Food Choice Motives among the Students of a Dental Institution in Mysore City, India

Background: In pursuit of a more gholistich dentistry and an increasing focus on promoting oral health, dental students are increasingly being trained to take a more active part in health promotion and education. In particular, this incorporates an emphasis on diet and educating people to eat in more healthy ways.Aim: This paper works from the premise that if dental students are toengage in oral health promotion, they will do so more effectively if they have first explored their own food choice motivations. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive, cross.sectional questionnaire study. The food choice questionnaire (FCQ) was distributed to a comparative  group of 1st and 5th year dental students in timetabled lecture slots. The FCQ is a previously validated measure designed to assess ten main factors relevant to peoplesh food choices. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) using descriptive statistics and  independent sample t-test.Results: Nearly 77% (122/159) students responded. Findings were  analyzed using independent sample t-test. Results indicated statistically significant differences in terms of food choice motivations between male and female students of 1st and 5th year.Conclusion: Awareness and an understanding of the differences in  motivational factors affecting food choice between dental students is important as they are increasingly taught to play an active role in oral health promotion. Keywords: Africa, Food, Oral healt

Role of dentist in person identification

To reinforce awareness among dentists about their role in person identification and the importance of maintaining dental records of all their patients. The article reviews basic procedures of dental identification and some cases where dental identification played a key role in eventual identification of the person. Forensic odontology is an integral part of forensic sciences. Forensic dental identifications, especially in times of mass disasters, depend mainly on the availability of ante mortem dental records. It is the social responsibility of each and every dentist to maintain dental records of their patients for the noble cause of identification in the event of mass disaster

A five-year retrospective statistical analysis of maxillofacial injuries in patients admitted and treated at two hospitals of Mysore city

Objectives: This study aims to provide a five-year retrospective statistical analysis of maxillofacial injuries in patients admitted and treated during 1 st January 1998 and 31 st December 2002 in two hospitals of Mysore city; to determine the age and sex distribution, etiology, type of injury, day and time of accident, and the influence of alcohol and other drugs; andto suggest measures to prevent such injuries. Materials and Methods: After obtaining permission from the concerned authorities, a pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data from the two hospitals. The data was then computerized and statistical analysis was done using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) windows version 10. Results: Road traffic accident (RTA) was the common cause for maxillofacial injuries. Men sustained more injuries compared to women. The injuries were mostly sustained in the age group of 11-40 years, constituting about 78% of all the injuries. Two wheelers were the most commonly involved compared to other vehicle types. Influence of alcohol at the time of injury was found in about 58% of the patients with maxillofacial injuries. The most number of accidents occurred in the weekends. Mandibular fractures were the most common. Conclusion: RTAs are the most common cause for maxillofacial injuries. If RTAs are considered an epidemic of modern times, then prevention is its vaccine

Oral health status in relation to socioeconomic factors among the municipal employees of Mysore city

Aim: To assess the prevalence of dental caries, periodontal diseases, oral pre-malignant and malignant lesions in relation to socioeconomic factors among the municipal employees of Mysore city. Settings and Design: The study was cross sectional in nature. Materials and Methods: All the available employees (1187) during the study period were considered. World Health Organization (WHO) Oral Health Assessment form (1997) and a preformed questionnaire were used to collect the required data. Modified Kuppuswamy scale with readjustment of the per capita income to suit the present levels was used for classifying the individuals into different socioeconomic status (SES) categories. Data were collected by a single, trained and calibrated examiner (dentist) using mouth mirror and community periodontal index (CPI) probe under natural daylight. Data analysis was done using SPSS windows version 10. Quantitative data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey′s post hoc test and qualitative data were analyzed using chi-square or contingency coefficient. Results: The age range of the study population was 19-57 years (mean 40.74 years, standard deviation 9.17). The prevalence of dental caries in the upper SES category was lesser (43.3%) compared to that in lower SES category (78.6%). 16.4% of the subjects in the upper category had a CPI score of 0 (healthy periodontium) and none of the subjects in the lower middle, upper lower and lower SES category had this score. The prevalence of oral pre-malignant and malignant lesions was higher in lower SES category (17.9%) than in upper class (0%). Conclusion: There was an inverse relationship between oral health status and SES. The overall treatment need was more in the lower class people than in the upper class

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Not AvailableWater application systems under wells extracting groundwater are one of the major factors influencing climate change in the agricultural sector. In the context of growing demand for adaption of pressurized irrigation with electric pumps in South Central India, the present study was undertaken to assess the carbon dioxide emission (CO2 e) for different irrigation systems. The crop water requirements and pumpsets prevailing in the area were considered for estimation of CO2 e. The estimation includes operational energy consumption, well digging, installation and manufacturing of the irrigation system as well as the pumpsets. The irrigation systems used in major crops under wells include surface (rice, maize, groundnut, vegetables and sugarcane), raingun (maize, groundnut, vegetables and sugarcane), sprinkler (maize, groundnut and vegetables) and drip (vegetable and sugarcane). The analysis indicated that the energy used in pumping irrigation water made the highest contribution to total CO2 e footprint, which ranged from 2.52 to 15.72 t/ha depending on the irrigation system. Sugarcane crop showed maximum energy requirement (17.27 MWh/ha) under surface irrigation system, contributing 15.72 t/ha CO2 e. Maximum reduction in energy requirement and CO2 e was recorded in the case of drip (11.52 MWh/ha; 10.48 t/ha) system followed by sprinkler (12.58 MWh/ha; 11.52 t/ha) and raingun (14.81 MWh/ha; 13.47 t/ha) under tube wells. It was observed that among all the irrigation systems, the drip system gave the lowest CO2 e indicating the maximum climate change mitigation potential in the irrigation sector of selected region under wells.Not Availabl

Working conditions and personal characteristics: Predicting burnout among dental professionals in Mysore, India: A questionnaire survey

Introduction: Dentistry is a profession demanding physical and mental efforts. Increased workload, stress, poorer mental health, and reduced job satisfaction, these factors might combine, to increase the level of "burnout" among dental practitioners. Aim: To assess the burnout level among the dentist practising in Mysore city and to investigate the association between personal characteristics, working conditions and burnout. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the month of August-September 2011. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire of 22 items called Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human service Survey was distributed among the dentists to assess the burnout levels. The response was obtained using a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 6. Statistical analysis was carried out using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The data were subjected to mean, standard deviation, and contingency coefficient test at 5% level of significance. Results: Emotional exhaustion was found to be high in 31 (22.1%), moderate in 16 (11.4%), and low in 93 (66.4%) of the dentists. High level of personal accomplishment was found in 63 (45.0%), moderate in 45 (32.1%), and low in 32 (22.9%) dentists. Depersonalization was found to be low in 63 (45.0%), moderate in 45 (32.1%), and high in 32 (22.9%) participants. Conclusion: Of the 140 participants, 16 (11.4%) were found to be at a high risk. 118 (84.3%) in moderate risk and 6 (4.3%) in low risk of burnout

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Not AvailableWeather-generating models are widely used for studying the climate change over longer periods. LARS-WG model was evaluated for southern Telangana region (Hayathnagar, Yacharam and Rajendranagar). A 30- year base weather data (1980–2010) was used to generate the long-term weather series from 2011 to 2060. The results of t and F tests at probability of 5% for comparing means and standard deviations of monthly rainfall and air temperatures indicated that the observed and predicted series for the base period are within acceptable limits. The statistics of model efficiency indicates that mean monthly rainfall and daily air temperature are close to the predicted series over the base period. The model efficiency was highest in the case of Rajendranagar (98.75%). The root mean square error and sum of square error varied from 0.4 to 1.3 mm and 615 to 1745 mm respectively. The model predicted the maximum increase in average annual rainfall of 5.16% in 2030 and 9.5% in 2060 for Yacharam compared to Hayathnagar and Rajendranagar over the normal annual rainfall of the base period (1980–2010). However, the model predicted increase in average seasonal rainfall for Hayathnagar (6.2% in 2030 and 8.8% in 2060). In case of air temperature, the model predicted increase in maximum temperature in the range 1–1.53% and 2.5% for 2030 and 2060 respectively, for these locations whereas minimum temperature decreased in the range 3.7–10.2% and 6.3– 11.7% respectively, for 2030 and 2060. The performance of LARS-WG model was ranked high with maximum model efficiency in all selected mandals of Ranga Reddy district in southern Telangana. This model can be replicated in other mandals of southern Telangana as climate characteristics of the present mandals are similar to other districts in the regionNot Availabl

Food Choice Motives among the Students of a Dental Institution in Mysore City, India

Background: In pursuit of a more gholistich dentistry and an increasing focus on promoting oral health, dental students are increasingly being trained to take a more active part in health promotion and education. In particular, this incorporates an emphasis on diet and educating people to eat in more healthy ways.Aim: This paper works from the premise that if dental students are toengage in oral health promotion, they will do so more effectively if they have first explored their own food choice motivations. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive, cross.sectional questionnaire study. The food choice questionnaire (FCQ) was distributed to a comparative  group of 1st and 5th year dental students in timetabled lecture slots. The FCQ is a previously validated measure designed to assess ten main factors relevant to peoplesh food choices. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) using descriptive statistics and  independent sample t-test.Results: Nearly 77% (122/159) students responded. Findings were  analyzed using independent sample t-test. Results indicated statistically significant differences in terms of food choice motivations between male and female students of 1st and 5th year.Conclusion: Awareness and an understanding of the differences in  motivational factors affecting food choice between dental students is important as they are increasingly taught to play an active role in oral health promotion. Keywords: Africa, Food, Oral healt