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Introduction: Substance use including tobacco and alcohol is the most important cause of preventable morbidity, disability, and premature mortality. The study aims to specify the prevalence and the pattern of use of different substance. Methods: A cross sectional study was performed amongst first year and final year students in four medical colleges in Kathmandu using self administered anonymous questionnaire.Data collectedfrom 446 students were analyzed. Results: Prevalence of substance use was found to be 60.3% among the medical students. Alcohol (57.6%) was the substance most prevalently used followed by tobacco (27.58%) and cannabis (12.8%). Mean age of first exposure was 17.94 (Confidence interval: 17.91-17.97). There was significant difference in the useof tobacco and cannabis amongst final year students than first year students. Male and female differed significantly in use of every substance except for benzodiazepine. Medical college, college and school were place of first exposure in 17.26%, 15.92% and 13.23% of the cases respectively. Family history was associated with substance use in medical students and was statistically significant (P<0.0001).Experimentation was the major reason for the use of most of the substances. Conclusions: Substance use is prevalent in male medical students of both first and final year. Hence steps should be initiated early in school, college and medical college to prevent substance use. Keywords: alcohol, medical students, substance use, tobacco.

Introduction: Denture adhesive (DA) is defined as a material used to adhere a denture to the oral mucosa. It plays an important role in the retention and the functional comfort among denture wearers. There are conflicting views in dentistry regarding the use of denture adhesives in clinical practice. Therefore, the main purpose of the study is to reveal the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding denture adhesives among the dental practitioners of Chitwan district, Nepal. Materials and Methods: A 20 item questionnaire was distributed among the registered dental practitioners of Chitwan districts using online google forms and the printed questionnaires were distributed personally to the practitioners who were accessible. Data were entered into Microsoft 2007 excel sheet and descriptive statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Results: The results showed that 69.1% of General dental practitioners and 50% of other specialists had average knowledge while all the prosthodontics had good knowledge regarding denture adhesives. About 96.80% of General dental practitioners, 60% of other specialists frequently use denture adhesive in their practice. Only 20.2% of general dental practitioners and 20% of other specialists knew the adverse effects of zinc-containing denture adhesives. Most of the dental practitioners (93%) used powder form of denture adhesives. Conclusion: Most of the dental practitioners of Chitwan had fair knowledge, attitude and practice regarding denture adhesives.

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology is used as a primary diagnostic tool in thyroid lesions. But the bloody smears caused by negative pressure during aspiration compromise cellular concentration and cell morphology which may lead to its improper interpretation. FNNAC avoids active aspiration and depends on capillary tension to collect tissue sample in the needle bore, thus reducing bleeding and tissue trauma to the highly vascular thyroid. Material and Methods: This is a one year prospective study where FNNAC and FNAC were done on 87 patients. Cytopathologist was blind folded regarding the technique used and was asked to score the quality of slide base of Mair scoring system.Results: FNAC yielded significantly better material on the basis of hemorrhage and cellularity. Fifty six (64.37%) cases showed adequate diagnostic material in FNNAC technique while 54/87 (62.05%) cases showed adequate diagnostic material in FNAC technique. Twelve (13.79%) cases showed unsuitable diagnostic material in FNNAC technique and 26/ 87 (29.89%) cases unsuitable diagnostic material in FNAC technique. Among the individual criteria used in Mair scoring system, background clot/ blood was significantly low in FNNAC than FNAC with the p value less than 0.001. Amount of cellular material was significantly more in FNNAC with p value less than 0.001.Conclusion: FNNAC yielded more cellular and less hemorrhagic material and more diagnostic superior material than FNAC. Since thyroid is a highly vascular gland, FNNAC should be used instead of FNAC for less hemorrhagic and more cellular material.

The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Covid-19 as a pandemic as it has spread globally. Understanding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) global dispersal pattern, it is important to know the environmental parameters within which the virus survives. There is adequate evidence in epidemiological and biological aspects to prove human beings are prone to viral pathogens such as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza virus in cold weather. Apart from the influence of seasonality, other factors that might impact the rate of virus spread includes the effectiveness of infection control practices, individual behavior and immunity, and emergency preparedness levels of countries. This viewpoint highlights the potential influence of weather conditions, seasons, and non-climatological factors on the geographical spread of cases of COVID-19 across the globe.