Search results for "soft"

2019

Background Health apps for the screening and diagnosis of mental disorders have emerged in recent years on various levels (eg, patients, practitioners, and public health system). However, the diagnostic quality of these apps has not been (sufficiently) tested so far. Objective The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the diagnostic quality of a health app for a broad spectrum of mental disorders and its dependency on expert knowledge. Methods Two psychotherapists, two psychology students, and two laypersons each read 20 case vignettes with a broad spectrum of mental disorders. They used a health app (Ada—Your Health Guide) to get a diagnosis by entering the symptoms. Interrater…

Walk the Line. The Surgical Highways to the Craniovertebral Junction in Endoscopic Approaches: A Historical Perspective

2018

Background We compiled a comprehensive literature review on the anatomic and clinical results of endoscopic approaches to the craniocervical junction (CVJ) to better contribute to identify the best strategy. Methods An updated literature review was performed in the PubMed, OVID, and Google Scholar medical databases, using the terms “Craniovertebral junction,” “Transoral approach,” “Transnasal approach,” “Transcervical approach,” “Endoscopic endonasal approach,” “Endoscopic transoral approach,” “Endoscopic transcervical approach.” Clinical series, anatomic studies, and comparative studies were reviewed. Results Pure endonasal and cervical endoscopic approaches still have some disadvantages, …

Reply: Externalities and citation practices

2016

Dr. Shiri raises some important questions on the results in our short report "Externalities and article citations: experience of a national public health journal (Gaceta Sanitaria)"[1]. We welcome any debate on the topic of citations research because little evidence is available on this topic and exchange between readers, authors, and editors contributes to enrich this discussion.

Dynamic tuning of the director field in liquid crystal shells using block copolymers

2020

When an orientationally ordered system, like a nematic liquid crystal (LC), is confined on a self-closing spherical shell, topological constraints arise with intriguing consequences that depend critically on how the LC is aligned in the shell. We demonstrate reversible dynamic tuning of the alignment, and thereby the topology, of nematic LC shells stabilized by the nonionic amphiphilic block copolymer Pluronic F127. Deep in the nematic phase, the director (the average molecule orientation) is tangential to the interface, but upon approaching the temperature TNI of the nematic– isotropic transition, the director realigns to normal. We link this to a delicate interplay between an interfacial …

Definitive Abutments Placed at Implant Insertion and Never Removed: Is It an Effective Approach? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized …

2017

Purpose To assess whether repeated abutment disconnections and reconnections have any impact on peri-implant bone resorption and soft tissue healing. Materials and Methods Electronic and manual searches were conducted for English-language articles published up to March 2017 that identified a relation between repeated disconnections of implant abutments (PA group) and prosthetic or implant failures, complications, marginal bone loss (MBL), soft tissue healing, and esthetic evaluation (pink esthetic score [PES]) after at least 1 year of function compared with implants receiving a final abutment at the time of implant placement (DA group). Results Fourteen articles (535 patients with 994 impla…

Bilateral buccal space lipoma: A rare case presentation

2019

Background The lipoma of the oral cavity is a relatively rare pathology, characterized by overgrowth of the mature adipocytes. Buccal fat pad lipomas usually interfere with the esthetics and the function of the face. Case Report A sixteen-year-old patient reported slow-growing swelling, which started two years ago. Clinical examination revealed two bilateral masses in the soft tissue. MRI imaging revealed a characteristic image of bilateral lipomas connected to the buccal fat pad. Surgical removal was conducted and the histology report confirmed our clinical diagnosis of common lipoma. Discussion The lipoma of the buccal fat pad is a benign neoplasm of the adipose tissue. It should be remov…

Noninvasive assessment of baroreflex sensitivity in post-MI patients by an open loop parametric model of RR-systolic pressure interactions

2003

Noninvasive evaluation of baroreflex sensitivity is considered an important goal for diagnosis and prognosis in post-MI patients. Methodological approach and physiological measure conditions may be the main causes for the differences found with respect to the standard Phenylephrine test. In this study, three linear parametric models, describing variability and mutual interactions of RR interval and systolic arterial pressure (SAP), were compared in relation to their ability to quantify baroreflex gain, using the Phenylephrine test index (Phe/sub BRS/) as reference. By monovariate autoregressive (AR) model, bivariate AR model and open loop ARXAR model, specific gain indexes (/spl alpha//sub …

Quantitative assessment of synchronization during atrial fibrillation by Shannon Entropy characterization of propagation delays

2005

This study introduced a new method for the quantification of the synchronization (S) and the causal verse of activation (S12) in couples of atrial electrograms recorded during atrial fibrillation (AF). The synchronization indexes S and S12 relied on the measure of the propagation delays between coupled activation times in two atrial signals and on the characterization of their dispersion by Shannon-Entropy (SE). S and S12 were validated both on simulated activation time series and endocavitary signals in patients. In simulation, S and S12 were equal to 1 for propagation of one single wavefront in a fully excitable tissue, while they decreased for reentries in partially excitable tissue (S =…

EFSUMB Guidelines 2011: Comment on Emergent Indications and Visions

2012

The focus of this article is the emergent and potential indications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). Emergent applications of CEUS techniques include extravascular and intracavitary contrast-enhanced ultrasound, quantitative assessment of microvascular circulation for tumor response assessment, and tumor characterization using dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US). Potential indications for microbubble agents include novel molecular imaging and drug and gene delivery techniques, which have been successfully tested in animal models. "Comments and Illustrations of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) Non-Liver Guidelines 2011" whi…

Radiodensitometric study for evaluation of bone mineral density around dental implants after zoledronic acid treatment in ovariectomized rats

2017

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of intravenous zoledronic acid applied systemically on osseointegration of dental implants and the surrounding bone mineral density (BMD) in the ovariectomized rats. Material and Methods 36 rats were divided into three groups: control (CTRL), ovariectomy (OVX), and ovariectomy-zoledronic acid (OVX/ZOL). The rats in the CTRL group underwent sham surgery, while rats in OVX and OVX / ZOL group underwent ovariectomy. After 12 weeks, rats from OVX / ZOL were injected with 0.04 mg/kg ZOL intravenously once a week for 6 weeks. The rats from CTRL and OVX groups were injected with 0.9% NaCl. Implants were placed in the left tibia. Afte…