Reliability and discriminatory power of methods for dental plaque quantification

This in situ study evaluated the discriminatory power and reliability of methods of dental plaque quantification and the relationship between visual indices (VI) and fluorescence camera (FC) to detect plaque.

Pooled analysis of trials comparing titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents with paclitaxel-eluting stents in patients undergoing coronary stenting

We performed a pooled analysis of three trials comparing titanium-nitride-oxide-coated bioactive stents (BAS) with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in 1,774 patients. All patients were followed for 12 months. The primary outcomes of interest were recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), death and target lesion revascularization (TLR). Secondary endpoints were stent thrombosis (ST) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) including MI, death and TLR. There were 922 patients in the BAS group and 852 in the PES group. BAS significantly reduced the risk of recurrent MI (2.7% vs. 5.6%; risk ratio 0.50, 95% CI 0.31-0.81; p = 0.004) and MACE (8.9% vs. 12.6%; risk ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.94; p = 0.02) during the 12 months of follow up. In contrast, the differences between BAS and PES were not statistically significant with respect to TLR (risk ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.68-1.41), death (risk ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.61-1.51) and definite ST (risk ratio 0.28, 95% CI 0.05-1.47). In conclusion, the results of this analysis suggest that BAS is effective in reducing TLR and improves clinical outcomes by reducing MI and MACE compared with PES.

Effect of EpCAM, CD44, CD133 and CD166 expression on patient survival in tumours of the ampulla of Vater

Carcinomas of the Vaterian system are rare and presumably arise from pre-existing adenomas. According to the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, only a small subset of tumor cells has the ability to initiate and develop tumor growth. In colorectal cancer, CD44, CD133, CD166 and EpCAM have been proposed to represent CSC marker proteins and their expression has been shown to correlate with patient survival.

Determinants of prognostically relevant intracoronary electrocardiogram ST-segment shift during coronary balloon occlusion

The prognostic relevance of quantitative an intracoronary occlusive electrocardiographic (ECG) ST-segment shift and its determinants have not been investigated in humans. In 765 patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease, the following simultaneous quantitative measurements were obtained during a 1-minute coronary balloon occlusion: intracoronary ECG ST-segment shift (recorded by angioplasty guidewire), mean aortic pressure, mean distal coronary pressure, and mean central venous pressure (CVP). Collateral flow index (CFI) was calculated as follows: (mean distal coronary pressure minus CVP)/(mean aortic pressure minus CVP). During an average follow-up duration of 50 ± 34 months, the cumulative mortality rate from all causes was significantly lower in the group with an ST-segment shift <0.1 mV (n = 89) than in the group with an ST-segment shift ≥0.1 mV (n = 676, p = 0.0211). Factors independently related to intracoronary occlusive ECG ST-segment shift <0.1 mV (r(2) = 0.189, p <0.0001) were high CFI (p <0.0001), intracoronary occlusive RR interval (p = 0.0467), right coronary artery as the ischemic region (p <0.0001), and absence of arterial hypertension (p = 0.0132). "High" CFI according to receiver operating characteristics analysis was ≥0.217 (area under receiver operating characteristics curve 0.647, p <0.0001). In conclusion, absence of ECG ST-segment shift during brief coronary occlusion in patients with chronic coronary artery disease conveys a decreased mortality and is directly influenced by a well-developed collateral supply to the right versus left coronary ischemic region and by the absence of systemic hypertension in a patient's history.

Association between parental guilt and oral health problems in preschool children

Parents may feel guilty about their children's oral problems, which can affect their quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of parental guilt and its association with early childhood caries (ECC), traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and malocclusion (AMT) in preschool children. All 2 to 5 year-old children (N = 305), and their parents, seeking dental care at the University of São Paulo Dental School one-week Screening Programme, were asked to participate in the study, and 260 agreed. Children were examined by two calibrated dentists, and their parents answered a socioeconomic and ECOHIS questionnaire; the question on guilt was used as the dependent variable. Regression analyses examined the association between parental guilt and ECC, TDI, AMT and socioeconomic factors. A total of 35.8% of parents felt guilty. This was only associated with caries severity. No association was found between guilt and TDI, AMT or socioeconomic factors. ECC was present in 63.8% of the children; the mean (± sd) dmf-t score was 7.29 (± 2.78). Thus, the number of parents feeling guilty increases with the increase of their children's dental caries severity. Parental guilt is related to caries but is not associated with TDI or AMT.

Complicated intra-abdominal infections in Europe: a comprehensive review of the CIAO study

The CIAO Study ("Complicated Intra-Abdominal infection Observational" Study) is a multicenter investigation performed in 68 medical institutions throughout Europe over the course of a 6-month observational period (January-June 2012).Patients with either community-acquired or healthcare-associated complicated intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) were included in the study.2,152 patients with a mean age of 53.8 years (range: 4-98 years) were enrolled in the study. 46.3% of the patients were women and 53.7% were men. Intraperitoneal specimens were collected from 62.2% of the enrolled patients, and from these samples, a variety of microorganisms were collectively identified.The overall mortality rate was 7.5% (163/2.152).According to multivariate analysis of the compiled data, several criteria were found to be independent variables predictive of patient mortality, including patient age, the presence of an intestinal non-appendicular source of infection (colonic non-diverticular perforation, complicated diverticulitis, small bowel perforation), a delayed initial intervention (a delay exceeding 24 hours), sepsis and septic shock in the immediate post-operative period, and ICU admission.Given the sweeping geographical distribution of the participating medical centers, the CIAO Study gives an accurate description of the epidemiological, clinical, microbiological, and treatment profiles of complicated intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) throughout Europe.

Complicated intra-abdominal infections in Europe: preliminary data from the first three months of the CIAO Study

The CIAO Study is a multicenter observational study currently underway in 66 European medical institutions over the course of a six-month study period (January-June 2012).This preliminary report overviews the findings of the first half of the study, which includes all data from the first three months of the six-month study period.Patients with either community-acquired or healthcare-associated complicated intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) were included in the study.912 patients with a mean age of 54.4 years (range 4-98) were enrolled in the study during the first three-month period. 47.7% of the patients were women and 52.3% were men. Among these patients, 83.3% were affected by community-acquired IAIs while the remaining 16.7% presented with healthcare-associated infections. Intraperitoneal specimens were collected from 64.2% of the enrolled patients, and from these samples, 825 microorganisms were collectively identified.The overall mortality rate was 6.4% (58/912). According to univariate statistical analysis of the data, critical clinical condition of the patient upon hospital admission (defined by severe sepsis and septic shock) as well as healthcare-associated infections, non-appendicular origin, generalized peritonitis, and serious comorbidities such as malignancy and severe cardiovascular disease were all significant risk factors for patient mortality.White Blood Cell counts (WBCs) greater than 12,000 or less than 4,000 and core body temperatures exceeding 38°C or less than 36°C by the third post-operative day were statistically significant indicators of patient mortality.

Investigation on the evolution of an indoor robotic localization system based on wireless networks

This work addresses the evolution of an artificial neural network (ANN) to assist in the problem of indoor robotic localization. We investigate the design and building of an autonomous localization system based on information gathered from wireless networks (WN). The article focuses on the evolved ANN, which provides the position of a robot in a space, as in a Cartesian coordinate system, corroborating with the evolutionary robotic research area and showing its practical viability. The proposed system was tested in several experiments, evaluating not only the impact of different evolutionary computation parameters but also the role of the transfer functions on the evolution of the ANN. Results show that slight variations in the parameters lead to significant differences on the evolution process and, therefore, in the accuracy of the robot position.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles and wireless sensor networks for spraying pesticides

The application of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural areas is of crucial importance for crop yields. The use of aircrafts is becoming increasingly common in carrying out this task mainly because of their speed and effectiveness in the spraying operation. However, some factors may reduce the yield, or even cause damage (e.g., crop areas not covered in the spraying process, overlapping spraying of crop areas, applying pesticides on the outer edge of the crop). Weather conditions, such as the intensity and direction of the wind while spraying, add further complexity to the problem of maintaining control. In this paper, we describe an architecture to address the problem of self-adjustment of the UAV routes when spraying chemicals in a crop field. We propose and evaluate an algorithm to adjust the UAV route to changes in wind intensity and direction. The algorithm to adapt the path runs in the UAV and its input is the feedback obtained from the wireless sensor network (WSN) deployed in the crop field. Moreover, we evaluate the impact of the number of communication messages between the UAV and the WSN. The results show that the use of the feedback information from the sensors to make adjustments to the routes could significantly reduce the waste of pesticides and fertilizers.