In this paper, we describe a GA to solve for the orientation and lens characteristics of a projector, given images of a dome screen illuminated by the projector. We use synthetic images, making ground truth available. Our GA achieves rapid and accurate convergence.

A bstract Introduction The success of endodontic treatment is achieved by the complete elimination of pulpal infection and protection from future invasion of microorganisms. Due to the complex structure of the root canal, complete eradication of microorganisms is not possible and is a major challenge for successful endodontic treatment. Therefore, microbiological studies are needed to explore the effect of various disinfection methods. Aim and objective The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of root canal disinfection by using a diode laser (in pulse and continuous modes) and sodium hypochlorite by microbiological assessment. Materials and methods Forty-five patients were selected and randomly divided into three groups. After gaining patency to the root canal the first sample from the root canal was taken using a sterile absorbent paper point and transferred to a sterile tube containing a normal saline medium. Biomechanical preparation was performed with Dentsply Protaper hand files of each corresponding group and was disinfected with group I (diode light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (LASER) 980 nm with 3 W in continuous mode for 20 seconds), group II (diode LASER 980 nm with 3 W in pulse mode for 20 seconds), group III (irrigated with 5.25% of sodium hypochlorite for 5 minutes). Pre- and post-samples of each group were inoculated on sheep blood agar and examined for any bacterial growth. After the microbial evaluation of the total microbial count of pre- and post-samples, the data obtained were tabulated and statistically analyzed. Results The data were evaluated and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Groups I, II, and III all three groups showed significant differences ( p < 0.01) and an overall reduction in the microbial count at postbiomechanical preparation (BMP) as compared to pre-BMP with the highest being in laser in continuous mode (group I) (91.9%), followed by 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (group III) (86.5%) and LASER in pulse mode (group II) (72.0%) the least. Conclusion The study concluded that the diode laser in continuous mode is more efficacious than the diode laser in pulse mode and 5.2% sodium hypochlorite, respectively. How to cite this article Mishra A, Koul M, Abdullah A, et al. Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Diode Laser (Continuous Mode), Diode Laser (Pulse Mode), and 5.25% of Sodium Hypochlorite in Disinfection of Root Canal: A Short Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(5):579-583.

This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of parents regarding the coronavirus outbreak and to assess the change in attitude and perception toward dental treatment during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A structured questionnaire (on google format) containing 13 questions was used, and each question had 2 or 3 possible answers. The parents/guardians of children (aged 3–14 years) who were school-going were eligible to participate in this study. A total of 800 parents/guardians were interviewed on google reporting format from June to December 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 800 parents/guardians of children, aged 3–14 years, studying in different schools in Chandigarh. According to the survey, a total of 86% of respondents said that they paid high attention to COVID-19 and explained it to their children; 97% reported that they emphasized the importance of hand hygiene and sanitation during the outbreak; 72% admitted that the outbreak has made them more conscious of the importance of maintaining good oral health and hygiene, to avoid visiting the dentist and 84% felt that the routine dental check-ups and appointments should be avoided during the COVID-19 outbreak; almost half of the respondents (47%) thought that the dental environment was a potential source of infection to their kids; 37% felt getting treatment at a dental setup may expose their child to risks of COVID-19; 71% said they would take their child to a dental department if he/she had a severe toothache. Approximately 46% of the respondents expressed confidence about the preventive measures taken in the dental department to ensure safe treatment for their children. In conclusion, all respondents were concerned about COVID-19 and most of them had talked about it with their children often. In addition, a considerable percentage of them showed apprehensions about the preventive measures being taken at the dental operatory and thought that the dental environment could be more dangerous than other environments. How to cite this article Sharma P, Dhawan P, Rajpal S, et al. Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception of Parents toward Dental Treatment of Children during the COVID-19 Outbreak. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(5):693–699.

No abstract

Introduction: Dental caries considered to be a multifactorial disease requires meticulous management and prevention. For prevention the most successful and commonly used agent is fluoride and if applied topically by means of APF gel it has a success rate of around 60%. Aims and objectives: To evaluate and compare the micro hardness of the restorative materials after the application of APF gel. To evaluate the effect of topical fluoride on the micro hardness of various restorative materials using universal testing machine as well as to compare the micro hardness of the restorative materials after the application of APF gel. Materials and methods: 80 standardized restorative pellets made with various restorative materials constituted the sample size for the evaluation of micro hardness with and without the application of APF gel on the prepared restorative pellets. The prepared  80  molds were equally distributed for the preparation of  20  restorative pellets of four restorative materials each (viz.) Glass Ionomer Cement, Zirconomer, Amalgomer, Cention-N. Out of 20 samples prepared 10 samples were considered as control, which were tested without the application of APF gel. While 10 samples were taken as experimental, which were conditioned with APF gel before the test. Results: The result of the microhardness test after the application of fluoride gel showed that the highest microhardess was shown by Group III Amalgomer CR with mean 52.62 ± 0.65. The other materials in the order of decreasing hardness were Group IV Cention N 50.52 ± 0.69, Group II Zirconomer 46.80 ± 0.68 and least for Group I conventional Gic 43.38 ± 0.53. The percentage reduction of micro hardness after application of APF gel was recorded highest in GIC type IX followed by Amalgomer CR, Cention N and Zirconomer. Zirconomer has the least percentage reduction of micro hardness after application of APF gel amongst all the restorative materials. Keywords: APF gel, Amalgomer CR, Cention N, micro hardness, topical fluoride, Zirconomer.