Self‐perceived preparedness of undergraduate dental students in dental public universities in Malaysia: A national study

Aims: To evaluate the self-perceived preparedness of final-year dental undergraduate students in dental public universities in Malaysia. Methods: Final-year dental undergraduate students from six dental public universities in Malaysia were invited to participate in an online study using a validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale DU-PAS. Results: In total, about 245 students responded to the online questionnaire yielding a response rate of 83.05%. The age range of the respondents was 23-29 years with a mean age of 24.36 (SD 0.797). The total score obtained by the respondents was ranged from 48 to 100 with a mean score of 79.56 (SD 13.495). Weaknesses were reported in several clinical skills, cognitive and behavioural attributes. Conclusions: The preparedness of undergraduate students at six dental institutions in Malaysia was comparable to students from developed countries. The dental undergraduate preparedness assessment scale is a useful tool, and dental institutions may be used for self-assessment as well as to obtain feedback from the supervisors

PET Molecular Targets and Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Atherosclerosis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: With this review, we aim to summarize the role of positron emission tomography (PET) and near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRF) in the detection of atherosclerosis. RECENT FINDINGS: (18)F-FDG is an established measure of increased macrophage activity. However, due to its low specificity, new radiotracers have emerged for more specific detection of vascular inflammation and other high-risk plaque features such as microcalcification and neovascularization. Novel NIRF probes are engineered to sense endothelial damage as an early sign of plaque erosion as well as oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) as a prime target for atherosclerosis. Integrated NIRF/OCT (optical coherence tomography) catheters enable to detect stent-associated microthrombi. Novel radiotracers can improve specificity of PET for imaging atherosclerosis. Advanced NIRF probes show promise for future application in human. Intravascular NIRF might play a prominent role in the detection of stent-induced vascular injury

Dental metric standards for sex estimation in archaeological populations from Iran

Sex estimation of skeletal remains is one of the major components of forensic identification of unknown individuals. Teeth are a potential source of information on sex and are often recovered in archaeological or forensic contexts due to their post-mortem longevity. Currently there is limited data on dental sexual dimorphism of archaeological populations from Iran. This dissertation represents the first study to provide a dental sex estimation method for Iron Age populations. The current study was conducted on the skeletal remains of 143 adults from two Iron Age populations in close temporal and geographic proximity in the Solduz Valley (West Azerbaijan Province of Iran). 2D and 3D cervical mesiodistal and buccolingual and root volume measurements of maxillary and mandibular teeth were used to investigate the degree of sexual dimorphism in permanent dentition and to assess their applicability in sex estimation. In total 1327, 457, and 480 anterior and posterior teeth were used to collect 2D cervical, 3D cervical, and root volume measurements respectively. 2D cervical measurements were taken using Hillson-Fitzgerald dental calliper and 3D measurements were collected using CT images provided by Open Research Scan Archive (ORSA) - Penn Museum. 3D models of the teeth were created using manual segmentation in the Amira 6.01 software package. Since tooth density largely differs from crown to apex, root segmentation required two threshold levels: the segmentation of the root from the jaw and the segmentation of the crown from the root. Thresholds used for root segmentation were calculated using the half maximum height protocol of Spoor et al. (1993) for each skull, and thresholds used for crown segmentation were set visually for each tooth separately. Data was analysed using discriminant function analysis and posterior probabilities were calculated for all produced formulae where sex was previously assessed from morphological features of pelvis and skull. Bootstrapping was used to account for small sample sizes in the analysis. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 23. The percentage of sexual dimorphism was also used to quantify the amount of sexual dimorphism in the sample. The results showed that incisors and canines were the most sexually dimorphic teeth, providing percentages of correct sex classification between 80% and 100% depending on the measurement used. Root volume measurement was shown to be the most sexually dimorphic variable providing an accuracy of over 90% in all functions. The present study provided the first dental metric standards for sex estimation using odontometric data in Iranian archaeological populations. Dental measurements, particularly root volume measurements, were found to be of value for sex assessment and the method presented here could be a useful tool for establishing accurate demographic data from skeletal remains of the Iron Age from Iran