Effectiveness and patient satisfaction of dental emergencies in Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Background: A previous study reported the effectiveness and patient satisfaction in the dental emergency unit (DEU) of the Pitie Salpetrière Hospital in Paris before coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The same methodology was used during the COVID-19 pandemic to compare pain, anxiety, and patient satisfaction during the two periods. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in 2020 (NCT04354272) on adult patients. Data were collected on day zero (D0) on site and then by phone during the daytime on day one (D1), day three (D3), and day seven (D7). The primary objective was to assess the pain intensity at D1. Secondary objectives were to assess pain intensity at D3 and D7, anxiety intensity at D1, D3, and D7, and patient satisfaction. Patients were evaluated on a 0-10 numeric scale on D1, D3, and D7; mean scores were compared with non-parametric statistics (ANOVA, Dunn's). Results: A total of 445 patients were given the opportunity to participate in the study, and 370 patients consented. Seventy-one were lost during follow-up. Ultimately, 299 patients completed all the questionnaires and were included in the analysis. In the final sample (60% men, 40% women, aged 39 ± 14 years), 94% had health insurance. The mean pain scores were: D0, 6.1 ± 0.14; D1, 3.29 ± 0.16; D3, 2.08 ± 0.16; and D7, 1.07 ± 0.35. This indicates a significant decrease of 46%, 67%, and 82% at D1, D3, and D7, respectively, when compared to D0 (P < 0.0001). The mean anxiety scores were D0, 4.7 ± 0.19; D1, 2.6 ± 0.16; D3, 1.9 ± 0.61; and D7, 1.4 ± 0.15. This decrease was significant between D0 and D7 (ANOVA, P < 0.001). Perception of general health improved between D1 and D7. The overall satisfaction was 9.3 ± 0.06. Conclusion: DEU enabled a significant reduction in pain and anxiety with high overall satisfaction during COVID-19, which was very similar to levels observed pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Effectiveness of and Patient's Satisfaction with Dental Emergency Unit in Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital (Paris), Focusing on Pain and Anxiety.

Background: The Dental Emergency Unit (DEU) of the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital receives mainly painful emergencies. This study aimed at evaluating the suppression of pain and anxiety as well as the patient's satisfaction after a visit to the DEU. Patients and Methods. A prospective study was carried out in 2019 (NCT03819036) in adult patients. Data was collected on D0 on site and then on D1, D3, and D7 by phone, during daytime. The main objective and secondary objectives were, respectively, to assess the intensity of pain on D1; the intensity of pain on D3 and D7; the evolution of anxiety on D1, D3, and D7; and the patients' satisfaction. They were evaluated with a 0-10 numeric scale (NS) on D1, D3 and D7; mean scores were compared with nonparametric statistics (ANOVA, Dunn's test). Results: 814 patients were contacted and 581 patients included; 87 were lost to follow-up. 376 patients completed all the questionnaires. In the final sample (59% men, 40 ± 16 y.o.), 86% had health insurance. The mean pain scores were as follows: D0: 6.36 ± 0.12; D1: 3.49 ± 0.13; D3: 2.23 ± 0.13; D7: 1.07 ± 0.11-indicating a significant decrease of 45%, 65%, and 93% on D1, D3, and D7, respectively, compared to D0 (p < 0.0001) between D0 and D1, D3, D7. The mean NS anxiety scores were as follows: D0: 3.32 ± 0.15; D1: 3.69 ± 0.16; D3: 2.75 ± 0.16; D7: 1.98 ± 0.15. The decrease was significant between D0 and D7 (p < 0.0001). The perception of general heath improved between D1 and D7. The overall score of satisfaction was 8.64 ± 0.06. Conclusion: DEU enabled a significant reduction in pain and anxiety with high overall satisfaction.

Optical properties of organic/inorganic perovskite microcrystals through the characterization of Fabry-Pérot resonances.

A precise knowledge of the optical properties, specifically the refractive index, of organic/inorganic perovskites, is essential for pushing forward the performance of the current photovoltaic devices that are being developed from these materials. Here we show a robust method for determining the real and the imaginary part of the refractive index of MAPbBr3 thin films and micrometer size single crystals with planar geometry. The simultaneous fit of both the optical transmittance and the photoluminescence spectra to theoretical models defines unambiguously the refractive index and the crystal thickness. Because the method relies on the optical resonance phenomenon occurring in these microstructures, it can be used to further develop optical microcavities from perovskites or from other optical materials.

Single Crystal Growth of Hybrid Lead Bromide Perovskites Using a Spin-Coating Method.

Synthesis and studies of single crystals of hybrid perovskite are important for achieving a better understanding of the optoelectronic phenomena occurring in this material and for improving ongoing applications. Here, we report on the growth of micrometer-size single crystals of methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) using the spin coating deposition method on a quartz substrate. We studied the influence of the rotation speed and the use of three different additives N-cyclohexyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide, and 4-tert-butylpyridine on the crystal size and shape. The introduction of an additive in the precursor solution is revealed to be very useful for obtaining crystals with well-defined geometries and for decreasing the amount of defects. In this way, high-quality single crystals that sustain optical resonating modes were obtained and characterized by transmittance and photoluminescence measurements.

Monodisperse silicon nanocavities and photonic crystals with magnetic response in the optical region.

It is generally accepted that the magnetic component of light has a minor role in the light-matter interaction. The recent discovery of metamaterials has broken this traditional understanding, as both the electric and the magnetic field are key ingredients in metamaterials. The top-down technology used so far employs noble metals with large intrinsic losses. Here we report on a bottom-up approach for processing metamaterials based on suspensions of monodisperse full dielectric silicon nanocavities with a large magnetic response in the near-infrared region. Experimental results and theory show that silicon-colloid-based liquid suspensions and photonic crystals made of two-dimensional arrays of particles have strong magnetic response in the near-infrared region with small optical losses. Our findings might have important implications in the bottom-up processing of large-area low-loss metamaterials working in the near-infrared region.

Packing confined hard spheres denser with adaptive prism phases.

We show that hard spheres confined between two parallel hard plates pack denser with periodic adaptive prismatic structures which are composed of alternating prisms of spheres. The internal structure of the prisms adapts to the slit height which results in close packings for a range of plate separations, just above the distance where three intersecting square layers fit exactly between the plates. The adaptive prism phases are also observed in real-space experiments on confined sterically stabilized colloids and in Monte Carlo simulations at finite pressure.

Enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity by structuring the photocatalyst film as photonic sponge.

A TiO2 film having "photonic sponge" architecture (ps-TiO2) has been prepared using titania Degussa P25 nanoparticles that have been infiltrated into a template obtained through the arrangement of a mixture of different size latex spheres. The resulting photonic sponge exhibits 3.3 fold higher initial photocatalytic degradation rate for succinonitrile disappearance than analogous films of the same thickness made of unstructured P25 TiO2 nanoparticles. When corrected for the three fold lower mass of the ps-TiO2 films with respect to more dense P25, the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity by the photonic sponge morphology for the same mass of photocatalyst is about one order of magnitude. It was also observed that films of photonic sponge of 3 microm depth are more efficient than thicker films (5 and 7 microm).

Apollony photonic sponge based photoelectrochemical solar cells.

We have developed a quasi-fractal colloidal crystal to localize efficiently photons in a very broad optical spectral range; it has been applied to prepare dye sensitized photoelectrochemical solar (PES) cells able to harvest very efficiently photons from the ultraviolet (UV) and the visible (VIS) regions of the solar spectrum.