scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Efficacy of LED Light Curing Units in Primary and Secondary Dental Settings in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Altaie ◽  
MA Hadis ◽  
V Wilson ◽  
MJ German ◽  
BR Nattress ◽  
...  

SUMMARY Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the irradiance and the quality of LED light curing units (LCUs) in primary and secondary clinics in the UK and to assess the effect of damage, contamination, use of protective sleeves, and distance of light tips to target on the irradiance and performance of LCUs. Methods: The irradiance levels (mW/cm2) of 26 LED LCUs from general dental practices and 207 LED LCUs from two dental hospitals were measured using a digital radiometer (Blue Phase II, Ivoclar, Vivadent, Amherst, NY). Ten LED light guide tips (Satelec Mini, Acteon, Merignac, France) were selected to evaluate the effect of chipping, contamination (tip debris), and use of protective sleeves and tips to sensor distance on irradiance (mW/cm2) using a MARC Resin Calibrator (Blue Light Analytics, Halifax, Canada). Homogeneity of the light output was evaluated using a laser beam profiler (SP620; Ophir-Spiricon, North Longan, UT, USA). Statistical analysis was conducted using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Tukey test (α=0.05) and linear regression with stepwise correlation tests. Results: Thirty-three percent of the LCUs delivered irradiance output less than 500 mW/cm2. The condition of the light curing tips was poor, with 16% contaminated with resin debris, 26% damaged, and 10% both contaminated and damaged. The irradiance output was significantly reduced in contaminated (62%) and chipped (50%) light curing tips and when using protective sleeves (24%) (p<0.05). Irradiance was also reduced when increasing the distance with 25% and 34% reduction at 7 mm and 10 mm, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: There remains a lack of awareness of the need for regular monitoring and maintenance of dental LCUs. Damaged and contaminated light curing tips, use of protective sleeves, and increasing the distance from the restoration significantly reduced the irradiance output and the performance of the LCUs.

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-307
Author(s):  
Carolina Muñoz-Guzmán

The analyses of the contesting moment social work faces in the United Kingdom bring to discussion many claims that appear familiar to the context and performance of social work in Chile. This note compares the UK assessment of social work education and professional practice with Chilean social work, concluding that rising demand, high vacancy rates and reliance on agency staff, quality of recruits and training, and low status of the profession are issues shared by both countries, raising the question of how to improve international standards of the profession.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Majsiak ◽  
Magdalena Choina ◽  
Dominik Golicki ◽  
Alastair M. Gray ◽  
Bożena Cukrowska

Abstract Background Coeliac disease (CD) is characterised by diverse clinical symptoms, which may cause diagnostic problems and reduce the patients’ quality of life. A study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that the mean time between the onset of coeliac symptoms and being diagnosed was above 13 years. This study aimed to analyse the diagnostic process of CD in Poland and evaluate the quality of life of patients before and after CD diagnosis. In addition, results were compared to the results of the original study conducted in the UK. Methods The study included 2500 members of the Polish Coeliac Society. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire containing questions on socio-demographic factors, clinical aspects and quality of life, using the EQ-5D questionnaire. Questionnaires received from 796 respondents were included in the final analysis. Results The most common symptoms reported by respondents were bloating (75%), abdominal pain (72%), chronic fatigue (63%) and anaemia (58%). Anaemia was the most persistent symptom, with mean duration prior to CD diagnosis of 9.2 years, whereas diarrhoea was observed for the shortest period (4.7 years). The mean duration of any symptom before CD diagnosis was 7.3 years, compared to 13.2 years in the UK. CD diagnosis and the introduction of a gluten-free diet substantially improved the quality of life in each of the five EQ-5D-5L health dimensions: pain and discomfort, anxiety and depression, usual activities, self-care and mobility (p < 0.001), the EQ-Index by 0.149 (SD 0.23) and the EQ-VAS by 30.4 (SD 28.3) points. Conclusions Duration of symptoms prior to the diagnosis of CD in Poland, although shorter than in the UK, was long with an average of 7.3 years from first CD symptoms. Faster CD diagnosis after the onset of symptoms in Polish respondents may be related to a higher percentage of children in the Polish sample. Introduction of a gluten-free diet improves coeliac patients’ quality of life. These results suggest that doctors should be made more aware of CD and its symptoms across all age groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nando Sigona ◽  
Jotaro Kato ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova

AbstractThe article examines the migration infrastructures and pathways through which migrants move into, through and out of irregular status in Japan and the UK and how these infrastructures uniquely shape their migrant experiences of irregularity at key stages of their migration projects.Our analysis brings together two bodies of migration scholarship, namely critical work on the social and legal production of illegality and the impact of legal violence on the lives of immigrants with precarious legal status, and on the role of migration infrastructures in shaping mobility pathways.Drawing upon in-depth qualitative interviews with irregular and precarious migrants in Japan and the UK collected over a ten-year period, this article develops a three-pronged analysis of the infrastructures of irregularity, focusing on infrastructures of entry, settlement and exit, casting a comparative light on the mechanisms that produce precarious and expendable migrant lives in relation to access to labour and labour conditions, access and quality of housing and law enforcement, and how migrants adapt, cope, resist or eventually are overpowered by them.


Author(s):  
Dave Ayre

This chapter assesses the history of the relationship between public and private sectors and the extent to which the political and regulatory environment of governments and institutions such as the European Union (EU) can help or hinder the efforts of public bodies in seeking to deliver services that determine the health and quality of life for communities. The relationship of public and private sectors in the United Kingdom (UK) and the commissioning, procurement, and development of public–private partnerships is driven by the prevailing political and economic environment. However, rigorous academic research on the benefits of partnering to organisations, societies and between countries is limited. Evidence is needed to fill the policy vacuum. A bolder approach is necessary to work with public and private sectors to develop and implement successful partnering alternatives to the outsourcing of public services. The growing catalogue of outsourcing failures in construction, probation, rail franchising, health, and social care is creating an appetite for change, and the exit of the UK from the EU provides the opportunity.


Author(s):  
Ian Thompson ◽  
Gabrielle Ivinson

Poverty blights the lives of children and young people. Research has consistently shown that the most economically disadvantaged pupils across the United Kingdom (UK) have the poorest educational outcomes and that poverty has a pernicious effect on children’s well-being. However, far less is known about the ways that poverty is differentially experienced for children and young people in schools within the four jurisdictions of the UK. Are there historical, social and cultural factors that make poverty a postcode lottery in terms of quality of schooling in the different parts of the UK? Are successful local interventions context specific as the research evidence seems to suggest or can we learn from particular regions or cities? This introduction points out that anxieties about growing educational inequality in the UK have to be contextualised historically, geographically and in terms of the distinct political and socio-economic landscapes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


Author(s):  
Margaret O’Brien ◽  
Sara Connolly ◽  
Svetlana Speight ◽  
Matthew Aldrich ◽  
Eloise Poole

This chapter examines contemporary fathering practices in the UK liberal welfare state context, where recent legislation has expanded fathers’ access to work-family reconciliation rights, albeit rather minimally. Data are provided to explore whether the new cultural mandate for active fathers holds for the quantity and the quality of time fathers spend with young children. Time use and employment activity data does show an increase in British fathers’ care time and a reduction in paid work time over the decade. Since 2003 British fathers can take two weeks paid leave after the birth of a child, and by the end of the decade over 90% of fathers took significant post-birth leave. However, British fathers, continue to have one of the longest working weeks and highest level of work–family conflict amongst European fathers. In the absence of stronger work–family reconciliation measures, underlying maternalist and modified breadwinner cultures remain resilient.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Lewis ◽  
John Wattis

ABSTRACTProvision for old people who are in need of continuing care requires close co-operation between informal carers and different agencies and disciplines providing health and social care. In the United Kingdom, the present system of care has evolved from earlier patterns of care centred on the asylums and the poor law with its workhouse institutions. It lacks cohesion. Despite the designation of old people as a priority group, resources are still inadequate to provide a good quality of care. Organisational differences between health and social services can lead to inefficient use of existing resources. More specialised medical, psychiatric and social services for old people enhance the possibilities for co-operation even though they may appear to lead to greater fragmentation. The history of the development of these services in the UK, including the recent expansion of private sector care, is reviewed, with special attention from the medical perspective to the phenomenon of ‘bed blocking’. The recently published Griffiths Report on community care is briefly considered, and some principles for future developments are laid down.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 275-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Campbell ◽  
Elaine H. Coulter ◽  
Paul Mattison ◽  
Angus McFadyen ◽  
Linda Miller ◽  
...  

Background: According to current UK guidelines, everyone with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) should have access to an MS specialist, but levels of access and use of clinical services is unknown. We sought to investigate access to MS specialists and use of clinical services and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) by people with progressive MS in the United Kingdom. Methods: A UK-wide online survey was conducted via the UK MS Register. The inclusion criteria were age 18 years or older, primary or secondary progressive MS, and a member of the UK MS Register. Participants were asked about access to MS specialists, recent clinical service use, receipt of regular review, and current and previous DMT use. Participant demographic data, quality of life, and disease impact measures were from the UK MS Register. Results: In total, 1298 individuals responded: 7% were currently taking a DMT, 23% had previously taken a DMT, and 95% reported access to an MS specialist. The most used practitioners were MS doctors/nurses (50%), general practitioners (45%), and physiotherapists (40%). Seventy-four percent of participants received a regular review, although 37% received theirs less often than annually. Current DMT use was associated with better quality of life, but past DMT use was associated with poorer quality of life and higher impact of disease. Conclusions: Access to and use of MS specialists was high. However, a gap in service provision was highlighted in both receipt and frequency of regular reviews.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Pontes ◽  
Nick Lewis ◽  
Paul McFarlane ◽  
Patrick Craig

Purpose This paper aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering (AML) regime in the UK and explore opportunities to improve policy and performance. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews and a focus group with practitioners from both public and private sectors. Findings This paper identifies preventive measures are underfunded by the public sector; there is a disconnect between the regulatory requirement and the regulators’ supervisory approach leading to the ineffective application of the risk-based approach; and authorities have limited ability to stop low-utility reports. Increased collaboration across institutions and sectors, better utilisation of innovative technologies and a sustainable funding plan are needed to drive a collective response to money laundering. Research limitations/implications Few practitioners in the industry have the knowledge and expertise to discuss the topic at a strategic level and participants were limited (n = 8). Practical implications This paper adds to the growing corpus of research showing that the AML regime in the UK is ineffective and needs reform. Social implications This paper encourages practitioners to improve the AML regime, this research contributes to the reform of the existing measures against financial crime. Originality/value This paper presents new data from AML practitioners to provide a better understanding of the limitations of the AML regime in the UK.


Healthcare ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenella Corrick ◽  
Imti Choonara ◽  
Sharon Conroy ◽  
Helen Sammons

Rational prescribing tools can be used by individual prescribers, organisations, and researchers to evaluate the quality of prescribing for research and quality improvement purposes. A literature search showed that there is only one tool for evaluating rational prescribing for paediatric patients in hospital and outpatient settings. The Pediatrics: Omission of Prescriptions and Inappropriate Prescriptions (POPI) tool was developed in France and comprises 105 criteria. The aim of this study was to modify this tool to facilitate its use in paediatric practice in the United Kingdom (UK). POPI criteria were compared to relevant UK clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network and the British National Formulary for Children. Where guidelines differed, criteria were modified to reflect UK guidance. If there were no relevant guidelines or directly contradictory guidelines, criteria were removed. Overall, no change was made to 49 criteria. There were 29 modified to concord with UK guidelines. Four criteria were reduced to two criteria due to being linked in single guidelines. Twenty-three criteria were omitted, due to the absence of relevant UK guidance or directly conflicting UK practice, including one entire clinical category (mosquitos). One category title was amended to parallel UK terminology. The modified POPI (UK) tool comprises of eighty criteria and is the first rational prescribing tool for the evaluation of prescribing for children in hospital and outpatient settings in the UK.


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