baseline survey of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), we established normative values of HGS and determined the association of older person characteristics with the normative values. We also compared the health status of mutually exclusive groups, defined using the normative values among all LSAHP participants aged 60 to 85 years with measured HGS, to assess the efficiency of the normative values. HGS was measured using a Smedley spring-type dynamometer, in a standing position with elbows extended, thrice for each hand. Results Single-year age, gender-, and hand-specific values and graphs for the normative values (5th, 20th, 50th, 80th, and 95th percentiles) of HGS were delineated. Height, weight, education, and occupation of the older person were associated with the normative values. Individuals classified into groups representing weaker HGS had a poorer health status. Conclusion The established normative values provide a reference for interpreting HGS values, measured using Smedley spring-type dynamometers, in older Filipinos aged 60 to 85 years.Peer reviewe