Factors influencing caries status and treatment needs among pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in Udaipur city, India

To estimate the prevalence and severity of dental caries along with the treatment needs; to determine the factors that influence dental caries status among pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Study design: Study sample comprised of 206 pregnant women attending a district maternity hospital in Udaipur, India. Clinical data were collected on dental caries by DMFT and treatment needs as described in World Health Organization Dentition status and Treatment needs. Results: The overall caries prevalence was 87%. Mean caries experience differed significantly among women in various trimesters, it was found to be 3.59 and 3.00 in 1st and 2nd trimester subjects respectively while it was greatest (4.13) among those in 3rd trimester. One surface filling was the most predominant treatment need. Age and occupation of husband explained a variance of 6.8% and 4.2% for decayed and filled components respectively while the only predictor for missing teeth and DMFT that explained a variance of 9.6% and 5.7% respectively was trimester of pregnancy. Conclusions: Dental caries experience and the need for one surface restoration increased with age. Trimester of pregnancy was a significant predictor for missing teeth and DMFT, while decayed teeth and filled teeth were in - fluenced by age and socio-economic level respectivel

Development of pinned electrode for magnetic tunnel junction with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

The magnetic electrodes with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) have gained a great deal of attention in magnetic information storage technology. The use of perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (p-MTJs) enhances the storage density due to the reduction in area required for a unit bit. Among two electrodes in a MTJ structure (ferromagnetic/insulator/ferromagnetic), one electrode should be fixed or pinned to a specific direction of magnetization in order to have a unidirectional magnetic anisotropy with higher exchange field. This can be achieved by a phenomenon of exchange bias observed between the ferromagnetic (FM) and the anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) materials as a shift in a hysteresis loop when they are deposited in a presence of an external applied field

Profile and outcomes of symptomatic pancreatic fluid collections at a tertiary care hospital

Background: Pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs) are seen in about 50% cases of pancreatitis. Most PFCs are usually asymptomatic and resolve spontaneously not requiring intervention. However, symptomatic and complicated PFCs require intervention. In this study we aimed at estimating clinical characteristics, demographics, modalities of treatment and their success rates. Methods: 40 patients with symptomatic PFCs were included in this study. Clinical characteristics, type and location of PFC, indication for treatment, type of intervention, their success and complication rates were recorded. Results: Among 40 patients, 29 were male and 11 females with mean age of 40.2±7.5 years. The most common PFC was pseudocyst (62.5%) followed by walled off necrosis (WON) (25%). The most common indication for intervention was abdominal pain (50%) followed by gastric outlet obstruction (25%), obstructive jaundice (15%) and sepsis (10%). The success rate of EUS guided transmural drainage was 95.6% for pseudocyst and 77.7% for WON. The rate of adverse events was 32% in pseudocysts and 40% in WON. DEN (direct endoscopic necrosectomy) was done in 3 cases of infected WON. Conclusions: The most common PFC seen in practice is pseudocyst followed by WON. Endoscopic (EUS guided) transmural drainage has emerged as the first line intervention for symptomatic PFCs. The rate of complications and associated morbidity is much lesser with endoscopic procedures compared to surgery. The success rate of endoscopic intervention is higher in cases of pseudocyst but complications are higher in necrotic collections

Anorectal manometry profile among elderly patients with chronic constipation in a tertiary health center

Background: Constipation is a common condition in elderly in India. High resolution anorectal manometry (HRAM) is an essential tool in the evaluation. In this context, studies from south India are sparse regarding the motility data of elderly patients with functional constipation. We aimed at studying anorectal pressure patterns in this population of this part of the country. Methods: Manometric data of 50 elderly patients (≥60 year), who underwent the procedure for chronic constipation (Rome IV), was retrospectively collected. Manometric parameters were compiled and observations tabulated. Results: Among 50 patients, 35 were (70%) males and 15 (30%) females with mean age of 66.5±3.2 years. In HRAM study, the mean resting pressure was 90.2±27.5 mmHg (range 43-153 mmHg) and mean squeeze pressure was 136.9±39.76 mmHg (range 88-223 mmHg). In present study 23 patients had abnormal HRAM suggestive of dyssynergic defecation (46%). Conclusions: The present study showed that 46% of the elderly constipation patients had defecation disorder. Defecation disorders are common in our population and there is a need to diagnose it as treatment perspectives differ from other causes of constipation

Salivary Gland Neoplasms in Indian Paediatric Population Visiting a Dental Institution

INTRODUCTION: With a probability of 50% malignancy, salivary gland tumors are not too commonly noticed in children and adolescents. Most of these have idiopathic etiology but a few pre-disposing factors have been reported in literature. We hereby report eighteen cases of paediatric salivary gland tumors in a study conducted from September 2013 to August 2018 at department of Oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tatyasaheb Kore Dental college and Research Centre, Kohlapur, Maharashtra, India..AIM & OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to inspect the distribution, clinical and histopathological features of salivary gland tumours in children and adolescents.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 18 cases of salivary gland tumors encountered in paediatric age group were studied and explored for age, gender, site proneness and for histopathological nature.RESULTS: Female gender had a predominance over males. Parotid tumors were more common (77.78%) as compared to tumors of submandibular glands. Six cases were diagnosed with benign tumors (pleomorphic adenoma) and rest had malignant tumors (mucoepidermoid in nature). Majority of the cases did not report undergoing any prior treatment.CONCLUSION Present study revealed that salivary gland tumors in paediatric age group are quite rare with female gender being more prone. With majority of cases being mucoepidermoid in nature, parotid gland is most commonly affected

Salivary Gland Neoplasms in Indian Paediatric Population Visiting a Dental Institution

INTRODUCTION: With a probability of 50% malignancy, salivary gland tumors are not too commonly noticed in children and adolescents. Most of these have idiopathic etiology but a few pre-disposing factors have been reported in literature. We hereby report eighteen cases of paediatric salivary gland tumors in a study conducted from September 2013 to August 2018 at department of Oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tatyasaheb Kore Dental college and Research Centre, Kohlapur, Maharashtra, India..AIM & OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to inspect the distribution, clinical and histopathological features of salivary gland tumours in children and adolescents.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 18 cases of salivary gland tumors encountered in paediatric age group were studied and explored for age, gender, site proneness and for histopathological nature.RESULTS: Female gender had a predominance over males. Parotid tumors were more common (77.78%) as compared to tumors of submandibular glands. Six cases were diagnosed with benign tumors (pleomorphic adenoma) and rest had malignant tumors (mucoepidermoid in nature). Majority of the cases did not report undergoing any prior treatment.CONCLUSION Present study revealed that salivary gland tumors in paediatric age group are quite rare with female gender being more prone. With majority of cases being mucoepidermoid in nature, parotid gland is most commonly affected

The global burden of hospitalisation due to pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus in the under-5 years children:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to estimate the global hospitalisation due to Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia in under-5 children. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of primary studies following the PRISMA-P guidelines. We searched Medline, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus, Scopus, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and CQvip. We included studies reporting data on Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, confirmed by detection of the pathogen in sterile-site samples in under-5 hospitalised children, published in English or Chinese language and conducted between 1st January 1990 and 4th November 2021 and between 1st January 1990 and 30th September 2020, respectively. We excluded those testing upper respiratory tract samples and not reporting data on samples with other bacteria or absence of bacteria. We screened papers against pre-specified criteria, extracted data and assessed the bacteriological quality, and combined epidemiological and microbiological quality of studies using two self-designed checklists. Pooled proportions of hospitalisation episodes for Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia amongst all-cause pneumonia and the 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the random-effects model. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021236606). FINDINGS: Of 26,218 studies identified, thirty-five studies enroling 20,708 hospitalised pneumonia episodes were included. Out of the total hospitalised pneumonia cases in this population, the pooled proportion of Staphylococcal pneumonia cases was 3% (95% CI 2% to 4%; I(2)=96%). amongst 12 studies with higher microbiological quality, the pooled estimate was 6% (95% CI 2% to 10%; I(2)= 98%). Based on the recent global estimates of hospitalised pneumonia in this age group, the 3% and 6% estimates represent 738 thousand and 1.48 million hospitalisations in 2019, respectively. Based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE), the overall quality of evidence was considered to be moderate. INTERPRETATION: Our findings are probably an underestimate because of the unknown and the likely limited sensitivity of current testing methods for Staphylococcal pneumonia diagnosis and widespread reported use of antibiotics before recruitment (in 46% of cases). Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of hospitalisation for pneumonia in young children globally. FUNDING: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP 1,172,551) through a prime award to John Hopkins University

Advancing Diagnostic Precision: Leveraging Machine Learning Techniques for Accurate Detection of Covid-19, Pneumonia, and Tuberculosis in Chest X-Ray Images

Lung diseases such as COVID-19, tuberculosis (TB), and pneumonia continue to be serious global health concerns that affect millions of people worldwide. In medical practice, chest X-ray examinations have emerged as the norm for diagnosing diseases, particularly chest infections such as COVID-19. Paramedics and scientists are working intensively to create a reliable and precise approach for early-stage COVID-19 diagnosis in order to save lives. But with a variety of symptoms, medical diagnosis of these disorders poses special difficulties. It is essential to address their identification and timely diagnosis in order to successfully treat and prevent these illnesses. In this research, a multiclass classification approach using state-of-the-art methods for deep learning and image processing is proposed. This method takes into account the robustness and efficiency of the system in order to increase diagnostic precision of chest diseases. A comparison between a brand-new convolution neural network (CNN) and several transfer learning pre-trained models including VGG19, ResNet, DenseNet, EfficientNet, and InceptionNet is recommended. Publicly available and widely used research datasets like Shenzen, Montogomery, the multiclass Kaggle dataset and the NIH dataset were used to rigorously test the model. Recall, precision, F1-score, and Area Under Curve (AUC) score are used to evaluate and compare the performance of the proposed model. An AUC value of 0.95 for COVID-19, 0.99 for TB, and 0.98 for pneumonia is obtained using the proposed network. Recall and precision ratings of 0.95, 0.98, and 0.97, respectively, likewise met high standards.Comment: 11 pages, 18 figures, Under review in Discover Artificial Intelligence Journal by Springer Natur

Influence of lifestyle on oral health behavior among rural residents of Udaipur district, India

Objectives: To determine the relation of life style with dental health behavior such as tooth brushing frequency, use of extra cleansing devices and regular visits to dentist among rural residents of Udaipur district, India. Study design: The study population comprised of 1001 rural population between the ages 18 to 69 years selected by multi stage stratified cluster sampling procedure. Personal interviews were conducted by three trained interviewers who collected information on socio-demographic and lifestyle factors in addition to some aspects of dental health behavior including tooth brushing frequency, use of extra cleaning devices like dental floss and regular visits to dentist. Results: Majority of the population (63.3%) brushed their teeth once a day and only a few subjects (19.8%) brushed twice a day whereas 8.6 % never brushed their teeth. Logistic regression analysis revealed that females were more apt in every aspect of dental health behavior. House wives were more regular in brushing their teeth (OR=1.51) and using extra cleansing devices as compared to other occupation groups. Subjects who suffered from systemic disease showed negative association with use of extra cleansing devices but showed positive association with regular visits to dentist. Conclusions: The results indicate that dental health behavior is related with life style factors as well as socio-demographic variables. © Medicina Oral S. L

Influenza vaccination strategies for 2020-21 in the context of COVID-19

Background Influenza vaccination prevents people from influenza-related diseases and thereby mitigates the burden on national health systems when COVID-19 circulates and public health measures controlling respiratory viral infections are relaxed. However, it is challenging to maintain influenza vaccine services as the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to disrupt vaccination programmes in many countries during the 2020/21 winter. We summarise available recommendations and strategies on influenza vaccination, specifically the changes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We searched websites and databases of national and international public health agencies (focusing on Europe, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa). We also contacted key influenza immunization focal points and experts in respective countries and organizations including WHO and ECDC. Results Available global and regional guidance emphasises the control of COVID-19 infection in immunisation settings by implementing multiple measures, such as physical distancing, hand hygiene practice, appropriate use of personal protective equipment by health care workers and establishing separate vaccination sessions for medically vulnerable people. The guidance also emphasises using alternative models or settings (eg, outdoor areas and pharmacies) for vaccine delivery, communication strategies and developing registry and catch-up programmes to achieve high coverage. Several novel national strategies have been adopted, such as combining influenza vaccination with other medical visits and setting up outdoor and drive through vaccination clinics. Several Southern Hemisphere countries have increased influenza vaccine coverage substantially for the 2020 influenza season. Most of the countries included in our review have planned a universal or near universal influenza vaccination for health care workers, or have made influenza vaccination for health care workers mandatory. Australia has requested that all workers and visitors in long term care facilities receive influenza vaccine. The UK has planned to expand the influenza programme to provide free influenza vaccine for the first time to all adults 50-64 years of age, people on the shielded patient list and their household members and children in the first year of secondary school. South Africa has additionally prioritised people with hypertension for influenza vaccination. Conclusions This review of influenza vaccination guidance and strategies should support strategy development on influenza vaccination in the context of COVID-19