Lead exposure and the risk of dental caries

OBJECTIVES: Despite continued efforts to decrease environmental lead exposure, it remains a public health concern in the U.S. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of lead exposure on dental caries risk among different populations. METHODS: We used data from Detroit Dental Health Project (DDHP), a cohort study of a representative sample of low-income African–American families in Detroit, Michigan, to investigate the influence of lead toxicity on dental caries risk among children, and to assess the effect of blood lead level on the caries experience among their caregivers. Data from Dental Longitudinal Study (DLS), a closed-panel prospective cohort study of oral health and aging, was used to assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between bone lead level as a cumulative measure of lead exposure and dental caries among older men. The outcome measure for cross-sectional analyses was dmfs/DMFS, which is the number of decayed surfaces, missing, and filled surfaces for each subject. Then adjusted new dmfs/DMFS increments were used for the longitudinal analyses. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted on dental caries outcome by lead biomarkers. Multiple regression and GEE models were conducted controlling for confounding. RESULTS: History of lead toxicity (≥ 10µg/dl) and children’s caries risk was significantly associated in both cross-sectional analysis (PR = 1.50, p-value=0.003) and longitudinal analysis (IRR= 1.36, p-value=0.02). These associations were independent of confounding factors such as age, brushing frequency, soda consumption, income, and child and caregiver’s caries experience. On other hand, no significant associations were found between blood lead level and dental caries experience among African American adults (β=2.3, p-value=0.5), nor between high tibia/patella lead level and dental caries incident among older adult (β=0.1, p-value=0.7 for tibia, and β=0.3, p-value=0.1 for patella) . CONCLUSION: The results suggest that children with a history of lead toxicity are at a higher risk of developing dental caries compared to other children. However, there is no significant association between lead exposure and dental caries among adults. Therefore, children with a history of lead toxicity should be given special consideration in caries risk assessment and caries prevention programs.2019-09-26T00:00:00

High-dimensional coherent one-way quantum key distribution

High-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) offers secure communication, with secure key rates that surpass those achievable by QKD protocols utilizing two-dimensional encoding. However, existing high-dimensional QKD protocols require additional experimental resources, such as multiport interferometers and multiple detectors, thus raising the cost of practical high-dimensional systems and limiting their use. Here, we present and analyze a novel protocol for arbitrary-dimensional QKD, that requires only the hardware of a standard two-dimensional system. We provide security proofs against individual attacks and coherent attacks, setting an upper and lower bound on the secure key rates. Then, we test the new high-dimensional protocol in a standard two-dimensional QKD system over a 40 km fiber link. The new protocol yields a two-fold enhancement of the secure key rate compared to the standard two-dimensional coherent one-way protocol, without introducing any hardware modifications to the system. This work, therefore, holds great potential to enhance the performance of already deployed time-bin QKD systems through a software update alone. Furthermore, its applications extend across different encoding schemes of QKD qudits

Ultrafast rogue wave patterns in fiber lasers

Fiber lasers are convenient for studying extreme and rare events, such as rogue waves, thanks to the lasers’ fast dynamics. Indeed, several types of rogue wave patterns were observed in fiber lasers at different time-scales: single peak, twin peak, and triple peak. We measured the statistics of these ultrafast rogue wave patterns with a time lens and developed a numerical model proving that the patterns of the ultrafast rogue waves were generated by the non-instantaneous relaxation of the saturable absorber together with the polarization mode dispersion of the cavity. Our results indicate that the dynamics of the saturable absorber is directly related to the dynamics of ultrafast extreme events in lasers

Evaluation of the shear bond strength of a tricalcium silicate-based material to four self-adhering glass ionomer materials: an in vitro study

BackgroundThis study aimed to evaluate and compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of EQUIA Forte HT with that of other restorative materials, including EQUIA Forte, glass ionomer cement (GIC), and resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC) when bonded to NeoMTA 2.Materials and methodsA total of 120 holes were created in Teflon molds and filled with NeoMTA 2. The restorative materials were immediately applied using customized silicone molds. The samples were randomly divided into two main groups: one to measure the immediate SBS and the other to measure the delayed SBS. These two main groups were further divided into four subgroups based on the restorative material used: EQUIA Forte HT, EQUIA Forte, GIC, and RMGIC.ResultsThe study groups showed statistically significant differences in the mean SBS (p < 0.0001). The immediate SBS of the RMGIC group (mean ± SD: 5.43 ± 1.22) was significantly higher than those of the GIC and EQUIA Forte groups, with no significant difference found compared to the SBS of EQUIA Forte HT. In the delayed SBS, both the RMGIC and EQUIA Forte HT groups (4.98 ± 0.67 and 4.93 ± 0.60, respectively) demonstrated significantly higher bond strengths than the GIC and EQUIA Forte groups (3.81 ± 0.57 and 4.2 ± 0.63, respectively). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the RMGIC and EQUIA Forte HT groups or between the GIC and EQUIA Forte groups.ConclusionBased on our findings, EQUIA Forte HT has shown promising outcomes when used as a restorative material following pulpotomies, with results comparable to those of RMGIC

Ownership structure and audit report lag of Saudi listed firms: A dynamic panel analysis

AbstractThis study investigates the impact of ownership structure on firms’ audit report lag. The research sampled 102 Saudi non-financial listed companies’ data from 2012 to 2021. The data was analysed using a generalised method of moments (GMM) framework. The findings significantly suggest that as managerial ownership rises, audit delay may increase. However, family and institutional ownership may enhance the financial reporting timeliness of the firms. Also, the results demonstrate that government ownership appears insignificant in determining the firms’ audit delay. The outcome of this study implies that in the Saudi context, family and institutional monitoring seems to be an effective control mechanism that may force managers to embrace the timely disclosure of financial reports. Policymakers and investors may find the research outcome helpful in understanding additional factors influencing audit report lag. Thus, reducing the financial reporting lag may mitigate information asymmetry, thereby enhancing investors’ confidence

Halitosis in Children Undergoing Full Mouth Rehabilitation under General Anesthesia

Interventions and management modalities of pediatric halitosis have been suggested in the literature, however, the effect of full mouth rehabilitation (FMR) under general anesthesia (GA) on pediatric halitosis was not reported. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate parents’ perceptions of their child’s halitosis before and after FMR under GA; and to evaluate the effect of FMR on clinical halitosis. Fifty-seven children between 3–8 years old, scheduled for FMR under GA, were included after satisfying the inclusion criteria and upon parental consent. Parents’ perception of halitosis in their children was evaluated using a standardized questionnaire and a breath sample was collected to assess the level of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) using OralChromaTM before and after FMR under GA. Sixty percent (n = 34) of the parents perceived halitosis in their children before FMR and about 80% (n = 27) of them reported improvement in halitosis after FMR. Clinical halitosis was detected in 84.2% (n = 48) of the sample before treatment. A statistically significant reduction in halitosis was found in 56.3% (n = 27) of the children after treatment (p < 0.001). In conclusion, majority of parents perceived an absence or reduction of halitosis in their children following FMR and significant improvement of clinical halitosis

Treating Mucocele in Pediatric Patients Using a Diode Laser: Three Case Reports

A mucocele is the most common minor salivary gland disease and among the most common biopsied oral lesions in pediatric patients. Clinically, a mucocele appears as a round well-circumscribed painless swelling ranging from deep blue to mucosa alike in color. Mucoceles rarely resolve on their own and surgical removal under local anesthesia is required in most cases. Different treatment options are described in the literature, including cryosurgery, intra-lesion injection of corticosteroid, micro-marsupialization and conventional surgical removal using a scalpel, and laser ablation. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to report three cases of mucocele removal in pediatric patients using a diode laser with a one-month follow-up. Mucoceles were removed by a pediatric dentist using a diode laser with a wavelength of 930 nm in continuous mode and a power setting of 1.8 Watts. In all cases, no bleeding occurred during or after the procedure and there was no need for suturing. On clinical examination during the one-month follow-up, in all three cases there was minimal or no scarring, minimal post-operative discomfort or pain, and no recurrence. Diode lasers provide an effective, rapid, simple, bloodless and well accepted procedure for treating mucocele in pediatric patients. Minimal post-operative discomfort and scarring was reported by all the three patients

Enhancing Shareholder Value through Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure in a Developing Country

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an imperative product or service strategy established to maintain a competitive advantage. CSR has accomplished a broader recognition and a more vigorous acceptance in corporate practices as well as in the academic literature. It is evident that CSR is an ever-expanding, wide area of research and practice. Companies engage in CSR practices to fulfil the expectations of stakeholders and to build healthy relationships with them. The current study employed pooling regression analysis to 36 listed companies in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2009 to 2018. The research has found that the CSR disclosure derives to enhance shareholder value. Likewise, CSR disclosure has a positive significant effect on shareholder value. The proposed study has value for Pakistani government, stock exchange, shareholders, and policy makers by highlighting the distinct impact on shareholder value and its relation with corporate social responsibility disclosure