Effectiveness of supportive periodontal therapy on tooth survival among patients with chronic periodontitis

INTRODUCTION: Prevention of tooth loss and maintaining favorable periodontal status are the ultimate goals of periodontal therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of non-surgical periodontal therapy and supportive periodontal care in arresting the progression of chronic periodontitis and in preventing tooth loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Periodontal charts, self-reported medical history, and interleukin-1 (IL-1) polymorphism genotypes of 100 patients were obtained from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine Dental Registry and DNA Repository (DRDR) after screening of 4,825 subjects. In our study we have included third molars, teeth lost during active periodontal treatment (APT), and those lost during supportive periodontal care (SPC). We used tooth loss (TL) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) as outcomes of disease affection in our analysis. Fisher’s exact test was used to investigate the association between tooth loss and different risk factors. Paired t-test was conducted to detect the difference in means of CAL between baseline and final periodontal assessments. RESULTS: There were 59 patients (36 males and 23 females with an average age of 52 years) that lost at least one tooth. Tooth mortality rate declined in patients who attended supportive periodontal program for six years compared to those who received supportive periodontal therapy for one year only (0.52 and 3.4 teeth/patient/year, respectively). Increased risk of tooth loss was found to be associated with diabetes (P=0.01), as well as high blood pressure (P<0.0001). We did not find an association between tooth loss and polymorphisms in interleukin IL-1α/IL-1β (rs1800587, P=0.36 and rs1143634, P=0.51, respectively). During the first year of supportive periodontal treatment, the clinical attachment loss showed a significant reduction (CAL gain of 0.36 mm, P=0.0697). Moreover, a significant increase in CAL was noted in the group of patients who attended regular periodontal maintenance for six years (CAL progression of 0.38mm, P=0.037). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that supportive periodontal therapy is effective for the long-term stability of periodontal disease in high-risk patients in our sample

Sustainable Development, Entrepreneurship and Accounting Education: An Exploratory Study for Saudi Universities

This study aims to explore the role of accounting education programs in promoting the concepts of sustainability and entrepreneurship in Saudi society, by surveying the perceptions of a sample of parties related to accounting education - faculty members, students, and graduates - about the contribution of the intended learning outcomes of accounting programs in supporting knowledge and skills related to sustainability, entrepreneurship, and improving students positive attitudes towards these practices. The results of the study came to show, in general, the failure of accounting programs to support the concepts and practices of sustainability and entrepreneurship. The results shed light on some insights that could help in developing accounting programs, such as: Paying attention to some topics like environmental accounting and auditing, and ecological feasibility studies, developing teaching strategies to train students to analyze specific data to reach conclusions and solutions, inclusion of practical cases that depends on actual problems

Global and Regional Volatility Spillovers to GCC Stock Markets

This paper examines the effects of return spillovers from regional (Saudi Arabia) and global (US) markets to GCC stock markets (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates). The paper develops various bivariate GARCH models for regional and global returns: BEKK, constant correlation and dynamic correlation. The specification tests are used to choose between the models with and without asymmetric effects. The estimated innovations for the regional and global returns are then used as input for the univariate volatility spillover model which allows the unexpected returns of any particular GCC stock market be driven by three sources of shocks: local, regional from Saudi Arabia and global from US. We find significant return spillover effects from Saudi Arabia and US to GCC markets. Trade, turnover and institutional quality has significant impacts on regional volatility spillovers from Saudi Arabia to GCC markets. There are macroeconomic policy implications associated with the strengthening of intra-regional and cross-border trade in goods, services and assets and regulatory framework

Underpinning Quality Assurance: Identifying Core Testing Strategies for Multiple Layers of Internet-of-Things-Based Applications

The Internet of Things (IoT) constitutes a digitally integrated network of intelligent devices equipped with sensors, software, and communication capabilities, facilitating data exchange among a multitude of digital systems via the Internet. Despite its pivotal role in the software development life-cycle (SDLC) for ensuring software quality in terms of both functional and non-functional aspects, testing within this intricate software–hardware ecosystem has been somewhat overlooked. To address this, various testing techniques are applied for real-time minimization of failure rates in IoT applications. However, the execution of a comprehensive test suite for specific IoT software remains a complex undertaking. This paper proposes a holistic framework aimed at aiding quality assurance engineers in delineating essential testing methods across different testing levels within the IoT. This delineation is crucial for effective quality assurance, ultimately reducing failure rates in real-time scenarios. Furthermore, the paper offers a mapping of these identified tests to each layer within the layered framework of the IoT. This comprehensive approach seeks to enhance the reliability and performance of IoT-based applications

Incidence, characteristics and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in patients with psychiatric illness:A systematic review

AIM: To conduct a systematic literature review of the existing evidence on incidence, characteristics and outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in patients with psychiatric illness. METHODS: We searched Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science using a comprehensive electronic search strategy to identify observational studies reporting on OHCA incidence, characteristics or outcomes by psychiatric illness status. One reviewer screened all titles and abstracts, and a second reviewer screened a random 10%. Two reviewers independently performed data extraction and quality assessment. RESULTS: Our search retrieved 11,380 studies, 10 of which met our inclusion criteria (8 retrospective cohort studies and two nested case-control studies). Three studies focused on depression, whilst seven included various psychiatric conditions. Among patients with an OHCA, those with psychiatric illness (compared to those without) were more likely to have: an arrest in a private location; an unwitnessed arrest; more comorbidities; less bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and an initial non-shockable rhythm. Two studies reported on OHCA incidence proportion and two reported on survival, showing higher risk, but lower survival, in patients with psychiatric illness. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric illness in relation to OHCA incidence and outcomes has rarely been studied and only a handful of studies have reported on OHCA characteristics, highlighting the need for further research in this area. The scant existing literature suggests that psychiatric illness may be associated with higher risks of OHCA, unfavourable characteristics and poorer survival. Future studies should further investigate these links and the role of potential contributory factors such as socioeconomic status and comorbidities

Global and Regional Volatility Spillovers to GCC Stock Markets

This paper examines the effects of return spillovers from regional (Saudi Arabia) and global (US) markets to GCC stock markets (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates). The paper develops various bivariate GARCH models for regional and global returns: BEKK, constant correlation and dynamic correlation. The specification tests are used to choose between the models with and without asymmetric effects. The estimated innovations for the regional and global returns are then used as input for the univariate volatility spillover model which allows the unexpected returns of any particular GCC stock market be driven by three sources of shocks: local, regional from Saudi Arabia and global from US. We find significant return spillover effects from Saudi Arabia and US to GCC markets. Trade, turnover and institutional quality has significant impacts on regional volatility spillovers from Saudi Arabia to GCC markets. There are macroeconomic policy implications associated with the strengthening of intra-regional and cross-border trade in goods, services and assets and regulatory framework

Time-Dependent Physicochemical Changes of Carbonate Surfaces from SmartWater (Diluted Seawater) Flooding Processes for Improved Oil Recovery.

Over the past few decades, field- and laboratory-scale studies have shown enhancements in oil recovery when reservoirs, which contain high-salinity formation water (FW), are waterflooded with modified-salinity salt water (widely referred to as the low-salinity, dilution, or SmartWater effect for improved oil recovery). In this study, we investigated the time dependence of the physicochemical processes that occur during diluted seawater (i.e., SmartWater) waterflooding processes of specific relevance to carbonate oil reservoirs. We measured the changes to oil/water/rock wettability, surface roughness, and surface chemical composition during SmartWater flooding using 10-fold-diluted seawater under mimicked oil reservoir conditions with calcite and carbonate reservoir rocks. Distinct effects due to SmartWater flooding were observed and found to occur on two different timescales: (1) a rapid (&lt;15 min) increase in the colloidal electrostatic double-layer repulsion between the rock and oil across the SmartWater, leading to a decreased oil/water/rock adhesion energy and thus increased water wetness and (2) slower (&gt;12 h to complete) physicochemical changes of the calcite and carbonate reservoir rock surfaces, including surface roughening via the dissolution of rock and the reprecipitation of dissolved carbonate species after exchanging key ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, CO32-, and SO42- in carbonates) with those in the flooding SmartWater. Our experiments using crude oil from a carbonate reservoir reveal that these reservoir rock surfaces are covered with organic-ionic preadsorbed films (ad-layers), which the SmartWater removes (detaches) as flakes. Removal of the organic-ionic ad-layers by SmartWater flooding enhances oil release from the surfaces, which was found to be critical to increasing the water wetness and significantly improving oil removal from carbonates. Additionally, the increase in water wetness is further enhanced by roughening of the rock surfaces, which decreases the effective contact (interaction) area between the oil and rock interfaces. Furthermore, we found that the rate of these slower physicochemical changes to the carbonate rock surfaces increases with increasing temperature (at least up to an experimental temperature of 75 °C). Our results suggest that the effectiveness of improved oil recovery from SmartWater flooding depends strongly on the formation of the organic-ionic ad-layers. In oil reservoirs where the ad-layer is fully developed and robust, injecting SmartWater would lead to significant removal of the ad-layer and improved oil recovery

Plasma accelerator driven coherent spontaneous emission

Plasma accelerators [1] are a potentially important source of high energy, low emittance electron beams with high peak currents and generated within a relatively short distance. While novel plasma photocathodes [2] may offer improvement to the normalised emittance and brightness of electron beams compared to Radio Frequency-driven accelerators, a challenge is the energy spread and chirp of the beams, which can make FEL operation impossible. In this paper it is shown that such an energy-chirped beam, with a dynamically evolving current profile due to ballistic bunching, can generate significant coherent radiation output via the process of Coherent Spontaneous Emission (CSE) [3]. While this CSE is seen to cause some FEL-induced electron bunching at the radiation wavelength, the dynamic evolution of the energy chirped pulse dampens out any high-gain FEL interaction

Assessing inhaler techniques of asthma patients using aerosol inhalation monitors (aim): a cross-sectional study

A high percentage of asthma patients have symptoms that are not well controlled, despite effective drugs being available. One potential reason for this may be that poor inhaler technique limits the dose delivered to the lungs, thereby reducing the therapeutic efficacy. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of poor inhaler technique in an asthma patient population and to probe the impact of various demographic parameters on technique quality. This study was conducted at community pharmacies across Wales, UK. Patients diagnosed with asthma and 12 years or older were invited to participate. An aerosol inhalation monitor (AIM, Vitalograph®) was used to measure the quality of patient inhaler technique. A total of 295 AIM assessments were carried out. There were significant differences in the quality of inhaler technique across the different inhaler types (p < 0.001, Chi squared). The best technique was associated with dry-powder inhalers (DPI devices, 58% of 72 having good technique), compared with pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDI) or pMDIs with a spacer device (18% of 174 and 47% of 49 AIM assessments, respectively). There were some significant associations between gender, age, and quality of inhaler technique, as determined with adjusted odds ratios. It seems that the majority of asthmatic patients were not using their inhalers appropriately. We recommend that healthcare professionals place more emphasis on assessing and correcting inhaler technique, as poor inhaler technique might be responsible for the observed lack of symptom control in the asthma patient population