Ajman University Research Articles

A study on calcification, variability of the stylo-mandibular ligament, or styloid process with regard to clinical parameters among United Arab Emirates population

Aim: The styloid process (SP) is often considered elongated when it is longer than 33 mm. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of the elongated styloid process (ESP) among dental patients and the role of dental pathology as a possible etiological factor. Materials and Methods: In total, 2000 consecutive panoramic radiographs of normal people were retrieved from the College of Dentistry, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE, during the 2-year study period. Two calibrated observers evaluated the radiographs to minimize interobserver bias and error. A caliper was used to measure the length (in millimeters of the ESPs directly on the radiographs from the caudal margin of the tympanic plate to the tip of the SP). The ESP was considered present when the measurements were ≥30 mm. Results: This study indicates that the prevalence of the ESP was about 6.9% among the patients who attended the dental school clinic. Of the 2000 panoramic radiographs reviewed, ESP could be measured in 100 cases at least on one side. There was a significant difference between distributions on the left and right sides. The distribution also depends significantly on age and gender. The incidence of related symptoms was higher than that reported in previous studies. Conclusions: The incidence of ESP among dental patients was estimated to be 6.9%, more prevalent among the elderly compared to the young people and bilateral. Odds ratio (OR) in favor of developing ESP in males is 2.378 times more than that in females. In contrast, the OR in favor of having unilateral ESP in males is less than that in females by 0.284.

The performance of inferior alveolar nerve block technique among undergraduate students.

This study aimed at evaluating the ability to feel bone touch, positive aspirations, and frequency of the success rate during the direct inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) among dental students. This prospective cross-sectional study involved 203 cases of IANB injections for patients requiring extraction of mandibular posterior teeth who visited student dental clinics at Ajman University, Fujairah Campus. Students' performance of direct IANB including ability to perceive bone touch, frequency of positive aspirations, and success rate were reported. Students reported feeling bone contact in 148 (72.9%), 43 (21.2%), and 12 (5.9%) of the first, second, and third attempts during the IANB, respectively. Positive aspiration was found in 46 (22.7%) of the injections. The success was in 195 (96.1%) of the total injections. Spearman's correlation coefficient indicated that there was no significant correlation between the success rate and the result of aspiration (rho=.054, p= .440). Additionally, there was no correlation between attempts to touch the bone and the outcome of the aspiration (rho=-.091, p= .198) or success rate (rho=-.083, p= .240). There is a relatively high success rate of direct IANB technique among dental students. This confirms the inclusion of this technique in the curriculum. Furthermore, the high rate of positive aspiration reflects the awareness and competency of dental students with the aspiration technique. In turn, this will reduce the failure of anaesthesia and the subsequent systemic complications.

Assessing The Proximity of the Roots of Maxillary Molars and Premolars to the Maxillary Sinus in UAE Residents

Background: The proximity of the roots of the maxillary posterior teeth (MPT) to the maxillary sinus (MS) may result in an increased risk of the development of MS pathology. Moreover, surgical procedures for the MPT, which are close to the MS can result in several complications like oroantral communication and displacement of roots into the MS. Objective: This cross-sectional study evaluated the MPT's proximity to the MS using digital panoramic radiography in a sample of individuals living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods: A total of 141 panoramic radiographs showing the presence of all MPT were retrieved from the Oral Radiology Department of Ajman University, Fujairah Campus. Thus, the proximity of 1410 MPT to the MS was evaluated on a scale of zero to three. Results: The roots of the first and the second molars are the closest to the MS (χ2 = 374.612; p 0.000). The distance between the roots of MPT and MS did not differ statistically between males and females (χ2 = 2.44, p= .124), nor between the right and left sides (χ2 = 0.46, p= .872). However, there was a highly significant negative correlation between the root-sinus proximity and age. (rho= -.201, p < .001). Conclusion: In UAE residents, the roots of the first and second molars are closer to the MS than other MPT. Therefore, more precautions should be taken when doing a surgical procedure in this region.

Comparative Analysis of Manual Dexterity of Dental Students at Ajman University following One Academic Year of Preclinical Training Sessions: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Dental students must complete two stages of training, namely, preclinical training on phantom head models and clinical training on actual patients to acquire the practical skills required by their Bachelor of Dental Surgery program.Our objectives are to evaluate the level of improvement of the manual skills obtained by third-year dental students after one full academic year of preclinical training courses using dexterity tests under direct and indirect vision and to compare the improvement among male and female dental students under the same conditions. A total of 72 preclinical students participated in our cohort trial, each of whom was assigned a random identification number that was only known to the researchers. After the beginning of the academic year, the experiment was performed under identical conditions for both the O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Test and the Purdue Pegboard Test. The examinations were conducted at two distinct times: T0 before phantom laboratory training (the beginning of preclinical sessions) and T1 after phantom laboratory training (9 months after T0). Signed-rank test of Wilcoxon over two separate periods (T0 and T1), comparisons were made between the direct and indirect visual dexterity test scores. In addition, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare results across gender. The statistical significance (p-value) was set at below 0.05 with a confidence level of 95%. A statistically significant difference was detected between the T0 and T1 assessments on the Purdue Pegboard Test and the O'Connor Tweezer Dexterity Test for all selected dentistry students in both direct and indirect conditions (p < 0.001). Further investigation in other dental departments or schools, particularly those with different entry standards, is required prior to making a definitive conclusion about the use of these dexterity assessments as predictors of prospective dental students' performance.

Dentists' Attitude Towards Dental Treatment of Disabled Patients.

Dental care is widely acknowledged as one of the most significant challenges facing individuals with disabilities. These patients cannot care for themselves and more attention should be paid to these individuals, particularly in oral health care. This research investigates the knowledge and expertise of the dentists at Ajman University regarding the treatment of individuals with disabilities and the factors influencing their ability to treat these patients in private practice. Methods included a descriptive cross-sectional survey employing 18 fixed-choice questions administered to a representative sample of 150 dentists working in the Ajman University area (Both Ajman and Fujairah campuses). Most participants admitted to a lack of ideal expertise in working with individuals with disability. However, being in the minority, such individuals have acceptable experience to provide the first line treatment. The vast majority of participants expressed limitations with their training and limitations with an advanced level of care for this popular one. Other factors influencing the treatment of individuals with disabilities included the time it takes to treat the patients, inability to communicate with such patients, lack of patient collaboration, fear of causing harm to the patient and auxiliary staff and diminished patient compliance.

Development and validation of a novel cosmetics safety assessment scale (CSAS): Factual understanding of cosmetic safety and fostering international awareness

Falsified cosmetics are increasingly common especially online through social media networks and mobile applications. This study developed and validated a novel tool to evaluate the safety of cosmetics and personal care products in the United Araba Emirates (UAE). This is methodological validation study and the data were derived from a cross-sectional study conducted on students and staff at Ajman University (AU) in the UAE. The study sample was selected via simple random sampling. The link to the survey was sent to potential respondents via email, and the responses were analysed using SPSS version 26. Content validity, factor analysis, and known group validity were employed to construct and validate an instrument that will enable the identification of cosmetics safety. The instrument's reliability was evaluated using test-retest reliability, internal consistency, item internal consistency (IIC), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The study sample included 978 participants. The content validity index for the final 24-item scale was 0.84. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was 0.959 with a statistically significant Bartlett's test of sphericity (p &lt;0.001). Factor analysis presented a three-component model. PCFA analysis found good fit values with 0.960 for the normed fit index, 0.977 for the comparative fit index, and 0.987 for the Tucker Lewis Index. All values were in excess of 0.95, and the root mean square error of approximation was below 0.06 (0.03); thus, the model had a good fit. Cronbach's alpha also showed good consistency of the overall instrument (0.963), and all factors had a Cronbach's alpha above 0.70. Each item on the instrument met the IIC correlation standard of ≥ 0.40, and there were good overall ICC statistics of 0.963 (0.959-0.966) for the instrument as a whole with statistical significance (p &lt; 0.001). The instrument's test-retest reliability was assessed by correlating the respondents' identification scores at two time points with a four-week gap revealing a correlation coefficient of 0.870 (p-value &lt;0.01). Participants holding a bachelor's degree were more likely to be able to identify safe and authentic cosmetics than those with a high-school educational level (p = 0.015). This study developed a novel validated instrument to determine the safety of cosmetics. The final questionnaire uses 24 items on three dimensions (13 items on hazard information, eight items on product identity, and three items on product handling and storage). The tool is concise and easy to complete, and it is suitable for use among the general population. The use of this instrument can promote greater collaboration between the consumer health regulatory authorities and inspection authorities thus increasing consumer satisfaction and public participation.

Blended Learning In Higher Education: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study aims to identify and analyze main information, publication growth, the growth of this journal, growth by institution, research productivity, publications by country, publications by subject, publications by document type, thematic maps, network visualization, overlay visualization, density visualization, relationships between authors. The research used bibliometric method. Collecting data by searching through the Scopus database with the keywords Blended Learning in Higher education with the categories Article title, Abstract, Keywords in the period 2005-2021. Data were analyzed by year, author, origin of author and subject using Microsoft Excel 2010. Meanwhile, the publication development map was analyzed using R-Studio software, and VosViewer. The research results from this article itself found that the USA was the most contributing country regarding the topic of Blended Learning in Higher education with 16 documents and the most productive author on the topic of blended Learning in Higher Education was Najeh Alsalhi from Ajman University with 4 documents. Originality This study is the first to review and map the study of Blended Learning in Higher Education using bibliometric analysis, using data from year to year. All articles published in the journal have been reviewed in terms of methodology, country/country group of cases and topics/subtopics for future research.

The Specifics of Teaching Social Work at Universities in Arab Countries

The processes of democratization, observed in recent years in the traditionally conservative Arab world, actualize the need for social workers, so the aim of the study was to study the features of teaching social work in Arab communities. Twelve universities with undergraduate programs in social work were randomly selected to compare these universities' curricula and social work programs and Ajman University. One conclusion is that social work programs in Arab communities should rely on traditional values of Islamic culture and legal literacy to achieve professionally necessary competence. Improvement of curricula and social work programs following international standards of the profession and taking into account the ethnocultural and religious characteristics of the Arab world will provide the Arab communities with highly qualified social workers who can competently provide support to the needy population categories.

Prevalence of Insomnia among university students in the United Arab Emirates

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of insomnia among three United Arab Emirates (UAE) university students, of different majors; namely, Ajman University, University of Sharjah and the American University of Sharjah from March 2021 to June 2021, through comparing components of everyday behavioral activities with their sleep patterns and overall sleep quality. The questionnaire was distributed in two forms; online via the Planet Survey Website and paper-based. Three hundred and eighty out of four hundred, with 95% response rate, UAE university students, 48.7% males and 51.3% females, average aged 24 years completed a questionnaire on insomnia that includes sociodemographic, the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and lifestyle details. Most of the participants were Muslims (95.5%), 74.5% of them were Arabs, 94.3% were singles and 91.6% were full-time students. The resultant prevalence of insomnia among the students was assessed by three criteria. These are, time to fall asleep, quality of sleep and respondents with and without problem sleeping. With respect to time to fall asleep, 51.8% of respondents needs ≥ 30 minutes to fall asleep, 29.2% of them were females and 22.6% males. Regarding quality of sleep, both genders scored almost identical figures of 19.5% and 2% for fairly and bad quality of sleep respectively. With respect to problem sleeping, 37.9% of respondents were having problem sleeping, 22.4% of them females and 15.5% males. Our results identified some significant relations between some sleep disorders and behavior or diseases. Nightmares had a significant relation with listening to rap music (p&lt;0.031), play with cell phone or tablet before sleeping (p &lt;0.023), drinking tea and coffee (p&lt;0.004), energy drinks (p&lt;0.034) take a medicine to promote sleeping (p &lt;0.017), as well as allergic rhinitis (p&lt;0.009). Whereas falling experience had a significant relation with listening to pop music (p&lt;0.018), play with cell phone or tablet before sleeping (p&lt;0.009) and diseases like hypothyroidism (p&lt;0.009) and diabetes (p&lt;0.009). On the other hand, spinning room experience had a significant relation with cardiac diseases (p&lt;0.019), take a medicine to promote sleeping (p&lt;0.003), hyperthyroidism (p &lt;0.009) and listening to rap music (p&lt;0.015). The results also identified that sleep-walk had a significant relation with listening to rock music (p&lt;0.050), and rap music (p&lt; 0.035) before bed. Whereas sleep-talk had a significant relation with asthma (p&lt;0.048) and hypertension (p&lt; 0.034). This study provides preliminary data on sleep quality and risk factors for insomnia, which may be used to guide sleep hygiene promotion and intervention among university students.

A neuro-fuzzy model for predicting and analyzing student graduation performance in computing programs

Predicting student’s successful completion of academic programs and the features that influence their performance can have a significant effect on improving students’ completion, and graduation rates and reduce attrition rates. Therefore, identifying students are at risk, and the courses where improvements in content, delivery mode, pedagogy, and assessment activities can improve students’ learning experience and completion rates. In this work, we have developed a prediction and explanatory model using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) methodology to predict the grade point average (GPA), at graduation time, of students enrolled in the information technology program at Ajman University. The approach adopted uses students’ grades in introductory and fundamental IT courses and high school grade point average (HSGPA) as predictors. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the model to quantify the relative significance of each predictor in explaining variations in graduation GPA. Our findings indicate HSGPA is the most influential factor in predicting graduation GPA, with data structures, operating systems, and software engineering coming closely in second place. On the explanatory side, we have found that discrete mathematics was the most influential course causing variations in graduation GPA, followed by software engineering, information security, and HSGPA. When we ran the model on the testing data, 77% of the predicted values fell within one root mean square error (0.29) of the actual GPA, which has a maximum of four. We have also shown that the ANFIS approach has better predictive accuracy than commonly used techniques such as multilinear regression. We recommend that IT programs at other institutions conduct comparable studies and shed some light on our findings.

Implementation of E-exams during the COVID-19 pandemic: A quantitative study in higher education.

The primary aim of this study was to identify the degree of acceptance of e-exams by undergraduate students at Ajman University during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used the descriptive approach. A questionnaire consisting of 27 items was distributed to 1986 undergraduate students. The results of the study showed that undergraduate students demonstrated a moderate degree of acceptance of the implementation of e-exams during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, with females students finding them more acceptable than male students. Discipline and academic year also showed an impact on such acceptance, with Pharmacy & Health Science College students, and those in their third academic year demonstrating the highest levels of acceptance. Implications of the study raise awareness of the importance of addressing challenges associated with e-exams such as strict computer technology settings.

An integrated curriculum of virtual/augmented reality for multiple design students

With the rapid digital developments, the practice and study of VR/AR technologies reached almost all the design disciplines by considering different applications. Therefore, there is continuous pressure on design education, where course programs in graphic design, media design, fashion design, and product design must promptly incorporate these new technologies and create complete unity between the various design professions. This paper provides a careful examination of case studies in literature and consideration of utility for the profession through a curriculum of virtual and augmented reality technologies with specifications that suit multiple areas of design (product and graphic design). This approach demystifies these new technologies from the design process to product marketing. Interviews and discussions were conducted with a sample of approximately 100 participants (60% students, 30% design educators, 10% designers, and employers). The study included different universities from UAE, Egypt, and Italy. During the academic year 2020/2021. Furthermore, the results of this research were applied to design the Virtual Reality and its Derivatives course within the new study plan of the Graphic Design Department, College of Mass Communication at Ajman University in the United Arab Emirates.

Assessing public knowledge, attitudes and determinants of third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose acceptance: current scenario and future perspectives

BackgroundPeople with weakened immune systems may not develop adequate protection after taking two doses of the mRNA-combined COVID-19 vaccine. The additional dose may improve the level of protection against Covid-19.ObjectivesCurrent study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and determents of third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose acceptance among population in the UAE.Methods and materialsThis is online descriptive cross-sectional community-based study conducted among the students and faculty of Ajman University from 25 August to 20 October 2021. The questionnaire, which was in the English language, encompassed two sections containing 22 items. Section one gathered the demographic details of the respondents, while Section two used 13 questions to evaluate the respondents’ knowledge of and attitude to the third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose.Results614 respondents participated in this study. The average knowledge score was 44.6% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [41%, 49%]. Better knowledge scores were observed in postgraduates (OR 4.29; 95% CI 2.28–8.11), employees in the healthcare sector (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.05–2.51), participants who had relatives infected with the Covid-19 (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.05–2.02), participants who had infected with Covid-19 (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.43–3.43) and participants who had received first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.40–3.11). The average attitude score was 70.2% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [69.2%, 71.2%].ConclusionNecessary steps should be taken by the government and public health authorities, in line with the local culture, to increase vaccination acceptance and foster positive attitudes towards the vaccine. A suitable approach to this would be to develop an educational framework that could demonstrate the risks of vaccine avoidance or delay to the general population. Moreover, health authorities should pay more attention to the false information being disseminated across the internet, especially social media. Also, healthcare workers should be trained in vaccinology and virology to make sure that they are able to understand important developments in these fields and convey the findings to their patients.

Exploring the Gap Between Knowledge and Behavior Regarding Thalassemia Among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in the United Arab Emirates.

Thalassemia is humanity's most common genetic disorder and represents a serious healthcare challenge in the United Arab Emirates. Increasing awareness is a crucial part of any successful strategy to prevent thalassemia. This research examined knowledge levels and attitudes regarding thalassemia screening, counseling, and monitoring from medical and nonmedical students at Ajman University. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted among a convenience sample of Ajman university students in the UAE. A questionnaire was distributed which was composed of three main sections. The first section covered participants' demographic data. The second section covered general knowledge of thalassemia and its screening measures. The third section assessed risk factors, regulations, and preventive measures. The data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24. A total of 523 participants completed the whole survey. Generally, there was a good level of awareness of thalassemia and thalassemia screening among participants. Approximately three-quarters of participants (76.5%) agreed that thalassemia screening should be compulsory for the individual and the majority of students and 92.7% recognized the importance of thalassemia screening for both partners. Approximately three-quarters (75.9%) of participants disagreed that fetuses with thalassemia should be aborted. More than half of the participants disagreed that thalassemia carriers and patients should be prevented from marrying each other. Generally, older respondents (final year students), respondents who had dealt with thalassemia patients, and respondents with relatives with thalassemia had more comprehensive knowledge of thalassemia. Campaigns focusing on college and university students should be regarded as an essential element of the thalassemia prevention strategy for contemporary UAE society.

CrossQuestion Game: A Group-Based Assessment for Gamified Flipped Classroom Experience Using the ARCS Model

The importance of formal online education has been felt like never before because of the ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and academics are continuously experimenting with combinations of established pedagogies, tools, and technologies to enhance or sustain the student learning process and motivation. For this study, we have designed and developed a multi-player game called CrossQuestion to explore the combined effect of applying gamification and flipped classroom pedagogies using the ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) model guidelines and its application in the obligatory IT foundation online course during the pandemic. We delivered this course to 79 undergraduate (mostly) non-IT students in Ajman University, UAE. Students were randomly divided into a non-gamified cohort (35 students gone through lecture-based instructions and paper-based assessments–Spring 2019-20–pre-COVID-19 face to face environment) and a gamified flipped classroom cohort (44 students, played the CrossQuestion game–Spring 2020-21–during COVID-19 online environment). We collected the survey data anonymously through our customized Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) tool and then performed descriptive analysis, t-test, and regression analysis to address the research hypothesis. We found a significant relationship between learning motivational factors and learning effectiveness. We also found the positive influence of our game on students’ motivation.

Does General and Specific Traits of Personality Predict Students' Academic Performance?

Methods The study includes all fifth-year dental students registered at the College of Dentistry, Ajman University, in 2019/2020. One hundred and seventy students were invited to complete personality and performance measures using the Big Five Inventory (BFI) scale; the weighted grade point average (GPA) was used to assess students' academic performance. Results Of the 170 participants, 60% were female and 40% were male. Participants ranged in age from twenty-four to twenty-seven years, with an average age of twenty-four years. There was a relationship between personality scores obtained for the students and their subsequent academic performance. The broad conscientiousness, competence, achievement, and dutifulness predicted academic and clinical success. The prediction accuracy of conscientiousness was improved by the inclusion of dutifulness, self-discipline, and deliberation. Conclusion This study confirms that the students' personality profile is a substantial predictor of academic performance and likely to help select future intakes of students, although a prospective study would be required for a definite answer to this question.

Prevalence, Knowledge and Potential Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability Among University Students in the United Arab Emirates: Findings and Implications.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence, knowledge, attitude and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines and related factors among university students in the United Arab Emirates.MethodsAnalytical cross-sectional study undertaken among a convenient sample of medical and non-medical colleges of Ajman University using a self-administrated questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic data as well as assessing knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.ResultsA total of 467 students participated in the study and completed the questionnaire. A total of 181 (38.8%) participants reported that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 virus, principally with the Sinopharm vaccine (84%). Vaccination against the COVID-19 virus was less prevalent among Arabic nationalities compared to other nationalities, but more prevalent among students from health science colleges compared to those from non-health science colleges. The acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccine among study participants was 56.3%, exacerbated by worries regarding unforeseen problems (65.5%, 306), general mistrust (47.3%, 221) and unforeseen impacts (35.1%, 164). The average knowledge score was 60.1%, with 142 (30.4%) having poor knowledge, 127 (27.2%) acceptable knowledge and 198 (42.4%) good knowledge. There were common misconceptions about symptoms including nausea and diarrhoea, as well as the route of transmission, with half believing antibiotics are effective treatment.ConclusionThere was variable knowledge of COVID-19 among students. Misconceptions need addressing going forward. To enhance COVID-19 vaccination uptake in the country and worldwide, health education targeting diverse sociodemographic categories should be prioritized.

Assessment of the convergence angle of teeth prepared for full crown by preclinical dental students

The objective of this study was to measure the buccolingual and mesiodistal convergence angles of six typodont teeth (# 26, 36, 45, 15, 21, and 13), prepared by preclinical dental students at Ajman University, for porcelain fused to a metal full crown and to compare them with the recommended convergence angle (6.5°). Additionally, we sought to compare the angles recorded for the six sets of teeth and relate the results according to the tooth position and surface and to know which one shows the greater tendency of straying from the normal convergence angle. Materials and methods: The angle of convergence of one hundred ninety-eight typodont teeth preparations was measured both buccolingually and mesiodistally by using a Dino-lite pro digital microscope (AM-413ZT Taiwan) with a Dinocapture (2.0 version 1.5.27.A, AnMo Electronics Corporation). All the results were recorded, and the data were analyzed by means of a one-sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results: The mean total convergence angle for this study was 11.29°± 6.66° from both surfaces, which is greater than the recommended value of 6.5° and statistically significant (p&lt;0.000). Only 7.07% of teeth met the ideal convergence angle from both surfaces, and the one-sample test showed a statistically significant difference (p&lt;0.057) from the recommended convergence angle, except for the mesiodistal convergence angle of the lower-right second premolar, which revealed no significant difference. The mean convergence angle for the buccolingual surface was 12.42°± 6.16°, which was higher than that of the mesiodistal surface (10.16°± 7°). One-way ANOVA showed a significant difference between all selected teeth (p&lt;0.000), and a paired samples t-test showed a significant difference within two teeth only, the lower-right second premolar and upper-right canine (p&lt;0.000), in which the mesiodistal measurement showed a lower convergence angle than the buccolingual angle. Conclusions: Preclinical students prepared teeth with a convergence angle higher than the recommended convergence angle. However, all the recorded angles were within the range of previous studies. It was concluded that the recommended convergence angle was difficult to achieve in preclinical practice.

Variations of the Mesiodistal width of permanent teeth in a sample of patients attending Ajman University Dental College

The current study aims to measure the variations of the mesiodistal width of permanent teeth in a sample of patients attending Ajman University Dental Hospital. Materials and Method: A Descriptive cross-sectional study of 85 pretreatment study casts of patients (M:33, F:52) aged between 11-38 attending the Orthodontic unit at Ajman University Dental Hospital. The samples were selected randomly for measurements, which were performed using an electronic digital calibre. The width of an individual tooth is measured accurately from the mesial contact point to the distal contact point. The measurement was performed for all the 12 maxillary and mandibular teeth (from 16 to 26 and 36 to 46). The data put up in an excel sheet and sent to the statistician for analysis. Results: Class I and II showed a higher overall ratio and anterior ratio in males with no difference between the gender neither in the anterior or the overall ratio. At the same time, Class III malocclusion had a significant difference in both overall and anterior ratios. The maxillary 1st premolars and 2nd premolars teeth have insignificant mesiodistal differences between genders, while the maxillary canine and the 2nd premolar have a significant difference between right and left quadrants. The mandibular teeth showed no significant difference in mesiodistal width between right and left quadrants. Conclusion: The insignificant difference between the sample and Bolton in the anterior and posterior ratios in Class I &amp; II cases explain the similarity of the racial feature. There is a significant difference in Class III between our sample and the Bolton original work.

Perceived Stress and Quality of Life Among Final-Year Pharmacy Students in the United Arab Emirates During COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.

BackgroundCoronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused huge disruptions worldwide affecting most people including university students. The impact of the pandemic lockdown on pharmacy students’ stress levels and quality of life (QoL) is not well studied. This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on perceived stress levels and QoL among final-year undergraduate pharmacy students at Ajman University, United Arab Emirates (UAE).MethodsA cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted among final-year Bachelor of Pharmacy students at Ajman University during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The perceived stress scale and World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered through Google Forms. The filled responses were exported to IBM SPSS statistics, Version 26, scored as per the standard scoring procedures, and analyzed to answer the study objectives. Since the data were not distributed normally (p=0.000, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test), non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney test and Kruskal–Wallis test) were performed to compare the median (IQR) scores with demographic parameters at an alpha value of 0.05.ResultsOf the eligible 94 students, 81 (male=16, 19.8%, female = 65, 80.2%) responded. The perceived stress level due to COVID-19 among the participants of a score of 24 suggests that the students suffered a “moderate” level of stress with no statistical significance between genders regardless of the place of residence in the seven Emirates (p=0.371) of the UAE. During the previous month of conducting the survey, 40.7% (n=33) of the respondents “very often” felt nervous and 22% (n=18) “fairly often” felt nervous with a median (IQR) score 3 (2–4); 3 denotes ‘sometimes’. Of the respondents, 6.2% (n=14) “very often” and 21% (n=17) “fairly often” felt that things were going their own way. Regarding the QoL statements, a median (IQR) score of 3 (3–4) was obtained for the question on “How much do you enjoy life?”, and the median scores were “4 (very much)” for more than half of the statements overall denoting a better QoL. The study reported females to have more physical pain, which may prevent them from carrying out their daily activities, than males (p=0.001) reflecting a better QoL among males over females during the lockdown. It also reflects a higher need for medications among females compared to males (p=0.014). All participants showed negative feelings, which is more apparent among male participants (4, 3–4.5) when compared to female participants (3, 2–3) (P = 0.001).ConclusionThe impact of COVID-19 lockdown on perceived stress and self-reported QoL is minimum. Age, gender and other demographic factors had little or no effect on stress levels, but gender influenced “experience of physical pain” and “requirement for medications”, with more likelihood in females. Student friendly educational approaches and proper implementation of educational reforms can help minimizing student stress and improving QoL during vulnerable times like lockdowns.