Perforation repair with artificial floor technique - A microleakage study

In endodontic practice one of the most common procedural accident is furcation perforation. Many materials and techniques have been tried to repair the furcation perforation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of calcium sulfate and hydroxylapatite matrix on the sealing ability of resin modified glass ionomer cement to repair the furcation perforation. The result of the study showed that the microleakage was least when perforation was repaired with resin modified glass ionomer cement over hydroxylapatite used as an internal matrix. And it was maximum when perforation was repaired with resin modified glass ionomer cement without any internal matrix material

An Exploratory Study of Quality of Life and Its Relationship with Academic Performance among Students in Medical and other Health Professions

Quality of life (QOL) is a broader concept which represents experiences, states, appraisals, behaviors, capacities and emotional reactions to circumstances. The study aimed to evaluate the differences in various domains of QOL among the students of five schools (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and nursing) and an optometry unit in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Trinidad and Tobago. Further, the study evaluated the factors (sociodemographic variables and academic performance) predictive of physical, psychological, social and environment domains of quality of life. The research tool consisted of a validated questionnaire which had two sections; (1) sociodemographics inclusive of students’ cumulative grade point average and (2) the shorter version of WHO quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). The data were transformed into a linear scale and exported into the IBM SPSS version 24 where t-tests, one-way ANOVA and stepwise regression were performed. Of the total 535 participants, most 383 (71.6%) were females. While comparing the differences in the domains of QOL that existed based on the schools (professions) they were enrolled, significant differences were recorded for physical (p < 0.05), psychological (p < 0.05) social (p < 0.05) and environmental domains (p < 0.05). Though the domains of physical health, psychological health and environment showed a significant association with the academic performance of students, the social domain had no such relationship. The overall quality of life has a positive connection with the academic performance of students in medical and health professions. Therefore, universities and all stakeholders involved in health professions need to play a critical role to ensure the students in health professions maintain a high QOL. At the same time, there is a great need for extra attention for students who showed poor academic performance in the previous semester to bring them on track

An Exploratory Study of Quality of Life and Its Relationship with Academic Performance among Students in Medical and other Health Professions

Quality of life (QOL) is a broader concept which represents experiences, states, appraisals, behaviors, capacities and emotional reactions to circumstances. The study aimed to evaluate the differences in various domains of QOL among the students of five schools (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and nursing) and an optometry unit in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Trinidad and Tobago. Further, the study evaluated the factors (sociodemographic variables and academic performance) predictive of physical, psychological, social and environment domains of quality of life. The research tool consisted of a validated questionnaire which had two sections; (1) sociodemographics inclusive of students’ cumulative grade point average and (2) the shorter version of WHO quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). The data were transformed into a linear scale and exported into the IBM SPSS version 24 where t-tests, one-way ANOVA and stepwise regression were performed. Of the total 535 participants, most 383 (71.6%) were females. While comparing the differences in the domains of QOL that existed based on the schools (professions) they were enrolled, significant differences were recorded for physical (p < 0.05), psychological (p < 0.05) social (p < 0.05) and environmental domains (p < 0.05). Though the domains of physical health, psychological health and environment showed a significant association with the academic performance of students, the social domain had no such relationship. The overall quality of life has a positive connection with the academic performance of students in medical and health professions. Therefore, universities and all stakeholders involved in health professions need to play a critical role to ensure the students in health professions maintain a high QOL. At the same time, there is a great need for extra attention for students who showed poor academic performance in the previous semester to bring them on track

Congenital rubella syndrome surveillance in India, 2016–21: Analysis of five years surveillance data

Background: In India, facility-based surveillance for congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) was initiated in 2016 to estimate the burden and monitor the progress made in rubella control. We analyzed the surveillance data for 2016–2021 from 14 sentinel sites to describe the epidemiology of CRS. Method: We analyzed the surveillance data to describe the distribution of suspected and laboratory confirmed CRS patients by time, place and person characteristics. We compared clinical signs of laboratory confirmed CRS and discarded case-patients to find independent predictors of CRS using logistic regression analysis and developed a risk prediction model. Results: During 2016–21, surveillance sites enrolled 3940 suspected CRS case-patients (Age 3.5 months, SD: 3.5). About one-fifth (n = 813, 20.6%) were enrolled during newborn examination. Of the suspected CRS patients, 493 (12.5%) had laboratory evidence of rubella infection. The proportion of laboratory confirmed CRS cases declined from 26% in 2017 to 8.7% in 2021. Laboratory confirmed patients had higher odds of having hearing impairment (Odds ratio [OR] = 9.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.6–16.2), cataract (OR = 7.8, 95% CI: 5.4–11.2), pigmentary retinopathy (OR = 6.7, 95 CI: 3.3–13.6), structural heart defect with hearing impairment (OR = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.2–12.2) and glaucoma (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2–8.1). Nomogram, along with a web version, was developed. Conclusions: Rubella continues to be a significant public health issue in India. The declining trend of test positivity among suspected CRS case-patients needs to be monitored through continued surveillance in these sentinel sites