Perceived sources of stress amongst dental students: A multicountry study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to explore the perceived sources of stress reported by dental students from fourteen different countries. METHODS: A total of 3568 dental students were recruited from 14 different dental schools. The dental environmental stress (DES) questionnaire was used including 7 domains. Responses to the DES were scored in 4-point Likert scale. Comparison between students was performed according to the study variables. The top 5 stress-provoking questions were identified amongst dental schools. Data were analysed using SPSS software program. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Logistic regression analysis was also conducted to determine the effect of the studied variables on the stress domains. The level of statistical significance was set at <.05. RESULTS: Internal consistency of the scale was excellent (0.927). Female students formed the majority of the total student population. The percentage of married students was 4.8%. Numbers of students in pre-clinical and clinical stages were close together. The most stress-provoking domain was "workload" with a score of 2.05 ± 0.56. Female students scored higher stress than male students did in most of the domains. Significant differences were found between participating countries in all stress-provoking domains. Dental students from Egypt scored the highest level of stress whilst dental students from Jordan scored the lowest level of stress. CONCLUSION: The self-reported stress in the dental environment is still high and the stressors seem to be comparable amongst the participating countries. Effective management programmes are needed to minimise dental environment stress.

Effect of processing soybeans on their use by calves.

Full-fat soybeans processed by grinding, roasting, or heating by microwave were used to supply the protein in rations fed Holstein calves. Nitrogen digestibilities of the rations were not significantly different. Nitrogen retention for the roasted soybean ration was higher than that of raw or microwave-heated soybean rations. Nitrogen solubility of the roasted soybeans was lower than that of the other soybeans. Protein hydrolysis, as measured by a new in vitro technique, was higher for the roasted soybeans than for the raw or microwave-heated beans. There were no significant differences in the digestibilities of dry matter, ether extract, or nitrogen free extract among the three rations. Digestibility of crude fiber was lower for the roasted ration than for the other rations.