Population Segmentation Using a Novel Socio-Demographic Dataset.

Appending market segmentation data to a national healthcare knowledge, attitude and behavior survey and medical claims by geocode can provide valuable insight for providers, payers and public health entities to better understand populations at a hyperlocal level and develop cohort-specific strategies for health improvement. A prolonged use case investigates population factors, including social determinants of health, in depression and develops cohort-level management strategies, utilizing market segmentation and survey data. Survey response scores for each segment were normalized against the average national score and appended to claims data to identify at-risk segment whose scores were compared with three socio-demographically comparable but not at-risk segments via Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test to identify specific risk factors for intervention. The marketing segment, New Melting Point (NMP), was identified as at-risk. The median scores of three comparable segments differed from NMP in "Inability to Pay For Basic Needs" (121% vs 123%), "Lack of Transportation" (112% vs 153%), "Utilities Threatened" (103% vs 239%), "Delay Visiting MD" (67% vs 181%), "Delay/Not Fill Prescription" (117% vs 182%), "Depressed: All/Most Time" (127% vs 150%), and "Internet: Virtual Visit" (55% vs 130%) (all with p<0.001). The appended dataset illustrates NMP as having many stressors (e.g., difficult social situations, delaying seeking medical care). Strategies to improve depression management in NMP could employ virtual visits, or pharmacy incentives. Insights gleaned from appending market segmentation and healthcare utilization survey data can fill in knowledge gaps from claims-based data and provide practical and actionable insights for use by providers, payers and public health entities.

A Bibliometric Analysis (2010-2020) of the Dental Scientific Literature on Chemo-Mechanical Methods of Caries Removal Using Carisolv and BRIX3000.

Reports in the literature have proposed and analyzed several minimally invasive techniques for caries removal in recent decades. In light of recent events surrounding the ongoing epidemiological context, concerns have been raised regarding the generation of aerosols during dental procedures. The aim of our research was to provide an overview of the scientific literature on the topic of chemo-mechanical caries removal (CMCR) methods, focusing on two products (Carisolv, BRIX3000), commercially available in Europe. A bibliometric analysis was used to investigate the scientific articles included in Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database, published from January 2010 to December 2020. We analyzed the co-occurrence of all keywords (Author Keywords and the KeyWords Plus section), co-authorship and co-citation, using the free software VOSviewer. Our bibliometric analysis revealed a worldwide interest in the subject of chemo-mechanical methods of caries removal, which has transcended the area of pediatric dentistry. The analyzed studies have been conducted mainly in high-income countries that have developed sanitary policies regarding prevention and early treatment of carious lesions as a health priority.

Retrospective Long-Term Clinical Outcome of Feldspathic Ceramic Veneers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of feldspathic ceramic laminate veneers over a 7-year period using minimally invasive techniques, such as vertical preparation (without prosthetic finish line), or no preparation (no-prep). A total of 170 feldspathic ceramic veneers were cemented in the anterior region, including 70 maxillary and 100 mandibular veneers, after special conditioning of the teeth and restorations. The veneers were evaluated using the FDI World Dental Federation criteria evaluation kit after recalling all the patients between February and June 2021. In total, 14 feldspathic veneers failed and were replaced with lithium disilicate because of core fracture, and 10 cases of chipping occurred on the ceramic surface and were polished. The overall survival rate was 91.77% for up to 7 years of function, with a failure rate of 8.23%. In this retrospective survival analysis, the failures, including the fracture of veneers and dental hard tissue, occurred both in prep and no-prep teeth. No failures were observed in veneers with a maximum thickness of 0.5 mm compared to those with a maximum thickness of 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, and 2.5 mm.

Diagnostic Challenges in Rare Causes of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy-The Role of Cardiac MRI.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a rare genetic condition of the myocardium, with a significantly high risk of sudden death. Recent genetic research and improved understanding of the pathophysiology tend to change the ARVD definition towards a larger spectrum of myocardial involvement, which includes, in various proportions, both the right (RV) and left ventricle (LV), currently referred to as ACM (arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy). Its pathological substrate is defined by the replacement of the ventricular myocardium with fibrous adipose tissue that further leads to inadequate electrical impulses and translates into varies degrees of malignant ventricular arrythmias and dyskinetic myocardium movements. Particularly, the cardio-cutaneous syndromes of Carvajal/Naxos represent rare causes of ACM that might be suspected from early childhood. The diagnostic is sometimes challenging, even with well-established rTFC or Padua criteria, especially for pediatric patients or ACM with LV involvement. Cardiac MRI gain more and more importance in ACM diagnostic especially in non-classical forms. Furthermore, MRI is useful in highlighting myocardial fibrosis, fatty replacement or wall movement with high accuracy, thus guiding not only the depiction, but also the patient's stratification and management.

Inter- and Intraobserver Reliability Between Orthopaedic Surgeons for Reparability of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Using MRI.

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is the standard of care for patients after an ACL tear, as poor historical outcomes were observed after primary ACL repair. Certain subgroups of patients, however, have been shown to have outcomes equivalent to reconstruction after undergoing ACL repair and therefore may benefit from the potential advantages offered by avoiding reconstruction. It is important to accurately and consistently identify and indicate these candidates for ACL repair. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study was to determine the inter- and intraobserver reliability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation for the reparability of ACL tears and to identify imaging factors that may lead to surgeon uncertainty or disagreement in decision making. Our hypothesis was that the orthopaedic surgeons surveyed would not be able to reliably agree on the reparability of an ACL using MRI scans alone. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: We administered 2 surveys to 6 fellowship-trained orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons. Each surgeon reviewed preoperative MRI scans for 20 patients and answered a series of questions, ultimately determining whether they would choose an ACL reconstruction or repair for the patient based on the imaging alone. The same survey was repeated 6 weeks later. Kappa values for inter- and intraobserver reliability of their decision making were then calculated. RESULTS: The average kappa for interobserver reliability in the 2 surveys was 0.22, and the average kappa for intraobserver reliability was 0.34. Interobserver reliability among the surgeons in this group was poor to moderate; intraobserver reliability was slightly better. The choice for ACL repair was significantly correlated with proximal tear locations (r = 0.854; P < .001), good-quality ACL tissue remnant (r = 0.929; P < .001), and how many surgeons believed that the tear only involved a single bundle (r = 0.590; P = .006). CONCLUSION: The surgeons surveyed in this study did not consistently agree on candidates for ACL repair using MRI alone.

The assessment of lower face morphology changes in edentulous patients after prosthodontic rehabilitation, using two methods of measurement.

Using two measurement methods (a three-dimensional laser scanning system and a digital caliper), this study compares the lower face morphology of complete edentulous patients, before and after prosthodontic rehabilitation with bimaxillary complete dentures. Fourteen edentulous patients were randomly selected from the Department of Prosthodontics, at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania. The changes that occurred in the lower third of the face after prosthodontic treatment were assessed quantitatively by measuring the vertical projection of the distances between two sets of anthropometric landmarks: Subnasale - cutaneous Pogonion (D1) and Labiale superius - Labiale inferius (D2). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA model design was carried out to test for significant interactions, main effects and differences between the two types of measuring devices and between the initial and final rehabilitation time points. The main effect of the type of measuring device showed no statistically significant differences in the measured distances (p=0.24 for D1 and p=0.39 for D2), between the initial and the final rehabilitation time points. Regarding the main effect of time, there were statistically significant differences in both the measured distances D1 and D2 (p=0.001), between the initial and the final rehabilitation time points. The two methods of measurement were equally reliable in the assessment of lower face morphology changes in edentulous patients after prosthodontic rehabilitation with bimaxillary complete dentures. The differences between the measurements taken before and after prosthodontic rehabilitation proved to be statistically significant.

Craniofacial morphology in patients with Angle Class II division 2 malocclusion.

Cephalometric analysis is frequently used in orthodontics for diagnostic purposes, in order to evaluate the positional relationship of the upper and lower jaw to the cranial base, as well as to objectively asses the way dental arches relate to one another and to the skeletal base. As with other dento-skeletal anomalies, the normal growth process can induce changes in these parameters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the skeletal and dental changes that occur in growing patients with Angle Class II division 2 malocclusion. The study also focuses on analyzing and comparing several parameters in three groups of young patients of different ages, diagnosed with Class II division 2 malocclusion, in order to determine whether the anomaly worsens or improves during the patients' growth period. A total of 25 lateral skull teleradiographs were analyzed using cephX. The patients were divided into three groups (Group 1: 6-8 years, Group 2: 9-14 years, Group 3: 15-18 years). We used the cephalometric parameters described in Björk-Jarabak and Tweed analyses, as well as the relationship of the upper and lower central incisors to the skeletal landmarks. The statistical methods used in this study were the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the unpaired Student's t-test (p<0.05). We concluded that, during the physiological growth process, the Angle Class II division 2 malocclusion has the following cephalometric characteristics: the maxillary central incisors were in accentuated retroclination, the interincisal angle was very obtuse, the gonial angle showed lower than normal values towards the end of the growth period, the lower anterior face height was definitely decreased, the mandibular body length was shorter than normal in the early growth period and the tendency towards a hypodivergent skeletal pattern remained stable during growth.

Alveolar and dental arch morphology in Angle Class II division 2 malocclusion: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the dental and alveolar intercanine, interpremolar and intermolar widths in patients with Class II/2 malocclusion and to compare the data with a patient group with normal occlusion and also with a patient group with Class II/1 malocclusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted on 140 untreated patients with permanent dentition, aged 16 to 25 years, which were divided into three groups, according to Angle's classification of occlusion. The measurements of the dento-alveolar intercanine, interpremolar and intermolar widths were made on virtual study models, scanned using an optical 3D scanner. The unpaired (Student's) t-test was used to determine whether there were any significant differences between the Class II/2 and Class I groups and between Class II/2 and Class II/1 groups, respectively (p<0.05). RESULTS: Significant differences were found between Class II/2 and Class II/1 groups in the maxillary and mandibular intercanine widths. Comparing the Class II/2 and Class I groups, significant differences were found in the mandibular intercanine width, in the maxillary and mandibular interpremolar widths and also in the maxillary and mandibular intercanine and interpremolar alveolar widths. CONCLUSIONS: The maxillary and mandibular interpremolar widths and the intercanine and interpremolar alveolar widths were larger, while the mandibular intercanine width was shorter in the Class I group than in the Class II division 2 group. The mandibular intercanine width was longer and the maxillary intercanine width was shorter in the Class II division 1 group compared to the Class II division 2 group.