The Role of Online Teaching Among the Undergraduate Dental Students During the Current COVID-19 Pandemic in India: A Pilot Study

Objective: To assess the usefulness of online teaching for undergraduate students during this Corona pandemic, to point the drawbacks of online teaching, and to learn the areas of improvement in online teaching for the future. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study on 130 students was done in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, personal details and specific information. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of questions related to age, gender, etc. The second part had questions pertaining to online teaching. Pearson’s Chi-square test was applied and the level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Most of the students (83.3%) were in the view that classroom lectures are the best mean of imparting knowledge, which was significant (p<0.001). A significant number of students (88.1%) agreed that online teaching is the best method of teaching apart from classroom teaching. Almost all the students (93%) agreed significantly that online teaching is the best way to learn in this present pandemic scenario. Most students (59.6%) agreed that connectivity/network issue is a major drawback in online teaching, which is again significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Here in these testing times, the role of online teaching becomes important for medical/dental students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, to keep up with their studies

The Role of Online Teaching Among the Undergraduate Dental Students During the Current COVID-19 Pandemic in India: A Pilot Study

Objective: To assess the usefulness of online teaching for undergraduate students during this Corona pandemic, to point the drawbacks of online teaching, and to learn the areas of improvement in online teaching for the future. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study on 130 students was done in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, personal details and specific information. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of questions related to age, gender, etc. The second part had questions pertaining to online teaching. Pearson’s Chi-square test was applied and the level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Most of the students (83.3%) were in the view that classroom lectures are the best mean of imparting knowledge, which was significant (p<0.001). A significant number of students (88.1%) agreed that online teaching is the best method of teaching apart from classroom teaching. Almost all the students (93%) agreed significantly that online teaching is the best way to learn in this present pandemic scenario. Most students (59.6%) agreed that connectivity/network issue is a major drawback in online teaching, which is again significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Here in these testing times, the role of online teaching becomes important for medical/dental students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, to keep up with their studies

Effect of pinching and spacing on growth, flowering and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) under semi-arid conditions of Haryana

The present study was conducted at experimental orchard of Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana), India with a view to optimize pinching time and spacing in African marigold for achieving better growth, flowering and yield. Design of the experiment was factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. Experiment comprises of two levels of pinching (no pinching & pinching at 28 DAT i.e. Days After Transplanting) and three levels of spacing (40 x 40 cm, 40 x 30 cm & 30 x 30 cm) in all possible combinations. Maximum number of branches/plant (12.11), plant spread (63.59 cm), fresh weight of plant (358.79 g), number of buds/plant, duration of flowering (53.95 days), number of flowers/plant (54.54), stalk length and flower yield/plant (403.68 g) and flower yield/hectare (33.33 t) were significantly recorded in plants pinched at 28 DAT at 5% level of significance, whereas, maximum plant height (73.52 cm), flower diameter (6.38 cm), fresh weight of flower (8.93 g) was obtained in un-pinched plants. In case of spacing, maximum plant spread (64.01 cm), primary branches/plant (11.42), fresh weight of plant (370.20 g), number of buds/plant, number of flowers/plant (51.43), duration of flowering (53.98 days), flower diameter (6.42 cm), fresh weight of flower (9.03 g), flower yield/plant (460.42 g) was recorded at 40 x 40 cm, whereas, maximum plant height (71.76 cm), stalk length, flower yield/hectare (36.34 t) was observed with 30 x 30 cm. Results revealed that plants pinched at 28 DAT with widest spacing (40 x 40 cm) were found best for better growth, flowering and yield of African marigold

Mechanistic details of the formation and growth of nanoscale voids in Ge under extreme conditions within an ion track

The formation of nanoscale voids in amorphous-germanium (a-Ge), and their size and shape evolution under ultra-fast thermal spikes within an ion track of swift heavy ion, is meticulously expatiated using experimental and theoretical approaches. Two step energetic ion irradiation processes were used to fabricate novel and distinct embedded nanovoids within bulk Ge. The 'bow-tie' shape of voids formed in a single ion track tends to attain a spherical shape as the ion tracks overlap at a fluence of about 1 x 10(12) ions cm(-2). The void assumes a prolate spheroid shape with major axis along the ion trajectory at sufficiently high ion fluences. Small angle x-ray scattering can provide complementary information about the primary stage of void formation hence this technique is applied for monitoring simultaneously their formation and growth dynamics. The results are supported by the investigation of cross-sectional transmission and scanning electron micrographs. The multi-time-scale theoretical approach corroborates the experimental findings and relates the bow-tie shape void formation to density variations as a result of melting and resolidification of Ge within the region of thermal spike generated along an ion track, plus non-isotropic stresses generated towards the end of the thermal spike.Peer reviewe

Transcriptional Profiling of Aging in Human Muscle Reveals a Common Aging Signature

We analyzed expression of 81 normal muscle samples from humans of varying ages, and have identified a molecular profile for aging consisting of 250 age-regulated genes. This molecular profile correlates not only with chronological age but also with a measure of physiological age. We compared the transcriptional profile of muscle aging to previous transcriptional profiles of aging in the kidney and the brain, and found a common signature for aging in these diverse human tissues. The common aging signature consists of six genetic pathways; four pathways increase expression with age (genes in the extracellular matrix, genes involved in cell growth, genes encoding factors involved in complement activation, and genes encoding components of the cytosolic ribosome), while two pathways decrease expression with age (genes involved in chloride transport and genes encoding subunits of the mitochondrial electron transport chain). We also compared transcriptional profiles of aging in humans to those of the mouse and fly, and found that the electron transport chain pathway decreases expression with age in all three organisms, suggesting that this may be a public marker for aging across species

Author Correction:Charge disproportionate molecular redox for discrete memristive and memcapacitive switching (Nature Nanotechnology, (2020), 15, 5, (380-389), 10.1038/s41565-020-0653-1)

Correction to: Nature Nanotechnology. Published online 23 March 2020. In the version of this article initially published, there were presentation errors in the range of y-axis values displayed in Extended Data Figure 4a,b, and Extended Data Figure 5b. The errors have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.</p

A Transcriptional Profile of Aging in the Human Kidney

In this study, we found 985 genes that change expression in the cortex and the medulla of the kidney with age. Some of the genes whose transcripts increase in abundance with age are known to be specifically expressed in immune cells, suggesting that immune surveillance or inflammation increases with age. The age-regulated genes show a similar aging profile in the cortex and the medulla, suggesting a common underlying mechanism for aging. Expression profiles of these age-regulated genes mark not only age, but also the relative health and physiology of the kidney in older individuals. Finally, the set of aging-regulated kidney genes suggests specific mechanisms and pathways that may play a role in kidney degeneration with age

Comparative Influence of Ocean Conditions on Yellowfin and Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Catch from Longlines in the Gulf of Mexico

Directed fishing effort for Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), their primary spawning grounds in the western Atlantic, has been prohibited since the 1980s due to a precipitous decline of the spawning stock biomass. However, pelagic longlines targeted at other species, primarily yellowfin tuna and swordfish, continue to catch Atlantic bluefin tuna in the GOM as bycatch. Spatial and temporal management measures minimizing bluefin tuna bycatch in the GOM will likely become important in rebuilding the western Atlantic bluefin stock. In order to help inform management policy and understand the relative distribution of target and bycatch species in the GOM, we compared the spatiotemporal variability and environmental influences on the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of yellowfin (target) and bluefin tuna (bycatch). Catch and effort data from pelagic longline fisheries observers (1993–2005) and scientific tagging cruises (1998–2002) were coupled with environmental and biological data. Negative binomial models were used to fit the data for both species and Akaike's Information Criterion (corrected for small sample size) was used to determine the best model. Our results indicate that bluefin CPUE had higher spatiotemporal variability as compared to yellowfin CPUE. Bluefin CPUE increased substantially during the breeding months (March-June) and peaked in April and May, while yellowfin CPUE remained relatively high throughout the year. In addition, bluefin CPUE was significantly higher in areas with negative sea surface height anomalies and cooler sea surface temperatures, which are characteristic of mesoscale cyclonic eddies. In contrast, yellowfin CPUE was less sensitive to environmental variability. These differences in seasonal variability and sensitivity to environmental influences suggest that bluefin tuna bycatch in the GOM can be reduced substantially by managing the spatial and temporal distribution of the pelagic longline effort without substantially impacting yellowfin tuna catches

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980–2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background: Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods: For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dose-specific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in country-reported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings: By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81·6% [95% uncertainty interval 80·4–82·7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39·9% [37·5–42·1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38·5% [35·4–41·3] in 1980 to 83·6% [82·3–84·8] in 2019). Third-dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42·6% (41·4–44·1) in 1980 to 79·8% (78·4–81·1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56·8 million (52·6–60·9) to 14·5 million (13·4–15·9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation: After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines

Global Burden of Cardiovascular Diseases and Risk Factors, 1990-2019 : Update From the GBD 2019 Study

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), principally ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke, are the leading cause of global mortality and a major contributor to disability. This paper reviews the magnitude of total CVD burden, including 13 underlying causes of cardiovascular death and 9 related risk factors, using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019. GBD, an ongoing multinational collaboration to provide comparable and consistent estimates of population health over time, used all available population-level data sources on incidence, prevalence, case fatality, mortality, and health risks to produce estimates for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. Prevalent cases of total CVD nearly doubled from 271 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 257 to 285 million) in 1990 to 523 million (95% UI: 497 to 550 million) in 2019, and the number of CVD deaths steadily increased from 12.1 million (95% UI:11.4 to 12.6 million) in 1990, reaching 18.6 million (95% UI: 17.1 to 19.7 million) in 2019. The global trends for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost also increased significantly, and years lived with disability doubled from 17.7 million (95% UI: 12.9 to 22.5 million) to 34.4 million (95% UI:24.9 to 43.6 million) over that period. The total number of DALYs due to IHD has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 182 million (95% UI: 170 to 194 million) DALYs, 9.14 million (95% UI: 8.40 to 9.74 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 197 million (95% UI: 178 to 220 million) prevalent cases of IHD in 2019. The total number of DALYs due to stroke has risen steadily since 1990, reaching 143 million (95% UI: 133 to 153 million) DALYs, 6.55 million (95% UI: 6.00 to 7.02 million) deaths in the year 2019, and 101 million (95% UI: 93.2 to 111 million) prevalent cases of stroke in 2019. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of disease burden in the world. CVD burden continues its decades-long rise for almost all countries outside high-income countries, and alarmingly, the age-standardized rate of CVD has begun to rise in some locations where it was previously declining in high-income countries. There is an urgent need to focus on implementing existing cost-effective policies and interventions if the world is to meet the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieve a 30% reduction in premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases