Pandemic inflation: a menace to tame for developing countries?

India and other developing countries are currently faced with the twin challenges of economic revival in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and increasing inflation. Moreover, global economic recovery might prove to be detrimental for a developing country’s economy, contrary to popular narrative. Anand B. and Shreya Gulati argue that in the face of such challenges, these countries need to walk a tightrope between accommodative and tight monetary policy

Antibacterial effectiveness of natural products alone and in combination with Calcium Hydroxide as Intracanal Medicaments : An In-Vitro Microbiological Study

Major objective of root canal treatment is disinfection of the root canal system and elimination of microbiota. Various intracanal medicaments as an adjunct to mechanical disinection and irrigation have been used but due to the harmful effects of the commercially available agents, a need for natural alternatives is felt over the time. This in-vitro study aims to evaluate the antibacterial effectiveness of natural agents Septillin and Aloe vera with Calcium hydroxide and without Calcium hydroxide on the Streptococcus mitis, E. Faecalis and Candida albicans using agar well diffusion method. The antibacterial activity was assessed by the diameter of zone of inhibition seen as clear zone around the wells. The study showed that Septillin in combination with Calcium hydroxide and alone showed considerable antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mitis, Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans where as Aloe vera with Calcium hydroxide showed to be mildly effective against all three but not as effective as Septillin and Calcium hydroxide when tested alone

Analysis of apical third root canal morphology of the palatal root of maxillary first molar and its proximity to maxillary sinus: A cone-beam computed tomographic study

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the angulation of the apical exit from radiographic apex of palatal root of maxillary first molar, to measure the distance between radiographic apex and apical exit of palatal root of maxillary first molar and to measure the distance of apical exit of palatal root of maxillary first molar from maxillary sinus floor. Materials and Methods: A total of 118 untreated, well-developed maxillary first molars were selected on cone-beam computed tomography scans. Data were collected and viewed by invivo5 software. Descriptive statistical analysis was given as mean value. Results: Radiographic apex and apical exit did not coincide in the large number of samples. The palatal root of maxillary first molar was found to be in direct contact with the floor of maxillary sinus in maximum samples. Conclusion: Apical exit does not coincide with the radiographic apex in all the cases. The distance between radiographic apex and apical foramina or apical exit ranges from 0 to 1.43 mm. The apical exit or apical foramina are in direct contact with maxillary sinus floor in 75% cases

Differential attainment in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review

Aims Differential attainment (DA) amongst Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) medical students and postgraduate trainees including Psychiatry trainees has been extensively documented in medical education, with non-white medical students being 2.5 times more likely to fail high-stake examinations compared to their White counterparts. The Equality Act 2010 places a responsibility on public bodies such as Royal Colleges to address discrimination in training and assessment. Understanding DA in undergraduate medical education can help understand DA in the postgraduate setting. Consequently, this systematic review aims to detect the processes that enable and impede DA in UK undergraduate medical education. Method Seven online databases including PubMed, Scopus, PyschInfo, and ERIC were searched. A formal grey literature search was also conducted. Inclusion criteria comprised studies dated from January 1995 to present and included UK undergraduate medical students. We present the preliminary findings from 13 papers, analysed to create a conceptual framework for a further mixed methods analysis. The studies were critically appraised for methodological quality. Result Five key themes emerged from the preliminary analysis of 13 papers. BAME students experienced: Being ‘divergent’: Not feeling part of the current organisational learning milieu Lack of social capital: Difficulty in being absorbed into existing ‘networks’ of relationships in a manner that is ‘approachable’ and not ‘intimidating’ Continuum of discrimination: ‘Indirect’ impact of subtle communication processes in the learning environment undermining individual ‘belief’ in own performance Institutional discriminatory factors: Culture, rules, norms, and behavioural routines of educators that lead to differential outcomes for learners Lack of external support: Relative lack of interventions tackling DA. Conclusion The key finding of this review is that British BAME undergraduate medical students experience discriminatory behaviours early in medical schools that impact on personal, educational, and professional outcomes. These factors may need to be borne in mind by postgraduate training organisations such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists as they commence the challenging task of addressing DA

Open data from the first and second observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo are monitoring the sky and collecting gravitational-wave strain data with sufficient sensitivity to detect signals routinely. In this paper we describe the data recorded by these instruments during their first and second observing runs. The main data products are gravitational-wave strain time series sampled at 16384 Hz. The datasets that include this strain measurement can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at http://gw-openscience.org, together with data-quality information essential for the analysis of LIGO and Virgo data, documentation, tutorials, and supporting software

Search for intermediate-mass black hole binaries in the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo

International audienceIntermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) span the approximate mass range 100−105 M⊙, between black holes (BHs) that formed by stellar collapse and the supermassive BHs at the centers of galaxies. Mergers of IMBH binaries are the most energetic gravitational-wave sources accessible by the terrestrial detector network. Searches of the first two observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo did not yield any significant IMBH binary signals. In the third observing run (O3), the increased network sensitivity enabled the detection of GW190521, a signal consistent with a binary merger of mass ∼150 M⊙ providing direct evidence of IMBH formation. Here, we report on a dedicated search of O3 data for further IMBH binary mergers, combining both modeled (matched filter) and model-independent search methods. We find some marginal candidates, but none are sufficiently significant to indicate detection of further IMBH mergers. We quantify the sensitivity of the individual search methods and of the combined search using a suite of IMBH binary signals obtained via numerical relativity, including the effects of spins misaligned with the binary orbital axis, and present the resulting upper limits on astrophysical merger rates. Our most stringent limit is for equal mass and aligned spin BH binary of total mass 200 M⊙ and effective aligned spin 0.8 at 0.056 Gpc−3 yr−1 (90% confidence), a factor of 3.5 more constraining than previous LIGO-Virgo limits. We also update the estimated rate of mergers similar to GW190521 to 0.08 Gpc−3 yr−1.Key words: gravitational waves / stars: black holes / black hole physicsCorresponding author: W. Del Pozzo, e-mail: [email protected]† Deceased, August 2020