Has Brazilian Pediatric Dentistry broken the glass ceiling in women s participation in academic science?

Aim of the Study: This study aimed to examine the effects of social media use on academic performance and psycho-behavioural responses in university students during COVID-19. According to the study, there is a strong link between academic social media use, psycho-behavioral responses, and academic performance. It was also proposed that academic social media use and psycho-behavioural response could forecast academic success. The study also forecasted gender disparities in academic performance, psycho-behavioural responses, and social media use. Methodology: In the two government universities in Lahore, 200 students (113 females and 87 males) were polled, using purposive sampling and a quantitative correlation study design. A demographic information sheet, consent form, student learning behaviour scale (Abbas et al., 2019), social networking usage scale (Gupta & Bashir, 2018), and a depression, anxiety, and stress scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) were all included in the questionnaire. The data were examined using Pearson correlation, independent t-tests, and moderation regression analysis. Findings: The study found a negative correlation between academic social media usage and performance among university students. It was found that university students' academic performance during COVID-19 was negatively impacted by their use of academic social media. Significant gender-based disparities in psychological reactions like stress, anxiety, and academic performance were also discovered by the study. Conclusion: These findings can benefit students in making better academic use of social media and aid instructors in better understanding the factors affecting student success.

The gender disparity in numbers of students attending STEM programs has been a challenge since science began. But regardless of this disparity in numbers, differences of gender in academic performances have also been reported, including average GPA, performances during exams and in-class participation. The majority of these performance differences negatively impact women, potentially affecting retention, professional development and professional confidence, further impacting gender equity in the sciences. To analyze whether such disparities exist at the University of Ottawa, we have collated a dataset of the academic performance of all students registered at the University of Ottawa in the Faculty of Science between 2014 and 2019. This includes all students registered in the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Biomolecular Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Mathematics and Statistics and Physics, which represent over 4,000 students per year. The students’ cumulative GPA was used as a covariate to control for their prior academic ability. Initially, when combining all 122 classes included in this study, analysis of covariance and multi-covariate analysis of variance revealed no gender performance differences. However, when classes were analyzed individually, a gender performance difference was observed in 18 classes (p-value<0.05), and male students were favored in 83.33% of classes with a gender performance difference. The language of study (p-value of 0.001965) and class size (p-value of 0.03598) were factors associated with gender differences in academic performances. Classes which numbered more than 100 students were more likely to be less favourable to women and typically large enrolment 1st and 2nd year classes, regardless of the class subject, represented 14 of the 18 classes with gender differences in academic performances, all of which were more favourable to males than females. No 4th year classes had a gender bias and, curiously, of the only four 3rd year classes with a gendered difference in academic performance, 3 were more favourable to females than to males. Understanding the impact of gender, language and class size on our student population and their influence on academic performance will help us develop actionable measures to improve education outcomes for all our students. However, a deeper understanding of contextual conditions leading to gender disparities in academic performance are needed.

If All the World’s a Stage, Then Where’s Our Microphone?

The paper presents the scientific publication productivity, registered in Web of Science (WoS) databases in two fields of science, Mathematics and Physics, for authors from countries of South East Europe (SEE).Using Revealed Publication Advantage (RPA) indicator calculated for SEE countries, policy makers could get insight into the scientific publication productivity of SEE countries, in these two scientific fields, compared with the world average. The scientific output in Mathematics and Physics from the SEE region represents majority of the overall scientific output in every particular country in this region. The scientific output in Mathematics and Physics from the SEE region is comparable with those of other research groups in the world. When analysing Web of Science publications by field of research, Mathematics represents 2.1% of the total worldwide scientific production, while Physics accounts for 8.8%, giving a total of 10.9% for Physics and Mathematics combined - over 1,547,187 publications in the period 2005-2010. In South East Europe, Mathematics is 3.5% of the total scientific production, while Physics is 9.6% - bringing the total for Physics and Mathematics to 13.1%.

Background:As in other fields of medicine, scientific production in the field of dentistry has significant placement. This study aimed at quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating Iranian researchers’ scientific output in the field of dentistry and determining their contribution in each of dentistry subfields and branches.Methods:This research was a scientometric study that applied quantitative and qualitative indices of Web of Science (WoS). Research population consisted of927indexed documents published under the name of Iran in the time span of 1993-2012 which were extracted from WoS on 10 March 2013. The Mann-Whitney test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to data analyses in SPSS 19.Results:777 (83. 73%) of indexed items of all scientific output in WoS were scientific articles. The highest growth rate of scientific productionwith90% belonged to endodontic sub field. The correlation coefficient test showed that there was a significant positive relationship between the number of documents and their publication age (P < 0. 0001). There was a significant difference between the mean number of published articles in the first ten- year (1993-2003) and that of the second one (2004-2013), in favor of the latter (P = 0. 001).Conclusions:The distribution frequencies of scientific production in various subfields of dentistry were very different. It needs to reinforce the infrastructure for more balanced scientific production in the field and its related subfields.

Disparities in academic performance based on race in the United States are a persistent problem. As a result, a plethora of remedies such as using student-centered instructional strategies, de-tracking, ensuring low teacher–student ratios, and promoting high teacher expectations for all learners have been tried with limited success. Thus, this phenomenological qualitative study explored other possible solutions from the experiences and perspectives of students. Participants were 33 high school students of color.1 Data showed that the participating learners considered the use of culturally inclusive2 teaching practices and learning resources, implemented in caring schools by caring educators a viable solution to issues of poor academic performance among learners of color.

Quality education is understood as one of the most powerful and proven drivers for ensuring sustainable development, which can be applied in various educational contexts, formal and non-formal, and which can generate multiple benefits for the general public. Given its relevance, this article presents a bibliometric approach of the scientific production generated around Sustainable Development Goal (SPG) 4 that seeks to “Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning” as a priority objective of 2030 Agenda. To develop this research, a literature search was conducted in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The final sample was 240 publications. The data were analyzed around ten variables: year of publication, type of document, area of indexation, periodical publications, most productive authors, institutions, countries, languages, most cited articles, and key words. The findings of this study indicate that quality education, within the Sustainable Development Goals, is gaining relevance, with 2019 being the year with the highest scientific production. This is a growing theme that is transmitted mainly through articles and papers in English, and there are no institutions, research groups or authors with a broad scientific background and production. The conclusion is that this bibliometric approach is important and necessary to know the reality of scientific production on this subject and to be able to make proposals and lines of research for its development.

This study used a stratified random sample of classes in Zurich, Switzerland, comprising approximately 2,000 students whose academic performances in math and language were assessed across primary and lower secondary education. Based on this longitudinal data, the study investigated the association of social inequalities with the baseline of, and gains in, academic performance. The study focused on growing social disparities in academic performance during compulsory education, taking into account disparities in the social backgrounds of students as well as in social deprivation of school attendance areas. The results of a multilevel growth curve analysis implemented to model academic performance development at student and school district levels suggest cumulative disadvantages for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These students (a) start school with lower initial knowledge and (b) experience lower improvements in academic performance. The findings also suggest that more advantaged school attendance areas achieved higher average performance levels in the early stages of primary education despite controlling for student socioeconomic backgrounds. On average, however, this gap in academic performance between more advantaged and more deprived attendance areas did not appear to widen over the subsequent years of compulsory schooling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Objectives: This study aims to perform a bibliometric analysis of studies published in international journals affiliated with Turkey in the field of pediatric dentistry and to determine the position of Turkish Pediatric Dentistry at the international level. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted using the 'Web of Science' and 'Scopus' databases. The search was performed by entering the following terms into the databases: 'pediatric dentistry' OR 'paediatric dentistry' OR 'pedodontics' and 'children' AND ('dentistry' OR 'teeth' OR 'tooth' OR 'dental' OR 'caries' OR 'oral health' OR 'oral hygiene'). Subsequently, publications were filtered by selecting 'Turkey' on a country basis. Using the 'bibliometrix' package in RStudio, data obtained from the two databases were merged. The analysis included a total of 1,949 publications. The identified publications were evaluated based on publication years, journals in which they were published, citation counts, authors, affiliated institutions, and preferred keywords. Analyses and visualizations from package in RStudio were utilized. Results: Turkey's international collaboration rate is 5%. The United States emerges as the most frequent collaboration partner, with the journal Dental Traumatology standing out among the sources. Hacettepe University is the most productive institution, with 390 publications. The thematic map reveals that 'pulpotomy,' 'mineral trioxide aggregate,' 'fluoride,' and 'remineralization' are the most actively researched topics. Conclusions: Based on data from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, there has been a significant scientific productivity in the field of Turkish Pediatric Dentistry between 1984 and 2024. In future studies, the comprehensiveness of the results can be expanded by analyzing different databases.

Ethiopia drastically increased the anesthesia workforce density by training associate clinician anesthetists (also referred to as anesthetists) as a task-shifting and sharing strategy. However, there were growing concerns about educational quality and patient safety. Accordingly, to ensure quality education and patient safety, the Ministry of Health mandated the anesthetist national licensing examination (NLE), which is relatively costly for low- and middle-income settings. However, empirical evidence is scarce to support or refute the appropriateness and usefulness of NLE-based pass-or-fail decisions. Therefore, this thesis investigates the broader impact of introducing the anesthetist NLE in Ethiopia, a low-income sub-Saharan African country. Using a pre- and post-evaluation design, chapter Two assesses changes in the quality of anesthetists' education due to integrated program interventions, including an NLE. Chapter Three closely explores the qualitative impact of implementing NLE on the quality of anesthetist education. Chapter Four delves further into the concerns and undesirable consequences of the NLE using a qualitative inquiry. Chapter Five quantifies student academic performance changes following the NLE by retrospectively gathering the academic records of anesthetists who graduated before and after NLE implementation. Chapter Six assesses the relationship between student academic performance and NLE scores and proposes academic performance thresholds that predict failing the NLE. Finally, Chapter Seven investigates the association between anesthetists' NLE scores and the quality of perioperative patient care they deliver. This thesis found that the anesthetist NLE has prompted anesthesia teaching institutions to improve their teaching-learning, assessment, and program quality improvement practices. Implementing NLE is also associated with a modest improvement in the academic performance of anesthetists. Gender disparities in academic performance disappeared following the NLE; even female students performed better in some measurements. The NLE score exhibits a linear relationship with most academic performance measures and an inverse association with the occurrence of critical incidents (including death), indicating that the exam is appropriate for deciding graduates’ readiness. Besides, based on pass/fail thresholds, the NLE could help training programs improve NLE pass rates. Meanwhile, some concerns and unintended consequences of the exam were identified, demanding more work to enhance the exam’s desirable impacts, fairness, and acceptability. On the other hand, the stagnant or declining academic performance among nurse entrants and recently opened university students warrant further investigation. Overall, the thesis findings will add to the existing literature and policymakers' understanding of task-sharing strategies and the implementation of an impactful NLE in Ethiopia and beyond. Regulatory authorities should enhance the impact of NLEs by verifying skill acquisition, enforcing consistent pass-or-fail decisions, and ensuring equitable access to exam-related information. Also, they should standardize education by accrediting training programs and mandating continuing professional development (CPD) to renew licenses. On the other hand, education sector stakeholders should focus on enhancing in-school student assessment systems, establishing targeted student support systems, and transforming training models to meet international standards. However, task-sharing and shifting strategies should not be considered quick fixes to specialist shortages; well-delineated roles and mandatory regulatory frameworks are critical. Future research agendas may include the impact of program accreditation and CPD.

Bibliometric assessment of the global scientific production on Sindbis virus: Implications for Surveillance of Emerging Arboviruses in Latin Americas

Gender equity in academic veterinary science remains underexplored outside of Western countries. This study aimed to evaluate gender representation across academic ranks within veterinary institutions in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. Data on academic staff were collected from 96 veterinary schools across 39 countries between September 2023 and April 2024. Gender was inferred through institutional websites, online academic platforms, and machine-learning tools, and academic ranks were standardised into four categories: Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. Generalised linear models were used to assess the relationship between gender and academic rank in each region. Across all regions, male academics were more represented at higher academic ranks. Female representation declined significantly with increasing rank in all regions (p<0.0001). The percentage of female academics ranged widely, from 7% (Nepal) to 68% (Myanmar and Peru). Asia had the lowest overall female representation (29%), followed by the Middle East (40%), Latin America (43%), and Sub-Saharan Africa (44%). The decline in female representation across ranks was steepest in Asia and the Middle East, while Sub-Saharan Africa exhibited a slower decline and was the only region where female representation increased at the Professor level compared to Associate Professor. Despite regional variation, veterinary academia in non-Western countries remains male-dominated, particularly at senior levels. However, the observed patterns in Africa and Latin America may reflect emerging progress in gender equity. Addressing structural and cultural barriers to academic advancement is essential to support the career progression of women in veterinary science globally.

For long time a quantitative assessment of the productivity of Italian researchers has been lacking; the first and unique assessment was the Three-Year Research Evaluation for the period 2001-2003. Italian Law 240/2010, ruling the organization of research and universities, requires a system for the evaluation of the scientific productivity of Italian researchers. In 2011, both the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) and the National University Council (CUN) proposed a set of evaluation criteria based on a bibliometric approach with indexes calculated using the information from the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WOS) or the Elsevier SciVerse SCOPUS databases. The aim of this study is twofold: (i) to present the results of an assessment of the global aggregated scientific productivity of the Italian forestry community for 1996-2010 using the SCOPUS data available from the on-line SCIMAGO system; and (ii) to compare the WOS and SCOPUS databases with respect to three indexes (number of publications, number of citations, h-index) of the scientific productivity for university forest researchers in Italy. Two subcategories of forestry were considered: AGR05 - forest management and silviculture, and AGR06 - wood technology. Out of a total of 84 authors, 76 were considered in the analysis because not affected by unresolved homonymity or duplication. Overall, the trend in scientific productivity for Italian forestry is promising. Italy ranked 10th in terms of the h-index with an increasing trend in importance relative to other European countries, though the scientific contribution of authors was largely heterogeneous. Both WOS and SCOPUS databases were suitable sources of information for evaluating the scientific productivity of Italian authors. Although the two databases did not produce meaningful differences for any of the three indexes, the advantages and disadvantages of the two sources must be carefully considered if used operationally to evaluate the Italian scientific productivity.

BackgroundA majority of adolescents do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity, while reported levels of mental health problems are increasing, and socioeconomic disparities in academic performance are widening. Many schools are implementing physical activity in different forms, but there is inconclusive evidence on what types of interventions improve mental health, cognitive functions, and academic performance and how to implement such interventions. There is a critical need for integrated, feasible, and equitable interventions. The objective of this study is to develop an effective multi-component school-based intervention that will target both physical activity and homework support during an extended school day and evaluate its effects on mental health, cognitive function and academic performance.MethodsThe study is designed as a cluster-randomised controlled trial with 54 schools and approximately 2,700 students in grade 8 (age 14–15). The intervention includes three weekly 60-minute sessions: (1) Different types of physical activities (2), Homework support with short activity breaks, and (3) Walking and listening to audiobooks. This study will evaluate both outcome effects and implementation process. The primary outcome is anxiety, assessed using the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS-S). Secondary outcomes include physical activity, sedentary time and behaviours measured by accelerometry and questionnaire, cognitive functions assessed by a computer-based test battery, mental health and sleep with questionnaires, and academic performance by grades. Process evaluation will include fidelity, dose, feasibility, acceptability and context, using structured documentation, interviews, focus groups, and observations.The effectiveness of outcomes between groups will be assessed using mixed-effects regression analysis, adjusting for relevant covariates. Process data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and content, and thematic analysis.DiscussionThis study addresses key knowledge gaps in school-based health promotion by integrating physical activity and homework support within the school structure. The results will yield insights into both effectiveness and implementation, informing future policy and practice in schools to promote health and facilitate students’ learning. The intervention targets youth in diverse socioeconomic contexts and is expected to contribute to reducing health and education inequalities.Trial registrationThe trial was retrospectively registered on April 27, 2021. ISRCTN78666212.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-026-26469-3.

Previous research identifies stark socioeconomic disparities in child injuries, yet research on the repercussions hereof on other aspects of children's lives remains sparse. This paper tests whether social gradients in minor traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs or concussions) contribute to corresponding inequalities in children's academic performance. Previous research on this topic is mostly based on small samples and confounded by non-random selection into experiencing mTBIs. We improve on prior research by using high quality, large N, administrative registry data. Further, we control for selection into having an mTBI via comparing the test score progression of children having an mTBI with children who experience an mTBI in later years (staggered difference-in-differences). Based on Danish ER/hospital records and national test score data, we find that children from families with lower earnings and less education are more likely to experience an mTBI and that having an mTBI negatively correlates with reading test scores. However, comparing present with future mTBI cases, we show that having an mTBI within a year before a test does not negatively affect children's reading scores. Our findings suggest that negative correlations between mTBIs and academic performance more likely reflect socioeconomic gradients in mTBI incidents rather than a direct causal effect. Further, socioeconomic gradients in mTBI incidents do not significantly contribute to corresponding disparities in academic performance.