The Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Children, Taiz District, Yemen

Background: This is the first work done on cryptosporidiosis among the children in Taiz, Yemen.Methods: A number of 712 samples were collected from children of different ages (ranging from 1 month to 12 years) from Dec 2006 to Aug 2007. The collected samples were examined by Sheather's sugar floatation and Modified Ziehl- Neelsen stain as well as ELISA methods. The test results were statistically analyzed by SPSS software.Results: The overall positive percentage was 43.7%. The higher incidence (36.2 %) was oc­curred in males while the lowest incidence (32.7 %) was observed in females (r= 0.876; P= 0.001). The correlation between infected cases and the type of drinking water was r =0.121. Among the cases examined by ELISA (92 cases), 26.1 % were infected. The correlation be­tween seropositivity and gender was r= 0.652 (P=0.031).Conclusion: Cryptosporidium spp. is a significant pathogen among children at Taiz. Fresh water supplies, education, eating habits and domestic animals are considered the main sources for transmission of cryptosporidiosis

Indirect Speech of Qur’anic Discourse

In Arabic linguistic research, the term حكاية القول ‘reporting speech’ covers two main uses: حكاية لفظ ‘direct speech’ and حكاية معنى ‘indirect speech’. The reporter is assumed to be faithful to the form and meaning of the original speech when he adopts the former mode, while he is limited to the meaning when adopting the latter. As far as ‘indirect speech’ is concerned, Arab grammarians suggest some formal indicators of the occurrence of this mode, like pronouns and deictic expressions backshift, and the use of the ‘explanatory’ أنَّ  ‘anna’. However, misconception of the real nature of indirect reported speech by Arab scholars is apparent since most of them consider the absence of such indicators as a sign of direct speech even when it reports speeches of plural subjects. In addition reportive verbs of indirect speech have not been studied thoroughly either. The present study hypothesises that there are some linguistic indicators which precisely reveal the indirect nature of a reported speech in Arabic, and that this reportive mode employs a limited number of reportive verbs and reportive constructions in the Qur’anic discourse. In its theoretical account, the study characterizes the linguistic indicators of this mode in Arabic. The stylistic and statistical types of analysis validate the hypotheses of the study. They describe uses of this reportive mode, its speakers, and the reportive verbs adopted in the Qur’anic discourse. Keywords: indirect reported speech, Qur’anic discourse, reportive verbs, reportive constructions, reportive mode

Lexical Pragmatic Approaches: Relevance Theoretic and Bidirectional Optimality

إن هدف المداخل التداولية المعجمية (مدخل الصلة النظري ومدخل المفاضلة ثنائي الاتجاه) هو توفير تحليل منهجي وتفصيلي لمعاني الكلمات التي تعدل معجميا ضمن السياق الذي ترد فيه، نظرًا لأن المدخلين يتعاملان مع ظاهرة التعديل المعجمي استنادًا إلى نظرية المعنى الضمني، فإن هذه الدراسة تسلط الضوء على الطريقة التي يتناول فيها كلا المدخلين ظاهرة التعديل المعجمي في فهم الأطفال نموذجا موضحا المهمة التي يمكن أن تؤديها العوامل السياقية في هذا الفهم. لذا تهدف الدراسة بشكل أساسي إلى توضيح كيفية تناول المدخلين للتعديل المعجمي، وبعض المشاكل مع كل مدخل، وبيان أسلوب كلا المدخلين في تحليل البيانات المختارة. خلصت الدراسة إلى أن الحصول على تحليل منهجي وتفصيلي للكلمات المعدلة معجميا يتطلب الجمع بين المدخلين في نموذج انتقائي واحد.The goal of lexical pragmatic approaches; relevance theoretic and bidirectional, is to give a systematic and explanatory account of word meanings that are adjusted in use. As the two approaches account for this lexical phenomenon based on conversational implicature, the present paper investigates the contribution of the two approaches in lexical word meanings adjustment in children’s interpretation referring to the role contextual factors would play. It basically aims at identifying how these approaches deal with word meanings adjustment, underlying some of the problems with each approach, and show how they are utilized in analyzing the selected data. The study concluded that to obtain a systematic and explanatory account of word meanings adjustment, the two approaches should be combined in one eclectic model

The effect of radiotherapy on survival of dental implants in head and neck cancer patients

Objectives: To explore the current literature of the survival of dental implants in irradiated head and neck cancer patients considering the role of implant location, bone augmentation, dose of radiation and timing of implant placement. Study Design: Pubmed search was conducted to identify articles published between January 2000 and December 2014 and presenting data of dental implant survival with radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. Studies on animal subjects and craniofacial implants were excluded. Results: 18 articles out of 27 were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. 12 out of 18 studies reported favorable outcome of dental implants and radiotherapy with survival rates between 74.4% and 97%. Seven out of ten studies comparing the survival rates according to site of implant placement reported that implants were found to osseointegrate with greater success in the irradiated mandible than irradiated maxilla. 5 studies which compared implant survival in irradiated native bone versus irradiated grafted bone reported that irradiated grafted bone showed a significantly reduced dental implant survival rate in comparison to irradiated native bone. 6 out of 18studies in which radiation doses exceeded 70 Gy reported lower survival rates of dental implants in comparison to the studies in which radiation doses were ≤70Gy. Higher survival rates were reported in 2 studies in which implants placement was before radiotherapy in comparison to the remaining 16 studies in which implants placement was after radiotherapy. Conclusions: Dental implants may be affected by radiotherapy especially when they are placed in maxilla, in grafted bone, or after radiation, however, they remain a functional option for rehabilitation of head and cancer patients. More prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trails are still needed to draw more evidence based conclusion

Lip and oral lesions in children with Down syndrome: a controlled study

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality affecting numerous organs, including the orofacial region. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of lip and oral soft tissue lesions, with particular emphasize on the incidence of fissured tongue, lip fissures and angular cheilitis, among individuals with DS in Yemen. Material and Methods: This controlled cross-sectional study included 50 children with DS (6-18 years), and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. The prevalence of orofacial soft tissue lesions was evaluated in both groups. Data were analyzed by Chi-square and Fisher tests, and p <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Ten orolabial lesions were identified among the subjects. The most frequently seen lesions were: Fissured tongue (78.0%), lip fissures (64.0%), angular cheilitis (38.0%) and Cheilitis (14.0%). The frequencies of these lesions were significantly higher in children with DS than healthy controls ( P < 0.001). Most of lip fissures were in the lower lip, and 80% of the fissures were in the midline. Conclusions: The prevalence of lip and oral lesions among individuals with DS is remarkably high. Hence, oral physicians should be more aware of the orofacial findings seen more frequently in this genetic disorder

Is Khat (Catha edulis) chewing a risk factor for periodontal diseases? : a systematic review

Background: Khat (Catha edulis) chewing is a highly prevalent habit in the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, and has recently spread to Western countries. The association between khat chewing and oral mucosal lesions is well documented in the literature. However, there is no concrete evidence on the association between khat chewing and periodontal disease. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the influence of khat chewing on periodontal health. Material and methods: A literature search of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Sciences databases was carried out to identify relevant articles published from 1990 to May 2017. The inclusion criteria were all clinical studies that assessed the relationship between khat chewing and periodontal disease. Results: The search yielded 122 articles, of which 10 were included in this systematic review. Most of the studies exhibited a positive correlation between khat chewing and periodontal disease. Conclusions: Altogether, the analysis of the current evidence reveals that khat chewing is destructive to the periodontium and enhances the risk of periodontal disease progression. However, due to variability of studies, more longitudinal case-controlled studies are highly warranted to establish a causal relation between khat chewing and periodontal disease

Comparative Assessment of Preoperative versus Postoperative Dexamethasone on Postoperative Complications following Lower Third Molar Surgical Extraction

Aim. To evaluate the effect of preoperative versus postoperative administration of oral Dexamethasone on postoperative complications including pain, edema, and trismus following lower third molar surgery. Methods. 24 patients were divided into two equal groups receiving 8 mg Dexamethasone orally, one group one hour preoperatively and the other group immediately after surgery. Pain was measured using VAS, edema was measured using a graduated tape between 4 fixed points in the face, and the mouth opening was measured using a graduated sliding caliper. Results. In this study pain and trismus records were similar and statistically nonsignificant in both groups. The results had proven that preoperative administration was superior when compared to postoperative administration regarding edema (0.002). Conclusions. Preoperative oral administration of 8 mg Dexamethasone was superior to the postoperative administration of the same dose concerning edema after lower third molar surgery

The Effect of surface topographical changes of two different surface treatments rotary instrument

One of the major innovations in endodontics has been the introduction of nickel-titanium (NiTi) alloy. This study evaluated the surface topographical changes of two different surface treatments rotary instrument after instrumentation and sterilization. 240 Extracted teeth were included in this study. 90 new AlphaKite and Revo-S NiTi rotary instruments were selected and divided into two groups (Group A 45 AlphaKite and group B 45 Revo-S). Each group were divided into three subgroups: (A1, B1) n=5 files were used as a control, (A2,B2) n=20 files were used to prepare three root canals using endodontic rotary motor then sterilized by autoclave for one cycle under 121°C at 15 psi for 30 minutes and (A3,B3) n=20 files were used to prepare nine root canals using the same rotary system then sterilized by autoclave for three cycles under 121°C at 15 psi for 30 minutes. Files were examined under scanning electron microscopy. On examining the AlphaKite, A1 revealed gross machining grooves on their surface with no pits, A2 showed disruption of cutting and A3 showed microcracks and deepening of the machining grooves. B1 showed a smoother surface with few machining grooves, B2 showed dulling and blunting of the cutting edges was predominant and B3 files showed plastic deformation in the form of unwinding of the flutes. The defects were less distributed along the electropolished Revo-S files than the physical vapor deposition AlphaKite

The strategy of production targets and the environmental planning in construction

Strategic planning is a set of targeted actions and decisions that are defined by the management of the organization to achieve the desired results, using the base of almost all management decisions and a plan that ensures the implementation of the mission of the construction organization. The article deals with the tasks of strategic planning in construction, which are designed to ensure the effective allocation of resources, adaptation to external factors, controlled coordination of financial and production aspects of activity, organizational strategic foresight. The review of the author’s experience in solving the problems of planning using innovative methods and technologies was made

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Hepatitis B Virus Infection among Dental Students and Interns in Saudi Arabia

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a worldwide healthcare problem. Dental health care professionals are at a high risk of infection by HBV. The present study investigated the knowledge, attitude and practice of HBV infection among Saudi dental students and Interns in Saudi Arabia. This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of questions on students? knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HBV was used. Data of 420 participants were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) version 22.0. The response rate was 84%. Overall, the participants showed fair level of knowledge about HBV, with significant differences between final year students and the interns. Also, the subjects showed negative attitude toward HBV patients. The vast majority reported always wearing gloves (97.9%), gowns (92.1%), face masks (89.2%), disposable caps (87.1%) and protective eye wear (80.9%). The majority of participants (91.4%) had been vaccinated against HBV. However, only 41% completed the recommended 3 doses of the vaccine. These unsatisfactory findings emphasize the necessity of continued education about HBV in order to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices of dental students and Interns regarding HBV