Trabecular bone microstructure parameters as predictors for chronological age: a systematic review.

Estimating chronological age is crucial in forensic identification. The increased application of medical imaging in age analysis has facilitated the development of new quantitative methods for the macroscopic evaluation of bones. This study aimed to determine the association of age-related changes in the trabecular microstructure with chronological age for age estimation in forensic science through different non-invasive imaging techniques.

Perspectives of smokers, smokeless tobacco users and cessation practitioners in India: A qualitative study.

Introduction: India is the second largest consumer of tobacco in the world and accounts for 70% of global deaths due to smokeless tobacco (SLT) use.

Aim: The aim of this study is to understand the perspectives of tobacco users (smokers and SLT users) and practitioners in India to inform cessation interventions.

Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with tobacco users (smoked and smokeless; n=23), and healthcare practitioners (n=13).

Exploring the perceived sociocultural factors in the initiation of smokeless tobacco among adolescents: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

Objective: The objective of the review is to identify and explore the perceived sociocultural factors leading to smokeless tobacco initiation among the adolescent population.

Introduction: Smokeless tobacco use is associated with oral cancer and premalignant lesions. The initiation of smokeless tobacco often occurs in adolescence, with multiple sociocultural factors facilitating the commencement of this habit.

Cognizance towards implementation and adherence of Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) directives - A descriptive cross-sectional study among security guards in Goa.

Objective: The use of tobacco has proven to be one of the leading cause of preventable premature deaths and diseases across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that tobacco consumption alone kills more people annually as compared to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), alcohol, and other addictions (drugs, etc.) put together.

Differential response of Bay of Bengal during deficit and normal monsoons.

Present study explains the disparity in biological production (primary and secondary) with respect to two distinct monsoonal regimes in the western Bay of Bengal, viz., deficit monsoon (DM) and normal monsoon (NM). A combination of in situ and satellite data during the years 2002 (DM) and 2003 (NM) was used to address the physico-chemical and biological responses.

Role of mesoscale eddies in the sustenance of high biological productivity in North Eastern Arabian Sea during the winter-spring transition period.

Convective mixing, mesoscale eddies and regenerated production sustain an above-average biological productivity in the North East Arabian Sea (NEAS) during the winter-spring transition period. Satellite-derived long-term data sets on Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Sea Surface Height Anomaly (SSHA), Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Okubo-Weiss parameterization show existence of number of mesoscale eddies, propagating and non-propagating, that contribute to the regional production. The dominance of Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) over the Available Potential Energy (APE) in the core depth and the diameter (120km) of the observed eddy being wider than the Rossby Radius of Deformation (RRD, 55 km), it is suggested that the baroclinic instability is a possible mechanism for the eddy formation.

A bio-behavioral intervention combining task analysis with skill-based training to train toothbrushing among children with intellectual disability.

Aims: Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have special health care needs. Teaching self-care behaviors like toothbrushing helps reduce their dependence on adult caregivers. We present a bio-behavioral intervention combining task analysis with skill-based teaching of toothbrushing behavior aimed to promote autonomy in children with various types of ID.

Comparative evaluation of color stability of three commercially available provisional restorative materials: An study.

Aim: Esthetics of the provisional restorations is of prime importance to the patients especially in long term in the esthetic zone. Discolouration of these restorations may result in patient dissatisfaction and an additional expense for their replacement. LuxaCrown provisional material being new in market and claimed to be semi-permanent by the company needs to be evaluated for its colour stability.

The Covid-19 uncertainty and ethical dilemmas in dental practice.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected dental practice globally. Proximity with patients and predominance of aerosol-generating procedures has raised concerns regarding the safety of dentists and patients alike. The near-total, yet inevitable, suspension of dental practice has raised several ethical issues.

Response of macrozoobenthic communities to summer monsoon upwelling and related hypoxia in the south eastern Arabian Sea shelf.

Coastal upwelling in the south eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) leads to oxygen depletion over the continental shelf during the summer monsoon season (June-September), with latitudinal gradients in intensity. Based on two surveys in the onset (June) and peak (August) phases of the summer monsoon, the present study evaluates the response of macrozoobenthic communities (size >500 μm) to upwelling and consequent hypoxia (dissolved oxygen <0.2 ml/l) in the central sector of the SEAS shelf (10-12°N, 30-200 m).

Efficiency of simplified versus traditional denture fabrication methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Statement Of Problem: Conventional techniques (CTs) for complete denture fabrication involve a series of clinical and laboratory steps. A simplification of this process has been advocated, but whether simplified techniques result in acceptable treatment outcomes is unclear.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficiency of simplified denture fabrication techniques in comparison with CTs.

Effect of LASER therapy Vs conventional techniques on clinical and radiographic outcomes of deciduous molar pulpotomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: To systematically review the effectiveness primary molar pulpotomy based on the clinical and radiographic outcomes using lasers over the conventional therapies.

Material And Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis included Randomized or Quasi-randomized trials comparing LASER with conventional pulpotomy therapies (formocresol, ferric sulphate, MTA or calcium hydroxide) with atleast 6-month follow-up period was included. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed and metanalysis was done using RevMan software.

The Ominous beginning" Perceptions of Smokeless Tobacco Initiation among the Paniya Tribes of Wayanad: A qualitative Study.

Background: The prevalence of tobacco chewing, and related oral mucosal lesions is alarmingly high amongst the Paniya tribes of Wayanad. A deeper understanding of their socio-cultural factors, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours would shed greater insights into the indiscriminate use of smokeless tobacco and related products in this community.

Methods: Ethnography was the theoretical framework adopted with network and convenience sampling.

A new species of white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax smithi (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from deep waters of Arabian Sea, India.

A new species of white-spotted moray eel Gymnothorax smithi sp. nov. is described based on three specimens collected from the southeastern Arabian Sea, India.

Intergenerational Transfer of Tobacco Use Behaviour from Parent to Child: A Case Control Study.

Background: Parental influence may be a strong modifiable risk factor in the initiation of Tobacco habits among young adults. Parenting style may modify the risk of initiation of Tobacco use.

Objective: To examine the intergenerational transfer of Tobacco habits amongst the urban and tribal populations in Kerala.

Comparison of Plaque Removal Efficacy of Tooth Powder and Toothpaste in Young Adults in India: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Objective: A clinical equipoise exists between the plaque reducing efficacies of two of the most commonly used dentifrices in India. This study compared the plaque removal efficacy of a commercially available tooth powder with commercially available toothpaste in young adults.

Methods: This was an investigator-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial with crossover design conducted among 89 young adults aged 18 to 25 years.

Effectiveness of school-based dental screening in increasing dental care utilization: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: School based dental screening has been a popular public health intervention. However, literature provides contrasting evidence regarding effectiveness of such programs on the utilization of dental services.

Objectives: We designed this review to understand the differences in dental attendance rates of children below 15 years of age, receiving a school based dental screening versus those not receiving it.

Political priority of oral health in India: analysis of the reasons for neglect.

Objectives: To examine the political priority of oral health in India and to understand the underlying reasons for the political support oral health receives.

Methods: The analysis is based on the political power framework developed by Shiffman and Smith and modified by Benzian et al. to examine the factors that contribute to the political priority of oral health in India.

Redescription and sexual dimorphism of Andaman leg-skate Cruriraja andamanica (Chondrichthyes: Rajiformes) with comments on the zoogeography of the genus Cruriraja.

This paper redescribes sexually dimorphic Cruriraja andamanica based on five juvenile (four males, one female) and four adult specimens (three males, one female) collected from Andaman waters. Morphometric comparison of the present specimens with a female specimen collected off the coast of Tanzania reveals considerable dissimilarities between them. These findings, along with the wide geographical distance between collection locations, support a need for revision of the Tanzanian specimen, which, in all probability, represents a new species in the genus.

Response of micro- and mesozooplankton in the southwestern Bay of Bengal to a cyclonic eddy during the winter monsoon, 2005.

A cyclonic eddy (CE) in the southwestern Bay of Bengal (SWBoB; 10-15° N; 81-87° E) during winter monsoon 2005 and associated changes in the open ocean hydrography and productivity patterns were studied using satellite observations and in situ measurements. Analysis of the satellite-derived sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) indicated the existence of a large eddy (10-15° N; 81-87° E) from November to January, with its core centered at 13° N and 82° E. The large positive wind stress curl (~1.

Characteristics of a cyclonic eddy and its influence on mesozooplankton community in the northern Bay of Bengal during early winter monsoon.

Characteristics of a cold-core eddy and its influence on the mesozooplankton community were studied along the central (87° E) Bay of Bengal during winter monsoon (November 2008) based on in situ data. The thermo-haline structure and the satellite-derived sea level anomaly maps showed the presence of a cyclonic eddy between 16° N and 20° N. The nutrient enhancement due to the eddy pumping in the euphotic column (∼ 50 m) had resulted in high chlorophyll a concentration, a factor of 8 times higher than that outside the eddy, which led to higher mesozooplankton biovolume (0.

Species identification of mixed algal bloom in the Northern Arabian Sea using remote sensing techniques.

Oceanic waters of the Northern Arabian Sea experience massive algal blooms during winter-spring (mid Feb-end Mar), which prevail for at least for 3 months covering the entire northern half of the basin from east to west. Ship cruises were conducted during winter-spring of 2001-2012 covering different stages of the bloom to study the biogeochemistry of the region. Phytoplankton analysis indicated the presence of green tides of dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans (=N.