Diving deep into the milky way using anti-reflection coatings for astronomical CCDs

We report two anti-reflection (AR) coatings that give better quantum efficiency (QE) than the existing AR coating on the Gaia astrometric field (AF) charged coupled devices (CCDs). Light being the core of optical astronomy is extremely important for such missions, therefore, the QE of the devices that are used to capture it should be substantially high. To reduce the losses due to the reflection of light from the surface of the CCDs, AR coatings can be applied. Currently, the main component of the Gaia satellite, the AF CCDs use hafnium dioxide (HfO2) AR coating. In this paper, the ATLAS module of the SILVACO software has been employed for simulating and studying the AF CCD pixel structure and several AR coatings. Our findings suggest that zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) will prove to be better AR coatings for broadband astronomical CCDs in the future and will open new avenues to understand the evolution of the milky way

Perceived stress among gravid and its effect on their oral health in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India

Background: The gestation period presents unique stresses that challenges overall psychological adaptation of a women. The present study is designed especially to focus on evaluating the effect of perceived stress on pregnant women and its effect on their oral health.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 18-30 years old, pregnant women in the Sri Ganganagar city. Prior to the clinical examination a questionnaire was used in order to collect the information which comprised of three parts and were completed through an interview. The first part comprised of demographics questionnaire, second part included oral hygiene questionnaire and third part was perceived Stress Scale. Descriptive analysis described demographics and socioeconomic characteristics. Multivariate analysis was used to describe the association between stress and various characteristics. Chi-square and Kruskal-wallis test was used to study the association of independent variables with level of stress.Results: The high stress was reported among those females who were aged > 25 years (46.66%), living in rural areas (73.33%), were employed (57.77%), were in third trimester of pregnancy (96.66%) and had no previous pregnancy experience (67.77%). The mothers in high stress group had high levels of dental diseases when compared to the other two groups (low and moderate stress).Conclusions: Based on the results, this study emphasizes on the need for a continued effort to improve the mental and oral health status of gravid women so as to reduce the incidences of psychological and physical troubles in this population predicted

Route of Drug Abuse and Its Impact on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life among Drug Addicts

Background: Various studies have tested quality of life (QOL) among drug addicts, however very few have reported any association between oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) and mode of drug administration among drug addicts. Hence, the present study was conducted aiming to evaluate the impact of mode of administration of drugs on OHRQOL among drug addicts. Methods: Data was collected using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) method among 313 male drug addicts in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India, using self-administered questionnaires on oral hygiene aids and drug addiction history. OHRQOL was recorded using Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. The chi-square test, t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis. Findings: In this study, 56.2% of the drug addicts reported practicing oral hygiene aids. The main drugs abused were heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines as 51.4%, 35.1%, and 13.4%, respectively. Most of the drug addicts were employed (82.4%) and studied up to primary education (46.3%). The highest mean values of community periodontal index (CPI) and decayed, missing, filled surface (DMFS) were found among the cocaine addicts and amphetamine abusers with rates of 3.11 ± 0.98 and 6.69 ± 8.52, respectively. Poor OHRQOL was observed among addicts who consumed drugs in inhalation since a long time irrespective of the type of the drug, but among them heroin addicted subjects had the poorest OHRQOL. Conclusion: OHRQOL was poor among the drug addicts in comparison to general population. Preventive strategies on oral health and other health promotion programs for this vulnerable group can be unified

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Review of Detection Methods of Static Eccentricity for Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine

This paper compares the detection methods of static eccentricity in Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (IPMSM). Four methods are discussed: The first method uses shift in the voltages in d–q plane to detect fault. The second method uses shift in peak of the incremental inductance curve for fault detection. The third method uses the combined information of harmonics present both in current and voltage to detect the fault. This makes the detection robust with respect to current controller bandwidth. Finally, the fourth method used for detection includes measuring vibrations using accelerometers. It is shown that all four methods detected static eccentricity. These methods are compared on the basis of utility of fault detection under online or offline conditions and under saturated conditions. For all four methods the machine was tested at healthy, 25% and 50% static eccentricity levels. Two-dimensional (2-D) Finite element analysis was used for simulating machine under healthy and faulty cases. The experiments were performed by controlling the machine using Labview Real-time

Oral Health Status and Treatment Needs among Differently Abled Children

Introduction: The provision of dental services to children with special health care needs historically has been given limited attention by the dental profession. Under - diagnosis and differential oral health treatment contribute to the poor oral health of adults with disabilities. The present study was undertaken to assess the oral health status and behaviour among differently abled children. Methodology: The study sample comprised of 317 subjects who were disabled and attending special schools. All the teeth were examined for dental caries. Mouth mirrors and CPI probes were used according to the WHO criteria. Clinical assessment of the oral health status was done by using the simplified oral hygiene index, DMFT. Chi square test and ANOVA were used to compare categorical variables. Results: The study consists of 317 intellectually disabled (ID) children, divided into three groups, out of which 65 (20.50%), 184 (58.04%) and 68 (21.45%) were suffering from autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation respectively. Irrespective of the type of disability, most of the subjects consulted dentist only in need. The decayed teeth in subjects with mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism were 2.37±1.01, 1.91±1.50 and 1.75±1.11 respectively and 58.82% of the mentally retarded subjects reported with poor oral hygiene status. Conclusion: In comparison with normal children, the disabled subjects were not given enough dental care with respect to their treatment needs. Taking into consideration the multi factorial influence on oral health status of the present disabled population, oral health promotion and intervention programs should be targeted and concentrated towards these risk groups

A 1-year appraisal of pit and fissure sealants following disinfection with and without chlorhexidine solution: An in vivo randomized trial

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine on the outcome of pit and fissure sealant (PFS) in permanent molars. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial using split-mouth design was conducted for a period of 1 year. The clinical trial registry was done in the Indian Council of Medical Research, and the clinical trial number obtained was CTRI/2016/08/007222. The age group of participants involved in the trial was 7–14 years. Maxillary or mandibular permanent molar which satisfies the criteria for application of PFS was included in the trial. Based on the eligibility criteria and considering the unknown observer/instrumentation errors, the sample size is 33 for each group. Simple randomization of treatment allocation was carried out using computer-generated random number for treatment assignment of the right molar tooth. The left molar received the alternative treatment. The outcomes of PFS were evaluated by a lone proficient assessor by means of the mouth mirrors and probes following the US public health service criteria. Results: A 6-month evaluation for the PFS with and without chlorhexidine showed 77.27% and 89.39% retention, respectively. PFS without chlorhexidine suffered a greater loss of surface texture and marginal discoloration in comparison to PFS with chlorhexidine at 3-, 6-, and 12-month intervals, but it was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The present study showed improvement in outcome of PFS when an additional step of chlorhexidine is added although the results were statistically nonsignificant