Occupational Hepatitis B Exposure: A Peek into Indian Dental Students’ Knowledge, Opinion, and Preventive Practices

Objective. To determine the level of knowledge, opinions, and preventive practices followed by dental students against Hepatitis B. The study also explored if any correlation existed between knowledge, opinion, and preventive practices score. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a dental teaching institution. The subjects comprised 216 dental students. The study was conducted using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared to assess knowledge, opinion, and preventive practices against Hepatitis B. Kruskal-Wallis and Kendall Tau test were performed. Results. The study found that only 44.4% of the students were vaccinated with Hepatitis B vaccine. 59.3% of the students reported washing their hands after contact with patient’s body fluids. 63.9% used personal protective measures like facemask, aprons, head cap, eye shields, and so forth, while treating patients. Median knowledge, opinion, and practice scores were found to be 5.00, 3.00, and 3.00, respectively. Significant correlation was obtained between knowledge and preventive practices score (r=0.385, p value <0.0001). Conclusion. Effective measures need to be taken to improve preventive practices of the students to prevent them from risk of Hepatitis transmission. Mandatory vaccination against Hepatitis B needs to be implemented

COMO É QUE OS ESTUDANTES DE MEDICINA E ENFERMAGEM VEEM A TECNOLOGIA DE SAÚDE? UM ESTUDO DE VALIDAÇÃO PSICOMÉTRICA DO QUESTIONÁRIO DE AVALIAÇÃO DE USABILIDADE EM BANGLADESH

The modernization of healthcare delivery is a reality in various international settings. To ensure efficient and safe use of the diverse forms of healthcare technology available, professionals and students must be receptive to incorporating such tools into their practice. Currently, there is no instrument in Bangladesh to assess healthcare students’ technology acceptance. Objective: To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Usability Evaluation Questionnaire (UtEQ) among Bangladeshi healthcare students. Method: A cross-sectional study with a methodological approach was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved the translation of the UtEQ questionnaire to Bengali, following the six stages proposed by Beaton et al. In the second phase, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated using a non-probability sample of 486 undergraduate healthcare students from three higher education institutions in Bangladesh. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was estimated to find out the internal consistency. Results: Internal consistency was found to be excellent for all scale dimensions, ranging from 0.88 to 0.92, while confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate goodness-of-fit indicators. Conclusion: The UtEQ-B provides a reliable and valid method for healthcare educators and researchers to assess technology acceptance among healthcare students during clinical training in Bangladesh.A modernização da prestação de cuidados de saúde é uma realidade em vários contextos internacionais. Para garantir a utilização eficiente e segura das diversas formas de tecnologia em saúde disponíveis, os profissionais e estudantes devem estar receptivos à incorporação dessas ferramentas na sua prática. Atualmente, não existe em Bangladesh um instrumento para avaliar a aceitação da tecnologia pelos estudantes de saúde. Objetivo: Traduzir, adaptar culturalmente e validar o Questionário de Avaliação da Usabilidade (UtEQ) entre estudantes de saúde de Bangladesh. Método: Foi realizado um estudo transversal com uma abordagem metodológica em duas fases. A primeira fase envolveu a tradução do questionário UtEQ para bengali, seguindo as seis etapas propostas por Beaton et al. Na segunda fase, foram avaliadas as propriedades psicométricas do questionário usando uma amostra não probabilística de 486 estudantes de graduação em saúde de três instituições de ensino superior em Bangladesh. Foi realizada uma análise fatorial confirmatória e estimou-se o coeficiente alfa de Cronbach para verificar a consistência interna. Resultados: Foi encontrada uma consistência interna excelente para todas as dimensões da escala, variando de 0,88 a 0,92, enquanto a análise fatorial confirmatória mostrou indicadores adequados de ajuste. Conclusão: O UtEQ-B fornece um método confiável e válido para educadores e pesquisadores em saúde avaliarem a aceitação da tecnologia entre estudantes de saúde durante o treinamento clínico em Bangladesh

Mechanical, Tribological, and Thermal Properties of Hot-Pressed ZrB2-B4C Composite

The effect of addition of submicrometer-sized B4C (5,10 and 15 wt%) on microstructure, phase composition, hardness, fracture toughness, scratch resistance, wear resistance, and thermal behavior of hot-pressed ZrB2-B4C composites is reported. ZrB2-B4C (10 wt%) composite has V-H1 of 20.81 GPa and fracture toughness of 3.93 at 1kgf, scratch resistance coefficient of 0.40, wear resistance coefficient of 0.01, and ware rate of 0.49x10(-3)mm(3)/Nm at 10N. Crack deflection by homogeneously dispersed submicrometer-sized B4C in ZrB2 matrix can improve the mechanical and tribological properties. Thermal conductivity of ZrB2-B4C composites varied from 70.13 to 45.30W/mK between 100 degrees C and 1000 degrees C which is encouraging for making ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC) component

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Hot-Pressed ZrB2-SiC Composites

ZrB2-SiC composites were hot pressed at 2473 K (2200 A degrees C) with graded amounts (5 to 20 wt pct) of SiC and the effect of the SiC addition on mechanical properties like hardness, fracture toughness, scratch and wear resistances, and thermal conductivity were studied. Addition of submicron-sized SiC particles in ZrB2 matrices enhanced mechanical properties like hardness (15.6 to 19.1 GPa at 1 kgf), fracture toughness (2 to 3.6 MPa(m)(1/2)) by second phase dispersion toughening mechanism, and also improved scratch and wear resistances. Thermal conductivity of ZrB2-SiC (5 wt pct) composite was higher 121 to 93 W/m K from 373 K to 1273 K (100 A degrees C to 1000 A degrees C)] and decreased slowly upto 1273 K (1000 A degrees C) in comparison to monolithic ZrB2 providing better resistance to thermal fluctuation of the composite and improved service life in UHTC applications. At higher loading of SiC (15 wt pct and above), increased thermal barrier at the grain boundaries probably reduced the thermal conductivity of the composite