Comparison of Omicron and Delta Variants of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence.

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. In early 2020, the disease spread rapidly around the world. Since the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved dramatically into a wide variety of variants endowed with devastating properties. As of March 6, 2022, five SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron strains have been identified. Due to the crucial importance of understanding the differences between the Omicron and Delta variants, this systematic review was conducted. METHODS: This systematic review investigated new variants of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 based on current studies. Online databases were searched for English articles as of January 03, 2023. Selection of publications was a two-step process of title/abstract and full-text assessment against eligibility criteria. The relevant data from the included articles were systematically collected and organized in a designed table for analysis. To ensure the quality of the review, the PRISMA checklist and Newcastle- Ottawa Scale (NOS) of quality assessment were utilized. RESULTS: The data extracted from 58 articles were analyzed, including 10003 pieces of evidence. Lower risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality after vaccination were reported in the Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant. Additionally, the Delta variant led to more severe clinical symptoms in comparison to the Omicron variant. CONCLUSION: The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 results in less severe disease outcomes as compared to Delta. Nevertheless, it remains crucial to maintain ongoing monitoring, implement containment measures, and adapt vaccination protocols to effectively address the evolving variants.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Dental Caries in Primary Schoolchildren: An Iranian Setting.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries is the most common oral health disease of school-aged children around the world. In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dental caries in primary schoolchildren in Yasuj township, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 460 children aged 7-12 years were investigated. Dental examination was performed at school according to the World Health Organization criteria. Sociodemographic data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and caries statuses of children's teeth were recorded through a dental chart. Data were analyzed using summary statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression model with odds ratio. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries in primary, permanent, and whole dentition among children was 75.3%, 41.1%, and 89.8%, respectively. Among all considered factors, the caries presence in primary teeth was inversely (p < 0.001) and in permanent teeth was positively (p < 0.001) associated with the children's age. Moreover, the odds of decaying permanent teeth were significantly higher in girls, in rural children, and in children whose fathers were not an employee compared to their counterparts (p=0.04, p < 0.001, and p=0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of dental caries among the studied primary schoolchildren in mixed dentition was high and associated with their sociodemographic factors. Providing and implementing preventive, therapeutic, and informative programs for controlling dental caries at individual, family, and school levels are necessary for local health policymakers.

Applying Collaborative Care Model on Intensive Caregiver Burden and Resilient Family Caregivers of Patients with Mental Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Psychological education for families in the form of a model is one of the effective approaches in managing problems caused by mental health problems. The present study aimed to determine the effect of using the participatory care model on the caregiver burden and resilience of home caregivers of patients with mental disorders. Method : In this clinical trial, 66 households with psychiatric patients hospitalized at Shahid Rajaee Psychiatric Hospital in Yasuj during 2014-2015 were selected and assigned into 2 groups of experimental and intervention based on convenience and simple random sampling. The data of this study were gathered by Novak & Guest (1989) Caregiver burden and Sixbey (2005) Resilience Questionnaire before and after intervention. Participatory care model was performed for 12 ninety-minute sessions in the intervention group. No intervention was provided to the control group during the study period. SPSS software (version 21) was used to run the descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Chi-squared test showed that the caregiver burden was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group after the intervention (P = 0.0001). Following the intervention, increased resilience and all its components were observed in the experimental group compared to the control group. According to the independent t test and Mann-Whitney U, the 2 groups were considerably different (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The application of the participatory care model efficiently increased resilience and decreased the intensity of the caregiver burden on the home caregivers of patients suffering from mental disorders.

Dental caries analysis in 3- 5-years-old children: a spatial modelling.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was modelling experienced caries of deciduous teeth in 3- 5-years-old children treated in Children's Department of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, using the spatial autologistic regression. The other objective was identifying a risk pattern of decayed dents of these children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 400 children (3- 5-years-old). Two groups of postgraduate and under graduate dentistry students under consideration and approval of the professors of dentistry from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences diagnosed and categorised the caries statuses of deciduous dents of the children. The caries statuses were considered as spatially correlated binary data. The appropriate model was autologistic regression. RESULTS: The fitted autologistic model showed that caries in the three nearest neighbours of a tooth, which includes the two adjacent and the one vertically opponent teeth, had significant effect on its caries. The computed risks based on the fitted model revealed a definite-spatial pattern of caries events. CONCLUSIONS: Every decayed deciduous tooth in the mouth of a preschool child threatens the three nearest teeth. The risk pattern of caries in each quarter of the teeth lattice of children from incisors to molars has an ascending rate. The dents in maxilla and posterior locations have higher risks of caries than in mandible and anterior locations. These findings are valuable in preventive health care and therapeutic approaches in dentistry of children.