Assessment of oral health-related quality of life: Comparison of two measurement tools

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Development of patient-based outcome measures has enhanced our ability to assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Present study aimed to compare the performance of the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) as two methods of assessment of oral health-related quality of life. METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, a sample of 400 healthy participants which were 18-65 years old was recruited in Kerman School of Dentistry, Iran. Main measurement tools were the validated Persian version of GOHAI and OHIP- 14 questionnaires. Data were collected by means of personal interview. Internal consistency and discriminant validity were carried out to compare the two measures. RESULTS: The internal consistencies of both tools were acceptable and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the scores was 0.739. Both measures discriminated between dentate subjects over and under 25 natural teeth and wearing removable dentures or not, both also showed significant associations with dental attendance, self-rated oral health and satisfaction with oral health status. CONCLUSION: Both GOHAI and OHIP-14 are appropriate instruments with equal power for survey of OHRQoL on under-elderly population. KEYWORDS: Oral Health, Quality of Life; Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL); Oral Health Impact Profile- 14 (OHIP-14); Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI

Designing a Novel high-speed ternary-logic multiplier using GNRFET Technology

Abstract:This paper presents a novel design of a ternary multiplierbased on graphene nanoribbon field-effect transistor(GNRFET). GNRFET, as a new material with superiorphysical and electronic properties, can be a good choiceinstead of conventional devices such as metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) andCNTFET. Moreover, multiple-valued logic (MVL) canhelp to reduce area and decrease the computational stepcompared with binary logic. We proposed a ternarymultiplier with the resistors to produce ternary logic. Theproposed multiplier performances are analyzed byevaluating the delay, power, and power-delay product(PDP), with 15 nm process technologies based onGNRFET. The simulation results with HSPICEdemonstrate that the proposed design frameworkoutperforms state-of-the-art designs in circuit parameters

Did student ratings of instruction achive the purpose for which they were intended? a consequential validity investigation for administrative purposes

Student ratings of instruction are widely practiced in universities. They have been the subject of several validity studies with much of the research focusing on traditional evidence of validity. However, fewer studies have been devoted to consequential validity of student ratings. This study examined consequential validity of student ratings by investigating evidence on ‘consequences’ and ‘utility’ of student ratings regarding the use for administrative purposes. The population comprised administrators from 15 faculties of a major research university. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple group analysis, and Pearson’s product moment correlation analysis. The paper's uncovering of administrators’ responsiveness to student ratings, and the identification of influenced dimensions of administrative practices, can make useful contributions to the literature on student ratings. The findings improved and supported validity of the student ratings and provided the university with reliable evidence for justifying the use of student ratings for administrative purposes. Also, the findings showed that higher education administrators regarded ‘instructor’s efforts in student learning enhancement’ as the most useful type of information provided by students

What do higher education instructors consider useful regarding student ratings of instruction? Limitations and recommendations

AbstractInstructional improvement is a main purpose of performing Student Ratings of Instruction (SRI) in higher education. Although issues on the subject of student ratings have been extensively researched, there have been limited studies dealing with the question that what types of ratings information are useful for instructors in order to make improvements in their instructional practices? This study explored the utility of ratings information as perceived by instructors, examined significant differences in utility of ratings information based on instructors’ characteristics, and identified instructors’ reactions and recommendations. The population comprised 1139 instructors from 15 faculties of a major Malaysian research university. 330 of them were surveyed, with a response rate of 75.1%. The responses were subjected to descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, one-way ANOVA, and independent t-test. The results showed that the ratings information which focused on instructor's efforts in student learning enhancement was considered useful for instructional improvement. The instructors acknowledged that there were limitations in the current student ratings being used. They shared the views that faculties/departments should not limit themselves to the common set of rating items, and that instructors with teaching problems should be recommended to use of instructional consultant services

Predicting the status of COVID-19 active cases using a neural network time series

The design of intelligent systems for analyzing information and predicting the epidemiological trends of the disease is rapidly expanding because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The COVID-19 datasets provided by Johns Hopkins University were included in the analysis. This dataset contains some missing data that is imputed using the multi-objective particle swarm optimization method. A time series model based on nonlinear autoregressive exogenou (NARX) neural network is proposed to predict the recovered and death COVID-19 cases. This model is trained and evaluated for two modes: predicting the situation of the affected areas for the next day and the next month. After training the model based on the data from January 22 to February 27, 2020, the performance of the proposed model was evaluated in predicting the situation of the areas in the coming two weeks. The error rate was less than 5%. The prediction of the proposed model for April 9, 2020, was compared with the actual data for that day. The absolute percentage error (AE) worldwide was 12%. The lowest mean absolute error (MAE) of the model was for South America and Australia with 3 and 3.3, respectively. In this paper, we have shown that geographical areas with mortality and recovery of COVID-19 cases can be predicted using a neural network-based model

Did Student Ratings of Instruction achive the Purpose for which they were intended? A Consequential Validity Investigation for Administrative Purposes

Abstrac

Assessment of oral health-related quality of life: Comparison of two measurement tools

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Development of patient-based outcome measures has enhanced our ability to assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Present study aimed to compare the performance of the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) as two methods of assessment of oral health-related quality of life. METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, a sample of 400 healthy participants which were 18-65 years old was recruited in Kerman School of Dentistry, Iran. Main measurement tools were the validated Persian version of GOHAI and OHIP-14 questionnaires. Data were collected by means of personal interview. Internal consistency and discriminant validity were carried out to compare the two measures. RESULTS: The internal consistencies of both tools were acceptable and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the scores was 0.739. Both measures discriminated between dentate subjects over and under 25 natural teeth and wearing removable dentures or not, both also showed significant associations with dental attendance, self-rated oral health and satisfaction with oral health status. CONCLUSION: Both GOHAI and OHIP-14 are appropriate instruments with equal power for survey of OHRQoL on under-elderly population

Environmentally friendly Finishing of Cotton Fabric via Star-like Silver micro/nano Particles Synthesized with Neem/Salep

In this study, a novel silver solution was prepared by a simple green synthesis method using AgNO3, neem and salep extracts at room temperature. The results of UV-Visible spectrophotometer and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed the formation of silver particles with a star-like morphology and sharp edges in the solution. In order to achieve an antibacterial cotton fabric, it was treated with the solution containing star-shaped silver particles by an impregnation method. Also, in order to change the surface charge of cotton fabric and more silver adsorption, a cationic surface modification was performed. Surface morphology and antibacterial properties of treated cotton fabric were characterized by SEM, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), and antibacterial test based on the AATCC100 method, respectively. SEM images showed the presence of silver particles on the surface of treated fabric samples and ICP-OES determined the amount of silver content on the fabrics. In addition, the bacterial inhibition experiments demonstrated that the treated cotton fabrics with the star-like Ag particles synthesized by neem and salep have significant antibacterial properties against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The utilized method was an easy, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly procedure for the preparation of antibacterial textiles with attractive feature in the medical and hygienic products