Facial soft tissue thickness measurement method and relationship with BMI, age and sex.

INTRODUCTION: Facial aesthetics results from the harmony of various components of the craniofacial region, a structure whose physiognomy and topography are determined by a set of hard and soft tissues. Few works in the literature have investigated the relationship between the variables of sex, age, BMI and soft tissue thickness and have considered how these variables may influence operative outcomes. The purpose of this study is to increase the pre-operative knowledge of the thickness of the soft tissues of the face through an analysis of their measurement conducted on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and to investigate the impact that the variables of gender, age and BMI have on their determination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this study 82 patients were recruited between January 2020 and January 2021 in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery of the University of Naples "Federico II". A descriptive analysis of the sample was carried out on the selected sample, calculating averages and standard deviations for the individual variables analyzed. RESULTS: BMI has a predominant role on some craniometric points while age and sex have a more marginal role. Our analysis shows that some points are affected by only one variable, BMI (G' N' PR' ID' SM' GN' PG' MIO' ACP' GO' ZY' SC' IC' ECMS' and MMB'); some points are affected by both BMI and gender (MP' and MR'); while only two (RHI' and MSO') are influenced by all the three variables. CONCLUSION: A priori knowledge through CBCT of the thickness of the soft tissues of the face and a comparison with the data we propose could provide the surgeon with advance notice of the characteristics of the tissues which she/he will encounter.

Quality of life in patients with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia: a preliminary study.

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a common cause of hair loss among patients of African and/or Caribbean descent, and there is little data exploring the quality of life of patients with this condition. This pilot demonstrates that CCCA has a significant impact on overall quality of life, and patients may benefit from resources to address psychosocial aspects of this diagnosis.

Sustainable Innovation: The Italian Scenario Studied Through Higher-Order Partial Least Squares-Path Modeling.

What is the real meaning of sustainable innovation? How is sustainable innovation different from other forms of innovation? How does sustainable innovation contribute to societal development? How can we measure the sustainable innovation of a country-which indicators and which synthesis methods should we use? In this paper we try to answer these previous questions. Starting from the concept of sustainable innovation, as it has been extensively discussed in recent years in a range of disciplines from economics to engineering and sociology, the paper focuses on the basic criteria (such as indicators and statistical models) required to evaluate the sustainable innovation at the regional level, choosing Italy as a case study. From the elementary indicators of innovation, on one hand, and sustainability, on other hand, a composite indicator of sustainable innovation has been computed. The statistical model used to compute this composite indicator has been a Higher-Order Partial Least Squares Path model. The results obtained applying this model to the Italian scenario are discussed, the ranking of the different Italian regions, and the impact of the composite indicator sustainable innovation on economic results of each region are discussed.

The Use of Partial Least Squares-Path Modelling to Understand the Impact of Ambivalent Sexism on Violence-Justification among Adolescents.

Gender violence is generally conceived as a phenomenon concerning only adults. Nonetheless, it is also perpetrated within teenagers' relationships, as many empirical studies have shown. We therefore have focused our attention on a non-probabilistic sample consisting of 400 adolescents living in Naples (Italy), to study the association between sexism and the justification of violent attitudes. Generally, sexism is recognised as a discriminatory attitude towards people, based on their biological sex. However, it is conventional to talk about sexism as a prejudice against women. The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) for adolescents was used to evaluate the two dimensions of ambivalent sexism, i.e., hostile sexism (HS) and benevolent sexism (BS). Moreover, the questionnaire regarding attitudes towards diversity and violence (CADV) was administered to assess participants' attitudes towards violence. A Partial Least Square-Second Order Path Model reveals that girls' ambivalent sexism is affected more by benevolent sexism than hostile sexism. On the contrary, among boys, hostile sexism has a higher impact. Finally, benevolent sexist girls justify domestic violence more than boys do.

Anthropometric Parameters for Nose Evaluation and Nasal Surgery Planning.

BACKGROUND: The esthetic characteristics of face and nose are commonly evaluated before rhinoplasty using a completely subjective method, due to the lack of validated and reliable methods for quantifying facial esthetics and for accurate nose treatment planning. The aim of the study was to review the literature to determine and evaluate the points, distances, and angles commonly used in the treatment planning for rhinoplasty. METHODS: Research based on anthropometric studies of the face and nose, published from 1987 to 2018 was included. Finally, 138 papers were selected after a statistical analysis through a simple random and non-random sample selection, and all papers were evaluated in their entirety. RESULTS: According to the frequency of citation, 198 points, 336 distances, and 199 angles were listed. The first quartile of each distribution was eliminated, and frequency of more than 25% was selected. A group of 49 points, 77 distances, and 11 angles, were classified according to their anatomical region, that is, bone and soft tissues, was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: An enormous inhomogeneity and lack of standardized anthropometric measurement system, specifically of the nose, was evident, as the studies were conducted by authors of different origins. According to universally accepted parameters, the importance of a reliable method for nose surgery planning is highlighted.

Development and validation of the quality-of-life adolescent cleft questionnaire in patients with cleft lip and palate.

Only a few reports in the literature have described the use of specific instruments for assessing the quality of life in adolescents and young adults with cleft lip and palate (CLP). This condition markedly affects their lifestyle, even after surgical treatment. In the present study, we aimed to develop a quality-of-life assessment tool specifically designed for such patients with CLP. Our multidisciplinary team created a questionnaire focused on the physical, psychological, and social satisfaction of adolescents and young adults with CLP, which was adapted from 3 dimensions of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. The questionnaire was administered to a randomized sample of 40 adolescents and young adults (aged 16-24 years) with CLP who had completed treatment protocols and 40 (aged 16-24 years) who were not affected by CLP. The statistical results stated that the questionnaire had good reliability and validity; the Cronbach α coefficient was found to be 0.944. Moreover, factorial analysis confirmed the presence of 3 subscales that were the fundamental components of this questionnaire, which is consistent with the areas theoretically proposed and from which the items were designed and selected. Thus, we validated our novel questionnaire that was administered in the present study and proved its consistency. However, further investigations on a larger population would be useful to confirm these findings.