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14 The Chronicle March 17, 2009 Beware of deadly gingivitis By Shenieka Russell-Metcalf Chronicle Staff Brush your teeth twice daily, floss every day and go to your yearly dental appointment? Sometimes all of this isn’t enough to improve your teeth and gums. Of course—flossing is important but brushing your teeth the right way, makes the difference. Brushing your teeth efficiently means pointing the bristles towards the gum tissue at a 45 degree angle and vibrating the bristle slightly and sweeping up and down. Don’t forget to brush biting surfaces and the tongue, says Donna Pegg, registered dental hygienist and Durham College professor. On average, people should visit the dentist twice a year, but some may need to go more frequently. However home maintenance helps to keep up the health of gums and teeth. “There’s a space between the tooth and the gum, the deeper the space the more unhealthy the teeth are,” said Pegg. Regular cleanings are key in removing plaque in those pockets. Many foods we eat can get stuck in these pockets because the bristles from our toothbrushes can only go so far. The foods that contribute to cavities include granola bars, bread, crackers and chips. These foods stay on the teeth longer,said Pegg. Foods that are better for teeth include nuts, cheese, and sugarless gum with xylitol, like Trident. Unlike what you’ve been told in the past, gum is not all bad for the teeth. Just chew sugarless gum and you’ll be much better off, she said. Fruits and vegetables aren’t just good for your body; they’re good for your gum tissue as well. With the recent links between gum disease and cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes, caring for your gums is just as important as for your teeth. Many types of gum diseases can affect us including of the most common gingivitis. It can be found in all ages. Around 50 per cent of the population has gingivitis. Another type of gum disease is periodontitis, it affects around 36 per cent of the population. It’s a more advanced gum disease that increases with age. Key indicators that you may be suffering from gingivitis are bad breath, pain in the mouth and bleeding gums when flossing or brushing your teeth, Pegg said. Visit one of the two dental clinics on campus, located at SW107 for adults and A250 for children, to improve your oral health. The clinics charge $25 for adults and $10 for children. The clinics provide oral cancer screenings, blood pressure testing, gum tissue exams, cavities diagnosis, radiographs, dental cleaning, fluoride applications, photo disinfection therapy, pit and tissue sealings and dental nutritional counselling. “We offer oral hygiene instruction specific to the needs of the pa- tients,” says Pegg. For more information or to book an appointment, call 905- 721-3074. Stop procrastinating and get it done By Ingrid Saravia Chronicle staff As the end of the year draws closer, more students show signs of a widespread affliction described by Urban Dictionary as Post-All-Nighterism. Common among students, Post-All-Nighterism is the inevitable zombie-like stupour that develops the day after staying up all night to finish an assignment. Typical symptoms include caffeine dependency, twitchy eyes and a vacant expression. The affliction is generally caused by excessive procrastination. “I can hardly keep my eyes open,” said Tyler Brown, a firstyear Bachelor of Arts student while he sipped on a Red Bull. “I should have done the project last week but I left it until the last minute, I had to stay up really late to finish it.” Hmmm…do the math project or check out Billy’s new pictures on Facebook? The choice should be obvious but sometimes it’s though not to get distracted, procrastinate and leave the less enjoyable activities for later. “Procrastination is an avoidance behaviour,” said Brett Clayton, learning advisor at the Learner Support Centre. “It is when you do an activity that prevents you from noticing the passage of time so you don’t feel the weight of your responsibilities.” But luckily for all the students suffering from Post-all-nightmerism, the cure for the malady is right on campus. Excessive procrastination can be reduced at the Learner Support Centre where they offer Time Management workshops. According to Clayton, who teaches the Time Management workshops, everyone is guilty of procrastination and most of the CAMPUS NEWS time people don’t even realize they are doing it. A good way to reduce procrastination is to do nothing. “Don’t do anything. Don’t take naps or go on Facebook,” said Clayton. “Put yourself in a corner with no music, television or roommates. Just sit quietly and feel the passage of time. Five minutes can Photo by Ingrid Saravia HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THINGS DONE?: Take the time to visit the Learner Support Centre and sign up for a time management workshop. It could get you going. feel like an eternity and 10 minutes feels like a life time.” By becoming aware of the passage of time, people realize how much work they could have done in the two hours they wasted. Time management is all about prioritizing. Deciding which things are the most important and doing them first but also about Photo by Shenieka Russell-Metcalf BETTER KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLEAN: Dental hygienist Tanya Deman (left) works on a patient whie dental assistant Kristin Lackey takes the notes. balancing the time. “Not only do students need to make time for schoolwork. They also need time for friends, family and relaxation,” said Clayton. “However school should be their number one priority.” Ramona Spiteri, a second-year Business and Commerce student, admits to pulling all-nighters all the time. “I end up doing other things. I check Facebook, High Five, or talk on the phone. Anything besides my homework,” she said. “It happens more often if the assignment is difficult or boring.” There are many reasons why people procrastinate but among students the most common is low appeal. “Anything we don’t enjoy doing we are less likely to do,” said Clayton. “But try to be optimistic. Your mindset is very important in the learning process.” He suggests confronting the source of most difficulty first. “You don’t have to love everything you study because you are not going to enjoy everything in life,” he said. “It’s not whether or not you love something but whether or not you think it is important.” If you are tired of Post-All- Nighterism, visit the Learner Support Centre and sign up for a Time Management workshop. “Everyone can take our workshops,” said Clayton. “We can meet with students one on one or as a group. Just bring a copy of your schedule to book an appointment.”
CAMPUS NEWS The Chronicle March 17, 2009 15 UOIT professor wins top award By Lynn Wayling Chronicle Staff From Shanghai to Oshawa, with a stop in Laval for good measure, it’s been a journey of more than 10 years and some 7,000 miles for Dr. Dan Zhang and his research and development of the parallel robot. The director of the Automotive, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering programs at UOIT and associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science recently received a break in his research efforts – a chair. On Feb. 23, the government of Canada announced its list of Canada Research Chairs (CRC) and Zhang was among the recipients, receiving a $500,000 Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Robotics and Automation. The Canada Foundation for Innovation also awarded Zhang $87,091, to cover equipment Get help for your eating disorders By Asmahan Garrib Chronicle Staff Students concerned about their relationship with food can now join the Durham College/UOIT Health Centre’s eating disorder support group. Every Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. for the next four weeks, men and women looking for help with an eating disorder or who need an outlet to share and receive information can attend. “I found that I was seeing a lot of students with eating issues and there wasn’t any place for them to go,” said Sylvia Emmory, registered holistic nutritionist at the Durham College/UOIT Health Centre. Emmory runs the group, which provides guided dialogue between the participants. anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating and excessive exercise are some of the disorders students can cope with using the assistance they receive at the support group. “It’s a place where students can get together and meet other students who are having the same struggles,” said Emmory. To join, students must fill out an intake form as part of the interview process with Emmory in which they can meet, talk about their problem and get a feel for what they are comfortable with. Students can also sit in and listen to see if the support group is something they might enjoy. “The group is a safe place for students to meet, feel comfortable and talk about their eating issues,” said Emmory. costs. “It’s very exciting and very good recognition. It’s a top award for university professors,” says Zhang of the award. His research and development of parallel robots began during his time at Laval University where he obtained his PhD under the guidance of professor Clement Gosselin, one of the leading mechanical engineering experts in Canada. “Dan Zhang is one of the most dedicated students that I have supervised. He is very determined and hard working. I am glad that his work is now recognized with a CRC,” said Gosselin. Zhang’s project – the parallel robot – is a tool that has the ability to lessen production time, save money and increase the accuracy of manufacturing, especially in the fields of automotive and aerospace manufacturing. Currently, however, most manufactures employ serial robots rather than the parallel model. Zhang explains, “More than 60 per cent of the robots in manufacturing factories are serial robots, but the parallel robot has more ad- ‘ Its very exciting and very good recognition. It’s a top award for university professors. Dr. Dan Zhang ’ vantages than the serial robot. They are not widely used. Why? Because of their performance. So my research work is mainly how to improve the performance of these kind of parallel robots.” A prototype was built by Zhang during his time with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). It has the capability to reach five sides of an object and can do intricate work including contouring and surface polishing and finishing. Those jobs are usually performed by labourers but at high risk. The environment can be unhealthy and hand injuries are easy to come by. The NRC will release the prototype to Zhang and UOIT shortly so that more research can be done. Zhang also has some students working on parallel robot systems on a micro scale for use in biomedics and fibre optics. Parallel robots are not the only robots on Zhang’s mind, however. He is pursuing other areas of research, including one project inspired by his six-year-old son’s love of Transformers. Working in tandem with a university in China, Zhang is looking to find ways to help trapped min- ers escape collapsed mines which plague the Chinese mining industry. His vision is of a groundhog-like robot that can drill a hole into the collapsed mine and then transform into a human-like robot that could take the survivors to safety. Zhang enjoys the freedom that UOIT gives him to pursue such projects. In fact that is one of the reasons that he joined the faculty in 2004. “Why did I choose UOIT? Because it’s a new university. Like the Chinese saying says, ‘On blank paper you can draw the most beautiful picture.’ I can do whatever I like to do. There are no constraints.” Zhang joins fellow UOIT professors Shari Forbes, Douglas Holdway, Carolyn McGregor and Greg Naterer as a chairholder, helping to build UOIT’s reputation as a research university.
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