Maize flour was infested with fresh emerged Tribolium castaneum adults, and its nutritional composition was evaluated after 0, 45, and 90 days of the infestation. Furthermore, 99% carbon dioxide was applied to different developmental stages of T. castaneum for its management. There were six treatments and five replicates; for each replicate, maize flour (150 g) was taken in a 250-ml plastic jar container, insects were released in the flour, and jars were placed into the incubator at a temperature of 28 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH. Similarly, the application of 99% CO was done with four exposure times of 12, 24, 48, and 72 h, at 35 °C 65 ± 5% RH. Present results showed major fluctuations in the nutritive composition of maize flour. Increase in the moisture, fat, fiber, protein, and ash contents was directly proportional to the increase in infestation level and time, contrary to the depletion of carbohydrates and total weight loss. The results of CO treatment indicated that pupa was the most resilient stage as compared with larvae and adult stage. The observed susceptibility order was as follows: adult > larvae > pupae. The maximum mortality of adult, larval, and pupal stages was recorded after 24, 48, and 72 h of CO application, respectively. These findings might be helpful to develop an ecofriendly technique to manage this crucial pest.
Post-harvest losses caused by stored product pests are posing serious threats to global food security and safety. Among the storage pests, psocids were ignored in the past due to unavailability of the significant evidence regarding quantitative and qualitative losses caused by them. Their economic importance has been recognized by many researchers around the globe since the last few years. The published reports suggest that the pest be recognized as a new risk for global food security and safety. Psocids have been found infesting stored grains in the USA, Australia, UK, Brazil, Indonesia, China, India and Pakistan. About sixteen species of psocids have been identified and listed as pests of stored grains. Psocids generally prefer infested kernels having some fungal growth, but are capable of excavating the soft endosperm of damaged or cracked uninfected grains. Economic losses due to their feeding are directly proportional to the intensity of infestation and their population. The pest has also been reported to cause health problems in humans. Keeping the economic importance of psocids in view, their phylogeny, distribution, bio-ecology, management and pest status have been reviewed in this paper.
AIM OF THE STUDY:The main objective of the present study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction among professional orthodontists in relation to some significant intrinsic and extrinsic factors that generally affect their performance.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional study was conducted among orthodontists working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using an online survey questionnaire through Survey Monkey. A total of 161 responses were received; among those, 57.8% of the respondents were Saudi and 42.2% were non-Saudi.RESULTS:On an overall satisfaction basis, a majority of orthodontists (80.7%) were satisfied with orthodontics as their profession irrespective of their gender. Only 4.4% showed dissatisfaction, whereas the remaining 14.9% were moderately satisfied with orthodontics as a profession. In-depth analysis revealed that a majority of the respondents (56.2%) showed reservations over having ample time for their family life. 52.8% of the respondents strongly agreed that they are assigned significant paperwork. Likewise, 66.5% of the orthodontists showed moderate to dissatisfaction over time adherence by the patients.CONCLUSION:The findings of the present investigations depicted a higher level of passion and commitment among the male and female respondents for the profession in spite of the fact that they do not have adequate time for their personal life. The working efficiency of orthodontists may be significantly enhanced by sparing them from too much paperwork and ensuring that their patients appear on time.
Objectives Success of Dental Program depends on the students’ performance measured in terms of Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) achievement. The present study was carried out to evaluate the level of achievement of the PLOs among dental interns and fresh graduates as a direct measure for the success of the BDS program of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University. Methods An online survey instrument was used to seek the opinion of male and female dental interns and fresh graduates about the attainment of the PLOs distributed over 6 domains: patients’ care, communication & interpersonal skills, professionalism, practice management, information management & critical thinking, and health promotion domains on a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using Minitab Statistical Software version 15.1.31.0. Descriptive as well as Chi-Square statistics were calculated to determine the significance of the responses to the levels of PLOs achievement at 0.05 level of significance. Results Levels of achievement of PLOs under the 6 domains indicated a good standard of planning, delivery, and evaluation of the BDS program. On an overall average score basis, the achievement of PLOs under the Communication-Interpersonal Skills domain ranked as highest with a score of 4.22 ± 0.88 followed by Professionalism (4.18 ± 0.85), Practice Management (4.03 ± 0.93), Patient care (3.94 ± 0.84) and Information Management-Critical Thinking domain with a score of 3.68 ± 0.96. The lowest score was achieved under Health promotion domain with a score of 3.60 ± 0.93. Statistically, no significant differences were found based on the graduation years and gender of the respondents. Conclusion The study revealed significant achievement of PLOs under all learning domains of the BDS curriculum taught at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University. However, achievement scores for Information Management, Critical Thinking, and Health Promotion domains require further improvement through reinforcement of the curriculum, updating of content, and teaching strategies.
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