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Background: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between height and dental caries among 13-year-old adolescents in schools of Bangalore, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 1900 schoolchildren aged 13 years from both government and private schools of Bangalore using stratified random sampling. Demographic data; family-related factors; and general and oral health-related factors such as frequency of sugar consumption, dietary habits, oral hygiene practices, and dental attendance were interviewed using both open-ended and close-ended questions. Anthropometric measurements for height and weight were performed. Clinical examination was done and caries was recorded using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index (WHO criteria, 1997). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0, and descriptive statistics including percentages, mean, and frequencies were performed. Student's t-test and ANOVA were applied to find the significant differences between mean DMFT among groups. Categorical data were analyzed by Chi-square test for differences between groups. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to find the correlation among dental caries and height and body mass index (BMI).P value was set at a statistical significance level of 0.05. Results: The prevalence of dental caries among the study population was 36.3% which was higher among girls as compared to boys. Dental caries was found to be significantly associated with socioeconomic status, family structure, birth order, use of oral hygiene aids, mouthrinsing, last dental visit, weight, and BMI. Height and BMI showed a strong negative correlation with dental caries. Conclusion: The present study showed a significant negative correlation between height and dental caries. However, since both caries and height are a dynamic phenomenon, hence a longitudinal study exploring the possible relationship should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco use among school children is becoming a serious problem in developing countries. The early age of initiation underscores the urgent need to intervene and protect this vulnerable group from becoming victims of this addiction.Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices about tobacco use among 13-15 year old school children of Bangalore City.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed and data on tobacco usage was collected from 1288 students aged 13-15 years studying in six government and private schools of Bangalore using a self-administered closed ended questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and descriptive statistics was applied. Chi-square tests were used to determine the significant differences in the variables of interest.Results: Out of 1288 children, 1281 (99.5%) children had heard about tobacco and 1162 (90.2%) students knew the harmful effects of tobacco. Only 28 (2.2%) had used tobacco products. Peer pressure was the main reason for tobacco use among children and age was not a barrier in buying tobacco products. Television (58%) was the main source of information for tobacco products followed by newspapers (26%) and movies (16%).Conclusion: It is encouraging to find that majority of the 13-15 year old children surveyed in the present study did not use tobacco and were aware of the health risks associated with tobacco use. This calls for the school authorities to be included in stricter implementation and monitoring of the implementation of legislation. Regular and systematic education programs catering to teachers, children, and also their parents should be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction India carries the greatest burden of global non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Poverty is strongly associated with NCDs but there are few prevalence studies which have measured poverty in India, particularly in rural settings. Methods In Kerala, India, a population of 113,462 individuals was identified. The "Epidemiology of Non-communicable Diseases in Rural Areas" (ENDIRA) study was conducted via ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists). Standardised questionnaires were used in household interviews of individuals ≥ 18 years during 2012 to gather sociodemographic, lifestyle and medical data for this population. The Government of Kerala definition of "the poverty line" was used. The association between below poverty line (BPL) status, NCDs and risk factors was analysed in multivariable regression models. Results 84,456 adults were included in the analyses (25.4% below the poverty line). The prevalence of NCDs was relatively common: myocardial infarction (MI) 1.4%, stroke 0.3%, respiratory diseases 5.0%, and cancer 1.1%. BPL status was not associated with age (p = 0.96) or gender (p = 0.26). Compared with those above the poverty line (APL), the BPL group was less likely to have diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidaemia (p < 0.0001), and more likely to smoke (p < 0.0001). Compared with APL, BPL was associated with stroke (OR 1.33, 1.04-1.69; p = 0.02) and respiratory disease (OR 1.23, 1.15-1.32; p < 0.0001) in multivariable analyses, but not MI or cancer. Conclusions In rural Kerala, BPL status was associated with stroke and respiratory diseases, but not with MI and cancer although it was associated with smoking status, compared with above poverty line status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dental caries among preschool children is still a major public health problem in many developing countries including India. Hence the aim of the present study was to find out the prevalence of Early Childhood Caries among 3-5 year old pre-schoolers in schools of Marathahalli, Bangalore. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 717 pre-schoolers in 6 schools of Marathahalli. Clinical examination was performed and deft index was recorded using Gruebell's criteria. Early Childhood Caries was diagnosed using Early Childhood Caries Diagnostic Criteria, consistent with the NIDCR workshop statement. Data was analysed using SPSS 15.0 and descriptive statistics was applied. Chi-square test was used to find out the significant differences. The level of significance was taken at P value < 0.05. Results: Prevalence of early childhood caries was 40% with a mean deft of 1.89 (+3.3) and Significant Caries Index score was 5.51. 44.8% of 3 year old had Early Childhood Caries, 35% of 4 year old children and 41% of 5 year old had Early Childhood Caries. Almost, all of deft was due to untreated caries. Conclusion: The results of the present study calls for a need to focus on pre-schooler's oral health and parental education for prevention and early detection of Early Childhood Caries. A high Significant Caries Index in this study population indicates a more targeted approach for high risk pre-schoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the relationship between spot and futures prices for selected five agricultural commodities, namely, Chilli, Coriander, Jeera, Pepper and Turmeric. We considered all the contracts of the above commodities over a period of 36 months, from Jan 2008 to Dec 2010. The study examined the existence of unit root in the data series by employing Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and we found the existence of long run relationship between selected spot and futures market using Johansen cointegration test and the presence of disequilibrium between markets in short run by employing Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between fund performance and fund characteristics. The fund performance is measured by fund return and its determinants are measured by standard deviation, fund size, turnover ratio, income ratio and expenses ratio. The study employs panel data analysis and observes that the fund performance is positively influenced by its volatility, size and expenses ratio, and negatively related with turnover ratio. The study also finds no evidence of income ratio relating to fund performance. Overall, the study observes that the fund managers are generally not aggressive to new information in the market. Moreover, the return generated by fund managers also seems to be insufficient to cover the costs associated with investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine two important propositions for the Indian options market: (1) the relationship between implied volatility and moneyness referred to as volatility smile and (2) the potential determinants of the smile asymmetry. We use daily data for the S&P CNX Nifty index call and put options and the underlying market index for the calendar years 2004 and 2005. We find that the volatility functions exhibit a positive slope in the Indian context using alternative measures of moneyness, thus confirming the consistency of our findings. Our evidence on smile asymmetry is in contrast with findings for mature markets, which exhibit negative asymmetry profiles in general. This may be owing to differences in investors' behaviour and market microstructure between mature and emerging markets. We also show that historical volatility and time to expiration are the potential determinants of smile asymmetry in India, as is the case with international evidence. We feel that a strong theoretical foundation should be provided for this observable empirical phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to follow up a cohort of subjects who completed detoxification treatment and a de-addiction program based on the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model. The factors associated with complete abstinence were investigated. Method: Patients (187 men) admitted consecutively to an addiction facility, who fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, were recruited for the study. Patients with major psychopathology were excluded from the cohort. The program was based on the principles of AA. The final outcome at 1 year was determined by visiting the patient and talking to the family and members of the local AA group. Results: Of the 187 initially recruited, five were excluded due to the presence of major psychopathology, one committed suicide and seven could not be traced. Of the 174 patients followed up, 58 (33.3%) remained sober (complete abstinence for the past year) at 1 year. Patients coming from distant places and those with follow-up workers in their localities fared better than those from the local area and those from towns where there was no one to motivate them to continue with AA meetings. These variables were significantly associated with sobriety even after adjusted for other confounders using multivariate techniques. Conclusions: A third of the cohort remained sober at 1-year follow-up. The patients' initial motivation and continued support once they returned to their communities were associated with being sober at follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examined issues related to the equity based options market in India. The drivers of option market liquidity and stock market variables are explored. It discusses the option market volatility function and its determinants. It evaluates the pricing efficiency of the options market using the Black-Scholes model.

This COVID-19 pandemic has posed difficulty in verbal communication among health-care workers with usage of respirators and personal protective equipments. We propose a four tick technique for the nonverbal closed loop communication in health-care settings with limited resources such as low and middle-income countries. It is simple, easy to learn, train, effective, ensuring patient safety and can be extended to nonhealth-care settings and in electronic form., Competing Interests: None