Factors affecting changes in compliance with infection control practices by dentists in Japan.

We surveyed compliance with infection control practices (ICPs) and factors associated with ICPs reported by dentists in Japan in 2008 and 2011. ICPs improved during this period as did the proportion of dentists specializing in oral surgery, the proportion of dentists reporting a willingness to treat HIV and AIDS patients, and the proportion of dentists reporting knowledge about universal and standard precautions. Stronger associations between ICPs and these 3 factors were found in 2011 than in 2008.

[Effect of professional oral prophylaxis on the general health perceptions and lifestyles in workers of a worksite].

The present study was undertaken to look at the effect of professional oral prophylaxis on the general health perceptions and lifestyle in workers at a worksite in Aichi-ken. Dental check-ups and three kinds of questionnaires (SAS: The Social Adjustment Scale, MOS: The Medical Outcomes Study and the nutrition) were used in this investigation for three years from 1998. By means of the stratified sampling method, the participants were 265 workers separated into a case and a control group, who work for a pharmaceutical company (201 males, 64 females, average age 35.6 +/- 0.7 yr old). All participants gave their consent to the study. As in the case group, dental hygienists scaled their teeth and gave each of them appropriate advice about their oral health twice in a year. MOS, SAS, nutrition and oral health in the case and control groups were compared with the baseline, third and the final year. The results were as follows; 1) There was significant difference in energy, protein, fat, fish and meats sufficiency rates (p < 0.05) and a higher tendency towards consuming sugar, potassium (K), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe) and Fiber (p < 0.10) in the control group, but there were no significant differences in the other nutrients in the case and control groups. 2) There were significant differences in the number of decayed teeth in the case group, and in the number of filled teeth and decayed teeth in the control group. The gingival condition (CPI = 0) in the case group tended to be higher healthier than the control group, 3) In the MOS questionnaire, the case group was better or not worse in health perceptions scales, pain scales and mental health scales than the control group. 4) In the SAS questionnaire, the case group was better or not worse in the work and the social scales than the control group. It was concluded that oral health, social health and consciousness of health tended to improve by dental intervention.

Phase retrieval from experimental far-field intensities by use of a Gaussian beam.

The noniterative phase-retrieval method by use of Gaussian filtering is applied to the reconstruction of phase objects from experimental far-field intensities. In this method, the complex amplitude of transmitted light through an object is reconstructed from three far-field intensities, which are measured with the modulation of the object by laterally shifted and unshifted Gaussian filters. In the experiment, the amplitude of a Gaussian beam illuminating objects is utilized as a Gaussian filter, and, as the phase objects, a converging lens with a small exit pupil and a plastic fiber immersed in optical adhesive are used. The experimental results show that the Gaussian beam of a laser is capable of retrieving the phases of those objects with the accuracy of the range from approximately 1/10 to 1/4 of the laser's wavelength.