Periodontal Treatment Needs of Patients Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment in Comparison To Non-Orthodontic Treatment Patients: A Comparative Study

OBJECTIVES To determine the periodontal treatment needs of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment compared to those not undergoing the treatment.   METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 100 patients visiting the Dental OPD of Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore, from June 2019 to July 2020. Clinical examination was done using the Community Periodontal index for treatment needs (CPITN) to assess the participants' periodontal health and treatment needs. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference in the scores of CPITN across the treatment and control groups (≤0.001). The patients requiring scaling and prophylaxis and Oral hygiene instructions (TN 2) were more (94%) in the orthodontic treatment group in comparison to the non-orthodontic treatment group (62%). A higher percentage of patients (6%) requiring complex treatment (deep scaling, root planning and complex surgical procedures), scaling and prophylaxis and Oral hygiene instructions (TN3) belonged to the non-orthodontic treatment group, while only 4% required it from the orthodontic treatment group. CONCLUSION All orthodontic and non-orthodontic treatment group participants required oral hygiene instructions and had periodontal treatment needs (TN1). The patients requiring scaling and prophylaxis and Oral hygiene instructions (TN 2) were more in the orthodontic treatment group than the non-orthodontic treatment group. A higher percentage of patients requiring complex treatment (deep scaling, root planning and complex surgical procedures), scaling and prophylaxis and Oral hygiene instructions (TN3) belonged to the non-orthodontic treatment group

Mersin City-Lab: Co-creative and participatory design approach for a circular neighbourhood

While environmental, economical and social challenges that the world has been facing recently are increasing dramatically; cities have played critical role in generation many of these problems like negative impacts on environment and overconsumption of resources. Most of the cities today face severe sustainability challenges including sanitation, air pollution, environmental degradation, over population and lack of livability. However, cities may also raise answers to find solutions against many of such complex urban problems, since they are assumed as creative and innovative platforms for social ecosystem of ideas. In this sense, there is increasing interest in ‘City Laboratories’ or ‘Urban Living Labs’, which are established to provide creative experimental platforms with participation of city actors to discuss urban sustainability issues before implementation of deep and structural urban changes for citizens. They provide participatory, co-creative and experimental platforms for self-organizing cities. The aim of this paper is to discuss a collaborative City Laboratory approach -Mersin City Lab- to achieve sustainability principles during urban regeneration process for the selected case-study area located in Mersin. Mersin City Lab focuses on two aspects: Firstly, ‘City Lab’ approach, involves citizens and stakeholders into decision-making process. Secondly, it  focuses on urban transformation process with circularity principles including water, mobility, energy, waste management, food and circular economy to achieve sustainable neighborhood development. The paper starts with introduction of ‘city-gaming’ methodology which has been adopted as the main structure of participation of multi-stakeholders. It continues with discussions on stages of the case-study project through implementation of workshops and game sessions by participation of multi stake-holders. Following, the results gathered from overall evaluations of participants’ proposals regarding land-use, mobility and urban water management, local economy, urban development, urban agriculture and food strategies in neighborhood level are discussed. Finally, the paper concludes with impacts of City Labs approach and city-gaming methodology on decision-making process for real urban problems and urban settings

Scaffold-free three-dimensional cell culturing using magnetic levitation

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture has emerged as a pioneering methodology and is increasingly utilized for tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, cancer model studies and drug development studies. The 3D cell culture methodology provides artificial and functional cellular constructs serving as a modular playground prior to animal model studies, which saves substantial efforts, time and experimental costs. The major drawback of current 3D cell culture methods is their dependency on biocompatible scaffolds, which often require tedious syntheses and fabrication steps. Herein, we report an easy-to-use methodology for the formation of scaffold-free 3D cell culture and cellular assembly via magnetic levitation in the presence of paramagnetic agents. To paramagnetize the cell culture environment, three different Gadolinium(iii) chelates were utilized, which led to levitation and assembly of cells at a certain levitation height. The assembly and close interaction of cells at the levitation height where the magnetic force was equilibrated with gravitational force triggered the formation of complex 3D cellular structures. It was shown that Gd(iii) chelates provided an optimal levitation that induced intercellular interactions in scaffold-free format without compromising cell viability. NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblasts and HCC827 non-small-cell lung cancer cells were evaluated via the magnetic levitation system, and the formation of 3D cell culture models was validated for both cell lines. Hereby, the developed magnetic levitation system holds promises for complex cellular assemblies and 3D cell culture studies.IYTE BAP; 2016IYTE7

Public Health Rep

13089017PMCnul

Effect of Reaction Time and Heat Treatment in the Production of Hydroxyapatite by Hydrothermal Synthesis

In the present work, Hydroxyapatite synthesis was carried out using hydrothermal method with calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (Ca(NO3)2.4H2O) and fosfor pentaoksit (P2O5) as precursors. For the hydrothermal method, constant reaction temperature (180°C) and different reaction times (6 hours, 12 hours, 18 hours and 24 hours) were determined. The samples produced were divided into two groups. Four samples were not heat treatment; four samples were heat treatment at 700°C for 1 hour. The obtained products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis spectrometer. SEM photos showed that the Hydroxyapatite powders produced are in the form of the agglomerate. According to EDS results, Hydroxyapatite samples are of high purity. XRD’s findings confirm that the diffraction peaks correspond to the pure phase of Hydroxyapatite. A general decrease was observed in the energy band gap of the samples with increasing hydrothermal reaction time

Carpet weaving: An occupational risk for onychomycosis?

Background Some occupations carry a risk for fungal infections. Objective To investigate the prevalence of onychomycosis in carpet weavers. Methods Seventy-seven weavers (the mean age ± SD = 32.97 ± 12.38) from three factories and 77 controls (the mean age ± SD = 38.32 ± 12.38) were examined for onychomycosis. Samples from nails and the carpets, which were being weaved, were taken for mycological investigations. Results Direct microscopic examination of only two controls' normal-appearing nails was positive. Fungal growth was observed in the culture of four weavers' normal-appearing nails. It was watched over that most of the weavers had polished-appearing nails and were using a glue containing cynoacrylate to restore their broken nails due to weaving. Conclusion The fungal growth observed in weavers' nails has been accepted as colonization. There is no data about the presence of fungi on normal-appearing nails. So, we thought that the weavers with fungal colonization should be followed for the development of onychomycosis. © 2009 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology

Mersin City-Lab: Co-creative and participatory design approach for a circular neighbourhood

While environmental, economical and social challenges that the world has been facing recently are increasing dramatically; cities have played critical role in generation many of these problems like negative impacts on environment and overconsumption of resources. Most of the cities today face severe sustainability challenges including sanitation, air pollution, environmental degradation, over population and lack of livability. However, cities may also raise answers to find solutions against many of such complex urban problems, since they are assumed as creative and innovative platforms for social ecosystem of ideas. In this sense, there is increasing interest in ‘City Laboratories’ or ‘Urban Living Labs’, which are established to provide creative experimental platforms with participation of city actors to discuss urban sustainability issues before implementation of deep and structural urban changes for citizens. They provide participatory, co-creative and experimental platforms for self-organizing cities. The aim of this paper is to discuss a collaborative City Laboratory approach -Mersin City Lab- to achieve sustainability principles during urban regeneration process for the selected case-study area located in Mersin. Mersin City Lab focuses on two aspects: Firstly, ‘City Lab’ approach, involves citizens and stakeholders into decision-making process. Secondly, it  focuses on urban transformation process with circularity principles including water, mobility, energy, waste management, food and circular economy to achieve sustainable neighborhood development. The paper starts with introduction of ‘city-gaming’ methodology which has been adopted as the main structure of participation of multi-stakeholders. It continues with discussions on stages of the case-study project through implementation of workshops and game sessions by participation of multi stake-holders. Following, the results gathered from overall evaluations of participants’ proposals regarding land-use, mobility and urban water management, local economy, urban development, urban agriculture and food strategies in neighborhood level are discussed. Finally, the paper concludes with impacts of City Labs approach and city-gaming methodology on decision-making process for real urban problems and urban settings

The impact of COVID-19 on the psychological well-being of surgeons in Pakistan: A multicenter cross-sectional study

Introduction The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic left a profound and pervasive impact on the healthcare infrastructure on a global scale. Since its onset, the pattern of reported cases and its associated mortality had shown variability with intermittent peaks causing a significant effect on the psychological well-being of the surgeons of Pakistan. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of surgeons in Pakistan. Methods This multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the psychological well-being of surgeons in Pakistan. The validated Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) tool was circulated electronically via Google Forms (Google, Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) in the practicing surgical fraternity across all five regions of Pakistan, i.e., Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Results This study showed that the female gender, having fewer years of working experience, non-satisfaction with the available personal protective equipment (PPE), and working in the public sector were the factors affecting the psychological well-being of surgeons during the pandemic. Conclusion Considering the continuous rise in new cases during the ongoing pandemic, the mental health of surgeons working in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) such as Pakistan has been significantly affected. There is an undeniable need to pay close attention to their psychological well-being. Measures need to be undertaken to ensure their physical and mental health and wellness