Dental Caries, and Supragingival Plaque and Calculus among Students, Tanga, Tanzania.

The prevalence of dental caries and supragingival plaque and calculus in 785 secondary schools students was assessed. More than half (53.6%) of the students were caries-free, and the majority of those with dental caries experience were aged 14-17 (68.1%) and females (53%). Mean DMFT was 1.26, with mean D-component of 1.05, and molars were most affected. Most students had supragingival plaque (74%) and calculus (56.9%) and more so in males than females (P > 0.05). Less than half of the students had experience of dental caries and those with caries were mostly females and of the younger age group. The low DMFT was contributed to the D-component, and molars were the tooth type most affected.The majority of students had supra-gingival plaque and calculus and more so in males than females

Deformed Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble description of Small-World networks

The study of spectral behavior of networks has gained enthusiasm over the last few years. In particular, Random Matrix Theory (RMT) concepts have proven to be useful. In discussing transition from regular behavior to fully chaotic behavior it has been found that an extrapolation formula of the Brody type can be used. In the present paper we analyze the regular to chaotic behavior of Small World (SW) networks using an extension of the Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble. This RMT ensemble, coined the Deformed Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble (DGOE), supplies a natural foundation of the Brody formula. SW networks follow GOE statistics till certain range of eigenvalues correlations depending upon the strength of random connections. We show that for these regimes of SW networks where spectral correlations do not follow GOE beyond certain range, DGOE statistics models the correlations very well. The analysis performed in this paper proves the utility of the DGOE in network physics, as much as it has been useful in other physical systems.Comment: Replaced with the revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Non-singular inflation with vacuum decay

On the basis of a semi-classical analysis of vacuum energy in an expanding spacetime, we describe a non-singular cosmological model in which the vacuum density decays with time, with a concomitant production of matter. During an infinitely long period we have an empty, inflationary universe, with H \approx 1. This primordial era ends in a fast phase transition, during which H and \Lambda decrease to nearly zero in a few Planck times, with release of a huge amount of radiation. The late-time scenario is similar to the standard model, with the radiation phase followed by a long dust era, which tends asymptotically to a de Sitter universe, with vacuum dominating again. An analysis of the redshift-distance relation for supernovas Ia leads to cosmological parameters in agreement with other current estimations.Comment: Work presented at IRGAC 2006, Barcelona, July 11-15 2006. To appear in a special issue of Journal of Physics

The advantages of SMRT sequencing

Of the current next-generation sequencing technologies, SMRT sequencing is sometimes overlooked. However, attributes such as long reads, modified base detection and high accuracy make SMRT a useful technology and an ideal approach to the complete sequencing of small genomes

Observational constraints on late-time Lambda(t) cosmology

The cosmological constant, i.e., the energy density stored in the true vacuum state of all existing fields in the Universe, is the simplest and the most natural possibility to describe the current cosmic acceleration. However, despite its observational successes, such a possibility exacerbates the well known cosmological constant problem, requiring a natural explanation for its small, but nonzero, value. In this paper we study cosmological consequences of a scenario driven by a varying cosmological term, in which the vacuum energy density decays linearly with the Hubble parameter. We test the viability of this scenario and study a possible way to distinguish it from the current standard cosmological model by using recent observations of type Ia supernova (Supernova Legacy Survey Collaboration), measurements of the baryonic acoustic oscillation from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the position of the first peak of the cosmic microwave background angular spectrum from the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe.Comment: Some important revisions. To appear in Physical Review