Comparison of Fibrosis-4 with FibroScan for Liver Fibrosis Assessment in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: To identify the relationship between injection needle threat as a mode of disciplining children and acquired dental phobia in pediatric patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at University College of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan between December 2021 and November 2022. The study included individuals under the age of 18 years who were presented during the survey and scheduled for pulpotomy or pulpectomy treatment. The study assessed two primary outcomes: dental anxiety and childhood needle threat. Dental anxiety was evaluated using the Modified Children's Dental Anxiety Scale, while childhood needle threat was measured by observing the child's responses to scenarios involving needles. Results: Of total 200 pediatric patients, the mean age was 12.04 ±2.34 years. Mild dental anxiety level was observed in 56 (28.0%) patients, moderate in 122 (61.0%) patients and severe in 22 (11.0%) patients. Childhood needle threat was observed in 94 (47.0%) patients. Patients with mild dental anxiety were 0.86 times significantly less likely to have needle threat as compared to patients with severe dental anxiety (cOR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.48, p-value 0.002). Similarly, patients with moderate dental anxiety were 0.83 times significantly less likely to have needle threat as compared to patients with severe dental anxiety (cOR 0.17, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.55, p-value 0.003). Conclusion: The study revealed that most children exhibited moderate dental anxiety, with a notable incidence of dental phobia. Those with higher anxiety levels felt more threatened by needles, underscoring the need to avoid using needles as a mode of discipline

Comparison of Fibrosis-4 with FibroScan for Liver Fibrosis Assessment in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective: To identify the relationship between injection needle threat as a mode of disciplining children and acquired dental phobia in pediatric patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at University College of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan between December 2021 and November 2022. The study included individuals under the age of 18 years who were presented during the survey and scheduled for pulpotomy or pulpectomy treatment. The study assessed two primary outcomes: dental anxiety and childhood needle threat. Dental anxiety was evaluated using the Modified Children's Dental Anxiety Scale, while childhood needle threat was measured by observing the child's responses to scenarios involving needles. Results: Of total 200 pediatric patients, the mean age was 12.04 ±2.34 years. Mild dental anxiety level was observed in 56 (28.0%) patients, moderate in 122 (61.0%) patients and severe in 22 (11.0%) patients. Childhood needle threat was observed in 94 (47.0%) patients. Patients with mild dental anxiety were 0.86 times significantly less likely to have needle threat as compared to patients with severe dental anxiety (cOR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.48, p-value 0.002). Similarly, patients with moderate dental anxiety were 0.83 times significantly less likely to have needle threat as compared to patients with severe dental anxiety (cOR 0.17, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.55, p-value 0.003). Conclusion: The study revealed that most children exhibited moderate dental anxiety, with a notable incidence of dental phobia. Those with higher anxiety levels felt more threatened by needles, underscoring the need to avoid using needles as a mode of discipline

Impact of HHO gas enrichment and high purity biodiesel on the performance of a 315 cc diesel engine

Biodiesel and oxyhydrogen (HHO) gas have shown promising results in improving engine performance and emissions. In this work, the effects of HHO gas and 5% biodiesel blends (B5) and their combined use in a 315 cc diesel engine have been analyzed. Biodiesel is produced by base catalyzed transesterification and cleaned by emulsification. Its calculated cetane index (CCI) was 61.4. HHO gas is produced from electrolysis of concentrated potassium hydroxide solution. The use of 5% biodiesel blend resulted in a significant rise of 9.4% in the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and a maximum reduction of 8.19% in the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). HHO enrichment of diesel and biodiesel at 2.81 L/min through the intake manifold improved the torque and power by an average of over 3%. HHO addition also improved the BTE of diesel by a maximum of 3.67%. The combination of high CCI biodiesel fuel and HHO creates a mixture that has shortened the ignition delay (ID) to the point that adverse effects were observed due to the premature combustion as shown by the average decrease in the BTE of 2.97% compared to B5. Thus, B5, on its own, is found to be the optimum fuel under these conditions. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved