ABSTRACT
Evidence-based Dentistry [EBD] is a common approach in Dentistry particularly in developed nations. However, there is scarcity of data about the knowledge and practice of EBD among dental professionals in Pakistan. The objective was explore the knowledge and practice of EBD by evaluating awareness, attitudes and barriers to its implementation by interns and faculty members from various dental colleges in Pakistan. The study was a cross sectional survey. Self-administrated questionnaires were distributed among 120 male and female interns and faculty members working at three dental colleges in Lahore, Pakistan. Ethical approval was obtained from respective institutes. Informed consents were obtained from the participants before administering questionnaires among them. SPSS 20.0 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics included frequency distribution of various responses. Cross tabulation performed to determine odds ratio. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between practice of EBD and various factors. A 95% confidence interval was used to determined statistical significance. Ninety one subjects completed questionnaires with a response rate of 76%. Sixty five percent of participants were females, and age ranged from 22 to 55 years. The 52.7% of the respondents reported that they applied EBD in ordering tests or treatment, 24.2% attended EBD course or workshop, and 48.4% regularly read journals. Regarding the components of EBD, only one respondent correctly identified three components. About 26.4% responded that systematic review provides the strongest evidence and 54% identified no access to EBD resources a major barrier to using EBD in clinical practice. EBD not applicable to culture was judged by 39.6% of the respondents, 49.5% agreed that patients were willing to get involved in clinical decision making, and 34.1% reported that only 10% of their patients were capable of participating in clinical decision making. Multivariate logistic regression final model showed that year since graduation was strongly associated with practice of EBD [OR=4.68 91=1.83-11.97]. Almost half of the respondents claimed to practice EBD; only one of them was aware of three components of EBD. There is need to incorporate concepts of EBD in undergraduate dental curriculum and EBD workshops and seminars should be organized for dental professionals on regular bases
ABSTRACT
Many offshore structures are subjected to overturning moments due to wind load, wave pressure, and ship impacts. Also most of retaining walls are subjected to horizontal forces and bending moments, these forces are due to earth pressure. For foundations in such structures, usually a combination of vertical and batter piles is used. Little information is available in the literature about estimating the capacity of piles under uplift. In cases where these supporting piles are not vertical, the behavior under axial pullout is not well established. In order to delineate the significant variables affecting the ultimate uplift shaft resistance of batter pile in dry sand, a testing program comprising 62 pullout tests was conducted. The tests are conducted on model steel pile installed in loose, medium, and dense sand to an embedded depth ratio, L/d, vary from 7.5 to 30 and with various batter angles of 0[degree], 10[degree], 20[degree], and 30[degree]. Results indicate that the pullout capacity of a batter pile constructed in dense and/or medium density sand increases with the increase of batter angle attains maximum value and then decreases, the maximum value of P[chi] occurs at batter angle approximately equal to 20[degree], and it is about 21-31% more than the vertical pile capacity, while the pullout capacity for batter pile that constructed in loose sand decreases with the increase of pile inclination. The results also indicated that the circular pile is more resistant to pullout forces than the square and rectangular pile shape. The rough model piles tested is experienced 18-75% increase in capacity compared with the smooth model piles. The suggested relations for the pullout capacity of batter pile regarding the vertical pile capacity are well predicted