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One of the critical and vital parameter of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is its lifetime. There are various methods to increase WSN lifetime, clustering technique is one of them. In clustering, selection of desired percentage of Cluster Head (CHs) is performed among the sensor nodes (SNs). Selected CHs are responsible to collect data from its member nodes, aggregates the data and finally send to the sink. In this chapter, Fuzzy-TOPSIS techniques based on multi criteria decision making to choose CH efficiently and effectively to maximize the WSN lifetime are presented. These five criteria includes; residual energy, node energy consumption rate, number of neighbor nodes, average distance between neighboring nodes and distance from sink. Threshold based intra-cluster and inter-cluster multi-hop communication mechanism is used to decrease energy consumption. Moreover impact of node density and different type mobility strategies are presented in order to investigate impact over WSN lifetime.

Objectives: Evaluation of TBL from students’ perspective has been done extensively, but limited studies have analyzed the effect of TBL on students’ academic performance. Objectives of the present study were to assess students’ perceptions about team-based learning versus traditional lectures and then to compare with students’ grades in both TBL and lecture-based assessments. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive study which included 147 dentistry students was conducted between March and June, 2020 at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. A self-composed 10 item closed ended instrument was administered through electronic mail. One block from each academic year was selected randomly and organizers were requested to provide grades of students in both TBL and lecture-based exams. Grades from A to F were determined as achievement indicator and were compared statistically using Kruskal Wallis, Tuckey Posthoc and Chi-square tests. Results: A total of 120 students (81.6%) responded to the survey, and mean perception score was (3.29±0.94). Perceptions of students, regarding TBL as a learning strategy were comparatively superior as compared to the lectures. Students scored significantly higher grades in TBL exams (p<0.05) as compared to lecture-based assessments. Gender-wise analysis indicated that female students secured significantly higher grades in the TBL. Conclusion: We conclude that dentistry students perceived TBL as superior teaching and learning strategy compared to traditional lectures. Their perception was verified by their significant higher academic achievements in the assessments for the coursework taught by utilizing team-based learning strategy. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.4.4000 How to cite this:Nawabi S, Bilal R, Javed MQ. Team-based learning versus Traditional lecture-based learning: An investigation of students’ perceptions and academic achievements. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.4.4000 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Aims and Objectives: Discomfort associated with the use of fixed orthodontic appliances may have a negative influence on the patient's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). In general, OHRQoL assessments have the potential to provide information on the need to improve the overall quality of care. This study aims to assess the impact of fixed orthodontic appliances on OHRQoL of Saudi population and to explore the impact of the patient's gender and age on perceived treatment. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study used a generic measure of OHRQoL the Arabic version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), which is a responsive measure to changes in oral health conditions. Data were collected using self-completed e-questionnaire which was distributed through social media and were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Results: A total of 149 subjects, 110 (73.8%) were females and 39 (26.2%) were males. Adolescents between 13 and 20 years were 63 (42.3%) and adults between 21 and 30 years were 86 (75.7%). A response rate of 100% was obtained. The prevalence of oral health impacts according to OHP-14 was 22.5%. OHIP-14 consists of 14 items covering seven domains. A three-dimensional structure was used to test the existence of separate dimensions: functional limitation, pain discomfort, and psychosocial impact. A significant difference was found between males and females in the first dimension ( P = 0.038) and the third dimension ( P = 0.022). In addition, a significant difference was also found between the two age groups included in the study within the third dimension ( P = 0.025). Conclusion: Fixed orthodontic appliances had an evident impact on OHRQoL. However, males had significantly altered functional limitations while females had a higher psychological impact. Furthermore, adults had a significantly higher psychological impact than adolescents.

Introduction. Hyoid bone plays a vital role in the craniofacial dynamics. From the maintenance of pharyngeal airway to phonation, deglutition, and mandibular movements, it has multifactorial roles to fulfill. The hyoid bone has a spatial relationship with cranial base, mandible, and cervical vertebrae. This study was performed to determine the position of the hyoid bone in different anteroposterior growth patterns. Materials and Methods. 75 lateral cephalograms belonging to all three sagittal skeletal patterns were evaluated in the study. The angular and linear measurements using 10 variables were made to determine the relationship of the hyoid bone with different craniofacial structures. SPSS was used to calculate the descriptive statistics, mean, and standard deviation of all the linear and angular variables. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc test were used to compare the means of linear and angular measurement and multiple comparisons, respectively, at p < 0.05 significance level. Results. There was no significant difference in the mean angular measurements (NSH and MPH) between the 3 groups ( p > 0.05 ). Also, the multiple comparisons showed no significant difference between the linear measurements (H-FH, H-MP, H-H′, and H-N). However, there was a significant difference in three linear measurements: H-Rgn, RGN-C3, and C3-H. The values were more in class III subjects, compared to class I and class II. Conclusion. The linear millimetric distance between points H-RGN, RGN-C3, and C3-H which determine the relationship and spatial position of the hyoid bone with the mandible and third cervical vertebrae was statistically significant among groups. The values were more in class III subjects inferring the anterior position of the hyoid bone.