Root canal treatment (RCT) requires high level of technical skills of the dentist. Its outcome is an important part of evidencebased practice and become the basis of treatment planning and prognostic considerations. Adequate removal of micro-organisms and prevention of recolonization of residual micro-organisms through the placement of root filling with satisfactory coronal seal ensures success. This retrospective record review study aimed to investigate the practices of RCT in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) Dental Clinic, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. It involved 333 randomly selected patient records at the HUSM Record Unit. Data was obtained by careful analyses of daily treatment progress sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 12.0. A total of 2996 RCT cases were seen and 59.8% of patients were females. The age range of patients varied from 14 to 64 years. The maxillary anterior teeth were most commonly treated (52.6%). Most operators (99.1%) used step-back technique and 97.6% used files to prepare root canals. The most commonly used material for obturation and sealing was gutta-percha and epoxy resin-based sealer (AH26). About 82.9% used calcium hydroxide as intra-canal medication. About 25.5% of cases had no periapical pathology, 65.8% with pre-existing periapical radiolucencies healed in 1-3 months whereas 2.1% of cases with periapical pathology eventually healed after a year. About 6.9% cases failed after retreatment. The number of radiographs taken was two to four pieces. RCT is a useful intervention to maintain longevity of teeth. Decision making and current updates of methods and materials are essential among practitioners as well as administrators to ensure success.

Measuring discomfort towardthe car seat is important as the act of driving requires a driver to remain at the car seat while controlling the car. The seat condition, including sitting position as well as the driver’s posture can lead to discomfort and fatigue. The objective of this study is to investigate a driver’s pressure distribution in static and dynamic circumstances for two types of cars; the sedan and compact car. This study involved both subjective and objective evaluations of 12 respondents. For the subjective evaluation, the Visual Analog Scales (VAS) were used to obtain respondents' perception of discomfort. For the objective evaluation, pressure distribution readings of the seat interface were obtained using piezo capacitive sensors. The findings showed that the highest pressure was recorded for the compact car. Furthermore, the static circumstance showed greater pressure compared to the dynamic state. Subjective evaluation indicated that the right buttocks and the lower back (lumbar)experience the highest discomfort for both types of seats.The type of seat found to contribute to the value of different pressure. Thus, it can be concluded that appropriate seat selection can reduce pressure as well as discomfort.
Pressure ; car seat ; back rest ; static ; dynamic ; sedan ; compact

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) refers to a group of lesions presenting with a spectrum of clinical. features but sharing similar histology. These lesions are rare and treatment has been quite variable with current treatment protocol recommended being dependent on whether it is a unifocal or multi focal bone disease or a multi focal multisystem disease. However, the clinical presentations of LCH are variable and the decision to place into the appropriate clinical types may sometimes be masked by the non-discovery of all the lesions. In the oral maxillofacial area, the clinical features of these lesions may further pose a problem by nondescript manifestations as dental/periodontal/oral mucosal disorders. These oral findings may sometimes lead to inappropriate choice of treatment and delay in the diagnosis of all the lesions involved. This paper describes one such case where LCH manifest itself as a periodontal disease thus leading to delay in identifying all the sites involved and consequently a delay in id~ntifying the appropriate clinical type.

The incidence of leptospirosis seems to be on the rise and could be an alarming indirect indication of a global re-emergence. It is a potential public health threat when dogs are speculated to be involved in the transmission of leptospirosis through possible subclinical harbouring of Leptospira spp. and subsequent shedding into the environment. This study aimed to detect anti-leptospiral antibodies among dogs and their handlers using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Blood samples from 266 apparently healthy dogs and 194 dog handlers were collected at four working dog organisations and four dog shelters. Serum samples were tested using MAT against 20 leptospiral serovars with a cut-off titre >1:100 (dog) and >1:50 (dog handlers). Seventy dogs (70/266; 26.3%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae, Ballum, Bataviae and Javanica (titres ranged: 1:100–1:800). Sixty-seven dog handlers (67/194; 34.5%) were seropositive mainly against serovars Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae and Malaysia (titres ranged: 1:50–1:200). Dogs were seropositive due to exposure, vaccination or active infection. Seropositive dog handlers could indicate exposure or active infection. This shows the potential of dogs in maintaining and spreading the infection in Malaysia. Due to the occupational risk as a result of frequent contact with dogs and exposure to contaminated environments, dog handlers should be made aware of the presence of this zoonotic disease.

Influence of citronella and chlorpyrifos on oviposition and duration for completing life cycles for Chrysomya megacephala and Chrysomya rufifacies infesting decomposing rabbit carcasses was studied. Male rabbit carcasses (n = 12) were equally divided into control, citronella- and chlorpyrifos–treated groups, and left to decompose for 14 consecutive days. C. megacephala was the first necrophagous fly oviposited in all control and citronellatreated carcasses followed by C. rufifacies. Although initial oviposition of C. megacephala was delayed (4-6 hours) in citronella-treated carcasses (P < 0.05), prolongation in completing its life cycle was not observed. Neither delayed initial oviposition nor prolonged life cycle for C. rufifacies in citronella-treated carcasses was observed. Oviposition was delayed for chlorpyrifos-treated carcasses (0.42 g/L), and eclosion of eggs remained unsuccessful. The findings deserve consideration because these chemicals are easily accessible and can be used by cunning criminals to confuse forensic entomologists while estimating minimum postmortem interval.