Impact of Denture Use on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Yemeni Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

BACKGROUND We used the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire to evaluate the association between sociodemographic variables and oral health-related quality of life in 241 wearers of removable partial or complete dentures attending a single center in Yemen. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 241 partial dentures (PD) and complete dentures (CD) wearers were enrolled from the Department of Prosthodontics at the Faculty of Dentistry, Sana'a University, and the University of Science and Technology. Data were collected before the commencement of denture wearing and after 3-6 months of denture use. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic information and denture type, and another for the OHIP to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), oral health impact profile scale comprises 7 subscales, each evaluating different aspects of oral health and functionality. Descriptive statistics were calculated for participants. Independent t tests were performed to compare different patient groups, focusing on PD and CD wearers. Paired-sample t tests were used to examine changes within patient groups before and after removable denture use. RESULTS Among all participants, 67.6% were male, wearers of CDs were 74.6% male, PDs were 58.3%, and was consistent for CD (71.0%) and PD (72.8%) wearers. The wearing prostheses significantly impacted the OHRQoL of patients using both PDs and CDs (P<0.01). Among CD wearers, 4 of these subscales (3-6) were statistically significant, but the handicaps subscale showed evident reductions in physical pain after treatment among PD wearers. CONCLUSIONS Wearing dentures positively affects the OHRQoL of patients, influencing various aspects of their health, including functional, physical, psychological, and social well-being.

Evaluating Postoperative Prognosis: A Single Surgeon's Experience With Total Mesorectal Excision in Middle and Lower Rectal Cancer Cases in Iraq.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical intervention for rectal cancer is widely recognized for its potential to significantly impact quality of life, chiefly due to the high probability of permanent colostomy and the associated postoperative complications. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes and morbidity associated with total mesorectal excision for middle and lower rectal cancer within an Iraqi cohort, in a prospective setting. METHODS: This study prospectively collected and analyzed data from 89 patients who underwent a standardized radical rectal resection, with a follow-up period extending to one month post-surgery. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 54.4 ± 12.9 years, with a gender distribution of 46 males and 43 females. A total of 33 patients presented with preoperative comorbidities, which heightened the risk of adverse short-term outcomes by a factor of 7.51. The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension and diabetes mellitus, affecting 22 and 20 patients, respectively. Patients aged 60 years and above were at a 3.97 times greater risk of developing complications. The overall complication rate was 21.35%, with wound infections (9.0%) and cardiovascular events (3.4%) being the most common. Mortality during the follow-up was 1.1%. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that increased age and the presence of comorbidities are significant risk factors for morbidity and mortality post-surgery. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy was shown to reduce morbidity and mortality rates while improving survival. The morbidity and mortality rates observed in this study concur with existing literature.

Rapidly Progressive Apical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Not Everything is What It Seems.

Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a rare variant of HCM. A 43-year-old female with a past medical history significant for hypertension and kidney transplantation presented with recurrent syncopal episodes and dyspnea on exertion. Electrocardiogram showed characteristic diffuse giant T-waves inversion, and cardiac magnetic resonance showed HCM with circumferential apical thickening. This case highlights the rapid development of apical HCM and its challenging diagnostic characteristics.

Lipoprotein(a) and Long-term In-stent Restenosis after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

AIM: Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] has demonstrated its association with atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. However, its role in the development of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not clearly established. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between Lp(a) and ISR. METHODS: A retrospective study of adult patients who underwent successful PCI between January 2006 and December 2017 at the three Mayo Clinic sites and had a preprocedural Lp(a) measurement was conducted. Patients were divided into two groups according to the serum Lp(a) concentration (high Lp(a) ≥50 mg/dl and low Lp(a) <50 mg/dl). Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to compare risk of ISR between patients with high Lp(a) versus those with low Lp(a). RESULTS: A total of 1209 patients were included, with mean age 65.9 ±11.7 years and 71.8% were male. Median follow-up after baseline PCI was 8.8 (IQR 7.4) years. Restenosis was observed in 162 (13.4%) patients. Median serum levels of Lp(a) were significantly higher in patients affected by ISR versus non-affected cases: 27 (IQR 73.8) vs. 20 (IQR 57.5) mg/dL, p=0.008. The rate of ISR was significantly higher among patients with high Lp(a) versus patients with low Lp(a) values (17.0% vs 11.6%, p=0.010). High Lp(a) values were independently associated with ISR events (HR 1.67, 95%CI 1.18 to 2.37, p=0.004), and this association was more prominent after the first year following the PCI. CONCLUSION: Lipoprotein(a) is an independent predictor for long-term in-stent restenosis and should be considered in the evaluation of patients undergoing PCI.

The role of Lp(a) in the development of in-stent restenosis is not clearly established. In this study including 1209 patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention and had a preprocedural Lp(a) measurement between 2006 and 2017, the rates of restenosis were significantly higher among patients with high Lp(a) versus patients with low Lp(a) values and high Lp(a) concentrations were independently associated with restenosis events. Lp(a) should be considered as a risk factor for long term in-stent restenosis in the evaluation of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention and assessed as a potential therapeutic target for reducing residual cardiovascular risk in this population.

Association between echocardiographic velocity time integral ratio of mitral valve and left ventricular outflow tract and clinical outcomes post transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair.

Background: Residual mitral regurgitation (MR) is frequent after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER). There is controversy regarding the clinical impact of residual MR and its quantitative assessment by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), which is often challenging with multiple eccentric jets and artifact from the clip. The utility of the velocity time integral (VTI) ratio between the mitral valve (MV) and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), (VTIMV/LVOT), a simple Doppler measurement that increases with MR, has not been assessed post TEER. Methods: Baseline characteristics, clinical outcomes, and TTE data from patients who underwent TEER between 2014 and 2021 across three academic centers were retrospectively analyzed. Post-procedure TTEs were evaluated for VTIMV/LVOT in the first three months after TEER. One-year outcomes including all-cause and cardiac mortality, major adverse cardiac events, and MV reintervention were compared between patients with high VTIMV/LVOT (≥2.5) and low (<2.5). Results: In total, 372 patients were included (mean age 78.7 ± 8.8 years, 68 % male, mean pre-TEER ejection fraction of 50.5 ± 14.7 %). Follow up TTEs were performed at a median of 37.5 (IQR 30-48) days post-procedure. Patients with high VTIMV/LVOT had significantly higher all-cause mortality (HR 2.10, p = 0.003), cardiac mortality (HR 3.03, p = 0.004) and heart failure admissions (HR 2.28, p < 0.001) at one-year post-procedure. There was no association between raised VTIMV/LVOT and subsequent MV reintervention. Conclusion: High VTIMV/LVOT has clinically significant prognostic value at one year post TEER. This tool could be used to select patients for consideration of repeat intervention.

Consensus Guideline on the Management of Epilepsy in Egypt: A National Delphi Consensus Study.

OBJECTIVE: In epilepsy, early diagnosis, accurate determination of epilepsy type, proper selection of antiseizure medication, and monitoring are all essential. However, despite recent therapeutic advances and conceptual reconsiderations in the classification and management of epilepsy, serious gaps are still encountered in day-to-day practice in Egypt as well as several other resource-limited countries. Premature mortality, poor quality of life, socio-economic burden, cognitive problems, poor treatment outcomes, and comorbidities are major challenges that require urgent actions to be implemented at all levels. In recognition of this, a group of Egyptian epilepsy experts met through a series of consecutive meetings to specify the main concepts concerning the diagnosis and management of epilepsy, with the ultimate goal of establishing a nationwide Egyptian consensus. METHODS: The consensus was developed through a modified Delphi methodology. A thorough review of the most recent relevant literature and international guidelines was performed to evaluate their applicability to the Egyptian situation. Afterward, several remote and live rounds were scheduled to reach a final agreement for all listed statements. RESULTS: Of 278 statements reviewed in the first round, 256 achieved ≥80% agreement. Live discussion and refinement of the 22 statements that did not reach consensus during the first round took place, followed by final live voting then consensus was achieved for all remaining statements. SIGNIFICANCE: With the implementation of these unified recommendations, we believe this will bring about substantial improvements in both the quality of care and treatment outcomes for persons with epilepsy in Egypt. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This work represents the efforts of a group of medical experts to reach an agreement on the best medical practice related to people with epilepsy based on previously published recommendations while taking into consideration applicable options in resource-limited countries. The publication of this document is expected to minimize many malpractice issues and pave the way for better healthcare services on both individual and governmental levels.

Enhancing underwater target localization through proximity-driven recurrent neural networks.

Environmental monitoring, ocean research, and underwater exploration are just a few of the marine applications that require precise underwater target localization. This study goes into the field of underwater target localization using Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) enhanced with proximity-based approaches, with a focus on mean estimation error as a performance metric. In complex and dynamic underwater environments, conventional localization systems frequently face challenges such as signal degradation, noise interference, and unstable hydrodynamic conditions. This paper presents a novel approach to employing RNNs to increase the accuracy of underwater target localization by exploiting the temporal dynamics of proximity-informed data. This method uses an RNN architecture to track changes in audio emissions from underwater targets sensed by a microphone network. Using the temporal correlations represented in the data, the RNN learns patterns indicative of target localization quickly and correctly. Furthermore, the addition of proximity-based features increases the model's ability to understand the relative distances between hydrophone nodes and the target, resulting in more accurate localization estimates. To evaluate the suggested methodology, thorough simulations and practical experiments were carried out in a variety of underwater environments. The results show that the RNN-based strategy beats conventional methods and works effectively even in difficult settings. The utility of the proximity-aware RNN model is demonstrated, in particular, by considerable reductions in the mean estimate error (MEE), an important performance measure.

Multi-Modality Imaging in Vasculitis.

Systemic vasculitides are a rare and complex group of diseases that can affect multiple organ systems. Clinically, presentation may be vague and non-specific and as such, diagnosis and subsequent management are challenging. These entities are typically classified by the size of vessel involved, including large-vessel vasculitis (giant cell arteritis, Takayasu's arteritis, and clinically isolated aortitis), medium-vessel vasculitis (including polyarteritis nodosa and Kawasaki disease), and small-vessel vasculitis (granulomatosis with polyangiitis and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis). There are also other systemic vasculitides that do not fit in to these categories, such as Behcet's disease, Cogan syndrome, and IgG4-related disease. Advances in medical imaging modalities have revolutionized the approach to diagnosis of these diseases. Specifically, color Doppler ultrasound, computed tomography and angiography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, or invasive catheterization as indicated have become fundamental in the work up of any patient with suspected systemic or localized vasculitis. This review presents the key diagnostic imaging modalities and their clinical utility in the evaluation of systemic vasculitis.

How Artificial Intelligence Can Enhance the Diagnosis of Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Review of Recent Advances and Challenges.

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is an underdiagnosed form of infiltrative cardiomyopathy caused by abnormal amyloid fibrils deposited extracellularly in the myocardium and cardiac structures. There can be high variability in its clinical manifestations, and diagnosing CA requires expertise and often thorough evaluation; as such, the diagnosis of CA can be challenging and is often delayed. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) to different diagnostic modalities is rapidly expanding and transforming cardiovascular medicine. Advanced AI methods such as deep-learning convolutional neural networks (CNNs) may enhance the diagnostic process for CA by identifying patients at higher risk and potentially expediting the diagnosis of CA. In this review, we summarize the current state of AI applications to different diagnostic modalities used for the evaluation of CA, including their diagnostic and prognostic potential, and current challenges and limitations.

Role of Genetics in Diagnosis and Management of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: A Glimpse into the Future.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiomyopathy. It follows an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern in most cases, with incomplete penetrance and heterogeneity. It is familial in 60% of cases and most of these are caused by pathogenic variants in the core sarcomeric genes (MYH7, MYBPC3, TNNT2, TNNI3, MYL2, MYL3, TPM1, ACTC1). Genetic testing using targeted disease-specific panels that utilize next-generation sequencing (NGS) and include sarcomeric genes with the strongest evidence of association and syndrome-associated genes is highly recommended for every HCM patient to confirm the diagnosis, identify the molecular etiology, and guide screening and management. The yield of genetic testing for a disease-causing variant is 30% in sporadic cases and up to 60% in familial cases and in younger patients with typical asymmetrical septal hypertrophy. Genetic testing remains challenging in the interpretation of results and classification of variants. Therefore, in 2015 the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) established guidelines to classify and interpret the variants with an emphasis on the necessity of periodic reassessment of variant classification as genetic knowledge rapidly expands. The current guidelines recommend focused cascade genetic testing regardless of age in phenotype-negative first-degree relatives if a variant with decisive evidence of pathogenicity has been identified in the proband. Genetic test results in family members guide longitudinal clinical surveillance. At present, there is emerging evidence for genetic test application in risk stratification and management but its implementation into clinical practice needs further study. Promising fields such as gene therapy and implementation of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis of HCM are emerging and paving the way for more effective screening and management, but many challenges and obstacles need to be overcome before establishing the practical implications of these new methods.

Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy: Challenges and Advances in Invasive and Non-Invasive Diagnostic Modalities.

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a distinct form of coronary artery disease that represents a major cause of death beyond the first year after heart transplantation. The pathophysiology of CAV is still not completely elucidated; it involves progressive circumferential wall thickening of both the epicardial and intramyocardial coronary arteries. Coronary angiography is still considered the gold-standard test for the diagnosis of CAV, and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can detect early intimal thickening with improved sensitivity. However, these tests are invasive and are unable to visualize and evaluate coronary microcirculation. Increasing evidence for non-invasive surveillance techniques assessing both epicardial and microvascular components of CAV may help improve early detection. These include computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and vasodilator stress myocardial contrast echocardiography perfusion imaging. This review summarizes the current state of diagnostic modalities and their utility and prognostic value for CAV and also evaluates emerging tools that may improve the early detection of this complex disease.

Fault Diagnosis in Wind Turbine Current Sensors: Detecting Single and Multiple Faults with the Extended Kalman Filter Bank Approach.

Currently, in modern wind farms, the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) is commonly adopted for its ability to operate at variable wind speeds. Generally, this type of wind turbine is controlled by using two converters, one on the rotor side (RSC) and the other one on the grid side (GSC). However, the control of these two converters depends mainly on current sensors measurements. Nevertheless, in the case of sensor failure, control stability may be compromised, leading to serious malfunctions in the wind turbine system. Therefore, in this article, we will present an innovative diagnostic approach to detect, locate, and isolate the single and/or multiple real-phase current sensors in both converters. The suggested approach uses an extended Kalman filter (EKF) bank structured according to a generalized observer scheme (GOS) and relies on a nonlinear model for the RSC and a linear model for the GSC. The EKF estimates the currents in the converters, which are then compared to sensor measurements to generate residuals. These residuals are then processed in the localization, isolation, and decision blocks to precisely identify faulty sensors. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of this approach to identify faulty sensors in the abc phases. It also demonstrates its ability to overcome the nonlinearity induced by wind fluctuations, as well as resolves the coupling issue between currents in the fault period.

Identifying the Causes of Unexplained Dyspnea at High Altitude Using Normobaric Hypoxia with Echocardiography.

Exposure to high altitude results in hypobaric hypoxia, leading to physiological changes in the cardiovascular system that may result in limiting symptoms, including dyspnea, fatigue, and exercise intolerance. However, it is still unclear why some patients are more susceptible to high-altitude symptoms than others. Hypoxic simulation testing (HST) simulates changes in physiology that occur at a specific altitude by asking the patients to breathe a mixture of gases with decreased oxygen content. This study aimed to determine whether the use of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) during HST can detect the rise in right-sided pressures and the impact of hypoxia on right ventricle (RV) hemodynamics and right to left shunts, thus revealing the underlying causes of high-altitude signs and symptoms. A retrospective study was performed including consecutive patients with unexplained dyspnea at high altitude. HSTs were performed by administrating reduced FiO2 to simulate altitude levels specific to patients' history. Echocardiography images were obtained at baseline and during hypoxia. The study included 27 patients, with a mean age of 65 years, 14 patients (51.9%) were female. RV systolic pressure increased at peak hypoxia, while RV systolic function declined as shown by a significant decrease in the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), the maximum velocity achieved by the lateral tricuspid annulus during systole (S' wave), and the RV free wall longitudinal strain. Additionally, right-to-left shunt was present in 19 (70.4%) patients as identified by bubble contrast injections. Among these, the severity of the shunt increased at peak hypoxia in eight cases (42.1%), and the shunt was only evident during hypoxia in seven patients (36.8%). In conclusion, the use of TTE during HST provides valuable information by revealing the presence of symptomatic, sustained shunts and confirming the decline in RV hemodynamics, thus potentially explaining dyspnea at high altitude. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal clinical role of this physiologic method.

Clinically Significant Outcome Scores in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Shoulder and Knee Surgery Are Increasing in Prevalence but Often Reported Incorrectly.

PURPOSE: To study the prevalence and quality of application of minimal clinically important difference (MCID), substantial clinical benefit (SCB), patient-acceptable symptomatic state (PASS), and maximum outcome improvement (MOI), reported in the orthopaedic sports medicine knee and shoulder literature in recent years and to bring awareness of proper use of such metrics. METHODS: A literature review of all shoulder and knee articles published from the American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM), Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES), and Arthroscopy from 2016 to 2020 was performed, specifically investigating whether MCID, SCB, PASS, or MOI were used or reported. Additionally, the way these metrics were reported and interpreted was recorded. RESULTS: Out of 5,039 studies, 889 shoulder and knee studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, 16.7% reported either MCID, PASS, or SCB. MCID was the most reported across all 3 journals. MCID was reported 12.4% of the time throughout the 5 years. PASS was reported 3.2% and SCB 1.1% of the time over the 5 years. MOI was not reported by any of the journals during this period. There was a statistically significant increase in MCID reporting in 2 of the 3 journals over the 5-year course, Arthroscopy (P = .02) and AJSM (P = .05). There was no statistically significant increase in PASS or SCB reporting rates in all 3 journals. Only 39.1% of studies reported MCID correctly (i.e., defined as the number of individual patients meeting MCID/total patients in the study). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows an increasing trend in the use of clinically significant outcome metrics, such as MCID, for interpretation of patient-reported outcomes; however, these individual metrics are often not being used on the individual level and subsequently not reported accurately. We recommend determining whether the specific metric met the threshold per individual patient and then reporting those as a percentage of the sample population to achieve the full potential of these metrics and translate them accurately across various studies. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: As the usage of clinically significant outcome metrics rises, so does the need for accurate reporting. These findings will encourage future studies to follow a more standardized format.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Population in Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and refusal vary across countries and among different socio-demographic groups. This study investigates hesitancy related to the COVID-19 vaccine and the associated factors in the rural-community-dominated Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study through an online questionnaire was conducted from February to April 2021 to investigate the extent of vaccine hesitancy related to the COVID-19 vaccine and the associated factors in the Jazan region. A Chi-squared test and post hoc analysis were conducted to analyze the statistical significance of the association between variables. Of the 569 participants who completed the online questionnaire, the majority were males (81.5%) and had a university education (72.6%). Of the participants, more than one-third (36.9%) were hesitant to vaccinate. Concern about adverse side effects following vaccination was the most reported reason for vaccine hesitancy (42.6%), followed by beliefs that the vaccine was unsafe or ineffective (15.5%). The data analysis revealed that people who lived in cities in Jazan Province or those who did not have a family history of COVID-19 infection were more likely to be vaccine hesitant. It is more important than ever to develop and implement community-based strategies to address vaccine hesitancy, especially in rural areas.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Prediction of Cardiovascular Diseases from Chest Radiography.

Chest radiography (CXR) is the most frequently performed radiological test worldwide because of its wide availability, non-invasive nature, and low cost. The ability of CXR to diagnose cardiovascular diseases, give insight into cardiac function, and predict cardiovascular events is often underutilized, not clearly understood, and affected by inter- and intra-observer variability. Therefore, more sophisticated tests are generally needed to assess cardiovascular diseases. Considering the sustained increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, it is critical to find accessible, fast, and reproducible tests to help diagnose these frequent conditions. The expanded focus on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) with respect to diagnostic cardiovascular imaging has also been applied to CXR, with several publications suggesting that AI models can be trained to detect cardiovascular conditions by identifying features in the CXR. Multiple models have been developed to predict mortality, cardiovascular morphology and function, coronary artery disease, valvular heart diseases, aortic diseases, arrhythmias, pulmonary hypertension, and heart failure. The available evidence demonstrates that the use of AI-based tools applied to CXR for the diagnosis of cardiovascular conditions and prognostication has the potential to transform clinical care. AI-analyzed CXRs could be utilized in the future as a complimentary, easy-to-apply technology to improve diagnosis and risk stratification for cardiovascular diseases. Such advances will likely help better target more advanced investigations, which may reduce the burden of testing in some cases, as well as better identify higher-risk patients who would benefit from earlier, dedicated, and comprehensive cardiovascular evaluation.

First Report of aac(6')-Ib and aac(6')-Ib-cr Variant Genes Associated with Mutations in gyrA Encoded Fluoroquinolone Resistance in Avian Campylobacter coli Strains Collected in Tunisia.

The aac(6')-Ib gene is the most widespread gene encoding aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme and conferring resistance to tobramycin, streptomycin and kanamycin. The variant aac(6')-Ib-cr gene confers resistance to both aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones (FQ). A total of 132 Campylobacter isolates, including 91 C. jejuni and 41 C. coli, were selected from broiler hens isolates. The aac(6')-Ib gene was amplified using PCR and was subsequently digested with the BtsCI restriction enzyme to identify aac(6')-Ib-cr. Among these isolates, 31 out of 41 C. coli (75.6%) and 1 (0.98%) C. jejuni were positive for the aac(6')-Ib gene, which was identified as the aac(6')-Ib-cr variant in 10 (32.25%) C. coli isolates. This variant was correlated with mutations in gyrA (Thr-86-Ile), as well as resistance to FQs. This study is the first report in Tunisia on Campylobacter coli strains harboring both the aac(6')-Ib and aac(6')-Ib-cr variants. These genes were present in Campylobacter isolates exhibiting resistance to multiple antibiotics, which restricts the range of available treatments.

Epidemiology and outcome of an acute kidney injuries in the polytrauma victims admitted at the apex trauma center in Dubai.

BACKGROUND: Polytrauma from road accidents is a common cause of hospital admissions and deaths, frequently leading to acute kidney injury (AKI) and impacting patient outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective, single-center study included polytrauma victims with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) >25 at a tertiary healthcare center in Dubai. RESULTS: The incidence of AKI in polytrauma victims is 30.5%, associated with higher Carlson comorbidity index (P=0.021) and ISS (P=0.001). Logistic regression shows a significant relationship between ISS and AKI (odds ratio [OR], 1.191; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.150-1.233; P<0.05). The main causes of trauma-induced AKI are hemorrhagic shock (P=0.001), need for massive transfusion (P<0.001), rhabdomyolysis (P=0.001), and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS; P<0.001). On multivariate logistic regression AKI can be predicated by higher ISS (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.00-1.17; P=0.05) and low mixed venous oxygen saturation (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05-1.22; P<0.001). The development of AKI after polytrauma increases length of stay (LOS)-hospital (P=0.006), LOS-intensive care unit (ICU; P=0.003), need for mechanical ventilation (MV) (P<0.001), ventilator days (P=0.001), and mortality (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: After polytrauma, the occurrence of AKI leads to prolonged hospital and ICU stays, increased need for mechanical ventilation, more ventilator days, and a higher mortality rate. AKI could significantly impact their prognosis.

Long-term water sorption/solubility of two dental bonding agents containing a colloidal dispersion of titanium dioxide.

The aim was to analyze the influence of the incorporation of 4% by mass of colloidal dispersion of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on the long-term water sorption and solubility of two commercial universal bonding agents. In vitro studies. A colloidal dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles was formulated and blended into two commercial dental bonding agents, i.e., Ambar Universal (FGM, Brasil) and G-Premio Bond Universal (GC, America) at 4% by mass. Forty bonding agent discs were fabricated and segregated into four bonding agent groups of 10 discs each, i.e., GA: Ambar Universal (control), GB: Ambar Universal (4% TiO2 incorporated), GC: G-Premio Bond universal (control), and GD: G-Premio Bond (4% TiO2 incorporated). The bonding agent discs were developed by dispensing the bonding agents into a silicone cast of 5 mm diameter and 1 mm depth. After bonding agent discs were desiccated, the cured discs were weighed and kept in distilled water to be evaluated for water sorption and solubility over 1 year storage period. Statistical analysis was performed by independent variable t-test performed using the IBM SPSS software (Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc). The incorporated bonding agent groups (GA and GB) showed significantly lower (P < 0.05) water sorption and solubility following 1 year of water storage in comparison to the control bonding agents. Both GC and GD demonstrated remarkably lower water sorption and solubility than GA and GB. Incorporation of the colloidal dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles at 4% by mass into the universal bonding agents has significantly reduced their water sorption and solubility contrast to their control groups.

Sufficient vitamin D is favorable for children with persistent and chronic immune thrombocytopenia.

Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by isolated thrombocytopenia in the absence of other disorders. Vitamin D (VD) has been shown to modulate the immune system and its deficiency is linked to many immunological disorders. Supplementation with VD in ITP has promising results. This work aims at evaluating VD values in children with persistent and chronic ITP and the effect of its deficiency on disease severity and treatment response. A case-control study including 50 persistent and chronic ITP patients and 50 healthy controls was conducted. 25 OH vitamin D level was determined using ELISA technique. VD median value was significantly higher among the control group than that of the patients' group (28 vs 21.5 and p = 0.002). Severe deficiency was detected significantly more among the patients' group than the control group (12 (24%) vs 3 (6%), p = 0.048) respectively. Forty-four percent of complete responders belong to sufficient VD category ((15/34) ~ 44% (p = 0.005)) representing all patients with sufficient VD status (n = 15). Also, a positive correlation between serum level of vitamin D and mean PLT count was observed (r = 0.316, p value = 0.025). Sufficient vitamin D was associated with better treatment response and less disease severity. Vitamin D supplementation may be a new therapeutic option for chronic ITP.