Academia Open Vol 8 No 2 (2023): December DOI: 10.21070/acopen.8.2023.8087 . Article type: (Medicine)Impact of COVID-19 on Dental Students' Psychological Health Maryam Hameed Alwan, [email protected], (1) Department of Oral Diagnosis, College of Dentistry, Baghdad University, Iraq, Iraq (1) Corresponding author Abstract This study investigates the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental students at Baghdad University College of Dentistry. Conducted between December 2021 and January 2022, this cross-sectional survey aligns with ethical guidelines and the Helsinki Declaration. The study utilized Cochran's equation to determine a sample size of at least 400, ensuring a 95% confidence level with a 5% margin of error. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Covid Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ) were employed as primary tools, assessing general and COVID-19-related stress, respectively. A total of 411 students participated, with 67.50% experiencing moderate to severe stress (PSS <14) and 58.8% reporting average levels of COVID-related stress (CSSQ <7). Notably, there was a significant positive correlation between the PSS and CSSQ scores (P = 0.008). The analysis, conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics software V26, included descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha for reliability, and Pearson Correlation for assessing correlations. The findings indicate that a substantial proportion of dental students experienced heightened stress levels, potentially leading to mental health disorders like cognitive impairment. These results emphasize the need for universities to enhance psychological support and for government bodies to implement comprehensive health education and awareness programs. This study not only sheds light on the immediate psychological effects of the pandemic on dental students but also serves as a foundational reference for future interventions aimed at reducing stress levels in this demographic
The goal of this investigation is to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique through Q-switching double frequency Nd:YAG laser (532 nm) wavelength, pulse frequency 6 Hz, and 300 mJ energy under vacuum conditions (10-3 torr) at room temperature. (ZnO) nano-thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different thickness of 300, 600 and 900 nm. ZnO films, were then annealed in air at a temperature of 500 °C for one hour. The results were compared with the researchers' previous theoretical study. The XRD analysis of ZnO nano-thin films indicated a hexagonal multi-crystalline wurtzite structure with preferential growth lines (100), (002), (101) for ZnO nano-thin films with different thi
... Show MoreThe current study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of GKB in the rat model of granulomatous inflammation. Thirty rats were distributed into five groups: The first group served as negative control group that received distilled water (DW) only without inducting inflammation, positive control group; treated with DW with the induction of inflammation and they were assigned to cotton pellet-induced granuloma, ginkgo biloba (GKB) treated group (200mg/kg/day), dexamethasone-treated group (1mg/kg), and Prednisolone treated group (5mg/kg). All the treatments were given orally for seven consecutive days. On day eight, the rats were anesthetized and the pellets together with granulation tissue were carefully removed
... Show MoreCompounds of (ZnO)1-x(SnO 2 ) x were prepared with various proportions of tin oxide (SiO 2) (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) by mixing zinc oxide (ZnO) with highpurity tin oxide and then sintering the mixture in an oven at a temperature of 1000 °C for a period of 1 h. The resulting powders were ground and pressed into tablets of 1 cm diameter and 0.5 cm thickness. The properties of (ZnO) 1-x(SnO 2 ) x composites flms were prepared and studied as sensitive to the diferent gases NO2 and H2 S. Thin flms were prepared from (ZnO) 1-x(SnO 2 ) x via pulsed laser deposition method using glass and single crystal silicon for investigation the morphology and gas sensing properties with a thickness of 150 nm. The morphology examinat
... Show MoreThe effectiveness of upward training with weights to develop explosive power, characterized by speed and some functional variables for young volleyball players Many efforts of sports laboratories in various countries have been devoted to laying scientific foundations and rules in caring for the physical, skilled, planning, and psychological preparation of players and creating the conditions and requirements for reaching players to higher standards. The research aims to:1- Preparing an ascending training program with weights to develop explosive strength, which is characterized by speed and some functional variables for volleyball players.2- Identify the effect of the training program with upward training in weights to develop explosive stre
... Show MoreThe reaction paths of the C-C and C-H bond cleavage in the anthracene and phenanthrene aromatic molecules are studied by applying the ab-initio DFT method. It is found that the C-C bond cleavage proceeds via a singlet aromatic transition state, compelled through a disrotatoric ring opening reaction. A suprafacial H atom shift follows the transition state, leading to the formation of a methylene -CH2 and an acetylenic or allenic moiety. The calculated activation energies for anthracene range from 158.81-208.90 kcal/mol and the reaction energies from 96.106-156.976 kcal/mol. For phenanthrene, the energy values are 157.39-202.34 kcal/mol and 62.639-182.423 kcal/mol, respectively. For the C-H cleavage reactions, the calculated reaction energies
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to determine the serum sex hormone levels among Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patients before and after 3 months of oral administration of 5-α reductase inhibitor(finasteride). Forty BPH patients and 40 healthy men from Amara city were involved in this study, their ages were between 40-59 year. They were all subjected to direct estimation of hormones by MinVidas method including Testosterone (T), Estradiol (E2), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin (PRL), and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) before and after 3 months of treatment with 5α-reductase inhibitor (finasteride) (the healthy individuals didn’t take finasteride).The results showed that T level was significantly lo
... Show MoreThe Iraqi pharmaceutical sector faces significant challenges arising from the prevalence of substandard and falsified (S/F) medications, which pose a direct threat to public health safety. To strengthen regulatory oversight, health authorities have implemented national medicine track-and-trace system. However, the ultimate efficacy of these regulatory tools is heavily dependent on public awareness and the level of societal acceptance.
This study ai
This study provides a systematic and bibliometric review of ASTM F75 cobalt–chromium alloys, focusing on microstructure and the shift from conventional to laser-based manufacturing. Using combined analytical methods, it evaluates microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and biocompatibility. Results show that laser-based techniques such as LPBF and DMLS produce finer grain sizes (1–10 µm vs. 50–200 µm), leading to improved hardness (20–40%) and tensile strength (15–30%). Despite challenges like residual stress and process optimization, these methods show strong potential for high-performance and sustainable applications.
This investigation reports application of a mesoporous nanomaterial based on dicationic ionic liquid bonded to amorphous silica, namely nano-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-N-(silican-propyl)-N′-sulfo-ethane-1,2-diaminium chloride (nano-[TSPSED][Cl]2), as an extremely effectual and recoverable catalyst for the generation of bis(pyrazolyl)methanes and pyrazolopyranopyrimidines in solvent-free conditions. In both synthetic protocols, the performance of this catalyst was very useful and general and presented attractive features including short reaction times with high yields, reasonable turnover frequency and turnover number values, easy workup, high performance under mild conditions, recoverability and reusability in 5 consecutive runs without lo
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