Adapting Demirjian Standards for Portuguese and Spanish Children and Adolescents.

Estimation of children's chronological age is highly important in human and forensic sciences. The Demirjian method has been reported as accurate for this purpose. The literature review shows some evidence that the accuracy of estimating chronological age via the Demirjian standards is not a straightforward process. The objective of this research is to analyze the reliability of the Demirjian standards in Portuguese and Spanish children and adolescents and adapt it to include sex and group age as contingent factors. METHODS: Orthopantomographs of 574 Portuguese and Spanish male and female children and adolescents were employed to test the reliability of the Demirjian method. After testing for inter-rater consistency and age estimation using the Demirjian standards, multiple regression analysis was performed controlling for sex and age group. RESULTS: The Demirjian standards overestimated chronological age for both sexes, mainly for females. Through the development of regression functions, more detailed dental age estimation was performed. The predictive capacities of the Demirjian method and the significant teeth varied as a function of children's age. The Demirjian global standard predicted over 65% of the variance of the chronological age. Taking a tooth-by-tooth approach, the predictive ability increased by over 70%. CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy of estimating chronological age via the Demirjian method is not as reliable as it might appear, judging from the results found according to age group and according to sex crossed with age group.

Impact of an Innovative Securement Dressing and Tourniquet in Peripheral Intravenous Catheter-Related Complications and Contamination: An Interventional Study.

Reusable tourniquets and conventional securement dressings are considered risk factors for the occurrence of reported complications and catheter-related bloodstream infections. This study's purpose is to assess the impact of single-use disposable tourniquets and advanced occlusive polyurethane dressings with reinforced cloth borders on peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC)-related complications and contamination. A pre- and post-interventional prospective observational study was conducted in a cardiology ward of a tertiary hospital between April 2018 and February 2019. Overall, demographic and clinical data from 156 patients and PIVC-related outcomes were collected (n = 296) as well as PIVC tips for microbiological analysis (n = 90). In the pre-intervention phase (n = 118), complication rates of 62.1% were reported, while 44.1% of the PIVCs were contaminated (n = 34). In the post-intervention phase (n = 178), complication rates decreased to 57.3%, while contamination rates significantly decreased to 17.9% (p = 0.014; n = 56). Through a logistic regression, it was found that the use of innovative technologies reduces the chance of PIVC contamination by 79% (odds ratio (OR): 0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05-0.98; p = 0.046). Meanwhile, PIVC-related complications and fluid therapy emerged as predictors for PIVC contamination. Findings suggest that the adoption of these innovative devices in nurses' practice contributes to the significant reduction of PIVC contamination.

Work-family interference and work-family facilitation: a study of measurement invariance between genders / Interferência trabalho-família e facilitação trabalho-família: estudo da invariância da medida entre sexos / Interferencias trabajo-familia y la facilitación del trabajo y la familia: estudio de la invariancia de la medida entre los sexos

Work-family relationship is a subject of great interest for research, and studies have shown differences between genders. The aim of this study was to analyze measurement invariance between men and women, with reference to Work-Family interference among teachers. The W-F Scale (Carvalho & Andrade, 2012) was applied to a sample of 610 Portuguese higher education teachers. Dimensionality was tested by means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The structure of the proposed theoretical model was well adjusted to the multi-group sample. Chi-square test was used to perform measurement invariance testing. Impact factors of the W-F Tension on Work and of W-F Tension on Family were invariant among teachers, indicating independence with regard to gender. Measurements for the remaining factors (Work Interference with Family, Family Interference with Work, Work as Family Life Facilitator, and Family as Work Facilitator) varied between men and women.

A relação trabalho-família é uma temática com grande interesse para a investigação, cujos estudos têm revelado diferenças entre sexos. Pretendeu-se analisar a invariância da medida entre os sexos masculino e feminino relativamente à interferência Trabalho-Família em docentes. A Escala T-F (Carvalho & Andrade, 2012) foi aplicada a 610 docentes do ensino superior português. Estudou-se a sua dimensionalidade por meio de análises fatoriais exploratória e confirmatória. A estrutura do modelo teórico proposto mostrou-se bem ajustada na amostra de multigrupos. A invariância da medida foi testada com o teste de Qui-quadrado. Os fatores Impacto da Tensão T-F no Trabalho e Impacto da Tensão T-F na Família foram invariantes entre docentes, indicando uma independência face ao sexo. As medidas para os restantes fatores (interferência do trabalho com a família, interferência da família com o trabalho, trabalho como facilitador da família e família como facilitadora do trabalho) variaram entre os sexos.

La relación trabajo-familia es una temática de interés para la investigación, y estudios han evidenciado diferencias entre sexos. Se analizó la invarianza de la medida entre hombres y mujeres relativamente a la interferencia Trabajo-Familia en docentes. La escala T-F (Carvalho & Andrade, 2012) fue aplicada a 610 docentes portugueses de educación superior. Se estudió la dimensionalidad mediante análisis factoriales exploratorio y confirmatorio. La estructura del modelo teórico propuesto se ajusta a la muestra de multigrupos. La invarianza de la medida fue testeada con la prueba Chi-cuadrado. Los factores Impacto de la Tensión T-F en el Trabajo e Impacto de la Tensión T-F en la familia fueron invariantes entre los docentes con respecto al sexo. Las medidas para los restantes factores (Interferencia del trabajo en la Familia, Interferencia de la Familia en el Trabajo, el Trabajo como Facilitador de la Familia, y la Familia como Facilitadora del Trabajo) varían entre sexos.

The accuracy of estimating chronological age from Demirjian and Nolla methods in a Portuguese and Spanish sample.

BACKGROUND: Age determination has great importance in many clinical decisions, being commonly used in odontopediatrics, orthodontics, pediatrics, and forensic medicine. The Nolla and Demirjian et al. methods have been used for these purposes. However, estimating chronological age by means of the dental mineralization stage is not a straightforward analysis, and it is fundamental to test the validity of these methods and their applicability to populations. In this article we intend to compare the accuracy of estimating chronological age from dental age measured with the Nolla and Demirjian methods in a Portuguese and Spanish sample, considering the variables of sex and age-group. METHODS: The sample was composed of 821 orthopantomographs of healthy Portuguese (n = 270) and Spanish (n = 551) subjects from 4 to 34 years old. For the Nolla and Demirjian methods, seven mandibular left teeth were examined, staged according to the dental maturity scale of each method. We obtained a good index of inter-rater agreement, a good internal consistency for the teeth assessment, and a good temporal consistency. RESULTS: Dental age was calculated for each method. The Demirjian et al. method tends to overestimate the real age of participants and the Nolla method tends to underestimate it. The accuracy of both methods varied between the sexes and age groups. Both methods were found to be more precise with males. As the age-group increases, the predictive capacities of both methods diminish. The Nolla method was more accurate than the Demirjian method in early and late childhood for both sexes. Neither method could predict chronological age in adults. CONCLUSIONS: We can estimate chronological age for early and late childhood, through the Nolla and Demirjian methods, with the former showing greater predictive capacities than the latter. The Demirjian method tends to overestimate age and the Nolla method tends to underestimate it, leading to the importance of forming regression equations adapted to the population studied. Nolla and Demirjian formulas adapted to our sample were created as a function of sex and age-group.