Evaluation of the antimicrobial effect of conventional and nanosilver-containing varnishes on oral streptococci

Statement of the Problem: Nanosilver particles have the potential to serve as a bactericidal agent because of the inherent antimicrobial influences of silver ion. The literature confirmed that specific micro-organisms, especially streptococci, have an important role as an etiological factor for caries

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of conventional and nanosilver-containing varnishes on oral streptococci

Materials and Method: Pure cultivations of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus salivarius were prepared on blood agar media. Thereafter, 0.5 McFarland standard of recently grown bacteria in normal saline was prepared and the bacteria were cultivated monotonously on the culture medium surface by applying a swab. Different concentrations of nanosilver varnishes were prepared in the Mueller- Hinton broth medium in the test tubes and equal amounts of 0.5 McFarland suspension of all the tested bacteria were added separately to all test tubes. A tube without varnish was included as the control sample. The tubes were kept at 37°C for 24 hours, then cultured to determine the numbers of bacteria in each tube by counting colonies. The numbers of bacteria in tubes with varnish were compared to the numbers of bacteria in the tube without varnish. In the instance of observing any reduction in the growth, the minimum inhibitory concentration for growth in the tube with varnish was determined

Results: Nanosilver varnish had an antimicrobial effect on S. mutans and S. salivarius. S. salivarius was more susceptible than S. mutans to the nanosilver varnish

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, nanosilver varnishes can be used under amalgam restorations to reduce microbial population and subsequently preventing the recurrent caries

[ relation of dentists job burnout with their general health, demographic and personality characteristics]

Statement of Problems: Job burnout is a result of frequent and constant physical and mental stress in a long time. Dentistry is one of the most stressful jobs in the field of medicine. These stressful factors make dentists prone to burnout and psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure the relationship between demographic and personality characteristics and job satisfaction and burnout in dentists

Materials and Method: In this simple filter sampling study, 30 dentists as faculty members of the dental school of Shiraz University filled in questionnaires about job satisfaction, job burnout and general health. Statistical methods such as Pierson Correlation Coefficient, Multivariate Analysis and Chi-Square test were used

Results: In this study, 12 males [40%] and 18 females [60%] were involved. The mean occupation year for females were more than that of males. Meanwhile, men practice more hours a day. There was no significant difference between males and females regarding general heath and job satisfaction. Dental chair side hours and years of occupation had no effect on general health and job satisfaction. The results showed that NEO 5-personality factors, sex, occupation years and age did not have any meaningful effect on job burnout, but this study could predict 29% of the job dissatisfaction [ p =45% ; F=06% ; R square=29%; R=54%]

Conclusion: In this study, age, sex and occupation years did not have any effect on the job burnout, but with the increase in the volume of the sample, it would be meaningful. This study was conducted only on the faculty members; which makes it different from other studies

Memory process in demented and non-demented elderly patients

Dementia is characterized by progressive memory loss and other cognitive impairments. Memory impairments are apparent on tasks that require learning and retention of verbal or non-verbal information. Demented patients present severe impairments on recognition and recalling tasks. They have severe deficits in transferring information in to a long-term storage system. The present study investigated any difference between various memory processes in different reproduction phases contribute to discrimination between demented and non-demented elderly patients. Thirty one demented and 25 non-demented elderly patients were selected according to inclusion criteria; all of them were visited by a physician completing the Mini Mental Status Examination [MMSE] and California Verbal Learning Test-Persian version [CVLT-P]. Although demented and non-demented elderly subjects had no difference in relation to age and education, differences on clinical variables were significant and demented patients showed lower means than nondemented ones. A discriminate function analysis showed that CVLT-P had the ability to differentiate between demented and non-demented elderly patients and could correctly classify 94.3% of demented and non-demented older adults. Findings suggest that CVLT-P could discriminate satisfaction between these two groups and according to subscales, learning slope had the highest discrimination coefficient. So demented patients had more deficits in hippocampus causing failure of learning

[Anxiety test and some correlated socio-demographic factors in high school students in Shiraz]

Good performance in academic tests plays a major role in the student's further academic and occupational achievements. In students who experience excessive amounts of anxiety while sitting for a quiz or test, lower academic grades may be achieved as a result of and impaired information processing. This study examined the relationship between anxiety test [AT] and some socio-demographic factors in high school students in Shiraz. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample consisted of 512 high school students in Shiraz, Iran. Participants were students from both sexes and from all kinds of high schools [named: Governmental, private, and specialized high schools for the exceptionally talented students]. The instruments used for data collection were Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory [STAI] and a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS11 software, using ANOVA, paired t, and Pearson's correlation tests. The STAI mean scores showed significant correlations with the districts of education organization to which the school belonged, the populated status of the classroom and the attitude of parents and school authorities toward academic failure [P < 0.05]. There was found no significant correlation between TA and the parent's age, their conjugal relationships and the frequency of school visits by them. The Findings demonstrated the adverse effects of AT on the student's academic performance. Identifying the bio-socio-demographic correlates of AT may help to plan more specific interventions for reducing AT in students

Effect of gender, school performance and school type on test anxiety among Iranian adolescents

The level of anxiety might affect information processing in various ways, and reduce people's performance particularly the adolescents. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between levels of test anxiety and school performance of a group of adolescents. 536 second grade high school students served as the subjects of this study. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data including the student status, relevant information about the family and school performance. The Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory was also utilized to measure the level of test anxiety. The results revealed a significant and negative correlation between test anxiety scores and Grade Point Average [GPA] of the students. Female students showed a higher level of anxiety in contrast to male students and school type [private, public and school for gifted students] affected the level of test anxiety. We showed the importance of school type on the level of test anxiety. The lowest level of anxiety was seen among gifted children who generally better adjusted themselves than their peers of average or below average intelligence

Psychometric evaluation of patients with behget's disease

Behget's disease is a vasculitis with multi-organ involvement. Our knowledge of the psychological aspects of Behget's disease is very limited. 40 women and 24 men who fulfilled the International Study Group [ISG] criteria of Beliefs disease were selected from Beliefs Disease Clinic of Nemazee Hos-pitaK Shiraz, South of Iran. Controls consisted of 65 healthy volunteers. Both patients and controls completed SCL-90R questionnaire. Scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsive behavior, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideations and psychoticism were compared between cases and controls. Patients with Behcet's disease had significantly [P=0.04] higher global severity index of SCL-90R in comparison to controls. The patient group also had significantly higher scores for aggression [P=0.03], anxiety [P=0.04] and somatization [p=0.00] than controls. It is concluded that SCL-90R is a useful tool for evaluation of the psychiatric status of patients with Beliefs disease

[Personality and mental health differences of gifted high schools students compared to ordinary high schools students]

The study of personality characteristics of students has always been considered important to pedagogic system's specialists, consultants, psychologists and mental health professionals. Schools and their media have great impact on the development of the students' personality. The present study was designed to evaluate possible personality differences between students of gifted high schools and students of ordinary high schools. Two hundred students [97 gifted and 103 ordinary] in their third year of high school in Shiraz participated in this study. They were assessed using NEOPI-R [NEO Personality Inventory-Revised] and General Health Questionnare [GHQ-28]. The results show that students of gifted schools obtained higher scores on the openness to experiences domain of NEO PI-R and had lower scores in the agreeableness domain when compared to students of ordinary schools. Female subjects had higher scores in the agreeableness domain as compared to male subjects. The results show that students from gifted schools have better mental health condition when compared with students from ordinary high schools. The findings suggest that students attending gifted high schools have different personality characteristics and mental health conditions when compared with ordinary high school students

Application of social desirability scale in association with NEO test for personnel selection

This study aimed to make and validate the Social Desirability scale [lie detecting scale] for NEO PI-R test. Twenty-two statements of Social desirability were selected and combined with the marginal NEO PI-R test. The test was administered on 285 job applicants. After factor analysis, 15 statements were selected. The subjects were categorized into three groups based on the means and SD of the NEO PI-R scores and were compared with 79 incumbents as controls. The lowest intergroups difference was seen on Openness, and the most difference was seen on Conscientiousness. The incumbents' scores on the Neuroticism and Agreeableness domains did not differ from the low scorers in Social Desirability. The high scorers on Social Desirability tended to show more stable and conscientious than the low scorers. There was no significant correlation between Social Desirability scores and Extroversion and Openness. However, other domains were significantly correlated with Social Desirability scores. Social Desirability scale could differentiate between those who want to fake good and Those who are honest in responding to NEOPI-R. The findings also revealed that in the profile of those who tend to fake good, Extroversion and Openness domain scores can be safely accepted while the other domain scores of these subjects must be interpreted with caution

Blood glucose and body mass index of patients on clozapine and conventional antipsychotics

To evaluate blood glucose and body weight in patients treated with clozapine and conventional antipsychotic. Forty-three patients with schizophrenia [36 males and 7 females] on clozapine were compared with 41 patients [33 males and 8 females] treated with conventional antipsychotics, regarding their fasting blood glucose [FBS], 2 hours post-prandial glucose [2HPPG] and body mass index [BMI]. Data were analyzed using Hest and the chi-square. Of the patients on clozapine, 2 had high FBS, 6 had high 2HPPG, and 5 were diagnosed with diabetes, which was significantly different from the group on conventional antipsychotic. Moreover, comparing the BMIs, the patients on clozapine had higher weights than the conventional treatment group. Clozapine may play a role in high blood glucose of some of the patients