A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted on female university students (N = 1106) to explore their knowledge and misconceptions on breastfeeding. Most participants recognized the benefits of breastfeeding, but only a few were aware of the recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life. Misconceptions were common; 66%, 60%, and 55% of participants thought mothers should temporarily stop breastfeeding if they had a fever, skin rash, or sore throat, respectively. Approximately 20% thought mothers should stop breastfeeding if the child had diarrhea, vomiting, or skin rash. Support of breastfeeding in public places was low, but 38% supported breastfeeding in female prayer rooms in public places. Efforts should be made to correct common misconceptions on breastfeeding and increase the support of breastfeeding in public places among university students. Female prayer rooms that exist in all public places in Kuwait can be used to promote breastfeeding in public places in Kuwait.
One of the aims in the clinical operative management of dental carious lesions is to remove selectively the highly infected and structurally denatured dentine tissue, while retaining the deeper, repairable affected and intact, healthy tissues for long-term mechanical strength. The present study examined the correlation of chemical functional groups and the microhardness through the different depths of a carious lesion using Raman spectroscopy and Knoop microhardness testing. The null hypothesis investigated was that there was no correlation between Raman peak ratios (amide I : phosphate
ν1
) and equivalent Knoop microhardness measurements. Ten freshly extracted human permanent teeth with carious dentine lesions were sectioned and examined using high-resolution Raman microscopy. The ratio of absorbency at the amide I and phosphate bands were calculated from 139 scan points through the depth of the lesions and correlated with 139 juxtaposed Knoop microhardness indentations. The results indicated a high correlation (
p
< 0.01) between the peak ratio and the equivalent Knoop hardness within carious dentine lesions. This study concluded that Raman spectroscopy can be used as a non-invasive analytical technology for
in vitro
studies to discriminate the hardness of carious dentine layers using the peak ratio as an alternative to the invasive, mechanical Knoop hardness test.
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