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Objective: A conceptual model was designed and tested to predict immigrant children's oral health in Canada by examining parental acculturation and perceived social support (PSS) using structural equation modelling. Methods: A convenience sample of first‐generation immigrant parents and their children aged 2–12 years were recruited by multilingual community workers in Edmonton, Canada. Parents completed a validated questionnaire on demographics, child's oral health (OH) behaviours, parental acculturation and PSS. Dental examinations determined children's dental caries rate using DMFT/dmft index. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 336 families participated in this study. The average parental acculturation level was 10.46 with a maximum of 15, and the average PSS was 63.27 with a maximum of 75. SEM showed that 77% of the variance of DMFT/dmft scores in children was explained by parental PSS, acculturation level, immigration‐related variables, socioeconomic variables and children's OH behaviours. The direct effect of parental PSS was associated with a significantly reduced rate of dental caries (β = −.076, p‐value =.008) and lower sugar consumption (β = −.17, p‐value =.04). While the mediation effect of parental acculturation on PSS was associated with positive OH behaviours of children (e.g., toothbrushing frequency and dental care utilization), the indirect effect was negatively associated with caries rate (β =.77, p‐value =.00). Conclusions: The direct effect of Parental Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was associated with more favourable oral health behaviours and a lower prevalence of dental caries, while the mediation effect of acculturation was linked to a higher prevalence of dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the new trend of using computer-mediated communication (CMC) as an innovative technique in teaching and learning at higher institutions, Facebook as a channel of CMC was employed in carrying out a project work in an Academic Communication Course. For this project, students worked in groups to discuss their work and share information using both CMC and face-to-face interactions. An open ended questions survey was administered to these undergraduate students who were assigned to investigate a specific community issue involving a non-governmental organization (NGO) and to produce a report on the findings of the issue identified. This paper presents findings of an action research that aims to investigate the effectiveness of using CMC channel, Facebook, in the project work. It also aims to find out the challenges faced by students in using CMC. The content analysis of students' responses to the survey indicates the effectiveness of using CMC over face-to-face interactions in the completion of the project work despite the problems and challenges they faced.

Our current university students, labeled as "Generation Y" or Millennials, are different from previous generations due to wide exposure to media. Being technologically savvy, they are accustomed to Internet for information and social media for socializing. In line with this current trend, teaching through computer mediated communication (CMC) is highly recommended at higher institutions as students learn by doing, relating the discussion to real world issues, and the use of current social media. In this study, blog was employed in assessing students' critiques in an Academic Communication II course at the Centre for General Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using blog as CMC tool in encouraging students to read, analyze and information in argumentative texts critically. It also attempts to identify the challenges faced by students in using blog in completing the assigned critique task. An online survey was administered to gather feedback on the use of blog in the Critique evaluation of the course. The class instructor's reflective notes were also analyzed. The findings revealed that blog has helped the participants namely in generating ideas, motivating participation and improving their critique. However, it was also discovered that participants encountered some challenges especially technical glitches.

Objectives: After the shutdown of most dental services during the COVID‐19 lockdown, the oral health community was concerned about an increase in prescribing opioids and antibiotics by dentists due to patients' limited access to dental offices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the pattern of antibiotic and opioid prescriptions by dentists in Alberta, Canada. Methods: Data obtained from the Tracked Prescription Program were divided into antibiotics and opioids. Time periods were outlined as pre‐, during‐, and postlockdown (phase 1 and 2). For the number of prescriptions and average supply, each monthly average was compared to the corresponding prelockdown monthly average, using descriptive analysis. Time series analyses were conducted using regression analyses with an autoregressive error model. Data were trained and tested on monthly observations before lockdown and predicted for during‐ and postlockdown. Results: A total of 1.1 million antibiotics and 400,000 opioids dispense were tracked. Decreases in the number of prescriptions during lockdown presented for antibiotics (n = 24,933 vs. 18,884) and opioids (n = 8892 vs. 6051). Average supplies (days) for the antibiotics (n = 7.10 vs. 7.55) and opioids (n = 3.92 vs. 4.05) were higher during the lockdown period. In the trend analyses, the monthly number of antibiotic and opioid prescriptions showed the same pattern and decreased during lockdown. Conclusion: The COVID‐19 pandemic altered the trends of prescribing antibiotics and opioids by dentists. The full impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the population's oral health in light of changes in prescribing practices by dentists during and after lockdown warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Case‐based learning is widely used in health professions education to improve clinical learning, but little is known about how best to approach multiple cases in this active learning strategy. Our study explored dental student views of multiple case‐based learning in oral pathology. Materials and methods: Qualitative description informed the study design. Data were collected through semi‐structured, individual interviews with twenty‐one third‐ and fourth‐year dental students who participated in multiple case‐based learning seminars. Data were analysed using inductive, manifest thematic analysis. Results: Themes were identified at approach and case levels. Approach‐level themes included preparing students for clinical practice and board exams and maximising exposure (e.g., to lesions/conditions), knowledge application, and engagement within the time allotted for the learning session. Case‐level themes included using challenging but manageable cases, linking cases to lecture content, providing the necessary clinical information to solve the cases, and ensuring that cases were authentic and common with non‐typical presentations. Aspects of themes encompassed definitions of case characteristics, benefits, conditions of implementation, and recommendations for improvement. Conclusion: Cases should be considered individually, collectively, purposefully, and contextually in multiple case‐based learning. Evaluations of learning and behavioural outcome are needed to further establish the effectiveness of approaches and case characteristics in multiple case‐based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to prepare novel quinoa biosorbent (QB), acid activated QB (QB/Acid) and its nanocomposite with magnetic nanoparticles (QB/MNPs) for batch scale Cr removal from contaminated water. The Cr adsorption was systematically studied at different pH (2–9), adsorbent dosage (1–3 g/L), initial concentration (25–200 mg/L), contact time (180 min) and competing ions in water. Maximum Cr adsorption was observed onto QB/MNPs (57.4 mg/L), followed by QB/Acid (46.35 mg/g) and QB (39.9 mg/g). The Cr removal by QB/MNPs was higher than QB/Acid and QB. Results revealed that the highest Cr removal was obtained at optimum pH 4, 25 mg/L, and 2 g/L dosage. The FTIR spectra displayed various functional groups on adsorbents surface serving as a potential scaffold to remove Cr from contaminated water. The equilibrium and kinetic Cr adsorption data best fitted with Freundlich and pseudo-second order models, respectively (R2 ≥ 0.96). The QB/MNPs showed excellent reusability in five adsorption/desorption cycles (4.7% decline) with minor leaching of Fe (below threshold level). The coexisting ions in groundwater showed an inhibitory effect on Cr sequestration (5%) from water. The comparison of Cr adsorption by QB/MNPs and QB/Acid showed better potential for Cr sequestration than various previously explored adsorbents in the literature. Quinoa is a cereal crop and after harvesting quinoa straws are either burnt or thrown away which can cause several environmental problems. It would be beneficial to utilize quinoa straws and its modified forms as adsorbents for the water remediation. Therefore, current study aims to estimate the adsorption capacity of quinoa biomass as biosorbent (QB) and its modifications (QB/Acid and QB/MNPs) to treat Cr (VI) contaminated water. The influence of various parameters governing the Cr removal from water has been evaluated. The reusability of QB/MNPs has also been evaluated for its economical use without losing effectiveness for Cr removal from water. The comparison of Cr adsorption by QB/MNPs and QB/Acid showed better adsorption potential for Cr sequestration than various previously explored adsorbents in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the accuracy of a short version of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) in predicting caries treatment need for children. Methods: The study is a validation study using data from three previously published cross‐sectional studies. Participants were children with different dentitions from Kuwait, Brazil, and Spain. Children were clinically examined using ICDAS criteria. Children were classified into preventive, non‐operative, and operative categories. Sensitivity and specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to measure the discriminative and diagnostic accuracy of the proposed short version of ICDAS compared to the full ICDAS. Results: Clinical dental examination data from a total of 3076 children aged 1–15 years were used. The proposed short ICDAS and the full ICDAS showed a very good agreement on caries treatment need determination with Kappa scores of more than 0.833 in all dentitions. The short ICDAS showed excellent operating characteristics in all dentitions. The area under the ROC was more than 90% in primary dentition, 89% in permanent dentition, and 86% in mixed dentition in different populations. Lowest area under ROC and sensitivity values were observed when discriminating between non‐operative and operative treatment categories. Conclusions: The proposed short version of the ICDAS showed good diagnostic accuracy in classifying children according to their caries treatment need. By reducing the number of surfaces examined and the time needed for clinical assessment, the short version of the ICDAS is a convenient alternative to the full ICDAS to be used in community settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]