Evaluation of changes in arterial blood pressure during treatment in hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients

AIM: To evaluate the changes in arterial blood pressure during periodontal procedures under local anesthesia in hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients and to compare effects related to gender, age, and different types of blood pressure medications on systolic and diastolic blood pressure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-nine patients enrolled and consented to participate in this study. Twenty-eight were diagnosed with hypertension and thirty one were non- hypertensive. Their blood (BP) was measured once during the consultation visit. During the scaling and root planning (SRP) visit BP was measured at three time points: before local anesthesia (LA) injection, immediately after LA and at the end of the procedure. During the surgical visit BP was determined at the same three time points as the SRP visit. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between hypertensive and normotensive patients, males versus females, age groups and different types of blood pressure medications during SRP and surgical visits under local anesthesia. CONCLUSION: Although age, gender, blood pressure medications and hypertensive status have no significant influence on the arterial blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive patients during SRP and periodontal surgical visits, it is important to measure pre-operative BP to avoid or minimize the chances of life-threatening complications during dental treatment

Evaluation of changes in arterial blood pressure during treatment in hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients

AIM: To evaluate the changes in arterial blood pressure during periodontal procedures under local anesthesia in hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients and to compare effects related to gender, age, and different types of blood pressure medications on systolic and diastolic blood pressure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-nine patients enrolled and consented to participate in this study. Twenty-eight were diagnosed with hypertension and thirty one were non- hypertensive. Their blood (BP) was measured once during the consultation visit. During the scaling and root planning (SRP) visit BP was measured at three time points: before local anesthesia (LA) injection, immediately after LA and at the end of the procedure. During the surgical visit BP was determined at the same three time points as the SRP visit. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between hypertensive and normotensive patients, males versus females, age groups and different types of blood pressure medications during SRP and surgical visits under local anesthesia. CONCLUSION: Although age, gender, blood pressure medications and hypertensive status have no significant influence on the arterial blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive patients during SRP and periodontal surgical visits, it is important to measure pre-operative BP to avoid or minimize the chances of life-threatening complications during dental treatment

Policy Administration and Political Rights;the Experiences of High-Level Women in the Kuwaiti Government

Women in Kuwait were traditionally excluded from the formulation of public policy because they lacked political rights. In mid 2005, women received the right to vote and to run for office. There is little known today about the influence of these political rights on women who work with the implementation of public policies in the higher administrative levels of government. Little is known specifically about the influence of the franchise on promotion of women to high administrative posts. The purpose of this study is to lay a foundation for research on the factors that encourage women\u27s access to high positions in government by exploring the experience of high-level women both before and after enfranchisement. The experiences of leading women who work for the public sector are critical to understanding any relationship between women\u27s political rights and their access to high positions. The interpretation of female work experiences provides suggestions to help expand and enhance women\u27s access to high positions in public administration. This study employs the phenomenological method for data collection and interpretation. The findings of this study support the argument that political participation exerts a positive influence on high-level women in government. This study shows that Kuwaiti high-level women agree that they have started to experience a positive influence in their work since the franchise due to the new political power that they have gained. I argue that whether or not high-level women have personally experienced any positive change in their work due to gaining their political rights, they still affirm the occurrence of this positive change. This study finds that this positive influence is reflected in better representation in official meetings, more interactions with state leaders, an increasing ability to express concerns to top levels, and enhancing their self-confidence to lead. This study notes other significant factors that should be considered by women in order to enhance their numbers in lea

Policy Administration and Political Rights;the Experiences of High-Level Women in the Kuwaiti Government

Women in Kuwait were traditionally excluded from the formulation of public policy because they lacked political rights. In mid 2005, women received the right to vote and to run for office. There is little known today about the influence of these political rights on women who work with the implementation of public policies in the higher administrative levels of government. Little is known specifically about the influence of the franchise on promotion of women to high administrative posts. The purpose of this study is to lay a foundation for research on the factors that encourage women\u27s access to high positions in government by exploring the experience of high-level women both before and after enfranchisement. The experiences of leading women who work for the public sector are critical to understanding any relationship between women\u27s political rights and their access to high positions. The interpretation of female work experiences provides suggestions to help expand and enhance women\u27s access to high positions in public administration. This study employs the phenomenological method for data collection and interpretation. The findings of this study support the argument that political participation exerts a positive influence on high-level women in government. This study shows that Kuwaiti high-level women agree that they have started to experience a positive influence in their work since the franchise due to the new political power that they have gained. I argue that whether or not high-level women have personally experienced any positive change in their work due to gaining their political rights, they still affirm the occurrence of this positive change. This study finds that this positive influence is reflected in better representation in official meetings, more interactions with state leaders, an increasing ability to express concerns to top levels, and enhancing their self-confidence to lead. This study notes other significant factors that should be considered by women in order to enhance their numbers in lea

The Clinical Practice of Oral Medicine in Specialty Dental Centres of Kuwait

This article aims to define the current state of clinical practice pertaining to the specialty of oral medicine in Kuwait, and to provide recommendations for future modeling of the clinical practice of oral medicine. An overview of the dental specialties organisational framework will be illustrated with view of current administrative and clinical protocols. Future directions are explained for promoting specialty recognition to improve quality of care while avoiding the many impediments relevant to the clinical practice of oral medicine in Kuwait

Pan-Domain Analysis of ZIP Zinc Transporters

The ZIP (Zrt/Irt-like protein) family of zinc transporters is found in all three domains of life. However, little is known about the phylogenetic relationship amongst ZIP transporters, their distribution, or their origin. Here we employed phylogenetic analysis to explore the evolution of ZIP transporters, with a focus on the major human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. Pan-domain analysis of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, and human proteins revealed a complex relationship amongst the ZIP family members. Here we report (i) a eukaryote-wide group of cellular zinc importers, (ii) a fungal-specific group of zinc importers having genetic association with the fungal zincophore, and, (iii) a pan-kingdom supercluster made up of two distinct subgroups with orthologues in bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic phyla

Mechanical and optical properties of machined, printed, and conventional dental polymers

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the flexural strength and color stability of conventional, machined, and printed dental polymers. Secondarily, the effects of aging, fatigue, coffee, distilled water, and UV light on the color stability and flexural strength of the different dental polymers will be evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty disks 14mm in diameter and 2mm in thickness were fabricated from each of the following polymers: Jet Tooth Shade (Lang Dental), ProTemp (3M-ESPE), Telio CAD Temp (Ivoclar Vivadent), Vita CAD Temp (Vita), Temporary CB (FormLab), Dentca (Dentca), and Bego VarseoSmile Crown Plus (Bego). The sixty disks from each polymer were then divided into the six following groups: no treatment, thermocycling, fatigue, thermocycling and coffee, distilled water and finally UV Light. Prior to any treatment, the color coordinates CIE L*a*b*, were registered first. The non-treated groups were fractured using the Instron Universal Testing Machine to obtain flexural strength values. Thermocycling consisted of placing the specimens in 30 seconds 5°C water and then 30 seconds in 55°C water for 5,000 cycles. Fatigue testing consisted of cyclic loading the disk specimens by calculating 60% of the mean load to failure from the non-treated group and subjecting them to 50,000 cycles. The third group was placed under thermocycling for 1,500 cycles and then placed in coffee for 15 days. Another group was placed in distilled water for 15 days. Finally, the UV light treatment consisted of exposing the disk specimens to UV light for ten hours over the course of five days. After treatment, the color coordinates were recorded again and fractured using the Instron Universal Testing Machine. The data was analyzed for any statistically significant differences using ANOVA with a<0.05. RESULTS: The flexural strength values were highest for Telio CAD Temp, that was affected only by UV light via a statistical analysis. ProTemp was second highest followed by Bego VarseoSmile Crown Plus, Dentca, Temporary CB, Vita CAD Temp and finally Jet Tooth Shade. Color differences were highest for Dentca followed by Jet Tooth Shade, ProTemp, Telio CAD Temp, Temporary CB and finally Vita CAD Temp. UV light and thermocycling/ coffee had the highest impact. CONCLUSION: Telio CAD Temp had the highest overall flexural strength and was resistant to all post fabrication treatments except for UV light. ProTemp had the second highest overall flexural strength but was susceptible to multiple post fabrication treatments like distilled water, fatigue, and aging. The printed specimens had flexural strength values lower in the middle range of all tested materials. In terms of treatment, UV light and coffee/thermocycling had the biggest impact on the overall color stability values. Powder and Liquid based PMMA had the lowest overall flexural strengths

Restricted ride estimator in the Inverse Gaussian regression model

The inverse Gaussian regression (IGR) model is a well-known model in application when the response variable positively skewed. Its parameters are usually estimated using maximum likelihood (ML) method. However, the ML method is very sensitive to multicollinearity. Ridge estimator was proposed in inverse gaussian regression model. A restricted ridge estimator is proposed. Simulation and real data example results demonstrate that the proposed estimator is outperformed ML and inverse Gaussian ridge estimator

Restricted ride estimator in the Inverse Gaussian regression model

The inverse Gaussian regression (IGR) model is a well-known model in application when the response variable positively skewed. Its parameters are usually estimated using maximum likelihood (ML) method. However, the ML method is very sensitive to multicollinearity. Ridge estimator was proposed in inverse gaussian regression model. A restricted ridge estimator is proposed. Simulation and real data example results demonstrate that the proposed estimator is outperformed ML and inverse Gaussian ridge estimator