RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in 2019, has shocked the entire world. As an effort to control the disease spread, the Indian government declared a nationwide lockdown on March 25th, 2020. As dental treatment was considered high risk in the spread of COVID-19, dentistry became one of the most vulnerable professions during this time. Dental professionals had to face job layoffs, salary cuts in professional colleges, closure of private clinics resulting in huge psychological, moral, and financial crises. Studies during the previous and present pandemics have shown mental issues among health care workers necessitating institutional reforms, along with early care and support. A balance in the work-life amongst professionals is the key to better efficiency and, was majorly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown due to sudden unexpected changes. Hence this study was conducted to understand the changes they underwent both at home and professional front with a hypothesis that physical and mental health, activities, relationship status, and workplace influence the work-life balance. METHODS: A pre-validated questionnaire survey was done on dentists across India. Structural Equation Modelling and path analysis were applied to the data collected. RESULTS: The results of the study supported the hypothesis that factors like physical and mental health, activities, relationship status, and workplace influenced the work-life balance directly. A significant imbalance was seen amongst the female dentists. CONCLUSION: The present study proved the unpreparedness among dental professionals. Hence an evolutionary phase in every field with better working protocols, robust mental health support, and a focus on strategies to face future such emergencies is required.
Asunto(s)
COVID-19/psicología , Odontólogos/psicología , Equilibrio entre Vida Personal y Laboral , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Humanos , India , Masculino , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Lugar de Trabajo/psicologíaRESUMEN
Infant skin is highly absorptive and sensitive to exposure from external agents (microbes, toxicants, heat, cold, etc.). Many specialized infant skincare products are currently commercially available. Although the manufacturers claim that their products are mild enough to suit the infant skin, these products need to be studied for their safety. Using animal models to examine the safety of the ever-increasing number of skincare products is not economically or logistically feasible. To overcome this problem, we suggest using a battery of microbial bioassays as a robust system for monitoring the mutagenic potential of skincare products. We picked popular infant skincare products from the Indian market and assessed them by using a battery of three microbial mutagenicity bioassays. Most of them showed significant and reproducible mutagenic potential. Our study results raise concerns about regular use of infant products and emphasize the need to enforce strict regulations for the manufacturing and safety assessment of infant products.
Asunto(s)
Bioensayo , Cosméticos/toxicidad , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/estadística & datos numéricos , Mutágenos/toxicidad , Animales , Humanos , Lactante , Modelos Animales , Cuidados de la Piel/métodos , Pruebas CutáneasRESUMEN
Specialized products for infants have become every parent's first choice. Although these products claim to be safe and mild for infant use, yet there is a need to monitor them using different tools for mutagenicity detection to ensure further safety. In this study, a range of popular ready to eat and powdered baby foods, formula milk powders and attractive plasticware for infants were picked from the Indian market and tested for their mutagenicity using two microbial bioassays based on Salmonella typhimurium, viz., Ames bacterial reversion assay and fluctuation assay. Furthermore, chemical migration analysis was done on the most toxic baby food and baby plasticware samples as shown by the bioassays to detect possible leaching of Bisphenol a (BPA), lead and Di-2 ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP). It was surprising to find that the products made for the most risk-prone group in the society, i.e., infants have a significant potential to cause mutagenicity.